BFZ Review Part 20: Other Spells (rest of Green and Artifacts)

Link to Part 19

The review marathon continues. I love the big sets of the new age of Standard.

Natural Connection: Farseek limits you to basic lands not a Forest, but is a two drop. This is a weaker Farseek. We need a card like this one in the current Standard, but in Modern Farseek is the better card. Farseek would have been a better Converge enabler.
Oran-Rief Invoker: a bear, the 8 drop activation seems gratuitous.

Plated Crusher: I love devotion to Green. I want to try this card pretty much everywhere in mono green.
Plummet: hello, old friend.

Seek the Wilds: Commune with the Gods is five cards and you choose for a creature or an enchantment then drop the rest to your graveyard. This is a good card as long as you don't want to use your graveyard.
Reclaiming Vines: a lesser version of Bramblecrush ("Destroy target noncreature permanent."). Good in the current Standard. Yet another card that will be useful in Standard because similar yet better cards from recent Standard rotations have not been reprinted.

Rot Shambler: if you are going to sacrifice those other creatures anyway, this is a good Blood Artist in Green in some way. Instead of 'gain 1 life, hit opponent for 1 life' you do something that is more like what green does (a +1/+1 counter). I think this card is awesome.
Swell of Growth: great battle trick with the land drop. I would take it for a spin in more than just limited.

Sylvan Scrying: fun reprint, not at the level of the Thoughtseize reprint in Theros, to be sure. Good Converge enabler.
Undergrowth Champion: it doesn't feel Mythic, I am sure I am missing something that I will learn once I see it in play. I would have been happier if it was just indestructible and then I don;t have to be playing a game within a game with the counters.

Aligned Hedron Network: neat Oblivion Stone to keep the bigger Eldrazis in check. It works for all creatures and that makes it a very good rare.
Pathway Arrows: better in limited than in any other format because of the colorless bonus.

Pilgrim's Eye: Worldwake reprint. Helps with Converge. Also good against mid game mana screw.
Hedron Blade: better in limited than in any other format because of the colorless bonus.

Hedron Archive: heavier version of Sol Ring with a card draw bonus.
Slab Hammer: Landfall helper.

Link to Part 21

BFZ Review Part 19: Other Spells (Red and some Green)

Link to Part 18

I got my jewel in Vampiric Rites, I am getting greedy now by asking for more jewels.

Dragonmaster Outcast: a Zendikar reprint. It must be answered or you are facing a bunch of dragons and a game loss.
Lavastep Raider: solid limited card.

Goblin War Paint: nice reprint, good in Limited.
Outnumber: could be used to give Hornet Nest a really high damage if you have a ton of small critters on the battlefield. Tricky, though, if you are running low on creatures.

Stonefury: could be used to give Hornet Nest a really high damage late game. I like that it is number of lands, and not number of Mountains. Not sure how it would do in Limited.
Sure Strike: limited battle trick.

Rolling Thunder: originally from Tempest, a solid card in any format. There are so many cards in Legacy that could in time make their way to Standard (and immediately to Modern, of course).
Valakut Invoker: low priority limited pick. What is the 8 mana activation there for? It will happen very rarely, except maybe in EDH?

Volcanic Upheaval: a Demolish minus "artifact," therefore a downgrade. Good to punish Converge attempts.
Broodhunter Wurm: limited fodder.

Giant Mantis: limited fodder.
Greenwarden of Murasa: very useful if you have a deck that efficiently fills and keeps filled your graveyard. I am not sure it feels Mythic... It does say "target card" and that can be a planeswalker, for example.

Lifespring Druid: useful for Converge, especially in limited.
Nissa's Renewal: late effect, someone will have to educate me about how useful this card is as a 6 drop in any format.

Link to Part 20

BFZ Review Part 18: Other Spells (rest of Blue and Black)

Link to Part 17

OK, not giving up on the hunt for cool cards.

Cloud Manta: evasion in Limited.
Anticipate: a not so anticipated reprint (the art rocks, though), and a very good card in Limited and Standard.

Dispel: solid reprint. Good in Limited, Standard, and the older formats.
Windrider Patrol: solid with Scry 2, a nice pick in Limited and can go into many Standard decks.

Ugin's Insight: and after you Scry 20, your opponent hits you with Ingest critters. Great card, but has a lot of competition in this set. I do like the 'draw three cards' part a lot. A solid rare I think.
Tightening Coils: great art, nice effect in limited, a good pick there.

Altar's Reap: Innistrad reprint, great card in this format for Black/Green Eldrazi Scion shenanigans.
Bone Splinters: hey, didn't we get this as a reprint just now? Well, I guess in the new Standard, every "Expert Level" expansion has a mini core set in it.

Demon's Grasp: limited removal.
Dutiful Return: limited creature replay.

Geyserfield Stalker: should be fun in limited even if it will likely not be a top pick.
Malakir Familiar: OK in limited, OK in Standard? I would make sure I was gaining life in Standard all the time to play this Bat.

Vampiric Rites: a jewel, a must-have, and a key addition to a deck playing Ajani's Pridemate and Bloodbond Vampire.
Voracious Null: could get big in White/Black tokens, but I don't see easy sacs in this set in mono black. Maybe good in Green/Black Limited.

Link to Part 19

BFZ Review Part 17: Other Spells (White plus one Blue Spell)

Link to Part 16

Here is the final batch of cards. I am still looking for more jewels.

Angelic Gift: could be useful in Limited. "Draw a card"-I need to remember that.
Felidar Cub: good in limited if there were lots of enchantments as there were in Theros block.

Courier Griffin: obligatory Griffin for Limited. Could be in the life gain deck in casual.
Felidar Sovereign: a reprint, and the build around for the mega gain life deck that I think some will try in Standard, and it could even become a thing.

Fortified Rampart: limited Wall and another Wall for the Assault Formation deck.
Ghostly Sentinel: evasion in Limited.

Gideon's Reproach: removal in Limited.
Inspired Charge: limited battle trick.

Kitesail Scout: evasion in Limited.
Lithomancer's Focus: limited battle trick, narrow on account of colorless protection.

Quarantine Field: mass Oblivion Ring.
Roil's Retribution: very useful in Limited, not sure if in Standard on account of it being a 5 drop.

Smite the Monstrous: removal in Limited.
Stasis Snare: it only applies to creatures, but it has Flash. In battlecruiser Standard this card will be a must-have.

Shadow Glider: evasion in Limited.
Tandem Tactics: limited battle trick. 

Stone Haven Medic: if only there was a Kor lord or spells that cared about Kors. Since not, this is a Soulmender for one more casting mana and to add insult to injury, you need to pay one mana to activate the lifegain. With Soulmender, you get the life by just tapping! Reverse Power Creep poster child (I am OK with this, I love Battlecruiser Magic).
Dampening Pulse: love it, must play it. A little heavy at 4, but in blue/green Modern I can use mana dorks to drop it one turn earlier. I think it could be good in Limited, and I am definitely sticking into a few Standard decks.

Link to Part 18

BFZ Review Part 16: Awaken, Converge, and Landfall (Green) + Planeswalkers

Link to Part 15

On with the quest of finding deck building jewels.

Earthen Arms: Limited battle trick.
Infuse with the Elements: you need a four color deck to maximize this card. Maybe a four color manabase can work in Standard.

Murasa Ranger: its a late entry creature at 4, and it requires 4 more to trigger the landfall bonus. That's a lot of mana for two +1/+1 counters. Yes, it happens every time a land enters... and that can add up.
Oran-Rief Hydra: it enters late game, and that means there is a limit to how many times Landfall will trigger. Landfall seems to work really well early game or late late game. In the latter case it is possible that your opponent will not be able to remove this Hydra, and in that case, you have yourself a game-ending beater. This trick can work in Limited and Standard only, where the number of threats can be limited a lot.

Jaddi Offshoot: this life gain trigger should help a mega lifelink deck that I think will be possible in this Standard.
Woodland Wanderer: I am so not digging Converge. OK, so you went all out and built a four-color deck, and you have all of your four colors. Now you cast this thing as a 6/6 for 4... I guess that will work. If you have done all that in Standard, OK, that's good. But in Modern, if you build a four color deck you want Cryptic Command instead of this. Converge reminds me of the Maze's End deck from Dragon's Maze. It is cool in Standard, I guess.

Retreat to Kazandu: this is a great retreat, up there with the black one. A 3 drop in green can enter turn 2 in Modern. In a Standard without one drop mana dorks, it can enter turn 3.
Snapping Gnarlid: it enters at about the same time 2 damage removal does. It seems fragile and a late pick in Limited.

Scythe Leopard: OK, now we are talking. A Landfall trigger on a one drop is more like it. A solid pick in Limited, and a must have in many Standard decks.
Tajuru Stalwart: back to my manabase dependence issue. If it is not good in Limited, can it be good in Standard? I am missing something with the current Standard manabase.

Territorial Baloth: late pick in Limited.
Kiora, Master of the Depths: It can enter at 5 loyalty and that is good because, unlike the Theros block Kiora, it cannot defend itself.
(+1 Untap up to one target creature and up to one target land.): Can open up two mana is the creature is a mana dork.
(-2: Reveal the top four cards of your library. You may put a creature card and/or a land card from among them into your hand. Put the rest into your graveyard.): Nice effect, especially to trigger Landfall every turn after casting Kiora.
(-8: You get an emblem with "Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may have it fight target creature." Then put three 8/8 blue Octopus creature tokens onto the battlefield under your control.) I like the ultimate for the Theros block Kiora better. In this case, you get the tokens once.

Gideon, Ally of Zendikar: Starts at 5 and can protect himself by becoming an indestructicle creature.
(+1 Loyalty: Until end of turn, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar becomes a 5/5 Human Soldier Ally creature with indestructible that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him this turn.): Like I just wrote.
(+0 Loyalty: Put a 2/2 white Knight Ally creature token onto the battlefield.): only one token. I guess that's OK.
(-4 Loyalty: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+1."): An anthem that cannot be removed is nice, but this ultimate is a little underwhelming. All your opponent needs to have is a lot of creature removal.
Ob Nixilis Reignited: Comes in at 6 Loyalty with the +1 ability and that's great.
(+1 Loyalty: You draw a card and you lose 1 life.): I like this one the best.
(-3 Loyalty: Destroy target creature.): great in a creature-heavy Standard, useless against several decks in the older formats.
(-8 Loyalty: Target opponent gets an emblem with "Whenever a player draws a card, you lose 2 life."): Not ultimate enough, but it is a solid emblem that can win the game, only it needs help. Good ultimates don't need any help.

Link to Part 17

BFZ Review Part 15: Awaken, Converge, and Landfall (Black and Red)

Link to Part 14

Still on the lookout for hidden gems.

Geyserfield Stalker: reasonable pick in Limited.
Mire's Malice: (or is it Maro's Malice?) the Awaken formula seems to be "take staple we used to issue in core sets, add one mana, slap a late game awaken bonus on it." The effective title of this card is "Mind Rot, the Awaken Version." It is needed in Standard. In Modern you will get the Awaken bonus once in a blue moon but you will have to spend that one additional mana every single time! 

Painful Truths: the painful truths are that Converge, Awaken, and Landfall mostly suck in this set. Mono black can't touch this, and two color has so many better options outside of Standard, including the recently departed from Standard Read the Bones. I guess some decks are stuck with this thing while it is in Standard.  
Rising Miasma: good in Standard. 4 mana is a heavy investment when compared to Languish. This is one of the few so-so uncommons in this set.

Retreat to Hagra: I really like the deathtouch case, and I also like the lose 1 life/gain life clause. This is my favorite retreat. I hope I get to use it in Limited and I could even slap two of these on a random deck just to see what happens. Also, the new black Ajani's Pridemate (Bloodbond Vampire) won't mind another lifegain trigger.
Ruinous Path: when Hero's Downfall came out I reacted unfairly against it and did not use it. That was silly because it is a good card. This version is even better. True, only in super control decks will you get to trigger Awaken, but it is a must have in Standard. As more planeswalkers are issued some more will trickle into Modern decks. I will not be surprised if this card is a Modern staple five blocks down the road.

Akoum Stonewalker: great card in Limited, and will likely see use in Standard because of how limited the Red Deck Wins tool set is in the coming Standard.
Belligerent Whiptail: mid to late pick in Limited.

Akoum Hellkite: the obligatory Dragon. Seems weak.
Akoum Firebird: the obligatory Phoenix. Seems weak. 

Boiling Earth: take Scouring Sands, delete Scry 1, add Awaken 4. It can either take out an army of 1/1 tokens or do nothing.
Radiant Flames: can do 3 damage to each creature in a three color deck. Its a solid card... I wonder how well it will do. I will not be surprised if it is a junk rare once it rotates out of Standard yet I will also not be surprised if it is a staple while in Standard just because of the lack of other viable options.

Makindi Sliderunner: a late pick in Limited.
Tunneling Geopede: good in multiplayer.

Retreat to Valakut: I especially like the second clause. I would use this one in Limited.
Valakut Predator: a late pick in Limited.

Link to Part 16

BFZ Review Part 14: Awaken, Converge, and Landfall (White and Blue)

Link to Part 13

I must admit I am not yet excited about these abilities. Kicker and Undying had me at hello. Landfall in this set did not land on enough low drops, as was the case in Zendikar. Awaken requires a lot of mana. Converge needs better multicolor land support. Of course, these are my first impressions. Only with play can we find out if these abilities work out.

Emeria Shepherd: it is a reanimator. The question is if as a 7 drop it is viable.
Encircling Fissure: a white Fog that is only for creatures for three with a bonus late game. In a creature-heavy Standard it can buy one turn.

Ondu Greathorn: useful in Limited.
Ondu Rising: useful in a mega lifegain deck. In the right circumstance you could gain a ton of life in out swing of your army.

Sheer Drop: Limited battle trick.
Planar Outburst: battlecruiser board wipe. It will be very good in Standard.  

Guardian of Tazeem: this effect would have been awesome on a lower converted mana cost creature. On a 5 drop you get to use it late game in Standard, and that's probably it.
Part of Waterveil: OK for EDH and Standard.

Exert Influence: in Standard this can be a great way to take over a Wall.
Brilliant Spectrum: the most you can draw is four cards and it is quite the investment to run four colors.

Clutch of Currents: it only works for creatures yet late game it gives you a bonus. Coming to a sideboard near you.
Coastal Discovery: battlecruiser version of Divination. The Awaken bonus on this one is less than a multiple of 2-it is 1.5; which is good when compared to other Awaken spells.

Rush of Ice: it would be a lot more useful in Standard if Tamiyo was in it. Still a useful effect, mostly as evasion in Limited.
Wave-Wing Elemental: limited late pick.

Prism Array: a mass tapper for Tamiyo. Maybe there is a planeswalker in the next set that will benefit from a tapping effect, or maybe Tamiyo herself will be reprinted or recast. That would be very interesting and fun. Scatter to the Winds: the new must-have counterspell that replaces the two that are cycling out. It comes with an unwelcomed rarity bump.

Retreat to Coralhelm: there are so many ways to profit from the tap/untap ability. Do believe the hype, this card is really good. Just for mana dorks it gets you one free mana every time you play a land. This is the best landfall card in the set, and as a 3 drop you can benefit from it for many turns, especially if your opponent is not packing enchantment removal.
Roilmage's Trick: it sucks that you can only draw one card, but that is still good. I pity the fool that tries Converge in Limited.

Link to Part 15