Magic the Gathering Adventures

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Online Superguild Cube: Split Cards

I finally have a sample of all nine sets from Invasion, the original Ravnica, and Return to Ravnica. In this post I show the split cards as a way to get the casual deckbuilding started. I am thinking of adding all planeswalkers to the cube to make it even more fun. I know older players sometimes hate planeswalkers, but I am still a casual deckbuilding n00b and I LOVE planeswalkers.

Here are the 35 split cards. I plan to use this post as a viewing file to get deckbuilding going.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Shadows Over Innistrad Reviews

Shadows over Innistrad Review: double-faced cards (DFCs) Part 2 of 2

This is a big set! I like big sets! Here we go, last of the DFCs. Looks like red/green is for limited DFCs.

The front is like the old Innistrad DFCs. The transformation depends on no spells being cast. That can take a while. Limited.

Limited. On its own it can take a while to transform, and then it can get transformed back.

The front has Haste, and like the previous cards, could take a while to transform.

The back is a lord for transforming, and that's great given that some of the DFCs can take a while to transform, especially the Werewolfs.

The front can be transformed with a sacrifice outlet for the creature it enchants.

The back is a simple 3/4. If all it takes is one mana and a sacrifice outlet to get a 3/4, that seems economical enough.

This transformation could take a while.

The back has Menace, and that's great, but it can transform back.

The front is an enchantment that transforms once you attain Delirium. It seems doable. What's more, this enchantment can help you get to Delirium, and that by itself is good enough.

The flip to the back card seems like a bonus if the front already helped you attain Delirium. You get a nice bonus, though, with a Hexproof, Trample 4/4.

The front card has a transformation that can take a while. This DFC seems good in limited only.

The front card has a really good ability. Its a great way to keep your opponent from casting spells during your turn since every time that happens this card nets you a card. I want to play this card.

The transformation could take awhile, and once it happens, you get this card transformed back, which is a good thing because then you could potentially be drawing more cards.

Limited card. On its own it can take a while to transform, and then it can get transformed back.

The front card has one of the abilities I like the least: cards in my hand. I play Magic to cast spells, not to have them in my hand! The transformation can take a while.

The back can be 0/0 if no one has any cards in hand! Also, it can be small, and then it transforms back... reads like a junk rare.

Limited card. On its own it can take a while to transform, and then it can get transformed back.

The front card can buff a creature for +1, but what you want to do is transform right away by dropping a token.

The back card is where all the action is. The +1 buffs for attacks with trample, and that's great. The -1 is tricky because you can bolt a creature, but you also get transformed to the front card. The ultimate reads solid because you can deal direct damage to your opponent.

Even though this planeswalker was made for the werewoves in SOI, most of them are limited jank. I would rather play it with better red and green creatures since none of the abilities require me to control werewolves.

All you need is a sacrifice outlet to transform.

The back card is a nice piece of equipment for Humans.

The front has a really cool transform condition. Now all I need to do is equip a DFC that is very easy to transform, and, voila!

The back card is a solid equipment.

This transformation is very easy: just pay 6 mana of any color or colorless. As a 2/2 Defender the front does not do much.

The back is a 4/2 flyer for which you paid 7 mana.... that seems excessive.

A transforming land is super, super cool. The front requires 5 mana of any color or colorless and the sacrifice of five creatures.

That's a lot of sacrifice, but the back is great: a really strong creature. I like this one a lot!

Shadows over Innistrad Review: double-faced cards (DFCs) Part 1 of 2

Link to Multicolored, Artifacts, and Lands

Finally, DFCs. This is a very large set! Here is the first of two batches. First off, I like that the transformation is one way. The original DFCs in Innistrad block would in some cases transform back and forth, and that gets annoying pretty quickly. I like these DFCs better because they lack that problem. In addition, most of the Innistrad DFCs were limited jank. These cards are more geared for constructed play, and that makes me giddy as a school girl.

The front card is a straight-up solid Angel that will likely be a powerhouse in Standard. Every Angel must be compared to Baneslayer Angel (3 White White 5/5 Creature — Angel Flying, first strike, lifelink, protection from Demons and from Dragons), and Archangel Avacyn is not at that level. Unless you have a sacrifice outlet, you will have to wait until one of your non-Angel creatures dies to tranform this card.

The back card is even stronger and begins as an all-sided board wipe at three damage. In a deck with black creatures, and especially creatures like Blood Artist, the flip could be very costly to one of your oppokn

For the front card, a cheap equipment will do if all you want is to satisfy the flip condition.

The back card has a nice exile effect. Its a 'may' and that means that if your opponent does not have any creatures you can exile, the flip does nothing.

The front card is a vanilla white bear. The requirement of controlling four or more creatures is pretty steep.

The flip side generates a 1/1 token per turn and has P/T equal to the number of creatures you control. You already had to have four for the flip, and unless you lose any of them, the flip will give you at least a 4/4.

The front card has a simple transform condition: cast some other crature, pay 2, sacrifice it: done. If you keep dropping creatures before you do the flip, the 2 life is already paid for in life gain.

If you have anther Pious Evangel with a Wayward Disciple, you can sacrifice some other creature to flip the Poious Evangel, and trigger the life gain/loss for the Wayward Disciple.

This is a really easy front card to transform. You just need another creature of yours to be untapped.

The back side is all right. It has colorless boosting, which is always good.

This is a fixed Delver of Secrets. Even the artwork of both sides is similar. The front side can take a while to transform but with Scry or some other library manipulation, the trigger can happen quickly.

The back side is a pretty good flyer.

The front card is very easy to transform in a deck with lots of Investigate.

The back side has Prowess, and that is great.

The front is a great mill. 13 cards in one bang is nothing to laugh at. In Modern, its a great way to get your mill-friendly creatures stronger. The transform happens in the graveyard. I think that's very cool. I want to know who designed this card. This is good, very good design. The transform is also easy to trigger. All you need is a sorcery, maybe even a second copy of Startled Awake (great title).

The back side is a nice ping for one. All you really want is get the card back in your hand to mill for 13 more anyways. Sweet card. One of the few mythics that is clearly a mythic all the way.

You need to cast four sorceries or instants to flip this. That's a lot in the way that controlling four creatures is a lot.

The back is a big stick all right. Time to look up horrors in Modern to make sure your creatures don't get returned with those controlled by your opponent.

The front could be cast earlier and it would be a better card. A three drop that is able to deal direct damage... I need to think about that. Even with Skulk, you opponent would have to NOT control any 2/2s or 1/1s. I want to see it in play. Right now, it looks like a weak condition to transform.

Once transformed, though, you are in good shape hitting for three unimpeded. You can even equip it once it transforms and hit for more.

The front has reasonable protection, but cast at four you will be enough turns in that your opponent will likely have the extra mana to hit it anyways. Of course, the incentive is not to hit it because then it transforms. If your opponent abstains from hitting it, you will need a sacrifice outlet.

The back enchants an opponent to work best. Red direct damage seems like a good choice here.

The front has a really easy transform condition. Otherwise, its a vanilla four mana 4/4.

Once transformed, you can equip it and hit with unblockable. I don't see the advantage of flipping it back again... unless your opponent tries to have you sacrifice it I guess.

The front can be transformed easily.

The result is a 3/2 flyer. Its the same as if you had a two drop 3/2 flyer that could only be cast if you discarded a card.

The front has a difficult transformation cost. You need Delirium and 2B in mana.

The result nets you the ability to destroy a creature and now you have a 4/3. But what you have paid to get there is the equivalent of a 6 drop 4/3 with a clause that says 'the turn after you cast this creature you may destroy target creature.'

Link to DFCs Part 2 of 2

Shadows over Innistrad Review: Multicolored, Artifacts, and Lands.

Link to Green Cards

I will leave double-faced cards, or DFCs, for a separate section.

Fevered Visions: everyone is drawing extra cards. You would have to make sure your opponent is discarding to get this to work, and that's not that difficult. What's harder is to have your opponent with lots of cards in their hand. I am not seeing how this card will trigger the damage often enough to make it worth playing.
Altered Ego: I love that it can't be countered. That is just awesome. I would make sure the copied creature has Hexproof.

Anguished Unmaking: exiling at three mana is really strong, even if it costs three life.
The Gitrog Monster: its legendary, and that's a limitation. It requires a deck with really good land management. I don't like sacrificing lands, but if you have a deck that always has lands, I guess its OK. I will let someone else make the best of this card. Hopefully, they won't do so against me.

Invocation of Saint Traft: you would have to put it on a creature that doesn't die easily. If you do, its a great card.
Olivia, Mobilized for War: its legendary, and that's a limitation. The creature you cast is getting Haste and one counter. That's good, but not crazy-good for a mythic. The Innistrad Olivia was a much stronger card.

Nahiri, the Harbinger: it protects itself really well with a +2. I don't like discard, then draw, but since you are choosing what to discard, its a great way to complete the set of four types to trigger Delirium. The -2 seems difficult to trigger unless you have ways to tap. The ultimate is great if you have a clear field, and you only get to swing once. Then, you have to cast it again... These three abilities are covering a lot of different scenarios and are not as coherent as those found on other planeswalkers.
Prized Amalgam: the clause reads great, but it only works if this card is already in your graveyard. I have to think of ways this card will not be a junk rare. Right now, I can't come up with anything.

Sigarda, Heron's Grace: it doesn't have Hexproof. It reads great in Standard constructed, where you are likely to have many creatures on your side of the battlefield, and likely on your opponent's side.
Sorin, Grim Nemesis: a bit too heavy for Modern, but in Standard, it reads like a really strong planeswalker. The +1 can be devastating if the card is one of your fatty to-be reanimated targets. The -X is good in Standard because it is a creature heavy, and even planeswalker-heavy format. The ultimate can be awesome in multiplayer if you or someone else has a high life count. But a large number of 1/1 tokens can be wiped out. This is not a fantastic ultimate.

Brain in a Jar: great card. Its a low cast, the counters are well costed, and late game can be used to free cast something big.
Explosive Apparatus: and after you hit with this, you can use it to trigger Delirium. I can see it used in limited.

Corrupted Grafstone: with a graveyard full of cards in three colors, this is a mana rock for those colors. Reads like a junk rare.
Haunted Cloak: useful in battlecruiser Standard. I especially like the Haste part.

Epitaph Golem: a late game way to recover self-milled cards you no longer need to trigger Delirium. Useful if you have a way to reshuffle your graveyard after you recover the card.
Magnifying Glass: in a deck with boatloads of mana and Voltaic Key, this thing is a great draw engine.

Murderer's Axe: a little heavy of a casting cast, yet the equip cost is great in a deck that benefits from discarding.
Shard of Broken Glass: limited, and self-mill in limited is dangerous.

Runaway Carriage: can be used to have an artifact in the graveyard for Delirium, but it comes in really late.
Skeleton Key: very interesting. I like that the draw happens before the discard.

Slayer's Plate: a great card in battlecruiser Standard. Nowhere near as broken as the equipment cards that are staples in the non-rotating formats.
Wild-Field Scarecrow: a good stall until you can seed your graveyard for Delirium. Sacrifice this to get the one artifact you need to trigger Delirium.

Tamiyo's Journal: great artifact, although too heavy for any format other than battlecruiser Standard. I hope there's a Tamiyo in the next set.
True-Faith Censer: limited. I will probably try it in constructed just for fun as well.

Wicker Witch: limited.
Warped Landscape: if this land has been targeted for destruction, it has good evasion. Otherwise, the sacrifice clause is there to trigger Delirium.

Link to DFCs Part 1 of 2

Shadows over Innistrad Review: Green

Link to Red Cards

I will leave double-faced cards, or DFCs, for a separate section.

Aim High: limited.
Briarbridge Patrol: great way to drop a really big creature on the battlefield. It is much heavier than similar creatures in the non-rotating formats, yet in Standard constructed it will be really useful.

Byway Courier: limited, yet useful if you can sacrifice it to trigger Delirium.
Drathcap Cultivator: Standard format mana dork. Great that it can generate mana in black as well. If it was a one drop it would be a chase rare.

Clip Wings: not nearly as good as Plummet because your opponent chooses the creature, yet better than Plummet against Hexproof and in multi-player.
Equestrian Skill: limited, although I would like to try t in constructed.

Cryptolith Rite: this is a great card. I am not sure if its a chase rare, but it reads like a Modern plant. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like this card. It turns all of your creatures into mana dorks. In Modern, this is a great way to cast a giant Eldrazi early in the game.
Confront the Unknown: great uncommon, especially in constructed where you are more likely to have a bunch of Clue tokens on the battlefield.

Crawling Sensation: the clause is optional, which makes it safe. I think this is a great card for the cost, and I want to play it. I would buff the tokens while I am at it. I would also recover the lands if possible.
Cult of the Waxing Moon: block card, or put to good use when combined with the Innistrad DFCs. Its heavy for the effect in any format other than battlecruiser Standard.

Fork in the Road: every set needs this card. Good in limited AND constructed.
Graf Mole: lifegain does not seem to trigger much in this set. It could be useful in black/green to trigger opponent's loss of life when you gain life. Otherwise, it seems harmless.

Gloomwidow: Avacyn Restored (and before that Shadowmoor) reprint. Reasonable card, nothing Earth-shattering.
Groundskeeper: solid one-drop. If you already have one land for your Delirium trigger in your graveyard, all the others can be reused thanks to this creature.

Howlpack Resurgence: a Wolf and Werewolf lord at uncommon is a beautiful sight to behold.
Moldgraf Scavenger: limited.

Inexorable Blob: I better figure an efficient way to trigger Delirium. If I do, this card will be great! And after the pre-release I think triggering Delirium in green is reasonable enough to make this a great card.
Moonlight Hunt: very interesting card. I like it a lot. It allows you to use multiple creatures to take out a larger creature.

Intrepid Provisioner: limited.
Loam Dryad: necessary in a Standard no longer having access to one drop mana dorks.

Kessig Dire Swine: limited.
Might Beyond Reason: seems a little over-costed. It will be good in limited at least.

Obsessive Skinner: I love this card. I need to figure out how to best trigger Delirium, and once I do, this card is awesome. In Modern this card can be adding counters left and right.
Quilled Wolf: limited.

Pack Guardian: not bad. You can play it anytime you can cast an instant, and you can drop a 2/2 at the same time. This can be a great surprise move in your favor.
Rabid Bite: every set needs a card like this one. Good in limited AND constructed.

Root Out: Naturalize for one more mana. Let's see how good Investigate turn out because that extra mana makes a big difference.
Thronhide Wolves: limited.

Seasons Past: definitely reads mythic, and in a deck with good graveyard seeding and a well-designed mana curve, you should be able to get a full hand of cards out of your graveyard. Its costed well for Standard constructed, yet is worth trying in Modern.
Tireless Tracker: awesome card. Whenever means many times if this thing remains alive for several turns. Not quite a chase rare, yet a very good one.

Second Harvest: double my tokens? I am game. Great card.
Soul Swallower: is this repeatable? If so, this thing gets big fast with Delirium. Great Timmy card.

Silverfur Partisan: great token generator. In Modern with Snapcaster Mage I can generate double the number of tokens. I like it a lot.
Stoic Builder: limited, yet has its uses. Getting a land out of the graveyard is very good.

Traverse the Ulvenwald: a one drop creature tutor is really good. This card will do very well in Standard, and could even be a chase rare. Remember, you can search for any creature or any land with the Delirium clause.
Ulvenwald Mysteries: great card. I would put in into a discard deck where I can recast a sacrificed creature.

Vessel of Nascency: if you have scryed before, say, in Modern, then activating this card will be really good. Without Scry you have to get lucky. In Standard constructed, this is a must have in decks that need to seed the graveyard for the 'four types of cards' trigger. It should be called 'Vessel of Delirium.'
Ulvenwald Hydra: every set needs a mythic hydra. It will at least be a 6/6 and you only get the extra land once.

Veteran Cathar: guild foreshadow. The double strike cost is a little heavy. Reads solid in Standard constructed.
Weirding Wood: one more mana casting cost than it would have made it playable in Modern, and it will be great in Standard constructed.

Watcher in the Web: limited.

Link to Multicolored, Artifacts, and Lands