The plane of Taramir has reached the end of its time. The struggles of the Waning Age have been forgotten, for the sun has set for the final time, leaving the world in darkness. Fires burn in the Evernight, a land of ash and volcanoes where mortals struggle to survive. And within that darkness also dwell the nightstalkers, many of which are creatures of primal rage and desire. It is not a world to be entered lightly, and the light cannot always be trusted, drawing the unwary as moths to the flame

☼Taramir Block☼
Taramir Block consists of three sets: Taramir, Waning Light, and finally Age of Darkness. All three sets feature the new mechanics Salvage and Decay as well as the returning mechanic Cumulative Upkeep. In addition, Waning Light brought Fateseal into the picture. To this, Age of Darkness adds the return of Vanishing.

Salvage: Salvage is an activated ability that can be activated only when the card with salvage is in its owner's graveyard, when he or she could cast a sorcery. Salvaging a card exiles it and has the listed effects. Taramir introduced Salvage while Waning Light added off-color salvage costs and Salvage spells with effects dissimilar to their initial effect from being cast. Age of Darkness introduces Colorless and Nonmana salvage costs.

Decay: Decay is an ability word that causes one or more depletion counters to be added to the permanent with Decay, and causes it to be sacrificed when too many depletion counters have been accumulated.

~Red Uncommons~
Power is not something red lacks, in nearly any sense. The cards I want to highlight are Walking Volcano -- as a limited terror when not facing LD to keep you off 8 -- The Best Defense and Choking Ash. Choking ash is a bit of an odd card. If you Salvage it, it's basically Raze and Pyroclasm stapled together. If you don't, it's Stone Rain of course. The versatility increased its color weight in a block that pushes LD. The Best Defense is a Wall Tribal enabler, and honestly I wasn't too sure what to do with its mana cost. The effect is stupid potent, but you have to do a lot of subpar things (Playing walls -- though some of the cards in AoD try to make that less bad, most of them are white) to make it even happen. As it stands, I decided not to push it too hard, leaving it at 5... but it's a card that wants to come out after you've built a board anyway.

Fortress Hearthstoker

Creature – Human Wizard [U]
, Sacrifice Fortress Hearthstoker: Add to your mana pool
Salvage : Fortress Hearthstoker deals 3 damage to target creature or player
2/1

Rampaging Nightstalker

Creature – Nightstalker [U]
Haste
Decay – Whenever Rampaging Nightstaker attacks, put a depletion counter on it, then flip a coin for each depletion counter on it. If you lose any of the flips, sacrifice Rampaging Nightstalker.
6/4

Pyroclastic Wall

Creature – Elemental Wall [U]
Defender, Vanishing 4
Whenever Pyroclastic Wall blocks a creature, remove a time counter from it and it deals 2 damage to each other attacking creature.
An excellent defense… until it burns itself out
2/3

Walking Volcano

Creature – Elemental [U]
First Strike
Fragments of the Crumbling Mountains, these elementals of ash, fire, smoke, and stone were the bane of many townships. What few souls survived their attacks learned to fear distant lights in the darkness.
5/4

Burning Gaze

Enchantment [U]
Cumulative Upkeep
Enchanted Creature has Intimidate.
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage to a player, that player gets a focus counters
When Burning Gaze leaves the battlefield, it deals damage equal to the number of age counters on it to each player with a focus counter. Then, all players lose all focus counters.

Choking Ash
:
Sorcery [U]
Destroy target land
Salvage – Sacrifice a land: Choking Ash deals 2 damage to each creature

The Best Defense

Instant [U]
The Best Defense deals X damage to each opponent and each creature you don’t control. X is equal to the number of walls you control.

Fortress Hearthstoker

Creature – Human Wizard [U]
, Sacrifice Fortress Hearthstoker: Add to your mana pool
Salvage : Fortress Hearthstoker deals 3 damage to target creature or player
2/1

Very strong. But costed to match. The first ability is enough to make me want to put this into every red deck I'd make. It fits nicely into red with an effect that red does't get that often and seems like a natural progression from rituals. It might be pushing rare. I want to give it Uncommon and a half.

Rampaging Nightstalker

Creature – Nightstalker [U]
Haste
Decay – Whenever Rampaging Nightstaker attacks, put a depletion counter on it, then flip a coin for each depletion counter on it. If you lose any of the flips, sacrifice Rampaging Nightstalker.
6/4

Well balanced for the effect, unfortunately I just don't like coin flip cards so it doesn't do anything for me. I'm not sure how popular it would as an attacker since the odds of actually hitting with it are only 50/50 at first and then it goes downhill fast. As a blocker it has a high enough toughness without any drawback that it controls combat quite a bit. I would likely only attack with this card if my opponent had an empty board. Maybe consider making it a Wall instead to fit the theme and have it flip a coin to see if it can attack as if it weren't that turn?

Pyroclastic Wall

Creature – Elemental Wall [U]
Defender, Vanishing 4
Whenever Pyroclastic Wall blocks a creature, remove a time counter from it and it deals 2 damage to each other attacking creature.
An excellent defense… until it burns itself out
2/3

This card single handedly wipes out aggro. Not knowing your whole set of course, I would bump this to and drop the toughness by a point. Or go like 0/3 or something.

Walking Volcano

Creature – Elemental [U]
First Strike
Fragments of the Crumbling Mountains, these elementals of ash, fire, smoke, and stone were the bane of many townships. What few souls survived their attacks learned to fear distant lights in the darkness.
5/4

Paying 8 mana for a 5/4 first striker makes me sad. This seems like a good common.

Burning Gaze

Enchantment [U]
Cumulative Upkeep
Enchanted Creature has Intimidate.
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage to a player, that player gets a focus counters
When Burning Gaze leaves the battlefield, it deals damage equal to the number of age counters on it to each player with a focus counter. Then, all players lose all focus counters.

Interesting. I like the play with additional opponents. Creates some interesting political moments. I think the cost could possibly be dropped by since its an uncommon. If it wasn't so necessarily wordy I would say it could have been a common as well.

Choking Ash

Sorcery [U]
Destroy target land
Salvage – Sacrifice a land: Choking Ash deals 2 damage to each creature

So good. I'm not sure if its too good or not for uncommon, but this would be a first pick if I was red hands down.

The Best Defense

Instant [U]
The Best Defense deals X damage to each opponent and each creature you don’t control. X is equal to the number of walls you control.

Seems well costed and well effect...ed...for what it is supposed to do. I would only play it if I had lots of walls so it would likely get passed around a lot.