Day 6: Skittles! *with artifacts and land in every bag!

Ahn-Crop Champion - 0.5
If exert.deck becomes a thing in the future, this guy will be an imprortant part of it. Only 2 Always Watchings means you'll need other ways to keep your exerters untapped so they don't completely suck. Outside that deck, he's competing with Heron's Grace Champion for a spot in the other deck that might want him, and he's not the Champion who will win that battle.

Aven Wing Guide - 1.25
Not every token deck needs to give their tokens flying and vigilance. Some will, and this is a nice way to finish the game quickly, letting your army fly over head while remaining upright to block on the backswing. Embalm makes it better than it otherwise would be, as it can chill in GY until you're ready to embalm it back for a lethal strike.

Bounty of the Luxa - 0.75
I can't even this card. Just don't know what to make of it until I can play with it. Both of its effects are things you'd like to have, but the whole alternating turns thing makes it difficult to predict how good it will be in practice. I could see it simply being too schizophrenic to see serious play, or getting broken in a Simic/Temur rampy-something build. I'm down to party with 4CMC do nothing enchantments if I understand what I'm getting into, but that's not the case with this.

Decimator Beetle - 0.5
I think the BG -/- counters wants to be faster than this guy. Good ability for what that deck is doing, but a 4/5 for 5 is very underwhelming - especially considering the stats for CMC you're getting with other options in that build. If it was 4 mana I'd give it more consideration. He could feel a little better if the next set gives us cards to make a more midrange version where Nest of Scarabs really shines.

Enigma Drake - 1.75
Izzet spells has a new toy to play with! 4 on the butt is nice for dodging burn spells, and helps block Copters/Harvesters. One thing I worry about is actually being able to attack with it - it'll be in creature light decks so opps probably chilling on removal when this drops. Maybe best in versions with counterspells to back it up on cast. Really dig that art tho, even if it ends up being meh.

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - 1.5
Deathtouch snake generating ability is pretty sick for a -/- counters deck. You're not triggering her damage ability more than once in a blue moon tho. I think she's ok for the aggro version of the deck, but prob better if a midrange version appears.

Honored Crop-Champion - 3.0
This is a great card for aggressive Boros decks (or Naya, if you can work out the mana). Human subtype is extra good. This card is going straight in to some decks that are already pretty decent.

Khenra Charioteer - 3.0
Gruul beatdown is about to get real. I think this card even slots in to Gruul/Jund energy decks. How would you like it if your 8/8 cubs had trample? Zendikar Incarnate is pissed we didn't have this back when people still played with him.

Merciless Javelineer - 0.25
A 4 mana card that dies to shock better pack a pretty boss ability to compensate. Paying and a discard to put a -1/-1 counter on a creature and make it unable to block for a turn isn't going to cut it. If did the same thing without mana cost involved, maybe we could talk about hellbent/madness fits - but as is, not really. She's kinda hot tho.

Neheb, the Worthy - 1.5
One of the rare lords that doesn't need to be in a tribal deck to be playable, since his buff hits him too. Really only has one type of deck that wants him tho. Not sure he makes the cut in it, but worth testing out.

Nissa, Steward of Elements - 5.0
Every deck with Simic colors will have to think of reasons not to run her. Conviently costed in a set that gives Simic a bunch of ramp. You will see her come down and toss 10 damage in the air at your face at least once. Her other abilities are dirty together, and Planeswalkers that +2 are a pain.

Samut, Voice of Dissent - 4.0
Holy keywords, Batman! Flash, Haste, Vigilance, Doublestrike, give your other creatures haste, pay to untap another dood - this girl is bananas! So much utility packed into 1 card. If there's a deck running green and red and it has creatures in it, there's a good chance you'll see her there.

Shadowstorm Vizier - 1.0
I'm not super high on this card, but at worst you get a 1/3 flyer for 2 mana. As a mechanic twist on Stormchaser Mage, she really needs another keyword like flash or menace or something. She doesn't go into a lot of decks, but being a cheap creature that synergizes with a set mechanic, she'll likely see some play. I just don't know if the decks that could pump her hardest even want her in the end. She'll get tested, we'll see if she sticks at all. I imagine if she does, it'll be as a support piece and not a driver of decks built around her ability.

Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun - 1.5
I'm excited to play with this guy, but he's very narrow in the decks he can go in. If you're in those decks, giving one of your token creatures +1 buff and unblockable is pretty nice. You'll want to have some meatier token creatures than just 1/1s tho. Having embalm attached is helpful.

Wayward Servant - 2.0
This dood is a big reason why we're talking about Orzhov Zombies (and some talk of Esper) instead of Dimir Zombies. Kalastria Healer is the only reason we saw allies around past Origins season, and zombies are already better than allies ever where.

Weaver of Currents - 2.0
Simic rrramp y'all. Not helping you with colors at all, but 2 colorless a pop and potential for untap effect abuse makes her a real driver for ramp decks. Maybe we need a 1CMC mana dork more than we needed this, but this'll do fine in its own right.

Start // Finish - 0.5
So an Oath of Gideon without the Planeswalker buff (aka an overpriced Dragon Fodder, and no, the vigilance doesn't change that), with an even more overpriced Bone Splinters attached for aftermath. If they weren't bundled into one card slot, you'd never ever play these. Since they are, maybe you'll want to work it in somewhere. Or not.

Reduce // Rubble - 0.75
A Calculated Dismissal without spellmastery with a quasi-DeepFiend-ultralight tacked on as aftermath. Sucks you have to wait for opp to tap the lands first, but at least that's the gravy side. Just not sure that gravy tastes good enough to make the main course more palatable when Spell Shrivels around for decks that might want it. I guess part of the upside is if opp can tap 3 to pay the cost and get their spell through, you can take those land away for their next turn and hope they don't simply have enough mana to do what they want to anyways.

Destined // Lead - 0.75
As the norm with most of these, you're paying a bit more for each effect in exchange for 2 spells in 1 card slot. Lure effect can help you get in a lethal attack, so it's not complete garbage. So long as it's our only lure effect, it could see some play.

Onward // Victory - 0.5
If both sides were instant speed, this would be way better. Opps just going to chump that telegraphed double striker all day tho. Effects aren't terrible to cast on an evasive creature, but costs are a bit pricey. Doesn't scream PLAY ME to me.

Spring // Mind - 0.75
This wants to go in a ramp deck to ramp early and draw gas late. When you have Rishkar's, big Nissa's emblem, little Nissa's ultimate, flip Nissa's +1, Tracker clues, and Kozy for draw that all have a reasonable chance of being in your deck list anyways, I'm not sure you bother making room for this in place of better ramp spells. Not bad, just not sure it'll be wanted.

Prepare // Fight - 1.0
Potentially 2 removal spells packed into one card. That potential has a lot of context dependencies, so idk how many decks make room for it. But I think the allure of a 2 for 1 is strong enough that some will.

Rags // Riches - 0.15
Maaaybe if the aftermath side let YOU pick the creature it'd be playable. I ain't tryna pay 7 mana so you can give me a servo tho.

Cut // Ribbons - 2.75
Now we're talking. Sorcery speed sucks, but 4 damage kills a lot of things and 2 mana is a fine deal. The aftermath side is inevitablity just chilling in your graveyard playing mind games with your opponent. Yes please.

Heaven // Earth - 2.75
Two in a row, here we go. Ramp has a legit answer to one of their biggest weaknesses. Instant speed to make sure you hit those pesky flying vehicles. Heaven is a tastey enough slab of meat on its own you don't even need the gravy aftermath side - but Gruul ramp will happily cast it lower to sweep the clutter in front of their beaters, and Temur creatureless (Geistramp/turbofog type stuff) will happily cast maximum to wrath. Maybe you even toss one into Grixis reanimator engine decks just for the aftermath side (prob not, but the possibilities tho).

Luxa River Shrine - 0.15
I guess if you REALLY want to gain some life of a 3 mana non-creature permanent and aren't running green for Retreat to Kazandu, then MAYBE you want this? You really don't tho.

Oracle's Vault - 0.75
I want to like this, but it costs 4 mana and at it'll take a few more turns before you're casting your top card for free off it. In the mean time you better have built low to the ground if you want to cast off the , but if you built low to the ground why are you using this in the 4 spot? Someone might figure out a way to make it good in some deck (something with untap effects so you can start jamming out spells asap and several per turn) so I'm not giving it a complete trash rating. It's just not a deck I'm interested in investing time to build.

Pyramid of the Pantheon - 0.5
The bottom side reminds me of the good old days playing with Urza's lands. It's a card I think a lot of people will try to make work. I just don't think it will. If it mana prismed for I'd be all over it, but setting yourself back a land for 3 turns while you brick it up doesn't sound great, and there are more efficient ways to ramp.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh - 1.0
I'll be trying to make this work in some decks. It helps that it's cheap to cast and it's reach in a deck where you're tapping a lot anyways (crewing vehicles, attacking, generating mana, entering play tapped, etc). In the end I'm not sure it'll be good enough. Would be a lot better if it checked at the end of opps turn instead, but then It'd prob just be broken.

Watchers of the Dead - 0.15
I guess maybe if you're building a cat.deck and looking for a colorless bear option, or maybe if you're the type of sadist who wants to pull off the exile + Memory combo in a mill deck, then this is a card you'll use. Otherwise it doesn't even do it's one job that competently. Only "worth" it vs embalm.deck, and they're keeping their best 2 anyways. You're certainly not hitting Scroungers or the most bothersome aftermaths.

Cradle of the Accursed - 0.5
Maybe you want to try this in a zombie deck to convert extra lands into zombies late in the game, but you can only spare so much room for colorless lands and Westvale Abbey is a thing that exists, and wants to eat zombies to become a game ending demon. Should run that instead, frankly. But if you do a mono black version, maybe you have room for both, idk.

Grasping Dunes - 0.5
A cheap source for a -/- counter that you can tap for mana until you have the right pieces out to profit from it. Not bad, but not super exciting either. If running in a deck with Hapatra, you'll have a similar problem as with Cradle, where colorless land spots in your mana base should go to Abbey instead.

Sunscorched Sands - 0.15
OMG EWE GUISE, THIS CARD + KEFNET WILL BREAK THE FORMAT


Top 5 Multicolored/Artifacts/Lands

1) Nissa, Steward of Elements
2) Samut, Voice of Dissent
3) Khenra Charioteer
4) Honored Crop-Champion
5) Rags // Riches / Heaven // Earth

@Psychatog - Sorry for dropping this before your OP update! Not my fault tho; Samut has flash and haste. (also was home all day with a sick kid and wanted something to do)

I will be that sadist. At least going to try it a few times.

I have to admit while we have a similar view on several cards in the set a few things from all of your color reviews really bug me.
1. Decimals in a 5 point scale.
2. You spell though as "tho" and use it a lot. It's like I'm opening a Vietnamese restaurant menu over and over. It's ridiculous I could ever complain about someone's else's spelling but there it is.

Good job overall, have a

This card's more than a 0 in my book. Double combat trick and exert enabler. Should at least be a 1. It is maybe a bit expensive to cast for what it does but it could potentially blow up opponent's board early game, and let's you keep your attacking fatties on defense as well in the late game.

In my book the card is a 1 at best. It's a very situational and expensive combat trick that very few decks (if any) actively want to run. I get the synergy with Exert, but a) Green doesn't have many great Exert creatures and b) there are lots of better enablers (Always Watching, Samut, Djeru's Resolve), if you even need to run them.

Solid Limited playables often get the shaft for Constructed, as you need either an insane Power Level or a bunch of synergies to considering a card here, and I don't see that apply to the card.

Yeah, I stand by that call. If my review included Limited - you know, like if we had it - it'd totally get a 1, maybe 1.5. But #1 I don't think much if any exert is Constructed quality, and #2, combat tricks in Constructed have to be amazing, like Electrostatic Pummeler abuse or something to get played. Invigorated Rampage gives Trample and can end games. In order for this to be good you have to
1) Be hitting two creatures. No excuses. If you're only hitting one, Blossoming Defense is strictly better.
2) Most likely, the untap also needs to be relevant for one or both targets. Elsewise you could have Wildsized and drawn a card.
3) Avoid a situation you otherwise would have traded in, or use it to cause size-based removal to fail in order to maintain card parity.
4) Be light on Forests, otherwise Primal Bellow is cheaper and better.

And I could make two or three more points, but we're past the point of where it matters; if a card needs this many conditions to be good, it's not good. The dream is to play this card, get two surprise blockers who both block and kill without trading, and then yes, you've found the one situation where playing this is better than other options. Anything less and you would almost certainly have done better with a different card.

Thank you for the cookie, nom.

Decimals were a joke mostly, partly a reference to how much they'd sell for (i.e. $0.15). But also convieniently let me distinguish between a really bad card I'd never play with and a pretty bad card I might use for some deckbuilding challenge.

I shorthand some words (tho, prob, def, yadda-yadda - drop unnecessary pronouns etc) because I'm usually typing on my phone. I'm longwinded enough, and saves some time.

List for colorless, artifacts and land is up on the OP! Enjoy!

-- My review will go here, someday --

Day 6 : Multicolor, Colorless & Land

Multicolor

Ahn-Crop Champion: 2.0 4/4 for 4 with an all-upside ability for Exert. Also pretty much mass Vigilance unless your opponent Madnesses out Murderous Compulsion or something. That being said, this format is like the FTK format of old; 5 toughness is the magic number for avoiding all the really efficient removals. I might be underrating this but I don't see Exert as constructed quality. I may eat those words.

Aven Wind Guide: 1.5 The effect is really, really powerful - if only for tokens - and you probably get it twice. I'm giving it 1.5 though because at some point you are going to be swinging - possibly for the win - and your opponent will Murder this gal or something and then eat all your now-not-flying tokens, since you won't be able to Embalm until after combat, and your easy win just got turned into a wrong-sided Wrath. Value goes up if you're backing her up with Dispel or something.

Bounty of the Luxa: 2.5 Alternating draw and ramp, which is great for ramp. Yeah, the ramp's not 100% consistent but the card draw helps keep the threats coming. Depending on the deck you're building, this will draw removal like mad and might serve as a sacrifice before playing another art/enchant that you really want to stick.

Decimator Beetle: 0.5 4/5 for 5, no keywords, and it very slowly moves counters from one side to other. Might be a curve topper in the Nest deck, or there might not be room for it. Not exciting.

Enigma Drake: 2.0 The ups; 4 toughness flier for 3, blocks roflcopters. Potentially very strong. If this gets to 2/4 you're slightly above the curve, any higher and you're in value town. Downside is that the bigger this gets, the less critters you're running, which means the more opposing removal can be aimed at it. Lacks the magic 5 toughness so pack counters if you want to keep this alive.

Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons: 1.0 It's almost. The first ability is saboteur with no evasion, so if it's getting through, it's probably because your opponent has no critters to put the counters on. The second ability is much more fruitful in the right deck. If we'd gotten Soul-Scar Mage we'd be fist pumping. Still, nifty in the right deck, useless elsewhere.

Honored Crop-Champion: 2.5 Unconditional 3/2 for 2 with an upside, this guy is just dumb. In exchange though, he dies to everything. Push, Grasp, Shock, you name it. Great play if you're trying to draw removal so your opponent doesn't have it for your T3/4 plays.

Khenra Charioteer: 3.0 Like this guy here. Also big and dumb. Now this is the kind of guy Synchronized Strike might actually want. There's going to be a very dumb Naya deck with this guy, the one above, and Samut. At least this one isn't Human.

Merciless Javelineer: 0 Slightly expensive as a Madness outlet, but good for fake-Hellbent, sadly in the wrong colour for the Nest deck. Tiny backside for four mana. He's just a day late and a dollar short everywhere you look.

Neheb, the Worthy: 1.5 He's a 2/2 or 4/2 First Striker depending on your hand size. His interesting effect is the spectre effect. There might be a B/R hand disruption deck of some sort he'll get annoying in. Lots of abilities for his cost, just needs a home. So, uh, I guess I just described a homeless puppy?

Nissa, Steward of Elements: 5
1) She's X. She's good any turn after two. Good early, good mid, good late. That's awesome.
2) She has a +2. That means she has inherent synergy with Heart of Kiran as she can either power it each of your turns and grow, or steadily power it on both turns.
3) If Oath of Jace has taught me anything, it's that scry 1 every turn is a massive increase in card quality. Consistent scry 2 is even better.
4) Her 0 ability is borderline busted; you're getting free stuff, possibly up to very high CMCs. I mean you can play her turn 3 for 1-2 (depending on if you Druid'd turn 2), +2 her a few turns, and get a free GR turn 6. If you Druid'd her out, you might also play your OTHER GR turn 6, which is probably game if your opponent's turn 5 was tapping out for Planar Outburst. Yes, that's on the MCL side of things, but there's quite a number of back-breaking plays she can make.
5) Getting her late means you can possibly ult her immediately for 10 hasty damage.
6) She's really annoying to take out with damage given that she's got a +2 that improves draw quality and can defend herself for 0.
7) She by default means you have the option of backing her up with counters to stop non-damage ways of killing her.
8) She can also thin lands out of your deck in a pinch, not just with scry, but has the option of using them to ramp you.
9) Adding shuffles like Evolving Wilds gives you even more control over your draws.
10) Creatures put into play via her 0 ability can't be countered.

This isn't including the silliness I mentioned in the other review when you start futzing around with Gift of Paradise tricks.

Onward // Victory 1.0 // 1.0 This is getting a point just for being in the same set as Samut. Onward also likes Plated Crusher. As does Victory. I have to give this a point because they're going to kill me, and I probably won't see Onward coming.

Reduce // Rubble 1.0 // 0.5 I would double the rating of this card if they'd been in the other order. As such, we get almost Mana Leak and a one turn tempo boost. Not sure who wants that, but there it is.

Samut, Voice of Dissent 4.0 Would be higher, but doesn't have the magic five toughness or any other removal protection beyond flashing her out with a tapped out opponent. Which you were probably going to do anyhow. Safe, serious players need to assume any opponent with open may have her in hand and play accordingly. I'd be interested in hearing about the Future Future League's experiences with her.

Shadowstorm Vizier 0.5 Honestly forgot this existed. I mean I guess if you have a UB Drake Haven deck, go HAM. I'd rather have Shadowmage Infiltrator.

Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun: 1.0 I don't think there's any words in this name my kid can pronounce. That aside, I'd feel better about this if we had access to Populate, but we don't. Has the drawback of being in Whirler Rogue colour, meaning you could be giving unblockable to any creature and getting two 1/1 fliers for two more mana. I'll probably try him/her but I expect disappointment.

Wayward Servant: 2.0 Normally a card that only goes in one archetype doesn't hit 2.0, but this one needs to be answered quickly or it starts making the game lopsided when the tokens start happening.

Weaver of Currents 1.5 Currently the best T3 ramp in our format. Her value starts dwindling once that stops being true but I've mentioned her a few times already so far as silly plays she enables. Wish she were 1/3 or 0/4, but I'll take her at 2/2.

Colorless

Luxa River Shrine: 0 Really slow life gain and we don't have Felidar Sovereign. Nopetastic!

Oketra's Monument: 2.0 Just enough useful W guys that do have a generic in their mana cost for this to matter, and the free tokens are never going to be bad and can be winners if built around. Hard part is taking turn 3 off but midrange can do that.

Oracle's Vault: 0.5 Compare to Tamiyo's Journal, where you can find the card you want and should have the mana to cast it fairly anyhow. Slightly outpaces Brain in a Jar in regards to very expensive spells. Aside from the Camel or Skyship Plunderer, this just seems like a slower version of better cards. Nothing helps until it gets that first counter though so this will never be online earlier than T5 if you ramp it out, 6 elsewise. Even then, you're reliant on the top card being useful.

Pyramid of the Pantheon 1.0 Build-your-own Gilded Lotus. Gets a point because someone will use it to ramp and kill me creatively with something. Note that this also does a nice job fixing mana.

Throne of the God-Pharaoh 1.0 Merchant's Dockhand new buddy. This thing is a combo piece waiting to happen. If it's not good now it will be later.

Watchers of the Dead 0 I don't buy into the combo hype with this card and it has nothing else going for it outside Cat tribal.

Land

Cradle of the Accursed: 0.5 It's not completely useless, but weakening your mana base for a single token in a deck already likely to want Wilds, Hub, or Westvale, and you can't make instant blockers like Foundry. You have to REALLY want that token for this to be good.

Grasping Dunes: 0.5 Very fairly priced and later in the game you won't miss the land. Sure, you can't use it to mess up combat maths as an instant, but hey, it's still a cheap counter. Funny with Skyship Plunderer who likes this set in general.

Sunscorched Desert: 0.5 I could see mono-R burn bringing these. Man in the old days we'd have loved this for getting around CoP: Red.

ETA: Sorry about original post I had to finish it in a rush, RL called. Fixed several errors.

Set T5:
1. Never // Return - finally, well-priced and versatile PW removal.
2. Gideon of the Trials - Part of why Never is #1.
3. Nissa, Steward of Elements - Her flavour of nuttiness is huge but not as soul-crushing as Gideon.
4. Rhonas the Indomitable - The pain train is easy to board and somewhat hard to stop.
5. Samut, Voice of Dissent - This card is capable of setting up amazing blowouts, narrowly beating out Pull from Tomorrow's power.

Fixed error-ridden prior post and finished with T5 for set.

no one read it anyway





....ok, i like your top 5

You'll be alright tho

While I think this will be a fun Nissa card to play with I think ya'll are rating the card on power instead of how often we will see it.
5.0: Format Staple (cards that define the metagame)
4.0: Good in multiple archetypes
3.0: Archetype Staple (cards that define a deck)

This Nissa wants to be in a very specific deck, creature heavy aggro or creature heavy ramp. It could be argued control decks want her but I am doubtful there. I do not think she will be so good she becomes the metagame or roflcopter widespread. I could see a 4 maybe because of 2 archtypes want her but I think she is a 3. Amazing in her deck but that's it.

I don't recall ever saying I was using Fel's definitions. That I was using half-points (which he never does) should give that one away.

was this not the point of the thread, Fel cant do his review so we are pitching in using his rating system?

I think the point of the thread is to help Barney sleep and it's been a riveting success on that front

Well, considering absolutely everyone used their own rating system, I'm going to go with no, no that was not the point. Everyone who reviewed did it differently; two different decimal systems and a like/like a lot.

Yeah I didn't take this as a let's do Fel for Fel since Fel's computer won't let Fel do Fel. I took this as a generic 'let's share our speculative opinions on the new cards for fun!' type of thing, and I chose to use more of a raw power and personal taste rating system rather than one that prioritizes ratings based on archetype diversity. Mine cares more about which cards I personally was excited about or thought I'd like to try in some deck or another. You FEL me? sorry about that last one, ill go back to my corner now