Here are the images for the Alternate Art Foil Planeswalkers (TM):
Yeah, what's with Elspeth's art? Yuck! I have no idea how that got past the art director. Jarvis, man, quit sleeping on the job! Tezzie's not so bad. It's not worthy of an alt-art foil planeswalker per se, but at least it's better than the original Tezzeret art.
Elspeth wouldn't be so bad, but the billowing cloak/tunic/whatever it is is just.... what the fuck? I have no idea how to read this picture. It just makes no sense compositionally. Disappointing.
You know what's NOT disappointing though? THESE:
Also making an appearance with gorgeous upgraded art:
Yeah, that's beautiful, but WTF Wizards? You just obsoleted this thing with Honor the Pure, currently in M11 and M10 before it... And despite HtP being about 10x better than this, IT doesn't even see play. Why would people want this? Yeah, I guess in Casual White Weenie, 4x Crusade and 4x Honor is pretty good, but still. A waste of a rare slot, but the fuck-win art kinda makes up for it.
... 2x alt art Swords to Plowshares really makes up for it though.
Oh, and Tezzeret gets this:
Pretty sweet, no? Not as hot as the StP and there's only 1 of 'em, but still, thanks WotC!
Anyway, let's get to the decklists shall we?
Elspeth's list:
1 Angel of Salvation
1 Burrenton Bombardier
1 Catapult Master
1 Celestial Crusader
1 Conclave Equenaut
1 Conclave Phalanx
2 Elite Vanguard
1 Glory Seeker
1 Goldmeadow Harrier
1 Infantry Veteran
1 Kemba's Skyguard
1 Kor Aeronaut
1 Kor Hookmaster
2 Kor Skyfisher
1 Loyal Sentry
1 Mosquito Guard
1 Seasoned Marshal
1 Stormfront Riders
1 Temple Acolyte
1 Abolish
1 Blinding Beam
1 Crusade
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Mighty Leap
2 Raise the Alarm
1 Razor Barrier
1 Saltblast
1 Sunlance
1 Swell of Courage
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Daru Encampment
1 Kabira Crossroads
22 Plains
1 Rustic Clachan
Tezzeret's list:
1 Arcbound Worker
1 Assembly-Worker
1 Clockwork Condor
1 Clockwork Hydra
1 Esperzoa
1 Faerie Mechanist
1 Frogmite
1 Juggernaut
1 Master of Etherium
1 Pentavus
1 Qumulox
1 Razormane Masticore
2 Runed Servitor
1 Serrated Biskelion
1 Silver Myr
1 Steel Overseer
1 Steel Wall
1 Synod Centurion
1 Trinket Mage
1 Triskelion
1 Æther Spellbomb
1 Argivian Restoration
1 Contagion Clasp
1 Echoing Truth
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Energy Chamber
2 Everflowing Chalice
1 Foil
1 Moonglove Extract
2 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Thoughtcast
1 Trip Noose
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Darksteel Citadel
20 Island
1 Mishra's Factory
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Stalking Stones
Okay, so these lists are pretty dreadful... they might be fun if played strictly as intended - against each other, but these decks don't look to me like they'd even stand up to other similar products, such as the Archenemy or Planechase decks. The rares seem pretty week, but that might be due to the inclusion of the Planeswalkers themselves. Seems like a lame reason, but so it goes.
Fortunately, the foil Planeswalkers... well, okay the Elspeth... will be enough of a draw to move some units, and the alt art StP and Factory will definitely push these over the edge. There are some interesting cards besides those, though.
For instance, Tezzeret's deck comes with and Argivian Restoration. I'm sure this card isn't worth much, but it's interesting to me because I've never even seen it before! Foil is another older card most players won't already have (but I do, so "meh").
Aside from Swords, Elspeth has an Abolish, which is "meh" to me again, but most folks playing today probably weren't around for the (god-awful) set Prophecy, so it might be a good EDH or casual pull for others. The aformentioned Crusade, while not high-dollar by any stretch isn't exactly easy to find either, so a few folks might be just thrilled to have one. Temple Acolyte is a neat little card, a 1/3 makes a great early game blocker, and the 3 life bonus is nice too, but what makes me happy is the 2 mana cost. That's pretty good for such an old card. He'd have been a great lead-in to Loxodon Heirarch when Gruul and Zoo were running roughshod all over Standard. Okay, so he's still not great, but I've seen FAR worse at 1W...
The one rare I'm kinda stoked about is Catapult Master. This was another guy I had to look up because I'd somehow never even seen him before. He seems pretty good in this or any dedicated Soldier deck. I mean, he's a 3/3 for 5 mana and you have to tap FIVE guys to activate, but still... he does bait you into overextending right into your opponents Wrath effect, but if you're playing against the Tezz deck, no worries there.
As for the decks themselves... shit. I don't even think I'd wanna play them against each other, as is. So when these things drop, expect a post where I tinker with and update them and, maybe play a few games to see how the run with a little bit of help.
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