White
Protector of the Crown
This
one is definitely on the margins of playability. I think if you’re running a
highly political, monarch-themed deck (like Queen Marchesa), you’d grudgingly
run this and occasionally be pleasantly surprised. A lot of the time, though,
it’s probably just going to be a one-shot effect, as getting through for 5
isn’t exactly a tall order in EDH. Combining this with other effects, like say,
Darksteel Plate and/or a bunch of Ghostly Prison-type effects makes it somewhat
more palatable. So, basically, niche-playable, but not exciting.
Recruiter of the Guard
On the
other hand, we have this guy. A pseudo-reprint of Imperial Recruiter,
color-shifted to White. This has instant staple written all over it, despite
EDH being known as the format for huge creatures, there are still a vast array
of utility creatures that this can tutor out for us. Some of my favorite
targets for Recruiter so far include: Academy Rector, Stoneforge Mystic, Ranger
of Eos, Eternal Witness, Spitebellows, Kiki-Jiki… the list goes on. Absolutely
a fantastic card for our format. Love it!
Sanctum Prelate
This
one is a bit mean, but for those of you who like to play a little dirty, this
should be a treat. I’m definitely looking to acquire one for my GAAIV deck, as
it’s one of my meaner decks already. I can also see running this in mono-White
just as protection against Wrath/Damnation effects. But lately, sweepers have
gotten more diverse in the CMCs, so it’s always going to be a challenge as to
whether you should choose 4, 5 or 6. I’m also sort of in love with the idea of
targeting this with a kicked Rite of Replication… anyway, certain to see some
play in EDH, but mostly among the more cutthroat groups (hopefully).
Custodi Soulcaller
I can
see this getting a bit of play in Alesha decks, and White Weenie decks, but
overall I don’t think it’s going to be that good. Too many factors have to go
right for this to do its thing and live to do it again.
Palace Jailer
I’m
pretty certain this card is just terrible and you should be running, if anything,
Oblivion Ring or Journey to Nowhere over this. Or Fiend Hunter. They don’t even
have to kill this guy to get their guy back. Just hit you and take the crown
from you. In fact, ANYONE can attack you and that person gets their guy back.
Now, this does create some interesting political situations, in theory at
least: you have the Monarchy, and have used the Jailer to take someone’s Very
Scary Threat. Obviously the person who controlled that threat wants to hit you,
as they would both get the Monarchy and get their guy back… but if the other
two opponents are equally afraid of that Very Scary Threat, they might be
dissuaded from attacking you, lest they give your mutual enemy that threat
back. They might even pitch in some removal to stop the threat’s controller
from attacking you! That’s a very cool scenario, and if I thought the Jailer
would actually play out like that very often, I’d like it. But usually it’s
just going to do close to nothing, I believe.
Spectral Grasp
Cool
variant on Pacifism for multiplayer. I like it, but don’t see it getting a ton
of play.
Blue
Expropriate
Holy
crap! I’m usually not a huge fan of these types of cards (I’m much cooler on
Blatant Thievery than most, and I detest most extra turns spells). But this is
just a fantastic design. It seems pretty likely to win the game if it resolves,
or at least put the caster VERY far ahead. The best thing about it is, unlike
most Time Warp effects, this one is all but guaranteed to give the caster
something meaningful to do, eliminating the whole desperation Time Warp where
one player spends like half an hour taking two or more turns, but at the end of
it all, nothing much actually gets done. In short, extra turns usually lead to
boring games, rather than just ending them… this one, however, is unlikely to
be boring, and quite likely to end games, or at least move things toward an
outcome very quickly. I also like that it exiles itself, as many extra turn
spells do these days. Keeps abuse to a minimum. Props to the designer of this
card for making me love a card I’d usually hate.
Keeper of the Keys
This is
probably slightly better than its
White counterpart, Protector of the Throne. It certainly seems very fitting
for, say, and Edric deck, which both stands to capitalize on the unblockable
aspect, and likely has the tools to protect itself from losing the monarch
effect. But, like Protector, it’s still pretty niche. Gets a lot better if you
can Flash it in EOT to sneakily steal someone’s Monarch trigger, and guarantee
you get that unblockable bonus.
Stunt Double
It’s
amazing how much WotC loves to rub Clone’s nose in its own obsolescence. It’s
also amazing how such a minor thing like just adding “Flash” to a Clone improve
it. This is still a far cry from the likes of Rite of Replication, Phyrexian
Metamorph and Clever Impersonator, but it’s still one of the best Clone
variants they’ve printed in a while. I don’t expect to see it reach the
universal ubiquity of those previously mentioned cards, but it’s a fantastic
card to have access to nonetheless. Again, a sure-thing for many Edric decks at
the very least.
Coveted Peacock
Neat
card, but I don’t think it’s quite up to par with most EDH playables. That
said, I’m giving it a try in my Edric deck, as Goad seems like a mechanic that
deck wants to experiment with.
Black
Custodi Lich
I
really want to like this card but in any deck besides a Monarchy-themed one, I
feel like I’d just rather have Fleshbag Marauder, Barter in Blood or one of the
many variations thereof 90% of the time. That said, it’s second line of text
makes it really hard to evaluate, because Monarchy is too new of a mechanic to
really judge how often the crown will be changing hands in the average game. In
games where you are losing and retaking the crown quite frequently, this guy
might actually be a real powerhouse.
Capital Punishment
I
really feel like whoever designed this card was making some sort of commentary
on the state of the 2016 election, but whatever. This feels like it might be a
bit underwhelming for a six-mana spell, but I think it warrants trying out at
least. Could be better than expected. Overall it feels a bit too situational to
really be good, and discard isn’t usually all that good in EDH, but I have had
Unnerve and Syphon Mind pan out alright for me. I’ll probably squeeze this into
a deck or two just to test drive it, but I really don’t feel comfortable giving
a concrete appraisal of this one until I’ve actually seen it in action.
Deadly Designs
Anybody
remember Soul Snare, from the 2011 Commander decks? No? That’s because it was a
huge dud. It seemed like it should be a good card for multiplayer, a more
political version of Swords to Plowshares. But in practice, it was just a bad
card. Deadly Designs seems like an even worse version of Soul Snare. I see what
it’s trying to do, I just don’t think it’s going to work out that way.
Marchesa’s Decree
Not
nearly as good as, say, Ghostly Prison or No Mercy at discouraging your
opponents from swinging at you. But when you combine it will multiple such effects,
it gets a little better. Again, I don’t see this getting a ton of play outside
of dedicated Monarchy decks, but it’s possible any Pillow Fort style deck
that’s in Black will pick this up.
Red
Skyline Despot
A lot
of EDH players seem to be relatively unimpressed by this Dragon, but I’m a
pretty big fan. I don’t see it being a huge staple or anything, but it still
seems really solid to me. It’s a dragon, and it occasionally makes more dragons
and/or draws you cards. Nothing mind-blowing but seems all upside to me. For
sure going into my Maelstrom Wanderer (dragon tribal) deck, and my
work-in-progress Queen Marchesa deck. Beyond that I’d consider it for Feldon
(seems like a slightly better option than the currently-underperforming
Sandstone Oracle), maybe Marath (fits the theme of making and then populating
large tokens, has great synergy with Kiki-Jiki), but it’s not a lock for either
of those.
Subterranean Tremors
I still
haven’t figured out which, if any, of my decks wants to run this, but I
absolutely have to find at least one deck to slot it into. I absolutely love
this card. It’s not really a GREAT card, but it’s hilarious, has great flavor,
and occasionally can be a legit bomb. There are a couple of white
weenie/equipment decks in my meta that I can’t wait to blow out with this.
Besmirch
One-shot
Threaten effects usually aren’t all that great in EDH, but the Goad ability
might just elevate this to playable status. It certainly seems amusing and fun
to play, at the very least. Very cool attempts at designing a Threaten for
multiplayer, and I imagine it’ll see some play, but not sure how much it’ll
take off in EDH… 20-life multiplayer formats will probably like it more.
Grenzo’s Ruffians
I
really like the Melee mechanic, the problem with its execution is that it was
balanced for games where everyone’s life total is 20. Therefore, the small
handful of melee cards we got mostly don’t scale well for EDH’s 40-life rule.
Ruffians is a cool card, and I believe it’s the first time we’ve seen that
ability since Hydra Omnivore. I think it’ll get played more on coolness factor
or tribal synergies than raw power level, but that’s still getting played.
Green
Regal Behemoth
Probably
the most playable member of its cycle, the ability double your mana is great.
On the other hand, this might provide your opponents with a VERY compelling reason to rob you of the
monarch status as quickly as possible. But, then again, having a 6/6 Trampler
might enable you to get it back fairly easily. All in all, I’m a fan and I
think many people will play this, but in some decks it might not pan out as
well as in others.
Selvala’s Stampede
Tooth
and Nail hooked up with See the Unwritten, they had a baby, and it grew up into
this. I’m already running several copies of T&N and StU in my decks, this
is probably going to be nearly as popular. Best thing is, it’s a good budget
alternative for folks that don’t have Tooth and Nails lying around. It’s not as
consistent as Tooth, but that’s a good thing. It’s still absurdly powerful, but
a bit more random and conditional. Still the decks that want this aren’t going
to have a lot of trouble setting up the necessary conditions. I’m going to need
a few more copies of this, for sure.
Splitting Slime
Cool
card, fun design, but not super powerful. But I don’t think many players will
find this all that impressive. You kind of need Gaea’s Cradle-levels of mana
for this to really be good, but if you have that kind of mana, there are
probably better things to do with it. Still, adding Doubling Season to the mix
and it can get really out of hand quickly. Could potentially fuel a big
Shamanic Revelantion as well. Yeah, I might try to find a slot for this in my
Marath deck, actually. Not sure it’ll wind up being an all-star, but it has
potential. Honestly I’m pretty sure the vast majority of EDH players will find
this to be too janky, but I’ll be quite happy if it finds one or two decks in
which it can shine.
Domesticated Hydra
Cute,
but probably not very good. Basically doesn’t do anything besides get big and
swing.
Fang of the Pack
I
really like this card, I’m just not at all convinced I should… It’s just way
too weak for a six-drop, but I’d love to be proven wrong. Probably gets played
in werewolf/wolf decks, but not much else. Should have been a 4/4 for five or
something like that.
Multicolor
Kaya, Ghost Assasin
I’m not
really over the moon for this ‘walker, but she’s certainly cool enough. Of
course any deck like Karlov or Oloro that cares about life gain and life loss
has to at least consider her. She’s already slotted into my Karlvo list, and
I’m sure she’ll peform well there. But I have a number of other decks that
could run her, but just don’t want to. Thus, I’m not a big fan, despite having
her in one deck already, and I expect her to see a lot of play in the format
regardless.
Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
Very
strange to see a Rakdos-colored ‘walker that so closely ties into artifacts,
but I’m guessing this might be a foreshadowing of how Black will work with
artifacts in Kaladesh. Also there is a lot of speculation that the non-Green,
4-color commander in this year’s upcoming Commander decks might have an
artifact theme. I can see either/both of these being true, which might
retroactively make Daretti make more sense, but for now he’s just kind of an
oddball. Very good abilities, and I’d love to play him, but none of my decks in
these colors really want him. I expect a fair number of EDH players will be the
same boat.
Knights of the Black Rose
Surprisingly
decent for what it is, yet I still can’t justify running it in Karlov, which of
all my decks, seems the most likely home for them. Still a 4/4 for five with a
couple of minor upsides is pretty aggressive for a W/B card. Should see a
smattering of player here and there.
Artifacts/Lands
Throne of the High City
I have
trouble imagining this getting much play outside of dedicated Monarcy decks,
but then again, maybe some mono-White or mono-Red decks will be just desperate
enough for a low-opportunity-cost way to draw cards, they’ll give this a shot.
If this were a City of Brass with that sac ability tacked on, it’d be a
different story. I’d play it in just about anything if that were the case. But,
as printed, you either have to highly value the monarch effect, or have a mana
base that just doesn’t mind having one more colorless-producing land.
Spy Kit
LOL
WUT? Makes Maelstrom Pulse a bit better? Biovisionary wins just got a little
more viable? Dunno, but I don’t plan on using this for anything.
Commons
By my estimation there aren’t any new commons that are
particularly noteworthy, but there are a couple that I have my eye on as
potentially playable. One of those is Borderland Explorer; as a 3/1 for 2 he’s
a bit beefier that most land-fetching dorks we see, but is also still
Skullclamp-able. Not sure where exactly he might belong but I have a feeling he
has some fringe playability. Thorn of the Black Rose might be an okay
role-player in that hypothetical Monarchy deck I keep mentioning. Otherwise,
the new commons are pretty lackluster, or in some cases, don’t actually do
anything outside of a draft format.
Still, when you combine the above cards, most of which are
at least niche playable, with the amazing reprints such as Beserk, Show and
Tell, Burgeoning and Phyrexian Arena, this set really does look like a treasure
trove of EDH goodness. On the downside, there are quite a few janky, low-value
reprints clogging up the rare slots, and even a couple of dud Mythic reprints
(the Angel at least makes sense, but Avatar of Woe? Really?! C’mon…). Overall,
though, I’d say the set should have something of value for just about anyone,
but is particularly well-suited to the EDH fan.
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