Dark Ascension EDH Set Review: Red

And so, we have come to the Red cards, and I'm really hoping for at least one or two playable Vampires. Let's see what we can come up with.

At first I was like "How the hell did Green get this for G while Red has to pay six?" Then, I realized it didn't require one of the creatures targeted to be under your control. While the six mana price tag is still quite unatractive, the multiplayer implications are quite intriguing. Making any two creatures fight means that, if you're careful with it, you can get rid of two troublesome threats at once. Still, it's probably only playable in Red decks that don't have access to better removal options.

If this were a Wheel of Fortune with Flashback, I'd be drooling right now. Alas, it's not and I am sorely disappointed in this card. I can't imagine using this anywhere, even in a deck built around Flashback as a mechanic.

Pretty sweet combination of effects. You get the Goblin War Drums thing going on, but you have to attack with this wolf to get it. However, the Wolf is hard to block as it's effect covers itself. And in the even he does get blocked or targeted for removal, he has Undying as yet another layer of protection. Pretty good for 3 mana. I think this is pretty playable in Red Zone decks.

River Kelpie meets Pandemonium. This is a bit too specific to be widely playable. Most of the time I'd just rather have Spitebellows and Flametongue Kavu. But in the right deck this could be a powerful enabler.

Another largely useless card that could still be an important to certain decks. Mono Red mages might find this to be a worthwhile form of spot removal. I don't play Mono Red, though, so I can't say for sure. Seems worth trying out.

Probably, not even the presence of Haste will make this truly worth playing. But it MIGHT be playable in a very dedicated vampire deck with all the available Vamp lords to pump it up to a respectable size.

Ha ha, oh wow. Possibly the most compelling Curse we've seen yet. On the flip side, though, putting this on an opponent in a multiplayer game will definitely earn you the ire of that player, and possibly the rest of the table too. Unless the person you put it on is "that guy", which is pretty amusing. I like this, but don't expect to see widespread play. It's going to be a niche card for sure, but there is definitely a home for it somewhere in the format.

Surprise, surprise. After a string of utterly horrible Red mythic dragons, this one is pretty damn sweet. It's hard to tell if that's only because it looks so good next to it's janky bretheren, but at the very least this should be widely played in Kaalia and Rith the Awakener decks. Firebreathing for your whole army is a new twist on the mechanic and it's quite exciting. Time will tell if it actually matters or not, but I think it will be relevant.

Another card that should at least find a home in Rith the Awakener decks. Also, Sek'Kuar or any other token decks that have Red in them.

Hilarious effect, but the CMC of eight is rather sobering. I really don't see this taking off in the format, but it should at least be a "pet card" for a few players. It basically says "Destroy all creatures target player controls", but in a much wordier and confusing fasion. Also, if their biggest guy has Shroud (or Hexproof) you'll be a little sad about this.

Another Haste-y vampire, but this one is just as iffy as the last one. It might prove to be a reliable yet expensive utility creature, allowing your vampire army to punch through for an unexpected alpha strike. Still, I'd rather just kill blockers outright. Borderline playabe at best.

The cheapest of the "Increasing" cycle, and the most playable as well. The only downside is that it can only copy spells you control, which means Reiterate and Wild Pair will still be preferable to this in most decks. However, this definitely has huge amount of potential and seems like a sure thing for virtually every R/U deck out there.

Finally! A vampire in this set that I'm unconditionally willing to play. Doublestrike means this thing will get really big, really fast. Coming down to start swinging on Turn 4 means there will almost always be one opponent open for attack at that point, so it should be swinging as a 3/3 on Turn 5. Combine with Rakish Heir or any "Lord" and it really can get out of hand.

Well, that's it for Red, and while I'm somewhat disappointed, I did get the minimum of one really good Vampire, so it's not a total bust.

Next up: Green. Enjoy!

Dark Ascension EDH Set Review: Black

Now it's Black's turn under the microscope. My predictions for this set: Zombies get love, other decks get the shaft. Let's see if I called it or not.

Well, right of the bat, evidence seems in favor of my prediction. This card is pretty damned awesome, though. Flavor-Mechanic relationship is dead on, and the effect is insanely powerful. Here, the tribal limitations that make the card narrow also help balance the card appropriately. One one hand, it's a bit sad that this is pretty useless outside of a Zombie tribal deck, but it'd just be too powerful to print without that restriction. Zombie are already a thing in EDH - expect them to get way more popular after this set's release.

Sorry, but I don't want to pay 5 mana to kill something and then maybe get a little bit of life gain out of it. I'd just straight up play Go for the Throat over this anyday.

Mediocre card, gorgeous art. Completely unplayable in EDH, but great Limited card. Too bad...

Should be great in Kresh/Savra/Sek'Kuar decks that tend to have strong sacrificing themes. Gets rid of damn near anything, even Indestructible dudes like Blightsteel or Ulamog. If you have trouble with cards like those, this will be a bood, but against the rest of the field, standard removal options will likely be preferable.

Holy balls. There's already a theoretically optimal play for this. Tutor for Cabal Coffers, Exsanguinate and either Urborg or an Extraplanar Lens/Gauntlet of Power variant, proceed to kill whole table with massive Exanguinate. That's pretty lame, though. I hope to see slightly more varied and creative use for this... but I don't have much optimism on that count. That said, I still like this card quite a bit. It's clearly an EDH-worthy powerhouse, though it's very expensive (thankfully!). As long as you're not diggin up dirty combo peices this should simply be a powerful but fair card.

Yet another Skullclamp-able draw engine, very reminicent of Bloodghast. I like Bloodghast better in a vacuum, but if you have any kind of zombie theme (and are playing Rooftop Storm!), then this is clearly the better choice.

Sexiest art in the set, hands down. Too bad the card itself isn't as sexy. That's not to say it's unplayable, though. It's a great combination of effects for a very cheap cost. Flashback is nice too, but the off-color cost limits the number of decks that can play this. As a Sorcery, this is probably not going to get a ton of play. If it were an Instant, it'd be more widely useful. Still, it's not out of the question that this could see a bit of play here and there.

Meow!

Wow. A "Curse" that does nothing but let you further Curse your opponent. Much like Bitterheart Witch in the last set, the quality and playability of this depends entirely on the quantity and quality of the Curses themselve. So far I don't see the Curses being all that great. A couple are quite playable, but havign two to three curses in your deck isn't enough to warrant an enabler like this or the Witch. Lame.

Precon rare, and a disappointing one even allowing for that fact. I dislike the "sac a human" thing vampires have going on in this set. While I understand the flavor and appreciate that aspect of it, it leads to awkward deckbuilding decisions. I don't think it's worth diluting a Vampire theme with Humans to enable this card, as it's not all that strong anyway.

Whats with all the vastly-worse-than-Nekrataal cards like this lately? Since when is Shriekmaw too good, that they need to make useless chaff like this? Terrible, even in a Zombie tribal deck.

Now THIS is a Mythic! Exciting, splashy and not too narrow, Mikaeus is one of the more enticing cards in the set. Sure the anti-Human destruction effect is ridiculously narrow, but the rest of the abilities are anything but. Granting your whole non-Human army Undying and +1/+1 is just going to wreck your opponent who was counting on his Wrath of God to save him. Now his board sweeper just removes his blockers and makes your army that much more powerful! This should get a ton of play from the EDH format.

Sort of a reverse-Kitchen Finks, this has some pretty sween potential, but it doesn't exactly have the "oomph" needed for many decks, but any kind of Zombie deck will certainly be able to make great use of this. I really don't like the ETBF tapped clause, but it's still pretty sweet nonetheless.

Yet another Curse that depends on having a strong Curse sub-theme to be good. So far the Curse mechanic just seems way to parasitic and self-referencing to be worthwhile. At this point to make use of the better curses, you'd need to run most, if not all, of the Curses, including the shitty ones.

Factor in that they start to look even less compelling in multiplayer than they do in 1v1, and their stock really starts to drop, at least in the EDH world.

Non-Blue card drawing is often worth a look, but there are better options in Black. This isn't completely out of the question, but it's not going to be your first or second choice either. Meh.




Finally, a vampire that doesn't have the Sac-A-Human thing going on, and it still sucks. Boo. I really hope Red has some decent Vampires, cause my Garza Zol deck has gotten no love at all from this set thus far.

















Next up is Red, of course. Enjoy.

Dark Ascension EDH Set Review: Blue

This time we're looking at Blue, typically considered the most broken color in EDH. Will that hold up in Dark Ascension? Read on, and we'll find out...



I wouldn't have even bothered commenting on this card, except that Distortion Strike has become a key roleplayer in various specific decks, and this is similar enough to warrant comparison. Frankly, Flashback isn't quite as good as Rebound, in general, but with the Flashback cost on this being a single Blue, it's a negligable difference. Here, you're getting to pay a single U to control when the second usage happens, where as with Distortion Strike you simply have to use it up the next turn. However, the real difference is the lack of +1/+0. Seems like a small detail, but it's a big factor in Distortion Strike's playability. Somehow I think this will fail to catch on in EDH due to this fact.

I'd almost always play Mulldrifter or something over this, but in something like Mimeoplasm, this might make the cut. The Innistrad set is all about stocking up graveyards, but this one gives you a little more control over what goes into the 'yard, so it's got a slightly higher appeal than stuff like the Skaabs that just mill you for X cards. Probably still a bit underpowered, but could be useful.

I don't even play Glimpse the Unthinkable in EDH. Cards like Increasing Confusion are meant for decks where milling a players library is the primary win condition. As in, you win by decking them. But in EDH, mill decks don't usually try to win by decking opponents - they just use mill cards to stock graveyards, which they then exploit as a resource. So, in a Wrexial deck, Glimps the Unthinkable is sorta like "UB: Draw 10 Cards"... yet I still feel it's too weak to play. Again, it's because cards like that are better off used in decks that seek to actually win via decking, and in EDH that's a very bad strategy. If WotC keeps printing cards of this caliber, though, it may turn out to be a viable strategy in the near future.

Funny way to shut down a Darksteel or Blightsteel Colossus. Other than that, it's pretty "meh". Most of the time, if I'm going to look at this as an option, I'd probably rather just use the Vow from the Commander decks, or a Control Magic effect.

Very funny take on Hive Mind, and less likely to completely destroy players' brains with insanely complicated Stack resolutions. I really want to put this on the guy playing Riku or some other Red/Blue varient with huge spells.

Seems like it might be a viable tool for aggro-Dredge style decks, but most people aren't going to want to mill themselves for 10. That's pretty unappealing to most EDH players. Mimeoplasm decks might be a good exception.

EDIT: Oh, wow, this says "target player"... it's still a pretty vanilla beater, but a 5/5 Undying for six, in Blue, is not terrible. This still borders on being not quite good enough for most decks, but it has more potential than I initially thought.

This will likely be a pretty hot card for the format, but I'm resoundingly unimpressed. This pretty much forces you to overextend into a Wrath effect. But, if you're playing a token deck with Blue in it, you might as well try this out.

Another one of those cards where the self-mill will turn most players off, but folks who have no such aversion and like to play Dredge will probably be okay with this. Still, seems like if your going to go down that road, you might want more bang for your buck. The cantrip is what might make this worthwhile. Cantrips are, usually, pretty awesome.

If I ever get that U/R Flashback themed deck off the ground, this will likely find a spot. I would never play this over River Kelpie, mind you, but if I found room for both... Anyway, this is likely way too narrow to see much play in EDH, but in decks that are extremely focused on their own Graveyards, this could be a real boon.

Somnophore as an ETBF effect. And it's +1/+1 over Somnophore. The problem is, Somnophore can keep tapping more and more stuff. The other problem is, this needs to not die to be useful, and shit dies in EDH. All the time. I'll pass on this, but it might see a bit of play here and there. Definitely not going to make a big impression though.

Cool art. Too bad I can't think of a use for this. Wrexial seems like the most obvious place to put this, but frankly I think it's a little too weaksauce for Wrexial. I'll probably give it a try though, just to give it a fair chance.

This is odd. WotC actually printed a counterspell that has a cool and sorta fun effect. Counter one spell, and get a free spell of your own. I think stuff like Intet, the Dreamer will best make use of this, because they're already looking to cheat out giant spells for free. This will probably be very tricky to use, possibly to the point where it's not entirely worth it... but when it does work it should be hilarious.

A bit expensive for the effect, but it's pretty much a lock for U/R/x decks that play more spells than creatures. Very good card, should see medium to heavy play in the format, as recursion is always golden in EDH.

Exile my own guys for a 2/2 Zombie? No thanks. I expect a lot of folks will want to try this out, as he is pretty good card advantage, but I still think he's too weak to be worth it. In a zombie-tribal deck, I'd rather just run a Zombie over this.

Ha ha oh wow. I don't think I'd ever flashback this thing, but milling a total of 20 cards for 2U does have SOME appeal. I still think that Wrexial and Mimeoplasm decks that are really aggresive with the milling might want this, but I don't think it'll ultimately be worth it. This is another one I'm considering trying out in Wrex anyway, just to be sure. I'll let you know it ends up being way more awesome than I think.














A weird sort of Tribal enabler, this obviously has the inherent disadvantages of being an Aura, however you don't exactly have to put it on a creature you control! If another player happens to drop a random dude that conicides with your tribe of choice (or is a Changeling!), you can pop this onto their dude and profit from their guy. Then, if the Enchanted creature eats a removal spell from someone else, then you've basically negated a creature and a removal spell for your one bad Enchantment.












Up next: Black. Enjoy!

Dark Ascension EDH Set Review: White

Well, folks, it's that time again. Dark Ascension has been legitimately spoiled, so now it's time to discuss the cards, and what they might mean for our favorite casual format, EDH! 

As usual, I'm starting with White and will be discussing pretty much every Rare or Mythic, but Uncommons and Commons will be skipped unless, in my discretion, I feel they warrant some mention. Okay, let's roll.

Five 1/1's for 5 CMC is pretty good. The flashback is pretty steep, but manageable in the late game, which is when this would be most useful anyway. I think this card is deceptively good, because any time an opponent is considering using up their Wrath of God, and you have this in your GY with 9 or more mana, it is going to make life a little uncomfortable for them. Obviously, this is not going to see much play outside of dedicated Token decks, or Soldier tribal decks, but I think it will prove to be a strong addition for those decks.

 Yet another Flashback spell that makes tokens. While that's starting to get old, this one is different enough from Increasing Devotion that it's not too redundant. For one thing, this has an off-color Flashback, so it's not legal for mono-White decks. Also, the tokes are Spirits instead of Soldiers, and they have Flying. More notably, this doesn't cost a total of 14 mana! Where as Increasing Devotion is more of a finisher and late-game trump card, this card is more of an early game development move. Costing a total of 5 to cast and flash back, most games I'd rather pay five mana for 4 1/1 flyers than five mana for 5 1/1 non-flyers. Almost as narrow as the previous card, but just as playable in the right decks.

I can actually see this guy being pretty good in Rafiq decks, especially ones that play a lot of Equipment. Seems pretty sub-par elsewhere.

I'm not a huge fan of Fateful Hour, especially in EDH. This is one of the few cards I might be compelled to play anyway, because it's non-Fateful-Hour is not terrible. The problem I have with Fateful Hour is that, basically, no one will ever attack you down to 5 or less, ever. They're either going to outright kill you, or attack elsewhere if they see a Fateful Hour card on your side of the table.

 I dunno, Doran decks maybe? Probably not.

This will probably get some play. It should prove quite annoying to anyone unlucky enough to be it's target. This is a good way to make someone really start gunning for you!

Good utility reprint incoming! It's a two-for-one, which is always a plus, and it's cheap and Instant-y, too. I don't like that it only hits Enchantments, though. Art is pretty sweet.

Meh, decent graveyard hate will always have a home in the format, but I think there are plenty of better options available. Also, pretty sweet art.

 Cute kitty!

Probably not going to be overwhelmingly popular as a General, but she might see some play in very creature-heavy decks. Pretty underwhelming overall.

 Seems awful to me. I like the effect okay, but not enough to spend eight damned mana on it. If you could target another player it might be okay as a hoser for Karador and others of his kind. As it stands this might be might least-favorite mythic in the set.

I don't like exiling my own shit. This is kinda neat design, though. I think it'll appeal to a small subset of EDH players who like doing awesome things with not-awesome cards.

 Pretty good for a precon rare. Cost-to-size is acceptable and the ability is pretty good too. I like it, but I don't seeing it being quite up to par with most EDH cards. Playable but not highly so.

This one seems likely to cause quite a stir, as it's very much a Johnny card.Finding a reason to use this over Ghostway or Second Sunrise, for example, should prove quite a challenge. Some folks like a good puzzle, and this might keep 'em at it a while. Ultimately I don't think it will bear much fruit - you'll probably have to work too hard for too little reward. But I may be wrong.

Up next is Blue, of course. Enjoy!

Fucking Skyrim...

Sorry, folks, for the pathetic lack of content. There are reasons (read: excuses, mostly). The biggest of them all is that, of course, I haven't been building anything lately. Having completed my epic building marathon which lead to six new decks PLUS the reconstruction of my Wrexial deck, I basically can't build any more decks unless I want to dismantle some existing ones. I'm basically out of cards.... well, good ones, at least.

In a seperate but highly related issue, I just haven't actually gotten to PLAY much Magic lately. Which means two things. 1) I have little to no data on which to base any modifications or upgrades to said existing decks, and 2) I have little to no data to justify taking any of them apart.

I simply haven't played ANY of my new decks enough to warrant significant modifications or dismantlement. So, since I am not PLAYING, I am not BUILDING, and when neither playing nor building is taking place, it is VERY difficult to generate content!

Another factor is that we are currently in the midst of the longest stretch of no-new-products WotC puts us through each year. WotC wisely inserts a long delay after their end-of-September set, not releasing their next expansion until Feburary of the next year! This is a blessing, though, because as they know, people will be spending what money they have, if any, on holiday shopping and other such bullshit. I'm sure they have some kind of market research backing this up, but I have a feeling that releasing a "middle set" expansion in the midst of the Christmas shopping season would NOT be a smart move, fiscally. It also gives us devoted, but cash-strapped, players time to recharge after gorging hedonistically on the fall Large Expansion, which are always exciting and demand multiple-box purchases.

So, in addition to not playing or building, I'm also not buying either.

Finally, the nail in the coffin for ALL other pursuits and, indeed, my overal usefulness as a human being, is the most addictive video game ever made: Skyrim. I have fallen prey to it's allure and it will not let me go. I assure you, my poor neglected readers, that in time I will begin to tear my eyes from the beauty and wonder that is Skyrim, and return to this boring, dreadful reality... already, I am starting to feel the slightest bit of nostalgia for Magic: the Gathering - it seems so distant, so long ago... but for now, the thrill of hunting down and killing a rogue Dragon, and one-shot-ing Giants with my disgustingly overpowered archery skills is just too much fun to resist. Not even Twincasting a kicked Rite of Replication targeting Primeval Titan and Consecrated Sphinx, with Doubling Seaon in play can compete with the splendor of Skyrim.

Fortunately, Dark Ascension is right around the corner, and spoiler season is well under way. If nothing else, I will at least promise you a full set review upon the complete spoilage of the set. Look forward to that, at least, and I can only hope that tides you all over until I am done slaying Dragons...

Enjoy.

IT HAS BEGUN!!!

Steven, this one is for you, bud!