Izzet that time again? Man, don’t puns Gruul? Now that I’ve got that out of my system, let’s take a look at two of the red guilds of Ravnica.
Disclaimer: Look, I’m just not going to review every card. I’m just not. I’ll leave that herculean task to the likes of Conley Woods, Chris Lansdell, and LSV, those who have been driven to insane levels of punnery just to make it through another set review without jumping off a high building at the thought of discovering relevance in another vanilla five-drop. If you REALLY need me to affirm that [card]Armored Wolf Rider[/card] is either 1) the most broken card since Jace started sculpting minds or 2) not worth its weight in toilet paper (hint: most cards fall somewhere in this spectrum), then consider yourself affirmed. These are the cards that jumped up and violently assaulted my inner-brewer.
Izzet
[card]Blast of Genius[/card]: I think this card is seriously underrated. I’ve been running it in an Omniscience build, and it has been phenomenal. We are always getting cards like this, but unlike many of the other [card]Erratic Explosion[/card]-type variants, this one is much less difficult to set up. The ability to draw into the expensive spell OR use the one that is already clogging your hand sets it apart. I want to test this in Modern with [card]Through the Breach[/card] and [card]Emrakul, the Aeons Torn[/card].
[card]Catch // Release[/card]: The Catch half is interesting, as steal target permanent isn’t an ability we get all that often, but I don’t see this being playable. If only it were an instant. Release seems way too fair to be breakable, meaning it’s not really worth it. That said, 20 internet cool points to the first person to cast Catch on an opponent’s [card]Omniscience[/card].
[card]Goblin Test Pilot[/card]: The most unusual card in the set. I’ve already seen players sharply divided on this card, some proclaiming it the “most awesome and flavorful ever!” and others proclaiming it proof that Maro is getting craftier in his attempts to kill the game. I just know that somewhere, someday, there will be a gamestate where both players are on exactly two life, and the only creature in play is a Goblin Test Pilot, and the controller will slowly reach down and tap the Pilot to activate it….
[card]Melek, Izzet Paragon[/card]: The Izzet champion. I love cards like [card]Future Sight[/card] and [card]Oracle of Mul Daya[/card], so I will give this one a whirl in Commander if nothing else. For Standard, I just don’t think he’s playable at six mana. His ability is undeniably powerful, but you will need to build a deck around him to maximize his potential. If you untap with him, things can happen. Kooky things.
[card]Turn // Burn[/card]: One of the better split cards in the set. Both halves are situationally playable, and fused they can take down any non-hexproof creature in the format. This should be a staple of Standard going forward.
[card]Ral Zarek[/card]: I like Ral quite a bit, but he’s no [card]Ajani Vengeant[/card]. Love the art, love the flavor, and love the wackiness of a planeswalker’s ultimate that may be ball-crushing insane or pants-wetting-“I feel like I crapped in my own mouth” bad. It feels like there will be a fun story every single time you activate Ral’s -7. While “repeatedly deal three damage” is undeniably strong, if he’s going to make it in Standard it’s going to be off the strength of his tap/untap ability. Until M13 rotates we still have access to [card]Gilded Lotus[/card] as a way to get the most out of his +1.
Overall, Izzet had some interesting cards but didn’t have a lot of room to shin-…
SURPRISE DRAGON!
[card]Dragonshift[/card]: It’s just that dangerous. We’ll never be safe again.
Gruul
[card]Pyrewild Shaman[/card]: The Little Goblin That Could. Only he couldn’t. Not really. He sucks, and even his momma doesn’t like him. Also, why not just name this thing, “Goblin Phoenix”?
[card]Armed // Dangerous[/card]: While this card has been “better than [card]Overrun[/card]” awesome in limited, I don’t see it being all that DANGEROUS in constructed (and with that pun, Lansdell and LSV felt a cold wind blow over them).
[card]Flesh // Blood[/card]: Blood looks like a great substitution for decks that were making do with [card]Pit Fight[/card] or [card]Fling[/card]. Your getting to keep the creature sets this apart, and I think it has a strong chance to see play somewhere. I picked up a playset in anticipation.
[card]Ruric Thar, the Unbowed[/card]: I was down with the Gruul champion, ready to proclaim him as awesome and the newest Titan. Then, I played against him a few times. The “must attack” clause is a huge drawback, as it seems his controller is always either taking six damage to cast a removal spell so he can get through, or sending him once more unto the breach only to die to blockers. This is the perfect champion for Gruul. Big, strong, undeniably powerful, but dumber than a bucket of square marbles.
[card]Savageborn Hydra[/card]: While the ability to grow to the “If I hit you with this even once, you die” stage is interesting, the ability is too expensive to be worth it without some form of evasion. Sorry Hydra fans, this is not the one you’ve been waiting for.
[card]Zhur-Taa Ancient[/card]: Playing the Ancient is a huge risk, as letting your opponent untap with a [card]Mana Flare[/card] effect first is asking for trouble. But… this guy does dodge [card]Mizzium Mortars[/card], and there are a lot of good X-cost spells (or overload spells like Mortars) in the format. It wouldn’t be horrible to drop this thing on turn four and cast a huge-ass Prime Speaker on turn five either, I suppose. I will be watching his career with great interest.
[card]Zhur-Taa Druid[/card]: Two mana creature accelerators not named [card]Sakura-Tribe Elder[/card] tend to suck. Yet, right now, two mana is the sweet spot for mana acceleration. ([card]Farseek[/card] is the best card in the format, and [card]Burning-Tree Emmisary[/card] isn’t that far behind.) The incidental damage offered by Dr. Druid really adds up fast.
Gruul, much to the chagrin of my teammate Kirk Dube, did not shine in Dragon’s Maze. There are some interesting cards here, and some cards that are amazing in limited, but overall I think Gruul was one of the weaker guilds in the set.
Now, time for today’s brew:
[deck title=Travis Hall – All Your Base]
[Lands]
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
2 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Desolate Lighthouse
3 Rootbound Crag
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Ground
2 Sulfur Falls
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
3 Thragtusk
2 Aetherling
3 Deadeye Navigator
2 Zealous Conscripts
[/Creatures]
[Spells]
4 Farseek
3 Plasm Capture
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Cyclonic Rift
3 Turn // Burn
3 Gilded Lotus
3 Ral Zarek
1 Jace, Architect of Thought
[/Spells]
[Sideboard]
4 Ground Seal
1 Turn // Burn
1 Clone
1 Thragtusk
1 Memory’s Journey
1 Clan Defiance
3 Negate
1 Thundermaw Hellkite
2 Izzet Charm
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
I toyed around with the Deadeye/Conscripts/Lotus combo months ago but gave up on it because it was giant pain in the ass to test on MTGO. (Dear MTGO development/design team, we need to find a way to make repeatable effects easier on MTGO, as this is why I don’t test Melira Pod online either.) Ral Zarek and Plasm Capture have me itching to give it another whirl. Provided you can survive the onslaught of the Blitz decks (something every deck in the format has to be capable of) this has the potential to crush mid-range by going infinite. This may not be it, but I think there is a strong RUG Ramp build waiting to be found.
If you like my suggestions, you can follow me on Twitter: @travishall456. I throw around random observations and deck ideas every day. You can also hear me on the Horde of Notions podcast each week, discussing deck ideas for FNM level events and the PTQ grinders.
Travis Hall is a resident Mana D rogue deck brewer with an unhealthy addiction to Heartless Summoning and Birthing Pod.