by Vito Gesualdi
With the Magic 2011 Prerelease this weekend, I’m sure players are scouring the spoiler trying to find a path to victory. Unfortunately, while most people are focused on what new cards they’ll be playing with, they often miss what those cards have replaced. For instance, black may have gained the awesome game ender Corrupt, but it also lost its best piece of removal, Tendrils of Corruption. Here I’ve taken a look at some of the more obvious swaps to see what each color has gained, and what they lost in return. Hopefully this will give you some insight before you open your M11 sealed pool tomorrow!
White
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White’s changes are pretty drastic in this set. For some reason Wizards has decided to give white an absurd number of playable flyers, even going so far as to stealing Wind Drake and Snapping Drake from blue along the way. Unfortunately, this means the soldiers subtheme of M10 is gone from white, with the solidly playable ground guys Veteran Armorsmith and Veteran Swordsmith both missing. Still, with the great creature base bombs like Serra Angel and Armored Ascension still kicking around, white looks like one of the strongest colors in the set.
Soul Warden > Goldenglow Moth [PAR] – These are both barely playable one mana creatures with minor life gain abilities. Nothing of value has been gained or lost.
Glorious Charge > Inspired Charge [UPGRADE] – Fortify stole me many games when Time Spiral was still around, and this promises to do roughly the same. Trumpet Blast was one of red’s better cards in M10, but red never had the creatures to truly take advantage of it. Giving your winged team this boost should end games awful quick.
Razorfoot Griffin > Cloud Crusader [UPGRADE] – I don’t think anyone was splashing white for Razorfoot Griffin, so the 2WW mana cost in negligible here. The extra point of toughness here puts the Crusader out of range for cards like Pyroclasm or Ember Hauler, and a flying first striker is always appreciated.
Griffin Sentinel > Wild Griffin [MINOR DOWNGRADE] – This is debtable but I liked Griffin Sentinel as a decent blocker that pinged every turn. Plus Wild Griffin seems almost irrelevant considering Stormfront Pegasus is still in the set. Either way, neither card is too powerful.
Blue
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Blue’s creature base seems to have dipped in quality a lot, most noticeably with the surprisingly overpowered Merfolk Looter thankfully gone. Blue however remains strong, retaining bombs like Mind Control and Sleep, while a new pile of busted commons offer obvious card and tempo advantage.
Air Elemental > Air Servant [DOWNGRADE] – You know, at first I considered this an upgrade. The ability is rather sexy, especially if you’re looking to dominate the air. But one of the things Air Elemental did so well was stall the ground with that 4 toughness on the backend, even if it was just for a turn before the beats started up. The drop here puts Air Servant in range of Lightning Bolt, and leaves it unable to advantageously block the decently sized number of three power guys in the set, such as Garruk’s Companion. Obviously pick this card high, though it does seem to be a step down.
Snapping Drake > Azure Drake [PAR] – Though I loved the aggressiveness of Snapping Drake, with the number of three power guys I’m seeing, this 2/4 looks very sturdy indeed.
Essence Scatter > Mana Leak [MAJOR UPGRADE] – This is the definition of an upgrade. This card is one of blue’s obvious standouts, countering just about anything worth countering, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it picked as high as equivalently costed removal, such as Doom Blade.
Illusionary Servant > Phantom Beast [DOWNGRADE] – If Phantom Beast clocked in at the same 1UU cost of its predecessor, I’d consider this guy on par. But servant was great because it came out real early and started beating away without any hiccups. Here I’ve got a decently sized ground guy who gets blocked by Siege Mastodon or any of the other walls? Meh…
Divination > Foresee [UPGRADE] – Trading one card for two only barely qualifies as card advantage. Trading one card in order to cherry pick your way through the top four of your deck? Busted hot.
Sage Owl > Augury Owl [UPGRADE] – Sage Owl was alright. Augury Owl is incredible. Scrying towards your bomb will just be how you win many games as the blue player. Take advantage of this.
Black
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Black is still great, though I’d say it’s taken a minor hit with the loss of Tendrils and Dread Warlock. There’s obviously some saucy replacements, though overall the color seems to be in decline.
Consume Spirit > Corrupt [MAJOR UPGRADE] – I shouldn’t need to tell any reasonable person about what a huge upgrade this is. Consume Spirit made you jump through hoops to get anything done with it, and though theoretically it offered the versatility to cast it for cheaper than Corrupt, how many times did you want to cast your X costed Drain Life for 2. Corrupt provides the maximum potential out of your six mana investment, and in a format that encourages mono black as a strategy, this card is a standout.
Tendrils of Corruption > Quag Sickness [MAJOR DOWNGRADE] – Don’t get me wrong, Quag sickness is great removal and will likely be picked rather high. Is it the race-winning blow-out Tendrils was? Not even close. I like that you can stick it on before it’s lethal, but I don’t like that I can’t do this at instant speed.
Kelinore Bat > Lilianas Specter [MONSTER UPGRADE] – C’mon now, this is one of the best black common creatures I’ve ever seen printed. Duct-taping Kelinore Bat to Ravenous Rats might seem odd, but here it’s a match made in heaven.
Dread Warlock > Nothing – [DOWNGRADE] Obvious downgrade, black losing one of its better commons. I guess they had to compensate for how good the Spectre is, but it does take away one of my favorite ticking clocks from the last set.
Weakness > Stabbing Pain [UPGRADE] – Weakness was a good 23rd card, but Stabbing Pain should go in the deck of anyone playing black. Combat trick, blocker nullification, a quick sniper bullet to the head of Prodigal Pyromancer? Seems solid.
Drudge Skeletons > Reassembling Skeleton [UPGRADE] – Though R.Skeleton might cost a bit more to keep on the battlefield, you can also let him fall by the wayside and resurrect the little guy when you see fit. Not to mention the interaction with Bloodthrone Vampire is too good to pass up.
Looming Shade > Nightwing Shade [DOWNGRADE] – Flying is nice sure, and I’ll be happy to pump mana into this beater. Unfortunately it just isn’t the clock a turn three Looming Shade was, allowing you to swing in knowing you could pump your way through any blockers. With Nantuko Shade at rare it’s obvious why Looming was cut, but it’s still another blow to black’s common creature slot.
Red
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As the worst color from M10, red has a lot of catching up to do. Unfortunately, where it hasn’t caught up is in the creature department. Red’s creature base is still abysmal, and in many cases it’s gotten worse. Of course, the allure of burn still makes this color appealing, and some of the new bombs might just be enough to make you chase it in draft.
Dragon Whelp > Shivs Embrace [MAJOR UPGRADE] – Dragon Whelp was decent, beat in pretty hard, traded with Snapping Drake, etc. Shiv’s Embrace however, is a goddamn bomb. If you thought dragons were cool, you’ve never played with surprise dragons. Sticking this card on the right creature could end the game almost immediately.
Kindled Fury > Thunder Strike [PAR] – An unnecessary change. I guess Wizards decided they really needed to explore the design space between Kindled Fury and Slaughter Cry? I could care less.
Lightning Elemental > Vulshok Berserker [UPGRADE] – As much as I liked beating in with Lightning Elemental, I think a guy with a bit of toughness will be nice, as trading my four drop for a Sylvan Ranger makes me a sad panda.
Jackal Familiar > Bloodcrazed Goblin [DOWNGRADE] – Bloodcrazed Goblin might be better for standard, I wouldn’t know. What I do know however is there’s barely enough burn to make Bloodcrazed Goblin ever playable in limited. This same principle applies to Chandra’s Spitfire as well.
Ignite Disorder > Combust [MAJOR UPGRADE] – Ignite Disorder was usually little more than an Incinerate. Meanwhile, Combust murders Baneslayer Angels. I think the winner is obvious.
Seismic Strike > Chandras Outrage [UPGRADE] – Red was awful in M10. Cards like Seismic Strike demanded a heavy color investment, but there wasn’t much reward for it, while meanwhile everyone at the table simply splashed for Fireballs and Lightning Bolts while laughing in your face. Chandra’s Outrage is a perfect replacement. I don’t have to commit to heavy red to play it, and the effect is clean and simple. A great card.
Green
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What can we say about Green other than that it lost its best card? With Overrun gone it’s going to be harder to hit critical mass, although with the improved beaters and ramp kicking about in M11, Green still remains very solid.
Rampant Growth > Cultivate [UPGRADE] – Though it won’t ramp you to four right away, this new Kodamas Reach is just as powerful as it’s arcane brother. Ensures that green gets where it’s going while snagging your splash color, which is always a good thing.
Borderland Ranger / Elvish Visionary > Sylvan Ranger [DOWNGRADE] – The thing is, that all of these cards are rather playable. Examined individually, I’d say the new ranger is the strongest of the three. Losing two great green commons for it though, is a downgrade to the color overall.
Centaur Courser > Garruks Companion [UPGRADE] – C’mon, a 3/2 trample in the two slot, and at common no less? An incredible upgrade. Any decks slow to deal with this will find themselves rather behind.
Overrun > Overwhelming Stampede [MAJOR DOWNGRADE] – Green’s best card for
limited has moved to rare. Though this seems fair in terms of balancing the game, it’s an obvious downgrade for the color overall. Not to mention Overrun was best when paired with a bunch of cheap 1/1 dorks. Overwhelming Stampede demands you have something decently sized in play if you want to get any real use out of it. A definite downgrade.
Mist Leopard > Sacred Wolf [UPGRADE] – Mist Leopard was never too powerful, but I see a 3/1 shroud as doing some serious damage. At four mana this card was barely playable, at three it looks like a decent beater.
Overall, all the colors still look very playable. My advice? Open bombs! It’s sealed, that’s the only way to win! Good luck out there!
- Christopher Gesualdi
I agree with you that moving Overrun from uncommon to rare was a downgrade for green, but as far as the spell itself is concerned, i disagree with your conclusion. It would be a pretty unique situation if i managed to ONLY have 1/1s in play when playing limited green. in almost all cases i will have a 3 power creature out there. The possibility of having something with 4 or more power makes it a much more deadly card as far as I am concerned.
Spined Wurm and Yavimaya Wurm are both common green creatures and if you have either in play when you drop overwhelming stampede the game just ended.
Keep in mind that if you play Overwhelming Stampede targetting your single good guy, and your opponent responds with Doom Blade, it nerfs this card pretty damn well. The point is that Overrun already did a fine job of ending games. Yes this card promotes potential overkill, but also the chance to whiff.
That’s a lot of ifs. In limited, the chances of having a 3 or 4 (or more) power creature (or two) on the field are pretty damn strong. Add in a piece of equipment, or hell – lead with Giant Growth, and I think OS is a better card than Overrun. The 2 Green makes it even easier to cast in a G/X deck as well, as there have been a couple of times I’ve been stuck with two trees waiting for a third.
Played a G/W deck at the pre-release today. My Card pool sucked and i didnt do great but Overwhelming Stampede is realy good in limited. I stole some wins with it where overrun wouldnt have made it. Like playing inspired charge to make my highest pwr creature 5pwr and then give everything 5/5Trample. I know thats 9 mana but it can also be done with giant growth or the new white pump spell 2/2 + flying.
I would say par for the Stampede. Its better in limited but worse in constructed.
And the skeleton is a major upgrade! you can cast it safely turn 2 and block with it. Never have to keep that 1 black open. Which is important the 1st couple of turns and it combo`s allot more. The mentioned vampire but also with some black rare`s like the Demon of Death gate or wipe the board with a Necrotic Plague. But its also good vs Discard and with the green Survival of the Fittest shaman. MAJOR UPGRADE !! :D
re: Chris
Overwhelming Stampede doesn’t target, it just grabs the highest power when the card resolves. Yes your opponent can reduce some of the pain by taking out a fatty before it resolves but it won’t fizzle the spell.
re: Justin
I’m aware that it still gets to go off, I’m just assuming situations where you have one decently sized creature and a good number of weenies. Big guy gets nuked, you get a +1/+1 boost to the team and sigh.
I mean, its obviously a limited bomb. Constructed… I dunno.