Aetherdrift Spoiler Review – Part Two

Hey all. Aetherdrift is almost completely revealed, and the past few days have given us plenty of more sweet cards to talk about.

My goal with these spoiler reviews isn’t to call out the best cards in the set or what I think is going to make the biggest impact on constructed, that will be a separate article, but to just talk about cards I find interesting or fun and to start to get the creative juices flowing for the purpose of brewing.

So let’s get in to it and start talking about the sweet new cards from Aetherdrift!

Nesting Bot

Nesting Bot might not seem like much but it has a lot going for it. First of all, it is a one drop with Start your engines! which is important if you have trying to get to Max speed as fast as possible.

Second of all, it is an artifact that makes another artifact when it dies, which is great for an artifact deck that is looking to always have a lot of artifacts in play, like if you are building around Medicant Core, Guidelight.

So that is two possible homes for this little guy, making me have high hopes for it.

Perilous Snare

Perilous Snare is basically Banishing Light but in a Start your engines! deck it can turn into a nice way to add some extra power to your board.

Now, I kind of think that Max speed is going to be pretty tough to achieve in most games of constructed, at least in a way that matters. In most aggro decks, if you are dealing damage to your opponent three times to get to max speed, you’ve likely got them most of the way dead, and Max speed at that point is usually overkill.

But, in some games this type of ability is going to help you get in those last few points of damage or help you grow an attacker to outsize a blocker. It is also an artifact so Azorius artifact decks can make use of it as well.

Gas Guzzler

Gas Guzzler is another great one drop with Start your engines! to get the speed ticking up on turn two. I think this is the kind of Start your engines! card that will have a home in a deck that isn’t just killing your opponent on turn four, since its natural home is some sort of sacrifice deck that is likely going to be trying to ping or otherwise nickel and dime your opponent.

Once you get Max speed this card really gets going, but you have to the right mix of cards to go alongside it. Bloodghast is a natural buddy to Gas Guzzler, giving you a creature you can sacrifice each turn for extra value.

Other cards like the aforementioned Nesting Bot are also great companions to Gas Guzzler, giving you two creatures to sacrifice for the cost of one.

There are lots of good tools for a sacrifice deck in Standard, and maybe this is even a player in Pioneer with Cauldron Familiar and friends.

The Speed Demon

The Speed Demon is a fun top end for a midrange deck with other Start your engines! cards, because if it can come down and draw two or three cards you are going to be pretty thrilled with it.

There is a lot of risk here, you are losing a lot of life, unless of course you have Sheoldred, the Apocalypse in play, so look out for that curve. Also if your opponent kills it before your endstep you aren’t getting any value either.

It is a demon so it curves nicely after Unholy Annex as well.

I don’t think that The Speed Demonis a for sure player in any format, but I can’t wait to slam it on turn five and draw four cards at least once.

Burnout Bashtronaut

If there is going to be an aggressive Start your engines! deck, it starts with Burnout Bashtronaut on turn one. Menace helps you get in damage to keep your speed increasing, and once you do have Max speed and double strike, the pump ability is going to hit hard.

This is the downside of a bigger standard format, is that I just don’t think that Start your engines! is going to end up being the best aggro deck in the format, but I am still excited to give it a try and see if we can make it work.

Afterburner Expert

Hello Deathmist Raptor. Okay, not exactly the same, and I realize that I am a Magic boomer for referencing a card from 10 years ago, but Afterburner Expert is the strong value could give it a shot in constructed.

While you do have to play it in a deck with a lot of exhaust creatures, the recursive ability lets you get aggressive, lets you block, and its own exhaust ability turns it into a real threat. Especially as a green three drop, meaning you can curve it out on turn two with Llanowar Elves.

I wasn’t excited about exhaust as a key word before seeing this card, but now I can’t wait to try a variety of builds to keep Afterburner Expertcoming back again and again.

District Mascot

District Mascot is a nice one drop for a +1/+1 counter deck, and there are plenty of tools for it in standard. Similar to Hopeful Initiate, District Mascot can grow every turn, and then use those counters to take out artifacts. This is particularly relevant with Aetherdrift coming out, as the sheer number of artifacts in the set means that you are going to need answers to them.

Thanks to the saddle ability, you don’t even need to play District Mascot in a dedicated counters deck, this good pup could just be your one drop in a green based aggro deck, as even your Llanowar Elves can saddle it to start the growing.

Molt Tender

Deathrite Shaman? Is that you?? Okay, obviously Deathrite Shaman has a lot more going on, but I like the power that Molt Tender has in a deck that has anything going on with the graveyard. It is a an enabler, letting you mill a card to fill up the graveyard, and once you’ve started your milling it helps you accelerate into your top end plays.

I like this kind of mana creature that is not good in every deck but can still function in a variety of decks. Even in limited it is a mana creature every other turn, as you can mill a card one turn and then exile it the next turn for mana.

Regal Imperiosaur

A 5/4 for three mana in a world with Llanowar Elves is already scary, but then it pumps your other dinosaurs?? Looks like Dinos are back on the menu. Regal Imperiosaur could give our favorite Timmy deck the boost it needs to be a real deck, especially in Alchemy where we have some extra dinos and buffed dinos as well.

Mimeoplasm, Revered One

Sultai Graveyard has almost been a deck for like two or three years, thanks to a variety of self-mill cards and creatures that grow based on the number of creatures in your graveyard, but Mimeoplasm, Revered One has a bit of anti-synergy.

All of those other payoff cards, like Souls of the Lost, Urborg Lhurgoyf, and Cruel Somnophage all want you too keep creatures in your graveyard, so while you can easily have a large Mimeoplasm, Revered One, the rest of your creatures will suffer.

So, if you are going to build Mimeoplasm, you need to be milling over very specific creatures that you are wanting to copy for cheap, like Valgavoth or some other large, powerful, creature. But at that point you could just be using Zombify.

Riptide Gearhulk

There are a couple of things to like about Riptide Gearhulk. First, it answers and problematic permanent your opponent has, tucking it away for a few turns, and then its just a large beater.

Cast a removal spell? Get in for six. Cast a cheap card draw spell? Get in for six. This thing is going to close out games quickly, making it a nice finisher for control or midrange decks. You also won’t mind it getting bounced by This Town Ain't Big Enough because then you can just cast it again and remove another problematic threat.

It’s also an artifact, so this could be the top end piece of Azorius artifacts as well.

Demolition Scarab

Siege Rhino lives on! Demolition Scarab is beyond sweet for Golgari midrange decks. It can come down early thanks to Llanowar Elves, drains for three to keep you alive against aggro decks and keep the pressure on against slower decks, and crew 2 is pretty achievable making it easy to get in with your 6/6 trample.

Golgari midrange has struggled in the past few weeks as the bounce meta has bloomed in Standard, but a card like Demolition Scarab could help it claw back, because they can bounce it as much as they want, you are going to keep casting it and keep draining them to death.

I loved Siege Rhino dearly, so I am beyond excited to try Demolition Scarab!

Wrapping Up

We almost have the entire set revealed, and I’m sure that there are going to be some great cards spoiled in the next couple days. I can’t wait to get started with brewing and of course taking a more nuanced look at what cards will have the biggest impact on constructed formats.

So keep an eye out for those articles in the future, and until then, best of luck in all of your games!