The new set isn’t really looking to rock any established foundation. We’ve got about 50% reprints, 50% new cards, and no new mechanics. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be bad by any means, in fact it may be a better set because the designers are working with far less unknowns than usual. Either way, I have been feeding and watering my J2SJosh in my basement, and I feel like he’s thriving. Let’s take a look at blue.
5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or just pack up your cards. (Gruff Triplets, Virtue of Persistence, The Eternal Wanderer)
4.5: Incredible bomb that still gives your opponent a slim chance. (Virtue of Loyalty, Imodane's Recruiter, Realm-Scorcher Hellkite)
4.0: Great rare or the absolute best uncommons and removal. (Faunsbane Troll, Gumdrop Poisoner, Talion’s Messenger)
3.5: Great role filler or removal that you never cut. (Candy Grapple, Hearth Elemental, Torch the Tower)
3.0: Good playable that I’m basically never cutting. (Shrouded Shepherd, Spellscorn Coven, Sharae of Numbing Depths)
2.5: Decent playable and the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck to reach. (Evolving Wilds, Archon's Glory, Flick a Coin)
2.0: Mediocre filler that normally is your 20-23rd card(s). (Mintstrosity, Ice Out, Grabby Giant)
1.5: Replaceable, overall bad filler. Could also be decent sideboard cards. (Titanic Growth, Scarecrow Guide, Territorial Witchstalker)
1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Dark Tutelage, Kindled Heroism, Impact Tremors)
0.5: Very unhappy to main deck this, but maybe it has fringe sideboard applications. Cards that “could” be situationally decent, but bad in most situations. (Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, Mana Flare)
0.0: Unplayable in every possible situation. They rarely print cards this bad these days. (Hew the Entwood, One with Nothing)
While this can result in an absolute blowout, the majority of the time it will be pretty lackluster. I’d play this out of the sideboard against go-wide decks.
This isn’t a card you want to maindeck, but it is a catchall for noncreature spells. You want to cast this later in the game, when the treasure is less relevant.
Surveil 3 in limited is arguably better than “draw a card”, especially in a threshold set. This also becomes unblockable at some point, like Phantom Warrior
This card takes a good while to become relevant in the abscense of additional card draw. It seems a bit too slow and unreliable for my taste, and will most definitely be overrated early in the set.
1/3 vigilance with prowess is a solid creature for the most part. You’ll need to connect a couple times to get a free drake, but this is a bit difficult to block in the early game.
I like the rarity shift to uncommon here, and it should have been done a long time ago. Nonetheless, this should be viewed as a blue removal spell during your draft.
If you can live for a couple turns with this in play, you’ll likely win the game. On the other hand, it costs 6, requires a good target, and doesn’t do anything the turn you play it.
This is a fine top end card, but is a bit unreliable. Optimally, you don’t want to be playing more lands past turn 6, and if you are, you may not have the gas to use this offensively.
A 4 power flyer with flash is a nice beater to play at the end of your opponents turn. The ability to cast spells at flash also makes your opponents life an absolute nightmare.
As exciting as it is to imagine an army of these, it’s important to consider that this is a 2/2 for four mana. If you’re able to trigger it once, it’s alright, and you might lose a 2/2 before you have the opportunity to trigger it a third time. Maybe I’m just a pessimist.
Blue only has Fleeting Distraction as a candidate, but there are some nice pairings with this card like Burst Lightning, or Eaten Alive. This card gets a lot better if you have multiple options within your deck.
This can do a lot of different things very well, but it’s really difficult to discern when the correct time to play it is. You can also use this as a psuedo Time Warp by playing it on your opponents upkeep (they do get to untap however).
Blue is looking very strong, with a deep roster of good commons. The draw-2 mechanic doesn’t seem too powerful overall, but there’s a good amount of individually powered cards. I’ll be dissecting Black next, stay tuned!
Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!
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Andy "Icky" Ferguson is a long time limited grinder, with his first draft in 1999 at the age of 11. 22 years later, you can still find him streaming drafts, achieving the top ranks, including rank #1 5 months of 2021. Seasoned member of the Draft Lab squad and appointed "zen master", Andy lives by the motto; "lose and learn, learn and win".
