Discussion Forum

Hello! I am DreadWaffle with my first Article about Five cards in
http://casualmagic.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/rise-of-the-eldrazi-logo.jpg
I am going to be showing some of the main mechanics and if the card itself is worth the cost and effects.

A little background about myself first. I have been playing MTG since around 2005 but all i did was get a preset deck and a few common/uncommon cards at a card shop. It was in 2006 that i like to say i really started, with the new set out, Coldsnap. Most of you are going to say that it is a bad set in general, but it is my favorite of all the sets released so far. I had gottend the :manab::manar::manag: preset deck and would face my brother on a regular basis against his :manaw::manau: Coldsnap preset deck. My addiction really started with him getting a fat pack and opening really strong cards such as pretty much my favorite blue fatty Jokulmorder and the spectacular Dark Depths. I was playing only a little bit and getting new cards every so often until in 2007 the school i go to started having a magic club on Fridays. This is where my love of playing in tournaments started, and i attended my first ever official tournament the following year with the release party of the new set
http://www.dragonguardian.com/mtgblog/wp-content/uploads/1549_ala_logo_640.jpg
This was my start, with amazing pulls to boot. Broodmate Dragon, Knight of the white orchid, Minion Reflector, Knight-Captain of Eos, Feral hydra, and a few unremembered others. I went 2-2 and walked out with 2 Ajani Vengeant promos. And a week later got a fat pack with pretty much me being able to make a bad Esper build. My main Practice was going to FNM every other week and dragging my two best friends into this game. (and one is a complete net decker) And after that i have gone to be extremely good in limited, but not mind magic.

and with that i will begin the main body of this with a look at the first mechanic revealed for RotE that is not annihilator, rebound.
http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/tcg/products/riseoftheeldrazi/yna8q5rybx_EN.jpg
Rebound -- If you cast this spell from your hand exile it as it resolves at the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast this card without paying its mana cost

This card is already a card that is a nasty combat trick for any deck that can use it efficiently. I mean that because right now to me a vampire deck, :manaw::manab: weenie, or a "Oros, the other Boros" deck can use to get a quick advantage. (i refer to Oros as the color combination of :manaw::manab::manar:) By itself it is showing an extra two damage getting in by a creature attacking, or a blocking creature taking down its opponent at the end of combat. The entire aspect of rebound here is good posing a threat to any creatures that they do not want to lose. In Vampires i feel that this is best on a Black Night or a Bloodghast, because Bloodghast is recurring and makes it a larger threat, while the thought of instant creature death by Black Knight makes it another factor into a confusing declare blocker phase. In :manaw::manab: Weenie this is used to take out any threats with the various tokens generated by Emeria Angel or others, and in both of these decks the pros and cons are generally the same. And Eldrazi (excluding Ulamog) die easily to this.
Pros:
Low Mana Cost
Recurring
Effect is worth the cost
Cons:
Need of a Creature
Creature most likely not going to survive the combat step
Counter magic stops recurring power

Overall this version of the card is good in the design of what it does and will get the crucial points of damage or creature kill to survive another day. And here is the next example of what doesn't always die to it.
http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/tcg/products/riseoftheeldrazi/lakwhdyb5a_EN.jpg
Totem Armor -- If enchanted creature would be destroyed, instead remove all damage from it and destroy this Aura.

A few people thought that Boar Umbra is going to fit nicely in Jund decks for a cascade flip, and swing with a 6/5 Bloodbraid Elf or a possible 7/7 Putrid Leech. I think that that assumption is right as well as when the creature would die, it stays on the board which Jund is all about, board presence. Yet if i tested it in my friends Jund deck it would be daunting to figure out which cards to take out due to his very fragile 29 land base. So decks that would be fit to this are probably Omnath/Khalni Hydra mono green, Naya, or Jund decks. With the lower usage of Bituminous Blast i would not expect to see this on any other turn but the person using it's. And i think right now that with increasingly better green and black cards i may make a :manab::manag: deck. So i am going to rack up the tallies.
Pros:
Good Cascade Flip
Wrath effect negation
Aggressive at :mana2::manag:
Cons:
Creature is a bigger target
not as good late game
So with looking over the card, i give it a staple for any deck trying to get large amounts of damage in early game. And this is not the greatest slow play card in my opinion, but this is a really nice one for slow play.
http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/tcg/products/riseoftheeldrazi/2u7dxvun2m_EN.jpg
Level up -- Put a level counter on this. Level up only as a sorcery

When choosing Level up cards in general you must take a few things into account. 1 does the Level up cost seem reasonable for the deck i have. 2 can i have protection for any problems with me leveling up the creature. 3 Is the total investment worth the entire cost of the level up and the abilities?. In this case the decks that are feasible for this are mono blue, and cruel control. this guy is an amazing play when all the counter magic you want is in your hand, and if you have the new Sphinx of Magosi. And it is essentially the same for Cruel Control. I would love to see a deck use this card and make it work 90% of the time. The total investment is for the level up is :mana1::manau::manau::manau::manau::manau::manau: :manau::manau: that gives you extra turns at the end of an opponents turn and is 3/5, pretty solid if you ask me, because the earliest you should play him is 3, but 4 is going to keep him safe with countermagic.
Pros:
His "ultimate" level is worth the investment
Second and Third "stage" of the creature is out of bolt range
Cheap, easy to use and abuse
Cons:
He needs protection
At least 2 more level counters each turn after you play him to get some mileage
Overall this guy can be a monster if played right, because he is a huge target the entire time. But the next slot of my five picks is one that has a strange deck possibility.
http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/tcg/products/riseoftheeldrazi/bizsqeajti_EN.jpg
This is my second favorite card so far spoiled in RotE and raises a few possibilities. I have already made a defender deck that uses this as a kill condition along with comet storm. But i think that this guy lies more in the America/Norway/French/British/Australian/and other countries that have :manaw::manau::manar: in the flags colors. I think that this being a sleeper in the deck along with the popular Wall of Denial and rising Perimeter Captain. Vent Sentinel is a viable card in a defender deck that uses red. My deck always had run into mana problems and not drawing kill conditions so i will not share it. But the America/whatever control can always use another 2-4 damage per turn that is constant. Only time will tell if this is a good or great common in the set.
Pros:
Constant damage for defenders
Out of lightning bolt range
Cons:
Can be killed by typical black removal
Cost may be to high
This card is very iffy whether it is good enough to make a deck around, but the next card, my current favorite in the set, is already being talked about being put in Jund, and adding skill to Jund. Yes here he is, the self destructive Sarkhan the Mad!
http://www.wizards.com/mtg/images/tcg/products/riseoftheeldrazi/5yyfy6sd6g_EN.jpg
This is already my favorite card as I mentioned because i always thought that the original Sarkhan was under used, and this guy is just what i liked to see. I already tried making a deck around him and it was pretty solid. And Jund using his first ability to just take the top card is amazing card advantage, not to mention a tough choice over sacrificing a Sprouting Thrinax to get a replacement force of the three 1/1 Saprolings and a 5/5 flying Dragon! The Ultimate ability is even more strange to use when you have two 4/4 dragons on the board swinging and dealing 8 damage in the second main phase. Some may see this as personal preference, and it is a little but i am best suited with a deck of :manar::manaw: tokens. So lets take a look
Pros:
Has good card advantage
Makes small creatures big
Can use ultimate on his first turn out
Cons:
Confusing to use at some times
Only goes down in loyalty

I hope this article has made you think a little bit more of possibilities with RotE cards and that at least some of you play standard. This has been DW and that is the insight.


My Accounts on MTGvault are TheDreadedWaffle and Squid
here is my Sarkhan the Mad deck