Part 3 UP!
Nu mai pot adauga la primul post (am atins maximul de caractere)
Also, post-ul lui Conley de astazi cuprinde, ca sa vezi Alb si Orzhov. Ne potrivim in mare parte, eu am fost mai darnic cu 0.5 in plus la cele mai multe dintre carti insa sunt si cateva carti la care se observa diferente mai mari (Blind Obediance, Boros Elite, Smite, Immortal Servitude etc)
LINK :
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=10975
PART 3 - BLACK & DIMIR
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[u]
BLACK[/u]
Basilica Screecher
1.5 – I know that this bat is trying to act Orzhov but I feel he is at home in Dimir decks. Evasion is all that Dimir decks hope to have. They’ve got plenty in blue and dimir cards but a few black cards here and there with evasion are welcomed any time. Unlike the Sprite, this flyer can’t turn on the aggressive mode and we’ll just have to be ok with Extort on it which can act as a +1/+1 from time to time. Sadly he is pretty bad at blocking, all 1 / 2’s are. The best thing about the bat is that he will carry enchantments and be encoded a lot so that he becomes from a semi-unplayable card, a sought after one. Still, there are many better 2 drops out there, even for Dimir and Orzhov.
Balustrade Spy
2.5 – I believe that this flyer is a solid one since with its 2/3 stats he can block 2/2’s all day long. Besides blocking, he is a very good attacker by having evasion and 2 power. Its other ability is there just to grind the opponent some more in a grind centric deck (Grind is a mechanic that never got to print – Mark Rosewater intended on having it the Dimir mechanic for Gatecrash but he designed Cipher in the end – still tough, a lot of cards with the grind mechanic were printed in this set)
Contaminated Ground
0.5 – Some enchant lands are actually good but this one is a bad one. It reminds me of
Chronic Flooding, a card that punished new players for thinking only the best case scenario. In truth,
Chronic Flooding turned out to be a constructed plant that enabled self mill deck but this this ain’t worth it even in constructed. It is merely a sideboard card at best against 4-5 color decks. Sadly, those decks will run Black and therefore having only the 2 life loss for maybe once in a match but here I’m being optimistic.
Corpse Blockade
2,0 – Only now did I notice there might be a common Defender cycle of 1 / 4’s in GTC. The white one had extort and was good in Orzhov, the blue one was underpowered but had evolve to grow a little and now we have this defender which I think, it will turn out to be pretty good. Blocking 3/3, 2/3, 2/4 etc and being able to kill those creatures from time to time is relevant enough to play these guys in the most grindiest decks out there (looking at Orzhov but Dimir isn’t known for its short games either)
Crypt Ghast
1.5 – This guy is good but don’t be fooled by its power in constructed. In limited is not where his playground lies. He’s just a bear that ramps you a bit. Not sure if he can be on par with other for drops in the format that have better stats for limited. His ramp will only be relevant from time to time and since you won’t be playing mono-black any time soon then maybe he will just ramp with just 2-3 mana at most. I don’t think I would play this card if my deck doesn’t have at least one or two 6-7 drop.
Death's Approach
1.0 – Bad enchantment is bad. He may cost just one mana but sometimes and that’s maybe a lot of times he will just be a blank card. The best deck for him might be one with a lot of removal and when I say a lot I mean over 8-9 pieces. It always wants you to already be in the drivers seat by having already casted a bunch of removal. Not recommended for decks even if your removal is slim.
2.0 – Now I know I have criticized it a lot in the last paragraph but I think I found its place. If you play it with at least 5-6 mill cards it will be viable even though you do not play a ton of removal. Therefore, in a mill deck it will be an all-star and guess what? It will come as a 11th -12th pick so if you go the mill route some bonus cards will be awaiting you at the end of the pack, it seems.
Devour Flesh
3.0 – Devour Flesh is awesome. An edict is an edict and should be treated with respect. The lifegain won’t be that relevant since Dimir wants to win with incremental advantage (mostly card advantage but it can also mill the opponent pretty well) and Orzhov tends to be the grindiest deck of them all. This card should be picked till 4 pack at most so be sure to pick them up for your slow deck.
Dying Wish
0.0 – Trappy trap card is trap. If you change the T with a C in all instances you get the same thing. We are not in AVR where you would have a big loner out there and once you get that
Essence Harvest you just cast it for lethal. That was possible but it did not happen that often. In GTC there aren’t so many big boys surrounding black cards so this one Is just a trap card since it also requires you to have that creature dead. If it would be too big than it might just win the game on its own and it is very possible that your opponent won’t be able to block it to death. It is a really bad card. Thank God it’s uncommon and will not come that often in limited. I wouldn’t want my dying wish to be this card.
Gateway Shade
2.5 – The shade is good. Almost any shade is good in limited and this one makes no exception. It is one of the first shades I have seen that can be activated with something other than black, and even for more power. This card will make every 4-5 color deck feel strong. It has the ability to let that player get into the late game with ease. It’s also good in Dimir or Orzhov where you can encode it on get to the late game and tap a lot of lands to give it boost.
Grisly Spectacle
3.0 – Grisly Spectacle is a solid removal card. For just 4 mana you get an instant speed removal that gets rid of almost any creature on the battlefield. As a bonus, you get to mill some cards too. As far as I can see, black seems to get a lot of removal this time around, and at common too so maybe it will regain its true power as the best removal color. In the last sets it kinda lacked that since removal was scarce overall and long lasting games weren’t that often played. I would play this card in all my black decks.
Gutter Skulk
1.0 – Nothing cool about this card to tell. He is a 2/2 bear in a format where black decks are the slowest of them all. I would not play this card in this format unless I don’t have any other ok card to put in that 2 drop slot.
Horror of the Dim
1.0 – Seems like that
Rubbleback Rhino we had a set ago wasn’t ok leveled in power and Wizards decided to make a black one that requires activation cost for hexproof. I don’t think I would play this card because of its not so great stats on a 5 drop. He can just fill some role from time to time. Best thing to do with it is to enchant it with some ridiculous enchantment because he is I think, the only hexproof-er of the set. Hexproof on demand that is, for one U.
Illness in the Ranks
0.5 – Sideboard for limited but not in GTC. There aren’t so many relevant token generators in GTC to make it playable or even sideboard worthy. It will be good in the spring just against
Eyes in the skies and shrinking centaur and knight tokens but I don’t think anyone would love to have this in his/her deck.
Killing Glare
4.0 – Another great removal spell. Maybe the best in the set. I would play this card even in non-black decks. It reminds me of
Death Wind but It is a shame it’s an uncommon. It is a very much needed removal spell in a limited and it will not come around so often.
Lord of the Void
4.0 – Ridiculous bomb it is. 7/7 flyers for 7 mana would be good on its own but it also mills the opponent and almost always nets you another creature. I’ve found the reason to play
Crypt Ghast in limited, seriously (yep, rare and mythic...quite possible indeed). Play this in every black deck you make because 7 mana isn’t something you will never get to . This time around, black is paired with white and blue and has a lot of defensive cards.
Mental Vapors
0.5 – Weak card in limited. Even repeatable discard is something that is worthless in 50% of the game. Some opponents will just drop anything they have by turn 4-5 and leave you with a 4-mana do nothing. Of course it is great against other controlish decks that try to win by gaining card advantage. I would definitely use after sideboard against those strategies but I’m not sure is worth mainboarding it that often. It feels like Mind Rot at most.
Midnight Recovery
3.0 – Now this is one cipher card I’m eager to try. It is some sort of combo enabler, I feel. It is a
Disentomb a turn if played on the correct creature and in a deck with the 1 / 4 defender than can get deathtouch for sacrificing a creature or with other “sacrifice a creature:do that” it seems like a good card. As I said, repeatable graveyard recursion feels powerful enough to mainboard.
Ogre Slumlord
3.5 – It’s very powerful in a black deck. You’ve seen how many removal spells black holds and this one plays well with black deck strategies. You will slow the game so much that your opponent will feel it’s impossible for them to win. It’s that incremental advantage that counts for black decks and this a fantastic card for that. It needs support but it is also good on its own. 3/3 for 5 is good enough to be played and that fact that any creature that dies transforms into a token on your side of the field is great.
Sepulchral Primordial
4.0 – Each of these primordials are great in Limited. Even though they were made for EDH they are actually great value in limited too. The black one has the advantage of being in the grindiest color of them all and having one of the most powerful abilities out there for limited. Besides Intimidate with almost guarantees a 5/4 unblockable, it also revives a creature from your opponent’s graveyard and puts it directly onto the battlefield under your control. Very good seven drop
Shadow Alley Denizen
1.0 – A one-drop that does not impress at all. Gaining intimidate is relevant but I don’t feel is good for the black decks this time around. Maybe in another environment would make more sense.
Shadow Slice
2.0 –
Bump in the Nightvariant that feels much more powerful overall. This can turn your black unblockable 1/3’s , 2/2’s into fantastic beaters and can change your game plan all together. It will have its role in an evasion deck. But it only feels good for Dimir decks so it doesn’t pass the 2.5 test.
Slate Street Ruffian
2.0 – The Ruffian is a bear with a certain upside. He feels like an unblockable card for the first few turns of the game when your opponent will prefer 2 damage instead of discarding a card. After some time though, he will just be a 2/2 like any other bear out there. Still, he does fill a 3-drop spot in the Dimir Deck and will be playe accordingly. Do not play this in Orzhov decks because it doesn’t seem to fit there that well.
Smog Elemental
2.5 – 6 mana for 3/3 flyer is definitely worth it when it ensure that your opponents flyers are smaller and can trade or get eaten by the Smog. The flavor seems fantastic on this card and its power in limited cannot be denied. Play it in your black decks as often as possible, you will not be disappointed.
Syndicate Enforcer
1.5 – A 3/2 extorter for 4 mana. I’m not sure where he works best. It is somewhere between Orzhov and Dimir but for the moment I cannot find that spot where he’s good. But I guess he does wonders in an all Extort deck. That’s right, Orzhov will thrive best when you will assemble a board full of extorters. Having a minimum of 4-5 on the table seems like powerful extortions.
Thrull Parasite
1.0 – If this card gets played in anything it will only be in Extort centred decks that I talked about earlier. Unless you play him in that deck he does not seem too powerful. The pay 2 life ability will very rarely be useful in limited since that’s a Simic thing and Simic has evolve and can just get the counters back pretty 'easy. Also, paying 2 life is not worth it. Maybe in constructed it can be ridiculous against some artifact or Planeswalkers but in Limited he is good only in Extort.deck
Undercity Informer
2.0 – The stats are already great for a 3 drop. What else does it do? It grinds for 1 mana and a creature. The creature cost is kind of steep but it is actually the mana cost that makes it not broken in constructed. Therefore, they had to double cost it like this, otherwise it would have made some infinite combo’s in modern and mill the opponent out with 2-3 pieces assembled. The creature cost, as I said, in limited feels kind of bad but with that “ 3-mana return to hand when dies creature ” you can assemble a 4-mana combo grind, out of a common and an uncommon. It also works good with the cipher card that returns a creature from graveyard to hand. I feel he will be a good piece for the mill deck and will table a lot of the times, making the mill deck much more appealing for draft, unless it will be the deck to beat in the format and everyone will try drafting it which could dilute its power overall.
Undercity Plague
2.0 – This card is good only because it has “target player sacrifices a permanent on it”. Repeatable sacrifice a permanent in limited is very powerful but it does not deserve a better grade because in limited, players tend to mana flood a lot of the times and they will sacrifice their lands most of the time. The lose 1 life isn’t all that relevant and the discard a card clause can come in handy but I wouldn’t count on it, just like with the other cipher card that discards a card every turn.
Wight of Precinct Six
2.0 – This guy is ideal for Mill decks as a secondary plan if the grind cards fail to win you the game. He can get gigantic if you get to mill at least 5-6 creatures which in limited isn’t that impossible. In a mill oriented deck he will be like a 3.5 because of the great boost that he can get. And by the way, everyone plays at least 9-10 creatures in limited so he can find enough creatures when the opponent is milled.
DIMIR
The secretive guild is back and it has got a lot of power since its last appearence.. There aren’t many guilds in RTR block that can play two strategies and play them both well. Dimir is one of those. Whether you go for the evasion route which Dimir loves a lot by surprising the opponent with unblockable threats that are encoded with some good spells and try gaining as much knowledge as possible (drawing cards, making tokens) or try ripping the opponent out of his clothes (discard his cards, sacrifice his permanents, making him lose life) or go for the milling route with the so many grind and mill cards that are available in GTC is just a matter of choice. Dimir loves to enter the opponent’s mind and reach for as much information as possible and it does that through milling and library manipulation (ex.
Dimir Charm). It is a guild of knowledge after all.
Going Dimir requires some alternative pieces:
A) good evasive creatures (at least 5-6 of them)
B) at least 3-4 cipher cards
C) a lot of removal to defend yourself
D) one – three finishers of choice (6+ mana creatures)
OR
A) good defensive creatures (with defender or with high toughness)
B) at least 6-7 mill / grind cards
C) a lot of removal to defend yourself
D) a few card advantage cards ( cards that draw cards, cards that make opponent discard cards)
Bane Alley Broker
3.0 – I would play this card in Dimir, BUG or Esper decks so that I can find the best cards in my deck . It is not exactly the best card advantage machine but it does have the option of you getting back the cards you exiled with it as long as the Broker doesn’t die. It is very good for exiling extra lands for more value. This card is a great Dimir tool. Don’t get fooled by its silly stats. It can also attack in a BUG deck by activating Bloodrush on one of the monsters in the deck.
Call of the Nightwing
2.5 – Sweet flying tokens are sweet. There is a card that deals with tokens, especially with 1/1 tokens and if a player does draft 2-3 of this card then maybe playing that sideboard card is a legit thing to do. But, in normal games, this card will gain you a lot of advantage once you encode it onto an evasive creature. It provides both a blocker and another great creature for the Encoding process. It enables the first type of Dimir Deck.
Consuming Aberration
4.0 – This thing is crazy good in the mill deck. You can have a 20/20 gigantic aberration out there that’s still growing everytime you play a spell. That just does not feel right. Since there is no “exile all cards in a graveyard” card in GTC, this will not ungrow unless you deal with it mano-a-mano. Blocking and trading with it seems impossible after a certain point so there remains kill spells. Be careful to actually kill it because if you just enchant it with something and stop its aggressiveness it will devour your deck with its triggered ability. This is no joke. It will consume you very fast if not dealt with it immediately.
Dimir Charm
0.5 – The Dimir Charm is very bad for Limited. I’ve looked at all abilities a couple of times but they just don’t seem to click for limited. There aren’t many sorceries around in limited, Creatures with power 2 or less that are relevant for the long game are already in Dimir’s colors so playing a mirror is not a real chance in draft and in Sealed you will just prefer to play a better card. Also, selecting one of the 4 cards in either yours or your opponents library does not seem that good because it does not cantrip. You will hate it that its card disadvantage. I feel this card is worse than
Rakdos Charm in limited.
Dinrova Horror
3.5 – This card takes an effect of an instant/sorcery from old ravnica and tapes it onto a creature. That is fantastic for limited, I must add. You get double value by playing just one card. 6 mana is the right price for this card and it will be a very good card in many limited decks, not only Dimir ones. It is card advantage in a beast form.
Duskmantle Guildmage
1.0 – This Guildmage is much more better in constructed where it can be build around him, just like
Vizkopa Guildmage of the Orzhov Guild. His abilities are really underwhelming in limited and they are overcosted for what a limited player can afford. It seems silly for a mill strategy to start chopping the opponents life total but if that’s how you decided to settle for your strategy then good luck. Maybe with grind cards his first ability can finish the opponent much faster but that’s a matter of chance and not of skill. I won’t play this mage in limited that often. If he would have granted unblockability for UB it would have been good for limited. His second ability is just too expensive for what it does…8 mana – mill 4 every turn.(too slow)
Duskmantle Seer
3.5 – The ratio between mana cost and stats is perfect. I know it can kill you if you reveal too many expensive spells but you can build your deck accordingly. My advice is to not play him in the mill deck because he is very good at racing and that requires fast evasive creatures in a Dimir deck.
Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
3.5 – Lazav, on the other hand, is a mythic that fits best in the milling deck. He loves to copy those pesky bombs your opponent has in his/her deck. Without playing mill as a main strategy he will just be an ok card with Hexproof which is relevant because you can play some enchantments on him and ruin the day for your opponent.
Mind Grind
3.5 – The supreme mill card. Pay 5-6 for the X and watch your opponent sigh a lot. It can win games on its own but with a little help from other mill cards it can win the games much faster. Play it accordingly with your strategy.
Mortus Strider
2.5 – This card will never die, as a matter of fact. In limited, paying mana is not that horrible for such a great recursion-er. He will come back and block each and every turn that 7/6 vanilla your opponent has in play. This guy is good at enabling some combos and can block indefinitely as long as he doesn’t face tramplers. Will play him most of the time I go either Dimir of Esper.
Paranoid Delusions
2.0 – Mill support card at its best. If you play mill, play this. It will not disappoint. It is cheap, it is effective and does wonders by flushing your opponent’s cards very fast from the top of their library. If you do not play mill however, do not even think of maindecking this card. I don’t think it can win on its own while dissipating your strategy.
Psychic Strike
2.0 – I think this card is the best counterspell for limited that we have in GTC. Maindeck it every time you play mill but is fairly good when you play evasive too.
Soul Ransom
2.0– Soul Ransom is weaker than
Mind Control in Limited because it gives your opponent the chance to get his creature back much more easier. Even if his hand is empty when you steal his creature, he will get to draw two cards (most of the time lands) and dump them in the grave as fast as lightning just to get his/her bomb back. I’m afraid this ain’t gonna be a good maindeck card. I requires a lot of discard and the opponent to play enough bombs to be relevant.
Whispering Madness
2.5 – Madness is what this card will stir among players because of its powerful effect that sort of resets the hands. It is a mill machine on its own. Getting your opponent for 4-5 cards a turn is fantastic while also playing powerful mill spells. If that’s your strategy then pick this card. If your opponent plays more card drawing cards, play this card so that you can get advantage out of it. It is situational but it is powerful where it needs to be.
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