Where have I seen that before?

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mattlohkamp

4 February 2010

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"There is nothing new under the sun," says The Teacher, the man credited with writing the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. Say what you will about biblical accuracy, but you could certainly make the case for 'new' Magic sets. Shock is a weaker Lightning Bolt, Damnation is a black Wrath of God, and Tectonic Edge is a different take on Strip Mine - see what I'm saying? Some people might accuse Wizards of a lack of originality, but I personally find this sort of consistency comforting; it creates a sort of familiarity and cohesiveness between sets of hundreds of cards.

Anyway, it doesn't really take a comprehensive knowledge of Magic's immense card-base to find these little throwbacks and references... all it takes is a few well-executed gatherer searches. You're all lazy, I understand. That's why I've done it for you! Let's take a look at some of the lands (and Zendikons) that Worldwake is introducing - after all, word on the street is that "land matters."

Zendikar's successor features a cycle of common tapland/spell-lands - they come into play tapped, but you get an extra effect for free. And since there's nothing new under the sun, let's see what we can dredge up from Magic's history that fits with these new lands:

• The white one is a pretty good match - a single low-cost effect that gives a single creature protection against the colour of your choice until the end of the turn.
• Mirri's Guile is off-colour, I know, but it's either that or a weaker Ponder - though it's not too far removed from Fifth Dawn's Scry keyword.
• The black graveyard removal is very apropos, as 'crypt' and 'graveyard' are pretty solidly black's domain, and for the exact same cost to boot.

The red and green pairs are a little easier to connect, as their inspiration is right there in the same block - the avenger isn't quite costed the same, but the effects are obviously meant to interact. (on a personal note, I find the fact that the 0/1 plants aren't 1/1 saprolings a little disappointing. I'm sure it's because of the implications it might have for Extended play...)

Worldwake also brings a cycle of rare ally-coloured tapland/manlands- they come into play tapped, tap for one of two colours of mana, and for a little extra they'll turn into a colour-appropriate creature (at instant speed) until the end of the turn.

• The sphinx is oh so apropos, and according to recent ability conventions, vigilance is more white's domain, and 'Serra' is of course a reference to Serra Angel, a close contendor for the Colonnade's ancestry.
• Creeping Tar Pit is pretty close to the Wasp Lancer, with unblockable substituted for flying. Blue and black both share evasion (through flying, landwalk, fear/intimidate, and straight up unblockability) so this checks out nicely, especially considering the main risk with morphing your manland is that you might lose it in combat - but not if it's unable to be blocked.
• The Fiery Hellhound is a good match for Lavaclaw Reaches, with a few colour tweaks - making the Firebreathing effect cost colourless mana (as opposed to the traditional one red, or perhaps slightly more appropriately black/red hybrid) makes it a little easier to integrate into multi-coloured decks. Black has featured the upgraded 'shade' firebreathing ever since Alpha's Frozen Shade, so it's not too much of a stretch to bleed that ability over into a black/red elemental.

• I have to admit, I couldn't really find a good match for Raging Ravine - the 'growing' effect is very green, and triggering it by attacking feels red, but while there are plenty of creatures that pump gradually, I don't think there are any that get bigger each time they attack in this manner. Fangren Firstborn is close, as is an inverse Wicker Warcrawler. So maybe there is something new under the sun.
• If we were free-associating and you said, "Green creature with reach," I'd say, "Spider!" And most of the time I'd be right - but in this case, I'm going to argue that Stirring Wildwood turns into a treefolk. It could almost be a Pincer Spider with the kicker cost waived, but the Cloudcrown Oak makes sense, given the name. The extra point of defense could be the white attribute, or it could be sort of an echo of Pale Recluse, the only other white/green spider aside from Ancient Spider.
• There are a few vanilla '4/2 for 4's out there: Viashino Warrior and its twin, Lizard Warrior; and Giant Cockroach. None of them are colourless, though there is the Pewter Golem, which has the right creature type and power/toughness but the wrong feel. Dread Statuary is definitly a colourless cockroach, just because the creature types on the two red lizards seem important, whereas you're probably going to find less synergy for 'insect.'

Finally, let's take a look at the Zendikon cycle of common auras in the vein of living land, or more specifically, Living Terrain - all of these enchantments turn their targets into colour-appropriate land/creature hybrids, let's see if we can find the inspiration for the creature components:

• The guardian matches pretty easily to the Wall of Heat - same casting cost, same stats, different colour. I suppose you could make the argument that red is more appropriate due to the original's increased power of 2, but making the white zendikon be the defensive one feels right.
• Blue's zendikon is the most striking in terms of power, I think - turn two, enchant the land you played on the first turn, and you essentially have blue Grizzly Bears with flying and haste for only one (blue!!!) mana. Even given the risk of losing a land in combat and missing a turn of mana to tap to attack, I'd say that beats out blue's over-costed drake creatures any day. It's closest off-colour relative is probably Crazed Skirge, although Desert Drake, Gaea's Skyfolk, Leonin Skyhunter, and a slew of other off-coloured flying grizzlies with higher casting costs and different drawbacks keep the Wind Zendikon in good company.
• The black one isn't very interesting - it's an under-costed vanilla 3/3. Drekavac is almost a good fit, just with a different drawback.

• Gerrard's Irregulars are actually a pretty good fit, since zendikons essentially have haste if they're enchanting a land that was already in play before the turn in which they're played, as I mentioned before. Viashino Sandstalker isn't too far off, for that matter.
• We've seen '6/4 for 5's before: Gruul then, Jund or Naya now, a big evenly costed vanilla creature isn't much to get excited about, but it's right where it belongs in terms of the colour wheel.

What do you think of that research? If you've got any insight to offer into the lineage of a particular card, call it out, by all means, and if you can find something more appropriate for Raging Ravine I'd love to hear it.

Either way, get pumped! Worldwake is released on Friday!