The State of Standard #5

Current Standard

Wabbbit

3 February 2014

2052 views

Welcome one and all to the fifth edition of my The State of Standard! This time around we will be continuing the Born of the Gods previews, but this time with all the interesting cards from the whole set! Let's get started!

Before we begin new previews, I would like to re-preview some of the cards from my last articles. These are the cards that my mind has changed on, or that I would like to amend the rating or wording of my preview. First off we have

• Before I start on this card, I would like to give to give a shout out to omnipotato for pointing out some things on Xenagos that I didn't take into account in my last article. His comment basically said how Xenagos already has an archetype that would love to have him, and that in the right environment, it wouldn't be a rare thing to have Xenagos come into play as a creature on turn THREE*! A well constructed comment and good feedback have boosted my rating of this card. Rating**: 8/10.

• Big thanks to ColdHeartedSith for challenging me on this card, although I still stand by what I said before. True, Blight CAN be very good against devotion decks. But that's just the problem. Bile Blight needs specific situations to be as good as it can be, and granted when it is it's very, very good. But on any other occasion it can be a dead card that can't even kill anything in play, or it can be a worse choice then something like Hero's Downfall which guarantees a kill. I can't stress enough that I see the value of it against devotion, and yes it will probably be powerful in MBD. New Rating: 8/10

Alright, let's get to some new previews! I will divide the set into the colors, starting with

WHITE

White has possibly the best card of the set, but after that there isn't a super ton to talk about.

• My biggest problem with this card is: will it have a spot? Is it good enough to recreate the Auras archetype? Auras seems to have all the pieces it needs to make a good showing. Unflinching Courage, Witchstalker, Gladecover Scout, Ethereal Armor, Hero of Iroas. And this card. Only time will tell if this guy will give rise to a new archetype, but I have another question: is there an already existing archetype that would like to have him? The prime deck is probably White Weenie, but in that build our Eidolon has to compete with the new premier three drop, Brimaz. I think it COULD find a home in White Weenie, but again, we will just have to wait and see. Rating: 6/10.

• This is a nice little card. A 2/1 passes the vanilla with flying colors, and this lil guy gets even better by having FLYING stacked onto him! His drawback is basically non existent in the right deck, but the real question is can he surpass cards like Soldier of the Pantheon and other premier one drops. Time will tell, but right now I'm really liking this card. Rating: 6/10.

• This is an interesting card. It effectively stops Underworld Connections and Sphinx's Revelation, among other cards of course, but those are probably the largest threats that this card stops. A 3/1 isn't the optimal P/T for a two mana card, but it's not something to sneeze at. Overall, I like this card! I could see it seeing some play as a sideboard option for something like Esper or Azorius in the mirror match, but probably nothing main board. Not sure if it has the right size for white weenie, most likely not. Overall, I could see this being a decent sideboard card or a no show. Rating: 5/10.

BLUE

Blue really doesn't have much to offer, and I can't see really any cards worth discussing.

• Here's another card that I think has more place in the sideboard then the mainboard. I could see maybe Esper or MUD playing him in their sideboards. For MUD he supplies great devotion (granted not any better then other staple cards MUD is currently running) and help in the mirror. Heroic is just such a pain. I can't think of really any deck putting targeting cards mainboard or sideboard just to help this guy out. MAYBE a sideboard card, but probably not much better. Rating: 4/10.

BLACK

Black has much more to offer, some very strong cards are coming out of black.

• Talk about lame mythics! Why does WOTC consistently give us the worst, most disappointing mythic rares? I mean seriously, as a standard player, I just sigh when I see something like this. Sure EDH will have great fun with this guy, but this article isn't on EDH. He's not even that cool, and this is coming from someone who tried to break the worst of cards. His mana cost and ability costs are just abysmal. Rating: 3/10

• Not quite Damnation, but black players still have to like this card. At three mana, Sorrow is almost the perfect cost. Any more and it would be unplayable. It wipes most White Weenie decks clear off the field, and has a nice little scry 1 stitched onto it. Overall, a very strong card that could see play in multiple builds. Rating: 7/10.

• I wasn't originally going to review Gild, but then ChrisHansonBiomancin and Ohthenoises pointed out something that I had somehow overlooked: it takes care of Gods. In any other standard, Gild is a funny buck rare, but with Gods in the arena, it could very well be a premier sideboard option for any deck running black. I don't think it will hit the mainboard, but sideboard is a very viable option. Sorcery speed is always annoying, but most decks will be able to get around that. And then, just in case you want it, you get a gold token! Woo! Rating: 6/10.

• In my opinion, this is one of the stronger cards of the set. It's Desecration Demons little brother, and he can also be used to pump up his bro! I've done some playtesting with this guy in a BNG updated MBD, and he's a beast. He gives two devotion, has a great P/T for a three mana card, he flies, he can boost other creatures you have, and all this with a barely noticeable drawback. Great card. Rating: 8/10.

• This is, surprisingly, one of my favorite cards from the set. Don't ask me why, I don't really know. 6B is a lot of mana for a 4/5, but how good could he be in MBD? I think not good enough, probably. He starts out as too dead a card, and hits the field at probably around the same time he would if you hardcasted him anyway. So yeah, not strong enough. sadface. Rating: 4/10.

• If there's one card people were talking about the most, it was Pain Seer. I think it's funny that WOTC always tries to recreate Bob. It won't work Wizards. Well, not as strong as Bob, but probably ANOTHER tool for MBD (ugh). Will it take Underworld Connections place? Probably not. Could it be a good sideboard option? I could see that, yeah. It generates nice card advantage, but mainly against control where blockers aren't as numerous. Expect inspired to be going off consistently in a control vs. MBD matchup. Overall, a good card. Just not great. Rating: 6/10.

RED

Red has some good stuff to offer us, but probably not as much as black.

• Not as disappointing as Champion of Stray Souls, but definitely not Brimaz level. You basically have two card here, lets look at them. First off, we have a four mana 5/5 flyer. Considering a five mana 5/5 flyer is awesome, a four mana one is even better. No haste, but it still ends up attacking on the same turn a Thundermaw Hellkite would anyway. The second creature is a 3/3 flyer with haste and the ability to return to its owners hand when it dies. THAT is an annoying effect. Oh, you couldn't deal with the 5/5 flyer? Well if you live through the 3/3 and kill it, you could still have to deal with a 5/5! This card is should have a nice fit in Gruul Monsters, and maybe even Big Boros or RDW. Rating: 6/10.

• This is another of my personal favorites from the set. I really like the idea of giving your opponent the nasty option of a 5/3 hasty or an uknown free instant or sorcery. Like maybe Enter the Infinite shenanigans. As far as competitive play, his guy probably won't be seeing any. A deck that he would fit into would be like an RDW type deck, and the only instants or sorcery's that see play in that are like Lightning Strike and such. Four mana for a 3/1 haste and a Lightning Strike? Eh. The type of deck that would play him just wouldn't have the right cards to support him. Rating: 5/10.

• Although Aerie Worshipers is probably a bit better in pure abilities, this guy actually has a possible fit. A three mana 2/1 haste isn't going to set any records, but haste enables him to immediately become tapped, allowing him to start pumping out tokens that much faster. His tokens are probably the best of his cycle, and he can just start getting brutal if he stays around too long. But will a competitive RDW or Boros deck want him? He can be a mana sink in the late game, but I'm not sure how much mana I'll want to be spending on his ability early on, and he just flat out isn't good enough with just his P/T and haste. Red decks want to be playing lots of creatures and burning lots of things, but this satyr creates his own creatures. I can see him seeing some decent play, but we will just have to wait and see how big of an impact he makes. Rating: 6/10.

GREEN

Green is the best color in the set because it HAS THE BEST CARD IN STANDARD RIGHT NOW AND ITS THE FIRST CARD I'M REVIEWING!!

• Um, 10/10? ......Duh? And this

• Can't contend with the above card, but this centaur holds his own. I've played with and against this guy, and he's a beast in not only Maze's End decks, but basically everything. He has a great P/T, it's awesome that he's out of Lightning Strike range. He grants great ramp, and can help with mana screw. The lifegain isn't anything huge, but whatever. Not actually much to say.....I mean look at him! Rating: 7/10.

MULTICOLOR

• I've playtested with this card, and along with Herald of Torment, this guy is one of the cards I'm most impressed with. He's just bonkers. It really is pick your poison with him. A 4/4 trample for 1GR (probably better then Loxodon Smiter, if not then very close) OR a 4/4 trample haste that becomes a 3/3 trample after he bashes in the turn he comes down. Every way you look this card is amazing. Naya, Gruul and basically any deck that has green and red will love this card. Rating: 8/10.

• I don't really care for Kiora. Her abilities don't really interest me and I don't think many decks will want her. Her +1 is decent, basically Fogging one thing. Her -1 is where she starts getting pretty good. Nice card advantage all around, a very good -1. Her -5 bores me, I'm never very interested in fatty's or the creation of them. I feel like WOTC could have made her more interesting. Overall, she's just decent. Rating: 6/10.

• And last but certainly not least of the BNG set reviews, we have the final God. Phenax was the God I was most exited for, and I must say I was disappointed. Now, before you start yelling and screaming, I mean that I personally am not that interested in mill. I guessed that he would mill and I was right, so I was bummed. BUT, I think he's a solid card. He's just so darn hard to remove, even harder then Jace the memory Adept. Jace mills for ten a turn usually, and Phenax mills for seven a turn and can be a big 4/7 bruiser. I'm not sure what deck would play him, though. Would control decks be willing to play just him in order to not sacrifice any more important card slots for more creatures? Is he a better alternate win con for control then AEtherling? Will dimir mill actually become a threat? These are the questions that have to be asked. Overall, a strong card when you simply look at his abilities and the implications. I would say either second or tied for first of the new Gods. Rating: 7/10 or 8/10.

Think I'm totally bonkers on some of my reviews? Tell me! Have any cards that you wish I had reviewed? Tell me that too, and I'll review them in my next article! Have any ideas for other articles on standard that you want me to write? Tell me, I need the ideas!

GRAN PRIX VANCOUVER

Oh yeah, through all the hubbub around BNG, we had a standard Grand Prix! I'm not going to talk very much about it, but future Grand Prix's (like usual) will be getting more attention. In the top eight we saw the usual cast of MUD, MBD, and Azorius Control. Seems like the calm before the storm of a new set. The best three decks come out to play in a stereotypical Grand Prix, and then it all breaks loose when BNG comes out. It was about time Azorius won, if you ask me. It had come up with numerous high placings, and finally it pulled it off.

CHALLENGE

I'm going to keep the same challenge as last time going. Don't worry those who submitted their decks last time, they have all been noted. Next time around I'll pick two winners and battle them as usual, and the winner will receive a feature token.

Here's the challenge again:

For a challenge I want to see some brainstorming for decks centered around BNG cards, and maybe your deck will appear in my next article! I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, as in I'm not sure if I'll do another versus between two winners this week, or if I'll just do a kind of MTG Workshop thingy. We will just have to see, but the main thing I want is deck ideas!

One last thing: are there any ideas that you the community would like me to implement into my articles? Like maybe a standard deck workshop where you guys would send in your decks (if I want to do that, haha)? Or like a community standard deck that we would all build? Any ideas are welcome!

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