Most underrated common(s)
Standard forum
Posted on Jan. 22, 2014, 7:53 p.m. by thewyzman
I'm sure there's been threads like this before, but I'm asking this time:
What are some common cards that you feel are underrated as such, in Standard?
Like...
Duress , not necessarily underrated or underplayed as almost every pro deck carries them in main or sideboards ...but as a cheap common they can make your opponent discard anything from gods and their weapons, to boardwipers and planeswalkers.
Ethereal Armor , a +1/+1 buff and first strike for one mana? Why would any white deck not run it? Same with...
Celestial Flare , guaranteed to take out someone important to your opponent, be it a beefy blocker or a dangerous attacker.
What else?....
GoldGhost012 says... #3
Read the Bones is a pretty great draw spell. I really like it.
Firefist Striker really helps beat down too.
Pit Fight is probably the best green removal in Standard right now.
And of course, Sedge Scorpion , because Sedge Scorpion , but mostly because 1-drop deathtouch.
January 22, 2014 8:01 p.m.
Plummet
should have a place in every green mage's sideboard.
January 22, 2014 8:11 p.m.
but GoldGhost012, Firefist Striker is uncommon! Anyways, my vote goes to Cloudfin Raptor .
January 22, 2014 8:29 p.m.
Epochalyptik, When I say "underrated" what I mean is simply that the potential for the card can be immense, but Duress is probably only a common because it can also fail to create a discard... but even still, it gives you valuable knowledge of what your opponent is holding and help you plan your subsequent plays accordingly. I would pay a single swamp any time if I could yank that Elspeth, Sun's Champion (the ultimate win-con at my local U/W-crazy FNM) from my opponent's hand. If knowledge is power, than this card has potential value of at least an uncommon. Last rotation I used to sideboard Appetite for Brains just in case I went up against beast decks (i.e., Thragtusk , Huntmaster of the Fells Flip , etc.). Intel can be invaluable, and that 1 swamp can change the pace of the early game.
First strike, at least to me, will always be special in creature combat.
Right now, and likely for many more moons, aggro will be the most popular meta, and Celestial Flare fares nicely in that respect. And with all the protection around, spells like Devour Flesh and Celestial Flare see through all that, but CF usually targets an opponent's more prized creatures.
January 22, 2014 8:31 p.m.
lord_of_the_snakes says... #9
Grisly Salvage and Commune with the Gods , both wonderful, allow me to pick through my deck to get what i need and throw away unnecessary trash. just underrated because it kill extra cards.
January 22, 2014 9:04 p.m.
I found Vaporkin to be useful in my mono-flier deck, but it dies to Doom Blade , so it doesn't see much use outside of my fake deck.
January 22, 2014 9:26 p.m.
Drown in Filth has been an all-star in my Standard dredge deck. After a Commune with the Gods or Grisly Salvage , it turns into a Tragic Slip . It nukes gods, Stormbreath Dragon s, Desecration Demon s, etc. Early on, it can shoot mana dorks and even Scavenging Ooze .
I'm never sad to see one.
January 22, 2014 9:43 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #12
I agree with a lot of the above selections, but to avoid redundancy I'll put in a plug for Nylea's Disciple . Usually mono-Green shells are a tick slower than true aggro decks like RDW but obviously with a much better endgame, and that guy can easily put the game out of reach.
I'm also surprised that no one has mentioned Aqueous Form .
The only one I really disagree with is Sedge Scorpion , since it should never see Constructed play for as long as Wasteland Viper remains in Standard.
January 22, 2014 11:01 p.m.
Pit Fight BECAUSE INSTANT SPEED FIGHTING, this card won me FNMs before Innistrad block rotated out. Always had my Wolfir Avenger and Wolfir Silverheart murder Huntmaster of the Fells Flip and Olivia Voldaren before their abilities became useful and won.
That pesky Nightveil Specter whoring devotion? Murder it in response to Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Master of Waves .
January 22, 2014 11:34 p.m.
I love Simic and Golgari, so I totally love Grisly Salvage . I only have one "true" dredge deck, and for some unknown reason it's lacking a few Drown in Filth .
I haven't played mono-green, but Nylea's Disciple , along with a full set of Elvish Mystic would definitely be a must-have for me because of all the local aggro decks.
Sedge Scorpion definitely fits the Common criteria of the thread, but yeah, Wasteland Viper is one of my favorite 1-drops, effectively used with Pit Fight to snipe an enemy creature.
I thought Aqueous Form was ridiculous without the Scry add-on. Yeah, much fun!
Lots of good comments here, it's fun to build effective decks using commons to smash others' mythics, and refreshing to see great cards that aren't cash pits.
Epochalyptik says... #2
I don't really know if your assessment of Duress and Ethereal Armor as underrated is true.
Duress is a strong discard spell, and it would be played more if Thoughtseize weren't an option. As it is, some decks play a mix of both.
Ethereal Armor was a Standard staple pre-rotation because Bant Hexproof wrecked with it. It's still not bad, but the deck lost several of its critical creatures. Most decks don't run Ethereal Armor because +1/+1 and first strike is an unnecessary use of a slot outside voltron.
January 22, 2014 7:57 p.m.