The Premium Planeshift Preview: The Good!
**Yes, there are still the few, the proud, the ones intentionally undercosted so we'll play with them and preview writers can get excited about them. Who am I to argue with that? So here they are, Planeshift's best and brightest, ready to go into the all purpose tournament deck construction box. This set has 22 cards that fall into this category, which is pretty good. The way that happened was the overflow of gold cards, which constitute the majority of those 22 and most of the more promising ones. While using them isn't as easy as using normal cards, this is definitely viewed as an excuse to make them more powerful for their casting cost, and that in turn makes them harder to dismiss. I'm going in color order, so the gold cards will be saved for afterwards.
Hobble 1W
Enchant Creature
When Hobble comes into play, draw a card.
Enchanted creature can't attack.
Enchanted creature can't block if it's black.
Cheap cantrip creature control. Who could ask for anything more? To help pay for this great package deal, some of the normal details are missing and the second most important one only works on black creatures. But in practice, does anything but attacking really matter all that much? Definitely, but blocking isn't even number two on the list except against other decks full of ground pounders. He hobbles, doesn't quite fall over and still gets in the way, but there probably wasn't anything to block. If there was going to be something to block he wouldn't be Hobbling in the first place. Creatures that want to walk into a stream of white and green (or white/green) creatures can do so in good form, while some of those seeking more controlling mages will have more trouble. The big problem is that the rebels will just stay home and call on others to do the fighting for them. Don't you just hate those cowards?
Voice of All 2WW
Creature - Angel
Flying
As Voice of All comes into play, choose a color. Voice of All has protection from that color.
2/2
If Voice of Truth is playable in block maindecks, certainly there should be a place for the far superior Voice of All . There should be few decks where there isn't a color worth picking against them. Against Skies Blue works well, against Fires green forces them to burn it out, against Rebels white works well, even against W/U control this can at least block Blinding Angel . If the creature to block is known this can block just about anything without trample. Still, to survive in t2 this has some pretty stiff competition. For one more mana a white mage can get such gems as Mageta or Blinding Angel . There's also the rebel engine to consider. While these are therefore gathering a little dust, don't forget these kind of trump creatures are absent from Invasion. Come the next stand alone this could suddenly become good. But there's also a chance that it still won't do it, because four mana for a 2/2 is just too much even with the right kind of protection.
Dark Suspicions 2BB
Enchantment
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, that player loses 1 life for each card in his or her hand more than you have in your hand.
With an empty hand this is a Black Vise that starts working with the first card. Still, four mana is four mana. Never forget that when paying four mana there are options like Phyrexian Scuta , so doing even three damage a turn isn't necessarily all that amazing. It's a lot harder to stop this than a creature, but it's still one less creature they have to stop. In practice, however, this has a very good chance to plain end the game against control decks. So does the Scuta, but they know they need an answer to the Scuta. In a deck that wants to be aggressive but doesn't want to use creatures, this is an excellent choice. It might even kill them purely off of creature kill stuck in their hand.
Noxious Vapors 1BB
Sorcery
Each Player reveals his or her hand and chooses one card of each color from it, then discards all other nonland cards from it.
This is heavy duty discard. In practice this will leave most players with one or two nonland cards. The problem is that it's unlikely to get more than one card if it isn't cast early on. A first turn Vapors off a Ritual (there's that card again) isn't even likely to be that devastating - it will probably take three cards but it will still leave all the land and the most important spell or likely two spells. A third turn one that resolves might be better, especially against slower decks when going first, but that still opens up things to Counterspell and also makes it more likely that the caster will have discard problems as well. This is definitely worthwhile against slow monocolor decks but on reflection it's not anything dangerous.
Creature - Zombie
Kicker-Pay 3 Life
If you paid the kicker cost, Phyrexian Scuta comes into play with two +1/+1 counters on it.
At first glance I would have put this card at number two for the set behind Terminate . Juzam Djinn is back, although just how broken Juzam would be right now is another question. Three life is basically a trivial payment considering this creature would be a steal if not insane at five mana without the payment. An interesting question for this card: Is the kicker more of an advantage since it doesn't have to be paid or a liability since it means the Scuta can't be brought in at full strength if it isn't cast and the life is lost if the Scuta is countered? I'd say this is probably a WORSE card than if it was straight 5/5 with coming into play effect of lose three life, and that's what makes this signifigantly worse than Juzam Djinn even if it can't accidentally do 20 damage to its controller. It's still a great creature though.
Enchantment
Whenever a permanent is returned to a player's hand, that player discards a card from his or her hand
Can a deck be based around this? Yes. Will the deck be any good? Probably not, if your opponents aren't helping out with their own self-bouncing effects. For the proof, consider a deck full of bounce and think what happens when turn three is spent doing this. Then consider whether the deck is willing to actually tutor or otherwise sacrifice to get its hands on one. That should show that while Warped Devotion may go in decks it's not worth basing a deck around Warped Devotion . Don't rule it out, but there's a lot more going against it than there seems to be at first glance.
Enchantment
3R:Target opponent reveals a card at random from his or her hand.
Planeswalker's Fury does X damage to that opponent, where X is the casting cost of the spell revealed. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery.
Why does Fury make the list where the other four do not? For one vary simple reason: It kills players, and it works where it needs to work, which is against a control deck. Sneak this onto the table and use the counterspells stuck in the helpless blue mages' hand to choke him to death. The problem is this is far from the first good anti-control enchantment red has for three mana. Remember Tectonic Instability or Citadel of Pain ? Against non-control decks, this is likely to simply have no targets or at least be very likely to hit a land. This is the right way to print cards that aren't supposed to become staples - just good enough to keep you awake in class wondering if you've forgotten something but unlikely to be effective, while not being a limited problem. As in, whose stupid idea was Planeswalker's Scorn?
Strafe R
Sorcery
Strafe does 3 damage to target non-red creature.
The non-red label may be almost as deadly for the ability of creatures to become red than for the inability to go after red creatures when it's considered in a Limited context. In a constructed one, it's just potentially annoying enough to keep it from going into decks automatically. If this is enough of a risk, that brings up the question of whether it's worth sideboarding in a Lightning Bolt so it doesn't get caught being useless against red decks and creatureless decks (as well as decks without things that it kills). As an answer, let me say this: Like Impulse , Lightning Bolt isn't really appreciated until it's earned. That doesn't mean it's the best use of space in or out of the deck though. In a world with enough juicy targets this would definitely become a staple of red decks.
Creature-Minotaur Legend
4/4
Attacking doesn't cause Tahngarth, Talruum Hero to tap.
1R ,T: Tahngarth deals damage equal to its power to target creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to Tahngarth.
That's a nice set of abilities, but don't you have anything better to do with five mana? In a R/G deck there's very stiff competition. In a different deck, is a five casting cost creature with double red what the deck calls for? This joins the ranks of the 'good stuff' creatures like Phyrexian Plaugelord and Deranged Hermit as controllish monored's five mana creature drop, pretty clearly an improvement over Flowstone Overseer . But does it have what it takes to top Skizzik ? The kind of deck that wants a creature there probably wants it to attack right away more than it needs to go hunting later. Like those other creatures, there will come a time when it gets called on. I just don't think that day is today.
Cloud Cover 2WU
Enchantment
Whenever another permanent you control becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, you may return that permanent to its owner's hand.
This basically guarantees victory over removal decks in the long run. If that's what it takes to win the matchup and the equivalent time loss is all right, this is definitely worth a long hard look as a sideboard card if there's nothing better.
Crosis's Charm BRU
Instant
Choose one-Return target permanent to its owner's hand; or destroy target nonblack creature, and it can't be regenerated; or destroy target artifact.
The main effect is the Dark Banishing , but Shatter and Boomerang aren't bad companions. If the mana is there in the deck to do this reliably then it's the most flexible removal on the market and quite worthy of the Purger. If the mana isn't reliable however, and with the charms it's not easy to get the mana really 'reliable,' this is a pretty overpriced way to make sure you don't get stuck with useless removal. This should rank as the number two charm behind Dromar's.
Darigaaz's Charm BRG
Instant
Choose one-Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand; or Darigaaz's Charm deals 3 damage to target creature or player; or target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn.
Again, if this is going to get the job done it has to be in a deck that doesn't worry about that mana cost more than it would worry about, say, a 4. In that case the ability to Raise Dead makes this a valid excuse to play with a Lightning Bolt where it would otherwise not fly. Giant Growth isn't bad either, and green mana is easier to find together with other colors. I don't expect much use but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a good deck it found its way into.
Doomsday Specter 2BU
Creature - Specter
Flying
When Doomsday Specter comes into play, return a blue or black creature you control to its owner's hand.
Whenever Doomsday Specter deals combat damage to a player, look at that player's hand and choose a card from it. The player discards that card.
2/3
If it starts hitting, ouch. The problem is being able to do that reliably and quickly, but that really isn't all that much of a problem. The question isn't whether Doomsday Specter is a really good card, it's whether the deck that takes full advantage of Doomsday Specter is a good deck.
Dromar's Charm WUB
Instant
Choose one-You gain 5 life; or counter target spell; or target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn
This charm is primarily Counterspell , but like Spite and Malice it doubles as creature kill. If it can be described as anything it would be as a tricolor version of Spite and Malice. The five life will also come in handy at the strangest times and when it's least expected. For me, it's a godsend because I have to play against Seth Burn in testing. Together they make this by far the strongest of the five charms. Word to the wise, however: Friends don't let friends play decks by Jeff Donais.
Eldamari's Call WG
Instant
Search your library for a creature card, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library
For an additional white mana Worldly Tutor becomes a cantrip. That turns what used to occasionally sneak into decks in ones and twos into a powerhouse. The deck still needs to have creatures it really wants to draw, but that seems like a problem not too hard to solve. The main barrier to it being put to good use is that W/G decks are really bad right now and this doesn't help them much if at all anyway because they're based on speed. If a deck calls for this card, it will do well.
(Fleetfoot Panther was covered in part 1.)
Horned Kavu RG
Creature - Kavu
When Horned Kavu comes into play, return a red or green creature you control to its owner's hand.
3/4
For three mana (assuming a Bird or Elf gets returned and replayed) a 3/4 gets into play. That's a pretty good turn two play, slightly stronger than a normal 3/3 although not as good against control as an Idol. The problem is that it's not as reliable as the alternatives, and to me that means there has to be stuff at higher costs that wants to get bounced before this makes the cut. Is Blastoderm enough? Most of the time that it actually fades away this spell isn't resolving to rescue it.
Hull Breach RG
Sorcery
Choose one-Destroy target artifact, destroy target enchantment, or destroy target artifact and target enchantment.
So is this the best disenchant since removed bread, or is it creeping moldy? Make no mistake, being a Sorcery is a major disadvantage. The question is how big being able to hit both an enchantment and an artifact really is, which is basically the same as asking how often it will come up. Intuitively the answer is not very often. Sure, Fires has Chimeric Idol and a bunch of enchantments. There are probably other examples as well. But playing with this commits the deck to playing it as its removal for artifacts and enchantments, and it's just a worse disenchant most of the time. Aura Mutation and Artifact Mutation showed hints of the potential power these kind of cards are allowed to have. The bottom line is that R/G decks will be happy to have a Disenchant and play it for that reason, and the other issues are minor compared to that.
Lava Zombie 1RB
Creature - Zombie
When Lava Zombie comes into play, return a black or red creature you control to its owner's hand.
2: Lava Zombie gets +1/+0 until end of turn
4/3
Black/Red doesn't have Birds or Elves to bounce, so what's getting picked up here? Some cheap creatures are clearly involved, and Ravenous Rats is the obvious first choice but it's nowhere near enough on its own. If a deck plays enough cheap stuff that this is a reliable turn three play then it's a good deal, although to be really good the creature has to want to be bounced for some reason (such as the Rats). Otherwise this just spreads the cost of an otherwise solid but unspectacular creature out over two turns, with no practical way to sneak it in on turn two without a Dark Ritual .
Creature - Wizard
As Meddling Mage comes into play, name a nonland card. The named card can't be played.
2/2
This is yet another gold card that would be great if it was played but doesn't really seem to fit into a good deck. In Extended that's not true, because it fits right into Countersliver and WW, making the only question whether it beats its much stiffer competition. It wouldn't surprise me either way with Countersliver. It has exactly the right casting cost and a really good ability, but it's still a non-Sliver creature. If nothing in the format changes the question is going to come down to how effectively this stops Trix. It obviously has to be killed if any number of cards are named, with the best one being Necropotence and the second best being Illusions of Grandeur. Naming Firestorm isn't worth thinking about because of Contagion , and vice versa. Back in Standard, the W/U aggressive deck that can use this card doesn't exist without it. Will this push it over the top? There's a chance, but to me there's still no good answer to a Fires deck. No card is a big problem when named, with the best move being just to name something like Fires or Burst and hope that's what the Fires deck drew - and that nothing accidentally kills off the Mage if you're right.
Enchantment
When Natural Emergence comes into play return a red or green enchantment you control to its owner's hand.
Lands you control are 2/2 creatures with first strike. They're still lands.
That's a really nice effect, but who has a reliable enchantment lying around to return? I'll tell you who! TURBOLAND! BWAAHHAAAHA! First turn Exploration , second turn HELLO! Oath of Druids as the backup. Actually, it's much more about Exploration than anything else. Drawing both and four lands is basically game over - drop two more next turn for the turn four kill. There's only one small problem, which is Powder Keg . And another, which is Firestorm . And another, which is Nevinyrral's Disk - if they went first and you didn't draw 6 lands it'll be in time. So maybe this isn't the safest game plan, but it has a lot of power and in Standard there are fewer ways to punish it, basically just Wrath of God , Rout , Massacre and Earthquake .
Radiant Kavu RGW
Creature - Kavu
RGW: Prevent all combat damage black and blue creatures would deal this turn.
3/3
This card single handedly murders Blue Skies if it stays on the table with enough spare mana. Sparing that mana (and doing it pain-free) are tall orders though, and it's going to be hard fitting this into a sideboard. Still, once again the real question boils down to how reliably the mana can be assembled on turn three and later on. It also requires a large number of decks that don't want to see it, since it's competing with cards like Noble Panther.
Shivan Wurm was covered in part 1, as were the Lairs.
Terminate RB
Instant
Destroy target creature. It can't regenerate.
Finally, we have Planeshift's star. This is the best spot removal since Swords to Plowshares . Swords is still better, but not by all that much. There isn't all that much to say, because the card's uses are so obvious - it's removal! Kills things dead! Kills even black pests dead I tell you! That even includes Kavu Chameleon . Its only weakness is that it doesn't have an alternative use if there are no creatures to kill. There are times that would be a major issue, but right now in Standard I don't think it is. There are a few decks without targets but not enough to give much pause. Hopefully this will give Red/Black the push it needs to make the last of the five allied color combinations Standard viable again. WotC may have built all our decks for us, but at least they're trying to make sure all of them can be played.
- Zvi Mowshowitz
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