Battle for Zendikar Spoilers - Limited Review for September 8
It's been a slow day for spoilers and there are just four new ones to review today. Don't worry though; they're all rare, and they're all awesome. I'll be reviewing these cards from the standpoint of how well I expect them to perform in Limited. We can't rate the cards completely accurately without knowing the entire set, but we can evaluate the cards in an "average" limited format.
You can find all the latest spoilers on the Battle for Zendikar page. Please note that if I haven't yet reviewed a card, it's probably because the official English spoiler for it has not been released yet.
Grading scale
A: This card will often be the best card in one's deck. I'd consider splashing it where possible. (Dragonlord Atarka, Tragic Arrogance)
B: This card is rarely cut from a deck that can cast it. In draft, it signals that a color or archetype is open. (Death Wind, Blessed Spirits)
C: Cards like this make up the majority of limited decks. You're neither excited nor embarrassed to have them in your deck. (Screamreach Brawler, Aspiring Aeronaut)
D: I'm not putting this in my main deck unless I have a specific reason or I'm low on playables. (Blessed Reincarnation, Gather the Pack)
F: This card will have little or no impact on the game if I draw it or is strictly sideboard-material. If I cast this card, please stage an intervention for me. (Keeper of the Lens, Jace's Sanctum)
White
A
This is the second third coming of a card that was introduced in Khans of Tarkir: Duneblast.The second iteration was named Tragic Arrogance and it showed up in a big way in Magic Origins. This third version is a lot closer to the original. For 8-mana (including a triple white cost) you get to blow up the board and leave a big creature behind. While this costs more than Duneblast, this has an additional feature: In the games where you just aren't able to wait to cast this, you can fire it off for 5 mana as a simple wrath.
If you or your opponent has already Awakened a land earlier in the game, that does change how the card plays out; but having Duneblast as a starting point is a great baseline for a new card.
Black
A-
Reminiscent of demons of old such as Demonic Taskmaster, this Eldrazi has huge potential. While turning creatures into cards isn't usually good, in this set we have Eldrazi Scion tokens to sacrifice for cards. At worst you may not be able sacrifice your other creatures or not have other creatures to sacrifice. Even then, this creature blocks for a turn, then sacrifices itself and pays you back a card. At best, an army of Eldrazi Scions will transform into a hand full of castable spells and you'll be able to keep offensive pressure in the air while simultaneously deploying new threats. It's hard to imagine not first picking this card with even a moderate number of Scions or other expendable creatures available throughout the set.
Red
B-
This Legendary Goblin is my kind of Ally. It looks like an unassuming Hill Giant, but using any type of Giant Growth variant is going to lead to blowouts and huge amounts of damage out of nowhere. This is especially true with the Scion tokens that will be available in this format. While we don't yet know exactly what spells will combo with this, it's safe to assume it will be a wild card any time it shows up.
Multicolored
B-
I love this little guy. While Typhoid Rats is a more efficient version of this creature, Fathom Feeder is still cheap enough to deploy early while being relevant late game by trading for any creature on the ground. The draw ability is pretty expensive, but if you can afford to not trade the creature off, it won't take many activations for you to pull ahead in the game. The two color cost is the only real problem, but this would definitely pull me into Blue-Black if I was drafting one of the colors already.
Conclusion
Thus ends our short and sweet review of the latest additions to Battle for Zendikar. Please join me for more spoilers and more Limited review throughout the next two official spoiler weeks. Reach out to me on Twitter @JakeStilesMTG or in the comments below with your thoughts on the new cards.
