Eldritch Moon Spoilers: Limited Review for June 30
Welcome to more spoiler discussions for Eldritch Moon! It appears that Wizards may have finally jumped the shark by printing a Robot Dog (okay, it's a Wolf Construct technically) so let's jump right into reviewing these zany cards.
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 Eldritch Moon page. Please note that if I haven't yet reviewed a card, it's probably because the official 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. (Linvala, the Preserver, Tireless Tracker)
B: This card is rarely cut from a deck that can cast it. In draft, it signals that a color or archetype is open. (Baloth Null, Forgotten Creation)
C: Cards like this make up the majority of limited decks. You're neither excited nor embarrassed to have them in your deck. (Akoum Flameseeker, Moorland Drifter)
D: I'm not putting this in my main deck unless I have a specific reason or I'm low on playables. (Dazzling Reflection, Merciless Resolve)
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. (Hedron Alignment, Harness the Storm)
Blue
Wharf Infiltrator
B+
Looter il-Kor is playable even in Cube drafts for the ability to simultaneously fill your graveyard and improve your hand. An uncontested Wharf Infiltrator will provide even more value than that with its bonus token-making ability. The downside is that 0-1 power creatures that can block Wharf Infiltrator are more likely to be encountered in Limited than anywhere else.
If Wharf Infiltrator's attacks gets shut down, the static ability alone may still get value. You can cast a Madness creature for cheap, then use the extra mana to make a 3/2 as well. It's not as easy, but it's still very strong.
Black
Murder
B+
Murder is effective, efficient, instant-speed removal. In Limited, you can never get enough of it. The double Black cost does mean you can't always cast it on turn 3, but you should be trying to save this spell for bigger threats anyways.
Stromkirk Condemned
B-
You can tell Wizards is staying well away from Wild Mongrel these days. Stromkirk Condemned is harder to cast and harder to abuse but helps out all Vampires and not just itself. The restrictions make it less powerful, but you'll still be happy to play this card in a deck with a couple of Vampires, a couple of Madness cards, or better yet: both!
Whispers of Emrakul
C
While I am usually a fan of the whispers of old gods, Whispers of Emrakul is a bit too difficult to build around for my taste. If you're only snagging one card, you're behind in the exchange. You've traded a card for a card, but you've spent two mana, your opponent spent nothing, and you're just as likely to have gotten the worst card in their hand as their best one. If you can consistently get Delirium quickly, then this Hymn to Tourach impersonator is pretty good. The problem lies in that by the time you usually get Delirium set up, your opponent may have fewer than two cards in hand, and then you're back to a value-losing proposition. Sometimes you'll hit them when they have exactly two cards left and they are both great, but that will be the exception rather than the rule.
Red
Harmless Offering
F-
Nope, nope, and also nope. Feel free to brew with this in Standard or Modern, but you should never cast Harmless Offering in Limited. We just haven't seen anything devastating enough to Donate in this current block.
Green
Decimator of the Provinces
A
The type of decks that use Overrun as a win condition aren't generally the same type of decks that can easily get to ten mana. If you're playing this, it's because you're planning on making it Emerge a few turns early.
If you can cast a creature on turns two through four, you might get sufficient value by throwing this Boar out on turn five. More likely it will reward waiting until your board state is crowded with creatures and you can cast this card for six or seven mana.
Eldritch Evolution
B
If you aren't doing something tricky with Eldritch Evolution, you're paying three mana and a card for two extra mana worth of value. That's not great, so how can we get tricky in Limited?
- Steal an opponent's creature and sacrifice it to that.
- Sacrifice an Emerge creature you didn't pay full price for, then go search up a big Eldrazi.
- Sacrifice a creature neutralized by Sleep Paralysis or similar.
- Use it to resolve Voldaren Pariah or Gisela, the Broken Blade in a deck without White or Black mana respectively. I don't recommend this option but it would be funny.
Grapple with the Past
C+
If you liked Vessel of Nascency in Shadows over Innistrad, then you won't be disappointed by this newest addition to the cantrip plus self-mill club. Vessel of Nascency can find more things and always puts an enchantment in the graveyard, which is great for Delirium. On the other hand, Grapple with the Past costs less mana and can get back win conditions that have previously died or been milled. Which one you're looking for in your draft will depend on the specific details of your deck, but I slightly prefer Grapple with the Past.
Colorless
Eternal Scourge
B-
Translation:
Creature - Eldrazi Horror
You may cast Eternal Scourge from exile.
When Eternal Scourge becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, exile it.
Colorless Nessian Courser is already a fine Limited card. Add a modified Hexproof ability and it gets better, though it's still not impossible to remove. If you can exile this yourself for value, perhaps to a Soul Separator or Descend upon the Sinful, you can redraw it, but it still provides value even without being abused.
Geier Reach Sanitarium
C
If Geier Reach Sanitariums were freely available at the basic land station, how many would you run? Most two-color decks would probably find space for at least one copy, but even the most Delirium and Madness heavy decks would have a hard time playing two or more. It's hard to consistently cast Fiery Temper and Murder with colorless lands.
The fact that your opponents' Delirium and Madness spells and generic card quality improvement all benefit from this land make it hard to extract significant advantage from it. Draft Geier Reach Sanitarium when there aren't any good spells in your color, but don't get too excited about it.
Lupine Prototype
D
Only in the very fastest of Limited decks with lots of discard enablers would I try to make Mecha-Dog work. In a normal game of Limited, it takes too long to become empty-handed.
Conclusion
Until tomorrow, sleep tight and don't let the Eldrazi kitten your opponent donated with Harmless Offering bite. Please join me for more spoilers and more Limited review tomorrow and next week as official spoilers continue. Reach out to me on Twitter @JakeStilesMTG or in the comments below with your thoughts on the new cards.
