Fate Reforged Limited Review Part 1

Khans of Tarkir draft was a very slow and grindy format. Being a wedge-driven format, we knew it was going to be a slow format without even looking at the spoilers. Having access to morphs also meant that players were always going to have a creature on turn 3 a majority of the time. While aggressive strategies exist in Khans of Tarkir limited, the format is mostly about grinding out advantage. This is especially true in Sealed, where the format was so slow that it was actually beneficial to be on the draw a majority of the time; the extra mattered way more than hitting your land drops quicker.

Now comes Fate Reforged. While I cannot say how Fate Reforged will play out (then again, who really can?), my experiences with Khans of Tarkir can give a good idea of what to expect with this set.

The Mythics

We have an interesting group of mythics. Outside of Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, none of them are terribly overpowered. Whisperingwood Elemental and Monastery Mentor look to be the "bombest" mythics since either of them left unchecked can take over a game. (Monastery Mentor needs a little bit of assistance to get there). Warden of the First Tree looks pretty strong and is probably one of the best cards to have on turn one, but I see it getting beat by a Mardu Hateblade or a Typhoid Rats fairly often. Brutal Hordechief seems interesting since it can really screw up combat, but outside of that it's not that terrifying. Torrent Elemental seems fine. Not terribly amazing but not terribly bad since a 3/5 flyer with some upside for 5 mana is reasonable in Sultai. Temporal Trespass and Ghastly Conscription are the worst mythics since there both too situational. I can see the Temporal Trespass being decent in Sealed since games go longer, but I expect both of these cards to be later picks in draft. Finally, the funny thing about Shaman of the Great Hunt is that in most situations you should pretend it doesn't have haste, since you will probably be not attacking with it as often as it may seem. Shaman of the Great Hunt being able to trade with morphs and manifests is pretty bad, but there might be some board states where you will get lucky and can crash in with it. You are more likely to attack with your other creatures before turning it sideways.

The Khans/Legends Cycle

This is pretty much of a cycle of pure playables. I wouldn't call these bombs, but I don't think you can ever be sad opening these guys. Interestingly enough, these are all pretty fair cards with some upside, except for Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest who is pretty busted. Daghatar the Adamant is going to be a 4 mana 4/4 most of the time, which you can't really go wrong with. He can provide some interesting dynamics to Outlast decks, but I think most of the time he will just be a 4/4 beater. Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest is probably the best card out of all of these, since he will be a nightmare in combat. You can't really block Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest without mana open since you're at your opponent's mercy when they come crashing in with mana open. Tasigur, the Golden Fang seems fine. I've heard some talk about how ridiculous he can be, but I think that will depend on the match up. There are some match ups where your opponents give you cards you can't cast, which makes him more balanced. A 6-CMC Delve 4/5 is already fine, so as a vanilla with potential upside is good. Alesha, Who Smiles at Death has the weirdest Magic name I ever seen (a verb in a Magic card, lol wut?), but it's another solid card that has some potentially strong upside depending on how your deck is constructed. Finally, there is Yasova Dragonclaw, which yet again is already great as a 3-mana 4/2, but with a situational ability that could potentially (and will fairly often) have an effect on the game.

The Uncommong Dragon Cycle

Interesting to note that Khans of Tarkir did not have very many cards that you would cast for 6-mana that were not morphs or delve spells. Khans of Tarkir had Pearl Lake Ancient, Tusked Colossodon, and Riverwheel Aerialists as the only creatures that cost 6+ mana that weren't morph/delve creatures. There were very few spells that cost 6+ mana as well.

Outside of Noxious Dragon and maybe Destructor Dragon, these cards are not cards that you will be adding to the main deck. These are cards that would come in from the sideboard in certain match ups, but generally speaking, are not strong enough to make the final cut. It would not be surprising to see these cards going late in draft and not making most sealed decks. A 6 mana 4/4 flyer is fine as a finisher, but I think most of the morphs from Khans of Tarkir as well as most delve creatures served as more powerful finishers. These dragons are a bit under-whelming since none of them really do much and even the two that do some things have very limited impact. Kind of disappointing that these are some of the main dragons in the set. The dragons below are a bit less disappointing.

The Good Dragons... err I mean the Multi-Colored Dragon Cycle

At first glance, Atarka, World Render seems like a total bomb. I would think that too, until you see the whole context of the format. Atarka, World Eater is strong, but sadly dies to a ton of removal in this set. It dies to Throttle, Mardu Charm, Bathe in Dragonfire and Pyrotechnics. This does not make Atarka, World Render bad, but it isn't a free win button. It's also 7-mana, which unless you have Whisperer of the Wilds, Map of the Wastes, or that one Rattleclaw Mystic (or two in magical Christmas land), it won't be coming down very quickly. A good card, but not something I would instantly snap pick on pack one pick one. Ojutai, Soul of Winter is worse than Atarka, World Render since it's in Jeskai, which means that it will take longer to cost. It's ability, while strong, is not terribly impressive. Ojutai, Soul of Winter could be splashed in Temur if the mana is good enough, but is still really slow and not strong enough for a 7-mana spell. I am not sure if I would play it often since the format has enough removal to deal with it and it's not really a win button. The other three dragons here are obviously the most bombiest since they come down way quicker and do a lot of damage. Dromoka, the Eternal is a 5 mana 5/5 flyer with some upside which  is always great, especially now that you can ramp into it fairly quickly. Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury seems extremely powerful too in that it comes down quickly and it can even evade certain types of removal. Finally there is Silumgar, the Drifting Death, which unless you have Crackling Doom, End Hostilities, or Crux of Fate, is impossible to beat. Silumgar, the Drifitng Death is going to park into the value garage and never leave since a 3/7 flying hexproof for 6-mana is pretty unbeatable in this format. Granted it will take forever to win with it, I just don't see losing if it resolves.

The Siege Cycle

These cards are a bit hard to evaluate, but I think most of them just arentt that great. They are probably better in sealed than in draft since draft is a faster format and there is no time to be durdling with enchantments. Frontier Siege seems pretty weak since it will most likely not do very much. By the time your at 4 mana, you probably don't want that much more unless your deck has tons of Wildcalls and Hooded Hydras, and the other ability does not seem terribly good unless you have a deck stacked with a bunch of under whelming Dragons. Monastery Siege seems like the worst for limited, since the first abiltiy is similar to Sultai Ascendency, which wasn't very good in Khans of Tarkir. The second ability seems too situational, since in limited most decks are not playing that many spells. Outpost Siege seems strange since it can be either really good or really bad. I remember Chandra Pyromaster from M14/M15, and she was no bomb. Her plus ability was more meaningful than the 0, since in limited combat is more important. Outpost Siege is better in Sealed than in Draft, but its mileage will vary since it's a very slow card. The same goes for Palace Siege since it's pretty slow and kind of a waste of a turn for a card that costs 5-mana. The best siege for limited is obviously the Citadel Siege since locking out a creature every turn or getting infinite counters is pretty good.

The "guys that do stuff when you have a friendly-colored permanent" Cycle

Another unexciting cycle. Wandering Champion is a fine card that you will include in most of your decks. It may be a card to cut at times since it trades with a 1-toughness creatures, but it also trades with morphs and manifest creatures, which is the main reason for including it in the first place. Marang River Prowler seems pretty strong, especially if you're on the play. Considering that flyers dominated Khans of Tarkir limited, this should follow suite meaning you want this card in your deck. Battle Brawler is exactly what a Warrior deck wants: a tough beater that can crash through morphs. Hungering Yeti seems fine, yet it's not great since any good player can see when you have mana open and a green/blue permanment in play. Still playable, but nothing amazing. Finally the worst in the cycle has to be Abzan, King-Guard since lifelink and only being a 3/3 for 4-mana is poor. Not the worst card to be playing, but more often than not this guy will be cut from most sealed decks unless they are desperate for creatures.

The Aura Forms Cycle (or rather 3/5s of a cycle)

These will easily be high picks in draft and cards you hope to open in your Sealed pool. One concern I have for Fate Reforged Limited is how some games will go to the player who can flip their Manifest cards. I saw Cloudform spoiled and my jaw dropped since it's ridiculous how strong it is, provided that you hit a creature off it. Even if you don't, 2/2 hexproof flyer is still pretty good? Lightform and Rageform aren't as good as Cloudform, but they are still insanely strong. A 2/2 flying lifelink for 3 or a 2/2 double striker for 4 are good rates as is. Add in the possibility of flipping some strong creature that can lead to some pretty huge blowouts is just insane. I'd slam these first pick easily in draft since I don't see how many other cards in this format can do much more for such a small amount of mana (relatively speaking of course).

Conclusion

This is it for part one! As usual, leave comments, like, subscribe (ok you can't do that here, but just bookmark the page), you know what to do.