Oath of the Gatewatch Spoilers: Limited Review for December 29
Welcome to day two of the spoiler discussions for Oath of the Gatewatch! Today's much slower than yesterday and we have only five cards to talk about, but what a five they are!
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 Oath of the Gatewatch 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. (Tragic Arrogance, Dragonmaster Outcast)
B: This card is rarely cut from a deck that can cast it. In draft, it signals that a color or archetype is open. (Blessed Spirits, Clutch of Currents)
C: Cards like this make up the majority of limited decks. You're neither excited nor embarrassed to have them in your deck. (Aspiring Aeronaut, Culling Drone)
D: I'm not putting this in my main deck unless I have a specific reason or I'm low on playables. (Gather the Pack, Geyserfield Stalker)
F: This card will have little or no impact on the game if I draw it or strictly sideboard-material. If I cast this card, please stage an intervention for me. (Jace's Sanctum, Prism Array)
White
Immolating Glare
B+
Strictly better than its predecessor's Kill Shot and Rebuke, Immolating Glare has an almost Doom Blade level of efficiency for a removal spell. It's true that it's an Uncommon and won't show up very frequently, but when it does, it will be hard to pass. While some more aggressive Khans of Tarkir decks would skip playing Kill Shot, Immolating Glare is too efficient and easy to cast to pass up, and I doubt it will ever be in the sideboard of a White deck.
Green
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
A-
Nissa is better than she seems, and she already seems good for being a 3 mana Planeswalker. To liken her to Avenger of Zendikar is tempting, but she's a much slower version of that 7-drop monster. If your opponent can't attack her, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar will clog up the ground with Plants, then either build toward an ultimate or pump up your team a few times. However if your opponent can threaten her, especially with fliers, her usefulness may not extend beyond making one or two Plants or distributing a few +1/+1 counters.
Multicolored
Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim
B+
As an incredible two-color Disciple of Griselbrand, I'd pick Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim very highly. She plays offense and defense well and makes it very hard for your opponent to win a damage race. In any game that you could activate her third ability, you're probably winning by quite a lot already, but the removal does help put the game away.
Colorless
Sea Gate Wreckage
C
This card doesn't seem to offer much utility compared to a basic Wastes, at least in Limited. First it doesn't do anything until your hand is empty, then it takes four mana to draw a card. This cost means you're likely to have at least one card in hand the following turn and not be able to activate this ability twice in a row. In Limited, I think an Unknown Shores will generally have more utility than Sea Gate Wreckage.
Complaints aside, I'd still play this in a colorless-matters deck. I just wouldn't pick it highly. Also, don't forget that you can activate it during your upkeep before your draw step.
Ruins of Oran-Rief
C+
Translation: Whenever another colorless creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may have the base power and toughness of Mimico Eldrazi become that creature's power and toughness until end of turn.
Eldrazi Mimic is kind of like a Oran-Rief Invoker that "invokes" a bit more randomly. Its fail case is a two mana 2/1 that has colorless synergies, but having the ability to attack for one or two or seven extra damage on any given turn is exciting and potentially quite powerful. I'd want at least one colorless creature as big as a Ruin Processor in my pile before I get excited about Eldrazi Mimic, but in many decks I'd play it even with only medium sized creatures to copy.
Ruins of Oran-Rief
B
The blighted version of Oran-Rief, the Vastwood, this land is powerful and interesting. It effectively makes your colorless creatures cost an additional mana to grant them counters, and that's generally going to be worth it. Once you imagine a Benthic Infiltrator or the flying half of an Eldrazi Skyspawner getting a +1/+1 counter, it's hard to argue with Ruins of Oran-Rief's power. While I still rank this below Mirrorpool, I think this land will end up being one of the best colorless utility lands in the set.
Conclusion
Short and sweet is hard to beat, but hopefully we'll get a larger number of spoilers tomorrow. Please join me for more spoilers and more Limited review throughout this week and the next. Reach out to me on Twitter @JakeStilesMTG or in the comments below with your thoughts on the new cards.
