Prophecy Blue

Sideboard Staff

The following is the second installment of my series analyzing the strength of the cards in Prophecy for the purposes of limited play. Like you, I only saw the Prophecy cards for the first time on Pre-release weekend, so these are only my initial impressions. I hope you find them useful.
BLUE

Blue, while not the strongest color in Prophecy, may be my favorite. While yes, I have always leaned towards drafting blue decks full of evasion and control, I especially enjoy the mana management Prophecy's blue enforces, as it will benefit careful play and punish sloppiness.

As per usual, blue is equipped with a number of powerful common, uncommon and rare fliers, as well as its usual counter magic. Additionally, blue seems to manipulate opposing mana with the likes of Rhystic Study, Rhystic Deluge and Spiketail Hatchling forcing mana curving opponents to slow down or pay the price.

All in all, Blue seems better equipped to be a support color than a base color in Masques Block draft, moving opposing blockers out of the way with the likes of Waterfront Bouncer, Jolting Merfolk and Withdraw so that your attackers can get through opposing defenses.
The Cards

Alexi, Zephyr Mage - Well, where better to start than with what may well be the best card in the set. Where Mageta clears the table of all creatures except himself, Alexi leaves all of your beasts in play so they can attack with her. Your initial response may be that it's only a temporary situation, but Alexi's ability to do this over and again means that unless your opponent deals with her promptly, the game is over. 10/10

Alexi's Cloak - Well, one thing's for sure, if Alexi is ever shrouded in her wardrobe, someone's in trouble. A strong card with an efficient mana cost, the Cloak not only saves an important creature by countering an initial kill spell, but also continues protecting it afterwards. Add this to the fact that you can stop opposing effects like Cho Manno's Blessing or Magenta's Boon that are designed to save a creature's life and you have a solid all-purpose card. 6.5/10

Avatar of Will - Ho hum, another huge blue flier. I'm not saying that getting a 5/6 flyer into play isn't exciting, but the simple fact is that, as far as Avatars go, this one's a little boring. It's easier to deal with than Woe, doesn't hit as hard as Fury and lacks the special abilities of the others. This said, a 5/6 Flyer is a 5/6 Flyer, and it isn't impossible that its reduced casting cost condition will be met, so it should be played in any blue deck you draft. Should be especially strong in UB, where discard can help your cause. 8/10

Coastal Hornclaw - Here's a perfect example of a creature ability not being quite as strong as the threat of that ability's activation. Pretty big for a blue creature, at 3/3, the Hornclaw should make any deck you draft, though you'll find that you very seldom use its ability. Where that ability comes into play is on defense, where it is very unlikely your opponent will be willing to trade their evasion creatures for your lands. Additionally, if you've entered the late game and don't have any other land-eating effects, you can hit and hit hard with the Hornclaw through the air. 7.5/10

Denying Wind - Going back to the initial installment of this series, this is a prime example of a card you should be playing for fun in limited. Requiring about half the lands in your deck (If you're building it right) to cast, by the time you're able to cast the Wind, you'll likely have won or lost. The only possible uses I can see for the Wind are either as a sideboard card in a match featuring two decks with multiple Troubled Healers, or in a fun game in which you really want to decimate your opponent. If you cast it and live a few turns, you'll probably win the game. 3/10

Excavation - Basically unplayable, it just helps your opponent too much. 1/10

Foil - I seem to like this card a lot more than most do. The general argument against it is that the alternate casting cost is overly harsh, and I admit that trading three cards for one is usually pretty painful. Fortunately, one doesn't always have to make this kind of exchange, and when you do so in the late game, you're almost always discarding two lands. With Prophecy having bombs (broken cards) in abundance, it brings on a feeling of great security to know that such a card can't hurt you if drawn. 7.5/10

Gulf Squid - I suppose this guy works well with Rhystic cards you don't want countered, but at 2/2 for 4, its ability just isn't strong enough to warrant playing it. 4/10

Hazy Homunculus - Unblockability loses some of its allure when it's conditional, and having your opponent control that condition is worse. 2/10

Heightened Awareness - A card with a particularly powerful effect, the drawback is nullified by your ability to use all of the cards in your hand before finally casting it. While there are many card drawing effects in the environment, very few of them are unconditional and fewer still are free, so I suggest getting this one while you can. 8.5/10

Mana Vapors - I think this card is unplayable, but maybe, just maybe, in a deck with Rhystic Deluge or some other massive mana reliant effect.... nah 2.5/10

Overburden - Not exactly optimal for limited purposes, this card could conceivably be used in a deck with a massive number of bounce effects like Waterfront Bouncer and Withdraw. 3/10

Psychic Theft - Another of those fun rather than practical cards, the Theft could be side boarded for a mirror match if you see a lot of instants and/or sorceries in your color during game 1. Remember, you have to use your own mana to cast the spell you 'thieve' 3/10

Quicksilver Wall - This card just looks so good until you realize your opponent can make the payment required to return it to your hand. Then it just doesn't look good at all. May be viable in a deck with a number of breakers that just needs to buy time until it reaches five mana, but even then it's a stretch. 3.5/10

Rethink - A lot of people seem to like this card, but I am not amongst them. Early in the game, either you need to use your mana to cast creatures or its blatantly obvious that you're waiting to use a counter spell. Late in the game, your opponent will often have enough mana to make the payment. The one exception here is when you have a strong rebel engine, as your lands will often be left untapped, waiting to fetch a creature from your deck. Rethink works well with this strategy, as it won't be so expected. 6/10

Rhystic Deluge - This is a tough card to appraise so early on. Initial readings had players going on about Flood, a limited powerhouse back in the day. However, it soon became apparent that you had to have board advantage to really optimize this card, and therefore shouldn't need it in any event. Strong with certain combinations like Cowardice and Rhystic spells, the Deluge will probably be a much discussed fad, main decking in some area's while being picked fourteenth in others. 5.5/10

Rhystic Scrying - Back in the time before limited play was created, there was a card. It cost a measly blue mana to cast and was considered the most powerful card in the game. Entire decks and formats were built around this card with the understanding that whoever cast it first was likely to win that given game. This card was called Ancestral Recall. Mimicking the Ancestral's ability to draw three cards, while the Scrying isn't automatic and costs four times as much, it's still pretty strong, either allowing you to draw three cards early on or trade three unneeded cards later in the game. Definitely playable. 7/10

Rhystic Study - Another card meeting with varied opinions, while some say that Study is an inferior Stone Rain, others insist that it's a great control card, slowing down mana curve decks enough that control decks can stabilize and eventually win the game. Important to note is that it makes casting two spells in one turn much more difficult than would a Stone Rain, collecting multiples in Prophecy is much easier than in Masques and pitch spells are no longer free. 6/10

Ribbon Snake - Now THIS card I love. 2/3 for 1UU is fair as in this environment three toughness is huge. Add to this the fact it flies until your opponent uses precious mana to make it otherwise, and you have a very strong creature that is a staple in any blue deck in this format. 8/10

Shrouded Serpent - If you're going to pay 4UUU for a creature, it had better be amazing, and while this monster is strong once it hits play, it isn't nearly strong enough to warrant that casting cost. Compare it to Tidal Kraken, and what you have is a creature that is -2/-2 and can have its unblockability removed unlike its cousin. High cc cards are precious and should be few and far between, save the spot in your deck for something better. 5.5/10

Spiketail Drake - 3/3 Flyers for five mana are always strong in limited play, and that's basically what this creature is. With a nifty little ability that will often enable you to counter a spell, the first spell you'll want to counter will likely target the Drake, nullifying the effect. Again, there are some really high casting cost bombs in this set, so this monster will serve as security against them. 9/10

Spiketail Hatchling - Marginally playable, the Hatchling is best in a control deck when its purpose is to slow down opposing mana curves a turn. In this situation, the Hatchling will always either counter a creature spell of slow down your opponent enough to allow you control of the table. Becomes very playable with a Coastal Piracy in your deck. 5.5/10

Stormwatch Eagle - whether or not this is the best of the blue common creatures in Prophecy is debatable, but regardless, this is a very strong card. Allowing you to trade a land for blocked creatures, the Eagle is nearly impossible to kill meaning the longer the game goes, the bigger a threat it is. 8/10

Sunken Field - Likely the only one of the new Enchant Lands I wouldn't play, while the Field can slow down your opponent, in order to have it do so it must slow you down as well. 4/10

Troublesome Spirit - Well, this monster is obviously huge for its casting cost, a 3/4 flier for four mana, but its drawback is surprisingly annoying. Nullifying such cards as Waterfront Bouncer, Rhystic Deluge, Withdraw and your counter magic, understand when you draft it that when you cast this card, you'd better be ready for beatdown mode. 9/10

Windscouter - No one seems sure if this card is better or worse than all of the blue commons, but I for one like it a lot. While in the early game, its 'drawback' can hurt, in the mid to late game it actually can become an advantage, allowing you to, in essence, untap it for four mana. Very strong in control based decks. 8/10

Withdraw - Remember Undo? Well, now it's just better. Not only does Withdraw cost one less, but its an instant! This means you can save your creature by not paying 1 mana while targeting an opposing creature as well. Opposing creature enchantments are useless, kill spells nullified and blockers removed. The best blue common in Prophecy 8.5/10