Limited Format Review: Prophecy Green

Gary Wise

The following is the fifth segment in my series looking at the cards in Prophecy for the purposes for Limited play. Keep in mind that in Limited play, there can never be an absolutely correct appraisal, and these are therefore only opinions. I hope you'll find them useful.
Green

What a comeback! Green was considered by most to be mediocre in Mercadian Masques, offering a number of strong common creatures, not as strong a variety as in sets past. Additionally, the color lacked rare bombs like Child of Gaea and Weatherseed Treefolk offered by Urza's block, meaning that drafting Green, if nothing else, meant you were in for a not-too-exciting deck.

Then, with Nemesis being released, we found ourselves drafting a set with exactly one playable common Green creature, and while Blastoderm is excellent, it still didn't make up for the color's lack of depth.

Now, with Prophecy, Green is resurgent. With a number of excellent common creatures in a shorter run then Masques, Green is suddenly in demand, offering extraordinary depth where once it offered very little. Strongest as a base color because of its creatures, you'll very seldom hear the 'green sucks' comments echoed in the past.
Cards

Avatar of Might - I know this may seem strange, but this guy may not be all that strong. 8/8 Tramplers are few and far between, but very simply, the lowered casting cost condition rarely comes up with Green, a color that thrives on aggression, and for eight mana, you'd expect the big fella' to be harder to stop. I'm not saying I wouldn't play it if I had drafted it, but when deciding between this and Wild Might, Silt Crawler or Thresher Beast, I wouldn't think about picking the rare. 7/10

Calming Verse - Likely the best of the Tranquility-style cards, this card's value is lowered by the fact that each set in this block has such a card, and it is therefore pretty easy to get one. This said, the possibility of destroying opposing enchantments while saving your own is a strong one, and could give you a strong advantage. Get one if you can and sideboard it against any decks with creature suppressing or enhancing enchantments. 5/10

Darba - Probably the best one-legged creature in the game's history (are there any others?), Darba hits really hard, but forces a steep upkeep if you want it to do so. This said, 5/4 for four is pretty big, so playing it is not an issue. Pick the Crawler or Thrasher Beast over it. 7.5/10

Dual Nature - Nah. A little too symmetrical to be valuable. 2/10

Elephant Resurgence - This card is too gimmicky for Limited play. 3/10

Forgotten Harvest - The Harvest has potential use with cards like Troubled Healer and Agent of Shaku that sacrifice lands but, realistically, if you play a card for combination elements alone, it should be a game breaker like Cowardice. I'd leave it in the sideboard. 3/10

Jolreal, Empress of Beasts - How ironic that the Empress of Beast is such a beast herself. Possibly the most overlooked of the Legendary Spellshapers, Jolrael's ability is a game ender. An argument could be made that this is the strongest green card in the set, though I'd rate it number two. 9.5/10

Jolreal's Favor - Tricks can be good in that they let a player outplay his or her opponent, but it is of the utmost importance that they be mana efficient. While the Favor's ability is a useable one, the fact that to use it to surprise costs four mana makes it difficult to apply. I consider it playable, but I hope to avoid that situation. 5.5/10

Living Terrain - Wow, does this card hit hard. Essentially a 5/6 haste creature for five mana, if your opponent gets rid of it, it's card disadvantage. By the time you're able to cast it, you should be able to afford losing the land anyway. Do yourself a favor: don't cast this on a tapped land or the one you just played this turn. I've seen it done too many times. 9/10

Marsh Boa - Don't fool yourself. Just because this has Swampwalk, doesn't mean its good against black. At 1/1, it doesn't do enough on offense or defense. This could change if you have creature-enhancing enchantments like Ancestral Mask, but Black is more capable of dealing with large creatures then any other color. I wouldn't bother unless you were truly desperate. 3/10

Mungha Wurm - HUGE! This guy is so big, you almost don't mind the disadvantage... almost. A one sided Winter Orb is a pretty harsh penalty and if the Wurm gets Muzzled, Dehydrated or faces a Darting Merfolk, you'll regret having put it into play for the rest of the game. Then again, turn two Vine Trellis turn three Wurm should win a lot of games... 8/10

Pygmy Razorback - As I said, Green should be aggressive, and this card is aggressive. While it won't ever break a game open, it will fill your 2cc slot admirably, so it should generally make it into your deck. 6.5/10

Rib Cage Spider - While not as aggressive as you might like, this card really can gum up opposing offenses while your large ground creatures charge on through. At 1/4, the spider stops all manner of flying annoyances, from Gliders and Airships to Charmed Griffins and Stronghold Zeppelins, meaning that if they don't deal with it somehow, they're looking at either creature lock or a loss. 7.5/10

Root Cage - I get the feeling that very few people have seen the devastating effect this card can have on a Mercenary deck because it goes SO late in the draft. Regardless of whether you play Green or Black, you want this card in your sideboard. It can be devastating. 4/10

Silt Crawler - So about a year ago, when R & D was putting together this set, they took a look at Rath Cycle Green to try to discern its weaknesses. Apparently what they came up with was that Trained Armadon was just too weak. With a nearly inconsequential drawback, the Crawler is a lot easier to cast that its Elephant ancestor, meaning you don't have to worry about your mana draws nearly as much. The Crawler is huge for its casting cost and, as a result, a card you should never be disappointed in picking first in your Prophecy pack. 8.5/10

Snag - With such a low casting cost, it seems unlikely you'd ever need to use the alternate CC. Snag therefore becomes almost as playable as Fog was, and while some people seemed to have the impression that Fog was playable, I never did. It may conceivably be sideboardable if you know the next game will be a pure race. 4/10

Spitting Spider - This guy is incredible. Better than Thresher Beast, the Spider hits hard, gums up opposing offensive plans and kills anything that hits the air. A definite first pick, the choice between the Spider and Silt Crawler is a close one, but I'd generally take the Spider. 8.5/10

Spore Frog - Again, 1/1 isn't too big, but if you need a creature and plan on doing a lot of racing, this card could be your 22nd or 23rd. You should try to avoid that eventuality. 5/10

Squirrel Wrangler - The best Green card in the set, the Wrangler is a true bomb. Dominating the table from the moment it hits play, the Wrangler should make you 6-8 creatures pretty quickly, and follow that up by making them gigantic during combat. Draw their kill spells with fatties, make this the last creature you cast and you should win every time. 10/10

Thresher Beast -Beast indeed. Better then Silverglade Elemental, this guy beats down hard. The five mana slot is a little overpopulated in this environment with the additions of the Beast and Vintara Elephant, and it's important to be careful to not overload on those high casting cost creatures in view of the possibility of being beaten by speed, but that said, amongst the five casting cost commons in the set, they don't get much better 8/10

Thrive - When I first saw this card, my reaction was that it wasn't much better than Urza's Saga's Titania's Boon, a card I tried to avoid playing. Upon further reflection though, it's become apparent that it may be a bit better, not so much because of the potential decrease in casting cost, but because of the environment it's being played in. Where Wizard Mentor, Sanctum Custodian and Field Surgeon were amongst the many commons creatures who nullified the advantage of a small creature boost in Urza's, there isn't much aside from Troubled Healer that will stop a 4/4 Snorting Gahr or 5/5 Thresher Beast. 6/10

Verdant Field - It's interesting how much this card costs, in regards to game time, considering that it's listed at 2G. On third turn, you definitely want to be playing a Silt Crawler, or at least a Horned Troll. Turns 4 and 5 are reserved for your larger creatures. In other words, you won't be able to cast this effectively until turn 7 or 8 most games, after which point, there will be an effective upkeep of 1 in that the land needs to remain available to be effective. That said, this is one of the more effective creature boosting cards in the environment, and therefore almost always playable. 6.5/10

Vintara Elephant - Thresher Beast this isn't, but sometimes you just need a large body to throw on the table and smash on through with. While pretty ineffective for its casting cost, the Elephant's Trample ability combined with a four power makes it a viable addition to any deck. 7/10

Vintara Snapper - How playable this card is mostly depends on your mana. If you're playing enough Forests (at least 10, likely 11 or 12) to ensure the likelihood of drawing two of them by turn two, then this becomes an excellent card, filling an otherwise weak spot in your mana curve with a cost efficient, hard to kill creature. If however, you see yourself casting this wee beast on turn 7 or 8, I wouldn't recommend playing it. Heavy green decks should pick it over the Razorback, while lighter green should pick it under the Razorback. 6.5/10

Vitalizing Wind - There are a few cards in this environment, foremost amongst them being Indentured Djinn, which aren't very good, but whose ability to end a game is such that a poor deck excuses playing them. This is one such card. Generally speaking, nine mana is too much for a combat-based effect, but if your deck is looking poor and you need some way to finish off your opponent, this will do. 5/10

Wild Might - More than any other card, Wild Might exemplifies the fundamental shift this format took with the addition of Prophecy. While a solid card, the Might is best in an aggressive deck that tries to do just enough damage to kill an opponent before it stops applying pressure. The Might helps do this in one of two ways: either it eliminates an important blocker (assuming your aggression has tied up opposing mana) or does an extra five points of damage, leaving your opponent feeling especially vulnerable thanks to a low life total. I wouldn't take it over the Thresher Beast on most occasions, but that choice is a viable one if you already have your creature base set. 8/10

Wing Storm - A viable sideboard card if you're racing against a deck with a lot of flying. It's surprising just how much damage this card can do. 5/10