Planeshift Constructed Picks Brian Kibler The release of every new set universally means one thing for the Magic community - the beginning of a veritable deluge of reviews plastered across the internet singing the praises or condemning the shortcomings of every card to hit print. While this can be sometimes useful and very often comical, as evaluations hit the mark or miss by a mile, more than anything else it is tedious, as countless cards with little to no use receive coverage. I've decided to take a slightly more in-depth look at those cards I feel have the potential to make an impact on tournament play rather than glossing over the chaff. Aura Blast Any card with a useful effect and the phrase "draw a card" is usually one that deserves at least a second look. Cantrip effects allow you to nullify your opponent's resources while expending none of your own, and the card advantage gleaned from them can often spell the difference between victory and defeat. There are a number of powerful enchantments in the current Standard environment, such as Fires of Yavimaya, Saproling Burst, Parallax Wave, Parallax Tide, and Story Circle, and the ability to remove them cheaply without depleting your own resources is a powerful one indeed. The question is whether the cantrip effect of Aura Blast outweighs the versatility of Disenchant and Seal of Cleansing at the same casting cost or the additional abilities of Aura Mutation and Wax/Wane in decks that can support them. In the latter cases, it seems unlikely that Aura Blast will get the nod, but whether the cantrip usurps Disenchant and Seal of Cleansing for space in non-green/white sideboards depends on the number of threatening enchantments compared to artifacts in the environment. Only time will tell. Hobble Much like Aura Blast, Hobble earns its place in this review by virtue of the phrase "draw a card." Pacifism wasn't a card that got a lot of attention in the formats in which it was legal, but Hobble has the advantage of both being a cantrip and being printed at a time when good removal spells are few and far between. Hobble allows a control deck to neutralize an attacker in the early game without costing a card, allowing for its player to gain significant card advantage through Wrath of God when the opponent is forced to commit additional creatures. Unfortunately, it is useless against Rebel recruiters, who will simply continue to call their friends out to do the attacking they cannot. Regardless, it has potential, and will likely see some play in upcoming Standard and Invasion Block tournaments. Orim's Chant If Phyrexian Scuta is "the new Juzam," then Orim's Chant is "the new Abeyance." Can they live up to the hype? I've already talked in great detail about Phyrexian Scuta, which seems to have what it takes to make the grade, but Orim's Chant is another matter. The most important thing missing from Orim's Chant is - you guessed it - those three magic words, "draw a card." A key aspect of Abeyance's usefulness was its cantrip nature, and Orim's Chant doesn't have that. On the other hand, Orim's Chant is everything Abeyance was in its heyday and more. Before changes to the rules that neutered Abeyance's ability to prevent lands from tapping for mana (due to the clause on Abeyance that no abilities with activation costs may be played), "Turbo Abeyance" decks were fairly popular. These decks utilized Abeyance as a lock card, using Howling Mines to accelerate their draw and their opponents' decking, along with Recall and Paradigm Shift to reuse their Abeyances every turn. While Paradigm Shift is no longer available, Recall and Howling Mine are both still legal, and it will be interesting to see if "Turbo Chant" decks are at all possible. Beyond its potential for abuse as part of a recursive lock, Orim's Chant is a powerful tool against control decks. It can not only be used to force key threats like Armageddon past counters, but can also act as a Time Walk of sorts to press creature damage past Wrath of God for an additional turn. In control mirror matches, Orim's Chant can be used to win crucial counterspell battles by forcing the opponent to expend his limited counters on your Chants. Its applications are nearly endless. Orim's Chant is one of the most sought after cards in the set for a reason. Voice of All If Voice of Truth can make the cut in Rebel sideboards, just image what sort of impact the almost strictly superior Voice of All can have. Its applications are fairly obvious. In Rebel mirror matchups, it serves the same purpose as Voice of Truth, acting as a constant source of damage unaffected by Parallax Wave or Rebel Informer. Against Skies, it can block and kill almost all of their creatures, and against Blue/White control decks it can even block Blinding Angel. A protection from green Voice of All stops nearly all of the creatures in a typical Fires deck dead in their tracks. The question is just how impressive all this is compared to the other options available, such as Mageta and Blinding Angel for just one more colorless mana each. The answer may unfortunately be "not very," which leaves Voice of All relegated to Block Constructed, where it promises to be a powerhouse. Dark Suspicions Cursed Scroll was the last card to see tournament play that rewarded players for emptying their hands, and it was much more powerful than Dark Suspicions both in that it had applications against any deck type and had a much more immediate impact on the game due to its low casting cost. While Dark Suspicions can be extremely powerful against control strategies when used in an aggressive deck, its utility is marginal at best against decks that don't tend to keep a high number of cards in hand. Additionally, it is expensive and doesn't itself lend to keeping one's hand size low because of its rather prohibitive casting cost. Regardless of this, the sheer havoc this card has the potential to wreak upon unprepared opponents if it does make into play earns it a place on this list. Lord of the Undead Goblin King rarely saw play, but Goblin King didn't have subjects like Phyrexian Scuta. Lord of the Undead makes this list on the merits of his minions, and the fact that his zombie recursion ability is far more impressive than mountainwalk. With the two pro color zombies, the new Juzam, and Pyre Zombie all playable in their own right, Lord of the Undead seems like a potential winner. Not only does he make Shivan and Vodalian Zombies into significant threats, but he makes Phyrexian Scuta big enough to take on a Blastoderm and live to tell the tale. Could Planeshift have what it takes to put B/R aggression over the top? Lord of the Undead is a step in that direction. Noxious Vapors Persecute everyone? Noxious Vapors is an extremely interesting card, but whether that means it's extremely powerful remains to be seen. Invasion began nudging players away from monocolor decks, and Planeshift continues to hammer that message home. Blue Skies and Rebel decks stand to be hit hard any time this card resolves, as do control decks that horde cards in hand. Noxious Vapors also affects the caster, however, and whether there will be any archetype that can afford to suffer the effects of Vapors itself in order to do the same to its opponent is questionable. Phyrexian Scuta I think I've said enough about the Scuta already, but just for emphasis - the key to the resurrection of aggro black? We shall see. Flametongue Kavu The "new Nekrataal" is the buzz surrounding this guy. Nekrataal he is not, but he's very good. A 4/2 body is nothing to sneeze at, and his comes into play effect is tremendous against other creature decks. The problem is that against creatureless or creature light decks, you generally have to direct his damage at one of your own creatures, which means that without something that can survive the tongue lashing in play, Flametongue Kavu will sit in your hand waiting for something to show up on the other side of the table or send one of your own troops to a fiery death. Despite this, he seems like a solid contender for a spot in aggressive or board control oriented Red/Green decks, and he's just waiting to abuse Gating with cards like Shivan Wurm. Thornscape Familiar Last but far from least, this little guy is my absolute favorite card in the set. I must admit to significant bias, as the first place he looks to make an impact is in a mana-conscious Green/Red/White deck much like the one I played in Pro Tour - Chicago. Of all of the Familiars, though, Thornscape stands head and shoulder - and, more importantly, one power - above the rest. Breaking the tradition of green getting the short end of the stick when it comes to cycles of cards for all of the colors, Thornscape Familiar stands out as an efficient creature in addition to its allied color medallion effect. As green already has the most effective means to produce off color mana, it stands to benefit the most from the Familiar's reduction of the cost of spells in both allied colors. Envision Armageddon costing 2W, or Ancient Hydra 3R, or Rith 2RGW and you'll see my point. In the meantime, Thornscape Familiar attacks for two. What more can you ask for? Coming Next: Gold Cards, Artifacts, and Lands