Planeshift Limited Review: Gold Gary Wise The key to the gold cards in Invasion and Planeshift alike is the temptation they provide. Time and again, you'll be faced with powerful cards which, while functioning well on their own, can hurt your deck's synergy, be it a disruption in tempo or color. Gating creatures, for example, while very powerful, can do more harm than good if you draft too many of them, with their dual-colored nature and susceptibility to faster decks (especially those with bounce) making them risky. Essentially, the cards presented here will give you the option to diversify your deck to the point where its no longer a deck so much as a collection of cards for which you'll have to scramble for mana every time. Be careful to not travel that road too far. Commons Cavern Harpy Likely the best common creature in Planeshift, the Harpy is a defensive machine that is almost unstoppable on offense too. While gating can be a liability on the tempo front, the Harpy makes it your advantage, constantly recurring with your gating creatures to create an insurmountable card advantage engine. Stormscape Battlemage, Hunting Drake, Ravenous Rats, it doesn't matter which coming into play effect you're using, because use it enough times and you're going to win. Just be careful of bouncing the Harpy too liberally. Block a 3/3 as a preventive measure when you're at 17, more often than not, you'll fall too far behind to catch up. Daring Leap This seems to be one of the gold throwaway cards, but it is playable. Not optimal, the Leap can often trade for a strong opposing creature that was picked higher than 11th, or wherever you get this instant. Daring Leap's playability mostly depends on how many solid cards you have, and how many of them are flying creatures. If both numbers are low, you won't be too disappointed, as this can even take your ground creature over opposing heads for the win. Gerrard's Command This card is great for two reasons. First, it boosts your creature like Explosive Growth, obviously. Second, and more importantly, it throws off opposing math. A key card when racing, Gerrard's Command can either act as a 2 casting cost kill spell for an opposing blocker, or create a super wall for defensive purposes. Nothing swings a race quite like a spell that allows your 2/2 to deal three extra points of damage while untapping to do its part on defense next turn. Especially strong with creatures with tap-activation costs and anything enchanted by Armadillo Cloak, the Command has a place in any deck, assuming you can conjure up the required mana. Horned Kavu Another of the very strong gating creatures in the set, the Horned Kavu makes up for your tempo loss with sheer brute strength and mana efficiency. There aren't a lot of non-black spells or creatures in the set that can easily stop a second or third turn 3/4, though quiet often, the Kavu is better used as one of two spells cast on turn five or six. While its gating ability is more often a slight detriment, it will occasionally prove very useful, be it returning Flametongue Kavu, boosting up Quirion Dryad or destroying a detrimental opposing creature enchantment. A very strong card. Hull Breach While the Constructed applications for Hull Breach are obviously plentiful, with very few artifacts in this Limited environment, its little more than a slow enchantment kill spell. While one should always try to have some sort of enchantment kill in the sideboard, Hull Breach never warrants a spot in your main deck. Lava Zombie People are going to think me crazy for saying this, but while the Zombie is obviously very powerful, it's often a little slow for my tastes, so I don't think it's quite as good as everyone thinks. The fact it's black is usually a bonus, but 1 ManaBlack ManaRed Mana is a lot to pay for a gater without any evasive abilities and a toughness of three. Granted, its pump ability makes it an offensive machine once in play, but there are a lot of red three casting cost creatures in this format, so don't take it over effective creature kill. Malicious Advice So it's like Ensnare, but you have to pay a lot more, plus a lot of life...once in a while, it can win you a game, but more often than not, it will waste your time. Silver Drake At Grand Prix-Boston, Mike Turian described this card to me as a seven casting cost flier and while I'm not entirely in agreement with his appraisal, I will agree it doesn't qualify as a 3/3 flier for three. The difference between two and three casting cost gaters is a lot bigger than one might think, and if the Drake gets banished, burnt out or even bounced early on, you may fall too far behind to make a comeback. That isn't to say that you don't want one or two in your deck, but be careful not to rush it into play too fast. Steel Leaf Paladin I really hate this card. Here I am harping on how three casting cost gaters are a little slow, and we come to this monster. Compared to the slightly better than average Benalish Lancer. The Paladin requires too many colors, doesn't have the kicker versatility and slows down your game by gating your creatures. If you're really desperate for something with a little meat on it, I suppose this is acceptable, but you really don't want to go there. Terminate We come to the reason that I've spent the last month drafting Black-red. Quick, fast, efficient and vicious, Terminate is a card that kills black dragons and white weenies alike, for just Black ManaRed Mana. I could drone on and on about how good Terminate really is, but just saying it's the 5th best card in the set (after Flametongue Kavu, Tahngarth, Phelddagrif and Magma Burst) should effectively demonstrate how good it is. Uncommons Crosis's Charm Probably the most powerful of the Charms, Crosis's little bauble not only has the most powerful ability of the five in its ability to banish, but also has a very solid backup ability in that it can bounce, though that function is eclipsed by the banishing. The option to destroy an artifact will very seldom be used in this format, with Power Armor being just about the only card that isn't removed by the other functions. Not quite as good as Terminate or Stormscape Battlemage, the Charm is still a first pick caliber card, and providing that your mana is easy, it should be worth splashing. Darigaaz's Charm While Crosis's Charm is the most powerful, Darigaaz's is likely the best. The ability to deal three points to any target is obviously excellent, and the Giant Growth and Raise Dead functions are also very useable. That said, the reason this Charm is the best is because it suits the aggressive nature of its colors very well, and being Green, its usually pretty easy to access its mana requirements. A very strong first pick. Dromar's Charm Right up there with the first two, Dromar's Charm qualifies as most versatile. Not only can it counter any spell, if you're tapped out when that important little creature gets through, you can untap and kill it anyways. Throw in its efficient life gain option, and you have a great all around card. Fleetfoot Panther It's hard to say bad things about the Planeshift uncommons when they keep serving up one hit after another. The Panther is about as good as any card in its colors, providing a 3/4 body while protecting your creatures from targeted kill. Things get absolutely insane when you return a negatively enchanted creature before blockers and kill an attacker, but the best thing about it is that your opponent really can't play around it, even if they know its in your hand. A great card. Marsh Crocodile Another beast, the Crocodile is strong for two reasons: first, its one of the few 4/4 black creatures in the set, meaning it can't be banished. On top of that though, with the Croc also existing in the colors of discard and bounce, it will often allow for the removing of your opponent's best creature or most important permanent, working much like a Recoil in that you can bounce when your opponent's hand is empty and then cast the Crocodile, forcing your opponent to discard the bounced card. Keep in mind that if you put gating on the stack and then place the triggered ability on the stack, you won't have to discard if your hand is empty, so you can use the croc as the equivalent of a Disrupting Scepter. Razing Snidd All good things must come to an end. Like the Steel Leaf Paladin, the Snidd is an over powerful, all-too slow creature whose abilities don't come close to accounting for the casting cost. The Snidd's ability would be interesting if you chose the land, but you don't so it isn't. Don't do this to yourself. Rith's Charm Not as powerful as its black counterparts, this card is still a very strong one. Any time you can have three creatures for three mana, you're getting a good deal, and the added versatility that comes with the ability to prevent combat damage and protect yourself from Keldon Necropolis make this card even better. The Charm is best used like a Waylay, creating three creatures as an instant, but unlike Waylay, it leaves the survivors in play to do your future bidding. Don't splash for it, but if your mana requires all three land types, you should play it more often than not. Sawtooth Loon One of the few gaters that is better in your hand then in play, the Loon has two aspects I dislike (2/2 flyer for 4, high cost gater) but makes up for it by effectively allowing you to cycle through your deck to find those bombs that will win you the game. Obviously most effective as a late game card, the Loon shouldn't be picked too highly, but it's very good in a deck that can consistently slow down the pace of the game. Sparkcaster If you're going to pay this much mana for a gater, it might as well be this one. I can't count the number of times where my Green-Red decks have reduced my controllish opponents to just a few points and finished them off with the Caster. Throw in an absolutely massive body and you have a card that, while expensive, makes up for it with its viciously aggressive nature. Treva's Charm The weakest of the Charms, that doesn't mean it isn't any good. While it will most often be used for its Exile function, the ability to remove Armadillo Cloak or other enchantments from play can be a useful one in this format. Unfortunately, the third function probably should have been draw two cards, discard a card, so the applications are more limited here than with the other Charms. Rares Ancient Spider While drafting White-Green recently, I was faced with the decision of whether I wanted the Spider or Fleetfoot Panther for my deck. While I eventually chose the cat, the fact that I even considered the Spider is a strong indication of how good a card it is. Fast and tough, the Spider's first strike ability makes it really hard to get around if its being left back on defense. If you take it as a first pick, know that you could do worse. Cloud Cover I've had a number of players tell me how much they like this card, but I haven't really had any success with it. Yes, it protects your creatures from cards like Magma Burst, but all it does is make it the equivalent of Rushing River. Essentially, what the Cover does allow is the protection of your creatures, but it's with a time limit. Eventually, your opponent will pile up elimination spells (Or not be playing them) to the point where they can clear out your defense for one massive attack, regardless of whether your creatures go to your hand or graveyard. Use your best judgment, but I wouldn't main deck it. Destructive Flow This may see some Extended play, but this just isn't the format for it. Doomsday Specter Regardless of my feelings for 4 casting cost gating creatures, this guy is obviously really powerful. While I'd rather have the faster Blazing Specter, if this thing hits your opponent while they have good cards in hand, you're very likely to win. Unlike most of the high casting cost gaters, you need to get this one out fast for maximum efficiency. When you do, close your eyes, cross your fingers and hope they can't stop it. Dralnu's Crusade Great card for the fun draft theme deck, but it just isn't realistic otherwise. Eladamri's Call Since when is Demonic Tutor an instant? Obviously not as powerful as the tutor as there are good non-creature spells you might want to get, but when you have fifteen creatures in your deck of all shapes and sizes, this is the next best thing. The Call can just get your strongest, biggest beast or that creature that is most effective for the situation you're in. An excellent card, it's as good as your best creature, but make sure you have the good creatures to fetch. Ertai, the Corrupted About the closest thing to a lock in Limited, Ertai combines a large body that's difficult to get around with a counter-with-buyback effect that controls the game's future. Obviously a little hard on the mana in a color combo where you won't get much help, this Legend is usually worth the splash if you have a dual land or Dream Thrush to help you out. Especially good with Ordered Migration (Thanks to Dave Humphreys for teaching me that the hard way), if the board was stabilized when you cast Ertai, you really shouldn't be able to lose. Keldon Twilight Is it strange to say this might be best in a Red-Green deck? The Twilight is a hard to use, highly powerful card that can just ruin certain decks. Obviously only viable in a deck that attacks constantly, the Twilight is probably best as a sideboard card against those decks whose owners draft for control instead of aggression, but if your card quality is low, you can play it main deck. Meddling Mage I've seen this little guy go a lot later than he should. In a format where speed is essential, the Mage provides the ever-popular 2/2 body for two mana, and that in and of itself makes it a high quality card. Throw in the fact that in games two and three you'll know what your opponent is playing and you have a card that rivals the like-costed Galina's Knight in strength (though the Knight is a little bit better). Keep in mind that the Mage is a lot better in Rochester than Booster. Natural Emergence An incredibly powerful card, the problem with the Emergence is the lack of playable red or green enchantments in the format. If you can get four in a deck, it'll definitely be worth your while, but good luck trying to find that many. Phyrexian Tyranny This is NOT Underworld Dreams. Two mana is nothing. Poor Squee. Questing Phelddagrif What's the best reason to play Blue-White-Green? Right here, folks. Better than Treva, better than anything, the Pheldagriff is the best answer out there to the environment dominated by black and red decks. Yes, the 1 ManaGreen ManaWhite ManaBlue Mana is a little difficult, but if you're already in two of the colors, it's always worth the third, with protection from red and black dominating a lot of the deck out there. If you're in two of these colors, it's an almost automatic first pick. Radiant Kavu Almost as good as the Phelddagrif, this is the second best Kavu out there. Detractors point to the three-color casting cost, but the simple fact is that this is a 3/3 for three with an absolutely insane activated ability. Black and blue creature effectively can't block and survive or attack and survive, and all the while, this thing keeps hitting for three alongside green's other big creatures. In short, if they're playing black and/or blue and they don't deal with this quickly, they aren't going to win. Shivan Wurm Well, if you're going to pay a lot for a gating creature, you'd better get something good in return, and the Wurm hits that mark just fine. 7/7 tramplers are always hard to stop in Limited play, so they should be no different on turn four or five. The Wurm is massive; that much can't be denied, but unlike like-sized creatures of the past, casting it early is a real possibility. You shouldn't be passing it too often if you're in these colors. Urza's Guilt Only thing Urza should feel guilty about is the relative weakness of this card. If there was more reanimation in the format than just the rare Phyrexian Delver, the card might be more applicable, but it has the same detrimental effects on you as your opponent, so its really hard to make this work for you. If your deck is designed for pure speed, perhaps this could be playable, but you'd have to be faster than your opponent, and its really hard to outrace Red-Green.