Top 10 Favorite New M13 Cards

10. Knight of Infamy/Knight of Glory

Given that Exalted was going to appear in both white and black, new variants on Black/White Knight make good sense, and I think they turned out great. Uh...I guess I don't have much to say beyond that. They're nice cards.

9. Slumbering Dragon

I enjoy the way this card captures the flavor of a sleeping dragon that you have to sneak past without waking it up. I guess it plays well against Exalted too, but I mainly like it as a cool standalone card.

8. Sublime Archangel

I think anyone could have seen this one coming, honestly. The "Give all guys mechanic X" card is a time-honored tradition, and as it didn't show up in Alara block, it's not surprising to see it here. That being said, I got the chance to play with this card at the prerelease and it was definitely a whammy. I am very happy it exists.

7. Mind Sculpt

Actually, I liked Jace's Erasure better. The repeatable effect is more fun. But this is cool too. I like that the mill deck gets to exist. I also like that the old casual favorite Glimpse the Unthinkable gets to make a pseudo-comeback at a lower rarity. And the Jace reference here is pretty cool too.

6. Ring of Kalonia

I'm a fan of these new magic rings. Growing a creature incrementally every turn is very satisfying. Ring of Kalonia is my favorite of the cycle because I like how the pumping works with the trampling. Also, green creatures are, of course, the best creatures.

5. Krenko, Mob Boss

What's better than making Goblin tokens? Making even more Goblin tokens! Tokens are awesome and doubling is awesome. Krenko manages to singlehandedly make me want to play goblins. Tap him, make goblins, tap him again, make more goblins, tap him again, make even more goblins...throw enough goblins at a problem and eventually you can solve anything, right?

4. Predatory Rampage

Overrun is awesome, but it has this problem where it's extremely powerful in limited. So in M11, we got Overwhelming Stampede--on the surface, a splashier version of the same effect, but really it was an excuse to move it up in rarity. M13 continues the tradition by giving us Predatory Rampage, which eschews the "Kill them right now" plan for a slightly more cautious "Kill all their untapped creatures" plan. And you know what? I actually like that plan. It seems more fun and interactive than winning the game on the spot.

3. Switcheroo

Okay, first things first, that's an awesome name. The art and flavor text are awesome too. And it's good that Mind Control is taking a break from the limited environment. What interests me about Switcheroo is that it's a lot higher-variance than your straight Mind Control. The lows are way lower, since having nothing to swap is going to be pretty painful. But the highs are higher, too, even though on the surface it seems like they shouldn't be--stealing their creature and giving them nothing is a strictly better effect, right? But when you switch their dragon with your Merfolk of the Pearl Trident, it's so much more awesome because it's like you got away with something. It's value.

2. Roaring Primadox

Oh man, memories. I remember Stampeding Wildebeests. Return Wood Elves to my hand, get all the forests out of my deck, return Multani's Acolyte to my hand, draw a million cards, return Blastoderm to my hand, no fading for you...simple combos, but so much fun. Roaring Primadox continues the proud tradition for a whole new generation of players, and it comes pre-packaged in the same expansion as Elvish Visionary! Now with multicolor support, so you can splash in those Ravenous Rats or Attended Knights! Good times, good times.

1. Chronomaton

Remember the clockwork creatures from Mirrodin? Clockwork Beetle? Clockwork Condor? Remember how much they sucked? Clockwork creatures aren't cool because they wind down. They're cool because they wind up. And nothing winds up quite like Chronomaton. Simple, elegant, flavorful, and fun. It's a perfect package of all that is cute and lovable in a card.

Top 10 Favorite M13 Reprints

10. Mogg Flunkies

It's got some great things going for it. First, it's a goblin, so it has explicit synergy with the sort of goblin tribal subtheme we see with Arms Dealer and Krenko, Mob Boss. Second, it enables niche decks in limited. It's one of those cards whose value changes drastically based on the deck you're drafting--that's the sort of thing that adds depth to a limited format. Third, it very deliberately doesn't interact with Exalted. I love that.

9. Tormented Soul

This is one of those ones that was good in its previous printing because of the environment surrounding it, and is now being reprinted in a very different environment where it's still good, but for very different reasons. In M12, you always wanted this on the first turn to power up your Bloodthirst guys. In M13, now it's partying with the next keyword mechanic, getting buffed up by Exalted to break creature stalls. I for one think that's cool.

8. Quirion Dryad

Quirion Dryad is a pretty fun card in general, and if it gets a chance to shine, that's something I'm happy about. In M13, Quirion Dryad is positioned to capitalize on the multicolor fun of the imminent Return to Ravnica block. We call that timing.

7. Rancor

Everyone loves Rancor! It's powerful, it's fun, etc. Not much to say except that it's a sweet card, and it's nice to see it in booster packs.

6. Gilded Lotus

Because you can't have Nicol Bolas without a way to cast Nicol Bolas.

Also, it even has synergy with some Scars of Mirrodin artifact stuff, which is a nice bonus. And we finally get a printing in a card frame that doesn't suck. These are good things.

5. Erase

With the return of Rancor (against which your vanilla Demystify is woefully ineffective), it's the perfect time to notch up white's targeted enchantment removal. Also, I really like the new art. This is from the ending of Beauty and the Beast, right? I'm pretty sure.

4. Reliquary Tower

Did you know this is worth, like, multiple dollars? I know, right? That's crazy! But we Commander folks love us some reliquaries. And let's be frank, Spellbook is a really bad card, so no love lost there. Kick out the zero-mana artifact and give us the land! Yeehaw!

3. Volcanic Geyser

Fireball is great, but it's also really, really strong in limited. Since it's basically the most splashable bomb in existence, you just take it every time, basically. But now in M13, we have Volcanic Geyser instead. It's still a crazy bomb that you'll windmill first-pick, but the double red requires a greater color commitment, making the card feel very different in an actual game. I appreciate that. I also like the new art.

2. Scroll Thief

One of my favorite blue cards returns for M13! Scroll Thief is so much fun to play with. Every time you hit with it, it feels like you got away with something. It creates a little mini-game within the game, where you have to try and connect with your 1/3 and your opponent has to stop you. It also perfectly embodies the philosophy of blue's creatures: it's powerful not because it's big and strong, but because it's smart and stealthy. Blue wins by outwitting and outmaneuvering its enemies, not by stomping on them until they die.

Plus, it gets even better in this format because with Exalted hanging around, you have a new way to push it through. Yay!

1. Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker

Okay, I'll be honest here, I'm only putting him at the top because he'd melt my brain if I put him any lower. You don't piss off Nicol Bolas.

That being said, he really is a great card. He never saw a lot of tournament play the first time around, but who knows? Maybe he'll make a splash this time. I'd certainly be excited to see him at the top tables of a Pro Tour. Fingers crossed!

M13 Prerelease Report

I opened Sublime Archangel and no other good rares. But that's okay, because Sublime Archangel proved to be:

1. An amazing bomb and
2. The most expensive card on the store's buylist.

I also got three Pacifisms, so my white was very good, and I ended up going 3-1 to earn four boosters (which I sold back to the store for $10). Then I swapped in my Archangel for another $10 cash. Works for me.

The first round I actually got creamed pretty soundly. I won one game, but my opponent had like five removal spells and an Archaeomancer in one game and quadruple Mind Sculpt in another--pretty nutty draws. I sideboarded into blue to see if I could get a shot at the achievement for milling them, but that plan was probably wrong; I'm fairly certain the white-green build was better, even against a deck with lots of answers.

Then I swept the next round against a guy who was pretty new to the game and played pretty sloppily because he didn't really know what he was doing. After the round, I tried to help him with his deck. It wasn't as much of a mess as I expected; most of his card evaluations were fine aside from an off-color Ring of Kalonia, he just had trouble cutting down to 40.

Round 3 was very tight. On the critical turn, he was facing down lethal from my side of the board thanks to a nice heavy-hitting Sublime Archangel, but I was at 9 against his two Bladetusk Boars and a Goblin Arsonist. He topdecked a Battleflight Eagle and slammed it to give the Goblin Arsonist +2/+2 and flying to swing for the win--but this was a savage misplay, as he had flat forgotten about my Deadly Recluse, which blocked the lethal flyer and let me swing back for the win on my next turn. He was supposed to target one of the boars just for the power boost, which would have killed me. However, there were multiple decision points earlier in the game; I'm pretty sure if I'd played tighter, there's a good chance he might have been dead a turn sooner anyway. Oh well.

Round 4 was not close at all. I crushed. I had good draws and my opponent had bad draws, and my deck steamrolled right over his deck.

My impression of the set was very positive. This is an awesome core set. There are some brilliant inclusions here. I love how Mogg Flunkies is juxtaposed with Exalted to make the drawback stick out even more. I love how they replaced Demystify with Erase so that it could answer Rancor. I love the Rings cycle, which is sweet. I am a fan of Nicol Bolas horning in on things. I...well, I could do without opening Battle of Wits and Door to Nothingness in my sealed pool, but meh.

M13 for #MayaelFTW

Boundless Realms: The problem with this card is that you basically have to be on an all- or mostly-basics manabase for it to work. I think if that's the case, it's probably better than Mana Reflection for sure and maybe better than Mirari's Wake, by virtue of being a sorcery instead of an enchantment. But I am not convinced it's worth skewing my manabase to accommodate Boundless Realms.




Elderscale Wurm: The thing with this guy is that the ability just isn't all that relevant in this format. It's probably okay against certain matchups, but most decks won't care about it at all, and Blazing Archon and Gisela are far, far stronger versions of the effect. Elderscale Wurm will not be making it into my deck.




Mwonvuli Beast Tracker: Oh joy, another tutor for Primeval Titan? No thanks, I think I'll be fine. That's pretty much the only guy worth tutoring for with the Beast Tracker here, and lord knows we get enough of Titan already. Plus, Fierce Empath already does the same thing better, and we're aren't exactly nuts about him, are we? Pass.




Thragtusk: This is one of those guys who fits in the "Baneslayer Angel" slot: the early-game lifegain dude. My initial thoughts are that it's worth testing, sort of a smaller version of Pelakka Wurm that's probably better than Mycoid Shepherd but worse than Baneslayer Angel or Wurmcoil Engine.




Thundermaw Hellkite: Not really worth a slot. He's just too low-impact. He'll come down, hit for 5, and then maybe durdle for a while. 5/5 is too small to race anything, but big enough that the guy you attack with it will want to kill it. And aside from being a body, he doesn't actually do anything. I'm putting him down as "bad".




Worldfire: "Ooh look at me I have a Greater Gargadon suspended." Yes, you're very clever. Next card, please.




Ajani, Caller of the Pride: While planeswalkers in general are tough to miss with, the Mayael deck doesn't really get much out of this effect. I guess you could play it if you want, since it's just a generically nice card, but I wouldn't.




Rings of Valkas, Kalonia, and Thune: I personally think these cards are really cool. They're not very strong, though. I mean, you could be running, like, Sword of Fire and Ice. Or any of the other four. Or, I dunno, Mask of Memory or something? Whatever. Point is, if you're gonna buff creatures, these are not exactly the prime options. I mean, I don't even run Loxodon Warhammer. Can't see running these.




 Cathedral of War: Exalted is nice, but it's not so nice that I'm willing to run a land that's colorless and comes into play tapped. You don't see me playing Llanowar Reborn, and I'm pretty sure this is worse than that.




Hellion Crucible: We have enough manlands that don't require you to sacrifice them, and the "colorless land" slots are already very crowded. Nantuko Monastery is better than this card, and I don't run Nantuko Monastery. This is not making the cut.


Thoughts on some notable reprints

Serra Avatar and Hamletback Goliath: If you're in the market for "Creatures that are absurdly gigantic but otherwise vanilla", these are two of the best. Me, I like to get more utility out of my guys, but maybe your build wants them.
Fervor: I don't think the deck needs this effect. If it did, though, Fires of Yavimaya is the clearly superior choice.
Rancor: Notably, very good with those big dumb vanilla creatures like Hamletback Goliath and Serra Avatar.
Akroma's Memorial: This is an okay card for some decks, but I don't like it here. There are too many better options for mass pump effects. I have a long list of cards I would run in this slot before going to Akroma's Memorial; off the top of my head, Triumph of the Horde, True Conviction, Overwhelming Stampede, Insurrection, Craterhoof Behemoth...
Gilded Lotus: This is actually a pretty nice ramp spell, but being in green, we get to use Mana Reflection, Mirari's Wake, and Primeval Titan already, so this isn't something I'd be looking to run.
Reliquary Tower: I really like having this card in my deck just to deal with annoying Howling Mine effects, but over time the deck's been wanting new colorless lands, and Reliquary Tower has definitely been on the weaker end of the scale, and in my last update I ended up cutting it. It's still pretty good if you run a lot of card draw, though, like Garruk, Primal Hunter or Greater Good or whatnot.


The Verdict

There's nothing in M13 that I'm looking to add to my Mayael deck. The expansion has a fair share of decent, playable cards for the deck, but none of them are better than what we already have.

Maybe Thragtusk.