General [ZNR] Zendikar Rising Spoilers

Chris Taylor

Contributor
All I wanted fromnthis set was a single useful landfall card thats either {U} or {G/U} ... and all I got is a totally useless common and a almost functional reprint. Like, it's the set's showcase mechanic and there are colors which get nothibg more than TWO cards? I'm gonna cry a bit now and order my Adventuring Gear :(

I mean if it's any consolation, I'm interested in 0 blue cards at all from this set
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I mean if it's any consolation, I'm interested in 0 blue cards at all from this set
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I'm intrigued by all of these. I have no idea if I will actually run all of these, but there's definitely more than 0 blue cards I'm interested in :)
 

Chris Taylor

Contributor
Snare/Deliberate/Research are all a bit too low power for me

Inscription is kinda interesting, but 8 is a lot, (Like I cut ruinous path), so while it's flexible unkicked, you're missing out on a big part of the spell.
Also undo just hasn't been great in my format

Master just looks to me like much much worse Niblis of Frost

And roost....How many kicker spells do you need here? o.O
 
This set may have the most cards I'm interested in testing in awhile now that I see the full spoiler. Easily a dozen slots gonna shift. (and at least two I see that are definitely permanent changes).

Thankfully no in-person play atm means I only have to modify the online lists for tests for once.


I'd be willing to bet actual money that "Modern Horizons 2" will print the Allied Color Cycle of Horizon lands...
 
I'm actually low-key excited about deliberate, Preordain is great but Instant makes it a combat trick if blue likes prowess and I've been looking for ways to support prowess in UW more in my cube to give it something to do that isn't "grind out a 20 turn game on incremental advantages"
 
I'm actually low-key excited about deliberate, Preordain is great but Instant makes it a combat trick if blue likes prowess and I've been looking for ways to support prowess in UW more in my cube to give it something to do that isn't "grind out a 20 turn game on incremental advantages"

There is also

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All I wanted from this set was a single useful landfall card thats either {U} or {G/U} ... and all I got is a totally useless common and a almost functional reprint. Like, it's the set's showcase mechanic and there are colors which get nothing more than TWO cards? I'm gonna cry a bit now and order my Adventuring Gear :(
You got a ton of useful landfall cards that are {U}.
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They might not have the word "landfall" spelled out on them, but these cards are insanely good in a "landfall with a bounce lands to hand theme" deck like you have designed. The ability for a landfall player to have both 20 Lands and 25 Spells at the same time seems extremely strong to me. The contributions these cards will make to landfall maybe aren't as blunt as one may like, but their impact on the archetype is pretty huge.
 
Whole post ended up lenghtier than I had planned, so apologies to anyone who doesn't like to read.

Mythics
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For all of the mythic Spell/Lands I think they're generally this weird, underwhelming late game play BUT they're significantly better than a topdeck land would have been. They're going to be awesome to pick back up with a bounce land, too.

Unfortunately, as I and many others in the thread have noted, the backs of the mythics are different than all of the other 20 S/Ls and that may be a bit of a convenienced-based barrier to inclusion.

That said, I'd encourage anyone with a playgroup who doesn't mind unsleeving cards to read them or who follows the game closely enough to be familiar with these to definitely give them a try. 3 life is a lot, but the flexibility is SO high.
EDIT; I never explained that the back of the mythics are "ETB tapped unless you pay 3 life. {T}: Add ~."


I'm only going to include the front half image on these, as the backs are all "ETB tapped. {T}: Add ~." See? That really is convenient!
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It's a shitty Planar Cleansing. If you're playing a control deck, you want removal and you want lands. This is both. The flexibility is going to be good enough to make it a solid card in the kinds of decks that would want it. Those decks will also want Azorius Chancery and there's nothing better for WU control to pick back up than this. If you could support a 6 mana Wrath, this is probably worth a try.

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"Shitty" will be a common theme for a set of cards I feel is excellent, but this is a shitty Outnumber, one of the best commons in BFZ draft. You almost definitely have a white deck that is going to have multiple dudes in play and this will probably have an opportunity to kill something for 2 mana at instant speed. If you get wiped or you don't have a fast enough hand to fill up the board, well, you've got a tapped land instead and that sounds like it might be what you needed. If you're not in need of elite removal, this probably fits in.

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Shitty Overrun! Have more attackers than your opponent has blockers, cast this, win. I can easily imagine Selesnya Sanctuary picking this up and ending some games. If you have any sort of "Go Wide" deck, Win/Land is a great mix.

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Shitty... Well, a ton of white cards do this for less. Those cards sometimes get stuck in your hand, however, because your guy hasn't been targetted or whatever. You can play it as a land when you need it or keep it as an answer when you have enough lands. Two mana is "too much" for this, but it's still damn cheap and it's such a great effect when it works. This one's great for all kinds of decks.

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I don't know what this is a shitty version of, but surely something. Either way, it's a solid blocker and can mess up some red decks pretty badly. Decent, simple card. Not bad.

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This one isn't even a shitty version of anything. It's on par for this kind of effect. That said, the front side is pretty narrow. Sometimes you don't have a creature worth copying. So go ahead and play the land. Good card in any cube that has creatures.

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The front half on this one can vary wildly from game to game. It blanks a lot of the "Go Wide" decks for a turn and can give you a huge edge up in certain dicey combat scenarios. At the end of the day, it's a blue defensive instant with a land on the back. I don't think it's great, but it's a fun card to try and be tricky with.

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Shitty Force Spike and shitty kind-of-Impulse. Classic blue cards that cost an extra mana in exchange for also being a land. I suspect these are everything your blue decks want.

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Let's face it. This is a lot of work for little payoff. You'll have to really love Wizards (not the company, but the creature type) and be pretty low powered to take this one.
EDIT: Onder pointed out that this may be exactly what your blue decks want, depending on your power level. Control wants a lot of lands, but doesn't necessarily want to flood. This keeps your land drops consistent and can offer a reasonable threat later in the game. If you aren't repulsed at the thought of 3 toughness for 5 mana, this might be the land for you!
 
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Shitty Murder. 4 mana instant speed removal is going to be sufficient in a lot of scenarios and it's going to save you from some mulligans. Run it unless you're super streamlined.

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Blegh. I could go into the Human interactions or the Rogue interactions or the Menace deck from IKO or how mill is gaining cards with every set lately, but most of you don't want this. Those of you who want it don't need me to tell you why you want it because it's probably obvious to you.

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The times when this works are going to be so juicy. It's a protection spell or a sac-blink spell in one. 2 life and a mana is a bargain. Kind of hard to pull off, but that's why there's a land on the back. Seems good in the right hand and you'll often get to assess that in your opener.

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Shitty Transgress the Mind. On the surface, this is a terrible rate for the card you're getting. That's why it has the land half. This one may be matchup dependent where you use the spell half against a ramp deck's threat or to break up some suspected combo-like shenanigans. Otherwise, you've got a land. Not the best one of the bunch, but seems fine in a little bit of a slower format.

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The front half of this is never something you want to run, but it's going to be pretty cool to bounce back to your hand and kill the opponent with. Outside of living the dream, I'm not a fan.

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This is a weird one, effect-wise. I'm pretty sure recycling your hand is a decent effect. Would have been way cooler if you got to discard. As is, it supports UR card draw decks well and is potentially an amazing topdeck to refresh your hand. Definitely a useful enough front side to happily try it.

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Shitty Fling! Fling is so awesome when it works and this will be the same. Another slightly narrow effect that gets a big boost from the flexibility of being a land. You'll be happy to draw this at any stage of the game, which is great.

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Shitty Threaten. Threaten's so good when you hit their fatty that you won't really mind this costing 5 a lot of the time. Add in the flexibility (I guess our two themes are "shitty" and "flexible." It's like a gymnast with diarrhea.) and this seems like a solid inclusion at some lower-mid power levels.

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Shitty. Just shitty. Unlike the spells that are still a potent effect even if they cost a mana or two extra, this is just a weak dude at a high mana cost. Unless you're really trying to push these DFCs, he's gonna be a no for me, dogg.

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Shitty Magma Spray is actually still really good. This kills elves and 2/1 one drops and all sorts of utility creatures. You can blow it just to ensure the exile hits on a crucial yard guy. Unlike Spray, you can also burn your opponent's last life point. This one's great.

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Shitty for your opponent. This is such a smasher. It's actually so good that it feels like it doesnt belong in this mostly low-mid powered review. This guy is legit.

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Man... One counter really isn't a lot. It probably looks kind of ok if you can proliferate the one counter into more, but I'm not super interested in it because the front side is so underwhelming.

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Shitty Regrowth. Regrowth is the kind of card that's definitely powerful, yet I don't see many of us using it. There's something about its slowness, I think, that makes it not that great. This is probably the same. I'm not super hype on it, but it's probably worth an inclusion if you're a big fan of this set of cards.

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Shitty fight. As has been the case with the other removal spels here, you're always going to be happy to have the option, even for an extra mana. Being able to kill stuff is good and so is this, especially at instant speed.

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Need mana? Take your pick. Green decks are going to love this.



Remember at the start how I apologized to people who don't like reading? Well, I'm one of them and this didn't get a proof read. Hope it wasn't too bad.
 
Haven’t yet read Brad’s article but I can’t wait. Beforehand I have something to say

Okay so I just want to state something everyone. It is not that I don’t think blue has any good lands. Or good land support. Or cards that are good if you run a land theme. Etc. I just said that Wizards did not print many good mono blue landfall cards or cards that trigger an ability whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control. There are some but not a lot and they seem a little disjointed/not working together. Also there are some in multicolored blue. There. I also feel sorry for Ravnic whenever they favor madness in other colors than Gruul or landfall in non-blue. It just sucks sometimes. Luck and bad luck.

Now I want to read Brad’s article! :)
 

Onderzeeboot

Ecstatic Orb
I think you're underestimating how good some of the creatures are. Blue-based control decks want to hit a land drop every turn, and that shitty blue pseudo-flyer is a land that turns into a beatstick in the late game. That's exactly what that deck is interested in!
 
I think you're underestimating how good some of the creatures are. Blue-based control decks want to hit a land drop every turn, and that shitty blue pseudo-flyer is a land that turns into a beatstick in the late game. That's exactly what that deck is interested in!
I think you're right for the blue Wizard. The black Rogue and red Minotaur I'm skeptical of, as the black card is much smaller and fewer red decks are desperate for lands. I'll make an edit to the blue one.

Brad is not the first one to tell me to include bounce lands but he will be the last one.
Most new sets give me a lot to think about but this one really has me wanting to run 15 or so of these with 10 bounce lands and possibly go to a normal color distribution. It's always a lot to consider, but these are sweet and the black ones are probably the worst of the lot. I'm a little tired of packing $1000 of mana with me and don't really want to proxy my mana base, as well. I'm always cooking ideas up, but these DFCs have me reassessing a lot.
 
The vast majority of these imposter land cards don't quite get there in most cubes. I'd say the only one that interests me is the Landfall Elephant, but even then it's mostly as just a beater to push through damage. In a lower powered format utilizing bouncelands however? I think these are incredible for that kind of environment if board development is slow enough.
 
Brad you might be able to have your cake and eat it: with as much black as your cube already has you could probably run mostly the black-aligned bouncelands with non-black MDFCs and still have a sweet (skewed color) environment.
 
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