Avacyn Restored Wishlist
April 29, 2012 Leave a comment
While I can’t say that I’m super excited for the new set, there are always some cool new cards in every set. Here’s what I have my eye on:
Good Cards
Cathars’ Crusade seems like a potentially useful and powerful card, but realistically, by the time you get it out, you’re probably already winning or losing and this isn’t going to change much, since it costs 5 mana. Still, I can imagine this doing some awesome things with some big card like Conqueror’s Pledge. I suppose even a flashbacked Lingering Souls could put your spirit token army out of reach of a lot of targeted removal or big enough to deal with the threats on the other side of the board. I definitely want to try this out.
Here’s a dragon that basically protects itself when it’s not your turn, and potentially combos with stuff that rewards you when a creature comes into play – this guy’s coming in every turn.
Pretty pricey for a red deck, but I love the potential to wreak havoc on the board with Tyrant of Discord.
No card disadvantage with this aura, and it fixes your mana for cheap. Imagine splashing for other colors in a Dungrove Elder deck, for example (Druids’ Repository could do it too, but not as efficiently).
If you like playing with fatties, here’s a cool new drain life, or combo it with a shade to really finish them off with a double whammy!
In a deck with Seething Songs, Pyretic Rituals, and Geosurges, this could be really awesome. And it doesn’t kill your guys, just theirs!
Don’t you think this should be an Elf? I do. But it’s not going in an elf deck anyway. Perfect for casting that RRR creature in your Green deck, though.
This is going into my Werewolf deck.
Mill Deck
I’m planning on building a dedicated mill deck soon – love those alternate win-condition decks – and I have a self-mill deck that might find some use for these as well. In the late game, Dreadwaters is 4 mana for 6-7 cards; Rotcrown Ghoul might find a better home UB Zombies, filling your own graveyard with reanimation targets, since otherwise it’s just 5 mana for 5 cards with a delay; Stern Mentor gives you 4 cards per turn for 4 mana, so it may be the best of the lot.
New Planeswalkers
I’d like to collect all the planeswalkers eventually (don’t know if I’ll ever get a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, though). I’ve created my own “Planeswalker Jousting” format, and here are some new Jousters:
Crosis, the Purger Deck
I turned my old “Discard Damage” damage deck into a Crosis Commander deck (UBR), so I’m always on the lookout for good discard cards, or reanimate their discarded creatures cards, and even better bounce cards. (An interesting side note: I noticed that I found a lot more Black and Red cards that I want in this set than White ones.) Appetite for Brains is likely to hit something big and good in an EDH game; Mental Agony might be a little pricey at 4 mana; Once Crosis is out, Triumph of Cruelty has a good chance of doing some real work.
Vampires!
I have a vampire-themed Commander deck, and a Sorin deck based around vampires, so vampire-themed cards always attract my attention. Bloodflow Connoiseur looks like it will combo better with Kalastria Highborn than Bloodthrone Vampire.
Venser Deck
I have been on the lookout for nice cheap things to flicker in my Venser deck, but I guess Cathedral Sanctifier is just Healing Salve on a stick. Maybe I should rethink that one. Conjuror’s Closet would be an even more perfect complement in the deck if it was a little cheaper.
Zombies
I’m slowly getting the cards together for a Zombies deck – I want hordes and hordes that come back from the dead. I’m not sure, yet, whether to go mono-Black or Blue/Black.
Red Deck Wins
Red looks like it got some good stuff in this set. Here’s some decent considerations for aggressive red decks. Pump out the creature rush, and then get some more cards in your hand, and finish them off with a big Fireball!
Elves!
Some people don’t seem to like Elves. I’m not one of those.
New Decks?
There are a few cards which do seem to be begging for a deck to built around them, either because they present a unique challenge or just seem really cool.
Others seem like they have the synergy for a deck built right into the set. Demonic Rising is asking for these others to follow him into a deck. That Demonic Taskmaster becomes a 7/4 flying menace, and you have fodder for some other sacrificial outlet like Corpse Trader, Bloodflow Connoisseur, or Bone Splinters in a mono-Black control deck.
What if we built a multiplayer deck with Descent into Madness and Griselbrand? Ouch!
New Commanders?
While Black, and Red to a lesser extent, seemed to get some of the best cards, there are some multi-colored Angels with some potential as Commanders.
Land Collection
I’d like to collect all of the dual colored activation lands from the block. These will complete the collection: