Aug 28, 2009

M2010 Set Review

Welcome to another installment of my peasant magic set reviews. We've had a while to play with M2010, and already some commons have seen play. My usual prediction on the playability of the cards will have to make place for actual facts in some cases! If you have been following this blog for a while, you know what'll happen next. Yes, I will once again pore over each common and label its playability or lack thereof. I'll end with a quick glance at some possible gems in the uncommon slot. Of course half of the cards are a known commodity, but that will only make the job easier for me, right? Alright, I promise I will not include any reprints in this review. Now let's move on!

For reference, you can find the full Visual Spoiler here!



M2010 commons



White



Angel's Mercy
While 7 life is a lot, so is 4 mana. Renewed Faith is about 183 times better than this.
Verdict: Won't see play.

Blinding Mage
Master Decoy without a relevant creature type. Seeing that Master Decoy is already outclassed by its Kithkin sibling Goldmeadow Harrier, I foresee a life of embittered loneliness for this mage.
Verdict: Won't see play

Divine Verdict
A new name doesn't make Neck Snap any more playable.
Verdict: Won't see play

Glorious Charge
When would you ever play this above Kjeldoran War Cry or Surge of Thoughtweft?
Verdict: Won't see play

Griffin Sentinel
See Divine Verdict, but replace Neck Snap with Skyhunter Prowler.
Verdict: Won't see play

Lifelink
Look! A worse Spirit Link!
Verdict: Won't see play

Palace Guard
This card has some merit in limited, but in peasant it is too slow with not enough power to impact the board. Also, there are simply better soldiers to be found.
Verdict: Won't see play

Safe Passage
Can be brutal in limited play. This card will have to compete with Prismatic Strands though, and I just can't see this winning that fight, unless white becomes the best color in peasant or too many multicolor decks make the Strands too unreliable. For now I don't see that happening, but who knows?.
Verdict: Might see play

Siege Mastodon
Strictly for limited, but pretty good in that environment.
Verdict: Won't see play

Silvercoat Lion
The incredible unplayable Eager Cadets, without a relevant creature type!
Verdict: Won't see play

Divine Offering
Good sideboard option, pity it's a sorcery. I would have been all over this if this had been an instant!
Verdict: Might see play

Stormfront Pegasus
This is a pretty decent card. 2 power for 2 mana with evasion, sounds like Gaea's Skyfolk, and that saw play (admittedly mainly to trigger a certain mimic).
Verdict: Might see play

Veteran Armorsmith
Well, this is a very good card that should not be ignored if you want to run a soldier deck in peasant. Someone already did.
Verdict: Already saw play

Veteran Swordsmith
Well, this is a very good card that should not be ignored if you want to run a soldier deck in peasant. Someone already did.
Verdict: Already saw play.

Wall of Faith
Sometimes "Won't see play" means "You should never play these, so you can burn your copies with a clear conscience if you are out of chopped wood in the middle of winter and desperately in need of a fire."
Verdict: Won't see play



Blue



Convincing Mirage
Well... This is better than Phantasmal Terrain!
Verdict: Won't see play

Disorient
Riiiight.
Verdict: Won't see play

Divination
Counsel of the Soratami in disguise! Still vastly inferior to good old Mulldrifter.
Verdict: Won't see play

Essence Scatter
I would play this over Remove Soul for the incredible cool art. Remove Soul sees play from time to time, when blue rises to quell the tide of... well... things it seeks to quell I suppose.
Verdict: Might see play

Ice Cage
Euipment and pump spells are way too popular for this to really shine. Add to that (near) creatureless decks like MBC and Arcane Tide and you can see this is going nowhere.
Verdict: Won't see play

Illusionary Servant
The good news is, equipment can't target your guys, and most other targeted spells aim to kill anyway. This is actually a pretty good card that should put up a fight in blue-based aggro decks.
Verdict: Will see play

Serpent of the Endless Sea
Somewhere inside I feel the urge to build a peasant deck with this and Convincing Mirage... X/X [i]is[/i] a monster!
Verdict: Won't see play

Tome Scour
5 cards eh? Still looks like an inferior Vision Charm, but put enough of these cards together and you end up with genuine a mill deck! You need 12+ of these to reliably mill your opponent's whole deck in a timely fashion however, so I think I'll stick to Arcane Tide if I want to mill opponents to death.
Verdict: Won't see play

Zephyr Sprite
A Flying Men in a relevant tribe. I heard 1 power adds up in faeries?
Verdict: Might see play



Black



Acolyte of Xathrid
If you want to win the game 1 point at a time, Onyx Goblet is probably the way to go in black. This card sure isn't.
Verdict: Won't see play

Child of Night
2 power for 2 mana is nice in black. Lifelink is actually a pretty useful ability, and I'm confident this card will find a home somewhere.
Verdict: Will see play

Disentomb
Raise Dead << Unearth in peasant magic.
Verdict: Won't see play

Doom Blade
Better then Terror in a world where affinity is Tier 1. You probably won't be surprised that it was included in one of last month's decks.
Verdict: Already saw play

Dread Warlock
Similarly, fear becomes much, much better, once you take out the artifact factor. Still, a 2/2 unblockable (there aren't that many black creatures in our meta) for three doesn't really translate into a clock, does it?
Verdict: Might see play

Kelinore Bat
Perfect for limited, perfect crap for constructed.
Verdict: Won't see play

Sign in Blood
A killer card draw spell! Adopted by MBC in the blink of an eye.
Verdict: Already saw play

Soul Bleed
Like I said, Onyx Goblet.
Verdict: Won't see play

Vampire Aristocrat
I still think zombie is a more relevant creature type, don't you? Zendikar might change that though, I heard it is chock full of blooddrinkers.
Verdict: Might see play

Warpath Ghoul
Currently one of the best deals a zombie deck can get a 3 mana. Yeah I know, peasant zombies still blows.
Verdict: Won't see play

Zombie Goliath
Case in point.
Verdict: Won't see play



Red



Berserkers of Blood Ridge
That's a lot of power for a red common. Still, peasant is a fast format in which a 4/4 for 5 with a disadvantage shouldn't make the cut. I'ld be happy to be proven wrong though in this case, I love this card!
Verdict: Won't see play



Verdict:



Green




Verdict:



Artifact




Verdict:



Hmm... that's a pretty impressive list! But it doesn't stop there, because this time there are some uncommons that might shake things up a bit! Let's discuss!



M2010 Uncommons




Verdict:



Very impressive! My predictions gave Conflux 6 commons and 3 uncommons that I though would see play, this time around it's 16 commons and 4 uncommons! To be fair, that does include the Borderpost cycle and Terminate. I hope you'll enjoy these cards just as much as I will. Still, I know I'm going to play me some Alara Reborn cards for a long while!

Hoping you'll enjoy this set as much as I will,

-Hennink

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