Welcome back to the Tree of Tales. First off, let me apologize for my absence from the tree. Unfortunately, sometimes the real world intrudes and steals our time from us. We have a lot to discuss this week, so I’ll dive right in.
I promised a limited set review of New Phyrexia, and this will finally be it. I’ll list each color and what they bring to the table, as well as what to avoid. Without further ado, here we go!
White
I’ll start this section off by saying basically every rare in this set, with the exception of Phyrexia Unlife, is playable for white. They are all excellent bombs, and do nicely, while Puresteel Paladin is great in any white metalcraft strategy, especially with the high count of living weapons in this set.
Forced Worship – Good creature limitation enchantment. Especially good at common since it can be reused later in a game on a better creature.
Inquisitor Exarch – Surprisingly good. The 2 life was always relevant, and getting him out on turn 2 was nice.
Lost Leonin – Really good, but white is not an especially strong infect color. Still, a 2/1 infect for 2 is really decent in limited.
Master Splicer – I really like this guy. I actually like this entire suite of creatures, with Blade Splicer and Sensor Splicer making up a large contingent of golem making troopers.
Remember the Fallen – Wow I really like this card. A lot. The last time anyone had a card this good was Grim Discovery in Zendikar block. This is never anything but great, often getting two great creatures.
Suture Priest – This guy is great in limited. Either they burn removal, or he causes a 6-10 point life swing, which is devastating in limited. If you get some of this guy and some splicers, you’re in the money.
Blue
Blighted Agent – This guy is really good. Unanswered, he can push 3-4 poison counters across a table.
Chancellor of the Spires – This guy’s opening hand ability is really nice, only outdone by the red chancellor in my opinion. Also very decent creature.
Deceiver Exarch – Not great. At least in this set, very few things are vulnerable to this guy. Nothing more than a single tap, and a block, so usually only great when you’re behind.
Impaler Shrike – Pretty good. Flies, 3 power, and can potentially draw you 3 cards. I played and like him.
Phyrexian Ingester – Good the only time I saw it played. Removal is removal, and getting a fat creature in the exchange is always nice.
Phyrexian Metamorph – I really like this guy in limited. Getting a copy of the best creature (or artifact) in play is great, or potentially legend-ruling one of the huge amazing Praetors that are floating around this set.
Spined Thopter – Really good. So good, in fact, that I played this card in several drafts where I wasn’t playing blue.
Tezzeret’s Gambit – Proliferate plus draw 2? Yeah, sign me up. Great if you’re playing infect. Finally, this feels like a set which makes blue a viable infect strategy for limited.
Viral Drake – Proliferate effect on a flying infect creature. Probably the best infect creature in this set for limited, all things concerned. Also a great blocker.
Wing Splicer – Again, these golem manufacturers are very good.
Black
Blind Zealot – Very surprising, was very good against me. I never drafted any, but they beat face on me when others had them.
Chancellor of the Dross – The life swing is nice, but not extremely relevant. However, if you cast this guy, he is one of the biggest threats around.
Despise – Pretty good, but bad if drawn extremely late. Still worth playing.
Dismember – Playable even if you don’t run black, but much better if it isn’t costing you 4 life. Either way, kills most everything around.
Entomber Exarch – especially good in limited, either gravedigger or hand disruption.
Geth’s Verdict – Although sacrifice effects are not always as powerful in limited as they are in constructed, this one still held it’s power, especially since it’s one of 3 solid spot removal spells for limited in this set for black.
Grim Affliction – Quite good. Kills a 2/2 instantly, neuters large threats, and proliferates poison counters for 2B.
Life’s Finale – Instant play. Can just about win the game by itself, which is disturbing.
Sheoldred, Whispering One – Duh, winning!
Vault Skirge – a 1/1 flying lifelink for either 1B or 1 and 2 life. Playable even in decks that aren’t running black.
Red
Artillerize – Although it sometimes looks like a bad deal, it’s really not. Lava Axe is playable in limited, and this outclasses that by quite a bit. Besides, in block limited format, there are lots of artifacts that you WANT to sacrifice.
Chancellor of the Forge – Actually pretty good. The one time I saw and nabbed him, he single-handedly won a game. Turns out that piles of goblins can be pretty good.
Fallen Ferromancer – Another pretty surprisingly good card. The ability to just randomly drop -1/-1 counters on creatures is great, and he also gives you a funny way to punch your last couple poison counters through.
Invader Parasite – We saw a few of these guys, and they got annoying pretty quick. Losing land always hurts, and then getting punished for playing more hurts even worse. I’d grab this guy if my plan included any red at all.
Moltensteel Dragon – If you don’t know this guy is good, just give up. Now.
Ogre Menial – Although on the underside of power, he is playable as an infect beater. I actually won a pod playing U/R infect with two of this guy.
Razor Swine – Quite solid, first strike and infect on a 2 power critter for 3 mana.
Urabrask, the Hidden – Another super-powerful bomb of a creature. Grab him right away if you’re in his colors.
Volt Charge – Possibly tied for best burn of the block. 3 mana for 3 damage with proliferate thrown into the mix is a good deal. I like this card a lot.
Artifacts (colorless)
Alloy Myr – Pretty good, a gray ogre/bird of paradise. Not the worst thing ever.
Batterskull – Duh.
Etched Monstrosity – The day a 5/5 for 5 isn’t playable in limited, I know this game will have changed. However, really not great.
Hex Parasite – In limited, great at nullifying -1/-1 counters on your critters vs. infect. Does other things too, but that’s the most important use for him.
Hovermyr – A solid 2 drop, having both vigilance and flying is great. Equip for better results.
Immolating Souleater – A bomb at times, this guy feels better than common. If you’re playing red it’s a pretty solid bet.
Pristine Talisman – At first glance this card is underpowered, but is actually quite good. Just the life gain associated with this card is momentous.
Shrine of Burning Rage – Removal on an artifact stick. While too slow for constructed, in limited this card finds its home.
Shrine of Loyal Legions – Same thing as burning rage. Not good enough for constructed, amazing in limited.
Sickleslicer – Great card, a 2/2 for 3 in limited is not bad, especially when it’s also an equipment.
I will reiterate that I truly enjoyed my time with this set. The introduction of phyrexian mana truly changed the way we played limited, giving us access to cards we would not normally have. I played decks as different as B/G beats to U/R infect, and had a blast with pretty much all of them. The power curve seemed to be pretty strong for black, while ending up a bit light for red. Despite this, none of the colors were unplayable, some just required more finesse than others. That being said, enough about the limited side of this set, and on to some constructed!
The Vault
So this week I have several lists to offer, including a high cost/low cost split of a particular variant I have been testing/playing. The first list we will be discussing is a Birthing Pod build that I have been evolving for several weeks now. There are two very distinct routes this list has taken, one of which is fairly cheap while the other is prohibitively expensive. First, let me list the high cost route.
| Lands (23) 8 Forest 4 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Verdant Catacombs 3 Scalding Tarn Creatures (26) 4 Birds of Paradise 3 Llanowar Elves 4 Lotus Cobra 4 Sea Gate Oracle 4 Vengevine 2 Phyrexian Metamorph 3 Acidic Slime 2 Frost Titan Non-creature (11) 4 Beast Within 4 Birthing Pod 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
The aim of this deck is simply to use every resource available, making even bad creatures become better via Birthing Pod. Sea Gate Oracle is great for this deck, as it smooths out your draw, and can even assist you in finding a second creature to recur Vengevine. Jace 2.0 obviously helps with this as well, and gets you deeper into your deck while maximizing the effectiveness of fetch lands. Let’s take a look at the cheaper list.
| Lands (23) 8 Forest 4 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 4 Verdant Catacombs 3 Scalding Tarn Creatures (27) 4 Birds of Paradise 3 Llanowar Elves 4 Lotus Cobra 3 Myr Superion 3 Sea Gate Oracle 4 Vengevine 2 Phyrexian Metamorph 3 Acidic Slime 1 Frost Titan Non-creature Spells (10) 4 Birthing Pod 3 Semblance Anvil 3 Beast Within |
This list is a little more gimmicky, and has significantly less ability to provide consistency. However, it can simply explode in ways the other can’t, providing almost guaranteed win conditions. It’s not significantly cheaper than the other list, but it is 3 Jace 2.0s lighter, which is definitely a plus. They both use Vengevine to good result, and he can provide an outlet to move up into Acidic Slime and Frost Titan, then come back afterward. The Semblance Anvil was actually suggested by someone else, and did provide a cheaper option than Jace. However, it simply doesn’t always perform, so prepare to be frustrated at times if that’s your goal.
The next list we will discuss is a Legacy brew surrounding the new card, Torpor Orb.
| Lands (21) 4 Underground Sea 4 Ancient Tomb 4 Polluted Delta 3 Scalding Tarn 4 Island 2 Swamp Artifacts (10) 4 Lotus Petal 4 Torpor Orb 2 Sensei’s Divining Top Instants (12) 4 Stifle 4 Brainstorm 4 Force of Will Creatures (12) 4 Dark Confidant 4 Phyrexian Dreadnought 4 Hunted Horror Sorceries (4) 4 Thoughtseize Planeswalkers (1) 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor |
Plays quite similar to the old Dreadstill, only much more effectively. You nearly guarantee something incredible in play by turn 3 at the latest, and all the while disrupting your opponent’s gameplan. Ancient Tomb can be swapped as Wasteland, but either way it works quite well. The absence of Standstill from this list is notable, and I do not suggest this is the only way to build this, just offer a starting point.
Well, that’s it for this week. Until next time.
-Mike