I'm not one of the people who think white is useless in Extended, I'm really not. In fact I wrote an article (albeit riddled with embarrassing errors) for this very site saying - among other things - that what I felt like playing in the new Extended was white weenie. Although I wouldn't play it now (since I have at least two other decks I'm dying to build and play), I still think it can be competitive.

But I'm not Ben Bleiweiss, either.

If you haven't seen it, Ben took a few moments off from his permanent gigs at Magicthegathering.com and Inquest to write an article for Star City praising white in Extended. He even went so far as to list 181 (count 'em, 181) white cards that he was prepared to bet would see play at Pro Tour: Houston - the first major tournament featuring the new Extended format. He promised to write one hundred meaningful words about each and every card on that list that wasn't played in Houston.

And lo, the list was read by the masses, and there was much debating, and the question on everybody's lips was:

Is this man insane?

And the answer came to us, and it was"yes." Yes, he is.

But he's insane and brave - which is almost as good as sanity. So why should I be any worse? I'll be betting Ben Bleiweiss right back. I'm not quite as brave as Ben, though, so I'll be betting on twenty white cards that won't see play in the new Extended.

But to keep it interesting, I'll pick those cards right off Ben's list. I'll even do some of his post-Houston work for him by explaining, right here and now, why these cards won't see play in Houston.

Ain't I nice?

So, to sum up: The twenty cards I'll soon list will be written about after Pro Tour: Houston. If they are not played, Ben Bleiweiss will write a hundred meaningful words about why they weren't. If they are played, I will write about why they were. I'm just a humble submissionist and not a bigshot paid writer like Ben, so my words may not be a hundred and may not be meaningful, but they will be written.

I won't be choosing any Onslaught cards since I can't be bothered matching Ben's article with the spoiler list to find out exactly what card ONSLAUGHT CARD #4 really is. Also, I'll be leaving out a lot of cards that in all probability won't be played, 'Cause I'm playing it safe.

Enough procrastinating (if I were paid at all, I should be paid extra for a fancy word like that), on to the actual cards.

Allay
1W
Instant
Buyback 3
Destroy target enchantment.

There's one simple reason this card won't be played - and that's because Disenchant is simply better. There are a million Disenchant clones, and this isn't one of the good ones. Simply put, no-one is going to waste three mana on getting to play Disenchant again. The fact that Allay can't zap artifacts is just anti-gravy, if that's a word.

Yes, in certain specific circumstances, Allay is better than Disenchant. In certain specific circumstances, Mons's Goblin Raiders is better than Jackal Pup... But you don't see many of Mons's warriors stealing slots in Sligh. You won't see Allay brought to a Pro Tour with a virtually unknown metagame either.

Ancestor's Chosen
5WW
Creature -- Cleric
4/4
First strike
When Ancestor's Chosen comes into play, you gain 1 life for each card in your graveyard.

Underrated in Limited, unplayable in Constructed. Any Constructed deck, especially a white one, that plays a seven-mana card will expect to win the game off it. Ancestor's Chosen just doesn't do that - especially with Flametongue Kavu in the environment. There are bigger creatures out there, and there's definitely better lifegain. All in all, there's no reason to play this card.

Angel of Mercy
4W
Creature -- Angel
3/3
Flying
When Angel of Mercy comes into play, you gain 3 life.

High pick in Limited; useless in Constructed. Three life here or there matters less than a fly on dumbbells. Any deck that wants a five-mana creature has vastly better options to choose from - Serra Angel, for example, is almost strictly better than Angel of Mercy, and I don't even think Serra Angel will see play. Angel of Mercy just doesn't do enough.

Arrest
2W
Enchant Creature
Enchanted creature can't attack or block, and its activated abilities can't be played.

Arrest might be played... But not in Houston. If Arrest is ever played, it's when some creature with dangerous activated abilities gets played heavily in Extended - and that won't be known until after Houston. Until then, decks needing something like this will just play Pacifism, if there even are decks needing something like this, which I doubt.

Clear
1W
Instant
Destroy target enchantment.
Cycling 2

Once again, no reason to play this over Disenchant. Disenchant probably won't be a maindeck card, and you don't usually want to cycle your sideboard cards away. Once again, it can't hit artifacts, which might or might not matter.

Defender en-Vec
3W
Creature -- Cleric
2/4
Fading 4
Remove a fade counter from Defender en-Vec: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.

Yeah, I'd forgotten about it, too.

This is getting awfully repetitive - but once again, there's no reason to ever play this. There are so much better damage prevention options out there. Instead of playing with a 2/4 (apart from Blinding Angel, has there been a single Constructed viable 2/4 since Giant Spider?) that disappears if you want it to prevent damage, why not just play Circle of Protections in the sideboard, Story Circle maindeck, or any other of a dozen strategies?

Flickering Ward
W
Enchant Creature
As Flickering Ward comes into play, choose a color. Enchanted creature has protection from the chosen color. This effect doesn't remove Flickering Ward.
W: Return Flickering Ward to its owner's hand.

Simply doesn't do enough. Creature enchantments usually don't, although R&D have become immensely better at this in the last few sets. Using a card to grant protection, even if you have the ability to save the card from destruction and re-use it whenever you wish, is not an effect powerful enough to warrant usage of this card. Even Shelter is better, as it doesn't cost you a card and probably costs your opponent one.

Gerrard's Battle Cry
W
Enchantment
2W:Creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn.

In Extended, there are at least three cards that are better than this: Crusade, Glorious Anthem and Divine Sacrament. If you have 4WW available, Gerrard's Battle Cry is better than these for one turn - and then it does nothing until you shell out again.

Are you willing to bet that that situation will come up? Me neither.

The only decks that would even consider this are weenie-type decks, and those benefit vastly more from the three listed options.

Jeweled Spirit
3WW
Creature -- Spirit
3/3
Flying
Sacrifice two lands: Jeweled Spirit gains protection from artifacts or from the color of your choice until end of turn.

Not a bad card in itself, just outclassed by the many alternatives. I can't see it played in anything but blue-white control - and then why wouldn't you just play with Morphling? And if you somehow manage to get together a monowhite (or at least nonblue deck) that craves a card like this, wouldn't you put in Blinding Angel and Serra Angel before you even considered Jeweled Spirit? I know I would.

Nomads en-Kor
W
Creature -- Soldier
1/1
0: The next 1 damage that would be dealt to Nomads en-Kor this turn is dealt to target creature you control instead.

1/1s have to do something pretty impressive to be worth playing in Constructed.

Example of a 1/1 that does: Mother of Runes.
Example of a 1/1 that doesn't: Nomads en-Kor.

The only deck that would play this is some kind of Task Force combo deck. If that deck is played in Houston, I'll gladly retract these statements.

Orim's Prayer
1WW
Enchantment
Whenever a creature attacks you, you gain 1 life.

Sideboard card against Goblin Trenches? Except that Goblin Trenches is white, and so every deck running Goblin Trenches can quite handily handle Orim's Prayer. Orim's Prayer is only good against hordes of 1/1s that don't have access to Disenchant.

When did you last see a horde of 1/1s in Constructed that didn't have access to Disenchant? Quite.

Maybe Ben sees this played against Sligh. Let me just say that Circle of Protection: Red or even Warmth would be better.

Pegasus Stampede
1W
Sorcery
Buyback--Sacrifice a land.
Put a 1/1 white Pegasus creature token with flying into play.

If the game is in a stalemate, you're both topdecking, you have a lot of land in play and you could win with one alpha strike... Then this card is good. At all other times, it sucks. It's a one-shot, bad Goblin Trenches. Not my idea of an Extended playable card.

Pilgrim of Justice
2W
Creature -- Cleric
1/3
Protection from red
W, Sacrifice Pilgrim of Justice: The next time a red source of your choice would deal damage this turn, prevent that damage.

I'd like to see the deck that Ben imagines this card will go into. There are other, much better, sideboarding options against red - and a three mana 1/3 won't do much anywhere. Sure, it might be good against Sligh... But there's so much else that would be so much better. No reason to throw a crap Cleric into the mix.

Renounce
1W
Instant
Sacrifice any number of permanents. You gain 2 life for each one sacrificed this way.

Ben seems to have a thing for life gain, doesn't he? If Houston houses a Test of Endurance deck, then this might see play. Anyone expecting to see that deck at a Pro Tour? No? Then this card hurts too much and does too little.

Sacred Guide
W
Creature -- Cleric
1/1
1W, Sacrifice Sacred Guide: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a white card. Put that card into your hand and remove all other revealed cards from the game.

It's just a 1/1 with a marginal ability. Sure, it's okay for its cost... But okay just doesn't cut it. Extended is a large card pool; every card in a deck must pull its weight or be cut, and Sacred Guide cannot pull enough.

Staunch Defenders
3WW
Creature -- Soldier
3/4
When Staunch Defenders comes into play, you gain 4 life.

Ben really seems to have a thing for life gain, doesn't he? By the time I got this far down his list, I was expecting Venerable Monk to show up any minute. Sure, if I'm wrong about Angel of Mercy and Ancestor's Chosen, then I'm probably wrong about this one as well... But four life is nothing, and a 3/4 for five mana won't be played. Five mana creatures have to do something really big to warrant playing; four life and a Flametonguable 3/4 just doesn't cut the mustard.

Waylay
2W
Instant
Play Waylay only during combat.
Put three 2/2 white Knight creature tokens into play. Remove them from the game at end of turn.

Demoted from deck base to combat trick, Waylay is next to unplayable. White weenie wants to attack, not block - and even now that Swords to Plowshares is gone, there are better options for white removal than throwing three Knights in an attacker's way.

Wishmonger
3W
Creature -- Monger
3/3
2: Target creature gains protection from the color of its controller's choice until end of turn. Any player may play this ability.

It's not that Wishmonger is bad; it's that I can't imagine a white deck that wants to run a Hill Giant with a symmetric ability. Wishmonger is a liability, allowing opposing creatures to block yours and attack unhindered. Couple that with the fact that it's too expensive for the effect to play in white weenie, and you get a card that won't be played.

Captain Sisay
2GW
Creature -- Legend
2/2
T: Search your library for a Legend or legendary card, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library.

I usually don't use this expression, but...

What's Ben smoking, and can I have some?

This is a four mana 2/2, in a color combination nobody plays, with an ability nobody wants. What's Ben expecting, a Captain Sisay - Belbe's Portal deck? I know I built that deck... For a night of casual multiplayer. Not for a Pro Tour.

Victual Sliver
GW
Creature -- Sliver
2/2
All Slivers have"2, Sacrifice this creature: You gain 4 life."

This could have been Sliver Queen, because if anyone manages to build a stable five-color Sliver deck in this environment, I'll have his name tattooed on the inside of my eyelids.

Really.

No, not really. But it would be pretty darn impressive, don't you think? However, Sliver Queen might be played in Reanimator decks, whereas if the aforementioned Sliver deck is in fact built, Victual Sliver still won't be played. The ability is null and void, and so Victual Sliver is nothing but a bear. Sliver decks have plenty of bears.

But any Sliver deck that manages to get around the mana problems, possibly by playing those nice lands from Onslaught, will be wanting to play white (for Crystalline Sliver) and green (for Muscle Sliver), so Victual Sliver might - just might - be thrown in as an extra Sliver in the right colors.

Nah, I don't believe it either.

That's twenty cards for ya. Close calls - i.e., cards that may have been included but weren't - include:

Cho-Manno's Blessing. This card almost certainly won't be played, but it is a white Confound with a lingering effect. White weenie just might want to play this. Still, I'm expecting a hundred words on this one.

Fresh Volunteers: I'm sure there'll be a Rebel deck in the format - but Fresh Volunteers weren't played much in the Rebel decks of old, and I don't think they will be now, either. (Don't forget about the early MBC Mono-white version - but yeah, you're right - The Ferrett)

Golden Wish: Way too expensive, but this is Extended and anything can happen.

Karmic Guide: It costs five mana and has echo. M O O N, that spells crap. But it does have protection, and it does have a reanimator ability, so you never know.

Orim's Thunder: Another Disenchant clone. But red-white beatdown can be a Houston deck, and Orim's Thunder fits right into such a deck.

Rappelling Scouts: Nothing but an expensive blocker with an expensive ability. Its creature-stopping abilities are rather impressive, though, and some nut might try them.

Spirit Cairn: Unless a combo is found, this card won't be played. But if that combo is found, I'd look quite the fool if I had this card on my list, so I'll leave it off.

Sunscape Familiar: Only good in an environment full of 2/2s, which is why it actually saw some play in IBC. In Extended, all it will do is die, and there are better creatures to use as Edict fodder - creatures that might actually do something when the Edict doesn't show up.

Test of Endurance: I don't believe this card will see play in Houston, period. But I didn't believe Battle of Wits would see play either.

Charging Troll: A rather good Hill Giant... But still just a Hill Giant. I don't think we'll se green-white beatdown, but I'm not taking any chances.

Overgrown Estate: Only good in some kind of combo, which no-one has found so far. I played this with Necra Sanctuary and Sterling Grove in an IBC PTQ. My results? 1-5.

The Nishobas (Sabertooth and Phantom). Too expensive, but just might be played in Reanimator, probably in the sideboard. Those kooky reanimators, you never know what they'll get in their heads to play.

That's the challenge. Now let the betting start: Who will have to write more words, me or Ben? I'm betting Ben, and not only because he put 181 cards into the bet, and I only twenty. But on the other hand, it was his idea to start with, so it's not like I'm treating him unfairly.

See you after Houston. E-mail address provided below; please flame liberally.

Patrik Linell
pls@claymore.nu