Mike Krfdak... Mike Krdskci... Mike Krzqwkki... Coach K (How is that not his nickname?) had an article on March 22nd in which he talked about over and underrated cards. I think this is an excellent idea, as it really helps people look at old cards in a new way (Synod Sanctum has changed for me a bit... though I won't be drafting it fourth or anything). Not only that, but the article helps us without us having to A) Experiment and B) Get our brains beat out by a card we passed and thought sucked.
Mike had some really good points about drafting in general too. From the standpoint of card reevaluation, MMD is probably the most skill intensive draft format I've played in (going back to Invasions when drafting really took off in popularity). What I mean by card reevaluation is the shifting shape your deck takes as you draft. I'm pretty much convinced that you could work from lists in OLS and be fairly successful. If you tried to work from a list in MMD, you'd be hard pressed to win a game. I think Mike could have written about a lot more though. Five over and five under... c'mon man! That's hardly anything. Without further ado, I present Jeff's ten over and underrated Darksteel cards.
Overrated:
Honorable Mention
Arcane Spyglass
This card got a lot of hype prior to Darksteel's release. People talked about it being a good source of card advantage, etc. Jayemdae Tome this is not. Frankly, I'm usually not willing to part with my lands until I've got six or seven and even then I often have cards that can use them. Twice I've had an opponent sac a land and pay two to draw their now unplayable creature (Darksteel Gargoyle one time). Card drawing is great and this card might even still be playable, but you need to realize it's for the truly late game and it doesn't break standoffs by itself.
9 and 10) Arcbound Hybrid and Arcbound Lancer
I like the Arcbounds, I really do, but some of them are just too overcosted. If you're going to play them, stick to the Stinger and the Bruiser. Both of those cards are very slightly overcosted and still solid. The Lancer and the Hybrid just don't do very much. The rule of thumb should be,"If you play them wanting them to die, then you're doing something wrong."
8) Chimeric Egg
I just don't see it. It costs three to play, it only triggers on your opponent's spells, it's not indestructible and it has no true evasion. This card also got a lot of hype prior to release, but it's another card that just shouldn't be used. I might sideboard it in against a U/R affinity build, but that's about it.
7) Drill Skimmer
About half of the MMD draft games I've played have had this card used against me. The total damage done? Two. The total cards it took from me? Zero. The number of times it was used to chump block a flyer? Seven. Four mana is not what you should be paying for a chump blocker. Oh yeah, you can't equip it if it's untargetable.
6) Spire Golem
Yes. He is very, very good. But at 2/4 he's not usually going to win games for you. You're always going to play him but usually you'd rather have a Hoverguard of some variety.
5) Vulshok Morningstar
Like the Spire Golem, this is a great card that you'll always play. I've had up and down experiences with this card thus far. I find that I'd rather play a Bonesplitter or a Leonin Scimitar.
4) Chittering Rats
This is probably blasphemous to some people, but the Chittering Rats are not super amazing cards. Compare the Rats to Viridian Shaman. The Shaman is easier to cast (only one colored mana) and permanently removes a card almost 100% of the time (honestly, how often does your opponent not have an artifact in play?). The Rat's double Black makes it a bit difficult to reliably get out on turn 3, and you will often draw it later when it's a morph creature. Again, I'm not saying I wouldn't play him but I don't see him as a top 3 pick very often.
3) Blinkmoth Nexus
This card is almost useless. It's the smallest possible size for a creature that can deal damage. It requires mana to activate, and it just doesn't do that much. Even if you manage to get a couple of them, they require yet another mana to pump them (consequently they cannot pump themselves). Equipment can make it big if you can reequip every turn, but this is not Mishra's Factory.
2) Unforge
This is strictly sideboard material in most decks. If you think Equipment could really hurt you, then you might maindeck it, but you'll often find yourself making poor decisions in an attempt to maximize the two damage dealt. At three mana, it's also a bit clunky.
1) Neurok Prodigy
I agree wholeheartedly with Mike on this one. Three-mana 2/1s aren't great. If any discard could bounce it, then maybe it would have some game, but the restriction hurts it even more.
And now the top 10 underrated cards:
10) Purge
I keep seeing this go 10th-12th online. I find myself wondering,"Why?" This kills about as many creatures as Terror (more?) and it does so efficiently and at instant speed. I'm not sure what else to say.
9) Leonin Battlemage
This might be my own personal mistake of under estimating power. This guy is a house. White has some quality instants and he can often give you +2 or +3 without breaking a sweat. Four mana for a 2/3 with two completely synergistic abilities? Yes, please.
8) Quicksilver Behemoth
This is an odd candidate because I felt myself wanting to put him on both lists. If you're not playing with a heavy artifact load, the Behemoth can be a real burden. If however, you have lots of artifacts (U/R anyone?) then the Behemoth will often be a 4/5 for two and that's a pretty sweet deal, even if you do have to cast him often.
7) Hoverguard Observer
The drawback is hardly a drawback. So he's not going to be blocking any weenies. Who cares? Use him to win; don't use him not to lose. A 3/3 flier for four has to have a pretty severe drawback for him to not be a good deal. This drawback isn't even close.
6) Infested Roothold
I was a pretty big doubter on this one at first. I played a couple games where I got him and he (it?) absolutely dominated the game. You'll need to side him out if your opponent is unusually artifact light, but generally he's good for four to six insects and some good blocking.
5) Darksteel Ingot
I don't understand the problem. It's three mana and comes in untapped. It taps for any color. Seems solid to me. Would I rather have a Myr? Sure I would, but let's be realistic. All of the non-Green Myr are cheaply costed for what they do for their color. We shouldn't hold that against the Ingot. In addition, the Ingot does something relatively unique. It provides any color mana. I often find myself drafting X/y/z with only two or three cards in each of y and z. The Ingot is perfect for that plan. While I probably would never play more than two, I'm almost always happy to play one.
4) Nim Abomination
I've seen a couple articles already about the reluctance to embrace the Abomination. You need only fear Arrest. If you have to send it on a suicide run, then so be it, but a 3/4 for three mana is always efficient. Rarely will your opponent have the luxury of blocking and killing it early without at least trading.
3) Grimclaw Bats
These are still going in the back third of the pack. Can someone explain that to me? Didn't everyone get the memo about Darksteel Black being really good? You there, in the back... What's that you say? I don't care. The Bats will win you games. They may cost you some life, but the big flying nasty is very big and very nasty.
2) Darksteel Brute
I wasn't sold on this one either. I thought he cost too much and he's too small. I've changed my mind. First of all, he's an amazing blocker. That in and of itself doesn't make that big a deal. The bigger issue is the indestructibility. While in the early game he's indestructible, in the late game you can send him in without a care in the world. Throw on some random Equipment and he's especially mean. I had one in a R/W deck and the only time I was upset by him was when he was Sculpting Steeled.
And the number one most underrated card in Darksteel...
1) Whispersilk Cloak
The reason I wrote this article. Untargetable and Unblockable. Say that a couple times to yourself so it sinks in. That is an amazing combination. This card puts your opponent on a clock that's very, very difficult to beat. At 3-2, it's still affordable and it creates a very difficult position for your opponent. Three drafts now I've gotten the Cloak and always between eleventh and fourteenth pick. While I can agree that this is not usually a top 3 pick, there's also no reason for it to slip this low. A decent-sized Nim Lasher becomes a nightmare. Any one of several Green creatures becomes a painful three- or four-turn death. Maybe I'm missing something, but this sure looks good to me.
Magic Online Metagame Commentary
I've been playing a lot online lately. Drafting is a wonderful tool to help pass the time. No one really comments on the online Metagame much, but I think it deserves some kind of monthly or bi-weekly"State of the Metagame" commentary. Frankly, I'm too lazy and undependable to do that, but it might be interesting to see it from someone else. For my .02 though, I think people have gone Black and Blue crazy. Sunday I did a draft in which I drafted probably the best deck I've ever had. I had W/r including, a fifteenth-pick Skyhunter Cub(!), a thirteenth-pick Whispersilk Cloak, a fourth-pick Electrostatic Bolt and fifth- and sixth-pick Echoing Ruins. I had no bombs, but that's because I was getting good playables all the way down to the 15th card (in the case of the Cub).
When MMM was first online, people were nutty about White. You couldn't get Equipment after the first four cards, and the decent White creatures were always gone early. The table has shifted my friends. Bonesplitters are going third and fourth. Leonin Scimitars have gone as late as seventh and I got a Vulshok Morningstar at ninth. Maybe that's just dumb luck at the tables I've played, but it seems like too many to be coincidence. My past six drafts have been two W/r's, G/R, G/b, W/g and a W/r/u pile of crap that still managed to finish second. I'd be curious if anyone else is having similar luck.
As always, please direct questions, comments, praise and money to laxrulz777@hotmail.com
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