Hello and welcome the never-ending two-headed review, Fifth Dawn edition. In this review we cover the basics of card analysis, discuss card design here or there, and occasionally I wig out, spilling gibberish all over the keyboard.
My co-writer for this session will be Reuben Fries, who helped me finish off the Darksteel review. With that said, let's get on with the cards.
White
White is the big winner when it comes to the commons and uncommons of Fifth Dawn. It loses a somewhat average pack of Mirrodin in exchange for a rather rock solid set of men and some midrange removal. This is better than most of the other colors manage, especially Red. Here's my pick order for the commons and uncommons.
1. Loxodon Anchorite
2. Auriok Salvagers
3. Skyhunter Skirmisher
4. Leonin Squire
5. Steelshaper's Gift
6. Stasis Cocoon
7. Skyhunter Prowler
8. Vanquish
9. Loxodon Stalwart
10. Circle of Protection: Artifacts
11. Stand Firm
12. Abunas' Chant
13. Armed Response
What makes this list impressive is, while only the top four are all that ridiculous, everything but Armed Response is playable. Although everything under Stalwart can be a little shaky in the main, that's a pretty good run of consistency. White decks are not going to end up running Elf Replica and other annoying bits of chaff, since every one of those creatures is playable.
I definitely think G/W is a stand-out archetype, although it does lack some of the blinding sucker-punch it might have had in MMD. However, with the solid run of creatures in all three sets, G/W is probably least vulnerable to needing Myr to run perfectly. Of course it loves them all the same, and gets a Green-only one in pack three. I'm not all too sure on other archetypes - R/W looks like Red would become a complete splash color, and there's not so much good for splashing into a 5CG deck either.
Abunas' Chant
Iain - Four mana to prevent five damage isn't great, and the entwine ability doesn't make the card all that much better. Certainly you'll be able to protect a man from removal and get a little life out of the deal, but I won't be rushing to pick up a card like this. It's playable, just nothing exciting.
Reuben - I think Iain gives Abuna's Chant too much credit. I believe the following two things:
1) You play the combat tricks you are given.
2) Four mana is not a combat trick.
Sure, Abuna's Chant can punish an alpha strike pretty well, but so can Holy Day. Abuna's Chant is way overpriced as a combat trick, and way overpriced as Holy Day. Not even playable.
(Just for reference, playable means"You can play it." It doesn't mean it's good. It just means it's not a Chimney Imp.)
Armed Response
Reuben - Precisely how much damage does Armed Response need to do reliably to be a good card? Precisely how many Equipment is the maximum you can put into a good Limited deck? The answers are remarkably close, i.e., in the best case scenario you have to have all your Equipment on the board.
Iain - It would have to reliably deal two points of damage to be useful, three points to be good. Three pieces of Equipment on the board is a very rare situation and frankly not one you're going to be happy to get into. So, like Reuben said, you'd have to have all your Equipment on the board. As such, this is a bad card.
Auriok Champion
Iain - 1/1 creatures are never the greatest in Limited, but they have come ahead a great deal in Mirrodin block due to Equipment. While Champion fills up your Myr slot and is rather difficult to cast, in a deck with a fair amount of Equipment - Especially stuff like Healer's Headdress or Leonin Bolas - She'll gain you a fair bit of life and provide a warm body. The protection abilities don't justify the extra point of mana in Limited, though.
Reuben - It feels silly to put much thought into Auriok Champion since it will be raredrafted far before anyone intending to play it would ever pick it. Lots of creatures enter play in Limited, so that ability is good about half the time you draw it. The other half the time, it comes into play late and does nothing. There is a seventy percent chance that a random opponent is playing either Black or Red, making the protection abilities quite significant. But when you put all that on a 1/1 for two White, you find a card that is only playable in a deck that can already play it on turn 2 reliably.
Auriok Salvagers
Reuben - Four mana for a 2/3 with an ability is par, so not only do you get an extra point of toughness, but Auriok Salvagers' ability is a doozy if it gets going with the right cards. Any of the Fifth Dawn"cogs" work, and the Spellbombs are remarkable. Auriok Salvagers is a fine creature even if you failed to get the cards to abuse him, but an easy first pick when his ability is significant.
Iain - I'm not sold on the idea that lacking synergy you should toss a vanilla 2/4 man into your deck, but you could do worse. With spellbombs, Chromatic Spheres, hell even Arcbound Workers this guy gets pretty insane fast. I can definitely see this as a first pick if you're in W/r with Pyrite Spellbombs to bring back, or even Aether Spellbombs which turn into a reuseable four-mana bounce spell. He's rather hilarious with Disciple of the Vault, as well, but I'm not so sure how good W/b is after Fifth Dawn comes out.
Auriok Windwalker
Iain - This card feels so much like an uncommon it's almost scary. As a 2/3 for four, it's pretty good, but it's ability sure does look weak when you compare it to something like Windborn Muse. In games where the Windwalker can't break through, the ability lets you shuffle Equipment around much like Shikari did, which is definitely valuable if you have higher-end Equipment like Battlegear, Opaline Bracers, so on. This makes it a high pick and the easy casting cost improves it even more.
Reuben - A 2/3 flyer for four is good, and the ability can really wreak havoc on the opposing player's combat decisions. Iain is right that Auriok Windwaker feels a lot like an uncommon, but it feels a lot like a really good uncommon. If you have some decent Equipment and leave Windwalker untapped during an attack, your opponent will be hard pressed to find good blocks, especially considering it costs you no mana to move the Equipment. Most of the time your opponent will not force you to use the ability on your attack, so the ability comes into play again on defense, and your opponent suddenly has a hard time finding a good attack as well. Just try not to forget that you can block with Windwalker, and then move the Equipment onto itself.
Beacon of Immortality
Reuben - Lifegain keeps you from losing, but it does not help you win. Now, how much life do you have when you are at six mana? And if you topdeck Beacon of Immortality even later? If the answer is enough to make you want Beacon of Immortality, then you are already not losing, so you really would prefer something to help you win. Which lifegain does not do.
Iain - You will probably have ten to fourteen points of life. Gaining ten life for six is actually a bad deal. Fourteen is a little better, but it isn't incredible. Considering that Nourish is two mana, but one card, you'd expect six would work out to about twelve life or so. Frankly, it's just Nourish. That's it. Don't be fooled by the amount of life, it doesn't change that you're still casting more Nourish for more mana.
Bringer of the White Dawn
Iain - Alright, since there's five of these, I'm going to talk a little about Sunburst decks for a moment.
The Bringers are basically useless in any non-Sunburst deck without a heavy commitment to splashing. That sort of commitment does not necessarily have the rewards you might be looking for. The Bringers, while quite tasty in a Sunburst deck, don't feel great outside of that even if you can get them out in the midgame - You're stretching your deck for cards that feel a lot like"almost bombs." Bringer of the Black Dawn is no match for something like Visara, Bringer of the White Dawn is nothing close to Exalted Angel or a Wrath.
In a Sunburst deck, the package comes out with your other Sunburst cards, which is about as fast, but since you're devoted to it, they won't sit in your hand crying"Nine! Nine! Nine!" to you as often. I wouldn't take Bringers high, but then I almost adamantly refuse to play with Bosh.
That being said, the White Bringer is probably the most ridiculous of the bunch in the right situations, but the most situational, making it the worst all the other times. If you have things like Mindslaver or Oblivion Stone, he's your golden boy, but if not, it's just a big dumb trampler that brings back dead Equipment and the odd creature that died.
Reuben - Skeleton Shard gone wild. Contrary to the text on Bringer of the White Dawn, its mana cost is actually WUBRG while it has an alternate cost of 7WW. All of the Bringers are quite good for the Sunburst draft decks, but unlike most Sunburst, it is an all-or-nothing proposition. Skyreach Manta can be played even if you have yet to find all five colors, and as such, I would take Skyreach Manta over Bringer of the White Dawn. You will win a few more games with Bringer of the White Dawn than Skyreach Manta when you get to WUBRG, but you will a hell of a lot more games with Skyreach Manta than with Bringer of the White Dawn when you get to WUBR.
Circle of Protection: Artifacts
Reuben - You can look at the Circles of Protection from 7th and 8th Edition Limited to get an idea of how good the effect is. In both of those sets, an aggressive start by the opponent can keep your mana so tied up you eventually get swarmed holding cards in your hand. When you increase the activation cost, that becomes even more of a problem, and given that some Mirrodin Limited decks hardly rely on artifact creatures at all, Circle of Protection: Artifacts gets relegated to the sideboard.
Iain - I don't agree. The problem with demonstrating how Circles can work in 7th or 8th Edition is that such an example is an example of playing them the wrong way. A Circle of Protection isn't used to totally prevent your opponent from hurting you, it's used as a way of making their best attackers unable to do any damage. And if they don't attack with them, you prevent the smaller guy, until your opponent doesn't attack at all. The"Firebreathing problem" of where you overspend on a mana activated ability is one that a novice player might fall into, but it doesn't effectively mean you must play the card a certain way. This card can certainly be maindecked, but not if you have better cards available.
Leonin Squire
Iain - The only one-mana artifact that can be activated to any effect before this guy is played on turn 2 is Conjurer's Bauble; Spellbombs will require a mana to be activated and so don't work. Of course, if you go Spellbomb, Myr, sack Spellbomb then cast Squire ... Well, you're not anywhere all that special either.
The Squire is White's second best common in the set, as recycling the various trinkets is very valuable. Things like Welding Jar and Wayfarer's Bauble get a lot better when used twice. It remains more or less a bear or a somewhat later game 2/2 that brings something back, and it's not going to often be both to the full extent.
Reuben - While Iain failed to mention Chromatic Sphere as a card that can be played and activated before Leonin Squire, he is absolutely correct that it is an either/or proposition. It is a nice and flexible either/or situation, though, and Leonin Squire should go pretty early even if you only have a few targets for it.
Loxodon Anchorite
Reuben - Pearl Shard is quite good, and prevention abilities get a lot better once the mana requirement is removed since you rarely have to actually use the ability. Loxodon Anchorite would be fine as a 2/2, but that third toughness really makes it shine, since you almost never have to worry about keeping it untapped to protect itself. With Aven Redeemer or Nantuko Disciple, your opponent could often get you to use the ability then Shock your nice utility creature. While that was still a fine trade for you, Electrostatic Bolt and Pyrite Spellbomb both miss Loxodon Anchorite, so your opponent does not even get the chance. When I am playing White, I doubt I will be taking commons over Loxodon Anchorite.
Iain - This is White's best common, and it's better than most of the uncommons or rares in the set. Damage prevention is good when it's in numbers over one, but when the creature itself is hard to remove it becomes a serious issue for your opponent. In White, I would only take Salvagers or Raksha over this, assuming I had a deck that possessed elements which would make those cards game winners. I really look forward to use this card.
Loxodon Stalwart
Iain - The best card I can compare this two is Titanium Golem; the toughness boost ability is fairly in line with the strength of the first strike ability. For the fact it's colored, you gain access to doesn't tap to attack, which is alright on a Hill Giant. It's not the hottest man ever, but it is solid enough that you wouldn't be unhappy to have it in your deck. I would say Loxodon Mystic is a fair bit better, but this isn't terrible either.
Reuben - The comparison to Titanium Golem is apt, but Loxodon Stalwart is a lot better than Titanium Golem. Loxodon Stalwart is somewhere in the middle between Titanium Golem and Razor Golem. It essentially costs one more mana that Razor Golem and costs mana for the extra toughness, but cannot be Shattered and can block or attack into bigger creatures for a bigger investment. Playable but not great.
Raksha Golden Cub
Reuben - By the time you get to seven mana, you should have some Equipment on the board. For seven mana, you really want to be winning the game, and 5+ power double strikers that play defense as well will do just that. Seven mana is a lot (though quite a bit less than eight), but if you like Bosh in your Red decks you will probably like Raksha in your white ones. I don't like Bosh that much, and I don't like Raksha that much, but if I randomly draft her I will play her.
Iain - The weird thing about this card is that it affects all your cats. At first, you sort of glance over that - Your cats, whatever - but if you think about it, it just wins the game if you have one or two other cats hanging around. Your"harmless" Skyhunter Prowler goes from being the second coming of Wizard Replica to dealing six points in the air? Yeesh. Since most of the cat cards are pretty playable, especially with two solid commons in the set (Squire and Prowler), you're probably going to naturally have two to five other cats in your deck. If you have five or more, Raksha becomes a first pick. If not, he's still pretty solid, but I wouldn't get too excited about him,
Retaliate
Iain - While this is not going to wipe your opponent's side of the board out, it's not going to wipe out your side of the board either. A fair trade off much of the time. Don't look at this like a Wrath, look it like a Wing Shards that doesn't prevent damage, but does take out their whole attacking team. People generally attack with their best creatures, otherwise, they wouldn't be their best creatures. Poof! They're all dead. In most situations, that's a hell of a reversal.
Reuben - In most situations I would try to play Retaliate as early as I can without making it really obvious to my opponent what is going on. Retaliate is pretty bad in a stalemate, where the final attack is meant as a death blow anyway, and if you leave a lot of Plains up too early in the game your opponent may assume Soul Nova and play around that. Playing around Soul Nova is a lot like playing around Retaliate, making Retaliate somewhat difficult to use correctly. Iain is right that it has a lot of potential, just realize that you have to work for it.
Roar of Reclamation
Reuben - See Raksha for what you want to be doing for this mana cost.
Iain - I don't understand why they printed this card.
Skyhunter Prowler
Iain - Time has shown that Wizard Replica is a solid card in almost any deck. Prowler is White, which is a downside, but it's almost as easy to cast as Replica with the added bonus of doesn't tap to attack. How good is doesn't tap to attack on a 1/3? Not all that amazing, unless you're racing against another player with fliers or have big, fat Equipment to load the Prowler up with. If you have Equipment, this makes an incredible body to take with it. If you don't, it's midrange. Not one of White's best commons, but definitely a solid card.
Reuben - Leonin Den-Guard doesn't tap to attack when it's equipped. Skyhunter Cub has flying when it's equipped. Skyhunter Prowler starts out with both, but interestingly it wants to be equipped almost as badly as those other cards. Skyhunter Prowler is better than either of those when unequipped, and not too much worse when equipped, partially because a timely Shatter will not be nearly so devastating..
Skyhunter Skirmisher
Reuben - A quick word about design: I very much prefer this more subtle"White likes Equipment" design to the painfully obvious Skyhunter Cub et al brand.
Skyhunter Skirmisher is fine even if you can only pump it some of the time, and it finds a very nice home in the two archetypes that can pump it reliably: White equip and the White/Green small creatures plus combat tricks deck.
Iain - I don't mind the painfully obvious Skyhunter Cub stuff. Symbiosis drawbacks are always some of the most well-balanced Magic cards. And by most well-balanced, I mean consistently unplayable in Constructed, but anyway.
The Skirmisher is fine even if you can't pump it, although paying one colorless and two colored is a bad deal when it comes to 2/1 flying creatures. That's basically what it is without Equipment. With a humble Leonin Scimitar, though, it becomes quite the serious pain in the ass for your opponent, so I'd definitely say this is one of White's top picks. You can utilize Healer's Headdress to help cover for the lowered toughness, if you're so inclined.
Stand Firm
Iain - I really don't like this card. Earlier reports have pointed to Scry being a very solid mechanic, but the tiny bonus of +1/+1 makes this card extremely limited to being more or less a combat trick when very small differences or equals meet. In those situations, sure, you get to keep the dude around and look at the top two cards, but it's two minor effects that barely add up to being a worth a card. It's okay, and it will make your deck in a pinch or if you have bombs you'll want to Scry for. Either way, it's just a 24th card you'll end up taking past the eighth pick.
Reuben - Either Iain underrates Stand Firm or I overrate it, because I like it a lot and will play it in almost all of my White decks. I am a huge fan of one mana combat tricks, and while the ability pales in comparison to the rather lowly Battlegrowth, Scry more than makes up for it. Now Battlegrowth does not make most of my Green decks, but those decks have Predator's Strike and I think Stand Firm is significantly better than Battlegrowth.
Stasis Cocoon
Reuben - Removing enchantments is not exactly easy in Mirrodin Limited, so if Stasis Cocoon could be played as an instant, it would be most of a Shatter. There would be no de-equipping a Skyhunter Cub, but other than that, most of Shatter's functionality would be in-tact. Two-mana artifact removal does not require a drawback in Red, and has an additional boon in Green, so this really is the bottom of the pit. But cheap removal is cheap removal, so it is still a high pick, even though I do not like it. When I see Stasis Cocoon, I will quickly tally my removal spells looking for an excuse to draft a good creature or trick instead
Iain - I'm pretty much thinking the same way. White is terrible at removal, and Stasis Cocoon is basically a bad Shatter. However, Shatter is still a pretty good card, so we don't mind ending up with it in our pile though. One should keep in mind it isn't quite as good as something like Shatter, so you shouldn't try to overload on them. They don't solve every problem and they don't replace having better cards like Blinding Beam and Arrest.
Steelshaper's Gift
Iain - One of the bigger problems with Skyhunter Cub and all related brethren is not only do you want your Equipment to put on them, you want specific Equipment. You want to have that Bonesplitter / kitty combination, not a Skyhunter Cub that brings down the house while swinging a Leonin Bola that isn't doing much for it. To that effect, Steelshaper's Gift is quite the dandy card. There are of course bombs like Loxodon Warhammer, Mask of Memory, and Empyrial Plate that make it even better, but you'll most likely want it in a deck where you have more than one good piece of Equipment to fetch, lest it become dead in the midgame.
Reuben - It makes sense to pick Steelshaper's Gift as highly as you picked your average Equipment. You don't pick it as high as your best piece of equipment - you will draw it before playing Steelshaper's Gift more than half the time - and you don't want to pick it as low as your worst piece of Equipment since you will not be forced to search that piece out very often.
Vanquish
Reuben - I see three situations to analyze for Vanquish:
1) Your opponent has an important creature untapped and you have a weenie that would die a horrible death in combat to your opponent's important creature. How often will your opponent block? While it depends somewhat on what kind of Poker player your opponent is, the answer is probably"Not very often."
2) Your opponent has an untapped important creature and you have an important creature that will trade in combat. In this case your opponent likely blocks and you pay three for a combat trick. Not bad, but not good either.
3) Your opponent has some untapped weenie that will die a horrible death to your important creature. You attack, he/she blocks with a combat trick, and you two-for-one.
Vanquish is basically a three mana combat trick for aggressive decks that is situational, yet has some nice potential when it does hit the right situation. While I would play Vanquish, I would be rather sad to pick it early.
Iain - This is actually a pretty bad card. It's terrible removal, since your opponent chooses what he blocks with. He rarely chooses his best creature. It doesn't help you when you're losing, and when you're winning or would win if not for a certain block, you lose time, as your creature has been blocked and damage won't go through anyway. You could do a lot better for three mana.
Blue
While White wins, Blue gets confusing. While its cards are not so much worse, it loses the artifact lands and other resources that really made Blue's Affinity stuff a lot stronger. Things like Thoughtcast or even good ol' Somber Hoverguard feel a lot worse when you're going to have very, very few artifact lands running around now.
1. Qumulox
2. Thought Courier
3. Vedalken Mastermind
4. Condescend
5. Serum Visions
6. Trinket Mage
7. Advanced Hoverguard
8. Disruption Aura
9. Plasma Elemental
10. Into Thin Air
11. Eye of the Watcher
12. Fold into Aether
13. Early Frost
Unlike White, you don't have a run of almost all playable cards. At #9 you're looking at stuff you probably don't want to start in your maindeck, and even then, Advanced Hoverguard is at best described as Sketchy Hoverguard. The reason I plant Trinket Mage over Hoverguard is the fact looking for trinkets, or just artifact lands, is probably a lot more useful than you'd give it credit. Or so my early experience tells me. Qumulox is of course quite ridiculous, though he feels lonely at the top.
I am very unsure about Affinity nowadays. You did get two great"spellbombs" in Fifth Dawn, but they in no way replace everything lost. Artifact lands come at a premium, and good Red cards only show up in two packs. There's not quite as much to the U/R archetype, though U/W looks leagues and leagues better. With Healer's Headdress chilling, Plasma Elemental gets quite nice, and the overall combination looks good. But really, I'm looking to Blue to help me with Sunburst decks, where Thought Courier will find my bombs, Vedalken Engineer will add fix to my mana and Serum Visions will let me put excess Forests on the bottom of my deck.
Acquire
Iain - Repeating the strength of Bribery for artifacts seemed fairly natural for the Artifact block, given that there's a Steal Artifact to match up with Control Magic. Acquire is decent, nothing special. The card is best when it steals something large and powerful, but you're simply not going to get something large and powerful every single time. On average you're going to get middle of the road stuff - So pick it with that in mind. It's a good card, and it fits into any Blue deck, but it's not always going to steal his Memnarch and let you bust heads with it.
Reuben - If you don't get anything large and powerful, that means your opponent probably does not have anything large and powerful, right? Barring things like Skyreach Manta, which you can't even get with Acquire, that is mostly true. Acquire should be fine in the maindeck, since it is not really that bad in the worst situations, but I would look to board it out if you expect to get something mediocre out of it.
Advanced Hoverguard
Reuben - A 2/2 flyer for four without a relevant ability is bad, but you can play it if you need to, and a 2/2 for four with a good ability (a la Aven Fisher) is good. So how do you make untargetability good? By putting it on a creature that your opponent wants to target. So the ability is only good on a good body, and the body is only good with a good ability. For the price, the body is bad, so for the price the ability is bad, so the body is bad, so the ability is bad, etc. But get this: Imagine there was some way to make the body better. Some sort of accessory. Then the body becomes good, so the ability becomes good, so the body becomes better. [He's clearly lost it folks. Enjoy the rest of the show... - Knut]
Iain - What Reuben is trying to say here is"Advanced Hoverguard really loves when you put Equipment on it." Which is very true. 2/2s for four are the mainstay of an average deck; Advanced Hoverguard is like all bad fliers in that it truly yearns for a Bonesplitter.
Artificer's Intuition
Iain - Repeatable tutoring effects are very valuable, but, Intuition doesn't really tutor for anything you deeply desire. At best, your deck might have a Pyrite Spellbomb, a Skullclamp, and a Wayfarer's Bauble. The only thing really broken you can do with Intuition in draft is find your set of Myr Servitors, your Skullclamp and then draw so many cards your opponent vomits. But then you needed to first pick a Skullclamp, so it's a pretty rare situation. Normally this card is pretty dull in your deck, but using off-color artifact lands, it could be used to fix your mana for Sunburst.
Reuben - Spellbombs and such are worth recurring because you gain card advantage. They are worth playing in Affinity or with Nims because they speed up your deck without costing you a card in the long run. But I don't think the cogs are worth losing card advantage to tutor up, even if you can tutor them in multiples.
Beacon of Tomorrows
Reuben - Even though Beacon of Tomorrows untaps all your lands, it does not generate any mana because it Costs You Eight Mana. Even though Beacon of Tomorrows draws you a card, it is not a cantrip because it sat in your hand for dead for five turns because it Costs You Eight Mana.
Iain - What Reuben is trying to say here is, well, this card is very bad.
Blinkmoth Infusion
Iain - Infusion is bizarre. The casting cost is the highest I can bring to memory on a Blue card, but it's surely not the highest altogether. It exists to prove a point, or perhaps to provide a use in some outlandish deck few of us have even considered yet. Regardless of those facts, the card was never assembled nor developed for Limited, as while a mass untap is cheerful to a point, it's symmetrical and doesn't really do a whole heck of a lot unless your deck is totally set up for it.
Reuben - Sometimes when analyzing a card, you can think of realistic situations where you want to play the card, but you still do not want it in your deck because the situations are too rare. I cannot even come up with a realistic situation where I want to play Blinkmoth Infusion.
Bringer of the Blue Dawn
Reuben - The Blue Dawn is the best dawn for Limited, but I would still consider drafting Skyreach Manta over it in Sunburst.dec for the same reasons stated regarding the White Bringer.
Iain - I don't think the Manta is better, simply because the Blue Bringer is nullified by a whole category less of removal and even when Arrested or tapped down with Blinding Beam, it still does something for you that's quite useful. For pure averages, The Blue Bringer is the best, but everything but the Green one can be better than it.
Condescend
Iain - Countermagic in Limited tends to go one way or the other; either it's terrible and you shouldn't run it, or it's rather good. Condescend probably falls into the second category, as people tend to curve out in Limited, so casting it for 1U is going to be fine. The Scry ability is generally at its best here, as you'll use Condescend as soon as possible, which makes it more useful than on cards like Stand Firm which won't get used until somewhat later on. When Scry helps to make sure you hit your land drops or dig for artifact removal, it's at its best.
I rather like this card. It's not Blue best common in the set; Thought Courier is head and shoulders above it, but it is rather saucy overall. Comparing things to Thought Courier is sort of pointless, though, as that's just one of those bomby commons everyone adores.
Reuben - I have little to add regarding Condescend in particular, Iain did a good job analyzing it, but I think Iain misevaluates Scry a little bit. He believes Scry is at its best early in the game, and I think it is at its best in the middle of the game and about the same early game as late game. Early on, you may know what your hand needs, but you don't yet have a clear idea how the game will play out. In the midgame, you will have a much better understanding of how the game is going to work, and you will have more options available to you. The result is that you can make more optimal Scry decisions. Later in the game, Scry is mainly to ditch lands you don't need, which I think is comparable in usefulness to the early game duty it often carries out in finding lands.
Disruption Aura
Reuben - No. For three mana you kill an artifact rather slowly, but only if it is bad enough that the opponent will not take a tempo loss for it. You cannot even put Disruption Aura on a creature to stop it from blocking a lethal attack.
Iain - Well, either you don't kill it or you do, one or the other. It's similar to Vanquish - A bad card, but removal is removal, as long as it doesn't cost five or six mana. It will generally force your opponent to tie up a large amount of mana or just give the card up. Generally, it will just remove the card if it's not worth keeping around, or force them into an irritating situation. I wouldn't take it high, but it's not so bad for a 24th card.
Early Frost
Iain - This is one of those cards that exists to enforce the idea of a theme within a color, just to remind us that such a mechanic does in fact exist. It has possible applications in Constructed, but in Limited it lacks the all important"draw a card" to justify it's use. It's a fine little card for what it was meant to do, but since that doesn't have anything to do with Limited, you should probably avoid it.
Reuben - Please, never make the mistake I have already seen made in believing Early Frost can be"a lot like a Time Walk." Early Frost is a lot more like a Time Walk for your opponent than a Time Walk for you, as there is no huge tempo difference and Early Frost nets your opponent a card instead of netting you one. In other news, it looks like we have another card to add to the 9th Edition spoiler.
Eyes of the Watcher
Reuben - No. You get no immediate use out of Eyes of the Watcher, you have to pay mana to use it, and there are only a few instants and sorceries in Limited decks anyway.
Iain - The problem isn't that it's a bad card. It's just that you won't activate it enough times without something like a Pulse of the Fields or Pulse of the Dross getting it going. And really, you're just not going to get that combo often. Even if you do, it's still nothing all that hot.
Fold into Aether
Iain - I'm not completely sure what the purpose of this card was. Metamorphose was underpriced for its effect, yet had a drawback. This has a drawback, but can be used to put things into play on your end... So it's four mana? Either way, while mana acceleration such as Myr are very good, that's because you jump ahead of the curve. With this you could spend two cards to pump out a turn 3 fatty, but that's not always going to win you the game and if it doesn't, the lost card advantage is going to kill you. Besides that, without the fatty, this card is rather pointless. It's like a worse Vex.
Reuben - I don't understand comparing Fold into Aether to other countermagic, as that just does not seem to be its primary purpose. Its primary purpose is to cheat a huge creature into play, which may be fine in Constructed but is hard to set up in Limited. Sure, as a boon you can get a worse Vex if the other plan does not work out, but neither option is going to work for you in Limited.
Hoverguard Sweepers
Reuben - No. A 5/6 flyer is good, returning creatures to their owners' hands is good, but it Costs You Eight Mana. I already said I do not like Bosh, which also Costs You Eight Mana, and Hoverguard Sweepers is no Bosh.
Iain - I don't think it's really all that terrible. I am thinking in Sunburst decks you have all this mana acceleration and will likely be able to slap down the Sweepers. But, really, it's not a very good card and shouldn't ever be taken high. Take something you're going to cast.
Into Thin Air
Iain - I have this feeling that this card was created originally with the word"permanent" on it, then the slow realization that Affinity was far too good set in, and the card got mangled into its current state. That's fine, since it's not something I wanted to see anyway. This card really isn't playable, though if you were strongly capable of running affinity cards and your opponent had artifacts you desired to bounce game one, I could see siding it in. Bouncing the big Sunburst guys, for example, is a lot of tempo gained for one Blue mana.
Reuben - For a fixed cost, Echoing Truth hits a lot more than Into Thin Air and misses only Artifact Lands. I am not sure I would want Into Thin Air if it was fixed at U, and am pretty sure I would not want it if it was fixed at 1U. Unplayable chaff.
Plasma Elemental
Reuben - Compared to Covert Operative, you pay one extra mana to remove two turns of clock. Often, both of those turns on the clock will be accounted for in the extra time it takes you to play Plasma Elemental, and other times you will actually lose turns on the clock waiting for that last mana. You get to block and kill Myr Enforcers, but you will be paying six just to lose a creature to Viridian Longbow or Spikeshot Goblin way too often. Never play this card.
Iain - This thing is really, truly terrible. Anything for four or more mana with one toughness is generally going to be looked at with a frown. In this format, it's terrible. In this color, it's also terrible. Maybe if it was some sort of Black Nim, you wouldn't mind it so much. But oh how you do.
Qumulox
Iain - It's hard to write about this card without making a comparison to Broodstar, so I will. We've probably all played with Broodstar by now. The big Star has a drawback in that a low artifact count makes him slow and unwieldy; surely he's incredible if you drop six or seven early pieces of steel. On the other hand, there's the dreaded seven mana 3/3. Qumulox will have none of that nonsense, at three artifacts on your side, he's a 5/4 flier for five mana - Which is, in a word, incredible. At six artifacts Broodstar still costs two more than him for +1/+2, so frankly, he's just as strong as Broodstar in the average decklist, but generally better. You don't really need a heavy commitment to artifacts, since a 5/4 for six is an excellent deal anyway you look at it, but when you do, this card goes insane.
I am fairly certain this is Blue's best card in the set, which isn't saying all too much, but overall I'm still shocked this devilish thing is an uncommon.
Reuben - Iain is right, Qumulox is easily Best card in Fifth Dawn, and I actually think it is the best colored card in the set. Looking at Fifth Dawn, it does seem out of place as an uncommon, but Mirrodin had Crystal Shard etc, and Darksteel had Skullclamp so I am not terribly surprised.
Serum Visions
Reuben - I probably like Opt and Sleight of Hand better than anyone else I know for Limited play, but believe me when I tell you Serum Visions is an incredible deal for one Blue mana. Draft a couple a little before the middle of the pack, play them, and they will win you games you think were won by other cards.
Iain - It's hard to underate this card when Spellbombs have taught us to cut land. Serum Visions is like a Spellbomb that costs half and goes much deeper. Get a couple of these things going and your lands problems will be much smaller and your Sunburst cards even more reliable. Where you rate this depends on your deck, but in some cases, I'm fairly sure it's a 3rd to 5th pick.
Spectral Shift
Iain - This is not really a Limited card, as there aren't so many color necessity spells out there. It can be used to counter Terrors or to allow you to hit Auriok Champion with Black removal, but overall it's a pretty low usage card. It's kinda cute either way, though I wish there was something more to its entwine, as it seems like such a dull card to print.
Reuben - A quick search of Mirrodin Limited cards with specific color or land names on them shows nothing of interest.
Thought Courier
Reuben - Merfolk Looter is a good uncommon. So is Thought Courier, except that Thought Courier is a common. Thought Courier is one of the set's top commons, which is good news for Blue, since the rest of its commons are pretty bad.
Iain - It's Blue's best common, and probably the second best common in the set behind Loxodon Anchorite. It does die to Lose Hope and various other pieces of removal, but if it sticks around, it makes everything so much nicer for you. I think I'd take Qumulox over it, though. I like beating my opponent in the face with New Age Air Elementals.
Trinket Mage
Iain - I don't really adore this card, but I definitely think it's a solid common to fill your deck out with. There aren't a lot of really insane cards to go fetch other than Bonesplitter and Skullclamp, but searching out an artifact land to make sure you hit all your land drops or a Spellbomb to remove a Spikeshot Goblin is more useful than not. The card gets better especially if you're drafting Sunburst and have off-color artifact lands to go look for, but otherwise you'll rate it around the middle. A Grey Ogre with a free card attached is always going to be good, but Viridian Shaman, this is not.
Reuben - Trinket Mage will go in any Blue deck that has a few things to search out, and like Steelshaper's Gift, should probably be picked at about the level as the average card you will be searching out with it.
Vedalken Mastermind
Reuben - You get the best half of Crystal Shard, but you can't use Vedalken Mastermind the turn you play it. Vedalken Mastermind can save other permanents too, though, or turn your used Pentad Prism into a mana battery. Vedalken Mastermind can also save itself, but really, did I need to say anything past"the best half of Crystal Shard"?
Iain - This is more than Crystal Shard, as Shard can't bounce Infused Arrows or Baton of Courage for repeated reuse. With Baton, in fact, you can get a total of +6/+6 out of it in a single turn using the Mastermind, since it can be played as instant. Unfortunately, it takes a rather strong mana fixing base to be able to run the Mastermind.
That about wraps it up for Blue. I am not, however, reviewing the"color" equipment with the colors, since they're playable in all decks and should really be evaluated individually as artifacts. Well, pardoning Sparring Collar. That one isn't magically becoming playable until you're on a boatload of drugs.
Thanks for reading!
-Iain Telfer
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