For those of you out there that play Prismatic, whether competitively or casually, I'm going to review the cards in Dissension. I'm not going to talk about every one of them, because not all of them are great. But there are lots of interesting cards, and more than a few narrow cards that merit consideration in a format where it's possible - and perhaps recommended - that players play with splashy effects that only happen in limited circumstances. It is important that readers consider their own financial situation, and their level of competitiveness when reading this article. I have never played in a Prismatic tournament, and won't in the near future due to issues with my MTGO client updating (Wizards tells me it has something to do with my processor being 64-bit, but I don't believe that.). That said, I play with an eye towards making the best deck I can, without spending a lot of money. On average, I spend less than $30 a month on Magic. My decks don't play four of each of the shocklands, and I don't even own four of them in total. I'll buy four of a staple uncommon from a set if I want them, but I almost never buy four of a staple rare. I guess it could be said that, other than various Limited events, the only Magic I play is Prismatic.

The Obligatory Rules Section

Prismatic is a format that requires deckbuilders to use a minimum of 250 cards, and at least twenty cards of each color. Note that multicolored cards count as one or the other, but not both, for the purposes of deck construction. This generally ensures a different feel to each game, one that is filled with random goodness. It is also predominantly online, if only due to the shuffling requirements. The current list of Banned cards is fairly reasonable, with most of the cards being tutors of some sort, plus Battle of Wits, Rude Awakening, and Upheaval. MTGO will tell you what is legal using the deck legality area.

End The Obligatory Rules Section

My review is going to ignore the three shocklands, the Signets, and the Karoos. If you have played much Prismatic in the past few months, you know whether you need the Signets or not, and the Karoos and Shocklands are amazing. Play your good expensive lands if you have them.

I assume that many of you out there have adapted to the changes of Ravnica. This means that you are playing anywhere from 12-20 Karoo lands, no more than 90 lands total, and at least 16 Transmute cards. The addition of the last three color pairs means that you can play exactly the colors you want in your Karoos, and use them to their full potential. For those who haven't toyed around with such things, use those numbers as guidelines, and push them somewhat. I haven't had the chance to toy around, as MTGO broke during the Guildpact update. Those numbers are my best guess estimates for the Karoos, though the numbers on transmute are solid. If you aren't playing sixteen or so Transmute cards, put them in now. You are doing yourself a disservice by not having them in, especially if you are playing with a limited budget. Transmute cards will get you the specific removal cards you need to stay in the game longer against stronger decks.

Anyway, to the review.

Avatar of Discord

This card is just too risky. You would have to be playing with all the Hellbent cards to even consider this card, or you would have to hope you don't draw it until the later game. It doesn't make a great fit in an aggressive deck, either. I'd rather play something like Cosmic Larva.

Azorius Herald

This card would be welcome in many an aggressive deck, and potentially very annoying in a slower deck. The fact that it is a two-power unblockable creature for three mana is more than reasonable, and the drawback is very manageable, given that you are playing all five colors. When you combine that creature with the four life you gain, the card is an easy include for players who are just starting to build and improve a deck, and for players who are looking to add a little strength to their White cards. And really, who hasn't been there from time to time?

Biomantic Mastery

I can just see the player who will play this in a complicated board position, and draw eighteen cards. It costs seven mana, though, and for narrow cards to be very playable, they need to be costed in the Transmute range, from one to six mana. In a lot of cases, though, there aren't going to be even four creatures in play, making this significantly worse than Tidings.

Blessing of the Nephilim

Just put this thing on Cromat. Laughing ensues. If you must play this card, play one copy, and get it with Dizzy Spell. I don't want to draw this card, and that is generally a recipe for not playing it at all.

Bound / Determined

Both sides of this card are playable, and the creature only needs to be bound colors for Bound to be a better version of Restock, which is definitely playable in Prismatic. If I'm not mistaken, Determined counterspells a counterspell, and cantrips. That is more than playable in a format where nearly everyone is playing some counterspells.

Crime / Punishment

As with Bound / Determined, both sides of this card are playable. Just think about putting Debtor's Knell into play with Crime. At the expense of sounding retarded, that's criminal. With Punishment, all you need to remember is the fact that it's untargeted. This means that the Iridescent Angel or Pristine Angel that you can't kill with your targeted removal is now killable. I'd think hard about picking up two copies; anything that you might think about Transmuting for once, you might think about Transmuting for again. There probably won't be a convenient replacement for this card when you need it, either. Also, like Debtor's Knell, it turns the opponent's good cards into good cards for you. If you've ever Confiscated a Spiritmonger or an Arcanis, the Omnipotent, just think about killing it the turn it comes into play, and then stealing it with Crime for your own use.

Dovescape

In an aggressive deck, this can prevent the opponent from nullifying your advantage. Beware, however, because your board position needs to be better than your opponent's, and you need to be playing more spells in number and mana cost, or your opponent could turn the advantage around on you. Something like having Honden of Seeing Winds in play before I play Dovescape would make me feel much better about it. Note that in most cases, Dovescape will nullify all the opponent's anti-enchantment cards in their deck. This would make it especially suited to the cause of protecting an enchantment, such as Form of the Dragon.

Drekavac

I've played a lot of 3/3 creatures for 1B before, but I don't want to be playing this card, casually or otherwise. Cards like Wretched Anurid have lost me the game before, but I'd still be lining up to play them before this. If I have a card I can afford to pitch to this, I'd be surprised.

Elemental Resonance

Burn them out quick, or you'll burn yourself out in a hurry. Best in a deck with a lot of X spells.

Fertile Imagination

I can see it being worth it to play something like Telepathy in order to get a bunch of tokens out of this. If you can get six tokens with this, it's great. But since this won't happen frequently, I'd avoid it.

Hide / Seek

The more relevant half of this card is Hide, which is similar to Disenchant. Seek, on the other hand, isn't going to be relevant unless you are losing, and you don't really want to be removing the opponent's Darksteel Colossus when you could just Acquire it from them and win the game. Note that the existence of Transmute makes Hide significantly worse than it would have been.

Hit / Run

Hit has too many options for the opponent. He or she has to have one creature or artifact for this card to be a Putrefy, and it costs more than Chainer's Edict, which has a second use. Run has the potential to be good with something like Grizzly Fate, but most times you win the game if you get Grizzly Fate anyway, or the opponent clears the bears out before they get a chance to attack. Overall, too narrow to merit a slot in most decks.

Indrik Stomphowler

Anything with a Disenchant effect paired with a decent-sized body is worth considering. It's also splashable, and would make a great card to pick up four of.

Infernal Tutor

If you can afford it, you need four of this card. I doubt I'd be able to afford it, but the ability to double a Transmute card in my hand, or double Meloku, would make this an auto-include. If you get to the point where you get the Hellbent part of the card, it will be invaluable.

Kindle the Carnage

This might be a cheap Wrath of God replacement, but there are so many other substitutes that are better. Things like Savage Twister, for example. Funny, they just reprinted it. With enough cards in hand, it will get the job done... but the cost might be too large.

Leafdrake Roost

I can see this winning the game if left unchecked, and faster than Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree, with less investment each turn. I don't need anywhere near this much reason to play a card. Slow, but effective. And don't forget, they fly.

Loaming Shaman

Three power for three mana. An ability that can let you use your better cards again later in the game. Seems reasonable to me, if not overly exciting.

Lyzolda, the Blood Witch

Three power for three mana, and an ability that will replace the card you spent putting it into play. This is well worth playing if you can afford it.

Macabre Waltz

Get this: Return Meloku, the Clouded Mirror and Keiga, the Tide Star, discard a Forest. Only pay two mana for it. That might be okay, some of the time. It's also common, so everyone can afford it.

Odds / Ends

I'd play this just for the fun factor alone. Between copying my opponent's Tidings and countering it, either is fine. Ends will slow the opponent's bear tokens down.

Overrule

This is exactly the type of card I love to see. I get splashable countermagic that eats up White card slots, and gives me life. As has been the case recently, this card would be playable without the lifegain. White countermagic is playable any way I look at it, but I'll definitely take the lifegain too. Again, they are common, and I would acquire four of them if you can.

Plumes of Peace

Nice combination of abilities. Still not sure I want to be playing this card in Prismatic, though.

Protean Hulk

Still playable at seven mana, but would be much better at 5/5 for six, and four power of creatures. The reason? Transmute.

Pure / Simple

This card is one that is too narrow on the whole. I believe that the space wasted on this card is better served by cards with more utility.

Research / Development

Research isn't very useful in Prismatic. 250 cards should contain all the answers you'll need. Development looks interesting, but three cards for five mana is below the curve. Also, you'll never get nine power of creatures to an empty board, either. I'm not sure how useful it'll be, but it just seems like it'll never be nearly as exciting as it looks.

Rise / Fall

Apparently, Hymn to Tourach is fair as long as it doesn't make the opponent discard their lands. The other half of the card, Rise, is only as good as the cost of the creature in play (lower is better) and its attributes, and the quality of the creature in your graveyard (it better be good). I'm not sure this is a card I want to play, since I don't play a lot of one-mana creatures in my deck. This card doesn't do anything for the board, but at least it is cheap.

Simic Sky Swallower

A creature that flies, tramples, is huge, and is resistant to removal. Sign me up!

Spell Snare

Too limited in scope for a counterspell in Prismatic. Will often be a dead card later in the game, and one I wouldn't mind discarding to some other card. Play something splashable instead.

Stomp and Howl

Cards that destroy multiple permanents, as opposed to cards that can destroy multiple permanents, are a mixed bag in Prismatic. Some people just play all the powerful cards they can, no matter what permanent type they are. Others, such as myself, play powerful cards within a certain envelope. The only artifacts that I play are Skyreach Mantas. But cards like this can be exactly what the doctor ordered when your opponent has Mirari and Mirari's Wake, for example. I could see playing one or two copies, depending on your artifact/enchantment suite.

Street Savvy

While this is virtually unplayable in Prismatic, it is really interesting to me for the purposes of sideboarding in Limited. I don't know how many times I've lost to somebody playing landwalking against me, and having a card like this would give me great comfort in that area.

Supply / Demand

Both halves of this card are excellent, and one of the hardest things will be deciding what to do with it. With Supply being a counterable version of Decree of Justice, and Demand being a decent tutor with the removal that has been printed in the last two sets, I can see this card making a big splash in Prismatic.

Tidespout Tyrant

A card like this could be tough to get rid of on-board, denying the opponent access to their mana, and swinging for five in the air. However, it is eight mana, and I'd be surprised to see it played with the Kamigawa Dragons and many other legends so reasonably costed.

Twinstrike

It isn't often that you need to kill more than one creature and you are out of cards. This could be useful on occasion, but I'd rather play Dark Banishing.

Vigean Intuition

I'd much rather have Tidings, or even Petals of Insight. At least with Petals I actually get cards. I don't ever want to miss with Vigean Intuition, because it is a completely wasted turn.

Voidslime

Two words: Four-of.

Wit's End

For a seven-mana spell, at least you basically win the game if it resolves. It can't be Transmuted for, though, which hurts it tremendously. I wouldn't want to play more than three of this card, even if I was playing Hellbent.

Wrecking Ball

This is a good starter card, because it fills a hole that you might want filled — land destruction. Anyone who has sat in topdeck mode while the opponent sits on a Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree knows why. The fact that it doubles as creature elimination means that it will never be a dead card, either.

...

That's it! Surprisingly, this has pushed itself to the sixth page, and I didn't even review every card! Just remember, if you think I'm wrong, prove it! The reason many people start playing Prismatic is so they can play with all sorts of arcane combos, and I probably forgot your favorite. Beat me or someone else with it, and we'll stand up and take notice! I didn't pick up Grizzly Fate in the old days until I realized just how hard it is to defend against. Now it is a staple that goes in all of my Prismatic decks.

If you want to see more articles based on Prismatic, sound off early in the forums, or send me an email. I don't tend to read deep into the forums, but I'll make an effort for my own article. Post away!

Thanks for reading,
Ryan Dinkelman

thrawn1020 almost everywhere
hajimesaitoh AT gmail DOT com