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Editor: Audrey C Quan. Saturday 17 April 2004.
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Darksteel Limited Review - Blue
You can read the other reviews here:
One thing that differentiates the blue commons from the other colours is that they are all playable. Hear me out people! Vex can be good against decks that play bombs you have no way of dealing with (although I do prefer Override) and Magnetic Flux can be a nice finisher in the right situation. Granted these last two examples are sideboard cards but there will be situations where they can be used. Another thing I would like to talk about before we delve into the rankings is affinity. The Engineer, Behemoth and Machinate are all geared towards affinity based decks (the engineer does fit in anywhere but shines in this archetype) and the Spire Golem is slightly worse in affinity decks (due to Seat of Synod mainly) so the picks could be slightly different depending on what you are drafting. For example, if you had a U/R affinity build I would have the Engineer on top, the Spire Golem second and the Behemoth in the no.3 slot. Obviously Neurok Prodigy is good in this archetype too but it then depends on how much evasion you have, as you may need some good old fashioned ground blockers for all those Razor and Tangle golems out there.
Okay time to dispense with the niceties and get down to business, the list:-
The affinity golems have really had a huge impact on the current draft block and I believe the Spire is just behind Razor and Tangle in the power stakes. The thing I like about this particular golem is that it becomes very hard to stop once you have equipment and/or modular counters on it and your opponent will have to waste their artifact removal on it quickly so you then can play out your more powerful stuff. A very good creature.
The new "super myr" is a very high draft pick and will enable all of us to smash face quicker. I can't really see a deck where this little chap won't work so don't expect them to come around the table 'cause it ain't gonna happen.
More evasion for blue and this time it is a slightly weaker version of Skywing Aven from Torment. I like the Prodigy and have even picked him first occasionally as I was lacking in the evasion department, but realistically he is not a first pick. A good flier with a decent ability.
I would only play this in an affinity heavy deck as you don't want to keep recasting this juggernaught, and you know what - it is pretty good. The ability to stall your opponents' ground attack while relentlessly pummelling them with flyers is one of the oldest tricks in the book and Quicksilver Behemoth can also go on the attack if your opponent lacks any defences. Expect this to go around the table.
You know when you don't have any counters around and you have to rip up some crappy common to use them as instead? Ladies and gentlemen we have a winner. How many of you really really liked playing with Regress back in MMM?? Be honest now, if you could cut it you would, wouldn't you? Even in those U/B decks that had no possible way of dealing with artifacts I bet you would have considered running Inertia Bubble over Regress - I know I did. Echoing Truth now makes Regress COMPLETELY redundant, but you still may want to use them for counters for your arcbound creatures etc etc. Strategy wise like Echoing Decay this can handle all of the soldier, insect and myr tokens your opponent can throw at you and will also save your own creatures in a pinch.
Hrmmm, the only comparison I can make with this card is Dream Cache and Impulse. I used to play both of those cards with reckless abandon (and I'm not talking about the red sorcery from Urza's Destiny for the smartarses out there) but I can't say the same thing with Machinate. Firstly it is a one for one card and it is completely dependant on your artifacts in play which means it is going to do jack in the first 5 turns. However if your deck is both artifact and bombalicious heavy I would consider playing this. A good counter argument would be "why not run spellbombs (including off colour ones) instead to increase the chances of drawing your bombs" - which is a very valid point but in the late game Machinate will be able to dig that little bit deeper so you can get what you want. I have only ever maindecked this once before but it is totally deck dependant.
This ain't no Arcane Denial but sometimes in limited you just have to counter stuff. Here is an example. You are playing a U/R affinity deck and it is the second game of the duel and you have just been decimated by your opponent's cheesy topdeck of a Furnace Dragon. You are flicking through your sideboard for ideas as you have no way to deal with this creature maindeck. You palm through the usual suspects and then you see Vex at the back. I would not even hesitate here, so your opponent gets an extra card - big deal! At least you won't be whooped by that dragon again. Oh and here is a tip for the kiddies out there. When you side in 1 of a kind cards like this try holding back until you see the spell you want to counter rather than burn it on something else. It may seem right at the time but you will be regretting it when you are on the receiving end of a Furnace Dragon knuckle sandwich. That's all I've got to say about this card.
I seem to be writing more about the chaff than the good cards. This card is a lot slimmer as
blue has a lot of evasion anyway so chances are you won't ever need to run this but sometimes in one of those bizarro weird games it may be just the ticket. I have never run this personally but maybe in a U/G deck with heavy amounts of artifact creatures backed up with Predator's Strikes it might work. Or maybe not.
OK guys you know what we are going to be talking now - the uncommons. Blues' uncommons are not as deep as the other colours but they are still some goodies in the mix which will justify your decision to draft islands. Here is my breakdown:-
Hands down this is the best blue uncommon. The potential to drop this on the 3rd turn is very saucy and the 3 toughness just throws it out of Electrostatic Bolt/Pyrite Spellbomb range. A first pick.
There are so many options with the transmuter it makes my head hurt just thinking about it. Firstly it turns any of your artifact removal into creature removal and it protects your creatures from your opponent's artifact removal. It is also handy for blocking creatures with fear (or for pushing through your own fear creatures) and not even black creatures are safe from terror with this guy around. I'm not certain the transmuter is a first pick though and I have seen him go around the table once or twice. Personally this is a high pick.
Sooner or later this was going to happen. The big question with this though is whether it is maindeckable or not. I would say yes as most decks have at least one piece of equipment but it also depends on what equipment you have actually passed around the table. Either way when this hits it is going to be a major pain in the arse for your opponent and is a high draft pick as a result.
I overlooked this at the prerelease and the game where I actually had a chance to play it, I ended up making a terrible misplay which cost me the match. Here is a tip for you kiddies don't ever ever play this on something which doesn't tap to attack - it will always end in tears - trust me on that one. I think Psychic Overload is a bit of a sleeper, so I would expect this to go around the table.
The effect this produces seems like a luxury to me. There is no real card advantage at work here, merely a gain (or lack) of tempo. Rearranging your opponent's library is great but not so if they have a grip chock full of removal and card advantage. Likewise, Second Sight does bugger all when you are in top deck mode as you don't actually draw any of the cards straight away. I'm going to have to relegate this to the unplayable category.
With the uncommons out of the way, that leaves the rares. So far Red has had the lion's share of the decent rares and unfortunately none of the blue rares make me want to jump up and down in excitement. In fact I reckon blue got the shaft in the rare department because besides the Chromescale Drake, everything else is pus. But I do like my lists, so for the sake of completion here are my thoughts on the rares:-
Undoubtedly blues best rare the drake will often hit the table for around 5 mana. Obviously suited to an affinity build, there is potential for some decent card advantage which will often be enough to swing the tempo of the game in your favour. Is this a first pick though? I'm not sure, but it isn't the kind of rare that jumps out of the pack, does pirouettes on the table singing "pick me, pick me, pick me" but hey there should always be something else in the pack you would want to take over this anyway.
It is pretty abysmal from here onwards, I'm afraid. Hard counters are always good but not when they cost 4 mana, and that is my last word on this card.
I don't like this either. I remember Hugh Rayner playing this against me once and he seemed to be drawing a lot of cards (maybe he was cheating?) but it sucked up a lot of tempo and he never seemed to draw what he needed. I think this is playable but only marginally and I rank it on the same level as Machinate, well maybe a little bit higher.
The poor mans Tinker, Reshape is just not going to cut the mustard in limited. People play Fabricate but they won't play this (unless I'm missing out on something seriously fundamental here) as it is too expensive and not exactly what I would call card advantage. Still feel free to give this a whirl kids and let me know how much it sucks.
Oh yes we are scraping the dregs from the barrel now. It is a shame that this guy is so crap as I really do like the artwork. Seriously the ability to tap or untap multiple non creature artifacts has never really come up for me in booster draft lately but hell who knows what Fifth Dawn has in store?
Again like the artwork, hate the card. I thought this was like a Hurkyl's Recall at first but then reread the card and then disregarded it. I guess it has uses in a very narrow, marginal way where you need to return all of your artifacts to your hand at instant speed to stop a mass removal spell (like Furnace Dragon) but I'll think I will cross that bridge when I come to it.
So there you have it, the last instalment in my rather drawn out Darksteel review series. I hope you have enjoyed what you have read and gained some sort of insight from it (albeit a superficial one) as personally I really enjoy writing these reviews and I am keen to delve more into draft strategy in the future.
Until next time
Take care
Dan
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