You are: Home -> Articles -> Columns -> State of Play |
Editor: Audrey C Quan. Thursday 19 February 2004.
|
Darksteel Limited Review - Artifacts
I've found the best time to write these limited reviews is straight after the prerelease when things are still fresh in my mind and I have the motivation to do it. The downside is I often underestimate or talk up certain cards and look like a total idiot in front of the virtual magic community when I am proved wrong. This hasn't happened that much in recent reviews as I usually ask someone else to review the cards with me so I have a scapegoat if things go pear shaped. Darksteel however is going to be a solo flight, so be prepared for some bold calls, dodgy deviations and lots of sarcasm.
Firstly I really enjoyed the prerelease as I don't play that much in "real life" anymore and it was good to see a lot of my friends again in the Sydney magic community as they thought I was dead, moved overseas, joined the Bavarian circus etc etc. Unfortunately we will have to wait another month before Darksteel is released on MODO so that means more real life practice (which may help in writing these reviews). OK, I am now going to dispose with the pleasantries and move on to what we are here to talk about - Darksteel and in particular, artifacts. Unlike the Mirrodin reviews I will be listing the commons in "power" order rather than pick order (yes there is a difference) as it is far easier and from that you should be able to gauge when the card should be picked (that's right folks no more of this midrange pick crap anymore!).
Indestructibility aside the 2 big things in Darksteel are Modular creatures and Affinity golems. All of the golems (with the exception of black) are better than their metal Mirrodin counterparts and are cheaper too! One thing to note with the golems is artifact lands, especially in affinity based u/b decks as it makes the golems a lot more clunky so bear this in mind when drafting those kinds of decks.
Modular creatures sound good in theory, but there only seems to be a handful which will see play in limited. Amongst the commons, Arcbound Hybrid and Arcbound Bruiser are the likely candidates to see the most action over the next couple of months, just make sure you have enough artifact creatures to make them worth it. There is also a lot of good equipment in Darksteel so cards like Turn to Dust should be maindecked now rather than boarded in because no-one wants to get caught with their trousers down do they?
This is where I think the common artifacts fit in:-
Unblockable and untargetable = your opponent better have artifact removal. Players will be whinging about this for the rest of the year so start getting used to it by making sure you draft it pretty early on in the piece. It is that good because like the warhammer it does a combination of things which is just enough to piss your opponent off because they either didn't open one, took an underpowered rare instead or wasted all of their artifact removal on your Vulshok Morningstar and/or Cathodion
on the last turn. The cloak should be the equipment to go the distance and WILL win you the match if played carefully.
Did you hear that flushing sound? That was Vulshok chucking his Battlegear down the toilet, as he has a new shinier toy now. At 2 to cast and 2 to equip I wouldn't be complaining either as this turns a humble myr into a mini beatdown machine and guess what kids? It combos with Spikeshot Goblin! The Morningstar is sort of like the Bonesplitter for Darksteel and like the cloak can be played in any deck - btw there is not much difference between this and the cloak and sometimes you may need to take the morningstar over it.
Am I missing out on something here? This Golem is an absolute beating. Imagine this if you will.....
1st turn : Forest
Sure any of the prot artifacts stop this dead in his tracks but it is nothing that a Whispersilk Cloak can't fix. Easily the best affinity golem and more than makes up for that heap of crapola that was Malachite Golem
. One of green's best cards in the set.
It is all about the 4 toughness here folks (well that and the flying, and the affinity stuff too but you know what I mean). This blocks Somber Hoverguard, Skyhunter Patrol and survives a Tangle Spider so it deserves some credit. Much better than a Cobalt any day of the week and edges out the rest of the golems due to its big butt.
Again big butts rule the day here although an extra point of power would go down a treat on this guy. Other than that he is a solid ground pounder but is shut down by Fangren Hunter, Tangle Golem and Pewter Golem. The doesn't tap to attack will make him slightly less vulnerable to Blinding Beam and he is a whole lot better than his Titanium Brother.
The Oxidda and Razor Golems are quite close in my opinion but the Razor wins out because of the "doesn't tap to attack bit. I like the idea of playing a really quick deck (possibly R/G) with Oxidda Golems and Arcbound Hybrids to take advantage of the "modular counters" backed up with Predator Strikes, Battlegrowths and some cheap artifact removal - Shatter, Turn to Dust etc. Normal R/G decks tend to rely on fatties to outpower their opponent but I think the tempo strategy is equally viable - only time will tell.
Four mana for a 2/2 haster is pushing the envelope (compared to Oxidda Golem & Vulshok Berserker) but those modular counters are what we are paying for here ladies & gentlemen. Ideally he will be out of the blocks on the 3rd turn (Myr, Veldaken Engineer) and have a happy recipient to donate his metal organs to when he bites the dust. A good card but may not always make the cut depending on what sort of creatures you have.
Five mana for a 3/3 is not fantastic but Ogre Leadfoot has seen a fair bit of play so why not give the bruiser a chance? I think the leadfoot is better than the Bruiser but again we are talking modular. Three counters is a big deal (instant hill giant) especially if you have evasion. I used to like Forge Armor so I probably would end up running this guy unless I had a lot of high end drops (archers, Fangren Hunter etc) making it better suited to a non green deck.
We are now slowly starting to enter the dregs of the commons here. Fear is a great ability and everything but it doesn't really cut it in this set. Even the decks which typically don't play a lot of artifact creatures will now, (thanks Tangle Golem!) making these kind of creatures even worse. On a positive note he is better than Dross Prowler and does have 3 power making him a semi respectable blocker.
This is my sleeper common pick of the list. It has a cantrip like effect which is useful in the late game for skimming land to the bottom of your library and it is indestructible to boot! I prefer this over Arcane Spyglass and would even run it instead of an off color spellbomb. It's not like I'm heralding this as the next big thing though so don't bust a nut in the forums, just give it a try sometime - you may just like it.
And this is my favourite part,
The Jank.
I would normally go through all of these cards and explain why I hate them so much. Instead I will list them (in no particular order) and pick out a couple which may warrant further explanation.
Arcane Spyglass, Drill Skimmer, Arcbound Stinger/Worker, Myr Landshaper/Moonvessel, Darksteel Ingot, Leonin Bola and Ur Golem's Eye.
Actually the Leonin Bola is not jank as I can see it getting some play but there is so much equipment to choose from now you have to be grasping at straws to play this (remember the no more than 4 pieces of equipment rule?) It is a good sideboard card for green decks and rare fatties like Megatog and Reiver Demon but I won't be panicking if I don't get one of these.
Darksteel Ingot and Ur Golem's Eye are interesting when you compare them to the Myr/Talismans. Take the ingot for example, is indestructibility and a colour of your choice worth the extra mana? I would be inclined to say no although the ingot may be more suitable in sealed deck where 3 colours are more common (and the games tend to be slower). If I am playing 3 colours in draft I prefer off colour myrs and Chromatic Spheres but hey don't let me put you off.
Mirrodin's uncommons were very powerful (compared to previous sets), so how does Darksteel shape up in the artifact department? At a glance there is 1 card that stands head and shoulders above everything else and for the more astute of you out there you know what I am talking about. Some of the better indestructible cards lurk among the uncommons, along with those cheesy gain a life things that have been printed in 8th Edition and a reprint of an old type 1 favourite which is still pretty decent in limited!
I found the uncommons harder to rank as a lot of them are quite similar in power (or alternatively I haven't played with them yet so I have no idea what I'm talking about):-
No surprises here. I'm not going to use a load of boring clichés saying how good this card is because it is not necessary. I see this as the Mask of Memory of Darksteel, very cheap and if left unchecked will swing the tide of the game in your favour.
This was one of the first cards I ever saw when I started playing Magic many moons ago and you know what? Not much has changed, this is still a beating. I ranked it this highly as it fits nicely into any deck and like the Skullclamp is very cheap.
After looking over all of the uncommon arcbounds the crusher has the most potential to give your opponents a "bad day". Four mana for a 1/1 isn't exactly optimal, but let's face it we are talking about the artifact set here and the crusher does have trample so chances are he is going to get big pretty quick, although it does suck when you are in top decking mode or the late game. I may have ranked this too high but hey this is my review!
By the time you cast this there are going to be a few bodies in the graveyard. Chances are at least one of them will have an ability worth imprinting, (bearing in mind you will be paying 8 mana) preferably flying. Watch out for bounce with this guy as you don't want to reimprint (?) the duplicant too many times. A nice late game finisher but not a high draft pick in my opinion.
Yesss we likes the Spawning Pit don't we masster. It stops all those nasty tricksies like Grab the Reinssss, coz we don't like tricksies do we masster. It is also sooo cheap, very cheap and we can even sacrifice the hobbitseses if we have to....
A 3/3 unkillable flyer has to mean something doesn't it? Seven mana is a hefty price to pay though but with enough super mana rampers (Veldaken Engineer or Ur-Golems Eye for example) this should hit the table before things get out of hand. However I am not a fan of clogging up the high end slots as I like to run lean land counts in this format so make sure you don't overload your deck, because there is nothing worse than getting beaten up by a pair of Raise the Alarm tokens with a Tooth of Chiss Goria while you have a hand of hefty spells and no action.
There is a considerable time investment involved with the Talon but a Fireball to the head has always been a good thing in Magic hasn't it? I'm not sure how to rank this but it obviously suits a deck with evasion and/or a lot of removal so damage can keep coming through, or how about Spikeshot Goblin? I'm still of the opinion that this is a win more card rather than a "I win" card but that may change over the coming months.
At this stage a lot of these cards are at the same power level so please don't read too much into the next few. This is cheap to cast and equip thus will always see play from time to time and the extra power boost is a nice touch. The kind of cards you want to nail with this are Blinding Beam, high costed power cards (Grab the Reins, Bosh, Stir the Pride, Betrayal of Flesh etc) and the occasional counter or two but I don't think this is suited to a deck that plays little or no evasion.
I initially had the Arcbound Lancer on here as a 4/4 modular first striker probably should be on this list despite it's heavy casting cast but I reread the Thunderstaff and thought it was much more interesting. Note this is attacking creatures not just "target creature" and if you do happen to be on the defensive it works well there too. I do kinda like cards that do 2 things as it gives you some options and an opportunity to snatch victory from the gaping jaws of defeat.
The trident is another piece of equipment that has the revolutionary effect of unequipping the creature when it is activated. Unlike the Leonin Bola this thing costs 4 mana which is going to soak up a lot of resources. First Strike is nice but then so is Fireshrieker and that costs half as much, I think I would rather have the Talon as a game finisher but would like to try it a bit more before I completely disregard it.
Honourable Mentions
Unlike the commons, there are a lot of other decent uncommons outside the ones I mentioned but the jury is still out on a lot of them. Here is the list and a few explanations.
Aether Vial, Arcbound Fiend/Lancer, Auriok Siege Sled, Coretapper, Genesis Chamber, Nemesis Mask and Voltaic Construct are all playable in the right kind of deck or if you are desperately lacking a card.
I like Aether Vial as it is cheap, the counters build up straight away and the creature can be played as an instant, but it is likely going to be the last card to make the deck and chances are it will be competing with an off colour spellbomb, Chromatic Sphere or something similar. Coretapper is downright funky with it's ability to charge up everything around it (this doesn't work on modular creatures though) and Genesis Chamber has an useful ability but it seems to be a poor man's Myr Matrix. The other arcbounds seem way overcosted but the 4/4 First Striker will see play but I just don't like the 7 mana bit. The sled looks ok but again it is the 6 mana syndrome, if I want this kind of removal I will play Viridian Longbow because by the time I have 7 mana on the table I'm sure I can shoot down whatever this thing can take out - may be good in removal light decks though. Voltaic Construct has to be playable by default, anything that untaps an artifact creature has to be good - Copperhoof Vorrac anyone? As for Nemesis Mask yes they will see play and I'm sure there will be plenty of kiddies out there regailing their friends about the one time they wiped out everything with a 0/1 pest token with a Nemesis Mask and Dead Iron Sledge.
For the sake of completeness here are the rest of the uncommons, which in my opinion are unplayable (or barely playable!):-
Angel's Feather, Arcbound Slith, Chimeric Egg, Demon's Horn, Dragon's Claw, Geth's Grimoire, Kraken's Eye, Spincrusher, Wirefly Hive and Wurm's Tooth. I can't be bothered go into the why's and how's but don't hesitate to email me at Idonotbelieveyou@loadsaspam.com if you destroyed someone with one of these cards.
And now onto the saucy stuff.
Rares have a tendency to dominate games so it is pretty pointless ranking them so I will just give a brief overview on what I feel is good, what to steer clear of and ones to keep an eye on in the future. Firstly the truly broken, windmillslamming, fist pumping, truckie slump inducing artifact rares in Darksteel (in no particular order):-
And just when you thought that Loxodon Warhammer turned to dust, it comes right back at you on the next turn and smacks you upside the heard courtesy of this little chappie. Sure you need to have decent artifacts to bring back, but that shouldn't be a problem in this set. On average most draft decks have at least 2 or 3 (usually more) good artifacts and the thing about this guy is that he can keep bringing them back if you dump more counters on him!! He may not be as broken as some of the other rares on this list but he changes the state of play. Period.
OK I have to admit this is better than the Reclaimer but they are both solid. The Ravager is so cheap and has the ability to fizzle most incoming spells and when you are done it can be sacrificed to put it's counters on another artifact creature - tricks ahoy!
Yes it is clunky but it is I'm going to completely wreck you once I hit 5 mana clunky. The P/T boost is much needed and it blows the socks off stuff like Sword of Kaldara and Scythe of the Wretched. Heartseeker doesn't discriminate either and can nail pretty much anything on the other side of the table, just make sure you develop the board before the massacre starts.
More clunk. I know I have been ranting about high casting costs etc etc, but like anything there are exceptions. This may not be the best card in Darksteel but it is certainly up there (for the record, I think Skullclamp is the best card) Once this hits the table I would be very surprised if you lose the game (unless you are on a meagre life total) and Memnarch will literally own the board.
I think everyone knew that there would be a Myr Lord and the matrix does not disappoint (unlike the movies) The only drawback with this is that it affects both players but considering you are the one churning out these little blighters it shouldn't take long before you have an army of myr at your disposal. Indestructibility pushes this into the truly broken rare category and a contender for the best rare in the set.
Sword of Fire and Ice/Sword of Light and Shadow
I've lumped these in together as they are quite similar in nature, although Fire & Ice is slightly better. These swords are also cheap (considering what they do) and will often lock your opponent down if played on an evasive creature. The protection from seems like an added bonus with these swords and don't expect them to be passed to you.
This is my personal favourite of the bunch as R/U is the archetype I draft the most. In fact the wand is so good it only need to play one of the colours! I think they should have included an activation cost on this because it is very cheap and becomes more powerful the longer the game goes on. A very high pick.
This next batch of rares are known as the "sleepers", or alternatively "middle of the road crap". Either way I will bet at least one of these will grow on you over the next couple of months, so sit up, put on your thinking caps and come with me.....
I had to read this a few times but now I get it. The twin copies current power and toughness so if you have equipment make sure you load it up on this baby before delivering it to your opponents face. Without equipment (or modular tokens) it is pretty average as it will probably get smashed on it's first attack but I see this working in an aggressive R/G deck with Oxidda Golems and Arcbound Hybrids.
If you had trouble with Isochron Scepter then multiply that by about 1200 and you have Panoptic Mirror. There are a lot of options with the mirror but bear in mind it is going to cost a minimum of 7 mana for the usual kind of suspects - Shatter, Predators Strike, Echoing X, Raise the Alarm etc. It can also imprint sorceries which is going to cause havoc in the magic community except for newbies who are under the impression they cast sorceries in their upkeep anyway. I can see all sorts of rules questions coming out of this, like "Can I imprint creatures?", "Does this work in my opponent's upkeep?" and "What happens if I imprint an Isochron Scepter". It is at times like these I'm glad I'm not a judge.
OK, this one is easy. Sure it makes a creature indestructible but it can still be Terrored, Arrested, Bounced, Stolen, Beamed, Tapped and Irradiated. Wouldn't you rather have a Whispersilk Cloak? I know I would but this will still make the cut of some draft decks.
In my opinion every draft decks needs some way of drawing cards, whether it be Thoughtcast, Serum Tank or the humble spellbomb. The well is narrow as you must have life gain so it really can only be played in white or green deck that uses Hallow, Nourish or something similar, but I believe there is a use for it somewhere (I think this qualifies as middle of the road crap).
And finally, the rest. I can say with confidence that these cards will never be shuffled together and played in a limited deck, and if they are there better be a damn good reason. For the sake of completeness:-
This is simply too expensive and will not have a big enough effect on the game to warrant it's spot in the deck. Nice artwork though.
OK now this is getting ridiculous, 11 mana - c'mon you can't play this guy! I don't care how many myrs/talismans/ingots you have this is never going to hit the red zone. Wise up kids and take an uncommon instead!
For the bargain price of 9 mana all of your artifacts are indestructible, wow sign me up straight away! Don't play this card.
Get ready to start drafting those Power Conduits and Coretappers people because you are going to probably need at least 3 of each to get 20 counters on this thing.
Yeah looks like a kiddie card to me.
I actually considered playing this at the prerelease! Then I woke up.
One of my other rares at the prerelease and upon reading the card was immediately sent to the "too hard basket" but feel free to give it a whirl.
Nice Concept. Except it doesn't really work in limited.
This could go up into the slightly playable category but is too situational for my tastes.
Eight mana for a 7/10 sounds like a good deal to me.
This is way too random for my taste.
Crap, nuff said.
So there you have it, the full Darksteel artifact review. I'm sure there are a few wayward picks here and there but they are my initial impressions and hopefully this will spark some debate in the forums.
Until next time
Dan
|
