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Editor: Audrey C Quan. Monday 23 February 2004.
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Darksteel Limited Review - White/Green
You can read the first review here:
That's right folks I'm back with another limited review, I hope you enjoyed the last one because this one will knock your socks off (slight exaggeration but you need a big introduction, right?) This time I will be looking at both white and green since this is a smaller set and I wanted to pack more in for your reading enjoyment. White and Green got a good deal in Mirrodin and I always liked drafting W/G decks as you always have quality creatures, artifact removal and some decent combat tricks. One less Mirrodin booster means less Arrests, Skyhunter Patrols, Fangren Hunters, Predator's Strikes and Tel-Jilad Archers, so what's the deal in Darksteel? Let's take a look.
Green brings to the party the powerful Tangle Golem, a surprise "archer" in Tangle Spider and a good substitute for Predator's Strike in the form of Echoing Courage. White on the other hand has a hefty tapper in Loxodon Mystic, the ground pounding Razor Golem and um a card that taps all artifacts in play.... Clearly green gets the better deal in the common department but it is not all bad for white as it still gets some good tricks and we all like tricks don't we.....
I will be ranking the commons the same way I did in my last article, by power not pick order. It is going to be much more straight forward with the colours as there are not many commons to deal with. Here is the list for white:-
I'm sure most people has this golem at the top of this list as it is by fat the best playable common for white. The fact this can be dropped on the 3rd turn makes it even better!
One of my opponents had 2 of these chunky elephants at the pre-release and let me tell you I didn't win the game when they both hit the table. Unlike their understudy Master Decoy, the Mystics have no problem lumbering into the red zone when they get a little bored. There are better uncommons in white that you would pick over this but these are still solid.
I'm sure this is going to be popular amongst the kids - a 3/3 first striker on the second turn I hear you cry! and rightly so, Glaivemaster is a solid little beater. Like Skyhunter Cub it is completely going to depend on the amount of equipment you run (like duh!) but I am still amazed on MODO how some players run multiple cubs and only 2 pieces of equipment (and we are not talking Bonesplitter here people). Vulshok Morningstar springs to mind here as a 4/4 first striker is going to give your opponent a big headache. A nice little card.
Pteron Ghost is alright but I won't be doing cartwheels across the gaming shop when I get passed one 10th. This is better than Welding Jar (except in Affinity decks obviously) and is pretty similar to Neurok Familiar in the power stakes. The ghost seems like a card to make up the numbers but I guess if you have Morningstars, Bonesplitters and the like it gets a lot better.
I glad this is the artifact set because these cards are starting to suck. Falter type effects have always been good in limited and Metal Fatigue is no exception. A weak Blinding Beam, Metal Fatigue is also good for turning off powerhouses like Icys, Crystal Shards and the almighty Farsight Mask (I'm joking on that one!) at the end of turn before swinging in with your team for lethal. Except it doesn't tap non-artifact creatures, making this more of a sideboard card. Against R/G this is going to be pretty useless (maybe the odd golem or arcbound creature) so discretion is advised when drafting.
The Raise Dead for artifacts may see some use but to me I'd rather have a cycler or shock! horror! play with 1 less land. Obviously it depends upon what artifacts you have but this is not unplayable.
Hallow
I think this card should read "Stops cheesy fireball to the dome, wise up sucka!" If you are going to burn your opponent out make sure they have tapped all their mana. And yes, Awe Strike is much better.
Unfortunately Darksteel does not bring any interesting enchantments to the mix (maybe Carry Away) so this is going to see about as much play as Tempest of Light. A very narrow sideboard card at best.
You know what? Things can only get better - that's what uncommons are for. White's uncommons in Mirrodin were pretty average compared to the other colours so how does Darksteel shape up? Pretty damn good - in fact they are all very playable and hard to rank as a result. So guess what, I'm not going to rank them but I will offer explanations, in no particular order:-
This reminds me of Slith Ascendant but not as good. In fact the black emissary (despair I think) is a lot better than this guy but the white one is not too shabby either. One toughness means he probably won't last too long so make sure you suck up some combat tricks.
The battlemage is the sort of card everyone likes to have in their draft decks - he screws up combat, forcing your opponent to play around him. White (and Green) have so many tricks this crazy cat will be working up a sweat as soon as it hits the table. A solid early pick.
White gets removal again. Everyone rejoices! This is a first pick calibre card and another good weapon in the White arsenal (especially in W/U & W/G decks).
This was hyped up on the Sideboard before the pre-release and believe me it is good but a little too expensive for my liking. The entwine is a real kick in the nuts but that is 7 mana and 9 times out of 10 Roar of the Kha is going have the same effect.
This is my personal favourite and if I had to rank them this would be up the top (it is actually pretty close between this and Purge). I really liked Awe Strike in Mirrodin and this is much better as the counters can be put to good use on the Arcbound creatures. Decent tricks - that is exactly what white needs in this set.
I always like opening packs and seeing a great rare stuffed at the back, it's part of what keeps magic fun, except it only seems to happen 10% of the time. This is what lies in store for the white mage and this time I have ranked them because it is a hell of a lot more easier!
I haven't drafted any of these cards yet so I'm relying on experience here but I think it is fairly obvious.
Well hello baby! White seems to get an angel in every set and this is definitely the strongest in quite a while. Six mana is a great deal and there is enough in-built chicanery with this to force a couple of removal spells from your opponent's hand. Better still it can't be iced, sharded and/or spellbombed (aether) if you play your cards right! Another candidate for rare of the set.
We all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. It combos particularly well with the unequip stuff like Leonin Bola as you can tap a whole bunch of creatures down eot then smash face on the next turn. (I know I gave the Bola a bad wrap in the last review but it is a Tier 2 piece of equipment, i.e. playable but not stellar). A 2/2 for 2 doesn't hurt either but it is really suited to the equipment heavy R/W decks.
There is quite a drop in power level between the Shikari and the Steelshaper but he is still playable. In fact I would only run him if I had a Warhammer, Skullclamp, Mask of Memory, rare sword etc because spending a turn to recast this guy to get a Leonin Scimitar isn't what I would call efficient. A later pick as a result.
Five mana is a lot to keep open (probably why Soul Nova lost it's surprise value) but as the name suggests it will sometimes blunt your opponent's attack enough to swing back for the win. Then again leaving five mana open should set off alarm bells so I don't think this is a very high pick.
Ironically this is the weakest of the Pulses in limited but perhaps the strongest for constructed (OK flame me now), not unplayable just unexciting.
All of these rares are playable, some more than others and Soulscour falls into the latter category. In fact it doesn't nail artifacts so I'm leaning towards it being unplayable.
If you have read this far then you are halfway through! Next up on the agenda is green, a colour that is reknowned for it's creatures, artifact kill and a distinct lack of creature removal.
Let's take a look at the commons:-
I reviewed this card in my last article and it got the Dan Turner stamp of approval as the no.3 common slot amongst the artifacts and this time around it edges up to the coveted no.1 slot. I'm not going to repeat myself here but this is the nuts. Sure those prot artifacts guys can block this to the cows come home but it had better be a Tel-Jilad Archers because if it isn't they will be laughing on the other side of their faces when you cast Predator's Strike on this thing.
Initially at number 3, I moved this up because of the surprise value. Anything that can kill a Skyhunter Patrol gets the thumbs up from me and I'm sure its instantness will catch quite a few players with their trousers around their ankles. One of these should be sufficient in a draft deck due to the high casting cost (bearing in mind you have 2 packs to pick up Tel-Jilad Archers also) but I guess it depends on the amount of mana acceleration you have.
Predator's Strike it isn't but not a bad substitute none the less. The echo part shouldn't crop up often but look out for those insect and pest tokens.
Grey Ogres are back in fashion I hear and this wolfie likes to snack on golems, myrs and the occasional replica (although these are a bit chewy). To me this is a typical middle of the road draft pick which should always make the cut of a deck (a bit like Krark-Clan Grunt) as good creature filler. Note his ability is similar to Ogre Leadfoot for 2 less mana, the only downside being other green decks will squish him like a bug.
I deliberately ranked this elf higher than what it should be as it encourages players to splash other colours and play those off colour bombs which they hate drafted in the last Mirrodin Pack. With Myrs, Talismans, Chromatic Spheres and Journeys of Discovery the 5 colour green archetype could be viable again.
What is with the 1 toughness on this guy? Tel-Jilad Chosen is sooo much more efficient and I pushed this below the acolyte because of this. I would still play the Outrider in most of my draft decks but I won't be looking out for multiples of this guy. Average.
Journey of Discovery is a lot better than this and land destruction doesn't really do that much in this set with all of the Myrs, Engineers and Talismans floating around. I may play this in a pinch in a multi coloured deck but I would be on the lookout for Viridian Acolyte every time.
Token green lifegain spell, blah blah, double green, blah blah, works well with Well of Lost Dreams, blah, blah, blah, can imprint on Isochron Scepter, yada, yada, yada.
Glancing through the green uncommons things don't look too bad. I think white got the slighty better deal in this department but what can you do?
Stand Together screams card advantage and works well with Spikeshots, Arcbounds, Tramplers and Evasive creatures. This is a trick to anticipate though so if your opponent is leaving five mana open make sure you play your Terror after they cast
this.
This is what green does best and if it was any cheaper it would be free! Like Detonate, Oxidise navigates around Welding Jar, Pteron Ghost and all that other jank players use to protect their artifacts (with the exception of bounce and Razor Barrier) but unlike Detonate costs only 1 mana. Solid cheap artifact removal and a high pick.
Not bad for a grey ogre but this is too unreliable for it to be a gamewinner. Affinity decks may have a bit of trouble but the lands can always be sided out if you saw Tanglewalker in the first game.
I don't really like zero power five casting cost creatures unless they're called Mephitic Ooze, and green already has enough protection from artifacts creatures in this block so I'm going to pass on this one. If you want a token generator try Nuisance Engine - it is a lot better.
Karstoderm is going to be huge in constructed but it will be doing a lot of bench warming in limited. This may see occasional play in those heavy R/G "proper" creature decks but with Oxidda and Tangle Golem added to the mix his chances are slim.
And now for something completely different.
Greens rares may not be as powerful as whites (well green did get the better deal in Mirrodin) but they still give them a run for their money. Unlike white all of the green rares are playable and in typical fashion have multiple forests in the casting cost. The power levels are also harder to evaluate but I have done my best and come up with the following list (with explanations):-
With the exception of white (and maybe the black) the rest of the pulses are powerhouses in limited. Tangle is the only sorcery of the bunch but it doesn't stop it from being a repetitive beating stick to the head. The thing to bear in mind when you play this is that it counts the creatures after the token is in play so you need to always have 2 creatures less than your opponent for it to return to your hand.
Triple green may seem like a tall order for the Firstborn but I have ranked it this highly because of it's potential. Note that the creatures get the counters when this thing attacks so you can enter the combat step with some extra ammunition - obviously it is a good idea to have a trick or two up your sleeve when you first attack with this so that you can overrun your opponent quickly. The only grumble I have is when you draw this late in the game or if you are having the snot kicked out of you, it becomes an expensive blocker. I may have ranked it too highly here but we shall see.....
Cheap artifact/enchantment removal at a bargain price is always a good thing and the Zealot is a great little beater too. He is an early pick but I'm not sure if he is worthy of a first pick.
Fangren Hunter he is not but you could do a lot worse than this guy. Lets face it the counters won't be building that often but if you like the combos try him in G/W with Awe Strikes, Test of Faith and Leonin Elder.
Plow Under for artifacts. Great. The main difference between this and Plow Under (yes I have played Plow Under once or twice in draft!) is that there are a few ways to fizzle this out (most of them are red cards though) but this is still a good tempo card. I can imagine Rebuking Ceremony being very powerful in some situations and next to useless in others. Definitely a thinking man's card.
I know some of you will rank the wurm higher but lets take a step back and think about things for a moment shall we? This costs seven mana for a 6/4 with an ability which can also be detrimental to you (i.e. this taps your potential blockers + other artifacts which you may want to use on your opponent's turn), alternatively it can punch through artifact creature defences easily but if they have a Fangren Hunter or even a crappy creature with equipment on (say a Vulshok Morningstar) this is not going to be attacking. Unless you have a trick. Then hope your opponent doesn't have a trick. I hope this explains why I don't like it as much as the other rares because you are paying a lot of mana here for something
which may be sitting on the sideline pouting like a spoilt kid.
Well that is it from me and the white and green cards of Darksteel. Overall the commons are good for both of these colours and I can see the W/G archetype still being strong with the addition of a Darksteel booster. I mean who doesn't like dropping big fatties onto the table and then strapping on some powerful equipment! I know I do! I'll see you next time for the kings of removal, Black and Red!
Until then
Happy Drafting
Dan
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