We are probably all bored of drafting Champions by now, so I would like to start with what I think about Betrayers in limited and in block constructed. I would also like to give each card a rating of A to E, with A being the best and E the worst.
Limited:
A 2/2 for 3 is not that bad, and when it flips, you got a walking Miscalculation - but I am sure there are more aggressive or overall better blue creatures around.
Rating: B
Block:
I'm sure there are better counterspells to start off with and you will need the space in the deck for other things.
Rating: D
Limited:
A flying 4/4 for 4 is great, as demonstrated by its black cousin, Horobi. However, with upkeep that is hard to maintain, I really doubt it will be picked as often as Horobi.
Rating: C
Block:
It's big but there are hardly any cards that work with counters, and then again those counters are much more useful when they are attached to those creatures themselves.
Rating: D
Limited:
A deck has 40 cards in limited, and this counterspell only works with discarding something with the exact same casting cost as the target spell you are countering. I'd say the probability is quite low.
Rating: D
Block:
Remember Force of Will? This is the closest thing we will ever get to again. The condition is a lot harder obviously but any alternate casting cost is appealing.
Rating: B
Limited:
1/2 for 2. It even flies, and has no drawback? You are getting a very good deal here. The ability may not be as useful but it is still good enough to get some beats in.
Rating: B
Block:
Although the creature is good, the ability may not be as useful as what it seems. It is a very expensive Rishadan Port, and honestly, it may be in some decks but I would doubt it would be a part of the main archetypes.
Rating: D
Limited:
For 2U, you get a 3/2 flying spirit which has evasion and recursion. Islands? Whether you play blue as a main or splash colour, you will always have more than one. It is a very good card and I would pick it very highly.
Rating: A
Block:
Although it is impressive in any deck that runs blue, its significance is diminished due to other cards in the deck and the option of building your own deck. It may not be as aggressive as its red cousin, but still none the less hard to get rid of.
Rating: C
Limited:
Card drawing is important anytime anywhere. But when card draw potential gets drowned under a list of conditions and possibility that it may end up being a dud, it is not reliable. Counsel of the Soratami does a much better job at a much cheaper cost so take that instead.
Rating: E
Block:
I am not too sure on this one. It would probably belong to a combo/control deck where it allows you to stack your library in one way or another (such as Sensei's Divining Top). If it works, it is possible that you draw an obscene amount of cards but setting it up may take time. I personally prefer instant card draw as many of you will probably agree with me.
Rating: D
Limited:
The legendary ninja is here. Although the first ability may not be useful after you exhausted all the ninjas in your deck or didn't start off with much, the second ability covers it more than enough as ninjas usually have triggered abilities (such as Mistblade Shinobi and Ninja of the Deep Hours). Quite big himself, this is definitely a first pick.
Rating: A
Block:
Blue Lin-Sivvi? That's the closest thing I can think of and rebel decks ruled just like ravager now during that time. I don't think it will be a repeat of that (maybe it might because they were silly enough to print Skullclamp and counter measures for ravager turned out absolutely useless). He is good, but will only fit in certain decks and that will most likely be a dedicated ninja deck. However, ninjas are all quite decent and cause a lot of surprises to opponents. On top of that, when they become unblockable, you better act fast and get rid of this guy.
Rating: B
Limited:
A 4/4 flyer for 6 with some funky ability. It's not brilliant, but then it's not that bad either. You can't use combat tricks with this guy, and the only thing that saves it from dropping even further down is its fatness. Obviously expensive but it may be in your deck if your deck lacks fat creatures.
Rating: C
Block:
I am not sure of the glasskite ability. It helps against burn and other removal but when you want to make it fatter, it rejects it. It may fit in some decks, but I prefer others like the blue dragon or something more efficient.
Rating: D
Limited:
A short term deterrent? I think so. It takes out small creatures but after a while, it becomes a bit useless especially when creatures start getting bigger in the late game.
Rating: C
Block:
Not appealing to me at all. It may be useful against white weenie but then that's going to make this into a sideboard material.
Rating: D
Limited:
A 2/2 flying for 3 is not bad. It's pretty good. I can compare this guy to Toshiro Umezawa in a way. However, this guy's abilities bring both good and bad effects. It is good in limited as your creatures can not be burned.
Rating: C
Block:
I am not sure of glasskites or spinner in general. They bring both good and bad effects but I am kind of leaning towards more good than bad. In sealed Kira may not be able to show that much significance but it may change in block. I'll rate him as C for the creature size and ability/casting cost ratio but just for glasskites and spinners, I have reservations.
Rating: C
Limited:
Another creature similar to Floodbringer. However, this creature probably is better as it allows you to force damage through with other larger creatures which also may have other triggered effects.
Rating: B
Block:
Combo with ninjas? It is definitely what I call a support card, existing to support other major cards in your deck. It's not essential to have one in the deck, nor would I recommend it unless your deck has some special aspects (such as ninjas and snakes).
Rating: C
Limited:
I wouldn't run counterspells in limited unless they were really good. In this case it probably would be Hisoka's Defiance due to its hard counter and efficiency.
Rating: D
Block:
A hard counterspell is always good if you're playing blue. It is similar in a way to Quash, but this counterspell has some potential especially there will be splicing going on every so often.
Rating: C
Limited:
Efficient creature. Unfortunately, whatever you trade for is not particularly brilliant because all it leaves you is a 1/1 ninja while both players lose creatures (back into their hand). It does have slight card advantage but it's conditional.
Rating: C
Block:
Efficiency is improved from limited conditions. It can interact with other creatures, and most importantly can shut down an opponent's army if you manage to get it going in a deck which supports ninjas.
Rating: B
Limited:
If you get it out via ninjutsu (which you should) it is a very good creature. You are most likely going to draw a card when you first get it out and a 2/2 for 1U with an ability is very good (and no drawbacks either). However, it may affect your deck slightly because of its higher casting cost.
Rating: B
Block:
Same as Mistblade Shinobi. It has to be in a dedicated deck otherwise you will not be able to fully exploit its potential.
Rating: C
Limited:
Although I admit I saw it in play during a 1-on-1 draft yesterday, I do not consider this high pick. This is because for a high casting cost above dragons, you are not getting anywhere near the dragons. It is big and it flies but I'm sure there are better things out there.
Rating: C
Block:
Honestly, I haven't seen a moonfolk deck yet. I have tried making it but I do not like losing land drops every turn (technically you are). However, this is a solution to that problem and I'm sure there would be decks that run around moonfolks in the near future.
Rating: B
Limited:
A creature gets even more evasion. It isn't essential, but when your deck lacks fliers, it is not a bad thing to pick. But then, blue usually has fliers so if you didn't pick fliers then pick this but if you did and all your creatures fly, then I don't see the value of this card except to bounce the creature in some cases.
Rating: D
Block:
Do we really need this in a block constructed deck? I'm sure there are better spells such as Student of Elements and other effects that give creatures flying. I'd fill up spare slots with card draw or removal instead.
Rating: E
Limited:
Ah, finally the uncommon blue version of removing some target spell/permanent from the game. There isn't really much to counter and remove from a sealed deck so I guess this is sideboard material.
Rating: D
Block:
Similar to Minamo's Meddling, but Quash offers more pinpoint counter/removal. It is a good counterspell, but there are much more efficient counterspells out there. However, it is good in removing one's win conditions such as Cranial Extraction.
Rating: B
Limited:
Splashable yes, but efficient? No. It can bounce creatures but then that is only a temporary solution. If you have no fat creatures or are forced to play more than 2 colours, take this one. It will help you under some circumstances.
Rating: C
Block:
For all the Bakus in the Betrayers, I think the green one is the best for supportive roles while the red one for offence. Unfortunately, you can get a much bigger and better creature for that cost.
Rating: D
Limited:
Do we need an artifact/enchantment hoser in limited? I don't think so unless they have the full set of shrines out or something.
Rating: E
Block:
No need to worry about ravagers. However, shrine decks are a threat and this is a hoser. But then again, it is at best sideboard material. Hopefully not another Imi Statue for those playing Standard.
Rating: D
Limited:
Very inefficient. Yes you can draw tons of cards with this but I would take Counsel of the Soratami over it. Splashable and potential but very conditional, making it difficult to abuse let alone use in the first place.
Rating: E
Block:
Spiritcraft anyone? This is a good spell to gain card advantage. Arcane makes it so much better as you can splice a few other things onto it. It may be a good card draw in a dedicated deck but other then that, it doesn't really have much use.
Rating: D
Limited:
A balanced creature, splashable and I would describe it as a blue evasive version of Order of the Sacred Bell. It doesn't take out big creatures but still a decent pick in draft. However, there are better options out there so it's better to go after those instead.
Rating: C
Block:
If you are a big fan of glasskites, this is probably the smallest but the most balanced one. However, I haven't seen any decks or ideas around glasskites yet, so I am not sure how good they would be. It maybe easier just to grab several copies of Kira, Great Glass-Spinner.
Rating: D
Limited:
Very defensive, fits very well in the Dampen Thought archetype. Even not, it is still good as it provides good defence, evasion and finally splashable in other decks.
Rating: B
Block:
Dampen Thought deck is the first thing that comes to my mind, and since it is a creature, you need to protect it. Unfortunately, Dampen Thought decks don't carry many resources as it requires lots of mana for splicing and I believe it would put a lot of stress on your resources. It is a good creature, but if your deck isn't control/milling, I don't see much point other than the fact that it is a decent creature.
Rating: C
Limited:
An arcane spell with some potential, much better than Reito Lantern (who plays with it anyways?) This allows some spells which can not be brought back via an alternative method to go back into your library and I know in some limited games, people deck out and this can be a possible solution.
Rating: C
Block:
A cheap efficient arcane spell. Quite usable in my eyes as it allows some cards to be spliced upon then recycling some other spells (especially non arcane where it can't be retrieved) in the process.
Rating: B
Limited:
A 10 casting cost spell that resets the game. Joy...
Rating: E
Block:
While it is utterly worthless to put into any deck, it may fit into other decks in different formats or in fun decks. Other then that, I don't really see any use for this card.
Rating: E
Limited:
The blue version of Mogg Fanatic (well, for 1 you get a 1/1 with a sacrifice ability). While it does help forcing certain creatures through (whether they're big or want to use ninjas) it does need to be sacrificed. It shifts the combat and other similar situations towards your favour, but in the long run you are losing a creature. However, keep in mind that losing a creature can sometimes win you games because of the situation.
Rating: C
Block:
We know how broken Mogg Fanatic was. Now we have a blue version that is a lot weaker but can be used to shift the situation in your favour a bit more. It is too small to be a good beat stick but when combined with other creatures such as Horobi, it does provide a good backup in terms of control. Simple, efficient creature which can fit in almost any blue decks.
Rating: C
Limited:
Is it a good removal? I don't know. It can steal some good creatures such as Budoka Gardener, Isamaru and so on, but then its not something you see everyday. For blue, it is a precious removal but for others, it doesn't really matter unless you want to hate draft it.
Rating: C
Block:
Now it's different. Everyone runs multiple copies of something especially white weenie decks, and by stealing a creature from them, it is good as you use their resources against them. Blue needs complete removal (not just bounce spells. They're temporary) spells and this is one of them.
Rating: B
Limited:
Something similar to dream's grip. But for 1 extra mana, it's an arcane spell. It does help a lot in draft, since it renders 2 of their creatures useless for a turn. It is good with ninjas as you get a better chance of getting the damage through.
Rating: C
Block:
While I had a headache comparing it to Psychic Puppetry, I found this card to be much more expensive and unfortunately not worth playing because there are more important spell you can play.
Rating: D
Limited:
Big defensive creature, allows you to stack your library and prevent you from losing due to unable to draw. It is expensive, has the same casting cost as Keiga (Blue dragon). However, if you are running multiple coloured decks that are defensive, this familiar makes life much easier as you cycle through your library.
Rating: B
Block:
A control card. It helps your deck by cycling through it. It would probably have the biggest effect in Shrine decks where it usually runs on all 5 colours, making life difficult without some for of card access. It is also hard to kill via direct damage but prone to removal from black and other big creatures which may be coming at you.
Rating: C
Limited:
I can see that this card is designed just for ninjas. It also supports blue because of its arcane nature and finally bouncing blue creatures mean you are most likely bouncing ninjas or other creatures with the come into play ability. But then anything that lets your creatures unblockable is good. Especially when they're big.
Rating: C
Block:
Would probably fit perfectly into a ninja deck. Simple reason is because when you use ninjutsu, there is a "blank" bit of time which opponents can respond before the ninja hits them. Although it doesn't help the ninja itself, you can increase the chances of getting a creature through with this.
Rating: B
Limited:
Slightly sub-par. A 1/2 for 3 is a bit on the bad side as you can get better creatures (such as Isao, Enlightened Bushi and Toshiro Umezawa.)
However, this helps a lot when you have several copies of ninja in your deck by "recycling" the ninjas and making them less predictable against opponents.
Rating: C
Block:
I admit I am a big fan of ninja and am certain there will be ninja decks in block. This card is a must have in a ninja deck as it allows even more recursion which makes it harder to predict for the opponent.
Rating: B
That's it folks. The first ever article done by me, and hope it helps. I'm sure there will be some funky and innovative decks such as more Soratami (moonfolk) and Ninja action in the upcoming block season. Send me any feedback at navigator_1@hotmail.com
Editor: Michael Mason. Saturday 26th February 2005.
