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Editor: Rebecca Mitchell. Saturday 31 May 2003.
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Scourge Draft Review Part 2 - Blue
You can read the first part of this review here I hope you all appreciate the new slimline version of the draft review as I found analyzing 120+ cards too time consuming and a bit boring. As I said in last week's review I will be discussing all of the commons (and ranking them) and then choosing a couple of interesting rares and uncommons at the end to tie it all up. In the future I may also be going into draft archetypes etc etc but it really depends if I can be bothered. Also it has been interesting to hear other people's ideas in the forums about the rankings of the commons, so please keep it up. So with all of that out of the way, on with the show... Blue is so bad in Scourge that it is almost not even worth reviewing. Hell, you know things are bad when the best commons in the set are a 5 casting cost sorcery and an enchantment that prevents a creature from untapping. The common creature count weighs in at a hefty 5, with an eight casting cost 1/1, an inferior Aven Fisher, a pro green flyer, a handy islandcycler and a new target for Lavamancer's Skill. Overall, pretty average. Most tables won't be able to support many blue drafters so if you are thinking of playing with Islands make sure you start cutting it off in Onslaught really quickly. My blue common picks are: - Frozen Solid - 1UU This is the closest blue has got to removal since Psionic Gift in Odyssey. It is the poor man's Pacifism but I would still first pick this in the current draft environment. If your deck is lacking removal going into the third pack, this could be your only saving grace. It obviously combos nicely in U/R, but it may well create a resurgence of U/G (along with Dragon Wings) - an archetype that has been overlooked in Onslaught block draft. Frozen Solid also gives U/W bird/soldier decks a boost as it deals with problematic creatures such as Sparksmith and Timberwatch Elf, but it may increase the amount of main deck enchantment removal. Rush of Knowledge - 4U By the time you are able to cast this you should be drawing at least 3 cards. This is definitely a nod towards old school blue card drawing that has been absent from limited for a long time now. Sure it costs 5 mana but you will only need 1 of these in your deck and it will often be enough to swing the tide of the game. It has some nice interaction with Scornful Egotist but you don't really need to play that guy (unless you have multiple Torrents of Fire). So is it the second best common in Scourge? Yes. When should you draft it? This will often come around quite late in the draft as a lot of players will undervalue it (7th to 9th), but I would draft it higher to guarantee a shot: maybe even a 2nd or 3rd pick. Shoreline Ranger - 5U All of the landcyclers will see play and Shoreline Ranger is no exception. It is a flier so you will want to be hard-casting this most of the time but like all of the landcyclers it is handy for pulling out of those early land gluts. Better yet, it makes good blue cards splashable so your first off colour picks in Onslaught will not be punished in Scourge. The Ranger is a higher pick on this list (compared to some of the other landcyclers) due to the mediocrity of the commons. An early pick, 3rd to 5th. Mercurial Kite - 3U If the Kite had a more interesting ability it would be higher up on the list, but unless you have a Dragon Scales it is pretty ordinary. Dice Bomber is the same casting cost and will often give you a 2 for 1, this guy doesn't. Sure it's a flier but you want to be playing better creatures than this. That said, it will possibly make the cut of a lot of decks. A mid range pick, 6th to 8th. Coast Watcher - 1U So you thought Riptide Biologist was good? The main difference being you could maindeck the Biologist as there were beasts in nearly every colour. The Coast Watcher is not too bad as a starting option as the only decks he would be useless against are B/W and W/R. Raven Guild Initiate - 2U A lot of players have been saying this is a weaker version of Mistform Wall but in some ways I disagree. Firstly it's a wizard so you won't need to tie up mana changing its creature type each turn, and secondly it has a morph abilty which can be used when you are tapped out, which will often give you card advantage. The downside is that the Initiate is very defensive, which will often mean it will not make the cut. However expect this to see play in U/W bird/soldiers and some U/R decks that need an extra Skill target and/or another defender on the ground. A mid to late pick, 8th to 10th. Dispersal Shield - 1U I ranked Dispersal Shield higher than Hindering Touch purely because of its casting cost. 4 mana is too much to leave open when you have morphs to flip and combat tricks to play making the Dispersal Shield more useful. It is also good for stopping those 3rd turn morph creatures and in the late game can be used against the high-end bombs that everybody seems to have lately. Probably wouldn't maindeck it though - an easy late pick, 9th to 12th. Dragon Wings - 1U The problem with giving a creature flying is the fact that most good blue creatures have flying anyway, and the only colour combination where this would be any good is U/G. With Frozen Solid, Choking Tethers and a whole bunch of fat (think Titanic Bulvox) this archetype could really take off (ho-ho!) making Dragon Wings a key card. It can be cycled early then given back to a large trampling beast in the late game to finish your opponent off. Looks good in the right deck, a late pick, 10th to 12th. Hindering Touch - 3U Sure, this is a more reliable counter than Dispersal Shield but it is just too expensive. The only situation where I would play this is against a bomb that I have no other way of dealing with, and even then you have to draw it. Like I said before 4 mana is a lot to hold open, at least Voidmage Apprentice can beat for 2 instead. A late pick 12th to 15th. Temporal Fissure - 4U Bleh, I don't like it. Temporal Fissue looks like a last ditch attempt at a bounce spell. If it was an instant it would be SOOO much better and for 5 mana you want something that will change the game, i.e. Rush of Knowledge. This could be sideboarded in a pinch against troublesome enchantments (U/R, U/B) but you need to be in a winning position to do this anyway. Late pick, 12th to 15th. Scornful Egotist - 7U It is hardly surprising that a 1/1 for 8 mana gets the wooden spoon considering some of the other winners in previous expansions. Who could forget Fugitive Wizard or Aven Envoy? At least the egotist has morph. The only combo this guy works "well" with is Torrent of Fire and Rush of Knowledge. You would probably need at least 3 Torrents and 2 Egotists to make it worthwhile. If you need another morph creature draft an off colour Zombie Cutthroat or play Raven Guild Initiate. Hold on to your ego, 12th to 15th. There you have it, the compost common crapheap of blue. Maybe I am being too harsh as it is not all bad as the top 3 in my list are all very playable. Rush of Knowledge was a hard one to rate as it is quite powerful but possibly under drafted whereas Shoreline Ranger is an obvious earlylish pick as it is versatile. I tried playing with Mercurial Kite and found it to be quite average but I would try not to run more than 1 of these. The Initiate and Coast Watcher are quite similar in power and will vary in draftability, depending on what people play. I was stumped on the counterspells for a while but it came down to efficiency and Dispersal Shield won out, even though I still think they are both sideboard cards. Hopefully the inclusion of Frozen Solid and Dragon Wings will create a slight ripple in the drafting pond and players will be attacking in the air with massive fatties. Before I leave you all, here is a quick review of the more (not most) powerful and interesting uncommons and rares that Scourge has to offer. Day of the Dragons - 4UUU Going straight for the jugular here - this is blue's broken rare. I think the blue rares have been dumbed down in Scourge (as compared to Legions) but Day of the Dragons more than makes up for it. I honestly cannot see anyone losing with this play, as even if they have enchantment removal your creatures come back in unmorphed and ready to bash some serious face. If you can destroy (or bounce) this enchantment when it comes into play, i.e. after putting the dragon tokens on the stack, the game is going to be over really quickly. Parallel Thoughts - 3UU I have actually played with this card (it was a first pick too!) and have mixed feelings about it. The sensible thing would be to remove seven lands from your deck to increase the chances of drawing goodies. This is all well and good to set up future draws but if you need an answer straight away, this isn't it. On a positive note you will always be able to draw that land when you need to play that huge 7 casting cost bomb in your hand and you will rarely be land flooded! Realistically you should never put non land cards under it for 2 reasons:- Pemmin's Aura - 1UU If you want to know what the best uncommon in Scourge is, I will tell you - Morphling Pants. This has more uses than a Swiss army knife, it almost boggles my mind thinking about them. It can be used as removal, as a super beater and works wonders on any creature with a "tap" symbol on it. The key thing to remember with this card is the switching of power and toughness. I have seen many players lose their creatures in combat because they failed to realize that you can boost its toughness back up after damage is on the stack. A strong first pick that I'm sure will guarantee several headaches on Magic Online. Riptide Survivor - 2U If you haven't played with this little guy yet, try him out and you will be surprised. Scott Hunstad even said he would pick this first and I have to agree with him. Better yet, if you have no cards in hand when you morph this guy it is basically a 3 mana Ancestral Recall with a 2/1 body. A very good card indeed. Hope you enjoyed the review, I will be looking at Green next week so keep those lists coming in on the forums. [ Email the Author | Discuss this Article ]
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