Seth is an old time NYC player, who sent this into us on Friday. We hope you enjoy it. - Matt

Black:

Arrogant Bloodlord:

He dies because he was so offended that he was blocked by a powerless wall? Lighten up Francis. Addendum: Still playable. Black has plenty of removal to clear his path.

Bala Ged Scorpion:

Nice combo with the Bloodlord but too weak on its own to be playable.

Consume the Meek:

1. Instant speed mass removal.
2. Demolishes token and weenie strategies.
3. Kills manlands.
4. Allows your edict effects to kill their best creatures.

Yeah, this card is good. Addendum: Five is a lot of mana. I still like Consume the Meek, but I’m willing to admit to its faults.

Consuming Vapors:

Consuming Vapors combos well with Consume the Meek. I expect the two of them together will help revitalize Black control. I don’t feel Vapors is a great card, but it is a pretty good one. Most importantly it has pretty good synergy with the other Black control cards we have at our disposable. Each edict effect makes the next one even better. As creatures improve, so does the value of creature removal. Addendum: It is hard to lose if you resolve Consuming Vapors plus rebound twice. Four creatures gone, some nice lifegain, etc. Black has plenty of cheap removal spells to make sure you haven’t fallen too far behind for Vapors not to matter. As I noted earlier, it is getting harder to be a weenie.

Contaminated Ground:

Well, you don’t get to draw a card, and you probably don’t have any Swampwalk creatures. Still, for two mana you get to turn a manland or an Eldrazi land into an awful land. Might be worth sideboarding.

Corpsehatch:

Good effort, but this costs too much and is a bit too slow compared to our other options. Read the rest of this entry »

An old time NYC-based Magic player, Seth Burn, sent this in to us on Friday. We hope you enjoy it!

Hello there. If you remember who I am The Sunset Squad will be arriving soon to take you away to the Near-Death Star. I feel like writing a set review of Rise of the Eldrazi, so please enjoy. I won’t be reviewing all the cards because I don’t have to, I’ll just be commenting on cards I feel are worth noting. Shall we (I) begin?

Colorless Eldrazi (AKA, not artifacts):

All Is Dust:

This card is exceedingly strong. It kills planeswalkers, enchantments, creatures, and some artifacts. All is Dust can cost as little as five mana with Eye of Ugin. I could see running this in a Green ramp deck, or a White based control deck, possibly splashing Blue or Black. It doesn’t win the game by itself (which is something you can reasonably ask of a seven mana spell), but it should put you in a good position to take control. Addendum: This card is nuts. Add Black control to the decks that can use this. Oblivion Ring just got worse, as has Journey to Nowhere. I know it costs seven, but we can painlessly play five lands main thateither make this two mana cheaper, or tap for two mana to cast it.

Emrakul, The Aeons Torn:

You get what you pay for. Possibly the best Summoning Trap target in both Type II and block. The immunity to spells isn’t quite all it appears to be as Day of Judgement and Journey to Nowhere can deal with Emrakul. I can’t imagine I’ll pay 15 for it too often, but I am excited to pay 4GG during my opponent’s end step for it. Polymorph is a cheaper option, and given the amount of token generators available it should be fairly consistent. Addendum: I’m glad this guy is the prerelease card, I have a lot of decklists right now with four Emrakuls.

The Prerelease Card

Kozilek, Butcher of Truth:

Am I the only person waiting for Blarthmein Dragon, Accountant of Truth? Anyway, Kozilek is the one Eldrazi creature I am planning on casting as well as trapping. Between Eye of Ugin, Eldrazi Temple, and our ramping options I’m fairly confident Kozilek’s casting cost is reasonable. Unfortunately Kozilek doesn’t have any defenses against removal, but for only costing ten mana (only ten mana!), I’ll let that slide. Addendum: 10 mana is a lot less than it used to be. Green decks can have him online consistently on turn 6, and occasionally on turn 5.

It That Betrays:

Not that All Is Dust needed any help, but the combo is pretty sweet. Addendum: Which is not to say that It That Betrays is any good.

Not Of This World:

Pretty narrow but I could see sideboarding this. It can’t protect Emrakul, but Ulamog and Kozilek are both vulnerable to targeted spells.

Read the rest of this entry »