Welcome back! Figures that with my luck, I would turn my back for a minute, and suddenly I have SEVENTY spoiled cards from M11 to look at and review! Today I’m just doing to look at some of the brand new cards that we are getting from the set, but even then I have a long list, so let’s get to it!

First up on the list are a series of cards that while new, are very similar to ones that have already been printed:




For those of you who were playing back in the day, you should immediately look at this guy and think: “Oh, so they’re bringing back Man of War!” While he’s not exactly the same, having his mana cost being restricted from to , his creature type got a boost, becoming the more useful wizard. While this guy is probably not Constructed playable right now, he may pop up in the odd deck, and depending on where the format goes after the rotation, he may start to creep into the odd list or two. Until then, he should be a solid choice in Limited, giving you a decent body and swinging the tempo in your favor. Perfectly fine by me, especially in a core set.

---

Next up is the beefed up version of Syphon Soul:




So it costs one more than the Syphon, but it also drains for one more. In my opinion, this is an improvement. This card is only really powerful in casual multiplayer, and generally a mana curve isn’t as big of a problem in that format. Paying on more to gain an extra 3 – 4 life is perfectly fine by me. The format that I’m wondering about this is Limited. Four mana for three damage, while not great, is certainly able to be played, and the fact that you gain the life afterwards is also a pretty nice bonus. It’s not going to be a desperate rush for this card, but it will be one that is quietly picked up on its way around, falling into the “solid card” category.

---

So while we’re on the topic of what does qualify as “good burn”, let’s move into Red for a second and take a look at one of the new burn spells:

So, this roughly translates in Limited to: “Kill a creature (unless it’s a huge Green fatty), and then shock it’s controller, all for 4 mana!” While I don’t look at this card and immediately consider having an illegitimate love child with it *cough*Bolt*cough*. Those numbers are certainly nothing to argue against. I guess it makes me happy because I can use this to burn the creatures, then I save my big stuff to Fireball my opponent into the ground.

---

Moving back to things that are trying to be old things, let’s take a look at some of them that are trying to look like it, but aren’t deceiving us. First up on that list is our: “Look, I’m Drudge Skeletons. . . Kind of?”

I guess this is where Wizards is taking regeneration now? To be honest, my first impression upon seeing this was that it was a great improvement? To me, regeneration has always seemed like a green ability, while black should just be reanimating the undead over and over again, just like this skeleton. But that’s just style, let’s take a look at how this actually functions. This card isn’t going to work as a surprise blocker, like everyone who reads it at first thinks for a split second. Instead, he seems to function more like a less aggressive Bloodghast, with the deck playing him just as a sort of relentless creature that will just keep back and doing whatever you need him for. I’d expect people to use it as an end of turn effect that just can be tossed around without much care. The only other possibility would be abusing him in some sort of Dredge list, but I’ll leave that for some of the extended combo junkies to work out before I pass too much judgment there.

---

Oh look it’s Vampire Noc-wait a second! The new Vampire lord that we get to see is much more consistent than its predecessor, but what it gains there, it certainly loses in raw power. It’s first ability and body are just your standard lord, which we have found isn’t really that great, especially in decks that already have so many better options already out there. As for the second ability, while it’s certainly flavorful, it’s not going to really win you games anytime soon. We were all waiting to see if Nocturnus was going to come back, giving Vampires it’s chance to make a bid for top deck after rotation, but it looks like that with the loss of him, we’re going to be sorely disappointed.

---

Another attempt at being a card that it clearly is not is our brand new suicide elemental: Arc Runner!




So you wanna be Ball Lightning eh? Let’s see if you have what it takes? First of all, this guy is a common, which means nothing for any type of Constructed play, but completely changes how we’re going to look at it from a draft perspective. Secondly, he is much easier to cast, and only a little bit less powerful for that. Finally, he has lost his good old trample, which is certainly sad to us who loved good old Ball Lightning. So this guy, instead of being a reliable source of a few points of damage is now reduced to something more along the lines of Incurable Ogre. He’s a one shot deal, and there is a chance he’s just doing to run into something, and most likely kill it dead. Is that sad for those of us who liked the older counterpart? Yes. Does that mean this guy is bad? Certainly not! He acts as pseudo removal, or if that isn’t the case, he will just get in there for five a lot of the time. Simple, easier to play, and still ready to beat face! Keep an eye out for this guy.

---

While we’re on the topic of suicide elementals, I want to stop and take a look at their new enemy:




Wow, tapping AND -1/-1. Ball Lightning hates this card for so many reasons! I, on the other hand, am quite a fan. I have always thought that one mana -1/-1 effects were really cool, especially with tacked on abilities. While tapping a creature is certainly something pretty new to Black, I can roll with it. Tapping down a big blocker in order to sneak in damage is perfect for black, or just keeping that annoying flier at bay for the crucial turn. Those are both assuming, of course, that you don’t kill it! Who knows, X/1s seem to be running abound in the strangest places, and this may even better than I think!

---

One flier who won’t be having a problem with those Stabbing Pains (yeah, I just made that pun, give me a break, I have to write a lot of these transitions today!) is my new favorite limited flier:




Ruler of the skies! In Limited, Air Servant is almost guaranteed to get in there for 4 EVERY SINGLE TURN. The fact that this guy not only has an Air Elemental sized body (note: Air Elemental is also in this set), but he also is able to shut down entire decks who are relying on their fliers to get in there and finish you off. Sit there and laugh as you opponent just sit there in disbelief as their entire deck stops functioning. I know I will be!

---

Another flier that has caught my interest is Augury Owl:


Wizards has a long history of trying printing cards like this. Cards like: Neurok Familiar, Owl Familian, Raven Familian, Sage Owl, Sage Aven, and Spire Owl. The list goes on and on. Scry, however, is a lot better in my opinion. For its first appearance in a core set, I’m really impressed. It’s not very flashy, it’s not powerful, but it’s just going to smooth things out, and for that I’ll certainly be messing around with it.

---

Last on the list for today is another card that has seen a lot of variations, but this is one that I really am excited to see:




If Augury Owl has a lot of reprints, Sylvan Ranger has even more. The big change on this one is that instead of costing three mana, this guy works as early as turn two. He smoothes out you draws, lets you make all of your land drops, and will keep some fragile mana bases stuck together. I really want to see a Constructed deck play this and I think some day that may be possible.

---

That’s it for this week! So far the cards that I’ve gone over aren’t wildly flashy, nothing that is incredibly broken or metagame warping, but a lot of solid cards that will interest a lot of people. Next week I’ll be back, take a look at some of the new cards, as well as some more new stuff that we are going to get to play with in the upcoming format! Until then!

---

Want to discuss the new cards in M11? Talk them up in our forum!

---

---