According to Webster – World Shaking Waking Changes
Posted by David Ochoa
February 2, 2010 | 
42 comments
World Shaking Waking Changes
Triple Zendikar Limited has proven itself to be the fastest Limited format in recent memory. Cards like Steppe Lynx, Plated Geopede, and Adventuring Gear have made blocking a losing proposition. What exactly does Worldwake bring to the format? The obvious is that there is one less pack of Zendikar; one less pack of Steppe Lynxes, [card]Plated Geopede[/card]s, Vampire Lacerators, Surrakar Marauders, Kor Skyfishers, Welkin Terns, and Adventuring Gears. In order to understand the changes that Worldwake will have, a closer look must be taken at the set's commons. With the addition of Worldwake to the format, there are some long-awaited changes. The cards are getting worse and format is slowing down.
White:
In Zendikar, the best White commons are Steppe Lynx, Kor Skyfisher, Kor Hookmaster, and Journey to Nowhere. Steppe Lynx and Kor Skyfisher are the most aggressive. Journey to Nowhere and Kor Hookmaster are used to maintain pressure while being cheap enough to not interfere much with summoning more creatures. In the case of Kor Hookmaster, the tempo effect comes attached to a 2/2 body. Worldwake doesn't have the number of exceptional cards that Zendikar does. The best cards are Fledgling Griffin and Apex Hawks. The cards are similar to Steppe Lynx and Kor Skyfisher respectively, however their cost is higher.
Steppe Lynx is unblockable for the first few turns of the game because of its three toughness, though it requires a land to do damage. Fledgling Griffin is less reliant on Landfall, but has the tradeoff of being one more mana to summon. The two cards are similar because a Landfall trigger makes them both hard to block whether it's because of having three toughness or flying. In the long run, Fledgling Griffin is going to be better than Steppe Lynx because it's better on defense and harder to block as the game progresses. There is a major difference between one and two mana. Steppe Lynx is the only good White one-mana creature whereas two mana had quite a few (Kor Outfitter, Cliff Threader, and Kor Skyfisher).
Kor Skyfisher and Apex Hawks are similar. Both are common flyers. However, Kor Skyfisher is much better because it's only two mana and has three toughness. Apex Hawks can also have three toughness, but requires a hefty five mana. The theme continues with the Worldwake card being more expensive.
Journey to Nowhere is exceptional removal. The downside is that it's sorcery-speed and can be disrupted by Kor Sanctifiers, Into the Roil, Mold Shambler, and Relic Crush. It has synergy with cards like Narrow Escape and Into the Roil. Iona's Judgment is the new White removal in Worldwake, but it is expensive to play. Iona's Judgment is still good enough, but pales in comparison to Journey to Nowhere.
The defensive creatures in Zendikar and Worldwake are about the same. Makindi Shieldmate, Kor Sanctifiers, and Pillarfield Ox are good at stopping aggressive draws without the help of a removal spell or combat trick. Worldwake brings Guardian Zendikon and Battle Hurda. Both are good enough to play, but slightly slower than the Zendikar cards.
Blue:
Blue in Zendikar is shallower than other colors. There are still a few good aggressive creatures. Welkin Tern, Umara Raptor, and Windrider Eel are the best of the bunch. There are very few cards that interact with flyers. Removal spells, Spidersilk Net, and Oran-Rief Recluse are the only cards that stop them. If a Blue player is able to create a roadblock with a defensive creature like Makindi Shieldmate or Kor Sanctifiers, the aggressive Blue flyers can finish a game before the other player has time to get off the ground and find a profitable way to attack. Worldwake adds very little to Blue's aggressive creatures; Wind Zendikon is the only new card. However, it has a significant drawback. In order to attack with Wind Zendikon, its controller's mana is limited, which can create a significant tempo loss.
The Blue removal cards are not often true removal. While Zendikar has Cancel and Paralyzing Grasp to permanently deal with something, there is also Into the Roil and Whiplash Trap which function as tempo-oriented cards. They temporarily change the board to weaken the opponent's position. Worldwake has a few similar cards; Twitch and Aether Tradewinds. Twitch is easier to use than Aether Tradewinds. It can be used to slow an opponent down by tapping a land or preventing a creature from attacking you. Twitch can also be used to tap a blocker to force through the last points of damage. Aether Tradewinds is much harder to use profitably. It seems best when the permanent you return has some sort of CIP ability.
The defensive Blue creatures in Zendikar are Kraken Hatchling and Sky Ruin Drake. Kraken Hatchling is good for the first few turns but needs another creature with power to help block, or else it will be overrun by attackers. Sky Ruin Drake is almost too expensive (the main problem with Shoal Serpent) to make a difference in many games. Worldwake has more defensive Blue creatures than Zendikar. Halimar Excavator, Calcite Snapper, and Surrakar Banisher all help Blue stabilize. Halimar Excavator is similar to Kraken Hatchling, albeit costing an additional mana. It has the benefit of being a 1/3 instead of a 0/4, which is better in most situations. Plated Geopede can attack through it, but having one power is definitely an advantage. Calcite Snapper is Blue's Makindi Shieldmate, but it can also go on offense when paired with a good amount of removal or bounce spells. The last creature, Surrakar Banisher, is the new Sky Ruin Drake. It's better the turn that it's summoned than Sky Ruin Drake because it will be able to bounce the opponent's biggest tapped creature and profitably block. It's slightly worse at attacking because it doesn't fly and is likely to trade with a bear when double-blocked.
Black:
Zendikar brought with it a tide of aggressive Black creatures. Guul Draz Vampire, Vampire Lacerator, Surrakar Marauder, Blood Seeker, and Hagra Crocodile were the most likely to be seen turning sideways in the red zone. With the exception of Hagra Crocodile, all these creatures are a mere one/two mana. Vampire Lacerator and Surrakar Marauder are the most desirable because they have two power and are more likely to be able to get the opponent low on life. When that happens, Blood Seeker and Guul Draz Vampire become much better because the opponent will have far less time to set up his defenses or win the damage race outright. Games end up being far less interactive.
In Worldwake, there is no good Black one-drop; however, there are multiple good options at two mana. Bojuka Brigand, Ruthless Cullblade, and Corrupted Zendikon are the new cards. Bojuka Brigand is arguably better than Nimana Sell-Sword because it's half the price to get a +1/+1 counter Ally (it's important to have these Allies at the start of the curve). Ignore the fact that it can't block. Draws that involve multiple Oran-Rief Survivalists and Umara Raptors usually don't involve the person with Allies blocking. Ruthless Cullblade isn't quite a Surrakar Marauder. It does take advantage of slower draws. If a player stumbles against a fast draw and gets to low (ten or less) life early on, Ruthless Cullblade becomes a cheap 4/2. That isn't something the format needs, but at least it trades with most creatures because of its low toughness. Corrupted Zendikon is a good attacker for only two mana. However, like the other Zendikons it ties up your mana and will slow you down unless it's at the top of your curve, which is usually not the case. Jagwasp Swarm is a better Heartstabber Mosquito. Heartstabber Mosquito is almost never summoned without kicker because it doesn't do as much as Surrakar Marauder and Vampire Lacerator. Guul Draz Vampire is the rough equivalent to the unkicked flyer and only costs one mana. The new Jagwasp Swarm is a fair card. Snapping Drake has always been good and the Swarm follows suit. It has an appropriate cost and won't get out of hand like Nimana Sell-Sword and Crypt Ripper.
Removal in Zendikar is excellent. Disfigure and Hideous End are both good and cheap. In the case of Hideous End, it makes up for being three mana because it doubles as a source of damage. As a result, Black is one of the most desirable colors to draft in Zendikar. Worldwake has a lot of common removal, but most of it isn't on the same level as Disfigure. Dead Reckoning is nowhere near unplayable. However, it is much slower and situational than what it's replacing. It requires a creature in the graveyard, which isn't normally a problem. Tomb Hex is good. However, it's not as good as Hideous End. On your turn, it will be about the same as Hideous End, assuming you can play a land to turn it into a -4/-4. Without Landfall, it is significantly weaker, which means it won't be played on the opponent's turn most of the time. Brink of Disaster is the last removal spell. It is slow and very situational. It doesn't do anything against a creature that blocks all of the time.
There aren't any defensive Black creatures in Worldwake; there are only slower aggressive creatures. While Zendikar has Giant Scorpion which is one of the best roadblocks in the set, Worldwake has none of that. There are only filler creatures like Quag Vampires.
Red:
Zendikar Red is very deep and has claim to the best two-mana creature in the format: Plated Geopede. It is nearly unstoppable. Three toughness and first strike requires three grizzly bears to kill it, assuming the controller doesn't have a trick or removal spell. There are more good aggressive cards, but none that are on the same level. Goblin Shortcutter and Goblin Bushwhacker allow for turns where lots of extra damage is taken. Worldwake doesn't have any good cheap creatures. The only two-mana creature is Akoum Battlesinger, which is a joke compared to Goblin Bushwhacker. It only works with Allies and doesn't give them haste.
Most of the Red creatures in Worldwake are midrange. In Zendikar, this category is represented by Ruinous Minotaur, Bladetusk Boar, Shatterskull Giant, and Tuktuk Grunts. They attack well, but are on the slower side. Goblin Roughrider is the best deal out of the bunch. Warpath Ghoul isn't exactly awesome in M10 but gets played most of the time. Similarly, Goblin Roughrider will make the cut in most decks because it fits the curve well enough. It lets the aggressive decks attack into a three-toughness creature and the slower decks have a Ruinous Minotaur that can actually attack without disrupting the curve. Crusher Zendikon is excellent for aggressive decks. It's similar to Goblin Roughrider, but not as good for defensive decks because trading it for an attacker will set its controller back a turn with a land drop; that could be devastating. Grotog Thrasher is a bigger version of Goblin Shortcutter, except that can't aid with a quick draw. It won't do anything offensively until turn six. Still, the Thrasher may prove problematic for many decks without removal, because the Stun ability is significant.
The Red removal in Zendikar isn't as good as Black. Burst Lightning is more flexible than Hideous End and Disfigure, but doesn't make up for Magma Rift and Spire Barrage being weaker. Magma Rift is good in decks with a low curve because it kills anything. However, it isn't great in slower decks with multiple four-drops. Spire Barrage is slow and sorcery-speed. Additionally, it requires a high number of Mountains to be consistently effective. Worldwake's Red removal is Searing Blaze. It's an excellent card with Landfall and almost comparable to Hideous End; it's cheap, although color-intensive. It allows the caster to remove a blocker, do damage, and be cheap enough to be able to play another spell in the same turn. The downside to Searing Blaze is that it's unplayable defensively.
Red doesn't have many truly defensive creatures in Zendikar. It has slower large creatures like Molten Ravager, Ruinous Minotaur, Tuktuk Grunts, Torch Slinger, and Shatterskull Giant. They are larger than average and/or kill something when they come into play (Torch Slinger). In Worldwake, the only creatures that can hold off attacking Grizzly Bears are Skitter of Lizards and Grotog Thrasher simply because they are five-mana 3/3 creatures. They don't have any good attributes for blocking.
Green:
Nissa's Chosen is one of the best two-mana creatures in Zendikar. Like Plated Geopede, it breaks the rule of two-toughness and is difficult to overpower as a result. Like Kor Skyfisher, it is good on both offense and defense, although eventually doesn't get to attack for free like the Skyfisher does. The other good aggressive creatures in Green from Zendikar are Oran-Rief Survivalist and Timbermaw Larva. The Survivalist enables broken Ally draws to become larger than a Plated Geopede while Timbermaw Larva can attack for upwards of six damage. These creatures are cheaper than they should be for the effect that they provide on a game.
Worldwake doesn't offer anything comparable to Nissa's Chosen. Its best aggressive creatures are Arbor Elf, Grappler Spider, and Gnarlid Pack. None of these creatures break any rules; they are all "just fair". Arbor Elf isn't really an aggressive creature, but accelerates a player's fair creatures to make them slightly less so. Gnarlid Pack isn't broken at any point; a two-mana 2/2, four-mana 3/3, and six-mana 4/4 are standard cost-to-power/toughness ratios. Gnarlid Pack is going to be played every single time because it's flexible. It's fine at any point of the game. Grappler Spider is average like Highland Berserker or any other 2/1 for two mana. It attacks well, but trades with anything unlike Nissa's Chosen.
There aren't many truly defensive creatures in Green. Most creatures are just big and have a moderate cost. Zendikar has Oran-Rief Recluse and Joraga Bard for defensive creatures, although Joraga Bard is almost never played because there are better options. Unless a deck has a lot of Allies, Joraga Bard is in the sideboard most of the time. Oran-Rief Recluse is the only option at defending against flyers, a problem Green has traditionally has. Oran-Rief Recluse isn't awesome, but no one can complain. Worldwake brings Grappler Spider as the Green anti-flyer. However, it's much more aggressive than Oran-Rief Recluse and can't trade naturally with anything that has more than two toughness. The best defensive creature Green has is Snapping Creeper. It's better on offense than most Green options because a 2/3 for three mana is good. It can also go on double-duty with its Landfall vigilance ability.
The removal in Green isn't true removal. Pump spells are the main way Green kills creatures. Zendikar has Vines of Vastwood. It is good and has multiple functions. It serves as a counterspell and as a way to break through in combat. The restrictive part of Vines of Vastwood is the mana cost; it requires a heavy investment in Green mana to be effective. Worldwake has Groundswell. It isn't as flexible as Vines of Vastwood, but still acts like a Disfigure in combat that's vulnerable to an opponent's tricks. In terms of Groundswell's Landfall clause, +2/+2 and +4/+4 are almost the same when dealing with creatures unless dealing with a double-block. Vines is still better on offense because it can be used if the opponent blinks first and uses a removal spell, whereas Groundswell won't be able to protect from something like Into the Roil.
Artifact:
There aren't many artifacts to talk about in either set. Hedron Scrabbler isn't a very good aggressive card. At best it's will be a 3/3 attacker if its controller has a fetch land, Harrow, or Explorer's Scope. It is more likely to simply be a 2/2 attacker. Hedron Scrabbler almost never blocks except when brought in against a deck with multiple Surrakar Marauders. Worldwake has an upgrade to Hedron Scrabbler: Hedron Rover. It's much better at attacking (almost comparable to Shatterskull Giant on offense) and will be played every time. It's more expensive than most cards, but goes to show how the power-level is decreasing in Worldwake.
Adventuring Gear is an excellent card. It turns so many games into one-sided bloodbaths. The defending player simply can't block the equipped creature profitably. Adventuring Gear's low casting cost and equip cost makes it resilient to removal because not much tempo is lost if a creature is killed in response to the Landfall trigger. Worldwake has a similar card: Kitesail. It is similar to Adventuring Gear in the sense that it pumps a creature and makes it hard to block. However, it has a much higher cost. A player is much more susceptible to losing to removal because of the higher cost.
There aren't many defensive artifacts. Stonework Puma and Spidersilk Net are the main two from Zendikar. Stonework Puma will often wait to trade with a Surrakar Marauder or Bladetusk Boar while hopefully doing something with an Ally that's already in play. Spidersilk Net isn't a great card, but can be used to protect against removal and flyers. It also serves to make the Grizzly Bear mirror match harder to attack in. Worldwake doesn't have any defensive artifacts.
Land:
Zendikar has many lands that compliment aggressive decks. Piranha Marsh is free damage. Soaring Seacliff can be anything from a free shock to upwards of seven damage when paired with a Crypt Ripper or Timbermaw Larva. Teetering Peaks allows smaller creatures to trade with a roadblock such as the case with Highland Berserker and Giant Scorpion. Turntimber Grove functions similarly to Teetering Peaks, but is not as effective because it leads to less damage. Red is generally going to have a harder time breaking through a creature.
Worldwake brings Sejiri Steppe and Smoldering Spires. Sejiri Steppe is weaker than Soaring Seacliff because it's less likely that a deck will have a flyer opposed to only creatures of one color. Smoldering Spires is on par with Teetering Peaks. The two are different though. Teetering Peaks is still good when there are no creatures in play whereas Smoldering Spires isn't. Each land's effectiveness is dependent on the number of creatures in play on each side. Smoldering Spires is better against a defensive deck because they are less likely to have lots of small creatures.
Kabira Crossroads is the only defensive land in Zendikar. It buys time with life gain to make it easier to stabilize against a deck. Worldwake introduces Khalni Garden and Quicksand. Both cards are better than Kabira Crossroads. Khalni Garden makes a 0/1 which is able to block at some point. The average creature has two power. The Plant token from Khalni Garden gains virtual life, but can be much more than two. It can block a huge Territorial Baloth. Quicksand is excellent because it's free removal. It kills many creatures. Sacrificing the land isn't a problem because of the high number of lands that every deck plays.
Worldwake brings a host of new cards. Most of them are less powerful than what Zendikar gave to us to work with. There are fewer one-mana creatures, cheap removal, and excellent attackers. Many people didn't like the blazing speed of Zendikar Limited. Games were short and had little interaction. With the addition of Worldwake, that should change. The format should get better.
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About This Author
David Ochoa
David (“Web”) Ochoa has had a string of consistent finishes recently, making Top 16 at two of the last three Pro Tours, and Top 8 at Grand Prix Minneapolis. Along with LSV, Web is also an active member of the West Coast Vintage scene, and it is rare for him&hellip
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Seeker says: February 2, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
This sentence structure is very strange. Each sentence is short and declarative. The article seems like it was translated from a foreign language. I do not like this style of writing. It seems clinical and does not hold my attention well.
Deuce says: February 2, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
No mention of Basalisk Collar in the artifacts?
Sean says: February 2, 2010 @ 11:03 pm
Basalisk Collar is a rare.
kevGenocide says: February 2, 2010 @ 11:15 pm
seems like it could be the best card in the set for limited.. the collar that is, althought that might be a bit of hyperbole
Nick says: February 2, 2010 @ 11:24 pm
I feel like you’re only applying “fast aggro” as your critical lens here. I think that worked in ZZZ, but ZZW is a slower format, and thus creatures/spells that are more than just low casting cost:high p/t ratio will have value in this format.There are more defensive creatures in blue and white now, and a lot more higher casting cost spells with powerful effects.
Hoosegow says: February 2, 2010 @ 11:30 pm
@Seeker
That is because clearly Mr. Ochoa is some sort of analytical supercomputer robot.
Heartybbq says: February 2, 2010 @ 11:39 pm
@Seeker I completely agree, it lacks the personality and distinctive voice (and to a lesser extent the humor XD) that the LSV articles discussing these cards has. While consideration must be made to be clear in conveying information engagement is essential in these kinds of “list” articles.
Tezzeret le Chercheur says: February 3, 2010 @ 12:58 am
Agreed, difficult read.
Ben says: February 3, 2010 @ 1:22 am
@seeker, @ Tezzeret and @heartybbq
I have to say I completely disagree, just because its unusual doesn’t mean its terrible, rather containing a different perspective that just tells things bluntly. It’s not very difficult just as previously mentioned declarative therefore easier to understand the conclusion of cards and ideas.
OdinFK says: February 3, 2010 @ 1:47 am
Not a good article by any means. It is awkward to read and every single word just seems to be there to prove your point that the power level of Worldwake is lower than that of Zendikar. Looking at the format in this purely ZZZ-centric fashion doesn’t help a lot, though, because all we get out of it is, that most Worldwake cards don’t excel when thrown randomly into an otherwise ZZZ draft. Well, what is that knowledge good for? The more interesting part in a new draft format is how do evaluations of old cards change (for example at the most basic level, nonbasics go up in value with the availability of Zendikons) and what kind of new archetypes open up.
eidolon says: February 3, 2010 @ 2:08 am
At first people are complaining that his draft reports are hard to follow, because Webster used to spend a lot of time to make them as vivid as possible and now they are complaining about this structured analysis?
I think you have done a good job with this overview and am looking forward to red about your first draft with this expansion.
Borgua says: February 3, 2010 @ 4:34 am
No mention of Pilgrim’s eye in the artifacts? In my opinion one of the best commons in the set; manafixing, evasion, kills horizon drake, welkin tern, surrakar
Someguy says: February 3, 2010 @ 5:33 am
Yea I like pilgrim’s eye alot as well, trades with 2/1′s and gives u a land.
Andi Pischi says: February 3, 2010 @ 7:07 am
the sentence structure was mainly main clause after main clause which did not ever have to do anything with each other. kind of made it hard to read and not all new cards had pictures of them, so i couldn’t understand a lot of the things in the article due to unfamiliarity with the cards.
GUnit says: February 3, 2010 @ 7:33 am
I like the writing style, tho I agree with an above comment about the power level being guaged through the critical lens of “fast aggro.” There are plenty of excellent cards for limited in WW; they’re just not as aggressive.
Phyrre56 says: February 3, 2010 @ 7:41 am
I liked the article. Maybe the sentence structure that everyone is talking about just appeals to me. I hate when the author of an article like this rambles on about how every card in the set has a good matchup and a bad matchup. Yes, we know, pretty much any card can be massaged into a good situation. I appreciate that Mr. Ochoa took a stance here. He knows the ZZZ format, ZZW is going to be similar (it’s still 2/3 Zendikar, and Worldwake isn’t THAT different to throw everything off) and he analyzed it as such. In my opinion, totally valid.
Thinking that the format will be turned on its head by switching the third pack is folly. Use what you know and adapt instead of trying to start from scratch and expecting a different outcome.
David Ochoa says: February 3, 2010 @ 8:23 am
When you read this article, you shouldn’t look at it as a set review for Limited because it’s not.
The basic premise of the article is that Worldwake is going to take the fast ZZZ draft format and slow it down a bit. I explain why by comparing the old Zendikar commons with the new Worldwake commons that they’re replacing.
twoduck says: February 3, 2010 @ 8:44 am
It seems like 1 toughness is getting a lot worse in the new format given the existance of cunning sparkmage and, to a lesser extent, caustic crawler. I know these are both uncommons, but is that enough to give a second thought to unconditionally playing two mana 2/1s that we did in triple Z?
David Ochoa says: February 3, 2010 @ 8:59 am
2/1′s are still fine.
In a typtical ZZW draft, about half of the uncommons are going to be opened. The value of 1-toughness creatures during drafting Worldwake and deck construction will vary depending on what uncommons/uncommon runs you see.
nojiva says: February 3, 2010 @ 9:52 am
people are complaining that you didnt use enough complex sentence structures?
i think what these individuals are looking for is a more personal tone, not necessarily complex sentences;
this is so they dont get bored when reading;
i havent played a game of limited since Z came out, and i was curious about the format;
after reading this one article, i feel like i actually have some experience with the set;
the article was concise, clear, and made good points;
what else you are looking for, i dont know;
i think there is a flash movie you could go watch or some fan-fiction to read on wizards site;
MH says: February 3, 2010 @ 10:04 am
Does triple-Eventide count as “recent memory”? Because that format was much faster than ZZZ.
Michael says: February 3, 2010 @ 10:09 am
It seems worth mentioning in the “changes to this colour” section, that the previously strong Mono-Red (ZZZ) has a super foil in the new Firewalker guy. In only 8 packs of WW around the table, it seems likely it will be opened and end up facing you if you intend to 3-0 the draft. I’m thinking that makes Mono-Red less viable as a result.
SlowRoll says: February 3, 2010 @ 10:20 am
It’s data guys. Data to be consumed and analyzed. As a .Net programmer myself, I like it when writers cut out the fluff. I don’t care about who you rode with, what time you picked them up, what you ate or didn’t eat, or that the fake plant in the middle is name Humphrey.
He’s comparing card values in their proper context. Good job Ocho.
JohnV says: February 3, 2010 @ 10:47 am
I like the style of the article. No images is a plus – you should have read the spoiler several times through by now. No constructed comments – wait for major tournament results. Mentioning of comparable zendikar cards is a natural thing to bring up which LSV and Mr. Woods may not have done enough of or i just didn’t bother to read their articles because of the images
.
in3d says: February 3, 2010 @ 10:48 am
I like the style… I don’t always want to read an article like a casual conversation or email amongst friends.
Trackback MTGBattlefield says: February 3, 2010 @ 11:20 am
According to Webster – World Shaking Waking Changes…
Your story has been summoned to the battlefield – Trackback from MTGBattlefield…
Ryan says: February 3, 2010 @ 11:25 am
There was one deck in EEE that was faster than a lot of typical ZZZ decks, the rest of the format was slow enough. You’re way off base MH.
As to the format of the article–I rather liked it. I find it to be much more useful than LSV’s set review and much less encumbered by obvious evaluations of insignificant cards.
Regarding Pilgrim’s Eye; I haven’t had a chance to play with the card yet but it looks just fine to me. I am surprised that Ocho didn’t mention it (perhaps because it doesn’t “replace” anything from Zendikar except the mostly irrelevant expedition map.
Gigglioronomicon says: February 3, 2010 @ 11:29 am
I enjoyed the article! I dunno what people are refering to when they say it’s hard to read.
I’m personally happy to see blue improving quite a bit with the inclusion of WWK. You get better fliers than Zendikar offered for the most part and a deeper set of playables in my opinion! Wind Zendikon and Calcite Snapper were my MVP’s of the prerelease, hands down.
At this point I wish drafts were ZEN-WWK-WWK instead of ZEN-ZEN-WWK. It would be more fun to be sure. I would defintely find it refreshing to not be playing games routinely end on turn 5.
philoshow says: February 3, 2010 @ 12:16 pm
Regarding the style of this article it seems that Web didn’t write this to be very entertaining. To the people that wanted to be entertained by this article they were probably disappointed, but the people that wanted the information were likely pleased because there was a lot of content condensed into a little space. I like succinct writing; this was good.
Regarding EEE, that wasn’t a real format other than at the pre-release and crazy people that wanted to keep drafting it after the pre-release.
DanielMoreno says: February 3, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
Great stuff. Nice job Ochoa.
Sean says: February 3, 2010 @ 1:34 pm
Nice article, different from the “This card gets a 4, that card gets a 3″ (which is a fine format, love LSVs, just not 20 different times). This helps me figure out how to draft the entire set. Looks like I can finally slow it down a little bit, perhaps some blue card draw spells.
As for the flow of the article, it feels a little dry but it didn’t bother me and I liked the directness of the article, it reminded me of essays from school in the fact that he laid out points and backed them up (interesting point he never said “I” in the entire article, did you take a lot of essay writing courses in school?)
Ryan Spring says: February 3, 2010 @ 2:00 pm
no possible way the collar is the best limited card in the set. there is 0 chance that card is better than comet storm or strength of the tajuru. i also highly doubt its better than the red essentially flameblast dragon.
Samuel Blitch says: February 3, 2010 @ 7:53 pm
I’m pretty excited not having to worry about getting the “Geopeding of the Century” every time I play ZZZ draft. Let’s toast to a better draft format! CHEERS!
Great read Ochoa, you made your points in a way that made em stand out, good job!
:\ says: February 3, 2010 @ 10:09 pm
This article was almost completely useless. You listed things that most people already new and did it in a horrendous fashion. All you did was list the best card in each color (which most people know by now) and then spewed a few lines about a couple new cards in each color.
Usually I enjoy your articles, but this was pretty weak.
lewis says: February 4, 2010 @ 12:36 am
I couldn’t read the entirety of this article, though I tried.
NickD says: February 4, 2010 @ 4:33 am
Did I miss something, for black removal no mention of smother?
NickD says: February 4, 2010 @ 5:00 am
Ah, actually, I just realized he was only running down the commons in this set (I think). If that’s the case, disregard my above statement.
Dan says: February 4, 2010 @ 7:26 am
I think this is a great article. He starts each color with a reminder of what decks of that color usually did in ZZZ draft (by discussing the most playable commons in Z). Then by comparing those cards to the new W cards, helps you to envision how decks of that color will be different with one less Z and the added W pack. This is helpful whether you’re playing the color or facing it.
The article was a comprehensive, yet concise, offering of things to consider about the draft format (limited to discussing commons). It moves fast and you have to read every sentence.
To all the critics: You should figure out exactly what you would like to find in magic articles before you start reading them. A diversity of article styles is very helpful, and if they are diverse, then some will not be for you. For example, I don’t bother with articles that start out “I was hoping to borrow some cards before the tournament, but my alarm didn’t go off..”
This article is very clear at the beginning about what you will find – an evaluation of the Worldwake commons relative to Zendicar. Not for you? Don’t read it. Maybe for you? Read a little bit and you will see his format.. if you don’t like it, stop reading.
Keyser Soze says: February 4, 2010 @ 8:30 am
I didn’t mind the article. Let’s all remember that even IF he wrote the article from an aggro skewed mindset….the format is somewhat aggro skewed so it works.
Would have liked a little discussion on manlands. I think some of those are really good…….
BradW says: February 4, 2010 @ 3:22 pm
Yes, the article was very effective at laying out a thesis and providing evidence to prove the thesis. The problem is that the thesis isn’t very interesting or new, and doesn’t need multiple pages of evidence to back it up. Here’s this article, in an even more concise and logical form:
The card quality of aggressive common creatures in Worldwake is less than that of Zendikar common creatures. Therefore, aggressive decks become a little worse and the format slows down a little.
Listing every playable common after that statement is gratuitous, and worse, boring. Here’s a snippet that I feel exemplifies the problems with this writing style:
“The removal in Green isn't true removal. Pump spells are the main way Green kills creatures. Zendikar has Vines of Vastwood. It is good and has multiple functions. It serves as a counterspell and as a way to break through in combat. The restrictive part of Vines of Vastwood is the mana cost; it requires a heavy investment in Green mana to be effective.”
None of these short, declarative statements provide any insight that any Magic player looking at Vines of the Vastwood wouldn’t instantly already know. Unpacking it all is extremely tedious (incidentally, do you get paid by the word?).
To be fair, I usually can’t stand a Kyle Sanchez article for the opposite reason– too many pointless pop culture references and inside jokes, not enough valuable Magic content. If Ocho’s stuff were packed to the gills with useful Magic knowledge, I could overlook nearly falling asleep (although wouldn’t entertaining AND informative be EVEN BETTER than just informative?). This article was lacking in all areas.
There’s always next time!
David Ochoa says: February 4, 2010 @ 10:35 pm
“None of these short, declarative statements provide any insight that any Magic player looking at Vines of the Vastwood wouldn't instantly already know. Unpacking it all is extremely tedious (incidentally, do you get paid by the word?).” -BradW
The main problem with this point is that neither you nor I know exactly what an average MTG strategy site reader knows. We can make assumptions; I do that at a certain level. However, to immediately assume that everyone knows everything I do (or at least as much as I think I know) is folly.
thomas simpson says: February 6, 2010 @ 9:28 pm
i think the article was fine to read. i would like to hear about other cards besides commons. thank you for donating your time to try to help us unworthy players.