Worldwake Set Review – White
Posted by Luis Scott-Vargas
January 31, 2010 | 
60 comments
With Worldwake set to hit the shelves shortly, it's time for another set review! I had a good time at the prerelease, and got to see plenty of the new cards in action. I also even got to battle a bunch of Standard with Worldwake, which was neat.
As per last time, here are the grading scales I'm going to use, although I did add half-points to the Constructed scale. Too many cards got either "2" or "3", when in reality they should have been somewhere in between.
Constructed
5.0: Multi-format All-Star. Bitterblossom. Tarmogoyf.
4.0: Format staple. Mutavault. Baneslayer Angel.
3.5: Good in multiple archetypes, but not a format staple. Ajani Vengeant. Ranger of Eos.
3.0: Archetype staple. Mulldrifter. Scion of Oona.
2.5: Role-player in some decks, but not quite a staple. Rampant Growth. Divination.
2.0: Niche card. Sideboard or currently unknown archetype. Fracturing Gust. (Bear in mind that many cards fall into this "maybe" category, although explanation of why is obviously important)
1.0 It has seen play once. One with Nothing. (I believe it was "tech" vs Owling Mine, although fairly suspicious tech at that.)
Limited
5.0: I will always play this card. Period.
4.5: I will almost always play this card, regardless of what else I get.
4.0: I will strongly consider playing this as the only card of its color.
3.5: I feel a strong pull into this card's color.
3.0: This card makes me want to play this color. (Given that I'm playing that color, I will play this card 100% of the time.)
2.5: Several cards of this power level start to pull me into this color. If playing that color, I essentially always play these. (Given that I'm playing that color, I will play this card 90% of the time.)
2.0: If I'm playing this color, I usually play these. (70%)
1.5: This card will make the cut into the main deck about half the times I play this color. (50%)
1.0: I feel bad when this card is in my main deck. (30%)
0.5: There are situations where I might sideboard this into my deck, but I'll never start it. (10%)
0.0: I will never put this card into my deck (main deck or after sideboarding). (0%)
On to the review!
Constructed: 2.5
The "enormous angel that demands a removal spell" slot is already pretty full with Baneslayer Angel, but I could see Admonition Angel making the rounds. This is one of the higher value cards if it survives, but at six mana and without a way to protect itself, I'm not sure that will happen often enough to make it awesome. GW decks with Knight of the Reliquary may play one or two.
Limited: 4.0
This scale is a little off in its descriptions for triple-color cards, but however you interpret the meaning, Admonition Angel is a pretty sick bomb. It might have to survive to do its dirty work, but even if it was a vanilla 6/6 flier for 3WWW, it would be really good. Add in the almost-unbeatable landfall ability, and you have a winner.
Constructed: 1.0
Kicked Apex Hawks or Baneslayer Angel? Pretty sure a "1" is about the apex of this card's potential for Constructed.
Limited: 3.5
One of the signs of an awesome kicker card is when you would be willing to play with it at any point in the curve. Solid as a three mana 2/2 flier or five mana 3/3 flier, the Hawks even have the big upside of being a ridiculous topdeck. Solid early, ridiculous late is a good place to be.
Constructed: 1.0
All it would take to redeem this card is to shave a mana off its casting cost, which wouldn't really even make it too unfair. As is, the Archon is going to have a really hard time competing with Baneslayer Angel (obviously), or even Emeria Angel. [card Staunch Defenders]Tempest Block Constructed[/card] this isn't.
Limited: 4.5
Even if the Archon didn't trigger off other flying guys, a flying Staunch Defenders is pretty far above the curve in Limited. I just can't wait until people post pictures of this with Rite of Replication, because that is undoubtedly going to happen.
Constructed: 1.0
I haven't hurda a deck that would play this (come on, you know I HAD to make that one, even if I did with Caravan Hurda).
Limited: 2.5
Five mana is a lot in this format, and despite a 3/3 first striker being pretty beastly, I can't rate this higher. The five-drop slot is one that you really can't afford to overfill, so the value of these guys drops pretty fast as you pick up fives.
Constructed: 1.0
Not a terrible card by any means, the Griffin just finds itself outclassed by [card Knight of the Wild Orchid]way[/card] [card Kor Firewalker]too[/card] [card Kazandu Blademaster]many[/card] other 2-drops in Standard right now. Decks that want 2/2 fliers for 2 don't usually mind paying WW, which puts this way to the back of the line.
Limited: 3.5
It turns out that cheap landfall guys really bring the beats, and Fledging Griffin follows in the footsteps of Surrakar Marauder with ease.
Constructed: 1.0
As you watch this guard the unplayables box, you can just barely hear Genju of the Fields laughing at it.
Limited: 2.0
Six toughness is plenty, and I foresee Guardian Zendikon holding off many a Geopede in the future. Still, it is a purely defensive card, and worse than something like Makindi Shieldmate against most decks.
Constructed: 2.5
There are legions of people waiting to play this guy with Kazandu Blademaster and Ranger of Eos, possibly with Talus Paladin as well. They might even succeed, since it doesn't take that much to make this or Blademaster good enough, and things can get pretty ugly pretty fast if you draw a bunch of them.
Limited: 1.5 to 3.5
This (even more than most allies) is going to vary quite a bit on the ratings scale. Unplayable if you are short on allies, Hada Freeblade is ridiculous if you have a ton, which is a bit of a departure from how allies were in Zendikar. Pretty much all the original allies were playable by themselves, but now with Hada Freeblade and Halimar Excavator, you have some choices to make. Of course, since you won't see him until pack 3, you should know how good he will end up being. I can see some drafts where you pass one early and pick up a bunch of allies, all the while thinking "I could of hada freeblade".
[card ionas judgment]Iona's Judgment[/card]
Constructed: 1.0
LSV's judgment is harsh, and exiles this from Constructed.
Limited: 3.5
Brainspoil wasn't exciting, but you never cut it, and Iona's Judgment is very similar. Exiling the target is really relevant, especially against Black's Soul Stair Expeditions and Quest for the Gravelords. Five mana is becoming a choke point in this set, especially with all the multi-kicker cards, so keep that in mind when drafting.
Constructed: 1.0
This card is going to join the ranks of Constructed unplayables, along with most of the cards from every set.
Limited: 2.0 to 4.0
Blah blah blah needs allies to be broken. Join the Ranks is playable without other allies, but gets absolutely absurd with the right ones. If there is a Halimar Excavator deck, Join the Ranks is going to play a big part in its success. This card was unbeatable at the Prerelease, but once people actually think about it, I expect it to just be very strong. Another card I predict will lead to many blowout stories.
Constructed: 1.0
If you are going to this much trouble, at least play Kor Duelist and get something in return.
Limited: 1.0
Even when it combos, the Apprentice isn't much to write home about. It definitely can bash at a discounted rate, but most of the time it will be simple cannon fodder.
Constructed: 3.5
Bear Claw! In addition to making people want pastry, Kor Firewalker gives White decks a pretty potent weapon against anything remotely Red-colored. This might even be a victim of it's own success, since it is so good that it might discourage heavy Red decks, thus making itself unneeded. Even if it just ends up as a sideboard card, I expect this to have heavy effect on both Standard and Extended for years to come.
Limited: 3.5
Unlike Devout Lightcaster, Bear Claw has a reasonable color commitment attached. Most decks end up playing their WW bears anyway, and he will randomly beat the crap out of Red decks as a free bonus. I wouldn't expect to see this very late.
Constructed: 1.0
So many Staunch Defenders! I love it, although this obviously won't be anywhere near 60-card decks.
Limited: 4.0
Flying, huge toughness, and lifegain? Sign me up! A 2/4 for 4 is quite the showstopper, and tacking on a really good kicker makes this exactly the kind of card I want to play with.
Constructed: 3.0 (more like 3.5 in Extended)
I'd be lion if I said I was a fan of Kird Ape coming back, but it is what it is. This, combined with Wild Nacatl, might make a fast Naya sort of deck more of a reality in Standard, as well as fitting perfectly into Zoo in Extended. I now count 16 absurd one-drops in Extended, which is a frightening amount (this, Kird Ape, Wild Nacatl, Steppe Lynx, even if Lynx probably just gets cut for Lion).
Limited: 3.0 in WG, 0.0 otherwise
Worldwake sure has a lot of cards with variable ratings, and Lion definitely fits the bill. Really good in GW, bad otherwise. At least you don't see this until pack 3, so you should know if you want it. If you do, you will be the only one, so feel free to try and wheel it.
Constructed: 1.0
Like Fledging Griffin, this is marsh worse than all the quality WW 2-drops we currently have in Constructed.
Limited: 3.0
Cliff Threader that is unblockable twice as often! More people play Black than Red, and this is obviously fine against non-Black decks.
[card marshals anthem]Marshal's Anthem[/card]
Constructed: 3.0
I'm actually pretty optimistic about this card. It is fairly pricey, but it is undeniably powerful. The two abilities might not appear to be wanted by the same decks, but there are plenty of cards that work with both (Ranger of Eos, Siege-Gang Commander, Emeria Angel).
Limited: 4.5
This Anthem is just filthy at any point, although I doubt this gets cast without Kicker very often. A sick play at six mana and an almost-unbeatable one at eight, the only thing making this not an auto-first pick is its heavy color commitment.
Constructed: 2.0
If this cost one Blue mana to play, I would probably give it a 3.5! That might be a slight exaggeration, but the point remains: White doesn't really need this, since it has so many anti-aggro cards as is. Still, this is a particularly effective one, and I shudder to think of this against Hellspark Elemental-type decks.
Limited: 2.0
White has plenty of purely defensive guys, even if this is one of the better ones. If pack three rolls around and you don't have any of this kind of thing, maybe take him a little higher, but most of the time you won't need as many of these as you can get easily.
Constructed: 2.0
I would be very surprised if this saw play, especially considering how much easier it is to utilize [card harms way]Harm's Way[/card], but the effect is powerful, and if you are playing it to sideboard against Red, you might as well pick this.
Limited: 4.0
It is really easy to get a 2 for 1 with this, and quite difficult to play around. Two for one's that you don't have to work for are always nice, and this is really flexible in its usage. I shudder to think of a kicked Burst Lightning met by a Refraction Trap for just one mana; now that is value.
Constructed: 2.0
If people are playing Sunspring Expedition, this is a natural replacement, but let's be real: people shouldn't be playing Sunspring Expedition.
Limited: 0.5
If they want Zektar Shrine Expedition and similarly aggressive cards, siding this in is a real possibility.
Constructed: 2.0
This is cheap, and its ability is powerful, so I don't want to rule it out. Too bad damage stacking isn't around, since that would make this plus manlands pretty good. Ruin Ghost is too fragile to really build a deck around, but there are some nice EBT abilities on lands nowadays.
Limited: 2.5
This is unplayable without some sweet lands, but it only takes like two lands to make this a good one. This plus Sejiri Steppe is absurd, and even just Teetering Peaks is tough to beat. Like I’ve said before, this being in the third pack means that you probably have some idea of how good it will be (although the Steppe being in the third pack does make that not necessarily true).
Constructed: 2.0
This is unlikely to make a splash in Standard, but getting [card Umezawas jitte]Umezawa's Jitte[/card] in Extended makes this quite interesting. I doubt that it makes something as clunky as [card tatsumasa, the dragons fang]Tatsumasa, the Dragon's Fang[/card] worth it, but even if it only can get Jitte, there are decks that are interested.
Limited: 1.0 to 4.0
If you have one good equipment and one mediocre one, this is really good, and it goes downwards from there. If all you have is one target, it is playable but not incredibly exciting, since drawing it afterwards is pretty lame.
Constructed: 2.5
As I mentioned under Hada Freeblade, this might be a solid complement to Kazandu Blademaster and Freeblade in a White beatdown deck. Ranger of Eos and Elspeth are tough competition, which makes me doubt that the Paladin will make it, but people will certainly try.
Limited: 3.5
Wow, an Ally in the same vein as the ones from Zendikar. Talus Paladin is fine by his lonesome, and pretty impossible to race if you have any number of other allies. Be aware that you have to verbally mention both the lifelink and the counter, since our team certainly wasn't at the Prerelease!
Constructed: 1.0
The only formats that have mass land destruction also have Sacred Ground, and I really doubt that the Terra Eternal plus Armageddon combo will be good enough in such powerful formats. As for Standard, the obvious manland synergy is way too much of a stretch.
Limited: 0.0
If you are blessed enough to get like four manlands, just be thankful and beat the crap out of everyone with them.
[card veterans reflexes]Veteran's Reflexes[/card]
Constructed: 1.0
As a bit of a veteran myself, I reflexively am dismissing this one.
Limited: 2.0
A decent little trick, this can be really swingy in a race, since it is impossible to play around like you would a normal Giant Growth (ie, not blocking then swinging back). Obviously, the potential to get 2 for 1ed is there, but such is the fate of all tricks post-M10.
Top 5 White Cards for Constructed
5. Hada Freeblade
4. Admonition Angel
3. [card marshals anthem]Marshal's Anthem[/card]
2. Loam Lion
1. Kor Firewalker
White didn't get much, but Kor Firewalker makes up for that pretty well. The Firewalker is one of the most effective anti-Red cards to see print in years, and will see all sorts of Constructed play. Loam Lion is also pretty good, but it isn't particularly exciting, even if it does get played in Zoo.
Join me tomorrow for my Worldwake Blue review!
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About This Author
Luis Scott-Vargas
LSV is the current record holder for most wins in the Swiss portion of a Pro Tour after his perfect 16-0 run at Pro Tour San Diego 2010, and has the highest lifetime match win percentage among all current pro-level players. His other accomplishments include a win at Pro Tour&hellip
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js says: January 31, 2010 @ 9:31 pm
You’re missing a limited rating for Ruin Ghost.
Thanks for the great article!
JPL says: January 31, 2010 @ 9:41 pm
“I really doubt that the Terra Eternal plus Armageddon combo will be good enough in such powerful formats”… yeah, I don’t think these two combo.
lsv says: January 31, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
@ JPL, this is very true, and that makes Terra Eternal even worse than I thought.
EuroRunner says: January 31, 2010 @ 9:47 pm
didnt get to refract a kicked burst, but did refract a landfalled searing blaze into his plated geopede. I was happy
Dan says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:06 pm
Hada Freeblade is better than Tarmogoyf! Goyf is just a 0/1 for 2 if there aren’t any graveyards, and Freeblade is like an 11/12 for 1 if you just follow it up with about 10 other allies.. Wait till he’s a $30 rare and then you’ll really say “I coulda hada freeblade!”
Mastikor says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:25 pm
Looks like white is full of craps in constructed. =(
Boo says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:34 pm
I know this might sound obvious, but ruin ghost is also great for triggering landfall, not only on your turn, but your opponents’ turns also!
John says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
LOL at above poster
John says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:37 pm
whoops i mean dan
Fin says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:38 pm
Freeblade will NEVER be a $30 dollar rare.
Lauren Lee says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:39 pm
Terra Eternal is worse. It doesn’t even work with Armaggedon.
Lauren Lee says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
I waited too long to post that… ;/
Sarnath’d
Bucky says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:41 pm
Hada Freeblade’s numerical rating seems quite a bit higher than it merits given your comments. It should be from ‘Unplayable’ (0.5) to ‘ridiculous’ (3.0). Would you really play it 50% of the time in a white deck with no other Allies?
Also, would you really splash a Stoneforge Mystic for the sole purpose of tutoring for a Trusty Machete and an Explorer’s Scope, even with support from a Wx Refuge?
Fcormier says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:53 pm
could be a 3$ uncommon though
Vor says: January 31, 2010 @ 10:56 pm
great article, hope to see one for each color.
Attended the pre-realease today with WB and the archon of redemption and my ruin ghost shenanigans netted me 1st with 9 boosters of worldwake, leading (after some ZWW drafting with the prizepool) to me getting a jace.
Also, you may want to tone down the puns just a smidge, my head is starting to hurt xD
Zack Smith says: January 31, 2010 @ 11:20 pm
fwiw I clicked this article just so I could read the Hurda commentary.
leshrac55 says: January 31, 2010 @ 11:45 pm
I played Stoneforge Mystic in limited as one of 2 white cards in my deck (other being journey to nowhere) for the sole purpose of fetching out my Basilisk Collar (or if necessary my Kitesail, though that didn’t come up in my games). Basilisk Collar swung a game I was at 3 life against someone at 20. It’s really damn good.
That being said, it’s secondary ability is basically just dumb, particularly in limited, as I don’t think there’s any equipment worth playing that costs more than 2. In standard there’s, I suppose, Behemoth Sledge, but it only costs 1 more (though I suppose it lets you forgo the green requirement).
Moriarty says: January 31, 2010 @ 11:45 pm
Ignore the above comment, keep those puns acoming!
W A MacMurdo says: February 1, 2010 @ 12:28 am
It took me a moment to figure out what “Bear Claw” referenced, but once I did I laughed out loud.
egal says: February 1, 2010 @ 1:34 am
Isn’t Ruin Ghost acceleration?
Did you just overlook that?
Kevin Boddy says: February 1, 2010 @ 2:09 am
@egal: If it didn’t cost a white mana to use, then yeah, it would be acceleration. But it just cancels it out.
Ruin Ghost does allow you to make 2 black mana with one swamp (or any color for any land, rather) without disrupting the curve, though, which is pretty neat. That is something that, particularly, the BW decks in Zendikar Limited have problems with. I don’t know if that makes it playable if you have a deck without any sort of landfall/ETBT lands, but that’s definitely something to keep in mind.
IJS says: February 1, 2010 @ 2:28 am
Ruin Ghost was excellent for me at the prerelease. I had two Sejiri Steppe, two Quicksand, a Kabira crossroads and three landfall guys and was able to do silly things like leave up W for either Veteran’s Reflexes or untapping Quicksand. Granted, the value of this guy will go down as people learn not to misplay against him, but he really makes the board more complicated for your opponent.
nick says: February 1, 2010 @ 3:02 am
Great review! I’m interested in seeing how loam lion will affect zoo in extended (if at all). Is 16 one drops too many??
I played U/W flyers at the pre-release yesterday, and did pretty well (4-1). Archon of Redemption was pretty sweet, especially with Emeria angel. Helped me bounce back and stabilize. Apex hawks were OK, though to be honest their best use (in my nearly removal-less deck) was to trade for an opponent’s creature (one kicked hawk traded for a shatterskull giant, another traded for someone’s “awesome” turn one scythe tiger, which ended up mana screwing them. lol.) Guardian Zendikon actually helped a lot. All those two drops fear the wall. Actually had one opponent end up Aether snaring it out of frustration!
Didn’t get to use refraction trap, but it would have been fun, I bet.
To be honest, white was mostly filler in the deck. Blue was the real all-star, and I have a hunch worldwake blue will get a better review than worldwake white.
I couldn’t even believe how much I owned people with Calcite Snapper (my only non flier besides guardian Zendikon) and Aether tradewinds (independently, and combo’d– bounce their one guy, bounce one of my lands, drop the land, attack for 4, etc.). Treasure hunt hasn’t been as cool as I’d hoped, but I’ve put it into a deck with some halimar depths and the Jace I was lucky enough to open in my prize packs (I just can’t save them!) and I’m hoping to get some nice 3 card draws off of it. Conversely, Mysteries of the Deep seemed really strong. Even with no fetch land, the instant cast draw two at end of opponent’s turn made it feel like it was free. In freeplay I found Jace was just plain nuts.
Sorry to veer off topic and talk about blue here, but I’m pretty excited about worldwake blue, personally. I think control just got a boost.
Zeitgeist says: February 1, 2010 @ 3:15 am
Did a WWW draft at the prerelease I went to, and got to draft a UW deck with 2 each of Ruin Ghost and Tideforce Elemental.
The Tideforces were incredible all day even without the Ghosts, but I managed to get the two in play alongside a Hedron Rover, and let me just say, the results were pretty absurd. All you need now is a Lotus Cobra, and you’re in business! Gotta have SOME convoluted way to go infinite in every block, right?
My opinions on Ghost might be a little biased, but I have a feeling that he’ll be really, really solid in ZZW draft, if only because even in the worst scenarios, he’ll effectively read “T: Trigger landfall.” Making sure your Steppe Lynxes stay relevant even after you’re out of lands is nice, and earlier on, having double landfall every turn on all of your Lynxes/Geopedes/Etc is pretty savage. That, and making your landfall guys bigger on the defense, which isn’t entirely unimportant, though it is probably less so when you could be swinging double-pumped on the offense anyway.
DarkAntX says: February 1, 2010 @ 4:54 am
Mmmhh, playing instead both Sunspring Expedition AND Rest for the Weary? Felidar Sovereign seems now better to me…
Vindicator says: February 1, 2010 @ 4:59 am
Nice article, but i think that u overrate Kor Firewalker too much for limited.
Someguy says: February 1, 2010 @ 5:02 am
Keep the puns coming… down with the naysayers.
Also, I don’t get the Bear claw thing… lol.
Flaxh says: February 1, 2010 @ 6:11 am
I don’t understand why Terra Eternal doesn’t work with Armageddon.
Random says: February 1, 2010 @ 6:21 am
Grizzly Dragon
Trackback MTGBattlefield says: February 1, 2010 @ 6:30 am
Worldwake Set Review – White…
Your story has been summoned to the battlefield – Trackback from MTGBattlefield…
Emtee says: February 1, 2010 @ 6:37 am
Ruin Ghost just gives so much utility as an extra landfall for no mana, instant landfall, filtering white to off color (not to be underestimated in WB and WG) AND, it’s obviously insane with some of the EtBf lands. I think this might be one of the sleeper staples of the set (if needed it also trades with quite a few 2 drops)
SlowRoll says: February 1, 2010 @ 6:52 am
Got snowed in the entire weekend and didn’t get to go to the pre-release to play with all the new cards. I hate you all
Ertai87 says: February 1, 2010 @ 7:51 am
Some of the puns were good. Bear Claw also took me a minute but it was really good afterwards. I’m going to refer to it as that from now on.
For those who don’t get it: It’s a 2/2 for 2, so it’s a bear, and it has the ability of Dragon’s Claw spliced onto it. Hence Bear Claw.
Question to LSV: Where on the scale of Limited above would you put 19th land? How about 20th land? Basically, at what point is a card so crappy that you’d rather just play a 19th land?
DERP says: February 1, 2010 @ 8:42 am
you underrated the archon of redemption.
i guarantee you this card will see constructed play with baneslayer, kor skyfisher, and battlegrace angel.
Nicol Bolas says: February 1, 2010 @ 9:14 am
There’s only one card that I probably disagree with: Join the Ranks. If allies become constructed viable, the ablity to, at instant speed, put two allies into play is very strong. Putting two counters on most of your guys or giving them protection from a color (kabira something, allies’ names suck) is invaluable in a deck with a weakness to earthquake like effects and targeted removal. If it was sorcery it wouldn’t be good, but as an instant its great.
Josh G says: February 1, 2010 @ 9:52 am
Guardian Zendikon makes a good Polymorph target, but I doubt it’s enough to make that deck competitive.
Dartarus says: February 1, 2010 @ 10:03 am
One other neat trick with the dude that blinks lands is the land that gives your dork pro:whatever when it comes into play. My best attacker is unblockable, my best defender can block your dude forever…
Aaron says: February 1, 2010 @ 10:04 am
I like Ruin Ghost for any landfall deck or as a mana fixer.
In landfall, Think of his applications with such cards as woodcrasher Balooth, Windrider Eel, Adventuring gear and even Step Linx…. Step linx can now Block!
As a Fixer, with the ability to float that mana, if your stuck on one Swamp, and you have a BB casting cost spell you can float the one black, bounce the swamp and tap it again for your 2nd mana (applicable in all colors).
Finally, it makes cards like Soaring seaclifs, and Teetering peaks that much better. You no longer need to hold them in your hand until after you have a creature to use them on possibly wreaking your mana curve because you decided to hold it instead of playing it on turn 1 or 2. Now you can play those cards, and bounce them later when their application to the game could be a huge momentum swing.
I wonder if some of these cards are going to be less powerful when the ZZW draft takes over from ZZZWWW sealed and we have a smaller WW pool to draw from as many of them seem to need other WW cards to be “broken”.
Jack says: February 1, 2010 @ 10:36 am
Ruin Ghost + Lotus Cobra was fun in the one game I got both in play. I might think about putting him in my Bant Landfall deck.
stan says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:08 am
I thought FOR SURE that LSV would use this pun for battle hurda:
I Hurda 3/3 first striker is pretty solid in limited, I also hurda 5 converted mana cost is too much though
or something along those lines
DionesotesRex says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:10 am
For a minute, I thought the Terra Eternal – Geddon mention was a revamp of wrapter’s Pulsing two Planeswalkers joke from a while back.
bigmt21 says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:13 am
Hey Slow roll were you in VA?
Wes says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:23 am
I opened a few white cards, but 4 removal spells in black and three Spire Barrages enticed me into playing RB. I didn’t do too well, but I had quite a bit of fun… I should have been in GR since I had the dual, a few fatties, some accel in the form of a harrow and the enchantment, and the sorcery that produces a 3/3, a 2/2, and a 1/1. After reconfiguring my deck to run GR, I won every game that I resolved that spell.. It’s just nuts. One of the cards that impressed me the most was the 1U first striking, lifelinking merfolk. My opponent gained about 8 life off of it. Tore me up until I dropped a removal spell on it.
Question… how do the multikicker cards like Apex Hawks affect how you value solid dudes in pack 1? Does it at all (or should it) change how quickly you pick grizzly bears, etc. late in pack 1?
Wes says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:26 am
Oh. and the hurda and hada jokes are corny, but meh… I was always a fan of corny, dry humor.
Wes says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:31 am
Darn it.. keeep remembering things… sry for the triple post. I wasn’t that impressed with the Kor Firewalker… It seems to make Punishing Fire pretty nasty at times. Granted, the card still eats up Hellsparks and whatnot. I don’t think it kills midrange R/x variants, but mono-R aggro might be dead
Just Some Guy says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:45 am
Ruin ghost has another advantage that people are overlooking: protecting your lands from goblin ruinblasters and tectonic edge.
Patrick says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:58 am
LSV you hit the nail on the head with Arcon of Redemption plus Rite of Replication…I ran grixis colors at the pre-release. I was being swarmed with 9 creatures due to Conqueror’s Pledge. I had 9 mana on board and was looking to target his 3/2 flying black creature with the Rite of Replication…but then I top decked the Arcon. Just enough to survive an attack, which put me at 2 life. Next turn…WINDMILL SLAM the kicked Rite of Replication into 5 new 3/4 flyers and a gain of 90 life! Scoop city ensued…
Bombo says: February 1, 2010 @ 12:14 pm
@ wes: the lifegain ability is “may”, u dont trigger it when ur opponent has like 2 fires in graveyard
Marc says: February 1, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
I’d bet Ruin Ghost gets bumped up to a 3.0 in Limited over time. There just seems to be so much landfall that being able to sandbag it on defense, double up on offense, or abuse an ETBT ability is good value.
Nakia says: February 1, 2010 @ 2:29 pm
My favorite play from the prerelease was post Bestial Menace. Facing down a board of tokens and a Guardian Zendikon I topdecked my single Chain Reaction and swept the board w/ a 6 damage red wrath! The look on the guys face was priceless.
rey says: February 1, 2010 @ 3:34 pm
good
FearfulFerret says: February 1, 2010 @ 4:36 pm
Protip: Terra Eternal + Armageddon is not a combo. Also, this makes me even sadder that I didn’t have the support in white to run the marshal’s anthem I got in sealed, but running a hellkite and dragonmaster was plenty of fun.
AWilburn says: February 1, 2010 @ 7:02 pm
More puns!
hordling says: February 1, 2010 @ 7:41 pm
I totally agree with everything except Ruin Ghost is way better than rated her. He is a solid 3.5 if your deck has 3 or 4 cipt lands or landfall triggers, and that’s easy to get.
Holos says: February 1, 2010 @ 11:39 pm
Speaking of casting Rite of Replication on the Archon of Redemption, that play happened to me in my first round of the prerelease.
Then on the following turn my opponent drops a Goliath Sphinx, gaining 16 more life…awesome…
Vindicator says: February 2, 2010 @ 4:55 am
Like… Terra Eternal says ” ALL LANDS” and not “ALL YOUR LANDS” so why it should combo with Armageddon? It will work with manlands, indestructible creatures, yay.
Adamn says: February 3, 2010 @ 8:26 am
You can play Terra Eternal then Armageddon but nothing will happen because all lands are indestructible. I figured I’d spell it out since no one’s actually explained the whole Armageddon + Terra Eternal thing even though it’s quite obvious.
Pingback Tweets that mention Worldwake Set Review - White | ChannelFireball.com -- Topsy.com says: February 3, 2010 @ 11:37 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Luis Scott-Vargas, ChannelFireball. ChannelFireball said: (Sunday update) LSV examines each White card in Worldwake for its application in Constructed and Limited. http://bit.ly/arbEo4 [...]
Ben says: March 2, 2010 @ 5:35 pm
really? I thought the freeblade was wayyyy better than an unplayable .5. I have high hopes for my new ally deck =D. LOL @ I coulda hada freeblade! I hurda hada hada freeblade
afterlife says: April 28, 2010 @ 10:58 am
“Stoneforge Mystic,Constructed: 2.0″
lol…