Written by As of writing this, the whole set has yet to be completely spoiled. That being said there is still some pretty large hype and expectations for some of the new cards coming out in Avacyn Restored. I am going to go over a few of them and what my feelings are about the hype, prices, and the format’s they may or may not impact.
Lets get the ghost out of the closet and talk about what seems to be the flagship selling point of the new set, Temporal Mastery.
Wow…Time Walk? In Standard & Modern? Meh. For those formats, I feel like this one will try to be abused but wont be as good as everyone thinks. Yes I know you can get it back on top with Noxious Revival after being “Pro” and putting it in the yard with Forbidden Alchemy. To me that seems like too much durdling when you could be getting a true finisher with Alchemy and bypass your graveyard tricks altogether. Who isnt playing Surgical Extraction or Nihil Spellbomb in some form or another in their sideboard anyway? This seems like a win more card than a miracle off the top. Most of the time when someone casts this, they will already be either ahead or too far behind. I mean why take a second “miracle” turn if you are behind to just draw and say go since you cant attack anyway or else you would be winning! You might as well be doing something else your first turn to try and stabilize.
For Legacy, this seems like the place for the most abuse. Brainstorm, Ponder, and Personal Tutor to name a few friends of this miracle card. Because the card pool is so vast in this format almost anything is possible. Not to mention it pitches to Force of Will in a pinch. I feel like there is still too much work for this to be completely busted. Not to say it wont be played, but it is definitely not a 4, 3, or maybe even 2 of. If we see this used it will be in small doses.
As for the Price? Preselling for $40 but will make a gradual drop over a few months to about $6-$12 once people realize its not really Time Walk. Lets just reference Time Reversal. NEXT!
Now here is a card that will make waves in ALL formats. How good did the Titan decks just get? As well as spirits, zombies, humans, etc… Even in Modern it possibly makes Ally’s playable, Faeries totally unfair and in Legacy it pushes Merfolk, Elves and Goblins over the top! This is a land I have to wonder why they printed. I have to say that not because I do enjoy playing counterspells from time to time, but just from a design point of view. It makes some deck options unplayable and others unfair. All in all I cant wait to sleeve up a playset and ruin a control players day. Just having a set in a deck give you options with whats in your hand. WOTC said they printed this because they messed up with Snapcaster Mage and all the good low cost cantrips so this is supposed to balance that out. Yea…
Price: Its preselling for $23 and sadly I think it will stay around this price point ($18-$25). I feel like the foil versions of this card will be a little higher than most foils as it can be played in Tribal Commander decks as well as a chase foil for Eternal formats.
While this card is a little mediocre in terms of casting cost, power/toughness, and flying, the cast from exile part is what makes this creature really stand out. Oblivion Ring stops doing its job in standard which really isnt that big of a deal here. What is really cool is it pitches to Force of Will in Legacy & Vintage…without losing a card. So counter spell for 1 life? The ability to play him again later from exile is a small bonus as most people are playing larger creatures in older formats where Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile is running around anyways. For Legacy, Misthollow Griffin and Food Chain mean infinite mana to cast creatures. What do we do with infinite creature mana? Cast Emrakul, the Aeons Torn thats what. Now some would say you might as well play a Sneak and Show deck (Sneak Attack & Show and Tell) and they may be right, but that doesnt produce infinite mana with a 1 life Counterspell backup. Fierce Empath in that same deck lets you find Emrakul or any other large game ending fatty (ie. Progenitus, Blightsteel Colossus). Works well with Cavern of Souls also to help get your Griffin on the Food Chain.
Price: Preselling for $5. While I do personally like this card I feel like its not as constructed worthy as what I want to hope for it. Unless something breaks this in Standard, it will likely be a $1-$2 Mythic.
I suspect this card to be a major player for the time it is in Standard. It has a lot going for it but the 4 toughness is really key for this card. Since Slagstorm is almost a staple in every Wolfrun deck, this card will likely be a problem for them. I could see this and Fiend Hunter being really good friends by being able to upgrade the creature you put away. Not to mention if you are splashing this is almost any Titan or Birthing Pod deck. Pod will likely have the best home for this as every creature in that deck has something cool to do when you Flicker it (aka Blink). I think this is a really interactive card that allows White to have some cool tricks up its sleeve in Standard but probably not in other formats.
Price: Preselling for $5. Being the Release promo will probably help keep this card at the price it is at now.
This is another card that will be played as a 1 or 2 of in sideboards as it is a great card against Zombies. Terminus will almost never be a bad card when cast since it seems this set is pushing for larger more powerful creatures. Even Hexproof is seemingly becoming Wizards new favorite mechanic so this is a nice way to deal with that besides Day of Judgment. At its Miracle cost it allows you to cast another threat in the same turn without wasting a turn just to clear the board. Also if Mana Leak stays around in another core set, this will be able to “Miraculously” play around that card when you rip it off the top. Because of its high casting cost, I dont see this getting play in any other format except Standard. You can play Wrath of God in Modern, why play this?
Price: Preselling for $4. I see this card going up but not passing $8. What has hurt Day of Judgment in the past was all the printings of it, which this is the only one of these.
Talk about an awesome creature. Griselbrand pretty much reads: Draw 7 cards for free every turn if unanswered. Yea, yea, I know its quadruple black BUT I hear there is a (Unburial) Rite to put this guy into play. He can close out games in a hurry and with Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite in the same deck we might as well look forward to Unburial Mythic decks. He can even be reanimated in Legacy but has no real way to protect him from Swords to Plowshares. I would just stick to Iona, Shield of Emeria or Inkwell Leviathan. Did I mention he can be a General for Commander?
Price: Preselling for $10. The price will be dependent on Unburial Rites decks in Standard as he is way to fragile in Legacy. I would say he is going to hover between $6-$10. Commander will help keep his value alive in the long run.
So this is what black board wipe will look like after Black Sun’s Zenith rotates. While not as good as BSZ, I am still a fan of this card and it should see play in mainly Zombies but some UB Control decks as well. Zombies will get all of their creatures back after they Undie and then recast Gravecrawler from the yard. UB Control will use this right before they slam a finisher. I actually like the artwork on the Game Day Top 8 Promo better but either will get the job done.
Price: Preselling for $2-$3. With BSZ in the picture this card will not shine until it rotates. When that happens expect this card to double in price.
This card is sick to say the least. I may not be a huge fan of playing Red decks but this guy gets me itching. While only costing 1, he can basically be in some 2-3 color low cost aggressive decks. Take UR for instance with Vexing Devil, Delver of Secrets and Snapcaster Mage. All you need is some counter magic and a few burn spells and you are set. He seems good enough to play in Legacy possibly over Flame Rift as it does work on the field or to the dome when cast. This will be the new Goblin Guide of this Standard era so watch out.
Price: Preselling for $15. While not as good as Goblin Guide in my opinion he still is what Standard needs right now if Red is your game. Guide peaked at around $10 so I suspect this will drop to about $6-$8.
This is a very underrated card in the set. He is insane in the Titan Ramp mirrors as well as a possible sideboard card for the R/G aggro decks. Because this guy can steal permanents, watch your Planeswalkers. I cant wait to see someone level up a Liliana of the Veil or Karn Liberated just to get it used against them and get blown out. At a 3/3 body and Haste this guy will definitely be a Standard player as he will only get better as more cards get printed. His casting cost while a tad high is still splashable, even in Pod style decks.
Price: Preselling for under $1. I would get some now and hold on to them. Its cards like this that are good and no one knows it until a busted card gets printed and this thing springs up in price. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets up to $5 or more.
Another Titan? Almost. While he is no Primeval Titan, he can still find a home in the right deck. I could see this guy played with a bunch of mana dorks and ramp spells to accelerate him out then play Lead the Stampede to get maximum value. Not really “doing” anything when he comes out makes this guy a little less valuable, but that could be because we got spoiled with Titans.
Price: Preselling for $1 or less. I can see this guy being played more after the Titans rotate but in the mean time we will will just have to see. Maybe EDH can help this guy some as well. His price will probably never go above $3 and should for the most part stay where its at.
This is another undervalued creature that may be just borderline playable in Standard. His ability seems really good with any deck he is in. Since he cost double green it isnt like you are going to be short on creatures. He beats a Slagstorm and when he has Soulbond enabled, is bigger than just about anything else. To me this seems like the type of card to play right after a Huntmaster of the Fells flips to really punish an opponent.
Price: Preselling for $1-$2. I would get a set of this guy and see what happens. In my mind hes good enough with Trample guys to be playable. His price should stay around where it is at, maybe going to $3.
For my final card in this article, we have an uncommon. And not just any uncommon, but one that lives through a Wrath effect and possibly brings the beats the next turn. This card seems very playable even as just a sideboard card if not main deck. Glint Hawk Idol was playable in Tempered Steel but this can go into any deck and can get activated way easier. This really seems best in a token strategy as it turns white when triggered and the BW token decks play Honor of the Pure anyways.
Price: This is an uncommon….
I will start writing part 2 in the next day or so and hope to have it out before the pre-release to give some financial outlook on certain cards to either pickup cheap now or sell the overpriced ones now before they bottom out. I would love to hear some comments to see if you agree with some of my predictions.
MTGO: AdamRA4
Good article. Glad you pointed out Wolfir Silverheart and the Conscripts. The power level of those cards seems pretty high and there is no one talking about them. Silverheart makes a great GSZ target as well. Not so sure about killing wave making it into UB control though. That deck never really wants to fireball the opponent out. I can deffinatley see it being a one or two of in the zombie lists though. That deck is aggressive enough to deal alot of damge in the first three turns to make the wave a finisher. Site looks great, be looking forward to part 2.