Thursday, May 26, 2016

15 More Cards (SOI)

Survey here.

I had fun with this last time, let's do it again! Rankings: Poor, Marginal, Fair, Good, Excellent.

Harness the Storm; I love this card. It's waiting to get busted in half, possibly with a big mana GR version? I mean, sure, the obvious UR deck is there but c'mon, let's be more creative than that. I rated it Excellent.

Sleep Paralysis: 4 mana blue removal spell is ok. It's not great but DAMN I am getting TIRED of the color of the spell being the dominant color in the art. Blue border? BLUE EVERYWHERE IN THE PAINTING. Which is too bad, because it's solid art. Rated Fair. It's almost constructed playable which means I'll probably give it a go at some point.

Tireless Tracker: what is up with that art? Why is someone in "superhero landing pose" with two swords? Buuuut a 3/2 for 3 with landfall and the ability to grow and draw a card for 2 mana? That's Good stuff, kids.

Inner Struggle: Again, that art is weird. It's set at a strange angle, so I cannot see what's going on-despite there being a mirror in the image and red tint is everywhere. Ugh. Let it go, WotC. Contrast is a good thing. The name and flavor text are solid and it's a red removal spell for big creatures at instant speed. It can't be good but it's Fair.

Arlinn Kord/Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon: I'm not giving a good rating to such a lazy naming scheme. "This is who I am"; well bully for that. As much as I dislike double-faced cards though, Arlinn is a powerhouse. Excellent stuff.

Silverstrike: my initial impression of the art was WOW. And then I went; wait, where'd the sword come from? There isn't anyone else in the frame...did the sword just teleport into that werewolf's chest? I like the art but it lacks context. As for the rest: This card is Poor. 4 mana for a limited removal spell with marginal upside? No.

Ghoulsteed: While I really like the name and the flavor text, it's a vanilla 4/4 for 5 mana with a return cost that is way, way too high. Recurring creatures are better than non-returning creatures though, so it squeaks into Marginal.

Liliana's Indignation: Once again; the art is at an angle I don't understand and the expression on Liliana's face seems to be one of a sneer, not indignation. The flavor text is great at helping move the story along-Jace isn't getting help here-but after that? Fair card: milling yourself is generally a suboptimal strategy but it does have a place in the right deck and the life loss is a solid bonus.

Moonlight Hunt: The name isn't great but in combination with the artwork you get the switcheroo that's being pulled. But I gave this a Poor rating because it's just so limited in what it does: You need a Wolf or Werewolf for this card to even function.

Veteran Cathar: A 2/2 for two in a relevant tribe with a great ability that is noteworthy in the late game? Yeah, that's Good. Shame about that boring name.

Not Forgotten: I dig this card a lot. The utility of the first ability is OK but when combined with the flying spirit token, you have a winner. Good rating.

Woodland Stream: The image that the flavor text provides is a great piece of worldbuilding. Well done. After that: it's a Good card; cheap manafixing is always welcome.

Archangel Avacyn/Avacyn, the Purifier: while the name is pretty meh, and my complaint about the artwork having a tint of whatever the border is totally applies, and it's a DFC, this is still an Excellent card all around. It's like they deliberately amped up the power of DFC cards so I had to admit they were good even if I don't like the mechanic.

Tormenting Voice: ooo, the art is a nice nod to the haunted house stories and the flavor text is great. I dinged the name just a little but I feel it's unfair to ask me to take that title and forget about play value or artwork. The name, as Shakespeare has said, is the thing. It helps tie all those other things together. All in all though, I like these red card draw spells.Rated Good.

Asylum Visitor: I rated it Fair. I dig the art-the weird angle works, given what's going on in the picture, the flavor text was boring and the ability is just too conditional. Couple that with a glass jaw and you have a rare that isn't that interesting, even with the Madness cost.

There you have it; I look forward to doing this again come Eldritch Moon.

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