Final Conflux Cards – Batch 09

Aerie Mystics – 4W
Creature – Bird Wizard (Uncommon)
Flying
{1}{G}{U}: Creatures you control gain shroud until end of turn.
3/3

Sick card for limited.  This guy will only randomly (or against poor players) counter removal, but may require double removal for an opponent to break through and kill a key dork.  He’s a big flying hill giant too for only one mana more.  This guy’s a house.  A high pick, I’d think, for anyone remotely in white.

Aven Trailblazer – 2W
Creature – Bird Soldier (Common)
Flying
Domain – Aven Trailblazer’s toughtness is equal to the number of basic land types among lands you control.
“The bird wore the form of a man, bereft of filigree. Why do the Texts not speak of it?”
- Belator of Esper
2/*
#4/145

Well, he’s only really great in the domain deck, but any white shard could run him as a 2/2 or 2/3 flyer for gray ogre mana.  Not terrible.

Controlled Instincts – U
Enchantment – Aura (Uncommon)
Enchant red or green creature
Enchanted creature doesn’t untap during its controller’s untap step.

Narrow but effective.  This will keep those nasty big green creatures at bay for a lot less than coma veil.

Ethersworn Adjudicator – 4U
Artifact Creature – Vedalken Knight (Mythic Rare)
Flying
{1}{B}{W}, {T}: Destroy target creature or enchantment.
{2}{U}: Untap Ethersworn Ajudicator.
4/4

So it’s almost strictly better than air elemental at one blue with equal stats.  You could avoid the ‘almost’ if only this didn’t die to naturalize.  The first ability is absolutely nuts, akin to avatar of woe, only broader hitting enchantments too.  With tnough esper mana, you can swing and nuke something.  This probably makes it a contender for a finisher in constructed if not, again, for the regrettable artifact creature thing.  All in all a house and a bomb.

View from Above – 1U
Instant (Uncommon)
Target creature gains flying until end of turn.
If you control a white permanent, return View from Above to its owner’s hand.

Not a bad trick in limited.  In constructed, it would only be worth anything as a storm generator I’m thinking, but then there are way better options.  A very decent trick though in limited for bant and esper.

Drag Down – 2B
Instant (Common)
Domain – Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn for each basic land type among lands you control.

Nice.  So this is going to be HAWT removal for all black shards, and will likely be splashed at will too.  Usually hitting for -3/-3, but occasionally for -4 or -5.  This is at least as good as dark banishing, and a strong argument exists for its superiority, particularly in the context of Alara.

Grixis Slavedriver – 5B
Creature – Zombie Giant (Uncommon)
When Grixis Slavedriver leaves play, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token into play.
Unearth {3}{B}
4/4

Hmm.  I’m notoriously bad at estimating cards like this.  I know the token gives you added card advantage / economy.  But is it worth a 6-drop 4/4?  I think unearth pushes the answer into the “yes” realm, but this guy doesn’t play nice with the 5-power green stuff, making jund sad, and it’s a total of 10 mana for a 4/4, then a pair of 2/2 tokens and a non-evasive one-shot hell’s thunder.  I think it’s probably worth it since it all comes from one card though.

Infectious Horror – 3B
Creature – Horror (Common)
Whenever Infectious Horror attacks, each opponent loses 2 life.
2/2

Hill Giant is bigger, but this guy does more un-checked.  Still, this is easier to kill and/or block.  I’m on the fence.  I think I’d rather have a normal hill giant except for in narrow situations in which I top deck this guy when the board’s locked up and my opponent is at 2.

Wretched Banquet – B
Sorcery (Common)
Destroy target creature with the least power or tied for least power.

Awesome.  A one-shot porphyry nodes / drop of honey.  Should see some play in constructed too, as it’s great for killing (un-equipped) ornithopters, heritage druids, etc.  In limited, this should help mitigate a deficient early game, allowing you to curve high.

Canyon Minotaur – 3R
Creature – Minotaur Warrior (Common)
I got nothin’.
3/3

Yay Hill Giant!  Now with 100% more Minotaur!

Molten Frame – 1R
Instant (Common)
Destroy target artifact creature.
Cycling {2}

Hmmm… thanks to cycling, this is never strictly “dead” and has some decent uses I guess… but I’m thinking that almost always, naturalize / disenchant are WAY better, not to mention oxidize.

Quenchable Fire – 3R
Sorcery (Common)
Quenchable Fire deals 3 damage to target player. It deals an additional 3 damage to that player at the beginning of his or her next upkeep unless that player pays {U} before that step.

It can only damage a player.  That’s the biggest drawback.  If they play blue, it’s only a mediocre 3-point fireball.  IF they aren’t capable of paying U, then this makes more sense as 4cc for 6 damage is not too shabby.  Thus, this is a situational burn card.

Ember Weaver – 2G
Creature – Spider (Common)
Reach
As long as you control a red permanent, Ember Weaver gets +1/+0 and has first strike
“Each night, the sun unravels and blows away. Each day, the spiders set a new one in the sky.”
- Sunseeder myth
2/3
#81/145

Not bad without a red permanent, a house with a red permanent.  Jund and Naya love this spider.  Now you can pick up an early-to-mid game drop in a common slot in pack 3.  Nice.

Filigree Fracture – 2G
Instant (Uncommon)
Destroy target artifact of enchantment.
If that artifact or enchantment’s controller controls a black or blue permanent, you may draw a card.

Wow.  Even without the bonus cantrip, this is a versatile naturalize kind of thing.  But situationally it’s no joke as a cantripping version.

Jhessian Balmgiver – 1WU
Creature – Human Cleric? (Uncommon)
{T}: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.
{T}: Target creature is unblockable this turn.
1/1

Not bad.  Vulnerable as most healers and pathmagi are, but not bad.

Knotvine Mystic – RGW
Creature – Elf Druid? (Uncommon)
{1}, {T}: Add {R}{G}{W} to your mana pool.
2/2

Hmm… so on turn 4, assuming you curve into Naya mana on turn 3, then you can boost ahead to 6 mana.  This seems pretty dope.  If your 4th drop were a splash, you could resolve something like broodmate dragon or the like, and even if not, turn 4 bull cerodon is no joke.

Rhox Bodyguard – 3GW
Creature – Rhino Monk Soldier (Common)
Exalted
When Rhox Bodyguard comes into play, you gain 3 life.
An enlightened soul caged in a body made for battle.
2/3
#122/145

So it’s like an extremely-venerable monk, with exalted!  I like it, even for 5.  But he’s a little small I guess.  They’ve been printing some cool lifegainers lately, and a lot of them have proven quite annoying, which is to say, playable.

Scarland Thrinax – BRG
Creature – Lizard (Uncommon)
Sacrifice a creature: Put a +1/+1 counter on Scarland Thrinax.
2/2

Similar to phyrexian ghoul (/nantuko husk), only for being much harder to cast, you get counters instead of double the boost in temporary fashion.  I think this is a winner for jund.

Skyward Eye Prophets – 3GWU
Creature – Human Wizard (Uncommon)
Vigilance
{T}: Reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a land card, put it into play. Otherwise, put that card into your hand.
They lament the doom that is coming to Bant without realizing the part their own leaders have played in it.
3/3
#125/145

Wow.  Nice 6-drop.  3 toughness is rough for a 6-drop, but the ability is nuts.  Think of it as a vigilant hill giant, and 5 makes sense.  Add Jaymdae Tomb for one more mana?  Now it’s looking very nice indeed.  Excellent with the likes of fate stitcher.

Sphinx Summoner – 3UB
Artifact Creature – Sphinx (Rare)
Flying
When Sphinx Summoner comes into play, you may search your libary for an artifact card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library.
3/3

Oh my.  A respectable flying hill giant with a tutor effect stapled to it… This thing may be broken.  God help your opponents if you happened to pick up a Sigil of Distinction in the first packs.

Font of Mythos – 4
Artifact (Rare)
At the beginning of each player’s draw step, that player draws an additional two cards.

Howling-like-a-motherfucker-mine!  Lol.  No joke, obv., with the usual downsides of the original, i.e., opponent gets to draw first.

Manaforce Mace – 4
Artifact – Equipment (Uncommon)
Domain – Equipped creature gets +1/+1 for each basic land type among lands you control.
Equip {3}

Domain mace.  Nice.  Permanent +5/+5… Not sure it’s as good as the one-shot might cards, or the tribal flames burn.  But we’ll see.  Equipment is nice.

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