A Look Forward at Magic 2010

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend about the fact that our PTQ is only a week after the release of Magic 2010.  We were discussing the archetypes we might play, and he said that “people will be playing the same decks as they have been for the past year.”  Well, with over 100 cards spoiled since yesterday, I find it very hard to believe that this statement will prove true.

For the last 2 years, 10th Edition has served as a way to supplement the best decks in Standard.  Cards like Birds of Paradise, Mogg Fanatic, and Siege-Gang Commander have made appearances in many of the top decks.  However, these roles are to simply support and enhance the power of the deck.  In fact, the closest thing that has been recently send to a deck based around core set interactions was the Warp World deck that recently Top-8ed a PTQ bases around mostly Core Set cards.  The point I’m trying to make is that the most recent iteration of the Core Set was not strong enough as a “big” set to spawn its own archetypes.  However, this is all about to change.

M10 is about to show us that the core set is more than capable of changing the metagame in a big way.  Already, at least 3 solid archetypes are emerging that have the potential to change the format, and at the time of writing there are still 18 cards left unspoiled.

The biggest deck type that M10 screamed to me was a red-based aggro deck.  The return of Lightning Bolt, combined with Ball Lightning seemed extremely potent, and I just can’t wait to cascade into a Ball Lightning from Bloodbraid Elf.  These two cards combined with the already superb suite of red aggro cards in Standard will prove to be a dominating tournament force.

M10 also presents a relatively strong tribal theme.  The most supported of these tribes appears to be mono-white soldiers.  With a new Savannah Lions with a soldier creature type, in addition to Veteran Armorsmith, which is a 2/3 for 2 that gives all your other soldiers an additional point of toughness, soldiers appear to be the next generation of Kithkin.  Comparing Captain of the Watch to Cloudgoat Ranger seems like an insult to the new M10 rare, and he’ll be great when he pops out from under a Windbrisk Heights.

Let’s not forget that Mutavault is still legal for another few months, and the Morningtide rare is probably going to see a sharp spike in play post-M10.  However, the soldier deck still needs to be able to hit double white on turn two for Veteran Armorsmith, and triple white if Spectral Procession is involved, but I could definitely see Mutavault being played as a 2 or 3-of in a soldier deck.

The final card that gives the soldier deck a fighting chance against the likes of Volcanic Fallout and Infest is the new Crusade variant – Honor of the Pure.  Being able to swing with hordes of weenies has always been fun, and this new enchantment frees up the three-drop spot for something that keeps the pressure on the opponent (read Spectral Procession).  Three 2/2 fliers for 3 mana on turn 3?  I’ll take that.

However, with a whole lot of new white goodness comes a sad loss.  I speak of course, of Wrath of God.  No longer to remain in the core set, the white sorcery will retreat back into EDH and a few Extended Decks, a shadow of what it was while in standard.

The new version of the classic white sorcery is a variant on Akromas Vengeance.  It destroys all nonland permanents for a heft cost of 3WWW.  This new card thankfully will destroy planeswalkers, but it remains a late-game spell that will remain a dead card for the first few turns of the game.  Of course you could accelerate into it, but then by casting Planar Cleansing you effectively undo all the work that you did to play your six mana spell.

I don’t think that this card will see much play in Standard.  The only deck that can really support it is 5 colour control, and even then it will probably be relegated to the sideboard.  It will be played in EDH, but I only envision it to be a 2 dollar rare or so.  In fact, I believe that Hallowed Burial’s price will spike a little bit, as it will become the de facto white board sweeper in standard.

I’m extremely excited for the release in M10, because some of the cards just scream awesome to me.  The reprinting of Bogardan Hellkite is terrific, but my absolute favourite card has got to be Baneslayer Angel.  For those of you who don’t know, Baneslayer Angel is a 5/5 flier for 3WW, with lifelink, first strike and protection from Demons and Dragons.  Aside from this being an extremely potent creature, It can block Chameleon Colossus all day long, which should definitely be an asset in the Elves matchup (although you could just Path to Exile it).  Not to mention it wins outright against the aforementioned Bogardan Hellkite, in addition to any other Demons or Dragons you might encounter (and Malfegor is doubly good for the white player).

The last deck that I see coming out of M10 is a variant on Legacy’s suicide black.  Although we don’t have Dark Ritual, We do have gems like Duress, Bitterblossom, Thoughtseize, and Hypnotic Specter.  To mitigate the eventual life loss this deck will take, the soon-to-be reprinted Tendrils of Corruption will be used.  Sign in Blood will also be a key component to this deck, as it ensures a relevant turn 3 play.  Black Knight and Stillmoon Cavalier will provide some excellent pressure, and with Wrath no longer being a threat, overextension becomes possible against decks that don’t pack Volcanic Fallout or Infest.  Haunting Echoes can act as further crippling after key cards have been discarded from your opponent’s hand, and it should be a simple task to win the game from there.  Heck, I could even see using Umbra Stalker as a finisher.

It is a nice change to see that some very distinct and powerful archetypes are coming our of the Core Set.  No longer is it simply a place for cards that wouldn’t fit other sets, but it is capable of a distinct identity.  For example, just as Faeries is mostly dependent on Lorwyn Block, a neo-suicide black deck will cite M10 as its biggest contributor.  No deck in standard can currently say this, and I think that Wizards had a clear vision of what M10 was supposed to be, and from the cards spoiled so far, I think that they’ve done an admirable job, and can’t wait to play with it at my next PTQ.

As always, any questions, suggestions or comments can me sent to zak -at- power9pro.com or through my twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zturchan.

Cheers!

Zak