Here we go again. It’s another season here on the PTQC and the grinding begins this weekend at the TCGPlayer 5k in Boston followed by a Sunday Funday PTQ. Right now, public enemy #1 is UW Tapout; a deck that you can barely damage in the early game and is nigh untouchable in the mid-late [...]

Well, to all my loyal readers out there, I’ve returned from my excursion to South America.  It was a life-enriching experience, and I do urge you to sometime visit Machupicchu and the Galapagos, as they are simply amazing.  You can expect to see a small feature about this trip within the next day or so, [...]

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 [...]

Asha’s Favor – 2W Enchantment – Aura (Common) Enchant creature Enchanted creature has flying, first strike, and vigilance. #2/145 Auras are traditionally 241 fodder, setting yourself up for a loss of card advantage.  However, certain auras are powerful enough (or recursive like rancor) that they mitigate this inherent problem.  Take Lightning Talons, for instance.  This [...]

Celestial Purge – 1W Instant (Uncommon) Remove target red or black permanent from the game. “Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you” – Bant Credo Wowzers.  This is a welcome addition to white, I’d say.  Especially alongside something like painter’s servant, I’d think.  In fact, [...]

Constricting Tendrils – U Instant (Common) Target creature gets -3/0 until end of turn. Cycling {2} There’s a number of similar -3/-0 effects which have appeared throughout the years, such as torpor dust, torment, greel’s caress, bewilder, dizzy spell… heck even elven palisade I guess.  I’m of the opinion that the thing they all tend [...]

Darklit Gargoyle – 1W Artifact Creature – Gargoyle (Common) Flying {B}: Darklit Gargoyle gets +2/-1 until end of turn. 1/2 Okay, so this guy isn’t terrible as an artifact armored pegasus with a cooler creature type.  Evasiveness is still mucho bueno in limited.  The pump ability is good gravy here, making him a fine creature [...]

Paragon of the Amesha – 2W Creature – Human Knight (Uncommon) First strike {W}{U}{B}{R}{G}: Until end of turn, Paragon of the Amesha gets +3/+3, gains flying and lifelink, and becomes an Angel in addition to its other creature types. 2/2 Let’s see.  Another first strike gray ogre, so it’s playable at worst.  If you happen [...]

Court Homunculus – W Artifact Creature – Homunculus (Common) Court homunculus gets +1/+1 if you control another artifact. 1/1 At best, he’s non-legendary Isamaru.  At worst, he’s eager cadet that dies to naturalize.  I’m thinking he’s a bit player in a very narrow archetype.  Not seeing him doing a lot outside of 40-card formats.  Neat creature [...]

Gleam of Resistance – 4W Instant (Common) Creatures you control get +1/+2 until end of turn. Untap those creatures. Basic landcycling {1}{W} I like it.  A scary effect in white which should win you a game or two at the pre-release.  The landcycling cycle is very very good this time around.  There’s a few more [...]

In the past, I’ve done “snap judgment” first impressions of spoiled cards as they appear on the interweb.  I got a late start on the Conflux spoiler, but here’s my first impressions of the initial 27 cards spoiled by mtgsalvation.  After each card, I give my impression along with (usually) some indication of how likely [...]