There were some more cards spoiled overnight giving us just about a full complement of cards and a pretty good idea of what the whole set will look like. Let’s take a look.
Banishing Light- Let’s not kid ourselves…this is really Oblivion Ring. They’ve cleaned up the language so that it matches Banisher Priest, but this is Nyx Weaver-. There’s nothing wrong with Banishing light, and in fact it is actually very good. It’s quality removal in White, it will see play in all sorts of formats and is just a quality staple to have around. I, for one, am glad that it is back and ready to go back and do good work again.
Brain Maggot- This is nice card for limited, but I’ll hold off on other formats. For a black and a colourless, you get a 1/1 enchantment creature insect that when it enters play your opponent reveals their hand and you may exile a target card from their hand until Brain Maggot leaves the Battlefield. So, if you don’t have a Thoughtseize and you need info about their hand…and to slow them down by making them lose a card…this discard spell on a stick is just what you want. They I read the card is that when Brain Maggot leaves play, the card is no longer exiled and they get it back, but if you need to derail their plan or remove a quality piece from their hand then this guy will do the trick. There isn’t much attacking in this guys future, but he’s still a valuable piece of disruption.
Deicide- Ok, no doubt, this is my favorite card revealed today. For 2 mana (1 white, 1 colourless) you get to exile target enchantment and if the enchantment exiled is a God you may go through their hand, graveyard and deck and exile all copies of the card. This is going to premium enchantment destruction, of that there is no doubt and will be premium sideboard tech for any deck running White in Constructed. The mana cost is the same as Disenchant (for those who used to play with it), it is still at instant speed, and the ability to eliminate pesky Gods…well…wow…that’s a thing. Bye Thassa! See ya later Big P (Purphorous)! Catch you later Xenagos, God of Revels! Oh, and in case you haven’t checked out the art, that’s totally Elsbeth stabbing Xenagos with her sword. That’s AWESOME!
Dictate of Erebos- The final piece of the Dictate cycle. For 5 mana (2 black, 3 colourless) you get an enchantment with Flash that says whenever a creature you control dies, your opponents must sacrifice a creature. I actually like this, but not for limited or constructed play, but I like this card for multiplayer games where this could just be abused and have hilarious consequences. EDH players, enjoy!
Nyx Weaver- a 3 mana (1 black, 1 green, 1 colourless) Enchantment creature spider with reach. Right there you have a playable card, however, the cherry on top is that for a black, a green and a colourless and sacrifice it, you can return target card from you graveyard to your hand. Notice, not target creature card…ANY card. So, this is Regrowth on a creature…just a little more expensive. Dredge style decks won’t care about the extra cost, but they will be interested in getting their resources back! This is sweet card, not bonkers by any means, but a sweet card that is very functional. We’ll see where this one ends up.
Renowned Weaver- Wow, this is super flavourful and another salute to classic mythology. For 1 mana you get a 1/1 green creature that you can use to pay 1 green and 1 colourless and sacrifice it to put a 1/3 green Spider Enchantment Creature token with reach onto the battlefield. Honestly, the card is fine, but it likely won’t see much play unless someone out there is making a spider tribal deck. It just doesn’t do enough to take up a slot in a deck. So, it’s fun and flavourful but people aren’t likely to sleeve it up too often.
