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Bruce Gray - January 14, 2015

Fate Reforged Reviews: Top 10 cards for Casual Magic

Archfiend of Depravity - Fate Reforged

Fate Reforged Previews: Top 10 cards for Casual Magic

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters

                Fate Reforged is right around the corner and the anticipation in the Magic Community is mounting.  So many SWEET treats! But with any new set it is also spoiler and preview time as everyone offer their own opinion on cards.  However, anyone can offer an opinion…but what can we at Three Kings Loot do to make out previews a little bit different?

We decided that this time round that previews would be done a little bit differently.  If you want a full, comprehensive review of each and every card, you are welcome to check out the host of sites that do that sort of thing.  No, here at Three Kings Loot we decided that focusing on the cards that will be impactful at various formats and what they offer the Magic Community would be a different take on the whole “Preview” idea and might spice things up.  On my end, I will look at cards that will impact Casual Magic players.  Specifically, I will look at some of the cards that have got me excited and some of the ways I intend on using  them to help diversify my Casual play experiences with my pals when we next meet around the Kitchen table.

I would like to make one major distinction because when most people hear “Casual” they immediately think of EDH.  However, there is far more to Casual play than just Commander and so I will touch on a variety of cards and some of them may be awful for Commander.  However, what keeps many of these cards all in step is that many are unlikely to see play in Constructed environments in most situations.  Let’s take a look at my top 10 cards for Casual Magic.

 

Honourable Mention

Archfiend of Depravity – Who doesn’t like a 5/4 flier for 5 mana?  Add on that extra ability and this guy is hilarious.  Granted, only the guy who is a “griefer” in your play group is going to dig this, but it is still pretty amazing.  This guy shuts out token strategies, destroys Manifest decks, or really just about any deck that is looking to go wide…and then shuts them down again by making you crash into a 5/4 flier if you get brave enough to attack.  The best part is that is asymmetrical, meaning you can throw down as many creatures as you like!  It wrecks Hexproof because it doesn’t target…really, there is very little this can’t do.  Sure, it might not get everything, but this guy can single handedly make a mess of the board state and put you in the driver’s seat.

 

Top 10 Casual cards from Fate Reforged

10- Fascination – This just looks like a ridiculous spell.  Normally I don’t like symmetrical spells like this, but the option to Draw or Mill both players is incredible…and double blue and X is potent. At 5 mana it’s Jace’s Ingenuity.  At 6 it’s Opportunity. At any more than that you are grabbing a huge pile of your deck and just going to town.  Now, my IMMEDIATE thought was pair this with Notion Thief…which would be a hilarious interaction.  Consecrated Sphinx sounds fun too.  How about this plus…oh I don’t know…Reverberate/Fork/Howl of the Horde?  Oh my…the hilarious nature of those spells.  Also, there are a number of fringe decks that could run this because they don’t care what their opponent does.  Turbo Fog has little to no interest in what their opponent does…so symmetrical card draw is fine because they only want to dig up Fog effects.  Lastly, this could totally power out some busted Delve type spells by Milling everyone.  All in all, this is just fun and the sort of card I would be looking to brew Casual non-sense with.

 

 

9- Mob Rule – Hello! This is just Harness by Force on Crack…or Threaten on steroids…or something ridiculous to do with 6 mana.  Take all your opponent’s stuff, untap it, and smash them with it?  Wowzers. That’s filthy.  I’m on board the train to silly town with this guy.  And at Casual, 6 mana isn’t an unreasonable casting cost…and the effect is kind of bonkers.  I’m in.  Just ridiculous.  But wait! There’s MORE! “What is even better than just taking their stuff?” you ask. Well let me tell you.  Let’s imagine you CAN’T kill them by stealing all their stuff…why not start sacrificing their stuff to some sac outlet for hilarity’s sake?  Altar’s Reap is an easy place to start…but why not keep going and go to Bloodflow Connoisseur , Cartel Aristocrat, Corpse Traders, Culling Dais, Dark Triumph…and you’re getting the idea.  I’m not sure that there is something that makes me happier than sacrificing my opponents stuff for a laugh and a giggle.  Time to find Free sac outlets!

 

8- Ghastly Conscription –  Oh c’mon…as if you didn’t think of this with Fascination?  Mill their Graveyard and the next turn turn them ALL into Manifested 2/2 creatures?  That seems like fun.  Heck, any Mill strategy with this will be hilarious and ensure that you will bury them under a pile of their own cards.  I’m quietly giggling waiting to pick up a couple of these and surprise my pals.  I might get Booed out of the room…but that’s ok for the look of sheer disgust on their faces. I love it.  7 mana ridiculousness never looked so good.

 

7- Manifest – Yup, that’s right…I like this new Mechanic so much that it is effectively on here twice. Ghastly Conscription is just the tip of the iceberg!  I’m lumping this whole mechanic in as being sweet for Casual play because there are a number of fringe ideas that this can play right into.  The card that highlights this ability most to me is Ethereal Ambush that dumps a pair of 2/2 Manifested critters on the board for you and give you and immediate board presence.  I’ve already expounded pretty well on where I think this idea can go, but to sum it up, anytime you can guarantee to turn random cards into 2/2 creatures it is not a bad thing.  Pack your deck full of creatures and very few spells and you can make your Casual deck tons of fun to play with and still flip them over by paying their casting cost.  Add in the interaction with Secret Plans and Trail of Mystery and you have some very powerful engines to power through a deck.  Oh, and you know all those Moprh triggers? There could be some really interesting interactions as you need only pay their mana cost to flip the card over…meaning Master of Pearls now flips for 2. 2 Mana! Wow.  Yeah…this could get silly and I’m going to be diving right in trying to break it huge.

 

6- Ojutai, Soul of Winter – Ok, so all the other Legendary dragons in this set could at least see some sort of Constructed play…or at least I could conceive of a deck that would want them…whether they see play is another matter all together.  However, Ojutai just will not get the job done.  The ability isn’t powerful enough by itself and Ojutai needs some dragon buddies to really go off.  That said, he will still be a sweet addition to a number of decks in the Casual realm.  First off, Dragon Tribal EDH will LOVE this guy.  That’s an obvious starting point.  However, a W/U deck premised on Freezing your opponent or Detaining their whole team is indeed a thing and Ojutai is right there playing along.  How about Jeskai Dragons featuring Brood Keeper and Crucible of Fire?  That has some promise.  Or, just as a really big dude in any deck dabbling around with W/U really…Ojutai is still a big beat stick with a Crippling Chill attached to him for good measure.  He may not see Constructed too readily, but I’ll still be pumped to open up this guy and run him in other things.

 

5-Temporal Trespass – Ok, so the debate is already raging if this is good for Constructed or not.  My sense is that it is, but who the heck am I? There is absolutely no doubt that this is good enough for Casual because it says TAKE AN EXTRA TURN!  You know what I can do with an extra turn? Absolutely ANYTHING.  I love it and I will make in happen …regularly.  Stay tuned because there will be deck lists featuring this little beauty.

 

4- Siege Cycle – These will be terrific in Limited, but they will all be amazing in Casual games, in large part because of the wording.  Each of these cards have a mode that impacts each player sitting at the table, meaning that you can impact each opponent at a multiplayer game.  That’s big in EDH and 60 card multi-player variants because it gives you good bang for your buck.  While they aren’t degenerate cards, except for maybe Frontier Siege which ramps at EVERY MAIN PHASE, they will all be useful and are likely to be solid additions to most decks.

 

3- Warden of the First Tree – There is no doubt that this will be outstanding in the Casual arena.  I have my doubts if this is good enough for Constructed, but in Casual I can assure I will ramp to the ultimate and make the 8/8 trampling, lifelinking sprit token.  Yeah…this seems like fun and the Hybrid mana cost means he could fit in sooooo many Casual brews that it is ridiculous.  There will be a warm spot for him in my Evolve deck powered with Gyre Sage and ramp this guy out.  Really, any mono-green ramp strategy will be a solid fit and will make this guy into an instant all star.  Look for this guy causing havoc at Kitchen tables for years to come.

 

2- Shamanic Revelation – Ok, this is an upgrade on Collective Unconsciousness, and it will be ridiculous in Casual Games.  Any strategy going wide playing Green will gobble this card up, run it, and gain about a bajillion life and draw ALL the cards.  Think about it. I can name at least 2 of my own decks that will love this and there is room for plenty more.  Mass card draw in Green is never easy to find and the fact that this one takes some set up is not ideal, but the potential upside is huge.  I can hardly wait to fire this one off.

 

1- Temur War Shaman: Ok, if this were a 4/5 for 6 mana it would be ok.  However, this packs an additional Manifested creature when it enters the battlefield meaning that you get  6/7 for power and toughness…across two bodies…for 6 mana. That is some pretty good stats that you shouldn’t overlook when you are playing this card.   This is also absurdly easy to abuse…bounce it to your hand with Sage Eye Avengers, Roaring Primadox, Quickling or Deputy of Acquittals…but even better is all the flicker non-sense from Avacyn Restored. Cloudshift, Ghostly Flicker, Conjurer’s Closet, Deadeye Navigator…and you are off to the races Manifesting everything.  I really like this guy and feel like it has some Casual applications in addition to the ridiculous pile of Manifest cards that can just make the battlefield one huge mess.  I’m a fan!

Well, there we go.  Of course, you might have some other casual favorites in mind, and that’s 100% fine.  The nice thing with Fated Reforge is that it seems to offer quite a number of really interesting cards for Constructed and Casual applications making it look fun and feel pretty neat.  Also, I feel like the Manifest ability is going to make this set very complicated and challenging…which is a good thing because it will force us all to deviate from playing boring linear decks, but instead splashing it around and seeing what other sorts of shenanigans we can concoct as we move forward.    I’m a big fan, in case you haven’t seen. However, the Khans of each of the clans, Ugin, and some of the other spells and creatures are all insane, but I wanted to take some time and highlight some of the things that have got me excited.

Thanks for taking the time to read.  Until next time, keep it fun, keep it safe…keep it Casual.

by Bruce Gray – Casual Encounters
@bgray8791 on Twitter

 

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Three Kings Loot - September 2, 2014

Fate Reforged spoiler – Release notes, Artwork & Card Galle...

Magic Fate Reforged- large pre-orderFate Reforged spoilerFate Reforged spoiler symbol

Release notes

  • Set 2 of 3 in the Khans of Tarkir block
  • Number of Cards: 185
  • Prerelease Events: January 17-18, 2015
  • Date: January 23, 2015
  • Game Day: February 13, 2015
  • Official Three-Letter Code: FRF
  • Twitter Hashtag: #MTGFRF

 

Fate Reforged spoiler

Colorless

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

White

Abzan AdvantageAbzan RunemarkAbzan SkycaptainArashin ClericAven SkirmisherChannel HarmCitadel SiegeDaghatar the AdamantDragon Bell MonkDragonscale GeneralElite ScaleguardGreat-Horn KrushokHonor's RewardJeskai BarricadeLightformLotus-Eye MysticsMardu Woe-ReaperMonastery MentorMastery of the UnseenPressure PointRally the AncestorsSage's ReverieSandblastSandsteppe OutcastSoulfire Grand MasterSoul SummonsValorous StanceWandering ChampionWardscale Dragon

 

Blue

Aven SurveyorCloudformEnhanced AwarenessFascinationFrost WalkerJeskai InfiltratorJeskai RunemarkJeskai SageLotus Path DjinnMarang River ProwlerMindscour DragonMistfire AdeptMonastery SiegeNeutralizing BlastRakshasa's DisdainReality ShiftRefocusRenowned WeaponsmithRite of UndoingSage-Eye AvengersShu Yun, the Silent TempestShifting LoyaltiesSultai SkullkeeperSupplant FormTemporal TrespassTorrent ElementalWhisk AwayWill of the NagaWrite Into Being

 

Black

Alesha's VanguardAncestral VengeanceArchfiend of DepravityBattle BrawlerBrutal HordechiefCrux of FateDark DealDiplomacy of the WastesDouse in GloomFearsome AwakeningGrave StrengthGurmag AnglerHooded AssassinMardu ShadowspearMardu Strike LeaderMerciless ExecutionerNoxious DragonOrc SureshotPalace SiegeQarsi High PriestReach of ShadowsSibsig HostSibsig MuckdraggersSoulflayerSultai EmissarySultai RunemarkTasigur, the Golden FangTasigur's CrueltyTyphoid RatsGhastly Conscription

 

Red

Alesha, Who smiles at DeathArcboundBathe in DragonfireBloodfire EnforcersBreak Through the LineCollateral DamageDefiant OgreDragonrageFierce InvocationFlamerush RiderFlamewake PhoenixFriendly FireGoblin HeelcutterGore SwineHumble DefectorHungering YetiLightning ShriekerMardu RunemarkMardu ScoutMob RuleOutpost SiegePyrotechnicsRageformShaman of the Great HuntShockmaw DragonSmoldering EfreetTemur Battle RageVaultbreakerWild Slash

 

Green

Abzan Kin-GuardAinok GuideAmbush KrotiqArashin War BeastArchers of QarsiBattlefront KrushokCached DefensesDestructor DragonFeral KrushokFormless NurturingFrontier MastodonFrontier SiegeFruit of the First TreeHunt the WeakMap the WastesReturn to the EarthRuthless InstinctsSandsteppe MastodonShamanic RevelationSudden ReclamationTemur RunemarkTemur SabertoothTemur War ShamanWarden of the First TreeWhisperer of the WildsWhisperingwood ElementalWildcallWinds of Qal SismaYasova Dragonclaw

 

Artifact

Goblin Boom KegHero's BladeHewed Stone RetainersPilgrim of the FiresScroll of the MastersUgin's Construct

 

Multicolored

Atarka, World RenderCunning StrikeDromoka, the EternalEthereal AmbushGrim ContestHarsh SustenanceKolaghan, the Storm's FuryOjutai, Soul of WinterSilumgar, the Drifting DeathWar Flare

 

Lands

Crucible of the Spirit Dragon

Tokens

Manifest and Morph Token Monk Token 1  Spirit TokenWarrior Token

Pre-release promos ‘Time Shifted Cards’

Ugin's Fate booster - Fate Reforged spoiler

Ugin's Fate Display

Fate Reforged pre-release will introduce special promo ‘Time Shifted Cards’. During the event you get to pick your  Tarkir Clan and will also receive a special ‘Ugin’s Fate” booster pack which contains a Token, a Land card and certain amount of ‘Time Shifted Cards’ from a pool of 40 holo foil stamped cards with alternate art which demonstrates how the plane of Tarkir has changed. The PAX Australia panel showcased three of these cards.

  • Smite the Monstrous (exchanging a mastodon for a dragon),
  • Ghostfire Blade (showing that everyone was left-handed a 1000 years ago),
  • Briber’s Purse (showing a pay-off to a tyrannical dragon.

Briber's Purse - Ugin's Fate Ghostfire Blade Smite the MonstrousHordeling Outburst

 

Fate Reforged promos

Launch event January 23–25, 2015

Sandsteppe Mastodon

 

Game Day February 14–15, 2015

Mardu Shadowspear - Game Day

 

Game Day Top 8

Supplant Form - MTGFRF Game Day promo

 

Exclusive playmat for the Game Day Champion

Fate Reforged Game Day champion playmat

 

Buy-a-Box Promo

Shamanic Revelation Buy-a-Box Promo

Fate Reforged Artwork

Fate Reforged spoiler artworkCrux of Fate - Fate Reforged spoiler ArtUgin Fate Reforged spoiler artSoulfire Grand MasterWandering ChampionUgin's ConstructValorous StanceSupplant FormShockmaw DragonScroll of the MastersOutpost SiegeMardu ScoutJeskai InfiltratorFrontier SiegeDestructor DragonCrucible of the Spirit DragonCitadel SiegeArchfiend of DepravityManifest artworkAinok GuideMonastery MentorNoxious DragonPilgrim of the FiresPressure Point