Mercadian Masques - a Complete Review (blue)
58 Aerial Caravan 4UU Creature-Soldier R 4/3. Flying 1UU: Remove the top card of your library from the game. Until end of turn you may play that card as thought it were in your hand. (Reveal the card as you remove it from the game.) ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
A Treasure Trove on a stick. It won't work well in heavy permission decks, because counterspells are best kept in hand. It won't work well in Merfolk either, because it's too expensive. That makes this a pretty good card with no deck it fits in. Still, it may see use as a kill card in some counterdecks, using the ability to dig for counters to counter something on the stack. 59 Balloon Peddler 2U Creature-Spellshaper C 2/2. U, T, Discard a card from your hand: Target creature gains flying until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
As if blue really needs more ways to give creatures flying. 60 Blockade Runner 3U Creature-Merfolk C 2/2. U: Blockade Runner is unblockable this turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Too expensive, but upgraded for being a merfolk. 61 Brainstorm U Instant C Draw three cards. Then, put any two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 4
This has already proven its worth. 62 Bribery 3UU Sorcery R Search target opponent's library for a creature card and put that card into play under your control. That player then shuffles his or her library. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 5
This is no cardadvantage. With Treachery around, I doubt this will see play. Great for fun, of course. 63 Buoyancy 1U Enchant Creature C You may play Buoyancy any time you could play an instant. Enchanted creature has flying. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
Whoopie, as if any of the other blue fly enchantments ever see play. 64 Chambered Nautilus 2U Creature-Beast U 2/2. Whenever Chambered Nautilus becomes blocked, you may draw a card. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
This is a tough one. It's no Magpie, but it might fit in a weenie deck as a quasi-unblockable. Then again, this set is filled with those. This is a fun target for Curiosity: damned if you block, damned if you don't. 65 Chameleon Spirit 3U Creature-Illusion U */* As Chameleon Spirit comes into play, choose a color. Chameleon Spirit's power and toughness are each equal to the number of permanents of the chosen color your opponents control. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
It'd see play if it had flying, but I don't think it'll be big enough often enough to be worth it as it is. Better in fun play, because there are usually more permanents around, but I'd still prefer Beast of Burden, because most colored permanents are creatures. 66 Charisma UUU Enchant Creature R Whenever enchanted creature deals damage to a creature, you control that creature as long as Charisma remains in play. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 3
A no-brainer on Masticore or on some pinger in a pinch. Low fun rating because it's an expensive Fear on a normal creature and just too damn powerful on a pinger. 67 Cloud Sprite U Creature-Faerie C 1/1. Flying. Cloud Sprite may block only creatures with flying. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 1
Too small and vanilla, but it'll be good in blue weenies that aren't based around merfolk. 68 Coastal Piracy 2UU Enchantment U Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to an opponent you may draw a card. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
A mass Curiosity. This might even replace Magpies in some of the more creature-heavy Magpie decks. 69 Counterspell UU Instant C Counter target spell. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 3
Bah-roken. 70 Cowardice 3UU Enchantment R Whenever a creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, return the creature to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
This begs for a deck to be made around it. This could be broken if you could find something cheap which could target creatures without tapping. Like Masticore. Yuck, that'd get nasty. 71 Customs Depot 1U Enchantment U Whenever you play a creature spell, you may pay 1. If you do, draw a card, then discard a card from your hand. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
There are better and easier ways to cycle your cards. 72 Darting Merfolk 1U Creature-Merfolk C 1/1. U: Return Darting Merfolk to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
I like the ability, but what use is it on a 1/1? 73 Dehydration 3U Enchant Creature C Enchanted creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
Thirst revisited. Blue has better ways of dealing with creatures. 74 Diplomatic Escort 1U Creature-Spellshaper U 1/1. U, T: Discard a card from your hand: Counter target spell or ability that targets a creature. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
In serious play, you'll usually want your creatures to be able to protect themselves (Morphling, Palinchron) and this is too weak for a weenie deck. Still, it's a fun card. 75 Diplomatic Immunity 1U Enchant Creature C Enchanted creature cannot be the target of spells or abilities. Diplomatic Immunity cannot be the target of spells or abilities. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Again, you want your creatures to be able to look after themselves. This suffers from being a creature enchantment which doesn't really do very much. 76 Drake Hatchling 2U Creature-Drake C 1/3. Flying U: Drake Hatchling gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Play this ability only once each turn. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
Ugh, as if blue doesn't have better fliers. Fun for a drake deck. 77 Embargo 3U Enchantment R Non-land permanents don't untap during their controllers' untap steps. At the beginning of your upkeep, you lose two life. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 3
I have a feeling this card might spark a few new attempts at blue-white control. It's better than Stasis in some ways, because the upkeep is a lot easier to handle AND it leaves all those precious lands available for countering. Use Conclaves for the kill and some of white's new removal to keep opponent's Legacy Lands at bay. Kismet hardens the lock (I think it's in sixth anyway). Add enough lifegain to deal with the upkeep AND with burnboy's fire. Hmm, other than that just carddrawing and lots of counters. The carddrawing might be a problem with no Whispers of the Muse or Treasure Trove, but Aerial Caravan might work. Anyway, this could be a pretty powerful card, but for fun play it suffers from the Stasis problem: boring to play against. 78 Energy Flux 2U Enchantment U All artifacts gain "During your upkeep, pay 2 or sacrifice this artifact." ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
Maybe an ok hoser against mono-brown. It's not a bad card to have in multiplayer either, there's always someone with artifacts. 79 Extravagant Spirit 3U Creature-Spirit R 4/4. Flying. At the beginning of your upkeep sacrifice Extravagant Spirit unless you pay 1 for each card in your hand. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
When is a blue deck going to have no cards in hand? Even merfolk decks like to have a counter at the ready and then it's as expensive to cast as an Air Elemental. Not worth it. 80 False Demise 2U Enchant Creature U When enchanted creature is put into the graveyard, return that creature to play under your control. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Again, blue wants creatures that can protect themselves. Or in the case of blue weenie, you'd rather have another creature. 81 Glowing Anemone 3U Creature-Beast U 1/3. When Glowing Anemone comes into play, you may return target land to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
I'm probably overestimating how useful this'll be in serious play, but I think it might work in certain decks. Maybe that's because I really hate it when one of my lands gets boomeranged. 82 Gush 4U Instant C You may return two islands you control to their owner's hand instead of paying Gush's mana cost. Draw two cards. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
I can see why Stasis isn't in sixth. This could be useful against landdestruction or an Armageddon that gets through. The obvious use is to get some emergency fodder for your Masticore of course. 83 High Seas 2U Enchantment U Red creature spells and green creature spells cost 1 more to play. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Three mana seems like a bit too much for this. Green has plenty of mana anyway and red usually only has cheap creatures. Plus red still has the Lackey. 84 Hoodwink 1U Instant C Return target artifact, enchantment, or land to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
Bleh. It would probably be too good for just U, but for 1U it's just a Boomerang, which nobody wants to splash anyway. Upgraded for fun play, because I've been toying with a deck based around bouncing lands to keep the opponent stalled until I get to Capsize mana and am able to keep them locked. It uses Howling Mines for fuel and a splash of red for Stone Rain and Solfatara. This'd be much better though. With the Glowing Anemone, it could be mono-blue. 85 Indentured Djinn 1UU Creature-Djinn U 4/4. Flying. When Indentured Djinn comes into play, each other player may draw up to three cards. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 1
Really hard to say much about this one without playtesting. The drawback is pretty nasty, too much so for fun play, but can it work for real? Maybe in a blue-black discard-bounce deck. Depends whether that is viable without Tradewind Rider and Capsize. Even Megrim will be gone. 86 Karn's Touch UU Instant R Target non-creature artifact becomes an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its converted mana cost until end of turn. (It retains its abilities.) ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
I'd rather have Karn. 87 Misdirection 3UU Instant R You may remove a blue card in your hand from the game instead of paying Misdirection's mana cost. Target spell with a single target targets another target instead. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 4
Deflection was nice but expensive, but this looks good. Great against combo decks ("Nah, I don't need those 800 cards, here, you have 'em.") and probably good enough to play maindeck. I can't think of any decks it would be completely useless against. 88 Misstep 1U Sorcery C Creatures target player controls don't untap during that player's next untap step. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
It's no Exhaustion. At best it's just an expensive Fog really. 89 Overtaker 1U Creature-Spellshaper R 1/1. 3U, T, Discard a card from your hand: Untap target creature and gain control of it until end of turn. That creature gains haste until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 4
Add anything to sac creatures to and who said blue has trouble dealing with creatures? This one could turn out to be too good. 90 Port Inspector 1U Creature - Townsfolk C 1/2. Whenever Port Inspector is blocked, you may look at defending player's hand. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 2
I guess you can tell what sort of hand the opponent has if he goes out of his way not to block this, but still, I prefer Telepathy. A 1/2 is too easy to ignore. Telepathy, on the other hand, is pretty good for heavy permission. Maybe not in the high level tournaments where everybody plays carbon copies of the same popular decks, but against rogue decks it is so good to know what surprises are coming. It's also pretty good if you're trying to learn how to play permission, training wheels of a sort. 91 Rishadan Airship 2U Creature-Pirate C 3/1. Flying Rishadan Airship may block only creatures with flying. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 2
Cloud Spirit revisited, because it was such a hot card. 92 Rishadan Brigand 4U Creature-Pirate R 3/2. Flying. When Rishadan Brigand comes into play, each opponent sacrifices a permanent unless he or she pays 3. Rishadan Brigand may block only creatures with flying. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
If you get anything at all, it'll usually just be a land. It might see use in a recursion deck (get rid of all their permanents), but I doubt it. 93 Rishadan Cutpurse 2U Creature-Pirate C 1/1. When Rishadan Cutpurse comes into play, each opponent sacrifices a permanent unless he or she pays 1. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
At least the other one had flying. 94 Rishadan Footpad 3U Creature-Pirate U 2/2. As Rishadan Footpad comes into play, each opponent sacrifices a permanent unless he or she pays 2. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
I'm beginning to sense a theme here. Could make an interesting fun deck this way, but it won't be very good. 95 Sailmonger 3U Creature-Monger C 3/3. 2: Target creature gains flying until end of turn. Any player may play this ability. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
Probably the weakest of the Mongers. Blue has plenty of creatures that already have flying and this just gives your opponent a way to block them. Nice in fun play if you want to go clay pigeon shooting with Grapeshot Catapult or something like Dizzying Gaze. Don't use Hurricane-type effects, you'll loose your Monger. 96 Sand Squid 3U Creature-Beast R 2/2. Islandwalk You may choose not to untap Sand Squid during your untap step. T: Tap target creature. That creature does not untap during its controller's untap step as long as Sand Squid remains tapped. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
It has potential as blue creature control, but a Ring of Gix seems better. 97 Saprazzan Bailiff 3UU Creature-Merfolk R 2/2. When Saprazzan Bailiff comes into play, remove all enchantment and artifact cards from all graveyards. When Saprazzan Bailiff leaves play, return all enchantment and artifact cards from all graveyards to owners' hands. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
Finally a card which works well with phasing again. I think the last one was Thalakos Seer from Tempest. The ability is interesting enough, but 5 mana is really too much. 98 Saprazzan Breaker 4U Creature-Beast U 3/3. U: Put the top card of your library into your graveyard. If that card is a land card, Saprazzan Breaker is unblockable this turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
5 mana is a lot for a 3/3. Fun with some graveyard manipulation though. 99 Saprazzan Heir 1U Creature-Merfolk R 1/1. Whenever Saprazzan Heir becomes blocked, you may draw three cards. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 5
This will probably be a chase rare, but it's not that good. Any of the "whenever -this- becomes blocked" cards are almost strictly worse than the same creature that is unblockable. So I prefer Metathran Elite and that isn't very good either. Still, for fun play there is always the thrill of trying to set up a Lure+Regeneration on this. 100 Saprazzan Legate 3U Creature-Soldier U 1/3. Flying. If an opponent controls a mountain and you control an island, you may play Saprazzan Legate without paying it's mana cost. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
It has the same problem as all of its kind: it's too expensive to go in the main and there are better options for the side. 101 Saprazzan Outrigger 3U Creature-Ship C 5/5. When Saprazzan Outrigger attacks or blocks, put it on top of its owner's library at end of combat. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Too bad the ability can't be used to save it from death, but a 5/5 for 4 mana probably will find some use. Or maybe not. 102 Saprazzan Raider 2U Creature-Merfolk C 1/2. When Saprazzan Raider becomes blocked, return it to owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
A 1/2 for 3 mana with a disadvantage. Right. That'll see play. 103 Shoving Match 2U Instant U Until end of turn, all creature's gain "T: Tap target creature". ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 4
I'm willing to bet this is one from the Unglued Sequel that never made it. It's a bit on the silly side and not very powerful. What'd be the use of this, really? Maybe some silliness with Theft of Dreams, but I doubt it. The inevitable mayhem in multiplayer gets it a high fun rating. 104 Soothsaying U Enchantment U 3UU: Shuffle your library. X: Look at the top X cards of your library and put them back in any order. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
Alladin's Lamp the way it was supposed to be costed: 1 instead of 10. It'll take a bit of mana to get some use out of this, but with no more Whispers, blue has to use things like Magpies for extra cards, which leaves plenty of mana to use this. 105 Squeeze 3U Enchantment R Sorcery spells cost 3 more to play. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
This would get a higher rating if I could think of any decks with lots of sorceries. 106 Statecraft 3U Enchantment R Prevent all combat damage to your creatures. Prevent all combat damage by your creatures. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
Like I said, I'm fond of Gaseous Form, so the mass version gets two thumbs up from me. It could make a pretty nasty combo with Wall of Glare, but Mother of Runes does it nearly as well, so I don't think it'll get used for that. 107 Stinging Barrier 2UU Creature-Wall C 0/4. U,T: Stinging Barrier deals 1 damage to target creature or player. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
4 mana is a lot for a tiny wall like that, even if it does have a nice ability. A must in any Tim deck, but as an anti-weenie card it's probably too slow. 108 Thwart 2UU Instant U You may return three islands you control to their owner's hand instead of paying Thwart's mana cost. Counter target spell. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
Am I ever glad Stasis is gone, this would have been sick. I like this, it's weaker than Force of Will, because it really screws up your land, but it's good later in the game when you have plenty of land and until then it's just an expensive counterspell. It doesn't quite get a 5, because by the time it's safe to cast this without paying the mana, you should be able to avoid having to tap out. 109 Tidal Bore 1U Instant C You may return an island you control to it's owner's hand instead of paying Tidal Bore's mana cost. Tap or untap target creature. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
The only use for this I can see is, once again, Stasis. 110 Tidal Kraken 5UUU Creature-Monster R 6/6. Tidal Kraken is unblockable. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
It's an ok kill card, but there are better ones. 111 Timid Drake 2U Creature-Drake U 3/3. Flying. When another creature comes into play, return Timid Drake to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Cute. Another reprint from the Mirage block if I'm not mistaking. Few decks would let you keep this out for any amount of time, so I don't see much use in playing it. 112 Trade Routes 1U Enchantment R 1: Return target land you control to owner's hand. 1, Discard a land from your hand: draw card ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
Good against landdestruction. We might also see this in combination with Armageddon. But what'd we call it? Tradegeddon is taken. Upgraded for fun play because I see a lot of land destruction around here. 113 War Tax 2U Enchantment U XU: Creatures can't attack this turn unless their controller pays X for each attacking creature. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
This is a one card lock against creature decks. Just add some mana acceleration and you're in business. As green is the color of choice for extra mana, it'll probably be green with a splash of blue. 114 Waterfront Bouncer 1U Creature-Spellshaper C 1/1. U,T,Discard a card from your hand: Return target creature to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
It's too fragile for serious play, but if it's allowed to live, it can be rather nice to irritate the opponent.
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