Mercadian Masques - a Complete Review (green)
229 Ancestral Mask 2G Enchant Creature C Enchanted Creature gets +2/+2 for each other enchantment in play. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
It probably won't see that much play, but in enchantress decks, this is a no-brainer. I'm talking about a beatdown version, not a combo version, of course. I've played Yavimaya Enchantresses in there and they can get pretty ugly pretty fast (a bit of a cruel thing to say about these ladies, but it's true in this case). An Ancestral Mask can make one of your Verduran Enchantresses into a huge beatdown machine. 230 Bifurcate 3G Sorcery R Search you library for a copy of target creature card in play and put it in play. Shuffle your library afterwards. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
I always thought Mask of the Mimic should have been green and now it is. It'll probably see about as much play as Mask did: none. This is no Natural Order. If you have a big fattie in play, you don't need this, because you're winning. By using this, you'll just give the opponent more targets for a Wrath or other reset button of choice. 231 Boa Constrictor 4G Creature-Snake U 3/3. T: Boa Constrictor gets +3/+3 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
5 mana is just too much for a defensive creature. With Quirion Ranger in T2, this might have seen play, but it won't now I think. 232 Briar Patch 1GG Enchantment U Whenever a creature attacks you, it gets -1/-0 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
Sort of a green Orim's Prayer, only better because it makes it less dangerous to block for your creatures. Still not great though. A defensive card isn't what green needs and the effect is pretty minimal. 233 Caller of the Hunt 2G Creature-Lord R */*. As Caller of the Hunt comes into play, choose a creature type. Caller of the Hunt's power and toughness are each equal to the number of creatures in play of the chosen type. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
This is no Lhurgoyff. In an elf deck, a single Steam Blast will wipe everything out, including this. As a hoser against weenie deck it doesn't work that well either. Goblins will get Reckless Abandoned to get this down to size. In the end, you'll be lucky to get a 4/4 out of this and the few times you do aren't worth the times when this'll be a 1/1 or 2/2. Again a fun multiplayer card though. 234 Caustic Wasps 2G Creature-Insect U 1/1. Flying Whenever Caustic Wasps deals combat damage to a player, you may destroy target artifact that player controls. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
A green Goblin Vandals with built-in evasion. It's not bad, especially as green has very few fliers, but the monkey (Uktabi Orangutan) is still better. 235 Clear the Land 2G Sorcery R All players look at the top 5 cards of their library, and put all the lands into play tapped, then shuffle the remaining cards into their libraries. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
This'll need playtesting. On one hand, getting two or three extra lands immediately in play is nice, but it's costly for an effect your opponent gets the benefit from as well. For every time it's a useful speed boost against weenies, it'll be a dead draw against control. You don't really want to give them mana for free. Maybe this will see play with Abundance or Brainstorm to assure a few lands, but I'm sceptical about it. 236 Collective Unconscious 4GG Sorcery R Draw a card for each creature you control ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
Why not play Overrun instead and win immediately? Well, because Overrun is rotating out and I think that saves this from the trade binder. Normally green has better things to do than passively drawing cards (except when playing against combo decks where you're dying from sheer card advantage), but this has the bonus of not giving your opponent cards as well, like Nature's Resurgence did, which didn't see much play for probably that reason. How good will this be though? The main problem is that it doesn't help you win if you're loosing. You have to somehow cast this *before* an Earthquake or Wrath clears the board, which could be tricky at a casting cost of 6. 237 Dawnstrider 1G Creature-Spellshaper R 1/1. G, T: Discard a card from your hand: Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt this turn. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
The replacement for Spike Weaver. This comes out faster, but the fragility doesn't help. It'll see play, if for no other reason than that it absolutely murders green without Masticores. Not even the new green weenie decks can kill on turn two and this gets active on turn 3. If nothing else, it stalls you until you find your Masticore. 238 Deadly Insect 4G Creature-Insect C 6/1. Deadly Insect can't be the target of spells or abilities. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
It's not a bad creature, but it's situational. It only works if your opponent is playing with no creatures, but those kind of decks probably won't be viable. 239 Deepwood Drummer 1G Creature-Spellshaper C 1/1. G, T: Discard a card from your hand: Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
It was predictable green would get a Giant Growth Spellshaper, but it only being +2/+2 is frustrating. The dark ritual one doesn't give only BB either, does it? Strong in sealed, but green has better cards in constructed. 240 Deepwood Elder GG Creature-Spellshaper R 2/2. XGG, T, Discard a card from your hand: X target lands become forests until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
I didn't like this one much at first, but now it's one of my favorite cards in the set. Why? Because it's a must-be-dealt-with for most control decks. Try casting Wildfire, Wrath of God or Counterspells with only green mana. It's not a hard lock, but it'll buy plenty of time to win. The best part is that it's an ok beatdown creature as well at 2/2 for 2 mana, so it shouldn't slow the deck down. It does need some mana acceleration, but Rofellos and Gaea's Cradle should provide that. 241 Deepwood Tantiv 4G Creature-Beast U 2/4. Whenever Deepwood Tantiv becomes blocked, you gain 2 life. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
One of the worst green creatures in quite a few sets if that casting cost is right. A defensive deck won't mind you gaining life and an offensive deck will have you dead before you cast this if this is your fattie of choice. 242 Deepwood Wolverine G Creature-Wolverine C 1/1. Whenever Deepwood Wolverine becomes blocked, it gets +2/+0 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 1
One of the few creatures where the "when -this- becomes blocked" ability works out. A 1/1 unblockable for G isn't great, but it works. Still, with the good green weenies around at the moment, this will get passed over. 243 Desert Twister 4GG Sorcery U Destroy target permanent. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 3
Expensive, but sometimes this is just the thing you need. Creature destruction doesn't get any greener than this. Creeping Mold is good, but no replacement for the mighty Twister. 244 Erithizon 2GG Creature-Beast R 4/4. Whenever Erithizon attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature of defending player's choice. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
The drawback isn't too bad, but green has better creatures. Fun against creatureless though. 245 Ferocity 1G Enchant Creature C Whenever enchanted creature blocks or becomes blocked, you may put a +1/+1 counter on it. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Pretty weak as far as creature enchants go. 246 Food Chain 2G Enchantment R Remove a creature you control from the game: Add X mana of any color to your mana pool, where X is the removed creature's converted mana cost plus one. This mana may be spent only to play creature spells. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
Reusable Metamorphosis: weeee. Would have been seriously broken if it had been just sacrifice instead of remove from game (recast Weatherseed Treefolk until you have infinite mana and then die because you forgot it could only be used on creatures. Been there, done that. 247 Foster 2GG Enchantment R Whenever a creature you control is put into a graveyard, you may pay 1. If you do, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a creature card. Put that card into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
For 4 mana you'd rather have some immediate effect rather than having to wait for your opponent's creature removal to get some card advantage from this. Still, it's a fun card. 248 Game Preserve 2G Enchantment R At the beginning of your upkeep, each player reveals the top card of his or her library. If all cards revealed this way are creature cards, put those cards into play under their owner's control. (Otherwise, put them back face-down on top of their owners' libraries.) ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 5
It's fun, but pretty weak. Even if you have 30 creatures in your deck and so does your opponent, your chances are only 25% of getting anything from this. If you're playing against a control deck with only about 10 creatures or so, it's less than 10%. Add to that the risk that your opponent gets something huge like a Serra Avatar or irritating like a Morphling and you'll see it's not worth it. 249 Giant Caterpillar 3G Creature-Insect C 3/3. G, Sacrifice Giant Caterpillar: Put a 1/1. green Butterfly creature token with flying into play at end of turn. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
Not a bad card, but it's competing with a lot of good stuff for green in the 4cc slot. This won't see play. 250 Groundskeeper 1G Creature-Druid U 1/1. 1G: Return target basic land card from your graveyard to your hand. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
A good way to keep a Masticore Fueled, but if fuel is necessary, Squee is better. I'm sure there are plenty of tricks possible with this guy, not the least of which is for the rather obvious use of fueling Spellshapers, but in the end, again, I think this will prove to be too fragile to be viable. Any deck which can't kill a 1/1 to break a lock must have forgotten to put in those Masticores. Great potential for fun play, though. 251 Horned Troll 2G Creature-Troll C 2/2. G: Regenerate Horned Troll. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
Uthden Troll with a change of name. It's ok, but not spectacular. Pales compared to Albino Troll (the pun was unintended, my apologies). 252 Howling Wolf 2GG Creature-Wolf C 2/2. When Howling Wolf comes into play, you may search your library for up to three Howling Wolf cards reveal them, and put them into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
It's not as great as Yavimaya Elder, but it does give the same kind of cardadvantage. The first one does, anyway. The others are just expensive 2/2s. Too weak for green weenie, but this could find a controlish deck to fit in. Nice synergy with Multani and Scent of Ivy and if nothing else it gets you some Masticore food. 253 Hunted Wumpus 3G Creature-Beast U 6/6. As Hunted Wumpus comes comes into play, each other player may put a creature card from his or her hand directly into play. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
This guy is seriously big for only 4 mana. There is the risk of getting a Collosus or a Crater Hellion or such, but the risk is worth it. You're not giving your opponent cardadvantage, just tempo advantage. Anything he has in hand, he would have eventually cast anyway. 254 Invigorate 2G Instant C If you control a forest, you may have an opponent gain 3 life instead of paying Invigorate's mana cost. Target creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
I was afraid the green free spell would turn out to be a weak Giant Growth with a horrible alternate cost. Instead, it's a stronger one with the best alternate cost of the set. Letting your opponent gain life is never a problem, whereas paying life and sacrificing or bouncing land or tapping creatures can be. This won't get your opponent dead much faster, but it's great to slam through blockers. Blocking will never be safe again against green decks. 255 Land Grant 1G Sorcery C If you have no land cards in hand, you may reveal your hand instead of paying Land Grant's mana cost. Search your library for a forest card and put that card into your hand. Then shuffle your library. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
Maybe this will see play as a very minor way of thinning a green deck, but it's not worth the risk of getting your only land countered or Duressed. Except for some minor effects with deck thinning and making Scent of Ivy marginally more useful, Land Grant has the dubious honor of being strictly worse than a Forest. 256 Ley Line 3G Enchantment U At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player may put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 2
For 4 mana, I expect more than 1 counter per turn, especially if my opponent gets them too. This would have been overcosted at 2 mana. 257 Lumbering Satyr 2GG Creature-Beast U 5/4. All creatures gain forestwalk. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
Ernham revisited. It's ok, but pales compared to the Wumpus. 258 Lure 1GG Enchant Creature U All creatures able to block enchanted creature do so if able. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
The only thing that makes all these semi-unblockables different from each other. 3 mana is a lot for a one-use creature enchantment though. Your creature won't often survive getting Lured. 259 Megatherium 2G Creature-Beast R 4/4. Trample. As Megatherium comes into play, sacrifice it unless you pay 1 for each card in your hand. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
Not worth it unless it's the last card in your hand, but by that time, wouldn't you rather have a Might of Oaks instead of a summoning sickened creature? 260 Natural Affinity 2G Instant R All lands become 2/2 creature until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
I could be underestimating this, but the green weenie decks that want to use this as a finisher wont have much lands open after casting this. It becomes better when you get more mana, but your opponent is less likely to be tapped out then and better finishers become available. A nice card, but it doesn't fit into any decks that I can see. 261 Pangosaur 2GG Creature-Lizard R 6/6. Whenever a player plays a land, return Pangosaur to its owner's hand. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
It's big, but the drawback looks irritating. Still, it'll get through eventually, so it's a good card, I just think the mighty Wumpus is to good for this to get much play time. 262 Revive 1G Sorcery U Return target green card from your graveyard to your hand. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
Regrowth but balanced, because you can't get anything blue or white with it, so no Balances or Twisters, just Might of Oaks and Creeping Molds. Elven Cache was too expensive and Reclaim carddisadvantage, but this one looks better. 263 Rushwood Dryad 1G Creature-Dryad C 2/1. Forestwalk ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 1
Bland. 264 Rushwood Elemental GGGGG Creature-Elemental R 4/4. Trample At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Rushwood Elemental. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
A 4/4 with built-in Momentum is strong, but it pales to some of the other cheap fat green gets in this set. 265 Rushwood Herbalist 2G Creature-Spellshaper C 2/2. G, T: Discard a card from your hand: Regenerate target creature. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Strong in sealed, but it just pales to Yavimaya Hollows. 266 Rushwood Legate 2G Creature-Dryad U 2/1. If an opponent controls an island and you control a forest, you may play Rushwood Legate without paying its mana cost. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
Same problem as the others, not to mention that green has creatures that are so much better, it's not even funny. 267 Saber Ants 3G Creature-Insect U 2/3. Whenever Saber Ants is dealt damage, you may put that many 1/1 green Insect tokens into play. ==> TOUR: 5 - FUN: 5
This is a wonderful card. It's a bit on the slow side at 4 mana for a 2/3, but I'm sure it will find a spot in some deck or other. It's a great chumpblocker as well, if the other creature doesn't have trample. Chump a Wumpus and you'll have enough tokens to kill it next time it attacks. Heck, you might even be tempted to Might of Oaks your opponent's blocking creature if it's going to kill the Saber Ants anyway: instant 10 1/1s. 268 Sacred Prey G Creature-Beast C 1/1. When Sacred Prey becomes blocked, you gain 1 life. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 2
It's about as weak as the other green quasi-unblockable. Green can do better than Tarpan, surely. 269 Silverglade Elemental 4G Creature-Elemental C 4/4. When Silverglade Elemental comes into play, you may search your library for a forest card and put that card into play. If you do, shuffle your library. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
Wood Elves on steroids. Maybe it'll see play as a replacement, but I doubt it. At 5 mana you shouldn't be needing any more. Nice in fun where mana is always useful. 270 Silverglade Pathfinder 1G Creature-Spellshaper U 1/1. 1G, T, Discard a card from your hand: Search your library for a basic land card and put that card into play tapped. Then shuffle your library. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
A replacement for Hermit Druid, but I don't think the environment needs one. Nice cardadvantage with the druid or Squee, as well as nice mana speed. 271 Snake Pit 3G Enchantment U Whenever an opponent plays a blue or black spell you may put a 1/1 green Snake token into play. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
For 4 mana you'll prefer something more devastating, like a huge creature. Compost and Multani's Presence are both better color hosers against black and blue respectively, but who knows. The most fun of the multi-hosers by far. I'm playing this one main deck, together with my Roots of Life. Multiplayer, here I come! 272 Snorting Garh 2GG Creature-Beast C 3/3. Whenever Snorting Gahr becomes blocked, it gets +2/+2 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Another creature that doesn't live up to green's standards. 273 Spidersilk Armor 2G Enchantment C Creatures your control get +0/+1 and may block as though they had flying. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 5
Green was long overdue its own Parapet. Like Parapet, I doubt it will see play, but I want 4 anyway. I just like cards that give some of those fragile 1/1s a bit of a backside. 274 Spontaneous Generation 3G Sorcery R Put a 1/1 green Saproling token in play for each card in your hand. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
Green needed a token generator, but this one is a bit situational. You need a deck that can almost guarantee to keep its hand full and that's not easy to do for green, in spite of Yavimaya Elder. It's not a bad card and it will probably get played, but I think green has better options. This would have been great with an alternate casting cost of: return 5 Forests to your hand. 275 Squall 2G Sorcery C Squall deals 2 damage to each creature with flying. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
What's the point of using this instead of a Hurricane? 276 Squallmonger 3G Creature-Monger U 3/3. 2: Squallmonger deals 1 damage to each creature with flying and each player. Any player may play this ability. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
This could be just what green needs if the opponent manages to set up something like a Wall of Glare + Mother of Runes combo. Alternate kills are good. Reusable direct damage is good. Untargetted damage is good. "Die, Morphling, die!" This is the only Monger your opponent isn't likely to be able to get any use out of. In spite of being weakish as far as green creatures go, this might just see a lot of play. 277 Stamina 2G Enchant Creature U Attacking doesn't cause enchanted creature to tap. Sacrifice Stamina: Regenerate enchanted creature. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 2
And I thought Carapace was bad. 3 mana for this thing is just silly. 278 Sustenance 1G Enchantment U 1, Sacrifice a land: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Maybe, just maybe this'll help a little against Wildfire, but I doubt it. To be useful, it should either give +1/+1 counters or +2/+2. 279 Tiger Claws 2G Enchant Creature C You may play Tiger Claws any time you could play an instant. Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has trample. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 1
It's not even funny how bad this is compared to Rancor. I seriously doubt it'd even get played at G, let alone 2G. 280 Tranquility 2G Sorcery C Destroy all enchantments. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
Another card reprinted that's still in the basic set. They should have at least made it a pitch spell. 281 Venomous Breath 3G Instant U At end of combat, destroy all creatures blocking or blocked by target creature this turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
For that price, Might of Oaks does the same thing AND it saves your creature. I think this is a portal reprint. 282 Venomous Dragonfly 3G Creature-Insect C 1/1. Flying. Whenever Venomous Dragonfly blocks or becomes blocked by a creature, destroy that creature at end of combat. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 3
I realize green shouldn't have cheap fliers, but this is ridiculous. For one more mana you get a Cockatrice and even that is hardly ever played. 283 Vernal Equinox 3G Enchantment R Any player may play creature and enchantment spells any time he or she could play an instant. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 5
Very expensive, especially for a shared ability. Completely changes the game in multiplayer, people will think twice before committing to an attack at someone who has mana open. 284 Vine Dryad 3G Creature-Dryad R 1/3. Instead of paying Vine Dryad's mana cost you may remove a green card in your hand from the game. You can play this card any time you could play an instant. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
It can speed up a weenie deck, but the carddisadvantage isn't worth it for an extra 1/3. The instant ability saves it from obscurity, but even that isn't great. Give me Grunts over this anytime. 285 Vine Trellis 1G Creature-Wall C 0/4. T: Add one green mana to your mana pool. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 3
It's no Wall of Roots or Blossoms, but those will be gone, so this could see play. I'm not crazy about a turn 2 Llanowar though, because it's so much better on turn one. The big backside will keep it around against burn, which is always a plus, but I'd have rather had a 0/3 wall for G.
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