Planeshift - a Complete Review (green)
77. Alpha Kavu 1G Creature - Kavu 2/2 1G: Target Kavu gets -1/+1 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
A Grizzly Bears with a little bit extra. It could come in handy as Shock protection, and to save other Kavu in creature battles. ---
78. Amphibious Kavu 2G Creature - Kavu 2/2 Whenever Amphibious Kavu blocks or becomes blocked by one or more blue and/or black creatures, Amphibious Kavu gets +3/+3 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
A 5/5 for three mana would be very good, but most opponents won't let it get that big unless they have to. Letting a 2/2 go unblocked is usually not that big a problem, not when you're on the wrong side of a couple of 5/5s. ---
79. Falling Timber 2G Instant Kicker: sacrifice a land. Prevent all combat damage target creature would deal this turn. If you paid the kicker cost, prevent all combat damage another creature would deal this turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Falling Timber can turn a combat around by saving two of your creatures, but most of the time a Giant Growth on a creature will not just save it but kill the blocker (or attacker). ---
80. Gaea's Herald 1G Creature - Elf 1/1 Creature spells can't be countered by spells or abilities. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 3
It looks like a good sideboard card against counter-heavy decks, but a 1/1 is pretty easy to get rid of with some removal. I still prefer Kavu Chameleon against blue, because it handles removal better. ---
81. Gaea's Might G Instant Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each basic land type among lands you control. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
I think this time they got the basic land mechanic right. A potential +5/+5 for G is impressive, yet at +3/+3 it's still solid as a copy of Giant Growth and even at +1/+1 it can be useful by deciding a close combat in your favor. On the other hand, five color green, basic land style, will need to spend time and cards to get those lands out, which doesn't mesh too well with the typical aggressive decks that tend to use Giant Growth. ---
82. Magnigoth Treefolk 4G Creature - Treefolk 2/6 For each basic land type among lands you control, Magnigoth Treefolk has landwalk of that type. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
Magnigoth Treefolk would be a lot more fun if it didn't tap to attack. At 2/6 it's not a card I'd use in a beatdown deck, so the landwalking won't matter that much, because it's more useful as a blocker. About the only good thing I can think of about Magnigoth Treefolk is that it can block Blastoderm and survive. ---
83. Mirrorwood Treefolk 3G Creature - Treefolk 2/4 2WR: The next time damage would be dealt to Mirrorwood Treefolk this turn, that damage is dealt to target creature or player instead. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 5
It's expensive to use the ability, but the effect is strong enough to make it worth it. Mirrorwood Treefolk is mostly a defensive card that will keep most opponents from attacking you until they have enough creatures that they don't mind losing one or two. Most red removal won't work on it, because it can redirect any damage, not just combat damage. Black removal gets rid of it quite handily, though, and land destruction can prevent you from using it for a turn, so it's probably a mistake to rely on it for defense. Earthquake works well with it if you have plenty of mana. It even works with Spiteful Bully, which deals three damage to a creature you control each upkeep. It's quite a mana drain, but a free bolt each turn is nice. ---
84. Multani's Harmony G Enchant Creature Enchanted creature has "T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool." ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 4
A creature version of Fertile Ground, with the difference that Fertile Ground added an additional mana to the land's normal mana, whereas Multani's Harmony forces you to choose between using the creature for its normal purpose, like attacking or using a tap ability or using it for mana. There are a few creatures that I wouldn't mind casting this on, like Verduran Enchantress or Ravenous Rats, but even I'm not crazy enough to cast it on a Birds of Paradise. On top of that, it has the same problem as all creature enchantments: the risk of losing two cards to one removal spell. Now that I think about it, Multani's Harmony does have an interesting interaction with Horseshoe Crab. Tap the Crab for blue mana and use that to untap itself. Now I only have to figure out a way to make good use of a tapping creature. Err... How about this: cast Seizures on the Crab, cast Sleeper Agent to make sure your opponent has a creature, then cast Pariah on the Agent to direct the damage to it and finish it off with a Treacherous Link to redirect the damage to your opponent. Hmm, that's a bit convoluted, even for me... ---
85. Nemata, Grove Guardian 4G Creature - Treefolk Legend 4/5 2G: Put a 1/1 green saproling creature token into play. Sacrifice a saproling: All saprolings get +1/+1 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 5
After Verdeloth in Invasion, we get Nemata in Planeshift. That treefolk-saproling theme deck is getting more and more cards. It's too bad most of those cards are rares. Nemata allows a deck to put spare mana to good use at the end of the opponent's turn. It usually takes a while to get enough 1/1 tokens for a mass attack, but with only five or six saprolings, it's worth attacking with the threat of sacrificing a few to kill the blockers. Defensively those tokens should also come in handy. Three or four will chump block a Blastoderm until it dies and with enough tokens, you can lessen the hurt from a Saproling Burst. ---
86. Planeswalker's ... 2G Enchantment 3G: Target opponent reveals a card at random from his or her hand. Target creature gets +X/+X where X is the converted mana cost of the revealed card. Play this ability only any time you could play a sorcery. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
My spoiler didn't have the full name, but oh well. It's a bit like the red one, but you need creatures to do the damage, so it's not as reliable. ---
87. Primal Growth 2G Sorcery Kicker: sacrifice a creature. Search your library for a basic land card, put that card into play, then shuffle your library. If you paid the kicker cost, instead search your library for two basic land cards, put them into play, then shuffle your library. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
Untamed Wilds with the option of trading a creature for an extra land. It can allow a deck to get to six mana on turn three (turn 1: forest, llanowar elf, ornithopter, turn 2: land, primal growth, sacrificing the ornithopter, turn 3: land and six mana available), but I don't think that's worth it. ---
88. Pygmy Kavu 3G Creature - Kavu 1/2 When Pygmy Kavu comes into play, draw a card for each black creature your opponents control. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 4
Works well with Darkest Hour or Shifting Sky. It could be a good sideboard card as well if any black creature decks are popular. No multiplayer deck should be without one of these, the card drawing potential is just nuts. ---
89. Quirion Dryad 1G Creature - Dryad 1/1 Whenever you play a white, blue, black or red spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Quirion Dryad. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 3
In the right deck, Quirion Dryad can get nice and big, as long as it doesn't get Recoiled, Washed Out or bounced by a Waterfront Bouncer. ---
90. Quirion Explorer 1G Creature - Elf 1/1 T: Add to your mana pool one mana of any color that a land an opponent controls could produce. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 2
If you expect to face a lot of multi-color decks, it could be worth it. I prefer Quirion Elves. You can't change the color on them, but at least you're certain to get the color you need. ---
91. Root Greevil 3G Creature - Beast 2/3 3G, T, sacrifice Root Greevil: Destroy all enchantments of the color of your choice. ==> TOUR: 1 - FUN: 2
It's very expensive to use and the Greevil is vulnerable to creature destruction for at least a turn before you can use it. It could be useful in sealed, though. ---
92. Skyshroud Blessing 1G Instant Lands can't be the targets of spells or abilities this turn. Draw a card. ==> TOUR: 3 - FUN: 3
It's useful against land destruction, but it's mostly inferior to Teferi's Response. Still, a potential sideboard card. ---
93. Stone Kavu 4G Creature - Kavu 3/3 R: Stone Kavu gets +1/+0 until end of turn. W: Stone Kavu gets +0/+1 until end of turn. ==> TOUR: 2 - FUN: 3
It takes too much many each turn to pump Stone Kavu up to a decent sized creature for the cost, so I'm not too crazy about it. If you have WWW available each turn, though, you can at least keep a Blastoderm at bay. ---
94. Thornscape Battlemage 2G Creature - Wizard 2/2 Kicker R and/or W. When Thornscape Battlemage comes into play, if you paid the R kicker cost, Thornscape Battlemage deals 2 damage to target creature or player. When Thornscape Battlemage comes into play, if you paid the W kicker cost, destroy target artifact. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
2GR for a 2/2 with a free Shock looks ok to me. The option to turn it into a monkey for an extra W could come in handy as well. A green source of direct damage can come in quite handy against those pesky protection from red creatures. ---
95. Thornscape Familiar 1G Creature - Insect 2/1 Red spells and white spells you play cost 1 less to play. ==> TOUR: 4 - FUN: 4
The 2/1 makes it more useful in an aggressive deck than any of the others. Maybe there's enough good burn around for a Sligh-like red-green deck with Tahngarth as bigger Fireslinger and Giant Growths to complement the burn and to be able to get through bigger creatures without losing your own. I doubt it, though.
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