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Onslaught a Complete Review (white)Creatures you control gain protection from the color of your choice until end of turn. Cycling W (W, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) The clerics saw her as a divine gift. She saw them only as allies in her war against Phage. ==> FUN: 2 Not a great start. Akroma's Blessing looks useful enough as a counter for creature removal and it has the potential to be a devastating surprise in combat, especially against monocolored decks. And if you don't need it, you can always recycle it. I'm also glad to see they decided to add some variation to cycling, instead of that eternal "Cycling: 2". However, this type of card is nothing new and the flavor text is as bland as can be. -- 2. Akroma's Vengeance 4WW, Sorcery Rare Destroy all artifacts, creatures, and enchantments. Cycling 3 (3, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) Ixidor had only to imagine their ruin and Akroma made it so. ==> FUN: 4 Wrath of God effects are never bad and Akroma's Vengeance combines it with a Shatterstorm and a Tranquility. Sadly, the result makes it weaker than Wrath for most decks, because Wrath is best in a creature-light deck, but not a lot of decks are light on artifacts, enchantments _and_ creatures. Akroma's Vengeance is more of a reset button than mass creature removal. Still, there are always white-blue decks to be made with very few non-land permanents, so this card should find its niche. Especially as you can always cycle it if it would hurt you too much to cast it. Akroma's Vengeance allows regeneration, which weakens it a bit. That can be used to allow you to regenerate your own creatures, but after paying six mana for this card, will you still have enough left to regenerate anything? At the same time, your opponent can regenerate his or her own creatures to save them. -- 3. Ancestor's Prophet 4W, Creature - Cleric Lord 1/5 Rare Tap five untapped Clerics you control: You gain 10 life. "We have faced horrors of war and terrors beyond imagining. We will overcome the uncertainties of this new life." ==> FUN: 4 It won't be easy to get five clerics in play and most clerics aren't great creatures to begin with, but I like a challenge. It helps that Ancestor's Prophet is a cleric itself, so only four more are needed. -- 4. Astral Slide 2W, Enchantment Uncommon Whenever a player cycles a card, you may remove target creature from the game. If you do, return that creature to play under its owner's control at end of turn. "The hum of the universe is never off-key." - Mystic elder ==> FUN: 4 As a cycling hoser, Astral Slide is pretty bad. Removing creatures from play is not that strong by itself. On the other hand, if you're playing a morph deck with plenty of cycling cards in it, you can unmorph your creatures for free. As a bonus, you can also get rid of your opponent's creature enchantments and +1/+1 counters. You can also use Astral Slide to unmorph your opponent's creatures if you suspect the unmorphed creature will be easier to deal with. -- 5. Aura Extraction 1W, Instant Uncommon Put target enchantment on top of its owner's library. Cycling 2 (2, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) Every day, Order clerics contain as much of the Mirari's energy as possible, hoping to delay Otaria's demise. ==> FUN: 3 I like this type of card, because returning cards to your opponent's library can be really annoying for them. It's not very strong, though. Most of the time I'd rather have a Disenchant to get rid of an enchantment completely. Aura Extraction is not a solution, it's just a delay of the inevitable. In a pinch, it can be used to save your own enchantment, but there are less costly ways to do that. -- 6. Aurification 2WW, Enchantment Rare Whenever a creature deals damage to you, put a gold counter on it. Each creature with a gold counter on it is a Wall in addition to its other creature types. (Walls can't attack.) When Aurification leaves play, remove all gold counters from all creatures. ==> FUN: 3 An interesting idea, but not very practical. Aurification will only buy you some time until your opponent comes up with the Disenchant or enough creatures to kill you anyway. Compare it to No Mercy, which destroyed the affected creatures and didn't turn out to be all that strong in practice either. Aurification is a bit of an odd name for turning creatures into walls. I have a feeling it started off by turning creatures into enchantments, but that got too complicated. -- 7. Aven Brigadier 3WWW, Creature - Bird Soldier 3/5 Rare Flying All other Birds get +1/+1. All other Soldiers get +1/+1. He represents what little pride the Order has left. ==> FUN: 4 Aven Brigadier goes well in a deck with other Avens, who she'll give +2/+2. She's a bit expensive for serious play, but an Aven theme deck is easily made. -- 8. Aven Soulgazer 3WW, Creature - Bird Cleric 3/3 Uncommon Flying 2W: Look at target face-down creature. "Every question has a proper answer. Every soul has a proper place." ==> FUN: 2 The intention of the ability is obvious, but as worded it gets my vote for the most useless ability ever. Note that it doesn't say you can actually turn it over to look at it, so you'll just be staring at the back of the card and feeling foolish. As intended, the ability could come in handy, but isn't worth the -1/-1 compared to Serra Angel. I hope there aren't too many cards like this around, or morph will lose a lot of its punch. -- 9. Battlefield Medic 1W, Creature - Cleric 1/1 Common T: Prevent the next X damage that would be dealt to target creature this turn, where X is the number of Clerics in play. "Death never stops to rest. Neither can we." ==> FUN: 3 Another candidate for our cleric theme deck. Too bad the ability can't be used on players. -- 10. Catapult Master 3WW, Creature - Soldier Lord 3/3 Rare Tap five untapped Soldiers you control: Remove target creature from the game. "There's no I in team, but there's a we in weapon." ==> FUN: 4 There are easier assassins to use than Catapult Master, but none as deadly. Still, Catapult Master is mostly restricted to soldier theme decks and harder to use than Hand of Justice from Fallen Empires. Clever flavor text. -- 11. Catapult Squad 1W, Creature - Soldier 2/1 Uncommon Tap two untapped Soldiers you control: Catapult Squad deals 2 damage to target attacking or blocking creature. Together they could hit anything between the heavens and the horizon. ==> FUN: 4 This Heavy Ballista ability has been overused lately, but it's still a well-costed creature. Catapult Squad is a good weenie and it can help finish off a big blocker if necessary. Especially if you're also playing Kjeldoran Outpost. Odd flavor text, considering the heavens and the horizon border on eachother, strictly speaking. -- 12. Chain of Silence 1W, Instant Uncommon Prevent all damage target creature would deal this turn. That creature's controller may sacrifice a land. If the player does, he or she may copy this spell and may choose a new target for that copy. ==> FUN: 2 Chain of Silence is a weak card, even without the associated drawback. Compare with Indestructible Aura from Legends, which does almost the same thing in most cases, is cheaper and doesn't have the drawback. It's an interesting concept, but the execution is bad. -- 13. Circle of Solace 3W, Enchantment Rare As Circle of Solace comes into play, choose a creature type. 1W: The next time a creature of the chosen type would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage. ==> FUN: 1 I can't think why I'd play this over Story Circle. Sure, morphed creatures don't have a color, but they also don't have a creature type. Ditto for most artifacts creatures. Circle of Solace can't stop burn and is more expensive to cast and use than Story Circle. I'd only use Circle of Solace as a hoser against theme decks, but I don't _want_ to hose theme decks, they're usually not that strong and they're always fun to play against. -- 14. Convalescent Care 1WW, Enchantment Rare At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have 5 life or less, you gain 3 life and draw a card. Enlightenment comes most swiftly at life's end. ==> FUN: 5 Convalescent Care is too risky to be strong, but if you play your cards right (no pun intended) it can be a personal Howling Mine. You just have to find an easy, reusable way to lose life, like Necropotence and something like counterspells or damage prevention spells to keep you alive while at 5 life. Even without a deck built around it, Convalescent Care can be pretty good. You can afford to take a bit of damage during combat and during your upkeep you'll gain the life back and get an extra card to boot. It's a lot stronger than Convalescence from Exodus. -- 15. Crowd Favorites 6W, Creature - Soldier 4/4 Uncommon 3W: Tap target creature. 3W: Crowd Favorites gets +0/+5 until end of turn. "The rabble likes them. Make sure they win, then book them for tomorrow." -Cabal Patriarch ==> FUN: 3 The name Crowd Favorites sounds like something for Unglued II. Seven mana is a lot more than I want to pay for a 4/4 with two good, yet very expensive abilities. Crowd Favorites won't be a crowd favorite, except maybe in sealed decks, where any kind of removal and semi-removal is worth considering, especially if it comes with a 4/4 attached. -- 16. Crown of Awe 1W, Enchant Creature Common Enchanted creature has protection from black and from red. Sacrifice Crown of Awe: Enchanted creature and other creatures that share a creature type with it gain protection from black and from red until end of turn. "Honor, guide my step." ==> FUN: 2 The sacrifice ability can be handy in theme decks or to keep your creature safe until the end of the turn, even if Crown of Awe is disenchanted. But I'm not sure it's worth 1 extra mana, compared to Mask of Law and Grace. Crown of Awe suffers from the old problem of most creature enchantments: it doesn't do enough to risk the card disadvantage. -- 17. Crude Rampart 3W, Creature - Wall 4/5 Uncommon (Walls can't attack.) Morph 4W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) Success is one part inspiration, nine parts desperation. ==> FUN: 3 It remains to be seen how morph will work out in actual play, but four mana for a 4/5 is pretty solid as walls go. You could try to tempt your opponent into burning the 2/2, only to morph it into a 4/5 that can survive most of the good burn spells. I doubt it would work, though. Most people wouldn't risk it unless you were nearly tapped out. -- 18. Daru Cavalier 3W, Creature - Soldier 2/2 Common First strike When Daru Cavalier comes into play, you may search your library for a card named Daru Cavalier, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library. ==> FUN: 4 Daru Cavalier is reminiscent of Howling Wolf, except that Howling Wolf will give you all copies of it immediately. That doesn't sound like a big difference, since you can only cast one copy at a time anyway, but Howling Wolf gives you an immediate raw card advantage that can be put to good use by discarding to spellshapers or trading the cards in your hand for new cards with Teferi's Puzzle Box or Windfall. Daru Cavalier is a bit expensive for a 2/2, even with First Strike, but it'll fit well in a soldier deck with Catapult Master and Aven Brigadier. The more soldiers, the merrier. -- 19. Daru Healer 2W, Creature - Cleric 1/2 Common T: Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn. Morph W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) ==> FUN: 3 Morphed or unmorphed, Daru Healer isn't a great creature either way. Still, the morph cost is low, so the mere existence of Daru Healer is going to be an extra possibility for players to keep in mind during combat or when playing burn spells. -- 20. Daru Lancer 4WW, Creature - Soldier 3/4 Common First strike Morph 2WW (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) Although the Order frowned upon his preparations for the pits, behind closed doors most saw the fights as a necessary evil. ==> FUN: 4 In the case of Daru Lancer, morph is very similar to echo. The standard cost of 6 mana is a bit much for a 3/4 with first strike, but you can play Daru Lancer as a 2/2 and morph it into a 3/4 the next turn, so you won't need more than 4 lands to play it. -- 21. Daunting Defender 4W, Creature - Cleric 3/3 Common If a source would deal damage to a Cleric you control, prevent 1 of that damage. "I will wield the stone of my homeland as though it were the fists of the Ancestor." ==> FUN: 3 Too bad most clerics are already capable of defending themselves in some way or other, so this ability won't be too useful. Fun for our cleric deck, though. -- 22. Dawning Purist 2W, Creature - Cleric 2/2 Uncommon Whenever Dawning Purist deals combat damage to a player, you may destroy target enchantment that player controls. Morph 1W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) ==> FUN: 4 Morph becomes extra fun on creatures with this type of combat ability. Do you block the morphed creature and risk it turning into a 4/5 wall, destroying your blocker or do you let it through and risk getting your enchantment destroyed? -- 23. Defensive Maneuvers 3W, Instant Common Creatures of the type of your choice get +0/+4 until end of turn. "Only on the battlefield can we repay all the Order has given us." ==> FUN: 1 Strictly worse than Solidarity from Urza's Destiny. And that wasn't a great card to begin with. -- 24. Demystify W, Instant Common Destroy target enchantment. "The truth will outshine all lies." ==> FUN: 1 Erase is strictly better, because it removes the enchantment from the game, which can be useful against Rancor and the like. Saving one mana on Disenchant isn't worth it if it means you risk not being able to get rid of an artifact when you need to. -- 25. Disciple of Grace 1W, Creature - Cleric 1/2 Common Protection from black Cycling 2 (2, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) Dread was as foreign to her as the landscape ahead. ==> FUN: 1 Not a bad creature, but it's a reprint and I'm not exactly excited about finding 4 or 5 of them in my box when I already have more of them than I know what to do with. -- 26. Dive Bomber 3W, Creature - Bird Soldier 2/2 Common Flying T, Sacrifice Dive Bomber: Dive Bomber deals 2 damage to target attacking or blocking creature. "Your graves will lie beneath my final nest." ==> FUN: 2 The flavor text should really be something like: "Diving is easy, it's pulling up in time that's the hard part." That would fit better with the sacrificing necessary to use the dive bomb ability. -- 27. Doubtless One 3W, Creature - Cleric Avatar */* Uncommon Doubtless One's power and toughness are each equal to the number of Clerics in play. Whenever Doubtless One deals damage, you gain that much life. "Share your devotion with me." ==> FUN: 5 This is starting to take the fun out of theme decks if they're going to be this easy to make. I like the fact that it's an uncommon, even though creatures with varying power and toughness are usually rare. The Spirit Link raises it to a 5 for me, in spite of the fact that I'm not a big fan of clerics. -- 28. Exalted Angel 4WW, Creature - Angel 4/5 Rare Flying Whenever Exalted Angel deals damage, you gain that much life. Morph 2WW (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) ==> FUN: 4 Exalted Angel costs 1 more mana than Serra Angel, but for that price you get one extra toughness, Spirit Link and morph. The low morph cost means you can have Exalted Angel in play (and attacking) by turn four. That sounds pretty good to me, although any face-down creatures will have big bullseyes on them due to Exalted Angel's existence. -- 29. Foothill Guide W, Creature - Cleric 1/1 Common Protection from Goblins Morph W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) "Like any pests, goblins must be repelled quickly or they multiply." ==> FUN: 3 If red has as many goblins as white has clerics and soldiers, Foothill Guide will come in handy. Even if you're not playing against red, you'll still have a 2/2, which could well be an Exalted Angel, for all your opponent knows. Foothill Guide goes well with Goblin Swine-Rider from Visions. Another odd flavor text. It probably first said "killed" instead of "repelled", but it was changed to reduce the violence in the set or something. Now we're left with flavor text that doesn't make sense. Repelling goblins isn't going to stop them from multiplying, only killing is. Or castrating. -- 30. Glarecaster 4WW, Creature - Bird Cleric 3/3 Rare Flying 5W: The next time damage would be dealt to Glarecaster or you this turn, that damage is dealt to target creature or player instead. ==> FUN: 3 Glarecaster is a bit expensive to use, but its effect is strong if you have the mana. It makes it almost impossible for your opponent to attack safely, yet Glarecaster can attack almost at will. Still, a single Terror solves your opponent's problem. -- 31. Glory Seeker 1W, Creature - Soldier 2/2 Common The turning of the tide always begins with one soldier's decision to head back into the fray. ==> FUN: 1 Vanilla and white has better 2/2s. -- 32. Grassland Crusader 5W, Creature - Cleric Soldier 2/4 Common T: Target Elf or Soldier gets +2/+2 until end of turn. "Everyone deserves a chance to live. My job is to make sure they get it." ==> FUN: 2 It looks like white is stealing green's creature pumping theme here, but Grassland Crusader's ability isn't that different from the likes of Infantry Veteran. Grassland Crusader would be a good creature if it wasn't overcosted by 2 mana. -- 33. Gravel Slinger 3W, Creature - Soldier 1/3 Common T: Gravel Slinger deals 1 damage to target attacking or blocking creature. Morph 1W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) ==> FUN: 2 Gravel Slinger compares badly to Heavy Ballista, because it lacks 1 power and does 1 less damage. Only morph saves it a bit, making the ability a potentially nasty surprise. -- 34. Gustcloak Harrier 1WW, Creature - Bird Soldier ?/? Common Flying Whenever Gustcloak Harrier becomes blocked, you may untap it and remove it from combat. Banking steeply, the aven streaked toward the ground-and vanished. ==> FUN: 3 It's hard to rate Gustcloak Harrier without knowing its power and toughness, but assuming it's a 2/1, it's a solid flyer. The combat ability can come in handy in some cases, like when you attack with two Gustcloak Harriers and your opponent has only one flying blocker. -- 35. Gustcloak Runner W, Creature - Soldier 1/1 Common Whenever Gustcloak Runner becomes blocked, you may untap it and remove it from combat. Cabal spies trying to follow the Order's movements are constantly frustrated by tracks that stop dead. ==> FUN: 1 A 1/1 isn't going to be helped much by an ability like this one. You'll end up using it most of the time to save your Runner. And because it triggers on becoming blocked, you can't use it to escape from Giant Growths that are cast after blockers are declared. -- 36. Gustcloak Savior 4W, Creature - Bird Soldier 3/4 Rare Flying Whenever a creature you control becomes blocked, you may untap that creature and remove it from combat. "Our death-arrows flew in high arcs towards the aven. And then... nothing." -Coliseum guard ==> FUN: 3 When you give this ability to all your creatures, it immediately becomes more useful. Now you can use a creature advantage by attacking with everything and getting all your blocked creatures out of combat. -- 37. Gustcloak Sentinel 2WW, Creature - Soldier 3/3 Uncommon Whenever Gustcloak Sentinel becomes blocked, you may untap it and remove it from combat. Entire platoons have mysteriously vanished from battle, leaving enemy weapons to slice through empty air. ==> FUN: 3 A bit bland, but well-costed. If there are enough good Gustcloak creatures in Onslaught, a Gustcloak-based deck may become a possibility. Such a deck would be able to make better use of the ability than a deck with only a few Gustcloak creatures. -- 38. Gustcloak Skirmisher 3W, Creature - Bird Soldier 2/3 Uncommon Flying Whenever Gustcloak Skirmisher becomes blocked, you may untap it and remove it from combat. They're trained in the art of pressing their luck. ==> FUN: 2 More of the same, except that Gustcloak Skirmisher's power is a bit low for its casting cost. -- 39. Harsh Mercy 2W, Sorcery Rare Each player chooses a creature type. Destroy all creatures that aren't of a type chosen this way. They can't be regenerated. "There is no greater burden than choosing who to save." - Kamahl, druid acolyte ==> FUN: 4 Harsh Mercy is almost a one-sided Wrath when used in a creature theme deck. Still, it bugs me that your opponent will be able to save at least one of his creatures and possibly more. You're not going to get rid of the creature you most want to get rid of with Harsh Mercy. And against another theme deck, it's completely useless. -- 40. Improvised Armor 3W, Enchant Creature Uncommon Enchanted creature gets +2/+5. Cycling 3 (3, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) "I trust what I make for myself. Do you trust more what is made for you by another?" ==> FUN: 3 Improvised Armor is guaranteed to turn even the weakest creature into a force to be reckoned with. The cycling doesn't completely solve the problem of potential card disadvantage, but at least you can cycle it if your opponent is playing a lot of removal or if you don't have any creatures to play it on. -- 41. Inspirit 2W, Instant Uncommon Untap target creature. It gets +2/+4 until end of turn. "We will force the Cabal into their own pits!" ==> FUN: 2 Inspirit can be used as removal, but only if you have a creature to use it on. Even white tends to have better removal than Inspirit. It seems like an attempt at a white Giant Growth and it can be a good surprise in limited formats, but in constructed decks there should always be better options, like splashing green for better creature pumpers. -- 42. Ironfist Crusher 4W, Creature - Soldier 2/4 Uncommon Ironfist Crusher may block any number of creatures. Morph 3W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) ==> FUN: 3 Ironfist Crusher could use more toughness. Blocking more than one creature will usually end up killing it, while a power of 2 won't allow it to kill more than one creature itself. The surprise multi-blocker is a good concept, but the execution is lacking. -- 43. Jareth, Leonine Titan 3WWW, Creature - Cat Giant Legend 4/7 Rare Whenever Jareth, Leonine Titan blocks, it gets +7/+7 until end of turn. W: Jareth gains protection from the color of your choice until end of turn. Light's champion in the stronghold of darkness. ==> FUN: 4 Jareth is a strong defensive creature, capable of killing almost any attacker, while very little, including spells, can kill it. Of the two abilities, the +7/+7 when blocking is the least useful. A 4/7 with protection from any color is plenty strong enough to stop most creatures from attacking, the +7/+7 is just gravy. I'd love to see Jareth face off against a Spiritmonger with its color-changing ability. -- 44. Mobilization 2W, Enchantment Rare Attacking doesn't cause Soldiers to tap. 2W: Put a 1/1 white Soldier creature token into play. Newcomers to Otaria find themselves at the bottom of the heap. In the pits, they at least have the chance to climb atop a heap of bodies. ==> FUN: 5 A perfect combination with Catapult Master. Mobilization creates soldiers and keeps them untapped so the catapult ability can be used. Even outside a theme deck, it's always a good thing to have a steady supply of token creatures available, no matter how piddly they are. Use a Crusade to pump them up or cards like Collective Unconscious and Mob Justice to make the most of the massive number of creatures you can make this way. -- 45. Nova Cleric W, Creature - Cleric ?/? Uncommon 2W, T, Sacrifice Nova Cleric: Destroy all enchantments. "Our noblest thoughts are our very first and our very last." ==> FUN: 3 Tranquility-on-a-stick. Assuming Nova Cleric is a 1/1, it's a useful alternative to Disenchant, as long as you're not worried about artifacts and aren't playing any enchantments yourself. Of course you can count on Nova Cleric getting killed before it loses summoning sickness if your opponent has any useful enchantments in play. -- 46. Oblation 2W, Instant Rare The owner of target nonland permanent shuffles it into his or her library, then draws two cards. "A richer people could give more but they could never give as much." ==> FUN: 3 Oblation is unusual enough to be a rare, but it lacks raw power. In a pinch, it's a good way to get rid of any permanent that's giving you trouble. Sure, giving your opponent two cards for free is going to hurt, but if it's the only way you can get rid of their big creature or a tapped Nevinyrral's Disk, it's worth it. Plus, you can always burn it on one of your own permanents that's about to be destroyed to get two cards out of it. -- 47. Pacifism 1W, Enchant Creature Common Enchanted creature can't attack or block. Even those born to battle could only lay their blades at Akroma's feet. ==> FUN: 1 Couldn't the design team come up with a cycling version or something? I already own more Pacifisms than I know what to do with. -- 48. Pearlspear Courier 2W, Creature - Soldier 2/1 Uncommon You may choose not to untap Pearlspear Courier during your untap step. 2W, T: As long as Pearlspear Courier remains tapped, target Soldier gets +2/+2 and has "Attacking doesn't cause this creature to tap." ==> FUN: 2 Another one for the soldier deck. Useful, but fragile. Creatures with this type of ability are fun in big creature battles, but Pearlspear Courier is a bit limited in that it can only be used on soldiers. -- 49. Piety Charm W, Instant Common Choose one - Destroy target enchant creature; or target Soldier gets +2/+2 until end of turn; or attacking doesn't cause creatures you control to tap this turn. ==> FUN: 5 Charms are back! Yeah! Sorry if I get a bit excited, but I like cheap, tricky cards that give me plenty of options. The only charms we've seen since Visions were those dragon charms in the Invasion block and those were too expensive for my tastes. A good charm can be cast with left-over mana and always comes as a surprise. The second option, a mini Giant Growth for soldiers, is probably the strongest one, but the other ones can come in handy as well. Given the right circumstances. -- 50. Renewed Faith 2W, Instant Common You gain 6 life. Cycling 1W (1W, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) When you cycle Renewed Faith, you may gain 2 life. ==> FUN: 4 Three mana for six life isn't bad, if you need the life. If you don't, you can just cycle it and get two life and a card for your trouble. It's probably not worth it unless you're expecting a lot of burn directed at you, but Rejuvenate, which is almost completely inferior, came in handy sometimes and could be cycled the rest of the time. The only problem is that Renewed Faith is white and white already has plenty of incidental lifegain from less situational cards, like all the creatures with the Spirit Link ability. -- 51. Righteous Cause 3WW, Enchantment Uncommon Whenever a creature attacks, you gain 1 life. "Until the world unites in vengeful fury and Phage is destroyed, I will not stay my hand." - Akroma, angelic avenger ==> FUN: 4 Righteous Cause is fun with all those 1/1 soldier tokens from Mobilization, but it'll only slow an attacking force down a bit. You'll need several Righteous Causes in play to stop an attacking army from killing you. -- 52. Sandskin 2W, Enchant Creature Common Prevent all combat damage that would be dealt to and dealt by enchanted creature. "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. I choose to do neither." ==> FUN: 2 A white copy of Gaseous Form. Sadly, white can't make any better use of this ability than blue could. Pacifism works better as removal and white has better ways to protect creatures, like Flickering Ward. -- 53. Shared Triumph 1W, Enchantment Rare As Shared Triumph comes into play, choose a creature type. Creatures of the chosen type get +1/+1. "Win together, die alone." ==> FUN: 4 Cleric and soldier decks are so forced in Onslaught that Shared Triumph is an obvious addition. In other decks it's a bit iffy, though. It's a nice card, but no substitute for Crusade. -- 54. Shieldmage Elder 5W, Creature - Cleric Wizard 2/3 Uncommon Tap two untapped Clerics you control: Prevent all damage target creature would deal this turn. Tap two untapped Wizards you control: Prevent all damage target spell would deal this turn. "You may fight if I deem your cause worthy." ==> FUN: 3 Because you can tap your clerics after blocking and they will still do their combat damage, Shieldmage Elder isn't just creature control. It's also a potential reusable removal, without needing as many creatures in play as Catapult Master does. The wizard ability is mostly a red hoser, because red is the only color with a lot of direct damage spells. Six mana is too much for a vulnerable 2/3, though. -- 55. Sigil of the New Dawn 3W, Enchantment Rare Whenever a creature is put into your graveyard from play, you may pay 1W. If you do, return that card to your hand. "We lay our dead to rest in a beautiful bed, in hopes that the Ancestor will think it a fit cradle for the next life." -Mystic elder ==> FUN: 4 Enduring Renewal, without the additional drawbacks of not being able to draw creatures and playing with your hand face up on the table. To balance that, Sigil of the New Dawn costs 1W to use, instead of being free. -- 56. Sunfire Balm 2W, Instant Uncommon Prevent the next 4 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn. Cycling 1W (1W, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) When you cycle Sunfire Balm, you may prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn. ==> FUN: 4 Cycling Sunfire Balm makes it similar to Bandage at one extra mana. Damage prevention can be a good surprise to have up your sleeves. And when you only need to prevent 1 damage, Sunfire Balm becomes even better. -- 57. True Believer WW, Creature - Cleric 2/2 Rare You can't be the target of spells or abilities. So great is his certainty that mere facts cannot shake it. ==> FUN: 4 A nice, well-costed weenie with a built-in Ivory Mask. -- 58. Unified Strike W, Instant Common Remove target attacking creature from the game if its power is less than or equal to the number of Soldiers in play. The tall, reedy grass of the Daru Plains rustles loudly in the winds, a perfect cover for any ambush. ==> FUN: 3 More theme deck fodder. I should feel more excited over Unified Strike, because I like cheap removal that removes a creature from the game completely. It's pretty restrictive, though. And as long as I own those four Swords to Plowshares, I won't be using Unified Strike. That's the downside of not sticking to type 2 in casual play. -- 59. Weathered Wayfarer W, Creature - Nomad Cleric 1/1 Rare W, T: Search your library for a land card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your library. Play this ability only if an opponent controls more lands than you. ==> FUN: 4 Too bad Weathered Wayfarer is so fragile. Just about any removal will kill it. And it probably will get removed as soon as you start searching for land every turn. As long as you don't actually play the land, your opponent will always have more lands than you do, allowing you to fill your hand with discard fodder for spellshapers and the likes. It's basically a more balanced version of Land Tax. -- 60. Whipcorder WW, Creature - Soldier Rebel 2/2 Uncommon W, T: Tap target creature. Morph W (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) His bolas whirl like galaxies, but it's his enemies who see stars. ==> FUN: 4 Whipcorder is a well-costed weenie with a useful semi-removal ability. Morping a 2/2 into a 2/2 creature doesn't seem all that useful, but there's always the bluff factor if you're desperate enough. It's interesting that we're getting another rebel so long after Mercadian Masques. It'll probably fit well in a rebel deck. -- 61. Words of Worship 2W, Enchantment Rare 1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, you gain 5 life instead. "The faithful don't succumb to terror, nor are they ruled by passion. They adhere to order, for order is life." -Volume I, The Book of Faith ==> FUN: 4 I don't like to give up my draws for anything, but 5 life isn't bad. Words of Worship fits well with Yawgmoth's Bargain and in decks where you're likely to end up drawing more cards than you need, like Stasis and Howling Mines-based decks. It's also fun with Breakthrough and your hand is otherwise empty. Cast Breakthrough for U, pay 4 and you gain 20 life without having to discard anything. |
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