RTR Spoilers!

Hello everyone!

Today, the mothership posted an article about the upcoming Izzet VS Golgari Duel Decks. While I don't particularly care about the Duel Decks, I heard there were some spoiled cards in the article so I gave it the obligatory read. And let me say, it was cool! 5 commons/uncommons were spoiled, and I want to take some time to talk about them here:

First things first, we have this little guy who is showcasing the new Golgari mechanic from RTR: Scavenge. Rosewater said that he wanted the old mechanics from the original Ravnica block to coincide with the new mechanics in the return, and Scavenge does a good job of that! I think it's kinda funny how when you think of it, Scavenge is basically another form of flashback. I think going forwards, unless if the scavenge cost is very low (1 or 2) we should simply look at scavenge as simply a bonus and not an incentive to play the card. So how good is a 3/3 haste for 1BG? Very! This will naturally join Geralf's Messsenger at the 3 drop slot in zombies to make the deck insanely aggressive! Depending on how good the mana is, I can see Jund zombies being a completely legitimate deck if we still feel the need to play the burn and Aristocrat. Golgari does have Plant Zombie as its primary tribe, so I guess we will see what other goodies we get handed!

WOW! This card is insane! Making all your instants and sorceries cost 1 less is reminiscent of Helm of Awakening which dawned the first storm combo decks by combining with Priest of Gix. We have grown since then, and even if we just use the Goblin to make mana advantage, that's fine too. Wait! It's a creature? That just made it better! In the same way that Snapcaster Mage is so much better than Recoup because it swings for 2, trades with guys, and so forth Goblin Electromancer is so much better than Helm of Awakening because it's a legitimate way to win a control mirror. The only complaint I have heard about the card is that it's common so Pauper Storm just got way too good, but I know exactly 0 people who play pauper...

I'm going to upfront here - this card kinda sucks. In limited it's sweet, but in constructed it's just not going to cut the mustard (in other news: that's a really dumb saying). What more exciting than this card is the knowledge that there's going to be a cycle of these, so we will have 9 more chances at a fantastic guildmage!

Here we have another card which showcases the new Izzet Mechanic Overload. Similar to replicate, I am excited to see the cool things they can do with replicate! Some cool kinda of cards I want to see Overloaded: Counterspell, Lava Spike (for commander), Disperse, Unsummon, and Shatter. I see so much potential with this ability, it's awesome! I think this is probably going to be better than Replicate so long as the mana cost is right. Street Spasm seems very playable, however Bonfire of the Damned is simply better, so Bonfire will get the nod for a while, but this card is a windmill slam first pick in limited! Uncommon Plague Wind? Don't mind if I do!

I wanted to save the best for last, and here it is! A split card between Spell Piercce, Magma Spray, and Careful Study/Faithless Looting is just awesome! People have complained that all versions are a little overcosted, and there's a good reason for that! All the aforementioned versions are 1 mana spells, and this costs 2. I am absolutely willing to pay the tax of 1 mana to basically have 2 extra cards in my hand! This card is going to be an absolute all-star, and I am very excited to see what else they have in stock for the Charms! As is Snapcaster Mage wasn't good enough yet....

That's all I have for today! RTR spoilers don't officially start until September 10th, but I am gladly eating up these mini spoilers that we're getting now! I am incredibly excited for RTR, and I can't wait to get brewing! Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie
Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com
@ThingsILack