All the Gatecrash Mechanics!

Hello Everyone!

The other day I posted about the first released mechanic from Gatecrash, Evolve, and since then we have also had this card spoiled with that mechanic on Monday:

However we both know this card is pretty terrible. It does do a good job showcasing the cool things we can expect to do with Evolve, and with this card in particular it does draw you a card for any reason so Scavenge or Increasing Savagery is pretty ballin value (and yes, Increasing Savagery will draw you 5 cards). When it comes down to it though, a 4 mana 1/1 with no self-protection isn't very playable. If you do want to force the deck, play black for Undying Evil. When the Fathom Mage undies it will draw a card because of the +1/+1 counter it returns with so it's protection and more value.

Fathom Mage was spoiled on Monday, and on Tuesday, WotC released this guy to the world:

Bloodrush doesn't seem to be the most exciting Mechanic at first, but I think it's actually awesome! Pump spells and combat tricks have always just a little short of being playable because while they play as removal, an actual removal spell is just better. However, when Selesnya Charm came out, all of a sudden we had a pump spell that had the flexibility to be anything you want it to be depending on the situation. Low and behold, I use it as a pump spell 70% of the time (removal 25%, dude 5%), and it's always awesome!

So coming back to Bloodrush, we have an ability that holds an incredible amount of value for no cost! Like Scavenge, it is simply an upside ability, so we have to evaluate any card with Bloodrush as if it didn't, and if it's a good rate, then Bloodrush is just the icing on the cake. It's a little hard to discern which way the machanic will go, but I think the cost will be variable from card to card and the pump will be based off the discarded creature's P/T. Here's two simple cards I would be interested in seeing printed:

~Name 1
RG
Bloodrush - 1RG
2/2

~Name 2
{R/G}
Bloodrush - 0
1/1

No, I don't think either are constructed playable, but they are both very limited playable. A turn 1 or 2 play in the early game to build a presence, but in the later game when they really no longer matter, they become a pump spell to trick the opponent and add more tension to game play. I really like this mechanic and hope we get a couple cards that become playable in constructed, but it will add a sweet new dimension to standard. If the bear has a Bloodrush of 1 mana I would legitimately consider it for constructed.

On Wednesday, We were graced with the Legion's Battalion:

This card has caused the most conversation in the online facebook group I'm in, and for good reason! Lightning Helix has basically never stopped seeing play since it was first released, and getting a free one for free every turn is insane (2 a turn if you go real deep with Aurelia, the Warleader). At first I didn't like this ability because it required investing too much to the board to make it active, and another guy made the comparison to Odric, Master Tactition and how he is completely unplayable. But then I started thinking about a Naya aggro deck and if you play this card turn 3 off an Arbor Elf. As the control player looking across the board from 3 lands, Avenger, Elf, and a couple cards in hand, do you Wrath? If you do, you didn't really gain much value off that Wrath, and they have a good size hand to put up a second round of threats, but if you don't then they can play something like Strangelroot Geist and swing for 9+.

This is a very high-risk, high-reward mechanic. The key is finding ways to reduce the risk such as Strangelroot Geist - he is haste so you can play him as the third creature to get at least one Battalion activation in, also when your opponent does wrath he can undie and continue the fight. Another card that I feel will see play along with Battalion is Lingering Souls. It creates the 2 other creatures at the price of only 1/2 a card, so if you have 2 sounds and a Firemane Avenger a wrath is trading 1 for 1.5, neutering the value on the wrath. This card and the mechanic as a whole definitely holds a lot of potential! One thing that is absolutely relevant with Firemane Avenger is acknowledging the existence of Restoration Angel. Even if that's enough to hold back Firemane for this current standard season, if things change going into next year's standard format, I can see this guy completely dominating creature matchups!

Outside of Firemane specifically I really like this mechanic and can see WRB tokens becoming a legitimate deck off the back of Battalion, especially if we get a decent cheap Battalion guy (guys gain +1/+0?) along with Midnight Haunting, Sorin, etc. This is mechanic we will be seeing a lot of going forward!

Thursday released what is probably my favorite mechanic in the entire set: Extort! When I first read it, I thought it was basically kicker where that spell could drain for 1, however after another reading I realized it makes ALL spells gain that kicker, it's value went up a lot. For the sake of arguing how good the mechanic is (because this card is bulk), I proposed this card:

~Name
{W/B}
Enchantment
Extort

To which everyone said that they would play. I always try to talk down how good cards are and shut down hype in our group, but I think Extort is a powerful enough mechanic that I too would play that card in constructed, given the right shell. A lot of discussion about which archaetype it would best fit in, and I thnk the answer is Combo/Control. In an aggro deck you want to build tempo on your opponent, and casting a bunch of Death of a Thousands Stings isn't how you get there, it just sets your entire deck 1 or more turns behind. Sure, if a good on-curve creature has Extort, you can play it as a bonus for additional reach going late, but you wouldn't play a below the curve guy because he has Extort.

Combo and Control is a different story. There is no combo deck right now that wants Extort (there really aren't any combo decks in general) but the comparisons to Tendrils of Agony can't be ignored, so keep your eyes open. In control decks, Extort is simply awesome! Imagine this cheap Extort enchantment exists, it's legitimately possible to have that be your win condition! The fact that standard has infinite life with all these Thragtusks, Centaur Healers, and Sphinx's Revelations makes this plan less effective, but it's still good to think about - a deck with lots of answers, some flashback spells like Think Twice, and cheap Extort cards. You can just contain your opponent as you slowly ping at their life total while also keeping your head above water. Because your deck has such a high density of counterspells and removal, your opponent will never be able to out-threat you and you can grind them until they're thoroughly dead.

Take note that Extort is a triggered ability which can be triggered multiple times off one spell if your have multiple permanents with Extort. Going late when you're completely flooded out, having 2 or 3 Extort cards + Think Twice makes for an incredibly short clock! Extort looks sweet, and while it's not flashy, it will be a major player in the future of standard control!

Last but not least, today we finished off with an interesting Dimir mechanic:

Cipher is a bizarre name for the ability, but regardless it's pretty cool. An instant/sorcery version of Haunt that like basically all other Instant/Sorcery based mechanics finds a way to cast it multiple times for cheap. However here it simply feels awkward. Blue and black have the least and second least amount of creatures respectively (though red is very close in the 3/4 slot with black), so having an entire mechanic designed around gaining advantage through your creatures feels wrong to me. That being said, there is a certain guy named Invisible Stalker that saw a ton of play last year which will jump right back into the center stage if there are any good Cipher cards, so we can't turn a blind eye to the mechanic.

I think one thing to really look out for when new Cipher cards are spoiled is to see if there are any playable instants. If you attack with a creature or two and they aren't blocked, then you can cast a Cipher spell before damage, Cipher it onto the unblocked creature and gain immediate value off it.

Thinking about potential Cipher cards actually has my head scratching. Blue is most known for drawing cards, bouncing things, and countering spells. We have Whispering Madness which draws cards, and we will surely get a Reach Through Mists (read: Curiosity), which leaves bouncing things and countering spells. Countering spells doesn't work with Cipher because damage is sorcery speed, which only leaving bouncing things. Maybe 2U Unsummon, Cipher or 2UU Eye of Nowhere, Cipher? Looking at black they have creature kill, hand disruption, and paying life for card advantage. So maybe we get a 4 mana Doom Blade, 2 mana Duress, and a Divination that shocks yourself?

The overall problem is UB decks have next to no creatures (besides UB fish which is all dudes), so having a mechanic that requires creatures that you think will survive is so awkward. I'm sure there will be a good few printed that see play, but I really don't know what to expect here.

Overall, I am very excited for Gatecrash and I'm already thinking about and preparing myself for all the sweet brews that will come out of the sweet cards and especially the mechanics! Here's my ranking from most awesome to least awesome for these 5:

5. Cipher (Dimir)
4. Bloodrush (Gruul)
3. Evolve (Simic)
2. Battalion (Boros)
1. Extort (Orzhov)

I think it's worth noting how 4 of the 5 mechanics revolve around creatures, which feels very high to me. RTR had 3 as well, but 4 is just overwhelming. It doesn't feel like there will be many options outside of lots of creatures and lots of combat math.

That's all I have for today! I'm really excited for GTC now that we had our first taste of the treats to be offered, and I can't wait for 1 more month to go by when we can start cracking packs! Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie
Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com
@ThingsILack