Subject: Stronghold Ratings Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 21:44:23 EST From: BTek Guy To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Stronghold Ratings by S. Ferguson Okay, here's how it works. The cards range from one star (sucks) to five stars. (tourney staple) I added an extra bonus if it had really good combo possibilities. Bullwhip, Uncommon Artifact, 4 2, T: Bullwhip deals 1 damage to target creature. That creature attacks this turn if able. Rating: ***. Very cool. Very versatle. Ensnaring Bridge, Rare Artifact, 3 Each creature with power greater than the number of cards in your hand cannot attack. Rating: ***1/2. Like weenie decks need more strength... This will stop Big Blue dead in it's tracks. Heartstone, Uncommon Artifact, 3 The cost of each creature ability requiring an activation cost is reduced by 1. This cannot reduce an ability's generic mana cost to less than 1. Rating: **1/2. It's okay in the right decks, but otherwise? No way. Horn of Greed, Rare Artifact, 3 Whenever any player plays a land, that player draws a card. Rating: **. Helps the other player too. Might actually make Solfatara a good card... naah. Hornet Cannon, Uncommon Artifact, 4 3, T: Put a Hornet token into play. Treat this token as a 1/1 artifact creature with flying that is unaffected by summoning sickness. At the end of turn, destroy the token. Rating: ***. Actually cool. You can make an instant suicide blocker, an attacker for Mogg Flunkies, and sac it to bring something like Greven il-vec into play. Like anyone reading this plays with him... Jinxed Ring, Rare Artifact, 2 Whenever any card is put into your graveyard from play, Jinxed Ring deals 1 damage to you. Sacrifice a creature: Target opponent gains control of Jinxed Ring permanently. Rating: *1/2. Sucks. The only reason it got the half is Armageddon, Wrath of God, and the rest. Mox Diamond, Rare Artifact, 0 When Mox Diamond comes into play, choose and discard a land card or sacrifice Mox Diamond. T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Play this ability as a mana source. Rating: ***1/2. It's better than a Lotus Petal, and will be really cool in Stompy (Harvest Wurm) decks and 5C decks. Portcullis, Rare Artifact, 4 Whenever any creature comes into play, if there are two or more other creatures in play set that creature aside. If Portcullis leaves play, put the creature into play under its owner's control. Rating: ***1/2. Neat in a normal deck, ba-roken in, say, Marogeddon. Shifting Wall, Uncommon Artifact Creature, X, 0/0 Shifting Wall counts as a Wall. Shifting wall comes into play with x +1/+1 counters on it. Rating: **. Eh... with Rolling Stones it MIGHT be okay... Sword of the Chosen, Rare Legendary Artifact, 2 T: Target Legend gets +2/+2 until end of turn. Rating: *. This card SUCKS. Let me count the ways... first, it's legendary, which means only one in play at once. Second, it requires a legend to be in play, which is about as likely as a New York woman giving birth to an atog in the T2 environment. Third, it only lasts for one turn. Expect to see this as the final card in a lot of sealed deck drafts. Volrath's Laboratory, Rare Artifact, 5 When you play Volrath's Laboratory, choose a color and a creature type. 5, T: Put a token creature into play. Treat this token as a 2/2 creature of the chosen color and creature type. Rating: ****. Really, really good. It's expensive, but sure I'll pay 5 mana every turn. It's not powerful in fast decks, but Counterpost will absorb this card like a white blood cell eating a bacteria. Aside from making 2/2 black Jabberwocks, try making goblins or (heaven forbid) slivers... Bottomless Pit, Uncommon Enchantment, 1BB During each player's upkeep, that player discards a card at random. Rating: ****. Waaay too abusable. Think of dropping your hand, casting a Scroll and a Megrim, and tossin' a Pit. Yes sir, discard is back... Brush with Death, Common Sorcery, 2B Buyback 2BB. target Opponent loses 2 life. You gain 2 life. Rating: ***1/2. One of the better buyback cards. A real boon n the late game. Cannibalize, Common Sorcery, 1B Choose any two target creatures controlled by any one player. Remove one of those creatures from the game and put two +1/+1 counters on the other. Rating: **1/2. Well, it's versatile, I'll give it that. Can be used as creaturekill or, if one of your critters is gonna die anyways, creature enhancement. Other than that... well... Corrupting Licid, Uncommon Summon Licid, 2B, 2/2 B, T: Corrupting Licid loses this ability and becomes a creature enchantment that reads "Enchanted creature cannot be blocked except by artifact creatures and black creatures" instead of a creature. Move Corrupting Licid onto target creature. You may pay B to end this effect. Rating: ***. Boooring... Give us an Empyrial Armor licid already... anyways, this can be used ad nauseum if you've got a big critter out, and you'll rarely lose 2 cards if the said creature gets trashed. Crovax the Cursed, Rare Summon Legend, 2BB, 0/0 Crovax the Cursed counts as a Vampire. Crovax comes into play with four +1/+1 counters on it. During your upkeep, sacrifice a creature and put a +1/+1 counter on Crovax, or remove a +1/+1 counter from Crovax. B: Gains flying until end of turn. Rating: **. Dammit, when will WotC learn that cards that make you waste other cards suck? Crovax is a little better than Ravenous Vampire... I guess... still sucks, though... Dauthi Trapper, Uncommon Summon Minion, 2B, 1/1 T: Target creature gains shadow until the end of turn. Rating: ***1/2. It's better than Doofy Embrace... Death Stroke, Common Sorcery, BB Destroy target tapped creature. Rating: **1/2. Boo. If it were an instant and you could kill that Air Elemental before it dealt 4 damage to you, then it MIGHT be okay... oh well... Dungeon Shade, Common Summon Spirit, 3B, 1/1 Flying. B: Dungeon Shade gets +1/+1 until end of turn. Rating: ***. Better than Firefly and the good ol' Frozen Shade. Great in sealed deck. Foul Imp, Common Summon Imp, BB, 2/2 Flying. When Foul Imp comes into play, lose 2 life. Rating: ****. Very good. 2 life is nothing compared to what a second-turn 2/2 flier can dish out until it gets shot down. A great card in 5CB and non-necro black weenie, but those two life = 2 cards in a necro deck. Grave Pact, Rare Enchantment, 1BBB Whenever any creature you control is put into any graveyard, each other player sacrifices a creature. Rating: ****1/2. Makes it almost impossible to kill any of your stuff. I'll tap my 1/1 serrated biskelion to kill your elf. Now sac a creature. Heh heh heh... Lab Rats, Common Sorcery, B Buyback 4. Put a Rat token into play. Treat this token as a 1/1 black creature. Rating: *****. Simply put, there's no reason not to include this card. It's a first turn 1/1, which is okay, but more importantly it gives black enormous late-game card advantage. Megrim, Uncommon Enchantment, 2B Whenever any opponent discards a card, Megrim deals 2 damage to him or her. Rating: ****1/2. Highly abusable. As I said before, discard is back. A bottomless pit is now a Shock- every turn. A stupor is a Fireblast. Mind Twist is now the most efficient damage-dealer in the game. No wonder they banned the damn thing... Mind Peel, Uncommon Sorcery, B Buyback 2BB. Target player chooses and discards a card. Rating: ****. Mind Peel + Megrim = card loss and 2 damage every turn. Run away. Mindwarper, Rare Summon Spirit, 2BB, 0/0 Mindwarper comes into play with three +1/+1 counters on it. 2B, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Mindwarper: Target player chooses and discards a card. Play this ability as a sorcery. Rating: ****. Extremely good. If I haven't emphasised it enough, Mindwarper + Megrim = 6 damage, plus however much you do with regular ol' attacking. Morgue Thrull, Common Summon Thrull, 2B, 2/2 Sacrifice Morgue Thrull: Put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard. Rating: *1/2. Only 3 cards? Come on... a Reanimator deck can do better than that... Mortuary, Rare Enchantment, 3B Whenever any creature is put into your graveyard from play, put that creature on top of your library. Rating: **1/2. It's okay, but remember what happens if someone Scrolls one of your creatures every turn. In other words, an opponent can use this card against you. Rabid Rats, Common Summon Rats, 1B, 1/1 T: Target blocking creature gets -1/-1 until the end of turn. Rating: **. Eh... Revenant, Rare Summon Spirit, 4B, */* Flying. Revenant has power and toughness each equal to the number of creature cards in your graveyard. Rating: ***1/2. Llurgoyf's better, but this baby can safeguard your Buried Alive deck until you pull a buried alive. Serpent Warrior, Common Summon Soldier, 2B, 3/3 When Serpent warrior comes into play, lose 3 life. Rating: **1/2. Sucks compared to it's brother-in-arms, the Foul Imp. Skeleton Scavengers, Rare Summon Skeletons, 2B, 0/0 Skeleton Scavengers come into play with one +1/+1 counter on it. Pay 1 for each +1/+1 counter on Skeleton Scavengers: Regenerate Skeleton Scavengers and put a +1/+1 counter on it. Rating: **1/2. It's okay, but regeneration, by definition, requires the creature to be damaged. It's good as a blocker, but with all these flankers around... Stronghold Assassin, Rare Summon Assassin, 1BB, 2/1 T, Sacrifice a creature: Destroy target nonblack creature. Rating: ***1/2. Wow. The Royal is lots better, but a terror at the cost of say, a thrull counter, rules. Unfortunatly, it's pingable. Stronghold Taskmaster, Uncommon Summon Minion, 2BB, 4/3 All other black creatures get -1/-1. Rating: **. Boo. If it were green or white it might be okay, but otherwise... it kinda sucks... Torment, Common Enchant Creature, 1B Enchanted creature gets -3/-0. Rating: *1/2. I think I'll stick with my Enfeeblements if you don't mind... Tortured Existence, Common Enchantment, B B, Choose and discard a creature card: Return creature card from your graveyard to your hand. Rating: **1/2. Eh... Wall of Souls, Uncommon Summon Wall, 1B, 0/4 Whenever Wall of Souls is dealt combat damage, it deals an equal amount of damage to target opponent. Rating: ***1/2. A cool card, but not tournament worthy. Cloud Spirit, Common Summon Spirit, 2U, 3/1 Flying. Cloud Spirit can block only creatures with flying. Rating: **1/2. Filler. Contempt, Common Enchant Creature, 1U If enchanted creature attacks, return that creature and Contempt to owner's hand at the end of combat. Rating: **. Has some combo possibility, but sucks generally. Dream Halls, Rare Enchantment, 3UU Instead of paying the casting cost for a spell of any color, its caster may choose and discard a card that shares at least one color with that spell. If the spell has X in the casting cost, X is 0. Rating: **1/2. Eh... if only it didn't work on your opponent too... maybe I'll try it against 5C decks... Dream Prowler, Common Summon Illusion, 2UU, 1/5 Dream Prowler is unblockable as long as no other creatures are attacking. Rating: ***. Once again, WotC comes up with a card that has a cool concept but is generally bad. If it was 5/1, it'd be cool... oh well... Evacuation, Rare Instant, 3UU Return all creatures to owners' hands. Rating: ****1/2. YES! Blue finally gets some creature control! Gliding Licid, Uncommon Summon Licid, 2U, 2/2 U,T: Gliding Licid loses this ability and becomes a creature enchantment that reads "Enchanted creature gains flying" instead of a creature. Move Gliding Licid onto target creature. you may pay U to end this effect. Rating: **. It bites. Hammerhead Shark, Common Summon Fish, 1U, 2/3 Hammerhead Shark cannot attack unless defending player controls any islands. Rating: **1/2. It's okay... I guess... as a blocker... maybe... Hesitation, Uncommon Enchantment, 1U If any spell is played, counter that spell and sacrifice Hesitation. Rating: *. Sucky, sucky, sucky. Has no surprise value, stalls the game, and stops your own spells. Not to mention your opponent could just play a crummy spell to trigger it... Intruder Alarm, Rare Enchantment, 2U Creatures do not untap during their controller's untap phases. Whenever any creature comes into play, untap all creatures. Rating: ***. Could this be the beginning of Tim the Intruder decks? Will we see hornet cannons firing and untapping firewalkers? I dunno... looks liike a cool concept to me... Leap, Common Instant, U Target creature gains flying until end of turn. Draw a card. Rating: ***1/2. It's filler, but pretty good filler. Mana Leak, Common Interrupt, 1U Counter target spell unless its caster pays an additional 3. Rating: *****. When's the last time you had 3 mana untapped when you cast something? 5C decks will love this... Mask of the Mimic, Uncommon Instant, U Sacrifice a creature: Search your library for any copy of target creature card and put it into play. Shuffle your library afterwards. Rating: **1/2. Eh... I guess you can break even (1 for 1) if your opponent incinerates your Spindrift Drake, but wouldn't it be easier just to COUNTER it? Mind Games, Common Instant, U Buyback 2U. Tap target artifact, creature, or land. Rating: ****1/2. Good. In fact, very good. Who knows, maybe Prison decks are coming back... Ransack, Uncommon Sorcery, 3U Look at the top 5 cards of any player's library. Put any number of those cards on the bottom of that library in any order and the rest on top of the library in any order. Rating: ***1/2. Cool. It's a bit overcosted, though. Rebound, Uncommon Interrupt, 1U Target spell, which targets only a single player, targets another player of your choice instead. Rating: **1/2. Deflection was pretty limited, but this one does it one better. Your opponent will die laughing if he casts a disenchant on your orb while you're holding a Rebound. Reins of Power, Rare Instant, 2UU You and target opponent each untap and gain control of all creatures the other controls until end of turn. Those creatures are unaffected by summoning sickness this turn. Rating: ***1/2. Good on sideboards. "Okay Mr. Sligh, I steal all your creatres and you get nothing. I attack." Sift, Common Sorcery, 3U Draw three cards, then choose and discard a card. Rating: **. WotC gets an F for effort in this Ancestral Recall reprint. It's better than inspiration, though... Silver Wyvern, Rare Summon Drake, 3UU, 4/3 Flying. U: Target spell or ability, which targets only Silver Wyvern, targets another creature of your choice instead. Play this ability as an interrupt. Rating: ****. Damn good. Big enough to take on Shocks and Scrolls, and a built-in defense mechanism in case of something worse. Spindrift Drake, Common Summon Drake, U, 2/1 Flying. During your upkeep pay U or sacrifice Spindrift Drake. Rating: ***1/2. Really good. It's a liability in counter decks, but it's still a great card. Thalakos Deceiver, Rare Summon Wizard, 3U, 1/1 Shadow. Sacrifice Thalakos Deceiver: Gain control of target creature permanently. Use this ability only if Thalakos Deceiver is attacking and unblocked. Rating: **. How long does a fourth turn 1/1 creature last in today's environment? Tidal Surge, Common Sorcery, 1U Tap up to three target creatures without flying. Rating: **1/2. Filler. Could win you the game, could just sit in your hand doing nothing. Tidal Warrior, Common Summon Merfolk, U, 1/1 T: Target land is an island until end of turn. Rating: **. First-turn merfolk suck. This card would be okay with Lord of Atlantis, but it generally bites. Volrath's Shapeshifter, Rare Summon Shapeshifter, 1UU, 0/1 As long as the top card of your graveyard is a creature card, Volrath's Shapeshifter is a copy of that card, except that Volrath's Shapeshifter retains its abilities. 2: Choose and discard a card. Rating: ***1/2. Cool! Reanimator decks might add blue just for this. It mostly sucks, but has it's uses. Walking Dream, Uncommon Summon Illusion, 3U, 3/3 Walking Dream is unblockable. Walking Dream does not untap during your untap phase if any opponent controls two of more creatures. Rating: *1/2. Bleah. WotC can bite me for printing this peice of crap. Wall of Tears, Uncommon Summon Wall, 1U, 0/4 If Wall of Tears blocks any creatures, return each of those creatures to owner's hand at end of combat. Rating: ****. WOW. in a passive Blue deck, this will take Sligh apart. The first tourney-worthy wall ever. Awakening, Rare Enchantment, 2GG At the beginning of each player's upkeep, untap all creatures and lands. Rating: ***. Lotsa combos with this one. Put one on the sideboard just in case of Stasis and Worb decks. Burgeoning, Rare Enchantment, G Whenever any opponent plays a land, you may choose a land card from your hand and put it into play. Rating: **. Useless piece o' crap... anyone who makes a BurgMulch deck can bite me. Carnassid, Rare Summon Beast, 4GG, 5/4 Trample. 1G: Regenerate Carnassid. Rating: ***1/2. A great card. A 5/4 trampling regenerator for 6 mana is good economy to me. Sealed deckers will love this. Constant Mists, Uncommon Instant, 1G Buyback: Sacrifice a land. Creatures deal no damage in combat this turn. Rating: ****. Makes for long, boring games. Maybe I'll bring a razor to my next tourney. Crossbow Ambush, Common Instant, G All creatures you control can block creatures with flying until end of turn. Rating: *. Sucks a lot. Who friggin' cares? Make it a cantrip and it'd be a 2-star card. Elven Rite, Uncommon Sorcery, 1G Put two +1/+1 counters, distributed any way you chose, on any number of target creatures. Rating: ***. Better than armor of thorns, because it can't be disenchanted and can effect multiple creatures. Of course, who plays with creature-enhancers anymore... Endangered Armodon, Common Summon Elephant, 2GG, 4/5 If you control any creature with toughness 2 or less, sacrifice Endangered Armodon. Rating: ****. Erhnam Djinn is back, but without Mana elves... oh well... Hermit Druid, Rare Summon Druid, 1G, 1/1 G, T: Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a basic land. Put that card into your hand and put all other revealed cards into your graveyard. Rating: ****. I'm not sure what to make of this card, but it has combo potential. Lowland Basilisk, Common Summon Basilisk, 2G, 1/3 Whenever Lowland Basilisk damages any creature, destroy that creature at end of combat. Rating: ***1/2. Looks okay. I certainly wouldn't mind having one around to block annoying Goblins. Mulch, Common Sorcery, 1G Reveal the top 5 cards of your library to all players. Put any of those cards that are lands into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. Rating: ****. Uhh boy... maybe Horn of Greed isn't so bad after all... Overgrowth, Common Enchant Land, 2G Whenever enchanted land is tapped for mana, it produces an additional GG. Rating: **. Not as good as the original Wild Growth because it could be cast on the first turn while this card cannot. Primal Rage, Uncommon Enchantment, 1G All creatures you control gain trample. Rating: *1/2. Trampling 1/1 elves. Yay. Provoke, Common Instant, 1G Untap target creature you do not control. That creature blocks this turn if able. Draw a card. Rating: ***1/2. A really great card that can net you some really great card advantage. Skyshroud Archer, Common Summon Elf, G, 1/1 T: Target creature with flying gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Rating: ****. A good weenie against blue or white. Even if you don't find any fliers to kill, it's still a 1/1 beasty. Skyshroud Troopers, Common Summon Elves, 3G, 3/3 T: Add G to your mana pool. Play this ability as a mana source. Rating: **. Lame. Who's gonna tap a 3/3 creature for mana when they can attack with it? Trained Armodon is better... Spike Breeder, Rare Summon Spike, 3G, 0/0 Spike Breeder comes into play with three +1/+1 counter on it. 2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Breeder: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. 2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Breeder: Put a Spike Token into play. Treat this token as a 1/1 green creature. Rating: ***1/2. Wierd... even out of a Spike deck, this is a good card. Spike Colony, Common Summon Spike, 4G, 0/0 Spike Colony comes into play with four +1/+1 counters on it. 2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Colony: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Rating: ***. Actually pretty good. Spike Feeder, Uncommon Summon Spike, 1GG, 0/0 Spike Feeder comes into play with two +1/+1 counters on it. 2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Feeder: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Feeder: gain 2 life. Rating: ***1/2. Neat. Even if it gets trashed, you still net 4 life. That's pretty cool... Spike Soldier, Uncommon Summon Spike, 2GG, 0/0 Spike Soldier comes into play with three +1/+1 counter on it. 2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Soldier: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Soldier: Spike Soldier gets +2/+2 until the end of turn. Rating: **1/2.. A little expensive for it's abilities. Spike Worker, Common Summon Spike, 2G, 0/0 Spike Worker comes into play with two +1/+1 counters on it. 2, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spike Worker: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Rating: **1/2. Too expensive. Spined Wurm, Common Summon Wurm, 4G, 5/4 Rating: ****1/2. Wow! This is only one mana more than an Erhnam and, dare I say it, better. It steps out of the traditional Stompy mana curve however, so it won't be too useful. Tempting Licid, Uncommon Summon Licid, 2G, 2/2 G, T: Tempting Licid loses this ability and becomes a creature enchantment that reads "All creatures able to block enchanted creature do so" instead of a creature. Move Tempting Licid onto target creature. You may pay G to end this effect. Rating: ****. The best licid in the set. Lure was annoying enough, but one that comes back will make others cry. Verdant Touch, Rare Sorcery, 1G Buyback 3. Target land becomes a 2/2 creature permanently. Rating: ***1/2. Not very good on it's own, but when you think of adding a Scroll... well, things get ugly. Volrath's Gardens, Rare Enchantment, 1G 2, Tap a creature you control: Gain 2 life. Play this ability as a sorcery. Rating: ****. Have some extra mana and tapped creatures laying around? Gain some life. Wall of Blossoms, Uncommon Summon Wall, 1G, 0/4 When Wall of Blossoms comes into play, draw a card. Rating: ***1/2. Cool, but not that useful. Amok, Rare Enchantment, 1R 1, Discard a card at random: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Rating: *. Who in god's name would play with this card wasting piece of bodily waste? Card disadvantage not a good price for dealing an extra damage per turn, folks. Convulsing Licid, Uncommon Summon Licid, 2R, 2/2 R, T: Convulsing Licid loses this ability and becomes a creature enchantment that reads "Enchanted creature cannot block" instead of a creature. Move Convulsing Licid onto target creature. You may pay R to end this effect. Rating: **1/2. Well, I suppose it's better than Grey Ogre... Craven Giant, Common Summon Giant, 2R, 4/1 Craven Giant cannot block. Rating: *1/2. Pingable + can't block + 1-toughness + 3 mana casting cost = trash can fodder. Duct Crawler, Common Summon Insect, R, 1/1 1R: Target creature cannot block Duct Crawler this turn. Rating: **. It's ability is too expensive to deal a measly 1 damage per turn. Fanning the Flames, Uncommon Sorcery, XRR Buyback 3. Fanning the Flames deals X damage to target creature or player. Rating: ***. It's ability is a little too expensive for constructed, but in sealed deck this card will kick ass. Flame Wave, Uncommon Sorcery, 3RRRR Flame wave deals 4 damage to target player and each creature he or she controls. Rating: **. Once again, too expensive for constructed. Granted, it's much better than inferno, but stay away from 7-CC cards. Fling, Common Instant, 1R Sacrifice a creature: Fling deals damage equal to the sacrificed creature's power to target creature or player. Rating: ***. Weak by itself, but there's plenty of combo abuse for this one. Flowstone Hellion, Uncommon Summon Beast, 4R, 3/3 Flowstone Hellion is unaffected by summoning sickness. 0: Flowstone Hellion gets +1/-1 until end of turn. Rating: **1/2. A little too expensive, but otherwise a kick ass card. Flowstone Blade, Common Enchant Creature, R R: Enchanted creature gets +1/-1 until end of turn. Rating: ***. Versatility is cool, but generally you'll want to boost your own beasties instead of killing theirs. Think of this card as a pumpable immolation. Flowstone Mauler, Rare Summon Beast, 4RR, 4/5 Trample. R: Flowstone Mauler gets +1/-1 until end of turn. Rating: **. This over a shivan? Please... Flowstone Shambler, Common Summon Beast, 2R, 2/2 R: Flowstone Shambler gets +1/-1 until end of turn. Rating: **1/2. Boooring... Furnace Spirit, Common Summon Spirit, 2R, 1/1 Furnace Spirit is unaffected by summoning sickness. R: Furnace Spirit gets +1/+0 until end of turn. Rating: **1/2. Could be a game-breaker if played at the right time. Heat of Battle, Uncommon Enchantment, 1R Whenever any creature blocks, Heat of Battle deals 1 damage to that creature's controller. Rating: *1/2. I could think of about a dozen cards that could do better. Invasion Plans, Rare Enchantment, 2R Each creature blocks whenever able. Attacking player chooses how each creature blocks. Rating: **. Too bad it hurts you too... Mob Justice, Common Sorcery, 1R Mob Justice deals 1 damage to target player for each creature you control. Rating: ***1/2. Much better than that crappy superior numbers card... usually a Sligh deck can get about 5 damage out of this. Mogg Bombers, Common Summon Goblins, 3R, 3/4 If any other creature comes into play, sacrifice Mogg Bombers and it deals 3 damage to target player. Rating: *1/2. A little too random... Could be cute with a Corpse Dance or something... Mogg Flunkies, Common Summon Goblins, 1R, 3/3 Mogg Flunkies cannot attack or block during a turn in which no other creature you control attacks or blocks. Rating: *****. When's the last time a Sligh deck attacked with only one creature? Mogg Infestation, Rare Sorcery, 3RR Destroy all creatures target player controls. For each creature put into any graveyard this way, put two Goblin tokens into play under that player's control. Treat these tokens as 1/1 red creatures. Rating: ***. I'm not too sure what to make of this one... I can think of two combos: Goblin Bombardment and Earthquake. Good offensivly and defensivly. Mogg Maniac, Uncommon Summon Goblin, 1R, 1/1 Whenever Mogg Maniac is dealt damage, it deals an equal amount of damage to target opponent. Rating: ***1/2. The mother of all chump blockers. With a furnace in play, every one damage he takes becomes 2, and your opponent takes 4. Ah, math... Ruination, Rare Sorcery, 3R Destroy all non-basic lands. Rating: ***1/2. Useful in type 2, killer in type 1. Seething Anger, Common Sorcery, R Buyback 3. Target creature gets +3/+0 until end of turn. Rating: ****. This is a great late-game card. Shard Phoenix, Rare Summon Phoenix, 4R, 2/2 Flying. RRR: Put Shard Phoenix into your hand. Use this ability only if Shard Phoenix is in your graveyard and only during your upkeep. Sacrifice Shard Phoenix: Shard Phoenix deals 2 damage to each creature without flying. Rating: ****. Hammer-birdie. A little expensive, but more than worth it. Shock, Common Instant, R Shock deals 2 damage to target creature or player. Rating: ****1/2. Yay, bolt's back! Spitting Hydra, Rare Summon Hydra, 3RR, 0/0 Spitting Hydra comes into play with four +1/+1 counter on it. 1R, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Spitting Hydra: Spitting Hydra deals 1 damage to target creature. Rating: ***. Looks okay. Wall of Razors, Uncommon Summon Wall, 1R, 4/1 First Strike. Rating: **. Look out for flankers, tims, scrolls etc.. Bandage, Common Instant, W Prevent 1 damage to any creature or player. Draw a card. Rating: **. Hmm... didn't this card used to be called Heal? Calming Licid, Uncommon Summon Licid, 2W, 2/2 W, T: Calming Licid loses this ability and becomes a creature enchantment that reads "Enchanted creature cannot attack" instead of a creature. Move Calming Licid onto target creature. You may pay W to end this effect. Rating: ***. Annoying as hell. Change of Heart, Common Instant, W Buyback 3. Target creature cannot attack this turn. Rating: ***1/2. Wouldn't it be easier to just Mind Games the thing? Oh, well... it's cool in Sealed. Contemplation, Uncommon Enchantment, 1WW Whenever you successfully cast a spell, gain 1 life. Rating: **1/2. Not a big enough effect. Conviction, Common Enchant Creature, 1W Enchanted Creature gets +1/+3. W: Return Conviction to owner's hand. Rating: **. Eh... Hidden Retreat, Rare Enchantment, 2W Choose a card in your hand and put it on top of your library: Prevent all damage from an instant or sorcery. Rating: ***. Well, I guess a psuedo-counter is kinda cool... too bad it only effects damage... Honor Guard, Common Summon Soldier, W, 1/1 W: Honor Guard gets +0/+1 until end of turn. Rating: *1/2. Lame. I guess you can chump block with it... Lancers en-Kor, Uncommon Summon Soldiers, 3WW, 3/3 Trample. 0: Redirect 1 damage from Lancers en-Kor to a creature you control. Rating: *1/2. It's too expensive for it's abilities. Nomads en-Kor, Common Summon Soldiers, W, 1/1 0: Redirect 1 damage from Nomads en-Kor to a creature you control. Rating: ***. These suckers will be hell to get rid of... Pursuit of Knowledge, Rare Enchantment, 3W Skip drawing a card: Put a study counter on Pursuit of Knowledge. Remove three study counters from Pursuit of Knowledge, Sacrifice Pursuit of Knowledge: Draw seven cards. Rating: ***1/2. Waste three draws (Which means you'll be inactive for 3 turns) and a card to draw 7? What a deal... This would be only **, but the potential for combos is really high... think Sylvan Library, Brainstorm... Rolling Stones, Rare Enchantment, 1W Walls can attack as though they were not Walls. Rating: **. Eh... Well, this might actually be a good card. Yes, it's a strange concept, but most walls would be great if they could attack. Just watch out for glyphs. ;) Sacred Ground, Rare Enchantment, 1W Whenever any effect controlled by any opponent puts a land into your graveyard from play, put that land into play. Rating: ***1/2. Landkill takes yet another blow. Samite Blessing, Common Enchant Creature, W Enchanted Creature gains "T: Prevent all damage to any creature from anyone source." Rating: *1/2. Make one of your creatures a Samite Healer. Yay. Scapegoat, Uncommon Instant, W Sacrifice a creature: return any number of target creatures you control to owner's hand. Rating: ****. Escape your own Wraths. Yes, please... Shaman en-Kor, Rare Summon Cleric, 1W, 1/2 0: Redirect 1 damage from Shaman en-Kor to a creature you control. 1W: Redirect to Shaman en-Kor all damage dealt to any one creature from any one source. Rating: ****1/2. This is a killer card. Give shaman all the damage your incinerated white knight took, then give one back to him and another to a different creature. Skyshroud Falcon, Common Summon Bird, 1W, 1/1 Flying. Attacking does not cause Skyshroud Falcon to tap. Rating: ***. Like there's only been twenty zillion reprints of this... Smite, Common Instant, W Destroy target blocked creature. Rating: *****. The best white creaturekill out there. Too bad the damned thing's gotta attack. Hmmm... Bullwhip... Soltari Champion, Rare Summon Soldier, 2W, 2/2 Shadow. If Soltari Champion attacks, all other creatures you control get +1/+1 until end of turn. Rating: ****. Wow. This is the second best shadow creature out there. Spirit en-Kor, Common Summon Spirit, 3W, 2/2 Flying. 0: Redirect 1 damage from Spirit en-Kor to a creature you control. Rating: **1/2. Eh... Temper, Uncommon Instant, X1W Prevent up to X damage to target creature. For each damage prevented in this way, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature. Rating: ***1/2. Pretty cool, but it requires a lot o mana. Venerable Monk, Common Summon Cleric, 2W, 2/2 When Venerable Monk comes into play, gain 2 life. Rating: **. Eh... Wall of Essence, Uncommon Summon Wall, 1W, 0/4 For each 1 combat damage dealt to Wall of Essence, gain 1 life. Rating: **1/2. Eh... could be better. Warrior Angel, Rare Summon Angel, 4WW, 3/4 Flying. For each 1 damage Warrior Angel deals, gain 1 life. Rating: **. 6 mana?!? No thanks... Warrior en-Kor, Uncommon Summon Knight, WW, 2/2 0: Redirect 1 damage from Warriors en-Kor to a creature you control. Rating: ***1/2. I hate these guys... Youthful Knight, Common Summon Knight, 1W, 2/1 First Strike. Rating: ****. Another elvish archers in the color it should have been in the first place! Woo hoo! Acidic Sliver, Uncommon Summon Sliver, BR, 2/2 Each Sliver gains "2, Sacrifice this creature: This creature deals 2 damage to target creature or player." Rating: ****. Kick ass. Watch out for da slivers... Crystalline Sliver, Uncommon Summon Sliver, WU, 2/2 Slivers cannot be the target of spells or abilities. Rating: ****. Shoot me now. I don't wanna be harassed by a horde of huge untargetable bug bastards... Hibernation Sliver, Uncommon Summon Sliver, UB, 2/2 Each Sliver gains "Pay 2 life: Return this creature to owner's hand." Rating: ***. A poor substitute for Crystalline, but good enough... Sliver Queen, Rare Summon Legend, BRGWU, 7/7 Counts as a Sliver. 2: Put a 1/1 colorless Sliver token into play. If Sliver Queen leaves play, bury all such Sliver tokens. Rating: ***. Don't put four into a deck, but you should be able to get her out with no trouble. Think natural order, lure of prey, call of the wild, animate dead, necromancy... Spined Sliver, Uncommon Summon Sliver, RG, 2/2 If any Sliver is blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn for each creature blocking it. Rating: ***1/2. I'll take this over rampage anyday. Victual Sliver, Uncommon Summon Sliver, GW, 2/2 Each Sliver gains "2, Sacrifice this creature: Gain 4 life." Rating: ****. Ack! Life-gaining slivers! Volrath's Stronghold, Rare Legendary Land T: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. 1B, T: Put target creature card from your graveyard on top of your library. Rating: ***1/2. Well, it beats the other legendary lands for usefulness, but that ain't saying much. -Scott Ferguson (BTekGuy@aol.com) expects to get hundreds of letters detailing why Mask of the Mimic doesn't suck.