[esternaefil]

Hey all, I know I'm pretty new here, but I noticed there wasn't a discussion thread for this yet.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/eventide/spoiler

Noting that the cards aren't all great, nor all good, there are some really exciting standouts for me.

Endless Horizons seems like it could be used both as a mana severance and as a means of ensuring that you always have lands to play.  It reads a little like phyrexian arena except you know that one of the cards you draw will always be a land and the other will probably not be.  this could be very strong if it finds a home.

Unmake seems like it could be very good epecially as a common.  In block, with the 5c manabases being as functional as they are even this early in evelopment, I feel that this could see a lot of play alongside cryptic command in some form of natural solar flare evolution.  Me, I'll probably stick to horde or Notions + crib swap shenanigans, but that's just me.

Worm Harvest is the first instance we've seen of the new keyword Retrace which I am perhaps as excited about as any of the actual cards on here.  Retrace plays out a lot like flashback except that the card goes from the yard to the stack back to the yard so you can continuously recast it so long as the lands in hand stick around and you have the mana to cast the spell.  Imagine the combo potential with dakmor salvage and river kelpie.  well, maybe not combo, but that's some pretty nice synergy.

Worm harvest as a card?  Not brilliant, but it has some nice synergy with the retrace mechanic, with the recasting of the spell fueling the effect.

Scourge of the Nobilis.  WOW.  talk about a game-changing effect.  No, it doesn't grant double strike and lifelink as some people had speculated (would have been too similar to runes of the deus imo anyway), but firebreathing and lifelink is a nice combination.  In extended casual, imagine the carnage when you pair this up with boros swiftblade!  3/4 double striking, firebreathing lifelinker.  seems like a nice way of keeping zoo alive after gaea's might rotates out of the environment.

Raven's Crime.  what a killer!  cry of contrition saw play during what was perhaps the least control friendly block format in recent history (ravnica block, where all the good decks were RW, BR or both) and this little gem discards far more cards and requires a lot less hoop jumping, in a format that I feel will ultimately pan out much better for the control decks at varying stages of development.  Definitely worth looking into this alongside some river kelpies if you ask me.

Stigma Lasher.  so, this is like Everlasting Torment except good, right?  RR for a 2/2 is a noted staple in red aggro decks, mogg war marshall, blood knight... these creatures always see play, are always good, and are always members of format defining decks.  This brings that to a whole new level by finally giving RDW the opportunity to beat the G/x midrange decks that have been keeping them down in type 2.  We all know that RDW has a celebrated matchup against faeries and merfolk, they are 60 vs elves, they just are stone kold to primal command/kitchen finks.  No more.  in with this little guy and all the wrath of gods and crib swaps in the world won't change your fate.  Sideboard material, but this certainly helps to shore up the worst matchup of a deck that is poised to make a huge splash come Nationals season.

Needle Spectre.  continuing the theme of withering opponents (begun with the lasher above), this guy is probably awful where the earlier man is awesome.  If you manage a nice turn one prickles, turn two blood moon, turn three this guy, pray they don't have removal, then sure he could be a really nice breaker against control and midrange decks in type 2... but he's a 1/1 for three in a format defined by bitterblossom and mistbind clique.  Even in block against spectral procession?  he's just SAD.  you relaly don't want to be on the wrong end of a mirrorweave with this guy in play, you'll lose some cards real quick!

call the skybreaker.  control mirrors keeping you down?  Call the gamebreaker!  seriously, being able to cast a 5/5 flier out of thin air each turn at the expense of excess lands that you'll be topdecking late in the game anyway?  that's a huge effect for a U/x control deck in the coming metagame.  I've been developing a UR control deck for the last month or so, and this may just be the thing that pushes it over the top (I mean the deck is already fabulous, but having added edge in control mirror is just what the doctr ordered).  this may well make losing urza's factory a bit easier to swallow come October.  Uncounterable mans is just the kind of thing that blue control decks love to see.

Doomgape.  Quite possibly the timmiest card printed since legions.  10/10 trample for 7 is just so big, this guy is looking at SSS levels of hugeness.  admittedly this guy has a drawback... but with a bitterblossom in play, you are talking sum-zero!  I don't think he'll see play, but he is definitely exciting, and will likely make long-games in sealed go a lot quicker.

All in all, this preview set has gotten me really excited for the PR in three weeks.  I think that this set could very well top shadowmoor in my books (as I trend more towards enemy colours in the first place).  What are your thoughts on the previews?  Are there any effects or cycles you particularly want to see continued or redeveloped?

[imachampion]

Lets just hope that they don't print a Draw Spell with Retrace...otherwise reanimation is going to go wild with Dakmor Salvage. I love the mechanic Retrace...I am just a little scared of the possiblities that it brings. I mean honestly...they printed Raven's Crime for just B...lets hope they don't do:

Raven's Reward   U Sorcery / Instant Draw a card. Retrace (You may play this card from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying its other costs.)

1) Play ~. Draw a card.
2) Retrace ~ discarding Dakmor Salvage - Replace the Draw effect with Dredge and get Dakmor Salvage back into your hand.
3) Wash Rinse and Repeat for as much mana as you have. This will put tons of cards in your graveyard giving you plenty of reanimation targets, Bridge From Below, and Dread Returns into your yard...while also giving you free creatures to sacrifice to pay for the Dread Return...Narcomeba.

Will WOTC be stupid enough to give us Dredge again? Stay tuned to find out.

Onto other news. I am very happy to see that they are printing more removal in this set...Unmake. We were rather scarce for a while. Now all we need is a decent board sweeper and I might end up liking this block.

[MacdaddyG]

I personally don't see why you wouldn't maindeck Stigma Lasher in a red deck. Kitchen Finks is by far the worst card for any red deck to face and this guy effectively changes 3x Kitchen Finks into 3/2's for 2 and the first one that gains you 2 life when it comes into play. A potential saving of 14 life is rediculously efficient for a 2 drop. Endless Horizons also seems like a REALLY good outlet for the spells with Retrace as you put a land into your hand each turn and note on the cards with retrace that they are not removed from the game when they are played using retrace.

[esternaefil]

I personally don't see why you wouldn't maindeck Stigma Lasher in a red deck. Kitchen Finks is by far the worst card for any red deck to face and this guy effectively changes 3x Kitchen Finks into 3/2's for 2 and the first one that gains you 2 life when it comes into play. A potential saving of 14 life is rediculously efficient for a 2 drop. Endless Horizons also seems like a REALLY good outlet for the spells with Retrace as you put a land into your hand each turn and note on the cards with retrace that they are not removed from the game when they are played using retrace.

The thing about maindecking Stigma Lasher is that the decks that Red is kold to are not in the top three, you don't want spells that don't help you against faeries in the maindeck, you don't want spells that don't help you against Elves in the maindeck.

You are kold to finks and primal commands, so you run the lasher in the sideboard to help improve your chances against those decks.

[MN Nick]

I like the Lasher, but I disagree that it gives RDW a chance to win. Honestly, it's going to have to do two things in order to make that happen.
1) It needs to replace an essential card that actually does something like Blood Knight or Keldon Marauders.

2) It has to deal damage to an opponent. Without haste or other tricks, it is fodder for any type of control spell, and chump blocking. Yes you can pave the way with burn, but then whats the point of playing rdw? You've most likely already lost if you have to waste burn spells on creating a path for a 2/2 with wither as its evasion quality. RDW is all about fast creatures with immediate effects and burning for the win. I see the potential of this card, but I also see that it's only likely to work maybe 50% of the time when you play it. I would be extremely hesitant to mainboard this card for that reason alone. Then take into account that the main reason RDW gets put out of range of winning is because it gets drug into a midgame that it cant win because it needs card draw, and you will see this guy become less and less applicable.

I am thoroughly impressed with Unmake, and I will probably play the bejesus out of these guys. So far, not much is really impressing me from this set. I think there was a counterspell in there that gives both you and your opponent a draw for 1BB, but its not that good.

Anyhow, thats only my opinion. In the words of Billy Joel "you may be right, and i may be crazy"