Subject: My Stronghold Non-Experience, Part II (The Cards)
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 19:21:37 GMT
From: sparky@militia-watchdog.org (Mark Pitcavage)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc

In this post, I thought I would list the cards I got at the
tournament, along with a few impressions and comments on them.

I got 61 different cards; it's a little depressing that I've already
seen more than 1/3 the whole set.  Overall, I was not nearly as
impressed as I was initially after Tempest came out.  I was
particularly hoping for more interesting licids and spikes.  The
illustrations were not as good as they were in either Tempest or
Weatherlight (overall).  Of these 61 cards, none are ones I would
particularly salivate over.

I'd appreciate your comments and responses.

Green

1. Primal Rage (enchantment, 1g, all creatures you control gain
trample).  The fact that this is an inexpensive enchantment makes this
card attractive.  It is not just a sorcery, but a permanent, so
creature heavy decks can really benefit from it.  Illustration is
unremarkable.

2. Spike Colony (summon spike, 4g, comes in with four spikies).  I had
been hoping the spikes would have been more imaginative than they
actually seem to be.  They are not, apparently.  Big spike creatures
are of less value than little ones, because one of the saving graces
of a spike creature is that even if it gets killed, it can strengthen
another creature.  This costs so much that the player is unlikely to
have the extra mana needed to transfer spikes before his next turn.
Illustration is boring.

3. Spined Wurm (summon wurm, 4g, a 5/4 plain creature).  Not bad for
the cost; I've always had a weakness for just plain gollywhomping
creatures.  Illustration is okay; sort of a Barney head on a boa
constrictor.

4. Carnassid (summon beast, 4gg, 5/4 creature with trample and
regenerate).  Those are some nice abilities to have; this is one of
green's better big honking creatures.  Illustration pretty decent.

5. Skyshround Troopers (summon elves, 3g, 3/3 elves that can give you
green mana).  Llanowars on steroids.  The high casting cost means that
their mana-generating ability is not that useful.  I thought we
already knew this.  Illustration is not so hot--a couple of
pasty-faced limp-wristed elves.

6. Skyshroud Archer (summon elf, g, a 1/1 you can tap to give target
flying creature -1/-1).  Not a bad little ability.  Illustration is
pretty good, too.

7. Provoke (instant, 1g, untap target creature you do not
control--that creature blocks this turn if able; draw a card).  Cheap,
possible creature control, and a cantrip.  It is worth considering,
anyway.  Illustration features the major Magic bitch fight of 1998.

8. Lowland Basilisk (summon basilisk, 2g, a 1/3 basilisk which
destroys all creatures (including walls) that block it).  It's cheap
and its ability is always nice, but this is basically a defensive sort
of creature, and it seems to me that green needs to be aggressive.
Illustration isn't bad.  It looks like a cross between one of the
Budweiser lizards and the Exorcist.

9. Endangered Armodon (summon elephant, 2gg, a 4/5 creature but if you
control any creature with toughness 2 or less, sacrifice it).  They
forgot to add "if Endangered Armodon is in play, no player can
sacrifice a forest."  That's what they do for the spotted owl, right?
It's a peculiar limitation, but one that can be worked around to make
this a nice cheap creature.  Illustration okay.

10. Tempting Licid (summon licid, 2g, licid with lure, basically).
Another disappointing licid, although at least your "lure" can stick
around after the combat.  Illustration is not bad.

11. Spike Breeder (summon spike, 3g, 3 spikies plus you can remove
them to create token creatures).  Not too bad, as spikes go.
Illustration pretty good, plus it is probably the only Magic card
displaying a live birth.

12. Constant Mists (instant, 1g plus buyback of sacrificing a land;
creatures do no combat damage this turn).  Better for sealed deck than
constructed, although having the buyback ability can make for a
frustrating game for your opponent in the endgame.

13. Spike Worker (summon spike, 2g, two spikies).  Ho hum.
Illustration bad, too.

Blue

14. Rebound (interrupt, 1u, target spell which targets only a single
player targets another player of your choice instead).  A nice card to
have in your hand when a Diabolic Edict is cast.  However, the fact
that it only affects players means that it is of limited use.  Nor
does it target effects.  Illustration is unremarkable.

15. Shock (instant, r, 2 damage to target creature or player).  I
suppose this was inevitable, but i still think it falls into the "what
were they thinking department"?  Shock, kindle, incinerate--if we go
to Extended we can pretty much have that old degenerate all lightning
bold and mountain deck.  Illustration unremarkable.

16. Contempt (enchant creature, 1u, if enchanted creature attacks,
return that creature and contempt to owner's hand at end of combat).
An evil card when combined with Man O' War, Nekrataal, Fog Elemental,
etc.  Not for every deck, but it's cheap and wicked.  Illustration
ain't bad; I never noticed before what a tight little butt Volrath
had.

17. Tidal Surge (sorcery, 1u, tap up to 3 target creatures w/o
flying).  Good for sealed deck.  Judging by the flavor text, somebody
needs to give Eladamri some nitrous oxide.  Illustration unremarkable.

18. Cloud Spirit (summon spirit, 2u, flying 3/1 can only block
creatures with flying).  Well, the price is right.  Packs some nice
offensive punch.  Illustration is disgusting, a hairless pink
mindflayer with long nails.  Yo quiero Taco Bell.

19. Gliding Licid (summon licid, 2u, licid that gives creature
flying).  Well, it's always nice to be able to make things fly, but it
is worth a licid?  There are worse licids out there.  Nice for sealed
deck.  Illustration is a little strange--why would a winged creature
need a licid that provides flying?

20. Hammerhead Shark (summon fish, 1u, a 2/3 islandhome sort of
creature).  It is certainly cheap, but that's about all you can say
for it.  Illustration unremarkable.

21. Wall of Tears (summon wall, 1u, an 0/4 wall which returns
creatures it blocks to owners' hand).  Pretty useless against
Nekrataals, Man-o-Wars, etc.  However, it is cheap and useful against
other creatures.  I don't know if this is, as WotC alleges, an example
of a "tournament worthy" wall, but it is better than most.

22. Silver Wyvern, (summon drake, 3uu, a 4/3 flyer which for u you can
have target spell or ability targetting wyvern target another creature
instead).  This is actually a nice creature, as long as you can spare
the mana.  The Illustration is unremarkable, but better than many
others in this set (which is not nearly as striking as Tempest in its
illustrations).

23. Tidal Warrior (summon merfolk, u, a 1/1 who can make target land
an island).  Cheap merfolk with an ability than can make some of those
damn islandhome creatures actually useful.  But you traded yours all
away to some newbie for all those abeyances, right?  Some people will
put this in their decks; it's not really for me.  Illustration
unremarkable.

24. Mind Games (instant, u w/buyback 2u, tap target artifact, creature
or land).  In the absence of Icy Manipulator, this is what you've got.
Use it wisely.  Illustration is excellent.

25. Mana Leak (interrupt, 1b, counter target spell unless caster pays
additional 3).  Not bad at all--helps a mana-poor person more than
power sink does in those tight situations.  Probably wouldn't want to
put 4 in your deck, but it has its uses.  Illustration is a little
goofy.  Re flavor text:  Volrath ain't exactly Sun Tzu.

26. Sift (sorcery, 3u, draw three cards then choose and discard a
card).  Pretty good as far as these sorts of cards go.  Illustration
pretty irrelevant.

Red

27. Convulsing Licid (summon licid, 2r, licid which makes creature
unable to block).  Not exactly a card that Cartmann from South Park
would trade for, but it has its uses, I suppose.  Illustration is not
particularly good.

28. Mogg Bombers (summon goblins, 3r, a 3/4 creature which reads: if
any other creature comes into play, sacrifice mb and it deals 3 damage
to target player).  This creature is not likely to survive long enough
to do normal attack damage, so it strikes me more as a direct damage
spell.  For that, it is somewhat expensive and cannot be used against
creatures.  Illustration is unremarkable.

29. Mob Justice (sorcery, 1r, mob justice deals 1 damage to target
player for each creature you control).  In sealed deck, nice to have
when a standoff develops; in constructed deck, unlikely to be used
very often.  Illustration not bad; unusual perspective is nice.

30. Flowstone Helion (summon beast, 4r, a 3/3 unaffected by summoning
creature which can +1/-1 pump).  Kind of a nasty little critter, ain't
it?  It does almost what a ball lightning does, but sticks around
afterwards.  Illustration is okay; doesn't look like your typical red
creature.

31. Fling (instant, 1r, basically you throw a creature at someone).
It's a way to get a bit more mileage out of a doomed creature, but
otherwise, red has better spells.  Illustration unremarkable.

32. Mogg Flunkies (summon goblins, 1r, 3/3 goblins which cannot attack
or block in a turn in which no other creature you control attacks or
blocks).  An undercosted creature which has a penalty unlikely to be a
problem in goblin decks.  Illustration is also pretty good, plus I
never expected the word "flunky" to be on a Magic card.

33. Flowstone Mauler (summon beast, 4rr, a 4/5 trampler with +1/-1
pump ability).  That combination of trampling and pumping makes this a
nasty critter.  However, it does have a very expensive casting cost.
Illustration is good.

34. Duct Crawler (summon insect, r, a 1/1 which for 1r you can make
target creature unable to block Crawler).  Since when does red get
insects?  Not being able to block the Duct Crawler is no great
penalty, anyway.  Give me a Mogg fanatic any day over this.
Illustration is very freudian, as is flavor text.

35. Seething Anger (sorcery, r w/buyback 3; target creature gets +3/+0
until end of turn).  We saw this one coming.  Cheap cost makes it very
useful, buyback makes it better in mid or end game.  Could come in
handy, but note the big drawback:  it's a sorcery.

Black

36. Crovax the Cursed (Summon Legend, 2bb, crovax comes into play w/4
+1,+1 counters; during your upkeep sacrifice a creature and put a
+1/+1 counter on him, or remove one of those counters.  For b, can
fly).  Perhaps someone can enlighten me on why anybody would want to
use him outside of sealed deck (if then).  Illustration is
unremarkable.

37. Brush with Death (sorcery, 2b, buyback 2bb, target opponent loses
2 life, you gain two life).  The great cost of this spell makes it
pretty unwieldy, but darn, it sure sounds tempting to try and set up
some sort of lock with it.  Still, I am dubious.  Illustration is
unremarkable.

38. Foul Imp (summon imp. bb, a 2/2 flyer; when it comes into play you
lose 2 life).  Sounds like a fair trade to me for an ultra fast deck.
Not bad.  Illustration kind of amusing; looks like those close-ups of
people's scalps.

39. Cannibalize (sorcery, 1b, choose two target creatures controlled
by opponent, remove one from game and put 2 +1/+1 counters on the
other).  I guess you could then diabolic edict the other one.
However, despite its low cost, this doesn't sound like the most
effective sort of creature removal spell.  However, note that between
this spell, Death Stroke and Diabolic Edict, the traditional black
weakness of difficulty in killing black and artifact creatures is
basically gone.  Illustration is questionable; is this a cannibal?

40. Death Stroke (sorcery, bb, destroy target tapped creature).
Better than Cannibalize above.  See comments on Cannibalize for its
significance.  Illustration unremarkable.

41. Tortured Existence (enchantment, b, pay b and choose and discard a
creature card in order to return target creature card from your
graveyard to your hand).  Smart players will think of all sorts of
exciting ways to abuse this card.  Put your Nether Shadow in the
graveyard as you take another creature out, for starters.  I'm sure
people will annoy me with this card in any number of ways.  The
illustration is me in line for the pre-release tournament.

42. Corrupting Licid (summon licid, 2b, becomes enchantment which
makes creature unblockable save for artifact and black creatures).  I
want a licid which really makes a target creature kick some Volrath
ass, man.  Oh, well, I guess we have to settle for this sort of thing.
Illustration okay.

43. Dungeon Shade (summon spirit, 3b, flying 1/1 which is pumpable).
Nasty for sealed deck, esp in an environment with few flyers.  Useful
for some constructed deck, but probably won't be too popular.
Illustration is unremarkable; the guy obviously needs a dentist.

44. Dauthi Trapper (summon minion, 2b, a 1/1 creature which can give
people shadow).  Cost is a little high for what you get.  Illustration
okay.

45. Serpent Warrior (summon soldier, 2b, a 3/3 creature which costs
you 3 life when it comes into play).  Ouch.  Is it worth it in a very
fast deck?  I sort of have a barrier between 2 and 3 about voluntarily
losing life.  Illustration isn't very good.

46. Morgue Thrull (summon thrull, 2b, a 2/2 which you can sacrifice to
put the top three cards of your library into your graveyard).
Thrulls?  Far out.  It's difficult to really use the ability to
advantage, though.  Illustration is great.

White

47. Smite (instant, w, destroy target blocked creature).  A creature
control card for white should never be ignored, but this is by its
very nature a combo card needing at the very least a creature to
combine it with and at best a card to maximize its value (like Ray of
Command).  However, it is extremely cheap...Handy to have with Spirit
Mirror or Blinking Spirit or the like.  Illustration is okay; always
nice to see impalements.

48. Skyshround Falcon (summon bird, 1w, flying 1/1 that does not tap).
Zephyr Falcon for white; ho hum.  Illustration is repulsive.

49. Bandage (instant, w, prevent 1 damage to any creature or player
and draw a card).  The fact that this is a cantrip makes it worth
including in some decks; you can possibly save a creature and kill an
opposing creature and never miss a beat.  Cheap, too. I wish it had
been called "bondage."  Illustration unremarkable.

50. Contemplation (enchantment, 1ww, whenever you successfully cast a
spell, gain 1 life).  Note that this is a) cheap, b) not limited to
white spells, c) includes no activation cost.  I like it; it's like
free life.  Combine it with Aluren (or Aluren and Recycle) to really
spin the dials.  Illustration is rather boring.

51. Hidden Retreat (enchantment, 2w, coose a card in your hand and put
it on top of your library in order to prevent all damage from an
instant or sorcery).  The fact that this is an enchantment is its
saving grace.  This could be a useful sideboard card.  Illustration is
not very good; it looks like you've caught Squee masturbating.

52. Spirit en-Kor (summon spirit, 3w, a 2/2 flyer which can redirect
damage to other creatures you control).  Not quite a Blinking Spirit,
is it?  Illustration not so great.

53. Change of Heart (instant, w, target creature cannot attack this
turn [buyback3]).  My aggressive nature makes me not care for these
cards too much.  Illustration is too busy; besides, it is meaningless
unless you follow the back story.

54. Venerable Monk (summon cleric, 2w, a 2/2 monk which gives you 2
life when it comes into play).  Ah, grasshopper, when you can snatch
this blinking spirit from my hand, you will be ready to play.
Illustration looks a little like Abe Vigoda.

55. Honor Guard (summon soldier, w, a 1/1 with toughness pumpable).
Not a bad little ability for a one mana creature.  Illustration not so
hot.

56. Wall of Essence (summon wall, 1w, a 0/4 wall with gain 1 life for
each combat damage dealt to wall).  Not bad, for a wall.  Illustration
goofy.

57. Youthful Knight (summon knight, 1w, 2/1 creature w/first strike).
A cross between a Savannah Lion and a White Knight, sort of.  A handy
creature for fast weenie decks.  Illustration would be average
elsewhere but in this set is above average.

58. Conviction (enchant creature, 1w, enchanted creature gets +1,+3,
plus you can spend w to return it to your hand).  A good enchantment.
Illustration is poor, plus not understandable without the back story.

Gold

59. Crystalline Sliver (summon sliver, wu, a 2/2 which says that
slivers cannot be the target of spells or abilities).  Does this mean
that slivers don't pass their abilities to each other now?  I'm
confused.  Illustration pretty good.

60. Hibernation Sliver (summon sliver, ub, a 2/2 which says pay 2
life, return this creature to owner's hand).  A tough price to pay,
but I like it in conjunction with wrath of god, etc.  Illustration
unremarkable.

Artifacts

61. Bullwhip, (artifact, 4, for a cost of 2, bullwhip deals 1 damage
to target creature.  That creature attacks this turn if able).  Talk
about adding insult to injury or rubbing salt in the wound.  This is a
supremely irritating little artifact--if you have the cards to make it
useful.

Dr. Mark Pitcavage, sparky@militia-watchdog.org
The Militia Watchdog: Http://www.militia-watchdog.org