| Acidic Sliver |
A 2/2 for 2 is not too shabby, and the ability to sac it
for 2 damage is good if you have no other slivers in play. While I
wouldn’t recommend him for a deck without any other slivers, along
the lines of a Muscle Sliver.
|
| Amok |
While it’s a decent card, decent doesn’t cut it in the cutthroat
tournament world. At the same cost as an Incinerate, it
does...nothing. It costs an additional mana and random discard (hope
you’re not holding that Incinerate) to do an extra damage, or save a
creatur. I guess it could be used to unload your hand for Scrolling
purposes, but the loss of card advantage entailed deserves a much
stronger effect.
|
| Awakening |
This is one of the most abusable cards in Stronghold. The
ability to Capsize or activate a Tradewind Rider and then untap
your permanents allows for up to 3 activations of any ability
requiring only mana and/or tapping a creature in the amount of time you
could usually use only 1. The casting cost is prohibitive, and many
other decks will be using cards which could take advantage of
this, but if you are more prepared, it will give you a huge advantage.
|
| Bandage |
The 1 damage is not significant to make this useful, as it will
quite often be a wasted card in your hand. Currently, many White
weenies are toughness 1, so it won’t even save them from a Shock or
Kindle. In a deck with alot of 3 toughness creatures (Ophidian,
Flunkies, etc.) it could be useful vs. Sligh, but I don’t feel
it’s worth a slot in your deck.
|
| Bottomless Pit |
Talk about massive disruption. This spells disaster for
blue almost as surely as City of Solitude, but the Pit is better
against many other decks. Combined with other Black or Artifact
tools such as Megrim, Cursed Scroll, Pox, and Ensnaring Bridge, the Pit
allows for soft locks, and can come out first turn on a ritual.
Splashing Blue may also be useful because once the opponent’s hand
is empty, Man-o’-War becomes Nekrataal and Tradewind Rider is a
re-usable Desert Twister.
|
| Brush with Death |
The ability for 2B isn’t impressive, and the expensive
buyback is way too inhibitive to warrant tournament use. Gaining
2 life a turn isn’t as useful as one big Drain, and costs alot more. It
could maybe fit in a very slow Zur’s Wierding/Necro locking deck, but it
doesn’t sound feasible to me.
|
| Bull Whip |
Combined with the new walls, it could allow for some
interesting effects, but it makes for an expensive, inferior Rod
of Ruin or a slow way of drawing an opponents creatures to the teeth of
your monstrous critters more often. It’s too expensive to see
regular use.
|
| Burgeoning |
Unless you have a way of putting alot of lands in your hand
(where’s Land Tax when you need it?) this ability will be wasted
more often than not. By the time you can cast this, you
shouldn’t have lands left in your hand, and if you do, they probably
won’t do you alot of good going into play that much faster. Decks
using Constant Mists and Fugitive Druid may find this useful, though.
|
| Calming Licid |
It’s rather expensive for a 2/2, but it is Pacifism in a
creature (sort of). One of the better Licids, but not worth playing in
comparison to some of White’s other creatures.
|
| Cannibalize |
In an environment with Terror, Nekrataal, Banishing, and
Edict, these really are extraneous. I can’t think of a deck which
will reguarly put these to better use than any of the other options.
|
| Cardassid |
It is 5/4 trample regenerating, but it costs too much to see
much use. For the same amount of mana (and only 2 more per turn
than you’d have to save for regenerating) you could have a Force
of Nature. Face it: Green creatures must be fast AND fat. Just fat won’t
cut it.
|
| Change of Heart |
I’d rather use Wall of Essence to hold off attackers,
and that won’t cost me 4 mana per turn. Much like Mind Games, the
expense of casting every turn keeps it from being effective creature
control.
|
| Cloud Spirit |
Basically a slightly stronger and much more vulnerable
Cloud Elemental. In the current environment, 3 is becoming the
minimum toughness for resilient creatures, avoiding Shock and Kindle.
The extra damage isn’t worth the increased vulnerabiltiy, and that’s
assuming you’re going to use either Cloud creature.
|
| Constant Mists |
Without an engine like Hermit Druid/Gaea’s Blessing,
you’ll stall yourself away to nothing much as Zuran Orb once did.
However, with such an engine, and maybe a Burgeoning or Horn of
Greed thrown in...
|
| Contemplation |
A good way for White control decks to keep full hands,
allowing for larger Gerrard’s Wisdoms and Empyrial Armors. Between
this and Pursuit of Knowledge, White control may emerge as a
powerful new foe. Particuarly strong in multiples...
|
| Contempt |
An expensive way of creature “control” that still has you
taking damage every other turn. This is horrible, if you ask me.
|
| Conviction |
Just another crappy creature enchantment, nothing
extroardinary to make worth using.
|
| Convulsing Licid |
How often is getting blocked a problem? For my 2R, I
expect a better 2/2 with an ability- like Suq’Ata Lancer.
|
| Corrupting Licid |
Weenie decks have very few slots for 3 cc creatures,
and his ability isn’t strong enough to make him worthy of filling
them.
|
| Craven Giant |
This guy is way too vulnerable for 3 mana, and he can’t
even be used to kill an attacker. It will take three turns for him to
deal more damage than a Lancer, and he probably won’t live that
long.
|
| Crossbow Ambush |
Blocking creatures is not that useful, and very few
fliers are getting used. Green will usually outrace or lose to any
deck with flying, regardless of its blocking ability (or lack thereof).
|
| Crovax the Cursed |
Flying black is good, but saccing a creature can be a
problem. Even saccing one will allow for 15 points of flying damage,
though, so don’t rule him out as a finisher. Gallowbraid and
Morinfen are probably better in most decks.
|
| Crystalline Sliver |
Too bad white and blue don’t have any other good
slivers, because his ability rules. If you can make a 5-color sliver
deck work, these are among the best. I haven’t looked into the
possibilities yet.
|
| Dauthi Trapper |
3 mana for a 1/1 who can make other creatures basically
unblockable is just plain bad.
|
| Death Stroke |
If only it were an instant. Since it isn’t, Terror and
Edict will take care of your creature problems without letting the
creature hurt you once. Much like Contempt, this is too slow to be
useful.
|
| Dream Halls |
By the time you have the mana to cast this, you shouldn’t
have trouble casting other spells. It’s useful in some combo decks,
but I’m counting it out.
|
| Dream Prowler |
A decent blocker who can eventually deal a slow kill. For
half the cost, though, Wall of Tears will usually be better.
Offensively, he’s way too slow.
|
| Duct Crawler |
A 1/1 with an expensive, barely useful abiltiy. Who cares
if a 1/1 isn’t blocked?
|
| Dungeon Shade |
A big black flier, but by the time you have 4 mana, the
opponent can probably kill him. He’s too vulnerable upon casting
to be useful in most decks.
|
| Elven Rite |
As a sorcery, the extra two counters won’t matter. It it
were an instant, the abiltiy to kill creatures would counteract the
loss of card advantage.
|
| Endangered Armodon |
Which deck that could make good use of a 5/4 doesn’t
use Elves, Boas, Rangers, Slivers, etc.? For 2GG, you’ll get alot
more out of Lhurgoyf or Maro.
|
| Ensnaring Bridge |
The Rath cycle is really testing our theory of card
advantage. Here’s another card which offers huge rewards for tossing
card advantage to the wind. Combined with other cards which reward
this, like Scroll, Pox, and Pit, you’ll have quite a deck.
|
| Evacuation |
Mass creature stalling for Blue will add a much needed
solution to the weenie problem Propaganda began to solve. Without some
sort of back-up, weenies will fall apart to Blue now.
|
| Fanning the Flames |
Without buyback, it’s a less versatile Rolling
Thunder. By the time you pay the buyback, you can’t afford to do
much damage. Hammer is infinitely better.
|
| Fling |
Trading 2 cards for minimal damage is not good. With Incinerate,
Kindle, and Shock, why would you need to sac a creature?
|
| Flowstone Blade |
An expensive Immolation, and who used that?
|
| Flowstone Helion |
If you can get him through, he’s a reusable Ball
Lightning. At 5 mana, though, he’s slow and vulnerable. Once you
lose surprise, don’t count on attacking with him again.
|
| Flowstone Mauler |
A great creature, but by the time you get to 6 mana,
you can just use Shivan. I feel he is too expensive to see
tournament use.
|
| Flowstone Shambler |
A 2/2 or a 3/1. I’d rather have a Lancer.
|
| Foul Imp |
2/2 flying for 2 is good, but the damage sucks. With so many
other good black creatures for 2 mana, he won’t get used much.
Shadow is easily as good as flying, and Horror doesn’t hurt.
|
| Furnace Spirit |
The turn you cast him, you probably won’t be able to
pump him. Once you’ve lost the element of surprise, he’ll be of
precious little use. 1 toughness is just too vulnerable for a 3
casting cost creature.
|
| Gliding Licid |
If only he flew himself. Blue doesn’t really have other
good creatures that don’t fly, so the ability is mostly wasted.
|
| Gravepact |
It’s expensive, but once it comes out, there’s lots of ways
to abuse it. Cards like Pox or Tombstone Stairwell will quickly
eliminate the opponent’s creatures. Also good with cards like Mogg
Fanatic or Bottle Gnomes, that you want to kill. Very strong in
multiples.
|
