Worldwake Me Up Before You Go-Go

About Yann Massicard

Yann Massicard

Yann is a Level 6 Magic Pro player from France who has a number of high-profile finishes under his belt:

• Winner Grand Prix Seattle 2009
• 51 Lifetime Pro Points
• Level 6 Pro Players Club member
• Top 16 Pro Tour Kyoto 2009
• Top 24 Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur 2008
• Top 16 Grand Prix Strasbourg 2007

Hey everyone,

The Worldwake prerelease is on the horizon and we already have an almost complete spoiler from the new set. But to what extent are the new cards going to change the way we draft or the decks we play in Standard? Does it mean we have to spend more money to be competitive, and will it be worth it or unnecessary? Moreover, will Worldwake be fun to play with and innovative?

Innovations

The only new ability in this set is called "Multikicker". The kicker cost is probably one of the best abilities in the whole game, as it allows you to play cheap spells in the early game and eventually kick them in the late game by paying more mana for a bigger effect. This time Worldwake modifies the ability and allows you to pay the kicker cost just as many times as you can/wish. It thus gives more flexibility to your cards, especially in a format where you tend to play a lot of lands to go with your landfall cards.

Landfall is probably going to become even more important than before. Indeed, landfall used to be important for your quests or for guys like Plated Geopede, but from now on, spell cards will also have a landfall ability, well, kind of a kicker cost actually, as they become more powerful if you played a land the turn you play the card.

Apart from that you still have all those « tribe » cards like allies or vampires and also the trap mechanic, some new interesting manlands and the new Genjus: the Zendikons.

Let's start with a color analysis:

White

Two cards especially attracted my attention. Loam Lion, a new white Kird Ape, needs a Forest to grow bigger. This could be a very solid one-drop in an appropriate GW deck in Standard. Those decks used to be slightly more defensive, sometimes playing guys like Steward of Valeron and trying to kill with fatties like Baneslayer Angel and Knight of the Reliquary. This time I guess you could play something like: 4 Loam Lion, 4 Noble Hierarch, 4 Knotvine Paladin, some Qasali Pridemages... This is also an interesting card for Extended as having to fetch for a Mountain on turn 1 in a Zoo deck in order to play a Kird Ape is a bit awkward if your other one-drops are green or white (I'm thinking about Wild Nacatl and Steppe Lynx).

The other card I already like a lot is Kor Firewalker. It obviously destroys Red Deck Wins on its own, as it is both a Silver Knight and a Dragon’s Claw, so I guess red decks will have to find a way to deal with it quickly, maybe with Umezawa's Jitte in Extended or by splashing Black in Standard, as this card is probably going to be played a lot, at least in sideboards.

White also continues to provide us with good allies. Hada Freeblade is definitely the most important one, as you can play it on the very first turn. In Limited, the ally strategy used to be cool but was also sometimes a bit slow if you didn't have your two-drops on turn 2, as they are the ones who create early pressure and become bigger and bigger the more allies you play. This time you have a one-drop which is almost as good as the old two-drops and has the same ability; it grows bigger when an ally enters the battlefield on your side. We can't really know yet, but maybe an ally deck will soon be played in Block Constructed or Standard, and Hada Freeblade will for sure be a staple in there. In addition, Join the Ranks is a 4 mana instant spell which puts two 1/1 allies on the battlefield. This is a pretty good trick, for example during combat, to pump your other allies.

Marshal's Anthem 2WW
Enchantment (Rare)
Multikicker 1W
Creatures you control get +1+1
When Marshal's Anthem enters the battlefield, return up to X target creature cards from your graveyard to the battlefield, where X is equal to the number of times Marshal's Anthem was kicked.

Marshal's Anthem is a 4 mana Glorious Anthem with multikicker for 2 more mana. For each time you « multikicked » it, you then reanimate a guy from your graveyard. Well, I think it's a bit slow and expensive, and you already have better cards like Ajani Goldmane. Plus, you don't want to draw multiples of this but it could be interesting for Standard. It might be fine as a one-of in some aggro or mid-range decks, or why not to reanimate some allies... In Limited it’s definitely a spoiler.

Refraction Trap 3W
Instant - Trap (Uncommon)
If an opponent cast a red instant or sorcery spell this turn, you may pay W rather than pay Refraction Trap's mana cost.
Prevent the next 3 damage that a source of your choice would deal to you and/or permanents you control. Refraction Trap deals that much damage to target creature or player

Refraction Trap is the last white card I want to talk about. I've always loved this kind of card. I think about Shinning Shoal, Harm's Way... you almost always get a 2 for 1 and it's always pretty convenient to white aggro strategies.

To conclude, White Uncommons seem to be the best cards so far and rares should not exceed $10 or $12. All in all it’s a good color in Worldwake.

Blue

Blue has been rather absent from most Standard decklists those past months, so let's see if Worldwake is going to change that. Obviously, the new planeswalker, Jace, the Mind Sculptor seems amazing. It's cheap enough and even has 4 different abilities instead of the usual 3, and they all do different things, making this card very versatile. Against aggro, the bounce ability is pretty cool and otherwise, against no aggression on the board, you can Brainstorm every turn or control what your opponent draws.

Dispel U
Instant
Common
Counter target instant spell

Another interesting card could be Treasure Hunt. It needs extensive playtesting but it can definitely do something and combos pretty well with Halimar Depths or Ponder. Dispel might also be interesting but more likely in Vintage, where people abuse cheap instant spells. This leaves us with Mysteries of the Deep as one of the only blue cards revealed so far which seems interesting for Constructed. Basically, it makes you draw 3 cards if you had a land arrive on your side of the table on the turn you play it. So let's say you're a smart player and run fetch lands too in your deck so you can play it at the end of the turn. Well, it seems nice but is it really better than Sphinx of Lost Truths?

In Limited Blue offers some cool allies like Halimar Excavator. As it is a common you may have 2 or 3 of them and maybe you could adapt your strategy to fit them in your ally deck, but I don't really know what that would lead to, as allies tend to kill with a constantly growing army and in combat. Besides, Blue is usually a splash in an allies deck so you don't really want two-drops from your splash color...

Vapor Snare 4U
Enchantment - Aura (uncommon)
Enchant creature
You control enchanted creature.
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Vapor Snare unless you return a land you control to its owner's hand.

Vapor Snare is probably one of the best blue cards for Limited so far, as Control Magic has always been the nuts, and its drawback isn't that much of a problem, especially if you played it on a landfall guy. Also Tideforce Elemental makes me want to draft Blue again, though it might be a bit slow for this format, but you can still regain some tempo thanks to the new Man-o'-War: Surrakar Banisher.

All in all, Blue seems to have some very nice cards for Limited, but will it be enough to make people want to commit to Blue in draft knowing that Blue is often poor in Zendikar? Finally, apart from Jace, the Mindsculptor which should quickly be worth a lot, you should easily get the few good cards you need for Constructed pretty cheap.

Black

Black offers some fun cards in Worldwake. I'm sure some people will try fun combo decks featuring Abyssal Persecutor and Bazaar Trader (Bazaar Trader 1R, Creature - Goblin (R), T: Target player gains control of target artifact, creature or land that you control., 1/1). Well, it won't be very efficient, but at least the Demon seems interesting and could perhaps be played in serious decks. Also Death Shadow, a 13/13 for 1 mana which gets smaller depending on your life total, could be pretty fun in Standard, if played with some Vampire Lacerators for example, but also in Legacy in a Black Suicide deck.

The reprint of Smother may have an impact on Standard or Extended, as it deals with annoying creatures, such as Knight of the Reliquary, Gaddock Teeg or Dark Confidant, but it may not fit the Vampire strategy in Standard, which has just found a new interesting removal: Urge to Feed.

Talking about Vampires, the new set provides us with many of them. Anowon the Ruin Sage and especially Kalastria Highborn could give the Vampires deck what it was missing. Do you really want to play your Day of Judgment if my board is Bloodghast, Kalastria Highborn, Vampire Nocturnus and some open mana?

Mire's Toll is the last card I want to discuss for Constructed. I don't know yet if it is going to be better than a Duress for example, but I guess you may not want to run 4 of them in your deck, as playing it on turn 1 seems not really exciting. But otherwise it seems pretty good, but only in a mono color deck.

Caustic Crawler 3BB
Creature - Insect (Uncommon)
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may have target creature get -1/-1 until end of turn.
4/3

In Limited, well Black looks cool as it is already awesome in Zendikar and the new removal spells are excellent. Caustic Crawler should be very nice as it is both a creature and a removal and Ruthless Cullblade should do the job pretty well. In the early game, you have a 2/1 for 2 so it will deal the first points of damage, and later on it becomes a 4/2 when your opponent is down to 10 or less, so it’s probably a rather high pick.

To conclude with Black, I can say that it should still be one of the best colors in draft and in Constructed it should offer new possibilities especially for Vampire decks, but also thanks to cards like Smother. Kalastria Highborn should quickly become expensive so you should try to get yours as soon as possible, apart from that, the most interesting cards so far are commons and uncommons.

Red

A few cards here seem pretty nice for Standard. Comet Storm can be interesting as a new Firestorm. I'm usually not a big fan of all those Fireballs in Constructed, but this one has a cool advantage, it is an instant. Dragonmaster Outcast is also a card you should keep an eye on. The thing is, you need 6 lands for it to trigger, but on the other hand it can win a game on its own. It's like a Scute Mob but just more powerful, and it still combos pretty well with Antoine Ruel's Ranger of Eos. Maybe 6 lands are a bit too much, but this card looks like it has a lot of potential.

Searing Blaze RR
Instant (common)
Searing Blaze deals 1 damage to target player and 1 damage to target creature that player controls.
Landfall - If you had a land enter the battlefield under your control this turn, Searing Blaze deals 3 damage to that player and 3 damage to that creature instead.

A card I already like a lot and probably my favorite red card so far is the new Lash Out: Searing Blaze. Just imagine after a turn 2 Plated Geopede, you play a fetchland on turn 3, follow it up with Searing Blaze and then attack for 5... And I don't even talk about Limited, where this card seems to be even more powerful than Lash Out used to be, though Lash Out is one of my all time favorite red removal spells.

In Limited, Cunning Sparkmage, almost a reprint of Vulshok Sorcerer, should be really good in this very aggressive format. I wouldn't have loved it that much without haste, especially in Zendikar, but I guess you can even play it in Constructed. Think about all the guys it kills, like Steppe Lynx, Noble Hierarch, Soul Warden, Vampire Hexmage, Lotus Cobra... In a red aggro deck it should really shine, as even if it gets bolted the turn it comes into play, you can still use the ability to deal 1 damage. In draft, this guy is totally annoying for ally decks, as you can deal with Kazandu Blademaster and all his friends just by shooting them in response to their trigger. The final card I think can be cool for Limited play is Grotag Goblin Thrasher. It's a bit slow and 5 mana is a lot, but its ability will then trigger everytime you attack with it, making holes in your opponent's defense. With red decks in this format you always want to attack and deal as much damage as you can, Grotag is the man who gets that job done. Besides, this guy is pretty hard to kill, as it stops bigger guys from blocking him every turn.

Grotag Goblin Thrasher 4R
Creature Lizard (Common)
Whenever Grotag Goblin Thrasher attacks, target creature can't block this turn.
3/3

The most interesting red cards for Constructed are Mythic rares so they should be worth a lot of money, but there are still some pretty cool uncommons too. In Limited, Red gets new and exciting stuff, so I guess it will probably remain one of the most powerful colors in draft.

Green

Green has been quite disappointing in Zendikar, so let's see what happens now. Explore is a card which seems to have a lot of potential both in Limited and Constructed. It is basically free, as it is cantrip, and it also allows you to play an extra land the turn you play it, so on turn 2 it is almost a real Time Walk. To sum it up: It is almost free, it accelerates you, and it can be pretty cool with landfall... well I don't see a drawback.

Two creatures also deserve being mentioned. Leatherback Baloth is a 4/5 for 3 mana and that's it, you just need 3 green mana. It’s obviously awesome for the right Limited deck, it may also do something if a mono-green aggro deck appears, why not with some Wolfbriar Elementals too, another cheap big guy with multikicker I found interesting. Also Harabaz Druid is probably the one card any ally deck would need. It makes me think of Smokebraider, which was a key card in Elemental decks in Lorwyn Block Constructed

Gnarlid Pack 1G
Creature - Beast (Common)
Multikicker 1G (You may pay an additional 1G any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Gnarlid Pack enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked.
2/2

In Limited, Gnarlid Pack should be a solid two-drop which can be bigger if you paid its multikicker cost, and Bestial Menace seems fun and also pretty strong too, as it gives you 3 guys. Green also brings us new common allies like Graypelt Hunter, which makes me think about Rhox Charger. I guess it should be perfect as after all, it's an improvement of the already very good Nimana Sell-Sword.

Graypelt Hunter  3G
Creature - Human Warrior Ally
Trample
Whenever Graypelt Hunter or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Graypelt Hunter.
2/2

Vastwood Animist  2G
Creature - Elf Shaman Ally 
T: Target land becomes a X/X Elemental creature until end of turn, where X is the number of Allies you control. It's still a land.
 1/1

To finish with Green and its allies, I just discovered Vastwood Animist. Wow, this one seems pretty cool for Limited, let's just imagine you have a mainly GW ally deck with some Makindi Shieldmates and Ondu Clerics. You should then often have control of the board or at least enough life points and some allies to go with your Animist. If you didn't have an early Oran-Rief Survivalist you may still not be able to attack, whereas with this new guy, you can just play it turn 6 and then animate your lands to swing with 5/5s or bigger.

All in all, Green seems a bit poor for Constructed so far, though there are possibilities to “Explore”, and I don't think I've seen especially expensive cards. In Limited, the allies look really powerful and I just can't wait for the weekend to play with the new cards.

Artifacts

For Constructed, Lodestone Golem could be played in Vintage in Smokestack decks, otherwise in Standard it just takes a Lightning Bolt to deal with it. Amulet of Vigor seems fun. I guess you can generate infinite Time Walks with a pair of this, Rings of Brighthearth and Magosi, the Waterveil. When Magosi enters the battlefield, the 2 Amulets trigger, so you untap it once to immediately tap it to load it and skip a turn, then it untaps again and you just bounce Magosi to get an extra turn and copy the ability with the Rings... Yeah ok, definitely just for fun.

In Limited my favorite artifact would be Pilgrim's Eye, it's like a Borderland Ranger but colorless and with flying, so you should probably take it as a 4^th/5^th pick in draft.

Lands

The new manlands have already been discussed in a lot of articles, so I won't say much about them. I guess they should be played as they are both dual lands and can become creatures, but I just don't know which ones will be the best ones. Personally I like Raging Ravine a lot. The most interesting land is probably Bojuka Bog for Extended play, as it can deal pretty well with dredge decks and can be tutored via Tolaria West.

Bojuka Bog
Land (Common)
Bojuka Bog enters the battlefield tapped.
Tap: Add B to your mana pool.
When Bojuka Bog enters the battlefield, exile all cards from target player’s graveyard.

In Limited I already like Sejiri Steppe and Smoldering Spires, which also combo well with Kor Skyfisher for example.

Sejiri Steppe
Land (Common)
Sejiri Steppe enters the battlefield tapped.
When Sejiri Steppe enters the battlefield, you may have target creature gain protection from the color of your choice until end of turn.
Tap: Add W to your mana pool.

Smoldering Spires
Land (Common)
Smoldering Spires enters the battlefield tapped.
When Smoldering Spires enters the battlefield, target creature can't block until end of turn.
Tap: Add R to your mana pool.

A final word about lands: All the duals will be worth a lot of money, so you should try to get yours quickly!

And that's it for this week, we'll find out this weekend if Worldwake is really that cool, but I guess it should be fun, at least in Limited.

Thanks for reading and see you next week,

Yann.

Don’t forget to bid on my deck analysis auction and preorder Worldwake:

Deck Analysis with Level 6 Pro Yann Massicard

Bidpoints Sale by Yann Massicard on Tue, 01/26/2010 - 06:36

You have the great opportunity to bid Blackborder points to win a deck analysis with level 6 Pro Player Yann Massicard!
This is a unique chance to get personal advice from a world class player.

Bidding is now closed.

Current Bids

Title	User	Amount	Status
Bid	grog	100	normal

Auction expires on Sat, 27 Feb

Preorder Worldwake Now!

Worldwake releases on 5 February 2010. Order now and we will ship your cards to you by 2pm on February 5th!