Getting Ready For The Worldwake Prerelease

About Joel Calafell

Joel Calafell

Joel is a Level 4 Pro Player from Spain who helped develop well-known decks such as Cephalid Breakfast, Cascade Swans or most recently Jacerator, he loves playing almost every format and has a number of high-profile finishes under his belt:

• Top 8 Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur
• Winner Grand Prix Barcelona
• Three Grand Prix Top 8
• 68 Lifetime Pro Points
• Level 4 Pro Players Club member

For all of you who are planning to attend a Worldwake prerelease this weekend, here’s an article you shouldn’t miss out on! Join me as I try to figure out how the new mechanics and cards will impact the Limited format, while highlighting the most promising commons you will least want to face… Or will you be the one playing them? Either way, let’s take a deeper look at Worldwake!

One of the most important things to do when a new set is released is check out the new mechanics/new takes on older mechanics. If a mechanic is important in a new expansion that probably means it will be highly relevant for Limited! Actually, more often than not, the big mechanic of a new set is what really dictates the nature of a Limited format.
If you look at Zendikar Limited, for instance, Landfall was probably the most important mechanic in the whole set, and that’s what made everyone realize the importance of playing more lands. It even changed the way how people played, and taught them to give an importance to lands that we have never seen before: Holding lands in multiples was very common in Zendikar Limited, even if you hadn’t played a land for some turns! Sometimes, it even made you value cards such as Explorer’s Scope, Frontier Guide or Kor Cartographer much higher! We can say that Zendikar changed the way people treated lands in general, and the concept of how many lands they should play in Sealed or Draft decks (which, by the way, changes every time a new set is released).

Worldwake will definitely bring some fresh air, and things won’t be exactly the same anymore, although we can expect the format to be as fast as before. However, since Zendikar was the big set, it’s not hard to guess that we have already seen most of the relevant changes, so even if there are changes, they won’t have a dramatic impat. Still, Worldwake will abuse some of the old mechanics a little more and, who knows, probably even bring some new concepts or archetypes as well!

Let’s take a look at the new take on mechanics/cycles that Worldwake contains. Note that some of them already existed in Zendikar, but they have evolved quite a bit since the last time. This procedure is the best way to see how different things will be from now on:

Landfall

Landfall used to be the centerpiece of the Zendikar Limited format, and it seems like this won’t be much different now. The major change is that, from now on, Landfall will be much more than just a triggered effect. In Zendikar, it was related only to permanents, and it only meant things like putting a counter on a Quest, giving +2 +2 to a creature, evasion or just some other small effect like gaining 2 life. But this time things are getting a bit more complex, as Landfall acts now as a condition as well. There are now some spells that work better if we have played a land (That’s right! Spells with Landfall), and some of them are quite interesting.

Tomb Hex 2B
Instant (Common)
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn.
Landfall - If a land entered the battlefield under your control this turn, that creature gets -4/-4 until end of turn instead.

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.

Groundswell G
Instant (Common)
Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
Landfall - If you had a land enter the battlefield under your control this turn, that creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn instead.

Cards like Tomb Hex, Searing Blaze or Groundswell, for example, are all tricks with Landfall that get much better if a land has entered play that turn. But what does it mean for an instant to have this Landfall effect? Well…in some way, they kind of work like that spell cycle in Time Spiral that made cards better if you cast them as a sorcery (Careful Consideration, Sulfurous Blast, etc.). In this case, Tomb Hex will only be a Disfigure if cast on an opponent’s turn, but will be much better at killing anything if cast during your turn. Things get more interesting when you consider that you don’t necessarily have to play it at sorcery speed, since you can just play a land before attacking, and cast the trick during combat, which will grant you the Landfall effect at any moment during your turn. On top of that, you can also do more tricks with cards like Harrow or the Fetchlands…or some other interesting cards in Worldwake that have been designed specifically to give you more options to play lands/put lands into play when it’s not your turn.

Quests

Quests, which used to trigger mostly with Landfall in Zendikar, trigger much differently now: for instance, tapping creatures, playing Goblins or revealing creatures from the top. We have only four Quests in Worldwake, though: two uncommon ones and two rare ones. None of them are really playable in Limited, so we will just omit this new cycle for Limited purposes. Unless you feel like breaking Quest for Ula’s Temple!

Quest for the Goblin Lord R
Enchantment (Uncommon)
Whenever a Goblin enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a quest counter on Quest for the Goblin Lord.
As long as Quest for the Goblin Lord has five or more counters on it, creatures you control get +2/+0.

Quest for Renewal 1G
Enchantment (Uncommon)
Whenever a creature under your control taps, you may put a quest counter on Quest for Renewal.
As long as Quest for Renewal has four or more quest counters on it, untap all creatures you control during each other player's untap step.

Allies

Now things become interesting! It seems that the new set hasn’t forgotten about Allies, and it actually brings some noteworthy ones! Halimar Excavator and Join the Ranks will probably be the most relevant Allies in the common slot, the first one being one of the best allies you will get to see. It’s true that you will need a really dedicated Ally deck to make his ability game breaking, but it’s still a solid body even if you only manage to trigger it two or three times. And because of it Narrow Escape finally has a reason to exist!

Agadeem Occultist 2B
Creature - Human Shaman Ally (Rare)
Tap: Put target creature card from an opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under your control if its converted mana cost is less than or equal to the number of Allies you control.
0/2

In Draft, the good thing about allies is that you will already know if you are in that archetype by the time you open this booster. And since some of the allies in Worldwake can be extremely good in multiples, like Agadeem Occultist, or expect you to be already playing a solid curve filled with other allies, like Hada Freeblade, you will probably have to start building your ally deck before getting to the third booster. Also, some of them are uncommon or rare, so you probably won’t see them again unless you first pick them.

Traps

Traps are back as well, and even though some of them are only meant to be played in Constructed, some others are going to be very good specifically in Limited. Again, you should only play them in Limited if they are good even without considering the alternative cost. Good examples would be Permafrost Trap (Expect to lose a lot of games against this new Sleep from now on.) and Nemesis Trap (Mostly talking about Sealed, but still solid for Draft as well).

Permafrost Trap 2UU
Instant - Trap (Uncommon)
If an opponent had a green creature enter the battlefield under his or her control this turn, you may pay U rather than pay Permafrost Trap's mana cost.
Tap up to two target creatures. Those creatures don't untap during their controller's next untap step.

Nemesis Trap 4BB
Instant - Trap (Uncommon)
If a white creature is attacking you, you may pay BB rather than pay Nemesis Trap's mana cost.
Exile target creature, then put a token that is a copy of that creature onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.

Multikicker

And finally I can talk about something new! The old kicker mechanic is gone in Worldwake, and we now have Multikicker to substitute it. The concept is interesting: With Kicker, you would get to choose between playing the card sooner and getting a less powerful body/effect, or just playing it later for its higher cost. It was sometimes complicated to figure out which was the best option, especially if we wanted to be too greedy. Cards like Heartstabber Mosquito or Sphinx of Lost Truths, to give an example, have probably led to losses for all those players who were just too greedy to play them without the advantage they gave, eventually losing due to tempo disadvantage instead. Now, if deciding between two options was already hard sometimes, imagine what will happen with Multikicker! Believe it or not, this might be one of the most complicated mechanics to play correctly since Replicate.

Bloodhusk Ritualist 2B
Creature - Vampire Shaman (Uncommon)
Multikicker B (You may pay an additional B any number of times as you cast this spell.)
When Bloodhusk Ritualist enters the battlefield, target opponent discards a card for each time it was kicked.
2/2

Voyager Drake 3U
Creature - Drake (Uncommon)
Multikicker U
Flying
When Voyager Drake enters the battlefield, up to X target creatures gain flying until end of turn, where X is the number of times Voyager Drake was kicked.
3/3

Apex Hawks 2W
Creature - Bird
Multikicker 1W (You may pay an additional 1W any number of times as you cast this spell.)
Flying
Apex Hawks enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked.
2/2

On the other hand, my advice is that you should only play a Multikicker card if:

1. The Multikicker cost is expensive but with a solid reward if we wait long enough (Bloodhusk Ritualist)
2. The card is good even without the Multikicker extras (Voyager Drake)
3. The card has a solid body and is balanced when paying for Multikicker as well (Gnarlid Pack, Skitter of Lizards, Apex Hawks)
4. It’s obviously broken (Comet Storm, Wolfbriar Elemental)

Zendikons

These enchantments will actually be played a lot in Worldwake Limited. I think all of them are solid enough to see some play, but I like Wind Zendikon and Guardian Zendikon the most. The first one is probably the most aggressive and the most balanced of them all, since it only costs one mana and can attack as soon as on turn two. Guardian Zendikon has a big body for its cost, and the fact that the card is defensive will make the drawback of having to “lose” a land to summon the creature even less relevant, since you will still be able to block with it and cast some instants in the meantime. That’s different with other Zendikons like Crusher Zendikon or Corrupted Zendikon, for instance, but I still think they are good anyway. Note this fancy play: You can put them on a Fetchland and you will be able to sacrifice it (not that turn because of summoning sickness, but the next) to get an extra land and, even more important, an extra Landfall trigger for that turn! Fetchlands are just so good!

Guardian Zendikon 2W
Enchantment - Aura (Common)
Enchant land
Enchanted land is a 2/6 white Wall creature with defender. It's still a land.
When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to its owner’s hand.

Corrupted Zendikon 1B
Enchantment - Aura (Common)
Enchant land
Enchanted land is a 3/3 black Ooze creature. It's still a land.
When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to its owner's hand.

Wind Zendikon U
Enchantment - Aura (Common)
Enchant land
Enchanted land is a 2/2 blue Elemental creature with flying. It’s still a land.
When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to its owner’s hand.

Crusher Zendikon 2R
Enchantment - Aura (Common)
Enchant land
Enchanted land is a 4/2 red Beast creature with trample. It’s still a land.
When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to its owner’s hand.

Vastwood Zendikon 4G
Enchantment - Aura (Common)
Enchant land
Enchanted land is a 6/4 green Elemental creature. It’s still a land.
When enchanted land is put into a graveyard, return that card to its owner’s hand.

“Multicolored” Cycle

This uncommon cycle includes creatures which get better if you control a basic land of a certain type. There’s one for every color: Sejiri Merfolk, Summit Apes, Loam Lion, Shoreline Salvager and Slavering Nulls. Overall, Loam Lion and Sejiri Merfolk seem like the best, but they are all really solid. Slavering Nulls gets better with removal, luckily the card is already in the correct combination of colors, and Shoreline Salvager might have a new friend in Soaring Seacliff. Anyway, if you look at the color combinations played in Zendikar, UW, UB and BR were by far more frequent than GR or WG. That makes the creatures that correspond to those color combinations (Sejiri Merfolk, Slavering Nulls and Shoreline Salvager) better on average, since that will certainly make them easier to play.

Sejiri Merfolk 1U
Creature - Merfolk  Soldier (Uncommon)
As long as you control a Plains, Sejiri Merfolk has first strike and lifelink.
2/1

Summit Apes  3G
Creature - Ape (Uncommon)
As long as you control a Mountain Summit Apes can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.
5/2

Loam Lion  W
Creature - Cat (Uncommon)
Loam Lion gets +1/+2 as long as you control a Forest.
1/1

Slavering Nulls 1R
Creature - Goblin Zombie (Uncommon)
Whenever Slavering Nulls deals combat damage to a player, if you control a Swamp, you may have that player discard a card.
2/1

Shoreline Salvager 3B
Creature - Surrakar (Uncommon)
When Shoreline Salvager deals combat damage to a player, if you control an Island, draw a card.
3/3

Even More Lands

And talking about lands with abilities, it seems like we will have a new cycle of those as well. Sejiri Steppe looks like the best one to me, as not only will it give crucial evasion to one of your creatures, but it will also laugh at cards like Paralyzing Grasp. That’s the reason why the blue aura might be much worse from now on, and since you can also target opponent’s creatures, you can as well “destroy” any other aura you might be facing: Gigantiform, Nimbus Wings, Savage Silhouette. Halimar Depths is solid too, as it will give you a better curve and help you to get some gas when it really matters the most. As for Khalni Garden, the card is technically better than Kabira Crossroads already, just as a chumpblocker. But it becomes stronger with equipment like Trusty Machete or Adventuring Gear, tricks like Vines of Vastwood, or it can trump cards like Gatekeeper of Malakir. Smoldering Spires is decent, but it’s the only land of the cycle that is clearly worse than its counterpart in Zendikar (Teetering Peaks). Just forget about Bojuka Bog.

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

Halimar Depths
Land (Common)
Halimar Depths enters the battlefield tapped.
Tap: Add U to your mana pool.
When Halimar Depths enters the battlefield, look at top three cards of your library and put them back in any order.

Khalni Garden
Land (Common)
Khalni Garden enters the battlefield tapped.
When Khalni Garden enters the battlefield, put a 0/1 green Plant creature token onto the battlefield.
Tap: Add G 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 Red to your mana pool.

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.

Relevant Cards

And now, some cards that I also expect to be relevant or interesting in Worldwake Limited, even if they don’t fit into a specific archetype. I will just omit obvious rares or bombs:

1. Treasure Hunt

This card will be so sick in Limited that I can foresee people splashing for this in some slow/control decks. Three things can happen with this card:

1. You get to draw only a non-land card, but that’s ok since you just cycled a card…And got a spell no matter what!
2. You get one or two lands, making it a virtual 1U: Draw 2-3 cards, and keep some gas for your Landfall.
3. Trust me; this one is not even funny…

2. Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning 1BB
Sorcery
You may put target creature card from your graveyard on top of your library.
If you do, Dead Reckoning deals damage equal to that card's power to target creature.

This card feels like a reversed Flametongue Kavu…that makes you skip a draw. But don’t tell me that’s a problem! Getting back your best creature and killing another one on the other side in the process, seems just like fair business to me. This will be one of the best commons in the set. The only downside is, that it has bad synergy with the Landfall creatures from Zendikar: Don’t try this out with Steppe Lynx.

3. Explore

This card is so simple, yet so elegant, and that makes me want to play it every time. It seems even better than Harrow to me in a deck that doesn’t care that much about mana fixing. I would never be unhappy to play multiple copies of this card. And that might actually lead to some broken starts, Landfall or not. And you are not even spending a card on it!

4. Basilisk Collar

Basilisk Collar 1
Artifact - Equipment  (Rare)
Equipped creature has deathtouch and lifelink.
Equip 2

Ok, I know this one is actually a rare, but this card might just end up being as hated as Umezawa’s Jitte was in Betrayer’s of Kamiwaga Limited (Note I didn’t say as good). Think about it. How much do you hate Vampire Nighthawk? What if all your opponent’s creatures just turn into potential Nighthawks all of a sudden? This card is sick! Just like Trusty Machete, if someone is passing this as a second pick, there are only three options:

1. He picked a foil Collar.
2. He didn’t read the card.
3. Or he was missing like one hundred creatures for his deck.
4. I guess picking Jace, the Mindsculptor could also be an option…

5. Quicksand

It’s not only the effect on the land that makes it good, but the versatility of it altogether. Getting to trade a land for an attacking creature is usually a fair exchange, but in Zendikar block this is even better. With a Quicksand in your deck, there’s no reason to not play an extra land in this Landfall world. The drawback is that it doesn’t kill the “get bigger” Landfall creatures, like Steppe Lynx or Plated Geopede, because they grow before you can activate it, but it’s still more than a decent answer against those Intimidate guys. I’m looking at you Surrakar Marauder! And don’t forget about Bladetusk Boar either.

And that’s everything for now. I will play a pre-release this Saturday, and I’ll try to see if all my thoughts in this article were correct. If I’m in a good mood after that, you can even expect a report!
I recommend you play as well and try to bash me when you come back! I will be here to read your thoughts on the format. :)

Have fun this weekend!

Joel

Bonus Discussion

What do you think it’s the best common in the set?