gatecrash previews

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Gatecrash Preview: Prime Speaker Zegana

primespeakerzeganaSo, it becomes the biggest creature and draws you cards? Nice!

Simic’s other Mythic creature is on par with Master Biomancer and some would argue better. It just comes down as your biggest creature (barring instant speed removal on your huge dude) and draws you card equal to its power. Obviously, it’s pretty bad if it’s your post- Supreme Verdict top deck.  It does allow you to keep the swarm going and draws you a ton of cards that you might need in order to rebuild if things go bad. You also might want to open one up in your Release/Pre-Release if you plan on winning.

The creature I would most compare this to is Primeval Titan. Both provide you with great card advantage when they enter the battlefield. Titan continues the love in the form of more lands and if it survives long enough will win you the game. Zegana can just straight up give you 4-7 cards and will probably help you win the game if she manages to stay in play. Both cost 6 mana and both are well worth it. The legendary status hurts it in anything but Commander.

If you plan on playing casual, you can get in finite value out of her with something like Karakas to bounce her and re-cast over and over. While Karakas is not legal in Commander/EDH, I am sure your kitchen table group will not mind it when you play multiplayer casual games.

karakas

Lovely quote

She also forms a lovely couple with Master Biomancer, for obvious reasons (with Biomancer in play she gets bigger and draws you more cards when she enters the battlefield). I would definitely add a Zegana to my Simic deck for just that reason.

prime bio love

Such a cute couple, aren’t they?

 

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Gatecrash Preview: Master Biomancer

masterbiomancer

This card is just insane!

Where to begin with today’s card? It’s perhaps my favorite Gatecrash card for both casual and competitive play. You can easily splash him in an elf deck by adding green/blue ‘dual’ lands. He will grow your elves to insane levels because he will probably already be boosted by cards like Elvish Champion or Elvish Archdruid. The wizard half can help bolster any Wizard tribal deck, but those are few and far in between.

He also turns all your future creatures into mutants, but unless the X-Men ever sign a deal with Wizards of the Coast … Being a mythic, he already sports a reasonably high price tag (10$+) but it is probably not going down any time soon. In a Bant tokens deck he can be huge, not to mention making your turn 5 Thragtusk a 7/5 ! Think about some good constructed play creatures and imagine how much better they would be with +2/+2 to their stats. Restoration Angel as a 5/6 flash creature? Uh…

resto angel 56

Nice fake stats! but you get the point

I would probably easily trade a Gatecrash dual to get one of these. I’m that confident. The disadvantage of ‘lords’ such as this is that yor creatures only get the boost while in play, but with this guy they come into play boosted with counters independant of Master Biomancer. He is also pretty well-sized for his cost and is Searing Spear and Ultimate Price -proof. Another detail you will notice is that he’s not a legendary creature. To top it off, spamming him is not a bad idea, as the effects stack. So, let’s examine:

You cast one with one already in play > Your second copy comes in as a 4/6 creature

You play any creature afterwards, it hits the battlefield with two +1/+1 counters then 4 more +1/+1 counters. So basically all your creatures enter the battlefield as +6/+6.

What do you say about that Restoration Angel ?

resto 910

” I want to use my effect on the first Biomancer so that everything comes into play with ten +1/+1 counters”

Sure, why not? I mean, Master Biomancer just makes everything better. That’s the bottom line.

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Gatecrash Preview: Crocanura

crocanura

Giant Spider is back! with a growing vengeance!

It’s quite apparent this will be mostly relegated to Limited play. It’s a more aggressively costed Giant Spider(aka. the Core Set sole -Surviror)

 

giant spider survivor

 

He sadly never saw M13

It turns into a Giant Spider if you drop a 2-power or greater creature and just has the potential do block bigger and better creatures with flying after that.

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Gatecrash Preview: Corpse Blockade

corpseblockadeZombies blocking your way? Sucks to be you!

The quote is kinda funny. Another sacrifice outlet, but more for limited. A great way to hinder Boros decks and force them to play a removal on this wall or waste one of their guys on it. It can also allow you to make use of a creature that is already on its way to the graveyard by giving this deathtouch and daring your opponent to expend a creature.

 

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Gatecrash Preview: Contaminated Ground

contaminatedgroundI feel icky just touching the card

Yes, it’s bad. I would not consider packing it in my 40-card deck, even as a 22-23d card. If I got stuck with some multiples I MIGHT consider siding them in versus opponents that seem to get color/mana screwed. That’s a stretch even at that. if your opponent is playing black, you might end up helping them.

Ew!

 

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Gatecrash Preview: Coerced Confession

coerced confessionCute, but inefficient

Flavour is there. Lazav approves. I just don’t like it. You’re paying 5 for something that should have Cipher, but doesn’t.

Some grindy casual low budget mill decks will run it and have fun though.

I would hesitate to play it even in Draft and 100% not playing it in Sealed.

 

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Gatecrash Preview: Cloudfin Raptor

cloudfinraptor

Having a bad ‘Birds’ flashback!

If there is one ‘Evolve’ creature that is expected to see Constructed play, this is it. It gets dropped on turn 1 and continues to deliver the beatdown as long as you can curve out. Dropping a second one on turn 2 followed by a 1 power creature like Delver of Secrets (for example) can be big. Next turn, flip Delver, play a 2 power guy and attack for 7 in the air!

delver of secrets 1 delver of secrets 2

Standard Delver ressurgence? Maybe …

I know it sounds a little sketchy, but trust me. You will see this across from you in a Standard event. Maybe even something like Red/Blue Weenie burn. Who knows?

Just like a Sweepstakes: many will enter, few will win.

Now go evolve your new Standard decks with Gatecrash!

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Gatecrash Preview: Cartel Aristocrat

cartelaristocrat

Not quite Falkenrath Aristocrat eh?

Nice something that looks like a vampire but isn’t. It’s definitely a great sacrifice outlet that can potentially become unblockable or dodge a removal by pushing someone in the way of it. (Love the quote) Stats are fine for the cost too. You can sacrifice a ‘enters’ the battlefield creature to it and use Treasury Thrull to get it back and repeat.

It does have a slim chance of seeing Standard play. I was thinking that since it’s a human it can fit into a deck featuring Ravenous Demon. Once you have nothing substantial to sacrifice to the demon, you can cast this guy and sac the demon and not fall victim to its disgusting drawback. Ouch!

ravenous demon 1 ravenous demon 2

Stranger things HAVE happened!