Let’s get to it!

Lifebane Zombie

Zombizzles are sort of back

All bummed out about the Innistad block Zombies rotating out in November? Well, don’t be! You still get about 3 months to enjoy them. M14 even brings in a new recruit into the ranks. Although most of the time he might probably be sitting on the sidellines.

He hates on Green and White (black’s enemy colors) AND has evasion. His stats are pretty bad, but if you’re getting in for 3 once in awhile it’s not too bad. You basically get to drop him on turn 3 and pre-emptively deal with a Thragtusk, Trostani, Angel of Serenity and Restoration Angel. Nice!

If you’re playing him in a Zombie tribal deck you also have Cavern of Souls to make sure he sticks. Another thing he’s good at is supporting your discard spell and making sure you don’t ‘accidentally’ get them to discard a Loxodon Smiter (always a pain).

Yeah, this guy

I can see hi fitting in some kind of black-white discard aggro deck with Sin Collector, Liliana of the Veil and Liliana’s Reaver. Of course the white is also to partially double up on the enter the battlefield abilities by playing Restoration Angel. And you might even want to consider a copy of this:

Double your value – Double your fun!

I really like that it allows us to permanently deal with Angel of Serenity. This card is such a pain to play against and it becomes a bigger headache in multiples. All in all, it’s nice to see black getting this nice little boost as I feel that it’s the most underplayed color in the current standard format (with Red or White being the most played.)

Imposing Sovereign

 

Blind Obedience on legs

Imposing Sovereign is sure to revitalize the White Weenie archetype. Just like it’s enchantment counterpart it makes Advent of the Wurm and Restoration Angel lose a bit of their effectiveness. I’m little befuddled as to why the creature type is simply ‘Human’ . Would it have been a stretch to make it an ‘Advisor’ or something?

Dismiss into Dream

The blue ‘Abyss’?

I was joking at a local card shop as to how ridiculous this card is. At 7 mana however, I don’t see it entering the realm of competitive Magic. Still, your opponent’s creature basically gain the disadvantages of cards like Phantasmal Image. If you have an easy way to target over and over for free or almost free – you’re set!

In commander this basically becomes downright unfair. All your pingers basically one-shot anything with needed cards like Basilisk Collar. Plus it takes card of indestructible dudes like this guy.

Encroaching Wastes

Finally, we can run something other than Ghost Quarter

Nice! we get a Wasteland variant in Standard! Tectonic Edge was pretty decent when it was in Standard (plus it’s even run in a few Modern decklists). This one feels a little more underwhelming still. Kind of like it had a little label that said:

“In case of emergency, crack land!”

I mean, 4 mana ? Really? I guess the Theros lands are going to be crazy good for this effect to cost 4 mana. We don’t get any dual lands or other lands in Magic 2014 for those of you who are not aware. So basically pick them up now and hope you get to use them productively later.

Barrage of Expendables

A really great throwback

Ever since there was that Red/White/Black Zombie Bombardment deck in Legacy, people have been reacquainting themselves with Goblin Bombardment. This card is a great tribute to the might enchantment.

I wish I had an army of Goblins

Barrage of Expendables will probably see play in a Red/Black Zombies list just like Mortarpod had a few years ago. There’s also other things you can do – like run it in a Boros deck to have your Fiend Hunters permanently remove opposing creatures while maybe even taking down an additional 1-toughness creature. It’s also a great way to defend yourself against Boros Reckoners. You block them and sacrifice your creature before damage is deal, that way the Boros Reckoner is temporarily contained while your life total is preserved.

You can also use it against decks running cards like Supreme Verdict so that you can get some extra ‘reach’ against them by doing a few extra points of damage. Also, you can sacrifice anything they target with cards like Warleader’s Helix (soon to see much more play) so that they don’t get to gain 4 life. Likewise, it can be used to tick down opposing planeswalkers when you are unable to attack them.

Here’s a few other suggestions thanks to our good friend ‘Gatherer’.

Tenacious Dead

They really want us to miss Reassembling Skeleton, huh?

Voraciosu Wurm

Why must they always print superior Grizzly Bears ?

A few more reprints were confirmed as well:

Rewind, Sign in Blood, Briarpack Alpha, Gladecover Scout, Verdant Haven, Plummet

Yeah, nothing exciting aside from maybe Rewind which was always cute with Flash creatures. Let’s hope the final 50 or so remaining cards contain a few pleasant surprises.

In the meantime, you can Pre-Order your singles here!