orzhov

by

Gatecrash Preview: Alms Beast

alms beastWait…what?

A nice little blast from the past here. Every set needs to have a creature that looks so bad it might actually be good. Right?

He reminds us a little of Abyssal Persecutor and Desecration Demon.

He has the power/toughness down.

Cost is more prohibitive.

What? no evasion? Oh.

No Trample? Ok…

It gives your opponent life? Ewww..

On the plus side:

Can always attack/block.

You can still win the game when he’s in play.

Can’t be Ultimate Priced. Yay!

question marks

So is it any good?

I’m going to say no on this one, unfortunately. In a creature-filled format where you have slightly smaller guys with advantageous abilities, I don’t think this dude can make it out there.

skullcrack

And no, I don’t think splashing Red for Skullcrack is worth it in this case.

by

Gatecrash Preview: Treasury Thrull

treasury

 

Extort? Yeap, that definitely sounds Orzhov-ish!

So this is like a kicker cost that you can apply to all your random spells you cast when the Thrull is in play. Not bad, especially in limited if it’s been like pacified or tapped and can’t attack anymore.

Speaking of its second ability: It reminds me of the titans from M11 only slightly toned down and a bit more interesting. What nice little trinkets will you be able to re-use with this beast?…errrr…Thrull? It’s also the ability that will make it fun to use in EDH decks and I can imagine that FOIL versions of this card will be sought after early on. Any self-sacrificing creature can be great with it too (kinda like Sakura-Tribe Elder).

This is the coolest Thrull I’ve ever seen. It’s nice to know they’re making a comeback since Fallen Empires and Guildpact. Go Thrulls!