Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Thirst for Knowledge - End of the Line
With the end of the current Innstrad and M13 Standard format coming, its time to look back at the top cards that influenced the standard format.
Thundermaw Hellikite has seen play at the top of curves throughout its standard life. Killing Lingering Souls tokens was one reason he saw all this play and tapping down the other flyers was his other.
His power was evident when the card was previewed. He has seen play in all three major formats in Magic. The final Invitational card put its stamp on the game and one that will continue to drive us nuts in Modern and Legacy.
This unassuming common paired with a consistent way to guarantee his flip and some control made Delver of Secrets a card that was a cross format all-star. Expect to continue to see him for years to come in Modern and Legacy
Geist has also been a member of the cross format all-stars. It has seen play as apart of aggro, control, and midrange. You will be seeing him clock players in Modern but his time in standard is at an end.
Jund will not be the same without her. She dominates creature matchups like Umezawa's Jitte does in Legacy.
These lands played very well with the shock lands. I expect that the M13 lands will return next base set but their time in this standard has ended.
Not all of the spell lands saw use but the ones that did were very threatening. Kessig Wolf Run, Gavony Township, Nephalia Drownyard, Moorland Haunt, Slayer's Stronghold, Desolate Lighthouse, Vault of the Archangel and Alchemist's Refuge all had an impact in Standard. Some will continue to see play in Modern.
Another card Jund will miss a ton, this Garruk gave green based decks both board presence and card drawing on one planeswalker. Will I like the new Garruk Caller of Beasts, this Garruk will hold a special place in my heart (and my Cube).
Hellrider helped finish games for red based aggro deck very quickly. My aggro side will really miss this finisher.
Brian Kibler and Pablo Vitor Dama Da Rosa made Huntermaster famous at Pro Tour Dark Ascension. Since then, Huntermaster continued to have a profound impact on Standard.
Liliana has had some impact in Standard in a variety of decks but her real impact will continue to be in eternal formats.
Lingering Souls is also another cross format all star. Flashback has always been a powerful effect. Enjoy playing it for years to come in Modern (and Legacy).
The creature that made its face known in response to removal spells and both before / after blocking was declared to make our lives a living heck. Modern will be its extended home.
The bane of standard for a time was Reanimator and Unburial Rites made that plan a reality. The Flashback on it was amazing and made sure it even saw play in Modern.
The card that was designed to mess with tempo and fast aggro decks. Paired with Restoration Angel made a nightmare for those deck to stop. Jund will also miss this one.
This enchantment brought me back to my early days of the game. While poison was still in standard, this was a boss. With the invent of Hexproof, Rancor brought the pain with Geist of Saint Traft. Rancor will be bring the pain in Modern for many years to come.
We will always remember the topdeck of Bonfire against Team USA last year at World Magic Cup. Miracles, we either love them or hate them.
A control player's worst nightmare, a spell that cannot be countered. Cavern of Souls made sure that you creature hit play. This lead control decks to use other means to deal with problem creatures. Cavern is still seeing play in eternal formats and will for years to come.
Part of many aggro decks of the format, Champion of the Parish saw play due to its quick clock, especially post Burning Tree Shaman.
While an unassuming body, Blood Artist shifted games very quickly with a way to activate the ability at will.
and the best of the rest:
Avacyn's Pilgrim
Doomed Traveler
Entreat the Angels
Evil Twin
Faithless Looting
Falkenrath Aristocrat
Blasphemous Act
Farseek
Fiend Hunter
Flinthoof Boar
Forbidden Alchemy
Garruk Relentless
Gather the Townsfolk
Geralf's Messenger
Gilded Lotus
Gravecrawler
Griselbrand
Ground Seal
Harvest Pyre
Intangible Virtue
Invisible Stalker
Lightning Mauler
Mayor of Avabruck
Mogg Flunkies
Mulch
Mutilate
Nearheath Pilgrim
Oblivion Ring
Pillar of Flame
Rewind
Rhox Faithmender
Runechanter's Pike
Sever the Bloodline
Sigarda, Host of Herons
Silverblade Paladin
Skirsdag High Priest
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Spectral Flight
Strangleroot Geist
Stromkirk Noble
Stonewright
Sublime Archangel
Talrand, Sky Summoner
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Terminus
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Think Twice
Thought Scour
Tracker's Instincts
Tragic Slip
Tree of Redemption
Tribute to Hunger
Vampire Nighthawk
Vexing Devil
Victim of Night
War Falcon
War Priest of Thune
Wolfir Avenger
Wolfir Silverheart
Zealous Conscripts
This is also my last article for The Phyrexian Arena. While I will always enjoy Magic and the friends that I have made, the fire has gone out of the game for me. My gaming passion lies with another game. It has for quite some time now and I just was denying it.
The page will be left the hands of the rest of the team and hopefully it will continue to grow beyond what it has up until now.
Good luck with your dreams
Bradley Reeves
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Godspeed with your chosen game, good sir.
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