Zendikar Spoilers

More Zendikar spoilers! Some of them are quite intriguing too. Let's jump right in! I don't even know why I bother with an intro anymore!

Seriously. I'm writing this paragraph in an attempt to make it seem like I actually have anything meaningful to say beyond 'Here are some shiny new Zendikar cards that you've seen before! Now I get to say the incredibly obvious stuff about them!'. And yet you guys like them. I'm going to make an effort to do a lot better in Worldwake, however. This is a learning experience.

Of course, I can't be doing too badly, with the traffic I'm getting, but I could always be doing better. Anyway, on to the cards!

Steppe Lynx
Creature - Cat
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, Steppe Lynx gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
	0/1

I'm starting to see a landfall deck take place here. Lots of fetchlands, Knight of the Reliquary, Steppe Lynx, Plated Geopede...I mean, take the following. Turn 1, Steppe Lynx. Turn 2, Plated Geopede, swing for 2. Turn 3, Knight, swing for 5. Turn 4, fetchland into Plains. Sac the plains for a fetchland. Sac it for another land. Swing for 17.


It'll never be COMPETITIVE, but somebody will try and build it. Secret tech against it? Removal. Who'd have thought?

Goblin Bushwhacker
Creature - Goblin Warrior
Kicker -  (You may pay an additional as you cast this spell.) When Goblin Bushwhacker enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain haste until end of turn.
"I'm gonna let you finish, but Goblin Guide is one of the best Goblins of all time. OF ALL TIME."
	1/1

Too bad it takes 4 mana to play Warren Instigator with Haste. You know, unless you play Burst of Speed. Which you won't. I can't see this guy seeing too much play...except you're looking at it in the wrong way.


Would you play this card?


Sorcery Thing.


RR


Sorcery


Put a 1/1 red Goblin creature token with Haste into play. Creatures you control get +1/+0 until end of turn.


Answer? Probably not. Yeah, it's not that great.

Vines of Vastwood
Instant
Kicker -  (You may pay an additional as you cast this spell) Target creature can't be the target of spells of abilities your opponents control until end of turn. If Vines of Vastwood was kicked, that creature gets +4/+4 until end of turn.

YES. YES YES YES, oh GOD YES, this is what Green has NEEDED. A way to save their guys from removal for one mana. This can really screw somebody over.


"Swing with my Bloodbraid"
"Path it"
"Vines with kicker. You take 7."
"G2?"


This card is probably a lot better than you think, and I will be trying to make a place for 2-3 of these in my Jund deck.

Terra Stomper
Creature - Beast
Terra Stomper can't be countered. Trample
Sometimes violent earthquakes, hurtling boulders, and unseasonable dust storms are wrongly attributed to the Roil.
Illus. Goran Josic #187/249	8/8

I don't know which is more ridiculous: The power level of this card, or the fact that it won't be played. You know what we need? Try this card out:


Removalbreaker Behemoth


1GGG


Protection from converted mana cost 2 or less.


5/5


I would play this card (it's also fairly resistant to chump blocking) as it blanks most removal. It still dies to Day of Judgement, but it should.


But I've let this card show off my design rather than Wizards. If I play this in Sealed though, I almost certainly win.


Next card!

Blue/White Refuge~
Land
Blue/White Refuge enters the battlefield tapped. When Blue/White Refuge enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life. : Add  or  to your mana pool.

Jwar Isle Refuge
Land
Jwar Isle Refuge enters the battlefield tapped. When Jwar Isle Refuge enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life. : Add  or  to your mana pool.

Akoum Refuge
Land
Akoum Refuge enters the battlefield tapped. When Akoum Refuge enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life. : Add  or  to your mana pool.

Kazandu Refuge
Land
Kazandu Refuge enters the battlefield tapped. When Kazandu Refuge enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life. : Add  or  to your mana pool.

Green/White Refuge~
Land
Green/White Refuge enters the battlefield tapped. When Green/White Refuge enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life. : Add  or  to your mana pool.

Behold the newest cycle of uncommon duals. One thing I like about these is that they now allow reliable (if slower) three-color decks to be played by the masses. You can now lay down 20 bucks on a manabase and have it routinely give you three colors. I wish they had these when I played a budget W/U/B control deck. If you wanted a Grixis deck, here's what you got:


4 Crumbling Necropolis
7 Island
7 Mountain
7 Swamp


And here's what you get now:


4 Akoum Refuge
4 Crumbling Necropolis
3 Island
4 Jwar Isle Refuge
2 Mountain
2 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse


Slow, but very reliable. Gaining 1 life isn't too relevant, but may help eventually. This is also good fixing for Limited, since the fetchlands aren't exactly a dime a dozen (and will get raredrafted online anyway).

Eldrazi Monument
Artifact
Creatures you control get +1/+1, have flying, and are indestructible. At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a creature. If you can't, sacrifice Eldrazi Monument.
"Gods don't die. They merely slumber." -Ayli, Kamsa cleric
Illus. Mark Tedin #199/249

I like the design here. If tokens were still a force, this would be a good finisher. Too bad they aren't. This card will probably see play in multiplayer, casual, and EDH (which combines both) as sacrifice decks are often popular there. Competitive? I doubt it.

Journey to Nowhere
Enchantment
When Journey to Nowhere enters the battlefield, exile target creature. When Journey to Nowhere leaves the battlefield, return the exiled creature to the battlefield under its owner's control.

Very nice! Excellent for removal, and might just cut it in Standard, what with the Path to Exile drawback that it turns on Landfall. Depends on how much power Landfall has, really. I could see this being a 1-3 of to make removal spells 5-7 in certain decks though. This is a good card.

Ior Ruin Expedition
Enchantment
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a quest counter on Ior Ruin Expedition. Remove three quest counters from Ior Ruin Expedition and sacrifice it: Draw two cards.

This doesn't quite make the cut for Standard, but I think it will see play in Block. Tapping out on turn 2 for 2 cards on Turn 5 may not seem like much, but people are willing to do it, and I think it's a good card for that.


It's naturally a Limited staple too, probably third to fifth pick.

Spell Pierce
Instant
Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays .

This isn't really meant to impact Standard that much. It's more a Legacy thing. That being said, I like it for it's purpose. It could also see play in Extended to protect a combo or something. We'll see. I see interesting things for this little conditional Force Spike.


And that's it for today! Join me tomorrow as we finally enter Part 5 of the PTQ series, unless 8+ cards magically get spoiled in the next 24 hours.


See you tomorrow!