Worldwake Review Part 4: Standard Top 12 February 3, 2010
Posted by James in : all, reviews, strategy, constructed, standard , trackback
There are several cards in Worldwake that will see play in standard tournaments, but I will focus my attention to the top 12. These are the cards I expect to see the most play:
1. Man Lands
The new dual lands are absolutely guaranteed to see play in at least one deck. I expect Jund, Grixis, and red-white-blue control to all use at least a couple of them.
2. Tectonic Edge
At least one deck is guaranteed to use Tectonic Edge. It might be good in mono black Vampires, mono red, and just about anything else.
3. Kor Firewalker
Kor Firewalker is perfect in a Boros deck and perfect against Jund and mono red. The fact that you gain life for playing red spells is over-kill.
4. Bloodhusk Ritualist
Bloodhusk Ritualist is a lot like Mind Sludge, but it’s also a vampire. It is possibly the best vampire ever made, but Bloodghast is also quite good.
5. Kalastria Highborn
Kalastria Highborn is best in mono black, but it can prove very helpful in any vampire deck. It gives us one more reason to want Bloodgast to die.
6. Urge to Feed
Urge to feed is decent creature removal, but it can also function as a Glorious Anthem for all your Vampires. This card will encourage us to make aggro vampires.
7. Searing Blaze
Searing blaze is perfect creature removal in mono red and Boros.
8. Dragonmaster Outcast
Dragonmaster Outcast is the perfect one-of in Boros (to be used with Ranger of Eos).
9. Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Jace is perfect in Grixis and red-white-blue control, but I don’t know how competitive those decks will be.
10. Joraga Warcaller
I don’t know how viable elves are in Standard, but Joraga Warcaller could help.
11. Arbor Elf
Arbor Elf is basically another Llanowar Elf, which so happens to be one of the best creatures printed in Beta.
12. Abyssal Persecutor
I have no idea how much play Abyssal Persecutor will see, but many people plan on trying it out. I don’t think it will see much play in Jund, but it might be tried in some Vampire decks.
Conclusion
Almost everything made looks like it’s either made for Boros or Vampires. These two decks will be even more powerful thanks to Worldwake.
Comments»
Really enjoy your articles. Will harris turned me on to your site. I don’t know about the ‘dm outcast’, but I agree that vampire decks could be sick. I think ‘treasure hunt’ will get a lot of play. Maybe cuz I’ve already put it in 2 decks.
Robert,
Thank you for the comment. Treasure hunt could see play in red-white-blue control and grixis.
If you haven’t already, you might want to take a look a my top 10 articles of 2009.
I do not see much use for the elf unless some super special awesome nonbasic forest gets printed soon (like Murmuring Bosk, but better).
I think Treasure Hunt will be much more of a staple.
神の一手,
Llanowar Elves are perfectly good in Elf decks. Some people were playing Elves in Standard recently, but I don’t know for sure how competitive such decks are or will be.
But why play the elf over the llanowar outside of block? I can’t see the need for that many 1/1 mana producers. The only reason that this card could be good is if they make nonbasic forests that are worth untapping. Otherwise, you might as well run something else.
I would play 8 mana elves. Mana acceleration is good.
I tend an Elf deck and I am really excited about the group that just walked in (well except the Arbor) But Jorga is going to wreck havoc when played right
Untapping zendikoned forests + mana acceleration. That’s why they’re good
Zendikons would probably not see play, so the only option here is a second accelerator along llanowar. Because of the existence of eldrazi green, plus the power it gained with leatherback baloth and omnath, I don’t really foresee an elves deck being competitive in standard. Without an elf deck, warcaller and arbor elf will not be very good. I am almost 100% sure that blue-based control is going to see a greater uprising than elves, and as such I would rank treasure hunt and mysteries of the deep above at least arbor elf, and probably above warcaller as well. If elves does end up catching on, then I could eat my words, but it just seems like it would get too easily hosed by the sweepers in this format, and wouldn’t have the resilience or power of eldrazi green.
“Eldrazi Green” is not mutually exclusive from elf decks. Eldrazi Green is a kind of elf deck. You could play more elves in it instead of less.
That’s true. I suppose they could cut the more powerful individual cards in favor of the synergistic elves and go that route instead, and still run Eldrazi Monument.
just a small trinket arbor elf is capable of:
your opponent earthquakes for 1+any number.
in reaction, you can untap a forest, in order to play an instant during the battle phase, or end phase.
llanowar can’t pull that off, so i say they are about evenly matched, if 1 were to play them, i’d make it 2llanowar/2arbor. both can overcome situations the other can’t.
as for the elf standard, it’s non existant. elves are extended if anything.
Finally. why is nowone playing ping decks? you’ve got vithian stinger, prodigal pyromancer, and now even a hasty ping.
my casual also contains nonstandard ping, like viashino fangtail, but it wins mostly because of ping, building up a q of pure flame, then doubling ping. or even booming with chandra nalaar for 20 dmg to everything but you and your creatures.
Bob,
Why are elves non-existent? Eldrazi is a kind of elf deck that people have been playing, as already noted.
Ping decks aren’t played because they are easily defeated by mass removal and control decks. Pinging is only good against creature heavy decks.