Published on the now defunct Grimmoire.com, January 29, 2003
Breaking Legions Down: A Review
by Ron Vitale
I attended the Pre-Release for Legions with a bad cold and stuck around for only one round. I pulled my cards together and can honestly say that the best cards I pulled were Onlsaught cards (Mobilization and Grinning Demon). The rares that I did pull from Legions were: Kilnmouth Dragon, Celestial Gatekeeper, and Dermoplasm. Although I only had a chance to see a limited amount of cards before I went home, between the official list just released and the cards I saw in play, I was not impressed. I played a red and black deck with cheap Goblins, removal, and cheap black creatures. Unfortunately, I could not beat an Akroma, Angel of Wrath being dropped on the table. Without any form of mass removal, there was nothing I could do to stop the angel from beating me senseless. And my frustration mounted in realizing that the crap rares I received in my packs were better for constructed format rather than limited. Having a Kilnmouth Dragon was great, but at seven mana and only a 5/5, it wouldn’t have helped me beating off Akroma (especially since she’s protection from Red!).
From the people that I talked to and the games I played myself, creatures were extremely expensive in Legions. Morph triggers were just too slow, but the Provoke ability proved to be extremely useful. My opponent attacked several times with a creature that had Provoke forcing me to block with my Sparksmith and other important critters that I had out. But my major mistake in building a red and black deck centered around the Grinning Demon. I figured that I’d drop him out and smack my opponent around. Unfortunately, for me, I had forgotten that Pacifism existed in Onslaught. Can you say ouch? Taking two a turn from the Demon, wasn’t fun.
But enough of my horrible showing at the Pre-Release, now that Legions is upon us, let's look over the set. There are several different types of Players out there, how about I discuss each one generally first?
Type 1
I doubt that any of the Legions cards would appear in any serious Type 1 deck. Even Akroma isn’t that powerful. There's a lot of other creatures you could just as well reanimate. I predict that limited, if any, cards will appear in Type 1 serious decks. From my point-of-view, I might want to trade for an Akroma so that I could add her to my multi-player Type 1 deck, but that’s about it. Most of the creatures in this set just cost way too much. There's no Flying Men in this set!
Extended
Sliver decks should be popping up soon in Extended. With the Quick Sliver and Root Sliver entering the scene, there could be some extremely interesting Sliver decks coming into the mix. Will they do well in the tournament scene? I doubt that they will because of the nature of a creature heavy deck. Counter or remove from the game the right Sliver, and the deck is crippled.
Limited
I wanted to make this observation. Why was it that the Tempest block was so much fun? I loved playing limited back during this time. Creatures were fast, easy to play, and you had lots of options. Some might suggest that I look back so fondly on these cards because they were out so long ago, but I’ve been playing Magic for over 9 years. In my opinion, Tempest cards were extremely powerful and exciting. In the Onslaught block, I’ve not been impressed with many of the new cards. Of course, there’s some great rares floating around in the set, but nothing of great value. And let me explore that a bit. Granted many of you are going to say, “Oh, there’s great cards out there to play with.” True, but since I’ve been playing since Unlimited I would argue that there aren’t many great cards that are better than cards of the past. This is my concern. Newer cards are simply watered down versions of previous cards. For a new Player coming into the game, she might think that the Legions set is the best thing to happen under the sun—heck, there’s a lot less to learn. The set consists only of creatures! But for veterans such as myself, I simply shake my head. Creatures such as Defiant Elf, Aven Envoy, and Fugitive Wizard—what’s up with these cards? If Legions is supposed to be the creature power set, then why do some of the cards suck so much? And why are the creatures so expensive? I surmise that Wizards is intentionally slowing down the game. Gone, long gone unfortunately, are the fast, exciting games that took place during Tempest. How I long to have the Mogg Fanatic back! Now that’s a common. Not this Defiant Elf crap. So, sure, you can play Limited and have a blast, but I bet it'll leave a sour taste in your mouth if you're a veteran.
Breaking Legions Down: A Review
by Ron Vitale
I attended the Pre-Release for Legions with a bad cold and stuck around for only one round. I pulled my cards together and can honestly say that the best cards I pulled were Onlsaught cards (Mobilization and Grinning Demon). The rares that I did pull from Legions were: Kilnmouth Dragon, Celestial Gatekeeper, and Dermoplasm. Although I only had a chance to see a limited amount of cards before I went home, between the official list just released and the cards I saw in play, I was not impressed. I played a red and black deck with cheap Goblins, removal, and cheap black creatures. Unfortunately, I could not beat an Akroma, Angel of Wrath being dropped on the table. Without any form of mass removal, there was nothing I could do to stop the angel from beating me senseless. And my frustration mounted in realizing that the crap rares I received in my packs were better for constructed format rather than limited. Having a Kilnmouth Dragon was great, but at seven mana and only a 5/5, it wouldn’t have helped me beating off Akroma (especially since she’s protection from Red!).
From the people that I talked to and the games I played myself, creatures were extremely expensive in Legions. Morph triggers were just too slow, but the Provoke ability proved to be extremely useful. My opponent attacked several times with a creature that had Provoke forcing me to block with my Sparksmith and other important critters that I had out. But my major mistake in building a red and black deck centered around the Grinning Demon. I figured that I’d drop him out and smack my opponent around. Unfortunately, for me, I had forgotten that Pacifism existed in Onslaught. Can you say ouch? Taking two a turn from the Demon, wasn’t fun.
But enough of my horrible showing at the Pre-Release, now that Legions is upon us, let's look over the set. There are several different types of Players out there, how about I discuss each one generally first?
Type 1
I doubt that any of the Legions cards would appear in any serious Type 1 deck. Even Akroma isn’t that powerful. There's a lot of other creatures you could just as well reanimate. I predict that limited, if any, cards will appear in Type 1 serious decks. From my point-of-view, I might want to trade for an Akroma so that I could add her to my multi-player Type 1 deck, but that’s about it. Most of the creatures in this set just cost way too much. There's no Flying Men in this set!
Extended
Sliver decks should be popping up soon in Extended. With the Quick Sliver and Root Sliver entering the scene, there could be some extremely interesting Sliver decks coming into the mix. Will they do well in the tournament scene? I doubt that they will because of the nature of a creature heavy deck. Counter or remove from the game the right Sliver, and the deck is crippled.
Limited
I wanted to make this observation. Why was it that the Tempest block was so much fun? I loved playing limited back during this time. Creatures were fast, easy to play, and you had lots of options. Some might suggest that I look back so fondly on these cards because they were out so long ago, but I’ve been playing Magic for over 9 years. In my opinion, Tempest cards were extremely powerful and exciting. In the Onslaught block, I’ve not been impressed with many of the new cards. Of course, there’s some great rares floating around in the set, but nothing of great value. And let me explore that a bit. Granted many of you are going to say, “Oh, there’s great cards out there to play with.” True, but since I’ve been playing since Unlimited I would argue that there aren’t many great cards that are better than cards of the past. This is my concern. Newer cards are simply watered down versions of previous cards. For a new Player coming into the game, she might think that the Legions set is the best thing to happen under the sun—heck, there’s a lot less to learn. The set consists only of creatures! But for veterans such as myself, I simply shake my head. Creatures such as Defiant Elf, Aven Envoy, and Fugitive Wizard—what’s up with these cards? If Legions is supposed to be the creature power set, then why do some of the cards suck so much? And why are the creatures so expensive? I surmise that Wizards is intentionally slowing down the game. Gone, long gone unfortunately, are the fast, exciting games that took place during Tempest. How I long to have the Mogg Fanatic back! Now that’s a common. Not this Defiant Elf crap. So, sure, you can play Limited and have a blast, but I bet it'll leave a sour taste in your mouth if you're a veteran.
Standard
With the current environment becoming slower, Players will look for ways to speed up the game—re-animator decks could be coming your way. But let’s look at the rares in general: Are you satisfied with this all-creature set? I think that the Muse cards are interesting as well as Akroma and Phage, and a few Sliver cards, but I’m not running out to buy a box of cards. Granted the Krosan Cloudscraper at 13/13 is "great" (why no Trample?!), but with Innocent Blood, Wrath of God, and Chainer’s Edict in Standard, what’s the point? Or worse yet, imagine your opponent blocking with a freaking 1/1 soldier token each turn! The two decks that I would like to build in the new Standard would be an all Slivers deck and a White/Blue control deck (Windborn Muse). I also forsee black suicide decks coming back into environment with cheap black creatures such as Drinker of Sorrow. But let's look at the current Standard environment: With Astral Slide, Madness, and Mono Black decks ripping up the tournament scene, who’s going to want to play with the slow Morph trigger cards? I just don’t see these cards being worth playing in Standard. Yes, they might work for the Limited format, but they’re too slow for the Standard environment (unless you use the Astral Slide trick to bring the creatures back into play face-up for that big, one-time "ta-da"). I think we’ll see some Legions cards popping up into the Standard environment, but the bigger question is: Do we even care?
I’ve been playing Magic long enough that the sets have begun to look stale. Someone had compared Legions to Homelands and I think this is a good comparison. I just don’t believe the Legions set will be memorable in the long run. Yes, in the current environment people will use the cards, but how many cards do you miss from Prophecy?
Cards keep rotating into and out of the mix so quickly that I really don’t care much any longer. I am the only person from my original group of friends who tries to keep current with Magic. Everyone else has stopped playing, moved onto other games, or just simply decided to stop wasting their money on Magic. With Legions and Judgment, I can’t say that I want to spend money on these products. I’d rather take my money and spend it elsewhere. With veterans like me losing interest in the game, Wizards will need to replace me with fresher (and younger!) blood. When you look at the all-creatures set and the changing look of Magic cards, I truly believe that Wizards is moving forward to market the game toward a younger crowd. I see nothing wrong with this, but die-hard fans of Magic are left in the lurch. Precious dollars are not being spent on the new expansions by anyone in my group. Roll back the clock about three or four years ago and we were buying boxes of cards.
Magic’s demographic appears to be getting younger and younger all the time. For us old timers, our choices appear to be limited. We can try to keep up with the game, but the new sets just don’t hold the appeal of past power cards (Cursed Scroll, Fireblast, Lightning Bolt, Force of Will, Wrath of God, Vampiric Tutor). Some of these cards were out years upon years ago, but I still remember them and play with them. Unfortunately, this isn’t true of the last few card sets.
With that all said, I want to go through the Legions set and pull out the top five cards of each color. Let me be adamant about this “Top Five” list: I’m stating that these are the most interesting cards to me (for good or bad). I don’t think they’re the most powerful, but definitely worth discussing. I've rambled enough about my thoughts about the disappointing Magic sets lately (I did like Onslaught though). Before you run out and spend your money--think! Be an educated consumer and if you're not happy with the set, then spend your money elsewhere. My friends and I have played Star Munchkins--if you've not tried it, give it a whirl. It's only $25 and great fun for a card game.
Okay, enough, here's my top five picks of each color:
White:
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
5WWW
Creature - Angel Legend
Flying, first strike, trample, haste, protection from black, protection from red
Attacking doesn't cause Akroma, Angel of Wrath to tap.
6/6
(Rare)
I’ll say it again: Akroma kicked my arse in the pre-release. My opponent dropped her out and I had nothing to stop her with so I died. End of story. She’s extremely expensive to cast, but in a re-animator deck she might be worth while. Using a Buried Alive to put her in your graveyard and then a Zombify to pull her out again isn’t half bad. Remember though: Astral Slide will stop her in her tracks. Though you will get one round in of attacking before a Black mage can cast her Innocent Blood or Chainer’s Edict.
Glowrider
2W
Creature – Cleric
Noncreature spells cost 1 more to play.
2/1
(Rare)
I like this card a lot. It has an extremely interesting ability. Unfortunately, it also hurts you so you’ll have to play extremely heavy on creatures and rely on their ability to allow you to win. If you’re playing all creatures and land creatures, then a Blue mage who is holding counters or a Red mage with burn are going to be crying in their beer! The question is: With the Glowrider being only a 2/1, can the rider stick around or will your opponent just force you to block using a provoked creature or toast it? I like the ability but I don’t know how often this card will be played. If someone finds a way to keep it alive, then keep an eye out for this card.
Planar Guide
W
Creature – Cleric
3W, Remove Planar Guide from the game: Remove all creatures from the game. At end of turn, return those cards to play under their owners' control.
1/1
(Rare)
This card can be used either as an endgame card: I removed all your creatures from play and then play a haste creature to kill you. Or, you can put a ton of morph creatures out and then use the Planar Guide’s ability to bring all your creatures back into play face-up. Or better yet: Wipe the board clean of those nasty token creatures! Nice. Very nice. With the Guide only being one white mana, it’s cheap to play, but as with the Glowrider, keeping it alive at 1/1 is going to be tough.
Sunstrike Legionnaire
1W
Creature – Soldier
Sunstrike Legionnaire doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever another creature comes into play, untap Sunstrike Legionnaire.
T: Tap target creature with converted mana cost 3 or less.
1/1
(Rare)
Having a limited Master Decoy is rather nice, but again keeping him alive at 1/1 and the fact that he doesn’t untap and your opponent’s creature does, limits his use. I like the ability but don’t think he’ll be that useful. His drawbacks are too numerous.
Windborn Muse
3W
Creature – Spirit
Flying
Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays 2 for each creature attacking you. (This cost is paid as attackers are declared.)
2/3
(Rare)
I love this card. I loved Propaganda back in the day and think this is a great remake of the card. A flying 2/3 creature for 4 mana isn’t too bad when you factor in its ability. But Astral Slide decks will just walk over this card. They’ll simply cycle away a card, remove the Muse from play, and then smack you down with an Exalted Angel. Maybe playing White and Green (Steely Resolve) so that your creatures can’t be targeted will help, but the Slide deck still has Wrath. This card has great potential, but can it be put to use in Standard effectively?
Blue:
Chromeshell Crab
5U
Creature – Beast
Morph 4U (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Chromeshell Crab is turned face up, you may exchange control of target creature you control and target creature an opponent controls.
3/3
(Rare)
I’ve been thinking of ways to abuse Phage. How about using Chromeshell Crab’s ability to give your opponent Phage and then use Astral Slide’s ability on Phage. Your opponent will die when Phage comes back into play. But the problem still remains with Phage being so darn expensive to play! By the time you get 8 mana going, you’ve probably won anyway. Still, this Crab has some interesting uses. First off, it’s a beast so it’ll gel with a lot of other Beast cards. I could also see playing this card in a White/Blue deck with using an Astral Slide to cheaply use its ability during combat and gaining control of something better than that 1/1 blocker you might have.
Keeper of the Nine Gales
2U
Creature - Bird Wizard
Flying
Tap, Tap two untapped Birds you control: Return target permanent to its owner's hand.
1/2
(Rare)
As others have already said, “This ain’t no Tradewind Rider.” Gone are the days of good Blue creatures that actually have a good toughness and are cheap. For three mana and being a 1/2, I don’t see this creature to last long. The only thing it has going for it is that it’s a Wizard as well as a bird. It’ll work great in a Wizard deck, but will you be able to pull out 2 other Birds to make it work? I doubt it.
Riptide Director
2UU
Creature – Wizard
2UU, Tap: Draw a card for each Wizard you control.
2/3
(Rare)
Now here’s a card that should see play. I’ve seen some interesting Wizard decks in Standard and this card would be great. Since Blue’s most powerful countering is coming from creature abilities these days, why not utilize that extra mana you’ll have at the end of your opponent’s turn and draw a ton of cards. If I were building a Wizards deck, I’d put two of the Directors right into the deck.
Shifting Sliver
3U
Creature – Sliver
Slivers can't be blocked except by Slivers.
2/2
(Uncommon)
Here we are back to my Sliver deck. I enjoy Slivers. Some people don’t like them, but I think they’re fun to play. Will a Sliver deck become dominant in the Standard environment: I sure hope so! If one does come into being, I think this card will be in the deck. It’s expensive, but with Quick Sliver, you’ll be able to play it like a Fact or Fiction at the end of your opponent’s turn. And if you have a Root Sliver out, you’re on your way to victory (provided you have that Steely Resolve out so your opponent can’t Slide your creatures!)
Synapse Sliver
5U
Creature – Sliver
Whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player, its controller may draw a card.
3/3
(Rare)
I like this card, too. But will it see play? I don’t think so because it’s so expensive. The Sliver deck that will win in Standard will need to be fast. Getting 6 mana out will be difficult. Can you re-animate the card? Sure, but there’s much more effective decks to build as re-animators than a Sliver deck that gives you a “big” 3/3 for 6 mana.
Black:
Bane of the Living
2BB
Creature – Insect
Morph xBB (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Bane of the Living is turned face up, all creatures get -X/-X until end of turn.
4/3
(Rare)
I’d take my two Shambling Swarms out of my Mono Black deck and put in two of these guys. Cabal Coffers will make these guys shine. If you really need quick removal in a creature ability in a mono black deck, the bane’s your man! Of course, it blows everything away, but isn’t mono black all about control? Wipe the board clean and then play a Nantuko Shade. Unfortunately, those dang Slide decks can wreck your plans. Watch out!
Drinker of Sorrow
2B
Creature — Horror
5/3
Drinker of Sorrow can’t block.
Whenever Drinker of Sorrow deals combat damage, sacrifice a permanent.
(Rare)
Quick, fast beatdown. Great for late in the game for times when you don’t care about sacking a land. Less effective in the early game--unless you enjoy having your land all blown away. Hey, that's up to you.
Hollow Specter
1BB
Creature – Specter
Flying
Whenever Hollow Specter deals combat damage to a player, you may pay X. If you do, that player reveals X cards from his or her hand and you choose one of them. That player discards that card.
2/2
(Rare)
This card would do well in a mono black control deck. No, it's not as good as the Hypnotic Specter (see, my rant above about the long gone days of the best cards), but in Standard, it's one of the best we have.
Phage the Untouchable
3BBBB
Creature - Minion Legend
When Phage the Untouchable comes into play, if you didn't play it from your hand, you lose the game. Whenever Phage deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature. It can't be regenerated. Whenever Phage deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game.
4/4
(Rare)
Neat idea, but how effective will it be? I wrote to Wizards and learned that you can't play Phage with a Sneak Attack--you'll still lose the game. If there's no way to get around Phage's expensive cost, the only current way I can see to play this card would be in a mono black control deck with the Cabal Coffers. Again, there's better cards that are cheaper.
Scion of Darkness
5BBB
Creature – Avatar
Trample
Whenever Scion of Darkness deals combat damage to a player, you may put target creature card from that player's graveyard into play under your control.
Cycling 3(3, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.)
6/6
(Rare)
Cool card, but playable? Maybe in a reanimator deck, but again, it's so darn expensive! I would love one of these in my multi-player deck, but could it work well in Standard? Possibly. The fact that it has cycling is rather sweet. You can discard it, draw a card, and then use that Zombify to bring it into play.
Red:
Lavaborn Muse
3R
Creature – Spirit
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has two or fewer cards in hand, Lavaborn Muse deals 3 damage to him or her.
3/3
(Rare)
Nice card that could really mess with decks (like Green) that play lots of quick spells. Though I agree with Magic Player that the ability is a bit odd. You would like that the ability would work if the Player had cards more then three (to go against Blue decks). But then again, Blue decks aren't doing too well these days.
Skirk Drill Sergeant
1R
Creature – Goblin
Whenever Skirk Drill Sergeant or another Goblin is put into a graveyard from play, you may pay 2R. If you do, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a Goblin card, put it into play. Otherwise, put it into your graveyard.
2/2
(Uncommon)
Can you say Goblin deck? Wouldn't be bad to have this work in conjunction with the Goblin Goon. Again, if you wish to work with the tribal theme in the Onslaught block, you'll be able to use this cheap card. Two mana for a 2/2 isn't bad and if you have the 2R open, you could wind up pulling another Goblin into play.
Blade Sliver
2R
Creature – Sliver
All Slivers get +1/+0.
2/2
(Uncommon)
If you want to build a Sliver deck, you might want to consider playing this card. The Slivers are rather weak (no greater than 3/3) so you will need something to give the Sliver deck that extra punch. The fact that it's three mana for a 2/2 isn't all that great. I wouldn't say this is the best Sliver, but I would consider putting it into a five color Sliver deck.
Clickslither
1RRR
Creature – Insect
Haste
Sacrifice a Goblin: Clickslither gets +2/+2 and gains trample until end of turn.
3/3
(Rare)
Haste and you can get +2/+2 for eating that Skirk Drill Sergeant and then using the Sergeant's ability to try and go for another Goblin in your deck. Hmm, not too shabby. Of course, four mana and then having the mana to use the Drill Sergeant isn't going to happen that often. But having the possibility of a 5/5 haste creature with trample, is rather nice. Have more then one Goblin out? Game winner. Simply sack all your Goblins and trample away to victory! If play Red (with Goblins), you'll want four of these.
Goblin Goon
3R
Creature - Goblin Mutant
Goblin Goon can't attack unless you control more creatures than defending player.
Goblin Goon can't block unless you control more creatures than attacking player.
6/6
(Rare)
Four mana for a 6/6 creature with no major drawbacks? Yes, you'll have to have more creatures out, but most Goblin decks play creature heavy. This card isn't always going to work for you, but it's worth trying this card out in a Goblin deck. If you get the Goon out early and can keep attacking, you'll eventually beat your opponent down. As for Slide, yeah, well, can you tell that Slide is going to rule this block? It's an awesome uncommon. A Goblin Goon isn't going to stop it, but, hey, the picture looks cool. At least you can take that fact with you as you sweep up your cards after a loss to Astral Slide. Still, it's a cool card and I'd put it in the Goblin deck.
Green:
Brood Sliver
4G
Creature – Sliver
Whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player, its controller may put a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token into play.
3/3
(Rare)
Here's the Sliver Queen of the set. Well, maybe it's a Sliver King. I can't tell from the picture. I like this card and would add one or two to a Sliver deck. Combo this card with Shifting Sliver and you're going to win (unless you're playing against Slide). I've written before that it's important to protect your Slivers with a Steely Resolve. Of course, this one card isn't going to win you games. It will help, but a Sliver deck will need control as well as strength.
Krosan Cloudscraper
7GGG
Creature - Beast Mutant
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Krosan Cloudscraper unless you pay GG.
Morph 7GG (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
13/13
(Rare)
Why am I mentioning this card? Doesn't it suck? Yes, it does. And that's the point. There are better cards in many other sets. Why was this card put in the set? Was it for the young kids playing so they could say, "Wow, I've a big 13/13 creature!" Yes, that's great but when a 1/1 Soldier can block it without a problem--something's wrong there. For 10 mana and an upkeep cost, geez, why doesn't it have trample? Oh wait, I know why: Legions is weak.
Quick Sliver
1G
Creature – Sliver
You may play Quick Sliver any time you could play an instant.
Any player may play Sliver cards any time he or she could play an instant.
1/1
(Common)
A common?! Why am I saying that a common is good? For 1G and only being a 1/1, it's not the greatest card, but I think this card will appear in Sliver decks. I'd play with it! Heck, it's cheap and can help you use the surprise factor in forcing you opponent to think. Of course, Astral Slide could easily... Okay, I've said it enough.
Seedborn Muse
3GG
Creature – Spirit
Untap all permanents you control during each other player's untap step.
2/4
(Rare)
Being able to untap on your opponent's turn, nice, very nice. Five mana is expensive, but Green decks can normally pump a lot of mana out rather quickly.
Tribal Forcemage
1G
Creature - Elf Wizard
Morph 1G (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Tribal Forcemage is turned face up, creatures of the type of your choice get +2/+2 and gain trample until end of turn.
1/1
(Rare)
This card will rock in an Elf deck or a Wizard deck. It's extremely powerful. +2/+2 to all creatures of a type of your choice with trample. Nice. Very nice. I can just see Elves and Squirrels attacking and having the Foremage beefing them up.
So what's my final words on this set? I'm disappointed with the set. I long for the sets of the past. Many others will complain, saying that I'm not seeing the big picture, but I'll say this again: An all creature set is boring. The morph triggers are way too expensive. R&D at Wizards was obviously concerned that these cards would be abused. That's understandable, but the psychological aspect of how I like to play is not fulfilled with this set. When you hold an instant in your hand, you have choices. You can bluff, react, act, and win games. If you have a face down creature in play, your opponent can see the threat and make an educated guess. But if I hold a Shock, then I can waste my opponent's Tribal Forcemage at the end of her turn, wrecking her plans. Legions appears to simplify the game for me. I love the morph mechanism, but I also want my instants, sorceries, artifacts, enchantments, and lands. A common land with cycle will see more play than some of the commons in this set. Who's going to want to play with the Aven Envoy? Just give me my Shock and I'll be happy. When I play Magic, I prefer to play a certain way. Wizards is taking Players down a path that I'm not thrilled to see. It's not that interesting, and I choose not to spend lots of money on it. Maybe you'll disagree. But whatever you decide, think about these cards before you spend your money.
With the current environment becoming slower, Players will look for ways to speed up the game—re-animator decks could be coming your way. But let’s look at the rares in general: Are you satisfied with this all-creature set? I think that the Muse cards are interesting as well as Akroma and Phage, and a few Sliver cards, but I’m not running out to buy a box of cards. Granted the Krosan Cloudscraper at 13/13 is "great" (why no Trample?!), but with Innocent Blood, Wrath of God, and Chainer’s Edict in Standard, what’s the point? Or worse yet, imagine your opponent blocking with a freaking 1/1 soldier token each turn! The two decks that I would like to build in the new Standard would be an all Slivers deck and a White/Blue control deck (Windborn Muse). I also forsee black suicide decks coming back into environment with cheap black creatures such as Drinker of Sorrow. But let's look at the current Standard environment: With Astral Slide, Madness, and Mono Black decks ripping up the tournament scene, who’s going to want to play with the slow Morph trigger cards? I just don’t see these cards being worth playing in Standard. Yes, they might work for the Limited format, but they’re too slow for the Standard environment (unless you use the Astral Slide trick to bring the creatures back into play face-up for that big, one-time "ta-da"). I think we’ll see some Legions cards popping up into the Standard environment, but the bigger question is: Do we even care?
I’ve been playing Magic long enough that the sets have begun to look stale. Someone had compared Legions to Homelands and I think this is a good comparison. I just don’t believe the Legions set will be memorable in the long run. Yes, in the current environment people will use the cards, but how many cards do you miss from Prophecy?
Cards keep rotating into and out of the mix so quickly that I really don’t care much any longer. I am the only person from my original group of friends who tries to keep current with Magic. Everyone else has stopped playing, moved onto other games, or just simply decided to stop wasting their money on Magic. With Legions and Judgment, I can’t say that I want to spend money on these products. I’d rather take my money and spend it elsewhere. With veterans like me losing interest in the game, Wizards will need to replace me with fresher (and younger!) blood. When you look at the all-creatures set and the changing look of Magic cards, I truly believe that Wizards is moving forward to market the game toward a younger crowd. I see nothing wrong with this, but die-hard fans of Magic are left in the lurch. Precious dollars are not being spent on the new expansions by anyone in my group. Roll back the clock about three or four years ago and we were buying boxes of cards.
Magic’s demographic appears to be getting younger and younger all the time. For us old timers, our choices appear to be limited. We can try to keep up with the game, but the new sets just don’t hold the appeal of past power cards (Cursed Scroll, Fireblast, Lightning Bolt, Force of Will, Wrath of God, Vampiric Tutor). Some of these cards were out years upon years ago, but I still remember them and play with them. Unfortunately, this isn’t true of the last few card sets.
With that all said, I want to go through the Legions set and pull out the top five cards of each color. Let me be adamant about this “Top Five” list: I’m stating that these are the most interesting cards to me (for good or bad). I don’t think they’re the most powerful, but definitely worth discussing. I've rambled enough about my thoughts about the disappointing Magic sets lately (I did like Onslaught though). Before you run out and spend your money--think! Be an educated consumer and if you're not happy with the set, then spend your money elsewhere. My friends and I have played Star Munchkins--if you've not tried it, give it a whirl. It's only $25 and great fun for a card game.
Okay, enough, here's my top five picks of each color:
White:
Akroma, Angel of Wrath
5WWW
Creature - Angel Legend
Flying, first strike, trample, haste, protection from black, protection from red
Attacking doesn't cause Akroma, Angel of Wrath to tap.
6/6
(Rare)
I’ll say it again: Akroma kicked my arse in the pre-release. My opponent dropped her out and I had nothing to stop her with so I died. End of story. She’s extremely expensive to cast, but in a re-animator deck she might be worth while. Using a Buried Alive to put her in your graveyard and then a Zombify to pull her out again isn’t half bad. Remember though: Astral Slide will stop her in her tracks. Though you will get one round in of attacking before a Black mage can cast her Innocent Blood or Chainer’s Edict.
Glowrider
2W
Creature – Cleric
Noncreature spells cost 1 more to play.
2/1
(Rare)
I like this card a lot. It has an extremely interesting ability. Unfortunately, it also hurts you so you’ll have to play extremely heavy on creatures and rely on their ability to allow you to win. If you’re playing all creatures and land creatures, then a Blue mage who is holding counters or a Red mage with burn are going to be crying in their beer! The question is: With the Glowrider being only a 2/1, can the rider stick around or will your opponent just force you to block using a provoked creature or toast it? I like the ability but I don’t know how often this card will be played. If someone finds a way to keep it alive, then keep an eye out for this card.
Planar Guide
W
Creature – Cleric
3W, Remove Planar Guide from the game: Remove all creatures from the game. At end of turn, return those cards to play under their owners' control.
1/1
(Rare)
This card can be used either as an endgame card: I removed all your creatures from play and then play a haste creature to kill you. Or, you can put a ton of morph creatures out and then use the Planar Guide’s ability to bring all your creatures back into play face-up. Or better yet: Wipe the board clean of those nasty token creatures! Nice. Very nice. With the Guide only being one white mana, it’s cheap to play, but as with the Glowrider, keeping it alive at 1/1 is going to be tough.
Sunstrike Legionnaire
1W
Creature – Soldier
Sunstrike Legionnaire doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever another creature comes into play, untap Sunstrike Legionnaire.
T: Tap target creature with converted mana cost 3 or less.
1/1
(Rare)
Having a limited Master Decoy is rather nice, but again keeping him alive at 1/1 and the fact that he doesn’t untap and your opponent’s creature does, limits his use. I like the ability but don’t think he’ll be that useful. His drawbacks are too numerous.
Windborn Muse
3W
Creature – Spirit
Flying
Creatures can't attack you unless their controller pays 2 for each creature attacking you. (This cost is paid as attackers are declared.)
2/3
(Rare)
I love this card. I loved Propaganda back in the day and think this is a great remake of the card. A flying 2/3 creature for 4 mana isn’t too bad when you factor in its ability. But Astral Slide decks will just walk over this card. They’ll simply cycle away a card, remove the Muse from play, and then smack you down with an Exalted Angel. Maybe playing White and Green (Steely Resolve) so that your creatures can’t be targeted will help, but the Slide deck still has Wrath. This card has great potential, but can it be put to use in Standard effectively?
Blue:
Chromeshell Crab
5U
Creature – Beast
Morph 4U (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Chromeshell Crab is turned face up, you may exchange control of target creature you control and target creature an opponent controls.
3/3
(Rare)
I’ve been thinking of ways to abuse Phage. How about using Chromeshell Crab’s ability to give your opponent Phage and then use Astral Slide’s ability on Phage. Your opponent will die when Phage comes back into play. But the problem still remains with Phage being so darn expensive to play! By the time you get 8 mana going, you’ve probably won anyway. Still, this Crab has some interesting uses. First off, it’s a beast so it’ll gel with a lot of other Beast cards. I could also see playing this card in a White/Blue deck with using an Astral Slide to cheaply use its ability during combat and gaining control of something better than that 1/1 blocker you might have.
Keeper of the Nine Gales
2U
Creature - Bird Wizard
Flying
Tap, Tap two untapped Birds you control: Return target permanent to its owner's hand.
1/2
(Rare)
As others have already said, “This ain’t no Tradewind Rider.” Gone are the days of good Blue creatures that actually have a good toughness and are cheap. For three mana and being a 1/2, I don’t see this creature to last long. The only thing it has going for it is that it’s a Wizard as well as a bird. It’ll work great in a Wizard deck, but will you be able to pull out 2 other Birds to make it work? I doubt it.
Riptide Director
2UU
Creature – Wizard
2UU, Tap: Draw a card for each Wizard you control.
2/3
(Rare)
Now here’s a card that should see play. I’ve seen some interesting Wizard decks in Standard and this card would be great. Since Blue’s most powerful countering is coming from creature abilities these days, why not utilize that extra mana you’ll have at the end of your opponent’s turn and draw a ton of cards. If I were building a Wizards deck, I’d put two of the Directors right into the deck.
Shifting Sliver
3U
Creature – Sliver
Slivers can't be blocked except by Slivers.
2/2
(Uncommon)
Here we are back to my Sliver deck. I enjoy Slivers. Some people don’t like them, but I think they’re fun to play. Will a Sliver deck become dominant in the Standard environment: I sure hope so! If one does come into being, I think this card will be in the deck. It’s expensive, but with Quick Sliver, you’ll be able to play it like a Fact or Fiction at the end of your opponent’s turn. And if you have a Root Sliver out, you’re on your way to victory (provided you have that Steely Resolve out so your opponent can’t Slide your creatures!)
Synapse Sliver
5U
Creature – Sliver
Whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player, its controller may draw a card.
3/3
(Rare)
I like this card, too. But will it see play? I don’t think so because it’s so expensive. The Sliver deck that will win in Standard will need to be fast. Getting 6 mana out will be difficult. Can you re-animate the card? Sure, but there’s much more effective decks to build as re-animators than a Sliver deck that gives you a “big” 3/3 for 6 mana.
Black:
Bane of the Living
2BB
Creature – Insect
Morph xBB (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Bane of the Living is turned face up, all creatures get -X/-X until end of turn.
4/3
(Rare)
I’d take my two Shambling Swarms out of my Mono Black deck and put in two of these guys. Cabal Coffers will make these guys shine. If you really need quick removal in a creature ability in a mono black deck, the bane’s your man! Of course, it blows everything away, but isn’t mono black all about control? Wipe the board clean and then play a Nantuko Shade. Unfortunately, those dang Slide decks can wreck your plans. Watch out!
Drinker of Sorrow
2B
Creature — Horror
5/3
Drinker of Sorrow can’t block.
Whenever Drinker of Sorrow deals combat damage, sacrifice a permanent.
(Rare)
Quick, fast beatdown. Great for late in the game for times when you don’t care about sacking a land. Less effective in the early game--unless you enjoy having your land all blown away. Hey, that's up to you.
Hollow Specter
1BB
Creature – Specter
Flying
Whenever Hollow Specter deals combat damage to a player, you may pay X. If you do, that player reveals X cards from his or her hand and you choose one of them. That player discards that card.
2/2
(Rare)
This card would do well in a mono black control deck. No, it's not as good as the Hypnotic Specter (see, my rant above about the long gone days of the best cards), but in Standard, it's one of the best we have.
Phage the Untouchable
3BBBB
Creature - Minion Legend
When Phage the Untouchable comes into play, if you didn't play it from your hand, you lose the game. Whenever Phage deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature. It can't be regenerated. Whenever Phage deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game.
4/4
(Rare)
Neat idea, but how effective will it be? I wrote to Wizards and learned that you can't play Phage with a Sneak Attack--you'll still lose the game. If there's no way to get around Phage's expensive cost, the only current way I can see to play this card would be in a mono black control deck with the Cabal Coffers. Again, there's better cards that are cheaper.
Scion of Darkness
5BBB
Creature – Avatar
Trample
Whenever Scion of Darkness deals combat damage to a player, you may put target creature card from that player's graveyard into play under your control.
Cycling 3(3, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.)
6/6
(Rare)
Cool card, but playable? Maybe in a reanimator deck, but again, it's so darn expensive! I would love one of these in my multi-player deck, but could it work well in Standard? Possibly. The fact that it has cycling is rather sweet. You can discard it, draw a card, and then use that Zombify to bring it into play.
Red:
Lavaborn Muse
3R
Creature – Spirit
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has two or fewer cards in hand, Lavaborn Muse deals 3 damage to him or her.
3/3
(Rare)
Nice card that could really mess with decks (like Green) that play lots of quick spells. Though I agree with Magic Player that the ability is a bit odd. You would like that the ability would work if the Player had cards more then three (to go against Blue decks). But then again, Blue decks aren't doing too well these days.
Skirk Drill Sergeant
1R
Creature – Goblin
Whenever Skirk Drill Sergeant or another Goblin is put into a graveyard from play, you may pay 2R. If you do, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a Goblin card, put it into play. Otherwise, put it into your graveyard.
2/2
(Uncommon)
Can you say Goblin deck? Wouldn't be bad to have this work in conjunction with the Goblin Goon. Again, if you wish to work with the tribal theme in the Onslaught block, you'll be able to use this cheap card. Two mana for a 2/2 isn't bad and if you have the 2R open, you could wind up pulling another Goblin into play.
Blade Sliver
2R
Creature – Sliver
All Slivers get +1/+0.
2/2
(Uncommon)
If you want to build a Sliver deck, you might want to consider playing this card. The Slivers are rather weak (no greater than 3/3) so you will need something to give the Sliver deck that extra punch. The fact that it's three mana for a 2/2 isn't all that great. I wouldn't say this is the best Sliver, but I would consider putting it into a five color Sliver deck.
Clickslither
1RRR
Creature – Insect
Haste
Sacrifice a Goblin: Clickslither gets +2/+2 and gains trample until end of turn.
3/3
(Rare)
Haste and you can get +2/+2 for eating that Skirk Drill Sergeant and then using the Sergeant's ability to try and go for another Goblin in your deck. Hmm, not too shabby. Of course, four mana and then having the mana to use the Drill Sergeant isn't going to happen that often. But having the possibility of a 5/5 haste creature with trample, is rather nice. Have more then one Goblin out? Game winner. Simply sack all your Goblins and trample away to victory! If play Red (with Goblins), you'll want four of these.
Goblin Goon
3R
Creature - Goblin Mutant
Goblin Goon can't attack unless you control more creatures than defending player.
Goblin Goon can't block unless you control more creatures than attacking player.
6/6
(Rare)
Four mana for a 6/6 creature with no major drawbacks? Yes, you'll have to have more creatures out, but most Goblin decks play creature heavy. This card isn't always going to work for you, but it's worth trying this card out in a Goblin deck. If you get the Goon out early and can keep attacking, you'll eventually beat your opponent down. As for Slide, yeah, well, can you tell that Slide is going to rule this block? It's an awesome uncommon. A Goblin Goon isn't going to stop it, but, hey, the picture looks cool. At least you can take that fact with you as you sweep up your cards after a loss to Astral Slide. Still, it's a cool card and I'd put it in the Goblin deck.
Green:
Brood Sliver
4G
Creature – Sliver
Whenever a Sliver deals combat damage to a player, its controller may put a 1/1 colorless Sliver creature token into play.
3/3
(Rare)
Here's the Sliver Queen of the set. Well, maybe it's a Sliver King. I can't tell from the picture. I like this card and would add one or two to a Sliver deck. Combo this card with Shifting Sliver and you're going to win (unless you're playing against Slide). I've written before that it's important to protect your Slivers with a Steely Resolve. Of course, this one card isn't going to win you games. It will help, but a Sliver deck will need control as well as strength.
Krosan Cloudscraper
7GGG
Creature - Beast Mutant
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Krosan Cloudscraper unless you pay GG.
Morph 7GG (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
13/13
(Rare)
Why am I mentioning this card? Doesn't it suck? Yes, it does. And that's the point. There are better cards in many other sets. Why was this card put in the set? Was it for the young kids playing so they could say, "Wow, I've a big 13/13 creature!" Yes, that's great but when a 1/1 Soldier can block it without a problem--something's wrong there. For 10 mana and an upkeep cost, geez, why doesn't it have trample? Oh wait, I know why: Legions is weak.
Quick Sliver
1G
Creature – Sliver
You may play Quick Sliver any time you could play an instant.
Any player may play Sliver cards any time he or she could play an instant.
1/1
(Common)
A common?! Why am I saying that a common is good? For 1G and only being a 1/1, it's not the greatest card, but I think this card will appear in Sliver decks. I'd play with it! Heck, it's cheap and can help you use the surprise factor in forcing you opponent to think. Of course, Astral Slide could easily... Okay, I've said it enough.
Seedborn Muse
3GG
Creature – Spirit
Untap all permanents you control during each other player's untap step.
2/4
(Rare)
Being able to untap on your opponent's turn, nice, very nice. Five mana is expensive, but Green decks can normally pump a lot of mana out rather quickly.
Tribal Forcemage
1G
Creature - Elf Wizard
Morph 1G (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)
When Tribal Forcemage is turned face up, creatures of the type of your choice get +2/+2 and gain trample until end of turn.
1/1
(Rare)
This card will rock in an Elf deck or a Wizard deck. It's extremely powerful. +2/+2 to all creatures of a type of your choice with trample. Nice. Very nice. I can just see Elves and Squirrels attacking and having the Foremage beefing them up.
So what's my final words on this set? I'm disappointed with the set. I long for the sets of the past. Many others will complain, saying that I'm not seeing the big picture, but I'll say this again: An all creature set is boring. The morph triggers are way too expensive. R&D at Wizards was obviously concerned that these cards would be abused. That's understandable, but the psychological aspect of how I like to play is not fulfilled with this set. When you hold an instant in your hand, you have choices. You can bluff, react, act, and win games. If you have a face down creature in play, your opponent can see the threat and make an educated guess. But if I hold a Shock, then I can waste my opponent's Tribal Forcemage at the end of her turn, wrecking her plans. Legions appears to simplify the game for me. I love the morph mechanism, but I also want my instants, sorceries, artifacts, enchantments, and lands. A common land with cycle will see more play than some of the commons in this set. Who's going to want to play with the Aven Envoy? Just give me my Shock and I'll be happy. When I play Magic, I prefer to play a certain way. Wizards is taking Players down a path that I'm not thrilled to see. It's not that interesting, and I choose not to spend lots of money on it. Maybe you'll disagree. But whatever you decide, think about these cards before you spend your money.
Comments