What You Need: Shards of Alara Edition

[rileyandholly88]

Awhile ago I got a request to do the set Shards of Alara. Was not a fan much myself of this set because of all the Multicolor, but that is just me. Overall, great set when it comes to having outstanding playable cards.

Without any further wait, here is the list for Shards of Alara:

Instants:
Ad Nauseam X4
Bant Charm X4
Branching Bolt X4
Dregscape Zombie X4
Esper Charm X4
Grixis Charm X4
Jund Charm X4
Naya Charm X4

Planeswalkers:
Elspeth, Knight-Errant X2
Tezzeret the Seeker X2

Creatures:
Empyrial Archangel X1
Etherium Sculptor X4
Ethersworn Canonist X4
Feral Hydra X4
Goblin Deathraiders X4
Hellkite Overlord X1
Knight of the White Orchid X4
Master of Etherium X4
Rhox War Monk X4
Sedraxis Specter X4
Sigiled Paladin X4
Steward of Valeron X4
Stoic Angel X4
Wild Nacatl X4
Woolly Thoctar X4

Sorcery:
Infest X4

Artifacts:
Mindlock Orb X4
Relic of Progenitus X4
Scourglass X4

Enchantments:
Necrogenesis X4

There you have it folks, the Shards of Alara set all spelled out for you. Let me know if there are any spelling errors and broken links so I may fix them quickly!

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=175396&type=card

[Danokozmo]

I know that this is for vintage and legacy, but no blightning? That card is awesome within it self and can be a game winner (or near-game-winner) with Pain Magnification and Megrim out.

[pelican]

I know that this is for vintage and legacy, but no blightning? That card is awesome within it self and can be a game winner (or near-game-winner) with Pain Magnification and Megrim out.

well thats a highly hypothetical situation...like you said its vintage and megrim and pain magnification are not going to be that easy to get together, a three card combo is nothing special

however then again you are right blightning is a ok card, but im not sure its really playable in vintage...maybe in legacy, but probably not that great

the card advantage is certainly nice but other cards do it better, and the damage is kinda irrelevant in vintage, where you're either gonna lose all at once...by getting locked down...or through some amazingly fast aggro

blightning doesn't help you counteract any of these better than anything else so its not that special

make it instant speed, or add in the option of creature damage, or make it random discard and yuo have a card but otherwise its vulnerable

[rileyandholly88]

I know that this is for vintage and legacy, but no blightning? That card is awesome within it self and can be a game winner (or near-game-winner) with Pain Magnification and Megrim out.

It doesnt hit creatures, and for something that Restrictive it BETTER do alot of Damage. Not just 3. Like Price of Progress does.

[whitey_mcfly]

you put in Hellkite Overlord and not Godsire. I would like to know why. is it because of the regeneration?

[Seth]

you put in Hellkite Overlord and not Godsire. I would like to know why. is it because of the regeneration?

Haste makes the difference. Hellkite is just a killer with flying/trample/haste. He is played in vintage Oath decks. Godsire is just a stupid fattie. He can be blocked by anything like 1/1 tokens and it takes several turns before he becomes problematic. Godsire is not even good in casual play.

[whitey_mcfly]

I also find that Feral Hydra isn't that good of a card in vintage. sure the ability to buff itself is nice, but without at least trample, it is easily chump blocked. it's also a huge target for kill spells or (God forbid) Fate Transfer

[rileyandholly88]

I also find that Feral Hydra isn't that good of a card in vintage. sure the ability to buff itself is nice, but without at least trample, it is easily chump blocked. it's also a huge target for kill spells or (God forbid) Fate Transfer
Its a Mana Dump, lol. Something to throw Mana into and may see play in a deck at some point. Its not about whether its seeing play now, its about whether or not it could see play. Could Feral Hydra see play? Possibly. Depends on what you want to build. It may not fit in to any of the decks currently being played, but from your point of view you could say Tarmogoyf or Wild Nacatyl are not competitive...

[Seth]

Its a Mana Dump, lol. Something to throw Mana into and may see play in a deck at some point. Its not about whether its seeing play now, its about whether or not it could see play. Could Feral Hydra see play? Possibly. Depends on what you want to build. It may not fit in to any of the decks currently being played, but from your point of view you could say Tarmogoyf or Wild Nacatyl are not competitive...

While I'm not a big fan of Feral Hydra he can be great in multiplayer. In a competitive two-headed giant game for instance both players (allies) can dump their mana into the Hydra. The any player can use this ability makes him better.

[Mutton-Button]

Haste makes the difference. Hellkite is just a killer with flying/trample/haste. He is played in vintage Oath decks. Godsire is just a stupid fattie. He can be blocked by anything like 1/1 tokens and it takes several turns before he becomes problematic. Godsire is not even good in casual play.

i personally use Godsire in a beast deck. pooping out 8/8 tokens @end of opponents turn is nice. also, even if he is chump blocked he has vigilance. then if you combo that with dual nature and doubling season, your making like 6 8/8 tokens eot. and if you also happen to have where ancients tread on the table as well that's 30 dmg. however that requires a substantial ammount of mana ramp.

[Seth]

i personally use Godsire in a beast deck. pooping out 8/8 tokens @end of opponents turn is nice. also, even if he is chump blocked he has vigilance. then if you combo that with dual nature and doubling season, your making like 6 8/8 tokens eot. and if you also happen to have where ancients tread on the table as well that's 30 dmg. however that requires a substantial ammount of mana ramp.

The only reason this works for you is that people in your casual group don't run anti-decks. In my group everyone runs control decks that are build to break other decks. Decks packed with spot removal, board sweepers, counter spells, treachery like effects, planeswalkers, combo, you name it...

[Mutton-Button]

The only reason this works for you is that people in your casual group don't run anti-decks. In my group everyone runs control decks that are build to break other decks. Decks packed with spot removal, board sweepers, counter spells, treachery like effects, planeswalkers, combo, you name it...

i run spear breakers in my deck. so when they try to destroy target creature i just tap a mana and he's indestructible. i also run spellbreaker so counterspells are mute as well. not saying i have the answer for everything or that i think godsire is the greatest card of all time. just that it works for me.

[rileyandholly88]

i personally use Godsire in a beast deck. pooping out 8/8 tokens @end of opponents turn is nice. also, even if he is chump blocked he has vigilance. then if you combo that with dual nature and doubling season, your making like 6 8/8 tokens eot. and if you also happen to have where ancients tread on the table as well that's 30 dmg. however that requires a substantial ammount of mana ramp.
Yes it does lol

[Dacenguy]

Hellkite Overlord is good*. *For a Dragon. I have 3 copies, and none of them are very playable, at least in the formats where they're legal. His big form of evasion, the regeneration is totally meaningless in a format with Terminate and exile removal in the form of Journey to Nowhere, Oblivion Ring, and Path to Exile.

However, Godsire has a distinctive quality that makes him quite a problem. Like Broodmate Dragon, Godsire makes tokens that are like it, but not identical. The most popular form of token removal, Maelstrom Pulse, may rid you of either the tokens or the Godsire, but not both. And that is called card advantage.

Also, where's Sprouting Thrinax? The Tri-Lands? Memory Erosion? Dispeller's Capsule? Oblivion Ring? Where are all of these beautiful cards?

[whitey_mcfly]

Hellkite Overlord is good*. *For a Dragon. I have 3 copies, and none of them are very playable, at least in the formats where they're legal. His big form of evasion, the regeneration is totally meaningless in a format with Terminate and exile removal in the form of Journey to Nowhere, Oblivion Ring, and Path to Exile.

However, Godsire has a distinctive quality that makes him quite a problem. Like Broodmate Dragon, Godsire makes tokens that are like it, but not identical. The most popular form of token removal, Maelstrom Pulse, may rid you of either the tokens or the Godsire, but not both. And that is called card advantage.

Also, where's Sprouting Thrinax? The Tri-Lands? Memory Erosion? Dispeller's Capsule? Oblivion Ring? Where are all of these beautiful cards?

In case you haven't been paying attention, Riley here is a major Legacy/Vintage player. Trilands are too slow. Same with Godsire; it must wait a turn before it can be of any use to anyone. Overlord, however, has haste and flying, meaning that it is an immediate threat. Its main ability lies in its combo in Dragonstorm decks. Godsire has no such combo potential. Thrinax is too mana intensive to be of any use in the older formats.

[Dacenguy]

In case you haven't been paying attention, Riley here is a major Legacy/Vintage player. Trilands are too slow. Same with Godsire; it must wait a turn before it can be of any use to anyone. Overlord, however, has haste and flying, meaning that it is an immediate threat. Its main ability lies in its combo in Dragonstorm decks. Godsire has no such combo potential. Thrinax is too mana intensive to be of any use in the older formats.

Godsire produces infinite tokens with the blue enchantment Intruder Alarm. I'd say that's combo potential.

[crackjunior1]

Although Godsire is weak to control decks as well as cards like oblivion ring, etc I think it's still a cool card and, I guess, it's one of those cards that define Naya so... Maybe a good candidate for that list...

[whitey_mcfly]

Godsire produces infinite tokens with the blue enchantment Intruder Alarm. I'd say that's combo potential.

It's slow. In a fast paced format like Legacy, you're either locked down by the time your combo is out, or you've already been flooded by tokens or some other type of wreckage.