A Word on Worldwake

[Lelouch32]

A Word on Worldwake

By: Corlando

Well It’s finally here. The Worldwake release has occurred and has flooded the Magic the Gathering universe with over a hundred cards, each more deadly than the last. Just the other day I went to a release party and ended up spending nearly my entire day there dueling, trading, drafting, etc. It was probably the most fun I have ever had playing a children's card game (yes that's a Yu-gi-oh Abridged reference) and trust me I have played a lot. During this event I bought many a pack and received many great cards, one being a holographic Jace the Mind Sculptor, and battled with them. However, with so many great cards coming out thanks to Worldwake, what cards are the real prizes and which ones should be forgotten? Well in this edition of Cards n’Flux that is exactly what we are going to be talking about, the ups and down of Worldwake. To quote Anitan, the Ondu Cleric, “Check your knots!”

Worldwake is part of the Zendikar block. As such it brings in many cards that either continue with previously introduced abilities or swells the ranks of lesser-liked cards. Introducing eleven more allies, several landfall cards, and a few very powerful multikicker cards, Worldwake is definitely an expansion that does not disappoint.

The first card we will look at is the only “bad” card in Worldwake, so much so that my friends have dubbed it the Beast Hunt of the set. The card’s name is Razor Boomerang and trust me it is not as usable as it sounds. Razor Boomerang is an equipment card and it’s text reads, “Equipped creature has , Unattach Razor Boomerang: Razor Boomerang deals 1 damage to target creature or player. Return Razor Boomerang to its owner's hand." In essence, this card is making you pay 5 mana to inflict 1 damage. For some reason I feel I must read it again so as to confirm that this card actually exists. I know two mana creatures that do more damage and they don’t return back to your hand once you use them. The idea is just dumb and the ONLY way this card could be useful is if you just happen to have enough mana at the end of the turn and a free creature so you just throw it down to deal one last damage to finish off your opponent. This card is a waist of a slot in your deck and should not be used unless you have a REALLY good plan.

The next card we’ll look at is one of the multikickers that was introduced with Worldwake. The card is Enclave Elite, which is a merfolk with islandwalk. It’s multikicker ability read, “, when Enclave Elite comes into play, put a +1/+1 counter on it for each time it was kicked.” This is actually a really good ability for this card because it makes Enclave Elites multifunctional. Not to mention the islandwalk, which may come into play making it unblockable. The only problem with this card is that the kicker to mana cost ratio can get rather off if you wish to make it a real threat. For example, lets say you wish to make Enclave Elite a 5/5. To do that you would have to pay its normal mana cost then pay the kicker three times bringing the total to nine mana which in mana terms means. Not only is it very hard to survive long enough to actually acquire the nine lands, but also if you have the nine mana to spend it would be better used to pay for a bigger creature for instance… Inkwell Leviathan which not only has islandwalk but also shroud and trample. It really depends on the situation, but Enclave Elite as well as the other multikicker creatures will definitely not be seeing rest anytime soon.

Let’s move from creatures for now and turn instead to an enchantment. Now I am not too much of a fan of red spells, but Claws of Valakut helped me realize that red can be a beast to play. The enchantment is an aura and reads, “Enchant creature, enchanted creatures gets +1/+0 for each mountain you control and has first strike.” Setting aside the +1/+0 effect, giving a creature first strike is probably the best thing you can give a creature other than maybe flying or shroud. First strike creatures inflict their damage before any blocker or attacker meaning a 2/1 youthful knight can kill any creature with 2 toughness before it can even touch them. I’ve seen 2 youthful knights hold off wave after wave of massive creatures, all because they struck first. It was so annoying to play against. Valakut Claws not only gives the creature first strike, but also a massive power boost. This power boost can either be used defensively or offensively, keeping your opponent on their toes and playing exactly the way you want them to.

Moving back to creatures for a bit, I think I'll go to the darkside and discuss a vampire... or two. Kalastria Highborn is a vampire shaman with a beautiful ability. "Whenever Kalastria Highborn or another vampire you control is put into a graveyard, you may pay . If you do target player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life." Not only does this card help to swell the ranks of a much played card type, Kalastria Highborn gives vampire decks a new way to gain life. As many vampire players know, the best vampires out there had low toughness. This made lightning bolts and any other damage dealing spells an annoyance to play against. Kalastria Highborn has the ability to turn those loses into positives as long as you have the mana. This even makes the not so threaten Pulse Tracker a source of pain. Pulse Tracker is another Worldwake vampire and every time it attacks it deals 1 damage to each opponent. This means that you can send Pulse Tracker to certain death, have be destroyed, pay the , deal 3 damage, and gain 2 life. This combo is great when you add in something like Blade of the Bloodchief, making that sacrifice an even more likable idea.

The final card I think I will talk about is one of the signature cards of Worldwake, Jace the Mind Sculptor. I do not know much about Jace’s past, just that he is a blue wizard which specializes in illusion, mind wiping, and just mind related spells. This card exemplifies that perfectly. Jace’s first ability gives him +2 loyalty points and gives you the ability to look at the top card of target player’s library. You may then decide whether or not to put that card at the bottom of their library. This ability is okay because you can direct it on yourself and see what card you’ll draw next, allowing you to plan accordingly. You can also direct it on your opponent and either try to memorize their hand, or prevent them from gaining important cards. Jace’s second ability allows you to draw three cards and then place two on the top of your library. This ability gives you many choices and is very strategic. Say you are facing someone who seems to be casting a lot of discard spells. You can save two prominent cards from discard and fill your hand with not as important spells. The only problem with this ability is that it gives you zero loyalty counters meaning that this ability will probably not be played as much as it probably could/should be. The third ability is our first minus loyalty counter ability and allows you to send a creature back to your opponent’s hand. This is not a bad effect and should see some use in certain circumstances. In fact I used my Holographic Jace to send an 8/8 octopus back to my opponent’s hand. This not only saved me from its eventual attack, but from its annoying tapping ability. This final spell Jace can unleash is one heck of a spell. At the price of twelve loyalty points, Jace has the ability to exile your opponent’s entire library and force your opponent’s hand to become their library. This spell is just devastation incarnate. If your opponent is already on their last legs of desperation, this spell will blow them away. I used this ability once on someone and exiled upwards of thirty plus cards and reduced my opponent’s library to four cards. Then I just played the waiting game as they flung creatures at me in a pathetic attempt to stop their own demise. It was glorious.

Worldwake looks to be a very dominate force in Magic the Gathering. With its onslaught of creatures, impressive spells, and devastating enchantments, Worldwake will have a strong influence on the future of Magic the Gathering. Just remember, “Etherium is limited. Innovation is not.” This is Corlando signing out.

[mglass61]

Well I'm glad someone likes it. To be honest I have been rather disappointed with it so far. I've been to a pre-release and the launch party so far and I gotta say I've had more fun with M10 and Zendikar thus far. Its not just me either. My roommate and several at the comic shop have expressed similar feelings. The expansion just feels rushed to me and the minor changes and "new" features were nothing more than scaling up their last ideas. Honestly it just doesn't seem all that special to me.

Plus, most of what I enjoy playing is Drafts and so far Worldwake seems to ruin drafts in my opinion. There are far to many game enders that if you draft it and play it you've won. And I'm not just talking about the mythic rares either. In my last draft this guy somehow got 8 of the blue ally that mills you each time an ally comes in. It is game over before you even started against him. By turn 4-5 he was milling me about every turn for 15 cards or more, in draft. Then there is the rares like the 7/7 worm that destroys all other creatures when it attacks or the 1 drop red mage that summons a 5/5 dragon each turn... There just doesn't seem to be the same balance that was there before. I'm all for overcoming challenges but in a restricted format there should be some feeling of balance to keep things enjoyable. If I were rating Worldwake out of 10 right now, it would have to be a 5, maybe 6, at best (based on drafting).

[Lelouch32]

I can understand that kind of feeling. Worldwake, in some cases, does seem a bit rushed or over powered. The butcher of Malakir is a good example because if it or another one of your creatures is sent to the graveyard, your opponent must sacrifice a creature. You could have pulse tracker or the quag vampites block their attacks and just start watching the bodies fall. And let's face it, Jace the Mind sculptor, one you get him powered up, is a game ender in every sense of the term. who has the capacity to win a game with less than 7 cards? Not a a lot of people I can promise you that.

However, worldwake does do a few things very well. Thanks to the increase in both vampires and allies, people can now create some pretty unique decks instead of relying on the few cards they had originally. Landfall decks might also see some variation now thatnks to cards like Cosi's Ravager, Caustic Crawler, and Groundswell. Might favorite of the new landfall cards might be Avenger of Zendikar. It's a little too pricy, but it can get you an army in 1 turn.

I guess it just comes down to precpective. Sure some cards or abilities might not be up to par, but then again can you really have an entire set of 100+ cards and make them all diamonds in the rough? I believe not. Worldwake does a few things good, and a few things badly. Just go with the eb and flow and hope that the Eldrazi set will be better.