Finally comes Kamigawa!
Now the Kamigawa set has been spoiled and there is a lot of excitement for all enchantress and artifact players. This week I'm looking at the cards I think might have a chance in the 60-card format like (Modern & Pioneer) and next week we'll focus on Commander.
A set full of cards with potential is very difficult to pick out a few, but some of the cards I personally stuck with you can read about below.
White
Michiko's Reign of Truth
Along with Memnite, Ornithopter, and many other cards in the Hammertime deck, this card could find a home. I don't believe it will fit right into Hammertime, but a similar skin can utilize all parts of the card effectively. This is an All that Glitters effect and it might even be an upgrade from Cranial Plating. Unfortunately, Stoneforge Mystic cannot retrieve it from the deck and that is a definite minus. Pairs well with Lurrus (of course).
Lion Sash
One card that can be picked up by Stoneforge Mystic, however, is Lion Sash, which is a creature as long as it is not reconfigured to be an equipment instead. If it is an equipment, it survives sweepers and can grow by eating cards from the opponent's graveyard. A white Scavenging Ooze that can trick the opponent into killing is exciting. Again, the upside is that it costs two mana and is advantageously paired with Lurrus (of course).
The Restoration of Eiganjo
Sagas are exciting, but beyond Urza's Saga, sagas have a hard time settling into Modern. There may be an opportunity here. It's about how well we can use chapter 2, which is the most exciting chapter of the saga. Cheap permanents that we can easily get into the graveyard early (Seal of Fire etc.), or get back an important piece of the puzzle that ended up in the grave earlier in the match. That the cost is to discard a card becomes less noticeable when we have the opportunity to discard the country we looked up the turn before.
Blue
Reality Heist
If we find enough ways to get a lot of artifacts into play, this can be a very strong card. Blood tokens, Clue tokens and Food tokens might be a way to go, especially in Pioneer. In modern, Reality Heist competes with Thoughtcast in Affinity, which is easier to play out but Reality Heist is an Instant and gives the player a lot of options and that can sometimes make the difference - lex Treasure Cruise vs Dig Through Time?
Multicolored
Hidetsugu Consumes All
Here I have selected yet another Saga (I have a fondness for Sagas), but the advantage is that you get the most powerful effect immediately. In Modern, the card solves a lot of problems against Lurruslek. Ragavan, Dragons Rage Chaneler, Esper Sentinel, Colossus Hammer, Amulet of Vigor, Sigarda's Aid, Chalice of the Void, all sorts of tokens (I'm looking at you Rhinos and Constructs). After the first effect, the cards are exiled from all graveyards and do even more damage to Lurrus (good!). The 3/3 with text you get on the back is of course a bonus. If you yourself are tired of playing Lurrus in Modern, this can be a good sideboard alternative to Engineered Explosives
Country
Boseiju, Who Endures + Legendary Land cycle
One of the best countries I've seen in a very long time. If you play green in the game, a country like this should have a place. A comparison to all double sided land/spells from Zendikar Rising is fairly fair as it can act spell or land. But the advantages of this country are several. You pay no life for it to come in tapped and if you choose to use Channel , the opponent can't counter it with a counterspell since you don't cast a spell when you use Channel. So what is stopping you from playing 4? Sitting with three of these in your starting hand is a disaster as only one can be in play on your side at a time. Pairs well with Wrenn & Six, Crucible of Worlds and Life from the Loam.
The other countries in the cycle are also interesting, but it would be a bit tedious to list them all here.
Secluded Courtyard
Unclaimed Territory 2.0. Humans finally get to replace Ancient Ziggurat and all other tribal decks get another land that makes mana easier.
New, stylish Basics!
OMG!
The "March" bike
Each suit has been given a "March of..." card. What the cards have in common is that you can cheat on the mana cost by discarding (to exile) a card of the same suit. Getting a discount on the mana cost usually leads to strong cards. In Modern, this becomes complementary to Prismatic Ending and Solitude, with the advantage that it can exile an Urza's Saga before the land has time to create tokens (or even run out of mana in the first chapter - remember to destroy the Saga when the first Lore counter is on just the stack). Stone Rain for one mana is really good... Being an Instant has advantages against Prismatic Ending, but I would think you want to play both cards in mainly white-X control. This card rather competes with Solitude as more than four cards that require you to exile cards from your hand is difficult to deal with.
As you've probably guessed, I'm really looking forward to seeing the white cards in play and it seems that white continues to get a power boost!
I hope you're looking forward to the Pre-release this weekend and that you only open bombs in the right colors - have the best!
/ The cod