Bye-Bye-Bye, or Rotation is Imminent!

Rotation is coming.  It’s inevitable.  Every October the Standard Universe mutates into something yet to be determined, creating an atmosphere of the unknown where many new deck archetypes appear in competition.  It’s an exciting time for Magic, albeit bittersweet.  Gone are cards we’ve been using for up to two years.  Friends we’ve made, essentially.  They’re out the door.  Sure, we can visit them in a Modern setting, but that format does not get enough attention.  Now we lament the passing of some great cards from the past two years of Standard. 

Goodbye Phyrexian Obliterator.  Mono Black Mid-Range loved you.  An ode to powerhouse black creature cards of old from Juzam Djinn to Abyssal Persecutor.  A 5/5 with trample for 4 black mana that was essentially unblockable.  As a notable local mono black player says, I hope he gets replaced with something gooder.  Yes.  Gooder.  The Obliterator is so broken he destroys grammar as well as opponents.

Shall we take a moment of silence to think about Ponder?  You’ve come and gone from lives over the past 4 years and will once again be set aside, waiting to be drawn again. 

Birds of Paradise.  You first graced me with your beauty in 1993.  Now you flutter away again.  Seems that the city plane of Ravinca has no place for your colorful droppings any longer, which is a shame.   

 

Vapor Snag.  An Unsummon that tags your opponent for a paper cut.  I for one am happy this one has evaporated, though I can see it returning to a core set in the future. 

Blade Splicer.  A standby in most decks that play white mana and recent target for Restoration Angels.  Getting 2 for 1 from a spell is always a benefit, but when one of them is a 3/3 Golem with first strike, watch out.   

Phantasmal Image is a Clone for 2 mana.  Yeah.  Unfortunately, Wizards targeted it with M13 and it went to the Modern Graveyard. 

Mana Leak.    You’ll be back soon as the Snapcaster Mage takes his leave. 

Wurmcoil Engine.  The first card in Scars block that made me go WTF!?!?!  REALLY?  And people learned to put it out so fast and quickly copy it with a Phantasmal Image.  Certainly a game breaker that will be missed.

An Equipment Artifact that comes into play attached to a token creature?  Give me more Batterskulls, please!  Make that creature a 4/4 and give it vigilance and lifelink.  Another game breaker if I ever saw one.  An honorable mention to the Batterskull’s little brother that could, the Mortar Pod, another staple of many decks in the current format.  We’ll miss Living Artifacts. 

Time to say goodnight to the RUG Pod deck, kids, as its engine, the awesome Birthing Pod goes nighty-night.  But with it also goes all the wonderful Phyrexian Mana cards like Dismember, Gitaxian Probe and Gut Shot or my personal favorite, Tezzeret’s Gambit (a mainstay in my Big Red build!).  Rumbles about a “NEW TYPE OF MANA” or “6^th COLOR OF MANA” had circulated the Magic world since Antiquities hit the cardboard.  Well, New Phyrexia finally gave it to us with Phyrexian Mana.  Another mechanic that is broken to some players takes its bow.   

Sword of  (INSERT GAME CHANGE) are a thing of the past. A miser card in many decks as well as being the cornerstone cards of the premiere tier-1 decks for the past 2 years; including CAW Blade and Delver decks.  Current mono Green decks can spit these suckers out and equip them on turn 3.  All 3 swords from this block had their benefits, but in the end, the Sword of War & Peace had the most lasting impact on the standard metagame. 

TITANS.  Yeah, Gotta be in all caps, deserving of their status as one of the cards that made standard fun again.  Or broken, dependant on the deck builds.  They didn’t call him PRIMETIME for nothing, people.  They’ve been sent to the Tarterus of Modern now, folks, but I’m sure they will return.

Inkmoth Nexus.  The only viable man-land in the format and it has the added benefit of being an infect creature.  I’m glad to see Infect leave Standard.  It’s had its fun poisoning me.  What concerns me is that all the new “man-land” types seem to be sacking the land and putting a token creature out, ala Hellion Crucible.  We’ll see what happens.  Magic always loves its man-lands. 

Gideon Jura.  We’ve hung out for 4 years now, bro, what gives?  You’ve drawn the attention of so many creatures over the years; I don’t blame you for wanting to take a break.  I hear your replacement is coming next year and will retain the “ATTACK ME” ability.  I can’t wait. 

Da da da dum, de dum, de dum, Hammertime!  I saved my favorite card from the Scars Block for last!  Koth of the Hammer, the second best Planeswalker in my opinion (behind Jace, the Mind Sculptor), leaves Standard without being reprinted in M13 as I assumed he would be.  Chandra never works and Koth is the PERFECT example of how a Red planeswalker for a core set should be.  I salute you, Koth, and can’t wait for your return, someday.

 

I'm sure I probably missed your favorite card.  Talk about it on the forum below or on Facebook.  Did I miss any cards that will be missed?  Until next week, when we talk about what’s coming in Return to Ravinca . . .

 

PEACE!