Return to Ravinca Commentary - or what do I play in the pre-release?

This weekend marks the pre release of one of the most anticipated Magic the Gathering sets in some years, Return to Ravinca.  I made my casual return to Magic near the end of the original Ravinca block, about the time it was rotating out, the cards I had acquired at that time were awesome and Return promises to be a multicolored dream.  What do we play and with only half the guilds being present, which will come out on top?  Only time will tell when rotation hits.  Some say our current format is stale, but for the most part those words come from control players who can’t handle agro decks.  Return to Ravinca will certainly do one thing – reinvigorate Standard. 

Currently, the only viable mono colored decks are green and black.  RDW has gone by the wayside for almost a year now, but is making resurgence with the Goblins, Bonfire of the Damned and Thundermaw Hellkite.  Mono blue only works in pauper format.  Mono white, currently played but inconsistent, is losing its powerhouse card, the Hero of Bladehold.  Wizards seems to have smartly printed mono colored cards in Return to Ravinca to give each a shot during rotation. The new Jace, Architect of Thought, the Desecration Demon and Mizzium Mortars are good examples of powerful mono colored cards in Return that will help bolster those deck builds.

 

My personal favorite is the “shock” lands.  They have returned to make Modern and Legacy more accessible to newer players, according to Wizards.  The current Standard builds that are going through re-envisioning will certainly utilize them.  I feel they are what Standard needs right now, especially for developing multi colored decks, a direction Standard has been moving towards for some time now.  Add to this “Gate” land cards, essentially common dual lands that come into play tapped, and you have the perfect mana base for a multi colored format.

 

Key Runes – Mana pumping artifacts that turn into creatures.  We’ve gotten away from the last Man Land in the format – Inkmoth nexus – and have made our way into a new era where we see lands being sacrificed to make token creatures (i.e. Hellion Crucible and Grove of the Guardian).

 

Rakdos’s Return is a game changer.  A BR multicolored spell that acts as a fireball AND a Mind Twist?  WINNING!  This card could be a late game usurper.  In contrast, Supreme Verdict tells us why they dropped Day of Judgment from the Core Set.  An uncounterable Day?  UW builds are going to have a picnic.  One can see why Bant will be so powerful come rotation.  Let's add Abrupt Decay to the mix, an uncounterable 2 drop Vindicate for those troublesome low cost high powered cards like Vampire Nighthawk and Ajani, Caller of the Pride.  Maelstrom Pulse light, for sure, but it kills an Oblivion Ring.  Even so, the venerable Oblivion Ring gets to up the ante with big brother Detention Sphere.  An O-Ring that acts as a Pulse?  Sweet!  Give me more of that one and add to Bant build’s power cards.

 

Charms have always been an efficient tool in any deck.  The Charms of Return to Ravinca are no different.  With each card giving you 3 instant speed choices, you are sure to find an answer in a Charm. 

New game mechanics and keywords always bring a fresh breath to the game.  Return to Ravinca is no different.  Scavange, Unleash, Detain, Populate and Overload are all making their debuts in this mighty set.  Each is dedicated to a Guild:  Golgari gaining Scavange (which allows you to exile that card in your graveyard to put +1/+1 counters on a creature), Rakdos taking Unleash (Make it unable to block but make it HUGE, TOM!), Selesnya grows with Populate (Got a token?  Make ANOTHER token.  BOGO!), Azorious controls with Detain (tap it – it can’t untap on the next turn and it can’t use activated abilities) and Izzet goes OTT with Overload (change the word TARGET to ALL for a slightly higher cost?  Sure!).   

Return to Ravinca is the shot of juice all of the current Magic formats needed.  The pre-releases this weekend will be exciting to play in and going forward one can only dream of the possibilities.  This is possibly the expansion I’ve looked forward to the most since Zendikar rotated out.  Pick your Guild and have at it, my friends.  Until the next time I return to Rakdos . . .

 

PEACE!