(Soulstone Sanctuary | Art by Daniel Ljunggren)

White | Blue | Black | Red | Green | Artifacts & Lands | Allied & Shards | Enemy & Wedges | cEDH | Reprints | Pauper/Budget

As I Move, A Second Empire is Born

Greetings and salutations! It's been a while since our last set review together, since we had to dabble with new exciting cards, and since you had to make do with my horrible, horrible puns.

I'm sure my fellow writers will have extensively written everything relevant about this, but I'll say it anyway. This set is a huge milestone. These are the cards we're bound to see flourish on tables for the years to come, again, and again, and again.

Personally, I'm quite intrigued about the whole financial aspect. The usual time window during which a set is being printed by WotC is fairly short; a few months at best.

With Foundations being reprinted over and over, I'm curious to see if some of the prices will actually hold throughout the period, or if everything of interest will eventually collapse.

As one of your resident budget writers, I'd love to see everything eventually crashing below the $1 threshold, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

At any rate, let's dive into the fray.

Mythics

Sire of Seven Deaths

I have rehearsed for this one. If you'd allow me to clear my throat before I start ranting. Ahem... I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS I LOVE THIS TO THE MOOOOOOON!!!

Now that my inner Timmy got the chance to express himself, let's have a closer look. 7 mana, 7 very relevant keywords for a 7/7 with 7 arms/legs in the art and the word 7 in its name, with an alliteration to boot. Whew.

Flavor-wise, this is absolutely spot-on. Power-wise, it's nothing to scoff at either. This will be both hard to block (thanks menace, trample and first strike), a great blocker (thanks vigilance and reach), while netting you a lot of life with every hit (thanks lifelink) and being costly to remove (thanks ward), aside from a boardwipe.

In a way, this is giving me some Golos vibes, in the sense that it can be slotted in basically any deck (barring the more competitive ones) with little downsides.

Some commanders, of course, will squeal with glee at the sheer thought of having this monster on the battlefield for value reasons. I'm looking at you, Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Akroma, Vision of Ixidor, The Infamous Cruelclaw and (sigh) Indominus Rex, Alpha.

Others will be more than happy with the high mana value. Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma, Kona, Rescue Beastie, Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty or good old Mayael the Anima, you're all invited.

And of course, Big Mana Eldrazi Mamas will gladly play this monster. Yes, Ulalek, Fused Atrocity and Kozilek, the Great Distortion, I'm talking about you both.

Aside from pure synergy, this is simply a big dumb monster people will be happy to slam on the table, to the dismay of their opponents.

A primal, visceral satisfaction akin to what we felt back in 1995 when we played a Shivan Dragon or a Mahamoti Djinn. Both now Uncommon, may I add. Times change.

Rares

Banner of Kinship

First of all, allow me to gloss over the art. Both the extended art and the borderless version look absolutely stunning.

With that being said, this is basically a "fixed" version of the original Coat of Arms. This will only take into account your creatures, but it's more versatile than its big brother on three accounts.

First, it's resilient to board wipes. As it gets counters based on the number of creatures you control as it enters, it will remain a big buff as the game progresses no matter the size of your board.

As this will likely be favoured by kindred strategies, I could easily see this giving at least +5/+5 to your monsters on a regular basis, if not much more. Even a puny 1/1 could thereafter become a force to reckon with.

Second, it's modular. Granted, it's more of a niche strategy, but you could easily proliferate the counters to infinity and beyond (well, maybe not quite, but you get the idea) to amplify the original buff.

Chances are that you'll be in a position to win the game when you play it, but still, it's an option if plans go awry.

Third, and this is much more niche, it only affects your stuff. Coat of Arms encompasses all of the board. While it's actually rare, on occasion there will be a couple of Elves or Eldrazi decks on the table. The Banner circumvents that caveat nicely.

All in all, this is basically a no-brainer for any typal strategy, especially if you're planning on going wide. Vampires, Zombies, Dinosaurs, Humans, Goblins, Cats, Merfolk... Take your pick.

Leyline Axe

Another very straightforward spell, with an absolutely gorgeous borderless treatment.

While the mana cost is steep, the effect is nothing to scoff at. +1/+1, double strike, trample. Aside from the cute buff in power, this Equipment blends two keywords relying heavily onto one other.

It's all well and good to have a 5,000/5,000 with double-strike, it won't do you much good if it can be chumped by a puny 0/1 Plant. Trample tips the scale, turning any decently sized commander into a lethal threat.

Oh, and there's the nice occasional free drop on turn 0, but that's anecdotal.

Aside from the clunky Eater of Virtue, there's only a single other equipment with both keywords: Embercleave, currently played in 62,240 decks.

Granted, it has flash and can be dropped almost for free, but the foundations are the same. I have a hard time believing Leyline Axe will not follow on its footsteps, all the more since it's colorless.

Scrawling Crawler

There's not too much to say about this. It's a mix between Kumena's Awakening and Underworld Dreams. Or some kind of twist on Nekusar, the Mindrazer. Which is exactly where this card belongs.

There's also something that could be said about this Scrawcrawcrawler (or something like that) to quell your opponents' endeavours to draw their entire library.

I know I would cry if I saw this while playing my Peerless Toothy deck.

Cute, and likely to see play, especially in wheels decks.

Crawling Barrens

There is something in this set about writhing on the ground, rasping on your knees, slithering like a snake.

Anyway, this lands bears its name quite well, crawly as it is. Four mana to turn it into a creature, a puny one at that, is not impressive.

Granted, this is not limited to a single activation, but still, the cost is quite steep for an Elemental that doesn't even have any kind of evasion.

Hard pass.

Soulstone Sanctuary

I'll follow along the same lines. Yes, you can turn it into all types of creatures. Yes, it's a 3/3 with vigilance. And yes, it's board wipe-resistant. But it's frankly underwhelming for that cost.

Is this playable in limited ? Maybe, probably. Would I play this, even in a lands-matter deck? Hell no.

Uncommons & Commons

Fishing Pole

I absolutely love the flavour of this one. Throw the line, wait for the fish to catch, make a fish. Straightforward as they make it.

Of course, this is a card tailored for stories. Find a way to expand the counters onto this Equipment, make a ton of fishies. "How I died last game? Trampled by a school of 1,000 salmons".

Is it clunky? Of course. Will it work? Unlikely. Is it fun to try? You bet it is.

I'm almost tempted to try finding a spot in my Saint Traft and Rem Karolus deck, if only for the silliness.

Ravenous Amulet

A nice sacrifice outlet, that will net you some card draw. Phyrexian Vault required to pay to draw a single card, with no added benefits.

This, on the other hand, could eventually turn into a wincon, if you find a way to proliferate those soul counters. That second ability almost seems deceptively better than the first one, in a way... Mhhhh...........

A Solid Base

This was a short one, fellows. Not that many brand new spells to comment on. I suppose I shouldn't complain, as the overall quality is excellent: capturing the essence of what the MtG identity is, while providing fun outlets for both new and enfranchised players.

I'm also quite pleased at the various colorless reprints. Granted, we've seen them pop in the past few commander precons, but it's always nice to drive the point home even further.

How about you? Are you excited about this set? Any spell that scratch your itch? I look forward to hearing from you and discuss below!

Arnaud Gompertz

Arnaud Gompertz has been playing Magic since 4th Edition, back in 1995. He's been an assiduous EDH enthusiast since 2012, with a soft spot for unusual and casual Commanders. He'll always favour spectacular plays against a boring path to victory. Aside from mistreating cardboard, he's a dedicated board games player, loves a challenging video game and occasionally tries to sing with his choir.