Welcome readers to another fun edition of Cards n’Flux. I am Corlando here to guide you through the wonderful world of Magic the Gathering. Well, believe it or not we have another set release upon us. This time it the Magic 2012 Core Set and we already have quite a few wonderful cards spoiled. With a little more than half the set spoiled, we have already seen quite a few awesome cards. I cannot wait for this set to come out.
One of the first things I have to say is, I am pumped for Illusions. The idea of killing someone with something that is not actually there just makes me giggle inside. It is almost like your opponent is being defeated by his or her own imagination. Wizards has given us two illusions and even a lord which could mean big things for the next set, Innistrad. Anyway, what are these new Illusions? The first is 2/2 Blue Bear for 
. Phantasmal Bear is probably one of the best turn one drops I’ve seen in a while. Its only bad point is if it is target by a spell or ability, the controller of Phantasmal Bear must sacrifice it. That is the one failing of all Illusions, of all nightmares. Once you realize they are not real, they disappear. The same is true for the Phantasmal Dragon. This 5/5 flyer for 
is a rather strong play whether mid or late game. Yet, it becomes even stronger thanks to our brand new illusion lord, Lord of the Unreal. This Human Wizard for gives all Illusion creatures you control +1/+1 and hexproof, a new ability in M12 that prevents your opponents from targeting your creatures with spells or abilities. This hexproof ability really protects your illusion army and the boost in stats is nice, however the one problem I have with Lord of the Unreal is he is not an Illusion himself. This means you have to devise a way to protect him before you even play him or risk losing your army to tapping abilities. It would have been nice to have a lord who could protect itself if you managed to get two out. However, I still think Lord of the Unreal is playable and will see some serious casual play, just like the two illusions. I hope Wizards has a few more illusions coming down the pipe because I cannot wait to build a proper Illusion deck.
The next item I want to talk about is a card that was just spoiled this morning. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to face a lord of the undead? For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath, Wizards has finally printed this guy:
A 5/4 with deathtouch for five, which I’ll admit is a little odd. I’ve never really gotten the idea of things with high power having deathtouch. Granted its pretty good evasion, but if something with 4 or more power attacks, it will usually kill what blocks it anyway. Sorry, got off on a tangent. Here’s the thing I love about Vengeful Pharaoh, its recursion. However, this is not just normal recursion. The fact that if a creature deals damage to you, not only do you get to destroy it, but Vengeful Pharaoh will come out of the graveyard and place itself on top of your library. This combination of abilities is just awesome. If your opponent forgot about your Pharaoh and swings in with say a Primeval Titan, you can take the 6 or take trample damage with a blocker, kill the Titan, and next turn summon a 5/4. I’d call that a pretty darn good play. The combat trickery, the good stats, and the cool artwork put Vengeful Pharaoh in my top ten new cards from 2012.
Moving from undead lord, we go to a staple of Magic the Gathering which is big green monsters. Throughout the past few sets there have been Hydras, creatures that if wounded, only become stronger. The past few Hydras have not been all that great. One example is Protean Hydra which first makes you think it is some sort of powerful, unbeatable vitamin. Buy now while supplies lasts~.
The Problem with Protean Hydra was, you would be the one trying to damage your hydra just so you could see the heads grow. Your opponent would not block unless absolutely necessary which defeated the point of it getting stronger through damage. Wizards apparently saw this was happening and decided to take the opponent out of the equation. This gives us the brand new Primordial Hydra a 0/0 for:
This guy is sick. Seriously, all you Valakut and ramp players, look at this beast of a creature. How much fun would it be to play through, get your big creatures out then slam this guy down as well. Plus if you play him for four total on your fourth turn, by the time he is able to attack, he’ll be a 4/4. Next turn an 8/8 and so on. Primordial Hydra goes bonkers real quick meaning that it is likely to die pretty darn quickly. This sadly means he probably will not see standard play, but casual and definitely EDH/Commander will make room in their decks for this guy.
Okay so we have looked at the Rares and the Mythics, let us see a few more uncommon and commons. First up we have a card I find hilarious. Stave Off is a one white mana spell that gives target creature protection from a color of your choice until the end of the turn, arguably a better Apostle’s Blessing. Pretty straight forward card, but the thing that cracks me up is the artwork. Take a look:
It is probably just me, but it looks like that Leonin is about to break out in amazed laughter as he cries out, “Holy Crap, it worked!!!” Just something I find funny. Anyway, lets get back to cards I think are going to be good. Spirit Mantle, is an enchantment aura that not only boosts a creature by +1/+1 but also gives it protection from creatures for only two mana.
Now, I have to say this is a darn good card. Not only does your creature essentially become unblock-able, but it grows stronger meaning you can swing for even bigger damage. Or you can play it on something with a high power and a low toughness and create an unbeatable wall. I think this enchantment is going to go in many a deck, even standard has the potential to let this thing see play. Think of this on a Hero of Bladehold. Always deal your damage and never risk having your opponent block and kill her. That is a game ending combo right there and a quick one for sure.
One last card for this edition people, and it is Red uncommon. In all honesty I’m not much of a Red player. I can understand why people like playing it, but I guess I do not like the idea of, and pardon the pun, of Burning out. This is why most Red decks are quick, merciless, and ferocious. This new card goes right a long with how a Red deck plays plus it even gives you a reward for playing ferociously. Stormblood Berserker is a 1/1 for two mana, essentially a bad bear. However, if you play like a Red Mage and damage your opponent before you summon Stormblood Berserker, you can make the 1/1 become a 3/3. This is because Stormblood Berserker has Bloodthirst 2. Bloodthrist is a resurrected ability, much like scry was in M11, where if you deal damage to an opponent, a creature with Bloodthirst X comes into play with X +1/+1 counters where X is the number directly after Bloodthirst. I do not think Stormblood Berserker has the potential to knock any goblins out of their slots in the typical Red Deck wins construction, even though it can only be blocked by two or more creatures, but for someone who wants to play Red but hates Goblins, this might be the card for you.
Well everyone, we are coming to the end of the article so it is time for everyone’s favorite section, the Closing Questions section:
1. What do you think of M12 so far?
2. What is your favorite card spoiled so far? What is your least favorite card of the set?
3. Is there anything you are desperately hoping to see return in M12 from a previous set, or something you would just like to see in M12?
Thank you one and all for supporting this column and being faithful readers. Next week we continue with the spoilers of M12 and show off more goodies to get. Just remember, as you look at the new cards, “Etherium is Limited. Innovation is not.” This is Corlando signing out.