Hey! Josh here with WizardDen.com's Team Rogue Tech bringing you the Blue expansion of our Prerelease Primer. Let's dive in!
For anyone who has read my previous primers I'll be changing up the way I evaluate cards and shortening the number of cards I'll discuss in depth to what I see to be the top three commons and uncommons, along with a few honorable mentions and a list of the cards that I give a rating of 3 or greater for their rarity, which I will also now be listing with the card (this number is relative to the power of the set with 5 being the highest rating)
Before we jump into the Blue Uncommons I want to be up front in saying you probably can't go wrong with your color selection this weekend as all of the colors appear to have a very flat power level, by which I mean they are all very comparable in their strengths and weaknesses. I think this is great for a sealed format. Looking at Dragons Fate sealed Red was the best color by a significant margin which made it punishing when playing the format if you were forced into the weaker colors like Blue or White. You have some really high payoffs in any color when playing Origins and I think it will make this prerelease a very fun event. Without further adieu, let's dive in to the Blue Uncommons.
Blue has some very high quality uncommons. The problem I have with blue is the lower quality of cards at the common slot. Still a very sound color to choose this weekend and one I will probably be eating my words with.
Blue Uncommons
#1 Skaab Goliath: 4.5
Anyone who remembers Innistrad limited probably remembers this guy. He's a 6/9 for six mana which is the largest creature in the set. He is essentially invincible to -X/-X removal spells and will always be a beating in combat. This guy is very close to the number one uncommon in the set in my mind. It is so good I would even consider splashing a third color just for this guy.
#2 Jhessian Thief: 4
Judge?!?!?! My opponent played this card on turn three and is running away with the game because of it. I plan on calling Ariel over to say exactly this every time it happens to me during a prerelease this weekend. This card is truly absurd and one of the higher quality cards you can get your hands on. Drawing extra cards is sweet; and this Thief will help you do just that.
#3 Whirler Rogue: 4
I'm honestly not sure if this the number three blue uncommon or not. It is very powerful in that it adds three creatures to the board (two of which have flying) for the low, low cost of four mana. My issue with this is there are several cards that will create the 1/1 fliers for your opponents as well which gives them the opportunity to create a weird parity where you are basically getting a 2/2 for four mana. It definitely has it's ups and downs but it's ups are definitely powerful ones.
Honorable Mentions:
Turn to Frog: 3.5
This is an excellent card that as long as you can keep a creature on the board will be a two cost removal spell. Blue doesn't get things like this often due, in my opinion, to the power level it has when paired with other cards in the colors. Having Turn to Frog and Disperse is very nice as your opponent will have nothing but a whim as to which of the two cards they should try to play around.
Tower Geist: 3.5
I really like to draw cards. I also really like attacking a 2/2 flier that does both for me is awesome and I'll love to include the Tower Geist in all of my blue decks.
Hydrolash: 3.5
This card can absolutely wreck combat math for your opponent. Suddenly attacking a bunch of 3/3's into your 2/2's doesn't seem so appealing and it replaces itself by drawing a card. This is a very real combat trick and one you need to be very aware of going in to prerelease weekend.
The 3's
Anchor to the Aether - 3
Clash of Wills - 3
Sigiled Starfish - 3
Sphinx's Tutelage - 3
Blue has a very large number of playable uncommons. The problem the color encounters is its lack of quality commons. There are certainly a few powerful playables that we'll take a look at now.
Blue Commons
#1 Claustrophobia: 4
This is a great removal spell, unlike some similar blue cards that don't do all of the work. Claustrophobia will tap your opponents creature and keep them tapped for as long as our enchantment exists. This makes it a great catch all removal spell for creatures and one you should be looking for if you want to play blue.
#2 Separatist Voidmage: 3.5
The Voidmage is pretty cool as a bounce spell that progresses your board, or as something to bounce a creature of yours with a great enters the battlefield effect. I really like cards with that kind of versatility as they create some really fun situations where you get to "outplay" your opponent.
#3 Deep-Sea Terror: 3.5
This guy is going to be a terror. A 6/6 defender is fine as it locks down the ground but it is very easy to get this guy attacking in the late game. A great card in both the control and tempo style decks. As one will be playing the attrition game with control cards while the other is tossing spells to the bin as it gains tempo advantage. Overall, a very quality common.
Honorable Mentions:
Disperse: 3.5
I really like cards that bounce creatures as they can create a pseudo time-walk when you force your opponent to tap out again the next turn to make the exact same play. I think Disperse is always powerful in limited and this should be no different.
Ringwarden Owl: 3-3.5
Prowess is a pretty awesome evergreen mechanic. I really like 3/3 fliers and five isn't an excessive amount of mana to invest into it. The fact that this guy has prowess tells me that he will be closing out games in the near future in a city near you.
The 3's
Overall blue is a fine color. The commons aren't the best but there are cards that will make your deck and make it better because they are there. The real power comes when you have 5-7 of the uncommons in your sealed pool as they provide a tremendous amount of power to your deck.
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