Hey! Josh here with WizardDen.com's Team Rogue Tech bringing you the Green 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 Green 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 Green Uncommons.
I am generally a fan of green in limited as the big, stompy creatures it provides are usually difficult to remove with the resources your opponent will have. Origins seems no different with the exception of the split between elf synergy and your run of the mill standard green beaters. Let's take a look at the uncommons and see what we're looking to open this weekend.
Green Uncommons
#1 Skysnare Spider: 4
This guy is pretty huge. He'll eat or trade with any creature in the set at common/uncommon except for Skaab Goliath and all while holding down defense on the ground and air due to his vigilance clause. This isn't quite the Pelakka Wurm we had in Modern Masters but it is a very welcomed addition to Green's arsenal.
#2 Somberwald Alpha: 4
I really like cards that make decision making more difficult and complex for my opponent. This guy will definitely do that as blocks become awkward, attacks become awkward, oh, and this guy gives trample to your biggest attacker as well. I am sold that this will be a huge part of people's success in green this weekend. Hopefully the Alpha will be good for you!
#3 Valeron Wardens: 3.5-4
I've said it once and I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. I really like drawing cards. Abzan Beastmaster was one of my favorite Green Uncommons for exactly this reason. While Wardens won't quite draw as many cards generally it will definitely gain you advantage, so long as you have a fairly large (8-10) suite of creatures with Renown. A 1/3 for three mana definitely isn't exciting but if we can attain the 3/5 status our investment is instantly returned.
Honorable Mentions
Undercity Troll: 3.5
A 2/2 that regenerates for three mana is good. BUT. a 2/2 that has the potential to be a 3/3 that regenerates and only costs two mana is the real deal. This guy is going to be a true house this weekend and is definitely one I'll be keeping a close eye out for.
Elemental Bond: 3.5
There is a pretty sizable chunk of cards that have power greater than three. Again I really like drawing cards, soooooooo... it seems like a no brainer I'd at least have this as an honorable mention. They stack if you have multiple, however, there is the downside that you will generally be taking a turn off to cast this. It is a fine late game draw though in that you can play two spells a turn and start gaining advantage if you draw it late. Not a total ringer but a really good card that you should definitely play if you are in green and have a few creatures that will trigger it's ability.
Joraga Invocation: 3.5
This card may be a bust since it doesn't grant trample to your team. It does demand blocks from your opponent, however, which gives this card some pretty good upside in my opinion. All the sudden your board of three 3/3 creatures will trade very profitably to your opponents board of behemoths which gives this card the potential to create 2,3,4 even 5 for 1's in extreme scenarios. It can be a totally dead card as well so I recommend proceeding with caution on this one. I also recommend only playing one copy no matter how many are opened.
The Other Uncommon Goodies
Dwynen's Elite 3-3.5
Zendikar's Roil 3-3.5
As always, green brings a lot to the table when it comes to limited gameplay. This could be the whole color with how many good cards we've seen. We haven't, yet, touched on the commons but that is where some of Green's true magic unfolds. Origins is no different with a few commons I am very excited to cast in a prerelease this weekend. Let's take a look.
Green Commons
#1 Pharika's Disciple: 4
This card is going to be good on turn 4 or turn 15. Having deathtouch is pretty real. Having the ability to be a 3/4 with the ability is absurd. After he goes Renown, your opponent will have a very difficult time blocking this creature without a 2 for 1 which is exactly what you want out of mid game creatures. It's been awhile since green has had a card like this in the four slot and I'm very excited to see how well it performs this weekend.
#2 Rhox Maulers: 4
The Mauler Rhox my socks off. A potential 6/6 trampler for five with no drawback other than he has to trample over once as a 4/4 to get the payoff of evolving. This guy is going to be wrecking boards this weekend, I just hope on my side of the table.
#3 Wild Instincts: 3.5-4
This is very similar to the Hunt the Weak that we have come to love, with a little bit of Epic Confrontation thrown in for kicks. Giving your guy a +2/+2 buff is great as a turn 4 play. you pick off their best (or only) blocker and proceed to beat in with a bigger creature because of it. This will be a very powerful card to have in your deck and one that you should always play if you are in Green.
Honorable Mentions
Timberpack Wolf: 3.5
This is another one of those cards that gets a little better in draft. At common though, it is isn't unlikely to have a pool with 2-3 of these. I definitely recommend playing them all they scale very nicely into one another. It's fine if you only have one as well because your opponent will never know there isn't a pack of wolves waiting to be fed in your hand.
Yeva's Forcemage: 3.5
This is probably the fourth place finisher in green, actually. Anyone who played back in Avacyn Restored will remember this guy can be obscene. Being able to surprise pump a creature while progressing your board is nothing to be scoffed at and I have a feeling he'll be even more powerful this time around since you can break open the 6/6 stalls that will inevitably unfold in this limited format.
The Other Goodies
Green is a very powerful color that I'll be happy to pair most likely with any other color. It adds excellent depth to the cards in Red, giant monsters to fight alongside the fatties in blue, Renown value to go with White, and big creatures to compliment the smaller creatures in Black. I don't think it's the best color, as that honor goes to Red in my book, but it is definitely strong and shouldn't go overlooked.
On to the multi-colored cards which has no rares and no commons. All of these uncommons are playable if you are in these colors, however, none of them truly give much incentive to play a set color combination. A few of them didn't seem quite as powerful in my eyes and didn't make the list. I'll list my top 3 and a few other goodies and we'll take a look at artifacts from there.
Multi-Colored Uncommons
#1 Possessed Skaab: 3.5-4
This is a really interesting card that has a really powerful effect printed on it. Being in Blue/Black it will have a lot of great targets from removal spells, to tempo spells and almost everything in between you will always be able to grab a relevant card and leave decent body on board as well. The advantage this card can generate is it's reason for being the number one multi-colored card in my book though.
#2 Thunderclap Wyvern 3.5-4
So I can't help myself. I'm a child. My Fiance tells me this at least once a week and after I saw this card I realized she is right. I simply won't be able to stop myself from exclaiming "He's got the Clap and he's giving it to you!!" every time I cast this card in limited. He's a flier that likes other fliers, I like that effect a lot. it is very unique and something we simply don't get in every set. He takes a few other fliers to be at his best but that isn't too hard to come by in this set. I also like that he breaks the Thopter stalemate I talked about briefly earlier in the article.
#3 Zendikar Incarnate: 3.5-4
This card has a lot of upside. He will be no smaller than a 3/4 with the ramp in this set and is a card that will really pull it's weight as it can grow to have higher power than any other card in the set. This card definitely has a lot of upside and I can't find the downside if you are in these colors.
The Other Goodies
The multi-colored cards are exciting. There are ten of them meaning you may have one for your decided color combination. I wouldn't allow which of these cards you have to dictate what colors you play. Go with the flow in sealed and if you happen to find one of the gold cards that matches your color combination, great. If not, play your strongest colors to reap the greatest rewards.
Off to our final stop of this article: Artifacts. I am not the biggest fan of the artifacts in this set, however, there are a few of these cards I could see making my 20-23 card depending on the strength of the pools I play this weekend. Let's dive into the Artifact Uncommons and see what we'll be working with in this set.
Artifact Uncommons
#1 Meteorite: 3.5
I'm a fan of meteorite in that it ramps and can clean up some sloppy situations after blocks when attacking. I don't think this is great unless you have a curve with a high count of 4 and up spells though as this is just a way to help accelerate you into playing one very powerful spell or getting to two spells a turn faster.
#2 Angel's Tomb: 3
This card isn't great by any means but the artifacts in core sets generally never are. Being able to dodge sorcery speed removal as well as being an aggressive 3/3 flier that only requires you to play creatures in the first main phase is pretty awesome though. I definitely view this as a 22 or 23 card I'll look at to play but the fact that there's a chance of playing these is a little exciting to me.
#3 Sigil of Valor: 3
I'm generally not a big fan of equipment in limited but this card might be different. Exalted is a pretty awesome mechanic and I like that this card grants Exalted on steroids. I would probably only play it in a hyper aggressive deck like Red/White but I feel it could definitely shine in a deck like that.
Off to the commons that the artifacts offer which are all cards I consider very fringe and will not go in every deck I'll try to list where they will be at their best and hopefully that will be enough to help decide whether or not you should sleeve these three cards up this weekend.
#1 Bonded Construct: 3
Interestingly enough, this card has a home in two different styles of deck, both on polar opposites of the spectrum. A 2/1 for one that can attack easily in an aggressive deck is always welcomed and I feel it is in this style of deck that the construct will be at its true best. I also think that The very slow control decks will want this out of the board. It will trade with a vast majority of the early creatures in the format making this a great choice for a blocker if your opponents come out throwing punches right away in game one. I think it is interesting that it only would go in these two places and basically no where in between. This oddity is what gives this card my number one common artifact ranking.
#2 Guardian Automaton: 2.5-3
A 3/3 for 4 isn't the greatest of stats but this guy will sometimes make it to the main deck. I don't think the three life he gains when dying is going to be very relevant and I will never draft this highly. I'll probably always be hopeful that he sits on the bench in sealed as well.
#3 Alchemist's Vial: 2.5-3
The only reason I would ever play this is that it draws me a card. I do like the fact that it can sit until a critical late game turn as well, but it is now going to be known information for your opponent to factor in to their decision making. not a card I'll be happy to play but, again, at least it draws you a card.
This concludes my limited review for all of Origins, I hope this helps lead you to victory at your prerelease events this weekend. I hope to see you at Wizard Den this weekend. If you do see me there track me down and let me know what you think of the set and the review.
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