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Welcome back, readers! Today we’re going to take a quick look at each guild’s new mechanic and discuss my feelings on them. Keep in mind that these are -my- feelings and thoughts and everyone is encouraged to freely discuss or critique them. That being said, I want to jump right into it.
We’ll start with the Rakdos, whose mechanic is ‘Spectacle’. Spectacle allows you to pay an alternative cost and get additional or different benefits so long as an opponent lost life that turn. As only a few cards have been spoiled with this keyword, I’m a little on the fence about it. It seems like it could be a very powerful mechanic, though I fear that in many cases the costs for Spectacle will wind up being too high to provide a decent payoff. Add that to the fact that it doesn’t play well with instants unless your opponent is hurting themselves and you have a very skeptical player in me. I am hoping to be proven wrong, though! My Rakdos, Lord of Riots EDH deck is salivating with bug eyes for more spoilers.
Next up is the Simic, who are back with their +1 counter shenanigans with ‘Adapt’. Adapt provides incentive for the creature’s controller to pay mana to provide a number of +1/+1 counters on the creature, so long as there aren’t any there already. I’m -really- excited for this mechanic as it has been confirmed that the Simic will also be getting ways to remove these extra counters for additional benefits. My mind has already wandered to drawing multiple cards or ramping super hard, then paying the Adapt cost again to repeat the whole process. This is a mechanic I’m really looking forward to. I hope the payoff is worth it!
Moving along, we come to the Orzhov and their mechanic ‘Afterlife’. Afterlife creates a 1/1 flying spirit creature whenever a creature with Afterlife dies. I’ve been hearing mixed things about this mechanic, and there is one card that has been hammered into my mind: ‘Divine Visitation’. The synergy between that card and this mechanic is obscene! Imagine having a board of little 1/1 attackers with Visitation out. If your opponent destroys any of them, you then have a happy 4/4 Flying Angel with Vigilance. I’m not even going to go into how this helps anyone with Afterlife survive a board wipe or losing multiple creatures… I’m a -big- fan of the idea of needing to kill a creature multiple times. This might actually force me into playing Black/White this pre-release!
My personal pick, Gruul, got the mechanic ‘Riot’. Riot lets you decide if your creature enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter or Haste. The few cards I’ve seen with this mechanic have also had Trample, which gives me the giddy feeling of swinging in on turn 4 with a 4/4 Trample Haste beatstick. This excites me as I play Naya Zoo in modern, so the thought of getting some extra creatures to toss in is an exciting prospect. Haste is an often overlooked mechanic, and getting the surprise swing for lethal when your opponent isn’t expecting it is a very fast way to turn the tides of a game in your favour. I am really looking forward to some of the other cards that will be spoiled with this.
Lastly, we have Azorius closing this out with their mechanic ‘Addendum’. Addendum allows you to gain an extra effect if you cast an Instant spell during one of your main phases. The few cards that have been spoiled thus far seem relatively unassuming, though I am positive we will see at least one or two control staples make their way through the white and blue bureaucratic tape and into the dreaded Esper Control decks I know are looming.
Well, there we have it, folks! What are your thoughts? Write us a message on our Facebook wall, or come in store and let’s have a chat! I would love to hear your input and insight into the new mechanics, and what you think is going to start taking over Standard. Maybe even Modern? Until next time, fellow players!
-David