Being that we’ve had some time to see the cards, react, discuss, and evaluate, I figured it was a worthwhile exercise to review the white cards in Zendikar Rising. I’ve, like most people, not really had the chance to play with the cards, so these are my first impressions. To be fair, it’s been long enough that these are slightly more developed than first impressions, let’s call them impressions v1.2. Allied AssaultDauntless Onslaught doesn’t see a lot of play because combat tricks just aren’t that relevant in commander. Even in a party deck, this is probably more of a thematic inclusion than a strategic one. Angelheart ProtectorThough the power level of this card is that of a common (sorcery speed indestructible isn’t great), the implications are much more. To this point, we haven’t seen a mono white creature that enters the battlefield and grants indestructible. At common you’re not likely to see a card that is a powerhouse, but seeing new abilities at common is always exciting and this ability is actually pretty good even if the potential is somewhat limited without flicker or flash enablers. Angel of DestinyThis is absolutely an exciting card. A relevant alt-win con is always fun to see, but as far as alt-win cons go I’m a lot lower on this one than I’ve seen other people. In mono white, I don’t think this is that great. First, it turns off combat damage as a win con, and second it’s susceptible to most of the removal in the format. Where this card excels is in a black white life gain deck that can use Vito or Tainted Remedy to nullify the downside. Archon of EmeriaHatebears are some of the most underrated cards in commander and this one is especially good. Rule of Law can hose certain decks and breaking the synergy isn’t hard to do. Add to that the nonbasic land hate as a great way to make 3 or 4 color opponent’s stumble out of the blocks, and this card becomes a combination of two great effects. Hopefully players continue to realize the functionality of hatebears in commander. Arch-Priest of Iona I believe it was Ben Wheeler who recently talked about the viability of white weenie in commander. This card may look irrelevant on the face, but as far as small creatures go, this is great. A 1 mana ½ isn’t bad and making this a 1 mana 2/2 doesn’t seem hard to do in an aggro deck with lots of anthems and buff spells. Attended HealerM21 added a lot of powerful life gain synergies to the pool of cards, and another one at uncommon is exciting to see. In M21 we saw Griffin Aerie and Speaker of the Heavens, this is another great option. The 1/1 tokens are highly exploitable and gaining 1 life each turn is a small ask. This is an exciting design to see at uncommon. Canyon JerboaNot only is this card adorable, but it’s also very good. Hitting your land drop each turn makes this a solid anthem effect. Incorporate effects to trigger landfall and this can turn into quite the overrun. Sun Titan, Emeria Shepherd, Wayfarer’s Bauble, and Ghirapur Orrery all become good friends with this card. Cliff Haven Sell SwordThe reason I’m taking the time to talk about the commons is because I think you can learn a lot about design by looking at the commons. This is an example of where that doesn’t hold true. Two mana 3/1s are nothing new and if you’re looking to play one I’d recommend one with an ability. Thematic decks not withstanding. Dauntless UnityThis common is closer to Cliff Haven Sell Sword than Angelheart Protector. It doesn’t show us anything new and I’m not familiar with a kicker deck running white that was itching for this effect. If you are looking for an effect like this though I’d recommend Pride of Conquerors. In commander, you can’t compete with that rate. DisenchantDisenchant has been around forever, but I’ll say that after a little bit of a hiatus, I’m happy to see it making a comeback recently. Get out of here naturalize there’s an old sheriff back in town. Emeria CaptainA definite theme of the commons and uncommons in this set is putting counters on themselves. Most of them aren’t especially exciting or unique. Emeria Captain falls into this category. It’s not really doing anything for which you couldn’t find a superior option. Emeria’s CallThe main complaint I’ve seen about Emeria’s Call boils down to “it could have been better.” While this is absolutely true, it takes away from the fact that this is still a sweet card and you can absolutely justify replacing a land in a mono white deck. Being that this card is situationally powerful late game it can function well as a utility land. I think most of the time you will probably play this as a land, but when you draw this instead of a land late game it is going to feel really great. Expedition HealerThere are a lot of good cleric’s in white so you don’t need this as a filler card. Farsight AdeptWhere Cliff Haven Sell Sword is a reason not to spend time on the commons in a set, Farsight Adept is quite the opposite. Seeing the words “draw a card” on a white common creature is great, even if it comes with the caveat that an opponent also draws a card. However, not only is this totally fine in a multiplayer game, but it can be actively good. And, because it’s on a creature it can be a lot easier to exploit. Fearless FledglingOnce again there is a little bit of a +1/+1 counter theme going on here. I’m not certain if this is just a quality of the whole set or just a simple landfall ability to put in white. Either way this is fine though not very inspiring. Felidar RetreatIf you want to talk about power creep this is a great card with which to do it. This is a carbon copy of Retreat to Emeria but each mode is substantially better. I don’t think this makes Retreat to Emeria obsolete either. In a deck that wants one of these, it likely doesn’t mind having both for the redundancy. Journey to OblivionThe possibility of this being an On Thin Ice without having to make any investment into snow permanents is pretty good upside, but you’re pretty unlikely to get there. I’m a little disappointed that this isn’t two paragraphs. Kabira OutriderThis is just draft chaff and nothing really new on which to report. We’ve seen similar effects multiple times and it’s kind of a staple common that you see in draft formats. Kabira TakedownThere is a lot to be excited about while looking at this uncommon. Firstly, there is no conditional clause (i.e. tapped creature, attacking creature, or blocking creature) that would make this card effectively unplayable. Secondly, it can deal direct damage to planeswalkers which is some great utility for white decks. Finally, not only does it come at instant speed, but it’s also attached to a land. This is some really exciting design space that white is getting a chance to tap into at a low rarity. Kitesail ClericI actually didn’t realize the number of Flying Men (1/1 flyer for 1) to which White had access. This one definitely gives Topplegeist a run for its money as the best Flying Man in white, but most decks aren’t really looking for 1/1 flyers anyway. Kor BlademasterI love seeing more equipment matters cards being printed. This one is a bit more narrow, but the more equipment matters cards that get printed the more viable that strategy becomes. It also helps that Kor Blademaster is a warrior which will help get it into some tribal decks. Kor CelebrantI was pretty underwhelmed until I read this a second time. It’s actually very nice to have another soul sibling that triggers off the opponent’s creatures as well. There is a lot of synergies with this type of effect and you can get a lot of triggers as well. It’s disappointing they’ve decided that the cost of these effects needs to be so high though. Legion AngelHey if you’ve got a rule 0 in your play group, enjoy! Then feel very sad when your opponent cast Karn the Great Creator into Mycosynth Lattice. Luminarch AspirantThis is actually a pretty powerful card at two mana, but it’s also pretty low impact in a commander game. Perhaps with cards like Mikaeus it can be a nice engine, but I doubt that it’s good enough on its own. Makindi OxMakindi StampedeIt’s nice to see that all the Dual Face Modal Cards aren’t just auto-includes. There are a lot of better ways to get an overrun effect for your team. Cutting either a spell or land for this card seems like a lot of downside for two far less than desirable modes. Maul of the SkyclavesAn equipment that functions as an aura is definitely nice. For decks that care about having creatures equipped, this card will likely see a little play. However, the impact of the card just doesn’t seem strong enough to warrant play outside of niche strategies. I do hope we see more aggressive equipment designs in the future. Mesa LynxI want to talk about every card, but I really have nothing to say about this card. It does nothing interesting and I really don’t care about the effect. If you have a lynx themed deck, enjoy. Nahiri’s BindingAgain, for every uninspired common there is another that is really eye opening. Nahiri’s Binding is pushing the Pacifism effect another step further. Being able to specifically enchant a planeswalker to turn off its loyalty abilities is a very cool new addition. I’m not sure this specific card will make waves in commander as it’s still a bit narrow, but once again this is a promising new design space. Ondu InversionI think this will become an auto include in most mono white decks. The fact it comes in as a tap land is not a negligible downside, but in a mono colored deck you have far fewer tap lands in general. The upside is that this is a spell that you should feel comfortable playing as a land through most of the game, but late game it becomes a powerful spell that you’ll greatly prefer over a land. This card hits the sweet spot of these MDFCs where you want each half in two totally different situations. Paired TacticianIf you’re building a warrior tribal deck, you can play this. I don’t think it will see play though. It’s not a great effect and there are a lot of warriors. Practiced TacticsUnlike Kabira Takedown, this kill spell has not one condition but two. Swallow Whole got me excited for more Swords to Plowshare variants. I hope we keep heading in that direction. Pressure PointIf you didn’t like this card before, there is no reason to start now. Prowling FelidarI kind of wish that one of these white cards had been a payoff for all these +1/+1 Counters. As it is though, maybe this is good for a cat deck? Resolute StrikeI actually kind of like this combat trick for an equipment or voltron deck running a warrior at the helm. Being able to instant speed equip something is a big deal and can let you surprise some opponents with different types of equipment. Imagine swinging in with some innocuous creatures then equipping a grafted exoskeleton at instant speed. The +2/+2 is even relevant in this scenario. Sea Gate BannaretWe’ve seen this exact card before on an Ally. If you’re running that version and want a Warrior instead this is for you. I have a feeling that isn’t a whole lot of people though Sejiri ShelterThis is a very good card if you’re already running a protection spell or two in your deck. I think you want this to be a spell most of the time and should therefore replace a protections spell you’re already running to play this. I don’t think this is just something you throw into any white deck though. Shepherd of HeroesIn an ideal situation this can gain you eight life which is a bigger than normal number, but still not enough to justify playing this common over several better options. Skyclave ApparitionTo me, this is the most exciting card in the set and probably the coolest new design space among the rares. Not only does it go back to the more powerful templating with two paragraphs, but it also takes away the original target for good. There are a lot of powerful 3 and 4 mana permanents in commander and I imagine this will soon be exiling a lot of them. Skyclave ClericIf you’re playing a cleric deck that can afford an additional tap land, then I don’t hate this acting as a land that can be a creature if you’re good on mana. Other than that, neither side is very memorable. Smite the Monstrous If you’re playing this already maybe the new art will be nice, but you’re probably not playing this. Squad CommanderI honestly hate this card only because I keep mixing it up with Attended Healer. If you really want to build the party deck like I do, I think this is a pretty cool payoff for getting a full party. Getting a full party seems like it could be a little annoying though. Tazeem RaptorThis is the kind of bad card that I feel the need to dig into to see if there is a way to exploit it. The most obvious one is returning spell lands and if you find yourself with a lot of them in your deck it might be worth it to have this in there. ThoughtsOverall, I think Zendikar Rising has continued the upward trend for white card design. We continue to see more experimentation and exploration of the white part of the color pie. If there was one complaint, I think there continues to be a struggle to create cards that feel individually game changing in white. While several of the cards are certainly powerful, they aren’t card that will pull you out of a game where you’ve fallen behind. This problem is tied hand in hand with white’s general philosophy. White is the color of community, unity, and structure. This creates a color that is highly synergistic, but can lack explosiveness. I’m not sure if there is a solution to this or if this is a problem that design is worried about, but looking at the cards in Zendikar Rising these explosive effects seemed to be absent.
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AuthorMonoWhiteBorder -- A man who loves MtG and his small dog. Archives
June 2021
Categories"MonoWhiteBorder" and corresponding content is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
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