Post #18: Casually Innistrad

Innistrad comes out very soon and most of us will be opening tons of packs and buying singles to finish off those deck ideas we've been dying to build for the past couple weeks. What cards should be on your radar?

These past few months have been very busy with EDH/Commander product, then jumping head first into Standard, and finally selling and trading cards to hunt down Relics. Unfortunately, this hasn't left a lot of room for Casual Magic and the kitchen table. I hope to start building 60 card fun decks again very soon and I'll use my Innistrad commons and uncommons to make it happen.

One card I really like from white in this set is Fiend Hunter. This card is sick because he's a 1/3, so he survives 'Shock' effects and he has the ability of Journey to Nowhere built in him. He can remove a threat your opponent has on the board to help your army punch through or prevent your opponent from using their utility creature, like Fauna Shaman, Qasali Pridemage, etc. Unfortunatley, when he dies, your opponent gets their dude back, but that's ok considering they'll lose a significant amount of tempo when you exile their creature. Fiend Hunter also has synergy with Sun Titan, Reveillark, and other recursion. If you're one of those U/W Fish/Blink fans, he's fantastic against Wrath of God effects, saving you dudes in an instant, similar to Momentary Blink, Parallax Wave, and Ghostway.
He's also a human/cleric, which has a lot of relevance, especially with all of the human themed equipment in the set. I predict human decks being very strong in casual in the upcoming year. Furthermore, being a cleric makes him perfect for mono w or w/b Clerics in casual, giving the tribe their much needed exile spell against problematic creatures that can bypass their insanely powerful damage prevention.
Cards with strong 'enter the battlefield effects' will always see play in multiple formats, this guy in Birthing Pod in Standard or used as a General killer in EDH/Commander and Fiend Hunter is no exception.

Another cool card I saw after a quick scan of the spoilers is Invisible Stalker. This guy is ridiculous and the equipment deck's dream card. Bant equipment along Stoneforge Mystic are going to love this Hexproof/Unblockable guy and I know it will see play. Equipping your Invisible Stalker with a Loxodon Warhammer, any of the Mirrodin protection swords, Quietus Spike, or even Grafted Exoskeleton can end games quicker than I'm comfortable with. Equipment decks have been wanting a reason to play blue for a few years and now they have it.

This black card is really crazy. When I first saw Reaper from the Abyss, I wasn't sure what to think about this guy, but now I realize is potential his incredible. He has an Admonition Angel feel to it where it removes threats if you fulfill the condition of the triggered ability. Playing additional lands can be difficult after you reach 6 mana, unless you're running Crucible of Worlds, Land Tax, or some other land card engine. Reaper from the Abyss just requires a creature to have died that turn. Um. Birthing Pod, Innocent Blood, No Mercy... the list continues, for miles. This card adds 'destroy target creature' on top of almost all of your creature removal spells. This can become extremely powerful card advantage in the late game, especially if your opponent's creatures are necessary to their success. I guess I have to put out the disclaimer that this card is terrible against the Rakdos Demon deck.. (yes, they exist)

A cool green card I was very impressed with was Bramblecrush. I don't know why, but cards that are extremely versatile in green never fail to impress. This card adds a ton of versatility to your green based aggro or control deck. Destroying a vital noncreature permanent on your opponent's side of the field can be crucial in the mid game or late game when you need to take out your opponent's Debtor's Knell, unactive Oblivion Stone, or even a Planeswalker. Wait! Green can completely wreck Planeswalkers? Yes! I wouldn't be surprised to see control decks to splash green to use this awesome piece of utility.

Speaking of splashable green control cards, what about that Mayor of Avabruck card. He's interesting because he forces your opponent to kill him, otherwise he just gets out of hand, since he turns into a 3/3, then makes more 3/3's without any mana investment. This seems like one of the perfect win conditions for decks that can protect him with counter magic. He's similar to Creakwood Liege, Scute Mob, and Master of the Wild Hunt, which all had big impacts on the Casual format.

The last card I'll discuss is Balefire Dragon. This card doesn't look like much, considering the titans at 6 mana have a stronger power level an entire turn earlier. However, I think this card has a lot of potential. It doesn't fit the flavor of the set very well, but it has a Steel Hellkite, Scourge of Kher Ridges, and a Oros, the Avenger feel to it and hitting your opponent's board in addition to making them eat 6 damage from an evasive flyer is pretty awesome. Balefire Dragon's damage also kills opponent's titans, which is always relevant. Red having their semi-Wrath effects is no joke and can easily take an overwhelming board to a manageable level for the red deck.

That's all for my quick review of Innistrad. I think this set has a great flavor and will be a blast to play. Good luck to everyone buying booster packs and hope you guys pack awesome cards! Until next time Magic players.

Interested in more Magic content? Check out every series on the MTG Casual Network Archive!

-David J.

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