MTG's next expansion, Theros: Beyond Death, is a little less than two weeks away, and we've got some more spoilers to share with you today. Have you seen anything that looks broken so far? Which card is your favorite?
Card revealed by Wizards Magic
Card revealed by Amy the Amazonian
Card revealed by Lady Lavinias
Comments
Vexing Gull isn't a very exciting creature. It won't be impactful enough to be played in constructed (Faerie Duelist, or Faerie Vandal are just better). But in limited, like most flyers, it isn't a bad card.
Purphoros's Intervention is like Banefire only it hits creatures harder and players softer. Your opponent is able to block the creature reducing the damage, but at the same time they won't want to sacrifice their own creature if yours was just going to die anyway at the end of the turn. Don't think about it like making a creature and then it dying, think of it like a burn spell that your opponent has the option to redirect into their own creature. It won't be as reliable as some other burn spells red has, but it will hit a lot harder. Maybe the force of this card will counteract the downside of both needing to have a lot of mana and needing your opponent to have a relatively small board. I honestly don't think this card will see too much play except as a removal option in the late-game. (If there are any late-game decks using red.)
Naiad of the Hidden Coves is another card that wants you to be playing cards on your opponent's turn. We already saw a couple of creatures like that here. The main problem I had with all of them is that they didn't have flash. There is already a 'flash' deck that only wants to play cards on your opponent's turn, and I have played that deck enough to know that you never ever want to tap all of your lands on your turn. So if you are playing a sorcery-speed creature then it has to be powerful. I am not sure if perhaps this deck can be shifted to a more control-type deck to fit these cards in, but in the current configuration of the deck I don't think these cards are worth it. But there is certainly potential in these cards.
Shoal Kraken probably won't be used except as a 'big body' in limited. Cycling through cards isn't bad, but this card is 5 mana and it doesn't even do anything the turn you play it. You have to play other cards alongside it to make it do anything and even then the payoff isn't that big. This card is just too slow and too much trouble. However, in limited a 3/5 body will be able to block just about anything and survive, don't underestimate this card in draft.