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Brew Review: A Mythic Conclusion to Theros

With the most interesting rares reviewed and ranked, it’s time to take a look at the mythics of Theros. Overall, I’m impressed. Theros has a high concentration of interesting and powerful mythics, with only a couple of cards that I’d list as truly “unplayable” in Standard.

[card]Ashen Rider[/card]: I toyed around with [card]Angel of Despair[/card] back in my day, and this is nothing if not an update for any deck looking to get around the whole, “Imma pay retail for that hotness.” This may end up being the best “cheat to win” card this side of Emrakul.

[card]Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver[/card]: When I first saw this card, I thought it was awful. “No way to protect itself? What a turd! It doesn’t even do anything the turn it comes into play.” I had fully dismissed Ashiok as a viable card—probably not as bad as Tibalt, but as forgettable as Sarkhan 2.0. Then, I played against Ashiok at the prerelease. The +2 seems weak at first glance, but it is difficult to overcome. I have a feeling that “Turn two removal spell, turn three Ashiok, use the +2 ability” will be one of the stronger plays in Standard for the next two years. Against control, this is obviously a must-answer card, as a free Drownyard activation each turn until you nuke their hand is pretty good.

[card]Elspeth, Sun’s Champion[/card]: Six mana is a LOT to pay for planeswalker, so right off the bat, Elspeth Tres needs to be good enough to win all by her lonesome if she expects to see play. And, she is. Elspeth will combat [card]Aetherling[/card] for the title of “Best Finisher in Control” until she rotates.

[card]Erebos, God of the Dead[/card]: My pick for the least relevant of the gods. The lifegain ability would have been much better six months ago and only really seems to hit Sphinxes Revelation at the moment. While this may be occasionally relevant, it’s not worth spending a card. In addition, 1B and two life are too much to draw a card. There may come a day when Erebos is good in Standard, but it is not this day.

[card]Heliod, God of the Sun[/card]: Probably the most underrated of the gods. Four mana is a lot to pay for a 2/1 vigilant creature. But, this is the only god that can win the game all by its lonesome. There may yet be a hardcore control deck looking to make its opponent miserable by nuking the board, countering every spell, and slowly winning with an army of Soldier tokens. An indestructible token generator is not something to laugh at and call a sissy.

[card]Hythonia the Cruel[/card]: It is cruel to use such awesome art on such a crappy card. If we don’t get a relevant sweeper, maybe it could see play in Block, but I don’t see this being all that good (outside of Commander).

[card]Master of Waves[/card]: There is power here. The “enters the battlefield” ability could potentially be busted, provided you harness it constructively or find a way to remove the downside. Currently, I’ve been brewing with [card]Spear of Heliod[/card] and [card]Master Biomancer[/card]. The former allows us to curve out; the later has more inherent synergy. This is one of my favorite cards in the set for brewing purposes, and I will probably come back to it every time a blue card is spoiled while it’s in Standard.

(NINJA EDIT! So, yeah, this card went all Keyser Soze on the Pro Tour.)

[card]Medomai the Ageless[/card]: If Wizards hadn’t built in the “you can’t take infinity turns under any circumstances and you’re a dick for trying” clause this would be very good. With the clause, he’s not worth it.

[card]Nylea, God of the Hunt[/card]: After watching [card]Kessig Wolf Run[/card] kick ass all over the world for two years, I don’t doubt Nylea will be very good. Green shouldn’t have much trouble helping her get her creature on, and trample is always a welcome ability for green creatures. While I wish the pump ability was a bit cheaper (+1/+1 for 1G), I understand why it isn’t. Nylea will come down and make every blocking situation a nightmare for your opponent.

[card]Polukranos, World Eater[/card]: I wasn’t all that excited by Polukranos at first, but that’s most likely because of his inclusion in the event deck. He was spoiled so early that I kinda forgot he was around. Now that I’ve had to shuffle and play a few games, I wouldn’t argue if you wanted to say Poly’s one of the best creatures in the format.

[card]Purphoros, God of the Forge[/card]: The most overrated god. His ability is powerful, but he doesn’t fit red’s generally aggressive nature unless you manage to turn him into a creature, which shouldn’t be too hard to do (and that’s what keeps him from being unplayable). I could see some combo potential for Purphoros, and my teammate Kirk Dube got a lot of mileage out of pairing Purphoros with Elspeth. I don’t think Purphoros is bad, I just think he’s going to require more work to be good than either Thassa or Nylea.

[card]StormbreathDragon[/card]: Maybe I’ve still got a Hellkite hangover, but I don’t see this being all that great in the long run. While a 4/4 with haste is good, he still dies to most of the relevant removal spells in the format. However, I may be wrong about just how good protection from white will be.

[card]Thassa, God of the Sea[/card]: I’ve had Thassa down as the best god from the moment they were spoiled (proof!), and I don’t see that changing any time soon. Her scry ability is the best static ability of the cycle, and the fact that she costs three instead of four moves her to the top of the list. I have a feeling we’ll be sick of this card by the time it rotates.

[card]Underworld Cerberus[/card]: Hey, I’m a dog person, and I want to like this guy. Really, I do. But, while I think he will have his day in the sun, I don’t think it’s right now. While I have some cute ideas about pairing him with Lotleth Troll for shenanigans, I think his drawback tends to hurt red and black decks a little too much right now. If we get some decent 187 creatures, his value will go up tremendously.

[card]Xenagos, the Reveler[/card]: I’ve warmed up to Xenagos. In many ways, he’s the closest we have to the original Garruk (who would be absolutely bonkers now). His ability to provide a stream of attackers is awesome, but that three toughness is kinda concerning because of [card]Lifebane Zombie[/card].

From a Vorthos standpoint, you would think that someone jovial enough to be called “the Reveler” would look a bit more “inebriated party guest” and a bit less “I’d probably have my way with you after I kill you.” If Xenagos is THE big bad for Theros block (and there are some spoiled images that suggests that is the case), then WotC should have come up with a better planeswalker name for him than “the Reveler.” That’s what you’d call the guy at the frat house who’s always trying to start a party at two in the afternoon and ends up be-shitted on the kitchen floor four nights a week. The Eldrazi and Phyrexians decline to answer when Xenagos calls.

The more I play with Theros, the more I love it. I had a lot of trouble wrapping my head around the set at first, and it feels strange for a set to so thoroughly push for mono-colored decks immediately following a very deep multicolored format, but the devotion mechanic—and the pantheon of Theros—are so powerful that they may prove to be the most defining cards of the set. Despite the power level of Return to Ravnica block, Theros may be the most important set in Standard. I know I’m already breaking out my pile of basic lands. How about you?

Next time, I plan to go over some of the decks from the Pro Tour and (hopefully) narrow down my deck choices for Grand Prix Louisville. It would be nice to perform well at a GP in my backyard.

If you like my suggestions, you can follow me on Twitter: @travishall456. I throw around random observations and deck ideas every day. You can also hear me on the Horde of Notions podcast each week, discussing deck ideas for FNM level events and the PTQ grinders.

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