Back for Blue! Let’s start with the scale again.
5.0: I will always play this card. Period.
4.5: I will almost always play this card, regardless of what else I get.
4.0: I will strongly consider playing this as the only card of its color.
3.5: I feel a strong pull into this card’s color.
3.0: This card makes me want to play this color. (Given that I’m playing that color, I will play this card 100% of the time.)
2.5: Several cards of this power level start to pull me into this color. If playing that color, I essentially always play these. (Given that I’m playing that color, I will play this card 90% of the time.)
2.0: If I’m playing this color, I usually play these. (70%)
1.5: This card will make the cut into the main deck about half the times I play this color. (50%)
1.0: I feel bad when this card is in my main deck. (30%)
0.5: There are situations where I might sideboard this into my deck, but I’ll never start it. (10%)
0.0: I will never put this card into my deck (main deck or after sideboarding). (0%)
Blue
[card]Armored Skaab[/card] – 2.5
While seemingly innocuous at first, Armored Skaab is actually quite good in the blue decks. Not only does this Horned Turtle provide some nice defense, but he also turns on other skaab creatures and finds flashback cards. Value obviously increases with the more of those that you have, but he should be a decent guy regardless of the situation.
[card]Back from the Brink[/card] – 3.5
It might cost a whopping six mana and be a clunky enchantment, but Back from the Brink is a game winner in longer games. You are essentially giving all of your creatures flashback – and that seems pretty damn good to me. It gives all your creatures flashback. Think about it.
[card]Battleground Geist[/card] – 2.5
Gallow Warden’s blue brother, the Battleground Geist is just another solid flier. Again, it helps to have spirits to synergize with the geist, but you won’t ever be upset with him.
[card]Cackling Counterpart[/card] – 3.5
I have yet to play with the Cackling Counterpart, but it seems like a very strong card. It might not be a true clone variant in that you have to copy one of your own creatures, but being an instant AND having flashback makes this a very appealing card to have. Copying random skaabs and not having to pay additional costs seems pretty good to me.
[card]Civilized Scholar[/card] – 2.5
The ol’ Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Civilized Scholar is a bit expensive as far as looters go, but he does have a relevant flipside which can be extremely useful. He might be very fragile in both forms but he is good in defending himself in that he digs for answers. And hey, unlike other looters, using his ability while blocking is going to allow him to kill most other creatures in the format.
[card]Claustrophobia[/card] – 3.5
Auto-include in all your blue decks, Claustrophobia is going to be solid removal against all creatures – save for Grimgrin. This card is especially nice since it taps the creature when it comes into play, making it much stronger than most other tap variants we’ve seen in enchantment form. Blue doesn’t have many ways of permanent removal, so takes this moderately high.
[card]Curiosity[/card] – 1.5
Blue has a ton of fliers, and turning any one of those into a Thieving Magpie can be pretty awesome for some card advantage. While I wouldn’t run more than one unless I also had multiple invisible men, Curiosity fits nicely into blue because of the quality of its creatures in Innistrad. Enchanting a large skaab or one of the multitudes of fliers should allow you to net at least a few cards.
[card]Curse of the Bloody Tome[/card] – 1.0
I haven’t actually played with this card as of yet, but initial impressions lead me to believe it is just very mediocre. While it does enable all the Skaab creatures and provides more reach with flashback, this card will deck you in ten turns. I suppose if you wanted to get cute you could enchant your opponent and hope to mill them out, but I am thinking there are much better options than to play this bloody tome.
[card]Delver of Secrets[/card] – 2.5
I’m not always going to play this card, seeing as how he is terrible without a reliable number of instants/sorceries, but he can just win games if he is enabled on your second turn. The fact that he becomes a snapping drake without option of flipping back over is very strong. Get close to five instants/sorceries in your deck and I would play him in a heartbeat.
[card]Deranged Assistant[/card] – 3.0
This guy is the real deal. While milling yourself does not seem like the best way of winning a game, it is for blue. With all of the skaab creatures and plethora of other graveyard utilizing cards, the Deranged Assistant provides a welcome source of acceleration as well as means of getting cards into your graveyard.
[card]Dissipate[/card] – 2.5
Cancel was always playable, though possibly unexciting, in M12, and Dissipate is simply a better version – especially in Innistrad. While I wouldn’t want to run more than two of these, having a counter or two is never the worst.
[card]Dream Twist[/card] – 1.0
I am still a little unsure how to rate these types of cards. At first glance it seems pretty bad, given that it doesn’t inherently do anything for you and is simply a mill card. Whereas the Armored Skaab provided you with a solid body along with the mill, this simply fills your graveyard without any other effects. I guess we’ll see how ‘good’ this becomes as time progresses, but for now I will stick with the rating given.
[card]Forbidden Alchemy[/card] – 3.0
Forbidden Alchemy is a pretty darn good card. It digs your deck, finds you the best card from among the top four, and provides fuel for your graveyard. I probably wouldn’t run more than two or three, for fear of decking yourself, but this card is pretty sweet.
[card]Fortress Crab[/card] – 2.0
He might not appear to be that great, but that’s because he isn’t. What the crab offers is a nice wall while you conjure up better options. He may be relegated to the sideboard in some instances, but he does a fine job of stopping ground pounders during the early-middle game.
[card]Frightful Delusion[/card] – 1.0
Don’t be delusional and try to get cute, just run Dissipate instead.
[card]Grasp of Phantoms[/card] – 2.5
I might be rating this a little high, but the grasp certainly deserves a rating of at least 2.0. Blue has a lot of flashbackable ‘removal’ spells, and this one is pretty decent at what it does. While the flashback cost is relatively high, being able to timewalk your opponent in the lategame is pretty good.
[card]Hysterical Blindness[/card] – 1.5
This is sort of like a blue Safe Passage in that it will almost always negate any damage you or your creatures take after being played. While I won’t be very happy running this card, I can see situations where you might trade this card for a few of the opponents creatures during combat. Not exciting, but can be used to some effect.
[card]Invisible Stalker[/card] – 3.5
You gave this guy a 3.5? Yes, yes I did. While he might seem rather innocuous at first, realize that he is a human, with hexproof. Throw any of the random equipments and auras that boost humans on him and you quickly have a fast clock to race. What do you do when your opponent goes Turn 2 Invisible Stalker, Turn 3 Butcher’s Cleaver, Turn 4 Equip and Swing? Expect the invisible man to end a lot of your limited games and respect him accordingly.
[card]Laboratory Maniac[/card] – 1.5
Let’s just get this straight; he is going to be a gray ogre 99% of the time, nothing more. Sure, you might be able to craft a deck that also happens to mill a lot and live the dream once in a while, but don’t count on it. He’s a 2/2 for three, in blue.
[card]Lantern Spirit[/card] – 3.0
As mentioned in white, three-power fliers for three are the norm, and the Lantern Spirit even has a cute ability attached to it. Whether he is chump blocking all day or possibly turning off werewolf shenanigans from your opponent, you won’t be disappointed in this card. Solid.
[card]Lost in the Mist[/card] – 1.5
Cool! They reprinted Cryptic Command… Okay, so Cryptic Command this is not, but it does have some merit in running. Like I mentioned earlier, Cancel is a playable card, and Lost in the Mist simply attaches a Boomerang onto it. You won’t be thrilled running this, and I certainly would never want more than one, but it is fine in a pinch.
[card]Ludevic’s Test Subject[/card] – 4.0
The Test Subject is quite good. If you ever had the chance to play with Rise of the Eldrazi you’ll know that leveling creatures were one of the most skill-testing ways of using your mana, and Ludevic’s Test Subject is nearly the same. Directly comparable to Halimar Wavewatch, Ludevic’s Test Subject questions how you will spend your mana; leveling him up whenever possible, or simply investing whatever spare mana you have leftover. In either case, it doesn’t take long for the abomination to appear. While it is easy to forecast, if the opponent can’t deal with it they are simply dead.
[card]Makeshift Mauler[/card] – 3.5
This is one tough zombie to beat. Imagine curving out with Deranged Assistant on Turn 2, into Turn 3 Makeshift Mauler – quite the beats. While you won’t always be able to cast the mauler’s because of their additional cost, in blue there are just so many ways to get cards into the graveyard that it shouldn’t be too much effort to make it work. He might not be one of your first few picks, but he’s definitely a solid creature.
[card]Memory’s Journey[/card] – 1.5?
Another card I haven’t had the chance to test out, the new take on Gaea’s Blessing gives us the ability to flash it back instead of cantripping. Given blue’s ability to dump a lot of cards into the graveyard, I am going to go ahead and venture to say that this is playable – though not exciting. Obviously at its best if you can flash it back, but that means you will have to be playing some combination of U/G, a choice I am not too sold on thus far.
[card]Mindshrieker[/card] – 4.0
This bird is CRAZY! I had the unfortunate luck of playing against this in two of the prerelease sealed events I played in – he was pretty insane every time. While I was able to beat it both times (sick brag), the fact of the matter is that this card gets out of hand very quickly. It comes down on Turn 2, has evasion, and threatens to kill you in a few swings (given what is in your or your opponent’s deck). Bonus points to it for being able to mill either player. I want to see someone live the dream of milling a Blasphemous Act in Innistrad limited. Play this card, you will not regret it.
[card]Mirror-Mad Phantasm[/card] – 4.0
It may not be the most exciting mythic, and definitely seems more catered to constructed than limited, but the phantasm has some merit in 40 card decks. First off, a five power flier for five is a fine foe for your opponent to fight (gogo alliteration!). Add this on to the fact that he has pseudo-evasion from removal that enables flashback cards and fills your graveyard and you have a decent card. Not the bombiest of bombs, but the Mirror-Mad Phantasm is pretty good.
[card]Moon Heron[/card] – 3.0
The classic Snapping Drake returns in heron form. Solid three power flier for four – play them and win in the air
[card]Murder of Crows[/card] – 4.0
Murder of Crows will make quick work of you all by itself as a 4/4 for five – tack that on to the ability of looting every time a creature dies and you have one of the best blue cards for limited. A card you will always be happy with, the crows are better than most.
[card]Rooftop Storm[/card] – 1.5
It was a stretch giving this card a 1.5, but I feel like this could be a decent ‘draft around me card’. There are a ton of zombies in the set, and while you most likely have dumped them on the board already by Turn 6, this lets you get around some of the additional costs of casting some of the zombies. Fringe playable, but I’ll give it a shot.
[card]Runic Repetition[/card] – 1.0
Unless you have 5+ cards with flashback, all of which being very strong (i.e. Demon’s Play), it’s best to just leave this card in the board.
[card]Selhoff Occultist[/card] – 2.5
Initially I didn’t give the occultist enough credit, but a 2/3 for three is fine by itself. Add the fact that it can enable the graveyard shenanigans, (which I’ve mentioned countless times now), and you have a solid three-drop for blue.
[card]Sensory Deprivation[/card] – 0.5
I’m keeping my mouth closed on this one.
[card]Silent Departure[/card] – 3.5
I’m probably overrating this card, but it has been absolutely incredible for me. A sorcery-speed unsummon is nothing to be pleased about, but the fact that it has flashback makes this card so much more appealing. Being able to bounce two creatures with only one card has proved substantial in many circumstances. I don’t suggest you take this very high, but it is always going to make your blue decks.
[card]Skaab Goliath[/card] – 3.0
I haven’t had the pleasure of playing with the goliath as of yet, but I can only assume it is great. You should have access to two creatures in the bin by turn 6, especially if you are playing blue as one of your main colors. As such, this is often going to be a huge threat when it comes down. It might take a bit of building around, certainly so if you play more skaab creatures, but it is well worth the effort.
[card]Skaab Ruinator[/card] – 3.5
I give this only a slightly higher rating than the goliath, simply because of the restrictive cost. You aren’t going to reliably cast this on Turn 3 in limited, nor will you reliably cast it on Turn 6. The skaab theme is certainly one to build around, and if you can get it to work then the payoffs will be tremendous. The only problem is you are going to have to run a relatively high ratio of creatures in your decks. I’ll stick with the 3.5 rating for now, but we’ll see how viable the skaab deck is in the near future.
[card]Snapcaster Mage[/card] – 3.5
Tiago Chan is certainly going to have some impacts on constructed play, but his limited rating leaves something to be wanted. I’m being generous in giving him a 3.5 because, without having a decent number of instants/sorceries to give flashback to, he is going to solely be a 2/1 with flash for two.
[card]Spectral Flight[/card] – 2.5
We’ve come a long way since the days of Giant Strength, and boy does this aura do some work! Giving a creature +2/+2 for only two mana, especially in blue, would certainly be a fine card on its own. The fact that it also grants flying is a huge benefit and I don’t think I will ever be upset running one of these in my decks.
[card]Stitched Drake[/card] – 3.5
Stitched Drake is the real deal. A 3/4 flier for three mana, even with the skaab drawback, is a steal of a deal, and as I’ve mentioned ad nausea blue has plenty of way of putting cards into the graveyard. A welcome addition to blue’s arsenal of beaters.
[card]Stitcher’s Apprentice[/card] – 3.0
Do not underestimate this little homunculus; he is a beating. Innistrad provides the apprentice with a bountiful amount of other cards to synergize with, it is just crazy. Whether you are turning on your skaab creatures, chumping something big and getting a creature, or ‘evading’ removal, you’ll be impressed with the apprentice.
[card]Sturmgeist[/card] – 3.0
I can only speculate how this card is, but I assume it is at least pretty decent. At five mana you probably aren’t going to have too many cards left in hand, but it doesn’t take that much work to make the Sturmgeist a legitimate threat, one that draws you cards while pumping itself. Flying is the only thing that saves this card from the discard pile, but it is certainly one of the best abilities for it to have. Give it a shot – and don’t play every single land lategame!
[card]Think Twice[/card] – 2.0
Nothing spectacular, but it helps thin your deck and find your better cards. Flashback is nice, and being instant speed means that this card is actually going to be decent – I just wouldn’t want to run more than two of these.
On second thought, this card is fine. Well…no, it’s just that…hmm. I’ll have to keep thinking about it.
[card]Undead Alchemist[/card] – 3.5
An interesting card – one with a very strong ability. As noted through this review, there are a bunch of strong zombies in blue, most notably the skaab creatures. Even connecting just once with one of those is going to mill a significant number of cards – meaning you are likely to hit a creature. If you can get this up and running then it becomes insane, especially since the Undead Alchemist can just sit back while your other zombies do the dirty work. I wouldn’t call it a bomb, but this is certainly very strong – something you want to build around.
Blue is one of the strongest colors in Innistrad limited. Between its bevy of large creatures and combat tricks, blue is certainly a contender for best colors. Find the many synergies in blue and you’ll be well on your to finding a successful draft/sealed strategy.
NumotTheNummy’s Personal Top 5 Blue Commons/Uncommons
1. [card]Claustrophobia[/card]
2. [card]Murder of Crows[/card]
3. [card]Deranged Assistant[/card]
4. [card]Silent Departure[/card]
5. [card]Stitcher’s Apprentice[/card]
Note: This is a ranking of my top 5 personal favorites cards in Blue. It is by no means meant to be a pick order list.