New week? Time for a new pack, plus a preview!
The Amonkhet block is from 2017, during a brief era when Wizards of the Coast was running only two sets per block, and I have one of each here. Next week, we'll take a closer look at Hour of Devastation, but first up, the the pack from the eponymous set. Only nine commons. That means a foil is coming up later on. But first, let's take a look at these.
Naga Oracle: 3U for a 2/4 is a bit overcosted, but the ability to stack the deck is handy.
Tormenting Voice: 1R + discard a card to draw two. Red pays for options, but it is an option to fix a bad hand.
Giant Spider: 3G buys a 2/4 with Reach. A classic card that has been printed for many years. It does help patch a hole in green's vulnerability to flyers.
Dune Beetle: 1B for a 1/4 is not bad for that kind of defense. I'll be considering this card in budget decks.
Those who Serve: 2W gets you a 2/4. Meh. Aside from the novelty of a white zombie, I don't see much use here.
Slither Blade: Just U for a 1/2 that can't be blocked? Jackpot!
Gift of Paradise: 2G enchants a land to produce 2 mana of any color, plus an immediate life gain effect. Not bad at all. Green mana ramp is always handy.
Tah-Crop Elite: 3W for a mere 2/2 is not a good option until you see how it can boost all attacking creatures and has Flying. I see possibilities.
Violent Impact: 3R nukes a land or artifact, or 2 lets you discard this card and draw another. Red destruction can be powerful, but I'm not sure how useful it would really be. Still, you could throw a serious disruption into an opponent's board with this.
What do we have here? First, the uncommons.
Open into Wonder: That X means any number of generic mana can be spent, with a corresponding effect according to the card. Making creatures unblockable is handy, especially if they have special effects when they damage a player, and the card draw bonus is nice. I wonder why this is only 25垄.
Merciless Javelineer: 2BR for a 4/2 and an expensive ability? I don't wonder about the 25垄 price here.
Defiant Greatmaw: Here's an odd once. 2G for a 4/5 looks great, but it handicaps another creature. If -1/-1 counters get put onto Defiant Greatmaw, though, they can be removed from other creatures you control. Weird.
Now, onto the rare. I think I already own a Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons, but it's an interesting card. It costs only CMC, BG, for a 2/2 with some great synergy with the Amonkhet -1/-1 counter mechanic. She makes that Defiant Greatmaw above look suddenly very useful. I may need to try building a Commander deck around her to exploit this like crazy. Still, she's not even priced at $1.00.
As for the foil, Rhet-Crop Spearmaster is pretty bland, and gets no real bonus for being shiny. 2W for a 3/1 that can be exerted to 4/1 and First Strike in exchange for not untapping on the next turn is not very impressive to me. But maybe I'm missing something.
The land card is a Plains, and there's a non-token insert advertising an online Magic product to round out the pack.
All told, not impressive, but the possibilities for a new Commander deck brew might make up for that. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments section below!
A note on the abbreviations: Magic cards have a mana cost to be paid before they can be played. The usual notation is a number for however much generic mana of any color is needed, but single-letter abbreviations for the colored mana requirements and their respective land cards. W=white (plains), U=blue (islands), B=black (swamps), R=red (mountains), and G=green (forests). There were also a few sets that specifically required colorless mana (C) for some cards. A spell costing 3U would require three mana from any sources, and one specifically from an island or other source of blue mana for a total converted mana cost (CMC) of 4.
