Grading the new staples

[Morganator 2.0]

I know I complain about the massive product overload a lot, but it does have one upside: There are now a bunch of new and unique cards that I'm seeing for the first time. Sometimes it feels like I'm new to the game again when I see a card and say "What the heck is that!?".

We've also received a bunch of new "staples". This might be a misnomer, as these cards are not used in every deck, but there are a lot of decks that can use them. I'm going to give my opinion on these cards from the last two years and then if you have something you'd like to say about the cards (either in favour of their usefulness or against it) please share. More importantly, if there is a card I've missed from recent sets that you think is a staple (or at the very least really good), please post your opinion of it here.

An Offer You Can't Refuse

A great 1 mana counterspell. It can't be used to counter creatures (which is becoming increasingly relevant) but most counterspells should be protective anyway. Has the downside of giving your opponent 2 treasures bitten anyone in the back yet?

Archivist of Oghma

I have not seen enough of this card to know if it's good, but I want to believe. Fetch lands alone should give enough draw. How has this card been working out for you?

Boseiju, Who Endures

A lot of the cards from this cycle were great, but this one in particular stands out. The only reason why I'm not using it in every one of my green decks is because my wallet is already crying for mercy.

Brotherhood's End

An upgrade to Anger of the Gods. I haven't had a chance to use it, but I want to.

Cankerbloom

I've always really liked Caustic Caterpillar, and Cankerbloom has more uses while having a more generous mana cost.

Circle of Dreams Druid

Crazy mana generation. A staple for go-wide green decks.

Cut a Deal

Remember when we used to joke about white not having card draw? If you should take away anything from this list, it's that white finally has decent options.

Dauthi Voidwalker

This wrecks games. Shuts down most graveyard strategies, provides card advantage, and goes great with wheels.

Dress Down

People are finally realizing that this card is real good. It shuts down... like... all creature-based combos.

Esper Sentinel

Not so great in strict casual play, but once you get into the fringe and cEDH power levels, sentinel works hard.

Fade from History

I'm just waiting for the moment when people realize that this will work better than Bane of Progress in most cases.

Faerie Mastermind

It just came out, but it's real good card advantage. Definitely a highlight of the set. I'm hoping to one day use it against an unsuspecting Thassa's Oracle player.

Farewell

Similar to Merciless Eviction, arguably better. I'm not seeing Wrath of God much anymore, but I am seeing a lot of Farewell.

Fateful Absence

Not as great as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, but I'm seeing more of it.

Flumph

A new favourite of mine. You can easily make deals with people to help you draw an extra 3 cards per turn cycle.

Gruesome Realization

Similar to the Sign in Blood and Read the Bones I still see around. No one has made the realization of how similar this card is yet. Is this something anyone here would use?

Guild Artisan

Voltron players rejoice. This is an excellent bonus for attacking someone, and unlike Curse of Opulence, you're not limited to attacking the same person.

Haywire Mite

I did say that I like my Caustic Caterpillar. While I like it, it got out-competed by Cankerbloom real fast.

Infernal Grasp

The new Doom Blade staple. I do not see Doom Blades anymore, just this card.

Liquimetal Torque

Its primary function is ramp, but turning something into an artifact has a lot of uses, especially if you have artifact removal.

Loran of the Third Path

Dual-purpose removal and card advantage. She's not the greatest, but I've found uses for her. She's spiked to $9 USD at the time of writing, so I'm not the only person who thinks this.

Mandate of Abaddon

I still think the universes beyond cards are tacky but I can't argue that we got some good stuff from it. This is an excellent boardwipe that serves a similar purpose to Chandra's Ignition. Shame that it's effectively a reserve-list card, but that's a whole other discussion.

Owlbear Shepherd

It's not the greatest card draw, but it should definitely be a budget staple. Getting 8 power in green is just too easy.

Path of the Pyromancer

Even if you ignore the obvious use in the Planechase format, this is a great wheel effect.

Plaza of Heroes

It's primary use is as a land that taps for any colour and doesn't enter tapped, but there are times where the protection comes in handy. I've taken a few opponents by surprise with this.

Relic of Legends

We have so many two mana options for mana ramp that if you're going to use a three mana rock, it better be good. Relic of Legends achieves that. If you've got a commander that often stays untapped, consider this card.

Sanctum Weaver

Even if you're not doing an enchantment strategy, having just a few other enchantments in your deck makes this card worthwhile.

Sceptre of Eternal Glory

So does anyone still use Gilded Lotus in mono-coloured decks?

Tail Swipe

Another card that is critically underrated. This is strictly better than Mutant's Prey; the only other 1 mana fight card at instant-speed.

Tenuous Truce

I like it. It's a decent incentive for someone to not attack you. For two mana, it's a solid card draw option.

Tibalt's Trickery

A great counterspell, but only because it's not in blue. Still, red has needed this kind of wacky protection.

Tribute to the World Tree

I haven' had a chance to see this in action, but I have high expectations. Has anyone had a chance to use this?

Urza's Saga

Sol Ring. Sensei's Divining Top. Mana Vault. Shadowspear. You've got options.

Vanquish the Horde

A colour-shifted Blasphemous Act (sort of) that I oddly enough haven't seen in action yet. White has a lot of good creature wipes, so I'm betting this gets side-lined in a lot of builds.

Wild Magic Surge

I've been testing this out, and I like it. The risk is a little greater than Chaos Warp, but it's still good general-purpose removal at 2 mana.


So, did I miss anything?

[WWolfe]

Esper Sentinel is a beast in my playgroup in my Shalai and Hallar deck since I've been upgrading it.

I love Infernal Grasp. I need one more copy to replace Murder in my Skullbriar deck but I keep forgetting to get it.

An Offer You Can't Refuse I like better than Swan Song in some ways. If you think about it as giving them two mana back for a card you want to stop that most likely cost more than two, I'd rather do that than give them a flying blocker/attacker a lot of the time.

Boseiju, Who Endures is definitely a nice addition to any deck that can play it IMO. I use it instead of Nature's Claim at this point.

Cankerbloom has been a great fit to my Skullbriar deck. I think it's a strict upgrade to Caustic Caterpillar.

Farewell & Vanquish the Horde I'm seeing more than any boardwipes outside of Toxic Deluge & Cyclonic Rift. I like Farewell more than Merciless Eviction for my playgroup. Exiling a graveyard is more meaningful in my playgroup than exiling Planeswalkers. Not to mention being able to select multiple options.

Tibalt's Trickery I totally missed while trying to catch up from the hiatus I took from playing. That's like the Chaos Warp of counters in a way. I may have to try that out in Purphoros.

Dauthi Voidwalker I hate...but that's only because two of my decks are straight graveyard decks. I like the card overall.

[Rose the Budget Queen]

An Offer You Can't Refuse: I now run this in every blue deck. I call it my "anti win-con" counterspell. I've lost count of how many times I've used this card to stop a combo before it can kill everyone. Or to counter early game tutors.

Archivist of Oghma: I love this in white. Plus it's a cleric... and I love my clerics. It's definitely a boon early game with all the land fetch and such.

Cankerbloom: Artifact or enchantment destruction OR proliferation? My Atraxa poison deck loves it, as do most of my green decks that have lots of +1/+1 counters.

Dauthi Voidwalker: I agree with WWolfe, I hate this cards as I love my graveyard decks. Which just says it's a nasty card that could easily be a "staple."

Esper Sentinel: I don't have one yet... but it's definitely on my list. Would absolutely consider it a staple if you're running white.

Infernal Grasp: Black doing what black does best, perfected. Kill something on the cheap at the low low cost of 2 life and 2 CMC.

Farewell:  I hate this card. It's far too powerful IMO... but that just adds a tally in the "Staple" column.

Faerie Mastermind: Definitely an early game staple for blue. The group hug draw is actually pretty good with cards like Heliod, the Warped Eclipse.

Haywire Mite: I actually really like this guy. Exiling something for a single green mana has absolutely saved me from more than 1 total loss. Especially with the amount of recursion I see in my play group. My wife runs Muldrotha, the Gravetide....

Liquimetal Torque: I actually consider this a staple in green or red decks that don't have a lot of actual creature destruction. I've honestly used the second effect more than I have used it as a mana rock.

Loran of the Third Path: Another fun group hug card. Definitely about playing favorites too. I have actually not been attacked because I kept using this on the same opponent.

Plaza of Heroes: I've experienced the same results with this card as you. I love it for casting my multicolored commanders, but the protection is nice in a pinch.

Relic of Legends: I've actually found myself using this more and more as I migrate towards commanders who don't attack or tap. Plus it synergizes with my favorite turtle Archelos, Lagoon Mystic.

Tribute to the World Tree: Can confirm... amazing in green. The ability to drop almost every card and draw for it, or an auto buff for my little guys? My golems and splicers love it.

Vanquish the Horde: A board wipe that's similar to blasphemous act but actual destruction (gets around protection)? Love it.

Some cards that I've recently fallen in love with that I consider staples and have seen them used a lot... especially against me:

Witness Protection: For only a single blue this card is amazing; completely nerfing any creature down to a 1/1 with no abilities? Plus... as an added benefit it's absolutely hilarious to turn any creature into a "Legitimate Businessperson." 

Minor Misstep: While not as good as Mental Misstep, I have used this (and had it used against me) against early game mana rocks or quick 1 cost draw power or tutors. No turn 1 mana rocks for you... 

Unsubstantiate: I love this card as it bounces a creature to hand, but more importantly it gets around "can't be countered" effects by just bouncing the card back to hand.

I'm sure I have more "staples," but these are the ones that I truly think every blue deck needs.

[jlutzxinc]

Boseiju, Who Endures, Fateful Absence, and Infernal Grasp (and also Krosan Grip and/or Tear Asunder, which I never Kick) are in basically ALL of my Decks now because they're SUCH good removal and I don't play mono Green.  I never used Nature's Claim because I somehow didn't know it existed until AFTER Boseiju came out, and I don't use Path to Exile (and only occasionally use the similar Swords to Plowshares) because Planeswalkers are common threats in my "meta" and Winds of Abandon is the same effect (albeit slower), but is also a wipe (hello, Vanquish the Horde), and I have plenty of other Instant-speed removal.  Cankerbloom is also good, but my playgroup runs so much removal that I'll never get to use it.

An Offer You Can't Refuse is WAY better than Swan Song (which is much too narrow as I've mentioned in other threads), but I still don't use it (or Tibalt's Trickery) because "can't be countered" has become so prevalent in my playgroup that "traditional" Counterspells are BAD; we use things like Unsubstantiate and Ertai's Meddling instead.  I can see the appeal of Minor Misstep but think it's too narrow (although my playgroup banned Mental Misstep, so it's definitely a welcome alternative...essentially better, even), and Witness Protection is a card I didn't know existed and can't find room for on such short notice.

Esper Sentinel (and Archivist of Oghma, but if I have Black I'd still rather use Opposition Agent) are awesome, Loran of the Third Path is good but I can't seem to fit her in anywhere, and Faerie Mastermind is cool but I'd still rather stop the extra draws with Notion Thief (I don't play mono Blue).

Plaza of Heroes and Relic of Legends are cards I need to use more, and Farewell and Urza's Saga occasionally get cut for space (and my playgroup has banned Sol Ring so there's often only one or two targets for the latter, even including its replacement Sol Talisman).

While I see the appeal of Dauthi Voidwalker, Dress Down, Flumph and Tribute to the World Tree, I would personally never use them; Dress Down doesn't fit easily (and I don't main Storm), I already said I don't play mono Green, and the others suffer from the same issue as Cankerbloom.

I WAY overuse Pull from Eternity, and I personally don't think any of the other cards in this thread are as good as any of you do, but I can't put my finger on why at this time.

[Morganator 2.0]

Archivist of Oghma: I love this in white. Plus it's a cleric... and I love my clerics. It's definitely a boon early game with all the land fetch and such.

Do you have a rough estimate for how many cards this draws in a game?

Witness Protection: For only a single blue this card is amazing; completely nerfing any creature down to a 1/1 with no abilities? Plus... as an added benefit it's absolutely hilarious to turn any creature into a "Legitimate Businessperson." 

Removing abilities on a creature is great. I prefer Mystic Subdual, but this is also a really good choice.

What happens when you use this on a commander? Does their owner use it as a blocker to get it into the command zone? I know that Darksteel Mutation and Imprisoned in the Moon don't have this issue, so I'm curious as to what happens with Witness Protection.

[WWolfe]

Thought I'd just add this to the conversation on top of my earlier post....

Played a game last night against three decks that all had white in them (Millicent, Yoshimaru, & Shu Yun). First off, I can't remember a time I've ever played a game with all four decks having white in them (I was playing Shalai and Hallar). Two of the other three decks included Fateful Absence. Seemed interesting since we had just been talking about this.

[CleanBelwas]

Just wanted to shout out the tendency we've seen recently towards better utility mana rocks too. Could definitely be considered budget staples. Things like

Decanter of Endless Water
Patriar's Seal
Relic of Legends
Phyrexian Atlas
Bronze Walrus

Gone are the days of 3 mana rocks fixing colours and nothing else. I know the format continues to move towards two mana ramp, but for casual and budget players like myself, these 3 mana rocks with extra upside have been great. Patriar's Seal in particular is superb in certain decks.

[Rose the Budget Queen]

Do you have a rough estimate for how many cards this draws in a game?


Removing abilities on a creature is great. I prefer Mystic Subdual, but this is also a really good choice.

What happens when you use this on a commander? Does their owner use it as a blocker to get it into the command zone? I know that Darksteel Mutation and Imprisoned in the Moon don't have this issue, so I'm curious as to what happens with Witness Protection.

Archivist typically draws me 4-6 cards unless my opponents burn a removal on him. But because I'm not using a stax piece like op agent, I feel like he tends to live a bit longer cause he's not as much of a threat.

While imprisoned in the moon and darksteel mutation are significantly better, for a single blue eliminating a pesky effect like Avacyn, Angel of Hope or any of the major stax pieces (*cough* opposition agent *cough*) has absolutely turned the game around. I will occasionally use it on commanders, but it just turns them into blockers. Good for adding commander tax, but I generally put it on stuff that's not so easy to bring back.

I just ordered a Pull From Eternity. Definitely excited about being able to retrieve the combo pieces my opponent thought were out of the game.

[robort]

Esper Sentinel and Farewell have turned into very good cards. Esper is even greater when you get it out on turn 1. Farewell is a guaranteed board wipe unless of course it gets countered. One can also unselect one of the modes to keep something around but I rarely see this happen.

The card I see undervalued as of recently is Scholar of New Horizons. For 2 mana it ramps white. It removes a counter from any permanent you control even the counter on itself. There is a possibility that granted it will put the land into your hand but in my playgroups there is someone who is ramping ahead of you. For a 2 drop 1 dollar cheap ramp spell this card has been worth it for me.

I am not a blue player but like it was said about An Offer You Can't Refuse I haven't seen the downside to giving an opponent 2 treasures. However I don't see this card played a lot but again when it is played the 2 treasures have seemed insignificant.

[WWolfe]

I just ordered a Pull From Eternity. Definitely excited about being able to retrieve the combo pieces my opponent thought were out of the game.

Not a new card, and not a staple, but you're aware of Riftsweeper right?

[jlutzxinc]

I just ordered a Pull From Eternity. Definitely excited about being able to retrieve the combo pieces my opponent thought were out of the game.

Not a new card, and not a staple, but you're aware of Riftsweeper right?

Both of those cards are from the same Block, one in Fall 2006 and the other in Spring 2007.

I tend not to use the latter, but the logic behind that is sufficiently varied that I can't remember half of it at any given time.

[WWolfe]

I just ordered a Pull From Eternity. Definitely excited about being able to retrieve the combo pieces my opponent thought were out of the game.

Not a new card, and not a staple, but you're aware of Riftsweeper right?

Both of those cards are from the same Block, one in Fall 2006 and the other in Spring 2007.

I tend not to use the latter, but the logic behind that is sufficiently varied that I can't remember half of it at any given time.

Yup. I remember. A friend really wanted a Pull from Eternity and I pulled one in a pack. I could have fleeced him in a trade (he was offering me crazy amounts of stuff), but I just gave it to him.

[jlutzxinc]

*snip a BUNCH of stacked quotes*
Yup. I remember. A friend really wanted a Pull from Eternity and I pulled one in a pack. I could have fleeced him in a trade (he was offering me crazy amounts of stuff), but I just gave it to him.

That's what a good friend would do.

Just wanted to shout out the tendency we've seen recently towards better utility mana rocks too. Could definitely be considered budget staples. Things like

Decanter of Endless Water
Patriar's Seal
Relic of Legends
Phyrexian Atlas
Bronze Walrus

Gone are the days of 3 mana rocks fixing colours and nothing else. I know the format continues to move towards two mana ramp, but for casual and budget players like myself, these 3 mana rocks with extra upside have been great. Patriar's Seal in particular is superb in certain decks.

I've had a dumb idea in the back of my mind for quite some time now about potentially brewing "Manalith Tribal" using literally ALL of these (with Svella, Ice Shaper as the Commander, of course).  The Celestus is especially good, and while it's not that new I just can't get enough of Chromatic Lantern.