I am a frontier junky. I build decks on a daily basis. Building so many decks has allowed me to identify some places where cards are lacking for the format. I figure the best way to identify cards that could really bolster the format is to do so on a color by color basis. Some colors need more than one thing, but I have chosen what that color needs most.
I realize WotC does not print cards with frontier in mind, obviously, this is a list of what cards would greatly benefit the format.
***Before we start I have created a list of format staples in case anyone wants to take a
peek or may find it useful. The cards on there are cards that pop up on a regular basis, some very narrow cards may be left off.***
http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/78900White.Instant speed catch-all exile spell for 2cmc, with slight drawback.*
Declaration in Stone is decent, however it is not instant speed and comes with a drawback.
*
Stasis Snare is 3cmc and double white, making it hard to splash.
*
Cast Out is 4cmc. While it is effective as a
catch all, white needs something lower costed.
*1cmc is too low and 3cmc is too high for white to be viable.
Answers: It needs
Declaration in Stone at instant speed, but to nerf it have it only capable of hitting one target.
Blue.A quality planeswalker.*Lets stop being afraid to print quality blue planeswalkers.
*Not asking for Mind Sculptor here, just something playable.
*3/4cmc preferred.
Answer: a comparable card to
Jace, Architect of Thought.
Black.Improved creatures.*In truth, due to the lackluster black creatures, black tends to be a splash color for its strong removal suite.
*Black tends to have creatures that fit in very specific decks (Zombies, sac,...)
*Cards like
Ravenous Chupacabra and Gonti
serve purposes, but are not world beaters.
*Kalitas and
The Scarab God are great, but do not work well together.
*Delve creatures are strong in the right decks, but again Tasigur needs either blue or green to reach its full potential.
Answer: There needs to be a staple black creature printed in the midrange. Something you can play along side of Kalitas or Scarab God so that black can be the primary color in a deck. The 4cmc slot would be ideal as 3cmc is occupied by utility spells in black. This would make
Liliana, the Last Hope that much more powerful as well.
Red.Better removal for recurring/indestructible creatures.*Red cannot effectively kill its own best 4cmc creatures.
*
Rekindling Phoenix requires two spells to be permanently removed.
*Hazoret cannot be killed by any red card for a reasonable cost.
*
The Scarab God cannot be permanently removed in any way.
Answer: We need a card that does at least 4 damage, strips
indestructibility, and then if creature dies
exile it. It can be 4cmc at instant speed or 3cmc at sorcery speed, but the color has to have at least one answer for these cards.
Green.Better midrange creatures.*Green is the color of creatures, is it not.
*Green has all the ramp pieces, but I find I'm never ramping into a mono green creature.
*When I build midrange decks, I hardly ever play 4cmc or 5cmc mono green creatures.
*The plan seems to be to just give green creatures crazy P/T, but not much else.
*The best three green midrange creatures are very deck specific.
Verdurous Gearhulk is counters driven,
Bristling Hydra needs energy, and Ishkanah needs delirium. There are no green midrange creatures that could just go in any build, the way Avacyn,
Rekindling Phoenix, and
Glorybringer can.
Answer: The color needs a blow the doors open 4cmc creature. The best ramp is at 2cmc, so you are skipping to 4cmc. You need a really strong green creature to drop on turn 3 to make the commitment worth it.
ColorlessBetter colorless mana sources.*I want to play
Thought-Knot Seer and
Reality Smasher in more decks, without destroying my mana base.
*Two of the best cards in the format are nearly unplayable in quality deck lists.
*
Unclaimed Territory and
Spire of Industry require very specific deck builds, which narrows down where you can use the Eldrazi.
Answer: Another card that taps for colorless mana, but also mana of any color for something specific, yet useful. It would be great if it didn't cost you 1 life, as many of the best lands for Eldrazi cost 1 life to produce a color.
LandShock lands (full cycle) or Battle lands (enemy cycle)*I'd be happy enough if there were no fetches in the format, or if they were banned. Since they exist, we need enemy colored lands to fetch.
*mana bases for shards are way better to build than wedges right now.
*enemy colors are lacking quality dual lands: pain lands are painful on the life total, Kaladesh lands are better in aggressive decks, and man lands are better in slower decks.
Answer: It feels like we are soon returning to Ravnica, so we are likely to see Shocks, which will make wedge mana bases much easier to build.
***Those are my hopes for printings moving forward. If you have any other suggestions for cards to better the format, please post. And lets remember they have to go through standard, so be reasonable lol.***