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 RefuseA 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 OghmaI 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 EnduresA 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 EndAn upgrade to
Anger of the Gods. I haven't had a chance to use it, but I want to.
CankerbloomI've always really liked
Caustic Caterpillar, and
Cankerbloom has more uses while having a more generous mana cost.
Circle of Dreams DruidCrazy mana generation. A staple for go-wide green decks.
Cut a DealRemember 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 VoidwalkerThis wrecks games. Shuts down most graveyard strategies, provides card advantage, and goes great with wheels.
Dress DownPeople are finally realizing that this card is real good. It shuts down... like... all creature-based combos.
Esper SentinelNot so great in strict casual play, but once you get into the fringe and cEDH power levels,
sentinel works hard.
Fade from HistoryI'm just waiting for the moment when people realize that this will work better than
Bane of Progress in most cases.
Faerie MastermindIt 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.
FarewellSimilar to
Merciless Eviction, arguably better. I'm not seeing
Wrath of God much anymore, but I am seeing a lot of
Farewell.
Fateful AbsenceNot as great as
Path to Exile or
Swords to Plowshares, but I'm seeing more of it.
FlumphA new favourite of mine. You can easily make deals with people to help you draw an extra 3 cards per turn cycle.
Gruesome RealizationSimilar 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 ArtisanVoltron 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 MiteI did say that I like my
Caustic Caterpillar. While I like it, it got out-competed by
Cankerbloom real fast.
Infernal GraspThe new
Doom Blade staple. I do not see Doom Blades anymore, just this card.
Liquimetal TorqueIts 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 PathDual-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 AbaddonI 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 ShepherdIt'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 PyromancerEven if you ignore the obvious use in the Planechase format, this is a great wheel effect.
Plaza of HeroesIt'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 LegendsWe 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 WeaverEven if you're not doing an enchantment strategy, having just a few other enchantments in your deck makes this card worthwhile.
Sceptre of Eternal GlorySo does anyone still use
Gilded Lotus in mono-coloured decks?
Tail SwipeAnother card that is critically underrated. This is strictly better than
Mutant's Prey; the only other 1 mana fight card at instant-speed.
Tenuous TruceI 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 TrickeryA great
counterspell, but only because it's not in blue. Still, red has needed this kind of wacky protection.
Tribute to the World TreeI haven' had a chance to see this in action, but I have high expectations. Has anyone had a chance to use this?
Urza's SagaSol Ring.
Sensei's Divining Top.
Mana Vault.
Shadowspear. You've got options.
Vanquish the HordeA 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 SurgeI'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?