EOE Cards Worth Building Around
As of today, Edge of Eternities is live on MTG Arena, and we're just now getting a chance to tinker with the new cards. While deck lists will be forthcoming from me and others in the coming days, let's take a look at some of the individual cards to see what might be playable in Standard. I've had the privilege of playing in the Streamer Event last week, so I'll be pulling from my own personal experience in this analysis both as the player and the opponent to these cards.
White Weenie Might be Back
We've come a long way from Savannah Lions. Lightstall Inquisitor is a 2/1 for one with Vigilance. I'd say that's enough to be good, but upon entering the field, it also ensures your opponent will either have a tapped land or taxed spell. In aggressive decks, you want to slow your opponent down even just a step as you pummel them in the early turns. Knocking your opponent off the curve and establishing two power on turn one is very good and I think it will surprise people with how efficient it is.
There are a number of Spacecraft in this set, and most of them are pretty unimpressive, unfortunately -- then there's Lumen-Class Frigate. Generating a Glorious Anthem effect for two mana is already solid and lines up very nicely with Lightstall Inquisitor as it can station post-combat. In decks containing few hasty threats, this also gives you a value sink for the power you have on board as you work your way up to a flying closer. It's mana cheap and great in multiples.
A 2/4 for three is just on-rate these days, but in a deck that can regularly trigger Flourish by casting two spells, having a consistent token producer or a counter for the whole team can be very powerful. Aggressive decks often want to double spell on turn four, and this can pay you off for doing so beautifully.
A Warped Perspective
It's odd to say a 7/5 for four is good when it literally can't attack or block, but Edge of Eternities is doing a great job of showing us how good it is to just have stats on board. There are the new spacecraft that benefit from large power on board, but there's also Harmonize cards like Nature's Rhythm, and vehicles like Lumbering Worldwagon. Decks that are trying to carry high-cost permanents might rely on these already to provide card advantage and value, and Anticausal Vestige appears to be a great curve-filler at both four and six that can help cheat out value permanents and provide other value.
In my opinion, Lumbering Worldwagon is an excellent card in current Standard with its only notable drawback being the high crew cost. Warp creatures address this perfectly with Vestige being especially great because it gives you more lands when the Worldwagon attacks to help power-up the "leaves the battlefield" ability, and if you simply play another land, you'll be able to full-price cast the Vestige the following turn easily.
Another card that works beautifully with Lumbering Worldwagon and other crew/station cards is Starwinder. Enduring Curiosity has been an excellent card in Standard for a while now, but its best home is in decks that focus on attacking with many creatures as each one only draws a single card. Starwinder is formatted differently and is able to reload your hand if even a single creature strikes for a heavy chunk of damage. Cards that enable trample and/or haste like Garruk's Uprising or Frostcliff Siege can be especially powerful with this. Additionally, the typeline being Leviathan is notable as Starwinder survives a bounce from Summon: Leviathan.
Land Drops Keep Falling on My Head
If you're a graveyard junkie like me, Icetill Explorer is an absolute dream come true. Landfall – mill a card is already a great type-line, but it's the least impactful part of this card's textbox. Additional land drops are powerful, and coupling that with the ability to play lands from your graveyard means that fetch lands like Fabled Passage can pop multiple times in a turn and milling a land is just as good as drawing it. The card advantage and ramp this provides is astounding and I was surprised how powerful it felt even in Standard because of support cards like Llanowar Elves.
A powerful seven-drop that's backbreaking in draft is nothing new and these rarely see play in Standard. I don't anticipate Glacier Godmaw to see play any time soon as it doesn't slot into any current archetypes for Standard, but I do believe this card is different from similar cards like Gladiolus Amacitia from Final Fantasy because it grants haste. Giving an entire board of creatures haste just for hitting a land drop, and spotting a lander token to ensure it can happen for two is really good. I suspect a Smuggler's Surprise deck with this and Lumra, Bellow of the Woods, and Famished Worldsire could become a thing.
Regaining Control
Consult the Star Charts is like if Impulse and Memory Deluge had a baby and they were incredibly proud. This card lets you dig incredibly far and unlike Stock Up before it, is instant-speed meaning that you don't have to decide between drawing cards or countering spells. This honestly feels like the powered-up card-draw instant that traditional Azorius control has been missing since Memory Deluge rotated out of the format. Just at a time when black is losing key utility spells like Go for the Throat and Cut Down, blue is picking up this to reassert itself, and I think it's going to shine.
Annul is a classic card we've seen plenty of times before, but this Standard feels uniquely positioned for it. A single-mana hard counter is always excellent assuming it has consistent targets, and I don't think we've had a more enchantment- or artifact-heavy meta in recent memory. Whether it's Unholy Annex, Overlord of the Hauntwoods, or Agatha's Soul Cauldron, plenty of targets exist for this card to make a real splash and belong in sideboards at the very least. Depending on how the meta develops, it could easily find its way into main decks.
Conclusion
Edge of Eternities has some excellent designs that will revitalize old archetypes and bring in new ones. I'm hopeful these cards will have an impact on the Standard ladder, and I can't wait to see what you do with them. If there are any I missed, please let us know in the comments below.
As always, happy brewing!
