Pojo's MTG
MTG Home
Message Board
News & Archives
Deck Garage
BMoor Dolf BeJoSe

Columnists
Paul's Perspective
Jeff Zandi
DeQuan Watson
Jordon Kronick
IQ
Aburame Shino
Rare Hunter
Tim Stoltzfus
WiCkEd
Judge Bill's Corner

Trading Card
Game
Card of the Day
Guide for Newbies
Decks to Beat
Featured Articles
Peasant Magic
Fan Tips
Tourney Reports

Other
Color Chart
Book Reviews
Online Play
MTG Links
Staff

120x90 Ad Space
For Rent!

Making Magic

Examining M11/Introductions 

            So before we dig into the set of M11 and what’s interesting to look at and consider for an above average to competitive level player let me introduce myself. I’m Josh. I play (mostly) Competitive Type 2/Standard format and a little bit of casual here and there. Most of my articles will be reviewing and talking about STANDARD format cards, decks, and strategies. I don’t care if you think something I bashed in Standard is good in Legacy, etc.

Now, secondly, we all have an obligation as players to this website as well as the message boards if you are reading this article (or any other on the site for that matter). If you are reading, sign up for the message boards and POST. Put your opinions out there. Support this section of Pojo and tell your friends to do the same.  Offer to write for the M:TG site, offer to do COTD, do something to make your Magic community more valuable to YOU!

Now to the real point of the article, examining the new core set of M11. I’m not going to go through every single card with an opinion but I plan on going through enough of the cards that interest me and breaking them down a bit.

Baneslayer Angel: Staple for most competitive decks running white these days. Her being reprinted is going to drop her in price from about $35-40 to maybe $20-25, which is still high(ish) but more accessible. There isn’t much to say about her in terms of “new developments” simply because she’s been in the metagame for a while now and has proven herself as a great, effective card. My overall opinion? If you can afford her and you are playing White, play her!

Condemn: W for creature removal/opponent life gain at instant speed? I’ll take it. A great card printed in Ravnica block coming back for some more action in M11. I would gladly give my opponent life to stop their Conscripted Sovereigns of Lost Alara or Baneslayer. A great card.

Day of Judgment: WW2 for complete field destruction creature-wise? Yes. I need not explain.

Mana Leak: Best counterspell we’ll have in Standard for quite some time. U1 to counter unless they pay 3? I’ll take that. Slows opponents down tempo wise and provides a great means to hinder your opponent. You can rest assured that betweens turns 1-5 this will provide you with a great means to stay ahead and keep your opponent slowed down. Play them! 

Leyline of Anticipation: Giving the ability to cast cards as though they had Flash is something of a gift in my opinion. While I’m not an avid player of Blue currently this can open the doors for Control styled decks of all kinds and also can be used to make an interesting argument in terms of the Ally deck type. Do I think it will cause a groundbreaking surge in Standard? Not really. But it provides an open door for deck builders and Control players to walk through.  

Aether Adept: I would have never chosen this card if it weren’t for the above card. UU1 for a 2/2 bouncer makes for a pretty intriguing tech card in deck running the above Leyline. While most decks running Blue don’t want to run Unsummon, this becomes a 2-1 advantage when played as opposed to the -1 Unsummon tends to provide. Keep this card in mind when seeking blue tech.

Lightning Bolt: R for 3 damage says it all. A staple for many current deck types playing Red and a great utility card in general.

Birds of Paradise:  G for 0/1 any mana provider? Sure. Staple where green is played in multiple colors. Staple for green in general, really.

Doom Blade: B1 for an immediate kill? Yep. Push it into black decks and sideboards all over.

Grave Titan/Sun Titan: I know many of you are probably drooling over the Titans in general but this Titan as well as Sun Titan provide the most well-balanced Titans of the bunch.  Grave Titan allows for an army of Zombie to occur virtually within 2 turns of him being out but is prone to quick removal (but regardless you get Zombies) and Sun Titan is packed with Vigilance (cool) and brings back ANY permanent with a mana cost of 3 or less (enchantments, anyone?).  The only apprehensions I have about these two is the speed at which they can be/will be played in the game. No, I do not see them shifting the metagame, but I can see the potential for them being useful.

Dark Tutelage: Not as good as our friend Dark Confidant from Ravnica block but still useful. I’m guessing this will probably see some play. 

Fauna Shaman: G1 to drop and pull a creature from your deck? Remember our friend Vengevine…? Yeah. He just got a little better I think.

Dual Lands: Are all obviously going to be important!

5 Planeswalkers for Lorwyn block: As usual, Garruk will see the most play of the Lorwyn 5. The rest, such as Lilliana, Jace #1, Ajani, and Chandra will probably not break into the Competitive circuit.

To find me playing Magic: The Gathering/talk/whatever you can find me playing Friday Night Magic at The Griffon game shop in South Bend until August when I move to Bloomington, IN (and play at their local game shop).