January 9, 2004  Darksteel Preview

 

The news is out, Darksteel will be an expansion like no other. When the set premieres at pre-release events everywhere two weeks from tomorrow, prepare for more artifacts, more ways to deal with artifacts and cards like you have never seen before. Darksteel will be the first “small” expansion to contain 165 cards. Wizards of the Coast has announced that this will be the new standard size of the two expansions that go with the major 350 card set released each Fall.

While there has not been a leak of the entire card list at this time, there have been enough individual cards whose image has officially or unofficially released we, the ever-ravenous Magic public. The first and last word that has been associated with this expansion to the world of Mirrodin is Indestructible.

Cards with the ability called Indestructible have the following descriptive text: “destroy effects and lethal damage don’t destroy it”. While Indestructible sounds like a creature ability, other permanents can also have the ability.

Just to get the standard questions out of the way about the Indestructible ability. For this explanation, imagine a 4/4 artifact creature with the ability Indestructible. Shatter can legally target this artifact, but when Shatter resolves, the target will remain in play. If this creature blocks a 4/4 Myr Enforcer, both creatures will deal lethal damage to each other. After damage is dealt, however, the Enforcer will be put into the graveyard while the Indestructible creature will remain in play, even having been dealt four points of damage. Of course, combat damage does not disappear from creatures until end of turn, so Indestructible creatures retain their “lethal” damage until end of turn. Suppose you have a Clockwork Vorrac that you have built up to a 10/10 trampling monster and when you attack, you are blocked by a 4/4 Indestructible artifact creature. You are required to apply “lethal” damage to the blocker (even though it won’t actually be very lethal to this Indestructible blocker) before you place any Trample damage on your opponent. Of course, you could have the Vorrac deal all ten of its damage to the blocker, but it STILL will not result in removing the blocker from play. What if you target an Indestructible creature with an effect that destroys a creature and does not allow regeneration? Such an effect will not “destroy” an Indestructible creature either, and regeneration, or lack of the ability to regenerate, has nothing to do with it since the Indestructible creature simply is not destroyed by virtue of this seemingly impossible creature ability. Wrath of God destroys all creatures in play. Except for Indestructible creatures. Is all hope lost? Far from it. Spells and effects that remove a permanent from the game will remove an Indestructible permanent. Indestructible permanents can be sacrificed by their controller, sending them to the graveyard just like any other sacrificed permanent. When a second legendary permanent with Indestructibility comes into play with the same name as another already in play, the second will still go to the graveyard.

Now, let’s put the worrisome Indestructible ability behind us for a while and look at some specific new cards from Darksteel, remembering that these cards may not hundred percent official at this point.

Darksteel Colossus is a rare 11/11 Artifact Creature with Trample and Indestructible for the seemingly high cost of eleven colorless mana. In addition, Darksteel Colossus also has the following ability: If Darksteel Colossus would be put into a graveyard, reveal Darksteel Colossus and shuffle it into its owner’s library instead. In limited play, particularly the Mirrodin/Darksteel sealed deck format that will be used for the upcoming PTQ season, the Colossus is certainly too expensive to be taken seriously. In constructed, particularly in Extended, Darksteel Colossus could become the go-to guy for reanimator decks. In reviewing this card, it’s important to get past the enormous eleven mana casting cost. Assuming the Colossus where to end up in play, this creature is as amazing as they come. This creature is huge, has trample and is almost impossible to get out of the way. Once in play, Darksteel Colossus has no downside. This makes the Colossus quite possibly broken.

Skullclamp is an uncommon Artifact Equipment card that costs one colorless mana. This card has an Equip cost of only one mana, and gives equipped creature +1/-1. Furthermore, when a creature equipped with Skullclamp is put into a graveyard, its controller draws two cards. This may be the most powerful card in the set. The cost to get it in play is cheap, it’s equip cost is also cheap and its effect is always useful. This card puts card-drawing in any and every deck. In limited play, this card provides needed Equipment resources and replaces bulkier cards that saw play in the all-Mirrodin world. With this card in your sealed or draft deck, you might not run Serum Tank. Even Mind’s Eye might sit on the sidelines if you have this all-purpose artifact in your deck. Because it’s only an uncommon, you might even have MORE than one of these in your deck. This card also looks like the first piece of Equipment that will appear in a wide range of constructed decks.

Myr Matrix is a rare artifact for five colorless mana that is Indestructible. Myr Matrix gives all Myr (creature type = Myr) +1/+1. For five mana (and without having to tap) put a 1/1 Myr artifact creature token into play. This card is a creature making machine and a permanent power up for those creatures all in one hard to remove package. On the other hand, the cost is high, both to play the card and to use its ability. Not particularly interesting outside of the idea of a non-creature with the Indestructible ability.

Eater of Days is a rare 9/8 Artifact Creature with flying and trample for a colorless casting cost of only four. However, when Eater of Days comes into play, you skip your next two turns. This card is hard to wrap your head around. In limited or constructed, when is it a good time to give your opponent three turns in a row? Never. On the other hand, when you DO get another turn, you have an awesomely dominant creature in play. Here are two ways that this card could be the MOST AMAZING EVER in limited play: First, you play a Myr or a Talisman on turn two allowing you to play Eater of Days on turn three, playing first. Giving your opponent three turns in a row at this time of the game may not hurt you that much. You’ve already had your third turn, now your opponent gets his turn three, then his fourth and fifth turns before you get another turn. You’re tapped out and probably don’t have any cards in play that would give you any decisions to make, other than maybe having Welding Jar in play (this card’s stock has been going up recently with a lot of players…) If you survive this storm without your Eater being Shattered or Arrested, you probably win in three turns. In the late game, if you and your opponent are basically stalemated with a lot of creatures on each side of the board, the Eater’s amazingly low casting cost may leave you the crucial untapped mana to fuel an important Shatter or activated ability of your own while you watch your opponent enjoy three draw steps before your next turn. Basically, in the late game, this card is almost saying “unless any of the next three cards in your library can get rid of me, I win the game”.

A new mechanic of sorts for Darksteel is the central idea of Echoing cards. Not to be confused with the Echo ability from the Urza’s Saga block, there are apparently five common cards in Darksteel that have effects that repeat for any number of permanents in play that have the same name as the targeted permanent.

Echoing Courage is an instant for 1G that gives target creature and all other creatures with the same name +2/+2 until end of turn. In limited, you don’t often have multiple creatures on your side with the same name. This card is certainly not as useful as Predator’s Strike for the same cost. It could easily be a problem that you and your opponent have the same creature in play, and you would not want to pump his Myr Enforcer while pumping up your own. Battlegrowth is also better than this card, so unless you simply had no other instant power-up options, you probably wouldn’t play Echoing Courage.

Echoing Ruin is a Sorcery for 1R that destroys target artifact and all other artifacts with the same name. You are not to blame if you quit reading when you saw common red spell for 1R that destroys a target artifact. If you draft Mirrodin, and you like to play red, you know that there are not enough Shatters to go around. If Echoing Ruin was only an additional way to destroy artifacts it would be very welcome. This card is a lot better than that. Hmmm, what kind of artifacts does your opponent have multiple copies of in their deck? Myrs and artifact lands. Imagine the fun, your opponent plays Seat of the Synod on turns one and two, developing their side of the table to take maximum advantage of artifact Affinity. You play Echoing Ruin on turn two and erase both of your opponent’s land. Game over.

 

 

Jeff Zandi

Texas Guildmages

Level II DCI Judge

jeffzandi@thoughtcastle.com