Dunkelste Stunde: Masters Edition IV Draft Set Review

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BLUE

Commons:

Cloud Spirit***
Counterspell****
Drowned**
False Summoning***
Giant Turtoise***
Owl Familiar***
Phantasmal Warriors***
Phantasmal Terrain*
Reconstruction**
Sea Serpent*
Sleigh of Hand**
Symbol of Unsummoning***

The blue commons are not as deep as the white ones, but that is typical for blue cards. While the cards are overall okay, they are not impressive, and there are some really bad ones- embarrassingly bad. Cloud Spirit and Phantasmal Warrior are as good as it gets and therefore are high in the pick order, but they aren’t better than the white flyers. If you are in blue, you have to pick what you can get, though.

Counterspell is arguably the best blue common as it can handle everything, even Island Sanctuary, but only in a reactive way. False Summoning is similar but only hits creatures.

Drowned is more of a multicolor card as it is totally useless without black. Giant Tortoise, on the other hand, is one of the best walls in the format and one of the most important ones as well. Stalling the ground for just two mana is just so incredibly good!

Owl Familiar is a fine card, a one time loot will get you through some of the chaff that you are bound to be playing. It’s small body won’t affect combat much, but it might be okay to sneak some damage in or chump a large flyer.

Phantasmal Terrain and Sea Serpent are narrow sideboard cards. Serpent can be played as a filler as it at least keeps grounded guys from attacking you and no one wants to throw a removal on it. (If they do remove it, celebrate.)

Reconstruction is the Raise Dead of ME4. It gets more valuable the more artifacts you have and should go late; playing one of them is usually fine. Sleight of Hand is a decent filler, but if you are not playing a combo deck (or a deck built around specific cards), it’s not that valuable.

Finally, we have Symbol of Unsummoning, a potentially a sick card. Often it is a real Time Walk! It shines in aggressive decks but is mediocre in anything else.

Uncommons:

Air Elemental****
Animate Artifact**
Blue Elemental Blast**
Energy Flux**
Mystic Decree*
Prodigal Sorcerer****
Soldevi Machinist*
Talas Researcher****
Theft of Dreams**
Water Elemental***

Compared to the commons, the uncommons do quite well. Only Mystic Decree and Soldevi Machinist are stinkers, and the Machinist is borderline playable in a few decks at least.

Air Elemental is just one step behind Serra Angel, but as it can’t play the defender as well, it is not a bona fide bomb.

Animate Artifact is narrow and will rarely see play, but attacking with a Rakalite for value seems worth giving it two stars.

Blue Elemental Blast and Energy Flux are pretty good sideboard cards, with the latter appearing in main decks from time to time.

Prodigal Sorcerer is as amazing as he is used to be. It’s kinda ironic that he will perform at best against blue decks! Thalas Researcher is also awesome. He is what makes control really possible in the format. I’d like to mark him as bomb, but I can’t do that with a card that dies to Weakness (and Prodigal Sorcerer ).

Theft of Dreams is so-so, usually it will draw 2-3 cards (which is already pretty good). But there is just too much variance with it, and I like to play cards more that always have a great effect (and a relevant effect).

Water Elemental is a solid, just good card. It once got removed from the core set for being too good for blue,and I can totally understand the reasoning (in a Limited mindset, of course). The Elemental is as big as it gets for a blue creature and can easily attack into green creatures. I will happily pick and play as many as I can get.

Rares:

Acid Rain*
Braingeyser*****
Cloud Dragon****
Control Magic*****
Drain Power**
In the Eye of Chaos*
Mahamoti Djinn*****
Power Artifact*
Serendib Djinn****
Stasis*
Thing from the Deep*
Transmute Artifact**

When you get to examining the rares, blue starts to look amazing! E ven the crap cards are not really crap, Acid Rain and In the Eye of Chaos (official contender for the coolest card name), are narrow sideboard cards. Power Artifact is made for the Johnnys of Constructed, and Stasis is just there to annoy the world. Better snag Chronatogs now, before everyone scrambles for them in January! If there weren’t tournaments, all I would do the whole day long is freeze games with Stasis (and get blocked again and again). Oh, and there is Thing from the Deep… 9 mana is a lot and it doesn’t even fly- what a joke.

But let’s go back to the real rares. Braingeyser is just flat out amazing. Once you cast it, it’s unlikely you will lose. If you are casting it on your opponent, you should also win at that point! Cloud Dragon is a fine card, not on the same level as Serra Angel, but still a 5 power flyer. Control Magic is for Limited’s purpose the best card in the set. Control Magic effects are always awesome, but this is the Control Magic, father of them all! Mahamoti Djinn gets the whole five stars since he is the best flyer in the set. Shivan Dragon might be a bit better in turning sideways, but a toughness of 6 is just so good. Serendib Djinn is similar, but more of a beater. Sadly, his upkeep cost can be critical.

Drain Power and Transmute Artifact (also known as Tinker‘s retarded brother) are cards you rarely want to have in your deck, but sometimes they do something. It’s rarely enough to take over a game, though.

Conclusion: The commons are mediocre, but the uncommons and especially the rares make up for them! Blue seems to be amazing for control decks, as the good cards tend to cost at least 5 mana. Monoblue decks are less likely to work whatever you do, when you draft blue, place a high priority on removal from other colors.

Possible Archetypes:

UW Skies
UR Control
UB Control
Ux Mine is Bigger than Yours and Flies!