The Hot Cards for 2010s State Champs

With the 2010s State Championship series upon us I wanted to take a look at what cards have been flying off the shelves this week. By doing so hopefully you can gain a little insight on what you may see at states. Of course it is hard to tell exactly what will be played since Scars of Mirrodin is new and pushed right up to the eve of States, but you may find a few surprises.

First on our list of top sellers has been Ratchet Bomb. The ability to remove multiple threats makes this card the MVP of the set. Of course there will be some people that state the Planeswalkers are better, and they have been selling briskly as well, but the Urza’s format was dominated by Powder Keg, and in some cases Ratchet Bomb can be better.  Look to see this card in a variety of control decks, and snuck into sideboards to deal with specialty threats.

Next up we see our first Planeswalker, Venser, the Sojourner. This card may be Blue/White’s new finisher. With the ability to set up a permanent removal every time you play a card, Venser’s ultimate may be the best one in the game, and one of the easiest to pull off.  This Planeswalker starts with 3 counters, adds 2 with his top ability and takes 8 to pull of this ultimate. That means you can do it on the fourth turn after he hits play, unless you proliferate, which could see it as quickly as the next turn. The fact that you are able to get a “comes into play effect” off of any permanent you control pushes Venser through the roof. Get an extra four life from Lone Missionary, Draw another card from Wall of Omens, look at a few more cards with Sea-Gate Oracle, or refill your Tumble Magnet to keep creatures locked down. Venser will be a tournament staple for years to come, and he will see a lot of play this weekend at states.

We now have our first break in Scars of Mirrodin with a Worldwake card, Groundswell. One of the key cards in the new Poisonwell deck, this card delivers a punch when combined with infect creatures. Allowing a 1/1 Blight Mamba or some other infect creature the ability to deal a massive amount of damage, Groundswell is the pump for this deck. It is being combined with Distortion Strike and an old favorite, Giant Growth to pull off turn 4 kills with counter back up. The deck looks like a casual gimmick deck until you are dead on turn 3 or 4 and suddenly you think the gimmick isn’t so fun. This card may see play in a Green-White rush deck as well, so watch out.

Myr have been a popular casual theme since Mirrodin arrived, and Scars of Mirrodin bring a whole new bag of Myrs to the table. I have decided to lump them all together in our fourth slot because they are usually sold in groups. With Myr Battlesphere, Myr Galvanizer, Myr Reservoir and Palladium Myr this creature archetype has been a very solid seller. You probably won’t see this deck a lot at states, but certainly plan for it in your casual circles. That being said states is very casual bringing out lots of gamers that are here to have some fun, so don’t be surprised if someone throws out infinite mana on turn 5 and blows you out of the water with a swarm of Golem Artisan powered Myr.

Now we get to our other planeswalker, Koth of the Hammer. Not that Red-Deck-Wins needed another finisher, but it never hurts to have a powerhouse in your deck that gets around most forms of attacking. Again we see a planeswalker that has an ultimate that is really easy to pull off. The problem with Koth is that Leyline of Sanctity is in the format, and most Mono-Red builds have no way to deal with Leyline. Not that a Mythic Planeswalker card could ever be a sleeper, but Koth could be a card that ends up seeing a lot more play as the set spreads into tournaments. He may even see some combo decks in the future due to the explosiveness that he can provide via his minus ability generating tons of mana, it isn’t that hard to imagine a Red control deck that uses Eldrazi for the finishers casting them with only 7 lands in play.

Another Mythic Rare graces our list in the form of Indomitable Archangel. The new top end for White Weenie, this angel gives your valuable equipment shroud, the new keyword for untargetable. Each time there is a rotation in the standard format White Weenie is a good choice for deckbuilding. There are always very efficient creatures, and now with the addition of many great equipment, and searches in the form of Stoneforge Mystic, expect this deck to be very popular. The Angel tops out the curve and allows you to keep putting the pressure on as it is a very powerful creature on it’s own being a 4/4 for only two white and two colorless.

Our last Mythic is the new Masticore. When I first saw this card I wondered if we had returned to Urza’s block. Molten-Tail Masticore has many of the same abilities as the original Masticore; a discard effect, 2 Mana regeneration, and an effective activated ability that works as removal. Magic has grown in the last decade to an unimaginable plateau, and there may not be many of us “old schoolers” around, but those of us who did play then remember the original Masticore DOMINATED the format. I expect that the Molten-Tail Masticore will have a very similar effect on the format. He allows any creature deck to have a finisher, works well in combo decks such as Dredged Ooze, and can fit into some control decks. Look for this card to be on gaming tables across from you in the very near future.

We see another Non-Scars of Mirrodin set rounding out our list, in the form of Stoneforge Mystic. With the abundant supply of Equipment that the new set provided the Mystic is becoming a very popular card. Searching out valuable equipment, and then placing it into play at instant speed may become a very popular theme. You can get around the high casting cost of cards like Argentum Armor and still get their effectiveness. This card is a staple for White Weenie decks but will also see play in a variety of multi-colored zoo decks.

Our last card on the list is one of the new dual lands, Seachrome Coast. I underestimated this card when I first saw it. My thinking was Blue-White control decks don’t want a land that comes into play tapped after turn three as it could easily make or break a midgame spell. Needless to say after seeing it played, and throwing it in a few decks, I was surprised by how many times it made that same deck very effective in the early game. By powering out acceleration or early drops it allows you to smooth out your draws. It also allows you to cast crucial removal or counters as quickly as turn one. I saw a few games where the ability to have open mana early allowed the very effective use of counters to tempo the game.

Scars of Mirrodin has already had a vast impact on the standard format. You may not see these decks at your State Champs or in your local casual group, but they are already becoming popular here. We are seeing not only the hot Scars of Mirrodin cards, but also how this new set has affected previously produced cards such as Groundswell and Stoneforge Mystic. Good Luck to everyone playing in 2010s State Championships, wherever they may be.

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• author: Donnie
• date: 10/08/10
• time: 9:44am
• comments: 0

General, Magic The Gathering, Standard