One of the most innovative sets in Magic history will be hitting the shelves in no time, and heralding its release is one of my favorite times of the year: the prerelease. You may be asking yourself what cards you should be on the lookout for, and lucky for you, I'm here to help with that. Today we're going to go over my Top 10 Oath of the Gatewatch cards to pick up at your prerelease! #10 Reality Smasher We expect a lot from our five-drops nowadays, but thankfully this card does not disappoint. Haste and trample attached to a 5/5 body make it a very threatening creature, and it shouldn't be terribly difficult to cast despite requiring a colorless mana to put into play. The icing on the cake is that in order to get rid of it with a removal spell, your opponent is forced to discard a card as well! This provides a natural 2-for-1 and a lot of upside. #9 Oath of Nissa I've discussed at length why I don't think Oath of Nissa is the heir apparent to Ponder in green form, but that doesn't mean I'm sleeping on it. A look at three cards isn't something to scoff at, especially when they're almost all hits in the kind of deck that would want Oath of Nissa. Making your Planeswalkers easier to cast is also relevant and though I believe this card is slightly overhyped, I'd recommend actively seeking a full playset. #8 World Breaker World Breaker is a huge 5/7 that is able to recur on top of having reach that also exiles a land, artifact, or enchantment. G/R Eldrazi will receive many new toys with the arrival of Oath of the Gatewatch, becoming an even bigger player in the Standard metagame—and World Breaker could very well find a home in it. It helps in the mirror, can block just about anything, and can always come back for more if it is removed. Seems like a no-brainer to me. #7 Wandering Fumarole Imagine if this card came out in Return to Zenkidar along with all of those early Jeskai decks! Wandering Fumarole is a very powerful creature-land that plays defense and offense extremely well. It's interesting as it can invalidate various popular removal spells like Fiery Impulse because it's able to switch its power and toughness at will for zero mana. The only thing holding it back is that it costs four to activate, but it's still a great inclusion in the popular decks utilizing blue and red. #6 Oath of Gideon After playing Jeff Hoogland's B/W Control deck recently, my evaluation of Oath of Gideon went from "bulk" to "very playable." Decks on the fringe like B/W or Mardu Planeswalkers are powerful, but it felt like they were missing something. This three-drop enchantment not only gives your Planeswalkers protection in the form of two 1/1 Kor Ally tokens, but also allows them to enter with an additional loyalty which is quite superb. An Ob-Nixilis, Reignited can kill a creature, be safe from attack due to your tokens, and then either kill an additional creature or start drawing you cards. #5 Stormchaser Mage Flying, haste, and prowess is no joke, especially when it comes attached to a two-mana creature. Atarka's Command and Become Immense hurt this card the most due to the sheer efficiency of Atarka Red, but I think it's dangerous to ignore a card this impressive. Is there a Temur/Atarka Aggro deck out there? I don't know, but this card always means there is hope. #4 Matter Reshaper The only thing holding Matter Reshaper back is that it requires a colorless mana by turn three, but other than that, this card feels like a homerun. A 3/2 body doesn't drive the crowd wild, but being able to trade effectively and get card advantage by either drawing a card or putting one directly into play is an extremely strong effect for a card to have. While it may not be the next Bloodbraid Elf, this card definitely will do well wherever it lands—perhaps in a Rally deck? #3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar My first reaction to this Nissa was "meh," but testing has proved that there's far more than meets the eye. She passes most of the important Planeswalker tests like protecting herself and generating card advantage, but with the embarrassment of amazing token producers in Standard, her -2 will end games very quickly. I believe you'll be seeing a lot of Nissa, Voice of Zendikar going forward. #2 Eldrazi Displacer Eldrazi Displacer is expensive in the sense that you'll have to build a deck with enough colorless mana to use it, but the payoff is ridiculous. Its body is reasonable for the cost, but the instant blink effect for three mana does everything: kills tokens, kills Hangarback Walkers, exiles attacking Gideons, protects your own creatures from removal spells, retriggers enter the battlefield effects and more! It seems very powerful and should find a place in Standard right out of the gate. #1 Kozilek's Return To the surprise of nobody, my #1 pick is Kozilek's Return. This card has cross-format applications from G/R Eldrazi in Standard to G/R Tron in Modern. An instant-speed sweeper is devastating against the tons of tokens in Standard, and getting free value from casting an Eldrazi is simply unreal. Kozilek's Return will shift Standard on its axis in favor of G/R Eldrazi without a doubt. You shouldn't just worry about picking these up; you should worry about playing against it in abundance. Enjoy your prereleases, and my all of your packs have Expedition lands! |
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