| Previews for Shadows over Innistrad are rolling in, and I am super pumped. With Khans of Tarkir and Fate Reforged rotating out and new cards entering the fray, Standard is about to change dramatically. Staples like Siege Rhino and Rally the Ancestors will vanish, and new archetypes will emerge. What new archetypes will rise to the top? What is the best Week 1 strategy? What cards have applications in Modern and Legacy? Are three and four color decks still good? What cards can I exploit? All these questions and so many more are why preview season is my favorite time of year. Everything is new, nobody knows what to do, and that first tournament of the season is like stepping into a wild west saloon. A lot of cards still need to be revealed, but so far, these are the cards that I'm most excited about: #10 Anguished Unmaking  "Exile that permanent" are the three words I always want to say. Three life? Who cares! I was going to win at four life anyway. This card is extremely fair, but its effect cannot be understated. How else can you answer threats so diverse as Planeswalkers and Eldrazi? #9 Declaration in Stone  This is another extremely fair removal spell, but once again, its effect cannot be overlooked. The tempo of killing more than one creature for two mana is huge. After they fall behind on the battlefield, they may not even have time to pump mana into card draw! #8 Heir of Falkenrath   Along with Olivia, Mobilized for War, this is one of my favorites. Here you have a solid aggressive creature comparable to Delver of Secrets, and it's also a Madness enabler! We will have to see if this finds a home, but if the Madness mechanic is good, Heir of Falkenrath will likely be great. #7 Sin Prodder  These "punisher" type cards are a theme we have seen from R&D before. Sin Prodder seems like one of the best to me. A three-power Menace creature that occasionally deals extra damage is exactly what aggressive decks are in the market for. If it doesn't die, it's guaranteed to deal damage. #6 Deathcap Cultivator  The classic problem with playing mana accelerants is that they're a dead draw later in the game. It can be so frustrating to draw one and realize it isn't even worth the draw step. Deathcap Cultivator gaining deathtouch is the solution to this problem. It isn't as efficient as Birds of Paradise, but it can attack and it can trade with creatures much higher on the curve. This card is well rounded and quite good. #5 Hanweir Militia Captain   In the previous Innistrad, we saw an extremely aggressive, swarm-style Humans deck with cards like Mayor of Avabruck. Hanweir Militia Captain looks to bring that archetype back. While two mana for a 2/2 looks mediocre, this card has the potential to take over a game if it flips. It will require the proper support, but the potential is huge. #4 Relentless Dead  For a two-mana 2/2, it really doesn't get much better than this. We've seen so many cards along this theme—like my favorite, Bloodghast—but there are two huge improvements with Relentless Dead. First, it can block, which is something you usually can't do with these kinds of cards. Second, the Menace means the body is a relevant attacker in a much wider range of situations. #3 Westvale Abbey   We've seen how the current Rally the Ancestors deck can clog up the battlefield with seemingly infinite chump blockers, and a similar idea could still exist in the new Standard. Westvale Abbey could be the finisher for such a deck. Embedding a win condition into your mana base is also just a solid way to ensure that your draws are consistent. #2 Olivia, Mobilized for War  Olivia is such gas. She was one of my favorite cards from the original Innistrad and I have continued to play her in Modern. This iteration of Olivia is quite different from the original, but equally great. She is a Madness enabler and a powerful force to be reckoned with. She is extremely aggressive and any time you get to play her on Turn 3, your chance of winning the game is going to sky rocket. #1 Archangel Avacyn   This card is pretty unreal. A friend started telling me about this card, and I told him it was great. He had only told me half of what the card did and I was dumbfounded to see all of it. While I do prefer a low curve when playing Magic, Avacyn is a 10 out of 10 and the type of card I would make an exception for. While these are the cards I am most excited about, I can't wait to see the full set as I'm sure the best is yet to come. Shadows over Innistrad gets two thumbs up for flavor and design, and this new Standard season is looking to be equally great. — Andrew Boswell, @KaolinTiger | 
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