Set review of Worldwake starting with Black and Red.

BLACK

•    Abyssal Persecutor – 6/6 Flying, Trample for 2BB. Jesus “Ice Skating” Christ
•    Agadeem Occultist – Shrugs. I'm not a fan, but I won't be shocked when I get beaten by it.
•    Anowon, the Ruin Sage – Good. Great in Block. Vampires just put up big numbers in a 5k and this set is full of new toys. It's like Twilight – Sparkle.
•    Bloodhusk Ritualist - Also pretty solid, I'm not sure this takes the spot filled by Mind Sludge, but it may.

•    Bojuka Brigand – He is a Bear who can't block, fine in Limited but nothing great.
•    Brink of Disaster – Unplayable unless you're facing down 2-3 man lands.
•    Butcher of Malakir – Costs 7.
•    Caustic Crawler – AWESOME LIMITED CARD
•    Corrupted Zendikon – Probably the best in the cycle. A 3/3 for 1B is just plain good.
•    Dead Reckoning – Grim Discovery is just plain better in every single way.
•    Deaths Shadow – 13/13... hate it. But if you're at 10 life it's a 3/3, for B. That's amazing value. I have to believe he finds a home somewhere. I have no idea where.
•    Jagwasp Swarm – Limited. Flying. Solid.
•    Kalastria Highborn – Will not find a home in Vampires over Bloodghast, Gatekeeper, Hexmage, ect. Fine card, just not going to get it.
•    Mires Toll – Block stalwart or never played ever.
•    Nemesis Trap – Good at 6 mana. Great at 2 mana. A potential 3 for 1 every time it's cast.
•    Pulse Tracker – Nah.
•    Quag Vampires – Perhaps he comes in against the mirror...
•    Quest for the Nihil Stone – Amazing if active, but that ain't ever gonna happen.
•    Ruthless Cullblade – Honestly... I preferred it the first time, when it was a 3/2 for a single Black mana
•    Scrib Nibblers – Limited. Maybe. But I doubt it.
•    Shoreline Salvager – Fine card in your 40 card deck. He was better when he was blue and had Ninjitsu though.
•    Smother - <3
•    Tomb Hex – Good Removal
•    Urge to feed – Honestly don't like this in vampires, a deck that doesn't just want guys NOT ATTACKING, it's good removal, but the second ability feels GREEDY. Great in Limited though.

RED
•    Akoum Battlesinger – very good addition to the ally draft strategy. I think the constructed version will be white, blue, green/black so this ones out, but solid in limited.
•    Bazaar Trader – Not particularly excited by this card. I see that it has applications but none I actually enjoy or see as working in real competitive MTG.
•    Bull Rush – Limited Tricks are always nice, this one is really nicely costed. Can be a finisher for a fast deck in the right circumstances, also creature removal in some cases. Maybe sees some constructed play in an all in red type strategy... or not... it could happen though
•    Chain Reaction – Grixis decks in Type 2 love this card. I don't love it. I think for the most part Volcanic Fallout and Earthquake are better. In Block I don't believe the red decks need this spell, so unless an archetype presents itself this is a good card without a home for now.
•    Claws of Valakut – Good. The RR in the casting cost is not so great and you sort of need to be heavy red to make it the back breaker it could be but if you just have 2 Mountains +2/+0 and first strike for 3cc is fine in limited.
•    Comet Storm – Love it! Also contributes to Chain Reaction not having a place right now... I think this card is good in Standard and Block and probably reaches down deep into Extended and touches Legacy too.
•    Cosi's Ravager – Limited high pick. A 2/2 for 4 mana isn't great or good, but his ability is pretty solid. And over the course of a game, if unchecked can be good for enough damage to make up for the mana loss.
•    Crusher Zendikon – For 3 mana you can get in but 2 toughness is just asking for a dork to step in front of it and cost you a land. I can't imagine that is profitable under any circumstance.
•    Cunning Sparkmage – Really good. Probably good enough to get into sideboards of standard decks, depending on how the meta forms. But in limited this guy can be a serious problem for an opponent.
•    Deathforge Shaman – I don't really ever see this guy doing more than 4 damage even in limited, which might be ok... but it also might be really slow. I think its ok just don't take it too high unless you are a super aggressive deck and need a finisher that is assured to get to the opponents dome, cause under those parameters, this guy is real good.
•    Dragonmaster Outcast – this makes Valakut better, but I do not know, with the good single mana removal in the environment, if this guy or his green brother Scute Mob, will ever make a difference in constructed outside of Block.
•    Gobin Roughrider – was this any good as a black creature? Same applies here.
•    Grotag Thrasher – costs a bunch. Might make some 40 card lists but only bad ones probably.
•    Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs – SOOOOO very good in limited and if R/W aggro or Vampires is the dominant block deck this guy can make a control deck just crushingly good. He might make some early Grixis Standard lists but I am not sure he is that good, but maybe. Against decks that get sideways he is a BOSS.
•    Mordant Dragon – Limited Bomb. Constructed just another Shivan Dragon.
•    Quest for the Goblin Lord – need more goblins to be good but you have a goblin lord in M10, Goblin Guide, and Bushwhacker, and Warren Instigator so it could get good and powerful soon-ish
•    Ricochet Trap – probably not going to take Swerve's spot in any decks but in block where a U/W deck is very good and powerful this could be quite good and damaging
•    Rolling Terrain – Costs 4 destroys land. Too slow. But little kids hate having lands destroyed and spells countered so...
•    Rumbling Aftershocks – costs 5! so before you get value out of this its turn 6, and you have to kick a spell multiple times? I feel like WotC wanted this to be Lightning Rift part 2, but couldn't figure out what casting cost would make it not broken so they just made it suck.
•    Searing Blaze – This card is GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.
•    Skitter of Lizards – I really don't anticipate this being kicked more than 3 times AT MOST. But 2 times is pretty fair, 1 kicker is actually solid, but this card is fairly unspectacular for the most part.
•    Slavering Nulls – Limited this card is really fantastic potentially. Not good anywhere else but turn 2 on the play in draft if you opponent can't block or kill it? PLEASE!
•    Stone Idol Trap – this could, COULD, be one red mana, Kill your guy, attack for 6, COULD HAPPEN. Probably only playable in limited but, it could happen.
•    Tuktuk Scrapper – there are some problematic artifacts in limited, like trusty machete so this is good board stuff but other than that, or of course if your running allies, this isn't good.

 

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