Conley Woods
9/11/2012 9:42:00 AM
So guess what? Actually, if you are a Magic fan and are not anti-spoiler, you probably don't need to guess at all. Return to Ravnica is just around the corner and the set looks awesome but it also looks pretty dang powerful. We will put off analyzing the new cards for a while, as I will be doing a full set review here in a few weeks. Instead, when Standard sees a big rotation like this, it is just important to look back, as it is forward.


So naturally, with the release of Ravnica, Scars of Mirrodin will be rotating out of Standard, as well as M12. That is 4 sets worth of cards that we are going to be missing for a while, so even though Ravnica looks really powerful, with so many cards gone, options will still be more limited than before. More so than just understanding that though, it is also important to understand that some archetypes will simply Disappear as they lose cards, while other strategies will persevere, losing only things replaceable by some other set in Standard.

Today then, what I would like to do, is take a look at all of the marquee rare and mythic cards from Scars of Mirrodin and the decks they make up. From this spotlight, we can begin to assess what status we expect certain archetypes to have come a month from now. Some will be MIA altogether, while others will simply have a new look to them and still, others will be left unscathed or even better off. So if you would, take a step back with me, 2 years ago, and get into that Scars of Mirrodin mindset all over again.

We will run through these in alphabetical order to make things easier. We will be trying to avoid active discussions about any officially spoiled Return to Ravnica stuff, but we may be mentioning some of the cards briefly as replacements for some cards on this list. So if you are super anti-spoiler, fair warning. Again, nothing will be in great detail though.

High Mid Low

Batterskull

$15.43

$11.99

$9.25

Store QTY Price   metrogames 1 $9.25 The End Zone 2 $9.50 Comic Book Store 3 $9.76 Flint 1 $9.79 Comic Book Store 1 $9.99 ReadyFreddy 1 $9.99 Nerd Rage Gaming 7 $10.12 Millennium Games 3 $10.19 Card Titan 8 $10.44 >> View all Prices for Batterskull << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Batterskull - I think it is safe to say that we will not be seeing any Germs in the environment once new Phyrexia rotates, so how likely is this one to be replaced? Not likely in this style of card. Batterskull provides a colorless source of lifelink, which many decks have used to beat up on aggro over the last 2 years. Now, if you want this effect, you probably have to dip into the traditional colors for it, with something like Thragtusk for example.

High Mid Low

Birds of Paradise

$4.99

$3.49

$2.44

Store QTY Price   Stomping Grounds 1 $2.44 CasualWaffles 1 $2.48 Cloak and Dagger 2 $2.85 chasandres 2 $2.93 Multiverse Gaming 1 $2.95 Gamers Den 1 $2.98 Magical Ogre 14 $2.99 Pastimes 1 $2.99 ManaVault 4 $3.00 >> View all Prices for Birds of Paradise << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Birds of Paradise - While Avacyn's Pilgrim and Arbor Elf provide the same style of card as Birds does, neither gives you the full spectrum, meaning some decks will be limited as a result. For example, a deck trying to cast Liliana of the Veil no longer has the turn 2 means to do so. The fact that Birds also flies is pretty big as well, as it has picked up Swords and Pikes throughout the last few years. The loss of Birds is an impact that we can feel, even if there is not a direct archetype that suffers.

High Mid Low

Birthing Pod

$10.00

$4.39

$3.32

Store QTY Price   Top Deck Hobbies 1 $3.32 Phyrexian Games 4 $3.47 The Mana Fix 1 $3.55 JJ Cardstore 1 $3.55 Geeks MTG 3 $3.70 Nerd Rage Gaming 6 $3.78 Anthem Games 2 $3.79 Millennium Games 1 $3.80 Top Deck Me 1 $3.80 >> View all Prices for Birthing Pod << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Birthing Pod - One of the more unique cards currently in Standard boasting multiple archetypes to its name. This is one that will literally sweep the legs out from under the format and force multiple archetypes to vanish. Value creature decks have existed in other forms, such as Momentary Blink or Makeshift Mannequin decks in the past, but nothing quite plays like Birthing Pod, so get your kicks before it rotates!

High Mid Low

Blade Splicer

$2.46

$0.96

$0.62

Store QTY Price   Phyrexian Games 12 $0.62 Static Age Games 1 $0.65 IDeal808 16 $0.70 Mox Monkeys 1 $0.71 Amazing Discoveries 20 $0.73 Amazing Discoveries 20 $0.75 Top Deck Hobbies 20 $0.75 Mox Monkeys 3 $0.75 ManaVault 2 $0.75 >> View all Prices for Blade Splicer << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Blade Splicer - Blade Splicer is a pretty sick rate for a card, but it is also just a dork. With M13 we even got Attended Knight, which is close to the same model. Some decks may miss the value, but this guy is totally replaceable.

High Mid Low

Consecrated Sphinx

$9.98

$5.56

$4.46

Store QTY Price   Geeks MTG 1 $4.46 Mythic Realm 1 $4.55 Amazing Discoveries 12 $4.83 Phoenix Games Inc 2 $4.88 Nerd Rage Gaming 8 $4.94 Amazing Discoveries 2 $4.98 Power Nine Gaming 2 $5.04 Lucky's Card Shop 1 $5.12 The Games Arena 2 $5.15 >> View all Prices for Consecrated Sphinx << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Consecrated Sphinx - The 7th Titan if you will. I left the Titans off of this list specifically because we talked so in depth about them before, but Consecrated Sphinx has been a choice fatty for many a control deck over the past 2 years. Ultimately, control will always find a win condition for itself, but Consecrated Sphinx was able to totally dominate games. I expect a power level drop to occur for control, with the loss of Mana Leak to start, but Consecrated Sphinx leaving is not irrelevant. The style of control decks might have to change because Sphinx was so awesome in a draw-go strategy due to his enabling of the drawing (and going). If a more Baneslayer-esque style of card becomes the win condition of choice, we might see more proactive control decks rise up.

High Mid Low

Day of Judgment

$3.08

$1.47

$0.89

Store QTY Price   Tap Me Silly 1 $0.89 Top Tyr Games 2 $0.99 Static Age Games 3 $1.09 Cloak and Dagger 2 $1.10 GameOnGames 1 $1.11 Geeks MTG 7 $1.15 HotsauceGames 14 $1.18 Geeks MTG 5 $1.21 Flint 1 $1.25 >> View all Prices for Day of Judgment << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Day of Judgment - This is a big loss, but we still have access to sweepers in the new set. Between the new multicolor Wrath and cards like Mutilate, if you want to sweep the board, you can. That said, if you want to do it in a Monowhite deck, you are going to have to dip into 6 mana range, which is a huge downgrade of course. Expect cards like Geist of Saint Traft to get better with the ushering out of many sweepers including DoJ, Whipflare, and Slagstorm. This is a card that can easily get reprinted in the block though, so we might have it again sometime soon, with its latest return probably coming in M14.

High Mid Low

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

$15.01

$11.30

$8.50

Store QTY Price   CrimsonImpGamesInc 1 $8.50 Pwnage Games 7 $10.00 Static Age Games 1 $10.00 ReadyFreddy 1 $10.00 ColiseumGamesHobbies 1 $10.00 GameTimeCC 1 $10.29 MagicStronghold 4 $10.29 The Games Arena 3 $10.29 The Game Hub 2 $10.40 >> View all Prices for Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite - The Granddaddy of the Praetors. I have loved this card to death but losing a 7 mana card is rarely going to be crucial to any particular deck. While this was one of the more powerful things to cast over the last 2 years, I have to imagine that at 7 mana, we can replace this with something, even if it is less powerful over all.

High Mid Low

Grand Architect

$2.49

$0.58

$0.40

Store QTY Price   HVCCM 3 $0.40 Wooburg 1 $0.40 Happy Viking Games 5 $0.42 XtremeGames 8 $0.43 Card Titan 12 $0.43 ChannelFireball 1 $0.44 Happy Viking Games 37 $0.44 The Game Academy 2 $0.44 Card Titan 12 $0.45 >> View all Prices for Grand Architect << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Grand Architect - Another set specific card that we cannot expect any sort of replacement for. Grand Architect was probably the most versatile lord we have ever seen in Standard, which is going to be hard to replace. This was great in Monoblue aggro, Mono Artifact control, and even combo decks somewhere in the middle. While we will undoubtedly have Engine cards, with an entire Block of artifacts rotating, I don't think Grand Architect would do all that much soon anyway!

High Mid Low

Green Sun's Zenith

$9.98

$4.36

$3.30

Store QTY Price   ColiseumGamesHobbies 7 $3.30 Geeks MTG 2 $3.52 Mythic Realm 13 $3.59 Legit MTG 2 $3.79 Perfect Storm MtG 1 $3.79 The Casual Gamer 1 $3.80 ATKM Games 1 $3.81 Hammer Hall Gaming 3 $3.83 Phoenix Games Inc 3 $3.85 >> View all Prices for Green Sun's Zenith << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Green Sun's Zenith - A card that will be missed, but not one essential to too many strategies. Almost by definition this card just increases the consistency of your deck, giving you additional copies of many 4-ofs while providing a tutor for 1-ofs. While Green decks will certainly miss the power level of this card, most decks that utilize it can move forward without it in the format.

High Mid Low

Hero of Bladehold

$7.16

$4.85

$3.48

Store QTY Price   Dark Light Opticon 1 $3.48 The Mana Fix 1 $3.66 Zigmorph 1 $3.80 dmdtii 1 $3.85 Game Headquarters 1 $3.99 Pwnage Games 1 $4.00 Geeks MTG 1 $4.06 Mythic Realm 2 $4.12 Miniature Exchange 4 $4.18 >> View all Prices for Hero of Bladehold << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Hero of Bladehold - Extremely powerful of course, but hardly unique in application. Odric from M13 already can do some of what Hero of Bladehold can do. I would expect any replacement to be weaker than Hero, but not for any decks to Disappear based on it rotating.

High Mid Low

Hero of Oxid Ridge

$3.99

$1.07

$0.73

Store QTY Price   Amazing Discoveries 20 $0.73 Static Age Games 1 $0.81 Nerd Rage Gaming 2 $0.83 Card Titan 12 $0.85 Static Age Games 1 $0.85 Geeks MTG 2 $0.88 Lucky's Card Shop 3 $0.88 XtremeGames 8 $0.88 Alter Reality Games 8 $0.89 >> View all Prices for Hero of Oxid Ridge << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Hero of Oxid Ridge - Hero of Oxid Ridge is in a similar position to Hero of Bladehold. Basically, some 4-drop, which in this case is most likely Hellrider, can simply step in and take over the same role. Sure, the exact play pattern might differ, but it seems like Hellrider has gotten the nod over Hero recently anyway.

High Mid Low

Inkmoth Nexus

$8.40

$4.95

$3.95

Store QTY Price   ColiseumGamesHobbies 8 $3.95 Mythic Realm 1 $4.14 Manawerx 2 $4.32 CardAddiction 4 $4.45 The Game Hub 1 $4.45 Phoenix Games Inc 3 $4.45 Across the Board 2 $4.46 XtremeGames 2 $4.48 Magical Ogre 17 $4.49 >> View all Prices for Inkmoth Nexus << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Infect - Ahhh, infect. While a true “Infect” deck did not really become tier 1 or 1.5 until the past 6 months, it has certainly made its impact felt for the past 2 years. Inkmoth Nexi have won many games for many decks. Phyrexian Crusader punished Monored for a while back in the day. Even Blighted Agent got in on the action from time to time. Recently, multiple blazingly fast infect pump decks have helped shape the metagame even. The mechanic that cuts your life total in half is a tough on to prepare for, as traditional anti aggro methods, like life gain, do not always work here. We will almost certainly not see a replacement here and I am perfectly OK with that.

High Mid Low

Karn Liberated

$34.99

$27.99

$24.24

Store QTY Price   Friendly Flames 1 $24.24 Dark Light Opticon 1 $24.50 Hammer Hall Gaming 1 $24.61 The Games Arena 1 $24.62 PhyrexianNegotiator 1 $25.05 Dark Light Opticon 1 $25.50 Gamers Den 1 $25.61 Power Nine Gaming 2 $25.70 Lone Star Magic 4 $25.77 >> View all Prices for Karn Liberated << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Karn, Liberated - Karn is unique, but his role in Standard never was. He is just a big win condition for control decks and ramp decks, against opposing control decks and ramp decks. I would expect his loss to not be a big deal as he can be replaced and was only ever a 1 or 2 of anyway, even if he was good at his job.

High Mid Low

Koth of the Hammer

$17.10

$3.78

$2.89

Store QTY Price   Amazing Discoveries 17 $2.89 RPSportscards 1 $2.98 Web-Head Enterprises 1 $2.99 LycanVonWolf 1 $2.99 NerdHerd Games 1 $3.00 Geeks MTG 2 $3.21 Multiverse Gaming 1 $3.22 Mox Mania 1 $3.26 The Game Hub 1 $3.33 >> View all Prices for Koth of the Hammer << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Koth of the Hammer - I think more people will end up missing Koth than realize it now. He has not seen any play recently due to how bad Monored has gotten. With cards like Timely Reinforcements, Huntmaster of the Fells, and Thragtusk seeing print, good old fashioned burn decks have become tough to play. Still, Koth is the best red ‘walker we have ever had, so to miss out on that option is pretty big. Chandra 4 is fine but niche and Tibalt is usually more of sideboard material than anything. Koth dominated board states and put fear into anyone facing down 4 Mountains. Hopefully Red gets a replacement ‘walker before too long.

High Mid Low

Phantasmal Image

$10.29

$4.63

$3.49

Store QTY Price   TemporaI Emporium 3 $3.49 HotsauceGames 3 $3.54 The Mana Fix 1 $3.87 Geeks MTG 3 $3.90 ColiseumGamesHobbies 6 $3.94 Pastimes 6 $3.99 The Games Arena 2 $4.04 The Game Hub 1 $4.09 Mox Mania 3 $4.09 >> View all Prices for Phantasmal Image << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Phantasmal Image - Goodbye 2-mana Clone! This has been one of the most annoying cards to play against in the format for the last year and it leaving has an immense impact on the format. Hexproof creatures like Geist of Saint Traft just got better, reanimation decks just got better, and legendary dudes just got way better. This, along with Phyrexian Metamorph have formed a duo of Clones more powerful than just about any we have ever seen and as a result, decks have had to change big time to adapt. I do not expect this to be replaced anytime soon, so it might just have to be back to the ole 4-mana version if you really want this effect still.

High Mid Low

Puresteel Paladin

$2.99

$1.37

$0.95

Store QTY Price   The Casual Gamer 1 $0.95 Anthem Games 5 $0.99 The Casual Gamer 1 $1.00 Otter Gaming 1 $1.00 GameLinks 1 $1.01 TJ Collectibles 1 $1.04 Nerd Rage Gaming 6 $1.13 Geeks MTG 1 $1.16 Miniature Exchange 2 $1.17 >> View all Prices for Puresteel Paladin << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Puresteel Paladin - I think it is safe to say that we do not see any replacement for this card. That said though, while the Equipment clause might be novel on this, the concept of a cheap engine card that requires a certain type of card to be built around it is not new. I would expect similar cards to see print, even if they end up not being as powerful as the Paladin is. He hasn't been too popular in recent months anyway.

High Mid Low

Slagstorm

$2.45

$0.49

$0.24

Store QTY Price   Amazing Discoveries 6 $0.24 Amazing Discoveries 12 $0.25 Static Age Games 2 $0.33 HVCCM 3 $0.33 OldSchoolGaming 4 $0.34 Static Age Games 3 $0.35 IDeal808 51 $0.36 Card Titan 12 $0.38 Geeks MTG 6 $0.39 >> View all Prices for Slagstorm << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Slagstorm - We mentioned this when we talked about Day of Judgment and I do think its loss will have a pretty big impact. Currently Red has no Pyroclasm style effect with Whipflare also leaving. Magmaquake is fine, but expensive. The loss of these two cheap sweepers worries me when it comes to cards like Geist of Saint Traft or BW tokens, as we might have to be playing Black or UW to have any sort of answer.

High Mid Low

Solemn Simulacrum

$5.14

$2.99

$1.97

Store QTY Price   ColiseumGamesHobbies 4 $1.97 Phyrexian Games 1 $2.08 The Mana Fix 2 $2.25 hogwartz rejec 1 $2.29 Cloak and Dagger 1 $2.38 Cloak and Dagger 2 $2.50 Cardboard Nirvana 2 $2.50 Miniature Exchange 2 $2.52 The Game Hub 1 $2.57 >> View all Prices for Solemn Simulacrum << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Solemn Simulacrum - Sad Robot is sad. This was one of my favorite cards that were brought back with M12 and I am sad to see it go. The primary purpose of this in Standard was to go from 4 to 6 so that you could cast Titans. With Titans gone, that goal is not as prominent, so Solemn would have likely fallen off in play due to that alone. Still, this will be missed, as I do not expect a true replacement anytime soon which means mana artifacts will have a heavier load on their shoulders.

High Mid Low

Sword of War and Peace

$30.85

$11.07

$9.44

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Swords - If you had to sum up Scars of Mirrodin in only one cycle of cards, including everything from impact on constructed, to power level, the 3 Swords would almost have to be that cycle. These have done everything from fair anti-Valakut technology by milling Mountains, to very unfair Ritual-esque type interactions like in CawBlade. Swords have such a high output for the cost that it is difficult to see equipment of this power level printed in a non-artifact Block like Ravnica. Runechanter's Pike is powerful as well, but nothing like a Sword, for versatility reasons alone. I think these 3 beauties will have a bigger effect leaving the format than almost anything on this list, even though you may never notice it taking place.

High Mid Low

Tempered Steel

$3.94

$1.35

$0.95

Store QTY Price   Amazing Discoveries 16 $0.95 NKONNY Cards 1 $0.95 Amazing Discoveries 3 $0.98 Flint 1 $0.99 Multiverse Gaming 1 $0.99 TrollandToad 1 $0.99 The End Zone 4 $1.00 TCGWarehouse 1 $1.01 MTG Deals 1 $1.02 >> View all Prices for Tempered Steel << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Tempered Steel - Well, we are certain so see Crusade effects in Ravnica, one has already been spoiled even, but nothing at the rate or power level of Tempered Steel. This was one of the scarier cards in the format at all times, even when it was not tier 1, due to the small window of reaction time you have once it hits play. This is one of the more powerful Crusades ever printed, so while we will see some Crusade deck still go on to be played, I can't imagine it having the same speed as Tempered Steel decks did. This will naturally slow the format down a bit, which might be nice.

High Mid Low

Thrun, the Last Troll

$15.99

$8.99

$6.50

Store QTY Price   Epic Gaming 1 $6.50 Phyrexian Games 7 $6.74 CardAddiction 4 $6.95 Pwnage Games 3 $7.00 Central Indy Games 19 $7.39 Top Tyr Games 2 $7.49 PhyrexianNegotiator 1 $7.50 Happy Viking Games 6 $7.54 Card Titan 12 $7.59 >> View all Prices for Thrun, the Last Troll << Store.TCGplayer.com allows you to buy cards from any of our vendors, all at the same time! Shop, Compare & Save with TCGplayer.com! - [Store FAQ]

Thrun, the Last Troll - We have already seen quite a few spells in Ravnica that have the same “cannot be countered” clause to them, so things are looking alright for the anti-control players out there. Hexproof feels griefy to me anyway, so I am glad to see this space moving over, but Thrun is simply one of those cards we will miss on power level alone and not so much for the decks he enabled.

Wrap Up

Scars of Mirrodin was an artifact block, meaning that many of the all-stars of the set were able to be put into a variety of decks. Cards like Ratchet Bomb, Batterskull, and the Swords were hardly deck specific cards, so they showed up a lot more often than a colored block would have. With Ravnica being Gold, we can almost expect the opposite effect. So I expect there to be a lot of powerful cards in Ravnica, but because they go into certain color combinations and not every color combination, the format will become more rigid as a result. When every color can dip their toes into the Wurmcoil Engine pool, Green producing sick fatties is less desirable for example.

Ravnica looks awesome though and I am definitely excited for the rest of the set to come out. Remember we will be going over every single card for both limited and constructed here in few weeks, so come back then and thanks for reading!

--Conley Woods--