Farewell, Core 2021

Today is part 4 (of 4) of my look at sets departing standard, looking at Core 2021 (M21). Released in July 2020, this core set featured themes of +1/+1 counters, "flying matters," and dogs as a new tribe.

Favorites
I like core sets in general, and M21 was no different. I could have featured more than the five below:

Teferi was the basis of my mill deck. Vito is outstanding in vampire decks (or Orzhov lifegain ones). Terror was a great red card, and Gargaroth and great green. Conclave Mentor was fun in +1/+1 counter decks.

Good Riddance

There's just one here.

I don't like planeswalkers in general, and Ugin's abilities were especially annoying (and usually game-ending).

Final Thoughts

It was fun to see dogs get their tribe in M21, and I'm sad that we didn't get a core set this year. Bye, M21- I hope more core sets are coming soon.

Farewell, Ikoria

Today is part 3 of my look at sets departing standard, looking at Ikoria (IKO). Released in April 2020, this was the first set in the pandemic, and (I suspect) suffered as a result. IKO drew inspiration from lore of gigantic Japanese monsters; its mechanics featured 'mutate' and cycling.

Favorites

As with TBD, I didn't have a ton of cards I enjoyed in this one.

The Octopus was nice for card draw. Heartless Act is a great removal spell. Fire Prophecy is, too, and has some deck sculpting to boot. Kogla's 'enter the battlefield' ability is fun, and Zenith Flare was a staple of cycle decks.

Good Riddance

While there weren't many cards that annoyed me, those that did annoyed me a lot.

Winota caused a lot of problems, and the companions (especially Lurrus and Yorion) showed up frequently, even after the rules modification slowed them down a bit. Yorion in particular made 80+-card decks a common sight, and was extremely frustrating to play against.

Final Thoughts

I didn't care for this set. The mutate mechanic led to complexities (in paper; online was fine). Cycling was fun but a one-trick pony. The companions were annoying. I'm glad this set is rotating.

Farewell, Theros Beyond Death

Today is part 2 of my look at sets departing standard, looking at Theros Beyond Death (TBD). Released in January 2020, this was the last set in our pre-pandemic world. TBD drew inspiration from Greek mythology, returning to the world laid out in 2013's Theros block. Its mechanics featured enchantments and escaping from the graveyard (underworld in Greek lore).

Favorites

Yesterday, I had problems choosing only five Eldraine cards to feature here. Today, I struggled coming up with five TBD cards I really care about.

Banishing Light was a solid removal card; I loved Nadir Kraken but never got it to work. Gray Merchant was fun in a black devotion deck, and Setessan Champion made enchantment decks viable.

Good Riddance

It was easier finding cards for this category.

Alseid was okay but so annoying in the protection it offered others. Thassa frustrated me in bounce decks. Elspeth's was a control spell I grew to disdain. And Kroxa, Polukranos, and Uro used TBD's 'graveyard' mechanics to be super-annoying. (Uro would later be banned.) 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I'm ambivalent towards this set. I'd categorize it as 'underwhelming' or 'forgettable.' I'm neither thrilled nor sad to see it go.

Farewell, Throne of Eldraine

current and future standard- image from here

It's that time again. If you follow standard, you know that September is 'rotation month'- when the 4 oldest sets in standard rotate out of the format. The cards can still be used, of course, in other formats (modern, pioneer, commander, etc.) or casually. But since they're leaving standard, prices for single cards will drop (in most cases) as players seek to update their favorite decks for the format. This month, I'll look at each set that's leaving, lamenting the cards I'll miss or celebrating the ones I won't. First up: Throne of Eldraine (ELD).

Released in September 2019, Eldraine was a nod to Arthurian lore and Grimm's Fairy Tales. I was very excited for this set based on this theme. And I wasn't disappointed- the theme was great, the mechanics were fun, and the cards were powerful- overly so, in fact (many Eldraine cards are still heavily featured in standard-legal decks, even after seven subsequent sets became legal in the format).

Favorites

Here are five of my favorite cards; listing them all would take forever, so I chose one from each color.

Knights were a fun theme, appearing most often in white, black, and red. Worthy Knight was a great inclusion in a white knight deck. Into the Story was a staple for mill decks. Rankle was aptly named as "Master of Pranks," with fun options when he dealt combat damage. Bonecrusher Giant still enjoys frequent standard play, and The Great Henge was a killer, granting mana, life gain, and card draw all in one card.

Good Riddance

This one was harder. I found Midnight Clock and Doom Foretold annoying, because their presence signified a control deck that made games take forever. Cauldron Familiar was a key cog in a 'ping' deck until its ban. Claim the Firstborn generally meant my creatures would attack me, then be sacrificed to my opponent's gain. And Embercleave is a great card in Commander but super-annoying in standard play; it generally meant guaranteed win.

Overall

Eldraine was a great set that delivered on many fronts. It was too powerful, so I am interested to see what standard looks like after this set rotates.