“You’ve got a good heart. Don’t ever lose it
Art:Risky Shortcut
by Ignatius Budi
We are back again to rate more commons for Pauper EDH! Black is a very strong color within the format and has a ton of premier removal and creatures, whether it’s focused on the graveyard, discard, or just straight-up being a strong creature/spell. Black is a great color within Pauper EDH. Black in Aetherdrift is quite similar to all of the colors but features some very strong cards that I think will be widely played in the format! Black is a little interesting as well as since this is the first color we’ve covered thus far that doesn’t have any reprints! All fresh and new and ready for the format. Without further ado, let’s get it!
Let’s get straight into it!
Rating for Wreckage Wickerfolk 8/10:
I am a big fan of this card, I think it is a decent early-game creature and can be quite nice in a graveyard focused strategy, I don’t think it has much appeal outside of a graveyard-focused deck but is a decent option for a graveyard deck, if you are interested in filling the graveyard this is a strong, aggressive creature that helps the overall gameplan a ton!
Rating for Syphon Fuel 3/10:
While I think this effect is quite strong, it is among a ton of competition in black, and with cards like Tragic Slip
being far better, this card probably won’t see much play. If this was not in black, I think it would be decently strong, but in a color with so much premier removal in the format, this just doesn’t work that well.
Rating for Streaking Oilgorger 7/10:
This is a pretty decent attacker for a vampire deck, while it does take a few turns to get to max speed, it can still be a decent attacker until then. I think this card is pretty good for a vampire deck but doesn’t work very well outside of that archetype; I think this is an auto-include for commanders like Stromkirk Captain
, which is a pretty strong deck within the format.
Rating for Spin Out 10/10:
Another amazing piece of removal for black! I really like all of the removal that black has, and this is another great addition. With the heavy focus on creatures in the format, this card is rarely bad, and if you do run up against someone running vehicles, it’s also very good. I am a huge fan of this card and will be slotting it into all of my heavy removal black decks.
Rating for Risky Shortcut 10/10:
In my opinion, in many decks, this is a better version of Read the Bones
. While we don’t get the scry hitting each player, getting card advantage is absolutely worth three mana. I love supplemental card draw in my decks and have been playing Risky Shortcut and really enjoying it. This card is absolutely a 10/10, and I think I will start to see widespread play.
Rating for Ripclaw Wrangler 8/10:
While I am a longtime vehicle hater, I actually like this one quite a bit; I think it fits really nicely into a discard-focused shell, is quite aggressive, and has some really strong stats. Discard decks have a ton of great options in the early and late game but tend to struggle a little bit in the mid-game, and I think this card helps them get an additional discard trigger and have a decent attacker/blocker. Crew 2 is quite easy to activate and, with a heavy focus on early-game creatures, can easily be crewed.
Rating for Pactdoll Terror 10/10:
I am a huge fan of this card; with cards like Disciple of the Vault
already in the format, this is a great complimentary piece; while it’s quite a bit more expensive, it’s still a very strong card, and non-combat damage is quite strong within the format. I’m a big fan of this card and think it will be a great support piece for artifact-focused decks. I also like this deck for some aggressive creature strategies, who can take a ton of advantage for this. This card is really good in a bunch of powerful strategies. Another 10/10 and an absolute win.
Rating for Mutant Surveyor 6/10:
So much of me wants to like this card, but overall, It’s just not great. I think there are decks that focus on a lot of non-land mana and ramping through rocks that may like this card, but overall, I’m just not a really big fan of this. I tested it a little bit, and it was always a little underwhelming. I tested it in a Golgari counters deck and liked it a little, but overall, I’m not a huge fan of this card.
Rating for Maximum Overdrive 10/10:
A true slam dunk of a card, perfect for control strategies that want to influence combat or decks that want to protect their own creatures, this card is efficient, easy to cast, and just provides a nice bit of utility for a deck. A ton of cards with similar effects already see play, and this is just another great option. This is one of the best in the color, huge fan of this one.
Rating for Grim Javelineer 8/10:
A great addition for aggressive strategies, and in aggressive strategies where no one cares about creatures dying can be a nice piece of card selection as well. I am a big fan of this card, and while it is kind of a win-more card and can be a bad draw late-game, it’s perfect in an opening hand and can help you deal additional damage and put a lot of additional pressure on our opponents.
Rating for Grim Bauble 8/10:
This card is quite good for an artifact deck, it can be a great way to kill a cheap creature and can absolutely help you regain tempo in the early-game. While this card certainly isn’t world-beating, it can be very strong for an artifact strategy. I like this card a lot!
Rating for Engine Rat 0/10:
This card is pretty awful; I can’t think of one deck that would want to run this; it just doesn’t do anything, and a 1/1 deathtouch for one is just not good enough in Pauper EDH. I love rats, love the flavor but this is an absolute miss.
Rating for Deathless Pilot 7/10:
I think this card is really good. It gets a low rating because it doesn’t have a ton of application within the format, but in a few years and after a few sets, I think this card can be a lot better, being able to crew four with one creature is quite strong, if we start to see some much bigger vehicles and mounts this one will be really good, it is a great card and has a great effect but for now only earns a seven, but I expect this to be good in the future.
Rating for Chitin Gravestalker 10/10:
We are finishing up the list with a very strong card, cards like Writhing Necromass
see a decent amount of play in graveyard strategies, and I think this card is going to be a very nice complementary piece, this card is really good and in a graveyard deck is quite busted. Huge fan of this one!
Conclusion:
Wow, black has very few misses in this set and has a lot of cards that I think are going to be really strong, and while they certainly aren’t format-warping, they are quite good and are great support pieces for a variety of strategies. I hope you all enjoyed this one, stay tuned and tap in!