My Favorite Cards from Shadows Over Innistrad Block (Top 10)

As Kaladesh spoilers are already in full swing (actually kind of winding down at this point, although we’re still missing quite a few of the story moments as of this writing), it seems like a good chance to look back at Shadows over Innistrad.

I liked Innistrad. I wasn’t really in love with it, but I had fun playing it. I think the balance between the really big eldrazi (that aren’t generally even that big) and the rest was much better than in the previous block, but I couldd have lived without certain bombs that have made Standard very boring. Much of this has to do with the previous block, again, but that’s because much of what Innistrad 2 brought to the table just couldn’t compete with [scryfall]Gideon, Ally of Zendikar[/scryfall], [scryfall]Nissa, Voice of Zendikar[/scryfall] and, of course, [scryfall]Collected Company[/scryfall]. I would’ve wished there was a competitive Vampire deck or something, but it just hasn’t appeared, at least not yet. With [scryfall]Collected Company[/scryfall] and [scryfall]Dromoka’s Command[/scryfall] gone pretty soon, things might change quite a bit.

As always, this isn’t about what’s best, but more about what sparks my imagination in some way or another. Sometimes its a fun card to brew with, sometimes I like the art, sometimes they do something weird, but not very obvious, way too often they’re either black or blue or both. Sometimes (okay, often) I just have fond memories of them.

Previous “winners” include [scryfall]Pain Seer[/scryfall], [scryfall]Bloodsoaked Champion[/scryfall] and [scryfall]Inverter of Truth[/scryfall]. As I said, black is good, but also they work in weird ways, often being pretty weak, if things don’t go your way, but they are the kinds of cards I personally enjoy.

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Fun With Triskaidekaphobia (and a note on Shamble Back)

I was playing in the Finnish Championships of MtG this last weekend. Didn’t go too well, but first of the two drafts did go swimmingly. Being at 1-2 after the first three standard rounds, I knew I probably need to spike this thing to have any hope and a middling draft wouldn’t do anything for me, I went for a very greedy plan. I first-picked [scryfall]Anguished Unmaking[/scryfall], then got passed a [scryfall]Drogskol Cavalry[/scryfall] (an excellent card, even if it doesn’t look like it in the beginning), and then a [scryfall]Triskaidekaphobia[/scryfall], twice.

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My Favorite Shadows Over Innistrad Cards (Top 10) – A Preliminary Version

Since we’re still missing the second set and I haven’t been able to play with very many of the cards yet, I can’t really do this list yet, but at the same time, I keep thinking about this. A lot. Way too much, in fact. So, to purge it (or [scryfall]Angelic Purge[/scryfall] it, if you will) from my mind, I’ll just make this list now and just make an updated one when I’m ready for the real list.

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Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad Preparation (as an Amateur), pt. 1

First of all, I’m not qualified to play, but as my business partner (of Sensei’s Divining Shop fame) and friend, Lauri, is, I decided to join him in testing. It doesn’t hurt that I live in Finland and the testing is going to happen in Spain… Also, I’m currently enjoying my sabbatical (in other words unemployed, with pretty good savings), so why not?

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Shadows over Innistrad Mechanical Flavor Hits

Okay, so [scryfall]Archangel Avacyn[/scryfall] is pretty a pretty clear hit. She’s everywhere, when you need her to be and she’s always protecting her flock. Then, she flips and burns all the sinners. This is a great accomplishment flavorwise. The mechanics tell the whole story.

But what else…

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Shadows over Innistrad Brews, pt. 18 – Another Look at Arlinn Kord

My major problem with [scryfall]Arlinn Kord[/scryfall] has been the lack of GR five drops that have some sort of evasion, or semi-evasion such as trample. So, maybe I’ll skip a step and go straight for the six drops and how about this one:

I didn’t even realize it was legal, but it was reprinted in Origins as one of the cards in the beginner packages and is therefore Standard legal. I know it has the problem of not doing anything when it first hits the board, but with Arlinn, it does at least one thing: hits very, very fast and hard. 10/10 with trample, vigilance and haste for six mana seems like a fine bargain to me.

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Shadows over Innistrad Brews, pt. 17 – BG All-In Delirium

Of course, [scryfall]Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy[/scryfall] would be good here, but assuming we’re not all made of money (I am, sort of, but even I’m not willing to put a that much money into them), so let’s call this a budget version, although I’m not sure Jace would make this that much better. Besides, Jace isn’t taking space from actual fun cards.

This is also for those of us, who miss the constant shuffling of fetches. If there is someone like that out there.

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Shadows over Innistrad Brews, pt. 16 – Bant Clues

The mana is awkward, but I think this could work. The problem with clues is that they aren’t generally as valuable as you’d hope they would be. Here, we can use [scryfall]Thopter Spy Network[/scryfall] for extra advantage, but generally the clues just aren’t worth it.

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