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.
