The full spoiler for New Phyrexia is finally here, and ahead of schedule, too! The set’s major innovation, Phyrexian mana, can reduce the casting cost of spells by having you pay life, instead. Amazingly powerful from a competitive constructive standpoint, not so much from an EDH one. Since a spell with a Phyrexian mana symbol in its casting cost still has a colored mana symbol on it, you’re not going to be able to get away with the same kind of off-color splashing that is probably going to become the norm in competitive formats. Also, EDH isn’t a format where saving yourself a mana here and there really has a huge impact on the course of the game, so Phyrexian mana probably isn’t going to have that big of an impact, even when it’s on-color.

While Phyrexian mana may be a disappointment for us EDHers, that doesn’t mean that the set doesn’t have anything good to offer. Quite the contrary, actually. New Phyrexia probably has more EDH-focused cards in it than any set we’ve seen before. There’s the Praetors, an entire cycle of incredibly powerful legendary creatures, a cycle of big rare creatures with interesting abilities, plenty of never-seen-before effects and abilities, and some of the most powerful artifacts and pieces of equipment we’ve seen yet.

Since most commons and uncommons aren’t really suitable for EDH, we’ve limited our reviews to the set’s rares, mythics, and notable commons and uncommons. Each card is ranked from 1 to 4.

1: Good for the lulz, but probably not much else.It’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Probably.

2: A mediocre choice, or one with really narrow applications. Could be a really solid choice if it supports your deck’s shenanigans.

3: A solid card for most decks, even if it’s not an auto-include.

4: If you’re playing the colors, you should probably find room in your deck for this card.

 

Candy: It’s not a must-include, but salvaging stuff from your graveyard is always a bonus in EDH, given how often the field gets blown up. White is the color for equipment, and it also lacks the global recover-stuff-from-graveyard cards that are plentiful in green. I can see this being really useful in certain decks, like a [card]Kemba, Kha Regent[/card] deck. 2

Coda: It does have a decent body, and the effect is quite powerful if you’re running a lot of equipment. That said, it’s definitely not my first, second, or even third choice for such a deck.2

Coda: I love the whole splicer theme from a limited standpoint, but aside from someone putting together a bizarre Golem tribal EDH deck, I can’t see this getting much play. 1

Candy: Yeah, not quite enough good Golem cards to make them a legitimate tribe yet, so this puppy is going to be near-useless in most EDH decks. 1

Candy: Not super-great by itself, but could be a fun combo piece in, say, a [card]Sharuum the Hegemon[/card] deck in conjunction with cards like [card]Valor Made Real[/card]. 6 damage is about right EDH, too. 2

Coda: This should be a fine bit of removal in limited, but in EDH you’re never going to make it better than a [card]Day of Judgment[/card], even when you’re breaking it to bits with [card]Valor Made Real[/card]. 1

Coda: Definitely the freakiest looking angel in, well, ever, but not really that stellar in EDH. Mana taxing effects tend to piss people off and turn the table against you more than they actually accomplish anything worthwhile, but I guess I could see this having a home in a Grand Arbiter griefer deck along with a whole host of similar effects. 2

Candy: Aaaand [card]Grand Arbiter Augustin IV[/card] decks have found yet another way to be annoying. Can’t really see this getting much play in any other context, though. 2

Coda: If there’s one thing I’ve realized, looking at the NPH spoilers, it’s that the praetors are MEAN. While definitely not the evilest of her contemporaries, Elesh Norn is still going to be a force to be reckoned with in EDH. She completely shuts down opposing token decks and most utility creatures, and makes her own army huge. Expect to see her both as a general and as a worthy inclusion in just about any deck running white. 4

Candy: I can’t think of a single white deck this wouldn’t be good in. This + [card]Massacre Wurm[/card] in a black and white deck would be especially amazing. Controlly people I know who disdain mono-white are now seriously thinking about building an Elesh Norn deck. She’s dickish and needs to be dealt with, but not broken or unfun (unlike some of the other Praetors). 4

Coda: Basically the world’s most expensive [card]Oblivion Ring[/card], but it does have the advantage that the card it exiles doesn’t come back. If you can find a way to bounce or flicker it, you could get some good mileage out of it. Exile it with an [card]Admonition Angel[/card] as a rattlesnake, perhaps? Also interesting in that this is the first non-artifact card we’ve seen with imprint. 2

Candy: I can see this being an amazing card if you know your meta especially well and play with a limited group of people. It hoses generals and EDH staples that everybody tries to run if they’re playing certain colors, like [card]Phyrexian Arena[/card], [card]Mana Reflection[/card] or [card]Rhystic Study[/card]. 3

Coda: [card]Propaganda[/card] effects are powerful in EDH, but propaganda effects that force some decks to pay life to attack you? That’s a new one. This should be a mainstay in EDH for quite a while to come. 3

Candy: Love it. All the upsides of [card]Ghostly Prison[/card], and none of the downsides. 3

Coda: This is definitely a Johnny card, waiting for someone to break it in half. I’m not partial to such things, but if you are, you’re probably already overclocking your brain searching for things to do with this. 1

Candy: Look! It’s the other robot from “All is Full of Love,” after Björk-robot decides that fembots are not her thing and girls were just a phase. 1

Coda: This should be a good roleplayer in equipment-focused decks, but I doubt it will ever be much more than that. 2

Candy: The decks that want this will want it real bad. [card]Lightning Greaves[/card] has taught us the power of 0 equip costs. 2

Coda: 5 mana for a 3/3 flier is pretty underwhelming, but what an ability! 3 life for every land that your opponents play is going to add up real quick. In a 4 player game with Primeval Titans swinging and fetchlands popping left and right, we’re talking about gaining double digit, even triple digit quantities of life. Easily the biggest sleeper card of the set. 3

Candy: This angel is going to be teh nuts in white decks that enjoy lifegain. If you thought [card]Auriok Champion[/card] was annoying, this is pretty much guaranteed to make you snarl. I honestly don’t see a downside to including this in most mono-white decks, unless your focus is completely elsewhere. 3

Coda: Elesh Norn’s BFF. Gains you life off your own tokens, punishes opponents for theirs. Decks that run [card]Soul Warden[/card] and similar cards will probably want to find a spot for her. 2

Candy: Hey, remember [card]Soul’s Attendant[/card]? Her meaner, crazier younger sister is in town and wants to say hi, and also bleed all over you. You should probably put her in your deck instead of the Attendant. And don’t provoke her. She looks like a cutter. 3

Candy: Not quite as hilarious as [card]Congregate[/card] when you drop it, but decent nonetheless in most decks that care about lifegain. 2

Coda: Cards that gain you life and nothing else tend to fall somewhere between awful and mediocre. Even the granddaddy of lifegain, [card]Beacon of Immortality[/card] isn’t particularly stellar, and this, my friend, is no [card]Beacon of Immortality[/card]. 1

Candy: Notice that this spell doesn’t care what kind of damage your creature deals, which means [card]Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind[/card] decks and other decks that feature pingers now have a way to sweep the board clear as well as deal damage. Good for clearing the way for an alpha strike, or if you’re trying to politic your way through a game, to bounce an opponent’s creature with ETB triggers. 2

Coda: I can see this doing some pretty hilarious things, but the fact that it’s a one-time effect is going to seriously limit its effectiveness. Now if it were an enchantment, then we’d be talking. 1

Coda: Casting spells for free is an incredibly powerful effect. Doing it as an ETB trigger? That’s just insane. Note that it doesn’t exile the card you cast from someone’s graveyard, so if you can blink the chancellor, you can cast your opponent’s spells over and over again. Blink decks, mill decks, and decks that abuse their opponents’ graveyards will want this card badly. As another bonus, its power and toughness add up to 12—that’s important for us folks who like to use [card]Wild Pair[/card]. 4

Candy: This Chancellor is pure nutty goodness. People who’ve played [card]Memory Plunder[/card] and [card]Wrexial, the Risen Deep[/card] know just how crazy it gets when you have access to a graveyard full of sorceries and instants. There’s nothing like casting somebody’s [card]Storm Herd[/card] or [card]Insurrection[/card] for free after you’ve milled it out of their library. And if your opponent has any kind of extra turn mechanic in their graveyard… All of a sudden, the blue mage is using [card]Relic of Progenitus[/card] on himself. 4

Coda: As a more or less free way to take a peek at your opponent’s hand, I don’t think I can ever fault someone for putting this in their deck. That said, deck slots are at a huge premium in EDH, so I doubt many people will run it, unless you’re playing a combo deck that’s just trying to dig for its pieces and determine whether the coast is clear. 2

Candy: As a cantrip, it’s not too shabby; it’s always nice to check what an opponent has in their grip. Its usefulness seems relatively limited in EDH, though; cards like [card]Vendilion Clique[/card] do the job far more effectively for not that much more mana. 1

Coda: Easily the most evil blue creature ever printed. He’s like the twisted lovechild of [card]Myojin of Seeing Winds[/card] and [card]Myojin of Night’s Reach[/card]. Either your opponents have an answer for it right away, or you force them to discard all their cards while you start drawing seven extra cards a turn. I can see this card ruining a lot of beautiful friendships, so take my advice: put him in once, revel in the card advantage, get it out of your system, then take him out and put him in your trade binder for good. 4

Candy: Oh sweet Jesus. So now we have something that looks like the result of the illicit love affair between a xenomorph and Grand Arbiter Augustin the IV, with static abilities that overwhelmingly give you an advantage in resources while completely screwing over your opponents’. It’s conceivable that you could play this card in a non-unfun way, but I’m kind of at a loss for how. Probably the most powerful of the Praetors, and the one I least want to play with or against. 4 for power level, 4 for brokenness.

Coda: This card is going to completely change Legacy and have a huge impact on every competitive constructed format. EDH isn’t quite so defined by one-mana spells, but if you really have a thing against [card]Sol Ring[/card]s and [card]Sensei’s Divining Top[/card]s, go for it. 1

Candy: Far too specific to actually be any good in EDH, given the vast suite of far more flexible counterspells available. 1

Candy: An interesting 2-for-1 effect, and probably fairly effective if you’re in a two-player game, but underwhelming in multi-player and not aggressively costed enough to actually be good. 1

Coda: 4-for-1, actually, but man does it cost a lot. Compared to [card]Recurring Insight[/card], which draws you a bazillion cards for the same mana cost, it’s pretty lackluster. Interesting that blue is getting discard in this set, though. 1

Candy: Interesting. A combination of [card]Glimmerdust Nap[/card] and [card]Soul Bleed[/card]. If you’re just starting out and hurting for answer cards in blue that aren’t counterspells, this isn’t too bad, but it’s not great, either. 1

Coda: Better stuff exists out there—dig a little deeper into your collection before running this one. I don’t think I’d ever want to run it, even in Limited. 1

Coda: The ingester is very similar to the old standby [card]Duplicant[/card], but it doesn’t quite measure up to its predecessor. It costs more, it’s not colorless, it can’t target tokens, and it can’t be reanimated by [card]Reveillark[/card]. That’s not to say it’s a bad card, by any means—just about any creature that kills another creature when it hits the board is quite playable in EDH. Given that blue isn’t known for its ability to permanently deal with creatures once they’ve hit the battlefield, this should see lots of play. 3

Candy: Giving blue a way to exile problem creatures is actually pretty sweet. I’m looking forward to adding this to my [card]Momir Vig, Simic Visionary[/card] deck. 3

Coda: [card]Clone[/card] and [card]Sculpting Steel[/card], all in one beautiful package. Those kinds of cards are never a bad inclusion in any deck, but I can see Sharuum combo decks clamoring for yet another way to go off and kill everyone in one turn. 3

Candy: I love copy effects in EDH. A [card]Primeval Titan[/card] or [card]Consecrated Sphinx[/card] or [card]Mindslaver[/card] for 4? Don’t mind if I do, thanks. The downside is that because it’s an artifact, it’s susceptible to more removal options. Still: a really solid card, and the fact that you can opt to pay 2 life if you want to keep that extra blue open is just gravy. 3

Coda: This is kind of a weird card. Mill decks might want it, and it straight up hoses tutor-to-the-top effects, but those aren’t really prevalent enough for this to be all that effective. 1

Candy: I can see this being a really, really annoying role-player in an Oona or [card]Circu, Dimir Lobotomis[/card] deck, given how often people tutor and shuffle cards in EDH. It’ll be fairly innocuous at first, because people will underestimate its impact when it hits, but as the game goes on, they’re going to get real peeved with it. If nothing else, paying 2 to have an enchantment eat a removal spell is a pretty good deal. Having been on the wrong side of a [card]Thoughtpicker Witch[/card], I can attest to how frigging debilitating it can be to constantly have your top card exiled. And honestly, knowing what your opponent’s next two draws are going to be (or not be, as the case may be) can provide some really powerful information. 3

Coda: [card]Divination[/card] isn’t a particularly great card for EDH, but the proliferate rider on this card does add quite a bit of value when you’ve got planeswalkers, thallids, or other counter-loving permanents on the table. 2

Candy: Coda’s right: the proliferation is what makes gives this card its main value. And again, the option to pay 2 life to leave blue mana up for your instant-speed answers in blue is pretty damn sweet. 2

Coda: The proliferator to end all proliferators. Combined with effects like [card]Training Grounds[/card] to reduce the activation cost, I can see some incredibly broken things being done with this card. Repeatedly using your planeswalkers’ ultimate abilities is only the beginning. 3

Candy: This is pretty much the dream card for people who’ve been trying to make Proliferate EDH decks work. 3

Coda: Every deck that wanted [card]Conspiracy[/card] but didn’t want to play black now has an answer. This should enable some fun shenanigans, but like its precursor, it’s an extremely narrow card that is only useful in specific combos. 2

Candy: Lots of potential hilariousness in tribal decks, and the infinite [card]Turntimber Ranger[/card] + [card]Conspiracy[/card] combo now has another enabler. 2

Coda: This chancellor is a nice big fatty with a very multiplayer-friendly bonus for having it in your opening hand, but I think most decks would rather have a [card]Grave Titan[/card] or [card]Wurmcoil Engine[/card]. 2

Candy: Good in a deck that plays with constant [card]Exsanguinate[/card]-style effects, and if you’re building a tribal vampire deck, well, hey, he fits the bill, but it’s not by any means an auto-include. 2

Candy: Not too bad for removal. It gets around indestructibility, so it’s a good way for mono-black to make an end run around [card]Spearbreaker Behemoth[/card], or to kill somebody’s Titan with a chump. 2

Candy: I admit, I have a soft spot for this card (which has been reprinted in a couple different sets). You don’t see Control Magic-style effects very often in black, and plinking away at the creature’s owner’s life total one at a time is delightfully black. 2

Coda: I think the card’s valuable more for it’s surprise factor than anything else. People don’t expect to see control magic effects in black. As far as control magic effects go, though, it’s pretty mediocre. 2

Candy: Geth decks could probably squeeze some mileage out of this guy, but it’s not by any means a must-include in reanimate decks. 2

Coda: Getting guys back to your hand is nice, but I see the real application here being repeatedly bouncing this and picking the creatures out of your opponents’ hands. I really like the symmetry in the exarch cycle. 2

Candy: Look, it’s [card]Diabolic Edict[/card] that causes a player to lose life on top of sacrificing a creature. I’ve seen [card]Diabolic Edict[/card] hose some players, especially in early game. Worth including in the right deck, like [card]Thraximundar[/card] or [card]Savra, Queen of the Golgari[/card]. 2

Coda: Edict effects are always surprisingly powerful in EDH, and this does exactly that, at instant speed. Making your opponent lose a life isn’t going to win any races, but hey, I guess you take what you can get. 2

Coda: Wrath effects are always welcome in EDH, but the rider on this card is particularly interesting. Given that it’s in black, I’m a little disappointed that you don’t have the option to search your own library to dump a few choice creatures in your ‘yard for reanimation. Most creature-heavy decks run a decent amount of reanimation or recursion effects, so unless your deck is looking to take advantage of your opponents’ graveyards I imagine that the rider on this card will end up being a drawback surprisingly often. 2

Candy: This card is probably best used in conjunction with some graveyard hate, like [card]Bojuka Bog[/card] or [card]Tormod’s Crypt[/card], or unless you have some reanimate effects primed and ready to go. Lots of cards that synergize very nicely with Geth decks in this particular set, I’ve noticed. 2

Candy: Those of you who know and love (or hate) [card]Mutilate[/card] know how strong a sweeper that takes away toughness can be, and this card has the potential to be especially fun, especially if you happen to have a [card]Massacre Wurm[/card] out on the table. What immediately comes to mind is to sac [card]Lord of Extinction[/card] to this card and then reanimating it, huger than ever. It’s overcosted at 7, however; if it had been 5, it would’ve been amazing, so it’s mediocre instead of a must-include. 2

Coda: Sweepers are a must in EDH, but you can really do better than this. It is uncommon, though, so if you’re on a budget I guess you could do much worse. 2

Coda: Monoblack players are going to cream themselves over this guy, then after a couple games realize that he’s nowhere near as good as he looks. The sacrifice clause means that this creature is most often just going to be treated as unblockable on offense, so it’s probably going to more often just sit back on defense and discourage people from attacking you. Kind of anticlimactic for such a ridiculous creature, but then again, that’s Magic for you. 2

Candy: Pretty amazing in the right deck—Savra decks, in particular, would love to have this guy. You can get up to all kinds of hilariousness if you equip it with [card]Nemesis Mask[/card]. Throw on a [card]Darksteel Plate[/card] on top of that for extra value. If you’re playing white, [card]Valor Made Real[/card] on this guy would be hilarious. And you know what? I’ll totally take a creature that makes my opponents hesitate to smack at me for a CMC of 4. Rattlesnakes are a valuable commodity in multi-player EDH. 3

Coda: [card]Demonic Tutor[/card] for your opponent’s deck! Kind of an amazing card, really. While it won’t be quite as useful against an off-color deck, it can usually find a [card]Sol Ring[/card] or [card]Sensei’s Divining Top[/card]. Even at its absolute worst it can find you their best land, and three mana is the going rate for a land off of [card]Expedition Map[/card], so that’s still some pretty decent value. 3

Candy: Rainbow decks suddenly got even better. This card is pretty amazing, and most decks that play black should probably run it. 4

Coda: [card]Reya Dawnbringer[/card] and [card]Anowon, the Ruin Sage[/card] had a baby. A very, very ugly baby. Reanimation effects are powerful, edict effects are powerful, and swampwalk means that she’ll usually be unblockable with [card]Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth[/card] out. Sheoldred should be a format staple for years to come. 4

Candy: As with Elesh Norn, I see no downside to including this Praetor in a black deck, and like Elesh Norn (but unlike Jin-Gitaxias), it doesn’t break your opponents’ backs with overwhelming resource advantage. Amazing but still fair. 4

Coda: This is not an EDH card. Save it for hosing your opponent’s [card]Vengevine[/card]s in Standard. Well, unless a [card]Relentless Rats[/card] deck is running rampant in your meta—then go nuts. 1

Candy: Possibly the second-worst EDH card, after [card]Dichotomancy[/card]. For those of us who play EDH almost exclusively, it reads “Open this card in a pack: get $7 in trade value.” 1

Coda: Stealing a creature at instant speed can make for some deliciously hilarious combat tricks, and the fact that you can cast this at a reduced cost is just gravy. 2

Candy: 5 for [card]Act of Treason[/card] at instant speed feels too expensive to me. Other cards that enable similar stupid combat tricks at instant speed, like [card]Cauldron Dance[/card], for example, cost only marginally more mana, and Cauldron Dance gives you two warm bodies. For the same cost as Act of Aggression, you can give all your guys double-strike or an extra combat step with [card]Savage Beating[/card] (and for 7, you can have both). The fact that this card is a one-shot use also makes it considerably less useful unless you make it a theme, as in a [card]Brion Stoutarm[/card] deck. It’s not really a finisher, though it can conceivably be a Hail Mary if you’re about to die from lethal General damage, and the option to pay with life instead of mana is pretty sweet, especially since 4 life is peanuts in EDH. All in all, it’s fun, but still feels awkward. 1.5

Coda: Now this is a wacky effect. “Pick up your artifacts and hit people with them!” I’m not sold on the power, but as far as flavor goes this card hits it out of the park. Combining this with [card]Mycosynth Lattice[/card] could result in some absolutely hilarious shenanigans. 1

Candy: This is a really, really strange card, and could potentially be fun in, say, a [card]Stonebrow, Krosan Hero[/card] deck. But I just don’t see many decks including this; its use is a little too niche. 1

Coda: Token decks are going to love this guy. He essentially doubles the size of your army when he hits the battlefield, and you can even swing with the goblins he makes the turn he comes into play. Everyone else is just going to see an overcosted 5/5. 2

Candy: Goblin tribal decks are going to love the shit out of this Chancellor. Not too many other people are. 2

Coda: Red has a long and storied history of hosing multicolor decks with cards like [card]Blood Moon[/card] and [card]Ruination[/card]. Now monocolor decks can get in on the hatefest! At first glance this isn’t a particularly powerful effect, but when added up over the course of the game you can get some sizeable numbers. If no one at your table is playing monocolor, it can still exile a problem land—a nice bonus if your opponent has a [card]Crucible of Worlds[/card] or [card]Life from the Loam[/card]. 2

Candy: Could be a lot of fun in the right chaos deck, and never underestimate the ability to exile somebody’s [card]Gaea’s Cradle[/card] or [card]Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth[/card]. If you’re able to blink him in and out, even better. 2

Coda: While it’s not too impressive at first glance, the fact that you can pump this with Phyrexian mana means that if you’re willing to sacrifice the life you can just pump it enough to take someone out of the game out of nowhere. Also makes [card]Scion of the Ur-Dragon[/card] extra scary. 2

Candy: Interesting Firebreathing effect, but it’s also dangerous, because instant-speed artifact removal basically makes this card read “Lose a chunk of life and a 4/4 flyer.” It’s definitely something you need to build around, and not an auto-include in a Dragon deck. 1

Candy: This would be an excellent finisher in the right deck. I’ve been on the wrong end of [card]Ember Gale[/card] before, and, well, ow. And Ember Gale is a better card in general, but I’m thinking red token decks could make good use of this card. 2

Coda: Falter effects are nice, but I’d rather run something like [card]Insurrection[/card] or [card]Naya Charm[/card], if I could get away with it. 1

Coda: I’m actually surprised this isn’t a Lhurgoyf, but as for its EDH playability, I can’t see it making much of an impact. 1

Candy: It’s no Lord of Extinction, that’s for damn sure. 1

Coda: Easily the weakest Praetor in EDH, although probably the strongest in Standard. Giving your creatures haste is always nice, but I doubt this guy will ever be anything more than just another [card]Fervor[/card] or [card]Fires of Yavimaya[/card] on a stick. 3

Candy: Although I agree that it’s the weakest Praetor, I don’t think it’s just Fervor on legs. This card will single-handedly hose a lot of decks; just to give an example, [card]Rhys the Redeemed[/card] will no longer be able to create hordes of chump blockers at instant speed should you choose to attack. The fact that it makes your opponents’ creatures come into play tapped is just stupidly good. If you’re building a red creature-based deck, you should probably include this card. 4

Coda: Read the card carefully: destroy target permanent. That’s right, any permanent, including creatures. At instant speed. For three mana. Sure, they get a beast, but what would you rather they have: a 3/3 vanilla beast, or [card]Jin Gitaxias, Core Augur[/card]? I thought so. Given green’s lack of creature removal, just about every monogreen deck is going to want this card. Hell, non monogreen decks are going to want this. 4

Candy: It’s like [card]Vindicate[/card] and [card]Terastodon[/card] decided to have a baby. A really fast, really mean baby. If your deck plays green, it should probably include this card. 4

Coda: This card has “build around me” written all over it, and should find a very cozy home in sacrifice- and reanimation-themed decks, although I imagine that just about any green deck could get some mileage out of it. When putting it into a deck, make sure to also put a good deal of thought into which creatures you want to chain together—this isn’t really a plug-and-play artifact. 3

Candy: This is going to be so much fun in Savra decks. 3

Coda: I swear, it was love at first sight with this guy. Metaphorically speaking, ’cause he’s oogly. Tucking a noncreature permanent is extremely powerful, and tutoring up a creature to the top of your library is fantastic utility. The casting cost of 6 is steep, yes, but you get unparalleled flexibility with it. Overall I think this guy is quite comparable to [card]Acidic Slime[/card], only you’re paying an extra mana for the extra abilities and losing deathtouch. Bouncing and flickering this guy should be pretty amazing. 3

Candy: I love [card]Primal Command[/card]. The two modes I always choose? The creature tutor, and bouncing a non-creature permanent to the top of somebody’s library. It’s a beautiful tempo disruptor. The fact that you can now get one of these modes (except tucking is even more disruptive) attached to a 3/3 body that you can bounce? Even more awesome. 3

Coda: Yet another fatty in a long line of fatties. The extra mana on your first turn is neat, but pretty insignificant, leaving a creature that’s decent on defense but not a whole lot else. Lack of trample hurts here. 2

Candy: A vanilla fatty in a color that can offer you a million vanilla fatties, and therefore not especially worth including in an EDH deck. 1

Coda: The perfect card to punish an opponent’s sweeper. Green token decks will want this badly. 3

Candy: Punish an opponent’s sweeper? How about rewardng yourself for playing your own sweeper, like right after you cast [card]Martial Coup[/card] with a massive kicker? I love it. 4

Coda: Kind of a neat anti-poison hatebear, but I doubt she’ll ever see much play outside of limited. Poison isn’t really a deck in standard right now, and she’s just too narrow and weak on her own to compete in the world of EDH. Also notable for being the first realistically-proportioned woman I’ve seen so far on Mirrodin. Props to the artist. 1

Candy: If you have a really annoying [card]Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon[/card] deck dominating your meta, it might be worth including her, but otherwise, I really wouldn’t bother. 1

Coda: Whoa! Hold the presses! I just realized that Melira has a very spicy interaction with persist: she prevents the -1/-1 counter from getting placed on your guys when they come back from the graveyard, so they can persist indefinitely. Given cards like [card]Kitchen Finks[/card], [card]Murderous Redcap[/card], [card]Woodfall Primus[/card], and a zero-mana sacrifice outlet, I’m sure some folks are going to pull off all sorts of broken infinite combos. You know who you are. I’m watching you. 2

Candy: Yeah, I underestimated this card, too. She also synergizes nicely with cards like [card]Black Sun’s Zenith[/card] and [card]Midnight Banshee[/card]. She’s definitely worth including if you’re building a combo around her. 2

Coda: If you’re ever going to make an EDH poison deck, this guy definitely has to be in it. With a table full of opponents with poison counters, his little insect army can get out of hand right quick. 2

Candy: Good in an EDH poison deck, not much good for anything else. 2

Coda: The infect [card]Overrun[/card]. While the power boost isn’t really up to snuff, you do need to land far, far fewer damage to finish off your opponent when all of your guys are dealing poison. In the end, I don’t think it’s as good as traditional [card]Overrun[/card] effects. Played in a non-poison deck, you’ll need to deal all of the lethal poison in a single turn, whereas [card]Overwhelming Stampede[/card] synergizes with the damage you’ve already dealt up to that point. In a poison deck, well, why do you care about giving your guys poison? If your meta is full of crazy lifegain I can see running it but otherwise stick to the classics. 2

Candy: It’s playable, but I honestly don’t think it belongs in anything other than a poison deck, and only if you can’t find enough ways to give your guys trample. In all, a resounding “meh” from me. 1

Coda: Doubling your mana is awesome, but man, halving your opponent’s mana? That’s just harsh. He’s easily in a close second place for the meanest praetor award behind Jin-Gitaxias. I can see this guy getting a lot of play—much to my dismay. Note that your lands won’t untap even if the spell you cast with that mana kills him, so whoever takes him off the board is basically taking one for the team. 4

Candy: The second most powerful Praetor, and unless you have your [card]Seedborn Muse[/card] out when your opponent drops it, boy is it going to suck for you. This in combination with Urabrask would just about cripple the other players on the board. 4 for power level, 4 for dickishness.

Coda: It’s the guy from [card]Dispense Justice[/card]! The options for RW generals are pretty slim, so this guy slots in quite well among his contemporaries. He’s definitely better than [card]Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran[/card], but [card]Brion Stoutarm[/card] decks tend to focus on flinging beefy creatures around so a comparison there is a little more difficult ([card]Razia, Boros Archangel[/card] is crazy expensive and kind of fragile—not really general material). There’s a bit of tension in that metalcraft encourages you to play equipment and use him as a voltron general, but his metalcraft ability encourages you to play lots of tokens to get the bonus, which doesn’t synergize well with equipment. Still an interesting general, and you gotta love the fact that he’s the one wielding the [card]Sword of War and Peace[/card]. 2

Candy: Red and white Samurai decks have traditionally used Agrus Kos as their general. Jor Kadeen is, in many ways, superior. He’d be an excellent general for a token or aggro tribal deck, and God knows white loves the hell out of its equipment. 3

Coda: [card]Brass Squire[/card], I hate to say it, but you are no longer the cutest myr. 1

Candy: I want one of my very own! I’ll love it, and pet it, and hug it, and call it George. 1

Coda: Damn, now that’s a beating. Great on defense, gains you a ton of life, and can always be recalled and cast again to net you a creature if your board is empty. The equip cost is high, but EDH usually has more than enough mana to burn. Just make sure to keep 3 mana up to protect it! 3

Candy: The high equip costs and the plethora of other equipments that offer more efficient or valuable effects for cheaper makes this a relatively mediocre card for EDH, in my opinion. The ability to save itself definitely bumps up its value, but I don’t really see myself adding this to any of my decks; I’d rather have something like [card]Strata Scythe[/card], [card]Quietus Spike[/card] or one of the Mirrodin/Scars of Mirrodin swords in my decks. And it’s not like artifacts are that difficult to recur. 2

Coda: [card]Mirari’s Wake[/card] as an artifact. Given its predecessor’s long EDH history, it should come as no surprise that Caged Sun is going to be a chase rare for EDHers in this set. Note that its 6 mana casting cost means that [card]Treasure Mage[/card] can fetch it for you. Value! 4

Candy: Not so much an artifact Mirari’s Wake as a one-sided [card]Gauntlet of Power[/card]. If you’re playing 2 colors or less, you should probably stick one of these in your deck. 4

Coda: I’m not saying you should run this card in your deck, but it’s really a neat little design…almost like a little Magic card haiku: self-contained, austere, and beautiful. 1

Candy: Other than some sort of crazy combo shenanigans that I’m not nearly clever enough to envision, I don’t know what kind of role it’d play in an EDH deck. I do love how it ties in to the story arc, however, and its air of quiet tragedy. 1 for utility, 4 for flavor.

Coda: A 5 mana 5/5 isn’t that stellar, but one that you can upgrade to a 10/10 and draw three cards for another 5 mana? That’s pretty sweet for a 5 color deck. 2

Candy: A really fun inclusion for a rainbow deck, and if you can find ways to very carefully proliferate those -1/-1 counters, even better. 2

Coda: A consummate planeswalker killer to be sure, but sadly its natural prey don’t see nearly as much play in EDH as they do in Standard. That said, it does do wonderful things with [card]Dark Depths[/card] and is fetchable with [card]Trinket Mage[/card], so I definitely wouldn’t fault anyone for running it in their deck. 2

Candy: Together with Melira, another card I underestimated until I thought about the myriad cards that care about counters, and how the Parasite either hoses them or makes them better. [card]Bloodchief Ascension[/card]? Hosed. [card]Aether Vial[/card]? Hosed. [card]Joraga Warcaller[/card]? Hosed. Land cards with storage counters? Hosed. [card]Black Market[/card]? Hosed. [card]Decree of Silence[/card]? Holy crap better. Anything with cumulative upkeep? Way, way, hella better. 3

Candy: [card]Isolation Cell[/card] could be a really powerful, really annoying card in the right deck—mono-blue decks that win by decking everybody with [card]Prosperity[/card], for example, could appreciate the breathing room it provides. That said, it’s more annoying than it is powerful. 1.5

Coda: Karn is going to see a lot of play in EDH, that’s for sure. Just exiling a permanent is a strong effect (if overcosted) at 7 mana, but if Karn manages to stick around he can be incredibly frustrating to deal with. The simple fact that he can go up to 10 loyalty the turn he comes into play means that it’s probably going to take the effort of more than one player to bring him down. I imagine the most common line of play is going to be just +4ing him every turn until the coast is clear to start sniping permanents. His ultimate probably won’t get used much, if at all in EDH, but that’s just fine—his other two abilities are more than powerful enough to compensate. 3

Candy: Karn is an excellent choice for any mono-color deck that hurts for answers—in my opinion, he’ll be especially powerful in mono-green, mono-red and mono-black. His ultimate is crazy enough that I might allow somebody to pop it, just to see what happens. 3

Coda: The living weapon equivalent to [card]Nightmare Lash[/card], this is pretty fabulous in a monoblack deck, or any deck running [card]Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth[/card], really. 2

Candy: A decent choice if you’re looking for an embiggener to force through a quick general damage kill. 2

Candy: What did I say about Geth decks getting a lot of love? Geth decks just got a lot of love. Wrexial decks could have a lot of fun with this, too. And let’s not even contemplate the horribleness this wreaks when you have an active [card]Bloodchief Ascension[/card] on the board. 2.5

Coda: Sadly it’s not a legendary Myr for my hypothetical Myr EDH deck, but it’s still quite a beater. That said, the decks that are most likely to be able to cast this (green decks) are the ones least in need of an undercosted fatty. It will probably see play in other formats, but not here. Fun fact: in Germany this is known as the Übermyr. Part of me wishes they’d named that in English, too. 1

Candy: I can see this making a splash in aggro elf decks in Vintage or Legacy formats. Honestly, however, it’s vanilla beater, and vanilla beaters don’t really have a place in EDH. 1

Coda: Another weird card—probably best paired with a card that replaces your draws with another effect like [card]Tomorrow, Azami’s Familiar[/card]. 1

Candy: Part of me wants to play this card just to completely and utterly screw over [card]Azami, Lady of Scrolls[/card] decks, or to watch people who’ve tossed down their [card]Consecrated Sphinx[/card]es and [card]Rhystic Study[/card] stew with rage. Chaos decks would probably enjoy the hell out of this card; ditto decks that have ways of fine-tuning what card is on top of their library. I’m seriously considering this for my [card] Intet, the Dreamer[/card] deck. It’s definitely not something you just want to toss willy-nilly into a deck. If you run [card]Necropotence[/card] as well, this card could be a lot of fun for you.1.5

Coda: It’s a cute effect, but the only people playing it are going to be doing it for the lulz, not the power level. 1

Candy: I’m sure there are all sorts of combo-riffic shenanigans you can get up to with this card, but it’s something you need to build around if you want to make proper use of it. 1

Coda: The fact that it diverts abilities is pretty neat, but I doubt this will ever do much more than absorb a single kill spell. 1

Candy: It can absorb kill spells, sure, but there are lots of other applications: redirect all auras meant for Uril to this guy, for example, or preventing stupid combat tricks using [card]Berserk[/card], [card]Vines of Vastwood[/card], [card]Act of Treason[/card], etc. I’d be curious to see it in action. Not by any means an auto-include, but it could be a really fun addition to some decks. 2

Coda: While its effect isn’t as directly useful as the other swords, the fact that it provides protection from white alone makes it a worthy inclusion. This should be an absolute beast in constructed formats as an anti-control weapon, but in EDH with its bigger life totals, I doubt it will make it into as many decks as the UR, WB, and GB swords. 2

Candy: I find myself fairly underwhelmed by this sword, mostly because the other swords provide much more powerful effects. Protection from white is nice, and it could be really effective in, say, a [card]Multani, Maro-Sorcerer[/card] or [card]Soramaro, First to Dream[/card] deck, but I’d pick many, many other equipments over this one. 2

Coda: The bane of every blink deck, this card is a little too narrow to see much widespread play. It could be amusing in a deck designed to cheat fatties with drawbacks like [card]Sky Swallower[/card] and [card]Eater of Days[/card] into play, though. 1

Candy: This card could be back-breaking in the correct control deck; [card]Gaddock Teeg[/card] and mono-blue control decks, for example, could use and abuse its ability for fun and profit. 2

Coda: [card]Seedborn Muse[/card] for artifacts. This is going to see a pretty decent amount of play in pretty much any deck that uses a large number of artifacts. Then again, you could just cast [card]Mycosynth Lattice[/card] and untap all your stuff, too, but that card is crazy enough already without help from Unwinding Clock. 3

Candy: Sharuum and Arcum Dagsson decks just got another powerful enabler. Oh joy. Oh rapture. 3

Coda: Kind of an artifact [card]High Market[/card], this can enable all kinds of tricks, the least of which is sacrificing a [card]Spine of Ish Sah[/card] over and over again. 2

Candy: Instant-speed sac outlets in EDH are always useful. Somebody about to exile your [card]Darksteel Forge[/card]? Sac it with this puppy. It should see some play in several artifact-focused decks, from Sharuum to Arcum Dagsson to Kemba, Kha Regent.