Little bit of copying and pasting just so we both know where we stand...
The rules are fairly simple. I will look at each common one by one and give you my thoughts and feelings. At the end of each colour I will give you a rough first stab at pick orders. Your lists and my lists will not match and you will not share every feeling I have. I urge you to tell me why because this is a two-way thing. I have much to learn as a Magic player and I'm sure if we find some common ground it will benefit us all.
Let's see what the so called 'best colour' has to offer then.
Dewdrop Spy
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Faerie Rogue
P/T:
2/2
:
Flash
Flying
When Dewdrop Spy comes into play, look at the top card of target player's library.
I like Dewdrop Spy quite a lot but I'm not really sure how to articulate why. I think the thing about this card is it hits for the same as a Sentinels of Glen Elendra and Sentinels was never a bad card to have even if it was a little obvious. This card is less obvious due to only costing 3 mana. I'm not sure how useful the Peek ability will prove to be but this card holds its own as a 2/2 instant-speed evasive dude for 3 mana. I'd be looking to pick this card up round about pick 5 I think - it should never table anyway.
Disperse
Cost:
Card Type:
Instant
P/T:
:
Return target nonland permanent to its owner's hand.
Ok, so sure, most of the time this Disperse going to be an Unsummon that costs you 1 more. And we do have a functionally very similar card from Lorwyn in Whirlpool Whelm. Hell, Whelm even lets you dig into your deck (and don't forget, your opponent's too). But what I like about Disperse is the ability to completely screw over his master plan when you bounce that Planeswalker just before it goes Ultimate.
Disperse is what I like to call a 'worker' card - it's not flashy or cool or amazing but it does what it does well and if you are in blue, it should always make your deck.
Distant Melody
Cost:
Card Type:
Sorcery
P/T:
:
Choose a creature type. Draw a card for each permanent you control of that type.
Distant Melody is one of those cards that is difficult to rate because in the right deck, it will be silly. What I consider the right deck to be is something along the lines of goblins, elves or merfolk. Basically any tribe which can generate lots of token creatures will allow Melody to shine - I am thinking along the lines of cards like Weirding Shaman, Elvish Promenade and Stonybrook Schoolmaster. In other decks it will be a poor man's Mulldrifter. Evaluate accordingly.
Fencer Clique
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Faerie Soldier
P/T:
3/2
:
Flying
: Put Fencer Clique on top of its owner's library.
I had two Fencer Cliques in the pre-release and my word, they were ace, as you would generally expect 3 power flying dudes for 4 mana to be. That it can dodge removal all day long is the icing on the cake. I can see these being particulary strong in any kind of controllish blue build that perhaps didn't pick up the blue bomb it was looking for as a finisher. Sure, it will take a wee while longer but it will get you there eventually in a war of attrition. Great card.
Floodchaser
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Elemental
P/T:
0/0
:
Floodchaser comes into play with six +1/+1 counters on it.
Floodchaser can't attack unless defending player controls an Island.
, Remove a +1/+1 counter from Floodchaser: Target land becomes an Island until end of turn.
I'm really not all impressed by Floodchaser because I think the ability is deceptively narrow. Sure, there will be the odd occasion where you manage to blow an opponent out with a god Merfolk draw and Floodchaser allowing them to Islandwalk to victory but those times will be few and far between.
That said, I would like to try drafting a deck with multiple Etherial Whiskergills and this dude at the top end. Sure you can do that with the likes of Tideshaper Mystic but that merfolk is a lot easier to get rid of than Floodchaser is. And hey, at the end of the day, a 6/6 for 6 isn't the end of the world for blue espcially when you consider people play Axerider Giants and Craw Wurms without blinking an eye and Floodchaser can be fired out a couple of turns early by the likes of Smokebraider.
Ink Dissolver
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Merfolk Wizard
P/T:
2/1
:
Kinship - At the beginning of your upkeep, you may look at the top card of your library. If it shares a creature type with Ink Dissolver, you may reveal it. If you do, each opponent puts the top three cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
Be prepared - you will, in the not too distant future be destroyed by the guy who drafts a janky merfolk deck with a couple of Drowner of Secrets and a couple of Ink Dissolvers. That, of course, is no indication that they are any good...
But this card is generally fine. When you look at what we have to compare him to, Deeptread Merrow seems the closest and I like him better because he is potentially evasive and is a rogue. And rogues are cool dontchaknow? More likely, Dissolver will fill a space in your deck as a 2 power, 2 mana beater - hardly inspiring but not bad either.
Latchkey Faerie
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Faerie Rogue
P/T:
3/1
:
Flying
Prowl (You may play this for its prowl cost if you dealt combat damage to a player this turn with a Faerie or Rogue.)
When Latchkey Faerie comes into play, if its prowl cost was paid, draw a card.
'O Latchkey Faerie, let me tell you of the ways I love thee!'
Every single time I cast this guy at the pre-release, I did so at the Prowl cost without any issue. That's a 3 power flyer for 3 mana that draws a card when it comes into play. Now given that maybe 2/3rds of the time I had cast an Oona's Blackguard the turn before (and used her to obtain Prowl) my Latchkey Faerie was a 4/2 flyer for 3 mana that said, 'Whenever this hits you, discard a card'.
Insane. Faeries Rogues are definitely the way to go in LLM and therein lies the problem - everybody else will probably have the same idea. You are going to have to have a good handle on the people you are drafting with to see if blue is being over or underdrafted. In the aforementioned Faerie Rogue build, Latchkey Faerie will be your backbone.
Did I mention that I love Latchkey Faerie?
Merrow Witsniper
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Merfolk Rogue
P/T:
1/1
:
When Merrow Witsniper comes into play, target player puts the top card of his or her library into his or her graveyard.
From the sublime to the... well, not so sublime. I really don't have a lot to say about Merrow Witsniper kind of like Forfend yesterday. This should never make your deck, even if you do really need a 1-drop merfolk. Run Tideshaper Mystic or Mothdust Changeling instead.
Mothdust Changeling
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Shapeshifter
P/T:
1/1
:
Changeling (This card is every creature type at all times.)
Tap an untapped creature you control: Mothdust Changeling gains flying until end of turn.
I rate Mothdust Changeling more than a lot of other people purely because the addition of Morningtide to the mix has made Changeling that much more relevant. From allowing you to Noggin Whack on turn two to switching on Peppersmoke to making Judge of Currents more than a little nuts, this guy checks a lot of the boxes Mutavault does but at common. So basically, a solid workhorse.
Negate
Cost:
Card Type:
Instant
P/T:
:
Counter target noncreatur
Negate is a strange card. I am positive that it will see a lot of play in the older formats such as Extended and Legacy. The problem for limited however, is that Lorwyn is a tribal set. There are a helluva lot of creatures hitting the board on each side and heading into the red zone. Because of this, Negate jars a little - it just doesn't seem to fit properly in this set. I'm not a fan of running countermagic in limited generally anyway unless it is on a stick such as Spellstutter Sprite. But if you need to run counterspells, there are definitely better options available to you.
Stonybrook Banneret
Cost:
Card Type:
Creature - Merfolk Wizard
P/T:
1/1
:
Islandwalk
Merfolk spells and Wizard spells you play cost less to play.
Hmmmm, like so many other cards in this set, Stonybrook Bannaret is a tricky card to evaluate. Most merfolk are pretty cheap already... I just don't know. I think more than, for example, the white Bannaret, you need to very closely study the cards in your pool and see just how much benefit you could potentially get from this card. The acceleration he might provide in the right deck will be amazing but otherwise he might just end up being a 1/1 for 2.
One thing I will say though is cards like this will often suck up opposing removal for fear of what busted things he may allow you do. Any time you opponent decides to waste a Pack's Disdain or even a Release the Ants on a card like this, you should be secretly a wee bit happy imho.
Stream of Unconsciousness
Cost:
Card Type:
Tribal Instant - Wizard
P/T:
:
Target creature gets -4/-0 until end of turn. If you control a Wizard, draw a card.
When I first looked at Stream of Unconsciousness I was distinctly unimpressed. After thinking about it a bit more, I think this is actually an ok card. A lot of the time this will simply be a Fog that should hopefully grab you another card to get you where you need to be in the meantime.
You get bad 1-drop cantrips like Needle Drop and you get good ones like Peppersmoke. Stream of Unconsciousness sits neatly somewhere in between them both.
The List
Time for a stab at a pick order again then I guess. Let's see what we've got...
1) Latchkey Faerie
2) Fencer Clique
3) Distant Melody
4) Dewdrop Spy
5) Disperse
Not a bad showing for blue at all given that there are another 3 or 4 cards beneath those above that you will almost certainly be playing if you are in blue. Anyways, see you shortly for Black.
-Flame on-
Dave
Tags: Limited Prospects Morningtide Blue Lorwyn Sealed Draft Midi Dave
