Random card #9: Curse of the Pierced Heart

Innistrad introduced a new subtype for enchantment: curse. They are auras that can enchant any player. Curse are in every color but not in green. It's weird that we have white curse, according to the story of Innistrad, white is the 'good' color. Why would white mage curse someone? Curse doesn't have any rules attached to it, but other cards can refer to it.

Curse had been in common to rare, so we have powerful quite to lame card.

This card is not too bad, but not too good either. This curse will slowly reduces life of a player and grinds his last life point. It reminds us of card like Wanderlust. You can't control when you want to use it, since it will trigger only during the player's upkeep.

So, infortunately, this card don't work with bloodthirst creature. It could have been more interesting if it triggers during your upkeep.

In Limited, it can help you win since games tend to last longer than in other formats. Other than that, this card isn't really playable.

Random card #8: Ravenous Rats

This card was printed for the first time in Urza's Destiny. It's a small creature with a 'comes into play ability', something that was quite new at the time, because it was first introduced in Visions about one year before.

'Comes into play' abilities in term of design allows designer to create a lot of different creature and make the game simpler because after the first turn, this type of creatures are just 'vanilla' creature. It make them more appealing. Otherwise, will you play a 1/1 for 2 ?

It's an efficient card, you will be able to discard a card from your opponent most of the time since you can play it early. And it's a rat, you can play it in a tribal deck with rats. You can also play him with rats with the ninjitsu ability. And then play it again. 

There are many ways to efficiently get him back into your hand. One of them is to play with Skull Collector from Saviors of Kamigawa. Get it back every upkeep and annoy your opponent! It won't cost you too much, just 2 mana per turn. This expansion featured a 'card in hand' matters theme, because in Kamigawa block, many abilities worked well with a lot of card in hand, or made you with cards in hand (ninjutsu, soulshift, splice into arcane...).

It looks like a 'staple card' of Magic, a card that had been reprinted many times, because it's a simple, clear  card and with a good effect.

Random card #7: Court Homunculus

Court Homunculus is a common card from Conflux, the second expansion of the Alara block. This plane is divided in 5 "shards" in the beginning. This creature is from the Esper Shard, composed of white, blue and black color. In this shard, each permanent is an artifact card. Esper permanents are colored artifact, something that was only seen before with Transguild Courier from Dissenssion and Sarcomite Myr from Future Sight.

Transguild Courier is special since it's in every color and Sarcomite Myr was a hint to colored artifact in the Future Sight expansion. It was aimed to show colored artifact that will appears in Scars of Mirrodin. But it was a perfect fit for Esper, so colored was not used in Scars of Mirrodin.

This is an solid, aggressive creature, a good 1 drop creature, since you only need one another artifact to boost him. That's something that could be easily done with Esper card, an equipment that cost 0 for example (Bonesaw), but also card from Mirrodin, like artifact land. Nevertheless, it's quite fragile so be sure to do a early great amount of damages with him.

The art was made by Matt Cavotta, there are two little cute homoculus standing above small pylones and their cloths and cape make them look like taller.

Random card #10: City of Solitude

City of Solitude



This card was printed in Visions in a time where counterspells were dominant. At that time, creatures were not as strong as nowadays. Counter draw deck were possible at that time and it was a favorite style of play for a great portion of players. Like land destruction deck.

Green color is an blue ennemy color, it needed something good against its main force. For them, this card is a must-counter. Otherwise, plenty of counters will be useless and stay in their hands.

This is a really good sideboard card and a card you must have in your Commander deck if you have a pesky blue mage playing with you.

It's a double edge-sword, all players are affected by its effect, even you. Moreover played in multiple times, it won't help because it's an enchantment with an effect which doesn't stack. But at least if you put more than one in your deck, it will put pressure to your opponent who will have to counter each of it.

It's a versatile card, since any players won't also be able to play combat tricks during an opponent's turn.

Random card #6: Wall of Caltrops

This card had been printed in Legends, an old extension of Magic, one of the first Magic expansion. This expansion featured for the first time legendary permanents and gold cards. While famous for that Legends had also a "wall" thema. To support that, Legends features many instants that help wall, and many wall creatures.

It's a wall of caltrops, so it's not a big creature, just a 2/1 creature. If you block with other creatures, and at the conditions that all bloking creature are walls, it gains banding until end of turn. That is really impressive ! One of the rare creature with band with other wall. At least, you can manage to kill a creature and keep you wall on the battlefield, nice !

It was already useless back when it was printed, and not more useful nowadays.

About the art, we can say that it was hard to paint a wall like this. It's more a carpet that a wall. Anyway, we can tell that Brian Snoddy made his best.

The flavor text is fun, it's the soldier who is screaming about his pain. Ow !

Random card #5: Mind Rot

Mind rot makes your opponents discard 2 cards. It first appears in Portal and had been brought into "real" Magic with 7th Edition.



It had been printed with 3 different arts, the first from Portal has been reused many times. It's the best one, you can see that the mind of the guy is really being ripped.

In the past, famous card like Hymn to Tourach and Stupor allows you to discard 2 cards. They do it at random (partially for Stupor), so they can discard land cards in the process. We had deck who can rip an opponent's hand, thanks to powerful discard spells and Dark Ritual, which helped to play them fast.

Nowadays, effect like this is avoided, it's funnier to play against someone who can at least do something. At 3 mana, you won't take an opponent off guard, won't harm him to much. But it's modern Magic, something that is really more fun for both players.

Mind rot is a fixed version of past discard spells. It's not a powerful spell, so it's a spell that had been reprinted in every core set since 7th Edition.

You can target yourself if you want, since it doesn't say 'target opponent'. It seems silly, but it can help you to put card in your graveyard, and enable your shenanigans !

Random card #4: Royal Assassin

This creature from Alpha was edited many times in core set. It has also a JSS promo card, that was also illustrated by Tom Wänerstrand with the same style as the card that he drew in Alpha. But this time, he didn't draw a pub because that would look out of place in Modern Magic. Artists had more freedom for illustrations at the beginning of Magic The Gathering.

It can be annoying if you play him early and manage to keep him in the battlefield. If your opponent attacks, he'll lose at least one creature. If he taps a creature for mana or an ability, he'll lose it too. You can control the battlefield and play politics with other player with him. For sure, he will be targeted by your opponents. Moreover he's too fragile.

It's the kind of old card that can shine if you have specific conditions.

Random card #3: Leshrac's Rite

This card is an aura that appears in Ice Age that gives swampwalk to one of your creature. The art of Ice Age is really good, it features a puppet that appears many times in the past in a few cards. It was printed again in 5th, 6th with a new art. In 7th, it also had a new card, like each card of this core set.

Landwalking is an ability often printed. It enables evasion and is quite easy to figure out.

Who's Leshrac ? He is one of the bad guy from Ice Age story apparently.

We had many aura like this, it's an incomplete cycle: Fishliver Oil, Leshrac's Rite, Tunnel and Dryad's Favor. We don't have plainswalk aura yet, since plains are hard to past without notice. Why Fishliver Oil cost 1 more more ? It's a mystery.

Maybe one day, Wizards will print a one mana version of this aura.

Random card #2: Squadron Hawk

Squadron Hawk

FNM card of Squadron Hawk

This card appears in Magic 2011. In the past, we had many creatures with the same come into play ability in Mercadia Masques and Nemesis (Creature that allow you to search for card with the same name): Skyshroud Sentinel, Howling Wolf and Nesting Wurm. None was successful since they were overcosted and without evasion.

But on the contrary, this one was a success. This cousin of Welkin Hawk has many qualities.

First, it's really cheap, it just cost 2. Compare him to Skyshroud Sentinel or Howling Wolf.
Second he has flying. So he can be equipped with a sword and attack without being block.

It gives you card avantage and help you build time if you chumpblock with all your fliers.

It was edited as a FNM card but I doubt it will be reprinted. Card like this will be reevaluated in the future. We can't expect seeing card with the same stat and cost again.

Random card #1: Roc Egg

Roc Egg

Roc egg appears for the first time in Magic 2011 and was reedited in Magic 2012. It's like a new version of Rukh Egg from Arabian Night, in white and one mana cheaper. It has the same state as the old card, with the defender ability that appears with Kamigawa. Aniway, since it's a 0/3 creature, it's not really interesting to attack with it. You will keep him to build time, before he dies.

If he dies, you put a 3/3 flying token into the battelfield. A 3/3 is not as good as the 4/4 Rukh, but it's quite good in limited.
Don't waste your own removal on him. Keep him on the battlefield, it often deters opponents to kill it, depending on the state of the game.

One more thing, you put the token, right away after he dies. Rukh Egg put it only at the end step. What does it change ? If you kill him during an opponent attack phase, you can block one attacking creature. Surprise !