IN this block every deck will have at least one legend in it. And most will have multiples, even control decks. So this card WILL be maindeck material. At least as a 2 or 3 of.
Rend Flesh
There, I just saved you $5.
Throat Slitter 4B
Creature -- Rat Ninja -- BOK Un
Ninjutsu 2B
When ~ deals combat damage to a player, destroy target nonblack creature.
2/2
Another $5 saved.
It's not like this set is somehow devoid of removal... we already have 3-4 quality removal spells (Distress being counted as a removal spell). Not to mention playing legends now kills them... This card is very limited as it is, but add in the fact that there are better removal spells within the same block and even more so in standard... It just makes this card suck all the more. Between Throat Slitter and Rend Flesh, the only creature you can't kill is Hirobi... but you should have something that targets, regardless, so he shouldn't be an issue. (OK... and Kokuso... but if you're playing Black, you're probably already playing him)
In limited, I can see MAYBE maindecking this (after all, people maindeck both Rends despite their possibly limited potential), but it's relegated to the SB everywhere else... and even then, I'm not so sure.
Hmmm, Hero's Demise might just be in the right rarity slot. edited for clarity <Legends in standard are> Kiki-Jiki... Kumano.. Zo-Zu... Isamaru... Nagao... Keiga... Meloku... Uyo. That list was just off the top of my head.
Demise isn't main-deck material, but it is a strong SB choice.
Terror
Do I win a prize?
Rend Flesh, Rend Spirit (in the sole case of Keiga and Kokuso), Death Cloud, Dark Banishing. 3 of the 5 I just listed have a leg up on Demise because they prevent regeneration. Heck, they all have a leg up on Demise because they're not rare! In all seriousness, this card should cost B, be Arcane (maybe it is and I had a memory lapse), and return a creature to your hand for it to warrant Rare status... Oh well, at least I have another card to add to my Holdem box.
In many cases it would be a finisher. You've got 6 enchantments in play, hmmm? You're dead. Remember Price of Progress? That's only one mana cheaper, and against some decks, Aura Barbs would do more damage (and it's arcane and can kill creatures sometimes to boot).
The fundamental problem I have with this card is that there are next to no enchantments played in standard at this time, if there are any at all. In Extended, all this does is keep the already rogue Enchantress deck down. There are very little creature enchantments in print, let alone played (because Wizards JUST made the Creature Enchantment replacing Equipment type... making creature enchantments now even more useless) in standard.
The deal with price of progress is that when people play Non-Basic lands, they're usually not losing card advantage and they have some beneficial effect (usually producing mana along with providing an additional advantage- see Artifact Lands). In the case of Enchant Creatures, people usually pack creature killing cards, effectively making Enchant Creatures a major source of card disadvantage. Price of Progress hits players who use a very common card type... standard, extended, type one... all over, you will find people playing non-basic lands.
Standard: 3 Urzatron, 7 Artifact lands (Nexus included), City of Brass, 4 Legendary Lands (R,B,G, Boseiju), Cloudpost
Extended: 10 Painlands, Wasteland, 7 Artifact Lands, Searchlands, Gaea's Cradle, City of Traitors, City of Brass
Type 1: All of the above plus 10 dual-lands, mishra's factory/workshop, strip mine
As you can see, cards that hit non-basic lands have MANY more targets. Even then, NB land hosing cards only see sideboard play AT BEST... Price of Progress saw little to no sideboard play at PT Columbus and the format was swarmed with decks that could easily have lost with just ONE resolution of a PoP. That said, how do you stack up a card that hits a cardtype that's even LESS common? I can't see this card being effective anywhere unless we get a giant number of killer enchantments in BoK, and I'm not just talking about the Genjus.
I'm starting to get worried about this set... the power level of cards sharply contrast eachother... you have cards that look extremely playable (but, let's face it, 90% of the time we go off saying a card will be broken in half, it's fodder), at least "ok" in limited, or are otherwise unimaginably unplayable in nearly all formats. I didn't buy a box of CoK... I hope this set peps up a bit because I'm completely willing to get a box or two of BoK, assuming it's an improvement on CoK.
Rend Flesh
There, I just saved you $5.
Throat Slitter 4B
Creature -- Rat Ninja -- BOK Un
Ninjutsu 2B
When ~ deals combat damage to a player, destroy target nonblack creature.
2/2
Another $5 saved.
It's not like this set is somehow devoid of removal... we already have 3-4 quality removal spells (Distress being counted as a removal spell). Not to mention playing legends now kills them... This card is very limited as it is, but add in the fact that there are better removal spells within the same block and even more so in standard... It just makes this card suck all the more. Between Throat Slitter and Rend Flesh, the only creature you can't kill is Hirobi... but you should have something that targets, regardless, so he shouldn't be an issue. (OK... and Kokuso... but if you're playing Black, you're probably already playing him)
In limited, I can see MAYBE maindecking this (after all, people maindeck both Rends despite their possibly limited potential), but it's relegated to the SB everywhere else... and even then, I'm not so sure.
Buy from me on TCGPlayer::Twitter::Flickr
Terror
Do I win a prize?
Rend Flesh, Rend Spirit (in the sole case of Keiga and Kokuso), Death Cloud, Dark Banishing. 3 of the 5 I just listed have a leg up on Demise because they prevent regeneration. Heck, they all have a leg up on Demise because they're not rare! In all seriousness, this card should cost B, be Arcane (maybe it is and I had a memory lapse), and return a creature to your hand for it to warrant Rare status... Oh well, at least I have another card to add to my Holdem box.
Buy from me on TCGPlayer::Twitter::Flickr
The fundamental problem I have with this card is that there are next to no enchantments played in standard at this time, if there are any at all. In Extended, all this does is keep the already rogue Enchantress deck down. There are very little creature enchantments in print, let alone played (because Wizards JUST made the Creature Enchantment replacing Equipment type... making creature enchantments now even more useless) in standard.
The deal with price of progress is that when people play Non-Basic lands, they're usually not losing card advantage and they have some beneficial effect (usually producing mana along with providing an additional advantage- see Artifact Lands). In the case of Enchant Creatures, people usually pack creature killing cards, effectively making Enchant Creatures a major source of card disadvantage. Price of Progress hits players who use a very common card type... standard, extended, type one... all over, you will find people playing non-basic lands.
Standard: 3 Urzatron, 7 Artifact lands (Nexus included), City of Brass, 4 Legendary Lands (R,B,G, Boseiju), Cloudpost
Extended: 10 Painlands, Wasteland, 7 Artifact Lands, Searchlands, Gaea's Cradle, City of Traitors, City of Brass
Type 1: All of the above plus 10 dual-lands, mishra's factory/workshop, strip mine
As you can see, cards that hit non-basic lands have MANY more targets. Even then, NB land hosing cards only see sideboard play AT BEST... Price of Progress saw little to no sideboard play at PT Columbus and the format was swarmed with decks that could easily have lost with just ONE resolution of a PoP. That said, how do you stack up a card that hits a cardtype that's even LESS common? I can't see this card being effective anywhere unless we get a giant number of killer enchantments in BoK, and I'm not just talking about the Genjus.
I'm starting to get worried about this set... the power level of cards sharply contrast eachother... you have cards that look extremely playable (but, let's face it, 90% of the time we go off saying a card will be broken in half, it's fodder), at least "ok" in limited, or are otherwise unimaginably unplayable in nearly all formats. I didn't buy a box of CoK... I hope this set peps up a bit because I'm completely willing to get a box or two of BoK, assuming it's an improvement on CoK.
Buy from me on TCGPlayer::Twitter::Flickr