A little personal take on Aetherdrift – a set that, in my opinion, has some really nice cards, plenty of tools for specific decks, and a ton of mediocre ones. Yup, it’s not Duskmourn.
I’m sharing my likely wishlist along with some thoughts.
White
- Basri, Tomorrow Champion – It’s all about the cats; after all, Arahbo, Roar of the World exists, and cats are adorable.
- Guardian Sunmare – Sure, it costs a ridiculous amount of mana, but its trigger really piques my interest. As a Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd player, I’d love to try it out just for the meme.
- Nesting Bot – It kickstarts your engine on turn 1 and leaves a little something behind when it dies. A classic one-drop that works great in certain aggro decks, and since it’s an uncommon going for just a few cents, why wouldn’t I snag it? (in a Bilbo-like tone)
Blue
- Unstoppable Plan – Pulls off some seriously sneaky stuff – and a lot of it. If it doesn’t cost a kidney, you’ve gotta have it in your pool.
- Repurposing Bay – An artifact pod, but it always ends up costing 5 mana total (cast + activation). Still, tutoring it straight onto the battlefield in a singleton deck is well-known to be strong.
- Waxen Shapethief – A classic 4-mana clone; I figure it mostly works in Gyruda decks, but who knows… Plus, it has cycling, so in some reanimator shells it might not be too shabby.
- Transit Mage – The wizard we were missing – a nice, generic utility for artifact decks.
- Roadside Blowout – A bounce effect that cycles itself and can temporarily deal with pesky one-drops (think Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful). It’s certainly not the ideal answer, but it’s not the worst either.
Black
- Gas Guzzler – Useful early on as an aggro piece; it jumpstarts your engine on turn 1, and by midgame, it can morph into a little card advantage engine.
- Demonic Junker – I’m into it. Reminds me of Imskir Iron-Eater.
- Locust Spray – A strong card in Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar (though I imagine it only really fits there).
- Grim Bauble – (See Demonic Junker.)
Red
- Daretti, Rocketeer Engineer – He does Daretti stuff, but not as well as the original. I’m fond of him, so he’s in.
- Full Throttle – For 6 mana, I win the game 98% of the time. Why not?
- Adrenaline Jockey – You know where your instant-speed interactions should go, right? Exactly.
- Marauding Mako – Another card for Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar.
- Daretti, Rocketeer Engineer – Yeah, again: he does Daretti stuff but worse than the original, yet I still like him, so why not?
Green
- Defend the Rider – Offers protection that can do a bit more; it could be worse.
- Molt Tender – it can ramp, and as a one-drop for some decks, it looks pretty cool.
Multi
- Riptide Gearhulk – A removal spell with a nice body; it’s somewhat viable, especially in decks that can blink it.
- Oildeep Gearhulk – The special kid of Vendilion Clique and Thought-Knot Seer. Similar to the above, it boasts a good body and a decent ability.
- Coalstoke Gearhulk – Reanimates pieces—even your opponent’s—by exiling them from the graveyard afterward. Good value at a cost that’s not exactly nimble.
- Brightglass Gearhulk – Without a doubt, the best Gearhulk in the worst color pair. Et voilà.
- Mendicant Core, Guidelight – A sort of variant of Akiri, Line-Slinger that punches a bit less but opens up more tech options. Yeah, I’m into artifact decks.
- Broodheart Engine – A value engine that can gradually fill up your graveyard. Not the best reanimator on its own, but eventually, it might just pull it off.
- Skyserpent Seeker – Also the special kid of Baleful Strix and Ice-Fang Coatl. It blocks well and has potential for value, so why not?
- Voyage Home – Haven’t I already mentioned how much I love artifact decks?
- Veteran Beastrider – Does some cool things even in colors that aren’t exactly pretty.
Artifacts
- Radiant Lotus – It reeks of a combo from a mile away, but 6 mana is a lot – who knows.
- Monument to Endurance – Maybe it’ll see play in Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar, maybe not.
- Marketback Walker – Drops that scale and can act as a mana sink always find a use sooner or later. For now, I’m slotting it straight into Chiss-Goria, Forge Tyrant.
- Lifecraft Engine – Basically a Magda, Brazen Outlaw vibe.
Lands
5 Verge land – As expected, and luckily the cycle gets completed quickly.
Commander
- Stridgehangar Automaton – It literally has “Sai” written on it; let’s see if, with the goodies that Mr. Totterista nets, it can carve out a slot as a playable deck once again.
- Adaptive Omnitool – It’s so expensive to equip that it’s probably unplayable, but it comes with two really cool effects.
- Hashaton, Scarab’s Fist -The real bomb of the set. It’s set to be a very strong commander in all sorts of builds—from tempo to midrange value to reanimator.
- Wizened Mentor – A neat little tool for aggro or go-wide decks. It can swing a board wipe on stupid plays like fetches.
- Rhet-Tomb Mystic – Cycling your reanimatable “cows” sounds like a strong play, and this card makes it happen.
Alright, now that you’ve soaked up all this rambling, what did I miss and what did I overhype? I’m ready for your critiques (just don’t come at me too hard – the grumpy 12-year-old inside isn’t ready for that).
Written by
Jonathan Quarantiello
