This week in Magic: Sleeper special

Thursday, October 9th, 2014

For this week in Magic, I think we’re going to have a little fun and play the prediction game. When the announcement was made that the fetchlands would be coming back into Khans, many also knew that most of the set would be taking a back set. Due to this, many cards are still at their lowest price point. However, as more tournaments pop up, these sleepers will soon be discovered.

Speaking of tournaments, Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir will be taking place this weekend. This will be a good chance to see if any of our sleeper predictions come true. Keep in mind though, that these predictions are called sleepers for a reason. While, I may not get any of them right, it may take a bit more to push them out of their shell – like another expansion set for example. So, have fun and enjoy. At the end of this, maybe you can add a card or two to the list by leaving a comment below. Then, if your prediction comes true, you can always refer back to the comment section and tell all your friends how you called the shot.

Villainous Wealth

Epic Experiment was a fun card when it first came out, however, it had several limitations that made it hard to play. Villainous Wealth, however, is a card they seem to have gotten right. First of all, this card mills your opponent. Okay, it’s actually worse, since we’re exiling cards from their library. Oh, and that’s another bonus, the cards are coming from your opponent. That means your can dedicate your deck to setting up and protecting yourself while taking advantage of whatever your opponent is packing. Imagine casting this card against Naya Planeswalkers and hitting one of each Planeswalker in their deck?

The potential for this card is very high in my book. If the field continues to stay as aggro as it has been, I think this card will do just fine and could compete with the best of them. There is a catch, though. If the tides shift and we begin to see control decks, this card may be doomed to the EDH binder for a while.

See the Unwritten

Another card I was a big fan of was Summoning Trap. In fact, I’m sure I’m not the only one who quoted Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars every time I cast this spell. Playing spells for free is very exciting, and it’s a little more exciting when you’re not quite sure what spell you’re casting as well. The secret formula for a card like this is to play creatures you could never dream of playing because it costs too much to play, or it’s just plain terrible – i.e. Stormtide Leviathan.

Furthermore, I’ve been pretty adamant in saying that we’re going to be seeing the Eldrazi making a return at some point. If this holds true, this card is going to become very popular among casuals and me.

Embodiment of Spring

This card first popped up some of Tomoharu Saito’s decklists. Carl Godon has also been claiming it’s standar worthy. Well, I’m here to back him up. First of all, the creature is an okay wall. You do get an 0/3 for only one Blue mana. However, what makes this card special is it’s ability to fetch up any basic land and put it into play.

While it’s not anywhere near as good, this card does remind me a lot of Sakura Tribe Elder, and that guy got played a lot. In a format where multiple colors are being played in decks, the ability to fix yourself is rather important. It also ramps. This is another very important point. If this creature didn’t put the land into play, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now, but it does, and here we are. It may not reach $5 or even break $1, but don’t be surprised if it turns out to be one of those annoying commons you need, but no one owns.

Ugin’s Nexus

This one is inspired by Scott Seitz. Before FNM last week, he showed me the latest nutty contraption he was playing. His decks may look silly, but never take him or his deck lightly. Anyways, he had put in Ugin’s Nexus as a Shrapnel Blast target. That’s right. Not only was he going to blast you in the face for five damage, but he was going to get an extra turn for doing so. It can’t be that easy, can it? Something tells me this has to potential to be broken. I can’t wait to see what the next expansion brings us.

Quick wrap-up

Well that’s it for this week. I just wanted to reserve this space as a friendly reminder that Battleground Games & Hobbies will be hosting 24-hour gaming marathons at both locations for the Extra Life fundraiser! I just want to say how happy I am to have the support of the store and to see how many people are just as excited as I am to play games for 24-hours.

We’re still setting up some special events to occur during the marathon. We’re also going to have some special items to raffle off to help raise money for the cause including some personal artwork from local gamers. Also, if things work out the way we want them to be, there may be some special one day only Dungeons and Dragons campaigns that will be “Pay to Play.”

Also, don’t worry, not everything will be magic themed. This started out as a video game event that has evolved to include gaming of all kind. One last thing, we’re hoping to broadcast to Twitch during the event. So if you can’t make it out at all or want to check out the scene during times you can’t be there, then you can always tune in. That’s it for now. Have a great weekend!

About the author

Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!

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Tags: Khans of Tarkir, Simeon Cortezano, sleepers, this week in magic
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