(MtG) Spoilers of Theros: Part 1

Now, Theros is the newest set of the trading card game Magic: The Gathering.  Due to be released the 27th of this month, spoilers have been flowing in, allowing players to check out what this Greek mythology inspired set has to offer.  While I'm no expert on the matter, and can't really tell you how these cards are going to change the meta of the entire competitive scene, I can tell you which ones I'm looking forward to.

1. Swan Song

While I'm not the biggest fan of counter-control play styles, this is definitely an exception.  For one mana, you can counter instants, sorceries, and enchantments.  The biggest part of this, though, is the enchantment part.  Theros introduces two new combinations of cards that haven't really been seen in magic, no including the Future Sight set - Enchantment Creatures and Enchantment Artifacts.  The only real cost, giving an opponent a 2/2 flyer, isn't too big of an issue compared to any threats you may be wanting to get rid of with this card, and it reminds me greatly of Beast Within, a destroy anything spell with another token generating cost to it.

2. Rescue from the Underworld

Reanimation has always been one of the easiest ways to cheat a creature card on to the battlefield.  Standard has a couple of ways to bring creatures back from grave, and the most comparable are Unburial Rites and Ozbedat's Aid.  All costing five mana, each has their advantage with rites being able to flash back from the grave itself for four mana and Ozbedat capable of grabbing any permanent instead of just a creature.  Rescue from the Underworld, however has an extra cost, but that cost can be turned into a major advantage.  By sacrificing a creature, you're able to grab a creature from your graveyard and return both creatures involved to the battle.  This is gonna have a lot of interactions with creatures with enter the battle effects like my next choice.

3. Gray Merchant of Asphodel

I'm not completely set on the devotion mechanic yet.  But, this card might change my opinion.  By itself, its just a 2/4 creature that steals two life from your opponent for five mana, which is sort of meh.  When entering the battlefield of a black heavy deck, the story might be a little bit different.  Then you go send your merchant friend down to the underworld to see what goods are available, and the game might be over even quicker.  I do wish he was one mana less to allow an easier curve with Rescue from the Underworld, though.

4. Anger of the Gods

I'm just gonna go ahead and admit I hate this card.  I'm a fan of small creature decks that want to beat down my opponent as quickly as possible.  I know my creatures are gonna die, so I try to take advantage of that by bring them back as zombies when they die with Xathrid Necromancer.  However, cards like this completely destroy that strategy.  There is no dying and going to the graveyard.  The just disappear, gone and exiled.  And it can be played as early as turn three, completely incinerating any creatures that I may have played during my first two or three turns.  GG.

5. Triad of Fates

This card makes me excited for EDH, a format where you have a legendary creature head a deck of 100 different unique cards (outside lands) with the same colors.  Triad of Fates has the ability to put a fate counter on another creature.  It can then blink that creature in and out of the battlefield, reactivating enter the battlefield triggers, or it can turn exile that creature, either for card advantage for yourself or a costly removal for a threat.  The only problem I see is that it does take two turns to complete this act, though there are cards that will let you get around this problem.

Thats it for now, and I'll be back tomorrow with more spoilers of Theros.