Theros Beyond Death: Set Review - Blue
Both Jamie and TJ are using a rating scale of 10 for this set. Jamie is basing hers on limited play, while TJ is giving more of a holistic rating. Melvin is just being Melvin.
Other colors
alirios, enraptured
Jamie: 5/10 2/3 that makes a 3/2 when it comes in and the 2/3 sleeps until the 3/2 is gone. OK. decent for helping with devotion to U i guess? Weird card.
TJ: 6/10 Two creatures for the price of one feels worth it to me. If I have any way to flicker this creature (Thassa in the best case) It gets vastly better.
Melvin: This kept happening to the cast of Twilight.
ashiok’s erasure
Jamie: 3/10 Not a super fan with all this enchantment hate. very filler in limited.
TJ: 2/10 A 4 mana counter spell that stops them from casting any more copies of their 1-of? Plus can be stopped with enchantment hate? Cool. In constructed it will maybe make an appearance if a deck arises that is hugely dependent on a single card.
Melvin: Is this why I can never find my keys?
brine giant
Jamie: 5/10 Build-around but awesome in an enchantment heavy deck.
TJ: 5/10 Big boi in a deck that’s got enough enchantments. Wont be picking it too early but I'll be happy if this is what I get towards the back of the pack.
Melvin: If your opponent casts this, you could be in a pickle.
callaphe, beloved of the sea
Jamie: 6/10 Smallish booty, slightly harder to kill but not an incredible nuisance.
TJ: 6/10 A 2/3 a minimum that taxes your opponents for their interaction seems like an awesome inclusion. Doesn’t lent itself to a strategy or close games individually. But I'll be happy to find this in my 40.
Melvin: If I want to callaphe, I just yell "HEY PHE". Works fine.
chain to memory
Jamie: 5/10 Decent combat trick with scry! Super efficient.
TJ: 3/10 Tricks like this usually don't impress me. when you are behind is buys you a turn at best and when you are winning or at parity it doesn’t do much at all.
Melvin: I just recently upgraded to be chained to an SSD. So much faster!
deny the divine
Jamie: 5/10 Exile is big game.
TJ: 6/10 Easy casting cost, hits the two most relevant types and exiles in a format where graveyards matter. I dig it.
Melvin: Also known as "Pause the Powerful', "Hold up the Holy", "Oppose the Omnipotent", "Swipe Left on the Supernatural".
eidolon of philosophy
Jamie: 4/10 Seems like filler to me... cashing in late game for 3 cards is ok, but a 1/2 isn't doing very much without help from enchantments.
TJ: 3/10 8 Mana draw three and trigger constellation. plus if you play it early they can remove it before you have seven open mana.
Melvin: It's mom kept begging it to be an Eidolon of Engineering when it went to college.
elite instructor
Jamie: 4/10 Filler, loots always fine though.
TJ: 6/10 Looting is a good etb that I'm happy to run. The power/toughness isn’t doing a ton but it helps fill the board and enables you toward your better cards. If you deck has cards that it wants in the graveyard it gets even better.
Melvin: The things she can do with ther spirograph!
glimpse of freedom
Jamie: 4/10 Only looking to play in instants matter decks.
TJ: 3/10 If instants matter than run it. But otherwise it really feels like filler to hide that you didn’t get enough cards worth playing.
Melvin: This is when you walk by a window at work on a sunny day.
ichthyomorphosis
Jamie: 7/10 Fine removal. Fishify!
TJ: 8/10 Awesome removal. use it.
Melvin: Because "Fishify" wasn't hipstery enough for a name.
kiora bests the sea god
Jamie: 10/10 7 mana win the game. K
TJ: 10/10 lololololololololololololololololololololol The Sea God got dunked on, so will your opponents.
Melvin: We don't know how Kiora bested Thassa. I'm hoping it was in a surfing competition.
medomai’s prophecy
Jamie: 6/10 Scry, draw two. it's slowish but great for the cost!
TJ: 8/10 The last ability seems like flavor more than anything. But the rest of this card is pretty good for two mana. scry two and draw two over a couple turns seems fine.
Melvin: Little known fact: Medomai copied most of their prophecies from fortune cookies. No one noticed.
memory drain
Jamie: 4/10 Expensive counters aren't exciting but fine as filler.
TJ: 3/10 4 mana counters are meh. seems like you really gotta work to hit something worth it.
Melvin: Please, drain my memory of everything related to the "Cats" movie.
nadir kraken
Jamie: 8/10 This could get quite swole and create an army of little buddies.
TJ: 9/10 This card gets out of hand (tentacle?) real fast. grows tall and wide for the low cost of one mana and taking game actions. scales really well into any stage of the game.
Melvin: "I'm just out here eatin fleets and kraken jokes."
naiad of hidden coves
Jamie: 6/10 Helpful for the draw on your opponents turn matters decks.
TJ: 5/10 Decent stats and makes flash cards and instants a bit better. neato.
Melvin: Please don't ask me to explore your hidden coves.
nyxborn seaguard
Jamie: 4/10 Filler city, controlling decks may want this big booty.
TJ: 3/10 Fill up your curve in style. The foil probably looks good enough to be 4/10.
Melvin: The seaguard is mostly used to help tourists get back to shore these days.
omen of the sea
Jamie: 5/10 Fine filler, perfect for play cards on opponents turn matters decks.
TJ: 6/10 Decent enchantment with a lot of versatility and goes great with the chimera.
Melvin: Renamed from the original, more confusing title "Prophasea".
one with the stars
Jamie: 6/10 Seems like fine creature removal, but cheap enchantment hate plus bounce makes this not very exciting.
TJ: 8/10 Cool removal is cool.
Melvin: I'm going to be one with this bag of Fritos Honey BBQ Twists.
protean thaumaturge
Jamie: 9/10 Seems insanely powerful in the right deck. MAYBE WE CAN DO MILL IN LIMITED!
TJ: 8/10 Always match the best card on the battlefield as long as you have an enchantment. I dig it.
Melvin: If you're on the keto diet, stick to protean thaumaturges and avoid the carb thaumaturges.
riptide turtle
Jamie: 4/10 Filler, controlling decks will probably want this/multiples. VERY CUTE WATCH OUT.
TJ: 10/10 Flash turtle is my hero. but you should probably listen to Jamie’s rating on this one.
Melvin: A turtle with flash seems like the kind of oxymoron that would explode the universe.
sage of mysteries
Jamie: 2/10 Not sure there will be enough mill for limited for this to actually be effective. would be more intrigued if this was a common.
TJ: 2/10 Unless the mill deck actually exists. then its 10/10.
Melvin: Complete the collection when you also get "Parsley of Mysteries", "Rosemary of Mysteries", and "Thyme of Mysteries".
sea god’s scorn
Jamie: 5/10 Seems slow, but is a fine way to clear the board for a finishing attack or set your opponent back a ton.
TJ: 8/10 Hitting three creatures to removal all auras from them and clear the board is a huge tempo swing to close out the game.
Melvin: I first read this card name as "Sea God's Corn." I think that name pops more.
shimmerwing chimera
Jamie: 7/10 This could be interesting with moving enchantments around or getting value off of the scry enchantments. Plus it's on a decent flying body. I'm playing this in all my blue limited decks for sure.
TJ: 8/10 Maybe one of my favorite cards in the se. cant wait to draft this. its go good stats already then its triggered abilities seems to offer endless opportunities to take advantage of your deck building.
Melvin: If you liked Sharktocrab, you'll love Eelcrabird.
shoal kraken
Jamie: 7/10 Loot kraken, fine body.
TJ: 6/10 Digs deep, dives deep, card is sweet.
Melvin: "Arrr, the monster from the deep destroyed me ship and killed me crew. I was the shoal survivor"
sleep of the dead
Jamie: 6/10 The tempo is strong with this one.
TJ: 6/10 Low escape cost on this one is sweet. cool tempo card to either defend yourself or break through aggressively. 4 mana to hit two creatures seems fantastic.
Melvin: I'll take, "What do streamers do after a 24-hour session?" for 500, Alex.
starlit mantle
Jamie: 4/10 Not a fan unless looking for a ton of enchantments... gains hexproof.. but the enchantment needs to resolve.
TJ: 5/10 Two mana protection spell that leaves behind a +1/+1. seems reasonable but boring.
Melvin: Every Hollywood Starlit is wearing mantles this spring.
stern dismissal
Jamie: 7/10 This will be clutch against opponents enchanting their creatures... insanely cheap way to get rid of an enchantment. Could be a nice combat trick too... or just good old fashioned strong tempo. Don't sleep on this.
TJ: 8/10 Sweet tempo card.
Melvin: That's exactly the look I got at my try out for "America's Got Talent". They also said I didn't.
stinging lionfish
Jamie: 8/10 Tap or untap!!! plus its a CUTIE! Great payoff.
TJ: 8/10 Sweet art, flavor text, text box, name. Cards got it all for only 2 mana.
Melvin: It's a lionfish that always sings "Fields of Gold" on karaoke night.
sweet oblivion
Jamie: 2/10 I want mill to be a thing, but it's going to take a LOT in limited.
TJ: 1/10 Unless the mill deck exists.
Melvin: But if you're going to bake with it, try and find a semi-sweet oblivion.
thassa, deep-dwelling
Jamie: 8/10 Build around for good blink effects, expensive tap, obviously great body once devotion high enough.
TJ: 10/10 The activated ability controls the late game and is an incredible mana sink. the triggered ability is bonkers, even if you have zero enter the battlefield effects it still gives a creature "vigilance".
Melvin: Thassa lotta rules text!
thassa’s intervention
Jamie: 8/10 Strong as heck... being able to look at a ton of cards and draw your best two is nice.. or just a plain old draw 2 for 4 at instant speed will be fantastic.
TJ: 8/10 Useful for most stages of the game.
Melvin: The gods were hoping that giving Thassa an intervention would help her dry out.
thassa’s oracle
Jamie: 6/10 Seems like decent value to line up your next draw. The extra you win if... clause seems like a fun challenge for limited.
TJ: 10/10 can't wait to lose to this deck. In constructed I love it as an unconventional payoff for Mono Blue Devotion. in limited I think its a cool effect if your mana base can support it. I like it a lot as an effect that scales throughout the game.
Melvin: I'm going to need an oracle to comprehend that jam packed block of rules text for me.
thirst for meaning
Jamie: 4/10 Good for spells on opponents turn matter decks, and if you have a lot of enchantments.
TJ: 8/10 I love spells like this. In constructed it may have applications because its an instant. But in limited draw three is a whole lot of cards even if you have to discard two of them. Great way to dig to your best cards or even fill your yard with escape.
Melvin: Thirsty on Meaning.
threnody singer
Jamie: 8/10 Efficient combat trick that leaves behind a flying body.
TJ: 8/10 low cost for a solid flying body and a good combat trick. Good card.
Melvin: Threnody means "lament" or "dirge". I don't have any joke here, but at least we learned something.
thryx, the sudden storm
Jamie: 9/10 4/5 Flash flyer with other text... strong.
TJ: 9/10 Lol. This card dummy good.
Melvin: Does Thryx translate to Chipotle? Because that's the kind of sudden storm I'm used to.
towering-wave mystic
Jamie: 3/10 Filler.. I want mill to be a thing, but probably won't be a thing. Maybe if this can be voltron-ed and protected...
TJ: 2/10 Unless the board it empty its really only going to mill two. I think the effect is really interesting and I hope the rating is wrong.
Melvin: More classy than the Towering Fist-Pump mystic.
triton waverider
Jamie: 6/10 Nice payoff for enchantment decks, fine as just a hill giant/enchantment synergy.
TJ: 6/10 if you have enchantment payoff this card is great. good stats if you can make it a consistent attacker in the air.
Melvin: If Ghostrider is a ghost that rides a motorcycle, is Waverider a wave that rides a merfolk?
vexing gull
Jamie: 7/10 Strictly better wind drake and hecking CUTIE.
TJ: 8/10 Nothing fancy but a lot of good. add the fact that this is some of the more adorable art I've seen than I'm slamming this card. flash is probably better than people think.
Melvin: Why is that fish being carried away? Because it was gullible.
wavebreak hippocamp
Jamie: 9/10 CUTIE ALERT, awesome build around, fantastic payoff.
TJ: 9/10 Solid stats even if you don’t get pay offs. once you do get payoffs its excellent. horses are bad. fish are good. so that cancels it out. I actually laughed at Melvin's joke, don't tell him.
Melvin: Horse fish, also known as “flip-flop-clip-clops”.
whirlwind denial
Jamie: 4/10 Filler, fine in spells matter on your opponent's turn decks.
TJ: 8/10. I actually like this in limited because the mana cost is really easy to work with. But in constructed this is awesome! counters spells, planeswalker abilities, triggered abilities, heck, this takes on storm in non rotating formats like a champion. awesome card. great safety valve.
Melvin: Woah, woah. Let's keep the politics out Magic cards, okay?
witness of tomorrows
Jamie: 7/10 Great flying body plus ability to scry, I'm in.
TJ: 8/10. Big body plus a scrying mana sink in colors that also constantly threaten flash or instants?
Melvin: It's like an equally handsome version of me, if I were older and had wings.
