Mox JasperMox Jasper | art by Steve Belledin

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This Set is Colorrific!

Greetings and salutations my dear readers. I hope you're all doing fine in this beautiful blooming Spring. Birds are singing, flowers are sprouting, massive Dragons and mighty warriors are teaming up to rip each other's innards in a frantic battle for supremacy filled with guts and glory... Aaaaah, pure poetry.

But we all know why you're here. Not to hear me ramble endlessly and nonsensically, but to determine whether you should spend half your monthly wage in these new cards. Let's dive in.

Mythics

Mox JasperMox Jasper

So. It's a Mox. It costs . It makes any mana you want. But only if you have a Dragon in play. Can you feel my excitement?

All jokes aside, I suppose this is... fine?

Let's deal with the obvious right away. If you're playing a Dragon-themed deck, there's probably a spot for this in it. It fixes, it's free, and the condition to make it work isn't that bad.

You'll add it in The Ur-DragonThe Ur-Dragon, in Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm, in Scion of the Ur-DragonScion of the Ur-Dragon, Rivaz of the ClawRivaz of the Claw... If you look at this trinket's page, new commanders and top commanders alike are all Dragons or closely related to them. It. Likes. Dragons.

I'm much more interested in its potential in other builds. Changelings for instance are notorious for being relatively cheap to cast (for the most part), and are featured in several decks, from Morophon, the BoundlessMorophon, the Boundless to the infamous Reaper KingReaper King, from Moritte of the FrostMoritte of the Frost to Volrath, the ShapestealerVolrath, the Shapestealer... Ok, that last one was maybe a bit of a stretch. And yes, technically these are still Dragons. Look, I'm trying, I really am.

I suppose it's also another toy for Cheerios builds, like Jhoira, Weatherlight CaptainJhoira, Weatherlight Captain, Flubs, the FoolFlubs, the Fool or Meria, Scholar of AntiquityMeria, Scholar of Antiquity.

I'm really curious to see if this will plummet in the weeks after this new set is released. I wouldn't be that surprised if it eventually dropped to the $7-$10 range.

Let's move on.

Ugin, Eye of the StormsUgin, Eye of the Storms

This, on the other hand, is what I'm talking about. It's been a while since Bolas' nemesis had shown up on its own card. Sure, Modern Horizons 3 gave us Ugin's LabyrinthUgin's Labyrinth, Ugin's BindingUgin's Binding and Ugin's MasteryUgin's Mastery. But still, it's nice seeing our old friend back. And boy does it pack a punch, despite a hefty cost.

First, the static: with Ugin on the field, any mana rock, any colorless artifact creature, any Eldrazi spell turns into an Anguished UnmakingAnguished Unmaking of sorts. Thank the Theros Gods it can only target colored stuff.

Sure, it won't get rid of those pesky Lightning GreavesLightning Greaves or Swiftfoot BootsSwiftfoot Boots. But it's still a very strong ability to play with, one that will unabashedly draw the ire of the entire table to get rid of this menace stat.

Then there are the Loyalty abilities:

• +2 to gain life (anecdotal) and draw a card. Not bad. Getting Ugin up to 9 upon entry is likely to make it hard to remove.
• A bump for no cost at all. I'm sure it'll come in handy, even if paying for a glorified Thran DynamoThran Dynamo seems a bit expensive.
• The Ultimate basically spells game over for your opponents if you're playing a heavy colorless spells base. Sure, they'll have a tiny window to counter your most outrageous stuff, but if you get there, I'm betting on you to take this home.

All in all, this is a solid addition to any colorless deck or anything with a strong artifact base. Kozilek, the Great DistortionKozilek, the Great Distortion is going to love this.

And I wouldn't be surprised seeing it sprout in low mana value artifact decks. Maybe not in Cheerios, but stuff like Urtet, Remnant of MemnarchUrtet, Remnant of Memnarch, Osgir, the ReconstructorOsgir, the Reconstructor, Daretti, Scrap SavantDaretti, Scrap Savant or Emry, Lurker of the LochEmry, Lurker of the Loch.

A solid, solid planeswalker.

Rares

Cori Mountain MonasteryCori Mountain Monastery, Dalkovan EncampmentDalkovan Encampment, Great Arashin CityGreat Arashin City, Kishla VillageKishla Village and Mistrise VillageMistrise Village

I really like the idea of this cycle. In a way, it reminds me of the one in Invasion (yes, I'm not getting younger, I know). Stuff like Ancient SpringAncient Spring or Geothermal CreviceGeothermal Crevice.

It's also really nice that, despite them having clear allies, nothing prevents you from playing them in a two-colors deck or even a monocolored one if you so fancied.

Most sport decent to solid abilities, with one really standing out.

Let's start with Cori Mountain MonasteryCori Mountain Monastery. This one I'll rank among the less impressive. Getting a single card for what's technically 5 mana is quite a hefty price to pay, even when you get to play until the end of your next turn. If you're down to relying on this to find a way out of the game, odds are you're not doing so well.

I'll sort Great Arashin CityGreat Arashin City in the same category. I really regret that you're limited to exiling stuff from your own graveyard. And using 3 lands to get a puny 1/1 flyer, not mentioning the creature restriction, makes for a really mediocre land at best. Maybe in Thalisse, Reverent MediumThalisse, Reverent Medium, Tormod, the DesecratorTormod, the Desecrator or Syr Konrad, the GrimSyr Konrad, the Grim decks. Strong emphasis on "maybe".

Dalkovan EncampmentDalkovan Encampment is slightly better, though not by a huge margin. Paying 4 mana to get a couple of attacking soldiers is a tough cost to pay, especially since they're doomed on the end step. I suppose they could be used as cannon fodder for a good old SkullclampSkullclamp or Goblin BombardmentGoblin Bombardment. But again, I'm stretching it. Despite the ability being stuck to a land, there are better options out there.

Kishla VillageKishla Village isn't too bad, especially in these colours. Sultai decks are prone to playing with graveyards, and Surveil 2 is a great ability, despite the steep cost. I wouldn't rely strongly on it, but it doesn't hurt either. Sidisi, Brood TyrantSidisi, Brood Tyrant, Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide or The Wise MothmanThe Wise Mothman could all, on occasion, make good use of this ability.

Finally, there's the Temur all-star, Mistrise VillageMistrise Village. It's no surprise this is by far the most expensive land of the lot, standing above $14 at the time of writing.

There are only two other lands that prevent a spell from being countered, and both see significant play. Boseiju, Who Shelters AllBoseiju, Who Shelters All is featured in 38,767 decks, and Cavern of SoulsCavern of Souls in a staggering 396,491.

I'm calling this one an instant staple, and I bet we'll see a lot of it in the years to come. I wouldn't be surprised even if it did flirt with cEDH, though I'm no expert.

Dragonfire BladeDragonfire Blade

Simple and efficient. Getting hexproof from monocolored makes the creature immune to the majority of the most played removal spells, and the buff is decent given the low mana value of the trinket.

The second ability clearly points towards heavily colored decks, but I wouldn't neglect two-colored commanders either. This is a cheap and effective protective spell, and I'm betting it will see play in various Voltron and/or Equipment based strategies. Arna Kennerüd, SkycaptainArna Kennerüd, Skycaptain, Syr Gwyn, Hero of AshvaleSyr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale and Galea, Kindler of HopeGalea, Kindler of Hope are all going to love this goodie.

Maelstrom of the Spirit DragonMaelstrom of the Spirit Dragon

Another crystal clear land. Play this with Dragons or Changelings, just like the JasperJasper. This is solid mana fixing for your scaly lords, and will go grab your finisher if need be. And it also produces colorless mana should you require for something else.

Sometimes, you don't need to be fancy to be efficient.

Uncommons & Commons

Embermouth SentinelEmbermouth Sentinel

No, this is not for Dragons decks, but for Changeling-heavy ones. For two mana of any color you get mana fixing, in addition to a disposable body. It's very niche, but it's going to be better than you'd think in several situations.

Jade-Cast SentinelJade-Cast Sentinel

Guess what, it's not ALL about dragons! They've also thought of niche commander decks.

I can't wait to add this cutie to my Grenzo, Dungeon WardenGrenzo, Dungeon Warden/Relentless RatsRelentless Rats deck. Cherry on top, it also enters with Grenzo's ability!

Conclusion

After the avalanche of cards I commented for Aetherdrift, it seems my editors learned their lesson and decided to quell my fire.

Nevertheless, some of this stuff was real spicy. Now then, it's your turn. Given how adamant I've been on some of these cards, I'm looking forward to you all proving me dead wrong.

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you on the next Trim!