A First Look at Crimson Vow
The Standard is always evolving. The deck hierarchies change all the time. In the last article, we saw what was then the second-best deck but, after bypassing Izzet Dragons, is now the strongest deck in the format.
However, Innistrad: Crimson Vow is now at the gates and isn’t missing much. The set looks promising, but will the balance be upset? Will there be the birth of new decks? Will Mono Green still be the deck to beat? While it’s still early to answer these questions, let’s look at the spoiled cards that have attracted my attention.
THALIA, GUARDIAN OF THRABEN
Thalia’s return to Standard is an incredible addition to Mono White. The deck is already at the top of the format and currently occupies the third position among the most played decks. This card improves its match-up against Izzet and against all contro decks in general. It slows down your opponent’s spells, avoids a turn five mass removal, and makes the foretell of Alrund’s Epiphany useless.
The match-up against Mono Green, which isn’t terrible but not great, needs to be adjusted for this deck to become the dominant deck.
CHANDRA, DRESSED TO KILL
This planeswalker has potential, however it remains to be seen if there’s a deck where it can be functional. It doesn’t have a use in existing decks, but this card would be perfect in a Mono Red midrange deck.
The card is not up for discussion. It has two strong +1 abilities. The first one speeds you up and makes you do a Goldspan Dragon a turn earlier. The second one is tough against Control, as having an extra card available every turn is a huge advantage. The card must be red, which is why I like it in a Mono Red deck, otherwise we risk missing this ability.
The emblem is always a win condition, which isn’t like the old Chandra Torch of Defiance sure but is still unmanageable.
CEMETERY PROWLER
This is a nice addition for Mono Green, but it’s more of a side card than a main card. The deck already plays eight three-mana drops so there’s not room for more, and this card isn’t better than Mammoth and Troll. I see it working well in a side to replace Mammoth in a match-up. It’s always better to have a 3/4 vigilance against Mono White, while against Izzet I prefer to have a possible five damage on the ground.
This card will find more use if decks that have a synergy with the graveyard come out (the Mulch reprint makes me hopeful).
BLOODVIAL PURVEYOR
Four mana, 5/6 flying, and trample? Definitely a strong card. It also has a marginal ability, although giving many Blood tokens to the opponent can’t be that good.
We need to understand where this card can find a place. Maybe it would work in Rakdos Midrange with a treasure-theme where you could make two mana Kalain and turn three this 6/7. It probably won’t make you lose many games. Could it be played in Mono Black as a win condition? I don’t know where it can be played, but I’m pretty sure it will find a place.
ALCHEMIST’S GAMBIT
This card could be interesting. It can be played in an aggro deck that wants to win with an extra turn and have no fear of the next end step. It can also find some application in UR Epiphany, maybe a couple of them to have extra turns to use at the appropriate time (more often for its Cleave cost).
Thanks to the new Manaform Hellkite there may be situations with UR Dragon that play Goldspan Dragon with haste where this card can be better than Epiphany because it only costs three mana and could win on the board the next turn.
MANAFORM HELLKITE
We’ve arrived at what, for me, will be the true dominant card of the entire Crimson Vow set —the Manaform Hellkite!
It’s an incredible addition to the UR Dragons shell, which was already quite strong. Making seven mana Epiphany and creating a 7/7 flying haste seems powerful. Even making a Memory Deluge on your turn and attacking for eight flying damage doesn’t seem bad (assuming that Hellkite is already on the board).
In short, this card seems strong, and I’m sure it will find four slots in this deck without many problems.
Innistrad: Crimson Vow’s spoiler is not yet complete, but I’m already looking forward to trying out the new cards and seeing how the format will evolve. This set shows great premises.
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