Key Cards from Streets of New Capenna for Pioneer
By ANTHONY DOLCE
In previous set reviews I’ve done (it’s been a while), I have usually tried to pick five cards from each color but that’s really not entirely possible because of the nature of this set. I’m also going to focus this review exclusively on Pioneer because it’s the format I’m now following the most and it’s the non-rotating format most open to having new cards make an immediate impact. The cards on any of the lists will be in no particular order. I also may keep a similar 10–3–3 format for the next sets.
I’m going to start this with two things up front. For one, I’m leaving the Triome cycle off this list. Top to bottom, they’re the best cards in the set and the ones that will make the largest impact in Pioneer and other formats as well. We know this. It’s a proven commodity and I’m not going to use a ton of word count to relay information that everybody and their wizard squares siblings already knows.
Secondly, I think this set is pretty difficult to evaluate in a vacuum. The text on the individual cards is very strong but because of the color restrictions on a lot of them, it’s hard to slot them into existing decks. It’s possible some of them spawn whole new archetypes or encourage color splashes to accommodate them. With that in mind, I’m going to do my best to evaluate these cards both in a vacuum and outside of it.
TEN CARDS I LIKE
Ob Nixilis, the Adversary: Let’s just get this one out of the way, because I think it’s pretty easily the strongest card in the set and the easiest one to find a home for. This card is pretty insane and because a good RB Sacrifice deck already exists in the format, I’m pretty confident it will slot comfortably in. It looks like it will play very well with the 1/1 tokens made by Oni-Cult Anvil, as getting the copy even on just one loyalty is still strong, and doing so is effectively just free. It’s going to be a pivotal tool against UW Control and it’s even okay against aggro decks, if the first copy makes a devil and the second one drains for two. It’s also worth noting that Mayhem Devil turns on the full power of the uptick on its own. I wouldn’t be surprised if it showed up in the regular RB Midrange deck going around either.
Endless Detour: This is one of those ones that the only thing I’m not sure about is a home for it. I think the text on Endless Detour is very good, and I think it’s a textbook case of playing out better than it reads. It serves as a counterspell, bounce spell, or even saves something you control in a pinch or can stifle a reanimator spell. It’s an effect that may look somewhat innocuous but a cracked out Aether Gust seems like it has the potential to be really strong. Is it strong enough for UW Control to splash green? Likely not, but I could envision that world. Could a different Bant (err… um… Broker I guess?) Midrange or Control deck emerge? That is certainly possible, and if it does, I’d imagine that deck sends a lot of spells on Endless Detours.
Extraction Specialist: Man I am excited to try this card in some kind of humans shell. I don’t care that my Thalia’s Lieutenant can’t attack or block, bringing it back from the bin is more than enough. I don’t want to make a direct Lurrus of the Dream-Den comparison, because it isn’t Lurrus, but for one shining moment when it enters the battlefield, it’s kind of a mini Lurrus, down to being a 3/2 with lifelink. Yes, it can only get creatures, but most of the time that’s what you want anyway. I may even be thinking about this card too fairly. There might be broken things you can do with it, I’ll admit that I don’t really have the eye for game breaking interactions. But even playing the card fairly will likely pay some dividends.
Giada, Font of Hope: GW Angels was (is?) a deck people played. GW Angels lacked a very strong early game. If Giada can’t fix that, I have no idea what will. Giada is appropriately statted, armed with a couple very powerful keywords and can make your other angels huge. Admittedly, with how the deck has been constructed to this point, I think the ramp ability is almost the weakest part of Giada, but I could see a world where a four or five drop angel is now possible because of the ramp Giada provides. It’s also worth noting that she doesn’t pass the ever important Stomp test, which could be a big detriment for a card like this. But I’m a sucker for GW Company decks and while I don’t think Giada will carry angels to tier one, I think she will inject a little life back into the archetype.
Tenacious Underdog: This is an incredibly interesting design. A recursive, sweeper-proof threat that draws a card every time he comes back, while also being a cheap cost beater the first time you play him certainly looks good to me on paper. Usually this kind of thing would exile itself or require you to exile cards from the bin, but this one is just four mana and a little bit of life. I’ve seen some speculation it could replace Scrapheap Scrounger in Mono Black Aggro (if that deck is still around, it feels like you don’t see it much), and that could be the case. I also don’t think I hate it in sacrifice strategies, where pairing it with a card like Deadly Dispute could be pretty huge game, but that’s probably a little too Christmas Land-y. Either way, this is a hard guy to keep down, even when he gets knocked down.
Courier’s Briefcase: I saw someone say this is like Prosperous Innkeeper but in reverse, and I think that rings pretty true. As for a potential home, similar to Innkeeper, I could potentially see this slotting into Winota decks. Briefcase also gives an early non-human, can ramp out Winota a turn early, and as opposed to the life gain Innkeeper provides, if for whatever reason the game goes a little long, Winota does have some five color mana tools and could in theory crack this for the card draw. I think Innkeeper is better than this but there could potentially be room to add in another similar effect. If not there, it is an interesting splash tool for something like a Niv to Light deck, though not like that deck really needs draw power I guess.
Professional Face-Breaker: This is both a potentially explosive treasure pay off and treasure generator (albeit not an incredibly efficient generator). When Face-Breaker or any of her friends are true to her name, you get paid, and with that payment can come card advantage. Even with all these new treasure cards from this set and Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, I’m not sure a dedicated treasure deck will exist. However, I do think I like this as an option for a fun-of in a humans deck or in a red-based creature midrange or aggro deck to help grind out some value in matches where that’s relevant. A 2/3 body certainly isn’t amazing, but she has an evasive keyword and it’s pretty easy to get value right away if you play her and swing. While she certainly isn’t a format breaker, I won’t be surprised if this card is a decent enough role player.
Maestros Charm: There is a lot of upside to Maestros Charm. The drain ability is pretty easily the worst one, but it can sometimes either keep you alive or serve as Lightning Bolt lethal. The damaging ability comfortably kills most things, though for three mana, it should do just that. But the most interesting thing about this card is easily the first ability. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that people love to force Grixis. Very often, Grixis is very happy to have a bunch of cards in their bin, and because of that, this can sometimes serve as a draw two, putting one card in your hand, and putting something like a Kroxa with three other cards to fuel it right into the grave. It also plays well with Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy, Dig Through Time, Search for Azcanta, Cling to Dust, and several other cards as well. Removal and card selection on one spell, on top of a situational drain mode, will certainly be a very interesting option for the diehard Grixis Mage.
Unlicensed Hearse: A new piece of colorless graveyard hate has come bursting onto the scene, and it’s a pretty unique one at that. At two mana, it functions like Relic of Progenitus upfront, though without the ability to mass exile each bin and draw a card. But what it lacks in draw and mass exile, it makes up for in beat down. It does look like it will play a little weird having to decide between attacking and exiling, but it’s a somewhat unique tool that’s available in any color. A Crew 2 cost is also fairly reasonable for it. This card is competing with Soul-Guide Lantern, Tormod’s Crypt, and Lantern of the Lost, but because it’s so different from the other ones and provides a very different kind of utility, this one looks like it’ll be popular. Also, you can crew it without having exiled anything with it and have it die to state based actions, so that’s kind of fun (probably don’t do this though).
Void Rend: Void Rend has the very relevant text of “can’t be countered” written on it, and while that is kind of weird for something that’s just a removal spell, it has a few very applicable applications. For one, an Esper Control deck can use this in the mirror to effortlessly dispose of an opposing Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Shark Typhoon, or any other potentially relevant threat. But where “can’t be countered” will really shine in Pioneer is against one of the best cards in the format in Graveyard Trespasser. Because of how Ward works, the additional cost to target Trespasser can be circumvented by cards that can’t be countered, which obviously includes Void Rend. This is not only relevant for Trespasser, but also for Sedgemoor Witch, Patchwork Automaton, the back of Brutal Cathar, and any other creature they print with Ward in the future. Like so many other cards in this set, the deck that wants it has to actually exist, but if it does, I can’t see why this wouldn’t be in it.
THREE CARDS I’M DOWN ON
Scheming Fence: They just put way too many restrictors on this to be able to do what you want it to. For one, they card you want has to already be on the field, which makes sense given that it steals the ability, but personally, I think this card should have functioned more like Pithing Needle, with the text “Scheming Fence gains the activated abilities of the named permanent as long as a permanent with that name is on the field.” Because it has to be a card on the field, it’s not efficient at stopping a combo deck that can win in one turn anyway (like pre-Ballista ban Heliod Combo). On top of that, it only affects the one card you specifically name. If I name an on-board Llanowar Elves and my opponent plays another Llanowar Elves, they can freely use the second copy with no restrictions. Blinking the named permanent also gets around Scheming Fence’s ability. But to me, the biggest failing of this card is not being able to hit Lotus Field. Because of how it’s worded, it actually gets around things with Hexproof, but obviously not being able to choose lands prevents Lotus Field from being named. That’s the deck I’d want this against the most and it can’t be used for that. It’s well statted for a two drop, and maybe I’m misevaluating it, but when I first saw it, I thought it was better Phyrexian Revoker when it turns out it’s more like a bad Oblivion Ring.
Luxior, Giada’s Gift: I have to be honest, maybe this card is just too weird for me. I love the design space of it, it’s incredibly interesting, and even borderline game breaking. It creates a bunch of weird and interesting interactions, and I’m here for that part of it. But at the same time, I think it’s too much of a gimmick card to be relevant. I don’t think I want my Planeswalkers being able to be hit by Fatal Push, Power Word Kill, or any kind of sweeper. And if you ever have to tick an equipped Planeswalker down, you put it back in range of dying to damage spells. Yes, it can turn Planeswalkers into beat sticks and while that sounds fun, I personally don’t think the reward is worth that risk. I honestly hope I’m wrong though. This card is pretty sick, and on its face it could have some applications in a counters matters deck, though “equip three” is a hefty cost for that.
Jetmir, Nexus of Revels: Jetmir’s text reads incredibly well but I know a win-more card when I see it, and I’m convinced this is win-more. It is pretty cool that he includes himself, but the problem is that he is going to be an absolute lightning rod for removal spells, and while “dies to removal” isn’t typically a good knock on a card, it is when it’s this easy to create blowouts with killing it. Whether you’re swinging in or defending, it’s hard to make profitable attacks or blocks with those creatures because if Jetmir dies, you open yourself up to some really bad trades. Also, if you ever get to the point where even Jetmir’s second line of text matters, you’re likely winning that game anyway. The third line of text for competitive constructed formats is almost always flavor text. Jetmir is a very cool card but I think his allure will be greater than his results.
SLEEPER CARDS
Brokers Charm: Brokers Charm looks innocuous but of the whole charm cycle, it has the best fail safe: Draw two cards. No hoops to jump through other than the mana cost, you’re just getting the flat draw two. The removal ability isn’t amazing, and destroying enchantments is relevant but if Archmage’s Charm has taught us any lessons in Modern, it’s that having a baseline draw two with other flexibility can be strong, even if it’s hard to cast. (Also worth noting that Brokers Charm is not nearly as good as Archmage’s Charm.)
Unleash the Inferno: If there’s something people love forcing as much as Grixis, it’s Jund. This can provide a very unique two-for-one, and while it has a high mana cost, I like that it can potentially kill two things in one go. I’m not sure if this card will see play, even in a Jund deck, but this has some potential.
Strangle: This one is kind of a hunch. People are going to be really down on it for not being able to hit face and it being sorcery, but an unconditional deal three for one mana doesn’t exist in Pioneer elsewhere. This is a format where Stomp dominates, meaning that creatures with three toughness have higher value. Strangle could pair with Stomp to help clean up the mess. Izzet Control, Mono Red, or any other non-Black aligned red deck could use Strangle to efficiently deal with pesky three toughness creatures or to help pick off straggling Planeswalkers.
While I think the power level of this set is somewhat low, the flavor drew me right in. They knocked it out of the park, kicking goals with both feet on how well they designed these cards from a world building stand point. From card names to flavor text to art style, it’s an out of the park grand slam and I think that’s really important. Sets can be a little lower power level if they offer something else, and Streets of New Capenna offers a lot in terms of pretty interesting in-world lore, combined with a wonderful art direction.
But that being said, there are still cards that will make an impact on the format, and I’m excited to see what existing decks get new toys and what new decks can spawn with this additional bump in power level.
Find me on Twitter @adolce95
