Hello everyone, Grandpa Biff here.
Even in this time of hardships there are fun things lurking around the corner – a new opus waiting to be spoiled and exciting new cards to build around.
And without further ado… I present to you…
That’s right! Vayne is back and now in the Rare slot!
Let’s break it down, shall we?
Well it is a strong 8000 power forward for 3cp; a good start to a card.
It utilizes the new dual colour mechanic in a sensible, cost effective manner making it arguably better than the 2cp dual colour cards.
It has the potential to force your opponents to discard a card if you have the ice characters with every attack and doesn’t need to connect making it on par with the other ice power house being reprinted in this set, Opus IV’s Locke.
It has the potential to be a 10,000 forward if you have the fire characters – a strong beater to get over most of your opponents forwards.
And if you can achieve both, you have a forward that will batter most opponents out of the game.
With all this going for it where is the downside?
Well, this card has some limiting factors that mar it’s otherwise interesting mechanics.
Requiring 4 ice or 4 fire cards would be fine individually yet requiring both to become this awesome powerhouse is somewhat of a challenge. Even with the other spoiled dual colour forwards, forwards are easily removable.
As of the date of this spoiler this set does not have any dual colour backups or monsters to help improve the likelihood of achieving this dual mode sooner. And yes while Opus I Shantotto is getting a reprint, playing 3 colours moves it even further away from the goal.
So while you may be able to reliably have a 10,000 beater or an 8,000 discard machine, it isn’t enough to justify the investment in the current Ice/Fire decks.
Yet while that might be the case in constructed, it is in formats like sealed or draft where this card comes into it’s own!
Often being able to get an efficient and powerful beater is desirable and this comes uniquely packaged to do just that.
Also as it comes in the Rare slot, you are likely to actually crack it in limited, something that makes it a reliable build around card especially in draft!
What makes me excited for this card is not it’s present but it’s future. Once more dual colour cards appear, especially if they include harder characters to remove, like Backups or Monsters, then this card will get better and better – to a point where I can see this card being a lynchpin in a different style of Fire Ice deck.
And that’s our Spoiler! Big thanks to Tim from VR for this opportunity!
So that’s it from me! I hope wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, That you’re having a good one!
