Blue is kind of the forgotten color in MSS. Red and White are metalcrafting while Black and Green are infecting, but Blue is relegated to its old fallback, flight. Fortunately, evasion is very powerful in limited, so even without the cute tricks, blue still is a legitimate contributor. I occasionally have paired Blue with Green or Black as infect support as well. However, I think Blue really diversifies in New Phyrexia and here are the top five commons/uncommons for limited play.
5. Mindculling – Word on the street is that card advantage is good and this card takes it to heart. I am a little weary of the high casting cost, but with a mana myr or two, it is possible to accelerate the arrival to turn 4 or 5. The format is pretty slow, so most of the time your opponent will still have a couple cards in hand and what a swing it is to deplete all their resources while gaining a couple of your own. I don’t think it will be great in every deck, but I can think of a lot of worse ways to spend a turn.
4. Spire Monitor – Maybe I’m alone on this, but I’ve found Sky-eel School’s comes into play effect to be useful about 50% of the time. Sometimes I have a card I really want to cycle, but often I want the one card I have in hand or, even worse, I don’t have any cards and am just milling myself for one. Despite this, a 3/3 flying frame for 5 makes the cut in this format. Personally, I’d rather attach that body to a versatile ability like flash. 3/3 is large enough that it will eat up many unsuspecting attackers (Spined Thopter for example) and will provide a nice offensive bump on the ensuing turn.
3. Blighted Agent – The two-drop is the crux of a successful infect strategy (at least it was before Glistener Elf). In triple Scars, Plague Stinger was public enemy number one, swinging with a Darksteel Axe or Sylvok Lifestaff for a quick dose of death. Often my only recourse was to sideboard in a Wall of Tanglecord or Ezuri’s Archers to slow the onslaught. Well, Blighted Agent just took a steaming dump on that strategy. True, there is an abundance of ways to kill a creature with one toughness (Blisterstick Shaman, Instill Infection, Fume Spitter, the back end of Arc Trail), but that doesn’t mean they’ll have the answer when they need it. Expect overkill on this fella, as anything from Dismember to Turn to Slag will be used to stop him.
2. Tezzeret’s Gambit – I actually expect to see this card more often in non-blue decks. This provides all the other colors with some card draw. Now 2 cards at sorcery speed for 3 mana and 2 life is not the greatest deal we’ve ever seen, but to have that option in a color other than black or blue is a big deal. Burn can always use more fuel and this allows that as a possibility. I keep going back and forth on whether this card is on par with Ichor Wellspring or whether it is much better. What do you think?
1. Viral Drake – Infectors with flight rule. Infectors with a high toughness rule. Infectors with built in proliferate…well, this guy is the only one, but, using Contagion Clasp as conjecture, they rule as well. Is there a non-rare flyer with 4 power in the block? None come to mind (and lord knows I’m not looking it up to confirm), so odds are it will take two or more airborne creatures to take him out.
Good list!
Plus who is gonna swing with the Viral Drake if they have two fliers with combined power of 4?
Exactly, hit once early and then just hold the skies until they are proliferated to death.