Thanks to an accidental leak of the spoiler on Magic Online, the Judgment spoiler was made known long before it was supposed to be released. People all over the internet got a taste of Judgment, and so far, a lot has been said. Lots of people like it and fewer people don’t. There have been countless Judgment reviews by color, etc, and pretty much everything that can be said already has. However, I just can’t let a new set like this come by without adding in my own comments. What’s to follow isn’t necessarily what I think are the good cards, but the interesting ones.

Cabal Therapy
B
Sorcery
Name a nonland card. Target player reveals his or her hand and discards from it all cards with that name.
Flashback - Sacrifice a creature
U

This looks promising. It performs very much like Duress, but it has a few fundamental differences. I can’t really see it being played in multiples in maindecks, but Black decks have very few ways to get rid of Compost before the opponent gets a chance to play it, so this will probably see sideboard action. The similarity to "Go Fish" is certainly there.



Grave Consequences
1B
Instant
Each player may remove any number of cards in his or her graveyard from the game. Then each player loses 1 life for each card in his or her graveyard.
Draw a card.
U

This isn’t so much of a good card now as it is a sort of "escape route", in case decks that rely on the graveyard get completely out of hand (which they probably will, but more on Quiet Speculation later). The fact that it’s an instant and that it replaces itself means it will definitely see some play. It’s also a semi-decent Psychatog hoser, although good luck getting this to resolve.



Cunning Wish
2U
Instant
Choose an instant card you own from outside the game, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Remove Cunning Wish from the game.
R

This card just screams "Fact or Fiction!" in Psychatog decks, doesn’t it? Although that may be a fantastic use for it, its uses extend beyond that. Being able to fetch a Hibernation, Slay, Disrupt, Repulse, Counter, burn spell, Disenchant, etc at instant speed depending on your situation will be valuable tool in the Blue player’s arsenal.



Grip of Amnesia
1U
Instant Counter target spell unless its control removes his or her graveyard from the game.
Draw a card.
C

Somewhat on the same wavelength as Grave Consequences, this graveyard hoser seems a bit more promising in terms of real play. Although not optimal in the early game as the opponent generally won’t have a problem removing a few cards to force their spell through, it becomes a sickeningly efficient counter in the mid-to-late game, acting sometimes as a Dismiss for half the mana or an instant-speed, cantripping Tormod’s Crypt. Both options seem pretty good, eh?



Mist of Stagnation
3UU
Enchantment
Permanents don't untap during their controllers' untap steps. At the beginning of each player's upkeep, that player untaps a permanent for each card in his or her graveyard.
R

This card is asking to be broken, but it’s one of those cards where you just can’t seem to find a way to do it. The ability to remove an opponent’s graveyard from the game shows up all over the place, allowing you several ways to approach this card. Do you play with Morningtide and hope to place more cards into your graveyard afterwards, or do you go Black’s route and Rat’s Feast/Coffin Purge/etc their graveyard away but keep yours intact? Neither of those ways seems enticing now, but I’m sure someone will think of a way to use this card, even if its best use is a year after its release (think Wild Research).



Quiet Speculation
1U
Sorcery
Search target player's library for up to three cards with flashback and put them into that player's graveyard. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
U

And here we have a top contender for best card in the set. The possibilities for this card are seemingly endless, although Roar and Deep Anal are the first two that come to mind. However, once you go beyond them, the card seems even sicker. Beast Attack, Call of the Herd, Ray of Revelation, Firebolt, Coffin Purge, Reckless Charge, Moment’s Peace, and the list goes on. Most dedicated beatdown decks CANNOT deal with 6/6 beaters coming out turns four, five and six. RG might as well scoop it up right there. All thanks to a turn two sorcery. How broken is that? Expect this card to see extreme amounts of play, unless they ban it, which I’m not sure is unlikely.



Elephant Guide
2G
Enchant Creature Enchanted creature gets +3/+3. When enchanted creature is put into a graveyard, put a 3/3 green Elephant creature token into play.
U

Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the third-best Creature Enchantment ever. Not quite Rancor and not quite Empyrial Armor, this card certainly comes close in terms of sheer power. Three power and three toughness is hard enough to deal with alone, but on top of that you have to deal with ½ a Call of the Herd after you work so hard to kill the enchanted creature. Will definitely see some play in Constructed, and is an absolute monster in limited.



Erhnam Djinn
3G
Creature - Djinn
4/5
At the beginning of your upkeep, target non-Wall creature an opponent controls gains Forestwalk until your next upkeep.
R

The much-hyped Mr. Ernie has returned, but is he as good as he once was? The answer to that is no as Armageddon left the format a while ago, but that doesn’t mean this guy is bad. On the contrary; he’s an efficient and splashable creature with a minor drawback, something you don’t see much of nowadays. He will see play in some existing archetypes, and I’m sure one Wayne Robar will futilely attempt to recreate Erhnam-Geddon in Type 2 with Global Ruin *shudder*. That being said, he’s still not the best 4-casting-cost Green creature in the set, but he’s still pretty damn good.



Genesis
4G
Creature - Incarnation
4/4 At the begining of your upkeep, if Genesis is in your graveyard, you may pay 2G. If you do, return target creature from your graveyard to your hand.
R

This guy has so many possibilities it’s pretty gross. I really like this guy. I can see a few things happening with him. Either a few copies of him will be played in some Green/Red or Green/Red/Blue based decks, allowing Flametongue/Arrogant Wurm recursion, or maybe in a Green/Black aggro deck for Rager/Fiend/Rats/Swarm recursion. I bet he’d be pretty good in either of those. Also, we may see the dawn of a new utility-based creature deck based on putting creatures into the graveyard and selectively recurring ones based on the situation, not unlike the Survival decks of old. Either way, I’m looking forward to playing this guy.



Living Wish
1G Sorcery
Choose a creature card or land card you own from outside the game, reveal that card, and put it into your hand. Remove Living Wish from the game.
R

Another of the Wishes, this one I find the most interesting of the bunch. There are lots of creatures you can stick in your sideboard to call upon on demand. The fact that it’s only two mana pulls it from the verge of unplayability. However, if you load up your board with only creatures/lands to Wish for, you won’t be able to properly sideboard in between games. Expect somebody to make some wacky deck involving Wishing for silver-bullet creatures, but don’t hold your breath in terms of playability.



Phantom Centaur
2GG
Creature - Centaur Spirit

2/0 Protection from black Phantom Centaur comes into play with three +1/+1 counters on it. If damage would be dealt to Phantom Centaur, prevent that damage. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Phantom Centaur. U

I call this guy Blastoderm, because that’s basically what he is. Either he gets chump blocked three turns in a row and dies or he continues to smash for five. Better than Erhnam, this guy might be the best creature in the set (has to compete with Anurid Brushhopper, but more on that later). I can’t tell you how rare a five-power, four-mana creature with a very minor drawback is. I say very minor drawback because it’s pretty much the same as Blastoderm’s fading, and that didn’t keep anyone from playing it.

A cute trick with this guy is to somehow increase his base toughness to more than 0, so that he will never die from damage (if there is no counter to remove, then he just stays the same). So if you put an Elephant Guide on an undamaged Centaur, he’s first 8/6, then 7/5, then 6/4, then 5/3, then 5/3, then 5/3, then 5/3...



Seedtime
1G
Instant
Play seedtime only during your turn. Take an extra turn after this one if an opponent played a blue spell this turn.
R

As much as I don’t really like this card, I feel like I at least have to talk about it. This is the much-hyped "Fact or Fiction hoser" that was alluded to not too long ago. Yes, Green mages everyone will enjoy Time Walking at instant speed for 1G, but the smart Blue mage will know how to play around it. If it’s in the early game and the Green player left open a Forest and something else after playing a creature or something, it’s highly likely that they’re holding back a Seedtime. It will have devastating results some of the time, but I can’t really see it making that big of an impact overall. As for its value, people seem to forget that sideboard cards are never worth all that much, and anyone who plays this card maindeck is an idiot.



Breaking Point
1RR
Sorcery
Destroy all creatures unless a player has Breaking Point deal 6 damage to him or her. Creatures destroyed this way can't be regenerated.
R

If some form of Mono-Red creatureless deck were ever to become good, Breaking Point would probably go in it. The problem is that it will never kill creatures when you really want it to, and it will kill creatures when you want to do damage (as with all the punisher cards). You’d need more ways than just Breaking Point to deal with creatures en masse, like Earthquake or Wildfire, neither of which are tantalizing options. I doubt Breaking Point will see much play at first, but it will work its way into a deck somewhere.



Browbeat
2R
Sorcery
Unless a player has Browbeat deal 5 damage to him or her, target player draws three cards.
U

Alex Shvartsman is much better than I am, so read his review on the sideboard to see why Browbeat is good. All I can say is that this card is rarely going to be the Ancestral you really want it to be. Lava Axe for 2R...sounds familiar. Longhorn Firebeast, anyone? People were paying 5 life to keep a measly 3/2 creature off the board, paying 5 life to keep the opponent from drawing 3 cards is MUCH bigger.



Firecat Blitz
XRR
Sorcery
Put X 1/1 red Cat creature tokens with haste into play. Remove them from the game at end of turn.
Flashback - RR, Sacrifice X mountains.
U

A 3rd turn kill in OBC can be achieved with this card. However, there can be absolutely no blockers or disruption of any kind. This card is cute and will probably see some play somewhere with Rites of Initiation, but not much more.



Fledgling Dragon
2RR
Creature - Dragon
2/2
Flying
Threshold - Fledgling Dragon gets +3/+3 and has 'R: Fledgling Dragon gets +1/+0 until end of turn.'
R

Finally, a truly playable Red creature! Been waiting for one of these since Flametongue. In Red/Blue, this dude can be a frighteningly efficient finisher. With Fact or Fiction, Compulsion, and various cantrips, threshold can be achieved without difficulty. This will probably get some play, probably in a Red/Blue deck as the finisher.



Worldgorger Dragon
3RRR
Creature - Nightmare Dragon
7/7
Flying, trample
When Worldgorger Dragon comes into play, remove all other permanents you control from the game. When Worldgorger Dragon leaves play, return the removed cards to play under their owners' control.
R

No doubt you’ve heard of the two-card infinite mana combo in Extended, involving Entombing this guy turn 1 and Animate Deading him turn two. Got Stroke or Whispers in hand and it’s pretty much game. Other than this, I don’t think anyone will play this guy for any reason. The prospects of getting it Repulsed in response to its CIP ability stacking is definitely enough to keep anyone from playing him.

Armageddon
3W
Sorcery
Destroy all lands.
R

Just kidding. But that would be fucking sweet, wouldn’t it?

Battle Screech
2WW
Sorcery
Put two 1/1 white Bird creature tokens with flying into play. Flashback - Tap three untapped white creatures you control.
U

Yeah yeah, if you have an White creature in play before you cast this, you get four birds for the one card. If a White Weenie deck was ever to become good, it would probably play this.



Ray of Revelation
1W
Instant
Destroy target enchantment.
Flashback G
C

This will probably take the enchantment removal slot in White/Green/x sideboards, at least once Aura Blast leaves. It’ll definitely be a useful tool against Trenches and Opposition, since they’ll need to counter it twice to protect their enchantments.



Solitary Confinement
2W
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Solitary Confinement unless you discard a card from your hand. Skip your draw step. You can't be the target of spells or abilities. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you.
R

Reading over the spoiler, I found this card one of the more interesting in the set. Obviously you need a way to draw cards or put cards into your hand, not quite the theme of White, but in combination with, say Green, a Genesis/Solitary Confinement lock is realistic. Blue’s card drawing, or even Jayemdae Tome can help out here. Hell, it even works with Phyrexian Arena (for a period of time). The only problem is a good kill mechanism...maybe Millstone? It’ll be tough getting this to work, but it’ll happen.



Suntail Hawk
W
Creature - Bird
1/1
Flying
C

Ah yes, the much-heralded return of White Weenie....this little piece of shit. Let me tell you that this card is highly overrated. Flying Men was never amazing in the first place, so why would it be all that good in a color that doesn’t really need it? I don’t see why people are going apeshit over this.



Test of Endurance
2WW
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have 50 or more life, you win the game.
R

Yeah, yeah, new kill for UW Lifegain etc etc. How utterly boring a card. Somebody somewhere will probably take out Millstone for this and then realize that it’s shit. You can’t slip this under countermagic, and against certain decks you’ll never reach the 50 life threshold.



Anurid Brushhopper
1GW
Creature - Beast
3/4
Discard two cards from your hand: Remove Anurid Brushhopper from the game. Return it to play under its owner's control at end of turn.
R

Next to Quiet Speculation, this is probably the second best card in the set. This card is sickeningly efficient, clocking in at 3/4 for 3 mana, a creature whose power/toughness we’d usually see attached to 5 mana, not 3. Along with Phantom Centaur and maybe Erhnam, a new GW beatdown deck is very, very realistic. While I’m on that subject, I’ll churn out a quick decklist that’s legal after Invasion block rotates:

4 Llanowar Elves
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Anurid Brushhopper
4 Phantom Centaur
3 Arrogant Wurm
2 Mystic Enforcer

4 Shelter
4 Call of the Herd
4 Elephant Guide

8 Forest
4 Plains
4 Brushland
3 Krosan Verge
2 Nantuko Monastery
2 Sungrass Prairie

It’s yet to be tested, but I think a GW beats deck could definitely be viable.



Phantom Nishoba
5GW
Creature - Beast Spirit
0/0
Trample
Phantom Nishoba comes into play with seven +1/+1 counters on it. Whenever Phantom Nishoba deals damage, you gain that much life. If damage would be dealt to Phantom Nishoba, prevent that damage. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Phantom Nishoba.
R

This guy may not be great in Constructed thanks to his mana cost, but I’m only mentioning him because I’ve had dreams of getting this guy and an Elephant Guide in draft (I know this is a Constructed article, but I just had to mention that).



Krosan Verge
Land
Krosan Verge comes into play tapped.
T: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool.
3, T: Sacrifice Krosan Verge: Search your library for a forest card and a plains card and put them into play tapped. Then shuffle your library.
U

Hey look kiddies, Grasslands is back, and it’s arguably better than before. It may be more costly to activate, but the advantage it gives you is undeniable. In Type 2, it ramps up your mana very efficiently, getting two basic lands into play, while also thinning your deck out. In Extended, it gets even sicker because it can get Duals, assuming the wording doesn’t include "basic" anywhere. This might be one of my favorite cards in the set.


Nantuko Monastery
Land
T: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool.
Threshold - GW: Nantuko Monastery becomes a 4/4 green and white creature with first strike until end of turn. It's still a land.
U

Along with Grasslands, Treetop Village’s also back, and he’s bigger (but not necessarily better). Green/White’s inability to achieve threshold efficiently or quickly means that nobody should play 4 of these in straight Green/White. However, it would be a perfect fit in a Blue/White/Green Mystic Enforcer control deck. They can either smash for four, hold the fort, or even take one for the team when an Edict happens to resolve. It’s also very hard for Mono-Black to deal with it, as it plays no land destruction or instant-speed removal. Either way, this is very playable.

All in all, Judgment looks to be a pretty good set. A fairly high number of playable cards, some interesting new mechanics and another change in the balance of colors. I will definitely look forward to playing this in limited and Constructed.