Magic: Alpha in M14 Reprints, part 2

In case you missed it and are interested, I analyzed the first 6 of the 12 Magic cards (by collectors' number) from the original Alpha set that were reprinted in the newest Magic 2014 core set. Let's get right back to it with the second batch:

I never truly understood Sengir Vampire's name until I saw an interview with Levon Helm, drummer for folk rock group The Band. The laid-back Tennessee native was talking about Richard Manuel's role, and said that, although several members of the group perform vocals on various songs, they always considered Richard their singer. But because of his southern drawl, the phrase came out sounding like "sengir." And then I realized: Sengir Vampire is perfectly suited to be the lead singer in a band made of vampires. Look at his M14 reprint (whose art first appeared in Torment, the only expansion set in which Vampire appears) - he's dressed just like a 70's era rock star, and he has the face and body language of someone who's launching into the chorus of an epic power ballad. (His off-screen hand is totally holding the mic stand.) Even his original artwork could be a shot in an avant-garde music video. He hasn't been a core set staple (he was on the bench from Fourth thru Ninth editions, and has been in only every other set since Tenth), but he's a flavor win (just ask all his homies in the Homelands set) and I'm glad he's back.

Dragons are a staple of any game based on fantasy (as opposed to hard sci-fi) - there was even a whole half of a Duel Deck and a From the Vault set based on these mythical creatures. Most Dragons have an ability colloquially known as firebreathing (named for the card), which means they work best in a mono (or very heavy) red deck to ensure they have access to enough red mana to adequately pump them up. But I find them useful in any deck, not only for the huge flying bodies they provide, but also because of the pure morale swing that happens when an opponent sees one of these guys enter the battlefield on your side.

Every review of a set that includes Fog (or Fog-like cards) that I've ever read says the same thing: It's one of the worst cards in the game, only playable if your deck is extremely tempo-focused, and even then it's usually not worth using up one of your precious card slots for the effect it provides. I've never ran one of these in my deck, but when I played with the White version of Fog, it invariably ended up doing nothing if I was winning and at best offering a one-turn reprieve from utter destruction otherwise. Don't get me wrong, the card does belong in a very real and very annoying deck archetype, but I don't recommend either playing one of these decks or playing against one.

Giant Growth is the last of the "3-for-1" cycle from Alpha Edition that still gets reprinted. The other four are Lightning Bolt (last tournament legal printing was Magic 2011), which deals 3 damage, Healing Salve (Eighth Edition), which heals 3 life or prevents 3 damage, Dark Ritual (Mercadian Masques), which adds 3 black mana, and the ludicrously O.P. Ancestral Recall (which was discontinued before even Revised Edition), which lets target player draw 3 cards... for 1 mana. That's why even the cheapest version of this card goes for nearly $900 on the open market. But back to Giant Growth: it's simple, it's straightforward, and it's remained nearly unchanged since the very beginning (gains vs. gets is a trivial wording change in my mind, although I'm sure the R&D folks at Wizards would disagree with me). Flavor Fail Note: This is the only Alpha reprint not to feature flavor text.

Giant Spider is the Sub-Zero of Magic sets - the only core set this guy has missed since the very beginning was last year's M13. It even showed up in the Portal starter set, from which it gets its current art. Reach is a very important mechanic for green decks, since they have a famous vendetta against flying creatures, thus they don't have a lot of dudes that can answer threats in the air. Other than its resemblance to a Lord of the Rings villain, it's just a solid, fat butt blocker that's considerably better in Limited than Constructed play.

Despite having a relatively low-upside ability with an expensive cost to activate, the Rod was in every core set through M10 before taking a three-year break until this year. The cheapest "pinging" creatures cost exponentially less to use, as their CMC is just 3, and then they deal their damage by tapping alone without requiring an activation cost. The facts that the Rod requires only colorless mana and that it can't get pinged itself are points in its favor, but there aren't a lot of one-drops that require seven total mana to kill, and a 20-turn clock starting on turn five is not an effective endgame strategy. Props to this card being the only artifact on this list, but other than that, there's not much to recommend this... thing.


So there you have it: 12 of the game's most enduring cards that call back to the very beginning of Magic's storied history. Sometimes I think that if I spent less time thinking about the game's history and more time learning about how to build the best decks from the best cards, I might be a little better at the game. But then I remind myself that every Magic card is at least half flavor (sometimes more if italicized text accompanies the picture), and it's okay if I lose a few more matches as long as I have a more complete game experience.