Magic the Gathering: Dark Ascension Mythic Rares

While easily the weakest of the mythic rares in Dark Ascension, Archangel's Light is far from useless. Granted, 8 mana for any sorcery is pretty pricey. However, just look what it does. You gain 2 life for each card in your graveyard, then you shuffle your entire graveyard back into your deck. In Innistrad block Limited, where mill is definitely workable in the Innistrad block, this is actually quite useful. The fact that it only requires a single white mana is also very, very important. A predominantly blue mill deck can make this work. This card essentially wins you the game by virtue of the fact that you can simply outlast your opponent. So while this is the worst mythic rare in the set, in the context of a mill deck, it can win you the game, albeit very slowly and painfully.

It will very likely be a part of a few EDH decks. While recycling the graveyard is usually not the best strategy in that format, there are builds that can take full advantage of both the life-gain and the restocking of Archangel's Light. Don't throw this card away in disgust. It's not going to see much Constructed play at all, but if you ever face a mill deck that happens to splash white, you have to be prepared for this card.

While not one of the better mythic rares in the world, our lady friend Beguiler of Wills is pretty good in Limited. Especially in draft, being able to steal opponent's monsters for a simple tap ability is often just enough to win you the game. Even if she's only a 1/1, her tap ability is just good enough to make up for the weak stats. If you can untap her and use her ability multiple times in a turn, she can become really abuse-able. The part that makes her a mythic rare is that you gain control of the targeted monster permanently. She's not going to see Standard play, but she's good if you're playing blue in Limited, and can find more than a few uses in a number of Commander decks, where untapping her is actually quite possible..She's one for the EDH binder.

While this one of the more underwhelming mythic rares from Dark Ascension, as a spirit with a converted mana cost of 7, there is still some upside. Reaver is only a 3/5, but it does have flying, double strike, and lifelink. Also, whenever you gain life, you can draw a card. That's pretty much the best thing it has going for it. Since it has double strike, you can always draw 2 cards when he deals damage. You potentially have a good defensive wall that lets you draw some cards.

The fact that you can draw a card any time you gain life is actually very interesting. Decks built around life-gain effects make this pretty useable. While I don't see this ever being the centerpiece of a competitive deck, Reaver can serve as a decent little draw engine as a one-of in a Spirit deck, but he's just too expensive to cast in any real competitive deck. This is another card to file away in the EDH binder.

While Dark Ascension's mythic rare equipment is clearly no Batterskull, this is probably one of the most epic rares ever printed. Yes, it costs 7 to play to the field, but it only costs 1 to equip. When the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, you detach the Blade and get one of the biggest, baddest monsters that the game of Magic has seen in a very long time. And it's not just big, it's brutal...

When Withengar is unbound from the sword, you get a 13/13 demon with flying, intimidate, and trample! In Limited, this is the bomb that wins you the game if your opponent just doesn't have the removal (Tragic Slip). Especially with all the flyers in the set to draft, you can get combat damage through pretty easily. It may not be worth much now, but I can see this card getting into anything that plays Stoneforge Mystic just on account of how broken it can be.

As far as more traditional formats are concerned, there is still definitely a lot of potential. But while the Swords are still in play from the Scars block, you're just not going to see much of this guy in Type 2. However, what about other formats? In Legacy, imagine this thing with Stoneforge Mystic! Tutor it to your hand with Mystic's enter the battlefield ability, then play it for a measly two mana. This thing could end games so, so early. But in Standard, it's just a bit too slow.

Withengar also has an ability that has no relevance is ordinary formats: whenever a player loses the game, you put 13 +1/+1 counters on him! Obviously, that makes this card scream Commander, as who doesn't want a 26/26 flyer that's unblockable by anything but black and artifact creatures AND has trample? Elbrus is clearly going to be a force in multi-player format.

While I don't dislike this card. I'm not sure I quite understand the interplay between Vampires and Humans just yet, at least from a competitive standpoint. A 4/1 is very, very fragile no matter how you look at it. Having flying and haste certainly is good, and for 4 mana, it's acceptable. Still, she's a little underwhelming as a mythic rare, though she can consistently become indestructible just by sacrificing a creature. She's definitely a little better than a rare. The Aristocrat will be an interesting card to watch, but I don't think she'll see a bunch of play unless there are some really good interactions between Vampires and Humans. It may happen, but I just don't think she's strong enough to really be a solid play., especially since Humans are actually much better when combined with Werewolves, or just on their own. I just don't see black/red/white humans & vampires really taking off.

Havengul Lich is ridiculous. Any card that reads, pay one mana and you can cast a creature card from any graveyard is pretty ridiculous. Then having the Lich gain all activated abilities of that creature until end of turn, is beyond ridiculous. This is because, of course, it's simply a mana ability, not a tap ability. Being able to cast your opponent's creatures from their graveyard is silly enough, but to get their activated abilities, as well? This card, with all of the Zombie support that is flooding in with these past couple of sets, could anchor a blue/black Zombie control deck that may Top 8 soon enough.

Somebody will probably find a way to abuse this card, although I'm not quite sure how. I'm not sure what happened here with Helvault. I understand that Helvault is important in the story arc of the Innistrad block, but I don't know why they made such a meh card a mythic rare! I must apologize to Archangel's Light, as this is probably functionally worse, and at least Archangel's Light can put the game out of reach. This is just so weak for a mythic.

Helvault is pretty much only good for exiling a creature you control that would otherwise be destroyed by a Dismember or Day of Judgment. But paying 7 for a tap ability that just exiles an opponent's creature is very, very expensive, especially considering that any such exiled creature would just come back if Helvault leaves the board. This ability only is really useful very late in the game for removing your opponent's best monster in a final push for game. Is it a worthless card? It may be slightly useful in Limited, certainly, but wow, it's a weak mythic rare.

Huntmaster of the Fells is a good double-sided card with both sides having good abilities that activate whenever he transforms back and forth. Huntmaster has a good enter the battlefield ability, put a 2/2 green Wolf creature token into play and gain 2 life. He's only a 2/2, but for what you get when he enters the playing field, it's okay. His flip-side, Ravager, is a 4/4 with trample that deals 2 damage to target opponent and 2 damage to one creature that player controls. Not too bad. What makes him a mythic though is that these abilities activate each time he is flipped, so he can become a potential problem if not dealt with.

One drawback is that he doesn't have good synergy with Immerwolf, which honestly is the card that really makes Werewolves playable. If he can't transform back and forth, he doesn't really live up to his full potential. Still, he's a good card and it doesn't mean you shouldn't play him, as with Immerwolf he's at least a 5/5 trampler as Ravager. No matter how you play him in a Werewolf deck, he's going to be well worth the 4 mana you pay to cast him. He's not a "wow" card, but it's hard not to be a fan of him.

The black version of Mikaeus is a very interesting mythic rare that might actually see considerable play in mono-black Zombie. First off, he's a 5/5 for 6 mana with intimidate. Whenever a Human deals damage to you, that Human is automatically destroyed. Also, all other non-Human creatures you control get +1/+1 and have undying. This undying mechanic is what really makes this interesting. Imagine your Gravecrawler dies and he's able to come back as a 4/3. Then again, while this is obviously quite a good lord card, and the Intimidate makes him really terrifying, he's still susceptible to our old staple removal spell, Dismember. When that card is no longer in Standard, this guy will be a lot scarier. As it is, this is a solid card, and one to definitely have a copy or two of in your collection.

Moonveil Dragon is a 5/5 flyer for 3RRR, with the ability to give all of your creatures firebreathing until the end of turn. Basically it's Shivan Dragon, but it shares that boost with all of your creatures, and there's no limit to the number of times you can use it in any given turn. It's probably not going to be anything any competitive Red Deck Wins will utilize, but it's a pretty nice looking card and it will certainly see some play in casual formats, and certainly in red-based EDH decks that utilize a lot of creatures.

It deserves it's mythic status for its ability to end a game in one turn, as its ability is usable to pump your creatures as soon as it hits the board. So while it's a potential win condition, it's just not good enough to be worth much to anyone besides casual players. Classic beat-down decks certainly would like to find a way to fit this card in, but that's probably just not going to happen outside of a fun Dragon Beatdown deck.

Wizards certainly did not disappoint with the long awaited and anticipated second incarnation of Sorin. The white/black combination in his mana cost is interesting but understandable,when you look at his abilities. His -1 ability is clearly quite useful: put a 1/1 black Vampire token with lifelink into play. His -2 gives you an emblem which gives all creatures you control +1/+0. That's a nice cheap way to get a little boost for your armies, and the cheapest way to get an emblem yet. Both of these abilities: spawning a creature token with lifelink and boosting your forces attack power do seem a bit more white than you would expect on a black planeswalker, thus why I think they chose this combination.

The ultimate ability is obviously very good, but as it will be only available on the fourth turn after he's summoned, it's hard to say how often it will actually go off. But if it does, you can destroy up to three target creatures and/or other planeswalkers, and then put those creatures or planeswalkers on the field under your control. Potentially, you can take over an opposing Gideon Jura or Liliana of the Veil and cause some serious board position shifts. He's definitely a game changer much the way Liliana of the Veil was, but I think he's hands-down a better overall card.

It will be interesting to see what sort of decks revolve around this guy. White/black Vampires is not an archetype I would have imagined before, and a sort of human soldiers/vampires hybrid would be interesting to see considering the current card pool. This guy is one to definitely look forward to pulling. It's definitely appreciated to see such an improvement upon Sorin Markov. Wizards surely did not disappoint this time. His value won't remain in the $50 USD range, but he's going to see some kind of play somehow.

Mono-green has gained a great many weapons in Dark Ascension, including Predator Ooze and Strangleroot Geist . Here's another good green card and Limited bomb in Vorapede. Yes, it's triple green mana cost somewhat limits the scope of its usefulness, but considering that mono-green is the deck that it works best in, there's no issue. A 5/4 creature with both vigilance and trample is always useful, and having undying makes it even better. It's not the best mythic rare in the set, but it is one of the better ones. It's just too good to be a rare. Staring down one of these in Limited is not fun. Green decks may not have quite the ramp they once did, but it's sure getting a lot of powerful beasts in this block!

While EDH used to be more of a niche format, with the release of the Commander format last year, there is definitely a shift in the sort of mythic rares that we're seeing in the recent sets. There are cards with really epic abilities that just don't fit within the scope of a regular Constructed one-on-one game of Magic. I think this is completely intentional, and while it's not a terrible strategy to print cards that are going to have value outside of the competitive scene, I think it frustrates a great many competitive players that they happen to pull so many of these "jank" cards. Honestly, though, while there aren't many "money" cards in this set, a few of the mythic rares in this set are better than a few in Innistrad.

While Innistrad had much more powerful mythic rares in Garruk Relentless, Geist of Saint Traft, Liliana of the Veil, and a few others, there are good cards here, too. They're just not game-changing. It's fair to say that because of the lack of many chase cards in the set you're better suited to actually sitting back and picking up the singles from this set rather than investing in pack breaking, which is something that isn't very natural to a lot of Magic players. There are cards here that long-term will have a lot more value, Magic has more than its fair share of casual players that don't mind pulling cards like these, but what's cheap now will stay cheap just because they're are so many cards that feel mythic, but just aren't going to accrue any value beyond set collecting and singleton (EDH/Commander) play.