Standard Fare - 4 Cards That'll Turn Heads at Grand Prix Houston [Edward Eng - Battlemage, Level 42]
Grand Prix Houston is coming up fast and these are the cards I think will turn some heads that weekend.
Patrick Chapin talked about this card when Oath of the Gatewatch first came out. It hasn't really caught on yet, but the set is still pretty new. Chapin's latest article even talks about how there's still so much room to explore with OGW. Some people compare this card against Foul Renewal which is also seeing a bit more play now, but Pulse is one mana cheaper and could be decent against red decks.
This has been a popular sideboard card since its release. But people are actually starting to maindeck it now since it hits a lot of relevant spells in the current meta like Reflector Mage, Nantuko Husk, Collected Company, big dragons, rhinos, and Eldrazi. It's not even dead against red since it can hit Hordeling Outburst and Become Immense.
We haven't really seen this card in a while, but this could be the time for it to pop up again since a decent amount of decks have a tough time dealing with tokens and a going-wide strategy. Not to mention, Jeskai Ascendancy combo is still a thing.
This is starting to pop up in sideboards. It's kind of neat 2-for-1 that pumps up manlands. And a lot of the Standard manlands are pretty powerful. WOR provides reasonable offense and defense all in one card.
What other cards do you think will catch people off guard at Grand Prix Houston?
Peace, love, and have fun…
Eddie
Additional Reading
1. Event - $1k Magic Tournament Hosted by Galactic Treasures & The Card House
3. The MTG Community - Get Lucky [Edward Eng - Battlemage, Level 42]
4. The MTG Community - Why You Should Play More Limited [Ty Thomason - Archmage, Level 46]
A Little Bit about Eddie
He started playing Magic around December of 1994 then hit the sanctioned competitive tournament scene in 1997. He played till about 2000 and was on the cusp of making the Pro Tour but stopped to focus on school. He found his old teammate on Facebook in 2009 and got back into the game in 2010. Since then he's played in two Nationals, top 16ed an SCG Invitational, and day 2ed multiple Grand Prix.