[BNG] Prerelease Promo Cards

Silent Sentinel, Arbiter of the Ideal, Eater of Hope, Forgestoker Dragon, and Nessian Wilds Ravager have been known for a bit while now, and the mothership has now officially unveiled their prerelease versions. I'm still not impressed at all at both the ability and the artwork for Silent Sentinel. Sure, riding some sort of flying chimera and being able to get back some enchanment cards into the battlefield might sound good, but they can also be done in better and cheaper ways. This cards needs a lot of support to see any serious play.

Silent Sentinel (image from WOTC)

Moving on, Arbiter of the Ideal is an interesting card. For me, it is normal to have a 4UU 4/5 flyer for blue, since it would certainly have some useful ability in the long run. Having an inspired mechanic and with the Theros block pushing the possibilities of tapping and untapping permanents, we could witness some experimental decks that would run this card. Remember, those that get to be put onto the battlefield by this sphinx also become enchantments.

Arbiter of the Ideal (image from WOTC)

While the name seems average, Eater of Hope has a really great artwork. It might suck for having only four toughness, but it has two abilities which make it either hard to kill or clear the battlefield of some enemy creatures, respectively. Look at that nice little flavor text too. The card also reminds me of Eater of Days simply because of the name.

Eater of Hope (image from WOTC)

The red one, Forgestoker Dragon, is a great card to have in limited. It can easily be the great red finisher of the deck, with its 5/4 power and toughness for a sensible 4RR, not to mention it can force the opponent to have no blockers at all. This means that the ability can be used so that not only the dragon will be unblocked, but also your other creatures in the battlefield.

Forgestoker Dragon (image from WOTC)

Finally, perhaps Timmy would be delighted to hear about Nessian Wilds Ravager. It's a possible for 12/12 for a mere 6 mana. This means that it can probably enter the play in the fourth turn or so, given that green decks specialize in mana acceleration. However, the downside is that if the opponent has no creatures, he/she can still choose to not pay the tribute, and the hydra will remain a 6/6 with no abilities and no creature to battle against as it comes onto the battlefield.

Nessian Wilds Ravager (image from WOTC)

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[BNG] Prerelease Promo Cards + FATED FLAMES as the Buy-A-Box Promo Card

Someone just found a Born of the Gods prerelease poster that had the five prerelease promo cards in it. Despite being in Spanish, the translation shouldn't be a problem for long. We are all excited to see them so that we can make a wise choice with the color to pick during the tournament. For now, I like Wild Devastating Nessian the most simply because of its brute force and because it can potentially see a little bit of serious play. If the opponent doesn't make it a 12/12, he/she will risk having the hydra attack and perhaps kill a precious creature of his own. Firestir Dragon is also good for limited as it is a big flyer that can kill creatures while making sure that it damages the player.

Aside from them, Mediator of the Ideal seems okay, though of course it has to attack or be tapped in order to use the ability. Perhaps a combo of some sort can be used to tap the Sphinx and enable the ability without having attack with it. Silent Sentinel would be decent if there's a really good enchantment card in the graveyard. And finally, I think Devourer of Hope is the weakest in the bunch simply because of the high mana cost for a 6/4 flyer, and an ability that would be like a 2-for-1. Though of course the cards in use and the players who use them can change my mind.

Good news! Or at least, almost goods news until WOTC confirms it. The Buy-A-Box promo card for Born of the Gods is Fated Conflagration. It could also just be called Nefarious Burn since the card shown is not in English, but it's 100% sure now that it's really called Fated Conflagration. For now, what do you think? The card is basically a red instant card that costs 1 colorless mana and three red mana. In addition, it deals 4 damage to target creature or planeswalker. Finally, if it is your turn, you get to Scry 2.

Image from MTGS

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