Interesting Cards Set by Set: Prophecy

Another series of Magic articles is, rather than annoying, interesting cards from each set. I know that interesting is a comparitive value but I hope to back up my claims and show you cards you might have missed or not considered. Don't expect power rares or the like to populate these lists too often but there will be some surprises along the way.

Now the set Prophecy holds a special place in my heart. It was the first set I conciously bought cards for and dispite it having a lower powerlevel than many sets there are still some nice card cycles, cards of a similar type in each colour, and other interesting cards floating about to build decks round or break.

Cycles:
The Prophecy set had 3 main cycles which ran through the set. The avatars, the winds and the legendary spellshapers. While some of these were certainly powerful cards some have been forgotten over time.

The concept of the avatar cycle was simple. Big fat creatures wich are massively cheaper to get out if certain conditions were met. For white Avatar of Hope was sadly nearly useless, while it was a massive creature for 2 white mana having 3 or less life to get it out on the cheap simply ment it would either die to removal or a creature swarm or you'd simply eat a burnspell to the face shortly after playing it.

Avatar of Will could surprise decks which drop their entire hands onto the table and try for a fast win, a 5/6 flyer for 2 blue could wreck opponents who had often thrown their entire hand away for a quick advantage. Late game this card could hit the table when both players were reduced to topdecking and easily become a win condition, while not the most powerful avatar this still is a bit of a beast.

Now the black avatar was widely considered the most powerful of the bunch, being one of only 2 cards which can destroy a creature without a requirement or cost beyond tapping a card. The avatar is of course the wonderful Avatar of Woe who was a late game, or mid game with a little luck, winner for mono-black control and still sees play in EDH decks and casual formats cause it's frigging terrifying.

Avatar of Fury was a solid mid-game threat for Red to play once their opponent hit the magic 7 lands required to drop it on the cheap. The lack of Haste always surprised me considering it has a firebreathing effect and flying like many of reds' larger creatures.

Avatar of Might will forever be one of my favorite creatures. For 2 green you can have an 8/8 trampling monster if your opponent has 4 creatures on the table. Dropping this against a feild full of 1/1 goblins is a feeling to be enjoyed as lovelylovely efficient facebeatings steam across the table at your opponents.

The winds cycle is a perfect example of what a card cycle should be. Colour correct effects which all cost the same and even the flavor text is linked. Read in the following order Searing Wind, Plague Wind, Denying Wind, Blessed Wind and finally Vitalising Wind they are the five lines of Keld Triumphant. Not much to comment on here other than Blessed Wind sets a players life to 20 so it can reduce life totals over 20 back, always something fun against infinate life decks, and Denying Wind is a nice targeted mill altho a little expensive a 9 but could see use in EDH to remove 7 win conditions in a single spell.

The spellshaper legends are a pretty simple bunch pay a cost, discard 2 cards and tap them to produce an effect. White gets Wrath of God in the form of Mageta the Lion, Blue gets an improved Æther Tide bounce effect in the form of Alexi, Zephyr Mage, Black gets an instant speed Mind Twist, often considered one of the least fun cards in magics' history, in the funfun form of Greel, Mind Raker (that's raker not raper), Red gets good old Blaze from Latulla, Keldon Overseer and Green gets a powered up Animate Land from Jolrael, Empress of Beasts. Black is by far the most powerful card here with white following close behind but still a fun little cycle to play around with.

Other Cards:
Now there's a few cards that I'll briefly skim over for people to enjoy and think about, supplying commentary where I feel it's needed.

Flameshot is free dividable damage. Nom-nom-nom.

Now much of Prophecy revolved around lands either punishing not using them, Citidel of Pain which rocks ass against mono-blue control, protecting them, Sheltering Prayers which can lead to some entertaining situations in multiplayer with Limited Resources, denying them, Overburden which will get you a slap when flashed against a saproling deck, tapping them, Gulf Squid which becomes surprisingly strong in a mirror match, or recycling them into something useful in the slightly funky form of Forgotten Harvest which can be wonderfully used with cards like Crop Rotation, Harrow, Sylvan Safekeeper, Squandered Resources or Dust Bowl.

A mechanic that only existed in Prophecy was the Rystic mechanic where you get a big effect unless any player pays a cost. For the most part they're pretty wank but for multiplayer Rhystic Study and Rhystic Tutor both shine, particularly in EHD where they become another draw engine and another card search.

Now Prophecy had some of the most fun, and strangest, enchantments printed in Magic's history. Celestial Convergence is a wonderful alternate win condition which turns games into mad scrambles to have the hightest life in the remaining 8 turns of the game, that or you combine it with a way to change the number of counters on it and it can become a win condition in its own right.

Infernal Genesis allows you to create tokens by just milling your deck a little every turn, unfortunately so can your opponents so you combine it with Goblin Sharpshooter and create MtG clay pidgeon shooting.

And finally Dual Nature, a little wordy I know but there is an important ruleing for this card which reads: "10/4/2004: If Dual Nature leaves the battlefield between when it triggers and when a token is put onto the battlefield, that token remains on the battlefield indefinitely. It missed the separate ability which would have exiled the token." so if you can kill the enchantment at instant speed you keep the token, otherwise just enjoy extra creatures for free and instant death to legendary creatures.

So there you have it, a small selection of the more interesting cards from Prophecy. Next week's Monday article may not be on magic but I hope you'll come back to read it anyways.