A Look At Innistrad Remastered

Innistrad Remastered was the fourth "remastered" set that was WOTC has put out in as many years.  Let's take a look at some of our new options, there are some great ones here!

These sets typically come out with a variety of card treatments ranging from what I would call regular cards, borderless/extended art, retro frames and other novel card treatments.  The great thing about these sets, for me, is I get a bunch of new toys that help to make my retro only addition more relevant as well as hopefully getting more people into it!  Innistrad Remastered did, for the most part, not disappoint.  Many of the cards that I had hoped would get reprinted in retro frames did but there were some big missed opportunities. For a look at the cards I wanted reprinted click here.  This set did two really cool things with retro cards... First, we got double faced cards for the first time!  Second, planeswalkers in retro frames outside of the secret lair cards I had discussed in this post.  Now, let's take a look at some of what I feel to be the more relevant cards that were reprinted.  One thing to note, my play group does allow for the play of banned cards.

White

White got some decent reprints in this set, but I don't think many of them will make their way into my decks.  Avacyn is an absolute banger and one of the cards I really wanted to see get a reprint.  This card often commands a high price so hopefully this reprint will bring the price down a bit.  Mentor of the Meek was one of the better draw spells white had access to for a long time, however it has been drastically outclassed as of late.  If you are sticking with retro cards, however, it will still be pretty good in comparison to other things we have access to.  Hopefully it will eventually be outclassed soon in retro frames as well.  Thalia looks amazing in retro frame, I'm so happy we got her but for whatever reason it rarely gets a place in my decks that are not limited to retro.  Hopefully I can squeeze it into some of my retro decks!  Cathar Commando is a great reprint that will find a home in many decks, especially Orzhov aristocrat strategies.  Cathar Crusade is an excellent win condition, but it is also extremely annoying.  For that reason, I never play this card but often wish I had the patience for it.  The main thing I am disappointed about not getting a reprint is Selfless Spirit.  White has gotten a lot of protection spells lately and I love them.  Unfortunately, we currently only have access to Flare of Fortitude and looks like it will be that way for a little while longer.  

Blue

Blue got some decent reprints, one of which includes Deadeye Navigator!  This card was once a boogeyman of the format and people wanted it to be banned.  The reason is, if you pair it with a Palinchron/Great Whale/Peregrine Drake, you end up with infinite mana.  These combos do exist if you limit yourself to retro only cards but they are not nearly as easy to come by if you play without restrictions.  hullbreaker horror is a great reanimation target, remember I think blue is a great reanimation color to play due to all of the card draw that requires you to discard.  Imprisoned in the Moon is the first of it's type that becomes available to us where we can essentially permanently remove an opponents commander unless they have enchantment removal or a bounce land. (play bounce lands!). Rise from the Tides is a great finisher in spell slinger decks, although I admit, I don't typically play that style of deck to know for sure.  I do certainly think it provides great late game value in a lot of decks.  Snapcaster Mage will always be a good card to have and I think it looks awesome in the retro frame.  I would have LOVED to see a reprint of Invisible Stalker in a retro frame, it would be the perfect card to windmill slam into a Lazav deck.  In addition to this, they printed Necroduality in a retro frame, which is amazing!  However, they did little to print relevant zombie cards in blue which I think was a huge missed opportunity.  Additionally, dimir zombies was one of the draft archetypes in this set and Gisa & Geralf AND Grimgrin were in this set but neither were in the retro frames.  This would have been an opportunity to create a whole new viable and enjoyable archetype.  I have one additional complaint and it is a small one... Laboratory Maniac getting a reprint in retro when it has already recently received one.  The price is still a little high on that card so it will bring it down which is nice.  But, when there are limited retro slots, it seems wasteful to use one on a card that has already received this treatment.  

Black

Black ate well in this set with regards to reprints.  We got an infinite combo piece with Gravecrawler.  This pairs up amazingly with Warren Soultrader from Modern Masters 3.  I had predicted that Aristocrats would get quite a bit stronger following the release of this set and I feel like that happened.  Blood Artist getting a reprint brings us to 4 of these types of effects with Marionette Apprentice, Zulaport Cutthroat, & Vindictive Vampire is huge.  Morbid Opportunist gives us card draw as a payoff for creatures dying and Village Rites gives us both card protection (preventing an exile effect) and card draw for sacrificing a creature.  Infernal Grasp is one of the better removal spells black has access to in the format and is a huge upgrade over cards like Defile, Ultimate Price, & Terror.  The Meathook Massacre is both a board wipe and a wincon in an aristocrat deck as well.  So, I think it's safe to say aristocrat strategies are in a good place in an all retro world.  The one thing I wish we had gotten some more of would be effects like Doomed Traveler/Dissenter.  As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, my play group is okay with the usage of banned cards so I am HYPED about Griselbrand getting a reprint.  

Red

When I was making my initial list of cards I wanted to see get a reprint, I struggled with red... like a lot.  Red doesn't really fit my play style very much so that may be part of the reason.  Balefire Dragon is always a relevant creature and was the one card that I really wanted to see here.  Mass hysteria had not previously been in an Innistrad set or with Innistrad art but I think it's a perfect fit for Innistrad and came with some great art.  Thermo-Alchemist is a spell slinger staple so I'm happy it has been printed here for those who play spell slinger.  Lightning Axe will be a great piece of removal in a Chainer deck and I cannot wait to see how great the foil looks for this card.  One thing I would have absolutely loved to see from this set is more card draw options in red.  Stromkirk Occultist is one piece of this puzzle I was hoping to see appear in this set but it would have been great to see some more.  Sin Prodder could have made an appearance here or Reforge the Soul (which was in the set, just not in retro).  Red vampires could have gotten some toys as well with Edgar Markov being one of the biggest chase cards of the set.  Overall, I feel red is the color that got the fewest new toys in this set.

Green

Green did quite well in this set.  The three top cards I wanted to see got reprints in this set and they're amazing!  Craterhoof is one of the best win conditions in the format.  My signature retro deck is my all foil Tatyova merfolk deck and it will get a huge upgrade with craterhoof, as will everyone that has elf decks.  Cryptolith Rite is a great card in so many situations and the price has really creeped up, hopefully this will bring it back down.  If you're playing strictly retro, Cultivator Colossus is not quite as powerful as it is without restrictions as we don't yet have the landfall strategies available to us.  I have a feeling we will soon get a Zendikar Remastered set that will change all of that.  Oddly enough, this set could have made landfall a little more viable and that is where I feel green had some missed opportunity.  Splendid Reclamation & Tireless Tracker are both great cards that could have gotten a retro reprint that did not get one.  My Titania deck really wanted the Splendid Reclamation.  Perhaps these are getting saved for Zendikar Remastered?  Token decks are quite as big when you're limited to retro cards but Second Harvest will definitely be helpful in the decks that could use it.  Second Harvest will find a home in my Titania deck for sure.  Somberwald Sage is a great ramp spell that accelerates you a lot.  Overall, despite the misses, green did quite well in this set.

Multi-Colored

Multicolor is where I think the biggest misses were.  But first, let's talk about the cool things we did get!  Edgar Markov is probably the biggest chase card in this set and I'm sure I will be getting it to build around.  Like I mentioned earlier, I wish we had gotten some more red vampire cards printed in this set but it's fine!  I will also be purchasing the other three legends pictured below.  Sigarda is a great voltron enchantress style commander, which... now that I write this... I don't see this type of commander strategy played as often anymore.  Maybe it's time to bring it back?  The Gitrog Monster is a combo machine but it is currently without some of it's main pieces (mainly Dakmor Salvage).  Liesa is going to command a future aristocrat style deck that I'm sure to build at some point.  huntmaster of the Fells was once a modern staple but has since fallen out of grace.  I do think it's still a fun card and I will probably pick one up.

Now, I want to take some time to discuss my disappointment with the overall lack of build around legends.  This set had a focus on madness and zombies, neither of which received a legend to build around.  I've already discussed vampires so I am not going to beat a dead horse, but Olivia, Mobilized for War would have been terrific.  Outside of legends, Anguished Unmaking is one of the premier removal spells in the format and it would have been a perfect time to print it in a retro frame.  Angelfire Ignition is one of the other cards I really wanted to see printed in a retro frame for my Feather deck but it was not in this set in retro despite being in the overall set.

Colorless, etc

Innistrad is not really a plane that is known for artifacts so I was not expecting much with regard to colorless things.  The main thing I wanted to see was Emrakul, the Promised End and we got it.  Metallic Mimic is a great reprint for typal strategies and Conjurer's Closet will be a good boost to ETB/flicker decks which don't currently have a lot of support in retro.  Westvale Abbey is one of my all time favorite cards in the game so I am thrilled to see the reprint here but at the same time, I am beyond disappointed about the lack of impactful land reprints.  Innistrad has had so many amazing lands throughout it's history including utility lands that provide a boost and are format staples, Cavern of Souls which is a super staple in typal decks, and the "slow" lands that have recently come out.  The slow lands are great and have a huge following but currently cost more than they probably should.  They were printed in the set which is great for prices but for some reason, they were not in retro frames which is a shame.  With that said, we have gotten all of the shocks and fetches recently which have provided a massive boost to mana bases in retro commander.  I'm grateful for what we have gotten but it just seems silly that we did not get more land options.