So, what cards did I pull from this monstrosity? What cards were not pulling their weight and were summarily dismissed? Normally, I write articles about what great cards are out there and how you can find some powerful stuff. But today, I am writing about some cards that looked better than they played or have been antiquated by newer technology. It’s time to see the cards that were pulled from Abe’s Deck of Happiness and Joy.

Vow of Flight, Vow of Wildness, Vow of Malice, Vow of Lightning, Vow of Duty – This cycle of Auras from the first round of Commander decks looked pretty good, and early returns were positive. But after years of playing them, I was increasingly disappointed with how they played. I found myself rarely playing them on my guys (which was sort of the point—they were flexible enough to be used as pseudo-kill or as a pump Aura), and they often sucked, as I was unable to take out that blocker or utility creature that my foe had. They can basically do two things: handle a large beater or create a potential card-advantage loss by enchanting your own guy. That’s not enough. Out you go!

Faceless Butcher – When this card was first printed, it was the first good example of something with, “Enter the battlefield, exile something; Leave it, bring that thing back,” since Oubliette. It was a great card. But since then, we’ve seen a lot of versions of that ability, and none really plays well on a creature. When you can answer my removal with any creature removal of your choice, things become a little difficult since so many decks pack creature removal. It’s just not high-quality enough to run anymore. Good bye, foil Nightmare!

Karplusan Yeti – The fight ability used to be very powerful and rarely seen. So, this creature would often tap to fight a small dork and kill it. I can’t tell you how many Soul Warden variants or mana Elves it has slain in its day. But there are better fighters today, and its day is past. It was fun Yeti!

Ticking Gnomes – Did you know that Urza’s Legacy is the first set with foils? Did you know that I opened this foil Ticking Gnomes on the prerelease? It was my first ever foil! I have played it and kept it in my deck for sentimental reasons for such a long time. It has a story! But it sucks. 3 mana for a 3/3 is no longer high on the curve, and then, when you add in the echo, and all it does is sacrifice to ping something, and it’s not the hot number it used to be. I used it long ago as a foil to Mother of Runes (can’t protect from artifacts, can ya, Mom?), but its time has come.

Loyal Sentry – This is another card that was good once. Like Abu Ja'far, you could just drop it on the first turn and then never worry about it. People would avoid attacking into you for fear of losing their creature, and you could occasionally smack someone for damage with your guy if needed. Now we have Typhoid Rats and the recently-printed Sedge Scorpion. These deathtouch 1-drops are massively better than the Sentry. For example, I can swing with them and use their deathtouch aggressively. I can pump my guy with Equipment and keep it alive after blocking (the Sentry stupidly shoots himself in the foot when blocking, even after wielding the Sword of Kaldra or donning Argentum Armor). The Sentry is now clearly past its prime.

Soul Reap – This card was actively added to my deck when I needed some additional removal options. At the time, virtually every pinpoint removal black spell whiffed on a black creature. I wanted to flex my options and cover more ground with my removal. If it was an instant spell, I would love it to death, and it would still be with me. But after dealing with Sir Sorcery and his Soul Reap Crew for a few years, it is getting old. I’m okay with sorcery removal when it’s worth it—such as with Sever Soul’s life-gain. This gets me nothing. And the added flexibility is gone with cards such as Murder, Hero's Downfall, and Go for the Throat added to black in the meantime as methods for hitting black creatures.

Fire Imp – There was a time when my deck had a really fun enters-the-battlefield (ETB) theme, and Fire Imp was added to work within that structure. Today, it is way too big to have any theme other than “Really fun.” This is not the first purge that has removed a card or three that was on theme but no longer. A 3-mana 2/1 is nothing in today’s multiplayer setting. Dealing 2 damage to a creature is weak—not that many creatures will die to it, and I can’t send the damage at a player’s head, unlike with Ghitu Slinger. So, it’s pulled—it just doesn’t have enough today.

Drifting Djinn – Speaking of which, this guy is also no longer worth the hassle of his upkeep. Like the above card, there was a time when a 5/5 flyer (with colorless cycling!) was worth the upkeep cost of 2 mana each turn. You were okay paying it because this Djinn delivered. But that has long since ended, and I only kept him in to give my deck numbers, bulk, and cycling. It’s time to head into the clouds and back from my purple sleeves.

Gravetiller Wurm – I think this card made the cut because I considered it a 8/8 trampler for 6 mana usually. After playing it three times, it’s just an overcosted dud. It’s not good, it’s not easy to trigger morbid, and it sucks. This was an experiment that failed. Sorry, foil Wurm!

Epochrasite – I have hemmed and hawed with this card long enough. I consider yanking it, but then, it does come back every time it dies, just three turns later. It’s a 1/1 that becomes a 4/4. But it’s otherwise a 4/4 that only comes back after three turns are gone, and it is usually outclassed by the simplest of stuff. I keep hoping that it will really work, but then, it fails me again. This is the final straw, and it’s time for a benching.

Spectral Lynx – This used to be a pretty good 2-drop—it could regenerate to block or swing. It was easy on the mana, and a lot of green creature decks were played at the time—including a lot of Elf decks. Green now spends the early game on ramping to big stuff that tramples over the Lynx, so its protection and regeneration are less helpful, and it is not the powerful early drop it once was, as other 2-drops are just a lot better. It’s time to retire the Lynx.

Hag Hedge-Mage – I once added all of the Hedge Magi that gave me some form of card advantage, but the requirements of double land for the triggers has led me to pull most out, and now the Hag is joining them. Now just the Duergar Hedge-Mage is left, and it’s good enough to stay in. See ya, foil Hag!

Changeling Berserker, Changeling Titan – These cards were improved with my ETB theme, but they are now clunky. Both used to be ahead of the curve, creature-wise, so the Titan’s 7/7 vanilla body for 5 mana was very sexy. That’s no longer the case. And while the 5/3 haste of Changeling Berserker is quite handy, it’s still not up to snuff with the size and abilities of modern creatures. Both foil dogs are pulled from the deck.

Hunted Dragon, Hunted Troll – The last cards cut are these two guys from the Hunted cycle. Like the changelings, they were good enough for their costs and sizes to warrant the disadvantage. The Dragon sucked—a 6/6 flyer, haster today is just +1/+1 better than Thundermaw Hellkite for the same price, and you lose the ETB ability the Hellkite has but gain the disadvantage of handing some Knights to a foe. It was an easy pull. I still like the Troll; an 8/4 with regeneration for 4 mana is a house. I like it because it gives someone four flying dorks, and suddenly, that person likes you. But you are forced to make allies, and there are a lot of beefy options today, so out it goes.

As you can see, some of these twenty-six pulled cards have just been antiquated with newer ones—the fight on Yeti, instant Wing Snares, deathtouch 1-drops for Loyal Sentry, and more. That’s the basic theme of most of today’s pulls: cards that time has left behind. My deck, clocking in at 2,750 cards and Highlander (that means no duplicate of any card save for basic lands) needs more power than these old bodies provide. Cards such as Opal Archangel and Hunted Dragon just don’t cut it any longer.

And then add to them failed experiments, such as the Vows, the Soul Reap, the Gravetiller Wurm, and the Crocanura, and you can see why the cards were pulled out. It is a black day indeed.

We also had thirteen cards that are on the cusp and just barely got a reprieve. These cards are:

• Hydra Omnivore
• Psychic Surgery
• Minotaur Illusionist
• Meishin, the Mind Cage
• Nightscape Master
• Merieke Ri Berit
• Scroll of Origins
• Shrieking Grotesque
• Quagnoth
• Three Wishes
• Hound of Griselbrand
• Cao Ren, Wei Commander
• Liu Bei, Lord of Shu

They will head back in for another go. Maybe they will prove their worth. I have had cards on the cusp before that later were yanked (such as today’s Soul Reap and Epochrasite). I’ve also had cards that were on the edge worm their way back in, such as Chandra Ablaze. It can go both ways.

So, what do you think? Did I make a mistake in pulling out something too powerful? Or is there a card on my reprieve list that you want to make an argument either for or against?

See you next week,

Abe Sargent