Usually I leave the baseball references to my cohort, Leaf.  But today, I've been allowed to helm our famous 'Three Up Three Down' article series for Magic 2011.  The basic premise, in case you missed previous posts, is not only predicting cards duelists will play but also giving a good idea as to which cards they will replace.  Pulling Path to Exile from a booster is only half the challenge.  Including the spot remover in a deck probably means that something else must go.  Each new card represents a new dilemma.  Some of these choices are harder than others.  The list below contains three cards we will want to play and the former residents of their deck slots.

Corrupt over Consume Spirit -Was this even a contest?  Frankly, I'm not sure why I haven't seen this card in a serious deck before.  I suppose if mono-colored decks were allowed back into Magic the Gathering, Standard again I think we might see Corrupt make an appearance.  There isn't even a comparison to be made to Consume Spirit  The idea that you might want to "play it for less" probably won't come in to play unless you're planning on paying five mana to take out a 3/3 creature.  I'd much rather just pay six and do six to my opponent's face or a creature that's worth paying 5+ mana to destroy in the first place.  Corrupt has always been a great card but if mono-colored swamp decks are ever viable again, this card is at the top of my 6CMC list.

Redirect over Twincast -I've gone back and fourth on this one.  I think of Twincast as a really great offensive spell.  You're usually grabbing one of your opponent's spells that you wouldn't otherwise be able to play such as Bestial Menace, Lightning Bolt etc.  But Redirect is more of a defensive spell and that's why I think it suits the ordinary blue wizard much better.  In practicality, I'd rather just shove that bolt back into your face or towards a creature you control rather than take three damage and then do the same thing.  With Twincast, you're saying: "me too!", a very red wizard to say!  That's why I didn't even flinch when I saw Reverberate.   Twincast is messy and hasty while Redirect is much more controlled and focused.  On paper, you might be tempted to roll a card like Twincast but in practicality, I recommend Redirect for the nominal blue wizard arsenal.

Cultivate over Rampant Growth - Mmmmmm veggies!  I had to do a double take when I first read this card to realize they were reprinting Kodomas Reach!  It isn't even that Rampant Growth is a particularly horrible card, it's just that this version of the land grabber is a certified two-for-one, and we all know how the pro community feels about those!  One mana more for double the effect.. not a bad trade off!  You're mana-ramping and thinning your deck at the same time.  Most player's opt for other two-for-ones such as Pilgrims Eye, but if you're playing green, and you need to get those lands onto the battlefield early, I think you've found your new best friend.  Let's hope Rampant Growth is just a vague, bad memory from Magic 2010.

M11 Planeswalkers over Lorwyn Planeswalkers - Almost had you there!  Have we mentioned our dissapointment about the return of the same five planeswalkers we saw in Lorwyn in yet another core set?   What's that?   We did that last week?...  AND the week before?  ...damn.

I realize that yearly core sets  don't necessarily upgrade every single card with similarities to every single other card from the previous set.  But from M10 to M11 we've seen a ton of upgrades.  M11's Titans, for example, are in a completely different power league when compared to M10's duds such as Sphinx Ambassador and Xathrid Demon.  While M11 may never match the hype or newness of M10, it certainly improves upon the foundation it put down last year.  I hope we've given you a few easy swaps to try out and report back with!  Now get out there and re-sleeve that Ajani Goldmane with the M11 version!