The Zendikar spoiler mill has heated up and is beginning to churn out goodies eagerly consumed by the MTG fanboy. New cards always carry with them an air of excitement because frankly, they are new. A few cards spoiled here, and few more previewed there and soon forums are buzzing with the sounds of duelists cheering, or often jeering. Because of this trickling flow we as an MTG playing public make snap judgments based on each card individually. Of course we have to, the set is less than 10% revealed so there is no way to contextualize everything. However there conclusions to be drawn regarding not only Zendikar itself, but the general direction Wizards is taking Magic. Below, each card below will be briefly reviewed followed by a summary of what that card means to Zendikar/MTG in a larger sense.

[caption id="attachment_4381" align="alignright" width="199" caption="finally, a playable white card . . ."][/caption]

Day of Judgment - As far as non-Planeswalkers this is the cat's meow of spoiled Zendikar cards. As detailed at the bottom of this article effective sweep is back in Standard and White continues an almost ludicrous domination of valued cards. The difference between a four-mana cost Judgment and a five-mana cost Hallowed Burial is life and death. Many competitive standard decks are built to kill on or before turn five, well before that fifth land drop. No this isn't the exact return of Wrath of God, there is a change in the rules text that seems insignificant at first. Creatures can regenerate their way out of trouble. Noticeable because cards like Doom Blade and Planar Cleansing also allow regeneration. Basically WotC has taken an ability that was nearly worthless before, and made it relevant. There are few creatures in either Alara of M10 with even the capability, so look for some serious regenerating in the Zendikar block. After all, only Terminate separates indestructible from it's formerly downtrodden step-brothr of an ability.

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Rampaging Baloths - At the risk of beating a quite-dead horse, what is happening with Mythic rares? This is a very good card (the going rate for rare 6/6 tramplers is clearly six mana these days) with a pretty dangerous ability. However Mirror-Sigil Sergeant is still a better option. Producing one or two creatures each turn loses luster when you can produce a geometrically greater number each turn with the Sergeant. The card is good, but my confusion over mythic rarity hasn't been cleared. Landfall seems to be the new super-ability of this set, although it remains to be seen if it will have the impact of Cascade. That question may not be answered until the mana-ramping cards are released. Only then will the power of cards like Plated Geopede, Bloodghast, and Rampaging Baloths be fully known. And so too the true value of the next card.

Lavaball Trap - Could be a devastating reactionary spell that slams the opponents mana, and clears the board.  In many scenarios this is a win condition card, especially with cards like Ball Lightning in the mix.  At the end of your opponents turn destroy any untapped lands and pesky blockers, then rush in for six or maybe twelve!  The puzzle remains, will enough cards be printed allowing multiple land drops in a single turn to make Lavaball playable?   It seems likely given the prevalence of Landfall thus far in our Zendikar spoilers.  But that answer raises another question.  If Landfall is popular (26 mentions using the Orb of Insight) with every color then how will green maintain its choke-hold on land acceleration?  It probably won't.  There is a good chance that at least two other colors horn in on green's territory to make sure Landfall isn't dead on certain cards.  And with so much mana-ramping the game could be altered in a much larger way.

[caption id="attachment_4383" align="alignright" width="199" caption="don't look for dual lands in Zendikar"][/caption]

Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and its little brother Teetering Peaks - Both appear to be only the red slice of five-color cycles.  That would mean ten non-basic land in Zendikar already, and probably means not a single dual-land or equivalent in Zendikar.  Meaning the October 2nd will be even bigger than first anticipated as nearly every dual land that enters play untapped will leave the Standard rotation.  Five color control will cease to be viable, and shard decks like Jund-aggro will struggle to keep pace.  It would seem in WotC best interest to appease those players who just lost multiple builds.  The solution is simple: the diverse mana of Lorwyn/Shadowmoor can be replaced by more mana in Zendikar. Landfall may well herald an era when five or six mana available on turn four isn't uncommon, and more importantly  for more than just greenish builds.  Playing cards like Sorin Markov and Chandra Ablaze won't be as unreasonable as first assumed because getting to six mana won't be much harder for red and black than it currently is for green.

Quest for the Gravelord - There really is no chance of taking an objective look at a card like this for me.  I love it, and won't pretend to be fair in its judgment.  Why so fond?  Allow a two-pronged explanation.  First, I like any card you can play on your first turn ( a turn many players waste) then pays dividends three of four turns later.  Suspend cards like Greater Gargadon and Ancestral Vision were competitive staples for this very reason.  Second, it gives the black wizard a mission.  The mission of any black wizard is to kill creatures sure, but now you are rewarded with more than just pride.  Its stated right in the title, this is a 'quest'.  Get something done, get a prize.  It may not have the feel of a 70-person raid in WoW, but there is still flavor here waiting to be savored.

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Finally I would be remiss if I didn't mention the new full art lands available in every booster pack or fat-pack.  On a marketing level perhaps the smartest thing WotC has done since planeswalkers.  Time was many an average duelist bought card singles, shrewdly ignoring boosters, fat-packs and other WotC products.  Existing entirely in the secondary market.  That time has most certainly come to an end.  Collectors have bought boxes of unplayable cards to get text-less lands before (no, the Un-sets aren't playable).  Considering basic lands have been lacking actual text inside their text-box since Portals the change seems long overdue.

As with any new set, changes are coming to MTG along with new cards.  The key is to identify these and steel yourself for disappointment, or ready yourself for celebration.

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Stay tuned to the Zendikar Spoiler Page and the Gathering Magic Twitter for all the latest spoilers as we get them.  And with the release in less than one month, it might be wise to pre-order Zendikar booster boxes.  We here at Gathering Magic have ordered from Troll and Toad before, and have never been disappointed.