Conflux Yawn

Over my recent long weekend, I finally got around to opening my two boxes of the most recent Magic: the Gathering set - Conflux. These cards have been released (and in my possession) for two months now, and I hadn't yet opened a single pack. My, how things have changed. It used to be that I couldn't go more than 15-20 minutes without thinking about Magic. When a new set came out, I was ravenous for information and anxious to get cards and build decks.

Still, I keep buying cards. My typical behavior now is to wait until I have a nice block of time, open all the cards from a box or two, and get excited. I mean, I still love games, and I still love this game. True, I don't have the opportunity to play as much as I used to [though I think I could rectify that situation if I really were motivated to do so.] Yet, even without playing, I've always enjoyed the new concepts introduced in each set, and they always have given me plenty of inspiration to revise old decks and build new ones.

So, I opened, sorted, and sleeved Conflux. Then I started reading the cards.

The rares were pretty darn cool. Well, some of them. They can't all be gems. Still, opening only two boxes, I don't get very many of any particular rare [except this time -- I got 4 of one and 5 of another -- crazy randomness] so even if I get ideas, I can't build around them.

The uncommons had some interesting items, but a theme was developing -- almost everything cool [except Devour - I love Hellkite Hatchling] was multi-color-triggered. Of course, multi-color is a theme of this block, and I do enjoy building multi-color decks, so it's not all bad. But it's somewhat limiting in the "inspiration" category -- build a Blue/White deck and this card is worth consideration [not clearly a good card, just worth consideration] but build anything else and it's not going to make the cut.

Still, after reading the rares and uncommons, I still had hope. The common cards, typically, are where a set usually gets me thinking and creating.

Not this time.

Oh, there are a few:

• Brackwater Elemental is an improved Fog Elemental, and it'll go in my Phyrexian Dreadnought deck [the one that always loses if I play the Phyrexian Dreadnought, but wins if I don't.]


• Scattershot Archer is the kind of thing I like -- not very powerful, but it fits nicely in green decks.
• Asha's Favor is an Aura that might be worth putting in a deck. Well, in my decks, anyway. It won't make tournament decks. Flying, first strike and vigilance? I have to try that.

But then the other "interesting" cards fall into three catgories:

• A cycle of two-color two-mana creatures with protection -- like Nacatl Outlander-- though I feel like these were already printed with different names.... Oh, wait -- they were. He's just a Yavimaya Barbarian but he's a cat, not an elf.
• Cards that benefit you only if you have several land types in play -- like Might of Alar!a -- which is fine for some decks, but there are a lot of spots taken up by this kind of card. Oh, wait, that's just Gaea's Might again!
• Cards that help you get the mana you need -- Rupture Spire and Armillary Sphere -- which will be useful, or at least might be. I'll try them. But they don't inspire me, you see.

So, all in all, I'm not impressed with the set. I was very excited about the first set in the block, Shards of Alara, and it inspired several decks and deck modifications. The final set in the Alara block, Alara Reborn, comes out at the end of April. I hope it redeems the block.

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