S
Shiro, Time Devourer
Guest
Phasing is coming back. What else?
Choose any of these. Double Strike is appearing anyway, and in the event of a tie that doesn't allow for just two entries, I'll drop the most recent mechanics until only 2 are left.
Buyback
Flashback
Morph (off-color costs)
Cycling (non-mana costs)
Cumulative Upkeep
Echo
Alternate Costs
Gating
BTW:
Upheaval Top 10
Best Common: Complete Exhaustion
If you're playing white in Block, packing four of this choice common is a common-sense choice.
10. Negate
Take Vindicate, speed it up to an instant, make it cost two more mana, change it to black, and then send its target out of the game. Its 4B casting cost, and the utter insanity of the other nine, are the only thing keeping it at 10.
9. Tie: Suza, Grand Davina/Miranda, Early Riser
One stops the game. The other ends it. You don't want to see either unless it's on your side.
8. Double Time
Not quite Time Walk, but for 3 mana and a removal, it's good enough for this set.
7. Biohazard
Mutilate, meet Shepherd of Rot. Now don't have children. Awww crap. (Thanx Manna)
6. Prominence.
It's Pestilence with glasses. Though its effect can be prevented, it still doesn't affect you anyway.
5. Start Anew
8 mana to restart the whole game. Biorhythm wishes it had things this good.
4. Critical Blow
Terminate with a slightly higher dollar value. Fresh.
3. Strain
With all the cards that get removed from the game in this set, this is one enchantment that you'll wish was never in it in the first place.
2. Cadiz Agent
Your spells get through. Theirs don't. Need I say more?
1. Dragonheart Penitent
Drop, swing, pitch, win. Gentlemen, meet Blistering Firecat's trainer.
Sideboard Superstar: Solarium Checkpoint
This legendary wall, the only one in Magic (Ultimus is every type, so he doesn't count), would be considered a Top 10 card, but it is only that good against red and black. It'd easily make the top 5 if it protected from all colors, but being immune to any substantial direct damage or kill is good enough for us. If your opponent is playing red or black, he is immediately forced to go for the jugular; making it easier to spend all white's damage prevention on yourself.
Honorable Mention: Horrid Aberrant
Introducing drain counters. There's only one drain counter card in the big set, but Pandemonium and Opposition should give us enough to make the mechanic deckworthy. Drain counters increase costs, limit life totals and oppress handsizes, so we're keeping an eye out for more in the future.
Worst Card: Anticraft Shell
Okay. Name an artifact in Upheaval. Good. Now name an artifact in Upheaval worth keeping out of play. Fine, now name an artifact in Upheaval so worth keeping out of play that you're willing to pay rare-level prices and 5 mana to keep it from being played. Guys, it's not like Grand Council Table is THAT lethal. Stick with the black and green Shells for now.
White-0
Blue-8.5
Black-20
Red-20.5
Green-6
Best colors
Black- 5 of the top 10 cards, including Strain, are in here. Don't forget near-miss Antilife shell. I guess alliance with the two key colors in the set really pays off. Another near-miss is play-with-your-life spell Overexertion.
Red- So many of the cards in this color have such synergy that it won't be hard making a deck that runs it.
Dorami Engineers/Speedy Recovery is just wrong. Dragonheart Penitent is the set's best card and Divas' win card.
Blue- It has Suza, it has Double Time, Cadiz has its color, and there are a lot of cards that bounce, tap and counter; thus making Blue control as annoying as ever.
Green- Green has as many beatdown tricks as it did in Onslaught, and it has Start Anew and Forest Wolf. It's also got the best black support since Pernicious Deed in Forest Scout, Seed Carrier and Stampeder, giving rise to the marquee G/B (sometimes R) land animation/overdrive abuse deck, Land-Fu.
White- No top-10 cards, but no real losers either. Complete Exhaustion is #11, as the best common, and Captain Shizuka is like Glory all over again. Prayer of Deliverance, Compensation, Body Control and Shizuka's Decree are all the next best in their cycle. Solarium Checkpoint is the first ever legendary Wall, and the best one since Wall of Mulch. So, While it's not overpowering, it's still a viable color in this set, full of support.
Choose any of these. Double Strike is appearing anyway, and in the event of a tie that doesn't allow for just two entries, I'll drop the most recent mechanics until only 2 are left.
Buyback
Flashback
Morph (off-color costs)
Cycling (non-mana costs)
Cumulative Upkeep
Echo
Alternate Costs
Gating
BTW:
Upheaval Top 10
Best Common: Complete Exhaustion
If you're playing white in Block, packing four of this choice common is a common-sense choice.
10. Negate
Take Vindicate, speed it up to an instant, make it cost two more mana, change it to black, and then send its target out of the game. Its 4B casting cost, and the utter insanity of the other nine, are the only thing keeping it at 10.
9. Tie: Suza, Grand Davina/Miranda, Early Riser
One stops the game. The other ends it. You don't want to see either unless it's on your side.
8. Double Time
Not quite Time Walk, but for 3 mana and a removal, it's good enough for this set.
7. Biohazard
Mutilate, meet Shepherd of Rot. Now don't have children. Awww crap. (Thanx Manna)
6. Prominence.
It's Pestilence with glasses. Though its effect can be prevented, it still doesn't affect you anyway.
5. Start Anew
8 mana to restart the whole game. Biorhythm wishes it had things this good.
4. Critical Blow
Terminate with a slightly higher dollar value. Fresh.
3. Strain
With all the cards that get removed from the game in this set, this is one enchantment that you'll wish was never in it in the first place.
2. Cadiz Agent
Your spells get through. Theirs don't. Need I say more?
1. Dragonheart Penitent
Drop, swing, pitch, win. Gentlemen, meet Blistering Firecat's trainer.
Sideboard Superstar: Solarium Checkpoint
This legendary wall, the only one in Magic (Ultimus is every type, so he doesn't count), would be considered a Top 10 card, but it is only that good against red and black. It'd easily make the top 5 if it protected from all colors, but being immune to any substantial direct damage or kill is good enough for us. If your opponent is playing red or black, he is immediately forced to go for the jugular; making it easier to spend all white's damage prevention on yourself.
Honorable Mention: Horrid Aberrant
Introducing drain counters. There's only one drain counter card in the big set, but Pandemonium and Opposition should give us enough to make the mechanic deckworthy. Drain counters increase costs, limit life totals and oppress handsizes, so we're keeping an eye out for more in the future.
Worst Card: Anticraft Shell
Okay. Name an artifact in Upheaval. Good. Now name an artifact in Upheaval worth keeping out of play. Fine, now name an artifact in Upheaval so worth keeping out of play that you're willing to pay rare-level prices and 5 mana to keep it from being played. Guys, it's not like Grand Council Table is THAT lethal. Stick with the black and green Shells for now.
White-0
Blue-8.5
Black-20
Red-20.5
Green-6
Best colors
Black- 5 of the top 10 cards, including Strain, are in here. Don't forget near-miss Antilife shell. I guess alliance with the two key colors in the set really pays off. Another near-miss is play-with-your-life spell Overexertion.
Red- So many of the cards in this color have such synergy that it won't be hard making a deck that runs it.
Dorami Engineers/Speedy Recovery is just wrong. Dragonheart Penitent is the set's best card and Divas' win card.
Blue- It has Suza, it has Double Time, Cadiz has its color, and there are a lot of cards that bounce, tap and counter; thus making Blue control as annoying as ever.
Green- Green has as many beatdown tricks as it did in Onslaught, and it has Start Anew and Forest Wolf. It's also got the best black support since Pernicious Deed in Forest Scout, Seed Carrier and Stampeder, giving rise to the marquee G/B (sometimes R) land animation/overdrive abuse deck, Land-Fu.
White- No top-10 cards, but no real losers either. Complete Exhaustion is #11, as the best common, and Captain Shizuka is like Glory all over again. Prayer of Deliverance, Compensation, Body Control and Shizuka's Decree are all the next best in their cycle. Solarium Checkpoint is the first ever legendary Wall, and the best one since Wall of Mulch. So, While it's not overpowering, it's still a viable color in this set, full of support.