Strongest Rare in Odyssey for Standard

[Mikeymike]

Unfortunately I can't add everything. So I put what I think are going to be the 9 most sought after rares and the 'other spot' for everything else. If you choose 'other' post your favorite and why. Listed here are 23 cards I think people are going to gun for.

Personally, I choose Devoted Caretaker as the best card in the set (b/c I hate Mill-esque cards) due to her (her?) being the best 1CC creature ever. She's a 1/2 (fat ass, doesn't die as easily to stupid pings) AND an original/amazing activated ability (which starts working on turn 2, the time people really start playing destruction spells). The new foundation of white weenie.

Sleeper pick of Odyssey goes to Verdant Succession.

Devoted Caretaker
W
Creature - Cleric
1/2
W, Tap: Target permanent you control gains protection from instant spells and from sorcery

Mystic Crusader
1WW
Creature - Nomad Mystic
2/1
Protection from black and from red Threshold - Mystic Crusader gets +1/+1 and has flying. (You have threshold as long as seven or more cards are in your graveyard.)

Divert
U
Instant
Change the target of target spell with a single target unless that spell's controller pays 2.
"What's the fun of being a wizard if you can't mess with people's heads?"

Traumatize
3UU
Sorcery
Target player puts the top half of his or her library, rounded down, into his or her graveyard.

Upheaval
4UU
Sorcery
Return all permanents to their owners' hands.

Gravestorm
BBB
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, target opponent may remove a card in his or her graveyard from the game. If that player doesn't, you may draw a card.

Haunting Echoes
3BB
Sorcery
Remove all cards in target player's graveyard other than basic land cards from the game. Search that player's library for all cards with the same name as cards removed this way, and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

Hint of Insanity
2B
Sorcery
Target player reveals his or her hand. That player discards from it all nonland cards with the same name as another card in his or her hand.

Tainted Pact
1B
Instant
Remove the top card of your library from the game. You may put that card into your hand unless it has the same name as another card removed this way. Repeat this process until you put a card into your hand or you remove two cards with the same name, whichever comes first.

Epicenter (aka ArmaReddon)
4R
Sorcery
Target player sacrifices a land. Threshold - All players sacrifice all lands instead.

Need for Speed (come on R&D, you couldn't do any better)
R
Enchantment
Sacrifice a land: Target creature gains haste until end of turn.

Seize the Day
3R
Sorcery
Untap target creature. After this phase, there is an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase. Flashback 2R

Call of the Herd
2G
Sorcery
Put a 3/3 green Elephant creature token into play. Flashback 3G

Holistic Wisdom
1GG
Enchantment
2, Remove a card in your hand from the game: Return target card from your graveyard to your hand if it shares a type with the card removed this way.

Krosan Beast
3G
Creature - Squirrel Beast
Pow/Tou: 1/1
Threshold - Krosan Beast gets +7/+7.

Spellbane Centaur
2G
Creature - Centaur
Pow/Tou: 3/2
Creatures you control can't be the targets of blue spells or abilities from blue sources.

Terravore (best Lhurgoyf in the set by far)
1GG
Creature - Lhurgoyf
Pow/Tou: */*
Trample Terravore's power and toughness are each equal to the number of land cards in all graveyards.

Verdant Succession
4G
Enchantment
Whenever a green nontoken creature is put into a graveyard from play, that creature's controller may search his or her library for a card with the same name as that creature and put it into play. If that player does, he or she then shuffles his or her library.

Iridescent Angel
5WU
Creature - Angel
Pow/Tou: 4/4
Flying, protection from all colors

Mystic Enforcer
2GW
Creature - Nomad Mystic
Pow/Tou: 3/3
Protection from black Threshold - Mystic Enforcer gets +3/+3 and has flying.

Shadowmage Infiltrator
1UB
Creature - Wizard
Pow/Tou: 1/3
Shadowmage Infiltrator can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. Whenever Shadowmage Infiltrator deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.

Mirari
5
Legendary Artifact
Whenever you play an instant or sorcery spell, you may pay 3. If you do, put a copy of that spell onto the stack. You may choose new targets for the copy.

Deserted Temple
Land
Tap: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool 1, Tap: Untap target land.

 

[DÛke]

...Devoted Caretaker is great. The ability is too amazing to be ignored. However, I do not see it being a 1/2, a big deal. The Standard burn card is Shock. There is also Urza's Rage, and now, Flameburst. As you can conclude, having a toughness of 2 is not an issue. It is the ability.

 

[Mikeymike]

You're right that 1/2 aren't great numbers for an average creature, but for a 1-drop they are. 2 toughness isn't amazing and it does leave her in shock/hot flash range turn 1, but IF she gets active she can nearly shut burn down single handedly. Also, I've been seeing Razorfin Hunter pop up recently and it doesn't kill her.

Her 2 toughness can out run burn for a little while b/c her ability forces your opponent to either waste 2 burn spells to kill her or use them on you. Plus the new Crusade (white critters gets +1/+1 - TH +2/+2) thats going to be tagging along with her will start to beef her out of burn range.

She is vulnerable, but she is arguably the most cost efficient creature ever. If she were WW I'd still play her.

 

[Zadok001]

Shadow.

Mage.

Infiltrator.

Competition does NOT exist. That thing is A-MAZ-ING. Theiving Magpie sees all sorts of play, but it can't hold a candle to Finkel.

 

[Mikeymike]

What do you think its nickname is going to be? I'm thinking "Finkeltrator" or "The Finkeltrator". That little bastards immune to black removal too, what an annoyance.

 

[EricBess]

I think that the Infiltrator will probably be one of the strongest, just because of the cc, but you cannot discount the Angel, especially not in block. Dispite the high cc, there are 4 cards in the set that we found that could deal with her. They are Upheaval, Kitar's Wrath, Cultural Exchange, and Sandstone Deadfall. All of these are expensive, but fortunately, the Angel is too. Deadfall itsn't expensive to get into play, but it can be brutal if you need to deal with more than one Angel.

If it wasn't for the cc, I'd go with that over the Infiltrator, but the cc is high enough that it has to be considered.

 

[EricBess]

And before I get mobbed, I realize that counterspells can also deal with the Angel. I'm just talking about cards to deal with it when it gets into play.

 

[NeuroDeus]

Finkeltrator of course!

 

[Istanbul]

It's the Finkeltrator...no question about that...but I want to go on record as saying that Haunting Echoes is pretty startling, too.

 

[Cateran Emperor]

This set has so many crazy cards that I can't even begin to guess. There are so many excellent cards for so many decks that there's no way I can even guess.

My favorite card though, has got to be them Lhurgoyfs!

 

[Mikeymike]

I just realized the new Lhurgoyfs work off of particular cards in ALL graveyards, damn. That makes the Black one much better than the original. I still like the green trampler best though.

 

[NeuroDeus]

Armageddon + Green Lhurgoyf... nicey

might even try a Terravore + Sustenance combo

 

[mogg bomber]

Yeah, it's almost scary, like WotC was reading my mind. Lhurgoyf has been one of my favorite cards ever since it first came out, and I always hoped they'd print new ones. It's too bad Armageddon was taken out of 7th, or that green one would be great. I really like the black one though, and the other ones are not that bad either.

As for the best Oddysey rare, it's easily the Infiltrator, but my personal favorite(besides the lhurgoyfs), is Haunting Echoes.

 

[MrXarvox]

I say Traumatize!

Why?

I like that kind of wacky card.

Shadowmage Infiltrator is quite good, but it just doesn't have the "Xarvox-ness" for me to favor it.

 

[Chaos Turtle]

And not at all expensive if she gets Zombified into play.

But I think that the Shadowmage Infiltrator will have a larger impact. Actually I think the two may very well end up in the same deck.

 

[Mikeymike]

I don't think there is, but is there any spell in Odyssey that makes a permanent colorless? Something along the lines of a Thran Forge, etc.

Also, a Mirari copy would the same color as the original spell, right?

Its a shame Predator Flagship just rotated out, that would stop her dead.

For constructed, Innocent Blood (very underrated IMO) could be an answer to her, just b/c she'll probably be showing up in very creature-light decks where she'll be the only creature to sacrifice.

 

[Cateran Emperor]

In Odyssey, off the top of my head, there's:

Sandstone Deadfall
Kirtat's Wrath
Upheaval

Likely more too.

 

[EricBess]

I posted 4 cards earlier. The 3 you mentioned, plus Cultural Exchange.

There are a few additional cards that help you deal with her, but not that deal with her outright. The Blue or White Sphere will reduce her damage. Two of them will keep her at bay, but they will not get rid of her. Delaying Shield helps too, but again, it is not a permanent answer.

Come to think of it, even Sandstone Deadfall isn't that great because they will chose whether to attack and if they don't want to lose the Angel, it is still an incredible blocker.