There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
I’m generally a lazy person and have a tough time reading through a spoiler list from A to Z, so for me this exercise keep me honest - it forces me study each card and actually use some critical thinking to evaluate them. After release week and hopefully several drafts, each member of the team repeats the exercise and re-ranks each common and uncommon. We use these final rankings as the major discussion point during out Pro Tour Limited meeting, and it’s very interesting to see the shift in card rankings over time.
This week I’d like to share with you my first impression rankings for each color that I did last week and how a few cards’ rankings have drastically changed since then. As of my writing this, I have played in two Prerelease Sealed Deck tournaments, done one Magic Online draft, and one IRL (in real life) draft, and had solid discussion of these results with other teammates playing the format for the last week. My understanding of the format is far from complete, but there are definitely cards and concepts that I was wrong on with the introduction of Rivals of Ixalan to the format.
Before I go into each color, I’d like to say that although the set did look aggressive to me I did not expect it to be as hyper aggressive as the games I’ve played. Granted this is mearly the beginning of the format so aggressive decks tend to be more successful as the midrange and control decks are less defined and explored, but just last night my BR Pirates opponent on the play curved Grasping Scoundrel, into Goblin Trailblazer, into Fathom Fleet Boarder, and topped them off with a Dire Fleet Neckbreaker followed by an Impale to easily turn 5 kill me.
White • Baffling End • Luminous Bond • Sun-Crested Pterodon END OF TIER 1
• Martyr of Dusk • Exultant Skymarcher • Sun Sentinel • Majestic Heliopterus • Moment of Triumph • Skymarcher Aspirant END OF TIER 2
• Famished Paladin • Squire's Devotion • Sanguine Glorifier • Raptor Companion • Forerunner of the Legion • Everdawn Champion • Divine Verdict END OF TIER 3
• Legion Conquistador • Pride of Conquerors • Cleansing Ray • Imperial Ceratops • Blazing Hope • Snubhorn Sentry
Blue • Waterknot • Soul of the Rapids END OF TIER 1
• Siren Reaver • Deadeye Rig-Hauler • Spire Winder • Kitesail Corsair • Silvergill Adept • Expel From Orazca END OF TIER 2
• Crashing Tide • River Darter • Sailor of Means • Slippery Scoundrel • Curious Obsession • Hornswoggle • Riverwise Augur END OF TIER 3
• Mist-Cloacked Herald • Sworn Gaurdian • Secrets of the Golden City • Aquatic Incursion • Sea Legs • Negate • Flood of Recollection
Black • Ravenous Chupacabra • Impale • Reaver Ambush END OF TIER 1
• Moment of Craving • Sadistic Skymarcher • Fathom Fleet Boarder • Vampire Revenant • Dinosaur Hunter • Mausoleum Harpy • Oathsworn Vampire END OF TIER 2
• Dusk Charger • Grasping Scoundrel • Recover • Dusk Legion Zealot • Voracious Vampire • Forerunner of the Coalition • Canal Monitor • Golden Demise • Arterial Flow • Pitiless Plunderer END OF TIER 3
• Dark Inquiry • Gruesome fate
Red • Bombard • Mutiny END OF TIER 1
•Reckless Rage •Swaggering Corsair • Charging Tuskodon • See Red • Buccaneer's Bravado • Goblin Trailblazer • Frilled Deathspitter • Needletooth Raptor • Storm Fleet Swashbuckler END OF TIER 2
• Tilonali's Crown • Fanatical Firebrand • Daring Buccaneer • Orazca Raptor • Brazen Freebooter • Sun-Collared Raptor • Forerunner of the Empire • Stampeding Horncrest END OF TIER 3
• Shake the Foundations • Pirate's Pillage • Shatter
Green • Strength of the Pack • Hunt the Weak • Crested Herdcaller END OF TIER 1
• Thrashing Brontodon • Giltgrove Stalker • Swift Warden • Aggressive Urge • Hardy Veteran • Jungleborn Pioneer • Jadecraft Artisan • Cherished Hatchling END OF TIER 2
• Knight of the Stampede • Orazca Frillback • Thunderherd Migration • Forerunner of the Heralds • Colossal Dreadmaw • Overgrown Armasaur • Jade Bearer • Cacophodon END OF TIER 3
•Naturalize •Enter the Unknown •Plummet
Multicolor • Relentless Raptor • Legion Lieutenant • Merfolk Mistbinder • Atzocan Seer END OF TIER 1
• Raging Regisaur • Dire Fleet Neckbreaker • Resplendent Griffin END OF TIER 2
• Deadeye Brawler • Jungle Creeper • Storm Fleet Sprinter END OF TIER 3
Again, these are just my initial thoughts and initial corrections of my pre-Prerelease card rankings. My opinions, rankings, and the format itself will undoubtedly change as people’s understanding and drafting improve. As our team has refined our processes over the last several Pro Tours, a few have questioned whether the initial rankings were useful. Personally I find them to be extremely useful in helping identify what we think will be good versus what is actually good, and the evaluation of these differences often help us identify tenants of the particular Limited format. For example, none of us had the pump auras (One with the Wind, Swashbuckling, Mark of the Vampire) ranked highly in our initial Ixalan rankings, but they jumped several spots once we started played. This helped us realize the crux of many Ixalan games would revolve around a suited up creature, and from there we could identify and prioritize strategies that best deal with or contribute towards that theme.
This process has also helped me become better at evaluating cards. Being able to have a record of what I thought was good versus what ends up being good is an excellent way to identify where I fail in card evaluation and hopefully helps me not repeat those failures in future sets. I’m eager to continue drafting Rivals of Ixalan and refining my ranks going forward!
PREVIOUS ARTICLES · Meet the Massdrop Teams: http://dro.ps/mtg-team-announce · *2nd* at Pro Tour Ixalan: http://dro.ps/ixalan · Unclaimed Creature Types: http://dro.ps/ari-creatures · Why I Never Drop From Tournaments: http://dro.ps/eric-nevergiveup · The Art of Sideboard Construction - Sultai Energy: http://dro.ps/jon-sideboard · A Commoner's View on Pauper: http://dro.ps/mark-pauper · Blue Moon Beach Control: http://dro.ps/scott-bluemoon · Top 5 Modern Decks: http://dro.ps/pascal-modern · Storm in Vintage Cube: http://dro.ps/ben-storm · An Early Look at Rivals for Standard: http://dro.ps/shaun-rivals · A Standard Approach to Evaiuating New Cards: http://dro.ps/rob-newcards