Dragon's Maze is the biggest EDH/Commander set I've ever seen. I don't play those formats much, but I'm glad there is a lot of cards for those EDH players. The art on the gates, how it's panned back more for DGM art and reveals the underbelly of the guild is so cool. Some people think adding the guildgates in lieu of a basic land (or maybe a shock land!) was an after thought to make RGD drafting have enough mana fixing. The Cluestones may have been a late addition. I think it's pretty obvious they've planned the gates. Even the secret code in the gate's flavor text points to that, which was also really cool.
Voice of Resurgence... wow. They really pushed the power level on this one. Sure Pillar of Flame takes care of him nicely but once that's gone, I think he could be a real powerhouse. I think he will see play in basically any GW deck that isn't a control deck. Prime Speaker Bant probably doesn't want this for example. It's possible this guy and Advent of the Wurm could get a tokens strategy going.
Notion Thief is going to make the Esper Mirror interesting. I'm not really sure what is the best number to play or the best way to deal with him in addition to casting a Rev, but stealing a big chunk of cards on top of a 3/1 Flash seems really strong.
Sire of Insanity feels like just that, insane. If you're ahead on board, you plop this guy down and they don't kill it, gg except top decks. I've been play this aggressive Jund deck for a few weeks now and this guy seems perfect as a curve topper, he might be too expensive though. However, if I power him out with Gyre Sage, it seems almost oppressive for control decks. It seems too expensive for the main deck and Thundermaw Hellkite is my curve topper right now, both cards are good when the opponent has no instant removal, the Hellkite usually ends the game though. Probably a 1-2 of in the sideboard for now. I'll post my list at the end of this post.
Sin Collector looks very good. 2/1 Duress on a stick is already probably playable but it's a Human and it removes the instant or sorcery, both very relevant for this Standard format. His cost is also lets him come down before most Wrath effects. I think a few copies of this guy slides right into The Aristocrats deck, main or sideboard i'm not sure.
Ascended Lawmage (3/2 Flying Hexproof) might make a splash in some kind of Bant Hexproof Auras deck, but I really hope not as that deck isn't fun to play or play against IMO. Speaking of auras, I think Runner's Bane could be a niche removal option for blue down the road, deals with Boros Reckoner quite nicely.
I feel like there is a home for Lavinia of the Tenth in some kind of aggressive deck as a Falter of sorts, the fact that its ETB ability hits planeswalkers could be relevant to this strategy too. There were UW human decks pre RTR maybe this guy could breath some life into the archtype. If you can cast this guy against red you probably win, but there are far better 5 and 4 drops to be casting against red right now.
Overall I like the set, not as much as RTR but more than GTC. I also think this falls in the middle on power level, with RTR being the most powerful of the 3 sets in the block. Time will tell on this one but I love multicolored cards, I loved Invasion block and the original Ravnica so what's not to love here!
Creatures 30
4 Arbor Elf
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
4 Flinthoof Boar
4 Gyre Sage
3 Borderland Ranger
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
3 Thundermaw Hellkite
Non Creature Spells 7
1 Dreadbore
2 Mizzum Mortars
2 Domri Rade
2 Bonfire of the Damned
Land 23
4 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
4 Stomping Ground
3 Rootbound Crag
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Blood Crypt
1 Dragonskull Summit
1 Kessig Wolf Run
Sideboard
3 Pillar of Flame (an early nod to Voice of Resurgence)
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Garruk Relentless
2 Golgari Charm (These are so sweet)
1 Zealous Conscripts
2 Thragtusk
2 Ground Seal
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Rakdos Return
If I had to register for an unknown meta this is what I would register. I really like how much mana this deck makes with creatures that are still good in combat. Gyre Sage and Borderland Ranger make sure you can cast your spells. I tried 3 Dreg Mangler over Borderlands but this deck really needs to get to 5-6 mana on time to cast dragon's and overload mortars.
The reason for so many 1 and 2 ofs in the sideboard is unknown meta and it's tough to take much out and still be aggressive.
It was 4 Bonfire but Blood Baron of Vizkopa shuts me down so it's 2 Mizzium Mortars 2 Bonfire for now. I don't think Blood Baron is that good but the few games I tested against it, it was beating if I can't kill after 1 swing. Only the 7 fliers or a big Gyre Sage can rumble with him, but again I think Obzedat is so much better that I don't know why you'd play this guy unless it's a mana issue.
