Last week, we took our first look at Aetherdrift cards and focused on mechanics. Now, we'll take a closer look at what Aetherdrift has in store for us. Let's start those engines! (Truly sorry, had to get it out of my system.)
Chandra, Spark Hunter
Let's start with Chandra, a unique vehicle-focused planeswalker. Within the confines of the format, Chandra looks great because Aetherdrift is extremely vehicle-dense, however, when we take into account larger-than-usual Standard formats, it looks like a massive miss for Standard playability.
Chandra's 0 ability produces a mediocre vehicle. Because it's a vehicle and not a creature, it can't immediately block to protect Chandra without another vehicle in play. I would have liked to see Chandra's triggered ability keep the vehicle a creature until the next turn, so you had the ability to protect Chandra with said vehicle.
As designed, this feels like a card that will be relatively playable in Limited and perhaps a cool build-around for a format like Commander, but in Standard, you will lose so many sets of cards if your deck is focused enough on vehicles where Chandra could be good.
Chandra feels like a big miss, which is OK, but I wouldn't get too excited about her prospects in any format at the moment.
The Last Ride
The Last Ride is obviously a vehicle spinoff of Death's Shadow.
I suspect The Last Ride will also be the first ride with this card because it doesn't seem to fit anywhere. Most of the value in this card will be its ability to turn the corner out of nowhere or play good defense when your life total is low. Three mana is a lot for the draw effect. I don't see a home for this, as it won't do anything a majority of the game and it will have been sitting in play long enough for the opponent to game plan around when it can attack.
I could see The Last Ride having an impact in Limited, especially if the format is short on mana sinks. Outside of that, I don't see it having a home. It's not a build-around like Death's Shadow since it requires reducing your life total incredibly low and asks you to crew it.
I don't have high expectations for The Last Ride, which I say as a massive Death's Shadow enjoyer.
Marauding Mako
Maraudin Mako is one of, if not the, best card in the set. This is a one-mana card that works well in so many red archetypes, such as Blood Tokens, Fable of the Mirror Breaker, any Faithless Looting deck, and the list goes on. Maybe Hollow One will have a resurgence with Marauding Mako in the mix?
Mako is a one-drop that will scale well into the game, and it still cycles if you draw copies that don't have an impact in the middle of the game. This one-drop will demand an answer immediately in the right deck, allowing for two-, three-, and four-drops to get into the mix unscathed.
Marauding Mako is sure to be played somewhere, and I'm excited to pick up a Constructed deck and try it out.
Count on Luck
Count on Luck is a nice upgrade to the Outpost Siege effects in past Mono Red decks. Four mana was too much, and historically, players would often sideboard an additional land when bringing these effects into their decks because they were usually too clunky. Magic has sped up since those days, and now we get a cost-reduced version that I suspect will see play out of the sideboards of Mono Red decks in grindier match-ups.
Count on Luck isn't anything new. It's just a new, more restricted mana cost, and it will likely see some niche play at the least. It's a solid addition since the Outpost Siege effects have mostly fallen out of favor. At a more competitive cost, we may get to see Count on Luck bring back raw card advantage for Mono Red players.
Transit Mage
I'm only highlighting Transit Mage because it completes the cycle of Trinket Mage effects. Transit Mage seems to hit a sweet spot of mana costs for a lot of cards people would sometimes Fabricate for. We've had cards like KCI, Aetherworks Marvel, Paradox Engine, and others covered by this Mage, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Transit Mage as a piece in some artifact combo deck that wants a piece like this but can't take a turn off to tutor for it. The 2/2 body may provide enough breathing room to get your engine going!
It's a cool card, as I always love seeing a many-years-long cycle built on and potentially finished.
Kolodin, Triumph Caster
Kolodin, Triumph Caster looks excellent as a build-around. A creature that can essentially saddle every saddle and crew every vehicle is a real build-around piece. I could imagine a deck with Kolodin and other saddle creatures able to crew vehicles, so they aren't left stranded if Kolodin dies.
Kolodin has an efficient enough body that this could be a possibility and perhaps even make Chandra a potential player.
Fundamentally, vehicle decks seem like they can't be efficient enough to compete, as the base of the deck relies on having creatures like Kolodin in play. When one piece of the house of cards falls, the entire thing may collapse on itself. Vehicles won't function without creatures, and the creatures will mostly be too watered down without high-powered vehicles. This will often leave you in a position where if someone interacts with one single piece of removal, you end up getting another card stranded for a turn or multiple turns. Kolodin helps with some explosive potential, but even with Kolodin and Chandra, the vehicles aren't powerful enough to make these cards competitive in Standard.
Kolodin seems like an excellent commander if you want to build a vehicle deck since you'll always have access to an essential piece. Outside of that, and I hope I'm wrong, I suspect Standard will remain midrange-soup decks for some time, and cool mechanics will often be left on the wayside because sets are one and done with little additional building on any one set's core mechanics.
Afterburner Expert
Afterburner Expert is a potentially powerful card if you're able to self-mill well enough and have a few support exhaust cards. A 4/2 for three isn't a great rate, but not much blocking goes on in Constructed, so it's serviceable if you can exploit the ability for it to return. Afterburner Expert in multiples will result in a potential chain of them bouncing each other back and forth. While this is clunky, it's possible there could be something in a deck with enough self-mill and interaction. Because exhaust is an instant ability and Afterburner Expert comes into play untapped, you can bring these back into play during the opponent's turn to block with them. This will slow the game down and allow you to continue to build a potential army of experts.
I suspect Afterburner Expert is asking too much for what it provides, but it's interesting enough to think about and discuss.
Afterburner Expert is a potential sleeper. Mulling over what I've seen of green cards, there's not much I'm too excited about, so green mages may have to work with what we have.
Marketback Walker
Last but not least this week we have Marketback Walker.
Marketback Walker is one of my favorite cards previewed thus far. While I don't think it's in the same category as Walking Ballista or Hangarback Walker where it's going to see play across the board, it may end up in more decks than expected because of its flexibility.
What most excites me about Marketback Walker is how well it works with a card like Arcbound Ravager. I could envision an Affinity deck with our newly returned Mox Opals where we can churn through the deck by turning every artifact into another counter to put on the walker and essentially drawing through the deck. We throw a Hardened Scales on top of that, and it feels like we can draw the entire deck in the first few turns of the game.
Marketback Walker is ripe for exploitation. I'm certain we'll see players trying to put these pieces together, as there are numerous ways to dump counters onto it, sacrifice it, and keep a chain going.
As I'm finishing up this review, we have about two-thirds of the set previewed. I'm not that impressed, but there are a few cards I'm excited about getting my hands on, so we'll have to see what transpires as the set gets fully spoiled.
I don't think I'll enjoy this Limited set much because I enjoy formats where blocking is a reasonable venture. Much less of that happens in formats with vehicles. I'd expect games to end quickly in this format, but that's something that we'll see and talk about later.
I'll see you next week, likely reviewing more Aetherdrift. See you then.
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