Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Zendikar Rising. Today I’ll be ranking the five Mythic Modal Double-Faced Cards (DFCs). If you want to have a look at my ranking of the five Rare Modal DFCs, head over to our YouTube page to check that video out.
It looks like Modal DFCs are here to stay with the announcement that they will continue to show up in the next two sets. This includes the completion of the Rare Land Cycle and new ways to show off the design space around Modal DFCs. Each Modal DFC card seems to have a spell that is the power level of the rarity below it or just between the two. This means the Mythic DFCs have a land on one side and what seems like the power level of a rare on the other side. This considers cost and similar cards in the past. The advantage of the Mythic Modal DFCs though is the fact that they can enter the battlefield untapped if you choose to pay three life when you play it. It seems like a heavy cost, but you never know when you will need that untapped mana.
Let’s start off the ranking of the five Mythic Modal DFCs.
#5 – Sea Gate Restoration
This card has the issue of asking the question: “How many cards am I going to have left in my hand by the time I can cast this?” There is a potential for a high ceiling on this card, but most often I think you’ll be closer to the floor. Drawing anything less than four cards for seven mana at sorcery speed is just not going to cut it. With the right build, you could be doubling your hand to ten or more cards without needing to discard.
#4 – Turntimber Symbiosis
The power of this card is completely dependant on how your deck is built and less on the actual card itself. Is it expensive? Yes. There is a chance though that you could find the best creature out of your top seven cards and put it straight onto the battlefield. I do like the bonus of three +1/+1 counters if you happen to only hit a smaller creature off the spell. Since you are basically spinning the wheel with this card, I don’t see it having that big of an impact on Standard or Limited play.
#3 – Emeria’s Call
This is also expensive to cast at seven mana, but you know what you are going to get every time you cast it. You are going to get eight power on the battlefield with evasion. If you already have some creatures on the battlefield you get the bonus of getting a free attack without the worry of losing any creatures during combat. It’s also sorcery speed, so you can’t cast it in response to an opponents’ removal spell, so it loses some impact there. Like I mentioned, though, you know what you are going to get with this card, and that makes it one of the better Modal DFCs.
#2 – Shatterskull Smashing
I love this two-for-one removal spell that gets better and better the more mana you have. When in doubt, you can just put the full force of it on one target, be it a creature or planeswalker if you don’t have mana to spread out the damage. This card ramps well and can be used at any part of the game outside turns one-three. If you happen to draw it that early, play it as a land and you still get value out it.
#1 – Agadeem’s Awakening
The value of this card gets exponentially better the more mana you put into, but its still quite strong at anywhere from X equalling two or better. If you can put multiple creatures from your graveyard back onto the battlefield you’ve already won with this card. This is one of those cards that can win a game out of nowhere. You can use this to refill your battlefield after a sweeper or to get back a single major threat. It’s versatile and the best of all the five Mythic Modal DFCs.
There you have it folks, my rankings on the five Mythic Modal DFCs. Would you have ranked it differently? These are all powerful cards and I look forward to seeing how many of them have an impact on Standard and Limited play. Thanks for reading another Daily Dose of Zendikar Rising. Join me again tomorrow as we will have the complete set spoiled and ready to talk about.
