[Gatecrash] Foreign Spoilers 1/14/13

[Thrillho]

Simic Charm UG
Instant
Choose one -- Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn; permanents you control gain hexproof until end of turn; or return target creature to its owner's hand.

Army Loyalist (probably Legion Loyalist or something in English) R
Creature -- Goblin Soldier
Haste
Battalion -- When this and two or more other creatures attack, creatures you control gain first strike and trample and cannot be blocked by token creatures this turn.

[Thrillho]

Simic Charm seems like it'd have a reasonable place in that block Bant deck that just won the GP as a one-shot pump spell, way to protect your Silverblade Paladin, and removal for blockers during your "combo turn." This, of course, assuming it isn't completely hated out of Standard after breaking out.

[Pendulum]

Loyalist seems pretty ridiculous.

[Thrillho]

it's a smaller, less individually impactful (both without battalion active and attacking with other creatures via battlecry), but first strike is a very powerful ability (as we saw this weekend with Ethereal Armor and Silverblade Paladin).

I can't imagine it as a maindeck card, but maybe if Junk/similar tokens becomes a predominant archetype maybe we'll see this thing come out of sideboards for Red. Otherwise it's a Raging Goblin with all of the upside expected out of a Raging Goblin with upside. It's definitely powerful enough to see play, but so conditional that it needs either the right metagame or a sideboard position.

[Tom Servo]

Loyalist is badass, most of my non-legacy red decks want him. The charm is going to be an allstar at my pre release.

[Thrillho]

simic charm is definitely the kind of "I would never play these cards individually at that cost but i would play all of these cards at that cost individually"

[Pendulum]

it's a smaller, less individually impactful (both without battalion active and attacking with other creatures via battlecry), but first strike is a very powerful ability (as we saw this weekend with Ethereal Armor and Silverblade Paladin).

I can't imagine it as a maindeck card, but maybe if Junk/similar tokens becomes a predominant archetype maybe we'll see this thing come out of sideboards for Red. Otherwise it's a Raging Goblin with all of the upside expected out of a Raging Goblin with upside. It's definitely powerful enough to see play, but so conditional that it needs either the right metagame or a sideboard position.

Signal the Clans is undoubtedly going to create some interesting maindecks, at least while people are still testing
it out. This guy just seems like a natural 1-of there. As you say, it's obviously at its best against a Tokens deck and probably gets sided out Game 2 unless you're facing that particular archetype, but also as you say First Strike is pretty relevant most of the time.

[Tom Servo]

Maybe I'm just bad at evaluating cards (entirely possible seeings I only really play limited), but I'm looking at the guy as less of a creature and more of a spell with a creature tacked on. I guess that falls apart given that he doesn't have flash, but I'm not exactly trying to be sneaky playing red.