M10 Review - Blue

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This is MTG Realm's review of Magic 2010. As I really hope to employ brevity in this exercise, please do not expect lengthy and scholarly evaluations but rather rapid points as to the card's merit for deck inclusion in the standard environment.

For our review of White cards, click HERE.
For our review of Blue cards, click HERE.
For our review of Black cards, click HERE.
For our review of Red cards, click HERE.
For our review of Green cards, click HERE.
For our review of Colourless / Lands cards, click HERE.

~ REVIEW ~

Air Elemental - just OK but not good. A 4/4 flier for 5 is nothing really to write home about.

Alluring Siren - Making your opponent do something they do not want to is good - but as long as you have a plan (which you better have if you use the Siren here).

Cancel - Time Spiral, Shards of Alara, 10th and now M10. Big time reprint of a questionable control card. I won't be playing this.

Clone - Not bad if you clone a fatty on the battlefield. Use with caution.

Convincing Mirage - I guess not that bad. That is if you had anything with islandwalk (which you don't in M10). The best you can hope for is using this with Serpent of the Endless Sea or Inkwell Leviathan.

Coral Merfolk - A 2/1 for 2 is bad. And so is Blue pretty much this set.

Disorient - A fairly expensive instant that can only be situational. Perhaps used against Rightetousness (?).

Divination - If you are paying 3 to draw two cards then chances are your game in going into the ceramic bowl. Grab a Mulldrifter instead while it is still legal in standard.

Djinn of Wishes - Unfortunately, unless you can tutor (or harbinger) a card to manipulate your library's top card, this Djinn is simply bad.

Essence Scatter - I'm sure blue players will be including this in their deck. Not a bad counter for 2.

Fabricate - Very nice artifact tutor but this really does not compare to the great artifact cards in the Alara block.

Flashfreeze - You will want to sideboard this card against red and green.

Hive Mind - If you want to loose the game, iclude this card. Expensive. Terrible.

Horned Turtle - The chaff continues to fill up this post.

Ice Cage - This is a good card to shut down board threats if you can make the aura stick.

Illusionary Servant - A conditional 3/4 flier for 3 is still good. Hopefully your opponent won't have anything in their mitt that targets it.

Jace Beleren - Our fav blue Planewalker. Jace is not top drawer but you have to like card advantage or the potential of decking out your opponent.

Jump - Perhaps not a bad combat trick.

Levitation - This will not become the star that Armored Ascension is and does not seem like a good fit for the rest of blue presently.

Merfolk Looter - Depending upon your local metagame, this may or may not see any sort of play. Draw and discard is quite conditional.

Merfolk Sovereign - This merfolk lord wants me to dust off all my Lorwyn / Shadowmoor merfolk cards again and build a deck I can play until the fall. Too bad Merfolk is not supported in M10. Merrow Reejerey and Lord of Atlantis are still better.

Mind Control - Stealing your opponents dudes (with the potential of sacrificing them) is always hilarious and makes your opponent cry.

Mind Spring - Conditionally viable in the standard environment. Personally, I dislike.

Negate - Always a solid choice for blue inclusion.

Phantom Warrior - If this guy cost only one less, I would say it rocks, otherwise this is just OK.

Polymorph - Many think of using this card against their opponent (especially other decks with few creatures). I am thinking of using this on one of my own dudes to cheat a fatty like Inkwell Leviathan, Darksteel Colossus or Progentius into play.

Ponder - manipulation of the library is always a good thing.

Sage Owl - meh.

Serpent of the Endless Sea - Peraps not as bad as it sounds, but only if you could get a Convincing Mirage to work on your opponents land (if they do not already have an island), otherwise it is just a bad defender.

Sleep - This could be a really good card if you plan it correctly. Tapping your opponents dudes down for two turns can provide an opporunity to deal some decent damage.

Snapping Drake - Overcosted or underpowered - you choose.

Sphinx Ambassador - This sort of thing can really only work if you take a card that your opponent missed his guess at - so take the 2nd or 3rd most powerful critter they have and then you may have a chance with this. Highly conditional.

Telepathy - I can think of other nicer ways to spend mana on a one drop. This card is kinda useless.

Time Warp - If you can effctively drop this on turn five every time, then you're laughing - who doesn't like an extra turn.

Tome Scour - Players may consider this to help those mill decks. This should be fun if your opponent tutors out a fatty to the top of their library. Liliana Vess is scared of this card.

Traumatize - This card is decent in a mill deck but I consider this just a titch overcosted.

Twincast - Blue has Xerox tech now. We like it - especially if you (or your opponent) casts an expensive and nasty instant or sorcery.

Unsummon - Decent card to bounce board threats. Perhaps not as strong as it once was under the previous rules.

Wall of Frost - Nice card that may buy you extra time. If you can use this with Alluring Siren, you're cooking with gas.

Wind Drake - Probally will not see a lot of popular play, but not that bad either.

Zephyr Sprite - A 1/1 flier for one is a solid choice - watch out for Fae hate.