Last week, I discussed and graded uncommon and rare cycles from Invasion; there were so many that I moved the block’s small sets to their own article. We saw split cards and legendary Dragons leading the pack of iconic cycles, but we also saw gemmed Leeches and Golem groupies. Even so, there’s a lot to live up to, so let’s see how things got on this time.

By way of reminder, I’m grading on Playability (was there at least one good card?), Depth (were the others in the cycle as good as the best one?), and Resonance (how does the flavor cohere?). Memories of a cycle are affected differently by each card. Playability puts a card in the public eye, Depth ensures cards will be remembered as a cycle (what, you don’t think of Phelddagrif and Winter's Night together?), and Resonance bakes the cycle with flavorful love.

So, what’s on the plate this time?

Planeshift

The Battlemages

(Sunscape Battlemage, Stormscape Battlemage, Nightscape Battlemage, Thunderscape Battlemage, Thornscape Battlemage)

Depth: A

Resonance: B+

2/2 Wizards for C with kickers on either side of them, the Battlemages haven’t been as well remembered as they should. I’ve been impressed with how well they play. Unlike their ’scape-based Masters, their kicker abilities don’t form a cycle, but they’re all good in different ways. I have three in different sixty-card decks, and they all do good work. Thornscape and Thunderscape are particularly valuable for having cheap kickers that can take out artifacts and enchantments respectively; flexibility that doesn’t cost you a card slot is always worthwhile. Nightscape is now a Zombie and is a partial basis for my Zombie deck. There aren’t many creatures that can bounce two other creatures upon hitting the battlefield, and for a 2/2 of a good creature type is sufficient given that ability. If you have a spot for them, try them and see what you think.

The Gates at Uncommon

(Sawtooth Loon, Marsh Crocodile, Razing Snidd, Sparkcaster, Fleetfoot Panther)

Depth: B

Resonance: C (At least they’re real animals?)

There was a common cycle and some rares on this line, but each creature gave a theoretically good effect and body for its multicolored cost as long as you bounced one of your creatures of that color (it could bounce itself if you just wanted the spell effect). Some of these had good synergy with other effects. Fleetfoot Panther’s probably okay as may be Marsh Crocodile, but “okay” is their upper limit. They are theoretically abusable with combos and whatnot, but I’d rather use better creatures for those roles. A big shrug from me.

The Dragon Charms

(Dromar's Charm, Crosis's Charm, Darigaaz's Charm, Rith's Charm, Treva's Charm)

Depth: A−

Resonance: B

The Charms were already a fun part of the game, so multicolored ones tied to legendary Dragons were a recipe for success. Each charm had three options—one for each color in its mana cost—and those options were listed in the order of their colors, which is one of my favorite parts of the cycle; you just spent for Darigaaz's Charm to choose a black, red, or green option.

I’ve rarely built a deck that wants these cards, but they’re good in the right deck. Treva’s draw/discard seems weak, but the other Charms have three legitimate and very different modes that provide that all-important flexibility in one convenient card. For marrying old flavor with new flavor and providing good cards with it, I approve.

Planeswalkers’ Personalities

(Planeswalker's Mirth, Planeswalker's Mischief, Planeswalker's Scorn, Planeswalker's Fury, Planeswalker's Favor)

Depth: Too good for . . .

Resonance: This cycle.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit harsh here. They all cost C and have C activated abilities. But mouse over the names, look at the cards, shudder, and then remember that these are five of the six cards with the “planeswalker” in the name. The sixth is Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker, whose +3 ability, thankfully, can destroy any member of this cycle. Now that’s some mirth.

The Other Three-Colored Cards

(Ertai, the Corrupted, Phyrexian Tyranny, Destructive Flow, Radiant Kavu, Questing Phelddagrif)

Depth: B

Resonance: C (They’re bound by colors and nothing else.)

These are all powerful but pretty narrow. Three colors is good and all when you get 6/6 flyers or flexible instants, but it’s harder to figure out when the cards make everyone sacrifice nonbasic lands or when you’re giving away Hippos. That said, I can think of uses for each card. Just don’t jam them into random three-colored decks and assume it’s a good idea.

Apocalypse

The Ringleaders

(Enlistment Officer, Tidal Courier, Grave Defiler, Goblin Ringleader, Sylvan Messenger)

Depth: A

Resonance: B

Each C creature is of a relevant type and puts into your hand any cards of that subtype among the next four cards of your library. Each has a marginal board presence as well. Goblin Ringleader is probably the best known of these, but depending on the deck construction, they can be a vital source of card advantage—especially Enlistment Officer since white rarely receives these types of effects. They won’t amaze you, but any of them can help you out. Bonus points for quasi-sixth member Brass Herald.

The Enemy Splits

(Night // Day, Fire // Ice, Life // Death, Order // Chaos, Illusion // Reality)

Depth: C

Resonance: A

They’re as resonant as the Invasion split cards, but with some key differences. Fire // Ice has a solid tournament showing, both for being two options that tournament players want and for being great on Isochron Scepter. Either half of Life // Death doesn’t show up much at uncommon, never mind both. On the other hand, Illusion // Reality has roughly no purpose, although it’s among the coolest-looking split cards. Is there a deck that wants to change the color of a permanent but is fine destroying an artifact otherwise? Does that question even make sense? Taken with the Invasion split cards, this cycle does a fair job of keeping the quality up, and it does have the most famous split card.

The Sanctuaries

(Dega Sanctuary, Ceta Sanctuary, Necra Sanctuary, Raka Sanctuary, Ana Sanctuary)

Depth: B

Resonance: B

Each Sanctuary wants you to control a permanent of colors enemy to its own; if you do, you’ll receive a very nice effect, from drawing two cards and discarding a card to making someone lose 3 life every upkeep. For the first eight years, finding blue and black permanents for your green enchantment was difficult and generally not worth the mana contortions.

Then, the Borderposts happened, making your mana fixing the necessary colors for Sanctuaries. Alara Reborn also brought appropriately-colored Equipment. I’ve built around Ana and Necra Sanctuary this way, and it’s fairly easy on the mana while doing nasty things. Ana Sanctuary giving +5/+5 to something with Mask of Riddles is rough, but it’s even worse when on a Dimir Cutpurse. In case you ever wondered, 7/7 fear creatures that make you discard and draw me two cards are cool. Behemoth Sledge is just good anyway, but it’s more fun when you lose 3 life just because my battlefield has a random hammer on it. I’ve won three-player games with two Sanctuaries and a Sledge on the battlefield with no creatures; from a flavor perspective, it’s one of the weirdest endings possible. I own some real estate and hardware; therefore, you die.

The Volvers

(Degavolver, Cetavolver, Necravolver, Rakavolver, Anavolver)

Depth: C

Resonance: B

I’m not sure what a Volver is, but these five creatures are of that type. (The prefixes also form a neat vertical cycle, with Disciples at common and Sanctuaries at uncommon.) Each Volver is like the Planeshift Battlemages in that each has two kickers. The 2-mana kicker gives the Volver two +1/+1 counters and an ability picked out of a cycle; the 1-mana kicker gives one +1/+1 counter and a different ability. This gives you the option of four different creatures. For example, Cetavolver can be 1/1 for , 2/2 trample for , 3/3 first strike for , or 4/4 first strike, trample for . This lets you match the creature to your curve.

Necravolver is in my Necra Sanctuary/Behemoth Sledge deck and is quite good with a Sledge on it; old lifelink isn’t the same as actual lifelink, so a fully kicked and Sledged Necravolver can deal 7 damage and gain 14 life a turn. That’s the high end of awesome in this cycle. The low point, and the reason I downgraded Depth, is the black kicker on Anavolver and Degavolver, which lets you pay 3 life to regenerate the creature. If you’ve played with that ability and it’s good, let me know, but that’s a lot of life to regenerate a creature, even when it’s good. I guess I might pay it for a 6/6 flyer (Anavolver), but for a 4/4 first striker (Degavolver)? Just give me a better ability instead.

Still, the cycle’s got game if you’re building wedge decks. They won’t hurt your wallet if you want to try them out.

The Wedge Spells

(Fervent Charge, Guided Passage, Overgrown Estate, Lightning Angel, Fungal Shambler)

Depth: C−

Resonance: C (There’re no attempts to tie them together apart from color.)

The first spells of their specific colors, the cycle’s surprisingly uneven and worse than my affection for it. Fungal Shambler and Guided Passage are all right, but they’re never as good as you’d like them to be. I’ve been underwhelmed by Fervent Charge, and Overgrown Estate is, according to its Gatherer comments, better than it looks, which is good because I think it looks terrible and also hate it.

Then again, this cycle has Lightning Angel, a perfect representation of its colors in flavor and abilities. It’s also great in battle, as few creatures on turn four are ready to rumble with it; the 4 toughness matters immensely.

This groundbreaking cycle should have been as good as Lightning Angel, but it’s nowhere close. I like playing the cards in this cycle, but it deserved better cards.

Conclusion

As a block, Invasion did very well on its cycles. One of the most important things it did was reward you for playing colors rather than punishing your opponent for playing colors. If this block had been designed three years prior, it would have had cards like Conversion or Lifetap. By avoiding this, they let multicolored shine and gave plenty of fun, exciting cards in memorable cycles. It’s telling of the evolution of Magic design up to this point that Planeshift and Apocalypse feel bland compared to Invasion even as the cycles themselves are generally okay. There are some serious misfires, but the good outweighs the bad, making the block a hit in my series.