Aetherdrift is...an interesting set, to say the least. Not only does it have a ton of vehicles, far more than any other set, but it also has an assortment of Gods and Gearhulks.

For the Gearhulks, we have five more to add to the first cycle that premiered in Kaladesh, this time in allied color pairs. These make sense to me. The Gods, however, are a bit of a surprise considering that there have never been Gods in Kaladesh or Aether Revolt. But now here they are!

In addition to that, instead of a cycle of some sort, we only have three: Hazoret, who is Red as always; Ketramose, who is new and White/Black; and Sab-Sunen, who is also new and Blue/Green.

As you'll see, every Gearhulk in the set has a casting cost that includes XXYY. So we'll be talking about them under the assumption that you're playing them in decks that can handle their somewhat prohibitive casting costs.

Let's take a look at all of them!

Brightglass Gearhulk

Each Gearhulk also has two keyword abilities. Brightglass is first strike and trample. This card seems very good. Ranger of Eos was a staple in the Standard format he was legal in, and he saw a ton of play in other formats, searching up things like Martyr of Sands or Esper Sentinel. Brightglass not only finds artifacts and enchantments as well, but it's also just a larger creature with two abilities tacked on...for the same mana cost! In a perfect world, you're searching up a Black Lotus and a Currency Converter or something. You know, in Cube. Not in Standard.

Coalstoke Gearhulk

I think Coalstoke Gearhulk is...just okay, which probably means it will be absolutely broken. I thought it was awesome when it was a 5/4 with menace and deathtouch, that reanimated a creature. Sure the creature had to cost four or less, but you're getting a huge Gearhulk, so that seemed fair. Also, the Gearhulk needs four colored mana, so pretty restrictive.

But then the creature gets exiled at the end of the turn. So, I dunno...meh? I get that it can hit the opponents' graveyards, but all you're getting is a four-mana-or-less creature that gets one hit in. I guess in aggro decks, you can hit something like a Ball Lightning or, better yet, a Lightning Skelemental. I dunno. Maybe this card is great? It's either broken or terrible and there's no in between.

Oildeep Gearhulk

Lifelink and ward 1 here on another 4/4. I mean, Oildeep is no Thought-Knot Seer, that's for sure. For one, it's much harder to cast. For two, ward 1 is barely a hindrance. And for three, the player gets the card immediately, rather than when the Gearhulk dies. Maybe the lifelink gets this card there, but I'm not so sure.

Pyrewood Gearhulk

Pyrewood Gearhulk seems pretty good. For six mana you're getting a 7/7 with vigilance and menace that also gives you a bit of a Craterhoof Behemoth. Giving all your creatures menace is not nothing, and vigilance ensures that you're not just dying on the crack back. I think this is one of the better Gearhulks, so I don't understand why it's preordering so low, although it does need a deck to be at its best.

Riptide Gearhulk

This should have flash. But it doesn't, so whatever. Instead we get a 2/5 with double strike and prowess, so basically a 4/5 that gets +2/+1 for every spell you cast. Cast one spell and you're attacking for six, so not too bad. This guy also has the Teferi, Hero of Dominaria ability when it comes into play. Being able to hit any nonland permanent is pretty decent, and I think this might be the second best Gearhulk behind Brightglass. Getting rid of something for three turns often might as well be getting rid of something forever.

Hazoret, Godseeker

I think this is one of the worst iterations of Hazoret. Honestly, you really just have to look at this as an enchantment or artifact with an unblockable ability that eventually becomes a creature. Two-mana is a totally reasonable cost, but even if you get this down on turn two, you won't be attacking until turn four at the earliest, and that's assuming you're able to increase your speed each turn, including the turn Hazoret enters the battlefield. And then there's the weird tension where you want to be attacking with this, because it has five power, but then you can't use its ability. Kind of an awkward card, I think.

Ketramose, the New Dawn

This is a weird card that feels like it should be in a Commander set. A 4/4 for three mana with three relevant abilities is great, obviously, but this card requires things to be in exile, and there's no real exile theme in Aetherdrift. In fact there are only 20 other cards in the set that include the word exile, and obviously some of them are terrible. I think this is a card I would understand more if it was in a set that specifically had an exile mechanic, like flashback.

Anyway, the card is like $35, so I assume Commander players love it and it was a three-of in a couple different Modern decks last weekend. So I guess it's nuts, but that could also just be prerelease hype.

Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied

Another two-color God, another three keywords. This feels a lot like Keranos, God of Storms, which I absolutely love. Every turn you get to alternate between drawing two cards (three total for the turn), or attacking with a 6/6 trampler. That's a pretty sweet deal. The only problem I see is that it costs five mana, which means you aren't really getting started until a bit later in the game, unfortunately. Still, this looks like a heck of an engine.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!

Frank Lepore

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