Okay, Jay, let's get to it. Magic 2014 will be released on July 19 and features new versions of Garruk and Chandra, the return of Slivers, and reprints of Scavenging Ooze and Mutavault. Official previews begin tonight, but about seventy percent of the set is already known, and reactions thus far have been muted at best. Core sets traditionally receive less attention than expert-level expansions, but this year, the difference seems even greater. Perhaps M14 is destined to be a letdown after the trumpeting fanfare of the latest block, but more cards is good, right—especially in Standard?

I think it's very possible people just haven't heard much about M14 at this point. Modern Masters was just released, and with the number of great cards in that set, it's a tough act to follow. It doesn't help that the one big M14 thing that made the Magic-news radar was received with such mixed feelings: the Slivers. The combination of them being a potential letdown, the set's advertising being snowed under by the release of Modern Masters, and no obviously great cards being spoiled just yet . . . You almost wonder if anyone should be excited.

Of course, "no great cards" probably isn't fair, but Scavenging Ooze and Mutavault are reprints, which are less exciting than a Thragtusk or Thundermaw Hellkite. Both cards are also powerful in a more subtle way, perhaps. New planeswalkers are cool, but they’re always hard to evaluate, even when they're super-powerful. (I'm not saying these ones are, but there is potential for both.)

More cards generally leads to more possibilities within Standard, but we're not exactly short on viable decks as is.

The planeswalkers are the same as M13 with the exception of Garruk, Caller of Beasts and Chandra, Pyromaster. Neither of these seems destined for competitive Standard decks prior to rotation. It's hard to imagine a 6-mana planeswalker in today’s metagame, and Chandra might be worth a test in Jund midrange, but it's hard to image her making the cut over other options in any deck. What do you think?

While it is true there are plenty of viable decks, most of them are red-based and aggressive. The biggest difference is whether they employ a faster “Blitz”-style strategy or are geared toward dropping must-answer creatures as quickly as possible. There are plenty of flavors of aggression, of course, with Bant Auras and The Aristocrats in the mix, but there’s not much in terms of other strategies. Control can make Top 16 and win tournaments, but it exists at the edge of the metagame, and the closest we have to combo is blasting our own Boros Reckoner.

When I look through the M14 previews, I see plenty of cards to bolster these dominant decks. Ogre Battledriver, Scavenging Ooze, and Fiendslayer Paladin all seemed destined for existing aggro decks or maybe new variants of them. Do you see anything to help control get a leg up before rotation? How about combo? With eight Standard-legal sets, it seems like it's now or never.

I have to disagree with you on the planeswalkers. I'm fairly certain both will see some amount of play. I imagine it'll take a while for Chandra to pick up, as she is hard to evaluate. She's very unlike other planeswalkers in what her abilities do. Her strongest ability does not cost any loyalty, and she probably starts at 5 loyalty (you'll only very rarely play her and active her 0 ability in the same turn). She is a source of constant card advantage in a color that does not necessarily receive it that often. I sincerely doubt she is no good. As for Garruk: There’s plenty of potential there, especially with all eight sets in standard. Think of this sequence:

Turn 1: Elvish Mystic or Arbor Elf

Turn 2: Elvish Archdruid

Turn 3: Garruk, Caller of Beasts into Worldspine Wurm (or something else insane)

I think you just win on the spot. You can even find a fatty by looking at ten percent of your deck at a time. I mean, that should get you something, right? What decks in the format now can easily stop a ramp deck like this one from getting out of hand?

You're right that Standard is filled with aggressive decks and slightly slower aggressive decks, and there's very little control to be seen. I have some hope for control, though, when I see cards such as Ratchet Bomb, Doom Blade, Mutavault, and, funnily enough, Fiendslayer Paladin. That card can singlehandedly stop a bunch of Burning-Tree Emissary decks in their tracks, so I don't see why that has to be seen as an aggro card.

Mutavault you might not expect as a control card, but it's actually very good in control decks as a virtually free win condition. If you have a play set of them on top of a bunch of Snapcaster Mages, all you need is a Runechanter's Pike or two and a ton of spells, and you'll be good to go!

What I also noticed while looking through the spoiler is the dearth of nonbasic lands. Do you think that's a good or a bad thing for control decks after Innistrad rotates? At the very least, when Innistrad rotates, that means Snapcaster Mage rotates, which might be a blessing in disguise for control decks. Perhaps they'll go back to printing some good 1-mana spells in Theros again.

Are there any cards you are excited about? I don't see much combo potential in M14 or any "missing pieces" for Johnny cards out of the other sets. Maybe Shadowborn Apostle into Griselbrand will be a thing. Does that feel like combo?

I don't see a home for Chandra in today's Standard. Her +1 and 0 both have useful applications, but what is the opportunity cost to include her? In what deck are you playing Chandra, Pyromaster, and what are you removing in order to do so? By the way, does your brain insist on reading "Pyromancer" there like mine does? I hope she doesn't see play just so I don't screw that up in every other article. She messes with my mental auto-complete!

"Garruk, Caller of Ramp" is much more interesting to me, especially with Elvish Mystic giving Standard the potential for twelve turn-one mana dorks again. I could see him as part of something like this Elf ramp deck. Worldspine Wurm would sure be amusing to see in Standard as well . . . You've sold me on this one, Jay!

It appears that Wizards of the Coast will skip dual lands in M14. The impact on control decks depends on what lands are in Theros. If we end up needing to rely on Guildgates, it will slow things down and favor control. One card that will not favor control that was previewed today is Witchstalker. It could also take the place of Loxodon Smiter in Bant Auras to give the deck a little boost for the summer. It would be pretty easy to sub in Elvish Mystic for Avacyn's Pilgrim to help with the in the casting cost—or maybe a mix of the two.

Kalonian Hydra seems to be a Constructed-playable hydra; is that a first? Perhaps it's in honor of the upcoming Greek-themed block. It is on-curve for the drool-inducing one-two punch with Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch and has potential with cards such as Predator Ooze and Scavenging Ooze as well. It's not terribly difficult to distribute +1/+1 counters these days with cards such as Varolz, the Scar-Striped and Gavony Township either. There is a lot of potential here, so is this the "Thundermaw Hydra" and the green 5-drop successor to Thragtusk?

Xathrid Necromancer has caught my eye as well. Cards that help against a Wrath always have potential, and this one fits into The Aristocrats or maybe a W/B Humans deck. It has potential after rotation when Terminus is gone as well. Celestial Flare will also see play, providing white with an Edict effect against hexproof creatures.

What about you? What cards interest you in M14?

I think you are on to something with the "Apostles of Griselbrand" by the way. Let's throw in Search the City for an alternate win condition and Immortal Servitude to restock after a board wipe and head to Friday Night Magic!

I know it's not "Pyromancer," but I can't remember what it is instead . . . that's probably also not a good sign. About her playability, I think what you're almost always doing is casting her and using her +1 ability to get her up to 5 loyalty, which is pretty high. Untap with her the next turn, and before you do anything else, use her 0 ability. Is it a land? Play it. A spell? Great, you can use that, too. It gives you a little less control over what you're playing, but she then basically reads, ": Draw a card," which I cannot imagine isn't good somewhere.

I think she'd be great in Jund. Can you imagine being in a top-deck war and putting this on the table? You have a Jayemdae Tome that's free to use! That should make you a huge favorite in that game.

I don't really like Witchstalker, actually (aside from the fact I despise hexproof as a mechanic). If you look at the current Esper builds (and the ones from Block for later), most contain a full play set of Far // Away, which happens to be a good solution to the Witchstalker. It's still good, obviously (I'm not trying to present the dies-to-Doom Blade argument here), but if you're boarding it in as an unkillable threat, you're doing it wrong.

Kalonian Hydra does seem to be the new Thragtusk/Thundermaw Hellkite of the set. It seems super-powerful with anything that can give it haste (such as Exava, but also Ogre Battledriver) or with cards like Renegade Krasis. I can easily see this becoming the chase mythic of the set—with the appropriate price tag. Or do you see any of the other mythics as having potential?

I also had my eye on the Necromancer, although I'm not quite sure where the card fits yet. I also love the Bogbrew Witch/Bubbling Cauldron/Festering Newt trio. They are probably not playable, but talk about a flavor homerun. Staying with black, I like seeing Corrupt. We'll have a couple more months before Mutilate rotates out, and the last time both those cards were legal in a Standard format, mono-black control was actually a deck (we're talking Odyssey Standard with Seventh Edition here). Liliana of the Dark Realms is still hanging out in this core set, and with Doom Blade back in the mix . . . what do you think? Are we finally ready for another round of mono-black control?

Ogre Battledriver also excites me, as giving haste to other creatures is a very powerful ability. I'm also fairly excited about the Haunted Plate Mail. This seems like a great card to go alongside Mutavault in a (nearly) creatureless control deck.

Do you think Scavenging Ooze is enough to kick Junk Reanimator down a notch or two? That would make Jund a serious contender for Best Deck in the Format.

I agree that Chandra is good in the case you presented, particularly in a “hellbent” Jund with Sire of Insanity. A lot of stuff is good in Jund, however, and it's a proven deck. What do you cut to play Chandra? Let's take Reid Duke's Grand Prix Miami–winning deck as an example. Or do you think she is good enough to warp the archetype into something different?

Bant Auras's threats aren't unkillable—just tough to kill efficiently—and Witchstalker fits that mold well. I fear you may have plenty of opportunity to hate this card before rotation. Speaking of which, it appears that we have an M14 cycle of hate on our hands! In addition to Witchstalker and Fiendslayer Paladin, Tidebinder Mage—a Merfolk that taps down a red or green creature as long as it is on the battlefield—was previewed earlier today. The Mage seems more targeted at Modern, but do you see any applications for Standard? Much more interesting for Standard, and hot off the presses, is Lifebane Zombie. He’s a 3/1 intimidate for that lets you look at your opponent's hand as it enters the battlefield and exile a green or white creature. This guy is gonna say “hello” and “goodbye” to some Thragtusks in the next few months, not to mention a lot of the other best creatures in the metagame. What do you think of the four creatures of the cycle so far?

Kalonian Hydra is certainly the chase mythic of the set, and it’s probably the best of the bunch. I do like Garruk as well, but beyond that, not much is screaming, "Play me in Standard!" right now.

I too love the witch’s-brew trio. It sure seems that it was designed for Innistrad and was cut to make room. I agree that Haunted Plate Mail is great for control: Either armor up your finisher or make one for free! The flavor is great here as well.

Scavenging Ooze will definitely see play in Jund and other decks. It's a threat and answer that comes down early, and I suspect it will give the edge to Jund midrange against Reanimator—and maybe everything else too!

Mono-black control . . . really? Actual control decks are struggling to gain a foothold right now, so it's very hard to imagine that opting out of the other colors will help. On second thought . . . do you think we could fit Nightmare into that haunted armor?

The Jund deck is always a puzzle, as it's basically a deck full of answers and trumps. The difficulty with that is there are no wrong threats—only wrong answers—and by extending that metaphor, wrong trumps (as cards such as Olivia Voldaren in a reactive deck like Jund are more like answers than threats).

I can very well imagine Jund receiving a major overhaul, as I think Scavenging Ooze is a game-changer for the deck. Not having to play Ground Seal—while being able to play more graveyard hate in the main deck—is fantastic. In my opinion, if nothing else changes, Jund with Scavenging Ooze is most likely going to the best deck at the start of the new format. Having more cheap creatures to defend or play off Chandra is also great, and the life-gain from the Ooze lets you cut down on Huntmaster of the Fells or Thragtusk to play her. I can also see cutting down on the other planeswalkers to make room.

I wasn't really talking about Witchstalker in Bant Auras because while it might be a slight upgrade to Loxodon Smiter (probably? It is smaller and harder to cast I think), it doesn't really change how that deck plays or what answers you need. I was more thinking of it out of the sideboard of a deck like Edel Naya or so. Its blue and black enemies are a lot better in my opinion. Tidebinder Mage taps down just about every relevant creature in Standard aside from Angels and Vampires (so it's probably not great against Junk Reanimator or The Aristocrats or Act 2), and Lifebane Zombie is in a great spot at 3 mana, too. I look forward to snatching Restoration Angels and Thragtusks out of people's hands all day. I do wonder where the Zombie will see play though— isn't necessarily easy, and the Zombie decks have been less than stellar lately.

On mono-black control: The incentives are there, with Mutilate, Liliana of the Dark Realms, and Corrupt, and we don't have to be completely mono-black per se—Liliana does fetch a Watery Grave to make a blue splash not that far away or a Blood Crypt to ensure you can cast a backbreaking Rakdos's Return. Nightmare traditionally hasn't been great, but if we're in the market for a huge flyer, it's definitely a workhorse.