I hate reviewing cards like this because my
opinions are simple. In constructed I hate the
card. There are stronger, cheaper, and/or more
powerful options. In limited, it's not bad. You
do get the life gain, practically guaranteed.
Unfortunately, it's a very short-lived flier.
This reminds me of Venerable Monk. Except this
guy has +1 toughness and flies, and can gain you
more life, and has vanishing for the same
price. Granted, vanishing is a downfall, but
how long did Venerable Monk ever stay on the
board? Also, this is a Rebel, meaning you can
search it out at a moment's notice. Attacking
with a 2/2 into an untapped Armor Scout used to
be a reasonable move, since the most threatening
thing they could search out to block with was
Knight of the Holy Nimbus. Now, even if that
2/2 has flying, they might be able to pull out a
creature that can block and kill it without
dying itself, and gain a few life points for
doing so. And then there are Momentary Blink
tricks. I'd say this thing is just potent
enough to be a real contender.
Aven
Riftwatcher - While I concede the effectiveness
of this card, I must say that it's proving to be
the most annoying creature to play against in
Planar Chaos. The fact that it's a rebel - and
therefore searchable in multiples - only adds to
the frustration. Using removal on it feels like
a waste, but it's capable of generating a hefty
life swing before it fades away. And when
combined with white's new gating creatures, it's
truly heartbreaking. A definite inclusion to
just about every white limited deck that has one
to play.
Of all the cards we've looked at this week, Aven
Riftwatcher is the one that I can really see
getting play. Unfortunately, it gets play in a
deck that is notoriously sub-par: White Weenie
(sorry white weenie players, but someone had to
tell you eventually). It's got good power, a
sizeable butt, and evasion. Not to mention a
little life gain. In older formats, I could see
this fitting into Astral Slide (note that it
doesn't have to hit the graveyard to gain you
that second 2 life) for life gain and replacing
those vanishing counters. But they've already
got Loxodon Heirarch for that. Something to
think about, anyway. In limited, I would never
be sad to play this.
Constructed - 2 (4 in White Weenie, which earns
a 2 as a deck)
Casual - 3+
Limited - 4
Aethereal
Thursday - Aven
Riftwatcher
Creatures with Vanishing/Fading need to be
really good in order to be worth it, like
Blastoderm (well, when you had Fires of Yavimaya
anyway). I don't consider this to be worth it,
as I'd rather have a 2/3 or even a 2/2 for the 3
mana that sticks around rather than lose it in a
few turns in exchange for 4 life. Maybe if you
have a way to repeatedly bounce this thing, but
I don't see why this would get played in
constructed, as there are far better cards.
In casual, nah.
In limited, the one thing going for this guy is
he is a rebel. Therefore, he is worth
considering, but make sure you wait until you
have a creature advantage before playing him,
because he'll get in for a few points and then
you'll be down a creature. I would only pick him
if I had a couple Amrou Scouts already.
Constructed - 2
Casual - 2
Limited - 2.5
-David N
Aven
Riftwatcher
Venerable Monk with vanishing and twice the fun
along with flying. 3 for a 2/3 flier is ok.
Vanishing 3 is about right for what this guy is
probably going to be used for. Dropping him in
for quick life boost and using him a chump
blocker and gaining life again are the probably
uses for him. If you're lucky you might get 1
swing with the invasion.
Constructed: 1
Casual: 1
Limited: 2
David Fanany
Aven
Riftwatcher
Remember when you were learning to play, and one
of the first things you learned is that lifegain
is bad? Wizards of the Coast has apparently been
going out of its way to rectify that with cards
like Faith's Fetters and Loxodon Hierarch, and
now Aven Riftwatcher. Unlike the first two,
though, Aven Riftwatcher isn't a very good fit
anywhere in constructed play. It's a little high
on the mana curve for a white weenie-style deck,
and the fact that it doesn't stay in play for
ever of its own accord is also a disadvantage.
Similarly, it's a little small for a control
deck. I could imagine it in a mid-range
skies-type deck or as a sideboard card to give
you a buffer against burn, but even then you
probably have better options. In casual play,
the Riftwatcher can be a force. It's a Rebel and
a Soldier, combining excellently with Amrou
Scout, Blightspeaker, Lin Sivvi, and Field
Marshal. You can even Momentary Blink or Astral
Slide him when he's about to Vanish and get even
more life and attacks out of him. Similarly,
Aven Riftwatcher can have a decent impact in
limited play. Evasion is always good, even on a
creature that only gets to attack twice, and the
extra life messes with your opponent's clock.
And you should be picking Rebels like Amrou
Scout and Amrou Seekers high already.
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
LennonMarx
Constructed
In constructed, life gain tends to be bad unless
it happens to win you the game in the process,
like Exalted Angel. This doesn't really do that.
You get a 2/3 for a few turns, and a couple of
life, and that just doesn't cut it.
1.5/5
Causal
This might have a place somewhere in a casual
rebel deck to gain some life at instant speed
and recur it with Lin Sivi. Beyond that, white
has alot better flyers, and ones that don't
dissapear on you.
2/5
Limited
In limited, I like this guy. If you have a rebel
searcher, you can grab a 3 toughness guy to to
block and opposing attacker, and gain a few
life. Hardcast, he will likely gum up the board
a bit in the early turns, and the life isn't a
horrible thing to have added on. Not a high
pick, but I wouldn't be ashamed to play it.
3/5
PsychoAnime
3 mana for a 6
life difference (gain 4 + your opponent loses 2)
is quite decent,
even if your opponent has the chance to block
it, but a 2/3 flying swinging on
the 4th turn has a high chance of taking a
blocker down with it. It probably
won't get the chance to swing a second time
though but can serve as a blocker
until it dies.
Of course, it has a nice interaction with
Momentary Blink so it has Constructed
potential and use. It's also a Rebel meaning it
functions nicely with the
other Rebels in the block and being a Soldier
means is a nice bonus in Casual.
Disadvatanges is obviously the Vanishing, but
it's really powerful without it
so it does make it more balance.
Construced: 3.5/5, Momentary Blink and the new
white "rescue" cards makes this
playable.
Casual: It's not nig, but it's a Bird, Rebel and
a Soldier so it goes into
those fancy tribal decks. Fun!
Limited: 4/5, It could last a few turns if you
get the "rescue" cards in the
draft or as part of your sealed pool. Even
without those though, it's a flier
that can swing for 4 damage and gain 4 life.
Awesome!
Arcane
Aven
Riftwatcher
Constructed: A 2/3 flyer with an effect for 3
mana isn’t that bad, but you want your creatures
to stick around and not up and leave on you in a
few turns unless it has an amazing ability, 2
more life is not that worth to lose your
creature. Lifegain cards in recent constructed
decks have been re-evaluated as being better
than once thought, but they still need to come
attached to above average cards already like
Loxodon Hierarch or Faith’s Fetters.
Casual/Multi: Lifegain is a bit better at this
level as casual multiplayer games as you have
more opponents to take on, and cards like this
tend to breed a bit more creativity in deck
construction. I’ve already seen a few decks
utilizing this card, Whitemane Lions, Stormfront
Riders, etc to gain life and tokens at
impressive values. Add to the fact that it’s a
rebel that can be tutored out at instant speed
and it will probably find a way into tribal
builds for kitchen table games. Not great as
casual games have fatties and other such
creatures running around, so a 2/3 that gains a
bit of life isn’t going to impress all that much
but may keep you alive to see the late game.
Limited: Evasion creatures hold more value in a
limited environment, and at 3 mana you get a 3
toughness which should let it swing with
impunity into other fliers at the same cost. The
life gain is a small bonus here, life doesn’t
win games but can buy you a few more swings from
your opponent which can help you be a bit more
aggressive. My only other problem with this is
that since Limited decks are so small I want the
most value out of my cards, best case scenario
this card deals 4 damage to my opponent before
it dies and gains me 4 life, but if my opponent
wasn’t able to block it I’m going to be really
sad to see this thing go, wishing it was
something that might have stayed to keep hitting
them. As I said before it is a rebel, so it lets
it find a nice place in mono W (hard to do) or
w/b rebel decks with Amarou Seekers, Kithkin
Scout, Rathi Trappers, etc.
Constructed: 1.5
Casual: 2.5
Limited: 3.5
The Missing
Linc
Aven
Riftwatcher
Constructed: To fill the three mana slot in a
white contructed deck you would really need this
thing to fly. But it does not. Thus it won't see
constructed play unless some sort of blink deck
with lots of come into play effects are a
factor.
Casual: This is a fun casual card but nothing
real exceptional.
Limited: If you end up drafting a couple
momentary blink's and go blue/white this is a
card for draft. Even if not, this is a card you
can splash and will net you 4 life and a couple
rounds of attacks. A solid pick for #3 card and
on in a draft.
Constructed: 1
Casual: 2
Limited: 4
Necro
nomikron
Aven
Riftwatcher:
Constructed: There's too many good white drops,
so I can't really see this being a big deal. Not
that it's a bad creature, just that there's
quite a bit available to white right now.
Casual: Casual players, and especially at a
multiplayer table, don't really like Fading
(well, revamped fading as Vanishing), as far as
I've seen.
Limited: This is where the card shines. It is a
flyer, rebel and does some decent damage before
it dies, giving you 4 life in the process.
