The launch of this fall set will coincide with the departure of Return to Ravnica block from Standard, leaving us with a transformed metagame. Additionally, it’s possible that some of these powerful multi-colored cards may have an impact on eternal play.

As the MTG community prepares for the release of Khans of Tarkir, I want to spend this week focusing on a particular shard from Khans of Tarkir and assess playability, flavor, and expected values.

The shard I will be focusing on is one of my favorites: The Jeskai Way. The Jeskai shard is fortunate in that it’s not one of the awkward names. The RWU color combination has also never had a nickname I've liked in the past, so this name is likely to stick.

I’ll also spend a little time discussing some of the blue cards which may fit in particularly well with Jeskai-oriented decks. Without further adieu, allow me to jump right in to a rapid-fire style review of financially relevant cards in Jeskai.

Flying Crane Technique

Perhaps one of the most flavorful cards of the set, this instant is the epitome of blowout combat tricks. It functions as an Overrun in that it can flat-out win a game. The untap portion of the card means this Jeskai spell can also provide the ultimate surprise on defense.

Here’s the problem: the card costs way too much mana! The color requirement is very prohibitive in Limited (you basically have to be all in on Jeskai) and the CMC of six means the card isn’t really Constructed playable unless it virtually wins you the game.

Since this card requires a lot of creatures in play in order to be effective, I’m going to throw this in the “win more” category and argue it’s destined for bulk.

Jeskai Ascendency

I don’t really understand the merits of this Jeskai enchantment. In order to maximize value, you have to cast a bunch of non-creature spells while simultaneously having sufficient creatures on the board to pump up. However, the looting effect is handy and allows you to cycle through useless lands while also filling up your graveyard for Delve effects. Perhaps this could fit into a deck where you are creating a lot creature tokens so you have many non-creature spells while also pumping up your many creatures on the board.

Problem is, token creature decks aren’t currently in these colors. The most powerful one I can think of is B/W tokens in Modern, and I’m not sure if the deck can transform itself completely into Jeskai colors just for this spell.

The best card in B/W tokens is Lingering Souls, which isn’t nearly as powerful without black. I’m just not feeling it, in Standard but I’ve been wrong before. If this card ends up being as powerful as Fires of Yavimaya, then we may have something here.

That being said, the pre-order price of under $1 feels right.

Mantis Rider

I’m underwhelmed by this three-drop creature. I continue to compare it to Lightning Angel in my mind. With Lightning Angel you pay one additional colorless mana to get one additional toughness. This is a horrible tradeoff, so in a sense perhaps Mantis Rider is better due to its more aggressive casting cost. Alas, I don’t think three power for three mana--even if it is hasty--is worth playing.

With a pre-order price of about $2, I still can’t get behind this guy.

Narset, Enlightened Master

A 3/2 creature for six mana is pretty rough, although at least having Hexproof means this Human Monk won’t die to random burn spells. Still, at the same converted mana cost as all of the “Soul of’s” in M15, this creature better pack a tremendous ability to compete.

Enabling free spells is certainly powerful enough. But what is most disappointing is the need to attack with Narset in order to trigger this ability.

Because she’s legendary, I’m sure she’d make a fun EDH general to build around. You’ll get to cast silly spells for free all day.

Here’s the problem, though: she isn’t unblockable. You may get a couple of free spells once, but chances are that on turn seven your opponent will have a big enough dude to block and kill Narset with, unless, of course, you give it unblockability. With potentially just one activation, you’d better hope you flip over some sweet non-creature spells to cast.

The randomness makes me nervous, however, and I believe it is this feature along with a high converted mana cost that relegates this creature to EDH-only territory. The fact that she’s a mythic rare that is pre-selling at under $4 means many others agree with this assessment.

Sage of the Inward Eye

Here we are again with a cumbersomely costed creature and an underwhelming power and toughness. Five mana for a 3/4 flying just doesn’t cut it much these days unless the creature’s ability is particular interesting. Granting your dudes lifelink may not get there.

In fact, the Jeskai theme of casting non-creature spells to give boosts to your creatures continues to perplex me. Granting your creatures lifelink for a turn is only useful if you’re attacking or blocking. And, of course, you are only attacking or blocking if you have a bunch of creatures in play. But in order to have many creatures in play, one must play many creatures, which means there will be fewer non-creature spells in the deck. Call me a skeptic, but I don’t see how this synergizes well at all.

This card can be pre-ordered in massive quantities for under $0.50. I still think doing so would be a losing proposition.

Honorable Mentions

The only other U/R/W card worth discussing is Jeskai Charm, which is actually quite strong.

The first ability is sneaky because the card can be cast at instant speed in response to a fetch land activation.

I’m not particularly impressed with the second mode because it can’t nab creatures and there are more efficient ways to do four damage to players.

The last mode once again focuses on creatures you control – it’s definitely a powerful limited spell. In conjunction with the first mode, I think this charm is actually playable in Standard.

That being said, at uncommon, this card is worth no more than $1.50 at its peak and is not worth buying into without seeing it show some success first.

As for cards that could work within the Jeskai-theme but don’t necessarily include all three colors, here are a few noteworthy mentions:

Mindswipe

What do you get when you cross a Power Sink and a Fireball? Something like Mindswipe, perhaps. If a Jeskai deck is going to run counterspells, Mindswipe may fit in nicely as a 2-of. It can even be a solid game-finisher in a grueling control matchup. Unless your opponent can counter the Mindswipe itself, casting this instant with an X value of ten could mean game over in one sudden burnout. And even in the early game, countering a strategic 3-drop can be very critical for a control deck.

There isn’t any need to rush out and pre-order this card, but I actually do like it depending on how the Standard metagame shapes up. As for eternal play, I’m not as enthusiastic… though I could see Tron splashing Red in Modern to have this as an alternate win condition. Problem is Tron isn’t short on win conditions once they have their Tron lands assembled, so I’m not sure if Mindswipe is worth adding red for. Meh.

Clever Impersonator

This card is delightfully exciting – at least we can now clone planeswalkers!

At just four mana, he’s even costed fairly, which gets me very excited about Clever Impersonator. He should see play in Standard, and I am fairly confident he’ll show up in Modern as well.

He could be a logical replacement for Phyrexian Metamorph in decks already running blue because he adds versatility. The double-blue casting cost may be challenging for Kiki Pod, but podding into this guy to copy a Liliana of the Veil in order to Diabolic Edict your opponent’s Tarmogoyf seems like such a blow-out.

Maybe I’m daydreaming too much with this one, but I think he’s got a shot. The $11 pre-order pricetag is reasonable considering his novelty, and I’ll be watching him closely come rotation to see what kind of impact he has on Standard. If he sees play, $11 could be a cheap buy-in price. Foils are worth watching as well, as he’s pitchable to Force of Will, making him a robust sideboard card in Legacy.

Pearl Lake Ancient

The only other mythic rare in blue, this 6/7 beater may be awfully difficult to dispose of permanently. By being able to bounce him on a moment’s notice, he is likely to dodge every removal spell in the format. The fact he can’t be countered means this leviathan will be a thorn in your opponent’s side for good. His flash ability means he can be casted at the end of an opponent’s turn, allowing its caster to leave up mana for counterspells until last minute.

Because of these three abilities, the strength of Pearl Lake Ancient is fairly impressive. He’s nearly impossible to counter and nearly impossible to destroy. On the downside, he can be chump blocked all day long, but having The Abyss in Standard is nothing to sneeze at. He lacks evasion, and having to bounce him over and over again may get annoying.

Players must have latched onto these downsides because he’s only pre-selling for a buck on TCG Player. I almost never advocate pre-ordering, and once again I would advise watching closely to see if control decks try this guy out as their finisher. If so, then I’d definitely pick up a few in trades. But if not, then bulk mythic he will remain!

Wrapping it Up

The flavor of Jeskai’s shard is strong and I generally approve of the color combination. That being said, most of the Jeskai-specific cards in Khans or Tarkir have been generally underwhelming. I don’t fully understand how the non-creature spell theme will pan out when they depend so heavily on having creatures in play. Perhaps the perfect balance can indeed be found, but I’m not an adept enough brewer to tease out all of the synergies myself.

It’s also very important to keep in mind that the allied-color fetch lands will eat up a chunk of total value for this set. It’ll be opened in large quantities, and if the flavor wins over fans, there will be enough copies of even the best rares and mythic rares to go around. This will keep costs down.

Therefore I want to emphasize caution heading into Standard rotation. Khans of Tarkir cards will be available aplenty – wait patiently for prices to settle, targeting in trade only those Khans cards which demonstrate strength early in the season. Downward trajectories are common with newly released cards, and I see no Jeskai cards breaking this trend.

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Sigbits

• To support Jeskai, one would potentially need to run Temple of Epiphany, a land I have been behind for a while now. The card is still on sale at SCG for $6.29 and it is still sold out. Expect a bump if UR comes together with success in Standard.
• Keranos, God of Storms is another one that could add power to a Jeskai deck. He, too, is sold out while on sale at SCG. The $17.99 sale price is likely to keep Keranos sold out until the sale’s end, when a more reasonable $19.99 price tag returns.
• On the flip side, the contrarian investor may be more interested in Ephara, God of the Polis. SP copies are on sale at SCG for $2.30, yet she is from the smaller Born of the Gods set and she may have a little synergy with Jeskai’s insistence on having creatures in play. I’m not buying here, but she probably can’t get much cheaper. Being a mythic rare god, any play would give her a healthy bump.