We’re right in the thick of spoiler season for Edge of Eternities, getting bombarded with flashy cards and unique designs. From artifacts that spit out tons of Sliver tokens to equipment that let you take control of your opponent’s turn, this set is full of wild bombs.
However, sometimes the strongest cards aren’t always the ones that pop off the page. Today, we have three leaks to share, two of which get their appeal not from being over-the-top designs, but rather for being super efficient.
Notably, these are leaks, so there’s a small chance they could turn out to be fake. Given the vast number of leaks that have already been revealed, though, there’s a really good chance these are legitimate. If you want to wait for official previews, consider this your spoiler warning.
Lightstall Inquisitor
Kicking things off, we have Lightstall Inquisitor. This card is only the second one-mana Angel in Magic’s history (ignoring Changeling cards), and the first one to be printed in a Standard legal set. While that unfortunately means it doesn’t fit into the more traditional white weenie typal strategies, such as Humans or Soldiers, Lightstall Inquisitor still pulls its weight thanks to its stat line and triggered ability.
As a 2/1 with Vigilance for one mana, Lightstall Inquisitor hits hard for a one-drop. From there, its enters-the-battlefield ability slows your opponent down by making one of the cards in their hand cost more mana or enter tapped if they exile a land instead. This is surprisingly annoying for the opponent, even if you don’t get to select a card of your choice like with Elite Spellbinder. The tax can even become compounded when played alongside cards like Aven Interruptor.
Where this card starts to get really intriguing, though, is when you pair it with other disruptive elements or blink effects. Curving Lightstall Inquistor into Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd gives you the opportunity to mess with your opponent’s hand turn after turn. Simply following up Lightstall Inquisitor with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben has the potential to put the opponent in a bind.
All things considered, this card may not quite have what it takes to mess around in Modern or beyond, considering the wealth of other white one-mana creatures available and the existence of Orcish Bowmasters.
Nonetheless, it’s hard to imagine this card not having a place to shine somewhere, especially in a Standard setting where competition for one-drops is slim. Perhaps an assertive deck with Charming Prince or Nurturing Pixie will arise in Standard to take full advantage. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Hardlight Containment
Lightstall Inquisitor isn’t the only one-mana white rare leaked this weekend. Hardlight Containment also fits the bill. This time, though, it offers something completely different.
As a cheap way to answer any creature the opponent could play, this aura has a lot of upside. The awkward part is that you have to enchant an artifact you control. Not only is this a heavy restriction on the number of decks that want this effect, but it also leaves you vulnerable to blowouts if the artifact gets removed.
In order to maximize this card, you need both a high density of artifacts in your deck as well as ones that have some built-in protection. For example, in Pioneer, Darksteel Citadel is the perfect card to enchant. Azorius Ensoul Artifact decks seem like solid homes for Hardlight Containment, despite the deck not being too popular at the moment. Metalwork Colossus may be able to incorporate this combination, too.
In Modern, you do have the Indestructible artifact lands that produce two colors of mana. The problem is that it’s hard to imagine Hardlight Containment beating out Dispatch in a deck with lots of artifacts.
Similarly, Hardlight Containment is a neat option to search for in Standard with Brightglass Gearhulk, yet Dusk Rose Reliquary is a more reliable option for a creature deck in most scenarios. In this sense, Hardlight Containment is a difficult card to evaluate since its range of homes is quite narrow. It’s just hard to write off an effect this cheap that even gives the enchanted permanent Ward 1 as a bonus.
Pinnacle Emissary
Our last leak is a very different type of card. Pinnacle Emissary looks like a slam dunk for a variety of artifact Commander decks at the very least.
Flooding the board with flying artifacts ensures that you’ll have consistent fuel for Breya, Etherium Shaper and can get the most mana out of Urza, Lord High Artificer. Sai, Master Thopterist is already an elite inclusion in artifact Commander decks, and having some redundancy never hurts.
In a Constructed setting, the fact that the Drones can’t block ground creatures makes the card a lot worse. Players have pointed out that this card can trigger Simulacrum Synthesizer for one mana, which is really intriguing.
The Drone artifacts you produce then pump your Construct tokens. The question is, is Pinnacle Emissary good enough on its own in the games where you don’t draw Synthesizer? Unfortunately, we’re skeptical.
Either way, this Robot looks poised to make a splash in EDH at the very least. All three of these leaks have potential in different environments, and we’re excited to see how they play out.
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