Ooooh boy, was I excited for the new Kamigawa! Channel has long been a boon for non-alternate cast stacks, and the spirit world is home to true celestial beef.

Between Colossal Skyturtle, Moonsnare Prototype, and two lands from the channel cycle, the mechanic received a massive boost, as I anticipate each staying for quite a while. Farewell is an incredibly flexible and powerful wrath effect that exceeds even Merciless Eviction's reach, and Lion Sash is like an alternate world Scavenging Ooze that doesn't leave a bitter, lifegain taste in my mouth (though Ooze isn't leaving yet).

A bit further down the power level from the new set, The Kami War is slow, but powerful in all its effects, so deserves a test. Access Denied is also a serviceable counter, as the number of flyers it produces will determine if it stays in. I haven't gotten my hands on any of the Myojin, but they're all sitting on my radar.

The other adds all play into my previous post's points - speeding up play (Sneak Attack, Delirium, Back from the Brink, Magister Sphinx), powerful spells (Clever Impersonator, Memory Deluge, Teferi), and some protection in interesting forms (Inkshield, Invulnerability, Reflect Damage, Slice in Twain).

Of course, adds always produce cuts, and mine follow several themes, the biggest being the start of a rebalancing. Counterspells are a necessary feature of the stack, but should never over power the game. In turn, I'm working on reducing the number of counters while also pruning the most bland (Counterspell, Spell Snuff, Lay Bare, Sudden Substitution, Lapse in Certainty). Similarly, the removal suite should never reduce a game to boring back and forth, and needs some overhauling (Phthisis, Danse Macabre, Totally Lost, Taste of Death, Curtains' Call, Consign to Dust).

Most of the remaining cuts are basically cards I've gotten tired of waiting for them to be as interesting as they promise (Wrong Turn, Scholar of the Ages, Temur Ascendancy, Unnatural Growth, Necrotic Ooze, Dream Trawler). And of course, too powerful (Creakwood Ghoul) or things I misread (Inspired Idea - it's a sorcery? And does BAD things to your hand size?).