Mythic rares are still relatively new to the world of MTG. Zendikar, currently the most recent set in MTG, has fifteen mythic rares. This list will take a look at each of these cards individually and I’ll give you my personal feelings about them. So, here are the mythic rares of Zendikar.

Chandra Ablaze

An awesome planeswalker, though a little pricey for my liking. This card got a harsh review from me in another article, but it’s really not that bad. I feel it has potential to really be a great card. The problem is getting it into play and then protecting it. It works really well when used alongside things like Pyromancer Ascension. The last two things to say are that Fireball and Banefire don’t work well with this card and the second ability is counter-productive. All in all a good planeswalker though.

Eldrazi Monument

Here’s an interesting card. It’s mana cost is colorless (just like artifacts should be) and it has an upkeep cost of sacrificing a creature. That’s a small price to pay for an offensive and defensive boost to all your creatures. Not to mention the whole indestructible thing. Wait, flying too? This card’s awesome! The upkeep cost could be seen as a problem, but there are a lot of cards that generate tokens out there, and those work great to keep cards like this up and running. Just look out for Shatter and the like.

Eternity Vessel

This card is one of my favorites from Zendikar. It’s just a unique card that has a good feel to it. Whenever you play a land you get to go back to the life you had when you played this card. It’s very powerful and can go in any deck. Despite the power it has, I feel that it’s not really too powerful. It’s at that perfect level of power that’s hard to get in MTG sometimes.

Felidar Sovereign

Yeah, I’m not too fond of this one. It’s not quite powerful enough to be a mythic rare in my opinion. You can win the game, and it’s an awesome creature, but that doesn’t feel special enough. Mythic rares have to be unique. This card just feels… boring. Mythic rares should be exciting! Anyway, this card also has very little fun involved in it. Cards that make a player win the game should always be a little creative. Having forty life? Not too original. Quite the let down.

Iona, Shield Of Emeria

It figures that both the white mythic rares are a disappointment. It would have been nice to see a Kor card that’s mythic so the tribal idea of it is strengthened. Or even a mythic ally! However, instead we have this card. It is an amazing card, but it also costs nine mana.

In standard I doubt this card will see a lot of play, but it may have a place in vintage. However, it’s going to be the star of some casual player’s decks… For a while. You see, like the other white mythic rare from Zendikar, this card isn’t fun. Or rather, it isn’t fun for anyone but the person playing it. It’s a card that will cause groans when its played. I’m love it and hate it. It’s not as bad as Felidar Sovereign, but it’s not that great either.

Kalitas, Bloodchief Of Ghet

Here’s a nice big vampire! I like that it essentially turns creatures into vampire slaves. Of course, the original creature is destroyed and you get a token with the same power and toughness rather than gaining control of the creature targeted by this card’s ability. That would be too good. This card’s just a big tough guy and that’s good to see in black. It reminds me somewhat of Avatar Of Woe, though just in mana cost and the creature destruction. This one’s alright.

Lorthos, The Tidemaker

Here’s one that turned out a little disappointing. Octopus? Why not a leviathan or kraken? That’s the traditional creature type for giant blue creatures. There’s even a 0/4 blue creature called Kraken Hatchling! It feels like we were robbed of that nostalgic feeling, though perhaps MTG is trying to move on.

Besides the creature type, this card has a few other problems. Usually these big blue creatures have trample, are unblockable, or at least have islandwalk. You’ll find nothing of the sort on this card. Instead, when it attacks you can tap down eight permanents if you pay eight mana. This seems like a tremendous waste of mana and isn’t as strong as it should be. This card feels like a rare, not a mythic rare.

Lotus Cobra

Personally, I’m not a fan. However, I know a good card when I see it. This card will definetly be used in some crazy combos and will also accelerate decks too tremendous speeds. This is currently the most expensive card from Zendikar and will likely hold that place until perhaps the end of MTG. Bottom line; this card’s good.

Mindbreak Trap

The big deal with this card is that it gets rid of spells that can’t be countered and also stops storm. Outside of that, it’s sort of not good. It’s a great card for those who play vintage and have to deal with storm on a regular basis. However, this card doesn’t do much for casual players who don’t run into such situations. Being a bit of both, I like that this card finally defeats storm but I dislike its limited use. Important to MTG, not important to all the players though.

Nissa Revane

This is a unique planeswalker because it is the first to work exclusively with one creature type. Because of this, it’s a very limited card, but by no means a bad card. It slows down many vintage elf decks (and is useless to those boring elf decks that just storm a Grapeshot), though it may be useful in other places.

The second ability is what this card’s all about, as the first is a little too limited. Don’t put four Nissa’s Chosen in a deck. You’ll need two at most in my opinion. That second ability is what you want to focus on. The final ability is something you won’t likely get to use, but is nice to have in your pocket. If nothing else, this card is a nice distraction. A cool planeswalker, though not my favorite.

Ob Nixilis, The Fallen

This is one of the big ones from Zendikar. It grows bigger every time you play a land and also takes away a nice bit of life from your opponent. It’s mana cost is very low and affordable. Watch out for a Lightning Bolt right from the get-go, but that’s the only threat this card has to worry about for the most part. A truely powerful card.

Obsidian Fireheart

This card turns lands into deadly fire spouts, shooting one damage at their controller every one of their upkeeps. It’s an incredibly cool card, as you can put out as many blaze cards as your mana will allow you to. It’s also a sizeable creature for only four mana. Powerful and unique; the marks of a true mythic rare.

Rampaging Baloths

I’m not a big fan of this card. It doesn’t really do too much. 4/4 beasts? That’s nice, but they don’t have trample and they don’t have haste. They’ll rampage… after they lose summoning sickness. Not quite mythic, but definetly a great card. It’ll be interesting to see how it actually plays in the next couple months. Maybe it’ll earn a more positive review from me.

Sorin Markov

My impression of this card is… it’s the coolest thing ever. Now, I realize it isn’t exactly over the top powerful or the best card ever, but it’s just so cool. The picture is cool, the abilities are cool, the mana cost is… less than cool, but playable. It’s just a fun card to use. Plus, it’s pretty deadly in EDH since you can use its first ability right away. Thumbs up on this card.

Warren Instigator

This card originally made me cringe. I felt it wasn’t worth being a mythic rare. Then I thought about how powerful Goblin Lackey is. This card is basically Goblin Lackey on roids. I reconsidered and decided this card earned its mythic status. It just feels strange since Goblin Lackey is an uncommon and this card’s a mythic rare. Such a difference!

Anyway, this card gives you up to two goblins a turn if you deal combat damage. It doesn’t just have to deal combat damage to do use its ability, it just has to deal regular damage. A superb card that will be in many goblin decks for years to come. Nice.

So, those are the mythic rares. Hope you liked my take on them. I feel that MTG is getting better at choosing what should be mythic and what shouldn’t. There are a few that don’t feel right, but they succeeded for the most part. Thanks for reading!