With the Amonkhet pre-release only a week away I’m going to talk about my initial impressions on the most exciting cycle in the set – the Gods! The Gods are back but this time with a bit of an Amonkhet flavor to them and a whole new set of abilities. Indestructible like their Theros predecessors, they trade Devotion for a (mostly) easier way to weaponize themselves

Let’s get started!

Hazoret the Fervent

Why not start with “oldest” one.

Hazoret was our first taste of the new Amonkhetian Gods, and she didn’t disappoint. Being (presumably) the God of war, Hazoret aims to close the game our fast, doing whatever it takes to get to the finish line. With her restriction being that her controller must have 1 or fewer cards in hand, or be “heckbent”. I think Hazoret will end up being the easiest to evaluate. I think she’s definitely be a contender along side Hellrider and Hero of Oxid Ridge for aggressive finishers. I’d rank her below Hellrider but higher then Hero on first glance. Both Hellrider and the Hero are better with the perfect creature curve, but Hazoret has much more interaction than just being an attacking enhancement.While she’s obviously no slouch in combat, she also lets you get consistent damage in with extra lands. Definitely look forward to testing her.

Side note – Also my favorite Invocation. Not close.

Kefnet the Mindful

The next spoiled God on our list is the birdman himself – Kefnet. From easiest to most difficult, I think Kefnet will require the most rounds of testing to truly know how good he is. Squeezing Kefnet into your curve shouldn’t be too difficult, but the lack of immediate action isn’t too appealing. Thankfully once on the board it shouldn’t be too hard to get to 7 cards in hand. It only takes 1 turn to threaten an active Kefnet from only 2 cards in hand. If your opponent has a weak turn, 1 activation and a draw phase put you at 5 and only one more activation away from animating. Letting a creature resolve isn’t as painful if your reward is a 5/5 indestructible flying blocker. Kefnet has a ton of potential but I don’t want to be too high on it day 1. Like I mentioned earlier, lots of testing will eventually prove the fate of the God Kefnet.

Oketra the True

Very similar to her Theros counterpart (she is not the only one), Oketra and Heliod share a couple of things in common.

  • Devotion 5 and controlling 3 creatures are very similar with Oketra’s being easier to activate thanks to the creatures not having to be white having to be white.
  • They both have a expensive activated ability, but Heliod’s 2/1’s are way more impressive then Oketra’s sad (not cat) 1/1’s.

Oketra trades granting your team vigilance for double strike, but Heliod attacks for only 1 point less and grants vigilance, but vigilance wasn’t very relevant most of the time. Oketra’s stats aren’t much better then Heliods, but the biggest difference is how they animate. Oketra is waaaaaay easier to animate and can do so without having to stick to white. While I don’t think Heliod is close to cube playable, Oketra makes a strong case for herself just on the fact she’s easier to animate. I think white’s 4 drops are fairly shallow and there’s definitely room to try out a card like the cat god.

Rhonas the Indomitable

I don’t like Rhonas. The obvious similarities to Nylea killed all the hope I had when I first read the card. I was also turned off by the Ferocious pump ability. I understand that it shouldn’t be able to target itself but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Just not a fan.

That aside I think Rhonas is an okay card all around. Unfortunately deathtouch is pretty much useless text and animating him while I’m sure is (or will be) consistent in constructed, it will be trickier in limited. His activated ability will put in most of the labour of animating himself since I don’t find too many decks with 5 or more >4-powered creatures, but there’s almost limitless amounts of creatures 1 activation away from 4 power. He comes down at the right part of the curve and with an even average roll-out he has a ton of potential to close games out quickly. I hate being so neutral on cards but these gods will need a handful of testing to get the verdict on them.

Bontu the Glorified

Wow was I excited when I first read this card (very opposite of the Snake god). Easily the god that impressed me the most day 1, but I’ve come down from my high and am trying to take a more level approach to Bontu. Obviously black has ample cards to animate him, but other then something like Bitterblossom or Bloodghast, its hard to pay the cost of lets say a Bloodsoaked Champion, Scrapheap Scrounger or even Gravecrawler on top of the already 1B to fire him up every turn. Without having a very deep sacrifice package in your cube, Bontu is most likely doomed for the sidelines (as much as I do like him). Without a very defined role, its hard for a card like this to survive.

I currently rank the Gods

Hazoret the Fervent

Kefnet the Mindful

Rhonas the Indomitable

Oketra the True

Bontu the Glorified

So that’s my initial impressions on the Amonkhet Gods. Look forward to release day for my full review! I’ve been excited for Amonkhet since they announced the theme and man it didn’t disappoint. It brings tons of new cards and flavor I look forward to playing as soon as possible!

You can check out my cube over on CubeTutor here:

http://www.cubetutor.com/viewcube/56212

 

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