I know what you like about Zendikar. You like the Vampires, don't you! You want to know if they crumble to dust, or do they just sparkle in the sunlight? Are they expert brooders that fall for petite blondes with super powers? Do they extract all the salt from your body with their shape changing suckers? I bet you want to know if there is a secret war raging on Zendikar between the Vampires and the Werewolves. What accent do Zendikarian Vampires have? Do they say Vampire like we do, or do they pronounce it "wom-PEER?" Well, today I'm looking at Zendikar cards...

... as Red as the glowing eyes of those Vampires you like so much! Consequently, that also means I won't actually be reviewing any Vampires. HA! I caught you in my Bait and Switch Trap! Don't like traps? Tough, because Zendikar Red has Traps, Quests, Goblins, a Dragon, and an Intimidating pig!

Let's get started:

Bladetusk Boar 3R
Creature - Boar
Intimidate (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or creatures that share a color with it.)
3/2

Grade: C
In the FI: Zendikar Black article, Potatobrain expresses his displeasure at how only one non-Black creature gets intimidate. In sharp contrast to his reaction, Bladetusk Boar makes me say, "How dare they give fear to Red?" Regardless, this is a decent evader, and when you compare it with M10's Dread Warlock you see that the cost is spot on for his power, toughness, and ability. Bladetusk Boar is a solid if somewhat ordinary card.

Burst Lightning R
Instant
Kicker {4} (You may pay an additional {4} as you cast this spell.)
Burst Lightning deals 2 damage to target creature or player. If Burst Lightning was kicked, it deals 4 damage to that creature or player instead.

Grade: B
Burst Lightning is better than Shock all the time, better than Tarfire most of the time, and more useful than Lightning Bolt some of the time. This is a classic style kicker card that starts out useful unkicked and gets significantly better when you do kick it.

Chandra Ablaze 4RR
Planeswalker - Chandra
+1: Discard a card. If a red card is discarded this way, Chandra Ablaze deals 4 damage to target creature or player.
-2: Each player discards his or her hand, then draws three cards.
-7: Cast any number of red instant and/or sorcery cards from your graveyard without paying their mana costs.
Loyalty 5

Grade: B+
In evaluating any Planeswalker, the question I like to ask is, "If I only get one use out of it, is it worth the cost?"

A Red deck will often be out of cards by the time you reach six mana to play this incarnation of Chandra, so you are really going to appreciate her "-2" ability to refill an empty hand and hopefully reduce the opponents hands at the same time. It may be well worth it to put her into Lightning Bolt range as soon as you play her, just to draw three cards and force everyone else down to three as well.

Both the "+1" and "-2" discard abilities work well with graveyard oriented strategies like Madness and Threshold. By the time you get to seven loyalty on Chandra Ablaze, you should have a collectively devastating set of Red Sorceries and Instants waiting in the graveyard like Cruel Ultimatum, Searing Wind, or perhaps a bunch of little Red spells, followed up by Dragonstorm.

Still, Chandra is not without her weaknesses. Do you play a creatureless deck full of Sorceries and Instants, thereby running the risk of letting through a lethal creature attack on your Planeswalker? Should you watch out for graveyard hate? If you activate Miss Ablaze's ultimate, will you be walking into a Mindbreak Trap?

I get a strong sense of high risk / high reward from Chandra Ablaze that reminds me of the all-or-nothing plays you usually see in the Black section of the color pie. I'll be curious to see how Chandra Ablaze plays out in decks that run her.

So, are Chandra's available abilities worth the cost? In head-to-head duels, both abilities that are immediately available are moderately good, but neither one seems worth six mana. In multiplayer, I think it's a definite yes, especially the ability to level out cards in hand of everyone at the table.

Demolish 3R
Sorcery
Destroy target artifact or land.

Grade: C
Demolish gets a face lift with some funky new art, so it gives us a reason to pay attention to this reprint.

Electropotence 2R
Enchantment
Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may pay {2}{R}. If you do, that creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature or player.

Grade: B+
There's a lot of undeserved negativity going around about this card, because its name is so close to "Necropotence," one of the strongest card drawers ever printed. It's time to take a step back and look at Electropotence on its own merits, not what you think a card with "potence" in the name should be.

Every block needs a card that grants one of the block mechanics to other spells or permanents. Electropotence grants a Red "kicker" to every creature that enters your side of the battlefield. It's extremely strong in Limited, has some fun combo potential, and it's a bit like a one-sided Pandemonium! Maybe it's time for a rough deck, just to get the idea of what you can do with this card. Since it's just a first draft, I think I'll start with a ridiculously expensive mana base, so that I can concentrate on the spells instead of tweaking the lands:

The primary combo in this deck is triggering and paying for Electropotence with Wall of Blood entering the battlefield. If you have more life than the opponent does, you pay life to pump the wall before the Electropotence ability resolves, and the game is over. I also included a variety of creatures which pump themselves or others when they enter the battlefield to better take advantage of the Red enchantment. Note that some cards like Hypnotic Specter trigger on all damage dealt, not just combat damage. If you use Electropotence to have Hypnotic Specter deal damage to a player when it comes into play, that also triggers the discard ability of the Hyppie.

Elemental Appeal RRRR
Sorcery
Kicker {5} (You may pay an additional {5} as you cast this spell.)
Put a 7/1 red Elemental creature token with trample and haste onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step. If Elemental Appeal was kicked, that creature gets +7/+0 until end of turn.

Grade: B-
As somebody who keeps an eye on Standard, I can't help but notice there appear to be at least five variants on Ball Lightning in the format. Is it really that great? At what point will we reach critical mass of ephemeral trampling attackers? Bored now.

Geyser Glider 3RR
Creature - Elemental Beast
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, Geyser Glider gains flying until end of turn.
4/4

Grade: C
How did Skyclaw Thrash sneak its way into Zendikar? Geyser Glider may gain flying in a more predictable manner, but without the coin flip, where's the fun? But seriously, a 4/4 for five mana that sometimes flies is actually not that bad for Red.

Goblin Bushwhacker R
Creature - Goblin Warrior
Kicker {R} (You may pay an additional {R} as you cast this spell.)
When Goblin Bushwhacker enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, creatures you control get +1/+0 and gain haste until end of turn.
1/1

Grade: B
As a one-mana Goblin, it's dullsville. As a two mana swarm enabler and granter of haste, it's pretty darned sweet! Goblins like being kicked, don't they?

Goblin Guide R
Creature - Goblin Scout
Haste
Whenever Goblin Guide attacks, defending player reveals the top card of his or her library. If it's a land card, that player puts it into his or her hand.
2/2

Grade: B+
Let's start with the obvious: don't bother playing these in a slow deck. On the other hand, as long as you can take out the opponent before he or she can profit from drawing extra cards, more power to you! Everybody knows that a 2/2 for one mana is strong. Add haste and a chaotic ability that can give you extra information, and you end up with a winner!

I do have one small criticism about this card: the Goblin in the art doesn't look particularly strong, fast, or ready to go, does it? I expect my undercosted hasty beaters to look more beefy and energized than this sluggard.

Goblin Ruinblaster 2R
Creature - Goblin Shaman
Kicker {R} (You may pay an additional {R} as you cast this spell.)
Haste
When Goblin Ruinblaster enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, destroy target nonbasic land.
2/1

Grade: B-
I like that it has haste and two power, which isn't terrible for three mana. Given the variety of powerful non-Basic Lands out there in Casual Card Land, the kicker is a very useful tool.

Goblin Shortcutter 1R
Creature - Goblin Scout
When Goblin Shortcutter enters the battlefield, target creature can't block this turn.
2/1

Grade: D+
Once upon a time, two power for two mana with no drawback was rarely seen in Red. Times change, and the ability to stun a creature isn't enough to get me excited about Goblin Shortcutter. But hey, if your opponent plays with Illusionary Servant...

Goblin War Paint 1R
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets +2/+2 and has haste.

Grade: D
When they talk about "Deadly Perils" in Zendikar, they mean opening yourself up to the dreaded two-for-one by playing Creature Auras like Goblin War Paint. At least you can get one shot at damage, since this card grants haste. In Limited, combine this with Blue's small fliers or Black's small intimidators, and maybe you've found a half-decent use for Goblin War Paint.

Hellfire Mongrel 2R
Creature - Elemental Hound
At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has two or fewer cards in hand, Hellfire Mongrel deals 2 damage to him or her.
2/2

Grade: B-
It's just a 2/2 for three mana, so its stats aren't great, but it poses a dilemma for the opponent: waste removal on the little puppy doggy, or take two damage, probably in addition to the three you already took from Blightning? I like forcing the opponent into decisions like this, so I'm liking Hellfire Mongrel.

Hellkite Charger 4RR
Creature - Dragon
Flying, haste
Whenever Hellkite Charger attacks, you may pay {5}{R}{R}. If you do, untap all attacking creatures and after this phase, there is an additional combat phase.
5/5

Grade: A-
There aren't too many Red fliers with haste, and most of them are Dragons, just like this guy. Don't expect to be able to afford the additional combat phase the turn you play Hellkite Charger, but if you can afford it next turn, don't expect the game to last very long at all.

Highland Berserker 1R
Creature - Human Berserker Ally
Whenever Highland Berserker or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may have Ally creatures you control gain first strike until end of turn.
2/1

Grade: C-
This is one of the weaker Red Allies, but first strike is obviously a powerful combat ability in Limited. Highland Berserker would clean up if he could be played at instant speed, but without flash, I'd rather drop one of the +1/+1 counter Allies.

Inferno Trap 3R
Instant - Trap
If you've been dealt damage by two or more creatures this turn, you may pay {R} rather than pay Inferno Trap's mana cost.
Inferno Trap deals 4 damage to target creature.

Grade: C+
Pro: It deals with a large variety of creatures. Con: Most Dragons and Mythic Angels think it tickles. Pro: It has an alternate Trap cost. Con: That Trap cost means you had to take damage. Con: It can't burn the opponent.

Well, I count three Cons and two Pros, so I guess I'm not a huge fan. But do please play it in Limited.

Kazuul Warlord 4R
Creature - Minotaur Warrior Ally
Whenever Kazuul Warlord or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a +1/+1 counter on each Ally creature you control.
3/3

Grade: B
White and Black get their team pump Enchantments on turn two, this guy shows up turn five, but at least he leaves a permanent boost. Zendikar's follow-up set, Worldwake, will probably have more Allies to support the Warlord, but it might also have better Allies to usurp what little footing he already has.

Lavaball Trap 6RR
Instant - Trap
If an opponent had two or more lands enter the battlefield under his or her control this turn, you may pay {3}{R}{R} rather than pay Lavaball Trap's mana cost.
Destroy two target lands. Lavaball Trap deals 4 damage to each creature.

Grade: C+
Even at the Trap cost, five mana is a long time to wait; by the time you have eight mana, why not just splash a Wrath or finish the opponent off with an X spell? On the flip side, dealing four damage to each creature (including flying creatures) at instant speed is very relevant in multiple formats. In the end, I think it's too slow and a little too obvious for its own good.

Magma Rift 2R
Sorcery
As an additional cost to cast Magma Rift, sacrifice a land.
Magma Rift deals 5 damage to target creature.

Grade: C+
Losing a land hurts. Taking down that Lotus-Cobra-enabled third turn Baneslayer Angel helps. A lot. It's got niche potential in a couple different ways: it adds three card types (Sorcery, Land, and the Creature it roasts) to the yard for Tarmogoyf's stats; it plays nicely with Flagstones of Trokair; if you run Crucible of Worlds or Life from the Loam it's drawback is just a temporary setback. Still, I'd probably rather play Char most of the time. Mana is a precious resource, after all, and I only throw lands away when it means winning a.s.a.p.

Mark of Mutiny 2R
Sorcery
Gain control of target creature until end of turn. Put a +1/+1 counter on it and untap it. That creature gains haste until end of turn.

Grade: B
I think people really underestimate the value and flexibility of a good Threaten clone. Lets see what you can do with this variation on the theme:

• Add a +1/+1 counter to any of your creatures. Help Necroplasm jump to four counters, keeping it alive to continue the carnage!
• Untap any one of your creatures. 2R and a card to use Visara the Dreadful twice? Nice.
• Grant haste to any one of your creatures. That Warren Instigator you just played is now double striking for two damage each strike?

Then there's the more commonplace action of stealing your opponent's best blocker and attacking with it. Sure, if you didn't flat out win with Mark of Mutiny, you have to leave a +1/+1 counter on their creature, but that's why you combo Mark of Mutiny with Greater Gargadon or Hunter of Eyeblights, you big lug!

Molten Ravager 2R
Creature - Elemental
{R}: Molten Ravager gets +1/+0 until end of turn.
0/4

Grade: C
Oh look, Storm Shaman was "reprinted." Maybe if a Mono-Red Control (MRC) deck shows up, Molten Ravager will make some waves as a "Red Shade," but I wouldn't hold my breath. (But now that I've said it out loud, I'm going to have to give MRC a try...)

Murasa Pyromancer 4RR
Creature - Human Shaman Ally
Whenever Murasa Pyromancer or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may have Murasa Pyromancer deal damage to target creature equal to the number of Allies you control.
3/2

Grade: C-
I'll let you in on a little secret: don't play this without other Allies. Murasa Pyromancer is another Ally card that isn't yet ready for Constructed Ally decks, not even casual Constructed. I figure one more toughness could have bought him some playability. On the other hand, drop him into your Limited Ally deck, and you've got a good thing going.

Obsidian Fireheart 1RRR
Creature - Elemental
{1}{R}{R}: Put a blaze counter on target land without a blaze counter on it. For as long as that land has a blaze counter on it, it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, this land deals 1 damage to you." (The land continues to burn after Obsidian Fireheart has left the battlefield.)
4/4

Grade: A-
"The land continues to burn..." What? Are we in Future Sight again? You know Wizards of the Coast (WotC) is thinking way outside the box when they have to use reminder text to explain the flavor of a card. For fans of the new Doctor Who, "Burn with me!" is the right thing to say each time the upkeep trigger resolves.

With that out of my system, I can talk about the card itself. Straight off the bat, a 4/4 for four mana with no drawback is above the curve in Red. Then you get to use extra mana to give your opponent an unpleasant upkeep. It's a shame you can only have one burn counter per land - using Obsidian Fireheart as a combo finisher would have been awesome.

Obsidian Fireheart gets an artificially inflated "A-" here at MDV (What the Casual Players Use), because I think it's a very fun card, if a little silly. Any time you force your opponent to decide between taking damage or getting rid of their own mana sources is a good time to me. Just watch out for Political Trickery!

"Whose land is burning now?"

Plated Geopede 1R
Creature - Insect
First strike
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, Plated Geopede gets +2/+2 until end of turn.
1/1

Grade: C+
This is a strong Limited creature, but without evasion it's not that exciting in Constructed. Still, it's a cheap creature with first strike, so with a little equipment and a Red landfall deck, it could be a legitimate threat.

Punishing Fire 1R
Instant
Punishing Fire deals 2 damage to target creature or player.
Whenever an opponent gains life, you may pay {R}. If you do, return Punishing Fire from your graveyard to your hand.

Grade: C-
With the exception of the new Refuge lands, most life gain is at least two life, so recurring Punishing Fire as two-damage burn is often a losing proposition. Time was, life gain wasn't that common where I played Magic, but it's more prevalent than it used to be, so maybe this card will be more useful than I expect.

Pyromancer Ascension 1R
Enchantment
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that has the same name as a card in your graveyard, you may put a quest counter on Pyromancer Ascension.
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell while Pyromancer Ascension has two or more quest counters on it, you may copy that spell. You may choose new targets for the copy.

Grade: A
This one has my combo-senses tingling. It's time for another deck! Let's try Standard this time:

This deck seeks to activate Pyromancer Ascension with recurring Reborn Hope and Cascading into spells that are hopefully already in the graveyard. It looks to stall with Deadly Recluse, Lightning Bolt, and Oblivion Ring until you get an Ascension online. Once your quest is accomplished, every Reborn Hope is a "double Regrowth" and every Captured Sunlight gains you eight life plus at least one bonus spell. Finally, it cleans up with Bloodbraid Elves, Enlisted Wurms, and multiple Lightning Bolts.

Quest for Pure Flame R
Enchantment
Whenever a source you control deals damage to an opponent, you may put a quest counter on Quest for Pure Flame.
Remove four quest counters from Quest for Pure Flame and sacrifice it: If any source you control would deal damage to a creature or player this turn, it deals double that damage to that creature or player instead.

Grade: B-
Time for some brainstorming: Double strikers? Spiteful Visions? Pandemonium? Firecat Blitz? Flame Fusillade? I can't help but think that there are ways to enable this quest when you need it enabled, but then what's step two? Also, what do you do with the second quest you draw? Chuck it to Chandra for four damage, I guess.

Ruinous Minotaur 1RR
Creature - Minotaur Warrior
Whenever Ruinous Minotaur deals damage to an opponent, sacrifice a land.
5/2

Grade: B-
Five power for three mana is notable, and it makes for a pretty sweet Red "removal" card when blocking. If you are swinging for a quarter of the opponent's life, then one land seems a small price to pay. I recall sacrificing Artifact lands to Shrapnel Blast and being fine with it.

Runeflare Trap 4RR
Instant - Trap
If an opponent drew three or more cards this turn, you may pay {R} rather than pay Runeflare Trap's mana cost.
Runeflare Trap deals damage to target player equal to the number of cards in that player's hand.

Grade: B-
It's got combo and anti-combo potential, so I'm pushing the grade up a bit. I don't exactly know where it fits, but I'm guessing a U/R multiplayer deck could make good use of Runeflare Trap, a few other choice Traps, and Trapmaker's Snare.

Seismic Shudder 1R
Instant
Seismic Shudder deals 1 damage to each creature without flying.

Grade: D
I'm disappointed with Seismic Shudder. Sure, it's instant speed removal, but what will you be removing? Your own Goblins? You certainly won't be removing the opposing Soldiers with all their +1/+1 bonuses. Oh, I get it, you'll be taking out those Saprolings... I guess if your casual playgroup loves their Saprolings, you could bring this in. I say play Pyroclasm if you must have a 1R sweeper.

Shatterskull Giant 2RR
Creature - Giant Warrior
4/3

Grade: C+
Hey, it's a four power for four mana in Red, which is nice, and this time around, it has an almost reasonable backside.

Slaughter Cry 2R
Instant
Target creature gets +3/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.

Grade: C-
It's a good Limited combat trick, but also an expensive one. When building a Constructed deck, Slaughter Cry begs the question, "Why not just play <insert cheap burn here>?"

Spire Barrage 4R
Sorcery
Spire Barrage deals damage to target creature or player equal to the number of Mountains you control.

Grade: D+
I know it doesn't look like much, but in one respect, it's an improvement over every other "number of Mountains you control" burn spell in existence, since it can target a player. In return for this boon, WotC took instant speed off the table and made it cost more that your average Mountain-counting burn spell. Considering that mono-Red decks prefer to operate on fewer lands and more cheap threats, Spire Barrage doesn't quite cut the mustard. (Why would you want to cut the mustard anyway?)

Torch Slinger 2R
Creature - Goblin Shaman
Kicker {1}{R} (You may pay an additional {1}{R} as you cast this spell.)
When Torch Slinger enters the battlefield, if it was kicked, it deals 2 damage to target creature.
2/2

Grade: C+
Again, if only the damage could target a player as well. Play it in Limited, I guess.

Tuktuk Grunts 4R
Creature - Goblin Warrior Ally
Haste
Whenever Tuktuk Grunts or another Ally enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a +1/+1 counter on Tuktuk Grunts.
2/2

Grade: C+
I'm going to be really interested to see how the "Ally" decks shape up. I feel like right now, they're just too spread out across the colors for a definitive deck, but dropping even eight of these "bonus +1/+1 counter" Allies into a deck should give you a few overpowered attackers. This one I like, mainly because it has haste, but I'm curious to know how strong it could have been if it granted all Allies haste.

Unstable Footing R
Instant
Kicker {3}{R} (You may pay an additional {3}{R} as you cast this spell.)
Damage can't be prevented this turn. If Unstable Footing was kicked, it deals 5 damage to target player.

Grade: B-
At the very worst, it's an instant speed Lava Axe. I guess that's nothing to write home about, but even Flaring Pain saw play back in the day. With rumors of another Turbo-Fog deck on the Standard horizon, this might actually be playable in that format.

One important use for this card is sneaking through a "Protection from ..." ability. Protection actually prevents some damage that would otherwise be dealt. However, "can't" abilities always win, so with a resolved Unstable Footing, you can push through non-targeted damage that would normally be prevented by "Protection from ..."

I also really like the flavor text, "A long way down is shorter than you think." So true.

Warren Instigator RR
Creature - Goblin Berserker
Double strike
Whenever Warren Instigator deals damage to an opponent, you may put a Goblin creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
1/1

Grade: A
Everybody knows that Warren Instigator and M10's Goblin Chieftain have brought Legacy Goblins back into the limelight. Will it be enough to make the Goblin archetype playable again in that format? Don't ask me, I don't play Goblins! I guess time will tell.

In any case, an unblocked Warren Instigator is going to be doing some ridiculous things. Even a blocked Instigator has the power of Double Strike on his side, so pump spells like Brute Force become very relevant. In the newer formats, the Jund Goblins from Shards block have some nice abilities to get for free, and M10's Rare Goblins love to be dropped into play mid-combat.

Zektar Shrine Expedition 1R
Enchantment
Landfall - Whenever a land enters the battlefield under your control, you may put a quest counter on Zektar Shrine Expedition.
Remove three quest counters from Zektar Shrine Expedition and sacrifice it: Put a 7/1 red Elemental creature token with trample and haste onto the battlefield. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.

Grade: B
One wonders why you would send an expedition to a shrine just to release a short lived Elemental. Aside from that flavor faux pas, I think Zektar Shrine Expedition is a sweet card for any deck that needs to push through those last few points of damage. Don't overlook the fact that it can produce a clutch blocker against some large incoming ground attacker. I know it's yet another Ball Lightning variant, but it's quirky and flexible enough that I like it anyway.

Looking back on my ratings, it looks like Red ended up generally above average across the board, which makes me suspect that WotC is actually using this set to set a new standard for Red creatures. Even though I find it above average, Red seems to lack the truly powerhouse cards that some of the other colors (Black) were gifted with in Zendikar. Here's hoping I underestimated a few sleepers here and there, turning Zen Red from just plain ordinary to something a little more noteworthy. I want to know what you guys think, so sound off in the forums, and tell me how great Chandra Ablaze really is!

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