The New Planeswalkers - Sorin, Solemn Visitor

Two planeswalkers in the new block and to me they are both pretty cool, two of my favourite MTG characters, with great new art and some really interesting new abilities. Tomorrow I will have a look at what is probably my favorite card of the set, but first lets have a look at...

First impression, its very similar to the last Sorin, except for the last ability which is a new direction. So lets have a look at the three abilities in a bit more detail...

The +1:

Sorin’s new +1 is similar to his old -2 from Lord of Innistrad, but instead of giving a constant emblem it only lasts for one turn and also adds in lifelink. This means you can’t add up a bunch of emblems to super pump your creatures, but the lifelink helps to turn that around. 

The -2:

This time, instead of getting a 1/1 lifelink vampire you get a 2/2 flying one. Personall I prefer this as the evasion should mean more damage to the opponent, as well as offering some protection in the form of a blocker if needed. Losing lifelink is not a major downside as the first ability give it to all creatures for one turn.

The -6:

Forcing your opponents to sacrifice a creature during each upkeep is a pretty powerful ability, but it’s usefulness in standard really depends on how powerful token strategies are. If token swarms do well in the upcoming standard then Sorin’s -6 gets worse, but if it tends to be more about big creatures, then it gets a lot better.

Is this card better than the previous Sorin, at this point I am unsure it will depend a lot on what else is coming in the two remaining sets, it is certainly very interesting and whilst not producing the everlasting and stackable emblems that enable you to overrun your opponent it should find its was in to standard and maybe marks the return of token decks.