As we enjoy the last block of Theros, more intro packs are now available to give you an easy introduction into the mechanics of Journey into Nyx. One of the more interesting mechanics is Scry, allowing players to look at their top cards and decide whether to place them back or put them on the bottom of your deck. Controlling the field is one thing, but controlling what cards you can pull on your next turn can be an even greater advantage. The pack that truly excels at using this mechanic is Fates Forseen, with cards that both have and benefit from the use of Scry. But is the mechanic good enough to build an entire deck around it? Let’s draw our opening hands and find out.

Creatures:

x1 Bladetusk Boar

x1 Cloaked Siren

x1 Crackling Triton

x1 Cyclops of Eternal Fury

x2 Flamespeaker Adept

x1 Omenspeaker

x2 Pensive Minotaur

x1 Prescient Chimera

x1 Prognostic Sphinx

x1 Scourge of Fleets

x2 Sigiled Skink

x2 Sigiled Starfish

x2 Stormcaller of Keranos

The creatures in the deck excel at the use of scry. Early game it is beneficial to use Omenspeaker and Sigiled Starfish to put out some great blockers against early game opponents. The scry abilities will allow you to manipulate your turn three and four card draws from the get go. If you have a certain spell in your hand at the beginning of the game however, you can put together a very smooth combination as long as you have the land. Place your land down turn one and when turn two comes along put down the spell Font of Fortunes. Turn three you now have two options, use the Font to draw more cards or summon a Flamespeaker Adept for the coming synergy. When you have at least one Adept out, use Sigiled Starfish, Sigiled Skink and Omenspeaker to trigger Flamespeakers +2/+0 early on. Late game you can then use Stormcaller of Keranos to activate Scry at the beginning of your turn and immediately give out the ability triggers.

The creatures synergise incredibly well with the spells and each other in order to fully utilise the mechanic. Whether you are searching out for a certain card or you are triggering other abilities, the early to late game curve will not let you down. Not every creature has or benefits from Scry but that is more advantageous than you would think. When you don’t want to or can’t Scry in worry of what your opponent is doing, you can use monsters such as Bladetusk Boar and Cloaked Siren to evade and keep witling your opponent down or use Scourge of Fleets and Crackling Triton to get rid of enemy threats. If you manage to pull Keranos from the booster pack that comes with, try adding him in to create a truly powerful deck of creatures.

Spells:

x2 Divination

x1 Font of Fortunes

x1 Font of Ire

x1 Interpret The Signs

x2 Knowledge and Power

x1 Lost In A Labyrinth

x1 Magma Spray

x1 Pull From The Deep

x1 Rage Of Purphoros

x2 Riddle Of Lightning

x2 Rise of Eagles

x1 Spite of Mogis

There is little to complain about in the decks spells as they can assist the creatures and your overall synergy. Divination assists with general card draw as of turn three, which can definitely help you out if you have manipulated your deck with Scry. Font of Fortunes, as stated earlier can work well on the field when needed but do not rush to gain the card draw. Lost in a Labyrinth and Magma Spray can be very beneficial in the right circumstances and are worthwhile targets for Pull from the Deep when you hit the later stages of the game. As you hit the higher end of your mana curve cards such as Rage of Purphoros, Riddle of Lightning and Rise of Eagles can help you decimate your opponent and see the game to a close. Want to add insult to injury? Use Spite of Mogis once most of your Instant and Sorcery spells are in your graveyard to wipe out any big threats your opponent may have on the field.

With that said, there are a few spells you should get to know before rushing into playing them. Font of Ire, at least in my opinion, is a terrible card to play on turn two. The main reason is because it has to sit on your side of the field until it becomes useful as of turn four if you have the mana to use the ability. Even then the ability only targets the player, so mainly use this in the late game when you want to finish the game off. Interpret the Signs is not a bad card by any means, in fact it is one of the best spells in the deck. Just note that you do not want to rush into using it on turn six. Instead, wait until your hand is at a disadvantage and cast this in combination with Knowledge and Power and Flamespeaker Adept in order to cause a lot of damage as well as increasing your hand size. Speaking of Knowledge and Power, do not abuse Scry early on to gain this card. Set yourself up early with your creatures and wait until your mana is consistent to then bring this spell into play. Once it is on your side of the field then use your Scry triggers to full advantage.

Fates Forseen is a fitting name to a great deck. With full control over the new Scry mechanic at your finger tips, you can enjoy the luxuries of perfect draw phases whilst your opponent rages at their dead draws. Whilst there is great synergy between creatures and spells, there are almost no cards that will make you regret your choice in intro pack. If you enjoy controlling your hand and defeating your opponent in an interesting way, then be sure to pick up this worthwhile batch of cards.

What are your thoughts on Fates Foreseen? Can you foresee yourself buying this intro pack in the future? Let us know what you think in the comments below.