{"id":1879,"date":"2023-10-12T06:30:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T10:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/?p=1879"},"modified":"2023-10-12T11:00:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T15:00:53","slug":"bright-lights-set-review-non-mechanologist-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-non-mechanologist-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright Lights Set Review &#8211; Non-Mechanologist Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hello, and welcome to the final edition of our <em>Bright Lights<\/em> set review! This time, we&#8217;re looking at the handful of non-Mechanologist cards in the set, grouped by class and in alphabetical order. Even though <em>Bright Lights<\/em> focuses almost exclusively on <em>Flesh and Blood<\/em>&#8216;s most underserved class so far, there is still plenty to talk about for us non-Mech players.<\/p>\n<p>So let&#8217;s get started!<\/p>\n<h2>Assassins<\/h2>\n<p>The two Assassin cards in <em>Bright Lights<\/em> continue the theme of situational tools in specific matchups and mind games that the class has come to be known for. The legendary equipment piece <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Shriek Razors\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Shriek Razors<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> (one of two non-Mechanologist legendaries in the set) does this by giving you great threat of activation play. Block with it at an opportune time and then keep your opponent under threat of using it to effectively pump one of your cards over their blocks to get through an on-hit.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Shriek Razors\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>This is the type of card, like <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Mask of Momentum\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Mask of Momentum<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, that can warp games around itself (though to a lesser extent, as a card draw is much more threatening than most Assassin on-hits), and I like it a lot. You&#8217;ll usually get more value out of making your opponent play around the threat of activation than by actually using the Razors to push through an on-hit, since they cost two resources to activate.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t to say that pitching a blue card, attacking with a one-cost card like <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Annihilate the Armed red\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Annihilate the Armed<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, and then using the Razors to force through an on-hit is bad, it just isn&#8217;t likely to happen more than once per game. Maybe twice if it&#8217;s a long game.<\/p>\n<p>The other Assassin card, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Already Dead\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Already Dead<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, is a new contract card that wants you to banish opponents&#8217; non-action cards &#8211; so reactions, instants, resources (i.e. fabled gems), and the new kid on the block: blocks. It also features an additional on-hit, banishing not just the top card of the opponent&#8217;s deck, like other contract cards, but a defending card as well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Already Dead\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Uzuri, Switchblade\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Annihilate the Armed red\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>This makes <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Already Dead\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Already Dead<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> not just a great tech card to play into reaction- or instant-heavy decks, but a good main deck option for <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Uzuri, Switchblade\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Uzuri, Switchblade<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> in particular. It has the right stat-line to make use of her hero ability and thereby adds an additional layer to consider for every block your opponent makes. If they use, say, their first block of <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Tectonic Plating\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Tectonic Plating<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> and you react with <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Already Dead\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Already Dead<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, you can banish their equipment for the rest of the game. I love how just the printing of this card changes the dynamic of playing against Uzuri. Very nice!<\/p>\n<h2>Brute<\/h2>\n<p>The Brute class (well, let&#8217;s be honest, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Levia, Shadowborn Abomination\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Levia, Shadowborn Abomination<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>) just got a major shot in the arm in <em>Dusk Till Dawn<\/em>, so it&#8217;s not like new cards are particularly needed. But as the so-far only class to get class-specific anti-item tech, it&#8217;s no wonder they make an appearance in the almost-all-Mech set.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Smashing Performance\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Smashing Performance\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Smashing Performance<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is an alright role-player kind of card, an on-rate attack with the added benefit of usually destroying an item, which takes its rate from alright to great if it happens. It&#8217;s notable that, due to the randomized draw and discard, you&#8217;re never truly guaranteed to get the effect off. I&#8217;m not over the moon with it, but it is nice that Brutes get options other than <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Argh&#8230; Smash!\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Argh&#8230; Smash!<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. Even if this one has a less fun name.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Argh&#8230; Smash!\"><\/div><\/div>\n<h2>Draconic<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Tome of Imperial Flame\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Tome of Imperial Flame<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> surprised me, and it&#8217;s a bit of a trip to read it. A zero-cost instant that cantrips and draws you an additional card if you&#8217;re royal? What&#8217;s the downside? Oh, it&#8217;s banishing your entire hand if you don&#8217;t pitch two red cards. This sounds terrible at first blush, because you basically never want to pitch reds. But it&#8217;s very specifically meant to be used in conjunction with <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Flamescale Furnace\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Flamescale Furnace<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> to make your next activation give you three resources.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Tome of Imperial Flame\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Flamescale Furnace\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Crown of Dominion\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>This takes you from two to five resources! I&#8217;m not sure what you&#8217;re gonna use all these resources on, but it&#8217;s a card to watch out for as more cards get released &#8211; with card filtering and resource generation, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Tome of Imperial Flame\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Tome of Imperial Flame<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> has combo enabler written all over it.<\/p>\n<h2>Guardian<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking of combo enablers, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Tectonic Rift\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Tectonic Rift<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> kinda has the same look and is probably a deliberate riff on <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Awakening\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Awakening<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. There are some upsides, like having a block value, even if it&#8217;s just for two, and Tectonic Rift doesn&#8217;t need to be fused. But other than that, I don&#8217;t find much to be excited about here. It&#8217;s an action, which makes it much less flexible, and you need to spend the same amount of resources you&#8217;re getting for next turn, so there&#8217;s little advantage to be made here.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Tectonic Rift\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Awakening\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Pulverize\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Getting to bank resources is good, but spending an entire card to do it (and probably taking some damage as you have to save some of your cards to pitch into this) just doesn&#8217;t seem worth it right now. Still an option to look out for as more humongously expensive cards like <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Pulverize\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Pulverize<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> or cards that synergize with <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Seismic Surge\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Seismic Surge<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> tokens get printed.<\/p>\n<h2>Illusionist<\/h2>\n<p>The two Illusionist cards in <em>Bright Lights<\/em> continue two design ideas the Illusionist class has had going for a while. <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Phantom Tidemaw\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Phantom Tidemaw<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> cares about your cards being destroyed, like <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Ghostly Touch\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Ghostly Touch<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Merciful Retribution\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Merciful Retribution<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> or <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Frightmare red\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Frightmare<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> before it. And at first blush, it seems terrible: It doesn&#8217;t block, it gets destroyed whenever you take damage due to ward, and has phantasm, so that when you do jump through all the hoops to protect it and get it to grow, your opponent always has the option to kill it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Phantom Tidemaw\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>In the past, Illusionist decks have tried to turn <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Ghostly Touch\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Ghostly Touch<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> into a late game win condition by using <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Semblance\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Semblance<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"edhrecp__link side-by-side\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Invoke Miragai\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Invoke Miragai<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> or <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Passing Mirage\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Passing Mirage<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> with it to punish decks that look to load up on poppers and stall out. This is much more difficult with Phantom Tidemaw due to it having ward. In return, however, it doesn&#8217;t just trigger on attacks being destroyed through phantasm, but on any Illusionist card being destroyed and for any reason. Looking at cards like <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Tome of Aeo\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Tome of Aeo<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, which destroys itself and draws you a card, there&#8217;s something there.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Ghostly Touch\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Passing Mirage\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Tome of Aeo\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Not enough to make it more than a jank piece probably, but still enough to warrant exploration as the ward synergies deepen. Legend Story Studios seems to want to push ward as an overarching Illusionist synergy. Or maybe they&#8217;re preparing for a blue-based Illusionist hero that cares about cards being destroyed (a fan favorite conspiracy theory ever since Frightmare got printed). I look forward to more cards that explore this niche, even if it does seem terrible right now.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Dust from the Red Desert\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Dust from the Golden Plains\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Dust from the Shadow Crypts\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>In comparison, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Dust from the Chrome Caverns\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Dust from the Chrome Caverns<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is a straightforward card to evaluate, and thank god for that because I&#8217;m running out of space. It continues the trend of the Dust cards from <em>Dynasty<\/em> and makes it reasonable to assume that we&#8217;ll get a material for each of <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Dromai, Ash Artist\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Dromai, Ash Artist<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>s dragons to get rid of their phantasm downside. <span class=\"edhrecp__link side-by-side\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Invoke Cromai\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Invoke Cromai<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is among her best dragons, so this card will most definitely see play.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Dust from the Chrome Caverns\"><\/div><\/div>\n<h2>Ninja<\/h2>\n<p>I like what <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Wax Off blue\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Wax Off<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is doing a lot: It retroactively makes <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Wax On red\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Wax On<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> much more usable as a sideboard card against aggressive decks with lots of zero-cost cards by being so easy to put into your blue base. It costs zero, which <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Katsu, the Wanderer\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Katsu, the Wanderer<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> loves to see for his <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Harmonized Kodachi\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Harmonized Kodachi<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>s, and while it only blocks for two, it has the upside of being able to do it from arsenal as a defense reaction. It&#8217;s not amazing, but if the meta ends up in a place where you want to run Wax On in the sideboard at least, you now have a blue card to run in the mainboard to cash in on synergy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Wax On red\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Wax Off blue\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Zen State\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The other use case for this is a control Ninja deck that looks to stall the game and overwhelm the opponent with a massive <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Crouching Tiger\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Crouching Tiger<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> turn. If that kind of deck falls into place, running both defense reactions in the mainboard is looking very viable, even if both cards individually are a bit underwhelming. The <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Zen State\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Zen State<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> token would make it much easier to get your Qi aligned for the perfect combo turn by giving you more breathing room. Very fun and thematic!<\/p>\n<h2>Ranger<\/h2>\n<p>Full disclosure: I love <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Riptide, Lurker of the Deep\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Riptide, Lurker of the Deep<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. Too much, in fact. So, keep in mind that I am biased beyond reason. That being said, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Intoxicating Shot\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Intoxicating Shot<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is a great card. It&#8217;s as cheap as LSS could have made it, it blocks for three, and it&#8217;s an arrow, so the opportunity cost is basically zilch.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Intoxicating Shot\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>But it&#8217;s also great in a very subtle way: In my experience playing <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Riptide, Lurker of the Deep\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Riptide, Lurker of the Deep<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> as a more defensive deck, games can easily end up in a situation where both you and your opponent are very low. You&#8217;ll basically be guaranteed to see it late because you would have pitched it early.<\/p>\n<p>In that scenario, where you&#8217;re running low on arrows, <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Intoxicating Shot\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Intoxicating Shot<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is a major mind game for your opponent. Do they block it out, making you both get closer to fatigue? If so, you&#8217;re trading your one card for their two, because it&#8217;s at the ever-important four power breakpoint. If they don&#8217;t block it or only block it with one card, they still take damage and get two tokens which are an upside for them, but also turn on two of Riptides three trap conditions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Buzzsaw Trap\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Collapsing Trap\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Spike Pit Trap\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>The traps then not only negate the upside of the tokens but can be absolutely devastating: They take more damage and can lose their entire turn to <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Collapsing Trap\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Collapsing Trap<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> or <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Buzzsaw Trap\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Buzzsaw Trap<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, both blue cards you can reasonably pitch early to help you close out the late game with unavoidable damage and disruptive effects. And if you don&#8217;t have a trap, you can take the risk and hope they block, pitch it for later, or block with it yourself!<\/p>\n<h2>Shadow<\/h2>\n<p>Look, I get it. I&#8217;ve seen safety valves before. Sometimes game developers must operate under the assumption that they&#8217;ve stumbled in their balancing efforts and include cards that hose a specific card or set of cards.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Slay\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Slay, then, is the ultimate safety valve to make sure that the new <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Prism, Awakener of Sol\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Prism, Awakener of Sol<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, does not repeat her predecessor&#8217;s meta sins. If Prism ever gets oppressive again, this card now exists for Shadow heroes to sideboard. From what I gather, this isn&#8217;t the case, so this card is a dud. Next!<\/p>\n<h2>Runeblade<\/h2>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Sonata Fantasmia\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Now this is very, very spicy. Again, a blue card that blocks for three is close to an auto-include. I&#8217;m not sure how much I like so many blue three-blocks running around, but after they cross a certain threshold, they all compete. Which I guess cancels things out?<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Sonata Fantasmia\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Sonata Fantasmia<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is a Runechant generator, and what a generator it is! Granted, it costs a lot of resources to get tokens out of this, at a rate of two resources for one Runechant. On the face of it, this isn&#8217;t great. Spending two resources for one damage is pretty abysmal, but <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Sonata Fantasmia\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Sonata Fantasmia<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is tailor-made to revive the One Turn Kill, or OTK, archetype for <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Viserai, Rune Blood\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Viserai, Rune Blood<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>It not only allows you to bank Runechants to get to a critical mass, it also disrupts your opponent on the way. It takes an entire hand of blues and this in arsenal to turn it on, but when you turn it on, it turns the tempo almost entirely in your favor, with as close to an extra turn as there has been in <em>Flesh and Blood<\/em> so far.<\/p>\n<p>If you can pull it off, the most your opponent can do is clap back with two cards, and that&#8217;s assuming they have an arsenal. More likely, they&#8217;ll have one card and maybe not even the pitch to use it. In the meantime, you&#8217;re building up six Runechants, which also lower the cost of your <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Ninth Blade of the Blood Oath\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Ninth Blade of the Blood Oath<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. And once you get going, you&#8217;re more likely to be able to turn on your second Sonata as well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Ninth Blade of the Blood Oath\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Arknight Ascendancy\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Mordred Tide\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>On a side note, since any Viserai deck, not just the OTK ones, can run three of these, that means Viserai now gets absolutely silly in the late game as they&#8217;ll have three Sonatas surrounded by blue cards to ruin your day.<\/p>\n<h2>Warrior<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Ser Boltyn, Breaker of Dawn<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> gets the honor of the second non-Mechanologist legendary card in the set with <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Warband of Bellona\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Warband of Bellona<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. It blocks for two and has temper, which is a very tempting upgrade to <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Halo of Illumination\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Halo of Illumination<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> for the <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Cintari Saber\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Cintari Saber<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> + <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Lumina Ascension\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Lumina Ascension<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> combo decks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Warband of Bellona\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Halo of Illumination\"><\/div><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Lumina Ascension\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Now, I always preferred my Boltyn decks to run <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Raydn, Duskbane\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Raydn, Duskbane<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, so I can&#8217;t say for sure, but it doesn&#8217;t seem like a straight upgrade to <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Halo of Illumination\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Halo of Illumination<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> to me, even though it has that free block on it. It costs one more resource, and with how yellow-heavy Boltyn decks want to be nowadays, the difference between one and two resources is basically an entire card. It also requires you to attack and needs to be activated on your turn, so the decks that are all-in on the combo might still decide to run Halo over this.<\/p>\n<p>What I like about it is that it incentivizes Boltyn decks to look to hybridize more &#8211; as the Warband can still fuel your soul for that big Lumina turn but can pull double duty as a charge enabler and a blocking piece in the more midrange-y Raydn style decks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Raydn, Duskbane\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Emboldened Blade\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Emboldened Blade<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> is aimed at <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Dorinthea Ironsong\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Dorinthea Ironsong<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span> instead, and it&#8217;s another blue three-block that costs zero. It leans heavily into Dorintheas bluffing and mind-reading gameplay &#8211; but in a new way! This card lets you call your opponent&#8217;s bluffs by being an absolute blowout if you get the right read. If you don&#8217;t, it&#8217;s a blowout for you, but the opportunity cost of including it is low enough to make that not a big deal. And in the hands of very skilled Dorinthea players, this can be a massive upgrade to the deck.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Emboldened Blade\"><\/div><\/div>\n<h2>Wizard<\/h2>\n<p>Last, but certainly not least, we have <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Contest the Mindfield\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Contest the Mindfield<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. I love this card, but I&#8217;m scared of it. To be fair, I&#8217;m scared of almost every Wizard card because I seldom know what they do. This one, though, is scary in a new and exciting way, not by killing you out of nowhere, but by limiting your card draw when they play it at instant speed on your turn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"edhrecp__cards\"><div class=\"edhrecp__card-container\" name=\"Contest the Mindfield\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>I like that LSS is willing to branch out the Wizard card pool into a more control-y playstyle, and I think they&#8217;ve been smart with the rate on <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Contest the Mindfield\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Contest the Mindfield<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>. It takes your Wizard opponent two cards to deny you one card, which means that they can&#8217;t just play it mindlessly, but must wait for the right moment to use it.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s blue, so Wizards can always pitch it, but it can make some hands awkward by only blocking for two. It&#8217;s a scary control effect to give to a class that is this adept at killing their opponents from close to full health, but it looks very skill intensive to utilize correctly and with a reasonable rate to not make it oppressive.<\/p>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>And there you have it, every non-Mechanologist card from <em>Bright Lights<\/em>! I believe that LSS did a great job with making (almost) every non-Mechanologist card in this heavily skewed set worth talking about. Even if some of them ultimately aren&#8217;t great right now, they are still full of future potential. Except <span class=\"edhrecp__link\"><a class=\"edhrecp__link-a\" content=\"Slay\"href=\"#\" target=\"_blank\">Slay<\/a><span class=\"edhrecp__link-image\"><\/span><\/span>, that is.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other <em>Bright Lights<\/em> set reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-heroes-and-weapons\/\">Heroes &amp; Weapons<\/a> by Pheano Black<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-equipment\/\">Equipment<\/a> by Peter Buddensiek<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-items\/\">Items<\/a> by Tyler Horspool<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-blocks-instants-and-non-attack-actions\/\">Blocks, Instants, and Non-Attack Actions<\/a> by Ethan Van Sant<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-mechanologist-attack-actions-part-1\/\">Attack Actions Pt 1<\/a> by Valera<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-mechanologist-attack-actions-part-2\/\">Attack Actions Pt 2<\/a> by Kenny Suzuki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Save the best for last? We&#8217;re wrapping up our Bright Lights set reviews with Jonah&#8217;s analysis of all the non-Mechanologist cards in the set!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[25,254,154,233,35,36,216,179,26,27,178,148,297,147,116,234],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bright Lights Set Review - Non-Mechanologist Cards - FABREC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fabrec.gg\/articles\/bright-lights-set-review-non-mechanologist-cards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bright Lights Set Review - Non-Mechanologist Cards - FABREC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Save the best for last? 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