[Discussion] Powerhouses and Sleepers

[Yarpus]

With rotation not that far away, I believe it's a good moment to start to think about Powerhouses and Sleepers. Powerhouses - cards that probably will rule the standard. Sleepers - cards that didn't had that much of an use, but they might will.

Powerhouses
Voice of Resurgence: this guys is nuts, and probably will just grow even stronger. Without Pillar to contain him anymore he can only get better - as our only solution for him will be Annihilating Fire, which is not the definition of card you'd like to play mainboard.
Lifebane Zombie: even while he's kinda fragile, his ETB effect and evasion makes up for it. Then he just becomes pure aggressor with disrupting capability - even while meta might not be so green/white, he hits lots of strong cards.
Scavenging Ooze:
this guy was nuts in Legacy, and he's still great in Standard. Lifegaining and growing like it's nobody's business. Great aggro stopper who also hits reanimator pretty hard.
Boros Reckoner: even while his colours are hinting that, he's more of Midrange/Control card than Aggro. 3/3 beater with First Strike option who often leads to nasty 1for2 exchanges and has synergy with a lot of burn-the-field cards.
AEtherling: the best finisher for control to be imagined. He avoids removal/sweepers, can get in unblocked for a lot of damage.
Desecration Demon: already present in GB Control, 6/6 flier for 4 who can grow based on your opponent's choices. With the best token-producers rotating out of the format (Lingering Souls, Midnight Haunting) he gets even better.
Mutavault: the best man-land known to man, which fits to any deck.
[card]Sphinx's Revelation[/card]:
still a card that defines draw-go. Both lifegain and draw on single card at instant-speed is very relevant.
Burning-Tree Emissary: shaman that powers up most of aggro decks at the moment. Capability of chain-playing 2 or even 3 creatures T2 is really relevant, especially with strong Battalion cards.

Sleepers:
Mizzium Mortars: with Restoration Angel leaving, and other x/4 creatures staying - Mortars are getting more relevant for Rx decks. Flexxible removal/sweeper which can hit really hard.
Chandra, Pyromaster: Aggro decks are loosing their backbone in form of Hellrider. Chandra MIGHT fill the spot as poor man's Koth. While she doesn't put that much pressure on her own, she disables relevant blockers (which can get pretty nasty with Firefist Striker) and in case of running out of gas, she provides some excellent CA. Also, she has applications in Rx Midrange/Control decks that don't
use counterspells.
Garruk, Caller of Beasts: I consider him as really fine curve-topping card for midrange. He fills your hand with new creatures, lets you put them on the field to rebuild the field after the sweeper and his ultimate is obviously back-breaking.

[windstrider]

Ogre Battledriver should be added to Sleepers. It makes every creature cast after it immensely better, and it will have a powerful synergy with Young Pyromancer and the Hammer of Purphoros.

[Alex]

Firemane Avenger is an absolutely awesome card and will likely see play in a world without Restoration Angel.

Desecration Demon is another card that promises to see a lot of play as a finisher in control. I don't think the token generation leaving Standard is what will make him playable, but rather the lack of removal that can even kill him. (Oblivion Ring is rotating, leaving only Detention Sphere that is capable of killing him. That's super narrow.)

[card]Aurelia's Fury[/card] becomes playable in decks that would have played Bonfire of the Damned in those slots. It fills a lot of the same purpose; it kills a lot of creatures or domes your opponent. It's obviously powered down in the
sense that it doesn't do both of those things simultaneously, but it's a versatile card that could very likely see a lot of play in control decks. I mean hell, control decks back in Scars/Innistrad Standard were playing [card]Devil's Play[/card] as a finisher, and this card is a lot like that.

[TubeHunter]

hunt the weak is premium removal.

[Platypus]

Umm...against Desecration Demon. Dark Betrayal? Ultimate Price? I agree that it's a sleeper, but it can surely be removed by several cards.

[Jack]

Chained to the Rocks, Far//Away, Putrefy and Selesnya Charm also work.

Also, he's not a sleeper. He's really fucking good, and has been proving this for over a month now. People are picking up on this, and it is affecting his price tag accordingly. I'm disappointed in myself for trading a pair of him for a pair of Rakdos's Returns last week, even though I knew that he was rising in price.

[Platypus]

I bought a playset last autumn when I started playing in standard, because I started with exploring some cheap MBC decks. Never played with the deck though, but I'm happy about it now.

[LP, of the Fires]

Considering how good rakdos's return is, I wouldn't feel THAT bad freedom. That's about my favorite card I've ever resolved after cruel ultimatum and JtMS

[Jack]

Considering how good rakdos's return is, I wouldn't feel THAT bad freedom. That's about my favorite card I've ever resolved after cruel ultimatum and JtMS

Oh, I love the card as well. I was just disappointed in myself for making a deal in which I'm clearly losing money; something I almost never do.

[Alex]

I'm excited to finally play with Izzet Charm some more, too. That card is so fucking good. Every mode is awesome, it's just not been playable since UWR had better options up until now. I played it a little bit in Modern and it's pretty satisfying every time you draw it.

[idorko]

I like Azorious Charm quite a bit as an awesome tempo play that can also just be cycled