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Premier Draft HBG 22 July 2022

22 July 05:06 - Villfuk02 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (17)
1 Klement, Novice Acolyte image
2 Genasi Rabble-Rouser image
1 Young Red Dragon image
2 Dragonborn Immolator image
1 Ranger Squadron image
1 Valor Singer image
1 Gnoll Hunting Party image
1 Reckless Barbarian image
1 Moradin's Disciples image
1 Hobgoblin Captain image
3 Priest of Ancient Lore image
1 Meteor Golem image
1 Flaming Fist Officer image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (6)
1 Improvised Weaponry image
1 Valiant Farewell image
1 You're Confronted by Robbers image
1 Dragon's Fire image
2 Minimus Containment image
Land (17)
9 Mountain image
8 Plains image
Sideboard
1 Gnoll Hunter image
1 Flaming Fist Duskguard image
2 Iron Golem image
2 Steadfast Unicorn image
1 Krydle of Baldur's Gate image
1 Lizardfolk Librarians image
1 Devoted Paladin image
1 Icewind Stalwart image
1 Grim Bounty image
1 Fraying Line image
1 Prophetic Prism image
2 Mace of Disruption image
1 You Find Some Prisoners image
1 Eyes of the Beholder image
1 You Line Up the Shot image
1 Dueling Rapier image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Klement, Novice Acolyte
Klement, Novice Acolyte image 5.0 This is really good. If you play this on turn two, the boost it gives to your hand will be insane! Sometimes you’ll get it at a point in the game where it doesn’t do much with its ETB, but most of the time it will buff at least one thing in your hand. While its specialized versions are all quite good, they do seem a little less powerful than some of the others – but that’s probably because it is better on the front side than most of them. I think the Black/White one looks the best, as getting two 2/2 tokens right away is huge! But like with all of this, every single one of these looks quite good.
Chardalyn Dragon image 1.5 This is not a great stat-line in Limited, but it has a useful creature type, I guess? You probably only run this if you’ve whiffed on all the better Dragons out there.
Liara of the Flaming Fist image 3.0 This is the Red/White signpost uncommon. Unsurprisingly, it is a go-wide aggro deck – in this case, it is really built around the Double Team mechanic, as that is the easiest way to get cards with the same name. Notably, this also will help you out with tokens! The fact you can give anything double team and first strike is pretty spicy too, as you can give it to your best creature to get another copy – and First Strike helps that creature survive. Note, by the way, that ability can only be used once. Period. Not once per turn! But still, having that ability once seems pretty strong.
Kenku Artificer image 1.0 // 3.5 Artifacts are far from a big theme in the format, but there are enough of them around that this having a target is kind of doable. But I think your typical Blue deck in the format probably has 1-2 Artifacts, and that just..isn’t going to be enough. If you are in UB or UR you will have access to some treasure, but those color pairs still aren’t that into artifacts in general. So…if you end up in a deck that can consistently make this into a 3-mana 1/1 that makes a 3/3 Flyer, you’re going to be super happy, but that deck just won’t happen very often. Drawing this early and not having an artifact to target is going to be an awful feeling.
Gnoll Hunter image 3.0 This was a great two drop in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too.
You Find the Villains' Lair image 1.5 This wasn’t especially good in Forgotten Realms. Sure, it has two modes and everything, but neither of them is especially good, and both are fairly situational. This can be Cancel, or a three mana Faithless Looting, and that just isn’t something you’re always in the market for.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Hook Horror image 2.5 This is kind of an Alchemy version of Persist. Basically, you get a 5-mana 3/3 that gives you a 2/2 when it dies, and when that 2/2 dies, you get a 1/1. That’s three bodies on one card, which is great for sacrifice effects and the like. It can also just represent a 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 in a regular deck.
Valor Singer image 2.5 This looks like it will be a nice common here, just as it was in Forgotten Realms. +1/+0 doesn’t sound like a lot, but you’d be surprised how often that boost can alter your attacks. It can even pump itself, so it is basically a 3-mana 3/3 if that’s what you need.
Band Together image 3.5 We have seen cards that cost the same and only let one creature do damage equal to their power to something, and they tend to be pretty close to premium. This lets you have two creatures do the damage, which is significant for two reasons. First, it means you can find more situations where this will function as removal. Second, it makes you less vulnerable to your opponent interacting, since now they can kill one of your creatures and you can still do some damage. I think the whole “two creature” side of things is enough to make this premium.
Devoted Paladin image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a pretty solid card, especially if you’re good at going wide, at it looks like Red-White will be able to do that, both with tokens and double team.
Armor of Shadows image 1.5 This is a solid trick. Any time one costs only a single mana, it warrants some serious consideration to make your deck. +1/+0 isn’t the greatest thing ever – your creature really needs decent size already to fully take advantage of this as a trick, but it IS a power boost that will upgrade enough creatures and let them do lethal to an opposing creature. On top of that, it can also save a creature from damage or destroy removal, which is some nice secondary upside.
Blur image 2.0 This is a decent way to blink a creature. Adding “Draw a Card” to it makes a big difference, because it means it replaces itself – and that’s good, because you won’t always have a way to use this card effectively enough. The UW deck is about blinking creatures and stuff, and obviously this can get the job done in that deck.
Deadly Dispute image 3.0 This is a powerful reprint. Giving up a creature or artifact for two cards and a treasure is an excellent deal, especially if you are sacrificing a treasure in the first place, and that’s something you’ll be able to do, especially in Black-Red. This also enables you to discard stuff you want to reanimate or whatever.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Grim Bounty
Irenicus's Vile Duplication image 3.0 So, this is basically a clone that can only clone your stuff, and gives it Flying. That’s a decent card, because you can always make it a copy of your best creature – and usually it will get that upgrade from Flying. This can be especially good with all the ETB abilities in the set. There are lots of legendaries in the set too, so the fact that it lets you copy legendaries does matter. Basically the question here is: How often do you feel like you’re getting your mana’s worth with a card like this? And I think the answer is: reasonably often, but sometimes this will be kind of a miserable card to have in your hand. I think his is a C+.
Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind image 0.0 // 2.0 I’m more interested in this Orb than I was in the Blue one, as giving a Dragon haste is no small thing! That said, I still am not in love with a three mana mana rock that produces only a single color. Not adding to the board can just be so brutal these days. I think this deserves a build around grade. If your deck has 5 or more dragons – and especially a few that are 5 or 6 drops – this is probably a 2.0, but in all other Red decks it is basically unplayable.
Bag of Holding image 1.5 This is a pretty cool card, but not a particularly good one most of the time. It is sweet that you can loot and get your cards back later, but you just have to spend so much mana to make those things happen, you’ll find yourself unable to spend it pretty frequently until the late game.
Gnoll Hunter image 3.0 This was a great two drop in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too.
Wizened Githzerai image 1.5 This doesn’t seem that good to me. Sure, it can chump block or trade and make a creature worse, but chumping is not something you want to be doing a whole lot. And yeah, the -2/-0 sticks around no matter what happens to the creature, but I still feel like this is a two drop you will cut pretty often.
Reckless Barbarian image 2.5 This is a bear that has a useful creature type and it has some pretty real upside too. These creatures who can sac for mana are generally not as good as they look. They give you fast mana for sure, but you also have to use up a whole card just to get that mana, and that kind of thing is significantly worse in Limited than it is in constructed formats. You definitely use this mana when it gives you a nice advantage, but giving up something on the board for mana is a very real cost! We’ve seen that with cards like Treasure Hound and Skirk Prospector, and I think that’s probably going to be true here too.
Pilgrim's Eye image 3.0 This is pretty sweet at Common. It provides nice fixing while actually adding to the board, and a 1/1 Flyer can even chip in for some damage sometimes. Also another good card to blink over and over for value.
Druidic Ritual image 1.0 // 2.0 Another Green card that enables the graveyard payoffs, and it also lets you return something to your hand. That’s..not amazing for a three mana Sorcery. This is probably another build around, because outside of the Black/Green deck I don’t really know why you run this thing. It just gives you some card selection for a clunky cost, so you really need other reasons to load the yard.
Mace of Disruption image 1.0 The idea is that you have duplicates created by Double Team, and while that is going to happen, the fact that the perpetual +1/+0 is so conditional makes this pretty bad, as the initial boost isn’t really enough to make the card worth playing.
Incessant Provocation image 1.0 // 3.0 As usual, the Threaten effect in this set is a build around. There is sacrifice stuff around - Seplucher Ghoul at Common can sacrifice things for free, and if you have cards like that the Provocation will be something you want to play, since you can get rid of their creature permanently and get a bonus on the way there! If you don’t have 3+ ways to sacrifice creatures though, you hope you’re not playing this. It does perpetually force the creature to attack, but that really isn’t going to feel like enough most of the time.
Farideh's Fireball image 2.0 This is another Forgotten Realms reprint. It was a solid removal spell in that format, though it turned out to be a little clunky. It definitely isn’t premium removal, but I think chances are good that this will perform better in this format than it did in Forgotten Realms.
Grim Bounty image 3.5 This is a little clunky at 4 mana, but being able to kill anything for that cost was pretty good in Forgotten Realms, and it will be pretty good here too. It is a removal spell that even helps you splash, and gives you the treasure synergy you need.
Young Red Dragon image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. It makes you a treasure early, which can actually allow you to play this very Dragon on turn three, which is pretty nice! It can also be used for other purposes too of course. The creature you get can’t block, which is a liability sometimes, but it looks like an effective enough attacker that I’m not too concerned about that.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Fraying Line
Fraying Line image 0.0 This thing is pretty wacky, but to sum up: Every upkeep it exiles everything that doesn’t have a rope counter on it, unless the player whose turn it is pays two generic mana. Paying that mana also lets them put a rope counter on something. So uh..yeah, this being symmetrical is the big problem, because you just can’t control this enough to have it really be great. Sure, your first turn after you play it you can just not pay 2, but you and your opponent both keep your best creatures, and if your creature isn’t already the best one, that’s pretty miserable. This will often just lead to players paying 2 every upkeep until it is more advantageous for one of them to just exile everything, and I just…don’t like how little control you have over it. I’m not playing this.
Kagha, Shadow Archdruid image 3.5 Here is the Black-Green signpost Uncommon. As is often the case, Black/Green is about the graveyard. Kagha will usually mill something when she attacks that you can use. The downside is, she’s only a ¼, and even with death touch that makes her fairly vulnerable – she can be double blocked and you can still only trade, for example. For that reason, Kagha will be at her best when you have other ways to mill yourself. Luckily, it looks like that’s what BG is about, and that won’t be that difficult.
Scouting Hawk image 2.0 So, the times where this gets you that Plains, it will feel quite good. Problem is, there will be a significant chunk of the time where it can’t do that, and a 3-mana 1/1 Flyer is pretty dang abysmal. You can set it up to some degree of course, especially if your opponent went first. But if you go first it is a heck of a lot harder to make sure the ETB ability does something. Basically, it will feel like a 1.0 when you don’t get a land, and a 3.0 when you can. I guess that makes it a 2.0.
Icewind Stalwart image 1.5 Hill Giant stats aren’t something I love, and I’m not sure the ETB ability here will do something often enough to really overcome that. There are certainly creatures with ETB abilities to abuse and the like, but you still won’t have this matter often enough for it to be anything special.
Wizened Githzerai image 1.5 This doesn’t seem that good to me. Sure, it can chump block or trade and make a creature worse, but chumping is not something you want to be doing a whole lot. And yeah, the -2/-0 sticks around no matter what happens to the creature, but I still feel like this is a two drop you will cut pretty often.
Unexpected Allies image 1.0 I’m not a huge fan of this, mostly because at Sorcery speed, it is very easy to disrupt. Your opponent need only respond in any number of ways to get a 2-for-1. Now, if you wait until your opponent’s shields are down, this can do some work, since it makes your creature hit harder, and gives double team to whatever you want – and sometimes there will be spicy options. The +2/+0 means that it will be easier for you to at least get a trade with the attack, and the fact you get First Strike sometimes is a nice bonus that makes the creature very hard to block. However, this set seems to have a high power level, and I’m not sure how much value I see in playing something that is easy to mess up.
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 Mana filters don’t tend to be great in Limited, but adding a cantrip to a card like this definitely makes me interested. We’ve seen this card in some really artifact-centric sets actually be quite good, but this format doesn’t have any big Artifact theme, so it doesn’t have that benefit here. It is probably mostly just solid.
Owlbear image 3.5 This was pretty good in Forgotten Realms. This easily sets up a 2-for-1 because of its ETB ability and its size, and it really isn’t too shabby as an attacker.
Armor of Shadows image 1.5 This is a solid trick. Any time one costs only a single mana, it warrants some serious consideration to make your deck. +1/+0 isn’t the greatest thing ever – your creature really needs decent size already to fully take advantage of this as a trick, but it IS a power boost that will upgrade enough creatures and let them do lethal to an opposing creature. On top of that, it can also save a creature from damage or destroy removal, which is some nice secondary upside.
Follow the Tracks image 3.0 This is an interesting take on ramp and fixing. You get to choose one of the Uncommon gates, meaning you can effectively get a land that produces whatever color you need, while also ramping – and the Gate lands all can draw you a card in the late game too. This is certainly a little clunky, but the ramp and fixing it offers is a pretty big deal.
Unexpected Windfall image 1.5 This is a card that is great in constructed, but much less impressive in Limited. Spending 4 mana and giving up two cards to get back two cards and a couple of treasure just isn’t as impactful. That doesn’t mean this is bad – but it definitely isn’t something you run in all of your Red decks.
Genasi Rabble-Rouser image 3.0 This is a pretty strong Common. A two mana ⅓ with the ability to pump its power for one and a Red is probably pretty close to a 2.5, so obviously adding Double Team to the mix is pretty nice. This is a nice two drop for aggressive Red decks.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Young Red Dragon
Belt of Giant Strength image 2.0 This doesn’t seem that good to me. Obviously a 10/10 is huge, but to equip this card efficiently, your creature already has to be pretty big – which also means that giving a base power and toughness of 10/10 is much less of an upgrade. This is just a weird card. Paying 6 mana to equip this to a 4/4 just…doesn’t seem that impressive. It is just so clunky!
Split the Spoils image 2.0 This is basically a Green Fact or Fiction, which is pretty wild. It takes a whole lot more set up than Fact or Fiction though! You need to have 5 permanent cards in your graveyard to make casting this worth it, since you want to maximize the number of cards you get out of it, and while Black/Green is good at loading up the graveyard, that’s still a pretty big requirement. The upside here is that you’re probably getting at least 2 cards back for three mana, and sometimes you’ll really put your opponent in a tough spot. Basically, this is kind of a roundabout version of the kind of card that returns creatures form your graveyard to your hand – and one that takes extra set up. I think this is probably a nice one-of in graveyard decks in the format, but still not amazing.
Krydle of Baldur's Gate image 3.0 Like Kalain, Krydle was a signpost Uncommon in Forgotten Realms, and he’s a signpost Uncommon here too. He offers a ton of value for a two drop, since he lets you get through your opponents defenses, and if it is Krydle getting through, you get to drain a life and Scry 1 every time, which is a pretty big deal. In the late game, he can send in much larger creatures to be unblockable. He’s basically a great early-game threat that also works as a late-game win condition.
Steadfast Paladin image 2.5 This is a reprint that was nice in the Lifegain deck in Forgotten Realms. It is certainly nothing special, but it does enough that you play it most of the time in White.
Mace of Disruption image 1.0 The idea is that you have duplicates created by Double Team, and while that is going to happen, the fact that the perpetual +1/+0 is so conditional makes this pretty bad, as the initial boost isn’t really enough to make the card worth playing.
Scaled Nurturer image 2.5 Even without the Dragon upside, this would probably be a 2.5. Mana dorks are just really nice, since you get to add to the board and pull ahead of your opponent in mana at the same time.
Earth-Cult Elemental image 1.5 This was a bit of a disappointment in Forgotten Realms. It has passable stats, but six drops that didn’t like…gain you life, were kind of a liability in that format. It will probably be a little bit better here, but its ETB ability isn’t that great either. By the time this comes down many players have expendable permanents, so it is mostly the kind of thing your opponent will shrug about. It is passable as a top-curve creature, but that’s about it.
You're Ambushed on the Road image 1.0 This was not really playable in Forgotten Realms. It is tempting to look at a card like this and think of all the ways you can use those two modes – but too often neither of the modes is actually worth using up a card. Now, this format does have more reasons to return your own stuff to your hand, but I don’t think that makes this all that much better.
Young Red Dragon image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. It makes you a treasure early, which can actually allow you to play this very Dragon on turn three, which is pretty nice! It can also be used for other purposes too of course. The creature you get can’t block, which is a liability sometimes, but it looks like an effective enough attacker that I’m not too concerned about that.
You Come to a River image 2.0 This was a fine card in Forgotten Realms, and it probably will be here. Neither mode is anything special. The bounce mode will come up the most, and the times where you can use it in response to a combat trick and blow your opponent out will feel nice, as will the times where you can generate some tempo, but keep in mind bouncing things is always card disadvantage. The second mode this has also doesn’t generally net you a card – but sometimes it can close out a game. You’ll end up playing one of these in Blue decks and you’ll feel fine about it.
Eyes of the Beholder image 2.0 This was a mediocre removal spell in Forgotten Realms, and that’s probably what it will be here, too. Six mana is a ton, and while this can kill a whole lot of things, you’ll usually be spending more mana than your opponent spent to cast the creature that you kill. It is something you end up playing when you need the removal, but you basically never want more than one – it just isn’t anywhere close to premium.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Dragonborn Immolator
Dragonborn Immolator image 3.0 A 4-mana 2/4 that can get +1/+0 for two mana is probably a 2.5, so the death trigger here is really sweet, as it will be able to make your next creature more formidable.
Kenku Artificer image 1.0 // 3.5 Artifacts are far from a big theme in the format, but there are enough of them around that this having a target is kind of doable. But I think your typical Blue deck in the format probably has 1-2 Artifacts, and that just..isn’t going to be enough. If you are in UB or UR you will have access to some treasure, but those color pairs still aren’t that into artifacts in general. So…if you end up in a deck that can consistently make this into a 3-mana 1/1 that makes a 3/3 Flyer, you’re going to be super happy, but that deck just won’t happen very often. Drawing this early and not having an artifact to target is going to be an awful feeling.
Young Blue Dragon image 3.5 This is a really good Common for Blue. Again, I know neither side looks that impressive, but being able to use this early as a draw spell, and then playing a meaningful Flyer with a good creature type in the later game is really sweet. After all, it is a 2-for-1!
Kobold Warcaller image 2.0 We have seen a lot of one mana 1/1s that can tap and give haste to things, and they tend to be pretty decent. This is obviously an upgrade, because you don’t actually have to cast your creature for it to get the Haste – you can use this during your opponents end step and then cast the Haste creature on your turn, for example. Plus, the creature will keep haste no matter where it goes! It still isn’t amazing or anything, but seems like a fine one drop for aggressive Red decks.
Guildsworn Prowler image 3.0 I think this is a good Common. A two mana 2/1 with death touch is generally going to be a 2.5, since it is fairly cheap and can trade for anything. When you can draw a card off of this, it will feel particularly absurd. Obviously, if it would draw you a card even if it was blocking, it would probably be a B because it would always be a 2-for-1. But if you do find a way to draw that card, it will feel pretty nice! It can be a nice sacrifice outlet, in addition to being a nice attacker and blocker.
Clever Conjurer image 2.0 This is another Forgotten Realms reprint, and it was fairly unimpressive in that format. It can help you ramp, which is cool, but the fact you can’t use the ability at instant speed is a huge bummer, as it makes the card wayyy worse. It can’t be used to threaten to untap things when your opponent attacks you and things like that.
You Find Some Prisoners image 1.5 So, this either lets you Shatter something, or it lets you take the best card from your opponents top three. While that latter option is definitely sweet, it isn’t actually that powerful, because you’re still just getting back one card with it, and you still have to cast the card you choose. There are enough Artifacts in this set that I think this is actually a pretty reasonable main deck card, where you can just use the “Interrogate” option against an opponent who doesn’t have a target.
Circle of the Land Druid image 1.0 // 2.5 So, this really enables the Black/Green decks in the format, and that’s good – because a two mana 1/1 that returns a land from the graveyard to your hand just…does not seem that good to me. It does mean it is nice to sacrifice and stuff, but this probably needs a build around grade. If you’re in Black/Green this is a solid Common – in the other decks? You don’t want to be playing it.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Wizened Githzerai image 1.5 This doesn’t seem that good to me. Sure, it can chump block or trade and make a creature worse, but chumping is not something you want to be doing a whole lot. And yeah, the -2/-0 sticks around no matter what happens to the creature, but I still feel like this is a two drop you will cut pretty often.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Improvised Weaponry
Hill Giant Herdgorger image 2.5 In Forgotten Realms, if you were in Green, you really needed one of these to help you stabilize against the formats aggro decks, and it did a pretty darn good job between its size and the life gain effect. It will likely fill a similar role in Green decks int his format. All of these big ol’ green creatures that gain you life have been pretty solid in recent formats, and I think that’s true here.
Devoted Paladin image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a pretty solid card, especially if you’re good at going wide, at it looks like Red-White will be able to do that, both with tokens and double team.
Armor of Shadows image 1.5 This is a solid trick. Any time one costs only a single mana, it warrants some serious consideration to make your deck. +1/+0 isn’t the greatest thing ever – your creature really needs decent size already to fully take advantage of this as a trick, but it IS a power boost that will upgrade enough creatures and let them do lethal to an opposing creature. On top of that, it can also save a creature from damage or destroy removal, which is some nice secondary upside.
Unexpected Allies image 1.0 I’m not a huge fan of this, mostly because at Sorcery speed, it is very easy to disrupt. Your opponent need only respond in any number of ways to get a 2-for-1. Now, if you wait until your opponent’s shields are down, this can do some work, since it makes your creature hit harder, and gives double team to whatever you want – and sometimes there will be spicy options. The +2/+0 means that it will be easier for you to at least get a trade with the attack, and the fact you get First Strike sometimes is a nice bonus that makes the creature very hard to block. However, this set seems to have a high power level, and I’m not sure how much value I see in playing something that is easy to mess up.
Undersimplify image 1.5 This is a pretty neat design. So, a counterspell that lets your opponent ignore it for two isn’t usually great in Limited, since you have to have the mana up at the right time and your opponent also has to not have the mana to pay for it. But they soften the blow of your opponent paying 2 to ignore it, since you weaken a creature when you target it with this, whether the spell actually gets countered or not. Now, that’s mostly just a consolation prize, but it does at least mean this does something when your opponent has the mana, unlike most counterspells like this. I think you’ll still cut this reasonably often, though.
Eyes of the Beholder image 2.0 This was a mediocre removal spell in Forgotten Realms, and that’s probably what it will be here, too. Six mana is a ton, and while this can kill a whole lot of things, you’ll usually be spending more mana than your opponent spent to cast the creature that you kill. It is something you end up playing when you need the removal, but you basically never want more than one – it just isn’t anywhere close to premium.
Demogorgon's Clutches image 1.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. It is a Mind Rot with some added value, but the added value is too minimal for it to really be that much better than Mind Rot.
Improvised Weaponry image 2.5 This was pretty nice in Forgotten Realms. It could kill enough creatures in that format that it sort of overperformed. It may not be quite as good here, but 3 mana to do 2 to anything and getting a treasure back is a pretty solid deal.
Gnoll Hunter image 3.0 This was a great two drop in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Ranger Squadron
Prosperous Innkeeper image 3.5 This was really nice in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too! Gaining the life is a big deal, especially in Green/White, and the fact that it ramps and fixes for you is great.
Warriors of Tiamat image 2.5 A 5-mana 4/2 with Haste isn’t something you want to play, but combining haste with Double Team is pretty spicy, since it means unlike other Double Team creatures, you can get that extra copy of the card before your opponent has a chance to untap. The downside, of course, is lots of cheap creatures and removal can trade with this thing, but they still have to find a way to deal with it twice, and that’s pretty nice.
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 Mana filters don’t tend to be great in Limited, but adding a cantrip to a card like this definitely makes me interested. We’ve seen this card in some really artifact-centric sets actually be quite good, but this format doesn’t have any big Artifact theme, so it doesn’t have that benefit here. It is probably mostly just solid.
Ranger Squadron image 2.5 Without Double Team, this is not a very good card – the stats just don’t look good. But, this is a Double Team creature with Flying, and that means yo’ure pretty likely to get that second copy. And yeah, it is two copies of an inefficient creature, but we’ve seen in many Limited formats that any sort of effect that gives you card advantage tends to be good, even if what you’re getting isn’t efficient.
Soulknife Spy image 3.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint, and this was one of the few Blue Commons in that set that I would describe as “Good.” A card that draws you a card when it hits the opponent is pretty sweet when it comes with solid stats, and this definitely does. If you can give it evasion in some way, it becomes a must kill, and even when you aren’t able to do that, it still becomes something your opponent better trade for.
Gnoll Hunter image 3.0 This was a great two drop in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too.
Celestial Unicorn image 2.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a solid little life gain payoff, that goes especially well in the GW deck. It was never super impressive or anything, but hey – it can definitely grow throughout the game in a good GW deck.
Unexpected Windfall image 1.5 This is a card that is great in constructed, but much less impressive in Limited. Spending 4 mana and giving up two cards to get back two cards and a couple of treasure just isn’t as impactful. That doesn’t mean this is bad – but it definitely isn’t something you run in all of your Red decks.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Valiant Farewell
Navigation Orb image 2.0 This is a pretty solid source of fixing, although paying 5 total mana and not impacting the board might be brutal. It is basically a 5 mana colorless cultivate, and that isn’t amazing.
Earth-Cult Elemental image 1.5 This was a bit of a disappointment in Forgotten Realms. It has passable stats, but six drops that didn’t like…gain you life, were kind of a liability in that format. It will probably be a little bit better here, but its ETB ability isn’t that great either. By the time this comes down many players have expendable permanents, so it is mostly the kind of thing your opponent will shrug about. It is passable as a top-curve creature, but that’s about it.
Arcane Archery image 2.0 I don’t normally like 3 mana tricks, even if they give sizable boosts and trample like this. One and two mana tricks are usually where its at. Three mana is a ton, and it means that you have less opening to use a trick, and it means you are taking a greater risk if things go sideways. However, this trick definitely gives back for the risk that you take, since it substantially upgrades your next creature spell.
Demogorgon's Clutches image 1.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. It is a Mind Rot with some added value, but the added value is too minimal for it to really be that much better than Mind Rot.
Valiant Farewell image 2.0 This doesn’t seem like an amazing combat trick. That’s because it costs two mana and only offers +2/+0 to your creature, and without a toughness boost, that means your creature’s chances of surviving combat are significantly lower. Now, it does replace itself, and it also offers a permanent boost to your next creature. And that value certainly helps this card out, but it still means that in a lot of situations you’ll use up this trick and a creature, and end up not really gaining anything on the board. So the tempo doesn’t seem awesome. The times where you can use this and keep your creature alive will feel absurd, though!
Sewer Plague image 3.0 This is premium removal. Sure, -2/-2 for three mana isn’t great, but the fact that the creature keeps getting -1/-1 every turn means that it will often set things in motion for a larger creature to die. It basically can kill things as big of a 3/3 before your opponent gets a chance to do anything, too.
Thieves' Tools image 1.5 This was underwhelming in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too. The UB deck in the format is about making creatures unblockable, and the BR deck likes treasure – but both of those were true in Forgotten Realms and this still didn’t really do enough to make the cut with regularity.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Valor Singer
Kenku Artificer image 1.0 // 3.5 Artifacts are far from a big theme in the format, but there are enough of them around that this having a target is kind of doable. But I think your typical Blue deck in the format probably has 1-2 Artifacts, and that just..isn’t going to be enough. If you are in UB or UR you will have access to some treasure, but those color pairs still aren’t that into artifacts in general. So…if you end up in a deck that can consistently make this into a 3-mana 1/1 that makes a 3/3 Flyer, you’re going to be super happy, but that deck just won’t happen very often. Drawing this early and not having an artifact to target is going to be an awful feeling.
You Find the Villains' Lair image 1.5 This wasn’t especially good in Forgotten Realms. Sure, it has two modes and everything, but neither of them is especially good, and both are fairly situational. This can be Cancel, or a three mana Faithless Looting, and that just isn’t something you’re always in the market for.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Hook Horror image 2.5 This is kind of an Alchemy version of Persist. Basically, you get a 5-mana 3/3 that gives you a 2/2 when it dies, and when that 2/2 dies, you get a 1/1. That’s three bodies on one card, which is great for sacrifice effects and the like. It can also just represent a 2-for-1 or even 3-for-1 in a regular deck.
Valor Singer image 2.5 This looks like it will be a nice common here, just as it was in Forgotten Realms. +1/+0 doesn’t sound like a lot, but you’d be surprised how often that boost can alter your attacks. It can even pump itself, so it is basically a 3-mana 3/3 if that’s what you need.
Devoted Paladin image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a pretty solid card, especially if you’re good at going wide, at it looks like Red-White will be able to do that, both with tokens and double team.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Gnoll Hunter
Carnelian Orb of Dragonkind image 0.0 // 2.0 I’m more interested in this Orb than I was in the Blue one, as giving a Dragon haste is no small thing! That said, I still am not in love with a three mana mana rock that produces only a single color. Not adding to the board can just be so brutal these days. I think this deserves a build around grade. If your deck has 5 or more dragons – and especially a few that are 5 or 6 drops – this is probably a 2.0, but in all other Red decks it is basically unplayable.
Gnoll Hunter image 3.0 This was a great two drop in Forgotten Realms, and it will be here too.
Wizened Githzerai image 1.5 This doesn’t seem that good to me. Sure, it can chump block or trade and make a creature worse, but chumping is not something you want to be doing a whole lot. And yeah, the -2/-0 sticks around no matter what happens to the creature, but I still feel like this is a two drop you will cut pretty often.
Druidic Ritual image 1.0 // 2.0 Another Green card that enables the graveyard payoffs, and it also lets you return something to your hand. That’s..not amazing for a three mana Sorcery. This is probably another build around, because outside of the Black/Green deck I don’t really know why you run this thing. It just gives you some card selection for a clunky cost, so you really need other reasons to load the yard.
Incessant Provocation image 1.0 // 3.0 As usual, the Threaten effect in this set is a build around. There is sacrifice stuff around - Seplucher Ghoul at Common can sacrifice things for free, and if you have cards like that the Provocation will be something you want to play, since you can get rid of their creature permanently and get a bonus on the way there! If you don’t have 3+ ways to sacrifice creatures though, you hope you’re not playing this. It does perpetually force the creature to attack, but that really isn’t going to feel like enough most of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Prophetic Prism
Unexpected Allies image 1.0 I’m not a huge fan of this, mostly because at Sorcery speed, it is very easy to disrupt. Your opponent need only respond in any number of ways to get a 2-for-1. Now, if you wait until your opponent’s shields are down, this can do some work, since it makes your creature hit harder, and gives double team to whatever you want – and sometimes there will be spicy options. The +2/+0 means that it will be easier for you to at least get a trade with the attack, and the fact you get First Strike sometimes is a nice bonus that makes the creature very hard to block. However, this set seems to have a high power level, and I’m not sure how much value I see in playing something that is easy to mess up.
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 Mana filters don’t tend to be great in Limited, but adding a cantrip to a card like this definitely makes me interested. We’ve seen this card in some really artifact-centric sets actually be quite good, but this format doesn’t have any big Artifact theme, so it doesn’t have that benefit here. It is probably mostly just solid.
Armor of Shadows image 1.5 This is a solid trick. Any time one costs only a single mana, it warrants some serious consideration to make your deck. +1/+0 isn’t the greatest thing ever – your creature really needs decent size already to fully take advantage of this as a trick, but it IS a power boost that will upgrade enough creatures and let them do lethal to an opposing creature. On top of that, it can also save a creature from damage or destroy removal, which is some nice secondary upside.
Follow the Tracks image 3.0 This is an interesting take on ramp and fixing. You get to choose one of the Uncommon gates, meaning you can effectively get a land that produces whatever color you need, while also ramping – and the Gate lands all can draw you a card in the late game too. This is certainly a little clunky, but the ramp and fixing it offers is a pretty big deal.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Mace of Disruption
Mace of Disruption image 1.0 The idea is that you have duplicates created by Double Team, and while that is going to happen, the fact that the perpetual +1/+0 is so conditional makes this pretty bad, as the initial boost isn’t really enough to make the card worth playing.
You Come to a River image 2.0 This was a fine card in Forgotten Realms, and it probably will be here. Neither mode is anything special. The bounce mode will come up the most, and the times where you can use it in response to a combat trick and blow your opponent out will feel nice, as will the times where you can generate some tempo, but keep in mind bouncing things is always card disadvantage. The second mode this has also doesn’t generally net you a card – but sometimes it can close out a game. You’ll end up playing one of these in Blue decks and you’ll feel fine about it.
Eyes of the Beholder image 2.0 This was a mediocre removal spell in Forgotten Realms, and that’s probably what it will be here, too. Six mana is a ton, and while this can kill a whole lot of things, you’ll usually be spending more mana than your opponent spent to cast the creature that you kill. It is something you end up playing when you need the removal, but you basically never want more than one – it just isn’t anywhere close to premium.
Pack 1 Pick 13: You Find Some Prisoners
You Find Some Prisoners image 1.5 So, this either lets you Shatter something, or it lets you take the best card from your opponents top three. While that latter option is definitely sweet, it isn’t actually that powerful, because you’re still just getting back one card with it, and you still have to cast the card you choose. There are enough Artifacts in this set that I think this is actually a pretty reasonable main deck card, where you can just use the “Interrogate” option against an opponent who doesn’t have a target.
Wizened Githzerai image 1.5 This doesn’t seem that good to me. Sure, it can chump block or trade and make a creature worse, but chumping is not something you want to be doing a whole lot. And yeah, the -2/-0 sticks around no matter what happens to the creature, but I still feel like this is a two drop you will cut pretty often.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Eyes of the Beholder
Eyes of the Beholder image 2.0 This was a mediocre removal spell in Forgotten Realms, and that’s probably what it will be here, too. Six mana is a ton, and while this can kill a whole lot of things, you’ll usually be spending more mana than your opponent spent to cast the creature that you kill. It is something you end up playing when you need the removal, but you basically never want more than one – it just isn’t anywhere close to premium.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Gnoll Hunting Party
Gale's Redirection image 3.0 This is basically a 5-mana counter spell that then gives you the card that you counter. So, it is sort of a 5-mana hard counter that draws you a card. It will be especially gross if you roll a 15 or higher, since you don’t even have to pay mana! Now, it is still situational, your opponent can sometimes play around something like this and that’s brutal, but I still think it is pretty good.
Sarevok the Usurper image 4.0 Before this Specializes, it is a pretty nice card. Even if you only have a single creature in your graveyard, being able to offer that boost every turn is pretty relevant. Saervok can even pump himself! Then, if your graveyard has some more going on, it becomes even more potent. And obviously, once Saervok specializes, he becomes even more impressive. I don’t actually love the Blue-Black versino of Saervok, but the other three – and especially the Menace one – are pretty scary. A 4/4 Menace that gives Menace and a stats boost to another creature every turn is going to end a lot of games.
Gnoll Hunting Party image 4.0 I think if you can make this cost 5, you feel fine about that, and anything less than that is pretty amazing. The whole Double Team thing will give you another copy of this fairly large creature, and that second copy is going to cost five at the worst, because you had to attack with the Hunting Party to get Double Team to do its thing. A 4/4 with First Strike is not something that can be ignored, and you can get two of them here! This looks pretty good in a deck with lots of creatures.
Moradin's Disciples image 3.5 This sort of White creature has been good in lots of formats. Tapping things down with an attack trigger is just a really great way to get some effective attacks in. And, in this particular case, it also means that it will be easier for you to trigger Double Team, and once you have two Disciples attacking, your opponent is basically never going to block again. The statline is mediocre for sure, but its a powerful 2-for-1, so I don’t care too much.
Poison the Blade image 2.0 I’m never super high on this kind of trick. Yes, it makes any creature trade for anything, and then you draw a card, which is nice. But your creature you use this on is usually also going to be dying in combat, so the advantage you get out of this is less impressive. I mean, it is definitely fine, but I don’t plan on going after it that early, or even always playing it.
Devoted Paladin image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a pretty solid card, especially if you’re good at going wide, at it looks like Red-White will be able to do that, both with tokens and double team.
Contact Other Plane image 2.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint! Over the last year or so, most cards that JUST draw you two cards for 4 mana, even at instant speed, have been really disappointing. Limited has become more and more about adding to the board when you spend mana, and this just doesn’t do it. Now, it isn’t terrible, if you roll a 10 through 20 it is a pretty nice draw spell, and I don’t hate the idea of running one of these in your Blue decks, but you really can’t have that many cards that don’t add to the board and hope to do well.
Vampire Spawn image 3.0 This was a nice little common in Forgotten Realms. It has passable stats and creates a life point difference of 4 just from entering the battlefield. That is surprisingly good!
Hypnotic Pattern image 0.0 These Blue cards that just lower power don’t tend to be very good, and I think that’s true here, even with the perpetual -2/-0. Sure, it costs one, but most of the time you don’t get a card worth of value out of a card like this. Looking at it as “removal” is pretty dangerous, because the creature you use it on will still be able to do pretty much everything a creature can do. Sure, maybe it doesn’t attack or block as well – but it can do both of them. And, using this as a trick isn’t great either, because your creature still needs enough power to kill the thing you use it on.
Hobgoblin Captain image 3.0 This was one of the great two drops in Forgotten Realms, and it will probably be quite good here too! It gets you half way to Pack Tactics on its own, and getting to attack with First Strike is surprisingly easy. This is going to be one of Red’s best commons.
Manticore image 2.0 This wasn’t very impressive in forgotten Realms, and it probably won’t be that good here either. This sort of “kill a damaged creature” effect ends up being pretty narrow, and even when you give the creature Flash, you’ll have a harder time than you might think getting it to do its thing. When you can kill something with this it feels pretty amazing. When you end up having to cast it without triggering the ability, it feels pretty bad.
Arcane Archery image 2.0 I don’t normally like 3 mana tricks, even if they give sizable boosts and trample like this. One and two mana tricks are usually where its at. Three mana is a ton, and it means that you have less opening to use a trick, and it means you are taking a greater risk if things go sideways. However, this trick definitely gives back for the risk that you take, since it substantially upgrades your next creature spell.
Owlbear image 3.5 This was pretty good in Forgotten Realms. This easily sets up a 2-for-1 because of its ETB ability and its size, and it really isn’t too shabby as an attacker.
Patriar's Humiliation image 2.5 So, a one mana instant that does damage to a creature equal to the number of creatures you have in play is usually about a 2.0. It can be really efficient removal, but it requires enough set up that it isn’t premium. This adds the “creature loses all abilities” text to the mix, which means that you can get a bonus effect that keeps that creature from ever having abilities again, which can matter sometimes. More importantly, it means that even in a situation where you can’t quite kill a creature this can do still do something. You do still need to be killing things with this for it to be worth a slot in your deck, but basically the fail case is less awful than usual.
Pack 2 Pick 2: You're Confronted by Robbers
Jaheira, Harper Emissary image 3.5 This starts with solid stats, and has hexproof that will actually matter on occasion. Then, when she specializes, you get to naturalize and get an additional effect. That’s some pretty nice artifact and enchantment hate to run in your main deck, and because it starts out as such a solid two drop, I like the overall package here. Even if you don’t have something to naturalize, her other specialize effects offer decent value.
You're Confronted by Robbers image 3.0 Neither mode is great for the mana investment – but three 1/1 soldiers at instant speed for 4 mana is already enough for this card to be a C at worst. You can use those bodies to ambush block stuff, or just to go really wide if you’re interested in doing that. What’s nice is, if you are already wide enough, you can use this to tap down blockers at the end of your opponent’s turn and go for the win.
Grave Choice image 2.5 This has a neat design, because it tries to get around the downsides most Edict effects have. They tend to feel pretty good early, but when the board gets wide enough, you end up killing something pretty irrelevant. Grave Choice takes away the ability to sacrifice tokens, and now your opponent giving up their weakest creature could come with consequences – and that is that you get a duplicate of the card in your hand. Now, there will be plenty of times when your opponent can just sacrifice something that’s not a big deal and you get nothing, and sometimes getting a copy of their mediocre two drop won’t matter either – but I think the upgrades to this Edict make it better than most of them tend to be in Limited. It isn’t premium removal, but its not bad either.
Unexpected Allies image 1.0 I’m not a huge fan of this, mostly because at Sorcery speed, it is very easy to disrupt. Your opponent need only respond in any number of ways to get a 2-for-1. Now, if you wait until your opponent’s shields are down, this can do some work, since it makes your creature hit harder, and gives double team to whatever you want – and sometimes there will be spicy options. The +2/+0 means that it will be easier for you to at least get a trade with the attack, and the fact you get First Strike sometimes is a nice bonus that makes the creature very hard to block. However, this set seems to have a high power level, and I’m not sure how much value I see in playing something that is easy to mess up.
Dread Linnorm image 3.0 Like a lot of Adventure cards, neither side of this thing blows you away. The trick is expensive for what it does, and fairly situational, and the creature is big and only sort of hard to block. But when you get both on one card, it is a completely different thing. It isn’t that difficult to generate a 2-for-1 with it. You have to pick your spots for the trick to work well to be sure, but it can help your creature win combat and it can even counter a removal spell. So, using that trick in the mid-game, and then slamming this 7/6 late is going to feel pretty good. You probably don’t want more than one copy of this in the end, but I do think that first copy is a pretty nice Common.
Blur image 2.0 This is a decent way to blink a creature. Adding “Draw a Card” to it makes a big difference, because it means it replaces itself – and that’s good, because you won’t always have a way to use this card effectively enough. The UW deck is about blinking creatures and stuff, and obviously this can get the job done in that deck.
Steadfast Unicorn image 2.0 We’ve seen a lot of one drops with this sort of mass pump ability kind of underwhelm in the past, but that Vigilance makes a difference! Your board becoming better at attacking and hanging around to block can really alter races. Now, this still isn’t amazing or anything, but it seems like a solid one drop, where most similar cards were cards you cut more often than you played.
Icewind Stalwart image 1.5 Hill Giant stats aren’t something I love, and I’m not sure the ETB ability here will do something often enough to really overcome that. There are certainly creatures with ETB abilities to abuse and the like, but you still won’t have this matter often enough for it to be anything special.
You Find Some Prisoners image 1.5 So, this either lets you Shatter something, or it lets you take the best card from your opponents top three. While that latter option is definitely sweet, it isn’t actually that powerful, because you’re still just getting back one card with it, and you still have to cast the card you choose. There are enough Artifacts in this set that I think this is actually a pretty reasonable main deck card, where you can just use the “Interrogate” option against an opponent who doesn’t have a target.
Pilgrim's Eye image 3.0 This is pretty sweet at Common. It provides nice fixing while actually adding to the board, and a 1/1 Flyer can even chip in for some damage sometimes. Also another good card to blink over and over for value.
Hill Giant Herdgorger image 2.5 In Forgotten Realms, if you were in Green, you really needed one of these to help you stabilize against the formats aggro decks, and it did a pretty darn good job between its size and the life gain effect. It will likely fill a similar role in Green decks int his format. All of these big ol’ green creatures that gain you life have been pretty solid in recent formats, and I think that’s true here.
Reckless Barbarian image 2.5 This is a bear that has a useful creature type and it has some pretty real upside too. These creatures who can sac for mana are generally not as good as they look. They give you fast mana for sure, but you also have to use up a whole card just to get that mana, and that kind of thing is significantly worse in Limited than it is in constructed formats. You definitely use this mana when it gives you a nice advantage, but giving up something on the board for mana is a very real cost! We’ve seen that with cards like Treasure Hound and Skirk Prospector, and I think that’s probably going to be true here too.
Chain Devil image 2.0 We see these creatures that ETB and make both players sacrifice something a lot, and they are usually pretty medium. It is nice that this one says “nontoken,” as your opponent having a token when you play an effect like this is pretty brutal. Of course, it also means that you can’t sacrifice a token to it either! There are decks in this format that will have good sacrifice fodder and stuff, and I think this will slot in as a decent card in most Black decks.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Dragon's Fire
Krydle of Baldur's Gate image 3.0 Like Kalain, Krydle was a signpost Uncommon in Forgotten Realms, and he’s a signpost Uncommon here too. He offers a ton of value for a two drop, since he lets you get through your opponents defenses, and if it is Krydle getting through, you get to drain a life and Scry 1 every time, which is a pretty big deal. In the late game, he can send in much larger creatures to be unblockable. He’s basically a great early-game threat that also works as a late-game win condition.
Pegasus Guardian image 3.0 I don’t normally love “blink” or “flicker” cards in Limited – but that’s usually only when that’s all a card can do. This card gets the situational benefits of that kind of effect, while also being a nice creature. It can save a creature from removal, or rebuy an ETB trigger, and those things are neat, but still too narrow if its all a card does. It is certainly an overcosted creature, but you’ll often be able to play it and also get the 1/1 Flyer the turn you play it, since it looks at a creature leaving the battlefield in any way, so generating those tokens is going to be pretty nice. I really like that it is both an enabler and a payoff for those types of effects.
Genasi Rabble-Rouser image 3.0 This is a pretty strong Common. A two mana ⅓ with the ability to pump its power for one and a Red is probably pretty close to a 2.5, so obviously adding Double Team to the mix is pretty nice. This is a nice two drop for aggressive Red decks.
Shocking Grasp image 2.0 Normally I’m not a big fan of cards that just lowers power, but if you add a cantrip to pretty much anything, it becomes a substantially better card, and that’s certainly true here! The worst case is you take two less damage and draw a card, and while that’s not amazing, it isn’t the worst thing ever. The times where you manage to actually use this as a full-blown trick that keeps your creature alive and kills theirs is going to feel particularly insane, since you get a two mana 2-for-1! Now, that won’t happen a ton, but it will happen!
Sewer Plague image 3.0 This is premium removal. Sure, -2/-2 for three mana isn’t great, but the fact that the creature keeps getting -1/-1 every turn means that it will often set things in motion for a larger creature to die. It basically can kill things as big of a 3/3 before your opponent gets a chance to do anything, too.
Flaming Fist Officer image 2.5 This starts as a Gray Ogre, and that’s always a pretty awful statline – mostly because plenty of one mana cards can deal with it. However, it likes it when creatures go away, whether they die or get blinked, and that means it will be useful in both BW and UW. Still, it probably isn’t the payoff that really makes those decks good, it is just sort of a decent card.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Dragonborn Looter image 2.0 Having to pay mana to loot is a pretty big downgrade from a merfolk looter type card, even if it is only one mana. Looting is good of course, because it improves the quality of your draws. However, We’ve seen a lot of these lately and they have felt like a 1.5- type card. However, this is a cheap Dragon, something that both UR and UG a going to be interested in, and that definitely matters.
Dragon's Fire image 4.0 This was a premium removal spell in Forgotten Realms, and it will probably be even better here, since this set is way more into Dragon than that one was. Two mana to do 3 at instant speed is already premium, so the dragon upside is pretty amazing.
Giant Fire Beetles image 2.5 Like all the Double Team cards, I think this looks pretty good. Having Menace means it will be able to effectively attack and get you that copy on a lot of boards. Getting both of them will feel great, and that’s especially true if you can augment them in some way.
Ambitious Dragonborn image 1.5 It is a pretty big deal that this checks the graveyard, because if it didn’t, it would be pretty challenging to make this big enough. That said, even with it checking the graveyard, there are going to be times where this is a Hill Giant or worse, and that’s brutal – and the big payoff in the end is just a big vanilla creature – which is fine, but it isn’t the most impressive ceiling either.
Undercellar Myconid image 3.5 I like this common a lot. A 3-mana ½ that gives you a 1/1 token is probably a 2.0 and a 3-mana ½ that taps for mana of any color is probably a 2.5. Stapling both of those together and adding another token to the mix is pretty dang impressive. Even if your opponent takes this down before it can make mana, it leaves two 1/1s around, and if they don’t, you can probably ramp into your 5 drop on turn 4, which is pretty sweet.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Reckless Barbarian
Alaundo the Seer image 3.5 It basically lets you loot – which is always good, but instead of discarding the card, you effectively give it suspend! Now, the suspend will be quite high on expensive cards, which is what you probably want to discard more often than not. There will be times where you just can’t wait for something like this. You also can’t play lands off of this, and if you want to load your graveyard this doesn’t do that either. However, the card selection + the value it can give you in a few turns seems pretty nice.
Kalain, Reclusive Painter image 4.0 This is one of the cards that comes directly from Forgotten Realms, and boy – it was powerful as the signpost Uncommon for the Black/Red treasure deck, a role it fills again here. The Black/Red deck was the best deck in that format, and while this format is substantially different, I think Kalain will still be quite good. A two mana ½ that makes a treasure is something you’d basically always play, so the fact that you get to buff every creature you cast using treasure is a pretty big deal. This looks to be a super strong signpost common again.
Lapis Orb of Dragonkind image 1.0 Three mana rocks usually aren’t that good in Limited, even if they can add mana of any color! And this one can only add Blue. The upside, of course, is you get to scry when you cast a Dragon with it. But that isn’t the most exciting payoff. Sure, Scry 2 is nice, but it isn’t something that pays you off for playing this three mana card that doesn’t add to the board in any real way. I guess if you have some really big dragons to ramp into this gets a little more interesting, but there are better ways to ramp in the format.
Reckless Barbarian image 2.5 This is a bear that has a useful creature type and it has some pretty real upside too. These creatures who can sac for mana are generally not as good as they look. They give you fast mana for sure, but you also have to use up a whole card just to get that mana, and that kind of thing is significantly worse in Limited than it is in constructed formats. You definitely use this mana when it gives you a nice advantage, but giving up something on the board for mana is a very real cost! We’ve seen that with cards like Treasure Hound and Skirk Prospector, and I think that’s probably going to be true here too.
Blur image 2.0 This is a decent way to blink a creature. Adding “Draw a Card” to it makes a big difference, because it means it replaces itself – and that’s good, because you won’t always have a way to use this card effectively enough. The UW deck is about blinking creatures and stuff, and obviously this can get the job done in that deck.
Inspiring Bard image 2.5 Neither mode here is amazing, but you’ll almost always be in a situation where one of them is useful. If you’re behind, you’ll gain life, and if you’re ahead, you’ll buff something so you can send it in.
A-Sepulcher Ghoul image
Contact Other Plane image 2.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint! Over the last year or so, most cards that JUST draw you two cards for 4 mana, even at instant speed, have been really disappointing. Limited has become more and more about adding to the board when you spend mana, and this just doesn’t do it. Now, it isn’t terrible, if you roll a 10 through 20 it is a pretty nice draw spell, and I don’t hate the idea of running one of these in your Blue decks, but you really can’t have that many cards that don’t add to the board and hope to do well.
Tymora's Invoker image 1.5 This has mediocre stats as a two drop, but it is nice that in the extreme late game it can draw you those two cards. If you just keep drawing lands, this helps you fix that! But, it is still quite expensive, and pretty meaningless in the early game.
Pilgrim's Eye image 3.0 This is pretty sweet at Common. It provides nice fixing while actually adding to the board, and a 1/1 Flyer can even chip in for some damage sometimes. Also another good card to blink over and over for value.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Flaming Fist Duskguard
Kenku Artificer image 1.0 // 3.5 Artifacts are far from a big theme in the format, but there are enough of them around that this having a target is kind of doable. But I think your typical Blue deck in the format probably has 1-2 Artifacts, and that just..isn’t going to be enough. If you are in UB or UR you will have access to some treasure, but those color pairs still aren’t that into artifacts in general. So…if you end up in a deck that can consistently make this into a 3-mana 1/1 that makes a 3/3 Flyer, you’re going to be super happy, but that deck just won’t happen very often. Drawing this early and not having an artifact to target is going to be an awful feeling.
Jaheira, Harper Emissary image 3.5 This starts with solid stats, and has hexproof that will actually matter on occasion. Then, when she specializes, you get to naturalize and get an additional effect. That’s some pretty nice artifact and enchantment hate to run in your main deck, and because it starts out as such a solid two drop, I like the overall package here. Even if you don’t have something to naturalize, her other specialize effects offer decent value.
Incessant Provocation image 1.0 // 3.0 As usual, the Threaten effect in this set is a build around. There is sacrifice stuff around - Seplucher Ghoul at Common can sacrifice things for free, and if you have cards like that the Provocation will be something you want to play, since you can get rid of their creature permanently and get a bonus on the way there! If you don’t have 3+ ways to sacrifice creatures though, you hope you’re not playing this. It does perpetually force the creature to attack, but that really isn’t going to feel like enough most of the time.
Water Weird image 3.0 When you hit your opponent with this, you get a pretty good trigger. You either get to grow the Weird, or Surveil 1, and both are pretty nice options.
Lizardfolk Librarians image 3.0 Like all the Double Team cards, this has a built-in 2-for-1. Now, the 2/4 stats aren’t exactly exciting, but the fact you end up Scrying 4 and only using up one card to do it isn’t too bad when added to the statline. You don’t always want to attack with a 2/4, because obviously it has better stats for blocking – but it is hard for most of these Double Team cards to not be solid or better.
Dragonborn Looter image 2.0 Having to pay mana to loot is a pretty big downgrade from a merfolk looter type card, even if it is only one mana. Looting is good of course, because it improves the quality of your draws. However, We’ve seen a lot of these lately and they have felt like a 1.5- type card. However, this is a cheap Dragon, something that both UR and UG a going to be interested in, and that definitely matters.
Flaming Fist Duskguard image 2.0 The boon you get here isn’t that exciting, but yeah – it is staples to a two mana 3/1, and that’s a decent aggressive stat-line. This is probably a bread and butter type two drop for White decks.
Shambling Ghast image 3.0 This was a very nice common for Black in Forgotten Realms. It can really keep your opponent from attacking you early, especially because it can generate 2-for-1s against two X/1s, but just the fact it can block and kill two drops is pretty sweet too. Being able to get treasure out of it is really nice too.
You're Ambushed on the Road image 1.0 This was not really playable in Forgotten Realms. It is tempting to look at a card like this and think of all the ways you can use those two modes – but too often neither of the modes is actually worth using up a card. Now, this format does have more reasons to return your own stuff to your hand, but I don’t think that makes this all that much better.
Undersimplify image 1.5 This is a pretty neat design. So, a counterspell that lets your opponent ignore it for two isn’t usually great in Limited, since you have to have the mana up at the right time and your opponent also has to not have the mana to pay for it. But they soften the blow of your opponent paying 2 to ignore it, since you weaken a creature when you target it with this, whether the spell actually gets countered or not. Now, that’s mostly just a consolation prize, but it does at least mean this does something when your opponent has the mana, unlike most counterspells like this. I think you’ll still cut this reasonably often, though.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Moradin's Disciples
Split the Spoils image 2.0 This is basically a Green Fact or Fiction, which is pretty wild. It takes a whole lot more set up than Fact or Fiction though! You need to have 5 permanent cards in your graveyard to make casting this worth it, since you want to maximize the number of cards you get out of it, and while Black/Green is good at loading up the graveyard, that’s still a pretty big requirement. The upside here is that you’re probably getting at least 2 cards back for three mana, and sometimes you’ll really put your opponent in a tough spot. Basically, this is kind of a roundabout version of the kind of card that returns creatures form your graveyard to your hand – and one that takes extra set up. I think this is probably a nice one-of in graveyard decks in the format, but still not amazing.
Moradin's Disciples image 3.5 This sort of White creature has been good in lots of formats. Tapping things down with an attack trigger is just a really great way to get some effective attacks in. And, in this particular case, it also means that it will be easier for you to trigger Double Team, and once you have two Disciples attacking, your opponent is basically never going to block again. The statline is mediocre for sure, but its a powerful 2-for-1, so I don’t care too much.
Korlessa, Scale Singer image 3.5 As Korlessa tells you, UG is a dragon tribal deck, and this is quite the payoff! The format has enough cheap Dragons that casting them from the top – even in the mid-game is very doable. This also gives you a nice defensive creature who can stall things till you can start casting bigger dragons, and the info it gives you about the top of your library is pretty important too.
Hoard Robber image 2.5 This was a big overperformer in Forgotten Realms, where its stat-line really lined up in such a way that actually blocking it early was a challenge in a sea of 2/1 creatures, so it would generate a fair bit of treasure. It will probably be a little less good here, as part of what made it great was fairly format specific, but it is still a pretty nice Common.
Farideh's Fireball image 2.0 This is another Forgotten Realms reprint. It was a solid removal spell in that format, though it turned out to be a little clunky. It definitely isn’t premium removal, but I think chances are good that this will perform better in this format than it did in Forgotten Realms.
Owlbear image 3.5 This was pretty good in Forgotten Realms. This easily sets up a 2-for-1 because of its ETB ability and its size, and it really isn’t too shabby as an attacker.
Charmed Sleep image 3.0 This is a reprint, and last time we saw it was a pretty good removal spell. In a format with lots of blink effects and some sacrifice stuff this probably gets a little worse, but it still costs three mana to deal with pretty much any threat. Not turning off all its activated or static abilities can be a bummer, but this still looks pretty good for a Blue deck.
Blessed Hippogriff image 3.5 So, if you took the Adventure away here, you’d have a 3.0 Reasonably costed Flyers that can send another creature into the air always play quite well. The Adventure part of the card isn’t always going to come up, but it is nice that if you find a way to use it ahead of turn 4, you get some pretty real value – maybe even a 2-for-1! Even just setting up a chump block that your creature survives is pretty decent use of the card, since you get a whole creature later. Does having the Adventure do enough to get this to a B-? I don’t quite think it does. The problem is just that indestructible isn’t as useful as often as you’d think. Still, this is one of White’s best Commons.
Mace of Disruption image 1.0 The idea is that you have duplicates created by Double Team, and while that is going to happen, the fact that the perpetual +1/+0 is so conditional makes this pretty bad, as the initial boost isn’t really enough to make the card worth playing.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Iron Golem
Alora, Rogue Companion image 2.5 // 3.5 This Specialize creature seems a little more build-aroundy than most of them do. On its own, it can make itself unblockable and hit for three, but then it has to return to your hand, and that’s not…amazing. Obviously, making something else unblockable that has an ETB ability or something is super good, but you won’t always pull that off. Then, once Alora specializes, she adds an extra bonus to the creature returning to your hand, but you still really need to be returning something that gives you value already – either by hitting your opponent hard or retriggering ETB – because the bonuses don’t seem that great for the most part. Basically, if your deck doesn’t have much in the way of ETBs to rebuy, this doesn’t seem especially good, and if you do – she’ll be quite good.
Chain Devil image 2.0 We see these creatures that ETB and make both players sacrifice something a lot, and they are usually pretty medium. It is nice that this one says “nontoken,” as your opponent having a token when you play an effect like this is pretty brutal. Of course, it also means that you can’t sacrifice a token to it either! There are decks in this format that will have good sacrifice fodder and stuff, and I think this will slot in as a decent card in most Black decks.
You Find Some Prisoners image 1.5 So, this either lets you Shatter something, or it lets you take the best card from your opponents top three. While that latter option is definitely sweet, it isn’t actually that powerful, because you’re still just getting back one card with it, and you still have to cast the card you choose. There are enough Artifacts in this set that I think this is actually a pretty reasonable main deck card, where you can just use the “Interrogate” option against an opponent who doesn’t have a target.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Undersimplify image 1.5 This is a pretty neat design. So, a counterspell that lets your opponent ignore it for two isn’t usually great in Limited, since you have to have the mana up at the right time and your opponent also has to not have the mana to pay for it. But they soften the blow of your opponent paying 2 to ignore it, since you weaken a creature when you target it with this, whether the spell actually gets countered or not. Now, that’s mostly just a consolation prize, but it does at least mean this does something when your opponent has the mana, unlike most counterspells like this. I think you’ll still cut this reasonably often, though.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Water Weird image 3.0 When you hit your opponent with this, you get a pretty good trigger. You either get to grow the Weird, or Surveil 1, and both are pretty nice options.
Manticore image 2.0 This wasn’t very impressive in forgotten Realms, and it probably won’t be that good here either. This sort of “kill a damaged creature” effect ends up being pretty narrow, and even when you give the creature Flash, you’ll have a harder time than you might think getting it to do its thing. When you can kill something with this it feels pretty amazing. When you end up having to cast it without triggering the ability, it feels pretty bad.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Dragonborn Immolator
Bag of Holding image 1.5 This is a pretty cool card, but not a particularly good one most of the time. It is sweet that you can loot and get your cards back later, but you just have to spend so much mana to make those things happen, you’ll find yourself unable to spend it pretty frequently until the late game.
Dragonborn Immolator image 3.0 A 4-mana 2/4 that can get +1/+0 for two mana is probably a 2.5, so the death trigger here is really sweet, as it will be able to make your next creature more formidable.
Flaming Fist Officer image 2.5 This starts as a Gray Ogre, and that’s always a pretty awful statline – mostly because plenty of one mana cards can deal with it. However, it likes it when creatures go away, whether they die or get blinked, and that means it will be useful in both BW and UW. Still, it probably isn’t the payoff that really makes those decks good, it is just sort of a decent card.
Soldiers of the Watch image 2.5 It feels pretty hard to give Double Team cards anything lower than a 2.5. This is because they all have serious 2-for-1 potential, and even this fairly underwhelming Double Team creature seems solid.
Water Weird image 3.0 When you hit your opponent with this, you get a pretty good trigger. You either get to grow the Weird, or Surveil 1, and both are pretty nice options.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Summon Undead image 1.5 // 3.0 Here’s another pretty solid reanimation spell. It also mills you, to set up your cards that care about cards in the graveyard, and I like that. There are enough ways to discard cards in this format that I think setting this up is very doable. It probably does need a build around grade, because if you aren’t in a deck with any targets WORTH reanimating, it isn’t worth playing.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Hobgoblin Captain
Poison the Blade image 2.0 I’m never super high on this kind of trick. Yes, it makes any creature trade for anything, and then you draw a card, which is nice. But your creature you use this on is usually also going to be dying in combat, so the advantage you get out of this is less impressive. I mean, it is definitely fine, but I don’t plan on going after it that early, or even always playing it.
Contact Other Plane image 2.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint! Over the last year or so, most cards that JUST draw you two cards for 4 mana, even at instant speed, have been really disappointing. Limited has become more and more about adding to the board when you spend mana, and this just doesn’t do it. Now, it isn’t terrible, if you roll a 10 through 20 it is a pretty nice draw spell, and I don’t hate the idea of running one of these in your Blue decks, but you really can’t have that many cards that don’t add to the board and hope to do well.
Hypnotic Pattern image 0.0 These Blue cards that just lower power don’t tend to be very good, and I think that’s true here, even with the perpetual -2/-0. Sure, it costs one, but most of the time you don’t get a card worth of value out of a card like this. Looking at it as “removal” is pretty dangerous, because the creature you use it on will still be able to do pretty much everything a creature can do. Sure, maybe it doesn’t attack or block as well – but it can do both of them. And, using this as a trick isn’t great either, because your creature still needs enough power to kill the thing you use it on.
Hobgoblin Captain image 3.0 This was one of the great two drops in Forgotten Realms, and it will probably be quite good here too! It gets you half way to Pack Tactics on its own, and getting to attack with First Strike is surprisingly easy. This is going to be one of Red’s best commons.
Manticore image 2.0 This wasn’t very impressive in forgotten Realms, and it probably won’t be that good here either. This sort of “kill a damaged creature” effect ends up being pretty narrow, and even when you give the creature Flash, you’ll have a harder time than you might think getting it to do its thing. When you can kill something with this it feels pretty amazing. When you end up having to cast it without triggering the ability, it feels pretty bad.
Arcane Archery image 2.0 I don’t normally like 3 mana tricks, even if they give sizable boosts and trample like this. One and two mana tricks are usually where its at. Three mana is a ton, and it means that you have less opening to use a trick, and it means you are taking a greater risk if things go sideways. However, this trick definitely gives back for the risk that you take, since it substantially upgrades your next creature spell.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Steadfast Unicorn
Unexpected Allies image 1.0 I’m not a huge fan of this, mostly because at Sorcery speed, it is very easy to disrupt. Your opponent need only respond in any number of ways to get a 2-for-1. Now, if you wait until your opponent’s shields are down, this can do some work, since it makes your creature hit harder, and gives double team to whatever you want – and sometimes there will be spicy options. The +2/+0 means that it will be easier for you to at least get a trade with the attack, and the fact you get First Strike sometimes is a nice bonus that makes the creature very hard to block. However, this set seems to have a high power level, and I’m not sure how much value I see in playing something that is easy to mess up.
Blur image 2.0 This is a decent way to blink a creature. Adding “Draw a Card” to it makes a big difference, because it means it replaces itself – and that’s good, because you won’t always have a way to use this card effectively enough. The UW deck is about blinking creatures and stuff, and obviously this can get the job done in that deck.
Steadfast Unicorn image 2.0 We’ve seen a lot of one drops with this sort of mass pump ability kind of underwhelm in the past, but that Vigilance makes a difference! Your board becoming better at attacking and hanging around to block can really alter races. Now, this still isn’t amazing or anything, but it seems like a solid one drop, where most similar cards were cards you cut more often than you played.
You Find Some Prisoners image 1.5 So, this either lets you Shatter something, or it lets you take the best card from your opponents top three. While that latter option is definitely sweet, it isn’t actually that powerful, because you’re still just getting back one card with it, and you still have to cast the card you choose. There are enough Artifacts in this set that I think this is actually a pretty reasonable main deck card, where you can just use the “Interrogate” option against an opponent who doesn’t have a target.
Chain Devil image 2.0 We see these creatures that ETB and make both players sacrifice something a lot, and they are usually pretty medium. It is nice that this one says “nontoken,” as your opponent having a token when you play an effect like this is pretty brutal. Of course, it also means that you can’t sacrifice a token to it either! There are decks in this format that will have good sacrifice fodder and stuff, and I think this will slot in as a decent card in most Black decks.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Krydle of Baldur's Gate
Krydle of Baldur's Gate image 3.0 Like Kalain, Krydle was a signpost Uncommon in Forgotten Realms, and he’s a signpost Uncommon here too. He offers a ton of value for a two drop, since he lets you get through your opponents defenses, and if it is Krydle getting through, you get to drain a life and Scry 1 every time, which is a pretty big deal. In the late game, he can send in much larger creatures to be unblockable. He’s basically a great early-game threat that also works as a late-game win condition.
Shocking Grasp image 2.0 Normally I’m not a big fan of cards that just lowers power, but if you add a cantrip to pretty much anything, it becomes a substantially better card, and that’s certainly true here! The worst case is you take two less damage and draw a card, and while that’s not amazing, it isn’t the worst thing ever. The times where you manage to actually use this as a full-blown trick that keeps your creature alive and kills theirs is going to feel particularly insane, since you get a two mana 2-for-1! Now, that won’t happen a ton, but it will happen!
Dragonborn Looter image 2.0 Having to pay mana to loot is a pretty big downgrade from a merfolk looter type card, even if it is only one mana. Looting is good of course, because it improves the quality of your draws. However, We’ve seen a lot of these lately and they have felt like a 1.5- type card. However, this is a cheap Dragon, something that both UR and UG a going to be interested in, and that definitely matters.
Ambitious Dragonborn image 1.5 It is a pretty big deal that this checks the graveyard, because if it didn’t, it would be pretty challenging to make this big enough. That said, even with it checking the graveyard, there are going to be times where this is a Hill Giant or worse, and that’s brutal – and the big payoff in the end is just a big vanilla creature – which is fine, but it isn’t the most impressive ceiling either.
Pack 2 Pick 12: You Line Up the Shot
Contact Other Plane image 2.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint! Over the last year or so, most cards that JUST draw you two cards for 4 mana, even at instant speed, have been really disappointing. Limited has become more and more about adding to the board when you spend mana, and this just doesn’t do it. Now, it isn’t terrible, if you roll a 10 through 20 it is a pretty nice draw spell, and I don’t hate the idea of running one of these in your Blue decks, but you really can’t have that many cards that don’t add to the board and hope to do well.
Tymora's Invoker image 1.5 This has mediocre stats as a two drop, but it is nice that in the extreme late game it can draw you those two cards. If you just keep drawing lands, this helps you fix that! But, it is still quite expensive, and pretty meaningless in the early game.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Lizardfolk Librarians
Lizardfolk Librarians image 3.0 Like all the Double Team cards, this has a built-in 2-for-1. Now, the 2/4 stats aren’t exactly exciting, but the fact you end up Scrying 4 and only using up one card to do it isn’t too bad when added to the statline. You don’t always want to attack with a 2/4, because obviously it has better stats for blocking – but it is hard for most of these Double Team cards to not be solid or better.
Undersimplify image 1.5 This is a pretty neat design. So, a counterspell that lets your opponent ignore it for two isn’t usually great in Limited, since you have to have the mana up at the right time and your opponent also has to not have the mana to pay for it. But they soften the blow of your opponent paying 2 to ignore it, since you weaken a creature when you target it with this, whether the spell actually gets countered or not. Now, that’s mostly just a consolation prize, but it does at least mean this does something when your opponent has the mana, unlike most counterspells like this. I think you’ll still cut this reasonably often, though.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Mace of Disruption
Mace of Disruption image 1.0 The idea is that you have duplicates created by Double Team, and while that is going to happen, the fact that the perpetual +1/+0 is so conditional makes this pretty bad, as the initial boost isn’t really enough to make the card worth playing.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Priest of Ancient Lore
Raphael, Fiendish Savior image 5.0 Well, this is strong. Even if your deck has 0 other Demons, Devils, Imps, or Tieflings, you get a 5-mana 4/4 Flyer that gives you a 1/1 Devil on your end step if you had a creature enter the graveyard. And, with Raphael in play, it will be a 2/2 with lifelink! Those devil tokens are always really pesky, and that’s going to be the case here. Chances are good your deck has several more creatures with those types too. That creature can go to the graveyard by any means – whether it is milled there, or one of your creatures dies.
Kalain, Reclusive Painter image 4.0 This is one of the cards that comes directly from Forgotten Realms, and boy – it was powerful as the signpost Uncommon for the Black/Red treasure deck, a role it fills again here. The Black/Red deck was the best deck in that format, and while this format is substantially different, I think Kalain will still be quite good. A two mana ½ that makes a treasure is something you’d basically always play, so the fact that you get to buff every creature you cast using treasure is a pretty big deal. This looks to be a super strong signpost common again.
Rally Maneuver image 1.0 This trick wasn’t very impressive in Forgotten Realms. It has 2-for-1 potential to be sure, but you’ll be surprised by how often things don’t line up the way you need them to for this to actually do something meaningful.
Trelasarra, Moon Dancer image 3.5 This is our last signpost Uncommon, and it is another one that is a reprint from Forgotten Realms. It offers a very strong Life gain payoff, as it is basically a better Ajani’s Pridemate, since you get to Scry in addition to getting a counter! A turn two Trelassara can quickly get out of control in a Green/White deck, and it can even be very valuable in the late game.
Dread Linnorm image 3.0 Like a lot of Adventure cards, neither side of this thing blows you away. The trick is expensive for what it does, and fairly situational, and the creature is big and only sort of hard to block. But when you get both on one card, it is a completely different thing. It isn’t that difficult to generate a 2-for-1 with it. You have to pick your spots for the trick to work well to be sure, but it can help your creature win combat and it can even counter a removal spell. So, using that trick in the mid-game, and then slamming this 7/6 late is going to feel pretty good. You probably don’t want more than one copy of this in the end, but I do think that first copy is a pretty nice Common.
Deadly Dispute image 3.0 This is a powerful reprint. Giving up a creature or artifact for two cards and a treasure is an excellent deal, especially if you are sacrificing a treasure in the first place, and that’s something you’ll be able to do, especially in Black-Red. This also enables you to discard stuff you want to reanimate or whatever.
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 Mana filters don’t tend to be great in Limited, but adding a cantrip to a card like this definitely makes me interested. We’ve seen this card in some really artifact-centric sets actually be quite good, but this format doesn’t have any big Artifact theme, so it doesn’t have that benefit here. It is probably mostly just solid.
Priest of Ancient Lore image 4.0 This is a Forgotten Realms Reprint, and it was White’s best Common in that set, and I think that will be true here too. It will give you a lot of 2-for-1s, and it gains you life which the GW deck is extra interested in. Sure, it doesn’t have Flying like inspiring Overseer, but that card was absurd – this one is merely a very very good Common, instead of a format-warping one.
Devoted Paladin image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a pretty solid card, especially if you’re good at going wide, at it looks like Red-White will be able to do that, both with tokens and double team.
Undersimplify image 1.5 This is a pretty neat design. So, a counterspell that lets your opponent ignore it for two isn’t usually great in Limited, since you have to have the mana up at the right time and your opponent also has to not have the mana to pay for it. But they soften the blow of your opponent paying 2 to ignore it, since you weaken a creature when you target it with this, whether the spell actually gets countered or not. Now, that’s mostly just a consolation prize, but it does at least mean this does something when your opponent has the mana, unlike most counterspells like this. I think you’ll still cut this reasonably often, though.
Hobgoblin Captain image 3.0 This was one of the great two drops in Forgotten Realms, and it will probably be quite good here too! It gets you half way to Pack Tactics on its own, and getting to attack with First Strike is surprisingly easy. This is going to be one of Red’s best commons.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Band Together image 3.5 We have seen cards that cost the same and only let one creature do damage equal to their power to something, and they tend to be pretty close to premium. This lets you have two creatures do the damage, which is significant for two reasons. First, it means you can find more situations where this will function as removal. Second, it makes you less vulnerable to your opponent interacting, since now they can kill one of your creatures and you can still do some damage. I think the whole “two creature” side of things is enough to make this premium.
Spiked Pit Trap image 1.5 This was not particularly good in Forgotten Realms. You spend a lot of mana for a mediocre removal spell, and even getting the treasure back isn’t enough.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Minimus Containment
Oyaminartok, Polar Werebear image 5.0 The whole hexproof part makes it hard for your opponent to find a way around it at first, and then when you start cranking out food you end up netting mana and gaining cards, which is pretty darn powerful. The mana can only be used on Blue creatures, but that’s what this Polar Bear will be getting you, so it works out quite nicely. Many of the creatures in the spellbook actually cost three mana or less, so you can even cast one of them right away! Basically, this is a value engine that can pretty effectively fuel itself – and a creature with great stats.
Grim Wanderer image 1.5 This was in Forgotten Realms, and it wasn’t very good. While the creature is obviously above rate, setting it up so you can cast it is harder than you might think, so most of the time when you do finally cast it, it isn’t really that imposing as a 5/3. Lots of three drops in the format can easily trade with it.
Ray of Frost image 3.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and a pretty nice one. Against a Red creature it is really absurdly strong, since it shuts off the card’s ability and taps it down at instant speed. If it always did that, it would probably be a 4.0 – it is THAT good of removal. Now, the card is far less powerful against non-Red creatures, since it doesn’t tap the thing down or take away the ability, so you have to wait until your opponent has something tapped down for it to do its work.
Contact Other Plane image 2.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint! Over the last year or so, most cards that JUST draw you two cards for 4 mana, even at instant speed, have been really disappointing. Limited has become more and more about adding to the board when you spend mana, and this just doesn’t do it. Now, it isn’t terrible, if you roll a 10 through 20 it is a pretty nice draw spell, and I don’t hate the idea of running one of these in your Blue decks, but you really can’t have that many cards that don’t add to the board and hope to do well.
Minimus Containment image 2.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint. It is decent removal – being able to deal with any permanent type is pretty nice. Still, it never really felt premium, since you are giving your opponent back some very real value, especially when you use this early, as it can ramp them into more powerful spells.
Baleful Beholder image 1.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint. It was pretty mediocre in that set. There were too many situations where neither ETB mattered, and when this is a 6-mana 6/5 and not much else, it feels pretty bad. I think it looks like it will perform similarly in this set.
Spiked Pit Trap image 1.5 This was not particularly good in Forgotten Realms. You spend a lot of mana for a mediocre removal spell, and even getting the treasure back isn’t enough.
Kobold Warcaller image 2.0 We have seen a lot of one mana 1/1s that can tap and give haste to things, and they tend to be pretty decent. This is obviously an upgrade, because you don’t actually have to cast your creature for it to get the Haste – you can use this during your opponents end step and then cast the Haste creature on your turn, for example. Plus, the creature will keep haste no matter where it goes! It still isn’t amazing or anything, but seems like a fine one drop for aggressive Red decks.
You Come to a River image 2.0 This was a fine card in Forgotten Realms, and it probably will be here. Neither mode is anything special. The bounce mode will come up the most, and the times where you can use it in response to a combat trick and blow your opponent out will feel nice, as will the times where you can generate some tempo, but keep in mind bouncing things is always card disadvantage. The second mode this has also doesn’t generally net you a card – but sometimes it can close out a game. You’ll end up playing one of these in Blue decks and you’ll feel fine about it.
Steadfast Paladin image 2.5 This is a reprint that was nice in the Lifegain deck in Forgotten Realms. It is certainly nothing special, but it does enough that you play it most of the time in White.
Poison the Blade image 2.0 I’m never super high on this kind of trick. Yes, it makes any creature trade for anything, and then you draw a card, which is nice. But your creature you use this on is usually also going to be dying in combat, so the advantage you get out of this is less impressive. I mean, it is definitely fine, but I don’t plan on going after it that early, or even always playing it.
Dueling Rapier image 1.5 This ended up being surprisingly solid in Forgotten Realms, but that format turned out to be fairly aggressive, and there was an Equipment deck. Without that synergy, this is basically a one mana trick that gives +2/+0 and then the boost sticks around. That can definitely be good, but because it doesn’t offer any boost that will assist your creature in SURVIVING combat, it is a bit more limited. Your creature will usually just go down, even if it takes another creature with it. Then, you have to deal with Equip 4, which is pretty ugly. I mean, you definitely end up playing one of these in really aggressive Red decks, but you cut it a fair bit too.
Young Blue Dragon image 3.5 This is a really good Common for Blue. Again, I know neither side looks that impressive, but being able to use this early as a draw spell, and then playing a meaningful Flyer with a good creature type in the later game is really sweet. After all, it is a 2-for-1!
Pack 3 Pick 3: Genasi Rabble-Rouser
Bonecaller Cleric image 3.0 So, here is one of the reanimation effects that I mentioned earlier. It is pretty nice that this is a two drop that can do two-drop things early, and then if you load up the ‘yard it can reanimate something like Black Dragon or something even better! This will work the best in BG, which is quite good at milling itself.
Split the Spoils image 2.0 This is basically a Green Fact or Fiction, which is pretty wild. It takes a whole lot more set up than Fact or Fiction though! You need to have 5 permanent cards in your graveyard to make casting this worth it, since you want to maximize the number of cards you get out of it, and while Black/Green is good at loading up the graveyard, that’s still a pretty big requirement. The upside here is that you’re probably getting at least 2 cards back for three mana, and sometimes you’ll really put your opponent in a tough spot. Basically, this is kind of a roundabout version of the kind of card that returns creatures form your graveyard to your hand – and one that takes extra set up. I think this is probably a nice one-of in graveyard decks in the format, but still not amazing.
Summon Undead image 1.5 // 3.0 Here’s another pretty solid reanimation spell. It also mills you, to set up your cards that care about cards in the graveyard, and I like that. There are enough ways to discard cards in this format that I think setting this up is very doable. It probably does need a build around grade, because if you aren’t in a deck with any targets WORTH reanimating, it isn’t worth playing.
Genasi Rabble-Rouser image 3.0 This is a pretty strong Common. A two mana ⅓ with the ability to pump its power for one and a Red is probably pretty close to a 2.5, so obviously adding Double Team to the mix is pretty nice. This is a nice two drop for aggressive Red decks.
Sylvan Shepherd image 2.0 This has passable stats and it is a repeatable source of life gain, which GW is especially interested in.
Shambling Ghast image 3.0 This was a very nice common for Black in Forgotten Realms. It can really keep your opponent from attacking you early, especially because it can generate 2-for-1s against two X/1s, but just the fact it can block and kill two drops is pretty sweet too. Being able to get treasure out of it is really nice too.
Minimus Containment image 2.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint. It is decent removal – being able to deal with any permanent type is pretty nice. Still, it never really felt premium, since you are giving your opponent back some very real value, especially when you use this early, as it can ramp them into more powerful spells.
Air-Cult Elemental image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it was a fairly disappointing card in that format. In fact, Blue in general was very underpowered in that set! I mean, I normally love a creature that enters the battlefield and bounces something, and if this format is slow enough this will probably be better than it was in Forgotten Realms – but it is hard to get away from my skepticism.
Steadfast Unicorn image 2.0 We’ve seen a lot of one drops with this sort of mass pump ability kind of underwhelm in the past, but that Vigilance makes a difference! Your board becoming better at attacking and hanging around to block can really alter races. Now, this still isn’t amazing or anything, but it seems like a solid one drop, where most similar cards were cards you cut more often than you played.
Blur image 2.0 This is a decent way to blink a creature. Adding “Draw a Card” to it makes a big difference, because it means it replaces itself – and that’s good, because you won’t always have a way to use this card effectively enough. The UW deck is about blinking creatures and stuff, and obviously this can get the job done in that deck.
Chain Devil image 2.0 We see these creatures that ETB and make both players sacrifice something a lot, and they are usually pretty medium. It is nice that this one says “nontoken,” as your opponent having a token when you play an effect like this is pretty brutal. Of course, it also means that you can’t sacrifice a token to it either! There are decks in this format that will have good sacrifice fodder and stuff, and I think this will slot in as a decent card in most Black decks.
Ambitious Dragonborn image 1.5 It is a pretty big deal that this checks the graveyard, because if it didn’t, it would be pretty challenging to make this big enough. That said, even with it checking the graveyard, there are going to be times where this is a Hill Giant or worse, and that’s brutal – and the big payoff in the end is just a big vanilla creature – which is fine, but it isn’t the most impressive ceiling either.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Priest of Ancient Lore
Ghost Lantern image 3.0 This looks like a pretty nice Adventure Equipment. Neither side is going to be great, but being able to use it to return a creature, and then playing an Equipment seems pretty good. While you could play this early, a lot of the time I think it will be better to wait until you can use the Adventure and then cast the Equipment. The equipment won’t offer a boost at all initially, but as the game progresses, it will start putting counters on your stuff, and that seems pretty strong. It feels like you will get a full card of value out of each side of this.
Emerald Dragon image 2.0 Neither half of this card is super exciting. Only countering activated or triggered abilities from noncreatures just won’t come up very much, so you’re mostly paying for a clunky Dragon that will occasionally be able to use its adventure.
Hill Giant Herdgorger image 2.5 In Forgotten Realms, if you were in Green, you really needed one of these to help you stabilize against the formats aggro decks, and it did a pretty darn good job between its size and the life gain effect. It will likely fill a similar role in Green decks int his format. All of these big ol’ green creatures that gain you life have been pretty solid in recent formats, and I think that’s true here.
Priest of Ancient Lore image 4.0 This is a Forgotten Realms Reprint, and it was White’s best Common in that set, and I think that will be true here too. It will give you a lot of 2-for-1s, and it gains you life which the GW deck is extra interested in. Sure, it doesn’t have Flying like inspiring Overseer, but that card was absurd – this one is merely a very very good Common, instead of a format-warping one.
Icewind Stalwart image 1.5 Hill Giant stats aren’t something I love, and I’m not sure the ETB ability here will do something often enough to really overcome that. There are certainly creatures with ETB abilities to abuse and the like, but you still won’t have this matter often enough for it to be anything special.
Summon Undead image 1.5 // 3.0 Here’s another pretty solid reanimation spell. It also mills you, to set up your cards that care about cards in the graveyard, and I like that. There are enough ways to discard cards in this format that I think setting this up is very doable. It probably does need a build around grade, because if you aren’t in a deck with any targets WORTH reanimating, it isn’t worth playing.
Clever Conjurer image 2.0 This is another Forgotten Realms reprint, and it was fairly unimpressive in that format. It can help you ramp, which is cool, but the fact you can’t use the ability at instant speed is a huge bummer, as it makes the card wayyy worse. It can’t be used to threaten to untap things when your opponent attacks you and things like that.
Young Red Dragon image 3.0 This is a pretty nice Common. It makes you a treasure early, which can actually allow you to play this very Dragon on turn three, which is pretty nice! It can also be used for other purposes too of course. The creature you get can’t block, which is a liability sometimes, but it looks like an effective enough attacker that I’m not too concerned about that.
Sylvan Shepherd image 2.0 This has passable stats and it is a repeatable source of life gain, which GW is especially interested in.
Ettercap image 2.5 Always nice to have a main deck Plummet that can also be a creature when you don’t have a target. Like most of the Commone Adventure creatures in this set, neither side of the card is anything special, but the fact this can do both – and sometimes get you a 2-for-1 – makes this very playable.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Minimus Containment
Stick Together image 0.0 This is a pretty wacky Wrath effect. Perhaps a little too wacky! You’ll frequently be able to hold on to some stuff, but so will your opponent. You don’t really have enough control over how this is going to go for this to be something I really want to play most of the time. It can be powerful, but there will be significant times where it doesn’t do enough or worse – it does more good for your opponent than you!
Dream Fracture image 1.5 I don’t think I’m in for this. This is basically Cancel, a card that usually just isn’t good enough in Limited most of the time. A three mana hard counter needs to do something extra usually to be playable in Limited, and the extra here isn’t that great – both you and your opponent draw a card, so you sort of break even. The cost of leaving mana up, especially two mana of the same color, can be a pretty big one. And yeah, you probably get to untap and use your new card first, but this is still basically just Cancel.
Alora, Rogue Companion image 2.5 // 3.5 This Specialize creature seems a little more build-aroundy than most of them do. On its own, it can make itself unblockable and hit for three, but then it has to return to your hand, and that’s not…amazing. Obviously, making something else unblockable that has an ETB ability or something is super good, but you won’t always pull that off. Then, once Alora specializes, she adds an extra bonus to the creature returning to your hand, but you still really need to be returning something that gives you value already – either by hitting your opponent hard or retriggering ETB – because the bonuses don’t seem that great for the most part. Basically, if your deck doesn’t have much in the way of ETBs to rebuy, this doesn’t seem especially good, and if you do – she’ll be quite good.
Valiant Farewell image 2.0 This doesn’t seem like an amazing combat trick. That’s because it costs two mana and only offers +2/+0 to your creature, and without a toughness boost, that means your creature’s chances of surviving combat are significantly lower. Now, it does replace itself, and it also offers a permanent boost to your next creature. And that value certainly helps this card out, but it still means that in a lot of situations you’ll use up this trick and a creature, and end up not really gaining anything on the board. So the tempo doesn’t seem awesome. The times where you can use this and keep your creature alive will feel absurd, though!
Unexpected Allies image 1.0 I’m not a huge fan of this, mostly because at Sorcery speed, it is very easy to disrupt. Your opponent need only respond in any number of ways to get a 2-for-1. Now, if you wait until your opponent’s shields are down, this can do some work, since it makes your creature hit harder, and gives double team to whatever you want – and sometimes there will be spicy options. The +2/+0 means that it will be easier for you to at least get a trade with the attack, and the fact you get First Strike sometimes is a nice bonus that makes the creature very hard to block. However, this set seems to have a high power level, and I’m not sure how much value I see in playing something that is easy to mess up.
Dread Linnorm image 3.0 Like a lot of Adventure cards, neither side of this thing blows you away. The trick is expensive for what it does, and fairly situational, and the creature is big and only sort of hard to block. But when you get both on one card, it is a completely different thing. It isn’t that difficult to generate a 2-for-1 with it. You have to pick your spots for the trick to work well to be sure, but it can help your creature win combat and it can even counter a removal spell. So, using that trick in the mid-game, and then slamming this 7/6 late is going to feel pretty good. You probably don’t want more than one copy of this in the end, but I do think that first copy is a pretty nice Common.
You Find the Villains' Lair image 1.5 This wasn’t especially good in Forgotten Realms. Sure, it has two modes and everything, but neither of them is especially good, and both are fairly situational. This can be Cancel, or a three mana Faithless Looting, and that just isn’t something you’re always in the market for.
Flaming Fist Officer image 2.5 This starts as a Gray Ogre, and that’s always a pretty awful statline – mostly because plenty of one mana cards can deal with it. However, it likes it when creatures go away, whether they die or get blinked, and that means it will be useful in both BW and UW. Still, it probably isn’t the payoff that really makes those decks good, it is just sort of a decent card.
Cloak of the Bat image 1.5 This sort of Equipment always seems to underwhelm. It feels like it should actually do something nice pretty often, but it just doesn’t. If you have a big ol’ creature it feels pretty good, but the awkward thing about the card is that if you want to take advantage of the Haste end of thing, you need to have the mana available to equip it to whatever new creature you play. The creature also has to already be pretty good for these keywords to do their job.
Minimus Containment image 2.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint. It is decent removal – being able to deal with any permanent type is pretty nice. Still, it never really felt premium, since you are giving your opponent back some very real value, especially when you use this early, as it can ramp them into more powerful spells.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Priest of Ancient Lore
Portable Hole image 1.5 This is a reprint from Forgotten Realms, and it was pretty mediocre in that Limited format. You can definitely play it in your White decks and it usually won’t feel horrible, but there will be some games where you have no real targets for this. Your typical Limited deck will probably have 4-5 things it can hit, and that’s a little too narrow.
You Meet in a Tavern image 2.0 This was way too clunky in Forgotten Realms, but I imagine it will be a little better here. Each of the modes is definitely appealing, since the first option will regularly draw you 2+ cards, and if you already have a developed board, the +2/+2 can do some serious work.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Genasi Rabble-Rouser image 3.0 This is a pretty strong Common. A two mana ⅓ with the ability to pump its power for one and a Red is probably pretty close to a 2.5, so obviously adding Double Team to the mix is pretty nice. This is a nice two drop for aggressive Red decks.
Soldiers of the Watch image 2.5 It feels pretty hard to give Double Team cards anything lower than a 2.5. This is because they all have serious 2-for-1 potential, and even this fairly underwhelming Double Team creature seems solid.
Priest of Ancient Lore image 4.0 This is a Forgotten Realms Reprint, and it was White’s best Common in that set, and I think that will be true here too. It will give you a lot of 2-for-1s, and it gains you life which the GW deck is extra interested in. Sure, it doesn’t have Flying like inspiring Overseer, but that card was absurd – this one is merely a very very good Common, instead of a format-warping one.
Giant Fire Beetles image 2.5 Like all the Double Team cards, I think this looks pretty good. Having Menace means it will be able to effectively attack and get you that copy on a lot of boards. Getting both of them will feel great, and that’s especially true if you can augment them in some way.
Water Weird image 3.0 When you hit your opponent with this, you get a pretty good trigger. You either get to grow the Weird, or Surveil 1, and both are pretty nice options.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Genasi Rabble-Rouser
Fraying Line image 0.0 This thing is pretty wacky, but to sum up: Every upkeep it exiles everything that doesn’t have a rope counter on it, unless the player whose turn it is pays two generic mana. Paying that mana also lets them put a rope counter on something. So uh..yeah, this being symmetrical is the big problem, because you just can’t control this enough to have it really be great. Sure, your first turn after you play it you can just not pay 2, but you and your opponent both keep your best creatures, and if your creature isn’t already the best one, that’s pretty miserable. This will often just lead to players paying 2 every upkeep until it is more advantageous for one of them to just exile everything, and I just…don’t like how little control you have over it. I’m not playing this.
Rally Maneuver image 1.0 This trick wasn’t very impressive in Forgotten Realms. It has 2-for-1 potential to be sure, but you’ll be surprised by how often things don’t line up the way you need them to for this to actually do something meaningful.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Baleful Beholder image 1.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint. It was pretty mediocre in that set. There were too many situations where neither ETB mattered, and when this is a 6-mana 6/5 and not much else, it feels pretty bad. I think it looks like it will perform similarly in this set.
Soldiers of the Watch image 2.5 It feels pretty hard to give Double Team cards anything lower than a 2.5. This is because they all have serious 2-for-1 potential, and even this fairly underwhelming Double Team creature seems solid.
Dragonborn Looter image 2.0 Having to pay mana to loot is a pretty big downgrade from a merfolk looter type card, even if it is only one mana. Looting is good of course, because it improves the quality of your draws. However, We’ve seen a lot of these lately and they have felt like a 1.5- type card. However, this is a cheap Dragon, something that both UR and UG a going to be interested in, and that definitely matters.
Eyes of the Beholder image 2.0 This was a mediocre removal spell in Forgotten Realms, and that’s probably what it will be here, too. Six mana is a ton, and while this can kill a whole lot of things, you’ll usually be spending more mana than your opponent spent to cast the creature that you kill. It is something you end up playing when you need the removal, but you basically never want more than one – it just isn’t anywhere close to premium.
Genasi Rabble-Rouser image 3.0 This is a pretty strong Common. A two mana ⅓ with the ability to pump its power for one and a Red is probably pretty close to a 2.5, so obviously adding Double Team to the mix is pretty nice. This is a nice two drop for aggressive Red decks.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Meteor Golem
Meteor Golem image 2.5 7 is definitely a lot, but the fact it can come down and kill any nonland permanent is a big deal. Not all decks will really want a 7 drop, but it does seem like ramping is a pretty legit strategy in this format, in which case this will be pretty sweet. It also benefits from lots of cards that let you abuse enter the battlefield abilities.
You Come to a River image 2.0 This was a fine card in Forgotten Realms, and it probably will be here. Neither mode is anything special. The bounce mode will come up the most, and the times where you can use it in response to a combat trick and blow your opponent out will feel nice, as will the times where you can generate some tempo, but keep in mind bouncing things is always card disadvantage. The second mode this has also doesn’t generally net you a card – but sometimes it can close out a game. You’ll end up playing one of these in Blue decks and you’ll feel fine about it.
Pilgrim's Eye image 3.0 This is pretty sweet at Common. It provides nice fixing while actually adding to the board, and a 1/1 Flyer can even chip in for some damage sometimes. Also another good card to blink over and over for value.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Inspiring Bard image 2.5 Neither mode here is amazing, but you’ll almost always be in a situation where one of them is useful. If you’re behind, you’ll gain life, and if you’re ahead, you’ll buff something so you can send it in.
Jaded Sell-Sword image 2.0 Ramping into Treasure with this felt decent in Forgotten Realms, but it definitely wasn’t amazing. It can come down and attack on almost any board when you do get it those two keyword abilities, but when it is just a 4-mana 4/3 it feels pretty bad, and that happens a little too often.
Follow the Tracks image 3.0 This is an interesting take on ramp and fixing. You get to choose one of the Uncommon gates, meaning you can effectively get a land that produces whatever color you need, while also ramping – and the Gate lands all can draw you a card in the late game too. This is certainly a little clunky, but the ramp and fixing it offers is a pretty big deal.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Devoted Paladin
Trelasarra, Moon Dancer image 3.5 This is our last signpost Uncommon, and it is another one that is a reprint from Forgotten Realms. It offers a very strong Life gain payoff, as it is basically a better Ajani’s Pridemate, since you get to Scry in addition to getting a counter! A turn two Trelassara can quickly get out of control in a Green/White deck, and it can even be very valuable in the late game.
Deadly Dispute image 3.0 This is a powerful reprint. Giving up a creature or artifact for two cards and a treasure is an excellent deal, especially if you are sacrificing a treasure in the first place, and that’s something you’ll be able to do, especially in Black-Red. This also enables you to discard stuff you want to reanimate or whatever.
Devoted Paladin image 2.0 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint, and it is a pretty solid card, especially if you’re good at going wide, at it looks like Red-White will be able to do that, both with tokens and double team.
Undersimplify image 1.5 This is a pretty neat design. So, a counterspell that lets your opponent ignore it for two isn’t usually great in Limited, since you have to have the mana up at the right time and your opponent also has to not have the mana to pay for it. But they soften the blow of your opponent paying 2 to ignore it, since you weaken a creature when you target it with this, whether the spell actually gets countered or not. Now, that’s mostly just a consolation prize, but it does at least mean this does something when your opponent has the mana, unlike most counterspells like this. I think you’ll still cut this reasonably often, though.
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Spiked Pit Trap image 1.5 This was not particularly good in Forgotten Realms. You spend a lot of mana for a mediocre removal spell, and even getting the treasure back isn’t enough.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Dueling Rapier
Contact Other Plane image 2.0 Another Forgotten Realms reprint! Over the last year or so, most cards that JUST draw you two cards for 4 mana, even at instant speed, have been really disappointing. Limited has become more and more about adding to the board when you spend mana, and this just doesn’t do it. Now, it isn’t terrible, if you roll a 10 through 20 it is a pretty nice draw spell, and I don’t hate the idea of running one of these in your Blue decks, but you really can’t have that many cards that don’t add to the board and hope to do well.
Baleful Beholder image 1.5 This is a Forgotten Realms reprint. It was pretty mediocre in that set. There were too many situations where neither ETB mattered, and when this is a 6-mana 6/5 and not much else, it feels pretty bad. I think it looks like it will perform similarly in this set.
You Come to a River image 2.0 This was a fine card in Forgotten Realms, and it probably will be here. Neither mode is anything special. The bounce mode will come up the most, and the times where you can use it in response to a combat trick and blow your opponent out will feel nice, as will the times where you can generate some tempo, but keep in mind bouncing things is always card disadvantage. The second mode this has also doesn’t generally net you a card – but sometimes it can close out a game. You’ll end up playing one of these in Blue decks and you’ll feel fine about it.
Poison the Blade image 2.0 I’m never super high on this kind of trick. Yes, it makes any creature trade for anything, and then you draw a card, which is nice. But your creature you use this on is usually also going to be dying in combat, so the advantage you get out of this is less impressive. I mean, it is definitely fine, but I don’t plan on going after it that early, or even always playing it.
Dueling Rapier image 1.5 This ended up being surprisingly solid in Forgotten Realms, but that format turned out to be fairly aggressive, and there was an Equipment deck. Without that synergy, this is basically a one mana trick that gives +2/+0 and then the boost sticks around. That can definitely be good, but because it doesn’t offer any boost that will assist your creature in SURVIVING combat, it is a bit more limited. Your creature will usually just go down, even if it takes another creature with it. Then, you have to deal with Equip 4, which is pretty ugly. I mean, you definitely end up playing one of these in really aggressive Red decks, but you cut it a fair bit too.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Steadfast Unicorn
Split the Spoils image 2.0 This is basically a Green Fact or Fiction, which is pretty wild. It takes a whole lot more set up than Fact or Fiction though! You need to have 5 permanent cards in your graveyard to make casting this worth it, since you want to maximize the number of cards you get out of it, and while Black/Green is good at loading up the graveyard, that’s still a pretty big requirement. The upside here is that you’re probably getting at least 2 cards back for three mana, and sometimes you’ll really put your opponent in a tough spot. Basically, this is kind of a roundabout version of the kind of card that returns creatures form your graveyard to your hand – and one that takes extra set up. I think this is probably a nice one-of in graveyard decks in the format, but still not amazing.
Summon Undead image 1.5 // 3.0 Here’s another pretty solid reanimation spell. It also mills you, to set up your cards that care about cards in the graveyard, and I like that. There are enough ways to discard cards in this format that I think setting this up is very doable. It probably does need a build around grade, because if you aren’t in a deck with any targets WORTH reanimating, it isn’t worth playing.
Steadfast Unicorn image 2.0 We’ve seen a lot of one drops with this sort of mass pump ability kind of underwhelm in the past, but that Vigilance makes a difference! Your board becoming better at attacking and hanging around to block can really alter races. Now, this still isn’t amazing or anything, but it seems like a solid one drop, where most similar cards were cards you cut more often than you played.
Ambitious Dragonborn image 1.5 It is a pretty big deal that this checks the graveyard, because if it didn’t, it would be pretty challenging to make this big enough. That said, even with it checking the graveyard, there are going to be times where this is a Hill Giant or worse, and that’s brutal – and the big payoff in the end is just a big vanilla creature – which is fine, but it isn’t the most impressive ceiling either.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Icewind Stalwart
Icewind Stalwart image 1.5 Hill Giant stats aren’t something I love, and I’m not sure the ETB ability here will do something often enough to really overcome that. There are certainly creatures with ETB abilities to abuse and the like, but you still won’t have this matter often enough for it to be anything special.
Sylvan Shepherd image 2.0 This has passable stats and it is a repeatable source of life gain, which GW is especially interested in.
You Line Up the Shot image 1.5 So, this is the usual “Crushing Canopy” type effect we see, but it is actually a little bit better. This is because instead of paying three up front, you can choose to pay in installments. It is also better because it can also just be cycled away for one mana. This card does suffer a bit from the fact there are some adventures in this set that let you deal with the same sorts of things, and they turn into creatures, so those are probably just better than You Line Up the Shot. But still, any time you add Cycling to a card that can be situationally useful, it tends to be playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Flaming Fist Officer
Valiant Farewell image 2.0 This doesn’t seem like an amazing combat trick. That’s because it costs two mana and only offers +2/+0 to your creature, and without a toughness boost, that means your creature’s chances of surviving combat are significantly lower. Now, it does replace itself, and it also offers a permanent boost to your next creature. And that value certainly helps this card out, but it still means that in a lot of situations you’ll use up this trick and a creature, and end up not really gaining anything on the board. So the tempo doesn’t seem awesome. The times where you can use this and keep your creature alive will feel absurd, though!
Flaming Fist Officer image 2.5 This starts as a Gray Ogre, and that’s always a pretty awful statline – mostly because plenty of one mana cards can deal with it. However, it likes it when creatures go away, whether they die or get blinked, and that means it will be useful in both BW and UW. Still, it probably isn’t the payoff that really makes those decks good, it is just sort of a decent card.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Iron Golem
Iron Golem image 1.0 This has solid stats, but the whole has to block and attack thing is a pretty big downside. You end up in situations where the trades are super ugly for you, or worse – you can’t even trade because they have a large creature.
Draft Pick Overview