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Premier Draft BRO 16 December 2022

16 December 08:33 - Rhuo 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (14)
1 Rootwire Amalgam image
1 Sarinth Steelseeker image
1 Tower Worker image
1 Cradle Clearcutter image
3 Argothian Opportunist image
2 Argothian Sprite image
1 Teething Wurmlet image
1 Rust Goliath image
1 Skyfisher Spider image
1 Iron-Craw Crusher image
1 Obstinate Baloth image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (10)
1 Mask of the Jadecrafter image
1 Epic Confrontation image
2 Go for the Throat image
3 Overwhelming Remorse image
1 Disfigure image
1 Emergency Weld image
1 Gaea's Gift image
Land (16)
9 Forest image
7 Swamp image
Sideboard
2 Horned Stoneseeker image
1 Conscripted Infantry image
1 Citanul Stalwart image
1 Hoarding Recluse image
1 Fallaji Chaindancer image
1 Goring Warplow image
1 Keeper of the Cadence image
1 Ravenous Gigamole image
1 Thraxodemon image
2 Epic Confrontation image
1 Soul-Guide Lantern image
1 Giant Growth image
1 Ivory Tower image
1 Tawnos's Tinkering image
1 Blackblade Reforged image
1 Shoot Down image
1 Emergency Weld image
1 Wasteful Harvest image
1 Arms Race image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Rootwire Amalgam
Soul-Guide Lantern image 2.0 This is another artifact that replaces itself, making it useful in the format. It also hates on the graveyard – something else of value in a format with Unearth and a couple of graveyard decks. You can main deck this pretty happily
Rootwire Amalgam image 4.5 This is great no matter which mode you choose to cast it in. If you need a two drop it does a fine job, especially because you can turn it into a 6/6 token later in the game. But waiting to cast it until you have 5 mana is even better, because you get a 15/15 when you use that ability!
Take Flight image 3.5 This is quite the Aura! +1/+0 and Flying is going to make a lot of creatures problematic, and because you get to draw a card when your creature attacks, it helps get around the dangerous 2-for-1 downside that is inherent with an Aura. If the creature you put this on is allowed to continue unchecked, you’re just going to win.
Thopter Mechanic image 3.5 I am already in on a two mana 2/1 that makes a Thopter token when it dies, so adding the card draw upside here is just gravy!
Demolition Field image 0.0 This card is basically Field of Ruin, and that’s a card that just isn’t worth running in Limited. Sure, it can sort of fix your mana, but this format won’t have so many basic lands that you can count on that consistently, and your opponent gets some help too! It isn’t good for your mana base and it has an ability that isn’t good in Limited.
Goblin Firebomb image 1.5 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Disfigure image 3.5 As usual, this is premium removal. It can kill a pretty wide spectrum of things for only one mana, giving you a great deal
Powerstone Fracture image 2.5 In case you didn’t get it from the card’s name, the ideal thing to do here is going to be to sacrifice a powerstone. In that case, you aren’t using up a real card – and that’s good, because giving up a real card to cast this is pretty bad. It is basically a wore bone splinters, and it isn’t like bone splinters is an incredible card. I still think this falls below premium removal because of the set up needed to make it decent
Survivor of Korlis image 2.5 Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty nice card
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Gix's Caress image 1.5 Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still don’t like this.
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Pack 1 Pick 2: Sarinth Steelseeker
Semblance Anvil image 0.0 2-for-1ing yourself to get a discount on one type of spell isn’t what you want to be doing in Limited 99% of the time. You end up really putting yourself back, and only for a discount, which is basically never what you want to do
Slagstone Refinery image 1.0 Even in a set with a sacrifice theme going on, this doesn’t feel very good. 4 mana is a ton for something that won’t do much for at least a turn, and while the format does have a sacrifice deck, it just feels like you’re spending too much mana for minimal upside
Sarinth Steelseeker image 4.0 This looks really good. Format has a ton of artifacts, and this even counts power stones. The trigger also isn’t limited to once per turn, unlike lots of these effects! Basically, every time you put an artifact in play you either draw a card or Surveil 1, and that’s a trigger that will generate some pretty amazing value. This looks like quite the engine
Fallaji Dragon Engine image 3.0 So, a three mana ⅓ with Flying that can raise its power is probably a 2.5, and an 8 mana 5/5 Flyer with that ability is probably a 1.5. However, a card that can be either of those things is significantly better, especially in a set with an Artifact theme!
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Koilos Roc image 3.0 A 5-mana 3/3 with Flash and Flying is usually playable, as it not only allows you to leave mana up for other stuff, you can flash it in to ambush something – so I’m pretty happy that this also adds a powerstone to the mix. Because of Flash, you’ll also be able to use that powerstone most of the time when you untap.
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Penregon Strongbull image 3.0 This looks pretty sweet. There are plenty of artifacts to sacrifice, including the powerstones that can help pay for the ability, which effectively makes this say “Sacrifice a powerstone: It gets +1/+1 and deals 1 damage to an opponent.” The ability is just very affordable, and this creature attacking with a few artifacts in play is going to be a pretty sizable problem. Love that it also damages the opponent, giving it the capability of doing some very significant damage if it goes unblocked
Wing Commando image 3.5 We have seen a three mana 2/2 Flyer with Prowess before, and it was really good, and I think this will be too. This will be a 3/3 a significant chunk of the time, and any time you attack your opponent with it they have to consider the threat of activation, often making it very hard to block this.
Powerstone Engineer image 2.0 Trading this off and getting a powerstone in the process seems fine.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Mask of the Jadecrafter
Static Net image 4.0 Paying one more mana for Oblivion Ring is already a pretty good deal, but you actually get a return on your investment in the form of life and a powerstone! That’s obviously amazing, and allows this easily to reach premium removal status.
Mask of the Jadecrafter image 2.0 This is a pretty nice thing to spend powerstone mana on. It will basically never be that efficient, whether you’re using it the first time or after unearthing it, but it does give you 2 bodies in the end, and that always plays well
Battlefield Butcher image 3.0 In addition to having a cost reduction built in, this activated ability will feel cheaper in this format than it would normally thanks to power stones. This seems like a nice win condition for the graveyard decks in the format.
Survivor of Korlis image 2.5 Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty nice card
Curate image 2.5 This lets you see up to three cards and can let you put advantageous cards in the graveyard, and that’s pretty nice – especially in a format with a spell deck and a card draw deck!
Powerstone Fracture image 2.5 In case you didn’t get it from the card’s name, the ideal thing to do here is going to be to sacrifice a powerstone. In that case, you aren’t using up a real card – and that’s good, because giving up a real card to cast this is pretty bad. It is basically a wore bone splinters, and it isn’t like bone splinters is an incredible card. I still think this falls below premium removal because of the set up needed to make it decent
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Goring Warplow image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 death touch is okay – that card is probably a 1.5. Having the option between the two makes this a 2.5
Scrapwork Cohort image 2.5 A 4-mana 3/1 that makes a 1/1 token is a playable card, especially in a format where one card making multiple artifacts matters. So, the fact it can Unearth and leave behind some permanent value in the form of that 1/1 is some nice late game upside to have.
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Argothian Sprite image 2.5 This is better than it looks. There are lots of Artifact creatures in the set, including most of the format’s creature tokens, so this will be a nice attacker on many boards. Then, in the mid-to-late game you can buff it to make sure it stays relevant. As I’ve been saying, power stones make an ability like this easier to use than it looks! This looks like a quality two-drop for Green decks int he format
Scrapwork Mutt image 2.5 A three mana 2/1 that rummages when it ETBS is probably a 1.5, and I think adding Unearth to the mix is some real upside, since you get the ETB all over again. This looks like it can nicely set up graveyard and artifact payoffs.
Roc Hunter image 1.5 This has stats that tend to play reasonably well in aggro decks, although the plentiful 1/1 tokens in the set may hold this back a bit. Adding Reach to the mix is nice, as it means this does a decent job of trading with Flyers once it can no longer attack
Pack 1 Pick 4: Horned Stoneseeker
Thopter Architect image 3.5 This is a pretty nice artifact payoff, as sending your best creature into the air can result in combat shifting much more in your favor! It even counts powerstones and the like, which is nice
Horned Stoneseeker image 4.0 A two mana 2/2 with Menace is a pretty sweet rate, so the fact this hooks you up with a powerstone is big upside – even if you have to give up a powerstone when the Stoneeker goes down
Ambush Paratrooper image 2.5 This has passable Flying stats, and in the late game it can buff the whole board. Keep in mind, too, that activated abilities in this format are all going to be easier than normal to activate thanks to power stones.
Whirling Strike image 1.5 This is a solid trick, as it will usually keep your creature alive, kill the opposing creature, and even do some trample damage! It gets better in a set with Prowess and other spell payoffs
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Citanul Stalwart image 2.0 Even with powerstones, it can be a little tricky finding a way to consistently use this to fix and ramp your mana. There will be times where you just can’t do it, and its an ability that isn’t that great in the late game. That said, this format does have many payoffs for doing such a thing, and the powerstones certainly make this better.
Weakstone's Subjugation image 3.0 I really like this design, and think it actually makes for a really good Blue removal spell. Only paying one mana when the creature is tapped is perfectly reasonable, and sort of “kicking it” to tap the creature down for 4 mana is fine too. The creature can still do all kinds of stuff, unfortunately – like use abilities, be sacrificed, and so on – so it isn’t really premium.
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Kill-Zone Acrobat image 2.0 There are plenty of expendable things to give up to give this flying when it needs it to get in for damage – whether you’re giving up powerstones or creatures with unearth
Pack 1 Pick 5: Epic Confrontation
Liquimetal Coating image 0.0 You don’t want to be doing this. For the most part, this effect is meaningless! There are of course some cornercases – like if you have a card that destroys artifacts you can make it destroy any permanent – or if you need another artifact in play for some effect it can do that, but there’s a reason I said “corner cases.” This just doesn’t do enough.
Spotter Thopter image 3.0 A 4-mana ⅔ that scries 2 is a 2.5 at very worst. Scrying 2 isn’t that far off from drawing a card! So, the fact it has late-game upside as an 8-mana ⅘ that Scries 4 is pretty nice.
Gaea's Courser image 3.5 This is a great payoff for loading the graveyard. In Black/Green decks especially, it will generate some 2-for-1s or better.
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Kill-Zone Acrobat image 2.0 There are plenty of expendable things to give up to give this flying when it needs it to get in for damage – whether you’re giving up powerstones or creatures with unearth
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Mightstone's Animation image 3.0 In most formats this kind of effect is overwhelming, but THIS format has a ton of Powerstones running around, and paying 4 to make one into a 4/4 is definitely something you can do, especially because this can replace itself. In a pinch, you can even put it on something that is already a creature, but generally for full value you’ll want to stick this on a powerstone or other noncreature artifact, as that is far more of an upgrade. The card draw effect will also trigger the draw 2 payoffs for the Blue-Black deck.
Gix's Caress image 1.5 Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still don’t like this.
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Conscripted Infantry
Ivory Tower image 0.0 This isn’t good in Limited. You need to be a draw go style control deck to really make this gain you life that matters, and that just doesn’t happen in Limited. This will frequently do nothing or close to nothing.
Corrupt image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a pretty sweet reprint, and it gives you a very good reason to go really hard into Black, especially if you get multiples! This can be a very real win condition or an excellent removal spell. While it is costly and a Sorcery, all the life it can gain you is enough to outweigh that. You probably need to be doing 4 with this for it to feel decent, and 5+ to feel like you’re really getting there. Now, if you aren’t a deck running 13+ Swamps it is going to get significantly worse, so keep that in mind
Splitting the Powerstone image 1.0 I don’t love this. It is super clunky as a Sorcery, especially because the Powerstones you get back enter tapped. And sure, sometimes you get to draw a card – but that won’t happen often enough. They mostly went for a cool flavor win here with the “legendary” clause on the card, and this is certainly flavorful – but pretty bad for Limited. Giving up an Artifact for two Powerstones just doesn’t seem like what I want to be doing most of the time. You can combine it with Unearth, or even sacrifice a powerstone to it, but I’m still not seeing this be very effective.
Lat-Nam Adept image 2.5 4-mana 3/3s have felt pretty awful lately, but this one can grow throughout the game as you draw more cards – and that’s one of the format’s main archetypes, so this will certainly have a home in the format.
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
Tomakul Scrapsmith image 2.5 You either get a three mana 3/2, or a three mana 2/1 that draws you an Artifact. Obviously the latter option is the better one, and this would be at least a 3.5 if that’s what it was – but it will only do that half the time, and the 3/2 option is less exciting. It also takes a bit of a hti because Red is not very interested in the graveyard in this set, so loading it up a little bit is unlikely to give you any extra value
Depth Charge Colossus image 1.0 I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. Even with powerstones I don’t think I’m playing this.
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Pack 1 Pick 7: Tower Worker
Jalum Tome image 0.5 // 2.0 This is a pretty clunky way to loot, but the Blue-Black deck in the format is probably interested in this, as it gives you a way to consistently trigger all of your payoffs for drawing a second card in a turn.
Evangel of Synthesis image 3.5 A two mana ⅔ that loots on ETB is a nice card. It is also nice that this is both an enabler and a payoff for the draw extra cards deck, though it is a little sad that it will technically trigger the turn you play it, it just won’t matter
Fallaji Excavation image 3.0 As there are plenty of sweet artifacts to ramp into in the format, so this will often precede you slamming a scary 8 drop on to the battlefield! Of course, it doesn’t really impact the board immediately, and that can be a problem – but gaining 3 life when you cast this makes it more likely you can endure a hard hit on your opponent’s turn, which makes it more likely you untap and slam an 8/8 on the table.
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Weakstone's Subjugation image 3.0 I really like this design, and think it actually makes for a really good Blue removal spell. Only paying one mana when the creature is tapped is perfectly reasonable, and sort of “kicking it” to tap the creature down for 4 mana is fine too. The creature can still do all kinds of stuff, unfortunately – like use abilities, be sacrificed, and so on – so it isn’t really premium.
Tower Worker image 2.0 Ramp is a real thing in this format, so this will certainly be seeing some play. Getting the other two Assembly-Workers in play at the same time is a fun goal, but don’t count on it
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Pack 1 Pick 8: Cradle Clearcutter
Bone Saw image 0.0 0 mana artifacts are exciting for constructed, but they aren’t nearly as good in Limited because what you get is usually a card that isn’t worth an entire card – and that’s definitely what Bone Saw is. Especially in a set without any real equipment theme. Playing this will feel like you took a mulligan
Cradle Clearcutter image 3.0 A three mana 1/3 that taps for one Green is a 2.0 – and maybe a 2.5 in this set, which has lots of reasons to ramp. In some ways, I feel like casting this as the bigger version is less attractive, as you are less likely to want a bunch of mana, even in this format – but hey, sometimes it will ramp you into something
Tocasia's Onulet image 2.0 A 5-mana 4/4 that gains you 2 life when it dies is probably a 1.5. This has a pretty reasonable Unearth cost too, though, and you get to gain 2 more life!
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Survivor of Korlis image 2.5 Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty nice card
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Veteran's Powerblade image 1.5 One mana to equip this is pretty nice, but three to cast is always going to feel pretty ugly. Still, it makes your solder tokens into 3/1s, which means they can swing in most cases! Obviously works with other soldiers too, but I don’t really feel like this is the soldier payoff you’re really hoping for when you draft the UW deck.
Carrion Locust image 2.0 Incidental graveyard hate is going to be nice in this format, as there are plenty of things that will be nice to exile – especially Unearth creatures. It comes attached to a reasonable flyer, and sometimes you’ll even make your opponent lose a life
Pack 1 Pick 9: Soul-Guide Lantern
Soul-Guide Lantern image 2.0 This is another artifact that replaces itself, making it useful in the format. It also hates on the graveyard – something else of value in a format with Unearth and a couple of graveyard decks. You can main deck this pretty happily
Demolition Field image 0.0 This card is basically Field of Ruin, and that’s a card that just isn’t worth running in Limited. Sure, it can sort of fix your mana, but this format won’t have so many basic lands that you can count on that consistently, and your opponent gets some help too! It isn’t good for your mana base and it has an ability that isn’t good in Limited.
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Gix's Caress image 1.5 Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still don’t like this.
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Pack 1 Pick 10: Argothian Opportunist
Slagstone Refinery image 1.0 Even in a set with a sacrifice theme going on, this doesn’t feel very good. 4 mana is a ton for something that won’t do much for at least a turn, and while the format does have a sacrifice deck, it just feels like you’re spending too much mana for minimal upside
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Koilos Roc image 3.0 A 5-mana 3/3 with Flash and Flying is usually playable, as it not only allows you to leave mana up for other stuff, you can flash it in to ambush something – so I’m pretty happy that this also adds a powerstone to the mix. Because of Flash, you’ll also be able to use that powerstone most of the time when you untap.
Powerstone Engineer image 2.0 Trading this off and getting a powerstone in the process seems fine.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Argothian Sprite
Curate image 2.5 This lets you see up to three cards and can let you put advantageous cards in the graveyard, and that’s pretty nice – especially in a format with a spell deck and a card draw deck!
Powerstone Fracture image 2.5 In case you didn’t get it from the card’s name, the ideal thing to do here is going to be to sacrifice a powerstone. In that case, you aren’t using up a real card – and that’s good, because giving up a real card to cast this is pretty bad. It is basically a wore bone splinters, and it isn’t like bone splinters is an incredible card. I still think this falls below premium removal because of the set up needed to make it decent
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Argothian Sprite image 2.5 This is better than it looks. There are lots of Artifact creatures in the set, including most of the format’s creature tokens, so this will be a nice attacker on many boards. Then, in the mid-to-late game you can buff it to make sure it stays relevant. As I’ve been saying, power stones make an ability like this easier to use than it looks! This looks like a quality two-drop for Green decks int he format
Pack 1 Pick 12: Citanul Stalwart
Citanul Stalwart image 2.0 Even with powerstones, it can be a little tricky finding a way to consistently use this to fix and ramp your mana. There will be times where you just can’t do it, and its an ability that isn’t that great in the late game. That said, this format does have many payoffs for doing such a thing, and the powerstones certainly make this better.
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Kill-Zone Acrobat image 2.0 There are plenty of expendable things to give up to give this flying when it needs it to get in for damage – whether you’re giving up powerstones or creatures with unearth
Pack 1 Pick 13: Giant Growth
Liquimetal Coating image 0.0 You don’t want to be doing this. For the most part, this effect is meaningless! There are of course some cornercases – like if you have a card that destroys artifacts you can make it destroy any permanent – or if you need another artifact in play for some effect it can do that, but there’s a reason I said “corner cases.” This just doesn’t do enough.
Gaea's Courser image 3.5 This is a great payoff for loading the graveyard. In Black/Green decks especially, it will generate some 2-for-1s or better.
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Pack 1 Pick 14: Ivory Tower
Ivory Tower image 0.0 This isn’t good in Limited. You need to be a draw go style control deck to really make this gain you life that matters, and that just doesn’t happen in Limited. This will frequently do nothing or close to nothing.
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
Pack 1 Pick 15: Tawnos's Tinkering
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Pack 2 Pick 1: Go for the Throat
Keening Stone image 0.5 Mill strategies are often bad in Limited, but this is one that might have some uses in the format, especially if you’re playing against the Black/Green self-mill deck, which will rapidly load its graveyard, allowing you to mill them out with one or two uses of this thing. Still, it costs a ton of mana to play and a ton of mana to activate, and sometimes won’t do anything at all! It is probably just a sideboard card – and not even that good of one.
Kayla's Reconstruction image 2.0 Paying 4 for this doesn’t seem amazing, it gives you a bit of card selection and will put one thing in play. Once were’re talking about 5 or six mana, though, I get a little bit interested. That said, your deck will need the right make up for this to actually give you the value you want, and even then I feel like there’s a reasonable chance you wiff on hitting two artifacts or creature cards with the right mana value. This is definitely going to be clunky sometimes, but the fact it usually adds something to the board does make up for that a little bit.
Go for the Throat image 4.0 As usual, this is a premium removal spell. Yes, the set has lots of Artifact creatures – but that was true last time we saw this card too. It still kills 80+% of the creatures in the set at a very efficient rate
Battlefield Butcher image 3.0 In addition to having a cost reduction built in, this activated ability will feel cheaper in this format than it would normally thanks to power stones. This seems like a nice win condition for the graveyard decks in the format.
Su-Chi Cave Guard image 4.0 This is a quality thing to ramp into with your Powerstones. It is huge, hard to kill, and can play offense and defense! Plus, if it dies, it gives you a whole bunch of mana, and this format has a decent number of mana sinks around since they wanted you to have stuff to do with your power stones
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Unleash Shell image 3.0 5 mana is a lot, but at least its an Instant! It can deal with most creatures in the format too, and Shocking your opponent in the face when you use it is definitely some decent additional upside. The problem with paying 5 for this effect is you’’ll often have to use it on a creature that costs less, and you’re losing some serious tempo when you do that – and sometimes you just can’t get the mana to deal with a cheap creature and that’s a problem too. You don’t really want more than one of these most of the time, because they are so expensive, but I do think the first copy should be valued reasonably highly
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Disfigure image 3.5 As usual, this is premium removal. It can kill a pretty wide spectrum of things for only one mana, giving you a great deal
Ambush Paratrooper image 2.5 This has passable Flying stats, and in the late game it can buff the whole board. Keep in mind, too, that activated abilities in this format are all going to be easier than normal to activate thanks to power stones.
Perimeter Patrol image 2.5 A three mana 3/3 is solid, and this has some real upside that will let it attack a lot more effectively
Machine Over Matter image 2.0 This seems pretty solid, as it will often only cost a single Blue mana, and the fact it can hit any nonland permanent makes it nicely flexible. Even if you pay 2 for this, we’ve seen that card be fine in the past. The downside about bounce, of course, is you use up a card and generally you don’t deal with one of your opponent’s – you just make them cast it again. But, if you can time this right, you can sometimes get a 1-for-1 in addition to the tempo – like if you use it in response to a trick or something.
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Mightstone's Animation image 3.0 In most formats this kind of effect is overwhelming, but THIS format has a ton of Powerstones running around, and paying 4 to make one into a 4/4 is definitely something you can do, especially because this can replace itself. In a pinch, you can even put it on something that is already a creature, but generally for full value you’ll want to stick this on a powerstone or other noncreature artifact, as that is far more of an upgrade. The card draw effect will also trigger the draw 2 payoffs for the Blue-Black deck.
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Pack 2 Pick 2: Teething Wurmlet
Ichor Wellspring image 2.5 This is another 2 mana artifact that replaces itself, and that’s nice – especially because you can also sacrifice it and turn it into a 2-for-1, something that feels pretty doable, especially in Black-Red
Teething Wurmlet image 4.0 This is quite the one drop! Gaining one life every single time an artifact enters under your control is nice, but the fact you can get a counter on this once a turn is great, especially because it counts things like powerstones entering the battlefield
Heavyweight Demolisher image 2.0 A 7-mana 8/6 with Menace is no joke..but it isn’t so good that I like the fact that it punishes you by making you pay three mana just to untap it. The Unearth upside is sweet of course, as your opponent has to account for it or end up dying in the late game, but the untap tax is enough for me to really feel like I won’t always be happy about playing this
Skyfisher Spider image 3.5 This is another very good signpost Uncommon. Having Bone Splinters stapled to a 3/3 with Reach is quite the deal, especially in a color pair with expendable bodies and a reason to put creatures in the graveyard. The life gain it gives you can really make a difference too! You shouldn’t always exile it of course, as getting this back for value is also quite good, but the life gain will be the way to go a decent percentage of the time
Pyrrhic Blast image 2.5 We see these sacrifice effects a lot and they are usually kind of a pain to use, since you 2-for-1 yourself! But this gets around that by replacing itself with a draw a card effect. You can also hit any player with it, so it can finish someone off which is cool. Now, it still does require some set up that is surprisingly awkward sometimes – like you need a creature with high enough power or some sacrifice synergy or this can fall pretty flat. It is an Instant, so you can use it in response to removal and stuff which helps
Tomakul Honor Guard image 2.0 This has solid stats, and cheap removal will cost extra to destroy it! The format does have a bunch of 1/1 tokens, though, and that always makes a 3/1 sad
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Deadly Riposte image 2.5 This is a solid removal spell for non-aggressive decks, as removing something and gaining life goes a long way towards helping you stabilize. Meanwhile, it is pretty bad in a deck that wants to be aggressive, as you’d rather have removal that can deal with blockers, and this just doesn’t! It demands a tapped creature and the creature has to be small for this to do its job, so it certainly isn’t premium.
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Horned Stoneseeker
Sigil of Valor image 1.5 This seems like it will be kind of alright. It is definitely rough that sometimes it offers no bonus at all, but there are enough boards in the mid-to-late game where equipping this does some work,. Only attacking with one thing is definitely a big restriction, but this can also make just about any creature into a threat on a lot of board states. The set up and restriction are pretty real, though – and it definitely underperformed last time we saw it
Take Flight image 3.5 This is quite the Aura! +1/+0 and Flying is going to make a lot of creatures problematic, and because you get to draw a card when your creature attacks, it helps get around the dangerous 2-for-1 downside that is inherent with an Aura. If the creature you put this on is allowed to continue unchecked, you’re just going to win.
Thopter Architect image 3.5 This is a pretty nice artifact payoff, as sending your best creature into the air can result in combat shifting much more in your favor! It even counts powerstones and the like, which is nice
Horned Stoneseeker image 4.0 A two mana 2/2 with Menace is a pretty sweet rate, so the fact this hooks you up with a powerstone is big upside – even if you have to give up a powerstone when the Stoneeker goes down
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Stone Retrieval Unit image 2.5 The rate here isn’t amazing, but it is one card that adds two artifacts to the board, and ramps you. Seems solid to me
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Mishra's Domination image 1.5 This has some nice flexibility, as it can be a decent removal spell for an aggro deck or a way to buff a creature. It doesn’t do either thing well, though
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Kill-Zone Acrobat image 2.0 There are plenty of expendable things to give up to give this flying when it needs it to get in for damage – whether you’re giving up powerstones or creatures with unearth
Roc Hunter image 1.5 This has stats that tend to play reasonably well in aggro decks, although the plentiful 1/1 tokens in the set may hold this back a bit. Adding Reach to the mix is nice, as it means this does a decent job of trading with Flyers once it can no longer attack
Pack 2 Pick 4: Blackblade Reforged
Blackblade Reforged image 2.5 Last time we saw this was Dominaria, a set with lots of legendary creatures, so it was pretty easy to equip it for the lower cost. There aren’t enough legendary creatures in this format for you to be able to consistently equip this for the lower cost. However, with powerstones around, actually paying to Equip this is going to be a little bit easier than it was last time we saw it
The Temporal Anchor image 4.5 You have to pay six for this and not add to the board – and you even have to wait a whole turn to get it going. However, it effectively draws you two extra cards every single turn, which is of course absolutely absurd. You’ll just Scry 2 cards to the bottom of the library with this basically every time since you effectively draw 2 when you do that. It can even get sillier with more Scry! It is going to be pretty hard for you to lose the game if you make it to your next turn after casting this. Having to wait for that whole turn definitely hurts the Anchor’s stock, as does the fact it costs three blue mana – but I still feel like this sneaks into the lower bomb range. It just generates so much card advantage. You can even use powerstones to cast it, though obviously they aren’t going to help you with that triple Blue.
Forging the Anchor image 1.5 It seems like most of the time this is just going to be a Divination – and one that you had to do some work with in order to actually draw two cards. Hitting three things with this will start to feel significantly better, and it is certainly a possibility in an artifact-heavy set, but the flip side of that is hitting 0-1 things. On average, this probably ends up worse than Divination, but it also has a higher ceiling.
Gaea's Courser image 3.5 This is a great payoff for loading the graveyard. In Black/Green decks especially, it will generate some 2-for-1s or better.
Third Path Savant image 2.0 This has a very powerful ability that draws you cards late, and if you’re flooding out or have a bunch of powerstones, that’s a nice ability to help get you out of it. It has a pretty bad stat-line until you get to that point, though.
Tocasia's Onulet image 2.0 A 5-mana 4/4 that gains you 2 life when it dies is probably a 1.5. This has a pretty reasonable Unearth cost too, though, and you get to gain 2 more life!
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Gaea's Gift image 2.0 This is a nice trick. In addition to doing a good job of helping a creature win combat, the slew of keywords it gets makes it so you can blank most removal when you cast it. We’ve seen a lot o tricks like this of late, and they’ve all ended up being a card you always want one or two of in aggressive decks, and I think that’s what we have here
Scrapwork Mutt image 2.5 A three mana 2/1 that rummages when it ETBS is probably a 1.5, and I think adding Unearth to the mix is some real upside, since you get the ETB all over again. This looks like it can nicely set up graveyard and artifact payoffs.
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Pack 2 Pick 5: Overwhelming Remorse
Springleaf Drum image 1.0 It is surprisingly hard to set up this kind of mana ramp in Limited. This can get your mana going incredibly fast provided you have some early creatures, but that’s far from guaranteed, and then by the mid-to-late game it has waning usefulness
Involuntary Cooldown image 2.0 This makes the creatures you target with it tapped for three different attacks on your part, and that’s certainly pretty potent. The downside is that this doesn’t fully remove the cards, only temporarily getting them out of the way, and sometimes you’ll still have static and activated abilities to worry about. Still, with a Prowess deck in this format, this seems like a nice play in that type of deck.
Monastery Swiftspear image 2.5 This is a pretty spicy reprint for constructed! It isn’t nearly as good in Limited, though. It just isn’t that easy to load up on enough spells to trigger it, and it also has diminishing returns as the game goes on. That said it is still solid, just not “one of the best Limited one drops ever” good
Overwhelming Remorse image 3.5 A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a 3.0, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper
Unleash Shell image 3.0 5 mana is a lot, but at least its an Instant! It can deal with most creatures in the format too, and Shocking your opponent in the face when you use it is definitely some decent additional upside. The problem with paying 5 for this effect is you’’ll often have to use it on a creature that costs less, and you’re losing some serious tempo when you do that – and sometimes you just can’t get the mana to deal with a cheap creature and that’s a problem too. You don’t really want more than one of these most of the time, because they are so expensive, but I do think the first copy should be valued reasonably highly
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Depth Charge Colossus image 1.0 I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. Even with powerstones I don’t think I’m playing this.
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Weakstone's Subjugation image 3.0 I really like this design, and think it actually makes for a really good Blue removal spell. Only paying one mana when the creature is tapped is perfectly reasonable, and sort of “kicking it” to tap the creature down for 4 mana is fine too. The creature can still do all kinds of stuff, unfortunately – like use abilities, be sacrificed, and so on – so it isn’t really premium.
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Overwhelming Remorse
Millstone image 1.0 Now we’ve got the original mill card, which is where the mechanic gets its name! And…it also isn’t great in Limited, though the fact that you actually can control who this hurts more makes it better than something like the Orb. This can actually win you some games if you’re a control deck, but most of the time you’d rather just have something that actually adds to the board.
Battery Bearer image 4.0 This looks like a very strong signpost Uncommon. Obviously, Blue-Green is about ramping into artifacts, including with powerstones – and the Bearer comes with the ability to make all of your creatures powerstone-like which is pretty powerful in a format with lots of ways to spend that mana. And it even has a shot at drawing you a few cards, which is awesome. It just feels like this format has a make-up that this card can really abused.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Penregon Strongbull image 3.0 This looks pretty sweet. There are plenty of artifacts to sacrifice, including the powerstones that can help pay for the ability, which effectively makes this say “Sacrifice a powerstone: It gets +1/+1 and deals 1 damage to an opponent.” The ability is just very affordable, and this creature attacking with a few artifacts in play is going to be a pretty sizable problem. Love that it also damages the opponent, giving it the capability of doing some very significant damage if it goes unblocked
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Overwhelming Remorse image 3.5 A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a 3.0, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Mishra's Onslaught image 1.5 You are overpaying for both modes on this card – usually each of these effects costs three. You do get some modality here, but the token effect is generally underpowered while the mass pump effect is narrow, so I think this will get cut a fair bit
Pack 2 Pick 7: Shoot Down
The Fall of Kroog image 0.5 As usual, land destruction tends to be pretty bad in Limited. There aren’t enough powerful nonbasics around, so you find yourself just destroying regular lands, and doing that for six mana isn’t really where you want to be. Land destruction at that stage often has a minimal impact on the game. And sure, this adds a bolt to the face and can kill some X/1s, but I still don’t feel like its enough to play this thing
Raze to the Ground image 2.5 This format does have a ton of Artifacts, so this will usually have a target, many of which will be creatures. And its also nice that it can draw you a card when it hits a cheap artifact. In a pinch you could even go after your own powerstone! However…it is a little overcosted and clunky to be that good. Three mana to kill only one permanent type, even one that is relatively plentiful in the set, just isn’t a great rate. The uncounterable clause only matters a tiny bit here too. I mean, I don’t think this is bad at all – but I think some people will see this and think it is premium, but it just won’t be
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Supply Drop image 2.0 This is a pretty interesting design! Three mana for +2/+2 isn’t a great rate for a trick, but you can cash it in for a card later, giving it some real 2-for-1 potential in a format that has a fair bit of Artifact synergy too.
Warlord's Elite image 1.5 A three mana 4/4 is nice and all, but not incredible, and this makes you jump through some significant hoops to actually get it into play. Tapping lands or creatures to play this feels like it will be a pretty big pain most of the time, and overall it feels like this will effectively be a 5-mana 4/4 pretty often
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Fallaji Chaindancer image 2.0 This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! Powerstones will make this ability easier to activate than you might think, too
Swiftgear Drake image 1.5 5-mana for a 2/4 with Flying and Haste isn’t amazing, but it isn’t a completely terrible rate either – probably something like a D+, so the ETB upside here is kind of nice. You can get rid of some graveyard action your opponent is utilizing, or you can put a card back on the bottom of your library that you want to draw later
Pack 2 Pick 8: Rust Goliath
Elsewhere Flask image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that is enough in this format for it to be decent enough, since the UR deck likes casting nocnreature spells and several decks like artifacts. It can also fix your mana a bit, but that’s a small part of what this card does.
Alloy Animist image 2.0 With all the power stones around, this ability is going to overperform – between the fact that they can pay for the ability and the fact you can animate them! This is a good place to sink mana
Tomakul Honor Guard image 2.0 This has solid stats, and cheap removal will cost extra to destroy it! The format does have a bunch of 1/1 tokens, though, and that always makes a 3/1 sad
Tower Worker image 2.0 Ramp is a real thing in this format, so this will certainly be seeing some play. Getting the other two Assembly-Workers in play at the same time is a fun goal, but don’t count on it
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Rust Goliath image 3.0 A 5-mana ⅗ with Reach and Trample isn’t great, neither is a 10-mana 10/10 with Reach and Trample. However, the fact you can cast this as an okayish creature for five or cast it in the late game as a big monster is pretty nice, and I feel like powerstone decks will love this card, since it can become a pretty real win condition for them
Coastal Bulwark image 2.0 Obviously, if you’re playing Blue, this is going to be a 3/3 – and a wall that can Surveil 1 is going to be a solid thing to have in more defensive decks.
Powerstone Fracture image 2.5 In case you didn’t get it from the card’s name, the ideal thing to do here is going to be to sacrifice a powerstone. In that case, you aren’t using up a real card – and that’s good, because giving up a real card to cast this is pretty bad. It is basically a wore bone splinters, and it isn’t like bone splinters is an incredible card. I still think this falls below premium removal because of the set up needed to make it decent
Pack 2 Pick 9: Disfigure
Su-Chi Cave Guard image 4.0 This is a quality thing to ramp into with your Powerstones. It is huge, hard to kill, and can play offense and defense! Plus, if it dies, it gives you a whole bunch of mana, and this format has a decent number of mana sinks around since they wanted you to have stuff to do with your power stones
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Disfigure image 3.5 As usual, this is premium removal. It can kill a pretty wide spectrum of things for only one mana, giving you a great deal
Perimeter Patrol image 2.5 A three mana 3/3 is solid, and this has some real upside that will let it attack a lot more effectively
Machine Over Matter image 2.0 This seems pretty solid, as it will often only cost a single Blue mana, and the fact it can hit any nonland permanent makes it nicely flexible. Even if you pay 2 for this, we’ve seen that card be fine in the past. The downside about bounce, of course, is you use up a card and generally you don’t deal with one of your opponent’s – you just make them cast it again. But, if you can time this right, you can sometimes get a 1-for-1 in addition to the tempo – like if you use it in response to a trick or something.
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Mine Worker image 1.5 If this format had a life gain deck, it would be way better. As is, it is fairly mediocre, as it has poor stats and an ability that doesn’t really do enough. Obviously if you can get the Tron going here you’re going to be happier, but even with all three at Common, I wouldn’t count on that
Pack 2 Pick 10: Skyfisher Spider
Skyfisher Spider image 3.5 This is another very good signpost Uncommon. Having Bone Splinters stapled to a 3/3 with Reach is quite the deal, especially in a color pair with expendable bodies and a reason to put creatures in the graveyard. The life gain it gives you can really make a difference too! You shouldn’t always exile it of course, as getting this back for value is also quite good, but the life gain will be the way to go a decent percentage of the time
Tomakul Honor Guard image 2.0 This has solid stats, and cheap removal will cost extra to destroy it! The format does have a bunch of 1/1 tokens, though, and that always makes a 3/1 sad
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Pack 2 Pick 11: Emergency Weld
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Stone Retrieval Unit image 2.5 The rate here isn’t amazing, but it is one card that adds two artifacts to the board, and ramps you. Seems solid to me
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Mishra's Domination image 1.5 This has some nice flexibility, as it can be a decent removal spell for an aggro deck or a way to buff a creature. It doesn’t do either thing well, though
Kill-Zone Acrobat image 2.0 There are plenty of expendable things to give up to give this flying when it needs it to get in for damage – whether you’re giving up powerstones or creatures with unearth
Pack 2 Pick 12: Gaea's Gift
Forging the Anchor image 1.5 It seems like most of the time this is just going to be a Divination – and one that you had to do some work with in order to actually draw two cards. Hitting three things with this will start to feel significantly better, and it is certainly a possibility in an artifact-heavy set, but the flip side of that is hitting 0-1 things. On average, this probably ends up worse than Divination, but it also has a higher ceiling.
Gaea's Courser image 3.5 This is a great payoff for loading the graveyard. In Black/Green decks especially, it will generate some 2-for-1s or better.
Gaea's Gift image 2.0 This is a nice trick. In addition to doing a good job of helping a creature win combat, the slew of keywords it gets makes it so you can blank most removal when you cast it. We’ve seen a lot o tricks like this of late, and they’ve all ended up being a card you always want one or two of in aggressive decks, and I think that’s what we have here
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Pack 2 Pick 13: Hoarding Recluse
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Pack 2 Pick 14: Wasteful Harvest
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Pack 2 Pick 15: Fallaji Chaindancer
Fallaji Chaindancer image 2.0 This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! Powerstones will make this ability easier to activate than you might think, too
Pack 3 Pick 1: Iron-Craw Crusher
Goblin Charbelcher image 0.0 Yeah, this is another niche card that just doesn’t do anything in Limited. You can’t build a landless deck and go wild here.
Hurkyl's Final Meditation image 1.0 These kinds of cards usually disappoint in Limited. Bouncing all nonland permanents just doesn’t actually do what you want it to mot of the time. You spend a card and set yourself back. And yeah, you set your opponent back too, but it usually isn’t by enough – especially because they will typical get to rebuild for you! The whole “End the turn” part of the card is sort of interesting, as it can functionally be a counterspell since it empties the stack and doesn’t let the cards have their effects – and that is certainly some nice additional upsid – as is the fact that you can cast this on your opponent’s turn – but to do that you have to pay ten mana. If you can get there, this can basically function like a time walk that bounces the whole board which is pretty powerful, but that is just so much mana.
Calamity's Wake image 0.0 This isn’t here for Limited. You don’t really want to use up a card to hate on the graveyard and stop noncreature spells for the turn most of the time. It is kind of reasonable as a sideboard card in situations where your opponent has lots of graveyard action I guess, but even then I’m not ultra impressed with such a narrow hate effect that doesn’t really give you a card back.
Iron-Craw Crusher image 3.5 This can buff itself, so it attacks as a 4/5 when a prototype, and as an 8/6 when you cast it the regular way – and it comes with the upside of offering that pump to other creatures, which is pretty great
Monastery Swiftspear image 2.5 This is a pretty spicy reprint for constructed! It isn’t nearly as good in Limited, though. It just isn’t that easy to load up on enough spells to trigger it, and it also has diminishing returns as the game goes on. That said it is still solid, just not “one of the best Limited one drops ever” good
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Machine Over Matter image 2.0 This seems pretty solid, as it will often only cost a single Blue mana, and the fact it can hit any nonland permanent makes it nicely flexible. Even if you pay 2 for this, we’ve seen that card be fine in the past. The downside about bounce, of course, is you use up a card and generally you don’t deal with one of your opponent’s – you just make them cast it again. But, if you can time this right, you can sometimes get a 1-for-1 in addition to the tempo – like if you use it in response to a trick or something.
Aeronaut's Wings image 2.0 +1/+0 and Flying is enough to make a creature a problem for your opponent, even if two to play and two to equip will feel a little clunky.
Combat Courier image 2.0 It is nice that you can cash this in for a card – twice, thanks to Unearth – and that does give you a 2-for-1, albeit an expensive one. But if you can get some extra value out of this being around, it is definitely worth it.
Supply Drop image 2.0 This is a pretty interesting design! Three mana for +2/+2 isn’t a great rate for a trick, but you can cash it in for a card later, giving it some real 2-for-1 potential in a format that has a fair bit of Artifact synergy too.
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Excavation Explosion image 4.0 This looks pretty great, even as a Sorcery! Three mana to do three to anything is always nice – you can usually break even or better on the mana you spend, and this actually gives you some mana back in the form of a powerstone
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Moment of Defiance image 2.0 This is a bit expensive for a trick that only boosts toughness by 1, which means that oftentimes your creature will also die, but it definitely makes up for that by drawing you a card. In situations where you creature does survive, you get a 2-for-1, and in situations where it doesn’t, you break even while gaining some life. It also draws you a card, checking the box for the Blue-Black deck. That seems fine to me
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Go for the Throat
Urza's Command image 4.0 You’ll probably most frequently choose to make a creature token and Scry 1 and draw a card. And, if that’s what this always did it would certainly be a B. After all, that has a good chance at being a 2-for-1! The other two modes are a bit more situational, but debuffing an entire opposing board can be powerful in the right situation, and sometimes you’ll want a powerstone to ramp into something powerful.
Go for the Throat image 4.0 As usual, this is a premium removal spell. Yes, the set has lots of Artifact creatures – but that was true last time we saw this card too. It still kills 80+% of the creatures in the set at a very efficient rate
Spectrum Sentinel image 1.0 This looks pretty bad for Limited. Multicolored isn’t a huge theme in the format, and neither are nonbasic lands. Mostly, you’re going to be getting a one mana ½. It is both an artifact and a soldier, so in decks that care about those things it isn’t the biggest disaster ever, but it still isn’t very good
Hero of the Dunes image 4.0 This looks like a pretty impressive signpost Uncommon! The stat-line is bad, but everything beyond that is quite impressive. It directly reanimates a small creature to the battlefield, that on its own already has me pretty interested, so the fact it also buffs all of your low CMC creatures – including the one it brings back – really has me excited. This feels like a signpost uncommon that pulls you into its color pair
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Supply Drop image 2.0 This is a pretty interesting design! Three mana for +2/+2 isn’t a great rate for a trick, but you can cash it in for a card later, giving it some real 2-for-1 potential in a format that has a fair bit of Artifact synergy too.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Blitz Automaton image 3.0 A three mana 3/2 with Haste is right around a 2.5, so adding the more expensive upside of this being a 6/4 with Haste sometimes is nice. Yes, 7 mana for a 6/4 with Haste is an awful rate, but the modality of all of these prototype cards is great in Limited!
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Recommission image 1.5 If you can consistently get back a 3 mana creature with this, it is going to feel pretty dang good, as your creature will easily be worth more than 2 mana. The problem is that you have to set this up and have the right deck make up. And while those things are doable, there will certainly be times where this is stuck in your hand.
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Mishra's Domination image 1.5 This has some nice flexibility, as it can be a decent removal spell for an aggro deck or a way to buff a creature. It doesn’t do either thing well, though
Lat-Nam Adept image 2.5 4-mana 3/3s have felt pretty awful lately, but this one can grow throughout the game as you draw more cards – and that’s one of the format’s main archetypes, so this will certainly have a home in the format.
Goring Warplow image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 death touch is okay – that card is probably a 1.5. Having the option between the two makes this a 2.5
Pack 3 Pick 3: Epic Confrontation
Burnished Hart image 4.0 This is a great source of ramp and fixing, and it has a baseline as a gray ogre with a useful card type.
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Yotian Tactician image 3.5 As I’ve said, there are lots of soldiers in this set, with UW being the color pair that is the most interested in them. This is a nice lord that will buff much of your board when you’re in the color pair.
Airlift Chaplain image 3.0 Chances are decent you’ll hit something you can get back with the mill trigger, and if you don’t or choose not to get something back, you get a three mana 2/2 with Flying that loaded your graveyard some, which is pretty nice.
Third Path Savant image 2.0 This has a very powerful ability that draws you cards late, and if you’re flooding out or have a bunch of powerstones, that’s a nice ability to help get you out of it. It has a pretty bad stat-line until you get to that point, though.
Whirling Strike image 1.5 This is a solid trick, as it will usually keep your creature alive, kill the opposing creature, and even do some trample damage! It gets better in a set with Prowess and other spell payoffs
Mightstone's Animation image 3.0 In most formats this kind of effect is overwhelming, but THIS format has a ton of Powerstones running around, and paying 4 to make one into a 4/4 is definitely something you can do, especially because this can replace itself. In a pinch, you can even put it on something that is already a creature, but generally for full value you’ll want to stick this on a powerstone or other noncreature artifact, as that is far more of an upgrade. The card draw effect will also trigger the draw 2 payoffs for the Blue-Black deck.
Recommission image 1.5 If you can consistently get back a 3 mana creature with this, it is going to feel pretty dang good, as your creature will easily be worth more than 2 mana. The problem is that you have to set this up and have the right deck make up. And while those things are doable, there will certainly be times where this is stuck in your hand.
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Loran's Escape image 2.0 These effects have been playing pretty well lately, and I think that’s probably the case here too. Blanking removal and various other effects while also improving a creature’s ability to win combat is pretty solid.
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Scrapwork Mutt image 2.5 A three mana 2/1 that rummages when it ETBS is probably a 1.5, and I think adding Unearth to the mix is some real upside, since you get the ETB all over again. This looks like it can nicely set up graveyard and artifact payoffs.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Epic Confrontation
Defabricate image 0.5 This set might have a lot of artifacts and enchantments in it, but I’m still thinking this is a bit too narrow to be good in your main deck. It can counter activated or triggered abilities, which gives it some additional uses – but it is often hard to get a full card back when you counter one of those. Yeah, this still feels like sideboard material.
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Goblin Firebomb image 1.5 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Weakstone's Subjugation image 3.0 I really like this design, and think it actually makes for a really good Blue removal spell. Only paying one mana when the creature is tapped is perfectly reasonable, and sort of “kicking it” to tap the creature down for 4 mana is fine too. The creature can still do all kinds of stuff, unfortunately – like use abilities, be sacrificed, and so on – so it isn’t really premium.
Citanul Stalwart image 2.0 Even with powerstones, it can be a little tricky finding a way to consistently use this to fix and ramp your mana. There will be times where you just can’t do it, and its an ability that isn’t that great in the late game. That said, this format does have many payoffs for doing such a thing, and the powerstones certainly make this better.
Goblin Blast-Runner image 2.0 This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Roc Hunter image 1.5 This has stats that tend to play reasonably well in aggro decks, although the plentiful 1/1 tokens in the set may hold this back a bit. Adding Reach to the mix is nice, as it means this does a decent job of trading with Flyers once it can no longer attack
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Pack 3 Pick 5: Obstinate Baloth
Obstinate Baloth image 4.0 A 4-mana 4/4 that gains you 4 when it enters is just a great card in Limited. It gives you an efficient creature and a very relevant body to help you pull ahead if your opponent was having an aggressive start
Gruesome Realization image 2.5 Paying three mana to draw 2 and pay 2 life is a solid card in most Limited formats, so having the option of using this to sweep away some small creatures is a nice addition
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Rust Goliath image 3.0 A 5-mana ⅗ with Reach and Trample isn’t great, neither is a 10-mana 10/10 with Reach and Trample. However, the fact you can cast this as an okayish creature for five or cast it in the late game as a big monster is pretty nice, and I feel like powerstone decks will love this card, since it can become a pretty real win condition for them
Power Plant Worker image 2.0 This is a fun cycle, since they all reference the original Urza lands. I think the card seems pretty decent too. The stats aren’t great, but +2/+2 for three mana isn’t the worst rate in a set with power stones everywhere. I wouldn’t count on getting all three of these in play, but you might achieve it on occasion.
Ambush Paratrooper image 2.5 This has passable Flying stats, and in the late game it can buff the whole board. Keep in mind, too, that activated abilities in this format are all going to be easier than normal to activate thanks to power stones.
Fallaji Chaindancer image 2.0 This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! Powerstones will make this ability easier to activate than you might think, too
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Pack 3 Pick 6: Overwhelming Remorse
Hero of the Dunes image 4.0 This looks like a pretty impressive signpost Uncommon! The stat-line is bad, but everything beyond that is quite impressive. It directly reanimates a small creature to the battlefield, that on its own already has me pretty interested, so the fact it also buffs all of your low CMC creatures – including the one it brings back – really has me excited. This feels like a signpost uncommon that pulls you into its color pair
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 We see this all the time, and its always a pretty nice land. It does an excellent job of fixing for you. If you’re splashing something, just a single Wilds and a basic land in that splash color is enough, and that’s pretty great! Its at pretty much the same level as the Rare dual lands we just saw.
Overwhelming Remorse image 3.5 A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a 3.0, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper
Energy Refractor image 1.5 It is a good thing this replaces itself, because it is pretty bad at filtering mana! Two mana for one mana of any color just isn’t a very good rate, though it can do it multiple times a turn because it doesn’t tap. The format does care about artifacts and noncreature spells, and one that replaces itself has some inhererent value, with the filtering part just some minor upside. It does let you make your powerstones produce colored mana, but still not efficient at all.
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Survivor of Korlis image 2.5 Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty nice card
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Weakstone's Subjugation image 3.0 I really like this design, and think it actually makes for a really good Blue removal spell. Only paying one mana when the creature is tapped is perfectly reasonable, and sort of “kicking it” to tap the creature down for 4 mana is fine too. The creature can still do all kinds of stuff, unfortunately – like use abilities, be sacrificed, and so on – so it isn’t really premium.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Argothian Opportunist
The Stone Brain image 0.0 As usual, this kind of card is unplayable in Limited. You generally don’t have the necessary knowledge of your opponent’s deck to take full advantage of a card like this, and even when you do it still isn’t very good most of the time, especially because this version lets your opponent draw a card if you hit a card in their hand! Even if you do hit a card in your opponent’s deck, you are basically going to feel like you have mulliganed, since hitting one card in your opponent’s deck just doesn’t do enough in Limited. Basically, you go down a card for no real effect on the game, and you never want that in Limited. This is a card that makes sense in constructed, where it can rip apart a combo deck – but that’s just not a thing here
Tower Worker image 2.0 Ramp is a real thing in this format, so this will certainly be seeing some play. Getting the other two Assembly-Workers in play at the same time is a fun goal, but don’t count on it
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Gnarlroot Pallbearer image 2.0 This doesn’t have a great stat-line – but a 5/5 trampler is passable -- and the ETB trigger will be pretty effective in most Green decks, allowing you to attack with something that just couldn’t before. Still, it is rather expensive and dependent on your graveyard
Machine Over Matter image 2.0 This seems pretty solid, as it will often only cost a single Blue mana, and the fact it can hit any nonland permanent makes it nicely flexible. Even if you pay 2 for this, we’ve seen that card be fine in the past. The downside about bounce, of course, is you use up a card and generally you don’t deal with one of your opponent’s – you just make them cast it again. But, if you can time this right, you can sometimes get a 1-for-1 in addition to the tempo – like if you use it in response to a trick or something.
Deadly Riposte image 2.5 This is a solid removal spell for non-aggressive decks, as removing something and gaining life goes a long way towards helping you stabilize. Meanwhile, it is pretty bad in a deck that wants to be aggressive, as you’d rather have removal that can deal with blockers, and this just doesn’t! It demands a tapped creature and the creature has to be small for this to do its job, so it certainly isn’t premium.
Overwhelming Remorse image 3.5 A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a 3.0, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper
Penregon Strongbull image 3.0 This looks pretty sweet. There are plenty of artifacts to sacrifice, including the powerstones that can help pay for the ability, which effectively makes this say “Sacrifice a powerstone: It gets +1/+1 and deals 1 damage to an opponent.” The ability is just very affordable, and this creature attacking with a few artifacts in play is going to be a pretty sizable problem. Love that it also damages the opponent, giving it the capability of doing some very significant damage if it goes unblocked
Pack 3 Pick 8: Argothian Sprite
Pristine Talisman image 1.5 Three mana for a mana rock that only produces colorless is far from ideal, but the fact this format has a big ramp and artifact theme makes a difference. The incidental life gain doesn’t hurt either
Evangel of Synthesis image 3.5 A two mana ⅔ that loots on ETB is a nice card. It is also nice that this is both an enabler and a payoff for the draw extra cards deck, though it is a little sad that it will technically trigger the turn you play it, it just won’t matter
Argothian Sprite image 2.5 This is better than it looks. There are lots of Artifact creatures in the set, including most of the format’s creature tokens, so this will be a nice attacker on many boards. Then, in the mid-to-late game you can buff it to make sure it stays relevant. As I’ve been saying, power stones make an ability like this easier to use than it looks! This looks like a quality two-drop for Green decks int he format
Curate image 2.5 This lets you see up to three cards and can let you put advantageous cards in the graveyard, and that’s pretty nice – especially in a format with a spell deck and a card draw deck!
Lat-Nam Adept image 2.5 4-mana 3/3s have felt pretty awful lately, but this one can grow throughout the game as you draw more cards – and that’s one of the format’s main archetypes, so this will certainly have a home in the format.
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Pack 3 Pick 9: Argothian Opportunist
Monastery Swiftspear image 2.5 This is a pretty spicy reprint for constructed! It isn’t nearly as good in Limited, though. It just isn’t that easy to load up on enough spells to trigger it, and it also has diminishing returns as the game goes on. That said it is still solid, just not “one of the best Limited one drops ever” good
Machine Over Matter image 2.0 This seems pretty solid, as it will often only cost a single Blue mana, and the fact it can hit any nonland permanent makes it nicely flexible. Even if you pay 2 for this, we’ve seen that card be fine in the past. The downside about bounce, of course, is you use up a card and generally you don’t deal with one of your opponent’s – you just make them cast it again. But, if you can time this right, you can sometimes get a 1-for-1 in addition to the tempo – like if you use it in response to a trick or something.
Supply Drop image 2.0 This is a pretty interesting design! Three mana for +2/+2 isn’t a great rate for a trick, but you can cash it in for a card later, giving it some real 2-for-1 potential in a format that has a fair bit of Artifact synergy too.
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Moment of Defiance image 2.0 This is a bit expensive for a trick that only boosts toughness by 1, which means that oftentimes your creature will also die, but it definitely makes up for that by drawing you a card. In situations where you creature does survive, you get a 2-for-1, and in situations where it doesn’t, you break even while gaining some life. It also draws you a card, checking the box for the Blue-Black deck. That seems fine to me
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Goring Warplow
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Supply Drop image 2.0 This is a pretty interesting design! Three mana for +2/+2 isn’t a great rate for a trick, but you can cash it in for a card later, giving it some real 2-for-1 potential in a format that has a fair bit of Artifact synergy too.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Goring Warplow image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 death touch is okay – that card is probably a 1.5. Having the option between the two makes this a 2.5
Pack 3 Pick 11: Arms Race
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Third Path Savant image 2.0 This has a very powerful ability that draws you cards late, and if you’re flooding out or have a bunch of powerstones, that’s a nice ability to help get you out of it. It has a pretty bad stat-line until you get to that point, though.
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Loran's Escape image 2.0 These effects have been playing pretty well lately, and I think that’s probably the case here too. Blanking removal and various other effects while also improving a creature’s ability to win combat is pretty solid.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Keeper of the Cadence
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Emergency Weld
Emergency Weld image 3.0 Gravedigger is always a nice card in Limited, this costs half as much for a creature half the size, and still returns something from your graveyard to your hand. Getting a 2-for-1 is harder with a 1/1, but a two mana 1/1 with this effect seems pretty nice
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Pack 3 Pick 14: Ravenous Gigamole
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Thraxodemon
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Draft Pick Overview