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Quick Draft BRO 7 February 2023

7 February 05:42 - Omios86 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (14)
2 Ravenous Gigamole image
1 Scrapwork Mutt image
1 Goring Warplow image
1 Spectrum Sentinel image
1 Fallaji Dragon Engine image
1 Sardian Cliffstomper image
1 Mishra, Excavation Prodigy image
1 Gurgling Anointer image
1 Trench Stalker image
1 Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa image
1 Feldon, Ronom Excavator image
1 Giant Cindermaw image
1 Battlefield Butcher image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (10)
2 No One Left Behind image
2 Excavation Explosion image
1 Unleash Shell image
2 Disfigure image
1 Overwhelming Remorse image
1 Emergency Weld image
1 Powerstone Fracture image
Land (16)
1 Tocasia's Dig Site image
7 Swamp image
8 Mountain image
Sideboard
1 Goring Warplow image
1 Dwarven Forge-Chanter image
1 Spectrum Sentinel image
1 Fallaji Vanguard image
1 Ornithopter image
1 Air Marshal image
1 Yotian Tactician image
1 Queen Kayla bin-Kroog image
1 Rust Goliath image
1 Mine Worker image
1 Coastal Bulwark image
1 Bone Saw image
1 Splitting the Powerstone image
1 Swiftfoot Boots image
1 Arms Race image
1 The Fall of Kroog image
1 Mishra's Onslaught image
1 Raze to the Ground image
1 Desynchronize image
1 Dredging Claw image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Ravenous Gigamole
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
Fade from History image 0.5 This has a neat design, but I feel like it is mostly a sideboard card. This set will have a few different archetypes focused on Artifacts, and bringing this in against them is pretty good. It will usually feel well worth it to give your opponent a 2/2 and destroy a bunch of stuff. You don’t want to run this, though, if you’re interested in running Artifacts yourself – you want to use it when it is fairly one-sided. It isn’t good enough against enough decks in the format to main deck in an artifact-lite Green deck either, though
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.
Yotian Frontliner image 2.0 This will be pretty sweet to play on turn one, because it is likely to get in and buff other creatures in the process. However, even with Unearth, it has diminishing turns as the game goes on, because it just won’t survive attacking on very many boards. Basically, you end up paying a couple of mana to buff a creature twice, and I’m not super impressed by that. It is both an artifact and a soldier, which this format cares about, and that helps some.
Urza, Powerstone Prodigy image 3.0 A three mana 1/3 with Vigilance that can loot is a card you’ll always play, so I love the upside you get when you discard artifacts. You won’t always want to do that of course, so I mostly see the ability as sort of softening the blow of having to discard a real card instead of a land – though you will go for the powerstone when you have something amazing to ramp into.
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
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!
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!
Aeronaut Cavalry image 3.0 You often end up paying 5 mana for 4/5 worth of stats here, and ¾ of it has flying! That’s a pretty good deal, and the format has plenty of soldiers for this to do its thing, especially in Blue-White.
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.
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
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
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
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
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.
Pack 1 Pick 2: No One Left Behind
Mishra's Bauble image 1.5 This is a free artifact that replaces itself, though it does take a whole turn to actually replace itself, so the UR deck won’t be quite as excited about this one
Bushwhack image 3.5 This is quite nice! If this were two separate cards, you would end up playing either of them and they would be around a 2.5. Neither of them is incredible of course, but fixing your mana or using it as a one mana removal spell is good, even if the removal option does take you a bit of work, since you need a creature that is big enough to survive fighting – and you have to be careful about interaction. Still, giving me a card with an option between these two modes for only one mana is sweet.
No One Left Behind image 3.5 This is a really cool design for a reanimation spell. We see 5 mana reanimation spells all the time, and most of them are duds because the set up of having something worth reanimating in your graveyard is surprisingly challenging in formats without a dedicated reanimator-type deck. This makes up for that in a big way, since you can reanimate 3 mana things for only two mana. In other words, setting this up so it is actually worth using is way, way easier than most versions of this effect we have seen before, and it still has the same super powerful top end of being able to reanimate a massive bomb or something. Black decks look well-positioned to take advantage of this. I’m pretty high on this
Sardian Cliffstomper image 1.0 // 2.5 This isn’t especially impressive to me, even if you end up in mono-red – and it is pretty much unplayable if you’re not in mono-red. Sure, it can get some high power, but without evasion to take advantage of it, I’m not that excited about it. And yeah, it only costs two mana, but the fact it only starts doing its thing once you have four mountains is a pretty big hurdle
Bitter Reunion image 1.5 This is a neat take on a Tormented Voice-type effect. While the UR deck in this format cares about spells, it actually cares about all non-creature spells, so this will still trigger them like Tormented Voice would. The ability to give haste to your whole board will come up sometimes too. I think you probably cut this most of the time in any deck that doesn’t care about spells, and even in the spell deck it probably isn’t the card you’re happily shoving in your deck
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
Pack 1 Pick 3: Excavation Explosion
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
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
Bushwhack image 3.5 This is quite nice! If this were two separate cards, you would end up playing either of them and they would be around a 2.5. Neither of them is incredible of course, but fixing your mana or using it as a one mana removal spell is good, even if the removal option does take you a bit of work, since you need a creature that is big enough to survive fighting – and you have to be careful about interaction. Still, giving me a card with an option between these two modes for only one mana is sweet.
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
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.
Clay Revenant image 1.5 This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal, even with powerstones. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway
Disenchant image 2.5 This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always 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
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.
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 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.
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
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Pack 1 Pick 4: Unleash Shell
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.
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
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
Haywire Mite image 2.0 This has plenty of targets in this format, so it is certainly a main deck card. Doesn’t hurt that it is a cheap artifact in a format that really cares about such things
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.
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.
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
Clay Revenant image 1.5 This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal, even with powerstones. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway
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.
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.
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.
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Fallaji Vanguard
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
Fallaji Vanguard image 3.5 Kind of a bummer that this can’t buff itself and attack the turn it comes down, but it will be able to offer a boost to something else most of the time, and that creature will have a much better attack as a result! After that first turn, buffing the Vanguard will probably be the most attractive, since it has First Strike. It also counts each individual creature that enters, which means creating tokens is extra spicy.
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
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Scrapwork Mutt
Ornithopter image 1.0 This is another 0 mana artifact that doesn’t really give you a full card of value. You just don’t get enough out of playing a 0/2 Flyer to make it worth the card, and that matters a ton in Limited. This can basically come down and chump block something – and sometimes you can equip it or give it some counters, which makes things more interesting – but that’s a lot of work to make a terrible card passable
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
Pack 1 Pick 7: Goring Warplow
Self-Assembler image 0.0 // 3.0 Last time we saw this, it was the only Assembly-Worker in the set, so you needed multiple copies of it to get it going – and that was actually fairly doable. And a 5-mana 4/4 that draws you another 5-mana 4/4 is pretty nice in Limited. Efficiency matters in Limited, but outcarding your opponent matters a lot too, so the inefficiency didn’t matter! In this set, there are plenty of other assembly-workers for you to search up, so it is probably even better! It does need a build around grade, as you don’t want to play this if you have 0 Assembly-Workers to search up, and even just having one other assembly-worker can be a little sketchy, as once you draw them both you’re kind of in trouble. So, you really need 2+ assembly-workers to get this going – but the good news is, that’s doable
Yotian Frontliner image 2.0 This will be pretty sweet to play on turn one, because it is likely to get in and buff other creatures in the process. However, even with Unearth, it has diminishing turns as the game goes on, because it just won’t survive attacking on very many boards. Basically, you end up paying a couple of mana to buff a creature twice, and I’m not super impressed by that. It is both an artifact and a soldier, which this format cares about, and that helps some.
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.
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
Disenchant image 2.5 This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always nice.
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.
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
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
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
Pack 1 Pick 8: Disfigure
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.
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
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
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
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
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
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
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.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Goring Warplow
Yotian Frontliner image 2.0 This will be pretty sweet to play on turn one, because it is likely to get in and buff other creatures in the process. However, even with Unearth, it has diminishing turns as the game goes on, because it just won’t survive attacking on very many boards. Basically, you end up paying a couple of mana to buff a creature twice, and I’m not super impressed by that. It is both an artifact and a soldier, which this format cares about, and that helps some.
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!
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!
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
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
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
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.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Dwarven Forge-Chanter
Bitter Reunion image 1.5 This is a neat take on a Tormented Voice-type effect. While the UR deck in this format cares about spells, it actually cares about all non-creature spells, so this will still trigger them like Tormented Voice would. The ability to give haste to your whole board will come up sometimes too. I think you probably cut this most of the time in any deck that doesn’t care about spells, and even in the spell deck it probably isn’t the card you’re happily shoving in your deck
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
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
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
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.
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
Pack 1 Pick 11: Trench Stalker
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
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.
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
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
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 1 Pick 12: Spectrum Sentinel
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
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.
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.
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Bone Saw
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
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
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.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Ornithopter
Ornithopter image 1.0 This is another 0 mana artifact that doesn’t really give you a full card of value. You just don’t get enough out of playing a 0/2 Flyer to make it worth the card, and that matters a ton in Limited. This can basically come down and chump block something – and sometimes you can equip it or give it some counters, which makes things more interesting – but that’s a lot of work to make a terrible card passable
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 1 Pick 15: Splitting the Powerstone
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.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Excavation Explosion
Swiftfoot Boots image 3.0 The Boots are pretty nice on the right creature, though the downside they always have is that the creature you put it on already has to be pretty impressive, otherwise it makes very little difference! That said, once you have a creature worth protecting, the Boots are a nightmare for your opponent! It doesn’t hurt that they can also give haste, something that can really change your attacks.
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
Audacity image 3.0 I like this Aura. It is basically a fixed Rancor, which is pretty fun. +2/+0 and Trample is enough to make a whole lot of creatures problematic, and the fact you get to draw a card when Audacity goes to the graveyard means you don’t have to worry about getting 2-for-1’d
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
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.
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!
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.
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
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
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Pack 2 Pick 2: Fallaji Dragon Engine
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
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
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.
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!
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
Phalanx Vanguard image 2.5 A two mana 2/2 with Vigilance is right around a 2.0, so the fact that the power on this thing will go up pretty often makes it a solid two drop.
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
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.
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
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.
Stern Lesson image 2.5 This is a solid card that will slot nicely into the spell decks and the artifact decks – especially the ramp-oriented artifact deck. Three mana to draw two and discard one on its own on an instant is usually kind of alright, and I do think the Powerstone upside here is enough for this to be a one-of in most Blue decks in the format. Any noncreature spell that draws you cards will be welcome in Blue-Red too.
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
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
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.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Sardian Cliffstomper
Sardian Cliffstomper image 1.0 // 2.5 This isn’t especially impressive to me, even if you end up in mono-red – and it is pretty much unplayable if you’re not in mono-red. Sure, it can get some high power, but without evasion to take advantage of it, I’m not that excited about it. And yeah, it only costs two mana, but the fact it only starts doing its thing once you have four mountains is a pretty big hurdle
Lay Down Arms image 3.0 This is at its best if you go mono-white, and at the very least you do need to be pretty heavy into White – like 10+ Plains – but as long as you can use this to consistently hit things with a mana value of three or less, it is going to be a very good removal spell, and I think that is certainly something most decks can achieve. It gets better if you go harder into White, of course.
Urza, Powerstone Prodigy image 3.0 A three mana 1/3 with Vigilance that can loot is a card you’ll always play, so I love the upside you get when you discard artifacts. You won’t always want to do that of course, so I mostly see the ability as sort of softening the blow of having to discard a real card instead of a land – though you will go for the powerstone when you have something amazing to ramp into.
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.
Powerstone Engineer image 2.0 Trading this off and getting a powerstone in the process seems fine.
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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 2 Pick 4: Overwhelming Remorse
Recruitment Officer image 3.0 This has nice base stats that can allow it to do some significant damage early, and a mana sink ability that can do some pretty serious work in the late game. It is definitely the least useful in the middle part of the game, when it isn’t big enough to matter and you don’t really have the mana to spend on the ability.
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
Flow of Knowledge image 1.0 // 3.0 I don’t love this if you aren’t basically mono-blue. If you cast this with three Islands in play – a pretty common occurrence in your typical two-color Limited deck – you aren’t going to be very happy. By the later game it is likely to do a little better, but because you have to discard two you need to be drawing at least 4 with this consistently, and even that doesn’t feel great.
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.
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
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.
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
Scatter Ray image 2.5 This looks like a very nice counterspell for the format, as creatures and artifacts are going to make up the bulk of spells in most decks. It isn’t a hard counter, but 4 mana is enough that it will be relevant all game long. One downside in this format: powerstones can be used to help pay for costs like this.
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.
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.
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
Stern Lesson image 2.5 This is a solid card that will slot nicely into the spell decks and the artifact decks – especially the ramp-oriented artifact deck. Three mana to draw two and discard one on its own on an instant is usually kind of alright, and I do think the Powerstone upside here is enough for this to be a one-of in most Blue decks in the format. Any noncreature spell that draws you cards will be welcome in Blue-Red too.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Mishra, Excavation Prodigy
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
Reconstructed Thopter image 2.5 A three mana 2/1 Flyer isn’t great these days, but this comes with the upside of an important card type and Unearth, which certainly allows it to generate some more value
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
Mishra, Excavation Prodigy image 3.0 This looks like a pretty nice Uncommon. Looting is a great ability to have around in Limited, as it improves the quality of your draws – and Mishra here pays you off a little bit for discarding artifacts, since he can give you mana back. I’m not sure how often it is going to be optimal to do that, but it is nice to have the option. The stat-line is a little rough, as he can die to pretty much anything, including spells that cost 1/3rd what he does, but at least having Haste means you can usually do something with him right away
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.
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.
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
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.
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
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Pack 2 Pick 6: Disfigure
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
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.
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Ravenous Gigamole
Self-Assembler image 0.0 // 3.0 Last time we saw this, it was the only Assembly-Worker in the set, so you needed multiple copies of it to get it going – and that was actually fairly doable. And a 5-mana 4/4 that draws you another 5-mana 4/4 is pretty nice in Limited. Efficiency matters in Limited, but outcarding your opponent matters a lot too, so the inefficiency didn’t matter! In this set, there are plenty of other assembly-workers for you to search up, so it is probably even better! It does need a build around grade, as you don’t want to play this if you have 0 Assembly-Workers to search up, and even just having one other assembly-worker can be a little sketchy, as once you draw them both you’re kind of in trouble. So, you really need 2+ assembly-workers to get this going – but the good news is, that’s doable
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.
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
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
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
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
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
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.
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 2 Pick 8: Gurgling Anointer
Gurgling Anointer image 4.0 This is a very impressive Uncommon. The Blue-Black deck in the format is all about drawing extra cards and getting value out of it, and this is going to be your premier payoff for doing so, because its crazy! Not only does it get larger and larger – which is great on a Flyer – it also lets you reanimate something when it dies. Directly to the board! And sure, your creature needs to have high enough power to make it happen, but because it is “less than or equal to” just getting it to 2 power will often allow you to reap the benefits and get that 2-for-1. So yeah, if it stays in play it wins the game by attacking, and if your opponent deals with it they get 2-for-1’d. Yeah, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this were a rare – but its an Uncommon..one that I think is better than most rares.
Fog of War image 0.0 Fogs are unplayable in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases.
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
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.
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.
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
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
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.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Swiftfoot Boots
Swiftfoot Boots image 3.0 The Boots are pretty nice on the right creature, though the downside they always have is that the creature you put it on already has to be pretty impressive, otherwise it makes very little difference! That said, once you have a creature worth protecting, the Boots are a nightmare for your opponent! It doesn’t hurt that they can also give haste, something that can really change your attacks.
Audacity image 3.0 I like this Aura. It is basically a fixed Rancor, which is pretty fun. +2/+0 and Trample is enough to make a whole lot of creatures problematic, and the fact you get to draw a card when Audacity goes to the graveyard means you don’t have to worry about getting 2-for-1’d
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Pack 2 Pick 10: Mishra's Onslaught
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.
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
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
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
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.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Emergency Weld
Urza, Powerstone Prodigy image 3.0 A three mana 1/3 with Vigilance that can loot is a card you’ll always play, so I love the upside you get when you discard artifacts. You won’t always want to do that of course, so I mostly see the ability as sort of softening the blow of having to discard a real card instead of a land – though you will go for the powerstone when you have something amazing to ramp into.
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.
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
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
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 2 Pick 12: Air Marshal
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.
Scatter Ray image 2.5 This looks like a very nice counterspell for the format, as creatures and artifacts are going to make up the bulk of spells in most decks. It isn’t a hard counter, but 4 mana is enough that it will be relevant all game long. One downside in this format: powerstones can be used to help pay for costs like this.
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.
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.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Spectrum Sentinel
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
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.
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 14: The Fall of Kroog
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
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.
Pack 2 Pick 15: 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
Pack 3 Pick 1: Queen Kayla bin-Kroog
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.
Queen Kayla bin-Kroog image 2.5 Kayla has some pretty serious power, as she can allow you to rummage away your whole hand – and even put some of those cards directly on the battlefield. That is some pretty incredible upside. Now, actually pulling this off where you put some stuff directly into play will not be a cake walk in Limited. However, most Limited decks do have a few creatures and/or artifacts with a mana value of 1 or 2, so it will actually do something sometimes. And the fail case is still a three mana ⅔ that can let you dig deeper into your library
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
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.
Argivian Avenger image 2.0 This is a fun reference to lots of older cards with similar abilities, but I think this seems fairly underwhelming overall, even in a format where powerstones will make casting it and using its abilities easier. It just has such underwhelming base stats, and while gaining key words is nice and all, the fact its stats get worse when you do it doesn’t have me that interested
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.
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
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!
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
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
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
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.
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
Scatter Ray image 2.5 This looks like a very nice counterspell for the format, as creatures and artifacts are going to make up the bulk of spells in most decks. It isn’t a hard counter, but 4 mana is enough that it will be relevant all game long. One downside in this format: powerstones can be used to help pay for costs like this.
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.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa
Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa image 4.0 A 5-mana 4/4 with this Ward ability is pretty solid, since it includes itself. Sure, your opponent can just give up a meaningless land or token, but that’s something, and a decent chunk of the time they won’t have anything meaningless to give up! This would probably be pretty close to a 3.5 without any other abilities – but it does have another one, and its pretty sweet! It gives all of your artifacts Unearth. Note that it is not just artifact creatures – it is all artifacts. Period. Getting creatures back is usually going to be better of course, but keep in mind you can bring back any artifact at all! If you have some especially large artifact creatures this will feel like a really great deal, since three mana is such a small amount.
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
Pack 3 Pick 3: Powerstone Fracture
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
Gurgling Anointer image 4.0 This is a very impressive Uncommon. The Blue-Black deck in the format is all about drawing extra cards and getting value out of it, and this is going to be your premier payoff for doing so, because its crazy! Not only does it get larger and larger – which is great on a Flyer – it also lets you reanimate something when it dies. Directly to the board! And sure, your creature needs to have high enough power to make it happen, but because it is “less than or equal to” just getting it to 2 power will often allow you to reap the benefits and get that 2-for-1. So yeah, if it stays in play it wins the game by attacking, and if your opponent deals with it they get 2-for-1’d. Yeah, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this were a rare – but its an Uncommon..one that I think is better than most rares.
Giant Cindermaw image 3.0 A three mana 4/3 with Trample is a nice aggressive creature, and shutting down lifegain matters sometimes 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
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!
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
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
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
Aeronaut Cavalry image 3.0 You often end up paying 5 mana for 4/5 worth of stats here, and ¾ of it has flying! That’s a pretty good deal, and the format has plenty of soldiers for this to do its thing, especially in Blue-White.
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.
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.
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
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.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Feldon, Ronom Excavator
Feldon, Ronom Excavator image 3.5 A two mana 2/2 with Haste is probably a 2.0 taking away blocking probably knocks it down to a 2.0 – but this thing has some nice upside. When your opponent can’t do anything but trade with it, they will definitely be taking the 2 damage, otherwise you’re going to get 2-for-1’d. Once they can just block it without losing a creature, they will – but you’re going to get some pretty nice card selection and you will effectively draw a card. The real sweet thing is to find a way for it to take damage and survive – this can be accomplished if you use some tricks and stuff like that, and that’s when it will feel really great, though don’t count on always being able to do that. Basically, you can always attack with this and get something out of it, whether your opponent takes 2 or blocks it to kill it
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
Bushwhack image 3.5 This is quite nice! If this were two separate cards, you would end up playing either of them and they would be around a 2.5. Neither of them is incredible of course, but fixing your mana or using it as a one mana removal spell is good, even if the removal option does take you a bit of work, since you need a creature that is big enough to survive fighting – and you have to be careful about interaction. Still, giving me a card with an option between these two modes for only one mana is sweet.
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
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
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Stern Lesson image 2.5 This is a solid card that will slot nicely into the spell decks and the artifact decks – especially the ramp-oriented artifact deck. Three mana to draw two and discard one on its own on an instant is usually kind of alright, and I do think the Powerstone upside here is enough for this to be a one-of in most Blue decks in the format. Any noncreature spell that draws you cards will be welcome in Blue-Red too.
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
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
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
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
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
Pack 3 Pick 5: No One Left Behind
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
Transmogrant Altar image 1.0 // 3.0 There is a pretty real sacrifice deck in this format, so I am very intrigued by this. There is plenty of fodder and payoffs for sacrificing, so generating extra value when you use either of these abilities isn’t far-fetched, and that seems pretty darn good. In that sort of deck, this looks like it could be a very real engine. I think it needs a build around grade for sure, as it probably doesn’t make sense outside of Black-Red. If you can’t get some extra stuff out of sacrificing things, this isn’t nearly as good.
No One Left Behind image 3.5 This is a really cool design for a reanimation spell. We see 5 mana reanimation spells all the time, and most of them are duds because the set up of having something worth reanimating in your graveyard is surprisingly challenging in formats without a dedicated reanimator-type deck. This makes up for that in a big way, since you can reanimate 3 mana things for only two mana. In other words, setting this up so it is actually worth using is way, way easier than most versions of this effect we have seen before, and it still has the same super powerful top end of being able to reanimate a massive bomb or something. Black decks look well-positioned to take advantage of this. I’m pretty high on this
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.
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
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
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
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.
Phalanx Vanguard image 2.5 A two mana 2/2 with Vigilance is right around a 2.0, so the fact that the power on this thing will go up pretty often makes it a solid two drop.
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
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Tocasia's Dig Site
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
Great Desert Prospector image 3.5 It is a bit of a bummer that this guy doesn’t count himself, so the floor on the card is a pretty ugly 5-mana 3/2. However, the ceiling can be pretty silly, as he can really enable you to ramp into artifact stuff or sink mana into activated abilities. Generally speaking, there are lots of ways to make use of power stones in the set!
Mass Production image 2.5 Six mana is a bit more than I would want to pay for four tokens at Sorcery speed, but the fact that these tokens are Artifacts makes it significantly more impressive that it might look at first. It helps you go wide and triggers your artifact things.
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!
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
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!
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
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
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.
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.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Giant Cindermaw
Giant Cindermaw image 3.0 A three mana 4/3 with Trample is a nice aggressive creature, and shutting down lifegain matters sometimes too
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.
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!
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Battlefield Butcher
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.
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.
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
Disenchant image 2.5 This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always nice.
Burrowing Razormaw image 2.0 This has some reasonable stats and does a good job of loading your graveyard
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
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.
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Pack 3 Pick 9: Yotian Tactician
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.
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.
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
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!
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
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
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
Pack 3 Pick 10: Rust Goliath
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
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
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
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.
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
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.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Raze to the Ground
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
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!
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
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
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.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Desynchronize
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
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
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
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
Pack 3 Pick 13: Mine Worker
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
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
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Dredging Claw
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
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
Pack 3 Pick 15: Coastal Bulwark
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.
Draft Pick Overview