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Premier Draft NEO 7 February 2023

7 February 06:05 - MagnustheDoge 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (12)
2 Touch the Spirit Realm image
1 Lethal Exploit image
3 Imperial Oath image
1 Wanderer's Intervention image
1 The Fall of Lord Konda // Fragment of Konda image
1 Okiba Reckoner Raid // Nezumi Road Captain image
1 Clawing Torment image
1 Assassin's Ink image
1 Dragonfly Suit image
Creature (11)
1 Leech Gauntlet image
2 Mukotai Ambusher image
2 Undercity Scrounger image
1 Inkrise Infiltrator image
1 Nezumi Bladeblesser image
1 Spirited Companion image
1 Greasefang, Okiba Boss image
1 Sky-Blessed Samurai image
1 Eiganjo Exemplar image
Land (17)
8 Plains image
9 Swamp image
Sideboard
1 Hinata, Dawn-Crowned image
1 Mukotai Ambusher image
1 Imperial Subduer image
3 Nezumi Bladeblesser image
1 Golden-Tail Disciple image
1 Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image
1 You Are Already Dead image
1 Regent's Authority image
1 Gift of Wrath image
2 Malicious Malfunction image
1 Kaito's Pursuit image
2 Akki War Paint image
1 Reckoner's Bargain image
1 Short Circuit image
1 Dismal Backwater image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Touch the Spirit Realm
Shigeki, Jukai Visionary image 3.5 This has a very cool design. In the early game, you can use it to help you ramp your mana, and then once you’ve ramped your mana enough, you have a pretty nice Channel effect that will allow you to get back a whole bunch of permanents. That’s the kind of play that really helps you win the long game.
Secluded Courtyard image 1.0 // 2.5 So, this set does have a bit of a tribal element, but I think it will still be a bit difficult to make this actually produce mana of any color consistently enough that I don’t love this card in most Limited decks in this format. If it is producing colorless almost all the time, it isn’t worth it, because that makes your mana base way worse. You need a critical mass of creatures with the same type – and that’s doable – but it isn’t a forgone conclusion.
Touch the Spirit Realm image 4.0 This is the Uncommon premium removal that White often gets. These Oblivion Ring effects are always very nice, because they do the job efficiently, and they are also reasonably flexible. The fact your opponent can get the thing back is a bit of a bummer of course, but that downside is well worth it. You’ll almost never Channel this in Limited, but being able to blink a creature is useful sometimes.
Born to Drive image 3.0 If this was just an Aura, I wouldn’t be that impressed. Its costly, dependent on your board state, and doesn’t do anything to keep you from getting blown out by removal. I would be likely to give it a 1.5. However, because the card has Channel, which effectively makes it into a reasonable 3-mana spell that makes two 1/1 tokens that are good at crewing vehicles, it is a lot better. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you’ll probably channel this more than you cast it as a spell! Still, once you have the Channel mode, it is nice that you have the Aura mode as a late-game possibility, because if you time it right on an evasive creature, an Aura like Born to Drive can end the game.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Kami of Terrible Secrets image 1.5 // 3.0 A 4-mana ¾ is not a great stat-line these days, so you are going to want to be drawing a card off of this around half the time for it to be worth it. And…that’s not going to be automatic in every Black deck in the format, since this asks you to have both an Artifact and Enchantment. That’s certainly easier to do in this format than it is in most, but if you’re in say, UB Ninjas or the BG graveyard deck – that’s not something you’re going to be focused on. In a lot of ways, this is a BW gold card, because that’s the deck that has a whole bunch of reasons to get both an Artifact and an Enchantment in play.
Iron Apprentice image 2.0 This format has plenty of counters, so putting more on this thing isn’t a huge stretch. It also gives you a creature that enters the battlefield modified, which powers up a bunch of cards in this format.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
Master's Rebuke image 3.0 We see versions of this card all the time, and it always ends up being Green premium removal. It allows you to kill a lot of things pretty cheaply, and having a large enough Green creature in play to make it work isn’t that hard. You do have to be a little careful with when you use it, because if they blow up your creature in response it is some really terrible news.
Eiganjo Exemplar image 3.0 It counts itself of course, so even without any other samurais around it attacks as a 3/2. One really nice thing is that you can play this, and then on the same turn attack with another Samurai, and +1/+1 is likely to help it attack more effectively.
Okiba Reckoner Raid image 2.5 Giving us a one mana saga like this is pretty interesting! You obviously get insane value for the investment of one mana, as you drain 2 life and get a 2/2 with Menace that gives vehicles Menace! This is going to feel like a pretty good turn one play, and even in the late game this can do some work. The life drain helps you survive until it becomes a creature, and its great that as soon as it transforms you can send in a vehicle in that is hard to block. Having to wait for the body a couple of turns is going to be a little frustrating, though.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
Chainflail Centipede image 2.0 This is a Gray Ogre who attacks as a 4/2, with some reconfigure upside. I’m not ultra impressed with this as a creature or Equipment you put on something else. I mean, its fine, but I think you end up cutting it more than you’ll play it. It just isn’t very efficient no matter how you use it, and the stats boost is only useful if you’re the attacker.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 2: Lethal Exploit
Upriser Renegade image 3.0 Its a little bit sad that the Outlaw doesn’t count itself, as modifying it would be incredible if it did! Still, Red has lots of ways to curve out with modified creatures, making this hit pretty hard.
Historian's Wisdom image 2.0 This is an Aura I can get behind playing in Limited. That’s because it will replace itself pretty often, as +2 power on your biggest creature has a pretty decent shot at drawing you that card. That means you are no longer in danger of getting 2-for-1’d like you would be with a typical Aura. Now, it is still a little tricky to use, you have to be careful not to get blown out the turn you cast it, and it isn’t game-breaking or anything – but it seems perfectly solid.
Essence Capture image 2.0 This is a card we’ve seen printed a few times now, and its always decent. Once you get down to two mana, Counterspells get pretty interesting, and while it is unfortunate this one costs double blue, it is still fairly easy to get value out of it, as most decks will have 15+ targets, and the +1/+1 counter is a great thing to tack on.
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Inkrise Infiltrator image 2.0 If this format didn’t have Ninjutsu, this would be a lot worse. It doesn’t have the best starting stats, and the ability to buff it, while sometimes useful late, certainly isn’t especially efficient. However, in a world where you want to play an early evasive creature that you can use to get in with a Ninja, well – its a solid playable.
Return to Action image 2.0 Black often gets this kind of trick that returns a creature to the battlefield when it dies these days, and then tend to be alright, although I prefer it when they cost a single Black mana. Still, this one does actually increase your creature’s power, which means you can use it to help you take down the other creature in combat a little more effectively, and it will even gain you some life! Its useful against removal too, of course. But, its still situational enough that I’m not super high on it.
Lethal Exploit image 3.0 Two mana for -2/-2 at Instant speed isn’t exactly premium, though it can kill a lot of stuff. And you can even use it combined with a block to take something down – though that’s always a little risky. That said, I think you’ll be able to do -3/-3 with this often enough that it sneaks into the lower B range. If it was always -3/-3 it would be a 3.5. And sometimes this will be even more than -3/-3 – though I think we have to accept the wide range of outcomes with this, and the fact that -2/-2 is probably going to happen a lot.
Favor of Jukai image 2.0 Channeling this will be the better deal most of the time, as the tricks we see that offer that same boost and reach always tend to be pretty playable, but it is nice that you can also use this as a more permanent boost in situations where that’s better.
Peerless Samurai image 3.0 This is a nice little Common. A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is a decent starting point, and adding an “attack alone” payoff to the card is nice, and the one you get here is going to be pretty relevant, especially if you play the Samurai on turn 3. It is likely to help you either double spell or play a 4-drop on turn 4, and either of those are pretty appealing.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
Okiba Reckoner Raid image 2.5 Giving us a one mana saga like this is pretty interesting! You obviously get insane value for the investment of one mana, as you drain 2 life and get a 2/2 with Menace that gives vehicles Menace! This is going to feel like a pretty good turn one play, and even in the late game this can do some work. The life drain helps you survive until it becomes a creature, and its great that as soon as it transforms you can send in a vehicle in that is hard to block. Having to wait for the body a couple of turns is going to be a little frustrating, though.
Jukai Preserver image 3.0 At worst, this is a 4-mana 4/4, and its much better than that because it allows you to put counters wherever you want. The Channel part of the card is nice too, because sometimes utilizing this more like a trick, or spreading around the modifications is just better anyway. It slots nicely into the RG Modification deck, as well as Green-White Enchantments.
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 3: Imperial Oath
Thirst for Knowledge image 3.0 Drawing three and discarding two has you break even on cards with some pretty good card selection, while also maybe loading the graveyard. And if you have a random artifact you don’t really need in your current situation, this ends up feeling even more potent. I think Blue decks will usually play their first copy of this.
Leech Gauntlet image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 with Lifelink always makes the cut, and this one can reconfigure to give something else lifelink later in the game. It is a little sad it doesn’t also give a stats boost, but the idea is that you’ll have something sizable enough to put it on late – and if you don’t this can still just sit around as a creature.
Acquisition Octopus image 2.5 3-mana 2/2s that draw you a card when they hit the opponent are always kind of alright. If you can get a blocker out of the way, or give them evasion, they can do some work. The nice thing with this verison of it, is that if the Octopus can’t get it done on its own, it can give that ability to another creature that is more capable of getting in there.
Voltage Surge image 3.0 One mana to do two to a creature is usually pretty close to premium removal – you will be able to pay one mana to kill many creatures that cost more! This having the additional “sacrifice an artifact” option to upgrade it to doing 4 damage is definitely enough for it to be premium, as doing 4 for one mana is a really good deal, though you may not always have an expendable artifact to give up.
Imperial Oath image 1.5 Three bodies + Scry 3 for six isn’t the worst thing ever, but it also isn’t quite as impactful as I’d like a six mana spell to be. Those three bodies can help, but there are also plenty of board states where they don’t do a whole lot for you.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Experimental Synthesizer image 2.0 So, up front it effectively draws you a card, and because this only costs one mana, it won’t usually be hard for you to play that card – and, it very nicely allows you to play lands. Now, this does mean playing it really early isn’t going to feel great, because you are less likely to be able to utilize whatever you hit, but starting around turn 4 it starts to be a nice play, and it effectively ends up as a 2-for-1, because you can also get a Samurai out of it. I do think the awkwardness of playing this early definitely hinders it, but I think you’ll end up playing this often enough in Red decks, perhaps the most in RB, which likes sacrificing them. But it also overlaps a bit into other archetypes – UR likes artifacts in general and RW like Samurai, for example.
Guardians of Oboro image 2.0 A 3-mana ¾ with Defender is kind of okay in a more controlling deck, and if you modify this one – or other creatures with Defender – they can attack. That’s kind of cool, though not exactly an incredible payoff. This seems fine.
Heir of the Ancient Fang image 2.5 This is a 3-mana ⅔ that will sometimes be a 3-mana ¾, and in a curve out in a RG deck there’s a good chance it goes that way.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Island image
Pack 1 Pick 4: Leech Gauntlet
Leech Gauntlet image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 with Lifelink always makes the cut, and this one can reconfigure to give something else lifelink later in the game. It is a little sad it doesn’t also give a stats boost, but the idea is that you’ll have something sizable enough to put it on late – and if you don’t this can still just sit around as a creature.
Covert Technician image 2.5 The combat trigger that the Technician has is unfortunately quite narrow. If you aren’t augmenting it in some way, you’ll only be able to put 2 mana or less Artifacts into play with it, and while you’ll probably have some of those in Blue, there aren’t so many that you will consistently be able to actually put something into play with it. Especially if you aren’t drawing extra cards. It is still a 3-mana 2/4 with upside, and being an Artifact And a Ninja is useful too.
Blade-Blizzard Kitsune image 3.5 3-mana for a 2/2 Double Striker is actually a great rate, and I kind of think that would probably be a 3.0 in any format. Its just a creature that can punch above its weight class really well, easily take down other cards that are two and three mana, and it hits hard, and it is both a good blocker and attacker. This set has plenty of Auras, +1/+1 counters, and Equipment, all of which go really well with the Kitsune. The Ninjutsu here is some nice additional upside, as sometimes maybe you want to sneak in 4 damage for lethal, or there is some other benefit to casting it that way, but I think you’ll more frequently just cast this for three mana and Ninjutsu it – so, I don’t actually think the Ninja angle here is huge upside.
Bearer of Memory image 1.5 This doesn’t have great base stats, and its ability is incredibly costly, and even not that impressive in the extreme late game. This isn’t something you’ll play most of the time.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Skyswimmer Koi image 3.0 This has pretty nice stats as a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer, and while its artifact pay off ability isn’t amazing, adding a loot effect to all of your artifacts is definitely relevant upside.
Regent's Authority image 1.5 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around. 32 – Regent’s Authority – 1.5 This is a solid trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a good rate in general, and the additional enchantment/legendary creature upside is something you’ll be able to take advantage often enough.
Guardians of Oboro image 2.0 A 3-mana ¾ with Defender is kind of okay in a more controlling deck, and if you modify this one – or other creatures with Defender – they can attack. That’s kind of cool, though not exactly an incredible payoff. This seems fine.
Kami of Terrible Secrets image 1.5 // 3.0 A 4-mana ¾ is not a great stat-line these days, so you are going to want to be drawing a card off of this around half the time for it to be worth it. And…that’s not going to be automatic in every Black deck in the format, since this asks you to have both an Artifact and Enchantment. That’s certainly easier to do in this format than it is in most, but if you’re in say, UB Ninjas or the BG graveyard deck – that’s not something you’re going to be focused on. In a lot of ways, this is a BW gold card, because that’s the deck that has a whole bunch of reasons to get both an Artifact and an Enchantment in play.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
Season of Renewal image 1.0 // 2.5 You need to be getting both a creature and an enchantment back when you use this, or you aren’t going to be getting enough for your investment. While Enchantments are pretty plentiful in this set, especially in Green, I do think this needs a build around.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 5: Wanderer's Intervention
Runaway Trash-Bot image 1.5 // 3.0 Obviously enough, you need to really get there on a graveyard-centric artifact/enchantment deck or this is going to be a pretty disappointing card. If you do get there, this looks like a pretty reasonable payoff. As long as it is like, a 2/4 you’re going to feel alright, especially because its likely to grow from there.
Roadside Reliquary image 3.0 Like Mech Hanger, this is another nice utility land where it is worth running despite the fact that it may make your mana base a little worse. This produces mana for you when that’s what you need, and then when you’re in need of some extra gas, you can sacrifice this. You’re typically going to be able to draw a single card pretty easily, and drawing 2 with it is also going to happen a fair bit. That’s some very nice upside.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
Careful Cultivation image 2.5 In a lot of formats, a two mana 1/1 that can tap for Green mana is very playable, and this is better than that in a lot of ways, since you can stick it out there at Instant speed. Meanwhile, the Aura side of things does a pretty good of ramping you too, and offers a solid stat boost. I do sort of feel like you’re going to be more interesting in Channeling this the most of the time, as I think that’s the best deal you can get here.
Suit Up image 1.5 These types of effects are almost always not worth it – they keep pushing them on us, though! What makes them bad is the fact that you only resize a creature. Making one into a 4/5 for 3 mana is not normally going to be a very good rate, and that’s even if you’re including the ability to turn Vehicles on like this can. You’re going to get a small stats boost in most cases, and that just isn’t worth the risk of getting blown out by removal. They did do one thing here that’s pretty interesting though: They added a cantrip. That certainly makes this better, as at worst you can sort of cycle this for three mana, and if you do manage to resize a creature and win combat you’ll actually feel like you’re doing something – but it still isn’t very good for the same reasons these effects never are: They don’t do enough for their cost and they are also very risky!
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Wanderer's Intervention image 2.5 This is restrictive about what it can kill – both because of the 4 damage and the “attacking or blocking” restriction, but it will often feel reasonably efficient. I don’t quite consider something like this premium because of how restrictive it is, but I think you end up playing the first copy pretty often in your White decks
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
Plains image
Pack 1 Pick 6: Hinata, Dawn-Crowned
Hinata, Dawn-Crowned image 3.5 This has great stats and a couple of great static abilities. You do have to have Jeskai mana to cast it, which isn’t going to be the easiest to make happen. If it were in one of the green shards or wedges, it would be a little easier. It is both difficult to cast and not exactly game-ending when you do manage to. Sure, it has the nice stats that are relevant all game long, and the abilities matter too – but the abilities will have waning value as the game goes on. I still think you can take this highly and try to get fixing together, but it probably isn’t very close to being a bomb.
Born to Drive image 3.0 If this was just an Aura, I wouldn’t be that impressed. Its costly, dependent on your board state, and doesn’t do anything to keep you from getting blown out by removal. I would be likely to give it a 1.5. However, because the card has Channel, which effectively makes it into a reasonable 3-mana spell that makes two 1/1 tokens that are good at crewing vehicles, it is a lot better. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you’ll probably channel this more than you cast it as a spell! Still, once you have the Channel mode, it is nice that you have the Aura mode as a late-game possibility, because if you time it right on an evasive creature, an Aura like Born to Drive can end the game.
Dramatist's Puppet image 1.5 There’s a lot of counters in this set, so taking them away from your opponent or adding them to your own things is definitely relevant, but it still won’t always actually be able to do a thing, and when it can’t it will still be a 4-mana 2/4, which is pretty bad.
Bamboo Grove Archer image 2.5 This is a very nice defensive creature. A two mana 3/3 with Reach will slow the board to a grinding halt in the early game, and the fact that you can use it as a Plummet sometimes is nice upside. It isn’t exactly the kind of card all decks will want, but grinder Green decks will probably be happy to play a few of these – while aggro decks probably aren’t playing it at all.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Ambitious Assault image 2.0 Adding a conditional cantrip to Trumpet Blast is definitely interesting. This effect is really situational, but because it replaces itself, you end up with a card that – at worst – cycles for three mana, and you can also find more useful situations to use it in, since the card does replace itself.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Planar Incision image 1.0 This kind of card always seems to underperform. Sure, you can reuse an ETB ability, or save a creature from removal, but those situations aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and you have to have the mana up at precisely the right time! There are a few cards in the set – like Circuit Mender – that have abilities that trigger when they leave play, and I guess if you end up with a few of those, this starts to get a little more interesting, since you rebuy the leaves play ability as well as the enters the battlefield ability, but I’m still not really convinced.
Explosive Entry image 3.0 This is better in this format than it is in most, because there are artifacts everywhere. I think you can count on most opponents having at least 5 targets for this, and many will have more. Adding the +1/+1 counter to the mix is pretty nice. Against the most artifact-centric of decks it is just going to feel like one of your best cards, and against an opponent only playing a few artifacts, it will feel a bit like Plummet – but I think that range is still enough to play the first copy in the main deck of most Red decks.
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Pack 1 Pick 7: Mukotai Ambusher
Storyweave image 2.0 This is a really interesting design. The +1/+1 counter part of it can be a passable combat trick for sure, although the more powerful mode is assuredly the one where you accelerate your Saga and make a larger Enchantment creature. For pretty much every saga in the set, this will immeidatley make it into a creature with those two extra counters, and doing at Instant speed can let you ambush your opponent. Now, that use won’t always be possible – and as always we have to look at what this card will do on average – but I think it will do something nice with one of these modes often enough that it is at least a decent playable.
Heiko Yamazaki, the General image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 Trampler isn’t a very good rate, but this comes with a nice enough “lone attacker” Samurai/Warrior pay off, as this format has a lot of artifacts. You’ll be able to make use of it often enough for this to make the cut in most Red decks. If you have some other lone attacker payoffs, the fact it has trample will feel pretty good!
Imperial Subduer image 2.5 Tapping an opposing creature tends to be a pretty nice effect for aggro decks in Limited, as it can often enable some attacks you didn’t have without the tap. This does have an additional restriction, in that your Warrior or Samurai has to attack alone to do it – but it still seems pretty nice. The Subduer itself is a Warrior, so it triggers its own ability. The Samurai/Warrior deck seems to have other payoffs for attacking with one creature at a time too, so this seems like a solid Common.
Bearer of Memory image 1.5 This doesn’t have great base stats, and its ability is incredibly costly, and even not that impressive in the extreme late game. This isn’t something you’ll play most of the time.
Armguard Familiar image 2.5 This is a very solid playable. A two mana 2/1 with Ward 2 is already pretty close to passable, so adding the Reconfigure upside is really nice. It is a nice little creature early, and in the late game it can lend a much-needed stats boost, as well as a little bit of protection, for a more relevant creature.
Akki War Paint image 1.0 Getting an Enchanted creature destroyed is a pretty good way to lose a game because you get 2-for-1’d. Nice Auras tend to do something to offset that risk, and this doesn’t. This does give a pretty nice boost for the cost, and the set has payoffs for "modified" things, but I still have a hard time getting behind this.
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
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Pack 1 Pick 8: Imperial Subduer
Anchor to Reality image 0.0 // 2.5 Your typical Tutor tends to not be great in Limited…and I think that’s mostly the case here. You pay four mana, use up the Anchor and an artifact or creature in play to search up an Equipment or Vehicle and put it on to the battlefield. In other words, you are 2-for-1ing yourself. Now, there are some scenarios where maybe you run this – like if you have an absurd bomb this either an Equipment or Vehicle – but that’s pretty much it. So, if you have some really high costed card that has either of those types, this starts to get pretty interesting, but that’s a very narrow use, and this shouldn’t really be played in your typical Limited deck.
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Planar Incision image 1.0 This kind of card always seems to underperform. Sure, you can reuse an ETB ability, or save a creature from removal, but those situations aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and you have to have the mana up at precisely the right time! There are a few cards in the set – like Circuit Mender – that have abilities that trigger when they leave play, and I guess if you end up with a few of those, this starts to get a little more interesting, since you rebuy the leaves play ability as well as the enters the battlefield ability, but I’m still not really convinced.
Imperial Subduer image 2.5 Tapping an opposing creature tends to be a pretty nice effect for aggro decks in Limited, as it can often enable some attacks you didn’t have without the tap. This does have an additional restriction, in that your Warrior or Samurai has to attack alone to do it – but it still seems pretty nice. The Subduer itself is a Warrior, so it triggers its own ability. The Samurai/Warrior deck seems to have other payoffs for attacking with one creature at a time too, so this seems like a solid Common.
Saiba Trespassers image 2.0 This is a mediocre creature if you cast it that way, but it has the upside of freezing down two opposing creatures, and that’s something that can be pretty nice in the right situation, such as those where your opponent is dead as a result of not being able to block for a couple of turns. That mode is certainly the more powerful one, but it is pretty situational, so the fact it can be a creature if that’s what you really need isn’t too bad.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
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Pack 1 Pick 9: Undercity Scrounger
Secluded Courtyard image 1.0 // 2.5 So, this set does have a bit of a tribal element, but I think it will still be a bit difficult to make this actually produce mana of any color consistently enough that I don’t love this card in most Limited decks in this format. If it is producing colorless almost all the time, it isn’t worth it, because that makes your mana base way worse. You need a critical mass of creatures with the same type – and that’s doable – but it isn’t a forgone conclusion.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Iron Apprentice image 2.0 This format has plenty of counters, so putting more on this thing isn’t a huge stretch. It also gives you a creature that enters the battlefield modified, which powers up a bunch of cards in this format.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
Chainflail Centipede image 2.0 This is a Gray Ogre who attacks as a 4/2, with some reconfigure upside. I’m not ultra impressed with this as a creature or Equipment you put on something else. I mean, its fine, but I think you end up cutting it more than you’ll play it. It just isn’t very efficient no matter how you use it, and the stats boost is only useful if you’re the attacker.
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Pack 1 Pick 10: Inkrise Infiltrator
Historian's Wisdom image 2.0 This is an Aura I can get behind playing in Limited. That’s because it will replace itself pretty often, as +2 power on your biggest creature has a pretty decent shot at drawing you that card. That means you are no longer in danger of getting 2-for-1’d like you would be with a typical Aura. Now, it is still a little tricky to use, you have to be careful not to get blown out the turn you cast it, and it isn’t game-breaking or anything – but it seems perfectly solid.
Essence Capture image 2.0 This is a card we’ve seen printed a few times now, and its always decent. Once you get down to two mana, Counterspells get pretty interesting, and while it is unfortunate this one costs double blue, it is still fairly easy to get value out of it, as most decks will have 15+ targets, and the +1/+1 counter is a great thing to tack on.
Inkrise Infiltrator image 2.0 If this format didn’t have Ninjutsu, this would be a lot worse. It doesn’t have the best starting stats, and the ability to buff it, while sometimes useful late, certainly isn’t especially efficient. However, in a world where you want to play an early evasive creature that you can use to get in with a Ninja, well – its a solid playable.
Favor of Jukai image 2.0 Channeling this will be the better deal most of the time, as the tricks we see that offer that same boost and reach always tend to be pretty playable, but it is nice that you can also use this as a more permanent boost in situations where that’s better.
Peerless Samurai image 3.0 This is a nice little Common. A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is a decent starting point, and adding an “attack alone” payoff to the card is nice, and the one you get here is going to be pretty relevant, especially if you play the Samurai on turn 3. It is likely to help you either double spell or play a 4-drop on turn 4, and either of those are pretty appealing.
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Pack 1 Pick 11: You Are Already Dead
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Guardians of Oboro image 2.0 A 3-mana ¾ with Defender is kind of okay in a more controlling deck, and if you modify this one – or other creatures with Defender – they can attack. That’s kind of cool, though not exactly an incredible payoff. This seems fine.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
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Pack 1 Pick 12: Regent's Authority
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Regent's Authority image 1.5 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around. 32 – Regent’s Authority – 1.5 This is a solid trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a good rate in general, and the additional enchantment/legendary creature upside is something you’ll be able to take advantage often enough.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
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Pack 1 Pick 13: Mukotai Ambusher
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
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Pack 1 Pick 14: Gift of Wrath
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
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Pack 1 Pick 15: Island
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Pack 2 Pick 1: Imperial Oath
Kotose, the Silent Spider image 4.0 This has a neat design. Kotose is effectively a 5-mana 4/4 that draws you a card – and generally a pretty meaningful one. Sure, it is a little dependent on what your opponent has, but they are bound to have something very useful – whether its some random creature or a removal spell or whatever. Tacking the “Lobotomy” effect on to this is kind of interesting, but won’t really matter very often in Limited, where duplicates are less common. Of course, if you steal their best removal spell from their graveyard, and exile another copy from their deck, it will feel pretty good!
Awakened Awareness image 1.0 This is pretty flexible – although it isn’t that good at either thing it does. If you’re looking for removal, you can just pay UU to make an opposing creature into a 1/1. It still keeps all of its abilities, though. If you want to pay more mana, you can use it to make one of your creatures big…but not really that much bigger if your creature is of a reasonable size at all. Yeah, overall, this is either a bad removal spell or an overcosted Aura to pump one of your creatures, and while I value flexibility – neither option here is very appealing.
Spinning Wheel Kick image 3.0 This is a neat take on this type of Green removal. It has a way higher ceiling than most cards like it, but it also has a pretty disappointing floor. You have to pay 4 mana to do the damage to one thing – and at Sorcery speed. That’s something we have gotten pretty regularly for about 3 mana of late and at Instant speed. It not being an Instant matters for sure too, because with this type of spell you have to pick your spots carefully, as a removal spell will utterly blow you out. So yeah, the floor here…not great. However, if you pay 6 for this, and it lets you take down TWO creatures, you’re going to feel pretty awesome, and in the extreme late game it can do even more work than that. I don’t quite think it is premium, though. The baseline is too inefficient and clunky, and the requirements that a card like this already asks you for – that is, having a creature with high power, and your opponent not being able to interact in response – those things it asks for you are already a big enough hurdle.
Naomi, Pillar of Order image 3.0 I don’t love the stat-line here, but if you can consistently generate 2/2 tokens with it, its going to feel pretty good. That said, a 5-mana 4/4 will frequently be an underwhelming attacker, so counting on it doing its thing more than twice is probably a little too optimistic. Now, this set does have a lot of Equipment and Auras – both things that this card also synergizes with, so maybe it will be a good attacker more often than I think – but it still has the not insignificant set-up cost that demands you have both an artifact and enchantment around in the first place. Which, while doable, does further limit a card that has a pretty ugly floor as a 5-mana 4/4. It is definitely going to generate some serious value in decks that really get there with it, but right now I’m not ultra impressed with this signpost Uncommon.
Michiko's Reign of Truth image 3.5 There are enough Artifacts and Enchantments around that Chapter I and II are likely to provide significant buffs – since it counts itself, it will at least give something +1/+1, and that’s not too shabby – sometimes it will do a ton more than that. Once it becomes a creature it might struggle to be large – but probably not, as there are enough artifacts and Enchantments that her being a 2/2 is a pretty likely outcome, and considering your total investment, and how meaningful chapter I and II will usually be, you’re getting a pretty good deal – and sometimes she’ll be massive!
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Brute Suit image 2.5 This is a nice little Vehicle at Common. 1 to crew is super easy, and its no joke as an attacker. As we’ve seen, there’s lots of Vehicle stuff going on this set too.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Imperial Oath image 1.5 Three bodies + Scry 3 for six isn’t the worst thing ever, but it also isn’t quite as impactful as I’d like a six mana spell to be. Those three bodies can help, but there are also plenty of board states where they don’t do a whole lot for you.
Disruption Protocol image 2.0 If you have enough Artifacts around and consistent access to Blue mana, this seems reasonable. If you are paying 1UU for it, then you’re not getting a very good deal – Cancel is just so much worse than Counterspell! There are enough Artifacts in this set, though, that I think this will be Counterspell often enough that I just want to give it a C. Counterspells have their problems in Limited – namely that you have to have the mana up at the right time – which in a way makes them very conditional removal – but when the mana you need to leave up is two or less, we see the Counterspells end up being fairly playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Bamboo Grove Archer image 2.5 This is a very nice defensive creature. A two mana 3/3 with Reach will slow the board to a grinding halt in the early game, and the fact that you can use it as a Plummet sometimes is nice upside. It isn’t exactly the kind of card all decks will want, but grinder Green decks will probably be happy to play a few of these – while aggro decks probably aren’t playing it at all.
Voltage Surge image 3.0 One mana to do two to a creature is usually pretty close to premium removal – you will be able to pay one mana to kill many creatures that cost more! This having the additional “sacrifice an artifact” option to upgrade it to doing 4 damage is definitely enough for it to be premium, as doing 4 for one mana is a really good deal, though you may not always have an expendable artifact to give up.
Fang of Shigeki image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are always playable, mostly because they have the ability to trade up with just about anything. This one also comes with Enchantment and Ninja upside, though in Green probably only the former matters. Still, you probably won’t ever cut the first few copies of these from your Green decks.
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Pack 2 Pick 2: The Fall of Lord Konda
Otawara, Soaring City image 3.5 Another great land. If you need an Island early, it’ll do that for you, and then in the late game it can be a pretty nice bounce spell. The flexibility this offers is just really good.
Upriser Renegade image 3.0 Its a little bit sad that the Outlaw doesn’t count itself, as modifying it would be incredible if it did! Still, Red has lots of ways to curve out with modified creatures, making this hit pretty hard.
Historian's Wisdom image 2.0 This is an Aura I can get behind playing in Limited. That’s because it will replace itself pretty often, as +2 power on your biggest creature has a pretty decent shot at drawing you that card. That means you are no longer in danger of getting 2-for-1’d like you would be with a typical Aura. Now, it is still a little tricky to use, you have to be careful not to get blown out the turn you cast it, and it isn’t game-breaking or anything – but it seems perfectly solid.
The Fall of Lord Konda image 2.5 When you have a target for Chapter I, this is going to feel pretty darn good. Unfortunately, Chapter II is practically meaningless, so the other two chapters really need to carry their weight. But yeah, if you hit something with Chapter I and then get Fragment of Konda two turns later, you’ll feel like you’re doing a pretty good job, as you’ll end up with 2 cards worth of value. However, when you can’t hit a thing with Chapter I, there is almost no reason to cast this, and that certainly hurts. This format does have lots of ways to modify creatures, so 4 power will probably show up reasonably often, but probably still not often enough for this to quite do the job consistently enough to be anything more than a 2.5. If you get a hit with Chapter I, it will feel like a 3.5 – if you don’t, it’ll feel like a 1.0 at best, so there’s a pretty big chasm there.
Suit Up image 1.5 These types of effects are almost always not worth it – they keep pushing them on us, though! What makes them bad is the fact that you only resize a creature. Making one into a 4/5 for 3 mana is not normally going to be a very good rate, and that’s even if you’re including the ability to turn Vehicles on like this can. You’re going to get a small stats boost in most cases, and that just isn’t worth the risk of getting blown out by removal. They did do one thing here that’s pretty interesting though: They added a cantrip. That certainly makes this better, as at worst you can sort of cycle this for three mana, and if you do manage to resize a creature and win combat you’ll actually feel like you’re doing something – but it still isn’t very good for the same reasons these effects never are: They don’t do enough for their cost and they are also very risky!
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Geothermal Kami image 2.0 It is a fine 4-mana 4/3 in a worst-case, but it comes with an effect that can be pretty sweet in some situations. Returning something like a Saga you want to go back to chapter one on, or an Aura you wanted to move anyway – will be particularly nice, and the fact this tacks on 3 life is nice too.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image 2.0 This has decent stats and repeatedly Scrying does make your draws better. Its also an artifact for the decks that care about that, and a relatively cheap flyer for Ninjutsu.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Futurist Sentinel image 2.0 We have seen a Colorless version of this in the past – I think it was called Irontread Crusher or something – and it was alright, but nothing special. It is pretty reasonably costed both to cast and to crew – it lets you rumble with a much larger creature than you would normally be able to on turn 5!
Scoured Barrens image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Imperial Oath
Eiganjo Uprising image 2.5 This is a weird card. It will be good if you can win the game win you cast it, but it will pretty much be a dead card if you can’t. The good news is, Haste + Menace on all of your tokens does stand a pretty reasonable chance at helping you do lethal. If you use it and can’t kill your opponent, it won’t accomplish much, since they get almost as many tokens as you do. You do add one more token than they do, so you do come out ahead, but if you are at parity or behind, casting this is going to feel pretty bad in a lot of situations. It will definitely close out some games, but you have to factor in how mediocre it is in other situations.
Jukai Naturalist image 3.5 A two mana 2/2 with lifelink is pretty nice, and reducing the cost of Enchantments is pretty nice too! As it often is, GW is about Enchantments in this set, so that will definitely be coming up.
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Bearer of Memory image 1.5 This doesn’t have great base stats, and its ability is incredibly costly, and even not that impressive in the extreme late game. This isn’t something you’ll play most of the time.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Geothermal Kami image 2.0 It is a fine 4-mana 4/3 in a worst-case, but it comes with an effect that can be pretty sweet in some situations. Returning something like a Saga you want to go back to chapter one on, or an Aura you wanted to move anyway – will be particularly nice, and the fact this tacks on 3 life is nice too.
Kami of Restless Shadows image 1.0 // 3.0 If you aren’t returning a Ninja or Rogue to your hand consistently with this, it is going to be much worse. Putting your best graveyard creature on top of your library is nice, but not nearly as good, because you aren’t actually gaining a card, you’re just doing some card selection, and that’s just a massive step down. Returning a creature to your hand is likely to give you a 2-for-1, while that’s not possible if you’re putting something on top. Obviously, if the creature you put back is a bomb or something you’ll still be pretty happy, but if that’s all this is doing, it probably isn’t worth it, as a 5-mana 3/3 is a pretty bad statline.
Imperial Oath image 1.5 Three bodies + Scry 3 for six isn’t the worst thing ever, but it also isn’t quite as impactful as I’d like a six mana spell to be. Those three bodies can help, but there are also plenty of board states where they don’t do a whole lot for you.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Swiftwater Cliffs image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Okiba Reckoner Raid
March of Reckless Joy image 3.5 This looks pretty good. Even if you only pay 3, you are basically getting an Instant speed divination, which is a pretty darn good deal, and the more mana you pump into it, the more card selection you get. You won’t ever get more than 2 cards though, so it almost seems like paying 3 is going to give you the most value. I like that you don’t need to invest a ton of mana into this to make it really do something nice – but you still have the option to pump a bunch of mana into it if you’re desperate to find a particular card.
Spinning Wheel Kick image 3.0 This is a neat take on this type of Green removal. It has a way higher ceiling than most cards like it, but it also has a pretty disappointing floor. You have to pay 4 mana to do the damage to one thing – and at Sorcery speed. That’s something we have gotten pretty regularly for about 3 mana of late and at Instant speed. It not being an Instant matters for sure too, because with this type of spell you have to pick your spots carefully, as a removal spell will utterly blow you out. So yeah, the floor here…not great. However, if you pay 6 for this, and it lets you take down TWO creatures, you’re going to feel pretty awesome, and in the extreme late game it can do even more work than that. I don’t quite think it is premium, though. The baseline is too inefficient and clunky, and the requirements that a card like this already asks you for – that is, having a creature with high power, and your opponent not being able to interact in response – those things it asks for you are already a big enough hurdle.
Jukai Naturalist image 3.5 A two mana 2/2 with lifelink is pretty nice, and reducing the cost of Enchantments is pretty nice too! As it often is, GW is about Enchantments in this set, so that will definitely be coming up.
Debt to the Kami image 2.5 Keep in mind, your opponent chooses what gets exiled when you use this. So, mostly, it will feel like a three mana edict effect, and those have waning value as the game goes on and your opponent is more and more likely to have something very expendable to give up. It can be pretty potent early. And, because you choose the option, you can at least choose the one that is the toughest for them to decide – for example if they have only one creature or one enchantment the choice is easy – but its also pretty easy if they only have two of one of them and so forth. The fact its an Instant means you can deploy it at the exact right time a little more easily too – but still. Its removal that you don’t really have enough control over.
Towashi Songshaper image 2.0 It won’t be hard for it to be a 3/2 attacker on many turns, and that’s not too shabby as an artifact payoff.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Mnemonic Sphere image 2.5 This is basically an Artifact-based version of Hieroglyphic Illumination, which was an Instant you could pay 4 for to draw two cards, and it had cycling for one Blue mana. Hard for a card like this to ever be bad, since at worst it replaces itself really efficiently. Then there’s this format artifact synergy and so forth!
Okiba Reckoner Raid image 2.5 Giving us a one mana saga like this is pretty interesting! You obviously get insane value for the investment of one mana, as you drain 2 life and get a 2/2 with Menace that gives vehicles Menace! This is going to feel like a pretty good turn one play, and even in the late game this can do some work. The life drain helps you survive until it becomes a creature, and its great that as soon as it transforms you can send in a vehicle in that is hard to block. Having to wait for the body a couple of turns is going to be a little frustrating, though.
Fang of Shigeki image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are always playable, mostly because they have the ability to trade up with just about anything. This one also comes with Enchantment and Ninja upside, though in Green probably only the former matters. Still, you probably won’t ever cut the first few copies of these from your Green decks.
Imperial Subduer image 2.5 Tapping an opposing creature tends to be a pretty nice effect for aggro decks in Limited, as it can often enable some attacks you didn’t have without the tap. This does have an additional restriction, in that your Warrior or Samurai has to attack alone to do it – but it still seems pretty nice. The Subduer itself is a Warrior, so it triggers its own ability. The Samurai/Warrior deck seems to have other payoffs for attacking with one creature at a time too, so this seems like a solid Common.
Scoured Barrens image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Dismal Backwater
Heiko Yamazaki, the General image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 Trampler isn’t a very good rate, but this comes with a nice enough “lone attacker” Samurai/Warrior pay off, as this format has a lot of artifacts. You’ll be able to make use of it often enough for this to make the cut in most Red decks. If you have some other lone attacker payoffs, the fact it has trample will feel pretty good!
Awakened Awareness image 1.0 This is pretty flexible – although it isn’t that good at either thing it does. If you’re looking for removal, you can just pay UU to make an opposing creature into a 1/1. It still keeps all of its abilities, though. If you want to pay more mana, you can use it to make one of your creatures big…but not really that much bigger if your creature is of a reasonable size at all. Yeah, overall, this is either a bad removal spell or an overcosted Aura to pump one of your creatures, and while I value flexibility – neither option here is very appealing.
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Papercraft Decoy image 2.0 This is another card where the trigger only requires it to leave the battlefield, so it getting blinked, or going back to your hand for ninjutsu will also give you the option of paying 2 to draw a card. You won’t always have the mana vailable to do it of course, but I think you’ll have it often enough that this is a pretty solid two drop in most decks.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image 2.0 This seems like the kind of Ninja who will only make your deck if you’re really loaded up with payoffs for Ninjas and Ninjutsu. It just isn’t that impressive either way you play it.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
Fade into Antiquity image 2.5 There are so many Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that this will virtually always have a target, and is something you’ll basically always want one of in your main deck. It even kills a ton of creatures! I do still think that it is a little too restrictive to be straight up premium, but its pretty close.
Dismal Backwater image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Eiganjo Exemplar
Reinforced Ronin image 3.0 Even if we don’t look at some of the synergies this card has, it would probably be pretty solid. You can play it and get in for 2 when you can, and when you can’t, you can effectively cycle it away with channel. However, there are several things in this set that make this better than all of that. First, it isn’t too bad with ninjutsu, since you can have it come down out of nowhere, and its returning to your hand anyway. Second, it is good with “attacks alone” Samurai stuff, because it can come down and get those benefits immediately, making it a much more problematic attacker than it would otherwise be. And third, its an Artifact, and there are various cards in this set that do a thing when an Artifact enters the battlefield, and it can trigger them repeatedly.
Fang of Shigeki image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are always playable, mostly because they have the ability to trade up with just about anything. This one also comes with Enchantment and Ninja upside, though in Green probably only the former matters. Still, you probably won’t ever cut the first few copies of these from your Green decks.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Ironhoof Boar image 2.5 This really reminds me of the Bloodrush Mechanic, which allowed you to pay some mana and discard a creature card for a trick – so, yeah. This isn’t the greatest as a creature or a trick – the small toughness boost does limit the number of combats you can win with the boar’s channel, but it also has the upside of really letting you run over a creature and do a ton of damage. I like the flexibility here.
Eiganjo Exemplar image 3.0 It counts itself of course, so even without any other samurais around it attacks as a 3/2. One really nice thing is that you can play this, and then on the same turn attack with another Samurai, and +1/+1 is likely to help it attack more effectively.
Akki War Paint image 1.0 Getting an Enchanted creature destroyed is a pretty good way to lose a game because you get 2-for-1’d. Nice Auras tend to do something to offset that risk, and this doesn’t. This does give a pretty nice boost for the cost, and the set has payoffs for "modified" things, but I still have a hard time getting behind this.
Inkrise Infiltrator image 2.0 If this format didn’t have Ninjutsu, this would be a lot worse. It doesn’t have the best starting stats, and the ability to buff it, while sometimes useful late, certainly isn’t especially efficient. However, in a world where you want to play an early evasive creature that you can use to get in with a Ninja, well – its a solid playable.
Peerless Samurai image 3.0 This is a nice little Common. A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is a decent starting point, and adding an “attack alone” payoff to the card is nice, and the one you get here is going to be pretty relevant, especially if you play the Samurai on turn 3. It is likely to help you either double spell or play a 4-drop on turn 4, and either of those are pretty appealing.
Grafted Growth image 1.5 We have seen similar cards before, and the fact they fix and ramp for you while adding a little something to the board always makes them pretty reasonable, especially if you’re in the market for mana of any color. You probably don’t play it in a two-color deck, though.
Forest image
Pack 2 Pick 7: Nezumi Bladeblesser
Bronze Cudgels image 1.5 This has a unique design, but the lack of a boost to toughness and the requirement to pump mana into it is pretty hefty. I can sort of see late game situations where you just have all the mana in the world to use on this, and at that stage of the game its going to be pretty nice, as you can just put in on anything and that creature will have to be blocked. But what about the rest of the game? In the early going, it is pretty close to useless, because you just won’t have enough mana to make it do anything significant. So I have a hard time getting behind this with any enthusiasm. There’s an equipment and an artifact theme in this set that definitely give it some bonus points.
Repel the Vile image 2.5 This is much better in this format than it would be in your typical one. There are so many Enchantments around that that mode might actually be the one that is available to you the most often, and the fact it can take down large creatures is no small thing either. It isn’t quite premium, giving the restrictions and the cost, but it seems like a fine Common.
Armguard Familiar image 2.5 This is a very solid playable. A two mana 2/1 with Ward 2 is already pretty close to passable, so adding the Reconfigure upside is really nice. It is a nice little creature early, and in the late game it can lend a much-needed stats boost, as well as a little bit of protection, for a more relevant creature.
Explosive Entry image 3.0 This is better in this format than it is in most, because there are artifacts everywhere. I think you can count on most opponents having at least 5 targets for this, and many will have more. Adding the +1/+1 counter to the mix is pretty nice. Against the most artifact-centric of decks it is just going to feel like one of your best cards, and against an opponent only playing a few artifacts, it will feel a bit like Plummet – but I think that range is still enough to play the first copy in the main deck of most Red decks.
Light the Way image 1.0 We see cards with two modal effects like this a lot, and they are almost always underwhelming. It seems like you’ll always be able to do something meaningful with one of the modes, but it just doesn’t work out that way all that often. When you can use it as a trick to help your creature win combat, or help a creature dodge removal, or you rebuy an ETB ability it will feel good, but mostly this won’t give you a full card worth of value often enough.
Dramatist's Puppet image 1.5 There’s a lot of counters in this set, so taking them away from your opponent or adding them to your own things is definitely relevant, but it still won’t always actually be able to do a thing, and when it can’t it will still be a 4-mana 2/4, which is pretty bad.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Imperial Subduer image 2.5 Tapping an opposing creature tends to be a pretty nice effect for aggro decks in Limited, as it can often enable some attacks you didn’t have without the tap. This does have an additional restriction, in that your Warrior or Samurai has to attack alone to do it – but it still seems pretty nice. The Subduer itself is a Warrior, so it triggers its own ability. The Samurai/Warrior deck seems to have other payoffs for attacking with one creature at a time too, so this seems like a solid Common.
Plains image
Pack 2 Pick 8: Clawing Torment
Bronze Cudgels image 1.5 This has a unique design, but the lack of a boost to toughness and the requirement to pump mana into it is pretty hefty. I can sort of see late game situations where you just have all the mana in the world to use on this, and at that stage of the game its going to be pretty nice, as you can just put in on anything and that creature will have to be blocked. But what about the rest of the game? In the early going, it is pretty close to useless, because you just won’t have enough mana to make it do anything significant. So I have a hard time getting behind this with any enthusiasm. There’s an equipment and an artifact theme in this set that definitely give it some bonus points.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image 2.0 This seems like the kind of Ninja who will only make your deck if you’re really loaded up with payoffs for Ninjas and Ninjutsu. It just isn’t that impressive either way you play it.
Saiba Trespassers image 2.0 This is a mediocre creature if you cast it that way, but it has the upside of freezing down two opposing creatures, and that’s something that can be pretty nice in the right situation, such as those where your opponent is dead as a result of not being able to block for a couple of turns. That mode is certainly the more powerful one, but it is pretty situational, so the fact it can be a creature if that’s what you really need isn’t too bad.
Clawing Torment image 2.0 This can outright kill X/1s, and takes away the ability of all creatures to block – while also slowly bleeding the opponent out. If you’re in a really aggressive Black deck, I can see playing this, but in situations where you aren’t the beatdown, it isn’t going to be very good. Your opponent just won’t always care about their creature getting a little smaller and being unable to block. It is notable that it is an Enchantment you can keep around on the table for awhile, and you kind of want to because it hurts your opponent – and that goes well in the Black-White deck, which wants an Artifact and Enchantment to be around for its various effects This is probably mostly an aggro deck special.
Favor of Jukai image 2.0 Channeling this will be the better deal most of the time, as the tricks we see that offer that same boost and reach always tend to be pretty playable, but it is nice that you can also use this as a more permanent boost in situations where that’s better.
Akki War Paint image 1.0 Getting an Enchanted creature destroyed is a pretty good way to lose a game because you get 2-for-1’d. Nice Auras tend to do something to offset that risk, and this doesn’t. This does give a pretty nice boost for the cost, and the set has payoffs for "modified" things, but I still have a hard time getting behind this.
Rugged Highlands image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Undercity Scrounger
Awakened Awareness image 1.0 This is pretty flexible – although it isn’t that good at either thing it does. If you’re looking for removal, you can just pay UU to make an opposing creature into a 1/1. It still keeps all of its abilities, though. If you want to pay more mana, you can use it to make one of your creatures big…but not really that much bigger if your creature is of a reasonable size at all. Yeah, overall, this is either a bad removal spell or an overcosted Aura to pump one of your creatures, and while I value flexibility – neither option here is very appealing.
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Brute Suit image 2.5 This is a nice little Vehicle at Common. 1 to crew is super easy, and its no joke as an attacker. As we’ve seen, there’s lots of Vehicle stuff going on this set too.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Fang of Shigeki image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are always playable, mostly because they have the ability to trade up with just about anything. This one also comes with Enchantment and Ninja upside, though in Green probably only the former matters. Still, you probably won’t ever cut the first few copies of these from your Green decks.
Swamp image
Pack 2 Pick 10: Nezumi Bladeblesser
Upriser Renegade image 3.0 Its a little bit sad that the Outlaw doesn’t count itself, as modifying it would be incredible if it did! Still, Red has lots of ways to curve out with modified creatures, making this hit pretty hard.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Futurist Sentinel image 2.0 We have seen a Colorless version of this in the past – I think it was called Irontread Crusher or something – and it was alright, but nothing special. It is pretty reasonably costed both to cast and to crew – it lets you rumble with a much larger creature than you would normally be able to on turn 5!
Pack 2 Pick 11: Malicious Malfunction
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Kami of Restless Shadows image 1.0 // 3.0 If you aren’t returning a Ninja or Rogue to your hand consistently with this, it is going to be much worse. Putting your best graveyard creature on top of your library is nice, but not nearly as good, because you aren’t actually gaining a card, you’re just doing some card selection, and that’s just a massive step down. Returning a creature to your hand is likely to give you a 2-for-1, while that’s not possible if you’re putting something on top. Obviously, if the creature you put back is a bomb or something you’ll still be pretty happy, but if that’s all this is doing, it probably isn’t worth it, as a 5-mana 3/3 is a pretty bad statline.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Golden-Tail Disciple
Debt to the Kami image 2.5 Keep in mind, your opponent chooses what gets exiled when you use this. So, mostly, it will feel like a three mana edict effect, and those have waning value as the game goes on and your opponent is more and more likely to have something very expendable to give up. It can be pretty potent early. And, because you choose the option, you can at least choose the one that is the toughest for them to decide – for example if they have only one creature or one enchantment the choice is easy – but its also pretty easy if they only have two of one of them and so forth. The fact its an Instant means you can deploy it at the exact right time a little more easily too – but still. Its removal that you don’t really have enough control over.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Mnemonic Sphere image 2.5 This is basically an Artifact-based version of Hieroglyphic Illumination, which was an Instant you could pay 4 for to draw two cards, and it had cycling for one Blue mana. Hard for a card like this to ever be bad, since at worst it replaces itself really efficiently. Then there’s this format artifact synergy and so forth!
Pack 2 Pick 13: Kaito's Pursuit
Heiko Yamazaki, the General image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 Trampler isn’t a very good rate, but this comes with a nice enough “lone attacker” Samurai/Warrior pay off, as this format has a lot of artifacts. You’ll be able to make use of it often enough for this to make the cut in most Red decks. If you have some other lone attacker payoffs, the fact it has trample will feel pretty good!
Awakened Awareness image 1.0 This is pretty flexible – although it isn’t that good at either thing it does. If you’re looking for removal, you can just pay UU to make an opposing creature into a 1/1. It still keeps all of its abilities, though. If you want to pay more mana, you can use it to make one of your creatures big…but not really that much bigger if your creature is of a reasonable size at all. Yeah, overall, this is either a bad removal spell or an overcosted Aura to pump one of your creatures, and while I value flexibility – neither option here is very appealing.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Akki War Paint
Akki War Paint image 1.0 Getting an Enchanted creature destroyed is a pretty good way to lose a game because you get 2-for-1’d. Nice Auras tend to do something to offset that risk, and this doesn’t. This does give a pretty nice boost for the cost, and the set has payoffs for "modified" things, but I still have a hard time getting behind this.
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Pack 2 Pick 15: Plains
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Pack 3 Pick 1: Spirited Companion
Invoke the Winds image 4.5 As is the case with all the cards in this cycle, it is tricky to cast, but very powerful, and it is possible this is the most powerful of the bunch. Stealing an opposing permanent is one of the most powerful things you can do in Magic, as you remove whatever your opponent’s best artifact or creature is and add it to your own board. Untapping it might seem like a little thing, but frequently your opponent’s best thing will be tapped down, so getting it and being able to block with it right away actually matters. 5 mana is a very reasonable price for doing this – the problem is the quadruple Blue cost, which is usually tricky to assemble in Limited. That said, this is certainly powerful enough to take very, very early. Provided you keep it in mind and Blue is open, you should be able to draft fixing and lean a little extra into Blue so that you have a greater-than-normal chance of getting quadruple Blue mana in your deck. You probably need about 12 Blue sources to feel secure about it. While this is certainly hard to cast, I do think it is doable enough in this format, and the card is powerful enough, that it sneaks into the lower bomb range.
Discover the Impossible image 1.5 This gives you some nice card selection, but most of the time you’re going to just be spinning your wheels – getting one card from casting it for three mana – and most of the time its just going to feel worse than Divination. If you’re not adding to the board, you’ve got to be getting something pretty significant out of this. The upside on cheap spells is nice, and will make it feel a little more efficient, but its still just one card. I think you’ll find yourself cutting this card more than you’ll play it.
Generous Visitor image 4.0 This looks like a really good one drop. This set has a ton of Enchantments across the board – but especially in Green – so you end up with a one drop that can add a whole lot of +1/+1 counters to the board over the course of a game. And sure, it is quite fragile on its own, but even if you only get a single counter out of it, you’re getting good value – and sometimes this will be capable of just taking over games.
Patchwork Automaton image 3.5 I think this is pretty good. Obviously you need a lot of Artifacts, but there are plenty of those in this format. Ward 2 makes it so it is pretty hard for your opponent to deal with it when it is still small, and as it gets larger there will be fewer things that can deal with it – and generally the tax from Ward 2 will always make it feel a lot less bad when it does die. If this comes down early, it will get huge.
Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image 2.0 This has decent stats and repeatedly Scrying does make your draws better. Its also an artifact for the decks that care about that, and a relatively cheap flyer for Ninjutsu.
Akki Ronin image 1.5 If you need a two drop Samurai it is certainly that, though adding rummage to an attack isn’t super exciting in this format, it does allow you to sift through your library a bit.
Searchlight Companion image 3.0 This gives you some reasonable value for the cost, and its also a great card to combine with Ninjas, since it is not only evasive, but it also has an ETB ability, so recasting it will give you another token, and that’s some nice value to get on top of whatever it is you did with Ninjutsu.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image 2.0 This seems like the kind of Ninja who will only make your deck if you’re really loaded up with payoffs for Ninjas and Ninjutsu. It just isn’t that impressive either way you play it.
Unstoppable Ogre image 2.0 The enter the battlefield trigger on the card won’t always do something for you, but there will be a decent number of situations where it allows you to attack more effectively with your board. It can also crew everything which is nice.
Moonsnare Specialist image 3.5 This is a very good common. We have seen 4-mana 2/2s that Bounce a creature be very good in the past, and that’s what we have here as a base line. The Ninjutsu upside being tacked on means it can feel a little more like a Man-O’-War since you’re paying three mana, and being able to do it at instant speed may also enable you to break up an opposing block or something, which is pretty spicy.
Tales of Master Seshiro image 3.5 Chapter I and II actually give a fairly significant buff. +1/+1 counter + Vigilance for a turn is pretty sweet, because it not only enables a better attack, it allows you to alter how a race is going. Now, sometimes paying 5 for chapter one is going to feel pretty rough – like if getting the counter and vigilance doesn’t do much for you, but at the stage in the game that you play this, it is pretty likely to be useful. Then, you end up with a pretty nice creature – with haste and Vigilance – which will mean it can swing right away, unlike most of these saga-creatures. I think this might be Green’s best Common. It gives you a ton of very real value up front, and then a very nice creature.
Grafted Growth image 1.5 We have seen similar cards before, and the fact they fix and ramp for you while adding a little something to the board always makes them pretty reasonable, especially if you’re in the market for mana of any color. You probably don’t play it in a two-color deck, though.
Spirited Companion image 2.5 Well, it looks like White got an Elvish Visionary! That’s always a pretty nice card in Limited – as adding something to the board and getting a card out of it feels pretty good.
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Pack 3 Pick 2: Assassin's Ink
Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom image 2.5 This is the least impressive of all the Shrines. Milling is a tough win condition to do consistently in most formats, and that certainly looks to be the case here, and it also isn’t that easy to take advantage of it yourself in this format. So, unless you really get there on Shrines, this won’t do a whole lot for you. The others in this cycle are all pretty nice even if you have 0 other shrines, and that can’t really be said here. That said, it does have some things going for it – namely, that it is a two mana Flyer, which can help you set up Ninjutsu, and it also isn’t a bad place to put Equipment or countrers.
Heiko Yamazaki, the General image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 Trampler isn’t a very good rate, but this comes with a nice enough “lone attacker” Samurai/Warrior pay off, as this format has a lot of artifacts. You’ll be able to make use of it often enough for this to make the cut in most Red decks. If you have some other lone attacker payoffs, the fact it has trample will feel pretty good!
Assassin's Ink image 4.0 This is premium removal. Even if you always had to pay 4 mana for it, it would be premium – so the fact that it lets you decrease the cost all the way down to only 2 mana is really nice. It isn’t going to be easily splashable which is a little sad, but its still a great card.
The Fall of Lord Konda image 2.5 When you have a target for Chapter I, this is going to feel pretty darn good. Unfortunately, Chapter II is practically meaningless, so the other two chapters really need to carry their weight. But yeah, if you hit something with Chapter I and then get Fragment of Konda two turns later, you’ll feel like you’re doing a pretty good job, as you’ll end up with 2 cards worth of value. However, when you can’t hit a thing with Chapter I, there is almost no reason to cast this, and that certainly hurts. This format does have lots of ways to modify creatures, so 4 power will probably show up reasonably often, but probably still not often enough for this to quite do the job consistently enough to be anything more than a 2.5. If you get a hit with Chapter I, it will feel like a 3.5 – if you don’t, it’ll feel like a 1.0 at best, so there’s a pretty big chasm there.
Guardians of Oboro image 2.0 A 3-mana ¾ with Defender is kind of okay in a more controlling deck, and if you modify this one – or other creatures with Defender – they can attack. That’s kind of cool, though not exactly an incredible payoff. This seems fine.
Coiling Stalker image 3.0 If you Ninjutsu this in, you end up paying two for a 2/1 that puts a counter somewhere. Note, by the way, that “somewhere” can be on itself, too! Now you obviously also returned a thing to your hand, so it isn’t all upside, but still, it seems like a reasonable deal. And it is the kind of creature that is a pretty real problem if your opponent can’t get blocks in front of it.
Ancestral Katana image 3.0 This reminds me a bit of Pirate’s Cutlass, a card that really overperformed in its Limited format. Now, this isn’t colorless, and it doesn’t equip for free – and it equipping at a discount is also more conditional for sure – but I think this will still be a really nice Common. If you’re just Equipping this the old fashioned way it won’t be great, but if you have Warriors and Samurai around, the fact that this can just keep moving on to your best attacker for only one mana is going to feel pretty good, and it doesn’t hurt that it can still be Equipped the normal way when that works out for you. Plus, Equipment have some additional upside in this format.
Uncharted Haven image 2.5 Coming into play tapped is definitely a downside, but the ability to name a color is great. I do think the dual lands are slightly better, as they always tap for two colors you probably need, and this will only ever tap for one, but if you need fixing, this is fine.
Planar Incision image 1.0 This kind of card always seems to underperform. Sure, you can reuse an ETB ability, or save a creature from removal, but those situations aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and you have to have the mana up at precisely the right time! There are a few cards in the set – like Circuit Mender – that have abilities that trigger when they leave play, and I guess if you end up with a few of those, this starts to get a little more interesting, since you rebuy the leaves play ability as well as the enters the battlefield ability, but I’m still not really convinced.
Unstoppable Ogre image 2.0 The enter the battlefield trigger on the card won’t always do something for you, but there will be a decent number of situations where it allows you to attack more effectively with your board. It can also crew everything which is nice.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Searchlight Companion image 3.0 This gives you some reasonable value for the cost, and its also a great card to combine with Ninjas, since it is not only evasive, but it also has an ETB ability, so recasting it will give you another token, and that’s some nice value to get on top of whatever it is you did with Ninjutsu.
Greater Tanuki image 3.0 This seems pretty nice. In the early game you can use it to fix and ramp your mana, and in the late game it can be a big beater that helps you close things out. It isn’t super incredible at doing either thing, but effectively being a split card with a worse Rampant Growth on one side and a worse Colossal Dreadmaw on the other gives you a decent option all game long.
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Pack 3 Pick 3: Touch the Spirit Realm
Touch the Spirit Realm image 4.0 This is the Uncommon premium removal that White often gets. These Oblivion Ring effects are always very nice, because they do the job efficiently, and they are also reasonably flexible. The fact your opponent can get the thing back is a bit of a bummer of course, but that downside is well worth it. You’ll almost never Channel this in Limited, but being able to blink a creature is useful sometimes.
Enthusiastic Mechanaut image 3.5 This has good stats and a nice keyword for the cost, and reduces the cost of Artifacts. Obviously, that’s what UR is all about in this set, so this will set you up nicely in that deck.
Sokenzan Smelter image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some pretty nice upside. There are artifacts aplenty in this set, so having an expendable one around to turn into a 3/1 with Haste isn’t going to be super hard. That said, you also won’t always have an Artifact that is worth sacrificing either.
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Ecologist's Terrarium image 2.5 Having colorless fixing at Common is pretty nice, and could definitely help decks splash a third color, and the fact this can only give you a counter once its done its job in fetching you a land is pretty solid.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Geothermal Kami image 2.0 It is a fine 4-mana 4/3 in a worst-case, but it comes with an effect that can be pretty sweet in some situations. Returning something like a Saga you want to go back to chapter one on, or an Aura you wanted to move anyway – will be particularly nice, and the fact this tacks on 3 life is nice too.
Brute Suit image 2.5 This is a nice little Vehicle at Common. 1 to crew is super easy, and its no joke as an attacker. As we’ve seen, there’s lots of Vehicle stuff going on this set too.
The Modern Age image 3.0 So, looting a couple of times is decent card selection, though like with a lot of these, you’re going to kind of wish you were adding to the board right away, instead of having to wait a couple of turns. As is this case with most of these creature-sagas, you get great value for your mana – in this case, a two mana ⅔ Flyer that loots twice – but the trade off is that you have to really wait for it. Still, Chapter I and II are the kinds of things that are at least useful all game long, so this isn’t one where you really need to play it early or you’re going to be disappointed.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Dramatist's Puppet image 1.5 There’s a lot of counters in this set, so taking them away from your opponent or adding them to your own things is definitely relevant, but it still won’t always actually be able to do a thing, and when it can’t it will still be a 4-mana 2/4, which is pretty bad.
Tranquil Cove image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Greasefang, Okiba Boss
Greasefang, Okiba Boss image 4.0 This looks pretty darn good, between the great stats and the Vehicle recursion. Obviously, you need some Vehicles in the graveyard to really get there with this, but there are enough of them in this set, that I can see Greasefang doing the job a significant chunk of the time. Even just doing it once is immensely powerful, since you not only get a quick swing in, you also get it back in your hand.
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty image 3.0 A 4-mana 2/2 with death touch is not a great statline, but obviously being able to pick off 1 toughness creatures when your opponent has one is definitely going to feel pretty huge, and there will be a decent number of them lying around. Once you get to where you can kill X/2s, though, is where this thing can really get silly. Like the other Shrines in this set, this card is perfectly fine even if its your only shrine, and I’m glad they designed them this way, as opposed to the way we’ve seen them in the past. Because yeah, the fail case of a 4-mana 2/2 that can trade with anything and pick off X/1s is a pretty good floor, while the ceiling is pretty amazing.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
The Modern Age image 3.0 So, looting a couple of times is decent card selection, though like with a lot of these, you’re going to kind of wish you were adding to the board right away, instead of having to wait a couple of turns. As is this case with most of these creature-sagas, you get great value for your mana – in this case, a two mana ⅔ Flyer that loots twice – but the trade off is that you have to really wait for it. Still, Chapter I and II are the kinds of things that are at least useful all game long, so this isn’t one where you really need to play it early or you’re going to be disappointed.
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
Dragonfly Suit image 2.5 This isn’t the best rate for a vehicle, but it is easy to crew and evasive, so I can see plenty of board states where its getting in through the air.
Eiganjo Exemplar image 3.0 It counts itself of course, so even without any other samurais around it attacks as a 3/2. One really nice thing is that you can play this, and then on the same turn attack with another Samurai, and +1/+1 is likely to help it attack more effectively.
Virus Beetle image 1.5 Adding to the board and taking something away from your opponents’ hand isn’t a bad play in the early to mid game, though it does get less impressive late. It comes with the Artifact type too, which is a useful thing.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
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Pack 3 Pick 5: Dragonfly Suit
Invoke Calamity image 2.5 You’ll get the most value out of this if you’re casting stuff from your graveyard, so it does require at least a little bit of set-up. If you are just casting things from your hand, you aren’t actually gaining cards, you’re getting a discount – and while a discount is nice, getting two whole cards of value out of this will pretty much always be better. Of course, it costs quadruple Red, and by the time you have that kind of mana, your graveyard is pretty likely to be stocked. As with all of these cycles, though, that mana is also a hefty downside in Limited, as getting quadruple of a single color can be tough in your typical 2-color Limited deck. The payoff here is good for sure, but I think the other cards in this cycle give you more for the difficult mana cost. If this was easy to cast, I would probably give it a 3.5, but I think the challenge of casting it makes it a 2.5.
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Dragonfly Suit image 2.5 This isn’t the best rate for a vehicle, but it is easy to crew and evasive, so I can see plenty of board states where its getting in through the air.
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
Fade into Antiquity image 2.5 There are so many Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that this will virtually always have a target, and is something you’ll basically always want one of in your main deck. It even kills a ton of creatures! I do still think that it is a little too restrictive to be straight up premium, but its pretty close.
Akki Ronin image 1.5 If you need a two drop Samurai it is certainly that, though adding rummage to an attack isn’t super exciting in this format, it does allow you to sift through your library a bit.
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
Akki War Paint image 1.0 Getting an Enchanted creature destroyed is a pretty good way to lose a game because you get 2-for-1’d. Nice Auras tend to do something to offset that risk, and this doesn’t. This does give a pretty nice boost for the cost, and the set has payoffs for "modified" things, but I still have a hard time getting behind this.
Bloodfell Caves image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Sky-Blessed Samurai
Satsuki, the Living Lore image 3.0 So, there are a lot of Sagas in this set, including some at Common, and GW is the color pair that is the most into Enchantments, so Satsuki looks like she can do some pretty nice stuff for you. Accelerating your Sagas is a big deal in this set since they all eventually become Creatures, so getting them to add to the board as quickly as you can is quite good. And then, her death trigger will stand a reasonable chance at getting you something back from your graveyard. She definitely takes a little bit of work to get going, but because GW will fairly organically end up with the kinds of cards she’s good with, I don’t think she needs a build around grade.
Prodigy's Prototype image 3.5 It isn’t that hard to crew, and it spits out creature tokens that can crew it when it attacks – just in case you were going to have a problem crewing it in the first place. Obviously it synergizes well with other vehicles too.
Sky-Blessed Samurai image 3.0 Almost no matter what White deck you’re in, casting this for 5 is a pretty reasonable expectation, and that is quite the efficient flyer. Sometimes it will be even more efficient than that!
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image 2.0 This has decent stats and repeatedly Scrying does make your draws better. Its also an artifact for the decks that care about that, and a relatively cheap flyer for Ninjutsu.
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
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Pack 3 Pick 7: Nezumi Bladeblesser
Mobilizer Mech image 3.0 This is cheap to cast and has a fairly reasonable Crew cost, especially because it will essentially crew a second Vehicle, should you have one around. And..you won’t always, in fact about half the time you probably won’t have more than one vehicle, but the times you do this is going to do some pretty silly stuff.
Scrapyard Steelbreaker image 2.0 This will slot pretty well into the Black-Red deck, which is mosty about sacrificing artifacts. With enough mana and artifacts in play, this creature becomes a real pain to block.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Clawing Torment image 2.0 This can outright kill X/1s, and takes away the ability of all creatures to block – while also slowly bleeding the opponent out. If you’re in a really aggressive Black deck, I can see playing this, but in situations where you aren’t the beatdown, it isn’t going to be very good. Your opponent just won’t always care about their creature getting a little smaller and being unable to block. It is notable that it is an Enchantment you can keep around on the table for awhile, and you kind of want to because it hurts your opponent – and that goes well in the Black-White deck, which wants an Artifact and Enchantment to be around for its various effects This is probably mostly an aggro deck special.
Regent's Authority image 1.5 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around. 32 – Regent’s Authority – 1.5 This is a solid trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a good rate in general, and the additional enchantment/legendary creature upside is something you’ll be able to take advantage often enough.
Grafted Growth image 1.5 We have seen similar cards before, and the fact they fix and ramp for you while adding a little something to the board always makes them pretty reasonable, especially if you’re in the market for mana of any color. You probably don’t play it in a two-color deck, though.
Armguard Familiar image 2.5 This is a very solid playable. A two mana 2/1 with Ward 2 is already pretty close to passable, so adding the Reconfigure upside is really nice. It is a nice little creature early, and in the late game it can lend a much-needed stats boost, as well as a little bit of protection, for a more relevant creature.
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Pack 3 Pick 8: Mukotai Ambusher
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
Tamiyo's Compleation image 3.5 This is a more powerful take on this type of removal than we usually get. Usually, the bummer with this type of Blue removal spell is that you simply lock down a creature and it doesn’t untap – you don’t stap activated abilities and static abilities – but you actually do with this, and that’s a massive upgrade. Its nice that it can even turn off Equipment – as sometimes that will be worth doing.
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Skyswimmer Koi image 3.0 This has pretty nice stats as a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer, and while its artifact pay off ability isn’t amazing, adding a loot effect to all of your artifacts is definitely relevant upside.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Wind-Scarred Crag image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Dokuchi Shadow-Walker
Discover the Impossible image 1.5 This gives you some nice card selection, but most of the time you’re going to just be spinning your wheels – getting one card from casting it for three mana – and most of the time its just going to feel worse than Divination. If you’re not adding to the board, you’ve got to be getting something pretty significant out of this. The upside on cheap spells is nice, and will make it feel a little more efficient, but its still just one card. I think you’ll find yourself cutting this card more than you’ll play it.
Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image 2.0 This has decent stats and repeatedly Scrying does make your draws better. Its also an artifact for the decks that care about that, and a relatively cheap flyer for Ninjutsu.
Akki Ronin image 1.5 If you need a two drop Samurai it is certainly that, though adding rummage to an attack isn’t super exciting in this format, it does allow you to sift through your library a bit.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image 2.0 This seems like the kind of Ninja who will only make your deck if you’re really loaded up with payoffs for Ninjas and Ninjutsu. It just isn’t that impressive either way you play it.
Moonsnare Specialist image 3.5 This is a very good common. We have seen 4-mana 2/2s that Bounce a creature be very good in the past, and that’s what we have here as a base line. The Ninjutsu upside being tacked on means it can feel a little more like a Man-O’-War since you’re paying three mana, and being able to do it at instant speed may also enable you to break up an opposing block or something, which is pretty spicy.
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Pack 3 Pick 10: Nezumi Bladeblesser
Heiko Yamazaki, the General image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 Trampler isn’t a very good rate, but this comes with a nice enough “lone attacker” Samurai/Warrior pay off, as this format has a lot of artifacts. You’ll be able to make use of it often enough for this to make the cut in most Red decks. If you have some other lone attacker payoffs, the fact it has trample will feel pretty good!
Guardians of Oboro image 2.0 A 3-mana ¾ with Defender is kind of okay in a more controlling deck, and if you modify this one – or other creatures with Defender – they can attack. That’s kind of cool, though not exactly an incredible payoff. This seems fine.
Coiling Stalker image 3.0 If you Ninjutsu this in, you end up paying two for a 2/1 that puts a counter somewhere. Note, by the way, that “somewhere” can be on itself, too! Now you obviously also returned a thing to your hand, so it isn’t all upside, but still, it seems like a reasonable deal. And it is the kind of creature that is a pretty real problem if your opponent can’t get blocks in front of it.
Planar Incision image 1.0 This kind of card always seems to underperform. Sure, you can reuse an ETB ability, or save a creature from removal, but those situations aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and you have to have the mana up at precisely the right time! There are a few cards in the set – like Circuit Mender – that have abilities that trigger when they leave play, and I guess if you end up with a few of those, this starts to get a little more interesting, since you rebuy the leaves play ability as well as the enters the battlefield ability, but I’m still not really convinced.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
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Pack 3 Pick 11: Reckoner's Bargain
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Dramatist's Puppet image 1.5 There’s a lot of counters in this set, so taking them away from your opponent or adding them to your own things is definitely relevant, but it still won’t always actually be able to do a thing, and when it can’t it will still be a 4-mana 2/4, which is pretty bad.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Malicious Malfunction
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
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Pack 3 Pick 13: Akki War Paint
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
Akki Ronin image 1.5 If you need a two drop Samurai it is certainly that, though adding rummage to an attack isn’t super exciting in this format, it does allow you to sift through your library a bit.
Akki War Paint image 1.0 Getting an Enchanted creature destroyed is a pretty good way to lose a game because you get 2-for-1’d. Nice Auras tend to do something to offset that risk, and this doesn’t. This does give a pretty nice boost for the cost, and the set has payoffs for "modified" things, but I still have a hard time getting behind this.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Short Circuit
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
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Pack 3 Pick 15: Island
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Draft Pick Overview