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Premier Draft ONE 27 February 2023

27 February 11:26 - broflake 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (15)
1 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines image
1 Annex Sentry image
1 Indoctrination Attendant image
1 Orthodoxy Enforcer image
1 Bladegraft Aspirant image
1 Swooping Lookout image
1 Crawling Chorus image
2 Basilica Shepherd image
2 Mandible Justiciar image
1 Atraxa's Skitterfang image
1 Bladed Ambassador image
1 Shrapnel Slinger image
1 Incisor Glider image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (9)
1 Infested Fleshcutter image
1 Hazardous Blast image
2 Barbed Batterfist image
1 Molten Rebuke image
1 Resistance Reunited image
1 Rebel Salvo image
1 Hexgold Slash image
1 Blazing Crescendo image
Land (16)
1 The Fair Basilica image
7 Mountain image
8 Plains image
Sideboard
1 Slaughter Singer image
1 Resistance Skywarden image
1 Orthodoxy Enforcer image
1 Myr Custodian image
1 Sinew Dancer image
2 Myr Kinsmith image
1 Phyrexian Atlas image
1 Zealot's Conviction image
1 Basilica Skullbomb image
1 Surgical Skullbomb image
1 Meldweb Strider image
1 Annihilating Glare image
1 Prophetic Prism image
1 Veil of Assimilation image
1 Offer Immortality image
1 The Autonomous Furnace image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines image 4.5 A 5-mana 4/7 with Vigilance is already a card you’d play in most formats. It can attack and block well, and of course Vigilance makes it easy to do both. So, the additional upside here is awesome! She doubles your ETB triggers and cancels your opponents, and these days there are lots of cards that have those types of effects. I think she does enough to get into the lower bomb range, especially because even if you don’t have a deck with a critical mass of ETB triggers, the addition of shutting down opposing triggers makes it more likely she has a real effect in addition to the statline
Exuberant Fuseling image 2.0 If you play this on turn one, and can back it up with tricks, Equipment, and the like, it is going to be a real problem. But that’s a lot of stuff you have to do, and if you draw this late it is going to be pretty terrible.
Feed the Infection image 1.5 Lately, Sorcery-speed card draw effects that make you lose life have felt pretty bad, since you spend a significant amount of mana, don’t add to the board, and actually help out your aggressive opponent. However, I do think making your opponent lose 3 as well is a significant upgrade, but it still might be too slow
Myr Convert image 3.5 This seems pretty darn good. It ramps your mana, fixes your mana, and even has kind of a decent baseline as a two mana 2/1 with Infect 1. I think that whole package is worth a pretty early pick.
The Surgical Bay image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Plague Nurse image 2.0 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic 2 is fine, and adding more Toxic to your Toxic creatures can definitely cause problems. The threat of activation is something that your opponent really has to consider on a board with a few other Toxic creatures.
Axiom Engraver image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and a card that can rummage a couple of times isn’t exactly something you’re going to go after. You’ll probably play this when you’re desperate for a two drop or some oil counters, but otherwise it won’t make the cut.
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Ichorspit Basilisk image 1.5 A three mana 1/3 Deathtouch isn’t the most impressive thing ever, but it does provide a pretty good road block. Adding Toxic to a death toucher is nice upside, since blocking this can be a real pain
Flensing Raptor image 2.5 You’ll often have another Toxic creature around, and when you do this ETB ability is some serious business. When you don’t, you still get a Wind Drake with Toxic 1. I’m giving this a 2.5
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Annex Sentry
Cacophony Scamp image 3.5 A one mana 1/1 that does 1 to something when it dies is usually a playable card – it can trade up for X/2s and it can get 2-for-1s against two X/1s! On top of that, this has proliferate upside. Getting in with this and sacrificing it to get a couple extra counters – while also pinging something for 1, is going to feel pretty good. Enhancing it with Equipment, tricks, and auras will feel especially great.
Annex Sentry image 4.0 This is a great Uncommon. It takes down a cheap artifact or creature, and leaves behind a reasonable defensive body that can even help you poison your opponent. This is going to give you a big swing when you play it.
Noxious Assault image 1.0 This is an interesting take on a mass pump effect. There will certainly be times where this puts your opponent in a lose-lose situation, since they can neither take all the damage or get the poison counters, but most of the time they can probably find a way to mix and match and survive. Five mana for this sorcery speed boost is normally just not a very good card in Limited and I don’t feel like the poison counter upside is enough for me to want to play this in this format. It is definitely hard to evaluate, as the poison vs. damage choice can definitely be powerful, but I think this is probably still too situational to be very good.
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Hazardous Blast image 1.5 // 2.5 We’ve seen this card before, more or less, and in the right deck it can be a pretty good way to end the game, as turning off all blocking can really allow you to do a ton of damage. In a pinch, it can also sweep away a bunch of X/1s, like Mite tokens and the like – so it sort of has an alternate mode, but certainly the most powerful thing to do with it is use it to let you alpha strike for the win. With Toxic in the format, it may be easier than normal to set up lethal too, since you can threaten with both poison counters and damage
The Fair Basilica image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Basilica Skullbomb image 2.0 Glad to see a Phyrexian variant of the Mirrodin Spellbomb! At worst, these all cycle away while giving you some artifact synergy, and that makes it hard for them to be terrible. Then, when you have the mana, it does something reasonably significant while still replacing itself. +2/+2 and Flying is the kind of boost that matters a big chunk of the time.
Infectious Inquiry image 2.0 Black usually gets a three mana Common that does some version of draw 2 lose 2, and it is usually a passable card. Not adding to the board can be a liability, and this format does feel like it will be a fast one – so you never really want more than one of these. That first copy seems alright, though.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Oil-Gorger Troll image 3.0 A 5-mana ¾ that gains you 3 life when it enters the battlefield is not especially good, so how good this card is comes down to how often you get to draw. I think it is definitely accessible, and one this card is gaining you life and netting you a card, it is going to feel pretty sweet. This is another Green card that feels like it can do a reasonable job of throwing a monkey wrench into the plans of aggro decks, as is often the case for creatures that gain life on ETB.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Slaughter Singer
Geth, Thane of Contracts image 2.5 Giving your whole board -1/-1 isn’t normally something you want to be doing, even if you do get a three mana ¾ out of the deal. However, Geth does come with the powerful ability to repeatedly reanimate things from your graveyard, which balances things out a little bit. Obviously the things you reanimate will be a little worse, but if he’s left unchecked Geth will quickly populate your board. That said, he’s going to be really rough to play in the early game, and all game long there will be scenarios where playing him kills one or two of your creatures, and that will be particularly painful if your opponent can simply deal with Geth on their turn
Exuberant Fuseling image 2.0 If you play this on turn one, and can back it up with tricks, Equipment, and the like, it is going to be a real problem. But that’s a lot of stuff you have to do, and if you draw this late it is going to be pretty terrible.
Swooping Lookout image 2.5 A one mana ½ with Flying and Vigilance would be a solid card in most formats. It is typically a card people can overrate in Limited, because a ½ Flyer is pretty irrelevant in most games by the middle or late game, but in a format with lots of incentives to play Equipment, this gets significantly more interesting. There will definitely be games where this comes down on turn one and does some damage, then gets suited up and runs away with the game. It probably isn’t great, but I don’t imagine you’ll ever cut the first of these from a White deck that is interested in being aggressive
Furnace Punisher image 3.0 In Limited, this is going to be a 3-mana 3/3 with Menace and the rest of the text won’t matter on a regular basis. I guess if you went first and play this on turn three, and your opponent played a non-basic on turn one, it has a shot at chipping in for two extra damage – and that’s probably going to be the usual way that ability triggers.
Vulshok Splitter image 2.0 So, this is effectively a 4-mana 4/2 when it comes down – one that leaves behind a pretty clunky piece of equipment. Neither of these things is that impressive for 4 mana, but the initial creature you get out of this definitely softens the blow, especially in a format with lots of payoffs for Equipment.
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Predation Steward image 2.0 This seems like a fine two drop. The ability isn’t exactly efficient, and it is definitely clunky as a sorcery speed only effect, but it can certainly allow you to send in an attacker that couldn’t attack otherwise.
Indoctrination Attendant image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic is acceptable, and there are certainly some nice ETBs to rebuy in this format. Its nice that this can do that for you while also generating a Mite. You can even bounce a land if you want to get the 1/1!
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Indoctrination Attendant
Geth, Thane of Contracts image 2.5 Giving your whole board -1/-1 isn’t normally something you want to be doing, even if you do get a three mana ¾ out of the deal. However, Geth does come with the powerful ability to repeatedly reanimate things from your graveyard, which balances things out a little bit. Obviously the things you reanimate will be a little worse, but if he’s left unchecked Geth will quickly populate your board. That said, he’s going to be really rough to play in the early game, and all game long there will be scenarios where playing him kills one or two of your creatures, and that will be particularly painful if your opponent can simply deal with Geth on their turn
Exuberant Fuseling image 2.0 If you play this on turn one, and can back it up with tricks, Equipment, and the like, it is going to be a real problem. But that’s a lot of stuff you have to do, and if you draw this late it is going to be pretty terrible.
Swooping Lookout image 2.5 A one mana ½ with Flying and Vigilance would be a solid card in most formats. It is typically a card people can overrate in Limited, because a ½ Flyer is pretty irrelevant in most games by the middle or late game, but in a format with lots of incentives to play Equipment, this gets significantly more interesting. There will definitely be games where this comes down on turn one and does some damage, then gets suited up and runs away with the game. It probably isn’t great, but I don’t imagine you’ll ever cut the first of these from a White deck that is interested in being aggressive
Furnace Punisher image 3.0 In Limited, this is going to be a 3-mana 3/3 with Menace and the rest of the text won’t matter on a regular basis. I guess if you went first and play this on turn three, and your opponent played a non-basic on turn one, it has a shot at chipping in for two extra damage – and that’s probably going to be the usual way that ability triggers.
Vulshok Splitter image 2.0 So, this is effectively a 4-mana 4/2 when it comes down – one that leaves behind a pretty clunky piece of equipment. Neither of these things is that impressive for 4 mana, but the initial creature you get out of this definitely softens the blow, especially in a format with lots of payoffs for Equipment.
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Predation Steward image 2.0 This seems like a fine two drop. The ability isn’t exactly efficient, and it is definitely clunky as a sorcery speed only effect, but it can certainly allow you to send in an attacker that couldn’t attack otherwise.
Indoctrination Attendant image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic is acceptable, and there are certainly some nice ETBs to rebuy in this format. Its nice that this can do that for you while also generating a Mite. You can even bounce a land if you want to get the 1/1!
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Incisor Glider
Minor Misstep image 0.0 This is a nice callback to Mental Misstep, and probably has some legs in Modern – but in Limited this just doesn’t counter enough stuff
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Incisor Glider image 2.5 This looks like a pretty nice common! A two mana ⅓ with Flying is sort of passable to begin with, and this has a really nice Corrupted Trigger, as buffing the whole board can really change combat. It also doesn’t hurt that cheap Flyers go really well with all the Equipment in the set.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
The Fair Basilica image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Prophetic Prism image 2.5 We’ve seen this before and it is always surprisingly good. Filtering mana is of course in efficient, and this doesn’t actually net you mana – but the fact this fixes your mana and replaces itself is no small thing. Actually getting a card worth of value is a big deal.
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Bonepicker Skirge image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer isn’t quite as good as it used to be – but it is still decent enough, so adding some additional effects usually makes for a nice card, and that’s what we have here. If this always had deathtouch and lifelink it would be a 4.0, but you do have to jump through some hoops here.
Bladegraft Aspirant image 2.5 A three mana 2/3 with Menace is usuallya lready playable, but this also gives you some big Equipment upside! Making it cheaper to play and cheaper to put on the Aspirant is pretty serious. A menace creature is great for suiting up too
Pack 1 Pick 6: Infested Fleshcutter
Infested Fleshcutter image 1.5 I don’t love the cost of casting and equipping this, but the fact it spits out a token is pretty nice. Of course, that token can’t block – but it does mean you have somewhere to stick this thing on the next turn. +2/+0 is enough to make a lot of creatures problematic too. I obviously think this is worse than all the For Mirrodin! Equipment, because with that you get the body right away – but this kind of does a similar thing in the end, since it adds a body to the board
Ravenous Necrotitan image 2.5 I’m not in love with this. A 4-mana 6/6 that always makes you sacrifice a creature when it enters isn’t worth it except in decks with good sacrifice fodder. And while its nice that sometimes this will just be a straight up 4-mana 6/6 with no downside, it will probably be at the point in the game where it isn’t nearly as imposing. We’re still just talking about a card that’s biggest upside is that it is a big vanilla creature, and that isn’t exciting.
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Ichorspit Basilisk image 1.5 A three mana 1/3 Deathtouch isn’t the most impressive thing ever, but it does provide a pretty good road block. Adding Toxic to a death toucher is nice upside, since blocking this can be a real pain
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Meldweb Curator image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and its ability isn’t that impressive either. Getting back removal is nice of course, but putting it on top of your library isn’t that powerful. You’ll usually have to wait a turn to get it, and if you didn’t have something worth getting out of the graveyard, you’re even more out of luck.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Vulshok Splitter image 2.0 So, this is effectively a 4-mana 4/2 when it comes down – one that leaves behind a pretty clunky piece of equipment. Neither of these things is that impressive for 4 mana, but the initial creature you get out of this definitely softens the blow, especially in a format with lots of payoffs for Equipment.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Resistance Skywarden
Watchful Blisterzoa image 2.5 So, this is basically a 6-mana 4/4 Flyer that draws you a card when it dies, and that’s a 2-for-1.. Sometimes you’ll get more oil on it and draw more cards too. That’s a reasonable enough card, even if that stat-line has felt pretty bad lately. As much as I love 2-for-1s, paying this much mana for one that doesn’t leave behind any board presence at all – and dies to lots of cheap removal – is going to feel rough sometimes. If you need a 6-drop that can finish the game and have some upside, you could do worse than this – but you can probably do better too
Resistance Skywarden image 3.0 This is a pretty nice rate! Menace and Reach can be a bit awkward together, since one is an aggressive keyword and the other is defensive, but it also means that this can do a reasonable job as an attacker and a reasonable job as a blocker. It certainly isn’t exciting, but seems like a solid 5-drop.
Zealot's Conviction image 2.5 A one mana Aura with Flash that gives +1/+1 is already somewhat acceptable. The boost isn’t massive, so it can’t win that many combats, but the fact that it leaves a permanent buff behind really matters, because it means you effect the board in the short-term and long-term when you can win combat. Then, when you get Corrupted going, this becomes really good, as +2/+1 and First Strike is going to win you most combats, and the boost is once again permanent! One mana tricks really tend to overperform, even when the lack the ability to save a creature from most removal like this
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Dune Mover image 2.0 This kind of fixing usually isn’t great, because putting the card on top is a pretty massive difference from getting it in your hand or something. But it does have solid stats and brings Toxic to the table.
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Hazardous Blast
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Fleshless Gladiator image 3.0 This seems like a solid Common. You can play it early as a bear, and then in the mid to late game it can start coming back from your graveyard, which can net you a very real advantage
Hazardous Blast image 1.5 // 2.5 We’ve seen this card before, more or less, and in the right deck it can be a pretty good way to end the game, as turning off all blocking can really allow you to do a ton of damage. In a pinch, it can also sweep away a bunch of X/1s, like Mite tokens and the like – so it sort of has an alternate mode, but certainly the most powerful thing to do with it is use it to let you alpha strike for the win. With Toxic in the format, it may be easier than normal to set up lethal too, since you can threaten with both poison counters and damage
The Hunter Maze image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Phyrexian Atlas
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
The Surgical Bay image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Orthodoxy Enforcer
Vivisurgeon's Insight image 1.5 Man, I have a hard time believing paying 5 to draw three and Proliferate is going to be worth it here. I love the card advantage of course, but paying that much and likely having only a minimal impact on the board seems like a really bad idea
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Bladegraft Aspirant image 2.5 A three mana 2/3 with Menace is usuallya lready playable, but this also gives you some big Equipment upside! Making it cheaper to play and cheaper to put on the Aspirant is pretty serious. A menace creature is great for suiting up too
Incisor Glider image 2.5 This looks like a pretty nice common! A two mana ⅓ with Flying is sort of passable to begin with, and this has a really nice Corrupted Trigger, as buffing the whole board can really change combat. It also doesn’t hurt that cheap Flyers go really well with all the Equipment in the set.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Bladegraft Aspirant
Vivisurgeon's Insight image 1.5 Man, I have a hard time believing paying 5 to draw three and Proliferate is going to be worth it here. I love the card advantage of course, but paying that much and likely having only a minimal impact on the board seems like a really bad idea
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Bladegraft Aspirant image 2.5 A three mana 2/3 with Menace is usuallya lready playable, but this also gives you some big Equipment upside! Making it cheaper to play and cheaper to put on the Aspirant is pretty serious. A menace creature is great for suiting up too
Incisor Glider image 2.5 This looks like a pretty nice common! A two mana ⅓ with Flying is sort of passable to begin with, and this has a really nice Corrupted Trigger, as buffing the whole board can really change combat. It also doesn’t hurt that cheap Flyers go really well with all the Equipment in the set.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Swooping Lookout
Swooping Lookout image 2.5 A one mana ½ with Flying and Vigilance would be a solid card in most formats. It is typically a card people can overrate in Limited, because a ½ Flyer is pretty irrelevant in most games by the middle or late game, but in a format with lots of incentives to play Equipment, this gets significantly more interesting. There will definitely be games where this comes down on turn one and does some damage, then gets suited up and runs away with the game. It probably isn’t great, but I don’t imagine you’ll ever cut the first of these from a White deck that is interested in being aggressive
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Orthodoxy Enforcer
Minor Misstep image 0.0 This is a nice callback to Mental Misstep, and probably has some legs in Modern – but in Limited this just doesn’t counter enough stuff
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Pack 1 Pick 14: Myr Custodian
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Barbed Batterfist
Slobad, Iron Goblin image 2.5 This has a solid stat-line and an ability that will be useful on occasion. You can definitely find situations where sacrificing something with this can net you some nice mana to cast an artifact, but more often than not, the ability won’t matter
Cinderslash Ravager image 3.5 Paying five for this seems eminently doable, and I think that will feel like a pretty good deal! Sometimes you’ll be able to get it out there even earlier, and there are enough 1/1 tokens and X/1s in the set that you’ll get to pick off at least one creature a decent chunk of the time when you play this.
Plated Onslaught image 1.5 // 3.0 Here is your big payoff for going wide with Mites! Your artifacts make it cheaper, and having a bunch of artifact creatures is going to feel really good when you have a +2/+1 boost. This sort of card usually needs a build around grade, because if you don’t have enough ways to go really wide, you can’t really play it – but when you’re in the right deck, this ends a lot of games
Incubation Sac image 3.5 This has the potential to be really good in Limited, especially because it has the ability to make three bodies at the very least! Now, it certainly isn’t efficient at doing it, but in a lot of Limited formats cards that simply let you outcard the opponent are what you need, and this will definitely do it. A three-for-one really isn’t out of the question, and that’s not something you find at lower rarities most of the time. It reminds me a little bit of Mask of the Jadecrafter from The Brothers’ War, which turned out to be pretty good. I’m going to start the format pretty high on this thing – though if it ends up being a format that is dominated by aggro, this will drop precipitously.
Gitaxian Raptor image 3.0 A three mana ¼ flyer is an acceptable rate, so its nice that this has the upside of using oil counters to increase its power and lower its toughness. Three oil counters is a nice number to have, as just attacking with this and turning it into a 2/3 three turns in a row is going to feel pretty good.
Leonin Lightbringer image 2.5 Equipping this won’t be particularly hard in this format, but it isn’t like the payoff here is amazing or anything. Ward 2 does make it a nice place to put Equipment too, since it feels awful if your opponent kills something in response to you Equipping it, and this makes that a lot harder.
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Barbed Batterfist image 2.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to play pretty well in aggro decks, and that’s what you get up front here – and then you have the option of moving the Equipment to other stuff – like if you really want your token to be a 2/2, or if something else can benefit from the stat boost. +1/-1 certainly isn’t amazing, but this is really cheap to play and equip, which will be especially nice with Equipment payoffs in the set.
Mandible Justiciar image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with Lifelink is usually playable anyway, and this will often be a 3/2 or larger on your turn. Seems like a great two drop for aggressive decks that care about artifacts.
Bladegraft Aspirant image 2.5 A three mana 2/3 with Menace is usuallya lready playable, but this also gives you some big Equipment upside! Making it cheaper to play and cheaper to put on the Aspirant is pretty serious. A menace creature is great for suiting up too
Vraska's Fall image 1.5 This will have its moments, but this format also has a lot of tokens and creatures who give you value when they die, and when your opponent has those to sacrifice this won’t feel worth a card at all, even with the poison counter on top
Molten Rebuke image 2.0 This is red’s usual really mediocre modal removal spell. 5 mana for 5 damage at Sorcery speed isn’t anywhere close to premium – it is super clunky and firing it off on something that is cheaper than it is rough. Destroying Equipment matters a little for sure, but the fact that most Equipment in this format has “For Mirrodin!” probably means you don’t even get a full card of value if you do that
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Crawling Chorus
Conduit of Worlds image 2.5 There are several Common lands in this format that put themselves into the graveyard – including the Sphere cycle and Terramorphic Expanse, so being able to play lands from your graveyard will come up some. Casting things from your graveyard is pretty great, but making it so you can’t cast other spells is obviously a problem. This feels like a pretty bad card in the early and mid game, when you need to develop things, but int he later stages of the game it definitely has the potential to take over – you can’t really blank on draws if your graveyard is effectively part of your hand, and that’s how it is going to feel.
Ambulatory Edifice image 3.0 When you can kill something with the -1/-1 this will feel pretty good. When you can’t, it will feel pretty mediocre. Sometimes you’ll be able to weaken something in a way that is beneficial for you, but you definitely want to be killing stuff with it.
Scheming Aspirant image 3.5 Proliferate is already a good thing to be doing in this format, so the fact this also lets you drain your opponent for two when you do it is great. There’s enough proliferate in the format that I think this will be a good inclusion in most Black decks
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Zealot's Conviction image 2.5 A one mana Aura with Flash that gives +1/+1 is already somewhat acceptable. The boost isn’t massive, so it can’t win that many combats, but the fact that it leaves a permanent buff behind really matters, because it means you effect the board in the short-term and long-term when you can win combat. Then, when you get Corrupted going, this becomes really good, as +2/+1 and First Strike is going to win you most combats, and the boost is once again permanent! One mana tricks really tend to overperform, even when the lack the ability to save a creature from most removal like this
Anoint with Affliction image 4.0 This is great. Even without Corrupted, this would be a very nice removal spell – so, the fact that this will be able to remove anything by the mid-to-late game in most Black decks is great. This is certainly premium removal you can spent a high pick on..
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Chimney Rabble image 3.0 I like the rate here. 4/4 of stats for 4, including 3 power that rumbles right away. Going wide is definitely a thing in this format, too
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Indoctrination Attendant image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic is acceptable, and there are certainly some nice ETBs to rebuy in this format. Its nice that this can do that for you while also generating a Mite. You can even bounce a land if you want to get the 1/1!
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Contagious Vorrac image 4.0 This is a great Common. If this could only proliferate, or only get a land from the top four, it would be a good Common – having the option between both is great. It can help you hit your land drop when you need it to, and then you can Proliferate in the later game and get some nice value.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Zealot's Conviction
Ezuri, Stalker of Spheres image 4.0 Playing this on four isn’t amazing as it has bad stats and doesn’t really do anything all on its own, but Proliferate is a pretty big theme in the set, so you’ll often be able to take advantage of it and draw a whole lot of cards. I love that it also has the late game upside though, where you can cast is for 7, Proliferate Twice – which already is quite strong – but you also get to draw two cards!
Font of Progress image 0.0 Mill strategies rarely work out in Limited, mostly because actually effecting the board is all important, and mill has almost no effect on the game until your opponent actually runs out of cards. There is a card we’ll see later in this video that can really help you win with mill, but I don’t think this one will. You don’t really want to spend your mana on this ability – you want to be playing things that are more meaningful. Even proliferating to get this to where it mills more cards isn’t going to be good enough
Tamiyo's Immobilizer image 3.5 This is trying to do an impression of Icy Manipulator – and its doing a pretty solid job. It isn’t colorless, which is bummer – but it doesn’t cost mana to tap things. You can eventually run out of oil counters, but there is enough Proliferate in this set – not to mention oil counter payoffs – that this certainly seems playable. It is going to feel pretty bad if the game reaches a point where you run out of counters, but tapping something down 4 times is often enough to get you there anyway
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Anoint with Affliction image 4.0 This is great. Even without Corrupted, this would be a very nice removal spell – so, the fact that this will be able to remove anything by the mid-to-late game in most Black decks is great. This is certainly premium removal you can spent a high pick on..
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Surgical Skullbomb image 2.5 Like the others, this cycles at worst, and can have a real impact on the board that still nets you a card.
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Blightbelly Rat image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 is a passable place to start – so adding both Toxic and a nice death trigger to the mix probably makes this one of the best Black Commons
Zealot's Conviction image 2.5 A one mana Aura with Flash that gives +1/+1 is already somewhat acceptable. The boost isn’t massive, so it can’t win that many combats, but the fact that it leaves a permanent buff behind really matters, because it means you effect the board in the short-term and long-term when you can win combat. Then, when you get Corrupted going, this becomes really good, as +2/+1 and First Strike is going to win you most combats, and the boost is once again permanent! One mana tricks really tend to overperform, even when the lack the ability to save a creature from most removal like this
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Pack 2 Pick 4: The Autonomous Furnace
Venser, Corpse Puppet image 4.5 A two mana ⅓ with Lifelink and Toxic 1 is probably a 2.5 or 3.0, and this has massive proliferate upside! Making a 3/3 is no joke, and you can give that 3/3 lifelink and flying when you Proliferate again. Obviously, you need to have 4-5 cards with Proliferate to really unlock this, but that doesn’t seem like a big ask, and the floor of the card is so good that it is hard to look at this as anything less than amazing.
Necrosquito image 3.0 4-mana 2/2 Flyers have felt pretty bad lately – mostly because they can die to common one mana removal. However, this can grow quite quickly, especially if you combine it with sacrifice effects. But even combat can lead to this being an impressive flyer.
Sylvok Battle-Chair image 3.0 This is Colossal Dreadmaw with upside, since it starts out as a 6-mana 6/6 Trampler. The Equip cost is obviously massive here, but once you reach a point where you can just slap this on whatever you want your opponent is going to be in serious trouble. Unlike the Engulfer we just saw, this does leave value on the board no matter what.
Blightbelly Rat image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 is a passable place to start – so adding both Toxic and a nice death trigger to the mix probably makes this one of the best Black Commons
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Meldweb Curator image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and its ability isn’t that impressive either. Getting back removal is nice of course, but putting it on top of your library isn’t that powerful. You’ll usually have to wait a turn to get it, and if you didn’t have something worth getting out of the graveyard, you’re even more out of luck.
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Basilica Shepherd
Porcelain Zealot image 3.5 This has bad base stats, but at least it can buff itself in a pinch! +1/+1 every turn can make a difference more often than you might think, and the +2/+2 boost you can give to Toxic creatures really matters, as making them harder to block profitably comes with extra value
Meldweb Curator image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and its ability isn’t that impressive either. Getting back removal is nice of course, but putting it on top of your library isn’t that powerful. You’ll usually have to wait a turn to get it, and if you didn’t have something worth getting out of the graveyard, you’re even more out of luck.
Fleshless Gladiator image 3.0 This seems like a solid Common. You can play it early as a bear, and then in the mid to late game it can start coming back from your graveyard, which can net you a very real advantage
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Dross Skullbomb image 2.5 This one can get a creature back from your graveyard and draw you a card, and once it does that you get a pretty nice 2-for-1
Basilica Shepherd image 4.0 Say hello to the white Diregraf Horde! This is a great Common that adds a ton to the board for the cost. While the Pests being unable to block is definitely a downside, there is a lot you can do with those Artifact tokens – including sacrificing them or simply using them to go wide. This is probably White’s best Common.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Basilica Skullbomb
Drown in Ichor image 4.0 This is great removal. -4/-4 is enough to kill the majority of creatures, and this is cheap enough that you can trade up in a big way. If you get value out of Proliferate too it will feel truly absurd
Vivisection Evangelist image 4.0 A 5-mana 4/4 with Vigilance isn’t great, but obviously if you can get the ETB going here this is an absolutely incredible card. The upside is huge, the baseline is fine, and I think getting that upside is pretty accessible.
Annihilating Glare image 3.5 This is reminiscent of Eaten Alive, a Common removal spell that played really well in a format that had lots of expendable tokens to sacrifice. You know what this format also has? That’s right, lots of expendable tokens – especially if you’re in Black/White and have access to lots of Mites.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Basilica Skullbomb image 2.0 Glad to see a Phyrexian variant of the Mirrodin Spellbomb! At worst, these all cycle away while giving you some artifact synergy, and that makes it hard for them to be terrible. Then, when you have the mana, it does something reasonably significant while still replacing itself. +2/+2 and Flying is the kind of boost that matters a big chunk of the time.
Thrill of Possibility image 1.5 We’ve seen this before, and it is often the kind of card that spell decks will run, but no one else really wants to play, and even the spell decks would be happier with a lot of other instants and sorceries that draw them cards!
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Titanic Growth image 2.0 +4/+4 will win you most combats, and two mana isn’t a terrible amount to spend for the boost. It can also sneak in lethal out of nowhere.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Resistance Reunited
Ravenous Necrotitan image 2.5 I’m not in love with this. A 4-mana 6/6 that always makes you sacrifice a creature when it enters isn’t worth it except in decks with good sacrifice fodder. And while its nice that sometimes this will just be a straight up 4-mana 6/6 with no downside, it will probably be at the point in the game where it isn’t nearly as imposing. We’re still just talking about a card that’s biggest upside is that it is a big vanilla creature, and that isn’t exciting.
Resistance Reunited image 1.5 +2/+2 can definitely win you some combats, but it isn’t that efficient and doesn’t have that much additional upside, and you need tricks to be flexible and powerful to counteract the downside of a 2-for-1 risk, and +2/+2 for 2 doesn’t really get you there. The Equipment upside is nice – and once you’re doing that, you can turn it in to a card that blanks removal too. Even in this set, with lots of Equipment, I think you’re going to cut this a decent chunk of the time
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Vulshok Splitter image 2.0 So, this is effectively a 4-mana 4/2 when it comes down – one that leaves behind a pretty clunky piece of equipment. Neither of these things is that impressive for 4 mana, but the initial creature you get out of this definitely softens the blow, especially in a format with lots of payoffs for Equipment.
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Forgehammer Centurion image 2.5 This isn’t as good as some Common Red cards that can make something unable to block, because the set up is fairly significant, but when it can use that ability it will really open the floodgates on your opponent.
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Mandible Justiciar
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Vivisurgeon's Insight image 1.5 Man, I have a hard time believing paying 5 to draw three and Proliferate is going to be worth it here. I love the card advantage of course, but paying that much and likely having only a minimal impact on the board seems like a really bad idea
Basilica Skullbomb image 2.0 Glad to see a Phyrexian variant of the Mirrodin Spellbomb! At worst, these all cycle away while giving you some artifact synergy, and that makes it hard for them to be terrible. Then, when you have the mana, it does something reasonably significant while still replacing itself. +2/+2 and Flying is the kind of boost that matters a big chunk of the time.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Blazing Crescendo image 2.0 This is somewhat similar to Enthusiastic Study from Strixhaven, in that it gives a +3/+1 boost and draws you a card. Enthusiastic Study gave trample too, which makes it better, but I think this is still a nice trick. Now, a +3/+1 boost isn’t great, as many creatures will still die because the toughness boost is so low – but this offsets that downside by getting you that card back. And, if you do manage to make your creature survive and get the card, it will feel great
Mandible Justiciar image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with Lifelink is usually playable anyway, and this will often be a 3/2 or larger on your turn. Seems like a great two drop for aggressive decks that care about artifacts.
Escaped Experiment image 2.0 On its own, this is a two mana 2/1 that gives -1/-0 to an opposing creature when it attacks, and its ability can lower power a lot more than that! This can often enable nice attacks not just for the Experiment, but the board. That said, it doesn’t really change the ability of your opponent’s creatures to block effectively. They may not be able to kill things they tussle with, but if they could already block your stuff and survive – that will still be true.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Mandible Justiciar
Plated Onslaught image 1.5 // 3.0 Here is your big payoff for going wide with Mites! Your artifacts make it cheaper, and having a bunch of artifact creatures is going to feel really good when you have a +2/+1 boost. This sort of card usually needs a build around grade, because if you don’t have enough ways to go really wide, you can’t really play it – but when you’re in the right deck, this ends a lot of games
Gitaxian Raptor image 3.0 A three mana ¼ flyer is an acceptable rate, so its nice that this has the upside of using oil counters to increase its power and lower its toughness. Three oil counters is a nice number to have, as just attacking with this and turning it into a 2/3 three turns in a row is going to feel pretty good.
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Mandible Justiciar image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with Lifelink is usually playable anyway, and this will often be a 3/2 or larger on your turn. Seems like a great two drop for aggressive decks that care about artifacts.
Molten Rebuke image 2.0 This is red’s usual really mediocre modal removal spell. 5 mana for 5 damage at Sorcery speed isn’t anywhere close to premium – it is super clunky and firing it off on something that is cheaper than it is rough. Destroying Equipment matters a little for sure, but the fact that most Equipment in this format has “For Mirrodin!” probably means you don’t even get a full card of value if you do that
Pack 2 Pick 10: Sinew Dancer
Scheming Aspirant image 3.5 Proliferate is already a good thing to be doing in this format, so the fact this also lets you drain your opponent for two when you do it is great. There’s enough proliferate in the format that I think this will be a good inclusion in most Black decks
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Zealot's Conviction image 2.5 A one mana Aura with Flash that gives +1/+1 is already somewhat acceptable. The boost isn’t massive, so it can’t win that many combats, but the fact that it leaves a permanent buff behind really matters, because it means you effect the board in the short-term and long-term when you can win combat. Then, when you get Corrupted going, this becomes really good, as +2/+1 and First Strike is going to win you most combats, and the boost is once again permanent! One mana tricks really tend to overperform, even when the lack the ability to save a creature from most removal like this
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Surgical Skullbomb
Font of Progress image 0.0 Mill strategies rarely work out in Limited, mostly because actually effecting the board is all important, and mill has almost no effect on the game until your opponent actually runs out of cards. There is a card we’ll see later in this video that can really help you win with mill, but I don’t think this one will. You don’t really want to spend your mana on this ability – you want to be playing things that are more meaningful. Even proliferating to get this to where it mills more cards isn’t going to be good enough
Surgical Skullbomb image 2.5 Like the others, this cycles at worst, and can have a real impact on the board that still nets you a card.
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Myr Kinsmith
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Meldweb Strider
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Annihilating Glare
Annihilating Glare image 3.5 This is reminiscent of Eaten Alive, a Common removal spell that played really well in a format that had lots of expendable tokens to sacrifice. You know what this format also has? That’s right, lots of expendable tokens – especially if you’re in Black/White and have access to lots of Mites.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Atraxa's Skitterfang
Red Sun's Twilight image 3.5 While this format has a lot of artifacts, and sometimes this can just wreck your opponent – there aren’t so many that this card is amazing. Destroying For Mirrodin equipment will be sweet, because you get to keep the 2/2 – and destroying creatures is likely to give you some nice value too since you can attack with them, but on average, I don’t think this card will be a bomb like the three Twilights we saw earlier this week
Minor Misstep image 0.0 This is a nice callback to Mental Misstep, and probably has some legs in Modern – but in Limited this just doesn’t counter enough stuff
Atraxa's Skitterfang image 4.0 This looks great for an Uncommon. Gray Ogre stats are never very good, but the ability tacked on to this is pretty huge! Granting a keyword to something once a turn for three turns is quite strong, especially because you can do it the turn you play it if you play it before combat. One of these keywords is extremely likely to be beneficial for you every single turn, giving you attacks you just didn’t have. It can also give the keyword to itself, though that doesn’t help you on that first turn. But if you don’t have a creature to buff with it, you can just wait to play it until your second main phase. It gets better in a world where you have ways to take more advantage of oil counters too! Its also colorless, so I can see this getting first picked a lot, since it will end up in your deck 100% of the time and is a powerful card.
Sylvok Battle-Chair image 3.0 This is Colossal Dreadmaw with upside, since it starts out as a 6-mana 6/6 Trampler. The Equip cost is obviously massive here, but once you reach a point where you can just slap this on whatever you want your opponent is going to be in serious trouble. Unlike the Engulfer we just saw, this does leave value on the board no matter what.
Mandible Justiciar image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with Lifelink is usually playable anyway, and this will often be a 3/2 or larger on your turn. Seems like a great two drop for aggressive decks that care about artifacts.
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Stinging Hivemaster image 3.5 This is a very nice common. A three mana 3/2 with Toxic 1 is already probably playable, so the fact it spits out a Mite when it dies is sweet. It is worth noting that the token’s inability to block does lower the value of the token – more than adding Toxic 1 makes up for
Sheoldred's Headcleaver image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Menace is probably a 1.0 at best, and while adding Toxic to the mix is nice, this still dies to a whole lot of common double blocks
Surgical Skullbomb image 2.5 Like the others, this cycles at worst, and can have a real impact on the board that still nets you a card.
Mesmerizing Dose image 3.0 This looks really good to me. Three mana to lock a creature down is usually a playable card. Sure, it doesn’t fully remove a creature, and that can be a liability sometimes – and there are lots of ways your opponent can get around this card – like by bouncing their creature. Adding Proliferate is pretty serious, though!
Titanic Growth image 2.0 +4/+4 will win you most combats, and two mana isn’t a terrible amount to spend for the boost. It can also sneak in lethal out of nowhere.
Molten Rebuke image 2.0 This is red’s usual really mediocre modal removal spell. 5 mana for 5 damage at Sorcery speed isn’t anywhere close to premium – it is super clunky and firing it off on something that is cheaper than it is rough. Destroying Equipment matters a little for sure, but the fact that most Equipment in this format has “For Mirrodin!” probably means you don’t even get a full card of value if you do that
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Annihilating Glare image 3.5 This is reminiscent of Eaten Alive, a Common removal spell that played really well in a format that had lots of expendable tokens to sacrifice. You know what this format also has? That’s right, lots of expendable tokens – especially if you’re in Black/White and have access to lots of Mites.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Bladed Ambassador
Blue Sun's Twilight image 5.0 Mind control is an incredibly powerful effect, as taking an opposing creature and gaining it on your side of the board is effectively a 2-for-1. This comes with the additional absurd upside of making a token if you pay 5 or more for X. 7 mana to steal an opposing permanent and make a copy of it is insane, and an easy 3-for-1! The one downside here is it can be a little awkward early, but even stealing a two drop with this can be a play that flips the game wildly in your favor.
Reject Imperfection image 2.0 Cancel ends up being a dud more often than not. The double Blue is surprisingly difficult to get at the right time, and leaving up three mana to counter something can horribly backfire if your opponent can play around it. It is nice that it triggers when you counter something cheap, as countering something that costs less than three feels particularly bad with this kind of card, so at least you get a consolation prize
Unctus's Retrofitter image 3.5 This looks really good. A three mana 2/3 with Toxic 1 is already passable, so the fact that this can turn an artifact into a 4/4 is pretty awesome! You can animate a noncreature artifact, or upgrade an Artifact creature that is smaller than a 4/4. There are plenty of targets in the set, including things like Mite tokens, so this is often going to give you a big advantage for only three mana
Bladed Ambassador image 3.5 Like other recent two mana 3/1s that can become indestructible, this is going to be a great two drop. Sure, if you don’t proliferate or something, it can only use the ability once – but the great thing about this type of ability is the threat of activation is often enough for people to decide not to block or attack into it, because they end up getting 2-for-1’d in a ton of situations. So, even with only one oil counter, this will be good.
Prophetic Prism image 2.5 We’ve seen this before and it is always surprisingly good. Filtering mana is of course in efficient, and this doesn’t actually net you mana – but the fact this fixes your mana and replaces itself is no small thing. Actually getting a card worth of value is a big deal.
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Dune Mover image 2.0 This kind of fixing usually isn’t great, because putting the card on top is a pretty massive difference from getting it in your hand or something. But it does have solid stats and brings Toxic to the table.
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Offer Immortality image 2.5 This trick is always decent. It doesn’t have the upside of helping you do more damage to your opponent, but it trades that in for the flexibility of winning virtually any combat and saving your creature from most removal
Volt Charge image 3.5 This is a reprint of a card that was great last time! Three mana for 3 damage at instant speed is usually premium. It isn’t always going to be able to trade up, but being able to go after your opponent and being Instant speed means you’re usually getting a good deal. Proliferate is a big addition, though, as this format has plenty of counters you can get an advantage out of.
Ruthless Predation image 3.5 This is basically Epic Confrontation, which is a great Limited Common. +1/+2 enables a lot more of your creatures to Fight successfully, and you can often knock a blocker out of the way and swing in with your buffed creature.
Pestilent Syphoner image 2.0 This seems solid enough. It represents a real threat thanks to toxic, and is likely to contribute a few poison early. Some decks will just want to turn on their corrupted effects and not actually win with poison, and this will probably be at its best in that type of deck
Pack 3 Pick 3: Barbed Batterfist
Bilious Skulldweller image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 with Deathtouch is usually solid. Gets interesting with Fight effects too. So, adding Toxic 1 to this is a nice upgrade, as it makes it more of a problem as an attacker.
Hexgold Halberd image 3.5 This looks pretty nice! It is a two mana 2/2 that has First Strike and trample on your turn, and that makes for a pretty good attacker early and a solid presence all game long. That’s sort of the floor here too, because you can move the Halberd to other stuff that can take more advantage of it!
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Dross Skullbomb image 2.5 This one can get a creature back from your graveyard and draw you a card, and once it does that you get a pretty nice 2-for-1
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Barbed Batterfist image 2.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to play pretty well in aggro decks, and that’s what you get up front here – and then you have the option of moving the Equipment to other stuff – like if you really want your token to be a 2/2, or if something else can benefit from the stat boost. +1/-1 certainly isn’t amazing, but this is really cheap to play and equip, which will be especially nice with Equipment payoffs in the set.
Fleshless Gladiator image 3.0 This seems like a solid Common. You can play it early as a bear, and then in the mid to late game it can start coming back from your graveyard, which can net you a very real advantage
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Infectious Inquiry image 2.0 Black usually gets a three mana Common that does some version of draw 2 lose 2, and it is usually a passable card. Not adding to the board can be a liability, and this format does feel like it will be a fast one – so you never really want more than one of these. That first copy seems alright, though.
Skyscythe Engulfer image 1.5 If you’re behind, it can hang back and block even flyers, and if you’re ahead, it can attack pretty hard. I wish there was some sort of ETB associated with it so you got some permanent value, though. Six mana is a lot to not get something like that!
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Rebel Salvo
Magmatic Sprinter image 3.5 This looks really good. A three mana 3/2 with Haste is easily a C, and this comes with some pretty real upside! You can use this to put oil counters all over the place by casting it every turn, and there are definitely reasons to do that. Or, you can choose to have this stick in play for a couple of turns at a time if you need the board presence
Infested Fleshcutter image 1.5 I don’t love the cost of casting and equipping this, but the fact it spits out a token is pretty nice. Of course, that token can’t block – but it does mean you have somewhere to stick this thing on the next turn. +2/+0 is enough to make a lot of creatures problematic too. I obviously think this is worse than all the For Mirrodin! Equipment, because with that you get the body right away – but this kind of does a similar thing in the end, since it adds a body to the board
Rebel Salvo image 4.0 This is a great removal spell. Even in a deck with 0 Equipment, it is premium. It kills almost everything and can very easily trade up. Once you have some Equipment in your deck it can get really silly.
Meldweb Curator image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and its ability isn’t that impressive either. Getting back removal is nice of course, but putting it on top of your library isn’t that powerful. You’ll usually have to wait a turn to get it, and if you didn’t have something worth getting out of the graveyard, you’re even more out of luck.
Experimental Augury image 2.5 Anticipate usually isn’t great in Limited, but tacking Proliferate on to is a pretty big deal. There are lots of counters in this set, and even payoffs for prolfierating specifically! On top of that, UR likes spells, and this kind of instant that replaces itself always gets a boost there. Basically, this will actually effect the board reasonably often thanks to the synergies in the set, while also giving you some solid card selection.
Shrapnel Slinger image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and there’s also plenty of noncreature artifacts it can deal with too. Sacrificing a Mite or something else expendable seems particularly nice. You also have a baseline of a 2-mana 2/2, which you’ll certainly be wanting if you don’t have something else to do on turn two
Basilica Shepherd image 4.0 Say hello to the white Diregraf Horde! This is a great Common that adds a ton to the board for the cost. While the Pests being unable to block is definitely a downside, there is a lot you can do with those Artifact tokens – including sacrificing them or simply using them to go wide. This is probably White’s best Common.
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Hexgold Slash
Gleeful Demolition image 3.0 This format has a lot of Artifacts including Artifact creatures, so a card that can destroy them for one mana is already a card you’ll always play. That is definitely the mode you’re going to choose most frequently, but sometimes destroying your own thing is more beneficial. Like if you need extra bodies to go wide to win the game, or if you need those bodies to block
Veil of Assimilation image 3.0 This offers a nice buff up front, and there are enough artifacts in the set that triggering this on most turns won’t be a challenge for White decks.
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Hexgold Slash image 3.5 Even without the Toxic-hating upside this card has, it would be quite good! One mana for 2 damage just tends to be a great deal, even allowing you to trade up for lots of 3 and 4 mana cards. Toxic is really everywhere in the format too, so you’re going to be able to do the 4 damage with this at some point in most games.
Goldwarden's Helm image 2.0 You get a three mana 2/3 up front here, which isn’t the worst baseline – especially when you have Equipment and Artifact payoffs in the format. The Boost this offers on its own is certainly very meager, though.
Barbed Batterfist image 2.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to play pretty well in aggro decks, and that’s what you get up front here – and then you have the option of moving the Equipment to other stuff – like if you really want your token to be a 2/2, or if something else can benefit from the stat boost. +1/-1 certainly isn’t amazing, but this is really cheap to play and equip, which will be especially nice with Equipment payoffs in the set.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Aspirant's Ascent image 2.0 One mana tricks have been some pretty serious business of late, and I think this looks like another solid one. This kind of gives you two separate uses, which is great for such a low cost! First it can be used as a traditional trick to help your creature win combat with the +1/+3 boost – but you can also use it before your opponent blocks to make a big creature take to the air and crack in for a bunch of damage – along with some toxic upside
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Dross Skullbomb image 2.5 This one can get a creature back from your graveyard and draw you a card, and once it does that you get a pretty nice 2-for-1
Pack 3 Pick 6: Shrapnel Slinger
Infectious Inquiry image 2.0 Black usually gets a three mana Common that does some version of draw 2 lose 2, and it is usually a passable card. Not adding to the board can be a liability, and this format does feel like it will be a fast one – so you never really want more than one of these. That first copy seems alright, though.
Flensing Raptor image 2.5 You’ll often have another Toxic creature around, and when you do this ETB ability is some serious business. When you don’t, you still get a Wind Drake with Toxic 1. I’m giving this a 2.5
Oil-Gorger Troll image 3.0 A 5-mana ¾ that gains you 3 life when it enters the battlefield is not especially good, so how good this card is comes down to how often you get to draw. I think it is definitely accessible, and one this card is gaining you life and netting you a card, it is going to feel pretty sweet. This is another Green card that feels like it can do a reasonable job of throwing a monkey wrench into the plans of aggro decks, as is often the case for creatures that gain life on ETB.
Offer Immortality image 2.5 This trick is always decent. It doesn’t have the upside of helping you do more damage to your opponent, but it trades that in for the flexibility of winning virtually any combat and saving your creature from most removal
Shrapnel Slinger image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and there’s also plenty of noncreature artifacts it can deal with too. Sacrificing a Mite or something else expendable seems particularly nice. You also have a baseline of a 2-mana 2/2, which you’ll certainly be wanting if you don’t have something else to do on turn two
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Sheoldred's Headcleaver image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Menace is probably a 1.0 at best, and while adding Toxic to the mix is nice, this still dies to a whole lot of common double blocks
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Maze Skullbomb image 2.5 have the time to use the ability.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Blazing Crescendo
Resistance Reunited image 1.5 +2/+2 can definitely win you some combats, but it isn’t that efficient and doesn’t have that much additional upside, and you need tricks to be flexible and powerful to counteract the downside of a 2-for-1 risk, and +2/+2 for 2 doesn’t really get you there. The Equipment upside is nice – and once you’re doing that, you can turn it in to a card that blanks removal too. Even in this set, with lots of Equipment, I think you’re going to cut this a decent chunk of the time
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Blazing Crescendo image 2.0 This is somewhat similar to Enthusiastic Study from Strixhaven, in that it gives a +3/+1 boost and draws you a card. Enthusiastic Study gave trample too, which makes it better, but I think this is still a nice trick. Now, a +3/+1 boost isn’t great, as many creatures will still die because the toughness boost is so low – but this offsets that downside by getting you that card back. And, if you do manage to make your creature survive and get the card, it will feel great
Skyscythe Engulfer image 1.5 If you’re behind, it can hang back and block even flyers, and if you’re ahead, it can attack pretty hard. I wish there was some sort of ETB associated with it so you got some permanent value, though. Six mana is a lot to not get something like that!
Vulshok Splitter image 2.0 So, this is effectively a 4-mana 4/2 when it comes down – one that leaves behind a pretty clunky piece of equipment. Neither of these things is that impressive for 4 mana, but the initial creature you get out of this definitely softens the blow, especially in a format with lots of payoffs for Equipment.
Bonepicker Skirge image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer isn’t quite as good as it used to be – but it is still decent enough, so adding some additional effects usually makes for a nice card, and that’s what we have here. If this always had deathtouch and lifelink it would be a 4.0, but you do have to jump through some hoops here.
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Pack 3 Pick 8: The Fair Basilica
Trawler Drake image 3.0 A three mana 1/1 Flyer isn’t good, but there are enough ways to grow this – between casting spells and Proliferating, that it won’t be that hard to make this a good investment. The big downside is that it will die to pretty much everything the turn it comes down.
The Fair Basilica image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Testament Bearer image 2.0 This can give you a 2-for-1 with some nice card selection, but a 4-mana 4/1 is a rough rate
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Molten Rebuke
Minor Misstep image 0.0 This is a nice callback to Mental Misstep, and probably has some legs in Modern – but in Limited this just doesn’t counter enough stuff
Sylvok Battle-Chair image 3.0 This is Colossal Dreadmaw with upside, since it starts out as a 6-mana 6/6 Trampler. The Equip cost is obviously massive here, but once you reach a point where you can just slap this on whatever you want your opponent is going to be in serious trouble. Unlike the Engulfer we just saw, this does leave value on the board no matter what.
Surgical Skullbomb image 2.5 Like the others, this cycles at worst, and can have a real impact on the board that still nets you a card.
Molten Rebuke image 2.0 This is red’s usual really mediocre modal removal spell. 5 mana for 5 damage at Sorcery speed isn’t anywhere close to premium – it is super clunky and firing it off on something that is cheaper than it is rough. Destroying Equipment matters a little for sure, but the fact that most Equipment in this format has “For Mirrodin!” probably means you don’t even get a full card of value if you do that
Phyrexian Atlas image 1.5 In most formats, a three mana mana rock just isn’t worth it. You need to add more meaningfully to the board, and using a card to get a small mana boost can be pretty rough. In theory, this does start doing something in the middle part of the game, but I’m still not in on this.
Annihilating Glare image 3.5 This is reminiscent of Eaten Alive, a Common removal spell that played really well in a format that had lots of expendable tokens to sacrifice. You know what this format also has? That’s right, lots of expendable tokens – especially if you’re in Black/White and have access to lots of Mites.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Prophetic Prism
Reject Imperfection image 2.0 Cancel ends up being a dud more often than not. The double Blue is surprisingly difficult to get at the right time, and leaving up three mana to counter something can horribly backfire if your opponent can play around it. It is nice that it triggers when you counter something cheap, as countering something that costs less than three feels particularly bad with this kind of card, so at least you get a consolation prize
Unctus's Retrofitter image 3.5 This looks really good. A three mana 2/3 with Toxic 1 is already passable, so the fact that this can turn an artifact into a 4/4 is pretty awesome! You can animate a noncreature artifact, or upgrade an Artifact creature that is smaller than a 4/4. There are plenty of targets in the set, including things like Mite tokens, so this is often going to give you a big advantage for only three mana
Prophetic Prism image 2.5 We’ve seen this before and it is always surprisingly good. Filtering mana is of course in efficient, and this doesn’t actually net you mana – but the fact this fixes your mana and replaces itself is no small thing. Actually getting a card worth of value is a big deal.
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Pack 3 Pick 11: Myr Kinsmith
Dross Skullbomb image 2.5 This one can get a creature back from your graveyard and draw you a card, and once it does that you get a pretty nice 2-for-1
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Fleshless Gladiator image 3.0 This seems like a solid Common. You can play it early as a bear, and then in the mid to late game it can start coming back from your graveyard, which can net you a very real advantage
Skyscythe Engulfer image 1.5 If you’re behind, it can hang back and block even flyers, and if you’re ahead, it can attack pretty hard. I wish there was some sort of ETB associated with it so you got some permanent value, though. Six mana is a lot to not get something like that!
Pack 3 Pick 12: Basilica Shepherd
Magmatic Sprinter image 3.5 This looks really good. A three mana 3/2 with Haste is easily a C, and this comes with some pretty real upside! You can use this to put oil counters all over the place by casting it every turn, and there are definitely reasons to do that. Or, you can choose to have this stick in play for a couple of turns at a time if you need the board presence
Meldweb Curator image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and its ability isn’t that impressive either. Getting back removal is nice of course, but putting it on top of your library isn’t that powerful. You’ll usually have to wait a turn to get it, and if you didn’t have something worth getting out of the graveyard, you’re even more out of luck.
Basilica Shepherd image 4.0 Say hello to the white Diregraf Horde! This is a great Common that adds a ton to the board for the cost. While the Pests being unable to block is definitely a downside, there is a lot you can do with those Artifact tokens – including sacrificing them or simply using them to go wide. This is probably White’s best Common.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Veil of Assimilation
Veil of Assimilation image 3.0 This offers a nice buff up front, and there are enough artifacts in the set that triggering this on most turns won’t be a challenge for White decks.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Offer Immortality
Offer Immortality image 2.5 This trick is always decent. It doesn’t have the upside of helping you do more damage to your opponent, but it trades that in for the flexibility of winning virtually any combat and saving your creature from most removal
Draft Pick Overview