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Traditional Draft SIR 23 March 2023

23 March 09:25 - HooterD 3 Wins - 0 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (12)
2 Lightning Axe image
1 Tormenting Voice image
2 Alchemist's Greeting image
1 Stensia Masquerade image
1 Dead Weight image
2 Galvanic Bombardment image
2 Incendiary Flow image
1 Certain Death image
Creature (12)
2 Bloodmad Vampire image
2 Olivia's Dragoon image
2 Insolent Neonate image
1 Mad Prophet image
1 Stromkirk Captain image
1 Olivia's Bloodsworn image
1 Voldaren Pariah // Abolisher of Bloodlines image
1 Ravenous Bloodseeker image
1 Thermo-Alchemist image
Land (16)
8 Mountain image
8 Swamp image
Sideboard
1 Haunted Dead image
1 Hamlet Captain image
1 Crow of Dark Tidings image
1 Laboratory Brute image
1 Gatstaf Arsonists image
1 Kindly Stranger image
1 Pyre Hound image
1 Howlpack Wolf image
1 Drogskol Shieldmate image
1 Graf Rats image
2 Ghoulcaller's Accomplice image
1 Geist of the Archives image
1 Field Creeper image
1 Faithbearer Paladin image
1 Always Watching image
1 Magmatic Chasm image
1 Borrowed Hostility image
1 Macabre Waltz image
1 Certain Death image
1 Anguished Unmaking image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Always Watching
Avacyn's Collar image 2.5 The boost this offers isn’t really worth it, unless you have a lot of Humans, because then you can turn trades into an advantage.
Always Watching image 4.0 An anthem that also gives creatures Vigilance is great. Not buffing tokens is definitely a downside, but this offers such a massive upgrade to most of your creatures that it doesn’t matter.
Hinterland Logger image 3.0 This is a nice two drop. If you’re on the play and your opponent doesn’t have their own two drop, it can easily become a 4/2 Trampler in the early game, which is terrifying! That size is relevant all game long, too.
Anguished Unmaking image 3.5 Hitting any type of permanent is great, and well worth paying 3 life for. That said, playing more than 1 or 2 of this can get a little sketchy because of the life payment. You can offset it by gaining some life, of course.
Mad Prophet image 2.0 This is a nice repeatable way to get Madness going, but the stat-line means it dies to several one mana removal spells in the format, and that downside hurts.
Fortified Village image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Make Mischief image 2.0 In a roundabout way, this does give you three damage for three mana. If you look at this as a three mana 1/1 devil that does 1 to something on ETB it sounds a lot better, as you get to add to the board while picking something off. If you can’t kill something with the 1 damage it does get a lot worse.
Insolent Neonate image 2.5 This is a solid one drop that can chip in for some nice damage early, and then cash itself in for a card later in the game.
Wretched Gryff image 4.0 This is one of the best Commons in the set. Casting it for the full 7 mana is totally passable, and if you can sacrifice something that gives you value and cast the Gryff for three or four mana – which happens all the time – it feels particularly amazing.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Weirded Vampire image 1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Lightning Axe
Vampiric Fury image 1.0 // 2.5 This is cheaper than most Trumpet-Blast type effects, but only buffing Vampires is enough of a restriction that I’m not that thrilled about it. If you really got their on vampires, it isn’t a bad inclusion, but there are lots of Red decks that won’t play this.
Conduit of Storms image 3.0 A three mana ⅔ that gives you a mana every time it attacks isn’t too bad, and this can transform into a fairly impressive Eldrazi Werewolf.
Fleeting Memories image 1.0 Clues are good and all, but this isn’t a great format to try and mill your opponent out in. Several decks in this format want cards in their graveyard. Turning on their delirium and Flashback cards isn’t really something you want to be doing. There are some clue-heavy control decks where this can work out as a win condition, but you’re really playing with fire.
Lightning Axe image 3.5 There’s lots of stuff in this format that you want to be discarding, and you will often find yourself able to cast this for only a single mana and cast whatever you discard. At that point, you’re really negating the downside of the Axe, and it just becomes an incredibly efficient removal spell with major upside. You won’t always be able to do that of course, but it happens often enough that this is premium removal.
Ironclad Slayer image 2.5 This format has some quality Auras and Equipment, especially in Green-White, so this is able to return a quality card a decent chunk of the time, and the fail case isn’t too terrible.
Grapple with the Past image 2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Moonlight Hunt image 2.5 This is a fairly effective removal spell, as you can often use it effectively even with just a single Wolf or Werewolf. Your deck does need to be loaded up with them for this to be at its best, though – as if you don’t have a wolf or werewolf in play, this does stone nothing.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Olivia's Dragoon image 3.0 This card would be solid in any format, but in this one it is even better! It has a useful creature type and can help you get Delirium and Madness cards going.
Tattered Haunter image 2.0 This is a reasonable two-drop, though it does suffer from the fact that it is awful against the format’s flying tokens.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Lightning Axe
Battleground Geist image 2.5 There are lots of Spirits in this set, and this will be doubly true while Battleground Geist is in the format. It has passable stats and impacts the board right away.
Fevered Visions image 1.5 This is basically howling mine, but it does come with a bit of a downside for your opponent, as they will get Shocked by it sometimes. Still, it isn’t that easy to start burning your opponent with this in Limited, and like most symmetrical card-draw, the fact your opponent gets the first card out of this is definitely rough.
Midnight Scavengers image 2.5 This can give you a pretty nice 2-for-1, and if you have Graf Rats in your deck it has the potential to become an incredibly scary creature.
Mad Prophet image 2.0 This is a nice repeatable way to get Madness going, but the stat-line means it dies to several one mana removal spells in the format, and that downside hurts.
Lightning Axe image 3.5 There’s lots of stuff in this format that you want to be discarding, and you will often find yourself able to cast this for only a single mana and cast whatever you discard. At that point, you’re really negating the downside of the Axe, and it just becomes an incredibly efficient removal spell with major upside. You won’t always be able to do that of course, but it happens often enough that this is premium removal.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Intrepid Provisioner image 3.0 This is a solid Human payoff. The +2/+2 it offers often gives you a much better situation to attack with, and the 3/3 Trample body isn’t the worst thing.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Dauntless Cathar image 3.5 Trading this off for something and then getting a flying token out of your graveyard feels great. Also works well if you want to sacrifice it or you end up milling it.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Drag Under image 2.5 Bouncing something at Sorcery speed and going down a card normally isn’t worth it. However, this replaces itself, which makes a really big difference! It means you still get the tempo but don’t go down a card, and there’s a spell deck in this format, so any spell that draws you a card already gets more value.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Haunted Dead
Dusk Feaster image 2.5 This is pretty bad if you can’t get delirium going. The good news is, by the time you’re going to want to cast this, you’re pretty likely to have it in a deck like Black-Green. At that point, it is a 5-mana ⅘ Flyer – which is pretty nice!
Haunted Dead image 3.5 4-mana for a 2/2 and a 1/1 Flyer is decent, and this can keep coming back from your graveyard! Discarding two cards might sound steep, but in this format, you can get a ton of upside out of discarding cards.
Faith Unbroken image 2.5 This card is incredibly swingy. 4 mana to exile something and give a creature +2/+2 is an incredible rate, and if the creature and Enchantment stay around, your opponent loses. However, if your opponent finds a way to kill the Enchanted creature, they probably win, because you get absolutely blown out.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Magnifying Glass image 1.0 This is a very clunky mana rock. It is nice that it can produce Clues, but it doesn’t exactly do that efficiently either.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Hamlet Captain
Butcher's Cleaver image 1.5 In original Innistrad, this was a nasty combo with Invisible Stalker. Sadly, the Stalker and the Cleaver won’t be in the format at the same time, and that definitely hurts this card’s stock. It costs a lot to cast and to Equip. While lifelink is nice, this is often just too clunky.
Neglected Heirloom image 3.5 The base form of the Heirloom is a solid piece of Equipment, and once it transforms it can make any creature into a major threat. Transforming it isn’t always easy of course, and works best in Red-Green, but because it has such a good baseline, it is worth valuing fairly highly.
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Hamlet Captain image 3.5 This is a nice Human payoff that can make most boards significantly better. It doesn’t buff itself, though, so it often goes down in one attack.
Thraben Foulbloods image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 isn’t very good, but a three mana 4/3 with Menace is! Delirium is very accessible too, though you won’t usually have it when you’re playing this on turn three.
Pyre Hound image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a buildaround, but it is also an incredibly important and powerful Common for the Blue-Red deck. It gets massive in that deck, and the Trample is a real problem for your opponent.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Strength of Arms image 2.5 This is a nice trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to play pretty well, and the times you can get a 1/1 token out of this feel really insane, and its very doable, especially in GW.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Bloodmad Vampire
Advanced Stitchwing image 3.5 This has decent base stats, and it is big enough that its ability to keep coming back from the graveyard is pretty great.
Pieces of the Puzzle image 2.5 If your deck is spell heavy enough (so, mostly UR) this ends up being better than divination, especially because it loads your graveyard too! Outside of Blue-Red it becomes more questionable, though.
Ravenous Bloodseeker image 2.5 This is a nice discard outlet that can be pretty obnoxious to block in the early game.
Crow of Dark Tidings image 3.0 This is a great card for getting Delirium going, and that’s definitely something you want to be doing – especially in Black/Green and Black/White. It even attacks in the air quite effectively!
Rabid Bite image 3.5 This is premium removal. You have to be careful about when you use it, because your opponent can interact in response and blow you out. But when you get the chance to use it, it ends up dealing with most creatures very efficiently.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Epitaph Golem image 0.0 // 2.5 This is better than it looks! This is a format where you can actually end up milling yourself out, especially in Black-Green. Once your library is out of cards, the Golem not only helps you avoid losing because you’re out of cards – it also effectively lets you draw whatever card you want every single turn. It takes a fairly particular deck for this to make the cut, though.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Olivia's Dragoon
Invasive Surgery image 0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Nebelgast Herald image 3.5 On its own, this is a three mana 2/1 flyer that taps down an opposing creature. You would always play that, and this comes with the additional upside of making every spirit you control tap something down. This can really allow you to attack for tons of damage, especially in the air.
Ravenous Bloodseeker image 2.5 This is a nice discard outlet that can be pretty obnoxious to block in the early game.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Ember-Eye Wolf image 2.5 This overperformed last time. A lot of the time, this sort of creature that can buff its power for mana isn’t very impressive, because you end up having to spend a lot of mana just to make it trade. However, adding Haste to the mix, along with a useful creature type, makes a significant difference. This even has a bit of Fireball potential in the late game.
Olivia's Dragoon image 3.0 This card would be solid in any format, but in this one it is even better! It has a useful creature type and can help you get Delirium and Madness cards going.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Tormenting Voice
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Spectral Shepherd image 3.0 UW is all about spirits, and it has a sub-theme of abusing ETB abilities. The Shepherd’s activated abilities can help you trigger them, while also allowing you to save your Spirits from removal.
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Strength of Arms image 2.5 This is a nice trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to play pretty well, and the times you can get a 1/1 token out of this feel really insane, and its very doable, especially in GW.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Tormenting Voice image 2.5 This is better in this format than it is in pretty much any other! It helps you get Delirium and discard things with Madness, on top of also being a nice card for the Blue-Red spell deck since it triggers all of your payoffs.
Essence Flux image 0.0 // 2.5 The Blue-White Spirit deck has a blink/flicker sub-theme, as Essence Flux tells you. If you have enough Spirits with ETB abilities, this is playable. But there are many decks it doesn’t work out in, even Blue/White ones!
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Insolent Neonate
Anguished Unmaking image 3.5 Hitting any type of permanent is great, and well worth paying 3 life for. That said, playing more than 1 or 2 of this can get a little sketchy because of the life payment. You can offset it by gaining some life, of course.
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Make Mischief image 2.0 In a roundabout way, this does give you three damage for three mana. If you look at this as a three mana 1/1 devil that does 1 to something on ETB it sounds a lot better, as you get to add to the board while picking something off. If you can’t kill something with the 1 damage it does get a lot worse.
Insolent Neonate image 2.5 This is a solid one drop that can chip in for some nice damage early, and then cash itself in for a card later in the game.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Weirded Vampire image 1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Bloodmad Vampire
Vampiric Fury image 1.0 // 2.5 This is cheaper than most Trumpet-Blast type effects, but only buffing Vampires is enough of a restriction that I’m not that thrilled about it. If you really got their on vampires, it isn’t a bad inclusion, but there are lots of Red decks that won’t play this.
Grapple with the Past image 2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Tattered Haunter image 2.0 This is a reasonable two-drop, though it does suffer from the fact that it is awful against the format’s flying tokens.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Mad Prophet
Battleground Geist image 2.5 There are lots of Spirits in this set, and this will be doubly true while Battleground Geist is in the format. It has passable stats and impacts the board right away.
Mad Prophet image 2.0 This is a nice repeatable way to get Madness going, but the stat-line means it dies to several one mana removal spells in the format, and that downside hurts.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Alchemist's Greeting
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Magnifying Glass image 1.0 This is a very clunky mana rock. It is nice that it can produce Clues, but it doesn’t exactly do that efficiently either.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Magmatic Chasm
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Crow of Dark Tidings
Crow of Dark Tidings image 3.0 This is a great card for getting Delirium going, and that’s definitely something you want to be doing – especially in Black/Green and Black/White. It even attacks in the air quite effectively!
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Laboratory Brute
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Stensia Masquerade
Ghoulraiser image 3.0 Gravedigger for three mana is a nice card, even if you can only get back Zombies and it is entirely random! This delivers a nice 2-for-1 in most Black decks.
Forgotten Creation image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t great, and Skulk on a 3/3 is kind of funny – because it means there are lots of creatures that can effectively block it. Its ability to help you reload your hand can also be fairly situational and awkward, but if you’re given the time to set it up, pitching lands to draw extra cards is pretty good.
Kindly Stranger image 4.0 If Delirium is online, this is basically a 6-mana 4/3 that destroys a creature when it enters the battlefield. That’s insanely strong! Now, it does take some set up, and sometimes you don’t have six mana to do it all at once, but either way, the Stranger is very powerful.
Furyblade Vampire image 2.5 It is a bit of a bummer that you have to discard the card at the beginning of combat in this case, because it makes it harder to pull off Madness shenanigans, but this is often a two mana 4/2 with Trample that helps you cast things for their reduced Madness costs.
Brain in a Jar image 0.0 Not worth it in Limited, even with a spell deck around. It is too slow and doesn’t really do anything to impact the game most of the time.
Stensia Masquerade image 2.0 If you’re a Vampire deck, playing one of these is decent. The fact it has Madness means you can treat it as a trick sometimes that gives First Strike to all of your attackers. Buffing your Vampire is nice too! The problem here is that this card is pretty bad if you’re behind.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Drag Under image 2.5 Bouncing something at Sorcery speed and going down a card normally isn’t worth it. However, this replaces itself, which makes a really big difference! It means you still get the tempo but don’t go down a card, and there’s a spell deck in this format, so any spell that draws you a card already gets more value.
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Angelic Purge image 2.5 2-for-1ing yourself to destroy something isn’t great, but there is enough sacrifice fodder in this format that the first copy of Angelic Purge usually makes the cut.
Thraben Inspector image 3.0 This is a nice one drop. Generating a clue is great value to add to a one mana ½, and it even has a useful creature type.
Thraben Foulbloods image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 isn’t very good, but a three mana 4/3 with Menace is! Delirium is very accessible too, though you won’t usually have it when you’re playing this on turn three.
Swift Spinner image 1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Stromkirk Captain
Stromkirk Captain image 3.5 This offers an impressive boost to your Vampires, which will be the bulk of your creatures in Black/Red.
Daring Sleuth image 3.5 This starts with passable base stats, and transforming it is pretty easy in Blue. Once transformed, it is a creature your opponent really has to account for, since it can generate a ton of clues.
Nebelgast Herald image 3.5 On its own, this is a three mana 2/1 flyer that taps down an opposing creature. You would always play that, and this comes with the additional upside of making every spirit you control tap something down. This can really allow you to attack for tons of damage, especially in the air.
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Manic Scribe image 2.0 This is another really awkward mill card. Milling can benefit your opponent enough in this format that going this route is highly questionable. That said, the Scribe is capable of milling the opponent out all on its own.
Take Inventory image 1.0 // 3.5 This card can get really silly, especially in Blue-Red decks that can generate awesome value from spells that draw cards. Obviously, you want to get multiples of these, so that they can scale as the game goes on. Even if you only have two, you probably play them – and if you end up with 4+, it feels amazing.
Strength of Arms image 2.5 This is a nice trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to play pretty well, and the times you can get a 1/1 token out of this feel really insane, and its very doable, especially in GW.
Pyre Hound image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a buildaround, but it is also an incredibly important and powerful Common for the Blue-Red deck. It gets massive in that deck, and the Trample is a real problem for your opponent.
Terrarion image 1.5 This does a solid job of fixing your mana, and it helps you get delirium early by putting an Artifact in the graveyard.
Ember-Eye Wolf image 2.5 This overperformed last time. A lot of the time, this sort of creature that can buff its power for mana isn’t very impressive, because you end up having to spend a lot of mana just to make it trade. However, adding Haste to the mix, along with a useful creature type, makes a significant difference. This even has a bit of Fireball potential in the late game.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Morkrut Necropod image 2.5 This is a pretty scary creature. A 7/7 with Menace is a real pain to block! It does come with a pretty big downside, but giving up expendable creatures or lands to swing with this thing isn’t too shabby.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Gatstaf Arsonists
Gatstaf Arsonists image 2.5 This is a solid finisher. A 5-mana 5/4 is obviously not great, but a 5-mana 6/5 with Menace? Yeah, that closes out a lot of games.
Dusk Feaster image 2.5 This is pretty bad if you can’t get delirium going. The good news is, by the time you’re going to want to cast this, you’re pretty likely to have it in a deck like Black-Green. At that point, it is a 5-mana ⅘ Flyer – which is pretty nice!
Hope Against Hope image 1.0 This Aura isn’t really worth the downside. Sure, it can offer a massive boost – but there are times where it doesn’t offer a big enough one to off-set how dangerous playing this card is. Your board already has to be good in most scenarios, too. Getting 2-for-1’d is a big enough risk that you need your Auras to do more than this.
Wild-Field Scarecrow image 3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Puncturing Light image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and it does it fairly efficiently. Obviously, it is a little too narrow to be premium, but its fine.
Stormrider Spirit image 2.0 The Spirit decks in this format have lots of cards that let them operate at instant speed, so this having Flash works pretty well. You can leave up counter magic and removal, and if you don’t need it, add a very real body to the board. You can of course also Flash it in and ambush block stuff, which can feel pretty great.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Obsessive Skinner image 3.5 Without Delirium, this is a two drop that usually makes the cut. When you get Delirium going, it becomes an impressive value engine, giving you a +1/+1 counter every turn.
Haunted Fengraf image 1.0 This is bad for your mana base, and the fact it is random is a pretty big problem.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Dead Weight
Diregraf Captain image 3.5 This is a better Zombie payoff than the one in the main set. Lords are always quite powerful, and the additions of deathtouch and damaging your opponent when a Zombie dies is great.
Geier Reach Bandit image 4.0 A three mana 3/2 with Haste is a great starting point, and when this transforms it not only gets +1/+1 – it also makes it so all of your werewolves immediately transform when they enter the battlefield, which is a pretty big upgrade.
Mercurial Geists image 3.5 If you have enough cheap spells, the Geists hit incredibly hard. If you’re playing Blue-Red, your deck will have enough spells in it without even trying.
Courageous Outrider image 3.5 This can draw you a Human pretty frequently, especially in Green-White, and a 2-for-1 is a powerful thing.
Dauntless Cathar image 3.5 Trading this off for something and then getting a flying token out of your graveyard feels great. Also works well if you want to sacrifice it or you end up milling it.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Make Mischief image 2.0 In a roundabout way, this does give you three damage for three mana. If you look at this as a three mana 1/1 devil that does 1 to something on ETB it sounds a lot better, as you get to add to the board while picking something off. If you can’t kill something with the 1 damage it does get a lot worse.
Faithbearer Paladin image 2.0 This is better than it looks. A ¾ with lifelink is pretty beefy in this format, and represents a very real road block for aggro decks.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
Puncturing Light image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and it does it fairly efficiently. Obviously, it is a little too narrow to be premium, but its fine.
Dead Weight image 3.5 This is premium removal, kills many things for only one mana. It is also a little better than normal in this format because of Delirium.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Insolent Neonate
Moonmist image 0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Tamiyo's Journal image 3.5 This is an impressive value engine. Getting all of those Clues is a great way to win the game. The downside is that you have to pay 5 mana and not impact the board when you play it, but that’s something you can get away with more in this format than in more recent ones.
Ulrich's Kindred image 3.0 This has a solid baseline, and granting indestructibility to your werewolves can be great! That said, the ability is fairly costly, and if your opponent has mana up when you try to use it, prepare to get blown out.
Erdwal Illuminator image 3.5 Blue has a lot of ways to make Clues, so the Illuminator does a great job of generating extra value, which also having some pretty solid stats.
Ravenous Bloodseeker image 2.5 This is a nice discard outlet that can be pretty obnoxious to block in the early game.
Thraben Inspector image 3.0 This is a nice one drop. Generating a clue is great value to add to a one mana ½, and it even has a useful creature type.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Insolent Neonate image 2.5 This is a solid one drop that can chip in for some nice damage early, and then cash itself in for a card later in the game.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Olivia's Dragoon
Stitcher's Graft image 0.0 This might be cheap to play and equip and offers a significant boost, but the downside here is far too much. You don’t want go have to give up permanents just to untap creatures.
Graf Rats image 1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Reaper of Flight Moonsilver image 2.5 The base stats here aren’t good – but if you have Delirium going, the Reaper can represent lethal on a lot of board states.
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Wild-Field Scarecrow image 3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Olivia's Dragoon image 3.0 This card would be solid in any format, but in this one it is even better! It has a useful creature type and can help you get Delirium and Madness cards going.
Thraben Foulbloods image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 isn’t very good, but a three mana 4/3 with Menace is! Delirium is very accessible too, though you won’t usually have it when you’re playing this on turn three.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Olivia's Bloodsworn
Olivia's Bloodsworn image 3.5 On its own, this is a two mana 2/1 Flyer that can give itself Haste, but if you’re in Black-Red you’re going to have plenty of other Vampires around.
Deranged Whelp image 2.5 This is a solid little two-drop and it has a useful creature type.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Explosive Apparatus image 1.5 This is by no means efficient, but if you’re hurting for Artifacts to get Delirium going more consistently, it can do the job.
Strength of Arms image 2.5 This is a nice trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to play pretty well, and the times you can get a 1/1 token out of this feel really insane, and its very doable, especially in GW.
Intrepid Provisioner image 3.0 This is a solid Human payoff. The +2/+2 it offers often gives you a much better situation to attack with, and the 3/3 Trample body isn’t the worst thing.
Convolute image 1.5 This is passable counter magic, and performs especially well in the early game, but the fact it gets worse the longer the game goes on is rough.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice image 3.0 This has solid base stats, and the fact you can get a Zombie out of it from the graveyard is great! Obviously, the rate on that second body isn’t amazing, but card advantage is card advantage. It also means you can discard or mill this and still get some nice value out of it.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Galvanic Bombardment
Traveler's Amulet image 2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Hinterland Logger image 3.0 This is a nice two drop. If you’re on the play and your opponent doesn’t have their own two drop, it can easily become a 4/2 Trampler in the early game, which is terrifying! That size is relevant all game long, too.
Stone Quarry image 2.5 These always enter tapped, which is a little bit of a bummer, but they still provide some quality fixing.
Galvanic Bombardment image 2.5 // 4.0 You’ll always play this even if you only have one copy, and it becomes far better the more copies you have. If you have 4+, it becomes one of the best cards in your deck.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
Tormenting Voice image 2.5 This is better in this format than it is in pretty much any other! It helps you get Delirium and discard things with Madness, on top of also being a nice card for the Blue-Red spell deck since it triggers all of your payoffs.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Pack 2 Pick 9: Kindly Stranger
Kindly Stranger image 4.0 If Delirium is online, this is basically a 6-mana 4/3 that destroys a creature when it enters the battlefield. That’s insanely strong! Now, it does take some set up, and sometimes you don’t have six mana to do it all at once, but either way, the Stranger is very powerful.
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Drag Under image 2.5 Bouncing something at Sorcery speed and going down a card normally isn’t worth it. However, this replaces itself, which makes a really big difference! It means you still get the tempo but don’t go down a card, and there’s a spell deck in this format, so any spell that draws you a card already gets more value.
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Angelic Purge image 2.5 2-for-1ing yourself to destroy something isn’t great, but there is enough sacrifice fodder in this format that the first copy of Angelic Purge usually makes the cut.
Thraben Foulbloods image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 isn’t very good, but a three mana 4/3 with Menace is! Delirium is very accessible too, though you won’t usually have it when you’re playing this on turn three.
Swift Spinner image 1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Pyre Hound
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Take Inventory image 1.0 // 3.5 This card can get really silly, especially in Blue-Red decks that can generate awesome value from spells that draw cards. Obviously, you want to get multiples of these, so that they can scale as the game goes on. Even if you only have two, you probably play them – and if you end up with 4+, it feels amazing.
Pyre Hound image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a buildaround, but it is also an incredibly important and powerful Common for the Blue-Red deck. It gets massive in that deck, and the Trample is a real problem for your opponent.
Morkrut Necropod image 2.5 This is a pretty scary creature. A 7/7 with Menace is a real pain to block! It does come with a pretty big downside, but giving up expendable creatures or lands to swing with this thing isn’t too shabby.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Borrowed Hostility
Dusk Feaster image 2.5 This is pretty bad if you can’t get delirium going. The good news is, by the time you’re going to want to cast this, you’re pretty likely to have it in a deck like Black-Green. At that point, it is a 5-mana ⅘ Flyer – which is pretty nice!
Wild-Field Scarecrow image 3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Stormrider Spirit image 2.0 The Spirit decks in this format have lots of cards that let them operate at instant speed, so this having Flash works pretty well. You can leave up counter magic and removal, and if you don’t need it, add a very real body to the board. You can of course also Flash it in and ambush block stuff, which can feel pretty great.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Howlpack Wolf
Mercurial Geists image 3.5 If you have enough cheap spells, the Geists hit incredibly hard. If you’re playing Blue-Red, your deck will have enough spells in it without even trying.
Dauntless Cathar image 3.5 Trading this off for something and then getting a flying token out of your graveyard feels great. Also works well if you want to sacrifice it or you end up milling it.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Drogskol Shieldmate
Moonmist image 0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Graf Rats
Graf Rats image 1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Thraben Foulbloods image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 isn’t very good, but a three mana 4/3 with Menace is! Delirium is very accessible too, though you won’t usually have it when you’re playing this on turn three.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice image 3.0 This has solid base stats, and the fact you can get a Zombie out of it from the graveyard is great! Obviously, the rate on that second body isn’t amazing, but card advantage is card advantage. It also means you can discard or mill this and still get some nice value out of it.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Incendiary Flow
Diregraf Captain image 3.5 This is a better Zombie payoff than the one in the main set. Lords are always quite powerful, and the additions of deathtouch and damaging your opponent when a Zombie dies is great.
Grim Flayer image 4.0 Before it gets Delirium, the Flayer can help you get there with its combat damage trigger, and once you have Delirium, he becomes a much bigger threat that continues to load your graveyard and improve your draws.
Shrill Howler image 3.5 This might only have one toughness, but because it can’t be blocked by creatures with lower power, you don’t need to worry too much about your opponent trading up. Once transformed it becomes an absolute monster, drastically increasing its toughness and generating a body when it hits your opponent.
Topplegeist image 3.5 Without Delirium, Topplegeist is already a playable card. Then, if you can get Delirium online, this becomes absolutely insane, as tapping down a creature every turn can really shift the game in your favor.
Mockery of Nature image 2.5 This format has a decent number of Artifacts and Enchantments, and if you have a target, the Mockery will feel amazing. However, there aren’t so many of them in the set that this will consistently give you that sweet 2-for-1.
Manic Scribe image 2.0 This is another really awkward mill card. Milling can benefit your opponent enough in this format that going this route is highly questionable. That said, the Scribe is capable of milling the opponent out all on its own.
Weirded Vampire image 1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Incendiary Flow image 4.0 Two mana to do 3 to a creature is always premium removal, and this has exile upside that really matters.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Wolfkin Bond image 3.0 This is a surprisingly good Aura, and one you’re usually going to want one of in your Green decks. 5 mana is a lot, but the fact this gives you a 2/2 means that you do a good job of mitigating against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Essence Flux image 0.0 // 2.5 The Blue-White Spirit deck has a blink/flicker sub-theme, as Essence Flux tells you. If you have enough Spirits with ETB abilities, this is playable. But there are many decks it doesn’t work out in, even Blue/White ones!
Thraben Inspector image 3.0 This is a nice one drop. Generating a clue is great value to add to a one mana ½, and it even has a useful creature type.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Voldaren Pariah
Voldaren Pariah image 4.0 A 5-mana 3/3 Flyer with Madness isn’t too bad, but the Pariah’s ability to transform is what makes it truly frightening. It becomes a 6/5 Flyer that makes your opponent sacrifice three creatures! You sacrificing three of your own creatures to get there can be a big ask, but the fact you can do it at instant speed makes it easier than you might think.
Humble the Brute image 2.5 Between Werewolves and Eldrazi, this has enough targets against most opponents to be worth playing. It offers a very real 2-for-1 when it has a target. But still, there are plenty of times where your opponent doesn’t have anything you can kill with it, and that’s pretty rough.
Thermo-Alchemist image 3.5 This is a great payoff in Blue-Red, but most Red decks in the format have enough instants and sorceries in them to make the Alchemist playable.
Invasive Surgery image 0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Faithbearer Paladin image 2.0 This is better than it looks. A ¾ with lifelink is pretty beefy in this format, and represents a very real road block for aggro decks.
Fiend Binder image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly for the cost, but tapping down an opposing creature every time it attacks can allow you to do tons of damage.
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Puncturing Light image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and it does it fairly efficiently. Obviously, it is a little too narrow to be premium, but its fine.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Deny Existence image 2.0 Most decks have enough creatures for this to be playable, though it is always rough to try to use one of these when your opponent casts a noncreature spell.
Thraben Inspector image 3.0 This is a nice one drop. Generating a clue is great value to add to a one mana ½, and it even has a useful creature type.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Haunted Fengraf image 1.0 This is bad for your mana base, and the fact it is random is a pretty big problem.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Incendiary Flow
Traveler's Amulet image 2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Conduit of Storms image 3.0 A three mana ⅔ that gives you a mana every time it attacks isn’t too bad, and this can transform into a fairly impressive Eldrazi Werewolf.
Mournwillow image 3.0 This is not the most exciting signpost Uncommon ever, its Delirium ETB ability isn’t always relevant, so it is kind of a pain that you have to jump through hoops to even get it to do its thing. Still, hard to go wrong when the card’s baseline is a three mana 3/2 with Haste.
Graf Mole image 3.0 This is a nice Clue payoff with solid stats. The life it gains you can really help you buy yourself the time to draw all of your extra cards.
Anguished Unmaking image 3.5 Hitting any type of permanent is great, and well worth paying 3 life for. That said, playing more than 1 or 2 of this can get a little sketchy because of the life payment. You can offset it by gaining some life, of course.
Weirding Wood image 2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Borrowed Grace image 1.5 So you can pay for +2/+2 to the whole board, or three mana for just one of these effects. Neither is very exciting.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Exultant Cultist image 2.5 This is good sacrifice fodder, and can be especially spicy with Emerge. Even in the absence of those things, the fact you can trade this off for a 2-for-1 feels pretty good.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Incendiary Flow image 4.0 Two mana to do 3 to a creature is always premium removal, and this has exile upside that really matters.
Obsessive Skinner image 3.5 Without Delirium, this is a two drop that usually makes the cut. When you get Delirium going, it becomes an impressive value engine, giving you a +1/+1 counter every turn.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Galvanic Bombardment
Battleground Geist image 2.5 There are lots of Spirits in this set, and this will be doubly true while Battleground Geist is in the format. It has passable stats and impacts the board right away.
Ulvenwald Captive image 3.0 As is true in most formats, ramping your mana is pretty good! Even when it is attached to a two mana ½ with Defender. Its transformation isn’t the most impressive, but it does let you ramp mana even more, it gets bigger, and it loses defender.
Nebelgast Herald image 3.5 On its own, this is a three mana 2/1 flyer that taps down an opposing creature. You would always play that, and this comes with the additional upside of making every spirit you control tap something down. This can really allow you to attack for tons of damage, especially in the air.
Morkrut Necropod image 2.5 This is a pretty scary creature. A 7/7 with Menace is a real pain to block! It does come with a pretty big downside, but giving up expendable creatures or lands to swing with this thing isn’t too shabby.
Fiend Binder image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly for the cost, but tapping down an opposing creature every time it attacks can allow you to do tons of damage.
Deny Existence image 2.0 Most decks have enough creatures for this to be playable, though it is always rough to try to use one of these when your opponent casts a noncreature spell.
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice image 3.0 This has solid base stats, and the fact you can get a Zombie out of it from the graveyard is great! Obviously, the rate on that second body isn’t amazing, but card advantage is card advantage. It also means you can discard or mill this and still get some nice value out of it.
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Dead Weight image 3.5 This is premium removal, kills many things for only one mana. It is also a little better than normal in this format because of Delirium.
Galvanic Bombardment image 2.5 // 4.0 You’ll always play this even if you only have one copy, and it becomes far better the more copies you have. If you have 4+, it becomes one of the best cards in your deck.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Ravenous Bloodseeker
Elder Cathar image 3.0 This is a pretty nice payoff for Humans. Paying 3 mana for 4/4 worth of stats feels pretty good, and also makes the Cathar good sacrifice fodder.
Crawling Sensation image 0.0 // 4.0 This is an amazing buildaround. It quickly gets you Delirium, and it adds to the board while loading up your graveyard with all that sweet, sweet value. That said, it doesn’t work in just any deck – it is mostly here for Black/Green.
Mournwillow image 3.0 This is not the most exciting signpost Uncommon ever, its Delirium ETB ability isn’t always relevant, so it is kind of a pain that you have to jump through hoops to even get it to do its thing. Still, hard to go wrong when the card’s baseline is a three mana 3/2 with Haste.
Blessed Alliance image 3.5 The most useful mode on this is usually making your opponent sacrifice an opposing creature. Paying 2 mana for that isn’t amazing, especially when your opponent attacks with multiple creatures. However, the fact you can pump some extra mana into this for some extra effects is great.
Borrowed Grace image 1.5 So you can pay for +2/+2 to the whole board, or three mana for just one of these effects. Neither is very exciting.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Geist of the Archives image 3.0 This is surprisingly good. It can block lots of creatures in the format, and a free Scry every upkeep does a great job of improving the quality of your cards.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Ravenous Bloodseeker image 2.5 This is a nice discard outlet that can be pretty obnoxious to block in the early game.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Alchemist's Greeting
Butcher's Cleaver image 1.5 In original Innistrad, this was a nasty combo with Invisible Stalker. Sadly, the Stalker and the Cleaver won’t be in the format at the same time, and that definitely hurts this card’s stock. It costs a lot to cast and to Equip. While lifelink is nice, this is often just too clunky.
Town Gossipmonger image 3.5 This is better than it looks. It is really easy to transform as early as turn two, and once it is Incited Rabble it is a really effective attacker, especially in the early game.
Graf Mole image 3.0 This is a nice Clue payoff with solid stats. The life it gains you can really help you buy yourself the time to draw all of your extra cards.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Crow of Dark Tidings image 3.0 This is a great card for getting Delirium going, and that’s definitely something you want to be doing – especially in Black/Green and Black/White. It even attacks in the air quite effectively!
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Take Inventory image 1.0 // 3.5 This card can get really silly, especially in Blue-Red decks that can generate awesome value from spells that draw cards. Obviously, you want to get multiples of these, so that they can scale as the game goes on. Even if you only have two, you probably play them – and if you end up with 4+, it feels amazing.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Macabre Waltz
Gnarlwood Dryad image 3.0 A one mana 1/1 with deathtouch is always playable, and this has the upside of becoming much more relevant in the mid to late game.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Ingenious Skaab image 3.5 This is an amazing common. If you took away its ability to change its stats OR Prowess, it would still be pretty high quality – but it has both! This is incredibly difficult to block, and it can hit really hard so that’s kind of a problem for your opponent.
Rabid Bite image 3.5 This is premium removal. You have to be careful about when you use it, because your opponent can interact in response and blow you out. But when you get the chance to use it, it ends up dealing with most creatures very efficiently.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Faithbearer Paladin image 2.0 This is better than it looks. A ¾ with lifelink is pretty beefy in this format, and represents a very real road block for aggro decks.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Certain Death
Graf Rats image 1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Deny Existence image 2.0 Most decks have enough creatures for this to be playable, though it is always rough to try to use one of these when your opponent casts a noncreature spell.
Strength of Arms image 2.5 This is a nice trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to play pretty well, and the times you can get a 1/1 token out of this feel really insane, and its very doable, especially in GW.
Weirding Wood image 2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Certain Death
Mockery of Nature image 2.5 This format has a decent number of Artifacts and Enchantments, and if you have a target, the Mockery will feel amazing. However, there aren’t so many of them in the set that this will consistently give you that sweet 2-for-1.
Manic Scribe image 2.0 This is another really awkward mill card. Milling can benefit your opponent enough in this format that going this route is highly questionable. That said, the Scribe is capable of milling the opponent out all on its own.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Wolfkin Bond image 3.0 This is a surprisingly good Aura, and one you’re usually going to want one of in your Green decks. 5 mana is a lot, but the fact this gives you a 2/2 means that you do a good job of mitigating against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Essence Flux image 0.0 // 2.5 The Blue-White Spirit deck has a blink/flicker sub-theme, as Essence Flux tells you. If you have enough Spirits with ETB abilities, this is playable. But there are many decks it doesn’t work out in, even Blue/White ones!
Pack 3 Pick 10: Thermo-Alchemist
Thermo-Alchemist image 3.5 This is a great payoff in Blue-Red, but most Red decks in the format have enough instants and sorceries in them to make the Alchemist playable.
Faithbearer Paladin image 2.0 This is better than it looks. A ¾ with lifelink is pretty beefy in this format, and represents a very real road block for aggro decks.
Fiend Binder image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly for the cost, but tapping down an opposing creature every time it attacks can allow you to do tons of damage.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Puncturing Light image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and it does it fairly efficiently. Obviously, it is a little too narrow to be premium, but its fine.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Anguished Unmaking
Traveler's Amulet image 2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Mournwillow image 3.0 This is not the most exciting signpost Uncommon ever, its Delirium ETB ability isn’t always relevant, so it is kind of a pain that you have to jump through hoops to even get it to do its thing. Still, hard to go wrong when the card’s baseline is a three mana 3/2 with Haste.
Anguished Unmaking image 3.5 Hitting any type of permanent is great, and well worth paying 3 life for. That said, playing more than 1 or 2 of this can get a little sketchy because of the life payment. You can offset it by gaining some life, of course.
Borrowed Grace image 1.5 So you can pay for +2/+2 to the whole board, or three mana for just one of these effects. Neither is very exciting.
Exultant Cultist image 2.5 This is good sacrifice fodder, and can be especially spicy with Emerge. Even in the absence of those things, the fact you can trade this off for a 2-for-1 feels pretty good.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
Nebelgast Herald image 3.5 On its own, this is a three mana 2/1 flyer that taps down an opposing creature. You would always play that, and this comes with the additional upside of making every spirit you control tap something down. This can really allow you to attack for tons of damage, especially in the air.
Morkrut Necropod image 2.5 This is a pretty scary creature. A 7/7 with Menace is a real pain to block! It does come with a pretty big downside, but giving up expendable creatures or lands to swing with this thing isn’t too shabby.
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice image 3.0 This has solid base stats, and the fact you can get a Zombie out of it from the graveyard is great! Obviously, the rate on that second body isn’t amazing, but card advantage is card advantage. It also means you can discard or mill this and still get some nice value out of it.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Geist of the Archives
Borrowed Grace image 1.5 So you can pay for +2/+2 to the whole board, or three mana for just one of these effects. Neither is very exciting.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Geist of the Archives image 3.0 This is surprisingly good. It can block lots of creatures in the format, and a free Scry every upkeep does a great job of improving the quality of your cards.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Field Creeper
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Faithbearer Paladin
Faithbearer Paladin image 2.0 This is better than it looks. A ¾ with lifelink is pretty beefy in this format, and represents a very real road block for aggro decks.
Draft Pick Overview