Vampiric Fury
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.
Devils' Playground
3.5 Devil tokens are incredibly obnoxious because they ping things when you die, and this gives you four of them. This often makes it impossible for your opponent to attack you, and gives you a fairly impressive Devil army that is also hard to block.
Duskwatch Recruiter
4.5 This is a very strong Uncommon. It has good base stats, and on the front side it has a very powerful activated ability that will allow you to outcard your opponent in the later stages of the game. The front side is kind of the one you want the most, but the Werewolf side isn’t too shabby either.
Soul Separator
1.0 You need a nicely stocked graveyard and lots of spare mana to fully utilize this. So, basically, this is a little bit too clunky, and asks too much of you at the same time.
Mercurial Geists
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.
Invasive Surgery
0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Olivia's Dragoon
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.
Steadfast Cathar
2.5 This is a solid two drop, as attacking as a ⅔ in the early game is pretty nice.
Imprisoned in the Moon
2.5 This was Rare last time, downshifting it to Common will have a pretty significant impact on the format. That said, it isn’t amazing removal in Limited. Giving your opponent extra mana isn’t great, but it is usually better than whatever their best creature is. Still, you don’t really feel like you get a full card of value when you play this.
Thraben Inspector
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.
Epitaph Golem
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.
Weirded Vampire
1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Alchemist's Greeting
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.
Rabid Bite
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.
Borrowed Malevolence
2.0 This doesn’t feel amazing no matter how you cast it. If you can Escalate it, the boost it offers your creature and the -1/-1 it gives an opponent’s can be pretty nice, but three mana is steep enough that I don’t love this.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Mercurial Geists
Moonmist
0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Hinterland Logger
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.
Indulgent Aristocrat
3.5 This is a great Vampire payoff. It is a bit awkward sometimes that you have to sacrifice something to put the counters on your creatures, but if you’ve got enough Vampires in play that is well worth the price.
Fiery Temper
4.0 Even without Madness this would be a great Common, with Madness, which basically gives it the potential to be Lightning Bolt, it is one of the best Commons in the set.
Mercurial Geists
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.
Ember-Eye Wolf
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.
Laboratory Brute
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.
Deranged Whelp
2.5 This is a solid little two-drop and it has a useful creature type.
Merciless Resolve
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.
Exultant Cultist
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.
Obsessive Skinner
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.
Geist of the Archives
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.
Drogskol Shieldmate
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.
Borrowed Hostility
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 1 Pick 3: Galvanic Bombardment
Nebelgast Herald
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.
Highland Lake
2.5 These always enter tapped, which is a little bit of a bummer, but they still provide some quality fixing.
Port Town
2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Wolfkin Bond
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.
Steadfast Cathar
2.5 This is a solid two drop, as attacking as a ⅔ in the early game is pretty nice.
Laboratory Brute
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.
Gisa's Bidding
3.5 This is great, it was an Uncommon last time, so downshifting it to Common is pretty spicy. Without Madness, it is a passable rate. With Madness it is downright nasty. Three mana for two 2/2s at Instant speed is a great rate. Casting this for its Madness cost is very doable, too.
Sanitarium Skeleton
1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Galvanic Bombardment
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.
Geist of the Archives
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.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Haunted Fengraf
1.0 This is bad for your mana base, and the fact it is random is a pretty big problem.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Take Inventory
Battleground Geist
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.
Cryptolith Fragment
2.5 This is a source of fixing that can become a very real threat. The situation won’t always allow you to transform it, but if your opponent has 10 or less life and you’ve got the Aurora of Emrakul attacking them, they are going to be in some serious trouble.
Graf Mole
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.
Stone Quarry
2.5 These always enter tapped, which is a little bit of a bummer, but they still provide some quality fixing.
Erdwal Illuminator
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.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Briarbridge Patrol
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.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Insatiable Gorgers
2.5 A 4-mana 5/3 isn’t too bad, even if it has to always attack, and the Madness upside is nice to have.
Take Inventory
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.
True-Faith Censer
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.
Jace's Scrutiny
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 1 Pick 5: Take Inventory
Ghoulraiser
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.
Neglected Heirloom
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.
Invasive Surgery
0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Ongoing Investigation
4.0 This is an amazing engine. Generating clues is great, and this gives you two separate ways to do that. If your graveyard is loaded up, you can get clues that way, and if you have a good board state, attacking will get you those clues. Pretty hard not to extract massive amounts of value out of this.
Bloodmad Vampire
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
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.
True-Faith Censer
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.
Take Inventory
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.
Angelic Purge
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.
Wolfkin Bond
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.
Borrowed Malevolence
2.0 This doesn’t feel amazing no matter how you cast it. If you can Escalate it, the boost it offers your creature and the -1/-1 it gives an opponent’s can be pretty nice, but three mana is steep enough that I don’t love this.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Rise from the Tides
Elder Cathar
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.
Rise from the Tides
0.0 // 3.5 This is a legit buildaround in the format. Milling yourself is a very real theme, as are Instants and Sorceries, so it isn’t uncommon for Rise from the Tides to work as a nice win condition in a Blue control deck. Obviously it is horrible in any deck that isn’t actually good at both of those things, but the ceiling here is very high.
Soul Separator
1.0 You need a nicely stocked graveyard and lots of spare mana to fully utilize this. So, basically, this is a little bit too clunky, and asks too much of you at the same time.
Insolent Neonate
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.
Essence Flux
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!
Confront the Unknown
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.
Convolute
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.
Fiend Binder
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.
Borrowed Hostility
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.
Alchemist's Greeting
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 7: Humble the Brute
Humble the Brute
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.
Drunau Corpse Trawler
3.5 Four mana for a 2/2 and a 1/1 isn’t a great rate – but the ability to give deathtouch to zombies is pretty nice. This gets a big upgrade from the fact that it is great to sacrifice to Emerge creatures, too.
Ember-Eye Wolf
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.
Bloodbriar
2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Howlpack Wolf
2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Wild-Field Scarecrow
3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Dauntless Cathar
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.
Liliana's Elite
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.
Tattered Haunter
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.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Deny Existence
Traveler's Amulet
2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Spectral Shepherd
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.
Fleeting Memories
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.
Field Creeper
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.
Weirding Wood
2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Deny Existence
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.
Wild-Field Scarecrow
3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Imprisoned in the Moon
Vampiric Fury
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.
Soul Separator
1.0 You need a nicely stocked graveyard and lots of spare mana to fully utilize this. So, basically, this is a little bit too clunky, and asks too much of you at the same time.
Invasive Surgery
0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Imprisoned in the Moon
2.5 This was Rare last time, downshifting it to Common will have a pretty significant impact on the format. That said, it isn’t amazing removal in Limited. Giving your opponent extra mana isn’t great, but it is usually better than whatever their best creature is. Still, you don’t really feel like you get a full card of value when you play this.
Epitaph Golem
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.
Weirded Vampire
1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Borrowed Malevolence
2.0 This doesn’t feel amazing no matter how you cast it. If you can Escalate it, the boost it offers your creature and the -1/-1 it gives an opponent’s can be pretty nice, but three mana is steep enough that I don’t love this.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Geist of the Archives
Moonmist
0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Laboratory Brute
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.
Merciless Resolve
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.
Exultant Cultist
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.
Geist of the Archives
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.
Borrowed Hostility
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 1 Pick 11: Laboratory Brute
Wolfkin Bond
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.
Laboratory Brute
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.
Sanitarium Skeleton
1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Geist of the Archives
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.
Haunted Fengraf
1.0 This is bad for your mana base, and the fact it is random is a pretty big problem.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Erdwal Illuminator
Graf Mole
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.
Stone Quarry
2.5 These always enter tapped, which is a little bit of a bummer, but they still provide some quality fixing.
Erdwal Illuminator
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.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Invasive Surgery
Ghoulraiser
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.
Invasive Surgery
0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Borrowed Hostility
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 1 Pick 14: Convolute
Essence Flux
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!
Convolute
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.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Drunau Corpse Trawler
Drunau Corpse Trawler
3.5 Four mana for a 2/2 and a 1/1 isn’t a great rate – but the ability to give deathtouch to zombies is pretty nice. This gets a big upgrade from the fact that it is great to sacrifice to Emerge creatures, too.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Take Inventory
Cryptolith Rite
1.0 This format has some interesting things to ramp into, but this still isn’t worth using in Limited. You often don’t have anything to use the mana on, and when you do, it usually isn’t worth using up this card to help you cast it.
Ulvenwald Captive
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.
Groundskeeper
1.0 You do mill yourself a lot in Green, so the idea here is that if you milled a land you need, you can get it back. Mostly, though, that isn’t worth doing.
Graf Mole
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.
Shreds of Sanity
2.0 If you’re in Red there’s a good chance you have a nice mix of Instants and Sorceries, and if you do, this is a pretty nice way to get back some removal spells.
Gnarlwood Dryad
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.
Rush of Adrenaline
2.0 This is a decent trick. The toughness boost of only 1 does mean your creature will die more often with this than you might like, but +2 power and trample for one mana can also result in huge blowouts.
Deny Existence
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.
Macabre Waltz
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!
Take Inventory
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.
Wild-Field Scarecrow
3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Convolute
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.
Borrowed Hostility
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.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Haunted Fengraf
1.0 This is bad for your mana base, and the fact it is random is a pretty big problem.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Take Inventory
Elder Cathar
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.
Hanweir Garrison
3.5 If this can attack even once, it ends up giving you pretty absurd value! It isn’t always able to attack, since its only a ⅔, but it can do it often enough that its pretty great.
Graf Rats
1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Veteran Cathar
3.5 This has good base stats, and the ability to give double strike to your humans can be quite formidable. It is quite expensive to do it, though.
Vessel of Nascency
0.0 // 3.0 This is actually a very important card for Delirium decks. It can often get you delirium all on its own, as it puts itself and 4 cards from the top of your library into your graveyard. Getting an Enchantment in there can be particularly difficult, but this makes sure it happens for you! It is certainly a buildaround, as it isn’t really a card you want outside of Black/Green, but it is one of the most important Commons for that deck.
Mockery of Nature
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.
Dawn Gryff
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.
Wild-Field Scarecrow
3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Swift Spinner
1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Fogwalker
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.
Devilthorn Fox
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.
Dead Weight
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.
Take Inventory
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.
Thraben Inspector
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 2 Pick 3: Bloodmad Vampire
Traveler's Amulet
2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Midnight Scavengers
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.
Vessel of Nascency
0.0 // 3.0 This is actually a very important card for Delirium decks. It can often get you delirium all on its own, as it puts itself and 4 cards from the top of your library into your graveyard. Getting an Enchantment in there can be particularly difficult, but this makes sure it happens for you! It is certainly a buildaround, as it isn’t really a card you want outside of Black/Green, but it is one of the most important Commons for that deck.
Reaper of Flight Moonsilver
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.
Borrowed Hostility
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.
Intrepid Provisioner
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.
Drogskol Shieldmate
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.
Rabid Bite
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.
Gavony Unhallowed
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.
Tattered Haunter
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.
Thornhide Wolves
2.0 Last time around, this vanilla 4-mana ⅘ played surprisingly well. It is quite large for the format, and has a useful creature type.
Guardian of Pilgrims
2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Bloodmad Vampire
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 2 Pick 4: Tamiyo's Journal
Traveler's Amulet
2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Tamiyo's Journal
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.
Harvest Hand
4.0 A three mana 2/2 isn’t a great starting point, but trading this off or sacrificing it to something with Emerge is pretty amazing, because it comes back as a very real Equipment that has some Human upside. You end up getting a pretty amazing deal for only three mana.
Uncaged Fury
2.5 This is a very nice trick. It is a little expensive, but it makes most creatures win combat, and it has the potential to allow an unblocked creature to just finish off your opponent. The first copy should be valued fairly highly.
Compelling Deterrence
2.5 Two mana to bounce a non-land permanent is usually playable, especially in a format with a spell deck! The Zombie upside is nice too, especially in situations when your opponent has an empty hand, when this basically feels like Doom Blade!
Deny Existence
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.
Guardian of Pilgrims
2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Howlpack Wolf
2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Obsessive Skinner
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.
Dead Weight
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.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Terrarion
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.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Fogwalker
Moonmist
0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Neglected Heirloom
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.
Howlpack Resurgence
3.5 This works pretty well if you have lots of Wolves or Werewolves, and even plays quite well with them. Because it has Flash, you can pass the turn, have your wolves and werewolves transform, and then play this on your opponent’s turn. If this can buff most of your board, its great – but you don’t play it until you have 10+ wolves or werewolves.
Sigardian Priest
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.
Swift Spinner
1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Crow of Dark Tidings
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!
Certain Death
2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Insolent Neonate
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.
Fogwalker
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.
Liliana's Elite
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.
Bound by Moonsilver
4.0 This is amazing removal, and it was at Uncommon last time around. Downshifting it is pretty surprising, because it deals with most things in the format quite effectively! Its great you can move it around when you need to, too.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Stormrider Spirit
Eldritch Evolution
1.0 This is not very good in Limited. Most of the time, you 2-for-1 yourself for a slightly better creature than what you already had.
Abundant Maw
2.5 This has a big body and Lightning Helixes your opponent, so its hard to go wrong there! Especially because Black has plenty of good sacrifice fodder for Emerge.
Stormrider Spirit
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.
Guardian of Pilgrims
2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Dawn Gryff
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.
Rush of Adrenaline
2.0 This is a decent trick. The toughness boost of only 1 does mean your creature will die more often with this than you might like, but +2 power and trample for one mana can also result in huge blowouts.
Liliana's Elite
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.
Bloodbriar
2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Thraben Inspector
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.
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
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 7: Gatstaf Arsonists
Ghoulraiser
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.
Gatstaf Arsonists
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.
Ongoing Investigation
4.0 This is an amazing engine. Generating clues is great, and this gives you two separate ways to do that. If your graveyard is loaded up, you can get clues that way, and if you have a good board state, attacking will get you those clues. Pretty hard not to extract massive amounts of value out of this.
True-Faith Censer
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.
Obsessive Skinner
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.
Gavony Unhallowed
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.
Briarbridge Patrol
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.
Sigardian Priest
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.
Guardian of Pilgrims
2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Stormrider Spirit
Soul Separator
1.0 You need a nicely stocked graveyard and lots of spare mana to fully utilize this. So, basically, this is a little bit too clunky, and asks too much of you at the same time.
Drunau Corpse Trawler
3.5 Four mana for a 2/2 and a 1/1 isn’t a great rate – but the ability to give deathtouch to zombies is pretty nice. This gets a big upgrade from the fact that it is great to sacrifice to Emerge creatures, too.
Briarbridge Patrol
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.
Stormrider Spirit
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.
Thornhide Wolves
2.0 Last time around, this vanilla 4-mana ⅘ played surprisingly well. It is quite large for the format, and has a useful creature type.
Fiend Binder
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.
Intrepid Provisioner
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.
Merciless Resolve
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 2 Pick 9: Deny Existence
Groundskeeper
1.0 You do mill yourself a lot in Green, so the idea here is that if you milled a land you need, you can get it back. Mostly, though, that isn’t worth doing.
Gnarlwood Dryad
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.
Deny Existence
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.
Macabre Waltz
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!
Wild-Field Scarecrow
3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Borrowed Hostility
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.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Vessel of Nascency
Graf Rats
1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Vessel of Nascency
0.0 // 3.0 This is actually a very important card for Delirium decks. It can often get you delirium all on its own, as it puts itself and 4 cards from the top of your library into your graveyard. Getting an Enchantment in there can be particularly difficult, but this makes sure it happens for you! It is certainly a buildaround, as it isn’t really a card you want outside of Black/Green, but it is one of the most important Commons for that deck.
Dawn Gryff
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.
Wild-Field Scarecrow
3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Swift Spinner
1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Devilthorn Fox
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 2 Pick 11: Vessel of Nascency
Traveler's Amulet
2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Vessel of Nascency
0.0 // 3.0 This is actually a very important card for Delirium decks. It can often get you delirium all on its own, as it puts itself and 4 cards from the top of your library into your graveyard. Getting an Enchantment in there can be particularly difficult, but this makes sure it happens for you! It is certainly a buildaround, as it isn’t really a card you want outside of Black/Green, but it is one of the most important Commons for that deck.
Drogskol Shieldmate
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.
Gavony Unhallowed
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.
Guardian of Pilgrims
2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Explosive Apparatus
Traveler's Amulet
2.5 This nicely fixes your mana, while also giving you an Artifact in the graveyard for Delirium.
Harvest Hand
4.0 A three mana 2/2 isn’t a great starting point, but trading this off or sacrificing it to something with Emerge is pretty amazing, because it comes back as a very real Equipment that has some Human upside. You end up getting a pretty amazing deal for only three mana.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Terrarion
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.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Certain Death
Moonmist
0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Certain Death
2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Liliana's Elite
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 14: Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
Liliana's Elite
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.
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
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 15: Guardian of Pilgrims
Guardian of Pilgrims
2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Rise from the Tides
Ghoulraiser
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.
Ever After
3.0 Loading the graveyard is pretty easy in this format, and because this can reanimate two things, you have a pretty reasonable chance to bring back 6+ mana worth of cards.
Gisela, the Broken Blade
4.0 Don’t count on transforming her, but you don’t really need to. Most of her value comes from her extreme efficiency and all those keywords.
Nearheath Chaplain
4.0 A 4-mana 3/1 with lifelink definitely isn’t good, but you can exile this from your graveyard to make two 1/1 tokens! This feels like a 2-for-1 most of the time, it feels great to trade it off – and it can even be a really pesky attacker.
Reaper of Flight Moonsilver
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.
Rise from the Tides
0.0 // 3.5 This is a legit buildaround in the format. Milling yourself is a very real theme, as are Instants and Sorceries, so it isn’t uncommon for Rise from the Tides to work as a nice win condition in a Blue control deck. Obviously it is horrible in any deck that isn’t actually good at both of those things, but the ceiling here is very high.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Wretched Gryff
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.
Weirded Vampire
1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Pyre Hound
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
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.
Thornhide Wolves
2.0 Last time around, this vanilla 4-mana ⅘ played surprisingly well. It is quite large for the format, and has a useful creature type.
Geist of the Archives
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.
Galvanic Bombardment
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.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Curious Homunculus
Tree of Perdition
1.5 A 0/13 can block most things, and the ability can definitely be useful sometimes – but if your opponent has more than 13 life it doesn’t do a whole lot.
Curious Homunculus
3.5 This can help you ramp into some nice spells, and once it transforms it becomes a really problematic threat. Spell and graveyard decks are very real in the format, so transforming it is very doable.
Topplegeist
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.
Pick the Brain
0.5 Yeah, Coercion is never worth it in Limited, and the Delirium upside here may as well be flavor text.
Pore Over the Pages
3.0 Paying 5 to draw 3 and discard a card isn’t amazing, but the fact this untapped two lands shouldn’t be overlooked. Most of the time, this allows you to add to the board thanks to the new cards you drew, making it much different than your typical sorcery speed draw spell.
Bloodmad Vampire
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.
Morkrut Necropod
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
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.
Exultant Cultist
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.
Obsessive Skinner
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.
Make Mischief
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.
Dead Weight
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.
Alms of the Vein
1.0 Even if you can consistently cast this for its Madness cost, Alms of the Vein is fairly disappointing. The six point life swing is nice, but doesn’t feel worth a card most of the time.
Haunted Fengraf
1.0 This is bad for your mana base, and the fact it is random is a pretty big problem.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Pieces of the Puzzle
Moonmist
0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Mad Prophet
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.
Pieces of the Puzzle
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.
Drownyard Behemoth
2.5 The main thing you want to do with this is Flash it in and ambush block a smaller creature, and that’s most creatures! If you do that, you’re going to get a 2-for-1. Sometimes that situation doesn’t present itself, and you just find yourself casting this as a 5/7, and it doesn’t feel nearly as good in those cases, but Blue has enough good sacrifice fodder that this will still feel pretty decent.
Alchemist's Greeting
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.
Bound by Moonsilver
4.0 This is amazing removal, and it was at Uncommon last time around. Downshifting it is pretty surprising, because it deals with most things in the format quite effectively! Its great you can move it around when you need to, too.
Thraben Foulbloods
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.
Bloodbriar
2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Stormrider Spirit
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.
Deranged Whelp
2.5 This is a solid little two-drop and it has a useful creature type.
Angelic Purge
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.
Swift Spinner
1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Compelling Deterrence
Elder Cathar
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.
Seasons Past
3.5 This is clunky as heck – but actually usable in this format. Graveyard decks are real, and getting back 4+ cards with this is eminently doable. Tapping out to cast it in the first place can be sketchy sometimes, but if you get to untap, it is hard for you to lose.
Veteran Cathar
3.5 This has good base stats, and the ability to give double strike to your humans can be quite formidable. It is quite expensive to do it, though.
Compelling Deterrence
2.5 Two mana to bounce a non-land permanent is usually playable, especially in a format with a spell deck! The Zombie upside is nice too, especially in situations when your opponent has an empty hand, when this basically feels like Doom Blade!
Bloodmad Vampire
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.
True-Faith Censer
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.
Stormrider Spirit
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.
Certain Death
2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Field Creeper
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.
Convolute
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.
Swift Spinner
1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Drogskol Shieldmate
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 3 Pick 5: Take Inventory
Battleground Geist
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
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
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.
Ironclad Slayer
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.
Moonlight Hunt
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.
Howlpack Wolf
2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Sigardian Priest
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.
Sanitarium Skeleton
1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Aim High
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.
Take Inventory
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.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Battleground Geist
Battleground Geist
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.
Soul Separator
1.0 You need a nicely stocked graveyard and lots of spare mana to fully utilize this. So, basically, this is a little bit too clunky, and asks too much of you at the same time.
Howlpack Resurgence
3.5 This works pretty well if you have lots of Wolves or Werewolves, and even plays quite well with them. Because it has Flash, you can pass the turn, have your wolves and werewolves transform, and then play this on your opponent’s turn. If this can buff most of your board, its great – but you don’t play it until you have 10+ wolves or werewolves.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Drownyard Explorers
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.
Thornhide Wolves
2.0 Last time around, this vanilla 4-mana ⅘ played surprisingly well. It is quite large for the format, and has a useful creature type.
Moonlight Hunt
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.
Ghoulcaller's Accomplice
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.
Make Mischief
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.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Imprisoned in the Moon
Vampiric Fury
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.
Cryptolith Fragment
2.5 This is a source of fixing that can become a very real threat. The situation won’t always allow you to transform it, but if your opponent has 10 or less life and you’ve got the Aurora of Emrakul attacking them, they are going to be in some serious trouble.
Foul Orchard
2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Ongoing Investigation
4.0 This is an amazing engine. Generating clues is great, and this gives you two separate ways to do that. If your graveyard is loaded up, you can get clues that way, and if you have a good board state, attacking will get you those clues. Pretty hard not to extract massive amounts of value out of this.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Geist of the Archives
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.
Puncturing Light
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.
Spontaneous Mutation
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.
Imprisoned in the Moon
2.5 This was Rare last time, downshifting it to Common will have a pretty significant impact on the format. That said, it isn’t amazing removal in Limited. Giving your opponent extra mana isn’t great, but it is usually better than whatever their best creature is. Still, you don’t really feel like you get a full card of value when you play this.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Compelling Deterrence
Compelling Deterrence
2.5 Two mana to bounce a non-land permanent is usually playable, especially in a format with a spell deck! The Zombie upside is nice too, especially in situations when your opponent has an empty hand, when this basically feels like Doom Blade!
Mad Prophet
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.
Tattered Haunter
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.
Intrepid Provisioner
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.
True-Faith Censer
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
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.
Morkrut Necropod
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.
Field Creeper
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 9: Wretched Gryff
Ghoulraiser
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.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Wretched Gryff
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.
Weirded Vampire
1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Faithbearer Paladin
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.
Morkrut Necropod
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.
Geist of the Archives
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 10: Tree of Perdition
Tree of Perdition
1.5 A 0/13 can block most things, and the ability can definitely be useful sometimes – but if your opponent has more than 13 life it doesn’t do a whole lot.
Pick the Brain
0.5 Yeah, Coercion is never worth it in Limited, and the Delirium upside here may as well be flavor text.
Morkrut Necropod
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
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.
Exultant Cultist
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.
Obsessive Skinner
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 11: Stormrider Spirit
Moonmist
0.5 Even with all this additional upside, this is still a fog, and those are rarely worth it in Limited.
Thraben Foulbloods
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.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Stormrider Spirit
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.
Swift Spinner
1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Convolute
Stormrider Spirit
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.
Field Creeper
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.
Convolute
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.
Drogskol Shieldmate
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 3 Pick 13: Aim High
Sanitarium Skeleton
1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Aim High
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.
Explosive Apparatus
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.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Drownyard Explorers
Drownyard Explorers
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.
Grapple with the Past
2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Geist of the Archives
Geist of the Archives
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.