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Quick Draft ONE 29 March 2023

29 March 07:36 - Anron 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (8)
1 Viral Spawning image
1 Incubation Sac image
1 Drown in Ichor image
1 Ruthless Predation image
1 Ribskiff image
3 Tyvar's Stand image
Creature (15)
2 Lattice-Blade Mantis image
1 Adaptive Sporesinger image
1 Contagious Vorrac image
2 Tyrranax Atrocity image
1 Predation Steward image
3 Bonepicker Skirge image
1 Evolving Adaptive image
1 Paladin of Predation image
1 Pestilent Syphoner image
1 Cankerbloom image
1 Atraxa's Skitterfang image
Land (17)
5 Swamp image
8 Forest image
4 Terramorphic Expanse image
Sideboard
1 Testament Bearer image
1 Rustvine Cultivator image
1 Ichorplate Golem image
1 Quicksilver Fisher image
1 Gitaxian Anatomist image
1 Skyscythe Engulfer image
1 Stinging Hivemaster image
1 Cutthroat Centurion image
1 Ichor Synthesizer image
1 Oil-Gorger Troll image
1 Blue Sun's Twilight image
1 Expand the Sphere image
1 Maze Skullbomb image
1 Dross Skullbomb image
1 Gleeful Demolition image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Blue Sun's Twilight
Blue Sun's Twilight image 5.0 Mind control is an incredibly powerful effect, as taking an opposing creature and gaining it on your side of the board is effectively a 2-for-1. This comes with the additional absurd upside of making a token if you pay 5 or more for X. 7 mana to steal an opposing permanent and make a copy of it is insane, and an easy 3-for-1! The one downside here is it can be a little awkward early, but even stealing a two drop with this can be a play that flips the game wildly in your favor.
Atmosphere Surgeon image 4.0 This is a great payoff for casting spells. It can give itself flying, and you can store up the counters to use them once you have great stuff to give flying to. Works great with Proliferate too!
Urabrask's Anointer image 1.5 // 4.0 So, the stat-line is bad enough here that you probably want to consistently do 2 or more with this, and that probably makes this a build around. Oil counters are definitely around, especially in Blue-Red, but I don’t feel super confident that your typical deck in the format will have enough of them to make this acceptable. If you do 0 with it, it will be awful – 1 with it is semi-passable, and once you’re at 2 or more you’re going to really feel like you’re really doing it, because you can consistently get a 2-for-1 at that point.
Sheoldred's Edict image 2.0 Edict effects aren’t nearly as good in Limited as in constructed, mostly because most decks have multiples of things in play and can really minimize the downside. This one is an instant, and it gives you three options that should, in theory, allow you to maximize what it can do, but I’m still not overly impressed with this. It is better early, and pretty bad the longer the game goes on
Pestilent Syphoner image 2.0 This seems solid enough. It represents a real threat thanks to toxic, and is likely to contribute a few poison early. Some decks will just want to turn on their corrupted effects and not actually win with poison, and this will probably be at its best in that type of deck
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Volt Charge image 3.5 This is a reprint of a card that was great last time! Three mana for 3 damage at instant speed is usually premium. It isn’t always going to be able to trade up, but being able to go after your opponent and being Instant speed means you’re usually getting a good deal. Proliferate is a big addition, though, as this format has plenty of counters you can get an advantage out of.
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Adaptive Sporesinger image 2.5 Both of these triggers can be pretty nice. +2/+2 and Vigilance is a boost that can really allow you to have a much better turn, since it can allow a creature to attack more effectively and stay on defense, and when Proliferate can add a bunch of counters to stuff, that will feel good too.
Compleat Devotion image 2.0 Two mana for +2/+2 is a mediocre boost, but the 2-for-1 upside you get when you use this on a Toxic creature is definitely real upside. There’s enough Toxic in White that I feel like this is a 2.0
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Tyvar's Stand
Tyvar's Stand image 3.5 Two mana for +1/+1, hexproof, and indestructible is a pretty solid trick, and this has the upside of both scaling as the game goes on and being castable for only mana when that’s useful for you. The best tricks have the ability to win combat and protect a creature from removal, giving them broad situations where you want to use them, and this definitely does that, and can even give you lethal out of nowhere! This is one of the best Limited combat tricks we’ve ever seen.
Charforger image 4.0 A three mana ⅔ that makes a 1/1 is already a great rate, so the fact that this can save up oil counters and use them to draw cards is pretty amazing. It takes some work to do of course, but as usual Black-Red has ways to make its own stuff die, so it is certainly doable. I think it has the potential to be the best signpost Uncommon in the set between the great rate and ability to draw cards.
Watchful Blisterzoa image 2.5 So, this is basically a 6-mana 4/4 Flyer that draws you a card when it dies, and that’s a 2-for-1.. Sometimes you’ll get more oil on it and draw more cards too. That’s a reasonable enough card, even if that stat-line has felt pretty bad lately. As much as I love 2-for-1s, paying this much mana for one that doesn’t leave behind any board presence at all – and dies to lots of cheap removal – is going to feel rough sometimes. If you need a 6-drop that can finish the game and have some upside, you could do worse than this – but you can probably do better too
Compleat Devotion image 2.0 Two mana for +2/+2 is a mediocre boost, but the 2-for-1 upside you get when you use this on a Toxic creature is definitely real upside. There’s enough Toxic in White that I feel like this is a 2.0
Testament Bearer image 2.0 This can give you a 2-for-1 with some nice card selection, but a 4-mana 4/1 is a rough rate
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Leonin Lightbringer image 2.5 Equipping this won’t be particularly hard in this format, but it isn’t like the payoff here is amazing or anything. Ward 2 does make it a nice place to put Equipment too, since it feels awful if your opponent kills something in response to you Equipping it, and this makes that a lot harder.
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Chimney Rabble image 3.0 I like the rate here. 4/4 of stats for 4, including 3 power that rumbles right away. Going wide is definitely a thing in this format, too
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Bonepicker Skirge image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer isn’t quite as good as it used to be – but it is still decent enough, so adding some additional effects usually makes for a nice card, and that’s what we have here. If this always had deathtouch and lifelink it would be a 4.0, but you do have to jump through some hoops here.
Escaped Experiment image 2.0 On its own, this is a two mana 2/1 that gives -1/-0 to an opposing creature when it attacks, and its ability can lower power a lot more than that! This can often enable nice attacks not just for the Experiment, but the board. That said, it doesn’t really change the ability of your opponent’s creatures to block effectively. They may not be able to kill things they tussle with, but if they could already block your stuff and survive – that will still be true.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Drown in Ichor
Drown in Ichor image 4.0 This is great removal. -4/-4 is enough to kill the majority of creatures, and this is cheap enough that you can trade up in a big way. If you get value out of Proliferate too it will feel truly absurd
Expand the Sphere image 1.5 You have a pretty good chance of hitting two lands when you cast this, and that’s some pretty serious ramp – but I love that you can choose some combination of lands and proliferating when you cast this. Sometimes in the late game drawing your ramp spell is pretty awful, and this becomes a 4-mana Sorcery that Proliferates twice in that situation, and that’s often going to have a significant impact on the board. That said, format looks fast enough that there won’t be that many decks looking to take this.
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Barbed Batterfist image 2.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to play pretty well in aggro decks, and that’s what you get up front here – and then you have the option of moving the Equipment to other stuff – like if you really want your token to be a 2/2, or if something else can benefit from the stat boost. +1/-1 certainly isn’t amazing, but this is really cheap to play and equip, which will be especially nice with Equipment payoffs in the set.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Basilica Shepherd image 4.0 Say hello to the white Diregraf Horde! This is a great Common that adds a ton to the board for the cost. While the Pests being unable to block is definitely a downside, there is a lot you can do with those Artifact tokens – including sacrificing them or simply using them to go wide. This is probably White’s best Common.
Whisper of the Dross image 1.5 If you can kill something with this, or have it help you win combat, it will feel pretty good since you’re only spending a single mana! Problem is, those situations won’t be that easy to manufacture
Volt Charge image 3.5 This is a reprint of a card that was great last time! Three mana for 3 damage at instant speed is usually premium. It isn’t always going to be able to trade up, but being able to go after your opponent and being Instant speed means you’re usually getting a good deal. Proliferate is a big addition, though, as this format has plenty of counters you can get an advantage out of.
Anoint with Affliction image 4.0 This is great. Even without Corrupted, this would be a very nice removal spell – so, the fact that this will be able to remove anything by the mid-to-late game in most Black decks is great. This is certainly premium removal you can spent a high pick on..
Cruel Grimnarch image 1.5 Oftentimes a creature that makes your opponent discard really drops off in the late game, because your opponent is in top deck mode. So, its nice that this can gain you 4 life in that situation. We’re still talking about a creature that is fairly below-rate. Adding deathtouch to a 5/5 isn’t a huge upgrade, and if your opponent just holds on to a land in the late game this will still have the usual downside this type of card has
Shrapnel Slinger image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and there’s also plenty of noncreature artifacts it can deal with too. Sacrificing a Mite or something else expendable seems particularly nice. You also have a baseline of a 2-mana 2/2, which you’ll certainly be wanting if you don’t have something else to do on turn two
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Ichorplate Golem
Oxidda Finisher image 2.5 Paying 7 for this is bad, 6 is medium, and 5 is solid. Getting it lower than that is sort of unlikely, although with For Mirrodin!, it will be easier to play more Equipment in this format than in most. Normally you can’t run a ton of it because you need the creatures to put it on, but most of the Equipment in this set gives you both. Still, getting this to 5 is a reasonable expectation, getting below that probably isn’t.
Chittering Skitterling image 2.5 A three mana ¼ isn’t great, but this does end up with a pretty nice ability if you can get Corrupted going. Cashing in irrelevant artifacts or creatures for cards is always nice. It also has the potential to combine quite well with the format’s Threaten effect, since it sacrifices stuff for free!
Ichorplate Golem image 4.0 An easy to cast three mana ⅔ isn’t a terrible starting point, and the oil counter upside here feels pretty real in this format. It does probably mean that it is at its best in a UR or RG deck, but I think even if you have 2+ creatures that do something with oil tokens, you’re playing this.
Carnivorous Canopy image 1.5 There are enough Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that this it probably isn’t a disaster to run this, especially with that Proliferate upside. It is a bit of a bummer that all this Artifact spot removal is a little worse in a world with the “For Mirrodin!” mechanic, because your opponent still holds on to a token, and being a Sorcery is pretty rough too. This is mostly a sideboard card, though. I think you’ll be disappointed if this makes your main deck.
Goldwarden's Helm image 2.0 You get a three mana 2/3 up front here, which isn’t the worst baseline – especially when you have Equipment and Artifact payoffs in the format. The Boost this offers on its own is certainly very meager, though.
Sheoldred's Headcleaver image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Menace is probably a 1.0 at best, and while adding Toxic to the mix is nice, this still dies to a whole lot of common double blocks
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Leonin Lightbringer image 2.5 Equipping this won’t be particularly hard in this format, but it isn’t like the payoff here is amazing or anything. Ward 2 does make it a nice place to put Equipment too, since it feels awful if your opponent kills something in response to you Equipping it, and this makes that a lot harder.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Bonepicker Skirge
Expand the Sphere image 1.5 You have a pretty good chance of hitting two lands when you cast this, and that’s some pretty serious ramp – but I love that you can choose some combination of lands and proliferating when you cast this. Sometimes in the late game drawing your ramp spell is pretty awful, and this becomes a 4-mana Sorcery that Proliferates twice in that situation, and that’s often going to have a significant impact on the board. That said, format looks fast enough that there won’t be that many decks looking to take this.
Chittering Skitterling image 2.5 A three mana ¼ isn’t great, but this does end up with a pretty nice ability if you can get Corrupted going. Cashing in irrelevant artifacts or creatures for cards is always nice. It also has the potential to combine quite well with the format’s Threaten effect, since it sacrifices stuff for free!
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
The Fair Basilica image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Bonepicker Skirge image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer isn’t quite as good as it used to be – but it is still decent enough, so adding some additional effects usually makes for a nice card, and that’s what we have here. If this always had deathtouch and lifelink it would be a 4.0, but you do have to jump through some hoops here.
Branchblight Stalker image 2.5 A two mana 3/1 with upside will usually make the cut in aggro decks, but it isn’t anything special
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
Fleshless Gladiator image 3.0 This seems like a solid Common. You can play it early as a bear, and then in the mid to late game it can start coming back from your graveyard, which can net you a very real advantage
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Tyvar's Stand
Noxious Assault image 1.0 This is an interesting take on a mass pump effect. There will certainly be times where this puts your opponent in a lose-lose situation, since they can neither take all the damage or get the poison counters, but most of the time they can probably find a way to mix and match and survive. Five mana for this sorcery speed boost is normally just not a very good card in Limited and I don’t feel like the poison counter upside is enough for me to want to play this in this format. It is definitely hard to evaluate, as the poison vs. damage choice can definitely be powerful, but I think this is probably still too situational to be very good.
Tyvar's Stand image 3.5 Two mana for +1/+1, hexproof, and indestructible is a pretty solid trick, and this has the upside of both scaling as the game goes on and being castable for only mana when that’s useful for you. The best tricks have the ability to win combat and protect a creature from removal, giving them broad situations where you want to use them, and this definitely does that, and can even give you lethal out of nowhere! This is one of the best Limited combat tricks we’ve ever seen.
Dune Mover image 2.0 This kind of fixing usually isn’t great, because putting the card on top is a pretty massive difference from getting it in your hand or something. But it does have solid stats and brings Toxic to the table.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Thirsting Roots image 2.5 This is a solid modal card. It can help you fix your mana or just hit a land drop, and it is the kind of card that can almost stand in for a land in your deck, since it is almost a modal double-faced land card! Once you have the lands you need, you can Proliferate for some nice value. Sometimes neither mode will be useful, which is a bummer – but most of the time you’ll be getting something worthwhile for the investment.
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Cruel Grimnarch image 1.5 Oftentimes a creature that makes your opponent discard really drops off in the late game, because your opponent is in top deck mode. So, its nice that this can gain you 4 life in that situation. We’re still talking about a creature that is fairly below-rate. Adding deathtouch to a 5/5 isn’t a huge upgrade, and if your opponent just holds on to a land in the late game this will still have the usual downside this type of card has
Pack 1 Pick 7: Bonepicker Skirge
Awaken the Sleeper image 1.0 // 3.0 Here’s the usual Threaten effect! It is interesting its an Uncommon, which means consistently getting it when you have sacrifice outlets is going to be harder than normal. It is also kind of a bummer that it destroys the equipment immediately, instead of you getting a swing in first. But hey, the Equipment destruction angle does mean that you get to trade 1-for-1 in that situation, and that’s not too bad on top of all the other things that this can allow. As usual, this kind of a card is a build around. If you can’t consistently get that full card of value – by destroying Equipment or by sacrificing what you steal – you’re looking at a card that is pretty much only useful in one situation: When you can use it and win on the spot
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Plague Nurse image 2.0 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic 2 is fine, and adding more Toxic to your Toxic creatures can definitely cause problems. The threat of activation is something that your opponent really has to consider on a board with a few other Toxic creatures.
Gitaxian Raptor image 3.0 A three mana ¼ flyer is an acceptable rate, so its nice that this has the upside of using oil counters to increase its power and lower its toughness. Three oil counters is a nice number to have, as just attacking with this and turning it into a 2/3 three turns in a row is going to feel pretty good.
Bonepicker Skirge image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer isn’t quite as good as it used to be – but it is still decent enough, so adding some additional effects usually makes for a nice card, and that’s what we have here. If this always had deathtouch and lifelink it would be a 4.0, but you do have to jump through some hoops here.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Compleat Devotion image 2.0 Two mana for +2/+2 is a mediocre boost, but the 2-for-1 upside you get when you use this on a Toxic creature is definitely real upside. There’s enough Toxic in White that I feel like this is a 2.0
Branchblight Stalker image 2.5 A two mana 3/1 with upside will usually make the cut in aggro decks, but it isn’t anything special
Pack 1 Pick 8: Quicksilver Fisher
Quicksilver Fisher image 2.5 This has reasonable Flying stats and a solid ETB ability. Looting is always a nice effect to tack on to a reasonable creature.
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Sawblade Scamp image 2.5 This is kind of close to being Thermo-Alchemist, and that card has been great in spell decks in several different formats at this point. This does die super easy, but it only costs one, so your opponent won’t really be able to trade up for it or anything, and if it sits around in play in your spell-heavy deck, it is going to chip in for a ton of damage. Now, it is worse that the Alchemist, because the Alchemist can do damage without the help of spells, it just does more when you have them. The Scamp doesn’t do anything when you can’t find your spells, which happens
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Thirsting Roots image 2.5 This is a solid modal card. It can help you fix your mana or just hit a land drop, and it is the kind of card that can almost stand in for a land in your deck, since it is almost a modal double-faced land card! Once you have the lands you need, you can Proliferate for some nice value. Sometimes neither mode will be useful, which is a bummer – but most of the time you’ll be getting something worthwhile for the investment.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Pestilent Syphoner
Pestilent Syphoner image 2.0 This seems solid enough. It represents a real threat thanks to toxic, and is likely to contribute a few poison early. Some decks will just want to turn on their corrupted effects and not actually win with poison, and this will probably be at its best in that type of deck
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Adaptive Sporesinger image 2.5 Both of these triggers can be pretty nice. +2/+2 and Vigilance is a boost that can really allow you to have a much better turn, since it can allow a creature to attack more effectively and stay on defense, and when Proliferate can add a bunch of counters to stuff, that will feel good too.
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Testament Bearer
Testament Bearer image 2.0 This can give you a 2-for-1 with some nice card selection, but a 4-mana 4/1 is a rough rate
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Leonin Lightbringer image 2.5 Equipping this won’t be particularly hard in this format, but it isn’t like the payoff here is amazing or anything. Ward 2 does make it a nice place to put Equipment too, since it feels awful if your opponent kills something in response to you Equipping it, and this makes that a lot harder.
Meldweb Strider image 2.0 A 5-mana 5/5 Vigilance Vehicle with Crew 3 is probably a 1.5. That’s just not a very good rate for a card that isn’t a creature unless you do some extra work! The fact this comes with an oil counter does matter though, as it does make it so this can be a creature all on its one for one turn, and if you proliferate it can become a real problem. Of course, the upside there is still that this is just a 5-mana 5/5 with Vigilance – which is nice, but again – there is work to be done to even get it to the point where it does that consistently.
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Terramorphic Expanse
Expand the Sphere image 1.5 You have a pretty good chance of hitting two lands when you cast this, and that’s some pretty serious ramp – but I love that you can choose some combination of lands and proliferating when you cast this. Sometimes in the late game drawing your ramp spell is pretty awful, and this becomes a 4-mana Sorcery that Proliferates twice in that situation, and that’s often going to have a significant impact on the board. That said, format looks fast enough that there won’t be that many decks looking to take this.
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Cruel Grimnarch image 1.5 Oftentimes a creature that makes your opponent discard really drops off in the late game, because your opponent is in top deck mode. So, its nice that this can gain you 4 life in that situation. We’re still talking about a creature that is fairly below-rate. Adding deathtouch to a 5/5 isn’t a huge upgrade, and if your opponent just holds on to a land in the late game this will still have the usual downside this type of card has
Pack 1 Pick 12: Rustvine Cultivator
Goldwarden's Helm image 2.0 You get a three mana 2/3 up front here, which isn’t the worst baseline – especially when you have Equipment and Artifact payoffs in the format. The Boost this offers on its own is certainly very meager, though.
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Expand the Sphere
Expand the Sphere image 1.5 You have a pretty good chance of hitting two lands when you cast this, and that’s some pretty serious ramp – but I love that you can choose some combination of lands and proliferating when you cast this. Sometimes in the late game drawing your ramp spell is pretty awful, and this becomes a 4-mana Sorcery that Proliferates twice in that situation, and that’s often going to have a significant impact on the board. That said, format looks fast enough that there won’t be that many decks looking to take this.
Myr Custodian image 1.5 If this only Scried 2 for you, it would probably be a 2.5. Scry 2 is pretty nice card selection Letting your opponent also Scry 1 obviously makes it worse, especially because your opponent can take advantage of their Scry before you can.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Tyrranax Atrocity
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Viral Spawning
The Seedcore image 2.5 There are a lot of Phyrexians in the set, so you’ll be able to make mana of any color with this for a decent percentage of the creatures in your deck – and you’ll kind of need to, because if this can only tap for colorless it probably isn’t worth the hit to your mana. Obviously, being able to tap and buff a creature is pretty sweet, but not all decks will be that capable of getting that online.
Infested Fleshcutter image 1.5 I don’t love the cost of casting and equipping this, but the fact it spits out a token is pretty nice. Of course, that token can’t block – but it does mean you have somewhere to stick this thing on the next turn. +2/+0 is enough to make a lot of creatures problematic too. I obviously think this is worse than all the For Mirrodin! Equipment, because with that you get the body right away – but this kind of does a similar thing in the end, since it adds a body to the board
Viral Spawning image 4.0 This is another great uncommon – this one may be Green’ best! You’d already play a 3-mana 3/3 with Toxic 1 – that’s probably right around a C, but the Flashback upside here is huge, because it gives the card fairly accessible 2-for-1 potential, and the two bodies you get are pretty real. And I think most of the time you’ll find a way to get that second body during the game – especially because the first body helps you get there!
Resistance Skywarden image 3.0 This is a pretty nice rate! Menace and Reach can be a bit awkward together, since one is an aggressive keyword and the other is defensive, but it also means that this can do a reasonable job as an attacker and a reasonable job as a blocker. It certainly isn’t exciting, but seems like a solid 5-drop.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Sawblade Scamp image 2.5 This is kind of close to being Thermo-Alchemist, and that card has been great in spell decks in several different formats at this point. This does die super easy, but it only costs one, so your opponent won’t really be able to trade up for it or anything, and if it sits around in play in your spell-heavy deck, it is going to chip in for a ton of damage. Now, it is worse that the Alchemist, because the Alchemist can do damage without the help of spells, it just does more when you have them. The Scamp doesn’t do anything when you can’t find your spells, which happens
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
The Surgical Bay image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Barbed Batterfist image 2.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to play pretty well in aggro decks, and that’s what you get up front here – and then you have the option of moving the Equipment to other stuff – like if you really want your token to be a 2/2, or if something else can benefit from the stat boost. +1/-1 certainly isn’t amazing, but this is really cheap to play and equip, which will be especially nice with Equipment payoffs in the set.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Stinging Hivemaster
Veil of Assimilation image 3.0 This offers a nice buff up front, and there are enough artifacts in the set that triggering this on most turns won’t be a challenge for White decks.
Voidwing Hybrid image 3.5 This, our last signpost Uncommon, is another good one! A two mana 2/1 with Toxic 1 and Flying is quite nice, and the fact that you can get this back when you Proliferate is big, especially because Proliferate seems plentiful in the format. If this is in the graveyard, it effectively adds “draw a card” to your Proliferate trigger, which is going to feel great.
Hexgold Halberd image 3.5 This looks pretty nice! It is a two mana 2/2 that has First Strike and trample on your turn, and that makes for a pretty good attacker early and a solid presence all game long. That’s sort of the floor here too, because you can move the Halberd to other stuff that can take more advantage of it!
Goldwarden's Helm image 2.0 You get a three mana 2/3 up front here, which isn’t the worst baseline – especially when you have Equipment and Artifact payoffs in the format. The Boost this offers on its own is certainly very meager, though.
Duelist of Deep Faith image 3.0 This is going to be a pain to block all game long, and that goes really well alongside Toxic. That makes this a pretty high quality Common
Compleat Devotion image 2.0 Two mana for +2/+2 is a mediocre boost, but the 2-for-1 upside you get when you use this on a Toxic creature is definitely real upside. There’s enough Toxic in White that I feel like this is a 2.0
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Branchblight Stalker image 2.5 A two mana 3/1 with upside will usually make the cut in aggro decks, but it isn’t anything special
Bladegraft Aspirant image 2.5 A three mana 2/3 with Menace is usuallya lready playable, but this also gives you some big Equipment upside! Making it cheaper to play and cheaper to put on the Aspirant is pretty serious. A menace creature is great for suiting up too
Testament Bearer image 2.0 This can give you a 2-for-1 with some nice card selection, but a 4-mana 4/1 is a rough rate
Stinging Hivemaster image 3.5 This is a very nice common. A three mana 3/2 with Toxic 1 is already probably playable, so the fact it spits out a Mite when it dies is sweet. It is worth noting that the token’s inability to block does lower the value of the token – more than adding Toxic 1 makes up for
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Atraxa's Skitterfang
Feed the Infection image 1.5 Lately, Sorcery-speed card draw effects that make you lose life have felt pretty bad, since you spend a significant amount of mana, don’t add to the board, and actually help out your aggressive opponent. However, I do think making your opponent lose 3 as well is a significant upgrade, but it still might be too slow
Atraxa's Skitterfang image 4.0 This looks great for an Uncommon. Gray Ogre stats are never very good, but the ability tacked on to this is pretty huge! Granting a keyword to something once a turn for three turns is quite strong, especially because you can do it the turn you play it if you play it before combat. One of these keywords is extremely likely to be beneficial for you every single turn, giving you attacks you just didn’t have. It can also give the keyword to itself, though that doesn’t help you on that first turn. But if you don’t have a creature to buff with it, you can just wait to play it until your second main phase. It gets better in a world where you have ways to take more advantage of oil counters too! Its also colorless, so I can see this getting first picked a lot, since it will end up in your deck 100% of the time and is a powerful card.
Font of Progress image 0.0 Mill strategies rarely work out in Limited, mostly because actually effecting the board is all important, and mill has almost no effect on the game until your opponent actually runs out of cards. There is a card we’ll see later in this video that can really help you win with mill, but I don’t think this one will. You don’t really want to spend your mana on this ability – you want to be playing things that are more meaningful. Even proliferating to get this to where it mills more cards isn’t going to be good enough
Forgehammer Centurion image 2.5 This isn’t as good as some Common Red cards that can make something unable to block, because the set up is fairly significant, but when it can use that ability it will really open the floodgates on your opponent.
Gulping Scraptrap image 2.5 This proliferates twice which is definitely some serious upside in this set. Of course, it also happens to a dismal 5-mana 4/4.
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Skyscythe Engulfer image 1.5 If you’re behind, it can hang back and block even flyers, and if you’re ahead, it can attack pretty hard. I wish there was some sort of ETB associated with it so you got some permanent value, though. Six mana is a lot to not get something like that!
Chimney Rabble image 3.0 I like the rate here. 4/4 of stats for 4, including 3 power that rumbles right away. Going wide is definitely a thing in this format, too
Surgical Skullbomb image 2.5 Like the others, this cycles at worst, and can have a real impact on the board that still nets you a card.
Flensing Raptor image 2.5 You’ll often have another Toxic creature around, and when you do this ETB ability is some serious business. When you don’t, you still get a Wind Drake with Toxic 1. I’m giving this a 2.5
The Fair Basilica image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Tyrranax Atrocity
Necrogen Communion image 1.0 I don’t like this very much. It is rare that an Aura that brings a creature back when it dies is worth it, and I don’t think adding Toxic 2 is quite enough to make a difference. Both of these effects are only good if your creature is already quite good, and that’s never how you want to do Auras.
Atmosphere Surgeon image 4.0 This is a great payoff for casting spells. It can give itself flying, and you can store up the counters to use them once you have great stuff to give flying to. Works great with Proliferate too!
Slaughter Singer image 4.0 So, GW is about Toxic aggro – and A two mana 2/2 with Toxic 2 is already pretty solid, so offering a boost to all of your toxic creatures is nice – and will feel especially good with the tokens in the format. If you get it early it will allow you to be really aggressive, and if you get it late it can still have a pretty real and immediate impact
Ichorspit Basilisk image 1.5 A three mana 1/3 Deathtouch isn’t the most impressive thing ever, but it does provide a pretty good road block. Adding Toxic to a death toucher is nice upside, since blocking this can be a real pain
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Blazing Crescendo image 2.0 This is somewhat similar to Enthusiastic Study from Strixhaven, in that it gives a +3/+1 boost and draws you a card. Enthusiastic Study gave trample too, which makes it better, but I think this is still a nice trick. Now, a +3/+1 boost isn’t great, as many creatures will still die because the toughness boost is so low – but this offsets that downside by getting you that card back. And, if you do manage to make your creature survive and get the card, it will feel great
Basilica Skullbomb image 2.0 Glad to see a Phyrexian variant of the Mirrodin Spellbomb! At worst, these all cycle away while giving you some artifact synergy, and that makes it hard for them to be terrible. Then, when you have the mana, it does something reasonably significant while still replacing itself. +2/+2 and Flying is the kind of boost that matters a big chunk of the time.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Escaped Experiment image 2.0 On its own, this is a two mana 2/1 that gives -1/-0 to an opposing creature when it attacks, and its ability can lower power a lot more than that! This can often enable nice attacks not just for the Experiment, but the board. That said, it doesn’t really change the ability of your opponent’s creatures to block effectively. They may not be able to kill things they tussle with, but if they could already block your stuff and survive – that will still be true.
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Bonepicker Skirge
Evolving Adaptive image 3.5 If you play it early, it is going to get absolutely massive, and is a one drop that can potentially take the game over. It does get worse the later you play it, but it is still likely to grow basically any time you play a creature at that point
Scheming Aspirant image 3.5 Proliferate is already a good thing to be doing in this format, so the fact this also lets you drain your opponent for two when you do it is great. There’s enough proliferate in the format that I think this will be a good inclusion in most Black decks
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Bonepicker Skirge image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer isn’t quite as good as it used to be – but it is still decent enough, so adding some additional effects usually makes for a nice card, and that’s what we have here. If this always had deathtouch and lifelink it would be a 4.0, but you do have to jump through some hoops here.
Surgical Skullbomb image 2.5 Like the others, this cycles at worst, and can have a real impact on the board that still nets you a card.
Adaptive Sporesinger image 2.5 Both of these triggers can be pretty nice. +2/+2 and Vigilance is a boost that can really allow you to have a much better turn, since it can allow a creature to attack more effectively and stay on defense, and when Proliferate can add a bunch of counters to stuff, that will feel good too.
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Contagious Vorrac
Plated Onslaught image 1.5 // 3.0 Here is your big payoff for going wide with Mites! Your artifacts make it cheaper, and having a bunch of artifact creatures is going to feel really good when you have a +2/+1 boost. This sort of card usually needs a build around grade, because if you don’t have enough ways to go really wide, you can’t really play it – but when you’re in the right deck, this ends a lot of games
Vat Emergence image 2.0 We have seen many 5 mana reanimation spells be complete duds. There’s one at Uncommon in most sets! They tend to underwhelm because it is hard to consistently get something back that is actually worth that hefty investment. However, there are two things going on here that that really change things. The first is Proliferate, which has synergy everywhere in the format. More importantly, though, is the fact that this lets you get something from any graveyard. That effectively doubles your chances of finding something to reanimate that is worth the mana, and that’s a big deal!
Vanish into Eternity image 1.5 Six mana to exile a creature is pretty far from an ideal rate, even on an instant. It just isn’t easy for a spell that expensive to ever be premium, because you will usually overpay to kill a cheaper creature. But the fact that this can deal with other permanent types much more efficiently helps things even out. Basically this is going to be a more expensive Disenchant early, and late it can deal with anything. It definitely isn’t premium, even with its modality, but I think the first copy will make the cut in a lot of White decks.
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Hazardous Blast image 1.5 // 2.5 We’ve seen this card before, more or less, and in the right deck it can be a pretty good way to end the game, as turning off all blocking can really allow you to do a ton of damage. In a pinch, it can also sweep away a bunch of X/1s, like Mite tokens and the like – so it sort of has an alternate mode, but certainly the most powerful thing to do with it is use it to let you alpha strike for the win. With Toxic in the format, it may be easier than normal to set up lethal too, since you can threaten with both poison counters and damage
Prophetic Prism image 2.5 We’ve seen this before and it is always surprisingly good. Filtering mana is of course in efficient, and this doesn’t actually net you mana – but the fact this fixes your mana and replaces itself is no small thing. Actually getting a card worth of value is a big deal.
Blazing Crescendo image 2.0 This is somewhat similar to Enthusiastic Study from Strixhaven, in that it gives a +3/+1 boost and draws you a card. Enthusiastic Study gave trample too, which makes it better, but I think this is still a nice trick. Now, a +3/+1 boost isn’t great, as many creatures will still die because the toughness boost is so low – but this offsets that downside by getting you that card back. And, if you do manage to make your creature survive and get the card, it will feel great
Contagious Vorrac image 4.0 This is a great Common. If this could only proliferate, or only get a land from the top four, it would be a good Common – having the option between both is great. It can help you hit your land drop when you need it to, and then you can Proliferate in the later game and get some nice value.
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Incubation Sac
Soulless Jailer image 1.0 These abilities don’t hate on very much in this format, but it is a two mana 0/4 that happens to be an artifact,, so it probably isn’t a complete disaster to play it. I don’t think the typical deck in the format will have enough cards that the ability actually comes up, but there are definitely a few Uncommons in the format it actually does something against
Incubation Sac image 3.5 This has the potential to be really good in Limited, especially because it has the ability to make three bodies at the very least! Now, it certainly isn’t efficient at doing it, but in a lot of Limited formats cards that simply let you outcard the opponent are what you need, and this will definitely do it. A three-for-one really isn’t out of the question, and that’s not something you find at lower rarities most of the time. It reminds me a little bit of Mask of the Jadecrafter from The Brothers’ War, which turned out to be pretty good. I’m going to start the format pretty high on this thing – though if it ends up being a format that is dominated by aggro, this will drop precipitously.
Carnivorous Canopy image 1.5 There are enough Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that this it probably isn’t a disaster to run this, especially with that Proliferate upside. It is a bit of a bummer that all this Artifact spot removal is a little worse in a world with the “For Mirrodin!” mechanic, because your opponent still holds on to a token, and being a Sorcery is pretty rough too. This is mostly a sideboard card, though. I think you’ll be disappointed if this makes your main deck.
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Dune Mover image 2.0 This kind of fixing usually isn’t great, because putting the card on top is a pretty massive difference from getting it in your hand or something. But it does have solid stats and brings Toxic to the table.
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Skyscythe Engulfer image 1.5 If you’re behind, it can hang back and block even flyers, and if you’re ahead, it can attack pretty hard. I wish there was some sort of ETB associated with it so you got some permanent value, though. Six mana is a lot to not get something like that!
Pack 2 Pick 8: Ribskiff
Ribskiff image 2.5 A 4-mana 4/4 vehicles with Crew 3 is not especially good, but this does replace itself, and Toxic has some real upside. The 2-for-1 potential is very real.
Necrogen Communion image 1.0 I don’t like this very much. It is rare that an Aura that brings a creature back when it dies is worth it, and I don’t think adding Toxic 2 is quite enough to make a difference. Both of these effects are only good if your creature is already quite good, and that’s never how you want to do Auras.
Ichorspit Basilisk image 1.5 A three mana 1/3 Deathtouch isn’t the most impressive thing ever, but it does provide a pretty good road block. Adding Toxic to a death toucher is nice upside, since blocking this can be a real pain
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
The Fair Basilica image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Chimney Rabble image 3.0 I like the rate here. 4/4 of stats for 4, including 3 power that rumbles right away. Going wide is definitely a thing in this format, too
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Terramorphic Expanse
Mirran Bardiche image 2.0 This one gives you a 5-mana 4/3 with Vigilance up front. As is the case for most of the Common For Mirrodin! Artifacts, that rate wouldn’t really be acceptable all on its own – but being able to move the boost around when you need to is nice.
Sawblade Scamp image 2.5 This is kind of close to being Thermo-Alchemist, and that card has been great in spell decks in several different formats at this point. This does die super easy, but it only costs one, so your opponent won’t really be able to trade up for it or anything, and if it sits around in play in your spell-heavy deck, it is going to chip in for a ton of damage. Now, it is worse that the Alchemist, because the Alchemist can do damage without the help of spells, it just does more when you have them. The Scamp doesn’t do anything when you can’t find your spells, which happens
The Surgical Bay image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Duress image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. Against someone who isn’t a creature heavy deck, it is worth using. Against your typical Limited deck, though, it isn’t. It will just wiff far too often, and going down a card for no effect is brutal.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Cutthroat Centurion
Veil of Assimilation image 3.0 This offers a nice buff up front, and there are enough artifacts in the set that triggering this on most turns won’t be a challenge for White decks.
Goldwarden's Helm image 2.0 You get a three mana 2/3 up front here, which isn’t the worst baseline – especially when you have Equipment and Artifact payoffs in the format. The Boost this offers on its own is certainly very meager, though.
Compleat Devotion image 2.0 Two mana for +2/+2 is a mediocre boost, but the 2-for-1 upside you get when you use this on a Toxic creature is definitely real upside. There’s enough Toxic in White that I feel like this is a 2.0
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Eye of Malcator image 2.0 One of Blue’s big themes is Artifacts, and this is certainly a payoff for playing them. It is nice that it Scries up front, which means you can make sure you are more likely to hit Artifacts on your next couple turns. Still, most of these cards we see that aren’t always creatures but temporarily become creatures when X happens have been sort of underwhelming. Its just rough that the card is near irrelevant on your opponents’ turn, and often doesn’t do enough on your turn either.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Skyscythe Engulfer
Font of Progress image 0.0 Mill strategies rarely work out in Limited, mostly because actually effecting the board is all important, and mill has almost no effect on the game until your opponent actually runs out of cards. There is a card we’ll see later in this video that can really help you win with mill, but I don’t think this one will. You don’t really want to spend your mana on this ability – you want to be playing things that are more meaningful. Even proliferating to get this to where it mills more cards isn’t going to be good enough
Forgehammer Centurion image 2.5 This isn’t as good as some Common Red cards that can make something unable to block, because the set up is fairly significant, but when it can use that ability it will really open the floodgates on your opponent.
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Skyscythe Engulfer image 1.5 If you’re behind, it can hang back and block even flyers, and if you’re ahead, it can attack pretty hard. I wish there was some sort of ETB associated with it so you got some permanent value, though. Six mana is a lot to not get something like that!
Pack 2 Pick 12: Terramorphic Expanse
Rustvine Cultivator image 1.5 This doesn’t look very good. The best thing about a mana dork is that it can play you more powerful spells every turn. This can’t do that. It will finally untap a land on turn three, and while the boost is nice, the fact you had to tap this twice to get it is no small thing. Sure, you can proliferate and stuff to have to tap it less, but you’re jumping through some pretty serious hoops to make your one drop work.
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Escaped Experiment image 2.0 On its own, this is a two mana 2/1 that gives -1/-0 to an opposing creature when it attacks, and its ability can lower power a lot more than that! This can often enable nice attacks not just for the Experiment, but the board. That said, it doesn’t really change the ability of your opponent’s creatures to block effectively. They may not be able to kill things they tussle with, but if they could already block your stuff and survive – that will still be true.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Adaptive Sporesinger
Adaptive Sporesinger image 2.5 Both of these triggers can be pretty nice. +2/+2 and Vigilance is a boost that can really allow you to have a much better turn, since it can allow a creature to attack more effectively and stay on defense, and when Proliferate can add a bunch of counters to stuff, that will feel good too.
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Gitaxian Anatomist
Gitaxian Anatomist image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/5 is passable, and having the option to Proliferate can be nice, especially because Blue has lots of oil counters running around – and some poison too! It is definitely awkward you have to tap this to Proliferate, since the thing this card is best at in terms of combat is blocking, and not being able to do that for a turn might be a liability.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Evolving Adaptive
Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold image 4.0 A four mana ¾ with battle cry is a nice place to start, and the ability is really interesting. It is pretty much all upside, because it doesn’t say you have to choose your own creature. So, if you’d rather have all your creatures able to damage your opponent, you can just choose an opposing creature, which won’t really do anything one way or another, since it only counts combat damage done to a player. And sometimes, you’ll want to go wide with all those pests – especially because Battle Cry pays you off for making a bunch of them!
Evolving Adaptive image 3.5 If you play it early, it is going to get absolutely massive, and is a one drop that can potentially take the game over. It does get worse the later you play it, but it is still likely to grow basically any time you play a creature at that point
Feed the Infection image 1.5 Lately, Sorcery-speed card draw effects that make you lose life have felt pretty bad, since you spend a significant amount of mana, don’t add to the board, and actually help out your aggressive opponent. However, I do think making your opponent lose 3 as well is a significant upgrade, but it still might be too slow
Churning Reservoir image 1.0 // 3.0 This feels like it has the potential to be quite the value engine, as there are lots of Red cards that can do some stuff with oil counters. The token creation effect certainly isn’t the most efficient thing ever, but I can see some decks finding a way to utilize it on turns when they can. This probably needs a buildaround though, as you really need to have a critical mass of oil counters and oil counter payoffs or this just won’t do enough to be worth a card
Axiom Engraver image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and a card that can rummage a couple of times isn’t exactly something you’re going to go after. You’ll probably play this when you’re desperate for a two drop or some oil counters, but otherwise it won’t make the cut.
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Blightbelly Rat image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 is a passable place to start – so adding both Toxic and a nice death trigger to the mix probably makes this one of the best Black Commons
Dune Mover image 2.0 This kind of fixing usually isn’t great, because putting the card on top is a pretty massive difference from getting it in your hand or something. But it does have solid stats and brings Toxic to the table.
Meldweb Curator image 1.5 This has a mediocre stat-line, and its ability isn’t that impressive either. Getting back removal is nice of course, but putting it on top of your library isn’t that powerful. You’ll usually have to wait a turn to get it, and if you didn’t have something worth getting out of the graveyard, you’re even more out of luck.
Plague Nurse image 2.0 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic 2 is fine, and adding more Toxic to your Toxic creatures can definitely cause problems. The threat of activation is something that your opponent really has to consider on a board with a few other Toxic creatures.
Shrapnel Slinger image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and there’s also plenty of noncreature artifacts it can deal with too. Sacrificing a Mite or something else expendable seems particularly nice. You also have a baseline of a 2-mana 2/2, which you’ll certainly be wanting if you don’t have something else to do on turn two
Crawling Chorus image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that replace themselves with 1/1s tend to play reasonably well, but keep in mind that these Mites are worse than most tokens we’re used to – not blocking is a big deal! If you have sacrifice outlets to use alongside this is it can be particularly nice.
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Predation Steward
Oxidda Finisher image 2.5 Paying 7 for this is bad, 6 is medium, and 5 is solid. Getting it lower than that is sort of unlikely, although with For Mirrodin!, it will be easier to play more Equipment in this format than in most. Normally you can’t run a ton of it because you need the creatures to put it on, but most of the Equipment in this set gives you both. Still, getting this to 5 is a reasonable expectation, getting below that probably isn’t.
Gleeful Demolition image 3.0 This format has a lot of Artifacts including Artifact creatures, so a card that can destroy them for one mana is already a card you’ll always play. That is definitely the mode you’re going to choose most frequently, but sometimes destroying your own thing is more beneficial. Like if you need extra bodies to go wide to win the game, or if you need those bodies to block
Font of Progress image 0.0 Mill strategies rarely work out in Limited, mostly because actually effecting the board is all important, and mill has almost no effect on the game until your opponent actually runs out of cards. There is a card we’ll see later in this video that can really help you win with mill, but I don’t think this one will. You don’t really want to spend your mana on this ability – you want to be playing things that are more meaningful. Even proliferating to get this to where it mills more cards isn’t going to be good enough
Vivisurgeon's Insight image 1.5 Man, I have a hard time believing paying 5 to draw three and Proliferate is going to be worth it here. I love the card advantage of course, but paying that much and likely having only a minimal impact on the board seems like a really bad idea
Predation Steward image 2.0 This seems like a fine two drop. The ability isn’t exactly efficient, and it is definitely clunky as a sorcery speed only effect, but it can certainly allow you to send in an attacker that couldn’t attack otherwise.
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
Kuldotha Cackler image 2.5 This will be able to attack with higher power a decent chunk of the time for sure, but the times where it is just a lowly 2/3 will feel pretty rough.
Whisper of the Dross image 1.5 If you can kill something with this, or have it help you win combat, it will feel pretty good since you’re only spending a single mana! Problem is, those situations won’t be that easy to manufacture
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Prologue to Phyresis image 2.0 This isn’t especially powerful on its own, as a poison counter isn’t worth a ton on its own – but this is a spell that replaces itself, and the UR deck will make decent use of it
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Tyvar's Stand
Tyvar's Stand image 3.5 Two mana for +1/+1, hexproof, and indestructible is a pretty solid trick, and this has the upside of both scaling as the game goes on and being castable for only mana when that’s useful for you. The best tricks have the ability to win combat and protect a creature from removal, giving them broad situations where you want to use them, and this definitely does that, and can even give you lethal out of nowhere! This is one of the best Limited combat tricks we’ve ever seen.
Unnatural Restoration image 1.5 We see this effect a lot, and a Regrowth that only gets permanents is not usually very good in Limited, especially if that’s all the card does. It isn’t a disaster to play, but can be underwhelming for a lot of reasons! For one thing, it doesn’t do anything until there’s a permanent in the graveyard – and it doesn’t really feel like you’re accomplishing something until there is a worthwhile permanent, so it can be a dead card for awhile!
Unctus's Retrofitter image 3.5 This looks really good. A three mana 2/3 with Toxic 1 is already passable, so the fact that this can turn an artifact into a 4/4 is pretty awesome! You can animate a noncreature artifact, or upgrade an Artifact creature that is smaller than a 4/4. There are plenty of targets in the set, including things like Mite tokens, so this is often going to give you a big advantage for only three mana
Ruthless Predation image 3.5 This is basically Epic Confrontation, which is a great Limited Common. +1/+2 enables a lot more of your creatures to Fight successfully, and you can often knock a blocker out of the way and swing in with your buffed creature.
Vivisurgeon's Insight image 1.5 Man, I have a hard time believing paying 5 to draw three and Proliferate is going to be worth it here. I love the card advantage of course, but paying that much and likely having only a minimal impact on the board seems like a really bad idea
Titanic Growth image 2.0 +4/+4 will win you most combats, and two mana isn’t a terrible amount to spend for the boost. It can also sneak in lethal out of nowhere.
The Dross Pits image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Maze Skullbomb image 2.5 have the time to use the ability.
Sawblade Scamp image 2.5 This is kind of close to being Thermo-Alchemist, and that card has been great in spell decks in several different formats at this point. This does die super easy, but it only costs one, so your opponent won’t really be able to trade up for it or anything, and if it sits around in play in your spell-heavy deck, it is going to chip in for a ton of damage. Now, it is worse that the Alchemist, because the Alchemist can do damage without the help of spells, it just does more when you have them. The Scamp doesn’t do anything when you can’t find your spells, which happens
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Sheoldred's Headcleaver image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Menace is probably a 1.0 at best, and while adding Toxic to the mix is nice, this still dies to a whole lot of common double blocks
Pack 3 Pick 4: Cankerbloom
Cankerbloom image 3.5 This has really good stats, and a great modal ability that will almost always do something meaningful.
Paladin of Predation image 2.0 This is hard to chump block, and it can end the game in two swings thanks to Toxic. The stat-line isn’t amazing for the cost though, and there will still be enough boards where your opponent can just double block it to take it down. It also doesn’t deliver any bonus value you get to hold on to in the event it gets destroyed, and if I’m going to spend 7 mana, I feel like I should get something, even a bit of life or a 1/1 token would make a big difference.
Maze Skullbomb image 2.5 have the time to use the ability.
Infectious Inquiry image 2.0 Black usually gets a three mana Common that does some version of draw 2 lose 2, and it is usually a passable card. Not adding to the board can be a liability, and this format does feel like it will be a fast one – so you never really want more than one of these. That first copy seems alright, though.
Cruel Grimnarch image 1.5 Oftentimes a creature that makes your opponent discard really drops off in the late game, because your opponent is in top deck mode. So, its nice that this can gain you 4 life in that situation. We’re still talking about a creature that is fairly below-rate. Adding deathtouch to a 5/5 isn’t a huge upgrade, and if your opponent just holds on to a land in the late game this will still have the usual downside this type of card has
Hazardous Blast image 1.5 // 2.5 We’ve seen this card before, more or less, and in the right deck it can be a pretty good way to end the game, as turning off all blocking can really allow you to do a ton of damage. In a pinch, it can also sweep away a bunch of X/1s, like Mite tokens and the like – so it sort of has an alternate mode, but certainly the most powerful thing to do with it is use it to let you alpha strike for the win. With Toxic in the format, it may be easier than normal to set up lethal too, since you can threaten with both poison counters and damage
Glistener Seer image 2.0 One mana 0/3s are pretty underwhelming. This one does Scry a few times though, and that can be useful all game long.
Pestilent Syphoner image 2.0 This seems solid enough. It represents a real threat thanks to toxic, and is likely to contribute a few poison early. Some decks will just want to turn on their corrupted effects and not actually win with poison, and this will probably be at its best in that type of deck
Copper Longlegs image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 Reach isn’t very good. This can give itself up to Proliferate which is nice, since it will often not be a very relevant body on the board. Still, it doesn’t seem like this will be making the cut with regularity
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Paladin of Predation
Ravenous Necrotitan image 2.5 I’m not in love with this. A 4-mana 6/6 that always makes you sacrifice a creature when it enters isn’t worth it except in decks with good sacrifice fodder. And while its nice that sometimes this will just be a straight up 4-mana 6/6 with no downside, it will probably be at the point in the game where it isn’t nearly as imposing. We’re still just talking about a card that’s biggest upside is that it is a big vanilla creature, and that isn’t exciting.
Paladin of Predation image 2.0 This is hard to chump block, and it can end the game in two swings thanks to Toxic. The stat-line isn’t amazing for the cost though, and there will still be enough boards where your opponent can just double block it to take it down. It also doesn’t deliver any bonus value you get to hold on to in the event it gets destroyed, and if I’m going to spend 7 mana, I feel like I should get something, even a bit of life or a 1/1 token would make a big difference.
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Compleat Devotion image 2.0 Two mana for +2/+2 is a mediocre boost, but the 2-for-1 upside you get when you use this on a Toxic creature is definitely real upside. There’s enough Toxic in White that I feel like this is a 2.0
Whisper of the Dross image 1.5 If you can kill something with this, or have it help you win combat, it will feel pretty good since you’re only spending a single mana! Problem is, those situations won’t be that easy to manufacture
The Hunter Maze image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Dross Skullbomb image 2.5 This one can get a creature back from your graveyard and draw you a card, and once it does that you get a pretty nice 2-for-1
Vulshok Splitter image 2.0 So, this is effectively a 4-mana 4/2 when it comes down – one that leaves behind a pretty clunky piece of equipment. Neither of these things is that impressive for 4 mana, but the initial creature you get out of this definitely softens the blow, especially in a format with lots of payoffs for Equipment.
Indoctrination Attendant image 2.5 A 4-mana ¾ with Toxic is acceptable, and there are certainly some nice ETBs to rebuy in this format. Its nice that this can do that for you while also generating a Mite. You can even bounce a land if you want to get the 1/1!
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Pack 3 Pick 6: Oil-Gorger Troll
Ichorplate Golem image 4.0 An easy to cast three mana ⅔ isn’t a terrible starting point, and the oil counter upside here feels pretty real in this format. It does probably mean that it is at its best in a UR or RG deck, but I think even if you have 2+ creatures that do something with oil tokens, you’re playing this.
Gleeful Demolition image 3.0 This format has a lot of Artifacts including Artifact creatures, so a card that can destroy them for one mana is already a card you’ll always play. That is definitely the mode you’re going to choose most frequently, but sometimes destroying your own thing is more beneficial. Like if you need extra bodies to go wide to win the game, or if you need those bodies to block
Oil-Gorger Troll image 3.0 A 5-mana ¾ that gains you 3 life when it enters the battlefield is not especially good, so how good this card is comes down to how often you get to draw. I think it is definitely accessible, and one this card is gaining you life and netting you a card, it is going to feel pretty sweet. This is another Green card that feels like it can do a reasonable job of throwing a monkey wrench into the plans of aggro decks, as is often the case for creatures that gain life on ETB.
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Forgehammer Centurion image 2.5 This isn’t as good as some Common Red cards that can make something unable to block, because the set up is fairly significant, but when it can use that ability it will really open the floodgates on your opponent.
Orthodoxy Enforcer image 2.0 This is a decent Common payoff for having Artifacts, as a 4-mana 4/4 with Vigilance is a formidable body all game long. When you don’t get that going, though, this will feel pretty bad
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Aspirant's Ascent image 2.0 One mana tricks have been some pretty serious business of late, and I think this looks like another solid one. This kind of gives you two separate uses, which is great for such a low cost! First it can be used as a traditional trick to help your creature win combat with the +1/+3 boost – but you can also use it before your opponent blocks to make a big creature take to the air and crack in for a bunch of damage – along with some toxic upside
Chrome Prowler image 1.5 None of what this does feels especially meaningful. It has mediocre stats and an ETB ability that is underwhelming. A 3/2 with Flash can ambush block stuff, but not that effectively – it just ends up being a surprise trade or chump block. The tap effect will be nice at times, but this just doesn’t feel like it has enough of an impact to make the cut consistently.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Ruthless Predation
Sinew Dancer image 2.0 So, if you don’t get Corrupted going, this is a pretty bad card. While Master Decoy-type creatures are nice, we’ve seen in the past that asking for four mana for such an effect is just too much, and not an effective way to use your mana on most turns. Obviously, if you can get some poison on your opponent, it gets a lot better – as one mana a turn to tap something often just feels like removal. There is some interesting synergy to be had here, as if you have three poison on your opponent, you probably have some Toxic creatures in play, in which case tapping down a blocker is going to be increasingly problematic for your opponent. That said, getting three poison on your opponent is significant set up, and the baseline card is pretty bad
Free from Flesh image 2.0 One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a pretty solid boost, as you can very cheaply allow your creature to win a lot of combats. The oil counters really matter for some cards too, though sometimes you’ll end up adding oil counters on something that can’t really do anything with them.
Stinging Hivemaster image 3.5 This is a very nice common. A three mana 3/2 with Toxic 1 is already probably playable, so the fact it spits out a Mite when it dies is sweet. It is worth noting that the token’s inability to block does lower the value of the token – more than adding Toxic 1 makes up for
Predation Steward image 2.0 This seems like a fine two drop. The ability isn’t exactly efficient, and it is definitely clunky as a sorcery speed only effect, but it can certainly allow you to send in an attacker that couldn’t attack otherwise.
Ruthless Predation image 3.5 This is basically Epic Confrontation, which is a great Limited Common. +1/+2 enables a lot more of your creatures to Fight successfully, and you can often knock a blocker out of the way and swing in with your buffed creature.
Gulping Scraptrap image 2.5 This proliferates twice which is definitely some serious upside in this set. Of course, it also happens to a dismal 5-mana 4/4.
Titanic Growth image 2.0 +4/+4 will win you most combats, and two mana isn’t a terrible amount to spend for the boost. It can also sneak in lethal out of nowhere.
Thrill of Possibility image 1.5 We’ve seen this before, and it is often the kind of card that spell decks will run, but no one else really wants to play, and even the spell decks would be happier with a lot of other instants and sorceries that draw them cards!
Pack 3 Pick 8: Lattice-Blade Mantis
Vanish into Eternity image 1.5 Six mana to exile a creature is pretty far from an ideal rate, even on an instant. It just isn’t easy for a spell that expensive to ever be premium, because you will usually overpay to kill a cheaper creature. But the fact that this can deal with other permanent types much more efficiently helps things even out. Basically this is going to be a more expensive Disenchant early, and late it can deal with anything. It definitely isn’t premium, even with its modality, but I think the first copy will make the cut in a lot of White decks.
Tyrranax Atrocity image 2.5 Toxic 3 is a lot, as it will immediately give you Corrupted if you don’t already have it, and if you do already have it 3 poison is going to get your opponent in the red zone. Toxic pairs really well with Haste too, as it makes it easier to get in that first time, or at the very least set up a situation where your opponent’s options are a bad chump block or taking the hit.
Cutthroat Centurion image 2.0 This can threaten to become a 4/4 any time it swings, which is pretty nice. This kind of card often gets through without you actually having to sacrifice anything to it, because the opponent just can’t muster a good block. This also combines well with the various sacrifice synergies, and being a free Sacrifice effect means it has the upside of working really well with Red’s usual Threaten effect.
Escaped Experiment image 2.0 On its own, this is a two mana 2/1 that gives -1/-0 to an opposing creature when it attacks, and its ability can lower power a lot more than that! This can often enable nice attacks not just for the Experiment, but the board. That said, it doesn’t really change the ability of your opponent’s creatures to block effectively. They may not be able to kill things they tussle with, but if they could already block your stuff and survive – that will still be true.
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Bring the Ending image 2.5 This starts out as a bad mana leak, and by the later stages of the game becomes a really efficient hard counter. I actually like that design, because this type of counterspell is usually good earlier in the game and horrible late. So, adding Corrupted to the mix means that this will be good for a huge chunk of the game.
Furnace Strider image 3.0 A 5-mana 4/5 isn’t the worst rate ever, especially because this can give itself haste! On your next turn whatever you cast gains haste too if you want it to, so it feels like you’re getting a pretty solid return on your investment with this.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Terramorphic Expanse
Feed the Infection image 1.5 Lately, Sorcery-speed card draw effects that make you lose life have felt pretty bad, since you spend a significant amount of mana, don’t add to the board, and actually help out your aggressive opponent. However, I do think making your opponent lose 3 as well is a significant upgrade, but it still might be too slow
The Autonomous Furnace image 2.5 This seems like a solid utility land cycle. They enter tapped, so you don’t want too many of them, but the fact you can cash them in in the later stages of the game for a card is really nice, and can help when you’re flooding out.
Dune Mover image 2.0 This kind of fixing usually isn’t great, because putting the card on top is a pretty massive difference from getting it in your hand or something. But it does have solid stats and brings Toxic to the table.
Shrapnel Slinger image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and there’s also plenty of noncreature artifacts it can deal with too. Sacrificing a Mite or something else expendable seems particularly nice. You also have a baseline of a 2-mana 2/2, which you’ll certainly be wanting if you don’t have something else to do on turn two
Maze's Mantle image 2.0 A three mana Flash Aura that gives +2/+2 is a card we’ve seen before, and it was playable. If you look at this only as a combat trick it doesn’t seem that efficient, as you can usually get +2/+2 for a single mana. However, the fact this stays around to enhance that creature beyond that turn makes a big difference. The hexproof upside is going to come up sometimes too!
Terramorphic Expanse image 2.5 This always provides some solid fixing, even for two color decks. It can be particularly appealing when you are splashing one card, as just a single basic land and the Expanse are often enough to make that work.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Ichor Synthesizer
Oxidda Finisher image 2.5 Paying 7 for this is bad, 6 is medium, and 5 is solid. Getting it lower than that is sort of unlikely, although with For Mirrodin!, it will be easier to play more Equipment in this format than in most. Normally you can’t run a ton of it because you need the creatures to put it on, but most of the Equipment in this set gives you both. Still, getting this to 5 is a reasonable expectation, getting below that probably isn’t.
Gleeful Demolition image 3.0 This format has a lot of Artifacts including Artifact creatures, so a card that can destroy them for one mana is already a card you’ll always play. That is definitely the mode you’re going to choose most frequently, but sometimes destroying your own thing is more beneficial. Like if you need extra bodies to go wide to win the game, or if you need those bodies to block
Font of Progress image 0.0 Mill strategies rarely work out in Limited, mostly because actually effecting the board is all important, and mill has almost no effect on the game until your opponent actually runs out of cards. There is a card we’ll see later in this video that can really help you win with mill, but I don’t think this one will. You don’t really want to spend your mana on this ability – you want to be playing things that are more meaningful. Even proliferating to get this to where it mills more cards isn’t going to be good enough
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Ichor Synthesizer image 1.5 A two mana 1/3 is below-rate these days, but this does eventually become an unblockable 3/3, and that’s certainly something your opponent has to contend with. What I don’t like, is that if you don’t get this down early, your chances of getting to four oil counters are significantly curtailed, in which case you’re just playing something that is pretty close to a two mana 1/3, and I don’t like that.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Lattice-Blade Mantis
Vivisurgeon's Insight image 1.5 Man, I have a hard time believing paying 5 to draw three and Proliferate is going to be worth it here. I love the card advantage of course, but paying that much and likely having only a minimal impact on the board seems like a really bad idea
Titanic Growth image 2.0 +4/+4 will win you most combats, and two mana isn’t a terrible amount to spend for the boost. It can also sneak in lethal out of nowhere.
Maze Skullbomb image 2.5 have the time to use the ability.
Lattice-Blade Mantis image 3.0 This seems pretty strong for a Common. A 4-mana 4/3 is almost passable, so adding the ability to use oil counters to buff it up to a 5/4 that untaps is really nice. This can hit pretty hard while playing both offense and defense.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Maze Skullbomb
Maze Skullbomb image 2.5 have the time to use the ability.
Hazardous Blast image 1.5 // 2.5 We’ve seen this card before, more or less, and in the right deck it can be a pretty good way to end the game, as turning off all blocking can really allow you to do a ton of damage. In a pinch, it can also sweep away a bunch of X/1s, like Mite tokens and the like – so it sort of has an alternate mode, but certainly the most powerful thing to do with it is use it to let you alpha strike for the win. With Toxic in the format, it may be easier than normal to set up lethal too, since you can threaten with both poison counters and damage
Myr Kinsmith image 0.0 // 2.0 There aren’t really that many Myrs in the set, so I mostly don’t see this getting off the ground. If you have at least three Myr, it is probably worth playing, as it will be able to generate a 2-for-1. And if you have Myr Convert, this will sort of fix your mana too. It is probably unplayable in most Limited decks, and playable if you have a couple of Converts.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Dross Skullbomb
Furnace Skullbomb image 1.5 I think this is probably the worst of the bunch, mostly because its effect is more niche than the others. If you don’t have a permanent that cares about oil counters, it doesn’t do anything, while the others have effects that pretty much always do something. It still can be cycled away easily, and when you can get value out of the counters it is fine, but it is a bit worse than the others.
Dross Skullbomb image 2.5 This one can get a creature back from your graveyard and draw you a card, and once it does that you get a pretty nice 2-for-1
Pack 3 Pick 14: Gleeful Demolition
Gleeful Demolition image 3.0 This format has a lot of Artifacts including Artifact creatures, so a card that can destroy them for one mana is already a card you’ll always play. That is definitely the mode you’re going to choose most frequently, but sometimes destroying your own thing is more beneficial. Like if you need extra bodies to go wide to win the game, or if you need those bodies to block
Draft Pick Overview