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Premier Draft SIR 30 March 2023

30 March 05:23 - dogsbynouns 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Planeswalker (1)
1 Arlinn Kord // Arlinn, Embraced by the Moon image
Creature (15)
1 Ulvenwald Hydra image
2 Byway Courier image
2 Hinterland Logger // Timber Shredder image
1 Conduit of Storms // Conduit of Emrakul image
1 Deranged Whelp image
2 Gatstaf Arsonists // Gatstaf Ravagers image
1 Spirit of the Hunt image
1 Ulrich's Kindred image
1 Village Messenger // Moonrise Intruder image
1 Geier Reach Bandit // Vildin-Pack Alpha image
2 Howlpack Wolf image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (7)
2 Howlpack Resurgence image
2 Rabid Bite image
1 Wolfkin Bond image
1 Neglected Heirloom // Ashmouth Blade image
1 Galvanic Bombardment image
Land (17)
1 Game Trail image
8 Mountain image
8 Forest image
Sideboard
1 Swift Spinner image
1 Briarbridge Patrol image
1 Insolent Neonate image
1 Tree of Perdition image
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar image
1 Dawn Gryff image
1 Laboratory Brute image
1 Blessed Alliance image
1 Alchemist's Greeting image
1 Confront the Unknown image
1 Wolfkin Bond image
1 Eldritch Evolution image
1 Make Mischief image
1 Aim High image
1 Tormenting Voice image
1 Magnifying Glass image
1 Alms of the Vein image
1 Divine Reckoning image
1 Weirding Wood image
1 Magmatic Chasm image
1 Forsaken Sanctuary image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Arlinn Kord
Gnaw to the Bone image 0.0 // 2.5 If you manage to get a really good self-mill deck going – preferably one that has a win condition like Spider Spawning – Gnaw to the Bone becomes a really good card at helping you survive long enough to outvalue your opponent with the graveyard. There are lots of decks where it is unplayable, though.
Elder Deep-Fiend image 4.5 If you flash this in, it is going to drastically alter the state of the game for both you and your opponent. Tapping four permanents is no joke. You’re normally going to want to tap opposing creatures to allow you to attack in for a ton, but you can even use this to tap down lands and things like that. Blue has good sacrifice fodder too, so you don’t usually feel like you’re losing a whole card to cast the Fiend at a discount.
Arlinn Kord image 5.0 Arlinn is a fairly cheap planeswalker, and all of her abilities are great. Her +1 and 0 on the frontside do a good job of protecting her, and when she transforms she can give you a massive board buff or Bolt opposing creatures. You won’t always get to her ultimate, but alternate between her two sides is incredibly powerful, and hard for anyone to overcome.
Deathcap Cultivator image 4.0 This is a nice mana dork that can even fix your mana, and the fact it can get deathtouch is pretty nice. Most mana dorks stop being good in the late game, but adding deathtouch means this always has an impact on the board.
Brain in a Jar image 0.0 Not worth it in Limited, even with a spell deck around. It is too slow and doesn’t really do anything to impact the game most of the time.
Thermo-Alchemist image 3.5 This is a great payoff in Blue-Red, but most Red decks in the format have enough instants and sorceries in them to make the Alchemist playable.
Incendiary Flow image 4.0 Two mana to do 3 to a creature is always premium removal, and this has exile upside that really matters.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Deny Existence image 2.0 Most decks have enough creatures for this to be playable, though it is always rough to try to use one of these when your opponent casts a noncreature spell.
Grapple with the Past image 2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Borrowed Hostility image 0.0 This is bad. It is a build-your-own Sure Strike, except it costs twice the mana – and it isn’t like Sure Strike is that impressive to begin with.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Blessed Alliance
Silent Departure image 2.5 Bouncing stuff doesn’t generally let you trade for a card – instead it just gives you tempo. But this is cheap enough that you can get a pretty good deal, especially because you can bounce something again later in the game.
Eternal Scourge image 3.5 This is a three mana 3/3 that just won’t stay away. Sure, any spell at all exiles the Scourge, but you can just keep casting it over and over again, so your opponent isn’t going to be that keen on using spells on it anyway.
Lone Rider image 3.0 In the right format, this would be bonkers! Unfortunately, this format doesn’t have a dedicated life gain archetype, so gaining 3 or more life with it and transforming it into It That Rides as One isn’t as easy you might think. It is certainly doable, but not something that happens with regularity.
Blessed Alliance image 3.5 The most useful mode on this is usually making your opponent sacrifice an opposing creature. Paying 2 mana for that isn’t amazing, especially when your opponent attacks with multiple creatures. However, the fact you can pump some extra mana into this for some extra effects is great.
Dusk Feaster image 2.5 This is pretty bad if you can’t get delirium going. The good news is, by the time you’re going to want to cast this, you’re pretty likely to have it in a deck like Black-Green. At that point, it is a 5-mana ⅘ Flyer – which is pretty nice!
Intrepid Provisioner image 3.0 This is a solid Human payoff. The +2/+2 it offers often gives you a much better situation to attack with, and the 3/3 Trample body isn’t the worst thing.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Ember-Eye Wolf image 2.5 This overperformed last time. A lot of the time, this sort of creature that can buff its power for mana isn’t very impressive, because you end up having to spend a lot of mana just to make it trade. However, adding Haste to the mix, along with a useful creature type, makes a significant difference. This even has a bit of Fireball potential in the late game.
Drag Under image 2.5 Bouncing something at Sorcery speed and going down a card normally isn’t worth it. However, this replaces itself, which makes a really big difference! It means you still get the tempo but don’t go down a card, and there’s a spell deck in this format, so any spell that draws you a card already gets more value.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Wolfkin Bond image 3.0 This is a surprisingly good Aura, and one you’re usually going to want one of in your Green decks. 5 mana is a lot, but the fact this gives you a 2/2 means that you do a good job of mitigating against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d.
Wild-Field Scarecrow image 3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Ulvenwald Hydra
Bump in the Night image 1.0 Cards that damage your opponent and don’t do anything else are rarely worth it in Limited. This does have the capacity to do up to six for only one card, but you have to pay 7 mana to get there. It is kind of a funny card, because it has kind of an ugly baseline, but it actually gets better in multiples, since you are more likely to find a critical mass that lets you burn out your opponent. Problem is, since this is part of a bonus sheet, actually getting multiples of it won’t happen very often.
Ulvenwald Hydra image 4.0 The fact this can search up non basics doesn’t matter a whole lot in this format. But you know what does? Having an absolutely massive creature, and that’s what this will be! Usually it is a 6-mana 7/7 with Reach, and it continually grows as the game continues.
Conduit of Storms image 3.0 A three mana ⅔ that gives you a mana every time it attacks isn’t too bad, and this can transform into a fairly impressive Eldrazi Werewolf.
Ride Down image 3.0 Red-White is all about aggro, and Ride Down fits really well into a deck that is all about attacking. It is basically impossible for your opponent to set up a good block when you have this in your hand, and that’s exactly what you want.
Pick the Brain image 0.5 Yeah, Coercion is never worth it in Limited, and the Delirium upside here may as well be flavor text.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Drag Under image 2.5 Bouncing something at Sorcery speed and going down a card normally isn’t worth it. However, this replaces itself, which makes a really big difference! It means you still get the tempo but don’t go down a card, and there’s a spell deck in this format, so any spell that draws you a card already gets more value.
Tormenting Voice image 2.5 This is better in this format than it is in pretty much any other! It helps you get Delirium and discard things with Madness, on top of also being a nice card for the Blue-Red spell deck since it triggers all of your payoffs.
Stormrider Spirit image 2.0 The Spirit decks in this format have lots of cards that let them operate at instant speed, so this having Flash works pretty well. You can leave up counter magic and removal, and if you don’t need it, add a very real body to the board. You can of course also Flash it in and ambush block stuff, which can feel pretty great.
Tattered Haunter image 2.0 This is a reasonable two-drop, though it does suffer from the fact that it is awful against the format’s flying tokens.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
Ravenous Bloodseeker image 2.5 This is a nice discard outlet that can be pretty obnoxious to block in the early game.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Byway Courier
Gnaw to the Bone image 0.0 // 2.5 If you manage to get a really good self-mill deck going – preferably one that has a win condition like Spider Spawning – Gnaw to the Bone becomes a really good card at helping you survive long enough to outvalue your opponent with the graveyard. There are lots of decks where it is unplayable, though.
Neglected Heirloom image 3.5 The base form of the Heirloom is a solid piece of Equipment, and once it transforms it can make any creature into a major threat. Transforming it isn’t always easy of course, and works best in Red-Green, but because it has such a good baseline, it is worth valuing fairly highly.
Groundskeeper image 1.0 You do mill yourself a lot in Green, so the idea here is that if you milled a land you need, you can get it back. Mostly, though, that isn’t worth doing.
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Scourge Wolf image 4.0 A two mana 2/2 with First Strike is something you always play, so the fact this can gain double strike in the mid-game is a great upgrade.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Angelic Purge image 2.5 2-for-1ing yourself to destroy something isn’t great, but there is enough sacrifice fodder in this format that the first copy of Angelic Purge usually makes the cut.
Wretched Gryff image 4.0 This is one of the best Commons in the set. Casting it for the full 7 mana is totally passable, and if you can sacrifice something that gives you value and cast the Gryff for three or four mana – which happens all the time – it feels particularly amazing.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Howlpack Resurgence
Daring Sleuth image 3.5 This starts with passable base stats, and transforming it is pretty easy in Blue. Once transformed, it is a creature your opponent really has to account for, since it can generate a ton of clues.
Howlpack Resurgence image 3.5 This works pretty well if you have lots of Wolves or Werewolves, and even plays quite well with them. Because it has Flash, you can pass the turn, have your wolves and werewolves transform, and then play this on your opponent’s turn. If this can buff most of your board, its great – but you don’t play it until you have 10+ wolves or werewolves.
Advanced Stitchwing image 3.5 This has decent base stats, and it is big enough that its ability to keep coming back from the graveyard is pretty great.
Wretched Gryff image 4.0 This is one of the best Commons in the set. Casting it for the full 7 mana is totally passable, and if you can sacrifice something that gives you value and cast the Gryff for three or four mana – which happens all the time – it feels particularly amazing.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Angelic Purge image 2.5 2-for-1ing yourself to destroy something isn’t great, but there is enough sacrifice fodder in this format that the first copy of Angelic Purge usually makes the cut.
Swift Spinner image 1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Essence Flux image 0.0 // 2.5 The Blue-White Spirit deck has a blink/flicker sub-theme, as Essence Flux tells you. If you have enough Spirits with ETB abilities, this is playable. But there are many decks it doesn’t work out in, even Blue/White ones!
Steadfast Cathar image 2.5 This is a solid two drop, as attacking as a ⅔ in the early game is pretty nice.
Terrarion image 1.5 This does a solid job of fixing your mana, and it helps you get delirium early by putting an Artifact in the graveyard.
Ember-Eye Wolf image 2.5 This overperformed last time. A lot of the time, this sort of creature that can buff its power for mana isn’t very impressive, because you end up having to spend a lot of mana just to make it trade. However, adding Haste to the mix, along with a useful creature type, makes a significant difference. This even has a bit of Fireball potential in the late game.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Rabid Bite
Rally the Peasants image 2.5 Being able to buff your whole board on two separate attacks with only one card is pretty powerful! If you have the mana, you can also do it all at once!
Weirded Vampire image 1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Drownyard Explorers image 2.0 This has decent defensive stats, and eventually draws you a card. It is a fine card for the grindy Clue decks, though most other decks aren’t that interested.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Thraben Foulbloods image 2.5 A three mana 3/2 isn’t very good, but a three mana 4/3 with Menace is! Delirium is very accessible too, though you won’t usually have it when you’re playing this on turn three.
Rabid Bite image 3.5 This is premium removal. You have to be careful about when you use it, because your opponent can interact in response and blow you out. But when you get the chance to use it, it ends up dealing with most creatures very efficiently.
Drogskol Shieldmate image 2.0 This isn’t as impressive as it looks. +0/+1 to your whole board is not impactful in most situations. Still, it is a three mana ⅔ with Flash and upside, so it is super solid.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Alchemist's Greeting
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Geist of the Archives image 3.0 This is surprisingly good. It can block lots of creatures in the format, and a free Scry every upkeep does a great job of improving the quality of your cards.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Alms of the Vein image 1.0 Even if you can consistently cast this for its Madness cost, Alms of the Vein is fairly disappointing. The six point life swing is nice, but doesn’t feel worth a card most of the time.
Obsessive Skinner image 3.5 Without Delirium, this is a two drop that usually makes the cut. When you get Delirium going, it becomes an impressive value engine, giving you a +1/+1 counter every turn.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
Magnifying Glass image 1.0 This is a very clunky mana rock. It is nice that it can produce Clues, but it doesn’t exactly do that efficiently either.
Tattered Haunter image 2.0 This is a reasonable two-drop, though it does suffer from the fact that it is awful against the format’s flying tokens.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Hinterland Logger
Hinterland Logger image 3.0 This is a nice two drop. If you’re on the play and your opponent doesn’t have their own two drop, it can easily become a 4/2 Trampler in the early game, which is terrifying! That size is relevant all game long, too.
Graf Harvest image 2.0 Menace to Zombies upgrades a decent number of board states, and this isn’t a bad mana sink either.
Gisa's Bidding image 3.5 This is great, it was an Uncommon last time, so downshifting it to Common is pretty spicy. Without Madness, it is a passable rate. With Madness it is downright nasty. Three mana for two 2/2s at Instant speed is a great rate. Casting this for its Madness cost is very doable, too.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Steadfast Cathar image 2.5 This is a solid two drop, as attacking as a ⅔ in the early game is pretty nice.
Pyre Hound image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a buildaround, but it is also an incredibly important and powerful Common for the Blue-Red deck. It gets massive in that deck, and the Trample is a real problem for your opponent.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Convolute image 1.5 This is passable counter magic, and performs especially well in the early game, but the fact it gets worse the longer the game goes on is rough.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Confront the Unknown
Gnaw to the Bone image 0.0 // 2.5 If you manage to get a really good self-mill deck going – preferably one that has a win condition like Spider Spawning – Gnaw to the Bone becomes a really good card at helping you survive long enough to outvalue your opponent with the graveyard. There are lots of decks where it is unplayable, though.
Brain in a Jar image 0.0 Not worth it in Limited, even with a spell deck around. It is too slow and doesn’t really do anything to impact the game most of the time.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Deny Existence image 2.0 Most decks have enough creatures for this to be playable, though it is always rough to try to use one of these when your opponent casts a noncreature spell.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Wolfkin Bond
Dusk Feaster image 2.5 This is pretty bad if you can’t get delirium going. The good news is, by the time you’re going to want to cast this, you’re pretty likely to have it in a deck like Black-Green. At that point, it is a 5-mana ⅘ Flyer – which is pretty nice!
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Wolfkin Bond image 3.0 This is a surprisingly good Aura, and one you’re usually going to want one of in your Green decks. 5 mana is a lot, but the fact this gives you a 2/2 means that you do a good job of mitigating against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d.
Wild-Field Scarecrow image 3.0 This is a passable defensive creature that is great at fixing your mana and helping you get Delirium.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Conduit of Storms
Bump in the Night image 1.0 Cards that damage your opponent and don’t do anything else are rarely worth it in Limited. This does have the capacity to do up to six for only one card, but you have to pay 7 mana to get there. It is kind of a funny card, because it has kind of an ugly baseline, but it actually gets better in multiples, since you are more likely to find a critical mass that lets you burn out your opponent. Problem is, since this is part of a bonus sheet, actually getting multiples of it won’t happen very often.
Conduit of Storms image 3.0 A three mana ⅔ that gives you a mana every time it attacks isn’t too bad, and this can transform into a fairly impressive Eldrazi Werewolf.
Ride Down image 3.0 Red-White is all about aggro, and Ride Down fits really well into a deck that is all about attacking. It is basically impossible for your opponent to set up a good block when you have this in your hand, and that’s exactly what you want.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Neglected Heirloom
Neglected Heirloom image 3.5 The base form of the Heirloom is a solid piece of Equipment, and once it transforms it can make any creature into a major threat. Transforming it isn’t always easy of course, and works best in Red-Green, but because it has such a good baseline, it is worth valuing fairly highly.
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Swift Spinner
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Swift Spinner image 1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Steadfast Cathar image 2.5 This is a solid two drop, as attacking as a ⅔ in the early game is pretty nice.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Briarbridge Patrol
Rally the Peasants image 2.5 Being able to buff your whole board on two separate attacks with only one card is pretty powerful! If you have the mana, you can also do it all at once!
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Forsaken Sanctuary
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Galvanic Bombardment
Travel Preparations image 3.5 This gives out a lot of +1/+1 counters for only four mana total, and can drastically improve your board state.
Bruna, the Fading Light image 4.0 By the time you cast her, Bruna will usually have something to reanimate, and she brings some pretty nice stats to the board too. Her stat-line isn’t too shabby either.
Kindly Stranger image 4.0 If Delirium is online, this is basically a 6-mana 4/3 that destroys a creature when it enters the battlefield. That’s insanely strong! Now, it does take some set up, and sometimes you don’t have six mana to do it all at once, but either way, the Stranger is very powerful.
Crawling Sensation image 0.0 // 4.0 This is an amazing buildaround. It quickly gets you Delirium, and it adds to the board while loading up your graveyard with all that sweet, sweet value. That said, it doesn’t work in just any deck – it is mostly here for Black/Green.
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Mournwillow image 3.0 This is not the most exciting signpost Uncommon ever, its Delirium ETB ability isn’t always relevant, so it is kind of a pain that you have to jump through hoops to even get it to do its thing. Still, hard to go wrong when the card’s baseline is a three mana 3/2 with Haste.
Angelic Purge image 2.5 2-for-1ing yourself to destroy something isn’t great, but there is enough sacrifice fodder in this format that the first copy of Angelic Purge usually makes the cut.
Tattered Haunter image 2.0 This is a reasonable two-drop, though it does suffer from the fact that it is awful against the format’s flying tokens.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Galvanic Bombardment image 2.5 // 4.0 You’ll always play this even if you only have one copy, and it becomes far better the more copies you have. If you have 4+, it becomes one of the best cards in your deck.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Deranged Whelp image 2.5 This is a solid little two-drop and it has a useful creature type.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Deranged Whelp
Feeling of Dread image 3.0 Casting this once in hand and once from your graveyard over two turns can often really turn a game around, as it allows you to attack far more effectively while severely hampering your opponent’s ability to attack effectively. You can of course also cast it from your hand and flash it back all in the same turn, which wins the game on a lot of board states.
Tree of Perdition image 1.5 A 0/13 can block most things, and the ability can definitely be useful sometimes – but if your opponent has more than 13 life it doesn’t do a whole lot.
Accursed Witch image 3.5 This hits hard, can trade for many things, and when it dies it becomes a serious problem for your opponent. As a curse, it drains your opponent 1 life every upkeep, which really snowballs. It is especially nasty to sacrifice this to cast something with Emerge!
Foreboding Ruins image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Stensia Masquerade image 2.0 If you’re a Vampire deck, playing one of these is decent. The fact it has Madness means you can treat it as a trick sometimes that gives First Strike to all of your attackers. Buffing your Vampire is nice too! The problem here is that this card is pretty bad if you’re behind.
Hamlet Captain image 3.5 This is a nice Human payoff that can make most boards significantly better. It doesn’t buff itself, though, so it often goes down in one attack.
Deranged Whelp image 2.5 This is a solid little two-drop and it has a useful creature type.
Intrepid Provisioner image 3.0 This is a solid Human payoff. The +2/+2 it offers often gives you a much better situation to attack with, and the 3/3 Trample body isn’t the worst thing.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Dead Weight image 3.5 This is premium removal, kills many things for only one mana. It is also a little better than normal in this format because of Delirium.
Insatiable Gorgers image 2.5 A 4-mana 5/3 isn’t too bad, even if it has to always attack, and the Madness upside is nice to have.
Weirding Wood image 2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Geist of the Archives image 3.0 This is surprisingly good. It can block lots of creatures in the format, and a free Scry every upkeep does a great job of improving the quality of your cards.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Eldritch Evolution
Mystic Retrieval image 1.5 This is very slow and clunky. You do eventually get a 2-for-1 out of it, but there are better ways to recur instants and sorceries in this format.
Eldritch Evolution image 1.0 This is not very good in Limited. Most of the time, you 2-for-1 yourself for a slightly better creature than what you already had.
Kindly Stranger image 4.0 If Delirium is online, this is basically a 6-mana 4/3 that destroys a creature when it enters the battlefield. That’s insanely strong! Now, it does take some set up, and sometimes you don’t have six mana to do it all at once, but either way, the Stranger is very powerful.
Shreds of Sanity image 2.0 If you’re in Red there’s a good chance you have a nice mix of Instants and Sorceries, and if you do, this is a pretty nice way to get back some removal spells.
Anguished Unmaking image 3.5 Hitting any type of permanent is great, and well worth paying 3 life for. That said, playing more than 1 or 2 of this can get a little sketchy because of the life payment. You can offset it by gaining some life, of course.
Crow of Dark Tidings image 3.0 This is a great card for getting Delirium going, and that’s definitely something you want to be doing – especially in Black/Green and Black/White. It even attacks in the air quite effectively!
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Guardian of Pilgrims image 2.0 This has medium base stats, and has a medium ETB ability. So basically, it's medium.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Olivia's Dragoon image 3.0 This card would be solid in any format, but in this one it is even better! It has a useful creature type and can help you get Delirium and Madness cards going.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Alchemist's Greeting image 3.0 If you’re only casting this normally, it is clunky as heck. If you have enough discard outlets though, it becomes a premium removal spell.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Gatstaf Arsonists
Gnaw to the Bone image 0.0 // 2.5 If you manage to get a really good self-mill deck going – preferably one that has a win condition like Spider Spawning – Gnaw to the Bone becomes a really good card at helping you survive long enough to outvalue your opponent with the graveyard. There are lots of decks where it is unplayable, though.
Stromkirk Condemned image 3.5 On its own, this is a two mana 2/2 that can buff itself by discarding a card, and if you’re in Black you’re likely to have a bunch of Vampires, cards with Delirium, and cards with Madness – and this works great with all of that.
Gatstaf Arsonists image 2.5 This is a solid finisher. A 5-mana 5/4 is obviously not great, but a 5-mana 6/5 with Menace? Yeah, that closes out a lot of games.
Ruthless Disposal image 2.5 This can definitely kill some stuff, but because it asks for so much, the end result is often still a 3-for-2, which isn’t exactly amazing. Now, if you have good sacrifice fodder and cards you want to discard anyway, you can offset the downside. This has a high ceiling, but also a miserable floor.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Insolent Neonate image 2.5 This is a solid one drop that can chip in for some nice damage early, and then cash itself in for a card later in the game.
Steadfast Cathar image 2.5 This is a solid two drop, as attacking as a ⅔ in the early game is pretty nice.
Terrarion image 1.5 This does a solid job of fixing your mana, and it helps you get delirium early by putting an Artifact in the graveyard.
Tormenting Voice image 2.5 This is better in this format than it is in pretty much any other! It helps you get Delirium and discard things with Madness, on top of also being a nice card for the Blue-Red spell deck since it triggers all of your payoffs.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Wretched Gryff image 4.0 This is one of the best Commons in the set. Casting it for the full 7 mana is totally passable, and if you can sacrifice something that gives you value and cast the Gryff for three or four mana – which happens all the time – it feels particularly amazing.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Rabid Bite
Conduit of Storms image 3.0 A three mana ⅔ that gives you a mana every time it attacks isn’t too bad, and this can transform into a fairly impressive Eldrazi Werewolf.
Brain in a Jar image 0.0 Not worth it in Limited, even with a spell deck around. It is too slow and doesn’t really do anything to impact the game most of the time.
Biting Rain image 2.5 If you’re going to end up in a control deck, Biting Rain is a nice inclusion, as it does a great job of keeping aggro decks in check. Obviously, if you’re an aggro deck, you don’t want this.
Subjugator Angel image 2.5 This was an underperformer last time. The idea of tapping down your opponent’s whole board and swinging for lethal is easy to imagine, but there are lots of board states where the ETB ability is actually irrelevant. And in those cases, you’re playing a creature that has a pretty bad stat-line.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Macabre Waltz image 2.5 You want one of these in virtually every Black deck. It is great at bringing back your best creatures, and it can even help you load the graveyard!
Magnifying Glass image 1.0 This is a very clunky mana rock. It is nice that it can produce Clues, but it doesn’t exactly do that efficiently either.
Fiend Binder image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly for the cost, but tapping down an opposing creature every time it attacks can allow you to do tons of damage.
Gisa's Bidding image 3.5 This is great, it was an Uncommon last time, so downshifting it to Common is pretty spicy. Without Madness, it is a passable rate. With Madness it is downright nasty. Three mana for two 2/2s at Instant speed is a great rate. Casting this for its Madness cost is very doable, too.
Rabid Bite image 3.5 This is premium removal. You have to be careful about when you use it, because your opponent can interact in response and blow you out. But when you get the chance to use it, it ends up dealing with most creatures very efficiently.
Make Mischief image 2.0 In a roundabout way, this does give you three damage for three mana. If you look at this as a three mana 1/1 devil that does 1 to something on ETB it sounds a lot better, as you get to add to the board while picking something off. If you can’t kill something with the 1 damage it does get a lot worse.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Howlpack Resurgence
Gatstaf Arsonists image 2.5 This is a solid finisher. A 5-mana 5/4 is obviously not great, but a 5-mana 6/5 with Menace? Yeah, that closes out a lot of games.
Howlpack Resurgence image 3.5 This works pretty well if you have lots of Wolves or Werewolves, and even plays quite well with them. Because it has Flash, you can pass the turn, have your wolves and werewolves transform, and then play this on your opponent’s turn. If this can buff most of your board, its great – but you don’t play it until you have 10+ wolves or werewolves.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Pyre Hound image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a buildaround, but it is also an incredibly important and powerful Common for the Blue-Red deck. It gets massive in that deck, and the Trample is a real problem for your opponent.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Dauntless Cathar image 3.5 Trading this off for something and then getting a flying token out of your graveyard feels great. Also works well if you want to sacrifice it or you end up milling it.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Insolent Neonate
Sigardian Priest image 2.5 This format has a ton of humans in it, so you often can’t tap creatures that you desperately want to tap. That makes this a lot worse than something like Master Decoy, but its still solid.
Convolute image 1.5 This is passable counter magic, and performs especially well in the early game, but the fact it gets worse the longer the game goes on is rough.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Insolent Neonate image 2.5 This is a solid one drop that can chip in for some nice damage early, and then cash itself in for a card later in the game.
Alms of the Vein image 1.0 Even if you can consistently cast this for its Madness cost, Alms of the Vein is fairly disappointing. The six point life swing is nice, but doesn’t feel worth a card most of the time.
Certain Death image 2.5 This is certainly clunky, but it deals with anything and drains 2 life, which helps offset how expensive it is.
Insatiable Gorgers image 2.5 A 4-mana 5/3 isn’t too bad, even if it has to always attack, and the Madness upside is nice to have.
Terrarion image 1.5 This does a solid job of fixing your mana, and it helps you get delirium early by putting an Artifact in the graveyard.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Make Mischief
Graf Rats image 1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Anguished Unmaking image 3.5 Hitting any type of permanent is great, and well worth paying 3 life for. That said, playing more than 1 or 2 of this can get a little sketchy because of the life payment. You can offset it by gaining some life, of course.
Fleeting Memories image 1.0 Clues are good and all, but this isn’t a great format to try and mill your opponent out in. Several decks in this format want cards in their graveyard. Turning on their delirium and Flashback cards isn’t really something you want to be doing. There are some clue-heavy control decks where this can work out as a win condition, but you’re really playing with fire.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Make Mischief image 2.0 In a roundabout way, this does give you three damage for three mana. If you look at this as a three mana 1/1 devil that does 1 to something on ETB it sounds a lot better, as you get to add to the board while picking something off. If you can’t kill something with the 1 damage it does get a lot worse.
Epitaph Golem image 0.0 // 2.5 This is better than it looks! This is a format where you can actually end up milling yourself out, especially in Black-Green. Once your library is out of cards, the Golem not only helps you avoid losing because you’re out of cards – it also effectively lets you draw whatever card you want every single turn. It takes a fairly particular deck for this to make the cut, though.
Explosive Apparatus image 1.5 This is by no means efficient, but if you’re hurting for Artifacts to get Delirium going more consistently, it can do the job.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Byway Courier
Forsaken Sanctuary image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Mournwillow image 3.0 This is not the most exciting signpost Uncommon ever, its Delirium ETB ability isn’t always relevant, so it is kind of a pain that you have to jump through hoops to even get it to do its thing. Still, hard to go wrong when the card’s baseline is a three mana 3/2 with Haste.
Field Creeper image 1.5 This is a little better than it looks. It is both an Artifact and a Creature, which means it gets you halfway to Delirium all on its own.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Tree of Perdition
Tree of Perdition image 1.5 A 0/13 can block most things, and the ability can definitely be useful sometimes – but if your opponent has more than 13 life it doesn’t do a whole lot.
Stensia Masquerade image 2.0 If you’re a Vampire deck, playing one of these is decent. The fact it has Madness means you can treat it as a trick sometimes that gives First Strike to all of your attackers. Buffing your Vampire is nice too! The problem here is that this card is pretty bad if you’re behind.
Intrepid Provisioner image 3.0 This is a solid Human payoff. The +2/+2 it offers often gives you a much better situation to attack with, and the 3/3 Trample body isn’t the worst thing.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Insatiable Gorgers image 2.5 A 4-mana 5/3 isn’t too bad, even if it has to always attack, and the Madness upside is nice to have.
Weirding Wood image 2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Aim High
Shreds of Sanity image 2.0 If you’re in Red there’s a good chance you have a nice mix of Instants and Sorceries, and if you do, this is a pretty nice way to get back some removal spells.
Crow of Dark Tidings image 3.0 This is a great card for getting Delirium going, and that’s definitely something you want to be doing – especially in Black/Green and Black/White. It even attacks in the air quite effectively!
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Tormenting Voice
Gnaw to the Bone image 0.0 // 2.5 If you manage to get a really good self-mill deck going – preferably one that has a win condition like Spider Spawning – Gnaw to the Bone becomes a really good card at helping you survive long enough to outvalue your opponent with the graveyard. There are lots of decks where it is unplayable, though.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Tormenting Voice image 2.5 This is better in this format than it is in pretty much any other! It helps you get Delirium and discard things with Madness, on top of also being a nice card for the Blue-Red spell deck since it triggers all of your payoffs.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Magnifying Glass
Brain in a Jar image 0.0 Not worth it in Limited, even with a spell deck around. It is too slow and doesn’t really do anything to impact the game most of the time.
Biting Rain image 2.5 If you’re going to end up in a control deck, Biting Rain is a nice inclusion, as it does a great job of keeping aggro decks in check. Obviously, if you’re an aggro deck, you don’t want this.
Magnifying Glass image 1.0 This is a very clunky mana rock. It is nice that it can produce Clues, but it doesn’t exactly do that efficiently either.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Gatstaf Arsonists
Gatstaf Arsonists image 2.5 This is a solid finisher. A 5-mana 5/4 is obviously not great, but a 5-mana 6/5 with Menace? Yeah, that closes out a lot of games.
True-Faith Censer image 3.0 This is a very efficient Equipment, especially if you’re in Green-White and have lots of humans. +2/+1 and Vigilance is enough to make just about any creature into a problem.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Alms of the Vein
Alms of the Vein image 1.0 Even if you can consistently cast this for its Madness cost, Alms of the Vein is fairly disappointing. The six point life swing is nice, but doesn’t feel worth a card most of the time.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Spirit of the Hunt
Mystic Retrieval image 1.5 This is very slow and clunky. You do eventually get a 2-for-1 out of it, but there are better ways to recur instants and sorceries in this format.
Spirit of the Hunt image 3.5 A three mana 3/3 with Flash is pretty nice, and while you may not always be able to take full advantage of its ETB ability, there are times when it really matters. It can save your creatures from some removal spells, or turn a trade into a much more beneficial situation.
Graf Rats image 1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Ride Down image 3.0 Red-White is all about aggro, and Ride Down fits really well into a deck that is all about attacking. It is basically impossible for your opponent to set up a good block when you have this in your hand, and that’s exactly what you want.
Blessed Alliance image 3.5 The most useful mode on this is usually making your opponent sacrifice an opposing creature. Paying 2 mana for that isn’t amazing, especially when your opponent attacks with multiple creatures. However, the fact you can pump some extra mana into this for some extra effects is great.
Foreboding Ruins image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Exultant Cultist image 2.5 This is good sacrifice fodder, and can be especially spicy with Emerge. Even in the absence of those things, the fact you can trade this off for a 2-for-1 feels pretty good.
Obsessive Skinner image 3.5 Without Delirium, this is a two drop that usually makes the cut. When you get Delirium going, it becomes an impressive value engine, giving you a +1/+1 counter every turn.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Imprisoned in the Moon image 2.5 This was Rare last time, downshifting it to Common will have a pretty significant impact on the format. That said, it isn’t amazing removal in Limited. Giving your opponent extra mana isn’t great, but it is usually better than whatever their best creature is. Still, you don’t really feel like you get a full card of value when you play this.
Swift Spinner image 1.5 This is a passable creature that can ambush block some stuff, but it doesn’t always make the cut.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Rush of Adrenaline image 2.0 This is a decent trick. The toughness boost of only 1 does mean your creature will die more often with this than you might like, but +2 power and trample for one mana can also result in huge blowouts.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Wretched Gryff image 4.0 This is one of the best Commons in the set. Casting it for the full 7 mana is totally passable, and if you can sacrifice something that gives you value and cast the Gryff for three or four mana – which happens all the time – it feels particularly amazing.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Thalia, Heretic Cathar
Feeling of Dread image 3.0 Casting this once in hand and once from your graveyard over two turns can often really turn a game around, as it allows you to attack far more effectively while severely hampering your opponent’s ability to attack effectively. You can of course also cast it from your hand and flash it back all in the same turn, which wins the game on a lot of board states.
Thalia, Heretic Cathar image 4.0 A three mana 3/2 with First Strike is a 3.0 at worse, and her static ability is pretty real! If you’re the beatdown, your opponent’s creatures entering tapped is going to end the game quickly.
Town Gossipmonger image 3.5 This is better than it looks. It is really easy to transform as early as turn two, and once it is Incited Rabble it is a really effective attacker, especially in the early game.
Humble the Brute image 2.5 Between Werewolves and Eldrazi, this has enough targets against most opponents to be worth playing. It offers a very real 2-for-1 when it has a target. But still, there are plenty of times where your opponent doesn’t have anything you can kill with it, and that’s pretty rough.
Call the Bloodline image 0.0 // 3.0 In the right deck, this can be very powerful! There is a lot of Madness in this set, especially in Black-Red, and this is one of the best ways to get Madness going, since it also lets you add a very real body to the board.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Puncturing Light image 2.5 This can kill a decent number of creatures in the format, and it does it fairly efficiently. Obviously, it is a little too narrow to be premium, but its fine.
Epitaph Golem image 0.0 // 2.5 This is better than it looks! This is a format where you can actually end up milling yourself out, especially in Black-Green. Once your library is out of cards, the Golem not only helps you avoid losing because you’re out of cards – it also effectively lets you draw whatever card you want every single turn. It takes a fairly particular deck for this to make the cut, though.
Fogwalker image 2.5 This does not tap down a creature – keep that in mind! It only keeps it from untapping, so if the creature isn’t already tapped, its ETB ability doesn’t do anything. A two man ⅓ with Skulk is definitely difficult to block, though, and this even has a useful creature type.
Stormrider Spirit image 2.0 The Spirit decks in this format have lots of cards that let them operate at instant speed, so this having Flash works pretty well. You can leave up counter magic and removal, and if you don’t need it, add a very real body to the board. You can of course also Flash it in and ambush block stuff, which can feel pretty great.
Weirding Wood image 2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Olivia's Dragoon image 3.0 This card would be solid in any format, but in this one it is even better! It has a useful creature type and can help you get Delirium and Madness cards going.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Ulrich's Kindred
Faithless Looting image 3.5 One mana to loot twice is a good deal, and this has flashback. This is an amazing discard outlet for Madness, and can help with delirium too.
Accursed Witch image 3.5 This hits hard, can trade for many things, and when it dies it becomes a serious problem for your opponent. As a curse, it drains your opponent 1 life every upkeep, which really snowballs. It is especially nasty to sacrifice this to cast something with Emerge!
Graf Mole image 3.0 This is a nice Clue payoff with solid stats. The life it gains you can really help you buy yourself the time to draw all of your extra cards.
Ulrich's Kindred image 3.0 This has a solid baseline, and granting indestructibility to your werewolves can be great! That said, the ability is fairly costly, and if your opponent has mana up when you try to use it, prepare to get blown out.
Tormenting Voice image 2.5 This is better in this format than it is in pretty much any other! It helps you get Delirium and discard things with Madness, on top of also being a nice card for the Blue-Red spell deck since it triggers all of your payoffs.
Dead Weight image 3.5 This is premium removal, kills many things for only one mana. It is also a little better than normal in this format because of Delirium.
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Deranged Whelp image 2.5 This is a solid little two-drop and it has a useful creature type.
Grapple with the Past image 2.5 You usually want one of these in Green. It helps you get delirium and helps you get value out of the graveyard.
Convolute image 1.5 This is passable counter magic, and performs especially well in the early game, but the fact it gets worse the longer the game goes on is rough.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Hinterland Logger
Bump in the Night image 1.0 Cards that damage your opponent and don’t do anything else are rarely worth it in Limited. This does have the capacity to do up to six for only one card, but you have to pay 7 mana to get there. It is kind of a funny card, because it has kind of an ugly baseline, but it actually gets better in multiples, since you are more likely to find a critical mass that lets you burn out your opponent. Problem is, since this is part of a bonus sheet, actually getting multiples of it won’t happen very often.
Hinterland Logger image 3.0 This is a nice two drop. If you’re on the play and your opponent doesn’t have their own two drop, it can easily become a 4/2 Trampler in the early game, which is terrifying! That size is relevant all game long, too.
Invasive Surgery image 0.0 Yeah, no. This is far too narrow, even if you have Delirium active.
Mournwillow image 3.0 This is not the most exciting signpost Uncommon ever, its Delirium ETB ability isn’t always relevant, so it is kind of a pain that you have to jump through hoops to even get it to do its thing. Still, hard to go wrong when the card’s baseline is a three mana 3/2 with Haste.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Byway Courier image 3.5 This is good at trading off for things, and the Clue it gives you means you’re going to get a 2-for-1.
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Borrowed Malevolence image 2.0 This doesn’t feel amazing no matter how you cast it. If you can Escalate it, the boost it offers your creature and the -1/-1 it gives an opponent’s can be pretty nice, but three mana is steep enough that I don’t love this.
Drag Under image 2.5 Bouncing something at Sorcery speed and going down a card normally isn’t worth it. However, this replaces itself, which makes a really big difference! It means you still get the tempo but don’t go down a card, and there’s a spell deck in this format, so any spell that draws you a card already gets more value.
Bound by Moonsilver image 4.0 This is amazing removal, and it was at Uncommon last time around. Downshifting it is pretty surprising, because it deals with most things in the format quite effectively! Its great you can move it around when you need to, too.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Wolfkin Bond image 3.0 This is a surprisingly good Aura, and one you’re usually going to want one of in your Green decks. 5 mana is a lot, but the fact this gives you a 2/2 means that you do a good job of mitigating against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Village Messenger
Forbidden Alchemy image 2.5 Once you’ve cast this and flashed it back, this gives you a 2-for-1 with really good card selection, and it loads up the graveyard too, which is likely to give you even more value than that.
Always Watching image 4.0 An anthem that also gives creatures Vigilance is great. Not buffing tokens is definitely a downside, but this offers such a massive upgrade to most of your creatures that it doesn’t matter.
Village Messenger image 2.5 This is great on turn one, especially if you’re on the play. You get to play this and get in for a damage, and if your opponent doesn’t have a one drop, this turns into a 2/2 Menace – and it's going to stay that way for quite some time. If you get it later in the game, it is significantly less impressive, but a 2/2 Menace can at least be relevant on most board states.
Ulrich's Kindred image 3.0 This has a solid baseline, and granting indestructibility to your werewolves can be great! That said, the ability is fairly costly, and if your opponent has mana up when you try to use it, prepare to get blown out.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Fiend Binder image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly for the cost, but tapping down an opposing creature every time it attacks can allow you to do tons of damage.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Geist of the Archives image 3.0 This is surprisingly good. It can block lots of creatures in the format, and a free Scry every upkeep does a great job of improving the quality of your cards.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Divine Reckoning
Divine Reckoning image 3.0 This type of effect always underperforms. Since both players get to make their choice, your opponent will always be able to hold on to their best creature. So will you, but if your best creature isn’t already the best one on the battlefield, casting this doesn’t actually accomplish much, and that’s frustrating. This feels great when your opponent is overwhelming you with quantity more than quality, but if they have the best creature on the battlefield, you’re in trouble.
Fortified Village image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Subjugator Angel image 2.5 This was an underperformer last time. The idea of tapping down your opponent’s whole board and swinging for lethal is easy to imagine, but there are lots of board states where the ETB ability is actually irrelevant. And in those cases, you’re playing a creature that has a pretty bad stat-line.
Blood Mist image 0.0 This is bad. It isn’t worth the mana or the card. Double strike on one creature can sometimes be pretty sweet, but the fact it only works on one creature and only on your turn is rough. You basically already need a really good creature or this is irrelevant.
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Bloodbriar image 2.5 This is a pretty real payoff for sacrifice decks, and it has passable base stats.
Essence Flux image 0.0 // 2.5 The Blue-White Spirit deck has a blink/flicker sub-theme, as Essence Flux tells you. If you have enough Spirits with ETB abilities, this is playable. But there are many decks it doesn’t work out in, even Blue/White ones!
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Liliana's Elite image 1.5 Even in this graveyard-centric format, Liliana’s Elite often isn’t worth it. The upside here is that it is a large vanilla creature, and the downside is that it is awful in the early game, and mediocre in the mid-game.
Jace's Scrutiny image 2.0 This is a little better than it might look at first, largely because the format has both a Spell deck and an Investigate deck. This ultimately replaces itself thanks to the Clue, and the -4/-0 can end up blanking an attack at worst, and sometimes you can even set up a really advantageous combat situation where your opponent actually loses a card.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Geier Reach Bandit
Geier Reach Bandit image 4.0 A three mana 3/2 with Haste is a great starting point, and when this transforms it not only gets +1/+1 – it also makes it so all of your werewolves immediately transform when they enter the battlefield, which is a pretty big upgrade.
Mad Prophet image 2.0 This is a nice repeatable way to get Madness going, but the stat-line means it dies to several one mana removal spells in the format, and that downside hurts.
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Weirded Vampire image 1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Briarbridge Patrol image 3.0 This isn’t quite as good as it looks, which is partly why they downshifted it from Uncommon. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t very good, and while this has a big text box, it doesn’t do anything that good. It does generate Clues for you whether it blocks or gets blocked, which means you do ultimately get a 2-for-1 out of it pretty often. I wouldn’t count on being able to effectively utilize the card’s other ability, though. These sorts of effects always underperform in Limited, partly because you can’t really build a deck with enough monsters to cheat into play. So, you don’t often have something worth putting into play with the effect – oftentimes, it is better to just hold on to all of your clues.
Deny Existence image 2.0 Most decks have enough creatures for this to be playable, though it is always rough to try to use one of these when your opponent casts a noncreature spell.
Faithbearer Paladin image 2.0 This is better than it looks. A ¾ with lifelink is pretty beefy in this format, and represents a very real road block for aggro decks.
Borrowed Malevolence image 2.0 This doesn’t feel amazing no matter how you cast it. If you can Escalate it, the boost it offers your creature and the -1/-1 it gives an opponent’s can be pretty nice, but three mana is steep enough that I don’t love this.
Aim High image 1.5 This type of trick is rarely good. The stats boost is medium for two mana, and Reach and untapping are mostly only relevant on defense, which is the worst possible time to use a trick.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Game Trail
Silent Departure image 2.5 Bouncing stuff doesn’t generally let you trade for a card – instead it just gives you tempo. But this is cheap enough that you can get a pretty good deal, especially because you can bounce something again later in the game.
Humble the Brute image 2.5 Between Werewolves and Eldrazi, this has enough targets against most opponents to be worth playing. It offers a very real 2-for-1 when it has a target. But still, there are plenty of times where your opponent doesn’t have anything you can kill with it, and that’s pretty rough.
Game Trail image 2.5 Playing these untapped is fairly easy, and they do a good job of fixing your mana.
Bloodmad Vampire image 2.5 A three-mana 4/1 isn’t a terrible rate for an aggro deck, and this has big upside! Sometimes you can cast it for two, and it gets bigger when it gets in for a hit. Madness increases your chance of making that happen, too, since you can effectively flash it in at the end of your opponent’s turn sometimes.
Weirded Vampire image 1.5 This is bad if you don’t cast it with Madness, and mediocre when you do.
Stormrider Spirit image 2.0 The Spirit decks in this format have lots of cards that let them operate at instant speed, so this having Flash works pretty well. You can leave up counter magic and removal, and if you don’t need it, add a very real body to the board. You can of course also Flash it in and ambush block stuff, which can feel pretty great.
Apothecary Geist image 3.0 This was a big overperformer last time around. Its stats line up reasonably well in the format, and it gains you that 3 life pretty often.
Pyre Hound image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a buildaround, but it is also an incredibly important and powerful Common for the Blue-Red deck. It gets massive in that deck, and the Trample is a real problem for your opponent.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Howlpack Wolf
Graf Rats image 1.0 You don’t play this unless you’re very desperate for a two drop or you have Midnight Scavengers.
Ride Down image 3.0 Red-White is all about aggro, and Ride Down fits really well into a deck that is all about attacking. It is basically impossible for your opponent to set up a good block when you have this in your hand, and that’s exactly what you want.
Blessed Alliance image 3.5 The most useful mode on this is usually making your opponent sacrifice an opposing creature. Paying 2 mana for that isn’t amazing, especially when your opponent attacks with multiple creatures. However, the fact you can pump some extra mana into this for some extra effects is great.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Grotesque Mutation image 2.0 This is a decent trick. While the small toughness boost isn’t going to always keep your creature alive, the lifelink can really alter a race in your favor.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Wretched Gryff image 4.0 This is one of the best Commons in the set. Casting it for the full 7 mana is totally passable, and if you can sacrifice something that gives you value and cast the Gryff for three or four mana – which happens all the time – it feels particularly amazing.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Weirding Wood
Feeling of Dread image 3.0 Casting this once in hand and once from your graveyard over two turns can often really turn a game around, as it allows you to attack far more effectively while severely hampering your opponent’s ability to attack effectively. You can of course also cast it from your hand and flash it back all in the same turn, which wins the game on a lot of board states.
Humble the Brute image 2.5 Between Werewolves and Eldrazi, this has enough targets against most opponents to be worth playing. It offers a very real 2-for-1 when it has a target. But still, there are plenty of times where your opponent doesn’t have anything you can kill with it, and that’s pretty rough.
Gavony Unhallowed image 2.0 This starts with some pretty bad stats, but it can definitely grow in this format, especially in a deck like Black-White, which has a substantial amount of Sacrifice stuff.
Stormrider Spirit image 2.0 The Spirit decks in this format have lots of cards that let them operate at instant speed, so this having Flash works pretty well. You can leave up counter magic and removal, and if you don’t need it, add a very real body to the board. You can of course also Flash it in and ambush block stuff, which can feel pretty great.
Weirding Wood image 2.0 This fixes your mana and generates a Clue, and some decks are definitely in the market for that.
Lunarch Mantle image 1.5 This offers a reasonable boost for the cost, but the downside of getting 2-for-1’d is still very real. This can work alright in really aggressive decks, but won’t always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Magmatic Chasm
Spontaneous Mutation image 1.5 Like most -X/-0 Auras, this isn’t very good – even with Flash! It doesn’t get close enough to removing an entire card to feel like its worth it. It does get a small boost because of all the Prowess in the set, but you’re still hoping to play something better.
Convolute image 1.5 This is passable counter magic, and performs especially well in the early game, but the fact it gets worse the longer the game goes on is rough.
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Devilthorn Fox image 1.5 A vanilla two mana 3/1 was better back in 2016, and this will be far more playable in this format than it is in more recent ones.
Magmatic Chasm image 0.0 // 2.0 You’re not going to play this unless you’re an all-in aggro deck, and even then it is sometimes a real problem that flyers can still block.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Wolfkin Bond
Merciless Resolve image 1.5 There are some expendable bodies in this format for sure, and the fact you can sacrifice a land is nice. But this is still fairly clunky for the effect, which often amounts to you breaking even on cards. That’s not especially exciting.
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Confront the Unknown image 1.5 This only gives +1/+1 a little too often to be anything special. Some really clue-heavy decks can get some good use out of this, but it isn’t exactly the payoff you’re hoping for.
Wolfkin Bond image 3.0 This is a surprisingly good Aura, and one you’re usually going to want one of in your Green decks. 5 mana is a lot, but the fact this gives you a 2/2 means that you do a good job of mitigating against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Howlpack Wolf
Sanitarium Skeleton image 1.0 // 2.5 If you need sacrifice fodder, this is pretty nice. If you don’t, you aren’t playing it.
Howlpack Wolf image 2.0 This has decent stats, and if you're in Red/Green it basically has no downside.
Fiend Binder image 2.5 The stat-line is ugly for the cost, but tapping down an opposing creature every time it attacks can allow you to do tons of damage.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Dawn Gryff
Essence Flux image 0.0 // 2.5 The Blue-White Spirit deck has a blink/flicker sub-theme, as Essence Flux tells you. If you have enough Spirits with ETB abilities, this is playable. But there are many decks it doesn’t work out in, even Blue/White ones!
Dawn Gryff image 2.0 A three mana 2/2 Flyer was a lot better back in 2016, and I think this format is similar enough for this to be solid.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Laboratory Brute
Laboratory Brute image 1.5 You want to be milling yourself in this format, but there are lots of better cards out there that can do the job.
Draft Pick Overview