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Quick Draft NEO 3 April 2023

3 April 01:18 - Cartecha 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (17)
1 Nezumi Prowler image
2 Moonsnare Specialist image
1 Dokuchi Silencer image
3 Moon-Circuit Hacker image
1 Containment Construct image
1 Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image
1 Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty image
1 Searchlight Companion image
1 Mukotai Ambusher image
1 Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image
1 Mirrorshell Crab image
3 Network Disruptor image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (6)
1 Life of Toshiro Umezawa // Memory of Toshiro image
1 March of Swirling Mist image
1 Okiba Reckoner Raid // Nezumi Road Captain image
1 Kaito's Pursuit image
1 Twisted Embrace image
1 The Modern Age // Vector Glider image
Land (17)
9 Island image
8 Swamp image
Sideboard
1 Shrine Steward image
1 Norika Yamazaki, the Poet image
1 Go-Shintai of Shared Purpose image
1 Sunblade Samurai image
1 Tameshi, Reality Architect image
1 Skyswimmer Koi image
2 Spell Pierce image
2 Mnemonic Sphere image
2 Moonsnare Prototype image
1 Disruption Protocol image
1 You Are Already Dead image
1 Return to Action image
1 Reckoner's Bargain image
1 Short Circuit image
1 Kindled Fury image
1 Commune with Spirits image
1 Secluded Courtyard image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Nezumi Prowler
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire image 3.5 Like all of these, this is pretty nice. Having a land with no downside that can return a creature from your graveyard to your hand in the later part of the game is great.
Secluded Courtyard image 1.0 // 2.5 So, this set does have a bit of a tribal element, but I think it will still be a bit difficult to make this actually produce mana of any color consistently enough that I don’t love this card in most Limited decks in this format. If it is producing colorless almost all the time, it isn’t worth it, because that makes your mana base way worse. You need a critical mass of creatures with the same type – and that’s doable – but it isn’t a forgone conclusion.
Nezumi Prowler image 3.5 The thing I really like is that its good whether or not you’re Ninjutsuing. A two mana 3/1 that gives death touch to something when it ETBs is just a good rate. You won’t always be able to take advantage of it of course, but most of the time it will change how your turn goes. Then adding the Ninjutsu angle is a big deal, because you can use it to give death touch to one of your blocked creatures out of nowhere.
Sokenzan Smelter image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some pretty nice upside. There are artifacts aplenty in this set, so having an expendable one around to turn into a 3/1 with Haste isn’t going to be super hard. That said, you also won’t always have an Artifact that is worth sacrificing either.
Repel the Vile image 2.5 This is much better in this format than it would be in your typical one. There are so many Enchantments around that that mode might actually be the one that is available to you the most often, and the fact it can take down large creatures is no small thing either. It isn’t quite premium, giving the restrictions and the cost, but it seems like a fine Common.
Okiba Reckoner Raid image 2.5 Giving us a one mana saga like this is pretty interesting! You obviously get insane value for the investment of one mana, as you drain 2 life and get a 2/2 with Menace that gives vehicles Menace! This is going to feel like a pretty good turn one play, and even in the late game this can do some work. The life drain helps you survive until it becomes a creature, and its great that as soon as it transforms you can send in a vehicle in that is hard to block. Having to wait for the body a couple of turns is going to be a little frustrating, though.
Chainflail Centipede image 2.0 This is a Gray Ogre who attacks as a 4/2, with some reconfigure upside. I’m not ultra impressed with this as a creature or Equipment you put on something else. I mean, its fine, but I think you end up cutting it more than you’ll play it. It just isn’t very efficient no matter how you use it, and the stats boost is only useful if you’re the attacker.
Experimental Synthesizer image 2.0 So, up front it effectively draws you a card, and because this only costs one mana, it won’t usually be hard for you to play that card – and, it very nicely allows you to play lands. Now, this does mean playing it really early isn’t going to feel great, because you are less likely to be able to utilize whatever you hit, but starting around turn 4 it starts to be a nice play, and it effectively ends up as a 2-for-1, because you can also get a Samurai out of it. I do think the awkwardness of playing this early definitely hinders it, but I think you’ll end up playing this often enough in Red decks, perhaps the most in RB, which likes sacrificing them. But it also overlaps a bit into other archetypes – UR likes artifacts in general and RW like Samurai, for example.
Spirited Companion image 2.5 Well, it looks like White got an Elvish Visionary! That’s always a pretty nice card in Limited – as adding something to the board and getting a card out of it feels pretty good.
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Disruption Protocol image 2.0 If you have enough Artifacts around and consistent access to Blue mana, this seems reasonable. If you are paying 1UU for it, then you’re not getting a very good deal – Cancel is just so much worse than Counterspell! There are enough Artifacts in this set, though, that I think this will be Counterspell often enough that I just want to give it a C. Counterspells have their problems in Limited – namely that you have to have the mana up at the right time – which in a way makes them very conditional removal – but when the mana you need to leave up is two or less, we see the Counterspells end up being fairly playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Jukai Preserver image 3.0 At worst, this is a 4-mana 4/4, and its much better than that because it allows you to put counters wherever you want. The Channel part of the card is nice too, because sometimes utilizing this more like a trick, or spreading around the modifications is just better anyway. It slots nicely into the RG Modification deck, as well as Green-White Enchantments.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 2: Life of Toshiro Umezawa
Norika Yamazaki, the Poet image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around.
Reito Sentinel image 1.0 Milling doesn’t seem to be a major component of this format for the most part, whether you’re miling yourself or someone else. BG definitely has some graveyard stuff going on, and that’s probably where this will be at its best, but I’m still not overly impressed with a 3-mana 3/3 Defender. The cool thing you can do with it in the extreme late game is start using its ability to draw whatever you want to every single turn, but I’m always skeptical that type of strategy will end up working out in Limited. It doesn’t very often!
Go-Shintai of Ancient Wars image 3.5 A 3-mana 2/2 with First Strike is already pretty playable, especially in a format with lots of ways to modify creatures, and the fact you get to do some additional damage to the opponent or (more rarely) a planeswalker if you have spare mana lying around is pretty nice. Obviously it gets spicier if you have more Shrines around.
Life of Toshiro Umezawa image 4.0 Now, this is a Saga that turns into a creature! Chapters I and II are nice references to Umezawa’s Jitte, and once it transforms into a creature, it is a nice reference to Toshiro Umezawa. But even apart from the fun references, this card seems quite good. Chapters I and II give you options between the different modal Jitte effects, and they are pretty spicy. On some boards this will allow you to outright kill two creatures with the first two chapters – on boards where you can’t do that, this will often allow you to attack with a creature who couldn’t before – and on eboards where you can’t do either, gaining a few life isn’t a bad consolation prize, especially because it turns into a reasonable creature in the end.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Intercessor's Arrest image 3.5 This is premium removal. The fact it shuts down blocking, attacking, crewing vehicles, and activated abilities is great. This format does have more ways to blow up Enchantments than normal, but it also has more payoffs for Enchantments than normal, so its probably a wash.
Futurist Sentinel image 2.0 We have seen a Colorless version of this in the past – I think it was called Irontread Crusher or something – and it was alright, but nothing special. It is pretty reasonably costed both to cast and to crew – it lets you rumble with a much larger creature than you would normally be able to on turn 5!
Uncharted Haven image 2.5 Coming into play tapped is definitely a downside, but the ability to name a color is great. I do think the dual lands are slightly better, as they always tap for two colors you probably need, and this will only ever tap for one, but if you need fixing, this is fine.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Bearer of Memory image 1.5 This doesn’t have great base stats, and its ability is incredibly costly, and even not that impressive in the extreme late game. This isn’t something you’ll play most of the time.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Kami of Restless Shadows image 1.0 // 3.0 If you aren’t returning a Ninja or Rogue to your hand consistently with this, it is going to be much worse. Putting your best graveyard creature on top of your library is nice, but not nearly as good, because you aren’t actually gaining a card, you’re just doing some card selection, and that’s just a massive step down. Returning a creature to your hand is likely to give you a 2-for-1, while that’s not possible if you’re putting something on top. Obviously, if the creature you put back is a bomb or something you’ll still be pretty happy, but if that’s all this is doing, it probably isn’t worth it, as a 5-mana 3/3 is a pretty bad statline.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 3: Moonsnare Specialist
Mirror Box image 0.0 This set has more legendaries than normal, but it still isn’t enough for this to be worth it. A very, very low percentage of drafts will have you end up with enough duplicate creatures and legendaries for this to actually do something worth the card and the mana.
Go-Shintai of Lost Wisdom image 2.5 This is the least impressive of all the Shrines. Milling is a tough win condition to do consistently in most formats, and that certainly looks to be the case here, and it also isn’t that easy to take advantage of it yourself in this format. So, unless you really get there on Shrines, this won’t do a whole lot for you. The others in this cycle are all pretty nice even if you have 0 other shrines, and that can’t really be said here. That said, it does have some things going for it – namely, that it is a two mana Flyer, which can help you set up Ninjutsu, and it also isn’t a bad place to put Equipment or countrers.
Roadside Reliquary image 3.0 Like Mech Hanger, this is another nice utility land where it is worth running despite the fact that it may make your mana base a little worse. This produces mana for you when that’s what you need, and then when you’re in need of some extra gas, you can sacrifice this. You’re typically going to be able to draw a single card pretty easily, and drawing 2 with it is also going to happen a fair bit. That’s some very nice upside.
Moonsnare Specialist image 3.5 This is a very good common. We have seen 4-mana 2/2s that Bounce a creature be very good in the past, and that’s what we have here as a base line. The Ninjutsu upside being tacked on means it can feel a little more like a Man-O’-War since you’re paying three mana, and being able to do it at instant speed may also enable you to break up an opposing block or something, which is pretty spicy.
Brute Suit image 2.5 This is a nice little Vehicle at Common. 1 to crew is super easy, and its no joke as an attacker. As we’ve seen, there’s lots of Vehicle stuff going on this set too.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Geothermal Kami image 2.0 It is a fine 4-mana 4/3 in a worst-case, but it comes with an effect that can be pretty sweet in some situations. Returning something like a Saga you want to go back to chapter one on, or an Aura you wanted to move anyway – will be particularly nice, and the fact this tacks on 3 life is nice too.
Mnemonic Sphere image 2.5 This is basically an Artifact-based version of Hieroglyphic Illumination, which was an Instant you could pay 4 for to draw two cards, and it had cycling for one Blue mana. Hard for a card like this to ever be bad, since at worst it replaces itself really efficiently. Then there’s this format artifact synergy and so forth!
Dragonfly Suit image 2.5 This isn’t the best rate for a vehicle, but it is easy to crew and evasive, so I can see plenty of board states where its getting in through the air.
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 4: Dokuchi Silencer
Prosperous Thief image 3.5 This looks pretty nice. A 3-mana 3/2 that made Treasure when it hit the opponent would already be playable, so adding the Ninjutsu angle, and the fact that it is more generally a Ninja/Rogue payoff, and you have something even nicer!
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Dokuchi Silencer image 3.5 This looks pretty good. If you ninjutsu it in, you’ll always have a card to discard to the effect. It sort of makes it a Bone Splinters on a stick, which is pretty good overall. Obviously, if it is able to get in more than once, it can really wreck the opposing board. Turning random creatures in hand to removal spells will usually be worth it.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
Regent's Authority image 1.5 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around. 32 – Regent’s Authority – 1.5 This is a solid trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a good rate in general, and the additional enchantment/legendary creature upside is something you’ll be able to take advantage often enough.
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Iron Apprentice image 2.0 This format has plenty of counters, so putting more on this thing isn’t a huge stretch. It also gives you a creature that enters the battlefield modified, which powers up a bunch of cards in this format.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Bamboo Grove Archer image 2.5 This is a very nice defensive creature. A two mana 3/3 with Reach will slow the board to a grinding halt in the early game, and the fact that you can use it as a Plummet sometimes is nice upside. It isn’t exactly the kind of card all decks will want, but grinder Green decks will probably be happy to play a few of these – while aggro decks probably aren’t playing it at all.
Jungle Hollow image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Moon-Circuit Hacker
Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty image 3.0 A 4-mana 2/2 with death touch is not a great statline, but obviously being able to pick off 1 toughness creatures when your opponent has one is definitely going to feel pretty huge, and there will be a decent number of them lying around. Once you get to where you can kill X/2s, though, is where this thing can really get silly. Like the other Shrines in this set, this card is perfectly fine even if its your only shrine, and I’m glad they designed them this way, as opposed to the way we’ve seen them in the past. Because yeah, the fail case of a 4-mana 2/2 that can trade with anything and pick off X/1s is a pretty good floor, while the ceiling is pretty amazing.
Wanderer's Intervention image 2.5 This is restrictive about what it can kill – both because of the 4 damage and the “attacking or blocking” restriction, but it will often feel reasonably efficient. I don’t quite consider something like this premium because of how restrictive it is, but I think you end up playing the first copy pretty often in your White decks
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
The Modern Age image 3.0 So, looting a couple of times is decent card selection, though like with a lot of these, you’re going to kind of wish you were adding to the board right away, instead of having to wait a couple of turns. As is this case with most of these creature-sagas, you get great value for your mana – in this case, a two mana ⅔ Flyer that loots twice – but the trade off is that you have to really wait for it. Still, Chapter I and II are the kinds of things that are at least useful all game long, so this isn’t one where you really need to play it early or you’re going to be disappointed.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
Kami of Restless Shadows image 1.0 // 3.0 If you aren’t returning a Ninja or Rogue to your hand consistently with this, it is going to be much worse. Putting your best graveyard creature on top of your library is nice, but not nearly as good, because you aren’t actually gaining a card, you’re just doing some card selection, and that’s just a massive step down. Returning a creature to your hand is likely to give you a 2-for-1, while that’s not possible if you’re putting something on top. Obviously, if the creature you put back is a bomb or something you’ll still be pretty happy, but if that’s all this is doing, it probably isn’t worth it, as a 5-mana 3/3 is a pretty bad statline.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Scrapyard Steelbreaker image 2.0 This will slot pretty well into the Black-Red deck, which is mosty about sacrificing artifacts. With enough mana and artifacts in play, this creature becomes a real pain to block.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 6: March of Swirling Mist
March of Swirling Mist image 2.5 Like all cards that do phasing things, this has a variety of uses. You can use it to blank opposing creatures for a turn, you can use it to save some of your stuff from removal, you can use it if your opponent tries to put an Aura on one of their creatures, and so forth. I think this can phase enough things at once, and there’s enough different ways to use it, that it seems like a pretty reasonable card, though it isn’t super powerful or anything. There will be times where using this just doesn’t do anything, and that always hurts a card’s stock.
Secluded Courtyard image 1.0 // 2.5 So, this set does have a bit of a tribal element, but I think it will still be a bit difficult to make this actually produce mana of any color consistently enough that I don’t love this card in most Limited decks in this format. If it is producing colorless almost all the time, it isn’t worth it, because that makes your mana base way worse. You need a critical mass of creatures with the same type – and that’s doable – but it isn’t a forgone conclusion.
Covert Technician image 2.5 The combat trigger that the Technician has is unfortunately quite narrow. If you aren’t augmenting it in some way, you’ll only be able to put 2 mana or less Artifacts into play with it, and while you’ll probably have some of those in Blue, there aren’t so many that you will consistently be able to actually put something into play with it. Especially if you aren’t drawing extra cards. It is still a 3-mana 2/4 with upside, and being an Artifact And a Ninja is useful too.
Azusa's Many Journeys image 2.5 This isn’t that exciting past the early game. You probably won’t be able to play the extra land if you don’t play it on turn two or three. Gaining 3 life doesn’t hurt, and might help you get to the point where this becomes a creature, but I’m not super impressed with the creature in the later game either. That said, in the early game, this has a decent shot at ramping you and then giving you a nice creature for the board a couple of turns later. So yeah, this is a card where the effectiveness will vary wildly depending on what part of the game it is. Early it will be very nice, in the mid-to-late game it won’t be very impressive.
Tamiyo's Compleation image 3.5 This is a more powerful take on this type of removal than we usually get. Usually, the bummer with this type of Blue removal spell is that you simply lock down a creature and it doesn’t untap – you don’t stap activated abilities and static abilities – but you actually do with this, and that’s a massive upgrade. Its nice that it can even turn off Equipment – as sometimes that will be worth doing.
Experimental Synthesizer image 2.0 So, up front it effectively draws you a card, and because this only costs one mana, it won’t usually be hard for you to play that card – and, it very nicely allows you to play lands. Now, this does mean playing it really early isn’t going to feel great, because you are less likely to be able to utilize whatever you hit, but starting around turn 4 it starts to be a nice play, and it effectively ends up as a 2-for-1, because you can also get a Samurai out of it. I do think the awkwardness of playing this early definitely hinders it, but I think you’ll end up playing this often enough in Red decks, perhaps the most in RB, which likes sacrificing them. But it also overlaps a bit into other archetypes – UR likes artifacts in general and RW like Samurai, for example.
Peerless Samurai image 3.0 This is a nice little Common. A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is a decent starting point, and adding an “attack alone” payoff to the card is nice, and the one you get here is going to be pretty relevant, especially if you play the Samurai on turn 3. It is likely to help you either double spell or play a 4-drop on turn 4, and either of those are pretty appealing.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Greater Tanuki image 3.0 This seems pretty nice. In the early game you can use it to fix and ramp your mana, and in the late game it can be a big beater that helps you close things out. It isn’t super incredible at doing either thing, but effectively being a split card with a worse Rampant Growth on one side and a worse Colossal Dreadmaw on the other gives you a decent option all game long.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Okiba Reckoner Raid
Containment Construct image 3.0 Man, if we had this in Crimson Vow it would have been absurd thanks to all the Blood tokens! This format also has a mechanic that involves discarding, though – and its Channel. If you Channel a card to get some effect and the construct exiles that card for you, it is going to feel pretty insane. You really only need to pull it off once to feel pretty good about it. So, if you have 0 ways to discard cards in your deck, you probably don’t play this, but as long as you have at least one, I don’t think you cut it. This is because it has passable stats and has a useful card type in Artifact, which is likely to help you with synergy too. It will be pretty hard to end up with 0 cards that have you discard, so I don’t really think it needs a build around grade.
Boon of Boseiju image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It will often give a significant buff for the cost, and untapping your attacking creature can matter sometimes too, since it enables it to hang back and block. The untap part also means you can try to use it to ambush an opposing attacker, but that’s generally a riskier way to use this sort of thing, since your opponent is more likely to have mana up.
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
Voltage Surge image 3.0 One mana to do two to a creature is usually pretty close to premium removal – you will be able to pay one mana to kill many creatures that cost more! This having the additional “sacrifice an artifact” option to upgrade it to doing 4 damage is definitely enough for it to be premium, as doing 4 for one mana is a really good deal, though you may not always have an expendable artifact to give up.
Debt to the Kami image 2.5 Keep in mind, your opponent chooses what gets exiled when you use this. So, mostly, it will feel like a three mana edict effect, and those have waning value as the game goes on and your opponent is more and more likely to have something very expendable to give up. It can be pretty potent early. And, because you choose the option, you can at least choose the one that is the toughest for them to decide – for example if they have only one creature or one enchantment the choice is easy – but its also pretty easy if they only have two of one of them and so forth. The fact its an Instant means you can deploy it at the exact right time a little more easily too – but still. Its removal that you don’t really have enough control over.
Okiba Reckoner Raid image 2.5 Giving us a one mana saga like this is pretty interesting! You obviously get insane value for the investment of one mana, as you drain 2 life and get a 2/2 with Menace that gives vehicles Menace! This is going to feel like a pretty good turn one play, and even in the late game this can do some work. The life drain helps you survive until it becomes a creature, and its great that as soon as it transforms you can send in a vehicle in that is hard to block. Having to wait for the body a couple of turns is going to be a little frustrating, though.
Suit Up image 1.5 These types of effects are almost always not worth it – they keep pushing them on us, though! What makes them bad is the fact that you only resize a creature. Making one into a 4/5 for 3 mana is not normally going to be a very good rate, and that’s even if you’re including the ability to turn Vehicles on like this can. You’re going to get a small stats boost in most cases, and that just isn’t worth the risk of getting blown out by removal. They did do one thing here that’s pretty interesting though: They added a cantrip. That certainly makes this better, as at worst you can sort of cycle this for three mana, and if you do manage to resize a creature and win combat you’ll actually feel like you’re doing something – but it still isn’t very good for the same reasons these effects never are: They don’t do enough for their cost and they are also very risky!
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 8: Containment Construct
Containment Construct image 3.0 Man, if we had this in Crimson Vow it would have been absurd thanks to all the Blood tokens! This format also has a mechanic that involves discarding, though – and its Channel. If you Channel a card to get some effect and the construct exiles that card for you, it is going to feel pretty insane. You really only need to pull it off once to feel pretty good about it. So, if you have 0 ways to discard cards in your deck, you probably don’t play this, but as long as you have at least one, I don’t think you cut it. This is because it has passable stats and has a useful card type in Artifact, which is likely to help you with synergy too. It will be pretty hard to end up with 0 cards that have you discard, so I don’t really think it needs a build around grade.
Prodigy's Prototype image 3.5 It isn’t that hard to crew, and it spits out creature tokens that can crew it when it attacks – just in case you were going to have a problem crewing it in the first place. Obviously it synergizes well with other vehicles too.
Planar Incision image 1.0 This kind of card always seems to underperform. Sure, you can reuse an ETB ability, or save a creature from removal, but those situations aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and you have to have the mana up at precisely the right time! There are a few cards in the set – like Circuit Mender – that have abilities that trigger when they leave play, and I guess if you end up with a few of those, this starts to get a little more interesting, since you rebuy the leaves play ability as well as the enters the battlefield ability, but I’m still not really convinced.
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Season of Renewal image 1.0 // 2.5 You need to be getting both a creature and an enchantment back when you use this, or you aren’t going to be getting enough for your investment. While Enchantments are pretty plentiful in this set, especially in Green, I do think this needs a build around.
Experimental Synthesizer image 2.0 So, up front it effectively draws you a card, and because this only costs one mana, it won’t usually be hard for you to play that card – and, it very nicely allows you to play lands. Now, this does mean playing it really early isn’t going to feel great, because you are less likely to be able to utilize whatever you hit, but starting around turn 4 it starts to be a nice play, and it effectively ends up as a 2-for-1, because you can also get a Samurai out of it. I do think the awkwardness of playing this early definitely hinders it, but I think you’ll end up playing this often enough in Red decks, perhaps the most in RB, which likes sacrificing them. But it also overlaps a bit into other archetypes – UR likes artifacts in general and RW like Samurai, for example.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Secluded Courtyard
Secluded Courtyard image 1.0 // 2.5 So, this set does have a bit of a tribal element, but I think it will still be a bit difficult to make this actually produce mana of any color consistently enough that I don’t love this card in most Limited decks in this format. If it is producing colorless almost all the time, it isn’t worth it, because that makes your mana base way worse. You need a critical mass of creatures with the same type – and that’s doable – but it isn’t a forgone conclusion.
Repel the Vile image 2.5 This is much better in this format than it would be in your typical one. There are so many Enchantments around that that mode might actually be the one that is available to you the most often, and the fact it can take down large creatures is no small thing either. It isn’t quite premium, giving the restrictions and the cost, but it seems like a fine Common.
Experimental Synthesizer image 2.0 So, up front it effectively draws you a card, and because this only costs one mana, it won’t usually be hard for you to play that card – and, it very nicely allows you to play lands. Now, this does mean playing it really early isn’t going to feel great, because you are less likely to be able to utilize whatever you hit, but starting around turn 4 it starts to be a nice play, and it effectively ends up as a 2-for-1, because you can also get a Samurai out of it. I do think the awkwardness of playing this early definitely hinders it, but I think you’ll end up playing this often enough in Red decks, perhaps the most in RB, which likes sacrificing them. But it also overlaps a bit into other archetypes – UR likes artifacts in general and RW like Samurai, for example.
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Disruption Protocol image 2.0 If you have enough Artifacts around and consistent access to Blue mana, this seems reasonable. If you are paying 1UU for it, then you’re not getting a very good deal – Cancel is just so much worse than Counterspell! There are enough Artifacts in this set, though, that I think this will be Counterspell often enough that I just want to give it a C. Counterspells have their problems in Limited – namely that you have to have the mana up at the right time – which in a way makes them very conditional removal – but when the mana you need to leave up is two or less, we see the Counterspells end up being fairly playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 10: Spell Pierce
Reito Sentinel image 1.0 Milling doesn’t seem to be a major component of this format for the most part, whether you’re miling yourself or someone else. BG definitely has some graveyard stuff going on, and that’s probably where this will be at its best, but I’m still not overly impressed with a 3-mana 3/3 Defender. The cool thing you can do with it in the extreme late game is start using its ability to draw whatever you want to every single turn, but I’m always skeptical that type of strategy will end up working out in Limited. It doesn’t very often!
Go-Shintai of Ancient Wars image 3.5 A 3-mana 2/2 with First Strike is already pretty playable, especially in a format with lots of ways to modify creatures, and the fact you get to do some additional damage to the opponent or (more rarely) a planeswalker if you have spare mana lying around is pretty nice. Obviously it gets spicier if you have more Shrines around.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Futurist Sentinel image 2.0 We have seen a Colorless version of this in the past – I think it was called Irontread Crusher or something – and it was alright, but nothing special. It is pretty reasonably costed both to cast and to crew – it lets you rumble with a much larger creature than you would normally be able to on turn 5!
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Forest image
Pack 1 Pick 11: Mnemonic Sphere
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Mnemonic Sphere image 2.5 This is basically an Artifact-based version of Hieroglyphic Illumination, which was an Instant you could pay 4 for to draw two cards, and it had cycling for one Blue mana. Hard for a card like this to ever be bad, since at worst it replaces itself really efficiently. Then there’s this format artifact synergy and so forth!
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 12: Moonsnare Prototype
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
Iron Apprentice image 2.0 This format has plenty of counters, so putting more on this thing isn’t a huge stretch. It also gives you a creature that enters the battlefield modified, which powers up a bunch of cards in this format.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Spell Pierce
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 14: Shrine Steward
Peerless Samurai image 3.0 This is a nice little Common. A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is a decent starting point, and adding an “attack alone” payoff to the card is nice, and the one you get here is going to be pretty relevant, especially if you play the Samurai on turn 3. It is likely to help you either double spell or play a 4-drop on turn 4, and either of those are pretty appealing.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Forest
Forest image
Pack 2 Pick 1: Dokuchi Shadow-Walker
Scrap Welder image 3.0 It is hard for any 3-mana 3/3 with upside to be bad – and this certainly isn’t. This set has a whole lot of Artifacts in it, so using its ability will definitely happen – but it is a bit of a finicky ability since it checks for mana values.
Michiko's Reign of Truth image 3.5 There are enough Artifacts and Enchantments around that Chapter I and II are likely to provide significant buffs – since it counts itself, it will at least give something +1/+1, and that’s not too shabby – sometimes it will do a ton more than that. Once it becomes a creature it might struggle to be large – but probably not, as there are enough artifacts and Enchantments that her being a 2/2 is a pretty likely outcome, and considering your total investment, and how meaningful chapter I and II will usually be, you’re getting a pretty good deal – and sometimes she’ll be massive!
Go-Shintai of Shared Purpose image 3.5 I like that the shrines this time around are creatures, as it is a lot easier to get value of them, and that’s certainly the case here. A 4-mana ⅓ with Vigilance that lets you pay one to make a 1/1 during your end step is a card that I would always be pretty happy with in Limited. Sure, the stat-line isn’t impressive, but cranking out a 1/1 every now and then is pretty nice. If you combine this with some of the other shrines, it is going to get particularly silly. It is probably ideal to wait to play this until you can use its ability in the same turn, that way you got something that added to the board either way. The stat-line does hold it back a bit, but I think this still might be something you take with a pretty high pick.
Essence Capture image 2.0 This is a card we’ve seen printed a few times now, and its always decent. Once you get down to two mana, Counterspells get pretty interesting, and while it is unfortunate this one costs double blue, it is still fairly easy to get value out of it, as most decks will have 15+ targets, and the +1/+1 counter is a great thing to tack on.
Seismic Wave image 3.5 mana to do 2 to anything isn’t incredible, but the one damage it does to all non-artifact creatures is quite nice. There are lots of things this card can end up doing. For example, if you do the 2 damage to a non-artifact creature, this will actually end up doing 3 total. You can also use it kill an X/2 and then pick off an X/1 or two. This card will occasionally cause big blowouts against X/1s, and it probably makes non-artifact X/1s in this format a little bit worse than normal. I think in the end, this is premium removal.
Reckoner Shakedown image 1.5 This is a pretty neat take on a Coercion Effect, as it is effectively a modal card that takes away your opponents best card, or it gives you a look at your opponents hand and puts two +1/+1 counters on one of your creatures or vehicles. Individually, those two effects are probably about a D. The discard effect only allows for a one-for-one trade and doesn’t change your board at all, while putting two +1/+1 counters on a thing for this much mana at Sorcery speed is really clunky. The discard effect is also pretty close to a dead card in the really late game, so having the other option will really matter there.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Jukai Trainee image 2.0 They decided to give this samurai the old Bushido mechanic. It’s a two mana 2/2 that is harder than most two mana 2/2s to block or attack through, and that’s probably enough of an upside for you to play it a decent chunk of the time.
Intercessor's Arrest image 3.5 This is premium removal. The fact it shuts down blocking, attacking, crewing vehicles, and activated abilities is great. This format does have more ways to blow up Enchantments than normal, but it also has more payoffs for Enchantments than normal, so its probably a wash.
Skyswimmer Koi image 3.0 This has pretty nice stats as a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer, and while its artifact pay off ability isn’t amazing, adding a loot effect to all of your artifacts is definitely relevant upside.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image 2.0 This seems like the kind of Ninja who will only make your deck if you’re really loaded up with payoffs for Ninjas and Ninjutsu. It just isn’t that impressive either way you play it.
Season of Renewal image 1.0 // 2.5 You need to be getting both a creature and an enchantment back when you use this, or you aren’t going to be getting enough for your investment. While Enchantments are pretty plentiful in this set, especially in Green, I do think this needs a build around.
Scoured Barrens image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Go-Shintai of Hidden Cruelty image 3.0 A 4-mana 2/2 with death touch is not a great statline, but obviously being able to pick off 1 toughness creatures when your opponent has one is definitely going to feel pretty huge, and there will be a decent number of them lying around. Once you get to where you can kill X/2s, though, is where this thing can really get silly. Like the other Shrines in this set, this card is perfectly fine even if its your only shrine, and I’m glad they designed them this way, as opposed to the way we’ve seen them in the past. Because yeah, the fail case of a 4-mana 2/2 that can trade with anything and pick off X/1s is a pretty good floor, while the ceiling is pretty amazing.
Invigorating Hot Spring image 4.0 This definitely has the most interesting design of all of the signpost Uncommons. It also has some pretty awesome art! I think it is probably also the one that is the hardest to gauge. That said, I think it looks pretty good. RG is about modifying stuff, so this gives you a payoff for Modifying your creatures by giving them haste, and it also provides a way for you to modify your creatures, since it can move counters from itself on to creatures. This will also give the creature Haste, obviously enough. It is basically an Enchantment that gives you one +1/+1 counter a turn over four turns – generally, an Enchantment that gives you a counter every turn tends to be pretty powerful, and while this will eventually run out of counters, being able to do it 4 times ia pretty big deal. This format has a fair bit of synergy for Modifications too, in addition to what Invigorating Thermal Springs has to offer, so being able to put a counter on a thing carries some extra weight here.
Boseiju Reaches Skyward image 3.0 I’m always pretty concerned about a 4-mana card that doesn’t immediately add to the board in any way – and that’s certainly what we have going on here. Searching up a couple of Forests will be nice, but it isn’t that impactful in the immediate future. Chapter II may be something you don’t even want to do because you may not want to draw another land. Ultimately it will add to the board though, and usually with quite the formidable creature, but like with a lot of these – it taking a couple of turns can be a bit brutal in games where you need something that does something more immediately. Still, if you are able to draw the two lands, and then transform this a couple turns later, it will be a real presence on the board.
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Master's Rebuke image 3.0 We see versions of this card all the time, and it always ends up being Green premium removal. It allows you to kill a lot of things pretty cheaply, and having a large enough Green creature in play to make it work isn’t that hard. You do have to be a little careful with when you use it, because if they blow up your creature in response it is some really terrible news.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Spirited Companion image 2.5 Well, it looks like White got an Elvish Visionary! That’s always a pretty nice card in Limited – as adding something to the board and getting a card out of it feels pretty good.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Ecologist's Terrarium image 2.5 Having colorless fixing at Common is pretty nice, and could definitely help decks splash a third color, and the fact this can only give you a counter once its done its job in fetching you a land is pretty solid.
Iron Apprentice image 2.0 This format has plenty of counters, so putting more on this thing isn’t a huge stretch. It also gives you a creature that enters the battlefield modified, which powers up a bunch of cards in this format.
Thornwood Falls image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Moonsnare Specialist
Blade-Blizzard Kitsune image 3.5 3-mana for a 2/2 Double Striker is actually a great rate, and I kind of think that would probably be a 3.0 in any format. Its just a creature that can punch above its weight class really well, easily take down other cards that are two and three mana, and it hits hard, and it is both a good blocker and attacker. This set has plenty of Auras, +1/+1 counters, and Equipment, all of which go really well with the Kitsune. The Ninjutsu here is some nice additional upside, as sometimes maybe you want to sneak in 4 damage for lethal, or there is some other benefit to casting it that way, but I think you’ll more frequently just cast this for three mana and Ninjutsu it – so, I don’t actually think the Ninja angle here is huge upside.
Jukai Naturalist image 3.5 A two mana 2/2 with lifelink is pretty nice, and reducing the cost of Enchantments is pretty nice too! As it often is, GW is about Enchantments in this set, so that will definitely be coming up.
Clawing Torment image 2.0 This can outright kill X/1s, and takes away the ability of all creatures to block – while also slowly bleeding the opponent out. If you’re in a really aggressive Black deck, I can see playing this, but in situations where you aren’t the beatdown, it isn’t going to be very good. Your opponent just won’t always care about their creature getting a little smaller and being unable to block. It is notable that it is an Enchantment you can keep around on the table for awhile, and you kind of want to because it hurts your opponent – and that goes well in the Black-White deck, which wants an Artifact and Enchantment to be around for its various effects This is probably mostly an aggro deck special.
Era of Enlightenment image 2.0 Like most of these saga-creatures, it is slow at adding to the board – so getting in the late game will sometimes be a bummer, but at least this one has some use right away, even late, as Scry 2 can help you dry what you really need to draw. The life gain can also help you survive the fact that you couldn’t add to the board right away too. Then, it becomes a 2/2 with First Strike, and that’s a creature is relevant all game long in most cases. While its a bit slow, the value this generates will feel nice – its spread out, but ultimately you get a 2/2 with First Strike that scries 2 and gains you 2 life, and that’s a pretty nice investment.
Bamboo Grove Archer image 2.5 This is a very nice defensive creature. A two mana 3/3 with Reach will slow the board to a grinding halt in the early game, and the fact that you can use it as a Plummet sometimes is nice upside. It isn’t exactly the kind of card all decks will want, but grinder Green decks will probably be happy to play a few of these – while aggro decks probably aren’t playing it at all.
Explosive Entry image 3.0 This is better in this format than it is in most, because there are artifacts everywhere. I think you can count on most opponents having at least 5 targets for this, and many will have more. Adding the +1/+1 counter to the mix is pretty nice. Against the most artifact-centric of decks it is just going to feel like one of your best cards, and against an opponent only playing a few artifacts, it will feel a bit like Plummet – but I think that range is still enough to play the first copy in the main deck of most Red decks.
Fang of Shigeki image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are always playable, mostly because they have the ability to trade up with just about anything. This one also comes with Enchantment and Ninja upside, though in Green probably only the former matters. Still, you probably won’t ever cut the first few copies of these from your Green decks.
Spirited Companion image 2.5 Well, it looks like White got an Elvish Visionary! That’s always a pretty nice card in Limited – as adding something to the board and getting a card out of it feels pretty good.
Moonsnare Specialist image 3.5 This is a very good common. We have seen 4-mana 2/2s that Bounce a creature be very good in the past, and that’s what we have here as a base line. The Ninjutsu upside being tacked on means it can feel a little more like a Man-O’-War since you’re paying three mana, and being able to do it at instant speed may also enable you to break up an opposing block or something, which is pretty spicy.
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
Futurist Sentinel image 2.0 We have seen a Colorless version of this in the past – I think it was called Irontread Crusher or something – and it was alright, but nothing special. It is pretty reasonably costed both to cast and to crew – it lets you rumble with a much larger creature than you would normally be able to on turn 5!
Sunblade Samurai image 3.0 If you have 5 mana, you can cast it as a fairly reasonable body with Vigilance – and if you’re having problem finding mana in the early part of the game, you can Channel it away to find another land. And it even gains you some life! It isn’t that far from being a 5-mana 4/4 with Vigilance that has cycling for 2 mana. Flexibility like this really trumps the fact that neither half of this card would be amazing on its own.
Rugged Highlands image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Searchlight Companion
Tempered in Solitude image 3.0 This is a great payoff for attacking with a creature alone, something that will of course be well-supported within the RW color pair. Attacking alone basically draws you a card here, so even if you offer up an attack that will be a trade at best, you’re probably still coming out ahead. While it is definitely going to make the most sense in RW, it gives you a pretty good reason to only attack with one creature a turn in most of the Red decks.
Towashi Guide-Bot image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A 4-mana 2/1 that puts a counter on a creature is quite good, and obviously there is a fair bit of synergy in this format for artifacts and modifications – including this card, which comes with the pretty nice ability to draw you a card. It is very likely it will only cost you 3 because of the counter it puts somewhere, and I can get behind that cost pretty happily – anything less than that and this will really generate some serious card advantage.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Searchlight Companion image 3.0 This gives you some reasonable value for the cost, and its also a great card to combine with Ninjas, since it is not only evasive, but it also has an ETB ability, so recasting it will give you another token, and that’s some nice value to get on top of whatever it is you did with Ninjutsu.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Return to Action image 2.0 Black often gets this kind of trick that returns a creature to the battlefield when it dies these days, and then tend to be alright, although I prefer it when they cost a single Black mana. Still, this one does actually increase your creature’s power, which means you can use it to help you take down the other creature in combat a little more effectively, and it will even gain you some life! Its useful against removal too, of course. But, its still situational enough that I’m not super high on it.
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Era of Enlightenment image 2.0 Like most of these saga-creatures, it is slow at adding to the board – so getting in the late game will sometimes be a bummer, but at least this one has some use right away, even late, as Scry 2 can help you dry what you really need to draw. The life gain can also help you survive the fact that you couldn’t add to the board right away too. Then, it becomes a 2/2 with First Strike, and that’s a creature is relevant all game long in most cases. While its a bit slow, the value this generates will feel nice – its spread out, but ultimately you get a 2/2 with First Strike that scries 2 and gains you 2 life, and that’s a pretty nice investment.
Swamp image
Pack 2 Pick 5: Mukotai Ambusher
Containment Construct image 3.0 Man, if we had this in Crimson Vow it would have been absurd thanks to all the Blood tokens! This format also has a mechanic that involves discarding, though – and its Channel. If you Channel a card to get some effect and the construct exiles that card for you, it is going to feel pretty insane. You really only need to pull it off once to feel pretty good about it. So, if you have 0 ways to discard cards in your deck, you probably don’t play this, but as long as you have at least one, I don’t think you cut it. This is because it has passable stats and has a useful card type in Artifact, which is likely to help you with synergy too. It will be pretty hard to end up with 0 cards that have you discard, so I don’t really think it needs a build around grade.
Norika Yamazaki, the Poet image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around.
Suit Up image 1.5 These types of effects are almost always not worth it – they keep pushing them on us, though! What makes them bad is the fact that you only resize a creature. Making one into a 4/5 for 3 mana is not normally going to be a very good rate, and that’s even if you’re including the ability to turn Vehicles on like this can. You’re going to get a small stats boost in most cases, and that just isn’t worth the risk of getting blown out by removal. They did do one thing here that’s pretty interesting though: They added a cantrip. That certainly makes this better, as at worst you can sort of cycle this for three mana, and if you do manage to resize a creature and win combat you’ll actually feel like you’re doing something – but it still isn’t very good for the same reasons these effects never are: They don’t do enough for their cost and they are also very risky!
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Greater Tanuki image 3.0 This seems pretty nice. In the early game you can use it to fix and ramp your mana, and in the late game it can be a big beater that helps you close things out. It isn’t super incredible at doing either thing, but effectively being a split card with a worse Rampant Growth on one side and a worse Colossal Dreadmaw on the other gives you a decent option all game long.
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Kami of Terrible Secrets image 1.5 // 3.0 A 4-mana ¾ is not a great stat-line these days, so you are going to want to be drawing a card off of this around half the time for it to be worth it. And…that’s not going to be automatic in every Black deck in the format, since this asks you to have both an Artifact and Enchantment. That’s certainly easier to do in this format than it is in most, but if you’re in say, UB Ninjas or the BG graveyard deck – that’s not something you’re going to be focused on. In a lot of ways, this is a BW gold card, because that’s the deck that has a whole bunch of reasons to get both an Artifact and an Enchantment in play.
Nezumi Bladeblesser image 2.5 If you can give it either of these keywords, you’ll be pretty happy, and if you can give it both, it will feel quite formidable. Menace and Deathtouch are pretty nasty together, since you can kill both things that block it
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Tranquil Cove image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Go-Shintai of Shared Purpose
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Go-Shintai of Shared Purpose image 3.5 I like that the shrines this time around are creatures, as it is a lot easier to get value of them, and that’s certainly the case here. A 4-mana ⅓ with Vigilance that lets you pay one to make a 1/1 during your end step is a card that I would always be pretty happy with in Limited. Sure, the stat-line isn’t impressive, but cranking out a 1/1 every now and then is pretty nice. If you combine this with some of the other shrines, it is going to get particularly silly. It is probably ideal to wait to play this until you can use its ability in the same turn, that way you got something that added to the board either way. The stat-line does hold it back a bit, but I think this still might be something you take with a pretty high pick.
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Ecologist's Terrarium image 2.5 Having colorless fixing at Common is pretty nice, and could definitely help decks splash a third color, and the fact this can only give you a counter once its done its job in fetching you a land is pretty solid.
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Disruption Protocol image 2.0 If you have enough Artifacts around and consistent access to Blue mana, this seems reasonable. If you are paying 1UU for it, then you’re not getting a very good deal – Cancel is just so much worse than Counterspell! There are enough Artifacts in this set, though, that I think this will be Counterspell often enough that I just want to give it a C. Counterspells have their problems in Limited – namely that you have to have the mana up at the right time – which in a way makes them very conditional removal – but when the mana you need to leave up is two or less, we see the Counterspells end up being fairly playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Imperial Subduer image 2.5 Tapping an opposing creature tends to be a pretty nice effect for aggro decks in Limited, as it can often enable some attacks you didn’t have without the tap. This does have an additional restriction, in that your Warrior or Samurai has to attack alone to do it – but it still seems pretty nice. The Subduer itself is a Warrior, so it triggers its own ability. The Samurai/Warrior deck seems to have other payoffs for attacking with one creature at a time too, so this seems like a solid Common.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
Blossoming Sands image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Norika Yamazaki, the Poet
When We Were Young image 1.5 This trick has the potential to create some 2-for-1 blow outs, but its also pretty expensive, and we’ve seen similar tricks that always grant key words like lifelink not be all that impressive. I think running one of these in your aggressive White decks with a decent number of artifacts and enchantments is fine, but I can see it getting cut a decent percentage of the time too.
Norika Yamazaki, the Poet image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around.
Regent's Authority image 1.5 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around. 32 – Regent’s Authority – 1.5 This is a solid trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a good rate in general, and the additional enchantment/legendary creature upside is something you’ll be able to take advantage often enough.
Befriending the Moths image 3.0 Chapter I and II will very likely enable attacks you didn’t have before, and that’s a pretty big deal. Especially because this eventually adds meaningfully to the board by giving you a 2/4 Flyer. It will be a bit of a bummer to play on a completely empty board, but that won’t be happening that often. This looks like a good Common to me, one you can first pick sometimes.
Ancestral Katana image 3.0 This reminds me a bit of Pirate’s Cutlass, a card that really overperformed in its Limited format. Now, this isn’t colorless, and it doesn’t equip for free – and it equipping at a discount is also more conditional for sure – but I think this will still be a really nice Common. If you’re just Equipping this the old fashioned way it won’t be great, but if you have Warriors and Samurai around, the fact that this can just keep moving on to your best attacker for only one mana is going to feel pretty good, and it doesn’t hurt that it can still be Equipped the normal way when that works out for you. Plus, Equipment have some additional upside in this format.
Disruption Protocol image 2.0 If you have enough Artifacts around and consistent access to Blue mana, this seems reasonable. If you are paying 1UU for it, then you’re not getting a very good deal – Cancel is just so much worse than Counterspell! There are enough Artifacts in this set, though, that I think this will be Counterspell often enough that I just want to give it a C. Counterspells have their problems in Limited – namely that you have to have the mana up at the right time – which in a way makes them very conditional removal – but when the mana you need to leave up is two or less, we see the Counterspells end up being fairly playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Heir of the Ancient Fang image 2.5 This is a 3-mana ⅔ that will sometimes be a 3-mana ¾, and in a curve out in a RG deck there’s a good chance it goes that way.
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Pack 2 Pick 8: Moonfolk Puzzlemaker
Enthusiastic Mechanaut image 3.5 This has good stats and a nice keyword for the cost, and reduces the cost of Artifacts. Obviously, that’s what UR is all about in this set, so this will set you up nicely in that deck.
Saiba Trespassers image 2.0 This is a mediocre creature if you cast it that way, but it has the upside of freezing down two opposing creatures, and that’s something that can be pretty nice in the right situation, such as those where your opponent is dead as a result of not being able to block for a couple of turns. That mode is certainly the more powerful one, but it is pretty situational, so the fact it can be a creature if that’s what you really need isn’t too bad.
Automated Artificer image 2.0 There are enough artifacts in this set that this will actually be able to ramp your mana reasonably well, and it has some decent stats.
Regent's Authority image 1.5 A 3-mana 3/2 with Vigilance is usually reasonable playable, and this one comes with a very nice ability. You won’t always have an Enchantment in your graveyard of course, but there are enough Enchantments in this set that you’ll have them reasonably often, and obviously casting one off of this ability is like drawing a card, and that’s pretty darn powerful. Like with all of these, its great that they designed them so that they can trigger the ability on their own – but you can also use other Samurais/Warriors to trigger the ability if you’ve got them around. 32 – Regent’s Authority – 1.5 This is a solid trick. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be a good rate in general, and the additional enchantment/legendary creature upside is something you’ll be able to take advantage often enough.
Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image 2.0 This has decent stats and repeatedly Scrying does make your draws better. Its also an artifact for the decks that care about that, and a relatively cheap flyer for Ninjutsu.
Planar Incision image 1.0 This kind of card always seems to underperform. Sure, you can reuse an ETB ability, or save a creature from removal, but those situations aren’t exactly a dime a dozen, and you have to have the mana up at precisely the right time! There are a few cards in the set – like Circuit Mender – that have abilities that trigger when they leave play, and I guess if you end up with a few of those, this starts to get a little more interesting, since you rebuy the leaves play ability as well as the enters the battlefield ability, but I’m still not really convinced.
Uncharted Haven image 2.5 Coming into play tapped is definitely a downside, but the ability to name a color is great. I do think the dual lands are slightly better, as they always tap for two colors you probably need, and this will only ever tap for one, but if you need fixing, this is fine.
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Pack 2 Pick 9: Kaito's Pursuit
Reckoner Shakedown image 1.5 This is a pretty neat take on a Coercion Effect, as it is effectively a modal card that takes away your opponents best card, or it gives you a look at your opponents hand and puts two +1/+1 counters on one of your creatures or vehicles. Individually, those two effects are probably about a D. The discard effect only allows for a one-for-one trade and doesn’t change your board at all, while putting two +1/+1 counters on a thing for this much mana at Sorcery speed is really clunky. The discard effect is also pretty close to a dead card in the really late game, so having the other option will really matter there.
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Intercessor's Arrest image 3.5 This is premium removal. The fact it shuts down blocking, attacking, crewing vehicles, and activated abilities is great. This format does have more ways to blow up Enchantments than normal, but it also has more payoffs for Enchantments than normal, so its probably a wash.
Season of Renewal image 1.0 // 2.5 You need to be getting both a creature and an enchantment back when you use this, or you aren’t going to be getting enough for your investment. While Enchantments are pretty plentiful in this set, especially in Green, I do think this needs a build around.
Scoured Barrens image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Mirrorshell Crab
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Spell Pierce image 0.0 We see this reprinted a lot, and while it tends to be a key sideboard card in constructed, it is pretty bad in Limited. Most decks have very few things it can actually counter, and you also have to hope that when they do cast something you can counter you have your one Blue mana up and they can’t pay the 2 additional mana. This just won’t do anything far too often. Even as a sideboard card, I’m not interested.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
Shrine Steward image 1.0 // 2.5 This has some ugly stats, but if your deck has even 2 Shrines and/or Auras, it is probably worth running. While this set does have plenty of Enchantments, it doesn’t have so many Auras and Shrines that you’ll always end up with enough of them to run the Steward.
Ecologist's Terrarium image 2.5 Having colorless fixing at Common is pretty nice, and could definitely help decks splash a third color, and the fact this can only give you a counter once its done its job in fetching you a land is pretty solid.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Sunblade Samurai
Blade-Blizzard Kitsune image 3.5 3-mana for a 2/2 Double Striker is actually a great rate, and I kind of think that would probably be a 3.0 in any format. Its just a creature that can punch above its weight class really well, easily take down other cards that are two and three mana, and it hits hard, and it is both a good blocker and attacker. This set has plenty of Auras, +1/+1 counters, and Equipment, all of which go really well with the Kitsune. The Ninjutsu here is some nice additional upside, as sometimes maybe you want to sneak in 4 damage for lethal, or there is some other benefit to casting it that way, but I think you’ll more frequently just cast this for three mana and Ninjutsu it – so, I don’t actually think the Ninja angle here is huge upside.
Explosive Entry image 3.0 This is better in this format than it is in most, because there are artifacts everywhere. I think you can count on most opponents having at least 5 targets for this, and many will have more. Adding the +1/+1 counter to the mix is pretty nice. Against the most artifact-centric of decks it is just going to feel like one of your best cards, and against an opponent only playing a few artifacts, it will feel a bit like Plummet – but I think that range is still enough to play the first copy in the main deck of most Red decks.
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
Futurist Sentinel image 2.0 We have seen a Colorless version of this in the past – I think it was called Irontread Crusher or something – and it was alright, but nothing special. It is pretty reasonably costed both to cast and to crew – it lets you rumble with a much larger creature than you would normally be able to on turn 5!
Sunblade Samurai image 3.0 If you have 5 mana, you can cast it as a fairly reasonable body with Vigilance – and if you’re having problem finding mana in the early part of the game, you can Channel it away to find another land. And it even gains you some life! It isn’t that far from being a 5-mana 4/4 with Vigilance that has cycling for 2 mana. Flexibility like this really trumps the fact that neither half of this card would be amazing on its own.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Return to Action
Gift of Wrath image 2.0 This is the kind of Aura I feel alright about playing. +2/+2 and Menace is a very real stats boost, and the fact that this leaves behind a creature token when the enchanted creature dies is quite nice – and helps mitigate against the risk of getting 2-for-1’d. Now, it is still an Aura, and probably only one that you run in very aggressive decks, but it will be solid there.
Return to Action image 2.0 Black often gets this kind of trick that returns a creature to the battlefield when it dies these days, and then tend to be alright, although I prefer it when they cost a single Black mana. Still, this one does actually increase your creature’s power, which means you can use it to help you take down the other creature in combat a little more effectively, and it will even gain you some life! Its useful against removal too, of course. But, its still situational enough that I’m not super high on it.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Swamp image
Pack 2 Pick 13: You Are Already Dead
You Are Already Dead image 2.5 This has a really interesting design. I’m normally not big on this type of effect, as actually doing some damage to something often takes up some resources, so spells that can only remove damaged creatures are often not all that playable. However, in this case they lowered the mana cost to ONE, and they added a cantrip. At that point, we’re talking about a card that is certainly playable. Keep in mind that it does need a damaged creature to target, so it isn’t really the kind of cantrip you can cycle whenever you want. You won’t usually generate a 2-for-1 with this, because of the resources you gave up to damage the creature in the first place, but the cantrip pretty much makes up for that, and on occasions where you can get a 2-for-1, this will feel downright amazing. It is still a super situational removal spell, but it is priced to move, and I think you’ll end up playing the first copy in most Black decks. Playing more than that is probably asking for trouble due to its situational nature.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Disruption Protocol
The Shattered States Era image 1.5 I like most of these creature-sagas a reasonable amount. Most of them are at least a 2.5…but not this one. 5 mana for a Threaten is costly. That type of effect is always so situational. Sometimes it will let you attack in ways you couldn’t before – and unlike a lot of Threatens you do eventually actually add to the board with this one – but I still don’t love it. Chapter II will only be meaningful on like half of your board states. You do ultimately get a 3/3 with Trample and Haste, but that’s not exactly a big deal by turn 7, and Chapters I and II are highly situational.
Disruption Protocol image 2.0 If you have enough Artifacts around and consistent access to Blue mana, this seems reasonable. If you are paying 1UU for it, then you’re not getting a very good deal – Cancel is just so much worse than Counterspell! There are enough Artifacts in this set, though, that I think this will be Counterspell often enough that I just want to give it a C. Counterspells have their problems in Limited – namely that you have to have the mana up at the right time – which in a way makes them very conditional removal – but when the mana you need to leave up is two or less, we see the Counterspells end up being fairly playable, and I think that’s what we have here.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Island
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 1: Tameshi, Reality Architect
Tameshi, Reality Architect image 3.5 So, obviously you’re going to need to be returning things to your hand for her to be worthwhile – and I think that mostly means you’ll want her in a UW deck, since her activated ability will actually trigger that! Now, there are other moonfolk around who return lands to your hand, so sometimes you’ll get there without her ability, but she has a ton of internal synergy, as returning a land and reanimating an artifact or Enchantment will feel absolutely absurd sometimes. She’s effectively a UW gold card for that reason. Now, you won’t always have stuff to reanimate with that ability, but still – in the mid-to-late game it has a decent shot at bringing stuff back and drawing you a card, and that’s pretty great. I think she takes some work and some time to really do her thing, but she’ll be a pretty great engine late.
Runaway Trash-Bot image 1.5 // 3.0 Obviously enough, you need to really get there on a graveyard-centric artifact/enchantment deck or this is going to be a pretty disappointing card. If you do get there, this looks like a pretty reasonable payoff. As long as it is like, a 2/4 you’re going to feel alright, especially because its likely to grow from there.
Roadside Reliquary image 3.0 Like Mech Hanger, this is another nice utility land where it is worth running despite the fact that it may make your mana base a little worse. This produces mana for you when that’s what you need, and then when you’re in need of some extra gas, you can sacrifice this. You’re typically going to be able to draw a single card pretty easily, and drawing 2 with it is also going to happen a fair bit. That’s some very nice upside.
Storyweave image 2.0 This is a really interesting design. The +1/+1 counter part of it can be a passable combat trick for sure, although the more powerful mode is assuredly the one where you accelerate your Saga and make a larger Enchantment creature. For pretty much every saga in the set, this will immeidatley make it into a creature with those two extra counters, and doing at Instant speed can let you ambush your opponent. Now, that use won’t always be possible – and as always we have to look at what this card will do on average – but I think it will do something nice with one of these modes often enough that it is at least a decent playable.
Seven-Tail Mentor image 2.5 This will immediately add a counter to the board, which can really alter the way your turn goes in your favor, and you get another counter out of it when it dies. Sure, it would be nice if it was like the Armorer from a few sets back and you got both counters right away – but I still think this is a quality card. Having a useful creature type and also “Modifying” creatures gets some extra points too.
Kaito's Pursuit image 2.0 This trend of them giving us Mind rots that have some other small effect continues! Paying three to make your opponent discard two is usually about a 1.5 It gives you a 2-for-1, but you also don’t add to the board, and it can be a pretty bad top deck in the late game. But, if you’re in a Ninja deck – which will usually mean Blue-Black – the fact this will give Menace to some of your creatures is pretty nice. If you’re in Black in general, you’ll be hard pressed not to end up without at least a few ninjas, so I think you end up playing this a reasonable chunk of the time.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Moonfolk Puzzlemaker image 2.0 This has decent stats and repeatedly Scrying does make your draws better. Its also an artifact for the decks that care about that, and a relatively cheap flyer for Ninjutsu.
Befriending the Moths image 3.0 Chapter I and II will very likely enable attacks you didn’t have before, and that’s a pretty big deal. Especially because this eventually adds meaningfully to the board by giving you a 2/4 Flyer. It will be a bit of a bummer to play on a completely empty board, but that won’t be happening that often. This looks like a good Common to me, one you can first pick sometimes.
Mnemonic Sphere image 2.5 This is basically an Artifact-based version of Hieroglyphic Illumination, which was an Instant you could pay 4 for to draw two cards, and it had cycling for one Blue mana. Hard for a card like this to ever be bad, since at worst it replaces itself really efficiently. Then there’s this format artifact synergy and so forth!
Imperial Subduer image 2.5 Tapping an opposing creature tends to be a pretty nice effect for aggro decks in Limited, as it can often enable some attacks you didn’t have without the tap. This does have an additional restriction, in that your Warrior or Samurai has to attack alone to do it – but it still seems pretty nice. The Subduer itself is a Warrior, so it triggers its own ability. The Samurai/Warrior deck seems to have other payoffs for attacking with one creature at a time too, so this seems like a solid Common.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
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Pack 3 Pick 2: Network Disruptor
Imperial Recovery Unit image 2.5 In terms of cost and what it takes to crew it it isn’t the most efficient vehicle ever, but it has the ability to return cards to your hand, and there seem to be enough relevant one and two drops around that you’ll pull that often a reasonable chunk of the time. Even just doing it once is plenty.
Michiko's Reign of Truth image 3.5 There are enough Artifacts and Enchantments around that Chapter I and II are likely to provide significant buffs – since it counts itself, it will at least give something +1/+1, and that’s not too shabby – sometimes it will do a ton more than that. Once it becomes a creature it might struggle to be large – but probably not, as there are enough artifacts and Enchantments that her being a 2/2 is a pretty likely outcome, and considering your total investment, and how meaningful chapter I and II will usually be, you’re getting a pretty good deal – and sometimes she’ll be massive!
Patchwork Automaton image 3.5 I think this is pretty good. Obviously you need a lot of Artifacts, but there are plenty of those in this format. Ward 2 makes it so it is pretty hard for your opponent to deal with it when it is still small, and as it gets larger there will be fewer things that can deal with it – and generally the tax from Ward 2 will always make it feel a lot less bad when it does die. If this comes down early, it will get huge.
Leech Gauntlet image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 with Lifelink always makes the cut, and this one can reconfigure to give something else lifelink later in the game. It is a little sad it doesn’t also give a stats boost, but the idea is that you’ll have something sizable enough to put it on late – and if you don’t this can still just sit around as a creature.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Mukotai Ambusher image 2.0 This seems like a solid little Ninja if you’re in the market for those. The Ninjutsu is very nicely costed, though keeping in mind that you have to return a thing to your hand does make it seem a bit less efficient. And really, neither casting this the normal way nor Ninjutsuing it is going to make you feel like you’re doing a great job. Its solid, and Lifelink makes it a good creature to Modify.
Coiling Stalker image 3.0 If you Ninjutsu this in, you end up paying two for a 2/1 that puts a counter somewhere. Note, by the way, that “somewhere” can be on itself, too! Now you obviously also returned a thing to your hand, so it isn’t all upside, but still, it seems like a reasonable deal. And it is the kind of creature that is a pretty real problem if your opponent can’t get blocks in front of it.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Network Disruptor image 3.0 This does enough to be a nice little one drop. Tapping a permanent won’t always matter, but there will be turns where doing that allows you to get a much better attack in. Meanwhile, being a one mana 1/1 Flyer in this set is better than normal anyway – both because of Ninjutsu and the plethora of ways that there are to modify creatures. Its also an artifact, and that’s a nice thing to have too. This seems like a Common that overlaps into tons of different Blue archetypes, and that’s great.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
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Pack 3 Pick 3: Twisted Embrace
Selfless Samurai image 4.0 This looks like a very nice Uncommon. A two mana 2/2 with Lifelink would be a solid card, a two mana 2/2 that can sacrifice itself to make something indestructible would be solid too – and this does both of those things plus in most ways it is better than just being a two mana 2/2 with Lifelink, since it can let larger creatures attack on their own and gain that useful keyword. The whole package here is just great: Solid stats, and two nice abilities. I think you can first pick this pretty happily.
Discover the Impossible image 1.5 This gives you some nice card selection, but most of the time you’re going to just be spinning your wheels – getting one card from casting it for three mana – and most of the time its just going to feel worse than Divination. If you’re not adding to the board, you’ve got to be getting something pretty significant out of this. The upside on cheap spells is nice, and will make it feel a little more efficient, but its still just one card. I think you’ll find yourself cutting this card more than you’ll play it.
Explosive Entry image 3.0 This is better in this format than it is in most, because there are artifacts everywhere. I think you can count on most opponents having at least 5 targets for this, and many will have more. Adding the +1/+1 counter to the mix is pretty nice. Against the most artifact-centric of decks it is just going to feel like one of your best cards, and against an opponent only playing a few artifacts, it will feel a bit like Plummet – but I think that range is still enough to play the first copy in the main deck of most Red decks.
Lethal Exploit image 3.0 Two mana for -2/-2 at Instant speed isn’t exactly premium, though it can kill a lot of stuff. And you can even use it combined with a block to take something down – though that’s always a little risky. That said, I think you’ll be able to do -3/-3 with this often enough that it sneaks into the lower B range. If it was always -3/-3 it would be a 3.5. And sometimes this will be even more than -3/-3 – though I think we have to accept the wide range of outcomes with this, and the fact that -2/-2 is probably going to happen a lot.
Grafted Growth image 1.5 We have seen similar cards before, and the fact they fix and ramp for you while adding a little something to the board always makes them pretty reasonable, especially if you’re in the market for mana of any color. You probably don’t play it in a two-color deck, though.
Bamboo Grove Archer image 2.5 This is a very nice defensive creature. A two mana 3/3 with Reach will slow the board to a grinding halt in the early game, and the fact that you can use it as a Plummet sometimes is nice upside. It isn’t exactly the kind of card all decks will want, but grinder Green decks will probably be happy to play a few of these – while aggro decks probably aren’t playing it at all.
Twisted Embrace image 3.5 Wow, this is really good for a Common! 4 mana to kill a creature and give +1/+1 to one of your creature’s is a great deal. Now, the downside here is that your opponent could blow up whatever you target in response, which will be backbreaking, so it is sort of like a Black Fight spell, in the sense that you need to pick your spot carefully – when you do though, it will feel amazing. If you’re worried your opponent will kill your creature, you can also stick it on an artifact. Its also an Enchantment, which this format cares a lot about – this will be premium removal for any deck, but the BW deck can get even more mileage out of it.
Repel the Vile image 2.5 This is much better in this format than it would be in your typical one. There are so many Enchantments around that that mode might actually be the one that is available to you the most often, and the fact it can take down large creatures is no small thing either. It isn’t quite premium, giving the restrictions and the cost, but it seems like a fine Common.
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Kami of Restless Shadows image 1.0 // 3.0 If you aren’t returning a Ninja or Rogue to your hand consistently with this, it is going to be much worse. Putting your best graveyard creature on top of your library is nice, but not nearly as good, because you aren’t actually gaining a card, you’re just doing some card selection, and that’s just a massive step down. Returning a creature to your hand is likely to give you a 2-for-1, while that’s not possible if you’re putting something on top. Obviously, if the creature you put back is a bomb or something you’ll still be pretty happy, but if that’s all this is doing, it probably isn’t worth it, as a 5-mana 3/3 is a pretty bad statline.
Befriending the Moths image 3.0 Chapter I and II will very likely enable attacks you didn’t have before, and that’s a pretty big deal. Especially because this eventually adds meaningfully to the board by giving you a 2/4 Flyer. It will be a bit of a bummer to play on a completely empty board, but that won’t be happening that often. This looks like a good Common to me, one you can first pick sometimes.
Jungle Hollow image 2.5 Like always, these provide some very nice fixing, and its nice to see them at Common, as it will make splashing a third color pretty simple. Fixing is great, even if you aren’t going three colors – a dual land really helps your mana base in a two color deck.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Moon-Circuit Hacker
Towashi Guide-Bot image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A 4-mana 2/1 that puts a counter on a creature is quite good, and obviously there is a fair bit of synergy in this format for artifacts and modifications – including this card, which comes with the pretty nice ability to draw you a card. It is very likely it will only cost you 3 because of the counter it puts somewhere, and I can get behind that cost pretty happily – anything less than that and this will really generate some serious card advantage.
Flame Discharge image 4.0 If you have no modifications, this is a Blaze that can’t hit players – that’s not the most efficient cost ever, but it is removal that can remain relevant all game long. If you throw a modification in, you end up with a much more efficient card, as it can Shock creatures for a single Red, do 3 for two mana, and so forth – so it, still scales, but it becomes more efficient. You’ll have modifications often enough that this definitely ends up as premium removal, especially because the floor is so reasonable.
Azusa's Many Journeys image 2.5 This isn’t that exciting past the early game. You probably won’t be able to play the extra land if you don’t play it on turn two or three. Gaining 3 life doesn’t hurt, and might help you get to the point where this becomes a creature, but I’m not super impressed with the creature in the later game either. That said, in the early game, this has a decent shot at ramping you and then giving you a nice creature for the board a couple of turns later. So yeah, this is a card where the effectiveness will vary wildly depending on what part of the game it is. Early it will be very nice, in the mid-to-late game it won’t be very impressive.
Malicious Malfunction image 1.5 // 3.0 These cheap board sweepers are frequently pretty awkward in Limited. Most decks have a decent number of creatures who will die to it, so finding an opening to cast it where it is purely beneficial can be hard. Still, it is one of the best possible ways to deal with an aggressive opponent, and casting it in those situations can be completely game ending. A card like that mostly feels like a sideboard card to me.
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
Thundersteel Colossus image 2.0 This is a pretty neat design for an Equipment. It isn’t nearly as discounted as most of them are, but it is also massive and very easy to crew – coming with Trample and Haste generally means it is going to wreck face pretty significantly the turn it comes down, and it’s a big enough threat that your opponent will usually need to find a way to deal with it. I don’t think the most aggressive decks will be remotely interested in this, but as a top-curve win condition for grindier or controlling decks, I could see this pulling some weight.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
Akki Ronin image 1.5 If you need a two drop Samurai it is certainly that, though adding rummage to an attack isn’t super exciting in this format, it does allow you to sift through your library a bit.
Wanderer's Intervention image 2.5 This is restrictive about what it can kill – both because of the 4 damage and the “attacking or blocking” restriction, but it will often feel reasonably efficient. I don’t quite consider something like this premium because of how restrictive it is, but I think you end up playing the first copy pretty often in your White decks
Skyswimmer Koi image 3.0 This has pretty nice stats as a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer, and while its artifact pay off ability isn’t amazing, adding a loot effect to all of your artifacts is definitely relevant upside.
Simian Sling image 3.0 This compares really favorably with Tormentor’s Helm for Kaldheim. It gives the same stats boost and the same ability that punishes blocking. The difference is this is a bit more expensive to Equip – or in this case Reconfigure, but the fact you can just play t his as a creature is a huge upgrade. They’ve given us a lot of nice one drops of late, and this looks like one to me. It can attack effectively early, and then when it can no longer do that, you can suit up another creature who can take advantage of the ability more effectively.
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Pack 3 Pick 5: The Modern Age
When We Were Young image 1.5 This trick has the potential to create some 2-for-1 blow outs, but its also pretty expensive, and we’ve seen similar tricks that always grant key words like lifelink not be all that impressive. I think running one of these in your aggressive White decks with a decent number of artifacts and enchantments is fine, but I can see it getting cut a decent percentage of the time too.
Jukai Trainee image 2.0 They decided to give this samurai the old Bushido mechanic. It’s a two mana 2/2 that is harder than most two mana 2/2s to block or attack through, and that’s probably enough of an upside for you to play it a decent chunk of the time.
The Modern Age image 3.0 So, looting a couple of times is decent card selection, though like with a lot of these, you’re going to kind of wish you were adding to the board right away, instead of having to wait a couple of turns. As is this case with most of these creature-sagas, you get great value for your mana – in this case, a two mana ⅔ Flyer that loots twice – but the trade off is that you have to really wait for it. Still, Chapter I and II are the kinds of things that are at least useful all game long, so this isn’t one where you really need to play it early or you’re going to be disappointed.
Coiling Stalker image 3.0 If you Ninjutsu this in, you end up paying two for a 2/1 that puts a counter somewhere. Note, by the way, that “somewhere” can be on itself, too! Now you obviously also returned a thing to your hand, so it isn’t all upside, but still, it seems like a reasonable deal. And it is the kind of creature that is a pretty real problem if your opponent can’t get blocks in front of it.
Undercity Scrounger image 1.5 This gives Black some access to fixing and ramp, which is nice, but the stats are underwhelming and the death requirement won’t always line up for you.
Ninja's Kunai image 2.5 You pay a total of 3 mana for Lightning, and that’s not a bad rate in Limited. What’s more is, it also lets you get some synergy – and not only the obvious artifact and Equipment synergy – but also some sacrifice synergy for the RB deck
Skyswimmer Koi image 3.0 This has pretty nice stats as a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer, and while its artifact pay off ability isn’t amazing, adding a loot effect to all of your artifacts is definitely relevant upside.
Ironhoof Boar image 2.5 This really reminds me of the Bloodrush Mechanic, which allowed you to pay some mana and discard a creature card for a trick – so, yeah. This isn’t the greatest as a creature or a trick – the small toughness boost does limit the number of combats you can win with the boar’s channel, but it also has the upside of really letting you run over a creature and do a ton of damage. I like the flexibility here.
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
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Pack 3 Pick 6: Network Disruptor
Discover the Impossible image 1.5 This gives you some nice card selection, but most of the time you’re going to just be spinning your wheels – getting one card from casting it for three mana – and most of the time its just going to feel worse than Divination. If you’re not adding to the board, you’ve got to be getting something pretty significant out of this. The upside on cheap spells is nice, and will make it feel a little more efficient, but its still just one card. I think you’ll find yourself cutting this card more than you’ll play it.
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Dokuchi Shadow-Walker image 2.0 This seems like the kind of Ninja who will only make your deck if you’re really loaded up with payoffs for Ninjas and Ninjutsu. It just isn’t that impressive either way you play it.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Unstoppable Ogre image 2.0 The enter the battlefield trigger on the card won’t always do something for you, but there will be a decent number of situations where it allows you to attack more effectively with your board. It can also crew everything which is nice.
Kami's Flare image 3.5 Two mana to do 3 is always premium, so also doing 2 to the opponent sometimes is pretty nice. This is one of Red’s best Commons.
Ambitious Assault image 2.0 Adding a conditional cantrip to Trumpet Blast is definitely interesting. This effect is really situational, but because it replaces itself, you end up with a card that – at worst – cycles for three mana, and you can also find more useful situations to use it in, since the card does replace itself.
Network Disruptor image 3.0 This does enough to be a nice little one drop. Tapping a permanent won’t always matter, but there will be turns where doing that allows you to get a much better attack in. Meanwhile, being a one mana 1/1 Flyer in this set is better than normal anyway – both because of Ninjutsu and the plethora of ways that there are to modify creatures. Its also an artifact, and that’s a nice thing to have too. This seems like a Common that overlaps into tons of different Blue archetypes, and that’s great.
Ecologist's Terrarium image 2.5 Having colorless fixing at Common is pretty nice, and could definitely help decks splash a third color, and the fact this can only give you a counter once its done its job in fetching you a land is pretty solid.
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Pack 3 Pick 7: Network Disruptor
Towashi Guide-Bot image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A 4-mana 2/1 that puts a counter on a creature is quite good, and obviously there is a fair bit of synergy in this format for artifacts and modifications – including this card, which comes with the pretty nice ability to draw you a card. It is very likely it will only cost you 3 because of the counter it puts somewhere, and I can get behind that cost pretty happily – anything less than that and this will really generate some serious card advantage.
Golden-Tail Disciple image 2.0 It is an Enchantment, which is good for the format, and the fact it has lifelink means it is a good creature to modify. Its nothing special, but you’ll play it a fair bit.
Dramatist's Puppet image 1.5 There’s a lot of counters in this set, so taking them away from your opponent or adding them to your own things is definitely relevant, but it still won’t always actually be able to do a thing, and when it can’t it will still be a 4-mana 2/4, which is pretty bad.
Towashi Songshaper image 2.0 It won’t be hard for it to be a 3/2 attacker on many turns, and that’s not too shabby as an artifact payoff.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
Saiba Trespassers image 2.0 This is a mediocre creature if you cast it that way, but it has the upside of freezing down two opposing creatures, and that’s something that can be pretty nice in the right situation, such as those where your opponent is dead as a result of not being able to block for a couple of turns. That mode is certainly the more powerful one, but it is pretty situational, so the fact it can be a creature if that’s what you really need isn’t too bad.
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
Network Disruptor image 3.0 This does enough to be a nice little one drop. Tapping a permanent won’t always matter, but there will be turns where doing that allows you to get a much better attack in. Meanwhile, being a one mana 1/1 Flyer in this set is better than normal anyway – both because of Ninjutsu and the plethora of ways that there are to modify creatures. Its also an artifact, and that’s a nice thing to have too. This seems like a Common that overlaps into tons of different Blue archetypes, and that’s great.
Ironhoof Boar image 2.5 This really reminds me of the Bloodrush Mechanic, which allowed you to pay some mana and discard a creature card for a trick – so, yeah. This isn’t the greatest as a creature or a trick – the small toughness boost does limit the number of combats you can win with the boar’s channel, but it also has the upside of really letting you run over a creature and do a ton of damage. I like the flexibility here.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Moon-Circuit Hacker
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
Saiba Trespassers image 2.0 This is a mediocre creature if you cast it that way, but it has the upside of freezing down two opposing creatures, and that’s something that can be pretty nice in the right situation, such as those where your opponent is dead as a result of not being able to block for a couple of turns. That mode is certainly the more powerful one, but it is pretty situational, so the fact it can be a creature if that’s what you really need isn’t too bad.
Kitsune Ace image 3.0 I like that this gives you some vehicle payoffs even if it isn’t the card that is doing the crewing. Lending first strike makes a lot of vehicles hard to block, and you can untap it with its ability so that even if it crewed a vehicle it can be a blocker on your opponents turn. That’s all some pretty good upside on a two drop.
Moon-Circuit Hacker image 3.0 Ninjutsu for one is quite the deal, especially because it will be drawing you a card if you ninjutsu it in. After that, you’ll only get to loot when it hits the opponent, but that’s okay – the initial use of the card will allow you to set up a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice. It is sort of a more convoluted Elvish Visionary that comes with an additional power.
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Pack 3 Pick 9: Mnemonic Sphere
Storyweave image 2.0 This is a really interesting design. The +1/+1 counter part of it can be a passable combat trick for sure, although the more powerful mode is assuredly the one where you accelerate your Saga and make a larger Enchantment creature. For pretty much every saga in the set, this will immeidatley make it into a creature with those two extra counters, and doing at Instant speed can let you ambush your opponent. Now, that use won’t always be possible – and as always we have to look at what this card will do on average – but I think it will do something nice with one of these modes often enough that it is at least a decent playable.
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Mnemonic Sphere image 2.5 This is basically an Artifact-based version of Hieroglyphic Illumination, which was an Instant you could pay 4 for to draw two cards, and it had cycling for one Blue mana. Hard for a card like this to ever be bad, since at worst it replaces itself really efficiently. Then there’s this format artifact synergy and so forth!
Lucky Offering image 1.5 This is actually passable in your main deck in this format, since there are so many artifacts, and many of them can be blown up by this. It is still narrow enough that I don’t love putting in the main deck.
Crackling Emergence image 1.5 This is a neat take on a land animation spell – making it so the land doesn’t die when the creature does is definitely a nice little upgrade, but these types of spells basically always underperform. They are the most impressive in the early game in a lot of ways – but you also don’t want to be hindering the way you develop your board, and by turning a land into a creature, you might be doing just that. It is kind of exciting to think about your opponent trading a real creature for this, but it isn’t as good of a deal as it seems – you’re still just trading 1-for-1.
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Pack 3 Pick 10: Reckoner's Bargain
Network Terminal image 2.0 3 mana manarocks, even those that tap for any color, are sometimes a bit clunky in Limited – but the ability that is tacked on here isn’t an irrelevant one – it gives you some very real card selection in the late game, and it does it fairly cheaply. You do of course need another artifact around, but that’s not asking that much. Having this around will sort of feel like you are playing the RB Blood deck from Crimson Vow, and it also fixes your mana, so I think this will make the cut reasonably often – though probably only if you’re splashing a third color.
Mirrorshell Crab image 1.5 This is either an overcosted 5/7 or an overcosted Mana Leak. As is usually the case with these Channel cards, though, having the option between those things is much better than those things are individually! In this case, I do think both of the options are pretty underwhelming, though.
Akki Ember-Keeper image 3.0 This is a nice little two drop. It has passable stats and a nice ability that makes sure your board stays populated when your modified creatures die. There are a plethora of ways to modify them, so getting a creature token or two out of this isn’t far-fetched at all, and that’s some pretty great value.
Kami of Industry image 1.5 There will be too many situations where you either have no Artifact to reanimate, or you have one that you can bring back but it doesn’t really do anything on the board at the stage of the game yo’ure in. A five mana 3/6 as a baseline doesn’t help the card out either, even though that isn’t disastrous. I think the idea is that in the BR deck, you can easily sacrifice whatever it is you bring back, but I still have a hard time seeing this work out often enough.
Reckoner's Bargain image 2.0 This type of effect tends to do alright, especially in decks with a sacrifice theme – which in this format will mostly mean Black-Red. It is sort of an Instant speed Tormenting Voice, in the sense that you give up two cards to draw two cards – its just that one of them is an artifact or creature in play. Using this in response to a removal spell, or to get rid of something expendable will always feel nice, but there are also situations where you can’t find a spot to use this because you just don’t have the resources to make it worth it. The life gain is a nice addition, but doesn’t power it up a ton.
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Pack 3 Pick 11: Short Circuit
Discover the Impossible image 1.5 This gives you some nice card selection, but most of the time you’re going to just be spinning your wheels – getting one card from casting it for three mana – and most of the time its just going to feel worse than Divination. If you’re not adding to the board, you’ve got to be getting something pretty significant out of this. The upside on cheap spells is nice, and will make it feel a little more efficient, but its still just one card. I think you’ll find yourself cutting this card more than you’ll play it.
Grafted Growth image 1.5 We have seen similar cards before, and the fact they fix and ramp for you while adding a little something to the board always makes them pretty reasonable, especially if you’re in the market for mana of any color. You probably don’t play it in a two-color deck, though.
Repel the Vile image 2.5 This is much better in this format than it would be in your typical one. There are so many Enchantments around that that mode might actually be the one that is available to you the most often, and the fact it can take down large creatures is no small thing either. It isn’t quite premium, giving the restrictions and the cost, but it seems like a fine Common.
Short Circuit image 1.5 This is fairly mediocre. It doesn’t stop enough of what a card can do for it to be that effective as removal. Sure, it has less power and it can’t fly – but it still lets the creature block, it can still have a death trigger, it can still have an activated ability, it can still have a static ability, and heck – it can even still attack, just less effectively! It having Flash does mean sometimes you can set this up so that you can kill an attacking creature with a double block, and when you can do that it will feel alright, but you just won’t always be able to make that happen.
Tamiyo's Safekeeping image 1.0 I’m not a big fan of this type of card. It can save your creatures from a lot of stuff for sure, but the fact it doesn’t buff the creature at all means that, when it comes to combat, this isn’t necessarily going to do enough to be worth using, since your creature is less likely to be able to kill an opposing creature. So, this is the most useful at countering a removal spell, which is certainly a nice effect, but it’s a narrow enough use that I don’t love running this. If you have some bombs or other late game win conditions it does get a little better, but I don’t think its very good overall.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Skyswimmer Koi
Harmonious Emergence image 1.5 Animating a land is always less powerful than it might seem, and even adding the indestructible angle here isn’t that exciting. It does give you a reasonably efficient creature, but its also one that effectively makes you give up mana if you want to be attacking with it. I do think it’s a little better than the Red one, because this one is going to be more formidable in the later stages of the game, and it snice that they are such a pain in combat thanks to the indestructibility.
Akki Ronin image 1.5 If you need a two drop Samurai it is certainly that, though adding rummage to an attack isn’t super exciting in this format, it does allow you to sift through your library a bit.
Skyswimmer Koi image 3.0 This has pretty nice stats as a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer, and while its artifact pay off ability isn’t amazing, adding a loot effect to all of your artifacts is definitely relevant upside.
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Pack 3 Pick 13: Kindled Fury
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
Kindled Fury image 1.5 We’ve seen this many times before, and its always a passable trick. +1/+0 and First Strike for one mana isn’t a bad deal since it allows many creatures to win combat – first strike just does a great job of turning a trade into something much better for you.
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Pack 3 Pick 14: Commune with Spirits
Commune with Spirits image 1.0 This is cheap and gives you some decent card selection. But…it also doesn’t really do a whole lot, and cards like that seem to be getting worse and worse in Limited these days. It seems like it will be easy to cut this.
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Pack 3 Pick 15: Moonsnare Prototype
Moonsnare Prototype image 2.0 Without channel, this would be pretty close to unplayable. A one mana mana-rock is kind of exciting, but having to tap both the Prototype and something else to make a colorless mana just isn’t going to be that great in Limited most of the time. It might do something really early, but it is just a dud late. But, this card helps mitigate against that because in the late game you can turn it into a Time Ebb-type effect. Paying 5 for that effect isn’t amazing – and like with a lot of Channel cards neither card individually would be very good, but together? I think this ends up being a reasonable enough playable, albeit one you end up cutting a decent chunk of the time. Modality really improves the card, though.
Draft Pick Overview