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Premier Draft WOE 14 October 2023

14 October 11:31 - virtu333 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (16)
1 Imodane's Recruiter image
2 Ratcatcher Trainee image
2 Harried Spearguard image
1 Merry Bards image
1 Grand Ball Guest image
1 Embereth Veteran image
2 Belligerent of the Ball image
2 Gingerbrute image
1 Werefox Bodyguard image
1 Ash, Party Crasher image
1 Edgewall Pack image
1 Minecart Daredevil image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (8)
1 Cut In image
1 Glass Casket image
1 Gnawing Crescendo image
1 Song of Totentanz image
1 Return Triumphant image
1 Twisted Fealty image
1 Witchstalker Frenzy image
1 Witch's Mark image
Land (16)
7 Plains image
9 Mountain image
Sideboard
1 Boundary Lands Ranger image
2 Grabby Giant image
1 Voracious Vermin image
1 Skewer Slinger image
1 Tenacious Tomeseeker image
1 Redcap Thief image
1 Picklock Prankster image
1 Beluna's Gatekeeper image
1 Frantic Firebolt image
1 Gnawing Crescendo image
1 Commune with Nature image
1 Hatching Plans image
1 Eriette's Tempting Apple image
1 Bestial Bloodline image
1 Dragon Mantle image
1 Water Wings image
1 Restless Spire image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Imodane's Recruiter
Dark Tutelage image 1.5 Drawing extra cards is good, but mana values get high enough in most Limited decks that this might be a problem. If you have a really low curve this can end up being quite the card advantage engine, but I’m skeptical you’ll end up in a deck like that very often
Talion's Messenger image 5.0 This is really strong, even on its own. Looting on attack is a powerful thing as we just saw in Lord of the Rings, and this also feels kind of like Connive, another strong mechanic from the recent past. Basically, this improves your card quality while growing on its own, and then there’s the fact that it lends the ability to other Faeries too. I think you’ll have another Faerie in play often enough when you play the Messenger that it will have an immediate impact on the board, and that combined with it’s ability to snowball makes it a bomb
Imodane's Recruiter image 3.5 The creature side is effectively a 3-mana 3/2 with Haste that also buffs your whole board. That’s a pretty nice card! The Adventure side isn’t the most efficient way to produce a couple of Knight tokens, but like with all Adventures having that option at all is a big deal. I mean, if you have the time to cast both sides, getting a 3-for-1 isn’t out of the question, and if you have eight mana you can crank out the two 2/2s and then play the recruiter, which will be really devastating. All that said, this is an Adventure creature where you’re more likely to want to play the creature before you ever get the adventure
Night of the Sweets' Revenge image 0.0 This has some serious potential. Turning all your food into mana can be pretty silly, especially because this has a pretty strong effect you can pump all that mana into. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t give your stuff trample, so there will be lots of situations where the buff doesn’t quite accomplish what you need it to. On top of that, add to it the fact that you really need a lot of Food in the first place and probably some other things to spend all that mana on – AND the fact that this doesn’t really add to the board at all and well…I think we’re talking about a pretty bad card. There are way better thing you can do with Food.
Faerie Fencing image 4.0 Even without the Faerie upside this is an instant speed removal spell that scales all game long. If your deck has 0 Faeries you would always play it, but it does get far better if you do have some faeries around, as it becomes incredibly efficient. Heck, you can pay one to give something -3/-3 when you have a Faerie. There are enough faeries in black that setting this up for the extra value isn’t hard, and the baseline card is already really good
Skewer Slinger image 1.5 This makes X/1s pretty miserable as they can neither attack through it or block it effectively. Overall, it is definitely a defensive card more than anything, and that’s always a little awkward
Besotted Knight image 3.0 Neither half of this card is exactly something you’d play on its own, but the fact of the matter is you can get both of these things! Using the Adventure side is likely to augment one of your early game creatures and make it more of a problem, and then you just sort of have this Hill Giant sitting in your hand, ready to come into play as soon as you don’t have anything else to do with your mana. That might know sound exciting, but I think you definitely get enough value out of this in the end for it to be a nice Common. Worth remembering too that the Role tokens have a lot of synergies in the set.
Kindled Heroism image 1.5 We’ve seen this trick many times before and it’s always kind of okay. The boost can allow your creature to win a decent number of combats, and when you can make that happen for only one mana it feels pretty amazing. Still, it is a combat trick and one that isn’t always very impactful
Territorial Witchstalker image 1.5 A two mana 2/3 with defender isn’t great, but in a defensive deck it isn’t unplayable, but the ceiling on this card just isn’t very high, and neither is the floor.
Sugar Rush image 1.5 This replaces itself, but the buff is highly unlikely to be that useful in combat. Sure, it probably lets you kill something, but most of the time whatever you cast this on will die two. Drawing the card does keep you from getting 2-for-1’d, but it doesn’t really make up for the tempo you lose. It does get a little better with Rat tokens, but I’d still steer clear of it most of the time
Merry Bards image 2.0 So you can play this as a 4-mana 3/2 with the Role token, which means it will become a 4/3 the next time it attacks, and then a 5/4. That’s not a bad investment, and the fact you can put the token somewhere else really matters, as you can stick in on something that can get value out of it the turn you play it. Just playing this as a vanilla creature is a lot less appealing, but it isn’t a bad fail case
Stormkeld Prowler image 1.5 Two +1/+1 counters is pretty nice! But a two-mana 2/1…isn’t, and by the time you play your 5-drop and make this a 4/3, it isn’t like it will be unbeatable. There will also be times where you can’t grow until well beyond that turn.
Edgewall Pack image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 menace that makes a 1/1 that can’t block is pretty decent. Worth noting that it triggers card swith Celebration on its own, and there are definitely some curve outs where you play a two drop and a three drop with Celebration, where then playing the Pack would make for a pretty spicy turn 4.
Evolving Wilds image 2.5 As usual, this provides nice fixing. Makes it pretty easy to splash a single card if you have one Evolving Wilds, since it effectively gives you two sources of your splash color
Pack 1 Pick 2: Cut In
Grave Pact image 3.0 This can sometimes do some pretty cools stuff, especially if you’re sacrificing expendable creatures to make your opponent give up something real. And it even makes a trade into a 2-for-1 in your favor. There isn’t always a board state where you can take advantage of it – like if you’re behind. But it’s awesome at parity or if you’re ahead
Galvanic Giant image 3.0 This Adventure is going to feel nice in the extreme late game. In the earlier stages of the game Galvanic Giant doesn’t seem terrible either. Sure, the stats are bad, but if you can follow it up with a five-mana card on the next turn, you’re going to be in business. Obviously, this is a case where the Adventure isn’t always going to get cast before the creature, but it’s nice having that late game ability to see a bunch of cards
Eriette's Tempting Apple image 1.0 A 4-mana Threaten isn’t amazing, but as usual, if you can sacrifice the thing that you steal we’re talking about a potentially powerful card. But the apple’s other two effects aren’t particularly good either
Redtooth Vanguard image 3.5 This 3/1 trampler is going to be able to come back from the graveyard a ton in this format, and while you won’t always have the mana to make it happen, bringing this back constantly does represent a major problem for your opponent, whether you’re behind or ahead. If you’re ahead it can attack for free in some decks, and when you’re behind it can block and trade forever. The fact it doesn’t enter tapped like some recursive creatures is a pretty big deal too
Cut In image 2.5 A 4-mana deal 4 sorcery isn’t premium removal, and I don’t think adding a Young Hero Role token to the mix gets this there. Still, it can kill a decent number of things and it does add to the board a tiny bit too.
Aquatic Alchemist image 1.5 Unfortunately, putting an instant or sorcery on top of your library from your graveyard isn’t a great effect all on its own. In fact, it’s card disadvantage. You go down a card and don’t get one back. This makes up for that some by also giving you a creature, I’m not really blown away by it either. We’ve seen cards with this same instant or sorcery trigger do pretty well, but most of the time they don’t have a restriction on how many times they can get buffed in a turn. Basically, both sides of this are fairly weak and not very impactful
Rootrider Faun image 3.0 This has decent stats, it offers decent ramp, and it offers decent fixing. None of the things it does are very exciting, but ramp does seem like a real strategy in Green
Grand Ball Guest image 2.0 A vanilla two mana 2/2 is probably a 1.0 these days, and while I think triggering celebration is doable, it isn’t going to happen so much that this will be a 3/3 with trample every turn or anything
Moment of Valor image 1.5 Neither of these modes is very good on its own, and probably wouldn’t be a card that made the cut. This is just too expensive for this narrow of effects. But, stapling two narrow effects on to a single card does make a huge difference, and that modality is enough for this to make the cut in your deck sometimes
Beanstalk Wurm image 2.0 Extra land effects rarely play well in Limited, especially when not accompanied by a way to draw cards, so the adventure here is often not going to be good. If you have it on turn two and have nothing else to do, it might help you ramp a bit. Even then it isn’t guaranteed though, as a missed land drop makes that advantage disintegrates and by the later stages of the game it is increasingly meaningless, and if you don’t have the extra land to begin with it’s always meaningless. The other side is a passable creature, but I think the overall package here is underwhelming
Conceited Witch image 3.0 A 3 mana ⅔ with Menace is passable, and you can augment one of your creatures with this on an earlier turn – or the same turn, if you have happen to have four mana. It just seems like plenty of value to get out of a single card, and it even seems reasonably efficient
Eriette's Whisper image 1.5 4 mana to Mind Rot isn’t great, even if you do get a Role out of the deal. Spending this much and adding minimally to the board is just something you want to do in most formats.
Gnawing Crescendo image 1.0 // 2.5 These effects don’t usually pan out that well in Limited. That said, this format looks like it can go wide in both Black/Red and Red/White, meaning this might have some more uses than usual. It is nice that you get something even if your creatures die, but the 1/1s that can’t block aren’t exactly going to help you on the back swing
Pack 1 Pick 3: Boundary Lands Ranger
Sanguine Bond image 0.0 There’s definitely life gain in Black, but the fact this is so expensive and does stone nothing unless you manage to draw it before you use your Food tokens and things like that is a pretty big problem
Tempest Hart image 3.5 Faithless looting for two mana is a really nice adventure to have. That kind of card selection can be huge, especially if you have nothing else to do on turn two. The creature side of this is decidedly less impressive because it starts inefficiently and asks you to do something that even in Blue-Green you’re not going to do so often that the Hart will just become absolutely massive. Even in a ramp deck you can only have so many cards in your deck with a mana value high enough to trigger it
Boundary Lands Ranger image 2.5 This has solid base stats, and if you can get it to rummage every turn it will feel pretty impressive. A two mana 2/2 that just gave you the option of rummaging every combat would be nice. That’s some pretty great card selection that can really turn a game around for you. Obviously, this doesn’t quite get there, but it seems fine
Sleight of Hand image 2.0 Seeing two cards for one mana tends to be a nice rate, and this will be especially good in this format’s spell deck, but running the first copy of this seems decent in most Blue decks. It is true that you only have so much space for cards that don’t impact the board, but this is efficient enough that it will make the cut a decent chunk of the time.
Mintstrosity image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be solid for aggro decks, and getting a Food when this goes down is nice upside to have
Besotted Knight image 3.0 Neither half of this card is exactly something you’d play on its own, but the fact of the matter is you can get both of these things! Using the Adventure side is likely to augment one of your early game creatures and make it more of a problem, and then you just sort of have this Hill Giant sitting in your hand, ready to come into play as soon as you don’t have anything else to do with your mana. That might know sound exciting, but I think you definitely get enough value out of this in the end for it to be a nice Common. Worth remembering too that the Role tokens have a lot of synergies in the set.
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Frantic Firebolt image 3.5 The base form of this card is mediocre, but if you can just get it to do 3 damage you’re talking about premium removal. That’s not a huge ask at all, especially in Red decks in the format, and that also means it has a really high ceiling. Basically, this has a bad floor, but it will almost never be that bad, and I think that means it does enough to be premium removal you take highly
Brave the Wilds image 2.0 One green mana to search up a basic land is a borderline playable, especially if you’re playing more than two colors. The upside of animating a land means it can add to the board sometimes too
Ferocious Werefox image 3.5 Buffing a creature at instant speed earlier and getting a reasonable 4-drop later means this delivers some serious value for a Common
Flick a Coin image 2.0 Each thing this does individually isn’t that impressive but getting them all for three mana seems like a decent enough deal, especially if you’re in the market for fixing. Still, it’s a fairly low impact card that probably won’t always make the cut.
Redcap Thief image 2.5 This offers some nice fixing and ramp and can trigger celebration all on its own. That seems like something worth doing in Red decks in this format
Pack 1 Pick 4: Glass Casket
Vampiric Rites image 3.0 This is a pretty nice sacrifice outlet, and Black in this format has access to many rat tokens that will feel particularly good to sacrifice to this
Glass Casket image 3.5 This was in Eldraine the last time, and it was a card that just barely reached premium removal status. It can deal with lots of things efficiently, and the fact it exiles is usually upside
Ashiok's Reaper image 2.5 This seems like it may be a little too clunky. The stats are bad, and while getting Enchantments into the graveyard is more doable in this format than most, it isn’t going to just happen so often that this entirely makes up for that very real problem.
Witch's Mark image 2.0 This is a nice Tormenting Voice variant. Even without the Role token this card is usually in the D+ or C- range, especially in a format with some graveyard stuff and a spell deck, and that’s true in this format. Actually adding to the board while digging deeper into your deck is going to feel pretty nice. You probably don’t desperately want more than one of these, although perhaps if you’re in the spell deck going deeper than that first copy might be worth it
Frostbridge Guard image 1.5 This has somewhat passable stats, and it has an ability that is useful, albeit expensive. Tapping things does bring some extra value in this format, but three for the effect is kind of brutal. I miss the days of Master Decoy
Misleading Motes image 3.0 We just saw this card but with a Lord of the Ringsy name, and it ended up being solid. It’s a 4 mana instant that removes…pretty much any creature. Keep in mind it is your opponent who decides where the creature goes
Verdant Outrider image 2.0 A three mana 4/2 usually has the big problem of dying to 2 power creatures, but obviously enough, Verdant Outrider can get around that. You won’t always have the time or mana to use that ability of course, but it definitely does enough for this to be solid filler
Rowan's Grim Search image 2.0 This is a nice take on the usual Black card raw spell we get. If you don’t bargain, we’re talking about an instant speed draw 2 lose 2, which is playable in all but the fastest of formats. If you have something expendable to bargain, you’re looking at a card that lets you see a ton of cards for the cost – up to six of them, which is dang impressive. It helps you load the graveyard too. Now…it is still a card that doesn’t really impact the board, and you won’t always want to Bargain it, so it isn’t amazing or anything
Gnawing Crescendo image 1.0 // 2.5 These effects don’t usually pan out that well in Limited. That said, this format looks like it can go wide in both Black/Red and Red/White, meaning this might have some more uses than usual. It is nice that you get something even if your creatures die, but the 1/1s that can’t block aren’t exactly going to help you on the back swing
Troublemaker Ouphe image 2.5 This feels like a two drop you want one of in every Green deck, simply because it provides main deck hate against permanent types that are very common in this format. You won’t always have something to get Bargain going, but at least the fail case is a Bear
Scream Puff image 2.0 This is pretty beefy, although I think it would be much better if it made the food on ETB. That would allow it to be one of these big creatures that helps slower decks stabilize. It can still help you do that of course, but having to rumble with it in order to get food makes the card a little bit awkward
Pack 1 Pick 5: Ratcatcher Trainee
Restless Spire image 3.5 A 2/1 with First Strike can attack on a whole lot of boards, and the fact that this one is so cheap to animate is pretty amazing. Adding Scry as the attack trigger is definitely a nice addition
Stormkeld Vanguard image 4.0 Speaking of main deck ways to destroy artifacts and enchantments….this card looks great. It’s very easy to hit something with Bear Down, and in the case of this card even hitting a token of some kind is acceptable, because you don’t use up an entire card to do it, since later in the game you get an efficient creature that is hard to block. This will generate 2-for-1s a decent chunk of the time too
The Princess Takes Flight image 2.0 Temporarily exiling something with Chapter 1 can be used to get an opposing creature out of the way for a bit, and it can also be a slow way to blink something, but the fact that Chapter 1 and 3 are basically part of the same effect makes the value this can generate pretty low. Chapter 2 isn’t bad, but I think the whole package here seems pretty medium. I think the best way to use this is to cast something with Bargain after Chapter II, that way you permanently rid yourself of an opposing creature. While you can certainly make that happen, when it doesn’t line up that way, it seems very mediocre
Savior of the Sleeping image 2.5 As we’ve seen there are a decent number of ways to get enchantments in the graveyard, so it isn’t that unreasonable to think getting a counter or two on this is doable
Snaremaster Sprite image 3.0 Three mana for a 1/1 flyer that stuns something is probably already a playable card – especially in a format with a Faerie deck and some payoffs for tapping things, so the fact that you also have the option of just playing this on turn one makes this a nice Common
Bestial Bloodline image 1.0 +2/+2 is a nice boost for the cost, but you still set yourself up for an ugly 2-for-1, and even though this can come back from your graveyard the cost is so high that it is only something you do when you have absolutely nothing else you can do. And even then, it isn’t going to feel great
Ferocious Werefox image 3.5 Buffing a creature at instant speed earlier and getting a reasonable 4-drop later means this delivers some serious value for a Common
Redcap Thief image 2.5 This offers some nice fixing and ramp and can trigger celebration all on its own. That seems like something worth doing in Red decks in this format
Rimefur Reindeer image 2.5 This has some serious potential, as tapping down just one thing a turn is often pretty great at allowing your aggressive deck to rumble, and that’s especially true if the enchantment augmented one of your creatures. But, when you aren’t triggering this regularly, it is a well below rate creature.
Ratcatcher Trainee image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with first strike when it attacks is a great aggressive creature in Limited, and this one can make you a couple of 1/1s too. It is a bit odd as far as adventures go, because this is one where you probably cast it fairly often without ever using the Adventure part, where with most of them it makes a lot of sense to try to get the full value. Here, you’re not going to do that as often, but it still has big upside because if you draw it late you can get the tokens and the 2/1 all in a single turn. The Adventure side can also get celebration going all on its own
Pack 1 Pick 6: Grabby Giant
Intangible Virtue image 0.0 // 3.0 There are enough tokens in this set for this to be good in some decks. Rat tokens are probably the most plentiful, and if you’re pairing White with Black or Red, you’re likely to have some of those – in addition to Knight tokens, Bird Tokens, and Human tokens
Threadbind Clique image 4.0 Both sides of this card have been fairly underwhelming when we’ve seen them lately. Destroying only tapped creatures is highly restrictive and not especially useful when you’re the beat down. But at least it does let you do it at instant speed, so a creature doesn’t have to hit you first. Then, a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer just isn’t what it used to be. However…like with all of these, even two medium cards stapled together is two cards making the Clique really good. It’s another adventure creature with an accessible 2-for-1.
Snaremaster Sprite image 3.0 Three mana for a 1/1 flyer that stuns something is probably already a playable card – especially in a format with a Faerie deck and some payoffs for tapping things, so the fact that you also have the option of just playing this on turn one makes this a nice Common
Grabby Giant image 2.0 This offers you some decent ramp early, and a mediocre body with an expensive activated ability late. Notably, he can ramp into himself, if you cast the adventure and then him and a 4/3 with Reach on turn three isn’t too bad.
Stingblade Assassin image 1.5 This ETB ability almost always underperforms. It’s just hard to consistently find a way to do damage to a creature without using up some resource you didn’t really want to use up. It might be interesting with Rat tokens, because your opponent is going to be willing to block those a lot with their 2/2s or whatever, but this probably doesn’t end up being able to destroy something often enough for this to be very good
Barrow Naughty image 2.0 A two mana 1/3 with lifelink is a solid card, and that’s what this well be a decent chunk of the time, especially in Blue-Black. The buff effect is expensive and really only the kind of thing you use when you have nothing else to do
Warehouse Tabby image 1.5 Take away the Enchantment part of this card and it’s…pretty bad. A one mana 1/1 with death touch is usually pretty solid, as it can trade for anything. This has the capacity to do that, but because you have to have mana up to do it and because you spend extra mana to make it do it, it is way worse than a one mana 1/1 that always has death touch. The fact it cranks out a few 1/1s is nice, but even in this format I don’t imagine this just giving you 1/1 after 1/1.
Commune with Nature image 1.5 We’ve seen this a lot. It usually lets you draw a card for one mana, and you see a huge chunk of your deck in Limited. But it just doesn’t always make the cut, you only have so much room for cards that don’t impact the board
Unassuming Sage image 2.0 Neither of these modes is a model of efficiency, but the second mode does at least get synergy going for Celebration and Aura decks
Pack 1 Pick 7: Grabby Giant
Impact Tremors image 0.0 // 2.5 Like Goblin Bombardment, if your deck can make a lot of bodies, this does represent a pretty big problem for your opponent, although it is a very awkward top deck unlike Bombardment. Bombardment rewards you for already having things in play, Impact Tremors doesn’t
Splashy Spellcaster image 3.5 This is a powerful spell payoff, and it has high enough toughness to be difficult to deal with and attack through. It is a little sad it can’t give itself a Sorcerer Role, but upgrading all your other stuff seems pretty good to me. I think this will feel like an impressive engine, even in a Blue deck with like five spells you’ll be running this.
Ice Out image 2.0 This is Cancel when you don’t Bargain it, and Counterspell when you do. 1 mana may not seem like much, but the chasm between those two cards is massive. The fact this has double blue in the cost really matters too, as Limited mana bases aren’t good enough for you to consistently be able to leave up two Blue mana for this.
Tuinvale Guide image 2.5 This is mediocre without Celebration, and pretty nice when it is a 3/3 flying lifelinker. Triggering celebration is something you can do, but not so often that this will be anything special
Spider Food image 0.5 This format has a lot of targets for this, but there are also two lower rarity ways to Naturalize stuff in this format that are way better in the main deck. So, this is a sideboard card but one you probably won’t use very often
Return from the Wilds image 2.0 A three mana 1/1 that rampant growths is a solid enough card, and ramping does look fairly viable in this format. This can also give you food when you reach the part of the game where more lands doesn’t do you any good
Skewer Slinger image 1.5 This makes X/1s pretty miserable as they can neither attack through it or block it effectively. Overall, it is definitely a defensive card more than anything, and that’s always a little awkward
Grabby Giant image 2.0 This offers you some decent ramp early, and a mediocre body with an expensive activated ability late. Notably, he can ramp into himself, if you cast the adventure and then him and a 4/3 with Reach on turn three isn’t too bad.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Harried Spearguard
Agatha of the Vile Cauldron image 3.0 A two mana 1/1 that reduces the cost of creature activated abilities by 1 is…not that exciting. Sure, there are abilities around, but not so many that you can count on Agatha being a key player in your deck. The cool thing is she counts herself, so her ability will basically cost 5 at the most, and that ability is a pretty awesome overrun effect. If you augment her power, you can gain access to it even more quickly
Obyra's Attendants image 3.5 This has two-for-one potential, though it isn’t always going to be accessible. You need a board of some sort to turn Desperate Parry into a full card, but there are a number of ways you can. For example, you can triple block something and then use the Parry to make it so all your stuff survives and they lose their creature. Then you get a serviceable flyer later
Harried Spearguard image 1.5 This is great in terms of sacrifice fodder, as it gives you two bodies for the price of 1. It also isn’t bad just based on the rate you get out of it. But it’s nothing special either. It will quickly get outclassed in most games and be relegated into chump block mode
Troublemaker Ouphe image 2.5 This feels like a two drop you want one of in every Green deck, simply because it provides main deck hate against permanent types that are very common in this format. You won’t always have something to get Bargain going, but at least the fail case is a Bear
Eriette's Whisper image 1.5 4 mana to Mind Rot isn’t great, even if you do get a Role out of the deal. Spending this much and adding minimally to the board is just something you want to do in most formats.
Tuinvale Guide image 2.5 This is mediocre without Celebration, and pretty nice when it is a 3/3 flying lifelinker. Triggering celebration is something you can do, but not so often that this will be anything special
Skybeast Tracker image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Reach is not very good these days, though you could do worse if you need something defensive. This will make some food sometimes, which certainly has its uses in the format
Pack 1 Pick 9: Merry Bards
Dark Tutelage image 1.5 Drawing extra cards is good, but mana values get high enough in most Limited decks that this might be a problem. If you have a really low curve this can end up being quite the card advantage engine, but I’m skeptical you’ll end up in a deck like that very often
Skewer Slinger image 1.5 This makes X/1s pretty miserable as they can neither attack through it or block it effectively. Overall, it is definitely a defensive card more than anything, and that’s always a little awkward
Kindled Heroism image 1.5 We’ve seen this trick many times before and it’s always kind of okay. The boost can allow your creature to win a decent number of combats, and when you can make that happen for only one mana it feels pretty amazing. Still, it is a combat trick and one that isn’t always very impactful
Sugar Rush image 1.5 This replaces itself, but the buff is highly unlikely to be that useful in combat. Sure, it probably lets you kill something, but most of the time whatever you cast this on will die two. Drawing the card does keep you from getting 2-for-1’d, but it doesn’t really make up for the tempo you lose. It does get a little better with Rat tokens, but I’d still steer clear of it most of the time
Merry Bards image 2.0 So you can play this as a 4-mana 3/2 with the Role token, which means it will become a 4/3 the next time it attacks, and then a 5/4. That’s not a bad investment, and the fact you can put the token somewhere else really matters, as you can stick in on something that can get value out of it the turn you play it. Just playing this as a vanilla creature is a lot less appealing, but it isn’t a bad fail case
Stormkeld Prowler image 1.5 Two +1/+1 counters is pretty nice! But a two-mana 2/1…isn’t, and by the time you play your 5-drop and make this a 4/3, it isn’t like it will be unbeatable. There will also be times where you can’t grow until well beyond that turn.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Grand Ball Guest
Galvanic Giant image 3.0 This Adventure is going to feel nice in the extreme late game. In the earlier stages of the game Galvanic Giant doesn’t seem terrible either. Sure, the stats are bad, but if you can follow it up with a five-mana card on the next turn, you’re going to be in business. Obviously, this is a case where the Adventure isn’t always going to get cast before the creature, but it’s nice having that late game ability to see a bunch of cards
Aquatic Alchemist image 1.5 Unfortunately, putting an instant or sorcery on top of your library from your graveyard isn’t a great effect all on its own. In fact, it’s card disadvantage. You go down a card and don’t get one back. This makes up for that some by also giving you a creature, I’m not really blown away by it either. We’ve seen cards with this same instant or sorcery trigger do pretty well, but most of the time they don’t have a restriction on how many times they can get buffed in a turn. Basically, both sides of this are fairly weak and not very impactful
Grand Ball Guest image 2.0 A vanilla two mana 2/2 is probably a 1.0 these days, and while I think triggering celebration is doable, it isn’t going to happen so much that this will be a 3/3 with trample every turn or anything
Eriette's Whisper image 1.5 4 mana to Mind Rot isn’t great, even if you do get a Role out of the deal. Spending this much and adding minimally to the board is just something you want to do in most formats.
Gnawing Crescendo image 1.0 // 2.5 These effects don’t usually pan out that well in Limited. That said, this format looks like it can go wide in both Black/Red and Red/White, meaning this might have some more uses than usual. It is nice that you get something even if your creatures die, but the 1/1s that can’t block aren’t exactly going to help you on the back swing
Pack 1 Pick 11: Frantic Firebolt
Tempest Hart image 3.5 Faithless looting for two mana is a really nice adventure to have. That kind of card selection can be huge, especially if you have nothing else to do on turn two. The creature side of this is decidedly less impressive because it starts inefficiently and asks you to do something that even in Blue-Green you’re not going to do so often that the Hart will just become absolutely massive. Even in a ramp deck you can only have so many cards in your deck with a mana value high enough to trigger it
Sleight of Hand image 2.0 Seeing two cards for one mana tends to be a nice rate, and this will be especially good in this format’s spell deck, but running the first copy of this seems decent in most Blue decks. It is true that you only have so much space for cards that don’t impact the board, but this is efficient enough that it will make the cut a decent chunk of the time.
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Frantic Firebolt image 3.5 The base form of this card is mediocre, but if you can just get it to do 3 damage you’re talking about premium removal. That’s not a huge ask at all, especially in Red decks in the format, and that also means it has a really high ceiling. Basically, this has a bad floor, but it will almost never be that bad, and I think that means it does enough to be premium removal you take highly
Pack 1 Pick 12: Gnawing Crescendo
Vampiric Rites image 3.0 This is a pretty nice sacrifice outlet, and Black in this format has access to many rat tokens that will feel particularly good to sacrifice to this
Misleading Motes image 3.0 We just saw this card but with a Lord of the Ringsy name, and it ended up being solid. It’s a 4 mana instant that removes…pretty much any creature. Keep in mind it is your opponent who decides where the creature goes
Gnawing Crescendo image 1.0 // 2.5 These effects don’t usually pan out that well in Limited. That said, this format looks like it can go wide in both Black/Red and Red/White, meaning this might have some more uses than usual. It is nice that you get something even if your creatures die, but the 1/1s that can’t block aren’t exactly going to help you on the back swing
Pack 1 Pick 13: Restless Spire
Restless Spire image 3.5 A 2/1 with First Strike can attack on a whole lot of boards, and the fact that this one is so cheap to animate is pretty amazing. Adding Scry as the attack trigger is definitely a nice addition
Bestial Bloodline image 1.0 +2/+2 is a nice boost for the cost, but you still set yourself up for an ugly 2-for-1, and even though this can come back from your graveyard the cost is so high that it is only something you do when you have absolutely nothing else you can do. And even then, it isn’t going to feel great
Pack 1 Pick 14: Commune with Nature
Commune with Nature image 1.5 We’ve seen this a lot. It usually lets you draw a card for one mana, and you see a huge chunk of your deck in Limited. But it just doesn’t always make the cut, you only have so much room for cards that don’t impact the board
Pack 2 Pick 1: Song of Totentanz
Season of Growth image 2.0 The Scry effect alone isn’t enough to run this, but the good news is there are several green cards in the set that will trigger this, even at lower rarities. They are combat tricks of course, but this also works pretty well with all the fight and bite spells, as it will make them into 2-for-1s, which is actually pretty nuts. So, I think you can actually play one of these in most Green decks and have it do something, and in some of them it might be really nuts
Song of Totentanz image 3.5 They can’t block, but who cares? This gives all those Rats haste, which means they can immediately pressure your opponent. Now, the bad news about this card is that in the early game it isn’t going to feel that good, but I guess paying 2 for X isn’t all that bad either. It also doesn’t help that much if you’re behind since the rats can’t block. It seems really good late and kind of mediocre up until that point, but the upside is pretty real and the floor gets higher the more Rat and sacrifice synergy you have
Galvanic Giant image 3.0 This Adventure is going to feel nice in the extreme late game. In the earlier stages of the game Galvanic Giant doesn’t seem terrible either. Sure, the stats are bad, but if you can follow it up with a five-mana card on the next turn, you’re going to be in business. Obviously, this is a case where the Adventure isn’t always going to get cast before the creature, but it’s nice having that late game ability to see a bunch of cards
Faerie Dreamthief image 3.5 think I’m already in on a one mana 1/1 flyer that Surveils 1. So, the fact this can cash itself in from the graveyard and give you back a whole card is nice
Eriette's Tempting Apple image 1.0 A 4-mana Threaten isn’t amazing, but as usual, if you can sacrifice the thing that you steal we’re talking about a potentially powerful card. But the apple’s other two effects aren’t particularly good either
Vantress Transmuter image 3.0 This doesn’t quite give you two cards, but I think it gets close enough, even with Croaking Curse being Sorcery speed. It lets you downgrade a creature and up your ability to attack, and then you get a decent creature on a future turn
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Beanstalk Wurm image 2.0 Extra land effects rarely play well in Limited, especially when not accompanied by a way to draw cards, so the adventure here is often not going to be good. If you have it on turn two and have nothing else to do, it might help you ramp a bit. Even then it isn’t guaranteed though, as a missed land drop makes that advantage disintegrates and by the later stages of the game it is increasingly meaningless, and if you don’t have the extra land to begin with it’s always meaningless. The other side is a passable creature, but I think the overall package here is underwhelming
Savior of the Sleeping image 2.5 As we’ve seen there are a decent number of ways to get enchantments in the graveyard, so it isn’t that unreasonable to think getting a counter or two on this is doable
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Hopeful Vigil image 2.5 You get a reasonable body up front, and then you can sacrifice this to Bargain or other sacrifice effects. That does seem pretty doable, and the fact that you get a decent creature up front really makes this intriguing as far as two drops go. It also happens to trigger Celebration on its own.
Hamlet Glutton image 3.0 I always love a big ol’ green creature that gains me life when it ETBs, because it allows slower decks to stabilize. If this always cost 7 it would be overcosted, but because Bargaining this looks so doable, it will often cost 5 and you won’t have to give up much to make it happen. Red-Green and Blue-Green will both always want at least one copy of this
Warehouse Tabby image 1.5 Take away the Enchantment part of this card and it’s…pretty bad. A one mana 1/1 with death touch is usually pretty solid, as it can trade for anything. This has the capacity to do that, but because you have to have mana up to do it and because you spend extra mana to make it do it, it is way worse than a one mana 1/1 that always has death touch. The fact it cranks out a few 1/1s is nice, but even in this format I don’t imagine this just giving you 1/1 after 1/1.
Bespoke Battlegarb image 0.0 This doesn’t look good. Two mana to play and two to equip for +2/+0 just…isn’t where you want to be. The Celebration trigger on it will let you equip it for free, but even when that’s the case I’m not especially interested
Pack 2 Pick 2: Embereth Veteran
Leyline of Anticipation image 0.0 Giving all your spells flash is a decent upgrade…but not usually one you want to spend an entire card on in Limited
Knight of Doves image 1.0 // 3.5 White has lots of expendable enchantments in the form of Role tokens, and Black-White in particular is interested in getting Enchantments into the graveyard and getting value out of them, so getting a few tokens out of this isn’t farfetched. However, I also don’t think it’s going to be automatic. This probably needs a build around grade. Your typical deck will probably struggle to make even one token with the Knight, but some decks will turn it into a real engine.
Troyan, Gutsy Explorer image 4.0 Playing this on turn three will often let you power out a 5 or even 6 drop on turn four, which is no joke. The loot effect is nice too, because it means when you don’t have something to power out with the mana Troyan produces, you can start digging for exactly that. And, looting for one mana is a pretty nice effect in Limited anyway
Embereth Veteran image 3.0 A one mana 2/1 can get in for decent damage on the first couple of turns, but tends to become irrelevant fairly quickly. This helps overcome that by letting you put a Young Hero Role on something, and while it’s not the most amazing of the Roles, since it requires the creature to be small to get a buff from it, it does mean the Veteran can significantly augment your creatures in some situations
Gingerbrute image 2.5 He’s back! He wasn’t too bad as a beater last time around, and that will be pretty true here too with all of the Role tokens. Putting one on him and going to town with him is definitely going to be a way to close out a game
Armory Mice image 2.0 A two mana 3/1 is usually acceptable, and this will be a 3/3 some percentage of the time. I’m giving this a 2.
Unassuming Sage image 2.0 Neither of these modes is a model of efficiency, but the second mode does at least get synergy going for Celebration and Aura decks
Feed the Cauldron image 2.0 This will never let you trade up, and that’s one of the best things to do with removal spells. With this, you’ll kill something that cost the same or less. Getting that Food helps, but you don’t even always get it.
Rootrider Faun image 3.0 This has decent stats, it offers decent ramp, and it offers decent fixing. None of the things it does are very exciting, but ramp does seem like a real strategy in Green
Edgewall Pack image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 menace that makes a 1/1 that can’t block is pretty decent. Worth noting that it triggers card swith Celebration on its own, and there are definitely some curve outs where you play a two drop and a three drop with Celebration, where then playing the Pack would make for a pretty spicy turn 4.
Snaremaster Sprite image 3.0 Three mana for a 1/1 flyer that stuns something is probably already a playable card – especially in a format with a Faerie deck and some payoffs for tapping things, so the fact that you also have the option of just playing this on turn one makes this a nice Common
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Wicked Visitor image 2.0 This has passable base stats and a passable payoff for the Black/White deck, which will be the most adept at putting enchantments in the graveyard
Pack 2 Pick 3: Harried Spearguard
Griffin Aerie image 0.0 // 3.0 I think this has potential, at least in some decks. Food isn’t that readily available in White, but if you’re paired with Black or Green, you’re going to have food – and this basically adds “make a 2/2 flying token” to your food getting sacrificed and that’s honestly…kind of insane. There are other ways to gain life in White too of course, but that’s the one that immediately springs to mind when you see a card that has a threshold of 3 life for it to do something. It needs a build around grade, since not all White decks will trigger it enough, but I think this can make a whole lot of tokens in the right deck
Restless Spire image 3.5 A 2/1 with First Strike can attack on a whole lot of boards, and the fact that this one is so cheap to animate is pretty amazing. Adding Scry as the attack trigger is definitely a nice addition
Twisted Fealty image 1.5 This format doesn’t really have a sacrifice deck, and that’s usually the place for a Threaten effect. It isn’t unplayable, though. It will have a home in some really aggressive decks
Eerie Interference image 0.0 Fog effects are almost always bad in Limited, even when they become one-sided. The problem is that they have far too narrow of a use-case
Ruby, Daring Tracker image 3.5 It can ramp your mana quite effectively, and that makes it more likely that you can get a creature with power 4 or great into play quickly, at which point Ruby herself becomes a significantly better attacker. There will also be times in the mid to late game when you draw her and can already trigger her ability, in which case she becomes a two mana ¾ with Haste, which is going to feel pretty good
Hopeless Nightmare image 2.5 One mana to make your opponent discard and lose 2 life is an acceptable rate, and after that point the Nightmare is great fodder for cards with Bargain. It’s definitely a role-player, but something you probably want one of in Black if you have a few cards that Bargain
Rat Out image 2.0 The Rat not being able to block here is obviously a big deal, but if you can pick off an X/1 with this while adding something to your board that’s not…too bad. The problem is a 1/1 that can’t block isn’t exactly the most significant thing to add to your board. In fact, it’s pretty close to the least significant thing you can add
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Harried Spearguard image 1.5 This is great in terms of sacrifice fodder, as it gives you two bodies for the price of 1. It also isn’t bad just based on the rate you get out of it. But it’s nothing special either. It will quickly get outclassed in most games and be relegated into chump block mode
Diminisher Witch image 2.5 Cursing an opposing creature isn’t the most powerful thing in the world, but when you Bargain this does upgrade your board and downgrade your opponents reasonably effectively.
Hollow Scavenger image 2.5 There is a lot you can do with Food in this format, so paying one mana and like half a card for it is pretty reasonable. Especially when the creature side of this can take advantage of that food and make itself into a pretty sizable attacker
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Hatching Plans
Hatching Plans image 3.0 This will be one of the absolute best things you can ever sacrifice to a Bargain card as you end up netting a bunch of cards and getting a bonus effect. Most decks in this format will have enough cards with Bargain to make this worth playing. The downside is, of course, that it does stone nothing when you can’t sacrifice it
The Apprentice's Folly image 3.5 Those first two chapters can deliver some pretty absurd value, as making a hasty token copy of your best and then second-best creature can be a pretty serious beating. The first one will even get to attack twice! The bad news is, if you can’t take advantage of those tokens in time, you’re in trouble, because the Folly ultimately takes them away from you. Still, it seems like you should be able to get enough value out of those two tokens before the Folly goes away. Worth noting that you can sacrifice this to something with bargain before you reach chapter 3, in which case the downside goes away entirely. That’s where the power really is. It will feel pretty close to a bomb if you can do it consistently
Wicked Visitor image 2.0 This has passable base stats and a passable payoff for the Black/White deck, which will be the most adept at putting enchantments in the graveyard
Rowan's Grim Search image 2.0 This is a nice take on the usual Black card raw spell we get. If you don’t bargain, we’re talking about an instant speed draw 2 lose 2, which is playable in all but the fastest of formats. If you have something expendable to bargain, you’re looking at a card that lets you see a ton of cards for the cost – up to six of them, which is dang impressive. It helps you load the graveyard too. Now…it is still a card that doesn’t really impact the board, and you won’t always want to Bargain it, so it isn’t amazing or anything
Misleading Motes image 3.0 We just saw this card but with a Lord of the Ringsy name, and it ended up being solid. It’s a 4 mana instant that removes…pretty much any creature. Keep in mind it is your opponent who decides where the creature goes
Gnawing Crescendo image 1.0 // 2.5 These effects don’t usually pan out that well in Limited. That said, this format looks like it can go wide in both Black/Red and Red/White, meaning this might have some more uses than usual. It is nice that you get something even if your creatures die, but the 1/1s that can’t block aren’t exactly going to help you on the back swing
Crystal Grotto image 1.0 Mana filter lands usually aren’t very good in Limited. It’s just really costly to have to tap two lands for one mana, and that’s effectively what happens when you need to filter using a land. The fact that Prophetic Prism and that Scarecrow are in the set probably also means that the demand for this will be even lower, as those two can filter your mana and you only have to tap one land to do it. Crystal Grotto is usually a 1.5, and with better Common colorless fixing around, this will probably drop down to a 1.0
Curse of the Werefox image 3.0 It effectively gives +1/+1 to the thing you fight with, and a stats boost always makes fighting a little more appealing. Now, it does have some significant downsides. Namely, that if your opponent has any way to interact in response you probably get wrecked – whether it’s a removal spell or a combat trick on their creature – and that means you get yourself 2-for-1’d. So you have to pick your spots with this, especially because it’s a Sorcery
Protective Parents image 2.5 This has passable stats and a decent death trigger.
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Into the Fae Court image 1.5 A draw spell that adds to the board sounds attractive. It’s too bad that the thing it adds to the board is so insignificant though, and it makes me think this is probably a little bit too clunky to be something that always makes the cut in your Blue decks
Pack 2 Pick 5: Belligerent of the Ball
Belligerent of the Ball image 2.5 This has solid base stats, and on turns when you get celebration going it is going to make one of your attackers significantly better. Importantly, it can target itself. +1/+0 Menace has a surprisingly big impact on some board states
Return from the Wilds image 2.0 A three mana 1/1 that rampant growths is a solid enough card, and ramping does look fairly viable in this format. This can also give you food when you reach the part of the game where more lands doesn’t do you any good
Beanstalk Wurm image 2.0 Extra land effects rarely play well in Limited, especially when not accompanied by a way to draw cards, so the adventure here is often not going to be good. If you have it on turn two and have nothing else to do, it might help you ramp a bit. Even then it isn’t guaranteed though, as a missed land drop makes that advantage disintegrates and by the later stages of the game it is increasingly meaningless, and if you don’t have the extra land to begin with it’s always meaningless. The other side is a passable creature, but I think the overall package here is underwhelming
Harried Spearguard image 1.5 This is great in terms of sacrifice fodder, as it gives you two bodies for the price of 1. It also isn’t bad just based on the rate you get out of it. But it’s nothing special either. It will quickly get outclassed in most games and be relegated into chump block mode
Armory Mice image 2.0 A two mana 3/1 is usually acceptable, and this will be a 3/3 some percentage of the time. I’m giving this a 2.
Skybeast Tracker image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Reach is not very good these days, though you could do worse if you need something defensive. This will make some food sometimes, which certainly has its uses in the format
Bestial Bloodline image 1.0 +2/+2 is a nice boost for the cost, but you still set yourself up for an ugly 2-for-1, and even though this can come back from your graveyard the cost is so high that it is only something you do when you have absolutely nothing else you can do. And even then, it isn’t going to feel great
Minecart Daredevil image 3.5 I like this a lot because it resembles some of the Adventures from last Eldraine that were huge overperformers. Yes, you’ve got a medicore trick on one side and a mediocre vanilla creature on the other, but you get both on one card, and both halves of this card can conceivably trade with something and that means you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Scream Puff image 2.0 This is pretty beefy, although I think it would be much better if it made the food on ETB. That would allow it to be one of these big creatures that helps slower decks stabilize. It can still help you do that of course, but having to rumble with it in order to get food makes the card a little bit awkward
Quick Study image 2.0 Instant speed Divination isn’t too shabby, though it doesn’t add to the board and that can always be a problem in Limited.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Ratcatcher Trainee
Neva, Stalked by Nightmares image 3.5 A gravedigger with Menace that can also get back enchantments is a card I’d already play, and this can also get larger. Keep in mind any time you put a role on a creature that already has one, it loses the one it had before, so that’s one of the built in ways in the format Neva can grow. Obviously, she works with Bargain too
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Ratcatcher Trainee image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with first strike when it attacks is a great aggressive creature in Limited, and this one can make you a couple of 1/1s too. It is a bit odd as far as adventures go, because this is one where you probably cast it fairly often without ever using the Adventure part, where with most of them it makes a lot of sense to try to get the full value. Here, you’re not going to do that as often, but it still has big upside because if you draw it late you can get the tokens and the 2/1 all in a single turn. The Adventure side can also get celebration going all on its own
Rat Out image 2.0 The Rat not being able to block here is obviously a big deal, but if you can pick off an X/1 with this while adding something to your board that’s not…too bad. The problem is a 1/1 that can’t block isn’t exactly the most significant thing to add to your board. In fact, it’s pretty close to the least significant thing you can add
Slumbering Keepguard image 2.0 It is kind of nice that this is a one-drop that can threaten to get significantly larger late, as that means it maintains some relevance all game long. The incidental Scry you get doesn’t hurt either
Toadstool Admirer image 0.0 This doesn’t seem very good to me. A one mana 1/1 with Ward 2 just…doesn’t matter, and even though this can eventually put counters on itself, it only does so in the extreme late game, and it will take it way too long for it to ever be relevant
Protective Parents image 2.5 This has passable stats and a decent death trigger.
Mintstrosity image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be solid for aggro decks, and getting a Food when this goes down is nice upside to have
Skewer Slinger image 1.5 This makes X/1s pretty miserable as they can neither attack through it or block it effectively. Overall, it is definitely a defensive card more than anything, and that’s always a little awkward
Pack 2 Pick 7: Voracious Vermin
Compulsion image 1.0 This is pretty bad. Sure, rummaging can be nice, but having to pay mana to do it is a big downside, and even though this can replace itself you have to invest 4 mana to get there.
Splashy Spellcaster image 3.5 This is a powerful spell payoff, and it has high enough toughness to be difficult to deal with and attack through. It is a little sad it can’t give itself a Sorcerer Role, but upgrading all your other stuff seems pretty good to me. I think this will feel like an impressive engine, even in a Blue deck with like five spells you’ll be running this.
Collector's Vault image 1.5 This is probably a little too clunky to be worth it. Looting and treasure is nice of course, but the number of turns where you have the time and mana to activated this ability will be surprisingly limited
Voracious Vermin image 2.0 Three mana for a 2/1 and a 1/1 isn’t bad, and this will definitely be growing, especially in Black/Red where you throw rats at your opponent a lot of the time. Just blocking those rats will make the Vermin grow.
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Diminisher Witch image 2.5 Cursing an opposing creature isn’t the most powerful thing in the world, but when you Bargain this does upgrade your board and downgrade your opponents reasonably effectively.
Wicked Visitor image 2.0 This has passable base stats and a passable payoff for the Black/White deck, which will be the most adept at putting enchantments in the graveyard
Bestial Bloodline image 1.0 +2/+2 is a nice boost for the cost, but you still set yourself up for an ugly 2-for-1, and even though this can come back from your graveyard the cost is so high that it is only something you do when you have absolutely nothing else you can do. And even then, it isn’t going to feel great
Pack 2 Pick 8: Return Triumphant
Dragon Mantle image 1.5 Giving a creature firebereathing isn’t particularly useful unless that creature was also pretty good, but this does replace itself, so that makes the floor on it pretty reasonable, especially for a one mana card. It isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to Bargain either, since it will have already giving you a card
Frantic Firebolt image 3.5 The base form of this card is mediocre, but if you can just get it to do 3 damage you’re talking about premium removal. That’s not a huge ask at all, especially in Red decks in the format, and that also means it has a really high ceiling. Basically, this has a bad floor, but it will almost never be that bad, and I think that means it does enough to be premium removal you take highly
Return from the Wilds image 2.0 A three mana 1/1 that rampant growths is a solid enough card, and ramping does look fairly viable in this format. This can also give you food when you reach the part of the game where more lands doesn’t do you any good
Unassuming Sage image 2.0 Neither of these modes is a model of efficiency, but the second mode does at least get synergy going for Celebration and Aura decks
Return Triumphant image 2.0 This is a lot like recommission from The Brothers’ War. That card ended up being find, but nothing special. Both let you reanimate a mana value 3 or less card and then buff it when you do. The idea is that you increase your chances of reanimating something that is worth the mana thanks to the buff, but the card still requires enough set up that I’m not super excited about it
Voracious Vermin image 2.0 Three mana for a 2/1 and a 1/1 isn’t bad, and this will definitely be growing, especially in Black/Red where you throw rats at your opponent a lot of the time. Just blocking those rats will make the Vermin grow.
Spider Food image 0.5 This format has a lot of targets for this, but there are also two lower rarity ways to Naturalize stuff in this format that are way better in the main deck. So, this is a sideboard card but one you probably won’t use very often
Pack 2 Pick 9: Eriette's Tempting Apple
Eriette's Tempting Apple image 1.0 A 4-mana Threaten isn’t amazing, but as usual, if you can sacrifice the thing that you steal we’re talking about a potentially powerful card. But the apple’s other two effects aren’t particularly good either
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Beanstalk Wurm image 2.0 Extra land effects rarely play well in Limited, especially when not accompanied by a way to draw cards, so the adventure here is often not going to be good. If you have it on turn two and have nothing else to do, it might help you ramp a bit. Even then it isn’t guaranteed though, as a missed land drop makes that advantage disintegrates and by the later stages of the game it is increasingly meaningless, and if you don’t have the extra land to begin with it’s always meaningless. The other side is a passable creature, but I think the overall package here is underwhelming
Savior of the Sleeping image 2.5 As we’ve seen there are a decent number of ways to get enchantments in the graveyard, so it isn’t that unreasonable to think getting a counter or two on this is doable
Warehouse Tabby image 1.5 Take away the Enchantment part of this card and it’s…pretty bad. A one mana 1/1 with death touch is usually pretty solid, as it can trade for anything. This has the capacity to do that, but because you have to have mana up to do it and because you spend extra mana to make it do it, it is way worse than a one mana 1/1 that always has death touch. The fact it cranks out a few 1/1s is nice, but even in this format I don’t imagine this just giving you 1/1 after 1/1.
Bespoke Battlegarb image 0.0 This doesn’t look good. Two mana to play and two to equip for +2/+0 just…isn’t where you want to be. The Celebration trigger on it will let you equip it for free, but even when that’s the case I’m not especially interested
Pack 2 Pick 10: Gingerbrute
Troyan, Gutsy Explorer image 4.0 Playing this on turn three will often let you power out a 5 or even 6 drop on turn four, which is no joke. The loot effect is nice too, because it means when you don’t have something to power out with the mana Troyan produces, you can start digging for exactly that. And, looting for one mana is a pretty nice effect in Limited anyway
Gingerbrute image 2.5 He’s back! He wasn’t too bad as a beater last time around, and that will be pretty true here too with all of the Role tokens. Putting one on him and going to town with him is definitely going to be a way to close out a game
Armory Mice image 2.0 A two mana 3/1 is usually acceptable, and this will be a 3/3 some percentage of the time. I’m giving this a 2.
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Wicked Visitor image 2.0 This has passable base stats and a passable payoff for the Black/White deck, which will be the most adept at putting enchantments in the graveyard
Pack 2 Pick 11: Twisted Fealty
Griffin Aerie image 0.0 // 3.0 I think this has potential, at least in some decks. Food isn’t that readily available in White, but if you’re paired with Black or Green, you’re going to have food – and this basically adds “make a 2/2 flying token” to your food getting sacrificed and that’s honestly…kind of insane. There are other ways to gain life in White too of course, but that’s the one that immediately springs to mind when you see a card that has a threshold of 3 life for it to do something. It needs a build around grade, since not all White decks will trigger it enough, but I think this can make a whole lot of tokens in the right deck
Twisted Fealty image 1.5 This format doesn’t really have a sacrifice deck, and that’s usually the place for a Threaten effect. It isn’t unplayable, though. It will have a home in some really aggressive decks
Ruby, Daring Tracker image 3.5 It can ramp your mana quite effectively, and that makes it more likely that you can get a creature with power 4 or great into play quickly, at which point Ruby herself becomes a significantly better attacker. There will also be times in the mid to late game when you draw her and can already trigger her ability, in which case she becomes a two mana ¾ with Haste, which is going to feel pretty good
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Gnawing Crescendo
Gnawing Crescendo image 1.0 // 2.5 These effects don’t usually pan out that well in Limited. That said, this format looks like it can go wide in both Black/Red and Red/White, meaning this might have some more uses than usual. It is nice that you get something even if your creatures die, but the 1/1s that can’t block aren’t exactly going to help you on the back swing
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Into the Fae Court image 1.5 A draw spell that adds to the board sounds attractive. It’s too bad that the thing it adds to the board is so insignificant though, and it makes me think this is probably a little bit too clunky to be something that always makes the cut in your Blue decks
Pack 2 Pick 13: Bestial Bloodline
Skybeast Tracker image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Reach is not very good these days, though you could do worse if you need something defensive. This will make some food sometimes, which certainly has its uses in the format
Bestial Bloodline image 1.0 +2/+2 is a nice boost for the cost, but you still set yourself up for an ugly 2-for-1, and even though this can come back from your graveyard the cost is so high that it is only something you do when you have absolutely nothing else you can do. And even then, it isn’t going to feel great
Pack 2 Pick 14: Skewer Slinger
Skewer Slinger image 1.5 This makes X/1s pretty miserable as they can neither attack through it or block it effectively. Overall, it is definitely a defensive card more than anything, and that’s always a little awkward
Pack 3 Pick 1: Werefox Bodyguard
Ground Seal image 0.0 There’s not enough of a reason to hate on the graveyard in this format
Werefox Bodyguard image 4.0 This can be either a Banisher Priest or a Restoration Angel, and that’s awesome. What I mean by that is, you can use it to exile an opposing creature for as long as the Bodyguard sticks around, or you can use it on one of your own creatures. The latter is worth doing in response to removal or to rebuy an ETB ability. Obviously, you have to sacrifice the bodyguard to make your thing come back, but luckily it has that built in. Both modes are very powerful in the right situation
Ruby, Daring Tracker image 3.5 It can ramp your mana quite effectively, and that makes it more likely that you can get a creature with power 4 or great into play quickly, at which point Ruby herself becomes a significantly better attacker. There will also be times in the mid to late game when you draw her and can already trigger her ability, in which case she becomes a two mana ¾ with Haste, which is going to feel pretty good
Ashiok's Reaper image 2.5 This seems like it may be a little too clunky. The stats are bad, and while getting Enchantments into the graveyard is more doable in this format than most, it isn’t going to just happen so often that this entirely makes up for that very real problem.
Spellscorn Coven image 3.5 As with most of these, if you take the adventure away, we’re talking about a playable card. A 4-mana 2/3 flyer that forces your opponent to discard is exactly that, and in the earlier part of the game the fact that this bounces a spell is pretty nice. That effect normally isn’t that impressive, mostly because you would go down a card for tempo alone, but because you have the Coven to play later, that isn’t true in this case. That makes the effect a heck of a lot more powerful
Crystal Grotto image 1.0 Mana filter lands usually aren’t very good in Limited. It’s just really costly to have to tap two lands for one mana, and that’s effectively what happens when you need to filter using a land. The fact that Prophetic Prism and that Scarecrow are in the set probably also means that the demand for this will be even lower, as those two can filter your mana and you only have to tap one land to do it. Crystal Grotto is usually a 1.5, and with better Common colorless fixing around, this will probably drop down to a 1.0
Edgewall Pack image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 menace that makes a 1/1 that can’t block is pretty decent. Worth noting that it triggers card swith Celebration on its own, and there are definitely some curve outs where you play a two drop and a three drop with Celebration, where then playing the Pack would make for a pretty spicy turn 4.
Not Dead After All image 1.5 This is an interesting take on this type of effect since the creature gets to return with a buff. Unfortunately, when we see this effect completely absent of an upfront power boost, it hasn’t really played super well. It does work well against removal, but not working that well in combat is a an issue.
Leaping Ambush image 1.0 They put a trick like this in almost every format, and it is almost always bad. Tricks are at their best when you use them offensively, because your opponent is less likely to have mana up to blow you out – so a trick that gets like 2/3s of its value from being used defensively just isn’t worth it
Savior of the Sleeping image 2.5 As we’ve seen there are a decent number of ways to get enchantments in the graveyard, so it isn’t that unreasonable to think getting a counter or two on this is doable
Return from the Wilds image 2.0 A three mana 1/1 that rampant growths is a solid enough card, and ramping does look fairly viable in this format. This can also give you food when you reach the part of the game where more lands doesn’t do you any good
Minecart Daredevil image 3.5 I like this a lot because it resembles some of the Adventures from last Eldraine that were huge overperformers. Yes, you’ve got a medicore trick on one side and a mediocre vanilla creature on the other, but you get both on one card, and both halves of this card can conceivably trade with something and that means you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Rootrider Faun image 3.0 This has decent stats, it offers decent ramp, and it offers decent fixing. None of the things it does are very exciting, but ramp does seem like a real strategy in Green
Johann's Stopgap image 2.5 4 mana to bounce something and draw a card is usually playable. It lets you break even on cards while setting your opponent back a little. With bargain in the mix, this moves up another notch – probably to the point where the first copy is something you feel decent about having in all of your Blue decks
Pack 3 Pick 2: Ash, Party Crasher
Hatching Plans image 3.0 This will be one of the absolute best things you can ever sacrifice to a Bargain card as you end up netting a bunch of cards and getting a bonus effect. Most decks in this format will have enough cards with Bargain to make this worth playing. The downside is, of course, that it does stone nothing when you can’t sacrifice it
Horned Loch-Whale image 4.5 Lagoon Breach is removal, even if it is situational, and then the whale is certainly beefy enough to trade for something, so we’re talking about a 2-for-1 here. And it is pretty much always an imposing board presence
Ash, Party Crasher image 3.0 A two mana 2/2 with Haste is a solid starting point, and getting a +1/+1 counter or two on Ash is doable. You can get Celebration going relatively often in Red/White, with cards that make Monster Role Auras, cards that make food, or cards that make creature tokens. It isn’t automatic to get it going but even triggering this once seems pretty nice
Three Bowls of Porridge image 1.5 None of these modes is going to feel very efficient, but they do all do…something. Picking of a small creature will probably feel the best, but tapping things is certainly nice on the right board state, especially if you have a payoff for tapping something. Then it can of course do the Food thing. Still, the ability is expensive enough that having the mana around to actually use it isn’t guaranteed, and it isn’t like any of these modes is really going to make you feel like you’re getting there
Embereth Veteran image 3.0 A one mana 2/1 can get in for decent damage on the first couple of turns, but tends to become irrelevant fairly quickly. This helps overcome that by letting you put a Young Hero Role on something, and while it’s not the most amazing of the Roles, since it requires the creature to be small to get a buff from it, it does mean the Veteran can significantly augment your creatures in some situations
Cut In image 2.5 A 4-mana deal 4 sorcery isn’t premium removal, and I don’t think adding a Young Hero Role token to the mix gets this there. Still, it can kill a decent number of things and it does add to the board a tiny bit too.
Witch's Mark image 2.0 This is a nice Tormenting Voice variant. Even without the Role token this card is usually in the D+ or C- range, especially in a format with some graveyard stuff and a spell deck, and that’s true in this format. Actually adding to the board while digging deeper into your deck is going to feel pretty nice. You probably don’t desperately want more than one of these, although perhaps if you’re in the spell deck going deeper than that first copy might be worth it
Into the Fae Court image 1.5 A draw spell that adds to the board sounds attractive. It’s too bad that the thing it adds to the board is so insignificant though, and it makes me think this is probably a little bit too clunky to be something that always makes the cut in your Blue decks
Aquatic Alchemist image 1.5 Unfortunately, putting an instant or sorcery on top of your library from your graveyard isn’t a great effect all on its own. In fact, it’s card disadvantage. You go down a card and don’t get one back. This makes up for that some by also giving you a creature, I’m not really blown away by it either. We’ve seen cards with this same instant or sorcery trigger do pretty well, but most of the time they don’t have a restriction on how many times they can get buffed in a turn. Basically, both sides of this are fairly weak and not very impactful
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Conceited Witch image 3.0 A 3 mana ⅔ with Menace is passable, and you can augment one of your creatures with this on an earlier turn – or the same turn, if you have happen to have four mana. It just seems like plenty of value to get out of a single card, and it even seems reasonably efficient
Warehouse Tabby image 1.5 Take away the Enchantment part of this card and it’s…pretty bad. A one mana 1/1 with death touch is usually pretty solid, as it can trade for anything. This has the capacity to do that, but because you have to have mana up to do it and because you spend extra mana to make it do it, it is way worse than a one mana 1/1 that always has death touch. The fact it cranks out a few 1/1s is nice, but even in this format I don’t imagine this just giving you 1/1 after 1/1.
Beanstalk Wurm image 2.0 Extra land effects rarely play well in Limited, especially when not accompanied by a way to draw cards, so the adventure here is often not going to be good. If you have it on turn two and have nothing else to do, it might help you ramp a bit. Even then it isn’t guaranteed though, as a missed land drop makes that advantage disintegrates and by the later stages of the game it is increasingly meaningless, and if you don’t have the extra land to begin with it’s always meaningless. The other side is a passable creature, but I think the overall package here is underwhelming
Pack 3 Pick 3: Gingerbrute
Curiosity image 1.0 For this to do anything, the creature you put it on generally already has to be good, and when an Aura needs that from you it gets a lot worse. If you have a lot of flyers this isn’t a bad role player, but most of the time you won’t play it
Sharae of Numbing Depths image 3.5 It’s a 4-mana 2/3 that stuns something down and draws you a card. I’m always playing that. Stunning something isn’t quite as good as bouncing, but it feels pretty close! Then it works well with other tap effects too
Royal Treatment image 2.0 This is really good against removal, less good in combat. +1/+1 just isn’t a boost that will help your creature succeed often enough
Redcap Thief image 2.5 This offers some nice fixing and ramp and can trigger celebration all on its own. That seems like something worth doing in Red decks in this format
Rimefur Reindeer image 2.5 This has some serious potential, as tapping down just one thing a turn is often pretty great at allowing your aggressive deck to rumble, and that’s especially true if the enchantment augmented one of your creatures. But, when you aren’t triggering this regularly, it is a well below rate creature.
Leaping Ambush image 1.0 They put a trick like this in almost every format, and it is almost always bad. Tricks are at their best when you use them offensively, because your opponent is less likely to have mana up to blow you out – so a trick that gets like 2/3s of its value from being used defensively just isn’t worth it
Return Triumphant image 2.0 This is a lot like recommission from The Brothers’ War. That card ended up being find, but nothing special. Both let you reanimate a mana value 3 or less card and then buff it when you do. The idea is that you increase your chances of reanimating something that is worth the mana thanks to the buff, but the card still requires enough set up that I’m not super excited about it
Voracious Vermin image 2.0 Three mana for a 2/1 and a 1/1 isn’t bad, and this will definitely be growing, especially in Black/Red where you throw rats at your opponent a lot of the time. Just blocking those rats will make the Vermin grow.
Bellowing Bruiser image 2.0 I’m high on most of the Adventure creatures in the set – this one doesn’t seem quite as good as the others. This is because it doesn’t really generate 2-for-1 type value or even close to it. It isn’t bad by any means, but the Adventure side is a highly situational card. It can be powerful in the right spot of course, and if you ever 8 mana to cast both halves that will feel pretty awesome, but overall, I don’t see Beat a Path being that impressive, and the same is true of a 5-mana 4/4 Haste. It’s still a solid card that will make the cut a decent chunk of the time – but most of the adventures in this set are a little better than that
Misleading Motes image 3.0 We just saw this card but with a Lord of the Ringsy name, and it ended up being solid. It’s a 4 mana instant that removes…pretty much any creature. Keep in mind it is your opponent who decides where the creature goes
Snaremaster Sprite image 3.0 Three mana for a 1/1 flyer that stuns something is probably already a playable card – especially in a format with a Faerie deck and some payoffs for tapping things, so the fact that you also have the option of just playing this on turn one makes this a nice Common
Gingerbrute image 2.5 He’s back! He wasn’t too bad as a beater last time around, and that will be pretty true here too with all of the Role tokens. Putting one on him and going to town with him is definitely going to be a way to close out a game
Pack 3 Pick 4: Witchstalker Frenzy
Intruder Alarm image 0.0 This would be kind of interesting if this format had any creatures who can tap and make a free creature token, because obviously that lets you go infinite. There aren’t any of those, though, so mostly what you get out of this is pseudo-vigilance and a pseudo-lock down effect, but you don’t have any actual control over either. So, this isn’t really worth a card
Obyra, Dreaming Duelist image 4.0 A two mana 2/2 with Flash and Flying always makes the cut, so the fact that this will also chip in and make your opponent lose life while you play out other Faeries is nice, especially because so many Faeries are evasive that chipping in for one damage here and there makes it a lot easier for them to do lethal
Picklock Prankster image 3.0 There is a chance you miss with Free the Fae. You have a pretty good chance of not missing, especially in Blue/Red and Blue/Black, but this isn’t the kind of effect that will only miss on rare occasions. I think expecting it to wiff entirely a third of the time is reasonable. When you can get a card out of it it’s going to feel pretty good, especially because you also get a reasonable flyer. A creature with these two keywords goes great with the various Role tokens in the set too.
Witchstalker Frenzy image 4.0 Without the cost reduction effect, this would probably be a B-. 4 mana deal 5 at instant speed is definitely efficient enough to be a great card. And there will be many turns where you can cast it a lot more cheaply. Keep in mind, you can attack and then cast this for a reduced cost before your opponent ever declares blockers. Paying 2 or even 1 for this isn’t far-fetched, and when you’re doing that it’s going to feel pretty nuts because of how effectively you’re going to trade down.
Hamlet Glutton image 3.0 I always love a big ol’ green creature that gains me life when it ETBs, because it allows slower decks to stabilize. If this always cost 7 it would be overcosted, but because Bargaining this looks so doable, it will often cost 5 and you won’t have to give up much to make it happen. Red-Green and Blue-Green will both always want at least one copy of this
Freeze in Place image 2.0 While it isn’t quite removal, stunning a creature for three turns will feel like it is sometimes. Scry 2 combines nicely too, because you can use it to find whatever it is you desperately need, now that you bought yourself some time. The Blue/White deck in the format likes tapping things too, so getting some additional value here isn’t impossible.
Unassuming Sage image 2.0 Neither of these modes is a model of efficiency, but the second mode does at least get synergy going for Celebration and Aura decks
Spell Stutter image 1.0 // 2.5 One of the downsides with counter magic that gives your opponent the option of paying mana to ignore it is that it gets worse as the game goes longer, but the Faerie upside here helps hedge against that. This probably needs a build around grade though, because if you’re in Blue and you’re short on Faeries it’s a lot worse
Return Triumphant image 2.0 This is a lot like recommission from The Brothers’ War. That card ended up being find, but nothing special. Both let you reanimate a mana value 3 or less card and then buff it when you do. The idea is that you increase your chances of reanimating something that is worth the mana thanks to the buff, but the card still requires enough set up that I’m not super excited about it
Ratcatcher Trainee image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 with first strike when it attacks is a great aggressive creature in Limited, and this one can make you a couple of 1/1s too. It is a bit odd as far as adventures go, because this is one where you probably cast it fairly often without ever using the Adventure part, where with most of them it makes a lot of sense to try to get the full value. Here, you’re not going to do that as often, but it still has big upside because if you draw it late you can get the tokens and the 2/1 all in a single turn. The Adventure side can also get celebration going all on its own
Diminisher Witch image 2.5 Cursing an opposing creature isn’t the most powerful thing in the world, but when you Bargain this does upgrade your board and downgrade your opponents reasonably effectively.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Dragon Mantle
Dragon Mantle image 1.5 Giving a creature firebereathing isn’t particularly useful unless that creature was also pretty good, but this does replace itself, so that makes the floor on it pretty reasonable, especially for a one mana card. It isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to Bargain either, since it will have already giving you a card
Succumb to the Cold image 1.5 This can be a nice tempo card that you can use to close out your opponent, and that’s especially true in Blue/White, which can get some extra value from the tapping. Still, it is fairly situational – if you can’t use it to finish your opponent off, or you have to use it defensively, it feels pretty bad
Three Bowls of Porridge image 1.5 None of these modes is going to feel very efficient, but they do all do…something. Picking of a small creature will probably feel the best, but tapping things is certainly nice on the right board state, especially if you have a payoff for tapping something. Then it can of course do the Food thing. Still, the ability is expensive enough that having the mana around to actually use it isn’t guaranteed, and it isn’t like any of these modes is really going to make you feel like you’re getting there
Splashy Spellcaster image 3.5 This is a powerful spell payoff, and it has high enough toughness to be difficult to deal with and attack through. It is a little sad it can’t give itself a Sorcerer Role, but upgrading all your other stuff seems pretty good to me. I think this will feel like an impressive engine, even in a Blue deck with like five spells you’ll be running this.
Moment of Valor image 1.5 Neither of these modes is very good on its own, and probably wouldn’t be a card that made the cut. This is just too expensive for this narrow of effects. But, stapling two narrow effects on to a single card does make a huge difference, and that modality is enough for this to make the cut in your deck sometimes
Return from the Wilds image 2.0 A three mana 1/1 that rampant growths is a solid enough card, and ramping does look fairly viable in this format. This can also give you food when you reach the part of the game where more lands doesn’t do you any good
Frostbridge Guard image 1.5 This has somewhat passable stats, and it has an ability that is useful, albeit expensive. Tapping things does bring some extra value in this format, but three for the effect is kind of brutal. I miss the days of Master Decoy
Spider Food image 0.5 This format has a lot of targets for this, but there are also two lower rarity ways to Naturalize stuff in this format that are way better in the main deck. So, this is a sideboard card but one you probably won’t use very often
Beluna's Gatekeeper image 2.5 A restricted Sorcery speed bounce effect isn’t amazing, but you’ll usually have something you can bounce with this early. Usually, a bounce effect is card disadvantage, but because you get a big vanilla creature out of this later, that isn’t really the case. While it doesn’t quite deliver the two cards of value that make some adventures really strong, this does do a whole lot for a single card
Unassuming Sage image 2.0 Neither of these modes is a model of efficiency, but the second mode does at least get synergy going for Celebration and Aura decks
Pack 3 Pick 6: Edgewall Pack
Leyline of the Void image 0.0 It isn’t worth a whole card to hate on the graveyard in this format.
Likeness Looter image 4.5 A two mana 1/1 with Flying that can tap to loot is probably a 3.5 at the very worst. Looting for free just…always plays amazingly well in Limited. So, this added upside of turning into a copy of creatures in your graveyard is pretty amazing, especially because it holds on to flying
Crystal Grotto image 1.0 Mana filter lands usually aren’t very good in Limited. It’s just really costly to have to tap two lands for one mana, and that’s effectively what happens when you need to filter using a land. The fact that Prophetic Prism and that Scarecrow are in the set probably also means that the demand for this will be even lower, as those two can filter your mana and you only have to tap one land to do it. Crystal Grotto is usually a 1.5, and with better Common colorless fixing around, this will probably drop down to a 1.0
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Ferocious Werefox image 3.5 Buffing a creature at instant speed earlier and getting a reasonable 4-drop later means this delivers some serious value for a Common
Frostbridge Guard image 1.5 This has somewhat passable stats, and it has an ability that is useful, albeit expensive. Tapping things does bring some extra value in this format, but three for the effect is kind of brutal. I miss the days of Master Decoy
Minecart Daredevil image 3.5 I like this a lot because it resembles some of the Adventures from last Eldraine that were huge overperformers. Yes, you’ve got a medicore trick on one side and a mediocre vanilla creature on the other, but you get both on one card, and both halves of this card can conceivably trade with something and that means you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Edgewall Pack image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 menace that makes a 1/1 that can’t block is pretty decent. Worth noting that it triggers card swith Celebration on its own, and there are definitely some curve outs where you play a two drop and a three drop with Celebration, where then playing the Pack would make for a pretty spicy turn 4.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Tenacious Tomeseeker
Tenacious Tomeseeker image 3.5 I like this. Getting a spell to your hand when you play a creature with passable stats sounds really good, and there are enough expendable things around in this format for that to work out pretty well. I will say Blue is probably lighter on expendable things to Bargain than any other color – it doesn’t have much in the way of treasure or food, and it even has fewer role tokens, so this won’t work out quite as well as some other Bargain cards in other colors. That said, you won’t be playing monoblue, so you may have access to that stuff anyway, and when you give up something like that, Tenacious Tomeseeker is going to be a 2-for-1
Stormkeld Prowler image 1.5 Two +1/+1 counters is pretty nice! But a two-mana 2/1…isn’t, and by the time you play your 5-drop and make this a 4/3, it isn’t like it will be unbeatable. There will also be times where you can’t grow until well beyond that turn.
Leaping Ambush image 1.0 They put a trick like this in almost every format, and it is almost always bad. Tricks are at their best when you use them offensively, because your opponent is less likely to have mana up to blow you out – so a trick that gets like 2/3s of its value from being used defensively just isn’t worth it
Frantic Firebolt image 3.5 The base form of this card is mediocre, but if you can just get it to do 3 damage you’re talking about premium removal. That’s not a huge ask at all, especially in Red decks in the format, and that also means it has a really high ceiling. Basically, this has a bad floor, but it will almost never be that bad, and I think that means it does enough to be premium removal you take highly
Misleading Motes image 3.0 We just saw this card but with a Lord of the Ringsy name, and it ended up being solid. It’s a 4 mana instant that removes…pretty much any creature. Keep in mind it is your opponent who decides where the creature goes
Plunge into Winter image 1.5 I think you end up with a decent rate when you cast this card, one that means you won’t feel bad about playing it. Tapping doesn’t always matter, but you do always get Scry 1 draw a card, and when tapping does matter – or even better – when you have a tap payoff in play – this gets significantly better.
Mocking Sprite image 2.5 This has almost reasonable stats, and reducing the costs of spells has some extra weight in this format thanks to Adventures, in addition to the fact that it just plays well in any Blue/Red deck.
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Pack 3 Pick 8: Belligerent of the Ball
Garruk's Uprising image 2.5 The Red/Green and Blue/Green decks in this format can probably make decent use of this. One of the nice things about it is that it rewards you some for already having big things in play and then rewards you as well when you play them afterward, that means most of the time it will do something
Belligerent of the Ball image 2.5 This has solid base stats, and on turns when you get celebration going it is going to make one of your attackers significantly better. Importantly, it can target itself. +1/+0 Menace has a surprisingly big impact on some board states
Commune with Nature image 1.5 We’ve seen this a lot. It usually lets you draw a card for one mana, and you see a huge chunk of your deck in Limited. But it just doesn’t always make the cut, you only have so much room for cards that don’t impact the board
Titanic Growth image 2.0 We’ve seen this a ton and it’s always a playable trick. It makes it so most creatures can win combat against most other creatures, and the stats boost is even good against some removal
Unruly Catapult image 1.0 // 3.0 This isn’t quite as impressive as Thermo-Alchemist, but it’s doing a decent impression. This will likely be a premiere payoff in the Blue/Red spells deck, and kind of unplayable everywhere else. It can inflict a ton of extra damage when you have lots of cheap spells, and an 0/4 body is decently stout.
Spider Food image 0.5 This format has a lot of targets for this, but there are also two lower rarity ways to Naturalize stuff in this format that are way better in the main deck. So, this is a sideboard card but one you probably won’t use very often
Living Lectern image 3.0 It feels like giving this up for a card and a Sorcerer role is going to generate some serious value, and the fact it can sit around as a reasonable blocker until you feel like doing that seems pretty good
Pack 3 Pick 9: Minecart Daredevil
Ground Seal image 0.0 There’s not enough of a reason to hate on the graveyard in this format
Ruby, Daring Tracker image 3.5 It can ramp your mana quite effectively, and that makes it more likely that you can get a creature with power 4 or great into play quickly, at which point Ruby herself becomes a significantly better attacker. There will also be times in the mid to late game when you draw her and can already trigger her ability, in which case she becomes a two mana ¾ with Haste, which is going to feel pretty good
Ashiok's Reaper image 2.5 This seems like it may be a little too clunky. The stats are bad, and while getting Enchantments into the graveyard is more doable in this format than most, it isn’t going to just happen so often that this entirely makes up for that very real problem.
Return from the Wilds image 2.0 A three mana 1/1 that rampant growths is a solid enough card, and ramping does look fairly viable in this format. This can also give you food when you reach the part of the game where more lands doesn’t do you any good
Minecart Daredevil image 3.5 I like this a lot because it resembles some of the Adventures from last Eldraine that were huge overperformers. Yes, you’ve got a medicore trick on one side and a mediocre vanilla creature on the other, but you get both on one card, and both halves of this card can conceivably trade with something and that means you’re getting a 2-for-1.
Johann's Stopgap image 2.5 4 mana to bounce something and draw a card is usually playable. It lets you break even on cards while setting your opponent back a little. With bargain in the mix, this moves up another notch – probably to the point where the first copy is something you feel decent about having in all of your Blue decks
Pack 3 Pick 10: Witch's Mark
Three Bowls of Porridge image 1.5 None of these modes is going to feel very efficient, but they do all do…something. Picking of a small creature will probably feel the best, but tapping things is certainly nice on the right board state, especially if you have a payoff for tapping something. Then it can of course do the Food thing. Still, the ability is expensive enough that having the mana around to actually use it isn’t guaranteed, and it isn’t like any of these modes is really going to make you feel like you’re getting there
Witch's Mark image 2.0 This is a nice Tormenting Voice variant. Even without the Role token this card is usually in the D+ or C- range, especially in a format with some graveyard stuff and a spell deck, and that’s true in this format. Actually adding to the board while digging deeper into your deck is going to feel pretty nice. You probably don’t desperately want more than one of these, although perhaps if you’re in the spell deck going deeper than that first copy might be worth it
Aquatic Alchemist image 1.5 Unfortunately, putting an instant or sorcery on top of your library from your graveyard isn’t a great effect all on its own. In fact, it’s card disadvantage. You go down a card and don’t get one back. This makes up for that some by also giving you a creature, I’m not really blown away by it either. We’ve seen cards with this same instant or sorcery trigger do pretty well, but most of the time they don’t have a restriction on how many times they can get buffed in a turn. Basically, both sides of this are fairly weak and not very impactful
Prophetic Prism image 2.0 This is pretty solid every time we see it. It’s not going to be as good here as it would be an artifact-heavy set, but it replaces itself and does an okay job of fixing your mana
Warehouse Tabby image 1.5 Take away the Enchantment part of this card and it’s…pretty bad. A one mana 1/1 with death touch is usually pretty solid, as it can trade for anything. This has the capacity to do that, but because you have to have mana up to do it and because you spend extra mana to make it do it, it is way worse than a one mana 1/1 that always has death touch. The fact it cranks out a few 1/1s is nice, but even in this format I don’t imagine this just giving you 1/1 after 1/1.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Redcap Thief
Curiosity image 1.0 For this to do anything, the creature you put it on generally already has to be good, and when an Aura needs that from you it gets a lot worse. If you have a lot of flyers this isn’t a bad role player, but most of the time you won’t play it
Redcap Thief image 2.5 This offers some nice fixing and ramp and can trigger celebration all on its own. That seems like something worth doing in Red decks in this format
Misleading Motes image 3.0 We just saw this card but with a Lord of the Ringsy name, and it ended up being solid. It’s a 4 mana instant that removes…pretty much any creature. Keep in mind it is your opponent who decides where the creature goes
Snaremaster Sprite image 3.0 Three mana for a 1/1 flyer that stuns something is probably already a playable card – especially in a format with a Faerie deck and some payoffs for tapping things, so the fact that you also have the option of just playing this on turn one makes this a nice Common
Pack 3 Pick 12: Picklock Prankster
Picklock Prankster image 3.0 There is a chance you miss with Free the Fae. You have a pretty good chance of not missing, especially in Blue/Red and Blue/Black, but this isn’t the kind of effect that will only miss on rare occasions. I think expecting it to wiff entirely a third of the time is reasonable. When you can get a card out of it it’s going to feel pretty good, especially because you also get a reasonable flyer. A creature with these two keywords goes great with the various Role tokens in the set too.
Freeze in Place image 2.0 While it isn’t quite removal, stunning a creature for three turns will feel like it is sometimes. Scry 2 combines nicely too, because you can use it to find whatever it is you desperately need, now that you bought yourself some time. The Blue/White deck in the format likes tapping things too, so getting some additional value here isn’t impossible.
Diminisher Witch image 2.5 Cursing an opposing creature isn’t the most powerful thing in the world, but when you Bargain this does upgrade your board and downgrade your opponents reasonably effectively.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Beluna's Gatekeeper
Spider Food image 0.5 This format has a lot of targets for this, but there are also two lower rarity ways to Naturalize stuff in this format that are way better in the main deck. So, this is a sideboard card but one you probably won’t use very often
Beluna's Gatekeeper image 2.5 A restricted Sorcery speed bounce effect isn’t amazing, but you’ll usually have something you can bounce with this early. Usually, a bounce effect is card disadvantage, but because you get a big vanilla creature out of this later, that isn’t really the case. While it doesn’t quite deliver the two cards of value that make some adventures really strong, this does do a whole lot for a single card
Pack 3 Pick 14: Water Wings
Water Wings image 2.0 This looks like a solid trick. It gives a big enough buff that it will make your creature win most combats, and the hexproof part means it also works well against removal. Flying also gives it a third mode, where sometimes you can send a creature into the air to do lethal
Draft Pick Overview