Swiftblade Vindicator
3 You need to do a little bit of extra work with counters, auras, and the like for this to really go off -- but the baseline is fine too.
Diregraf Ghoul
2 Entering tapped is a big downside unless you drop this on turn one, but at least a 2/2 body is sort of relevant on most boards.
Reclamation Sage
0.5 This is a sideboard card because it won't have targets often enough against most decks.
Divine Resilience
1.5 This is good at blanking removal, not so good at winning combat -- and you kind of need both these days for a trick to be exciting.
Elfsworn Giant
3.5 This is a very strong landfall trigger, and while the stat-line isn't incredible, it's not thard to make sure you get at least one 1/1 out of this, and if it's left alone, it becomes a value engine.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Quick-Draw Katana
2 This only offers a buff during your turn, and if you're an aggro deck you're probably more interested in playing more creatures than playing this thing.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Scoured Barrens
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Koma, World-Eater
4.5 If this attacks there's a very good chance you get those 4 3/3 tokens, and Koma has a pretty good shot at attacking thanks to it's Ward and it's sheer size.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Burst Lightning
Eager Trufflesnout
3 Getting one food out of this feels good, and if you get more than that you're going to be thrilled.
Self-Reflection
1.5 It's tough to feel like you're getting your mana's worth, since you need an impressive creature to copy. Flashback does mean you get a 2-for-1 eventually, though.
Arbiter of Woe
2.5 You're going to need some fodder to make this really work out, but there's plenty of that in the format, and the enters trigger is pretty legit.
Run Away Together
1.5 It's temping to imagine scenarios where you bounce a creature with an "enters" trigger or help a creature dodge removal, but this is mostly just an awkward bounce spell.
Armasaur Guide
2.5 You can get a counter from this even when it doesn't attack, and it's nice it can put the counter on itself too, as a 5/5 vigilance is pretty formidable.
Grow from the Ashes
2 It can be tough to play a card that doesn't add to the board, but this can fix and ramp really effecitvely, and can be particularly good with landfall.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Burglar Rat
2.5 This is always a solid Limited creature. It's certainly not a full-blown 2-for-1, but it gets a card up front and then you have a body around to block or sacrifice.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Burst Lightning
4 This is Shock with upside, and the upside is real -- since in the late game it can deal with much larger creatures or finish the opponent off.
Strix Lookout
2 The stats aren't amazing, but it can attack for much of the game, and once it can't looting isn't too shabby.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Llanowar Elves
Mischievous Pup
1.5 This was underwhelming last time we saw it -- it has a bad stat-line and a narrow enters trigger, so it's not going to make the cut all the time.
Infernal Vessel
4 You spend three mana for a 2/1 and a 4/3 -- that's an excellent deal, and usually a 2-for-1.
Armasaur Guide
2.5 You can get a counter from this even when it doesn't attack, and it's nice it can put the counter on itself too, as a 5/5 vigilance is pretty formidable.
Llanowar Elves
3 Playing this on turn one will win you a lot of games, but it is a pretty bad top deck late.
Involuntary Employment
1.0 // 2.5 You can't really play this unless you're crazy aggressive or you have good sacrifice outlets. If you do have those things, it can be solid.
Refute
2 Cancel is usually not a card that always makes the cut, and this probably doesn't quite get there either -- although adding Loot to the mix is definitely better.
Bake into a Pie
3.5 It's a little expensive but makes up for that in a big way with that food token.
Crackling Cyclops
1.5 This probably asks too much to be worth it. It'll be a 0/4 way too often, and it isn't like a 3/4 is that exciting.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
3 The baseline here is solid and there are enough Elves in the format for this to buff a few of the creatures in your deck.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Tragic Banshee
Tragic Banshee
3 Morbid triggers that only do something once can be rough, as you just can't always find a way to make something day and then spend 5 mana on this. If you can it'll feel great, and it's nice that it can still kill an X/1 in a pinch.
Strongbox Raider
2.5 Triggering Raid on this makes it a very nice 2-for-1, but a 4-mana 5/2 is otherwise abyssmal.
Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen
3 The baseline here is solid and there are enough Elves in the format for this to buff a few of the creatures in your deck.
Savannah Lions
1.5 Feels pretty good on turn one, but quickly becomes irrelevant.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Crackling Cyclops
1.5 This probably asks too much to be worth it. It'll be a 0/4 way too often, and it isn't like a 3/4 is that exciting.
Squad Rallier
2.5 The stat-line is a bit underwhelming, but that activated ability is exactly what you want in the mid-to-late game. It's some serious flood insurance.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Jungle Hollow
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
An Offer You Can't Refuse
0 One mana to counter a noncreature spell is great! Giving your opponent a huge mana boost, though? Not so much. You basically 2-for-1 yourself when you cast this.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Uncharted Voyage
Self-Reflection
1.5 It's tough to feel like you're getting your mana's worth, since you need an impressive creature to copy. Flashback does mean you get a 2-for-1 eventually, though.
Heartfire Immolator
3.5 A two mana 2/2 with Prowess is a nice two-drop, and this can turn into removal when you need it to.
Soul-Shackled Zombie
2.5 Draining 2 with this is going to be pretty close to automatic, and the body does a decent job of trading.
Dazzling Angel
3 This is a solid stat-line and the incidental life gain is going to feel good in go-wide and lifegain decks in the format.
Treetop Snarespinner
2 This is a decent defensive creature, and it's activated ability is pretty nice in the late game.
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Gorehorn Raider
2.5 This is strong when you can Raid, and pretty mediocre when you can't.
Healer's Hawk
3 This is a great one drop, especially in a format with lots of ways to buff the Hawk.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Skyship Buccaneer
3.5 If you always drew with this, it would be a 4.5! However, you just can't count on always raiding. And when you don't, it's a 2.0.
Heroic Reinforcements
3.5 If you can curve out with this at the top, you usually win the game -- and even if thigns aren't going quite that smoothly, it usually results in a big turn.
Garruk's Uprising
1.5 This isn't really the payoff you're looking for, mostly because it does stone nothing on it's own.
Helpful Hunter
3.5 Two mana 1/1s that draw a card are also quality Limited cards, and there's no reason that won't be true here.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Crackling Cyclops
1.5 This probably asks too much to be worth it. It'll be a 0/4 way too often, and it isn't like a 3/4 is that exciting.
Icewind Elemental
2.5 5-mana 3/4 Flyers have held up pretty well in Limited, and a loot trigger is pretty powerful.
Juggernaut
1.5 If you need a 4-drop you can probably do worse, but how often are you desperate for a 4 drop in Limited?
Pack 1 Pick 7: Essence Scatter
Essence Scatter
3 This is always a great counterspell. It's easy to cast and usually generates some serious tempo.
Strongbox Raider
2.5 Triggering Raid on this makes it a very nice 2-for-1, but a 4-mana 5/2 is otherwise abyssmal.
Elfsworn Giant
3.5 This is a very strong landfall trigger, and while the stat-line isn't incredible, it's not thard to make sure you get at least one 1/1 out of this, and if it's left alone, it becomes a value engine.
Campus Guide
1.5 This is the fixing you play when you're desperate. Or the two drop you play when you're desperate. Mostly, it's bad at being either of those things, so you hope you don't play it.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Lightshell Duo
2.5 This'll never be great, but it slots in nicely to your spell and graveyard decks.
Arcane Epiphany
2.5 5 mana to draw 3 is powerful but a little bit expensive. However, most Blue decks will be able to make this cost 4 often enough for me to get behind playing it a good chunk of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Swiftwater Cliffs
Shivan Dragon
2 This can win the game, but it's big, slow and clunky. It's a passable top-curve threat.
Arcane Epiphany
2.5 5 mana to draw 3 is powerful but a little bit expensive. However, most Blue decks will be able to make this cost 4 often enough for me to get behind playing it a good chunk of the time.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Armasaur Guide
2.5 You can get a counter from this even when it doesn't attack, and it's nice it can put the counter on itself too, as a 5/5 vigilance is pretty formidable.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Swiftwater Cliffs
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Erudite Wizard
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Quick-Draw Katana
2 This only offers a buff during your turn, and if you're an aggro deck you're probably more interested in playing more creatures than playing this thing.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Scoured Barrens
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Run Away Together
Arbiter of Woe
2.5 You're going to need some fodder to make this really work out, but there's plenty of that in the format, and the enters trigger is pretty legit.
Run Away Together
1.5 It's temping to imagine scenarios where you bounce a creature with an "enters" trigger or help a creature dodge removal, but this is mostly just an awkward bounce spell.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Strongbox Raider
2.5 Triggering Raid on this makes it a very nice 2-for-1, but a 4-mana 5/2 is otherwise abyssmal.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Gorehorn Raider
Gorehorn Raider
2.5 This is strong when you can Raid, and pretty mediocre when you can't.
Vivien Reid
3 She's not really a planeswalker who runs away with the game, especially on her own. She doesn't protect herself and won't always have targets for her -3, so you are leaning pretty hard on her +1, which is good -- but you might only get it a couple of times.
Genesis Wave
1 You need a ton of mana for casting this to be worthwhile, and you just can't get there in Limited often enough.
Rogue's Passage
1.5 This effect generally isn't worth making your mana worse for. Sure, it can be nice late -- but that's not even a guarantee.
Slumbering Cerberus
2 This is an early enabler for the Red/Green deck, and it can definitely swing hard for the cost -- but it also dies to pretty much everything.
Wildwood Scourge
2 This never feels like an efficient creature, and it doesn't exactly grow quickly.
Fanatical Firebrand
2.5 This is really nice on turn one, and it's ping ability keeps it at least somewhat relevant all game long.
Goldvein Pick
3 This is great Equipment. It offers a good buff for the cost, and the treasure makes it very easy to move around -- while also giving you a mana boost that you might have access to every turn.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Llanowar Elves
3 Playing this on turn one will win you a lot of games, but it is a pretty bad top deck late.
Cathar Commando
2.5 This has a passable stat-line and Flash can allow it to trade up sometimes, and having disenchant in your main deck is nice.
Mocking Sprite
2 Last time we saw this, the stat-line really held it back. This format has fewer incidental ways to kill it, but I'm still skeptical of it being able to stick around.
Strix Lookout
2 The stats aren't amazing, but it can attack for much of the game, and once it can't looting isn't too shabby.
Bloodfell Caves
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Goblin Negotiation
3 This is never going to feel like efficient removal, but being able to use this to add to the board in a big way too makes up for that a little bit.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Bite Down
Secluded Courtyard
0 This format doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to ever make sense. It will rarely produce colored mana.
Frenzied Goblin
2.5 This can definitely let an aggro deck get through for a big attack, even in the late game.
Vampire Nighthawk
4 This is great whether you're ahead or behind, since it can trade for anything, attack effectively, and gain lots of life.
Claws Out
1.5 // 2.5 If you're good at going wide and you have like 4+ cats, this'll be worth playing for sure. If you're not lowering the cost and don't have enough creatures in general, it's unplayable.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Healer's Hawk
3 This is a great one drop, especially in a format with lots of ways to buff the Hawk.
Fleeting Flight
2 This is a solid trick, it'll win combat most of the time and has the "oops I win" upside of sending your big creature into the air.
Bite Down
3.5 This is always great removal, and while you have to be careful agaisnt interaction, being an instant helps make it easy to find the rightw indow for it.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Lightshell Duo
2.5 This'll never be great, but it slots in nicely to your spell and graveyard decks.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Skyship Buccaneer
Genesis Wave
1 You need a ton of mana for casting this to be worthwhile, and you just can't get there in Limited often enough.
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Skyship Buccaneer
3.5 If you always drew with this, it would be a 4.5! However, you just can't count on always raiding. And when you don't, it's a 2.0.
Nessian Hornbeetle
3.5 Growing at combat is big, and this creature can very quickly become a threat.
Heroic Reinforcements
3.5 If you can curve out with this at the top, you usually win the game -- and even if thigns aren't going quite that smoothly, it usually results in a big turn.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This is a quality trick that almost always wins combat and/or blanks removal, while generating extra value with a treasure.
Quick-Draw Katana
2 This only offers a buff during your turn, and if you're an aggro deck you're probably more interested in playing more creatures than playing this thing.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Think Twice
2.5 This is never super efficient, but it does draw you 2 cards, and if you mill it, it's like adding the card to your hand which is pretty sweet.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Blossoming Sands
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Beast-Kin Ranger
2.5 Making tokens can make this hit really hard, but a 3-mana 3/3 trampler isn't anythign special.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Dragon Trainer
Krenko, Mob Boss
4 Even without other Goblins, Krenko represents a serious threat because of his ability to generate tons of tokens.
Good-Fortune Unicorn
3 Extra counters are great, but starting as a three mana 2/2 isn't.
Dragon Trainer
4 The rate here is great, and if you can recur the Trainer, things get out of hand in a hurry.
Think Twice
2.5 This is never super efficient, but it does draw you 2 cards, and if you mill it, it's like adding the card to your hand which is pretty sweet.
Fake Your Own Death
2.5 This is a quality trick that almost always wins combat and/or blanks removal, while generating extra value with a treasure.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Fanatical Firebrand
2.5 This is really nice on turn one, and it's ping ability keeps it at least somewhat relevant all game long.
Inspiring Paladin
3 Even without the +1/+1 counter upside this would be a solid card, and with it becomes a very good Common.
Marauding Blight-Priest
2 This isn't the most exciting payoff, but it's fine -- and it's a two-card combo with Bloodthirsty Conqueror.
Wind-Scarred Crag
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Progenitus
0 There's no reliable way to cheat it into play in this format, so you'll never see it in play.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Elementalist Adept
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar
2 // 3 On it's own, Tinybones can get some decent card advnatage with it's ability, but you probably need a few other discard spells to really feel like you got there with him.
Youthful Valkyrie
2.5 This is an okayish stat-line, and most White decks will have like 3 angels, so the upside is accessible.
Cephalid Inkmage
2.5 This is pretty good at enabling threshold, making it more likely it will be unblockable.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Gorehorn Raider
2.5 This is strong when you can Raid, and pretty mediocre when you can't.
Gutless Plunderer
1.5 Three-mana 2/2s with death touch aren't anything special and even if you get this Raid trigger it's hard to feel good about casting this.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Dismal Backwater
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Extravagant Replication
Extravagant Replication
4 You have to wait a turn, which can be scary -- but after that it can help you run away with the game, since you'll get a copy of your best creature -- and it'll just keep doing it from there.
Battlesong Berserker
3 This adds +1/+0 and menace to the board when it comes down, and can attack as a 4/4 menace even when it's on it's own.
Revenge of the Rats
1 / 3.5 This is definitely a buildaround, but a legit one for graveyard decks. Making a bunch of tokens is a good way to win the game once you've dumped your library in the graveyard.
Cackling Prowler
2.5 A 4-mana 4/3 with Ward 2 is pretty decent, as the Ward heps offset some of the problems of that stat-line, and it gives it more time to grow.
Gnarlid Colony
2 This was super underwhelming when we saw it last, and while this format has a +1/+1 counter theme, the creature is inefficient and trample only matters on the largest creatures.
Gorehorn Raider
2.5 This is strong when you can Raid, and pretty mediocre when you can't.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Apothecary Stomper
2.5 This is pretty solid for the cost. The counters will augment your board in a pretty big way, and even as a 4/4 the stomper isn't really a creature that can be ignored.
Tranquil Cove
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Rugged Highlands
Quakestrider Ceratops
2.5 This is a huge vanilla creature -- so huge that I think it's actually going to make the cut in most Green decks, even if it doesn't do anything other than attack or block.
Guarded Heir
3.5 This is expensive, but it delivers what a 6-mana card could. It's virtually impossible for you to win the game the turn after you cast it, even when you're behind -- and it can pull you ahead if you're at parity.
Strongbox Raider
2.5 Triggering Raid on this makes it a very nice 2-for-1, but a 4-mana 5/2 is otherwise abyssmal.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Cackling Prowler
2.5 A 4-mana 4/3 with Ward 2 is pretty decent, as the Ward heps offset some of the problems of that stat-line, and it gives it more time to grow.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Rugged Highlands
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Evolving Wilds
An Offer You Can't Refuse
0 One mana to counter a noncreature spell is great! Giving your opponent a huge mana boost, though? Not so much. You basically 2-for-1 yourself when you cast this.
Inspiring Call
1.5 You need a lot of creatures with counters for this to feel worth it, and while this format certainly has decks that can do it, having a baseline of being a blank card is brutal.
Midnight Snack
1 This doesn't impact the board much on it's own, and even if it's giving you food, finding a turn where you can sink a bunch of mana into it and use it's ability is going to be a rarity.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 This plus a basic land is always a nice way to fix for a bomb, and it can even help you get threshold.
Gutless Plunderer
1.5 Three-mana 2/2s with death touch aren't anything special and even if you get this Raid trigger it's hard to feel good about casting this.
Hare Apparent
1.5 // 2.5 You can't really play this if you only have one, but if you have 4+, you'll get enough tokens for them to be worthwhile.
Dismal Backwater
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Mocking Sprite
Slumbering Cerberus
2 This is an early enabler for the Red/Green deck, and it can definitely swing hard for the cost -- but it also dies to pretty much everything.
Wildwood Scourge
2 This never feels like an efficient creature, and it doesn't exactly grow quickly.
Fanatical Firebrand
2.5 This is really nice on turn one, and it's ping ability keeps it at least somewhat relevant all game long.
Cathar Commando
2.5 This has a passable stat-line and Flash can allow it to trade up sometimes, and having disenchant in your main deck is nice.
Mocking Sprite
2 Last time we saw this, the stat-line really held it back. This format has fewer incidental ways to kill it, but I'm still skeptical of it being able to stick around.
Bloodfell Caves
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Lightshell Duo
Secluded Courtyard
0 This format doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to ever make sense. It will rarely produce colored mana.
Claws Out
1.5 // 2.5 If you're good at going wide and you have like 4+ cats, this'll be worth playing for sure. If you're not lowering the cost and don't have enough creatures in general, it's unplayable.
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Quick-Draw Katana
2 This only offers a buff during your turn, and if you're an aggro deck you're probably more interested in playing more creatures than playing this thing.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Fleeting Distraction
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Marauding Blight-Priest
2 This isn't the most exciting payoff, but it's fine -- and it's a two-card combo with Bloodthirsty Conqueror.
Wind-Scarred Crag
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Gutless Plunderer
Gutless Plunderer
1.5 Three-mana 2/2s with death touch aren't anything special and even if you get this Raid trigger it's hard to feel good about casting this.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Elementalist Adept
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Vivien Reid
Vivien Reid
3 She's not really a planeswalker who runs away with the game, especially on her own. She doesn't protect herself and won't always have targets for her -3, so you are leaning pretty hard on her +1, which is good -- but you might only get it a couple of times.
Faebloom Trick
3 Even if this didn't tap something, it'd be a pretty nice rate -- adding the tap to the mix makes it a lot more likely your new flyers can get in for a hit, too.
Battlesong Berserker
3 This adds +1/+0 and menace to the board when it comes down, and can attack as a 4/4 menace even when it's on it's own.
Stromkirk Bloodthief
1.5 Last time we saw this was in a way more vampire-heavy set and it was not very good. It's probably going to be worse here. The stat-line is bad and the trigger is surprisingly hard to get.
Guarded Heir
3.5 This is expensive, but it delivers what a 6-mana card could. It's virtually impossible for you to win the game the turn after you cast it, even when you're behind -- and it can pull you ahead if you're at parity.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Quick-Draw Katana
2 This only offers a buff during your turn, and if you're an aggro deck you're probably more interested in playing more creatures than playing this thing.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Hare Apparent
1.5 // 2.5 You can't really play this if you only have one, but if you have 4+, you'll get enough tokens for them to be worthwhile.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Cathar Commando
2.5 This has a passable stat-line and Flash can allow it to trade up sometimes, and having disenchant in your main deck is nice.
Cackling Prowler
2.5 A 4-mana 4/3 with Ward 2 is pretty decent, as the Ward heps offset some of the problems of that stat-line, and it gives it more time to grow.
Tranquil Cove
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Apothecary Stomper
2.5 This is pretty solid for the cost. The counters will augment your board in a pretty big way, and even as a 4/4 the stomper isn't really a creature that can be ignored.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
Sphinx of Forgotten Lore
5 A 4-mana 3/3 with flash and Flying is a very good card, and being able to flash back your spells is massive. Because of Flash, you'll often be able to get one attack in before your opponent ever has a chance to take it down, at which point they are probably too far behind anyway.
Elvish Regrower
4 This is a great 2-for-1. That 4/3 body can even rumble pretty well.
Shivan Dragon
2 This can win the game, but it's big, slow and clunky. It's a passable top-curve threat.
Perforating Artist
2.5 This has mediocre stats and while the Raid trigger can be pretty good if you can get it going multiple times, I'm skeptical you'll be able to.
Goblin Surprise
2.5 Neither mode is great. The tokens are a bit below rate and the buff is situational, but having a choice between them is a big upgrade.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Luminous Rebuke
2.5 This is either too narrow or too expensive, but having the choice between the modes makes it greater than the sum of its parts.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Cackling Prowler
2.5 A 4-mana 4/3 with Ward 2 is pretty decent, as the Ward heps offset some of the problems of that stat-line, and it gives it more time to grow.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Aegis Turtle
1 This isn't worth a card. All it does is block, and it doesn't do it all that well, since it just absorbs damage and can't trade for anything.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Llanowar Elves
Scavenging Ooze
4.5 This little two drop can wreak havoc on graveyards while growing to a massive size and gaining you life -- it's relevant all game long.
Slumbering Cerberus
2 This is an early enabler for the Red/Green deck, and it can definitely swing hard for the cost -- but it also dies to pretty much everything.
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Affectionate Indrik
3 Adding this to the board while killing a 3/3 feels pretty good, though it does have limitations against larger creatures.
Dwynen's Elite
2.5 This'll just be a two mana 2/2 reasonably often, but it'll also make a 1/1 token a decent chunk of the time, and if it always did that it would be a 4.0.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Llanowar Elves
3 Playing this on turn one will win you a lot of games, but it is a pretty bad top deck late.
Witness Protection
1 This is a removal spell that gives you less than a 1-for-1. Leaving a 1/1 creature around is brutal since it can still attack and block, and if you have any X/1s it can be super miserable.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Swiftblade Vindicator
3 You need to do a little bit of extra work with counters, auras, and the like for this to really go off -- but the baseline is fine too.
Overrun
3.5 This can win a lot of games, though you do need a built out board and three green mana for it to do the job.
Battlesong Berserker
3 This adds +1/+0 and menace to the board when it comes down, and can attack as a 4/4 menace even when it's on it's own.
Arcane Epiphany
2.5 5 mana to draw 3 is powerful but a little bit expensive. However, most Blue decks will be able to make this cost 4 often enough for me to get behind playing it a good chunk of the time.
Secluded Courtyard
0 This format doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to ever make sense. It will rarely produce colored mana.
Broken Wings
0.5 This is a sideboard card. There aren't enough targets in most decks for it to be wortwhile in the main deck.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Gleaming Barrier
1 If this format had an artifact theme this might be more useful, as is it's just a bad defensive creature that gives you a little mana back.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Angel of Finality
2.5 This is a nice stat-line, and sometimes you'll take threshold away from your opponent.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Uncharted Voyage
Fishing Pole
1.5 Turning one of your creatures into a 1/1 Fish factory can be good, but it's frequently better to attack with a creature than it is to mess with this.
Skyship Buccaneer
3.5 If you always drew with this, it would be a 4.5! However, you just can't count on always raiding. And when you don't, it's a 2.0.
Fiendish Panda
4 This is usually going to be a 2-for-1, and if you're good at gaining life it can become a threat in its own right.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Bake into a Pie
3.5 It's a little expensive but makes up for that in a big way with that food token.
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Sure Strike
1.5 This is a good trick in combat, but it's a little bit expensive and not useful against most removal.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Rogue's Passage
1.5 This effect generally isn't worth making your mana worse for. Sure, it can be nice late -- but that's not even a guarantee.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Refute
Ravenous Amulet
1.5 This is too slow to work out very well. If you have lots of fodder you might be able to go off, though.
Zombify
2 It's rare for reanimation effects to be great in Limited, especially at 4+ mana. It's just tough to get your mana's worth.
Refute
2 Cancel is usually not a card that always makes the cut, and this probably doesn't quite get there either -- although adding Loot to the mix is definitely better.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Elfsworn Giant
3.5 This is a very strong landfall trigger, and while the stat-line isn't incredible, it's not thard to make sure you get at least one 1/1 out of this, and if it's left alone, it becomes a value engine.
Marauding Blight-Priest
2 This isn't the most exciting payoff, but it's fine -- and it's a two-card combo with Bloodthirsty Conqueror.
Quakestrider Ceratops
2.5 This is a huge vanilla creature -- so huge that I think it's actually going to make the cut in most Green decks, even if it doesn't do anything other than attack or block.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Strix Lookout
Stromkirk Bloodthief
1.5 Last time we saw this was in a way more vampire-heavy set and it was not very good. It's probably going to be worse here. The stat-line is bad and the trigger is surprisingly hard to get.
Fiendish Panda
4 This is usually going to be a 2-for-1, and if you're good at gaining life it can become a threat in its own right.
Strix Lookout
2 The stats aren't amazing, but it can attack for much of the game, and once it can't looting isn't too shabby.
Gutless Plunderer
1.5 Three-mana 2/2s with death touch aren't anything special and even if you get this Raid trigger it's hard to feel good about casting this.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Micromancer
1 // 3.5 You need to have two spells this can tutor up for it to be worth it, and if you get there -- you're going to be really happy with this card.
Vengeful Bloodwitch
2.5 This trigger is nice, and the format is reasonably well set up for you to get some life drain going, but the stat-line is bad and it's still fairly situational.
Lightshell Duo
2.5 This'll never be great, but it slots in nicely to your spell and graveyard decks.
Quick-Draw Katana
2 This only offers a buff during your turn, and if you're an aggro deck you're probably more interested in playing more creatures than playing this thing.
Bloodfell Caves
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Sower of Chaos
Battlesong Berserker
3 This adds +1/+0 and menace to the board when it comes down, and can attack as a 4/4 menace even when it's on it's own.
Stromkirk Bloodthief
1.5 Last time we saw this was in a way more vampire-heavy set and it was not very good. It's probably going to be worse here. The stat-line is bad and the trigger is surprisingly hard to get.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Hare Apparent
1.5 // 2.5 You can't really play this if you only have one, but if you have 4+, you'll get enough tokens for them to be worthwhile.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Tranquil Cove
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Axgard Cavalry
Goblin Surprise
2.5 Neither mode is great. The tokens are a bit below rate and the buff is situational, but having a choice between them is a big upgrade.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Aegis Turtle
1 This isn't worth a card. All it does is block, and it doesn't do it all that well, since it just absorbs damage and can't trade for anything.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Thornwood Falls
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Battlesong Berserker
Battlesong Berserker
3 This adds +1/+0 and menace to the board when it comes down, and can attack as a 4/4 menace even when it's on it's own.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Skyship Buccaneer
Skyship Buccaneer
3.5 If you always drew with this, it would be a 4.5! However, you just can't count on always raiding. And when you don't, it's a 2.0.