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Premier Draft DAR 20 June 2021

20 June 06:46 - ActionSalad 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (13)
1 Academy Drake image
1 Rat Colony image
1 Jhoira's Familiar image
1 Josu Vess, Lich Knight image
1 Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood image
1 Zahid, Djinn of the Lamp image
1 Cloudreader Sphinx image
2 Deathbloom Thallid image
1 Cabal Evangel image
1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid image
1 Thallid Omnivore image
1 Caligo Skin-Witch image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (10)
1 Time of Ice image
1 Fungal Infection image
1 Blessing of Belzenlok image
1 Syncopate image
1 Deep Freeze image
1 Blink of an Eye image
1 Opt image
1 Eviscerate image
1 In Bolas's Clutches image
1 Wizard's Retort image
Land (17)
7 Island image
3 Forest image
7 Swamp image
Sideboard
1 Thallid Omnivore image
1 Amaranthine Wall image
1 Feral Abomination image
1 Sparring Construct image
1 Homarid Explorer image
1 Mammoth Spider image
1 Keldon Warcaller image
3 Befuddle image
1 Blessed Light image
1 Divest image
1 Ancient Animus image
1 Shield of the Realm image
1 Grow from the Ashes image
1 Unwind image
1 Arcane Flight image
1 Powerstone Shard image
1 Pierce the Sky image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Josu Vess, Lich Knight
Josu Vess, Lich Knight image 4.5 Kicking Josu Vess isn’t easy, but since he starts out as a 4-mana 4/5 with Menace, that’s perfectly fine. That’s an excellent creature you always play, so the fact that you can pay 10 in the late game to make 8 2/2 Zombies is great, especially because when Kicked he basically reads You win the game.
The Eldest Reborn image 4.5 This is an Uncommon bomb, and a card that always does a ton for the investment. Up front, it makes your opponent lose a creature. And sure, it is an Edict, so your opponent chooses which creature they lose – and that can be kind of a bummer, but you still have the next two chapters! Your opponent has to discard a card on their next turn, and then you get to reanimate something on the turn after that. This is certainly sort of slow, but it amounts to a 3-for-1 in the end, and you really make your opponent’s life difficult because with Chapter I and II, your opponent has to keep Chapter III in mind, as putting something in the graveyard you can make use of is a big problem.
Amaranthine Wall image 1.0 Even with all of the artifact/historic payoffs in this format, Amaranthine Wall is pretty bad. It just blocks, and a 4 mana card that does that isn’t really something you’re going to want most of the time.
Orcish Vandal image 1.5 If you have Artifacts, being able to hurl them at your opponent’s dome and creatures feels pretty good, but this format doesn’t have so many that doing that is really easy.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Skittering Surveyor image 3.5 So, this is a 3-mana ½ that draws you any basic land, and I would be on board with that pretty much no matter the format. The fixing it provides is just that good – and in this format, it is even better! Especially because there is Artifact/historic synergy all over the place.
Deep Freeze image 2.5 This is typical of most Blue removal. It does the job of turning off a creature, but the downside is that creature can still block. This means this type of effect isn’t great if you’re really aggressive, but still – at least the creature can only block once! This isn’t premium, but it is solid removal.
Llanowar Elves image 3.0 Magic’s classic mana dork is back, and it is once again pretty good. If you play it on turn one, the boost it gives you will often be game-winning. That is of course balanced by the fact that if you draw it light, it is a pretty big dud, but still – that early game upside makes it pretty good.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Caligo Skin-Witch image 3.0 This is another card with Kicker where neither option is terribly efficient, but it turns out that it doesn’t really matter – the flexibility and late game usefulness make up for that. In this format, people tend to hold on to card a fair bit, so kicking the Skin-Witch ends up hitting two cards way more in this format than in most, and can often just be the kind of thing that shifts the game in your favor.
Primordial Wurm image 1.5 You’re kind of hoping you get something better than this for the top of your curve, especially in a set with a ton of Kicker, which allows multiple cards to be curve toppers and early plays, but if you really need a big boi at the end of the game, the Wurm is passable.
Blink of an Eye image 3.5 Even without Kicker, this would be a playable card. Adding kicker to the mix is great, because it keeps you from going down a card for tempo. Instead, you get to bounce their thing and draw a card, which tends to feel pretty good for 4 mana.
Krosan Druid image 2.5 Early in the game, the Druid gives you a reasonable body, and in the late game in can gain you a ton of life, enough that it can often allow you to stabilize, and that’s some really nice upside! You won’t always get the opportunity to kick it, of course.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood
Kazarov, Sengir Pureblood image 4.0 Obviously you have to BR to fully take advantage of this, but if you are, he is pretty amazing. The big downside here are the mediocre stats for the cost – he is pretty easy to kill. However, if you are allowed to untap with him in play, you usually win, as you start picking off creatures and making Karazov bigger, which will quickly allow you to win the game.
Untamed Kavu image 3.5 This is really efficient no matter which mode you use, with the 5-mana 5/5 version obviously being the more attractive one in most scenarios.
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame image 3.0 This is a nice buildaround for Equipment/Auras, as a free Spark Elemental every turn isn’t too shabby. The downside, of course, is having to put a bunch of Auras/Equipment on a single creature is very risky, but the payoff is sometimes worth it.
Ancient Animus image 2.5 Getting the counter with this won’t come up a ton, but being an instant speed fight effect is a fine baseline.
Mesa Unicorn image 2.5 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are usually nice little cards in Limited, and that’s the case here.
Ghitu Lavarunner image 1.5 One mana creatures like this just don’t do well in Limited, especially because loading up the graveyard super quickly isn’t going to happen. This will mostly just be a one mana ½ that is a 2/2 with Haste in the mid-to-late game, but by then, it won’t really matter. The fact it is a Wizard does help make it more playable though.
Cloudreader Sphinx image 3.5 This card really overperforms. 5-mana ¾ Flyers are usually somewhat passable, but in this format that statline is especially good. Additionally, Scry 2 is a nice thing to add to an already solid creature.
Ghitu Chronicler image 3.5 This can be a two mana 1/3 early – and you need that sometimes. However, the real value of the card comes when you kick it. 6 mana for a 1/3 that returns a spell is surprisingly potent in this format, especially if you’ve got Fight With Fire, but even if you just have reasonable spells to get back, this still feels pretty good.
Windgrace Acolyte image 2.0 The ETB trigger here is surprisingly solid. The life you gain and the cards you mill can be some really significant value on a reasonable evasive creature.
Blessed Light image 3.0 This is kind of expensive, but the price is going to be worth it most of the time. Exiling creatures and Enchantments is nice. Sometimes exiling is especially nice, as recursion is a thing. This is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes manufacture a 2-for-1 with it. It isn’t premium removal, but it is certainly solid, and the first copy will usually make the cut.
Homarid Explorer image 1.0 There isn’t enough of a payoff for milling yourself or your opponent for this to be very good.
Knight of New Benalia image 1.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to be kind of alright, and this one has a useful creature type.
Arbor Armament image 1.0 This is a mediocre trick, but it does give the counter permanently. Still, tricks that are defensive always seem super awkward. You can of course use it offensively, but Reach doesn’t matter in that situation, and +1/+1 just isn’t always going to be enough to win combat.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Zahid, Djinn of the Lamp
Zahid, Djinn of the Lamp image 4.5 At worst, Zahid is Mahamoti Djinn. While not as impressive these days as it once was, a 6-mana 5/6 with Flying is still a card that would almost always make the cut in Limited decks! The additional upside here is big too, as casting this for 4 mana quickly puts your opponent under a ton of pressure. There are enough playable cheap artifacts in this set that setting that up isn’t too difficult.
Memorial to Unity image 3.0 This is a land that will draw you the best creature in the top 5 of your library late, and that’s some nice utility!
Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage image 4.0 Even if you never manage to make a historic spell have Flash with this, a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer with Flash is a good card, and any time you leave mana up and pass the turn, your opponent really has to ponder whether they might be getting blown out by something being played at instant speed that normally wouldn’t be castable. It just opens up so many options, and there are enough historic spells around that you’ll be able to take advantage.
Unwind image 0.5 This is generally too narrow for you to really want to play. It is better out of your sideboard, as bringing it in against someone who has a lot of noncreature spells will work out okay.
Gift of Growth image 2.0 This trick will often allow your creature to win combat early, and sometimes the kicker side of things can get you lethal out of nowhere, in addition to also being the sort of boost that will allow almost any creature to take down any other creature. It is still a trick of course, and comes with the significant downside those have.
Blessing of Belzenlok image 1.0 This is a mediocre trick, even if you use it on a legendary creature.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Gideon's Reproach image 3.0 This is situational, but it is efficient enough that it still makes it into the lower range of premium removal. Attacking and blocking does happen a fair bit, and because of that, it doesn’t feel all that situational.
Guardians of Koilos image 1.5 The idea here is that you can bounce a Saga or other Historic thing to your hand that will give you value when you play it again, but a lot of the time this is just a 5-mana 4/4, and that’s not really something you want.
Opt image 2.0 As usual, this is fine. Seeing two cards for one mana feels pretty good.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Llanowar Elves image 3.0 Magic’s classic mana dork is back, and it is once again pretty good. If you play it on turn one, the boost it gives you will often be game-winning. That is of course balanced by the fact that if you draw it light, it is a pretty big dud, but still – that early game upside makes it pretty good.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Fungal Infection
Memorial to Folly image 3.5 I love utility lands, and this whole Memorial cycle is certainly that! It enters tapped, but most of the time the Memorial will just feel like a way better Swamp, since in the late game it can get you the best creature back out of your graveyard, that’s a very real effect on a land – something most don’t have!
Shield of the Realm image 1.5 This doesn’t give any real stats boost, but the effect it grants can often really tamper with combat. Of course, the problem is, you generally have to put it on a creature that is already good, because if your creature is just a 2/2 or something, adding this effect won’t make much of difference.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Feral Abomination image 1.5 This is a kind of okay finisher if you’re desperate for one.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Saproling Migration image 3.5 Both modes on this are quite good, and can allow you to go wide in a hurry. In BG there are some significant Saproling/go wide payoffs too, which make it even nicer.
Cloudreader Sphinx image 3.5 This card really overperforms. 5-mana ¾ Flyers are usually somewhat passable, but in this format that statline is especially good. Additionally, Scry 2 is a nice thing to add to an already solid creature.
Dark Bargain image 2.0 This is basically Black Divination, and that means having one copy of it in your Black decks is usually decent.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Cloudreader Sphinx
Memorial to Folly image 3.5 I love utility lands, and this whole Memorial cycle is certainly that! It enters tapped, but most of the time the Memorial will just feel like a way better Swamp, since in the late game it can get you the best creature back out of your graveyard, that’s a very real effect on a land – something most don’t have!
Shield of the Realm image 1.5 This doesn’t give any real stats boost, but the effect it grants can often really tamper with combat. Of course, the problem is, you generally have to put it on a creature that is already good, because if your creature is just a 2/2 or something, adding this effect won’t make much of difference.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Feral Abomination image 1.5 This is a kind of okay finisher if you’re desperate for one.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Saproling Migration image 3.5 Both modes on this are quite good, and can allow you to go wide in a hurry. In BG there are some significant Saproling/go wide payoffs too, which make it even nicer.
Cloudreader Sphinx image 3.5 This card really overperforms. 5-mana ¾ Flyers are usually somewhat passable, but in this format that statline is especially good. Additionally, Scry 2 is a nice thing to add to an already solid creature.
Dark Bargain image 2.0 This is basically Black Divination, and that means having one copy of it in your Black decks is usually decent.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Blessing of Belzenlok
Whisper, Blood Liturgist image 2.0 It isn’t that easy to set Whisper up in this format – you need to be going wide and you need to have something worth reanimating, and neither of those are guaranteed. You’ll be able to pull it off sometimes, and it is also nice that Whisper can sacrifice itself if need be.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Frenzied Rage image 2.0 +2/+1 and Menace for two mana is very aggressive, and can make many creatures into a threat. Now, it does have the same downside of all Auras – namely, the huge risk of getting 2-for-1’d, but it is worth doing in some of the more aggressive decks.
Blessing of Belzenlok image 1.0 This is a mediocre trick, even if you use it on a legendary creature.
Aesthir Glider image 1.5 In a lot of formats this would be close to unplayable, but in this one – which features lots of Artifact/Historic payoffs, you end up playing the glider sometimes. A 3-mana 2/1 with Flying isn’t bad, but the fact it can’t block is a little miserable.
Excavation Elephant image 2.0 Like most cards with Kicker in this set, Excavation Elephant is a decent creature when you cast it regularly, and then in the later part of the game you can kick it for some extra value. There are enough Artifacts in this set that casting this with Kicker and getting something back is very doable.
Pardic Wanderer image 1.5 This is something you’ll play in decks that have ways to recur Artifacts, as a 6-mana 5/5 with Trample that you can bring back is pretty nice.
Ancient Animus image 2.5 Getting the counter with this won’t come up a ton, but being an instant speed fight effect is a fine baseline.
Benalish Honor Guard image 1.5 This is alright, but even with the large number of legendaries in this set, this will be a two mana 2/2 most of the time, and usually not much bigger than 3/2. It is also a knight, which matters.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Deathbloom Thallid
Memorial to Glory image 3.0 This might come into play tapped, but it more that makes up for that with the ability to make a couple of creature tokens in the late game.
Bloodtallow Candle image 2.0 This is not an efficient way to removal creatures, but this format has several payoffs for playing Artifacts/historic cards, and having a cheap one around isn’t bad, especially because some of those payoffs let you get Artifacts back from your graveyard, and recurring a removal spell – even an inefficient one, tends to feel pretty good.
Llanowar Elves image 3.0 Magic’s classic mana dork is back, and it is once again pretty good. If you play it on turn one, the boost it gives you will often be game-winning. That is of course balanced by the fact that if you draw it light, it is a pretty big dud, but still – that early game upside makes it pretty good.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
D'Avenant Trapper image 2.5 This has decent stats and an okay historic trigger. Tapping stuff down can often really enable attacks you just didn’t have before, and that’s a good place to be in an aggressive deck.
Deathbloom Thallid image 3.0 This has solid base stats that makes it easy for it to trade, and then it leaves behind a Saproling – that’s a pretty good deal for three mana.
Frenzied Rage image 2.0 +2/+1 and Menace for two mana is very aggressive, and can make many creatures into a threat. Now, it does have the same downside of all Auras – namely, the huge risk of getting 2-for-1’d, but it is worth doing in some of the more aggressive decks.
Artificer's Assistant image 1.5 This has decent base stats, but the Scry trigger here just doesn’t happen often enough for this to be very good.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Syncopate
Amaranthine Wall image 1.0 Even with all of the artifact/historic payoffs in this format, Amaranthine Wall is pretty bad. It just blocks, and a 4 mana card that does that isn’t really something you’re going to want most of the time.
Orcish Vandal image 1.5 If you have Artifacts, being able to hurl them at your opponent’s dome and creatures feels pretty good, but this format doesn’t have so many that doing that is really easy.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Primordial Wurm image 1.5 You’re kind of hoping you get something better than this for the top of your curve, especially in a set with a ton of Kicker, which allows multiple cards to be curve toppers and early plays, but if you really need a big boi at the end of the game, the Wurm is passable.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Amaranthine Wall
Amaranthine Wall image 1.0 Even with all of the artifact/historic payoffs in this format, Amaranthine Wall is pretty bad. It just blocks, and a 4 mana card that does that isn’t really something you’re going to want most of the time.
Orcish Vandal image 1.5 If you have Artifacts, being able to hurl them at your opponent’s dome and creatures feels pretty good, but this format doesn’t have so many that doing that is really easy.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Primordial Wurm image 1.5 You’re kind of hoping you get something better than this for the top of your curve, especially in a set with a ton of Kicker, which allows multiple cards to be curve toppers and early plays, but if you really need a big boi at the end of the game, the Wurm is passable.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Ancient Animus
Valduk, Keeper of the Flame image 3.0 This is a nice buildaround for Equipment/Auras, as a free Spark Elemental every turn isn’t too shabby. The downside, of course, is having to put a bunch of Auras/Equipment on a single creature is very risky, but the payoff is sometimes worth it.
Ancient Animus image 2.5 Getting the counter with this won’t come up a ton, but being an instant speed fight effect is a fine baseline.
Ghitu Lavarunner image 1.5 One mana creatures like this just don’t do well in Limited, especially because loading up the graveyard super quickly isn’t going to happen. This will mostly just be a one mana ½ that is a 2/2 with Haste in the mid-to-late game, but by then, it won’t really matter. The fact it is a Wizard does help make it more playable though.
Homarid Explorer image 1.0 There isn’t enough of a payoff for milling yourself or your opponent for this to be very good.
Knight of New Benalia image 1.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to be kind of alright, and this one has a useful creature type.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Powerstone Shard
Unwind image 0.5 This is generally too narrow for you to really want to play. It is better out of your sideboard, as bringing it in against someone who has a lot of noncreature spells will work out okay.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Guardians of Koilos image 1.5 The idea here is that you can bounce a Saga or other Historic thing to your hand that will give you value when you play it again, but a lot of the time this is just a 5-mana 4/4, and that’s not really something you want.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Deep Freeze
Shield of the Realm image 1.5 This doesn’t give any real stats boost, but the effect it grants can often really tamper with combat. Of course, the problem is, you generally have to put it on a creature that is already good, because if your creature is just a 2/2 or something, adding this effect won’t make much of difference.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Shield of the Realm
Shield of the Realm image 1.5 This doesn’t give any real stats boost, but the effect it grants can often really tamper with combat. Of course, the problem is, you generally have to put it on a creature that is already good, because if your creature is just a 2/2 or something, adding this effect won’t make much of difference.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Befuddle
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Tatyova, Benthic Druid
Precognition Field image 1.0 This is very hard to actually make work, as you really need a ton of instants and sorceries, or it is just a straight up blank.
Shield of the Realm image 1.5 This doesn’t give any real stats boost, but the effect it grants can often really tamper with combat. Of course, the problem is, you generally have to put it on a creature that is already good, because if your creature is just a 2/2 or something, adding this effect won’t make much of difference.
Knight of Grace image 3.5 This has really good base stats and a useful creature type, and if you are lucky enough to go up against someone who is playing Black, it gets even better.
Tatyova, Benthic Druid image 4.5 Tatyova’s “landfall” effect is incredibly good, as gaining life and drawing a card is bonkers, and it will allow you to just get absurd card advantage. Now, Tatyova is a 5-mana 3/3, which is pretty miserable, and also means it dies to a whole lot of removal. The best thing to do is wait until you can play Tatyova and a land in the same turn, that way you get some value no matter what, and if you’re allowed to draw even 1-2 other card with Tatyova after that, you’re probably just going to win.
Sparring Construct image 1.5 This is passable, mostly just because it is an Artifact.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Drudge Sentinel image 1.0 A 3-mana 2/1 that can become indestructible for three mana isn’t very good. Both parts of that are pretty inefficient. The Sentinel isn’t an especially good attacker or blocker, so you mostly just won’t play it.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Gideon's Reproach image 3.0 This is situational, but it is efficient enough that it still makes it into the lower range of premium removal. Attacking and blocking does happen a fair bit, and because of that, it doesn’t feel all that situational.
Call the Cavalry image 2.5 This makes creatures reasonably efficiently, and they even have a useful creature type. It isn’t exciting, but it does a decent job of making your board presence bigger.
Ghitu Chronicler image 3.5 This can be a two mana 1/3 early – and you need that sometimes. However, the real value of the card comes when you kick it. 6 mana for a 1/3 that returns a spell is surprisingly potent in this format, especially if you’ve got Fight With Fire, but even if you just have reasonable spells to get back, this still feels pretty good.
Invoke the Divine image 2.0 There are enough targets for this in this format that you end up main decking it sometimes.
Baloth Gorger image 3.5 This is a very good common, as playing it as a 4-mana 4/4 feels pretty good, and then in the late game it has the added utility of being an 8-mana 7/7, which, while not efficient – is not upside to have on an already efficient creature.
Sergeant-at-Arms image 2.5 This is another card with Kicker where both options don’t exactly seem efficient, but having the choice between them is great. You either get a 3-mana 2/3 or a 6-mana 2/3 that makes two 1/1 tokens. When you kick it, it can really allow you to stabilize in situations even when you are pretty far behind.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Thallid Omnivore
Benalish Marshal image 2.0 // 4.0 This whole cycle of triple-colored mana rares is good, but also kind of tricky, because being able to play them on turn 3 is so difficult in your typical limited deck, and getting three mana of the same color in Limited is far from a foregone conclusion. Still, of this cycle, the Marshal is probably the one that is the most useful even if you play it late, as a 3-mana 3/3 with an Anthem stapled to it is pretty good all game long. If you can be a mono-colored deck (which will happen on rare occasions), it will be one of the best cards in your deck, but in a typical deck, it is definitely going to be held back by the mana cost.
Damping Sphere image 0.0 This pretty much does nothing in Limited. Don’t play it.
Juggernaut image 2.0 Juggernaut isn’t nearly as good today as it was 25+ years ago, but it is still an okay card. A 4-mana 5/3 has passable stats, and while having low toughness and being forced to attack isn’t great, all the Artifact creatures in this format get some bonus points out of the fact that they are especially easy to recur in this format.
Kwende, Pride of Femeref image 2.5 A 4-mana 2/2 with Double Strike is sort of passable, and upgrading all of your First Strikers to double strikers is pretty nice. Now, a lot of the time that part of the card won’t matter, but it does have a reasonable baseline and a nice ceiling.
Artificer's Assistant image 1.5 This has decent base stats, but the Scry trigger here just doesn’t happen often enough for this to be very good.
Radiating Lightning image 1.0 This will often just feel like 4 mana to do 3 to an opponent, and that’s not worth it. Doing 1 damage to opposing creatures will sometimes actually do something, but it will be irrelevant more often than not.
Unwind image 0.5 This is generally too narrow for you to really want to play. It is better out of your sideboard, as bringing it in against someone who has a lot of noncreature spells will work out okay.
Thallid Omnivore image 3.0 You will end up having this on many board states where your opponent always has to block it, since it can get big so quickly and so cheaply. Saprolings pair really well with it, not only because of the life gain, but also because there are plenty of cards in this set that make multiples, and that’s just what Thallid Omnivore is after.
Feral Abomination image 1.5 This is a kind of okay finisher if you’re desperate for one.
Divination image 2.0 As usual, Divination is fine. It is a 3-mana 2-for-1, and while you don’t want too many cards that don’t add to the board, having one of these is fine in most Blue decks.
Demonic Vigor image 1.5 People always overrate this type of card, as it is easy to imagine putting it on a really good creature and making sure you get it back. However, more often than not, you won’t have an amazing creature to put it on, and you’ll often get back something that isn’t super relevant.
Gift of Growth image 2.0 This trick will often allow your creature to win combat early, and sometimes the kicker side of things can get you lethal out of nowhere, in addition to also being the sort of boost that will allow almost any creature to take down any other creature. It is still a trick of course, and comes with the significant downside those have.
Mesa Unicorn image 2.5 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are usually nice little cards in Limited, and that’s the case here.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Caligo Skin-Witch
Seal Away image 4.0 This is situational, but it is cheap enough that it is incredibly good removal.
Sentinel of the Pearl Trident image 1.5 This is just too expensive for what it is. Its ETB trigger won’t do anything far more often than it will. And sure, resetting a Saga or triggering an ETB ability again seems cool, but it won’t happen as often as you’d think.
Sage of Lat-Nam image 2.0 The effect here is pretty strong, as cashing in artifacts for cards can be a good deal, but it isn’t always easy to set up.
Fiery Intervention image 2.5 This isn’t premium since it is a Sorcery and 5 mana, but it does kill a lot of stuff in this format, and having the addition upside of blowing up a problem artifact sometimes is nice.
Arcane Flight image 1.5 This gives a nice boost for the cost, especially with Flying in the mix. It is especially nice on the hexproof turtle, but its efficiency makes it worthwhile in some other Blue decks too.
Gideon's Reproach image 3.0 This is situational, but it is efficient enough that it still makes it into the lower range of premium removal. Attacking and blocking does happen a fair bit, and because of that, it doesn’t feel all that situational.
Caligo Skin-Witch image 3.0 This is another card with Kicker where neither option is terribly efficient, but it turns out that it doesn’t really matter – the flexibility and late game usefulness make up for that. In this format, people tend to hold on to card a fair bit, so kicking the Skin-Witch ends up hitting two cards way more in this format than in most, and can often just be the kind of thing that shifts the game in your favor.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Feral Abomination image 1.5 This is a kind of okay finisher if you’re desperate for one.
Llanowar Scout image 1.5 People often really overrate this type of effect. It is easy to imagine simply always ramping with it, but the problem is that you have to have lands to put into play in the first place. That might sound like a foregone conclusion, but it really isn’t – what makes other ramp cards great is that they get you the land from your library, which effectively draws you a card – in this case, you have to have the land to ramp, and that’s a big difference.
Serra Disciple image 1.5 This has been a great card for 25+ years at this point, and it is still great in Limited. That stat-line and those keywords just aren’t something we see very often for only 5 mana.
Blessed Light image 3.0 This is kind of expensive, but the price is going to be worth it most of the time. Exiling creatures and Enchantments is nice. Sometimes exiling is especially nice, as recursion is a thing. This is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes manufacture a 2-for-1 with it. It isn’t premium removal, but it is certainly solid, and the first copy will usually make the cut.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Grow from the Ashes
Champion of the Flame image 2.0 It is really tempting to want to go all in on this guy since he gets huge so fast, but it is definitely a risky strategy with Auras, since if the Champion dies you lose those forever too. If your main plan is putting Equipment on him, that’s far more palatable, but he still starts out with some pretty awful stats.
Diligent Excavator image 0.5 There just isn’t a viable mill deck in this format, so this mostly doesn’t do anything.
Hallar, the Firefletcher image 3.5 Hallar starts with a nice baseline, and then gets progressively larger as the game goes on, while also doing extra damage to your opponent. Even if you only have like 5 cards with Kicker, Hallar is going to feel pretty good.
Grow from the Ashes image 3.5 Fixing and ramp are big in this format as a result of kicker and various mana sinks, and Grow from the Ashes is really good at giving you both of those things, especially when you kick it. It can even allow you to splash double colored cards, which is nice upside.
Fire Elemental image 1.0 The stats here aren’t great, and there’s not any payoff in this set for Elementals, so you won’t play this most of the time.
Cabal Paladin image 2.0 This has a pretty nice Historic ability, as it can really chip in a ton of damage, but it comes on a pretty terrible body. A 4-mana 4/2 dies to a whole lot of stuff that costs 1-2 mana, and that never feels very good.
Demonic Vigor image 1.5 People always overrate this type of card, as it is easy to imagine putting it on a really good creature and making sure you get it back. However, more often than not, you won’t have an amazing creature to put it on, and you’ll often get back something that isn’t super relevant.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Llanowar Scout image 1.5 People often really overrate this type of effect. It is easy to imagine simply always ramping with it, but the problem is that you have to have lands to put into play in the first place. That might sound like a foregone conclusion, but it really isn’t – what makes other ramp cards great is that they get you the land from your library, which effectively draws you a card – in this case, you have to have the land to ramp, and that’s a big difference.
Unwind image 0.5 This is generally too narrow for you to really want to play. It is better out of your sideboard, as bringing it in against someone who has a lot of noncreature spells will work out okay.
Pierce the Sky image 0.5 This is mostly a sideboard card – it pretty much kills all the flyers in the set.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Blink of an Eye
The Antiquities War image 0.0 // 2.5 This really requires you to have a ton of Artifacts around to make it work, and having enough of them is far from a foregone conclusion in this format. There are Artifacts, sure, but actually getting enough to go off with this is a tall order. If you can draw two cards off of it and turn a couple things into a 5/5 it won’t feel too bad, but it isn’t going to be amazing either.
Thallid Soothsayer image 2.5 Cashing in creatures for cards is nice on a late of board states, especially if you have a bunch of Saprolings.
Gaea's Blessing image 0.5 This is mostly a cantrip in Limited, and not really an efficient one.
Pierce the Sky image 0.5 This is mostly a sideboard card – it pretty much kills all the flyers in the set.
Mesa Unicorn image 2.5 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are usually nice little cards in Limited, and that’s the case here.
Warlord's Fury image 1.5 There is a bit of a spell theme in this set, but not really enough of one that Warlord’s Fury feels amazing here. It does replace itself, so it isn’t terrible.
Dark Bargain image 2.0 This is basically Black Divination, and that means having one copy of it in your Black decks is usually decent.
Benalish Honor Guard image 1.5 This is alright, but even with the large number of legendaries in this set, this will be a two mana 2/2 most of the time, and usually not much bigger than 3/2. It is also a knight, which matters.
Blink of an Eye image 3.5 Even without Kicker, this would be a playable card. Adding kicker to the mix is great, because it keeps you from going down a card for tempo. Instead, you get to bounce their thing and draw a card, which tends to feel pretty good for 4 mana.
Sparring Construct image 1.5 This is passable, mostly just because it is an Artifact.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Wizard's Retort
Fall of the Thran image 0.5 You mostly don’t want to play this. Blowing up lands is fun and all, but most of the time it just isn’t going to help you. If you’re ahead, it can be kind of nice, since your opponent won’t be able to defend themselves, but at both parity and behind, this doesn’t do a whole lot.
Sanctum Spirit image 2.0 It is cool that this can become indestructible, but a lot of the time when you play this, you find yourself not really wanting to discard a Historic card to save it, as a 3/2 with lifelink isn’t exactly a worldbeater.
Wizard's Retort image 2.5 Cancel usually is something like a 1.0 in Limited, it comes with all the downside that is inherent to counterspells – most notably, you better have the mana at the exact right time for it to actually do something! But, the Wizard clause here is a big deal, as this turns into straight up Counterspell, which is a significantly better card. If you’re in Blue (and uh, you are if you’re playing this), being able to cast this for UU will happen pretty often.
Charge image 1.5 Pumping your whole board with this isn’t the best thing to be doing in a format that can be as grindy as this one, but it does do the job reasonably efficiently, and if you’re going wide enough you might end up playing it.
Tolarian Scholar image 1.5 In most formats, this would be a 1.0, but the Wizard creature type matters enough here that this 3-mana 2/3 gets a little upgrade.
Llanowar Scout image 1.5 People often really overrate this type of effect. It is easy to imagine simply always ramping with it, but the problem is that you have to have lands to put into play in the first place. That might sound like a foregone conclusion, but it really isn’t – what makes other ramp cards great is that they get you the land from your library, which effectively draws you a card – in this case, you have to have the land to ramp, and that’s a big difference.
Serra Disciple image 1.5 This has been a great card for 25+ years at this point, and it is still great in Limited. That stat-line and those keywords just aren’t something we see very often for only 5 mana.
Short Sword image 2.5 It definitely isn’t exciting, but this does give an efficient boost for the cost, and this set has enough Artifact and Equipment synergy around that you’ll play it a decent chunk of the time.
Homarid Explorer image 1.0 There isn’t enough of a payoff for milling yourself or your opponent for this to be very good.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Deathbloom Thallid
Wild Onslaught image 1.5 This isn’t especially good without kicker, but sometimes that boost will mean the difference between winning combat and losing it, and can sometimes result in lethal! Kicking it is where a ton of damage can really come out of nowhere in a hurry, though it is pretty darn expensive to do it.
Cabal Evangel image 1.0 A two mana 2/2 with no other text tends to not be worth playing unless you’re desperate for a two drop.
Adventurous Impulse image 1.5 This can often allow you to find a creature or a land, and sometimes you really need one of those and not the other. It does wiff sometimes, but usually this costs one mana for some card selection, and while that is a fairly replaceable effect, it is something you’ll play often enough.
Unwind image 0.5 This is generally too narrow for you to really want to play. It is better out of your sideboard, as bringing it in against someone who has a lot of noncreature spells will work out okay.
Knight of New Benalia image 1.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to be kind of alright, and this one has a useful creature type.
Fervent Strike image 1.5 This is a one-mana trick that can help a creature win a decent number of combats. That’s what makes it a decent enough trick for aggressive decks.
Frenzied Rage image 2.0 +2/+1 and Menace for two mana is very aggressive, and can make many creatures into a threat. Now, it does have the same downside of all Auras – namely, the huge risk of getting 2-for-1’d, but it is worth doing in some of the more aggressive decks.
Deathbloom Thallid image 3.0 This has solid base stats that makes it easy for it to trade, and then it leaves behind a Saproling – that’s a pretty good deal for three mana.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Opt
Precognition Field image 1.0 This is very hard to actually make work, as you really need a ton of instants and sorceries, or it is just a straight up blank.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Gideon's Reproach image 3.0 This is situational, but it is efficient enough that it still makes it into the lower range of premium removal. Attacking and blocking does happen a fair bit, and because of that, it doesn’t feel all that situational.
Invoke the Divine image 2.0 There are enough targets for this in this format that you end up main decking it sometimes.
Sergeant-at-Arms image 2.5 This is another card with Kicker where both options don’t exactly seem efficient, but having the choice between them is great. You either get a 3-mana 2/3 or a 6-mana 2/3 that makes two 1/1 tokens. When you kick it, it can really allow you to stabilize in situations even when you are pretty far behind.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Befuddle
Precognition Field image 1.0 This is very hard to actually make work, as you really need a ton of instants and sorceries, or it is just a straight up blank.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Gideon's Reproach image 3.0 This is situational, but it is efficient enough that it still makes it into the lower range of premium removal. Attacking and blocking does happen a fair bit, and because of that, it doesn’t feel all that situational.
Invoke the Divine image 2.0 There are enough targets for this in this format that you end up main decking it sometimes.
Sergeant-at-Arms image 2.5 This is another card with Kicker where both options don’t exactly seem efficient, but having the choice between them is great. You either get a 3-mana 2/3 or a 6-mana 2/3 that makes two 1/1 tokens. When you kick it, it can really allow you to stabilize in situations even when you are pretty far behind.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Feral Abomination
Damping Sphere image 0.0 This pretty much does nothing in Limited. Don’t play it.
Radiating Lightning image 1.0 This will often just feel like 4 mana to do 3 to an opponent, and that’s not worth it. Doing 1 damage to opposing creatures will sometimes actually do something, but it will be irrelevant more often than not.
Unwind image 0.5 This is generally too narrow for you to really want to play. It is better out of your sideboard, as bringing it in against someone who has a lot of noncreature spells will work out okay.
Feral Abomination image 1.5 This is a kind of okay finisher if you’re desperate for one.
Mesa Unicorn image 2.5 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are usually nice little cards in Limited, and that’s the case here.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Blessed Light
Sentinel of the Pearl Trident image 1.5 This is just too expensive for what it is. Its ETB trigger won’t do anything far more often than it will. And sure, resetting a Saga or triggering an ETB ability again seems cool, but it won’t happen as often as you’d think.
Sage of Lat-Nam image 2.0 The effect here is pretty strong, as cashing in artifacts for cards can be a good deal, but it isn’t always easy to set up.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Blessed Light image 3.0 This is kind of expensive, but the price is going to be worth it most of the time. Exiling creatures and Enchantments is nice. Sometimes exiling is especially nice, as recursion is a thing. This is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes manufacture a 2-for-1 with it. It isn’t premium removal, but it is certainly solid, and the first copy will usually make the cut.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Unwind
Warlord's Fury image 1.5 There is a bit of a spell theme in this set, but not really enough of one that Warlord’s Fury feels amazing here. It does replace itself, so it isn’t terrible.
Sparring Construct image 1.5 This is passable, mostly just because it is an Artifact.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Sparring Construct
Warlord's Fury image 1.5 There is a bit of a spell theme in this set, but not really enough of one that Warlord’s Fury feels amazing here. It does replace itself, so it isn’t terrible.
Sparring Construct image 1.5 This is passable, mostly just because it is an Artifact.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Homarid Explorer
Homarid Explorer image 1.0 There isn’t enough of a payoff for milling yourself or your opponent for this to be very good.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Eviscerate
Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle image 3.0 This starts with some mediocre stats. However, you’ll find yourself getting one card back with this reasonably often, and that’s a nice effect to have.
Goblin Warchief image 0.5 Don’t let this card fool you. Goblins are not well-supported in this format. This will basically just be a 3-mana 2/2 with Haste most of the time, and that isn’t worth it.
Memorial to Genius image 3.5 Having a land that can produce mana for you early, and then draw you a couple cards late is pretty nice!
Hallar, the Firefletcher image 3.5 Hallar starts with a nice baseline, and then gets progressively larger as the game goes on, while also doing extra damage to your opponent. Even if you only have like 5 cards with Kicker, Hallar is going to feel pretty good.
Guardians of Koilos image 1.5 The idea here is that you can bounce a Saga or other Historic thing to your hand that will give you value when you play it again, but a lot of the time this is just a 5-mana 4/4, and that’s not really something you want.
Arcane Flight image 1.5 This gives a nice boost for the cost, especially with Flying in the mix. It is especially nice on the hexproof turtle, but its efficiency makes it worthwhile in some other Blue decks too.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Eviscerate image 3.5 This is premium removal. 4 to kill something at Sorcery speed isn’t incredible, but this format is slow enough that it does the job without feeling too clunky.
Rat Colony image 1.5 So, I wouldn’t advise jamming a bunch of these into your deck in most cases (though, if you have Tetsuko Umezawa, things might get interesting). Still, it is a kind of okay two drop, and they do get better in multiples.
Serra Disciple image 1.5 This has been a great card for 25+ years at this point, and it is still great in Limited. That stat-line and those keywords just aren’t something we see very often for only 5 mana.
Gaea's Protector image 0.5 This is such an odd card. The idea is that you have a 4/2 that will kill your opponents X/4, but the problem is that your opponent just has to assign one blocker, and they can just stick something in front of it that trades – or worse, put a couple of Saprolings in front of it.
Knight of New Benalia image 1.5 Two mana 3/1s tend to be kind of alright, and this one has a useful creature type.
Aven Sentry image 2.0 This has decent French Vanilla stats, and not much else.
Homarid Explorer image 1.0 There isn’t enough of a payoff for milling yourself or your opponent for this to be very good.
Pack 3 Pick 2: In Bolas's Clutches
Karn's Temporal Sundering image 0.0 // 4.0 As with all of these Legendary Sorceries, you can’t always play them, as you need a decent number (like 3-4+) of Legendary creatures, and even in this format, that just won’t always happen. However, when you can make it happen, the effect here is very powerful. Time Walk + Bounce is a good deal for six mana, and if you do manage to cast this, it will often win you the game.
Fungal Plots image 1.0 // 3.0 This card is a pretty sweet build around and value engine. It doesn’t work out in every deck, but being able to exile creatures to make Saprolings tends to feel pretty good – the real value, though, comes from being able to sacrifice saprolings to draw cards and gain life. Note that that ability works with ANY saprolings too, not just the ones that Fungal Plots makes, and that’s pretty nice.
Time of Ice image 3.0 This tends to play out pretty well, and this is especially true if you are the beatdown. Tapping down a single creature can have a significant impact on a race, so this does something pretty real right off the bat – then, with chapter two, it does it again! Then, Chapter III really discourages your opponent from attacking you at all, and even if they don’t, you get to bounce whatever the last creature you locked down was. This just tends to give you a ton of tempo for a reasonable cost.
Baloth Gorger image 3.5 This is a very good common, as playing it as a 4-mana 4/4 feels pretty good, and then in the late game it has the added utility of being an 8-mana 7/7, which, while not efficient – is not upside to have on an already efficient creature.
Rescue image 0.5 This can do some things – like help you reset a Saga – but it is mostly too narrow to ever really want to play.
Bloodstone Goblin image 2.0 A two-mana 2/2 isn’t a bad baseline, but this often isn’t much more than that. That’s because, by the part of the game where you can pay kicker costs, a 3/3 with Menace usually isn’t going to be the most…well…menacing creature around.
Academy Drake image 3.0 In the early part of the game, this is a Wind Drake, which is always serviceable, and in the late game it can be significantly larger. Like most cards with Kicker, the second mode isn’t exactly efficient, but it is nice upside to have on an already reasonable card.
Divest image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. People frequently won’t have enough targets to make it worth it.
Radiating Lightning image 1.0 This will often just feel like 4 mana to do 3 to an opponent, and that’s not worth it. Doing 1 damage to opposing creatures will sometimes actually do something, but it will be irrelevant more often than not.
Tolarian Scholar image 1.5 In most formats, this would be a 1.0, but the Wizard creature type matters enough here that this 3-mana 2/3 gets a little upgrade.
Grow from the Ashes image 3.5 Fixing and ramp are big in this format as a result of kicker and various mana sinks, and Grow from the Ashes is really good at giving you both of those things, especially when you kick it. It can even allow you to splash double colored cards, which is nice upside.
Skittering Surveyor image 3.5 So, this is a 3-mana ½ that draws you any basic land, and I would be on board with that pretty much no matter the format. The fixing it provides is just that good – and in this format, it is even better! Especially because there is Artifact/historic synergy all over the place.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Time of Ice
Isolated Chapel image 3.0 Like most two-color cycles of lands, these are some pretty nice fixing, and they’ll often come into play untapped.
Baird, Steward of Argive image 3.0 A 4-mana 2/4 with Vigilance wouldn’t be a very good card, but it would probably be passable, and Baird comes with a lot more upside than that! First, his “Ghostly Prison”-type effect is quite nice, as it will make your opponent have to choose between adding to the board or paying the mana to attack in the early game, and that can significantly slow them down. He is, of course, also legendary and a “historic” spell, which means he brings some extra synergy to the table. Sometimes his tax effect doesn’t do a ton – like in the extreme late game, but this does often make your opponent make difficult decisions in the early to mid-game.
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Thallid Omnivore image 3.0 You will end up having this on many board states where your opponent always has to block it, since it can get big so quickly and so cheaply. Saprolings pair really well with it, not only because of the life gain, but also because there are plenty of cards in this set that make multiples, and that’s just what Thallid Omnivore is after.
Excavation Elephant image 2.0 Like most cards with Kicker in this set, Excavation Elephant is a decent creature when you cast it regularly, and then in the later part of the game you can kick it for some extra value. There are enough Artifacts in this set that casting this with Kicker and getting something back is very doable.
Divest image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. People frequently won’t have enough targets to make it worth it.
Cabal Evangel image 1.0 A two mana 2/2 with no other text tends to not be worth playing unless you’re desperate for a two drop.
Mesa Unicorn image 2.5 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are usually nice little cards in Limited, and that’s the case here.
Broken Bond image 1.5 There’s enough Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that you can play this in the main deck some, and sometimes it will even ramp you a bit.
Opt image 2.0 As usual, this is fine. Seeing two cards for one mana feels pretty good.
Stronghold Confessor image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 with Menace and a 4-mana 3/3 with Menace are both kind of okay, and having the flexibility to be either is quite nice.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Cabal Evangel
Thran Temporal Gateway image 1.0 This is pretty difficult to utilize. Not only do you need historic permanents, you also need historic permanents that are worth cheating into play for 4 mana, and while there certainly are some of those, there aren’t so many that this will be worth it. It will just sit on the table doing nothing way too often.
Jousting Lance image 2.5 This is another piece of Equipment that might be a little bit clunky in most formats, but in this one, Jousting Lance tends to be pretty good. +2/+0 and first strike is enough to make many creatures very difficult to block, so most creature-based decks are pretty interested in this.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Broken Bond image 1.5 There’s enough Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that you can play this in the main deck some, and sometimes it will even ramp you a bit.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Benalish Honor Guard image 1.5 This is alright, but even with the large number of legendaries in this set, this will be a two mana 2/2 most of the time, and usually not much bigger than 3/2. It is also a knight, which matters.
Tragic Poet image 1.0 This isn’t great, even in a set with Sagas.
Ancient Animus image 2.5 Getting the counter with this won’t come up a ton, but being an instant speed fight effect is a fine baseline.
Sparring Construct image 1.5 This is passable, mostly just because it is an Artifact.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Befuddle
Thran Temporal Gateway image 1.0 This is pretty difficult to utilize. Not only do you need historic permanents, you also need historic permanents that are worth cheating into play for 4 mana, and while there certainly are some of those, there aren’t so many that this will be worth it. It will just sit on the table doing nothing way too often.
Jousting Lance image 2.5 This is another piece of Equipment that might be a little bit clunky in most formats, but in this one, Jousting Lance tends to be pretty good. +2/+0 and first strike is enough to make many creatures very difficult to block, so most creature-based decks are pretty interested in this.
Befuddle image 1.5 This type of Blue “combat trick” almost always disappoints, just because you need things to line up in very specific ways for it to actually feel like a combat trick. Other times, it just feels like Fog. However, adding a cantrip effect to this makes it substantially better, as does the fact that the UR deck likes spells. It still isn’t good exactly, but it is better than most versions of this type of card.
Broken Bond image 1.5 There’s enough Artifacts and Enchantments in this set that you can play this in the main deck some, and sometimes it will even ramp you a bit.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Benalish Honor Guard image 1.5 This is alright, but even with the large number of legendaries in this set, this will be a two mana 2/2 most of the time, and usually not much bigger than 3/2. It is also a knight, which matters.
Tragic Poet image 1.0 This isn’t great, even in a set with Sagas.
Ancient Animus image 2.5 Getting the counter with this won’t come up a ton, but being an instant speed fight effect is a fine baseline.
Sparring Construct image 1.5 This is passable, mostly just because it is an Artifact.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Academy Drake
Divest image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. People frequently won’t have enough targets to make it worth it.
Pierce the Sky image 0.5 This is mostly a sideboard card – it pretty much kills all the flyers in the set.
Benalish Honor Guard image 1.5 This is alright, but even with the large number of legendaries in this set, this will be a two mana 2/2 most of the time, and usually not much bigger than 3/2. It is also a knight, which matters.
Academy Drake image 3.0 In the early part of the game, this is a Wind Drake, which is always serviceable, and in the late game it can be significantly larger. Like most cards with Kicker, the second mode isn’t exactly efficient, but it is nice upside to have on an already reasonable card.
Gift of Growth image 2.0 This trick will often allow your creature to win combat early, and sometimes the kicker side of things can get you lethal out of nowhere, in addition to also being the sort of boost that will allow almost any creature to take down any other creature. It is still a trick of course, and comes with the significant downside those have.
Skirk Prospector image 0.5 There aren’t enough Goblins in this set for this to be worth it. It can sacrifice itself to its own ability to help you ramp, but giving up a card for such minor ramp just isn’t worth doing in Limited.
Adventurous Impulse image 1.5 This can often allow you to find a creature or a land, and sometimes you really need one of those and not the other. It does wiff sometimes, but usually this costs one mana for some card selection, and while that is a fairly replaceable effect, it is something you’ll play often enough.
Navigator's Compass image 0.5 This kind of card is always overrated. People look at it and they really think of it as a form of fixing, and..well, it is, but you also use up an entire card for it, and you just modify a land you already have. This does nothing but fix for the most part. It does gain you a bit of life, and it is an artifact in a set that cares about them, but you can do a lot better than this.
Caligo Skin-Witch image 3.0 This is another card with Kicker where neither option is terribly efficient, but it turns out that it doesn’t really matter – the flexibility and late game usefulness make up for that. In this format, people tend to hold on to card a fair bit, so kicking the Skin-Witch ends up hitting two cards way more in this format than in most, and can often just be the kind of thing that shifts the game in your favor.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Jhoira's Familiar
Blessed Light image 3.0 This is kind of expensive, but the price is going to be worth it most of the time. Exiling creatures and Enchantments is nice. Sometimes exiling is especially nice, as recursion is a thing. This is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes manufacture a 2-for-1 with it. It isn’t premium removal, but it is certainly solid, and the first copy will usually make the cut.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Rat Colony image 1.5 So, I wouldn’t advise jamming a bunch of these into your deck in most cases (though, if you have Tetsuko Umezawa, things might get interesting). Still, it is a kind of okay two drop, and they do get better in multiples.
Frenzied Rage image 2.0 +2/+1 and Menace for two mana is very aggressive, and can make many creatures into a threat. Now, it does have the same downside of all Auras – namely, the huge risk of getting 2-for-1’d, but it is worth doing in some of the more aggressive decks.
Opt image 2.0 As usual, this is fine. Seeing two cards for one mana feels pretty good.
Pardic Wanderer image 1.5 This is something you’ll play in decks that have ways to recur Artifacts, as a 6-mana 5/5 with Trample that you can bring back is pretty nice.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Rat Colony
Blessed Light image 3.0 This is kind of expensive, but the price is going to be worth it most of the time. Exiling creatures and Enchantments is nice. Sometimes exiling is especially nice, as recursion is a thing. This is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes manufacture a 2-for-1 with it. It isn’t premium removal, but it is certainly solid, and the first copy will usually make the cut.
Powerstone Shard image 0.0 // 2.5 This is hard to make work, but if you end up 3+ Powerstone Shards, you can start consider playing them, especially if you’re in a ramp deck. If you have 2 or less, it probably isn’t worth it.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Rat Colony image 1.5 So, I wouldn’t advise jamming a bunch of these into your deck in most cases (though, if you have Tetsuko Umezawa, things might get interesting). Still, it is a kind of okay two drop, and they do get better in multiples.
Frenzied Rage image 2.0 +2/+1 and Menace for two mana is very aggressive, and can make many creatures into a threat. Now, it does have the same downside of all Auras – namely, the huge risk of getting 2-for-1’d, but it is worth doing in some of the more aggressive decks.
Opt image 2.0 As usual, this is fine. Seeing two cards for one mana feels pretty good.
Pardic Wanderer image 1.5 This is something you’ll play in decks that have ways to recur Artifacts, as a 6-mana 5/5 with Trample that you can bring back is pretty nice.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Arcane Flight
Goblin Warchief image 0.5 Don’t let this card fool you. Goblins are not well-supported in this format. This will basically just be a 3-mana 2/2 with Haste most of the time, and that isn’t worth it.
Hallar, the Firefletcher image 3.5 Hallar starts with a nice baseline, and then gets progressively larger as the game goes on, while also doing extra damage to your opponent. Even if you only have like 5 cards with Kicker, Hallar is going to feel pretty good.
Guardians of Koilos image 1.5 The idea here is that you can bounce a Saga or other Historic thing to your hand that will give you value when you play it again, but a lot of the time this is just a 5-mana 4/4, and that’s not really something you want.
Arcane Flight image 1.5 This gives a nice boost for the cost, especially with Flying in the mix. It is especially nice on the hexproof turtle, but its efficiency makes it worthwhile in some other Blue decks too.
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Homarid Explorer image 1.0 There isn’t enough of a payoff for milling yourself or your opponent for this to be very good.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Mammoth Spider
Skirk Prospector image 0.5 There aren’t enough Goblins in this set for this to be worth it. It can sacrifice itself to its own ability to help you ramp, but giving up a card for such minor ramp just isn’t worth doing in Limited.
D'Avenant Trapper image 2.5 This has decent stats and an okay historic trigger. Tapping stuff down can often really enable attacks you just didn’t have before, and that’s a good place to be in an aggressive deck.
Mammoth Spider image 2.5 This creature has some very nice stats for the format, and can stonewall a lot of creatures on the ground and in the air.
Run Amok image 1.5 This isn’t super great in this format. There are too many ways to interact and the format is far too grindy for this trick to really shine, as we’ve seen it do in some other formats.
Fire Elemental image 1.0 The stats here aren’t great, and there’s not any payoff in this set for Elementals, so you won’t play this most of the time.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Divest
Rescue image 0.5 This can do some things – like help you reset a Saga – but it is mostly too narrow to ever really want to play.
Divest image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. People frequently won’t have enough targets to make it worth it.
Radiating Lightning image 1.0 This will often just feel like 4 mana to do 3 to an opponent, and that’s not worth it. Doing 1 damage to opposing creatures will sometimes actually do something, but it will be irrelevant more often than not.
Tolarian Scholar image 1.5 In most formats, this would be a 1.0, but the Wizard creature type matters enough here that this 3-mana 2/3 gets a little upgrade.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Thallid Omnivore
Seismic Shift image 0.5 This isn’t very good. Sometimes Red decks will end up playing a card that makes an opponent’s stuff unable to block, but only targeting two creatures with this is a big bummer for 4 mana. And yeah, I know it blows up a land too, but that effect is pretty much never good in Limited.
Thallid Omnivore image 3.0 You will end up having this on many board states where your opponent always has to block it, since it can get big so quickly and so cheaply. Saprolings pair really well with it, not only because of the life gain, but also because there are plenty of cards in this set that make multiples, and that’s just what Thallid Omnivore is after.
Divest image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. People frequently won’t have enough targets to make it worth it.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Keldon Warcaller
Keldon Warcaller image 1.5 This just doesn’t line up very often to really make your Sagas better. It is mostly just a bear.
Benalish Honor Guard image 1.5 This is alright, but even with the large number of legendaries in this set, this will be a two mana 2/2 most of the time, and usually not much bigger than 3/2. It is also a knight, which matters.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Pierce the Sky
Pierce the Sky image 0.5 This is mostly a sideboard card – it pretty much kills all the flyers in the set.
Draft Pick Overview