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Premier Draft KHM 05.februar 2021

5 February 11:46 - Blaiseken 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (10)
1 Invasion of the Giants image
1 Squash image
1 Battle of Frost and Fire image
1 Depart the Realm image
1 Demon Bolt image
2 Frost Bite image
2 Mists of Littjara image
1 Crush the Weak image
Creature (13)
1 Scorn Effigy image
1 Mistwalker image
2 Craven Hulk image
2 Augury Raven image
1 Tuskeri Firewalker image
2 Axgard Cavalry image
1 Cinderheart Giant image
2 Berg Strider image
1 Pilfering Hawk image
Land (17)
1 Snow-Covered Mountain image
6 Mountain image
6 Island image
1 Volatile Fjord image
1 Snow-Covered Island image
1 Snow-Covered Island image
1 Snow-Covered Mountain image
Sideboard
1 Augury Raven image
1 Axgard Cavalry image
1 Immersturm Raider image
1 Breakneck Berserker image
1 Draugr Thought-Thief image
1 Hagi Mob image
1 Mists of Littjara image
2 Strategic Planning image
1 Graven Lore image
1 Weigh Down image
1 Tormentor's Helm image
2 Annul image
1 Ravenform image
1 Arachnoform image
1 Smashing Success image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Battle of Frost and Fire
Battle of Frost and Fire image 4.5 Chances are good that if you’re in UR, you’ve got a decent number of giants, so Chapter 1 will almost always hurt your opponent more than it hurts you. Chapter II doesn’t have quite the impact on the board, but Scry 3 can really help you set up optimal draws -- and that’s especially useful because chapter 3 lets you draw two cards and discard one if you play something that has a CMC of 5 or greater -- which is pretty likely after you Scry 3. I like that this Saga has its big game-changing chapter as chapter one, instead of chapter three like most of them. And yeah, sometimes, your opponent will be a giant deck too and it won’t be so good, but most of the time? This is going to be really great for the player who casts it.
Rune of Sustenance image 2.5 I think the whole Rune cycle is pretty solid. The problem is often that Auras are risky because they 2-for-1 you -- but by adding a cantrip to all the cards in the Rune cycle, they made sure you won’t normally get 2-for-1’d. Now, you do have to be concerned about an opponent killing what you target in response, but as long as it resolves, you’ll be in the clear. It is also interesting you can put this on any permanent, so in a pinch -- like stuck on two lands in the early game, you can effectively cycle these by putting them on a land or something. Now, that isn’t ideal -- but having that in a moment of desperation is definitely upside. It only does something more than draw you a card if it is on a creature or an Equipment though, and lifelink is pretty nice on either of those things. It isn’t quite an evasive ability, but it is one that can really wreak havoc on races. It is also worth noting there are lots of Aura and Enchantment payoffs in this set, which is going to make it a bit better. I think this is a card you’ll play the first copy of in most White decks.
Binding the Old Gods image 4.0 I would already sign up for a Sorcery that was 4 mana to destroy a nonland permanent -- more than sign up, I would take it with a first pick a decent chunk of the time, even if it was multi-colored! But because this is a Saga, it does some other stuff too -- and while most of the power is in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and 3 aren’t nothing -- getting an extra land can help you ramp, and giving your whole board death touch can make your attacks a little more of a problem for your opponent.
Usher of the Fallen image 3.0 One mana 2/1s aren’t normally as impressive in Limited as they are in constructed. They just end up trading 1-for-1 for the most part, and you really need a critical mass of really good aggressive cards to make them thrive, and that’s hard to do in Limited. Luckily for Usher of the Fallen, though, that isn’t all it is. It also comes with a pretty nice Boast effect, which makes a one-one token. That means that trading 1-for-1 with this is suddenly not too bad. If you play this on turn one, and attack into your opponents one or two drop on a later turn, you get to make a 1/1 token before the Usher goes down, and that’s not a bad deal. If you can get it to attack more than once, and have the extra mana for Boasting, it will be pretty nice. That said, the likely outcome with this will more often be what I first described -- one token out of the deal. And that’s not bad, but it isn’t incredible either.
Koma's Faithful image 2.0 This seems solid. A 3-mana 3/1 with lifelink isn’t a terrible rate -- trading for an X/3 and gaining 3 life in the process isn’t bad, and it comes with some additional upside. Now, the graveyard isn’t a huge theme in this set, but there is some synergy to be had there.
Grizzled Outrider image 1.5 5-mana for a 5/5 is kind of alright. And that’s all there is to say about that.
Littjara Kinseekers image 1.5 A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t very good. But, if you can trigger its ETB ability, you’re going to be pretty happy -- as a 4-mana ⅗ that scries one is a pretty good deal. Now, because it has Changeling, you will just need two other creatures with matching creature types to trigger it, and while that isn’t always going to be what your board looks like, I imagine that in the late game it won’t be that hard to trigger. The ideal thing to do would be to curve out with creatures with the same types, but that won’t always be doable. Still, this being a reasonable 4-mana 2/4 changeling in the early game, and a much more impressive card in the later part of the game makes me think this is a pretty solid common for Blue.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Axgard Braggart image 2.0 So, this card will never really be efficient. I mean, it starts as a 4-mana 3/3, and even if you boast with it, you’ll have spent 6 mana on a 4/4. However, efficiency isn’t everything. The fact is that this creature can grow throughout the game, and just the threat of using the ability will be enough for people not to block it when it attacks. Boast creatures a lot of the time will just end up feeling like situational mana sinks, and that’s not necessarily bad. The pseudo-vigilance it gains when it Boasts isn’t bad either.
Jaspera Sentinel image 2.0 The fixing this offers is a big deal for the decks trying to play 3+ colors. It doesn’t have the greatest stats, and Reach isn’t very exciting, but the mana production here is nice.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Undersea Invader image 1.0 One of the great things about flash is being able to ambush block, and you won't be doing that here because it enters tapped. It might be a giant, but it is mostly just an inefficient creature. If it wasn't a Giant you probably wouldn't play it all.
Squash image 3.5 This is a very powerful removal spell if you’re in a Giant deck. 1R for 6 damage at instant speed is pretty incredibly efficient.. What’s nice is, 5 mana for 6 damage at instant speed isn’t completely horrendous either -- it isn’t great, mind you -- but it is the kind of removal that you’ll end up running one of a decent amount of the time. The goods news is, most Red decks will have at least a few Giants without even trying to take them, but the better news is, Giants is a very well-supported tribe in this set, and in those decks, this costing 1R won’t be that hard to achieve.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Mistwalker
Skemfar Elderhall image 3.5 This is a land that can turn into a removal spell and a couple of tokens in the late game, and I’m all about that.
Binding the Old Gods image 4.0 I would already sign up for a Sorcery that was 4 mana to destroy a nonland permanent -- more than sign up, I would take it with a first pick a decent chunk of the time, even if it was multi-colored! But because this is a Saga, it does some other stuff too -- and while most of the power is in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and 3 aren’t nothing -- getting an extra land can help you ramp, and giving your whole board death touch can make your attacks a little more of a problem for your opponent.
Glimpse the Cosmos image 3.5 So, if you have 0 Giants in your deck, this is a Sorcery speed Anticipate, which is the kind of card that makes the cut when you are low on playables. But, this has some very real upside. Casting this from your graveyard if you’re in Blue really won’t be that hard, and that means you pay three mana to see six cards and draw two, which is awesome. If you have even a single Giant in your deck, this is worth running. You don’t even have to wait for things to line up really perfectly to use it -- if you just have U left over after you cast a Giant, you can do this. Obviously, the more Giants the better, but this has a reasonable floor and is very easy to make work, and the card selection and advantage it grants you is great.
Doomskar Oracle image 2.5 BW and UW are both color pairs interested in Foretell, and Doomskar Oracle fits well into both of those decks. It has Foretell itself, AND it is a Foretell payoff. And, the payoff it gives you isn’t the most powerful thing ever, but incidental life gain can go a long way towards helping you survive in Limited, and since it is attached to a 3-mana 3/2 with foretell, I think you’ll find yourself playing this pretty regularly in White, even if you aren’t in one of the foretell decks. The Foretell here adds up to the same amount of mana you would normally pay, you just get to do it in two installments, which could allow for more flexible turns in the future. Like with a lot of these, I think you should only be foretelling it if you have extra mana lying around, -- or if you have a bunch of foretell payoffs - since just casting it is going to be reasonable a lot of the time too.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Mistwalker image 3.5 This card will overperform for you. 3-mana 1/4s are usually already playable, but the Changeling status and the ability to pump power makes it so that Mistwalker can do a whole lot of stuff for a three drop. It counts for your Giant payoffs, blocks effectively, and can even attack pretty hard.
Invoke the Divine image 1.5 This set has enough good artifacts and Enchantments that this ends up having a reasonable number of targets, making it an okay thing to run in your main deck.
Goldvein Pick image 3.0 This card is super good in this format. There are lots of good creatures to equip and the fixing it gives is great. While it is definitely better in more aggressive decks, it can work in any deck with a reasonable number of creatures, and that means you can value it pretty highly.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Struggle for Skemfar image 3.5 So, this is a strictly better Hunt the Weak. And, while I think Hunt the Weak seems a bit weaker these days thani t used to, it was always a solid card. The +1/+1 counter makes it so more of your creatures are capable of killing opposing creatures, and yeah -- you do have to be super cautious with this, since if your opponent interacts in response it will be a blow out -- but it still does a pretty good job at getting creatures out of the way for Green decks. Adding Foretell to this is great -- because in this case, you actually end up paying less total mana. Additionally, by only costing Green the turn you cast it, it means you can play a new creature and have it fight right away, and in general, it will mean that it is easier for you to find a safe window to cast it, since you don’t need a whole bunch of mana to make it do its thing. This is premium removal for Green.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Sulfurous Mire image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Craven Hulk
Arni Slays the Troll image 3.5 This Saga seems pretty nice to me. It starts out with a Fight effect, which is effectively a removal spell -- even if it is a somewhat restrictive one. You won’t always have a good Fight to make happen, but you will often enough in a Red Green deck. Chapter II gives you some counters and some mana too, and chapter III gains you some life. None of these chapters individually are that impressive, but if you think about the amount of mana you’re paying, you’re going to be pretty happy.
Weathered Runestone image 0.0 This isn’t really here for Limited, it is a hate card for constructed sideboards, and one that won’t have much of an impact on most of your games in Limited, so you should never play it.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Codespell Cleric image 1.0 // 2.5 So, since this is one mana, casting it as your second spell in a turn won’t be super challenging, especially in a format with Foretell. I mean, in the late game it will be a little harder, like if you’re in top deck mode, but in the early and mid-game it will just happen. For this to be worth it, it does need to be making that +1/+1 counter a significant chunk of the time, and it can do that in aggro decks. Like Battlefield Raptor, it is much better in aggressive decks than it is elsewhere.
Craven Hulk image 2.0 This coward may not be good at blocking, but a 4-mana 4/4 is a good enough deal in Limited that I’m okay with that. Its also a Giant, and that is probably the creature type that matters the most in this set, as it is the most tribal of the color pairs.
Karfell Kennel-Master image 2.5 This has been solid top-curve in Black decks. It often comes down and enables 1-2 attacks that you just couldn’t have done before, and a 4/4 body is pretty good in this format.
Starnheim Courser image 2.5 This has the always-okay Wind Drake stats and reasonable upside. Good Equipment and Auras are plentiful in the set, so that upside does come up!
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Snow-Covered Plains image 2.0 This is the least valuable snow land because White doesn’t care much about Snow.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Graven Lore
Graven Lore image 3.5 5 mana to draw three at instant speed is already a playable card. . Sure, it doens’t impact the board in a big way, but because its an instant you can find a time to cast it that doesn’t feel super clunky. You don’t usually want too many cards like Graven Lore, just because you can only spend so much mana without affecting the board, but this is still really good, and grants the kind of card advantage and selection that can be instrumental in winning games. If you can manage to Scry 5 with this, it will be absolutely silly -- but that probably won’t happen a ton. However, I would think Scry 1-3 with it is pretty likely, and that still makes for a pretty nice card.
Rootless Yew image 3.0 This card has been worse than it looks, largely because there aren’t that many common or uncommon creatures it can grab for you. However, it does have reasonable stats, and being able to grab a Lindwurm with this is pretty sweet.
Glittering Frost image 2.5 This card is pretty important in the 4 and 5 color Snow decks, as it helps enable your mana while also giving you two snow permanents with a single card. It is pretty much useless in aggro decks, though.
Seize the Spoils image 1.0 This is not an efficient way to dig deeper into your library, and while it also gives you a Treasure, you mostly should avoid playing this.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Behold the Multiverse image 3.5 4-mana for instant speed Scry 2 and draw 2 cards is usually pretty close to being a first pickable card when we’ve seen it in the past. It just does a great job of letting you see tons of cards, and is the kind of thing you’ll want one of in basically every Blue deck. Adding Foretell to the mix makes it even better, especially because, in this case, you’re not paying extra mana -- you pay the same amount, just in two installments, and that’s just great. Fortell is a lot like Morph or Suspend, in that it adds nice flexibility to a card, and lets you do something with any excess mana you might have -- like if you don’t have a two drop in the early game, you can just Fortell this, and that feels really good.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Highland Forest image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Augury Raven
Arni Slays the Troll image 3.5 This Saga seems pretty nice to me. It starts out with a Fight effect, which is effectively a removal spell -- even if it is a somewhat restrictive one. You won’t always have a good Fight to make happen, but you will often enough in a Red Green deck. Chapter II gives you some counters and some mana too, and chapter III gains you some life. None of these chapters individually are that impressive, but if you think about the amount of mana you’re paying, you’re going to be pretty happy.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Goldmaw Champion image 3.0 This really helps aggro decks in the format run over the slow, plodding control decks. They often don't have very many creatures in play, and that drastically increases how powerful the Champions ability is. It just enables all kinds of attack you wouldn't have without it.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Icehide Troll image 3.0 This is a key common for Snow decks, as if you are able to pump this it becomes a pretty powerful threat. Because it asks for two snow that won’t work in every deck, but in the decks where the troll DOES work, it will be one of your best Commons.
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Arctic Treeline image 3.0 This is another snow land that isn’t super important because the colors it is in aren’t completely focused in on snow. However, it does provide fixing and a snow permanent, and those are valuable things
Pack 1 Pick 6: Ravenform
Divine Gambit image 2.0 Two mana to exile any of those three types of cards is great -- but letting your opponent put their best permanent into play...not so much. Now, if yo’ure using this to deal with a super high power card, chances are good you’re downgrading their board state, but it won’t always feel like removal since they’ll get something out of the deal. You basically have to look at this as a really expensive removal spell – because you only want to play it late when your opponent can’t really take advantage of the upside. It isn’t entirely unplayable, but it is nowhere near premium removal either! It is mostly just filler.
Gates of Istfell image 3.5 It is great having a land that can draw you some cards and gain you some life in the late game – most lands become useless at that point! But not this one.
The Trickster-God's Heist image 2.0 This is another situational Saga that doesn’t always do something. When you can play it and take full advantage it is strong, but it will be stuck in your hand doing nothing more often than you’d think.
Dread Rider image 1.0 This has some nice defensive stats and an activated ability that can close out games, but it tends to be too expensive and not powerful enough for even control decks to be interested in it.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
King Harald's Revenge image 1.0 I don’t like this type of card. Sure, lure-type effects are nice, but they only really get powerful if they force EVERYTHING to block something, allowing the rest of your board to get through. This will just require one block. And yeah, sometimes this will make your creature absolutely massive, and adding Trample to that is nice -- but it still seems so clunky to me. You have to wait for the absolute right window for this to work out for you -- one where you have enough creatures for it to matter -- one where forcing the block makes a difference -- and one where your opponent doesn’t have cards in hand and mana up, since if they do, you have a good chance at getting completely blown out.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Tuskeri Firewalker
Return Upon the Tide image 1.5 So, most of the time, if you’re reanimating an Elf with this, you’re probably not getting the largest creature -- probably a 3/3 at the most, so it is nice that if you do go for an Elf you get those tokens, which will make the 5-mana investment a little bit less of a burden. Then, if you reanimate something big, you won’t get the tokens, but you’re probably still getting your 5 mana’s worth. So, basically, if you’re in an elf deck at least, Return Upon the Tide helps you get around the downside of 5-mana reanimation spells, by giving you a wider variety of options that will feel like you are doing an okay job with the card. It also has Foretell, which means that you can pay for it in installments, though with this one you end up paying one additional total mana if you go that route -- but that will sometimes be worth doing.
King Harald's Revenge image 1.0 I don’t like this type of card. Sure, lure-type effects are nice, but they only really get powerful if they force EVERYTHING to block something, allowing the rest of your board to get through. This will just require one block. And yeah, sometimes this will make your creature absolutely massive, and adding Trample to that is nice -- but it still seems so clunky to me. You have to wait for the absolute right window for this to work out for you -- one where you have enough creatures for it to matter -- one where forcing the block makes a difference -- and one where your opponent doesn’t have cards in hand and mana up, since if they do, you have a good chance at getting completely blown out.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Breakneck Berserker image 2.0 Three mana 3/2s with Haste are just fine in aggressive decks. It also has a couple of useful creature types, so that’s nice.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Frostpeak Yeti image 1.5 So, this is a Hill Giant that can become unblockable if you have some Snow mana. That certainly isn’t a good card, but if you are in a controlling Snow deck and you need a win condition well...you probably hope this isn’t it, but it can do the job if you need it to.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Tuskeri Firewalker image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but its Boast effect is pretty nice. You really need to only be able to play somethin off of it once to feel good about the situation, since at that point, you’re getting a 2-for-1 in most cases. It even lets you pay lands if you exile one of them. The downside with this type of effect is often that you are unable to cast the spell you exile, and that’ll happen, but I think it’ll work out often enough that this seems pretty nice to me. Even if you just attack with it and it dies in combat, if you get a card out of the Boast, you’re doing just fine. I think this is a pretty good Red common.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Axgard Cavalry
The World Tree image 3.5 This gives you great fixing, and that’s hard to say no to in this format.
Hailstorm Valkyrie image 2.0 A 4-mana 2/2 with flying and trample is not good. By adding the ability to pump snow mana into this, you get something that is certainly better. Oftentimes your opponent will just have to take a hit from this because of the threat of activation of that ability. That said, being able to do it more than once in this format is far from a forgone conclusion, and because it has such a bad baseline, the upside doesn’t do enough to make it a whole lot better.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Tuskeri Firewalker image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but its Boast effect is pretty nice. You really need to only be able to play somethin off of it once to feel good about the situation, since at that point, you’re getting a 2-for-1 in most cases. It even lets you pay lands if you exile one of them. The downside with this type of effect is often that you are unable to cast the spell you exile, and that’ll happen, but I think it’ll work out often enough that this seems pretty nice to me. Even if you just attack with it and it dies in combat, if you get a card out of the Boast, you’re doing just fine. I think this is a pretty good Red common.
Elderleaf Mentor image 2.5 This is fine. . Creatures who make two bodies are always nice -- and in the end here you get a solid deal -- 4 -mana for 4/3 worth of stats spread across two bodies. Unfortunately, the Elf deck in this format is hard to make work, and that holds it back a little bit.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Snow-Covered Island
Grizzled Outrider image 1.5 5-mana for a 5/5 is kind of alright. And that’s all there is to say about that.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Axgard Braggart image 2.0 So, this card will never really be efficient. I mean, it starts as a 4-mana 3/3, and even if you boast with it, you’ll have spent 6 mana on a 4/4. However, efficiency isn’t everything. The fact is that this creature can grow throughout the game, and just the threat of using the ability will be enough for people not to block it when it attacks. Boast creatures a lot of the time will just end up feeling like situational mana sinks, and that’s not necessarily bad. The pseudo-vigilance it gains when it Boasts isn’t bad either.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Undersea Invader image 1.0 One of the great things about flash is being able to ambush block, and you won't be doing that here because it enters tapped. It might be a giant, but it is mostly just an inefficient creature. If it wasn't a Giant you probably wouldn't play it all.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Axgard Cavalry
Skemfar Elderhall image 3.5 This is a land that can turn into a removal spell and a couple of tokens in the late game, and I’m all about that.
Goldvein Pick image 3.0 This card is super good in this format. There are lots of good creatures to equip and the fixing it gives is great. While it is definitely better in more aggressive decks, it can work in any deck with a reasonable number of creatures, and that means you can value it pretty highly.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Sulfurous Mire image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Strategic Planning
Weathered Runestone image 0.0 This isn’t really here for Limited, it is a hate card for constructed sideboards, and one that won’t have much of an impact on most of your games in Limited, so you should never play it.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Depart the Realm
Seize the Spoils image 1.0 This is not an efficient way to dig deeper into your library, and while it also gives you a Treasure, you mostly should avoid playing this.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Cinderheart Giant
Arni Slays the Troll image 3.5 This Saga seems pretty nice to me. It starts out with a Fight effect, which is effectively a removal spell -- even if it is a somewhat restrictive one. You won’t always have a good Fight to make happen, but you will often enough in a Red Green deck. Chapter II gives you some counters and some mana too, and chapter III gains you some life. None of these chapters individually are that impressive, but if you think about the amount of mana you’re paying, you’re going to be pretty happy.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Immersturm Raider
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Breakneck Berserker
Breakneck Berserker image 2.0 Three mana 3/2s with Haste are just fine in aggressive decks. It also has a couple of useful creature types, so that’s nice.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Demon Bolt
Ascendant Spirit image 3.0 Snow mana is easy enough to come by in this format that it is very doable to find enough Snow mana to pump into the Spirit. Now, it does come with some inherent risks – like if your opponent blows it up after you spend a bunch of mana upgrading it – but those risks are mostly worth it because of the huge upside. You do need a lot of snow mana to play this, so keep that in mind, but when you can, it will demand an answer in many games – otherwise your opponent will lose.
Niko Defies Destiny image 1.0 This has been challenging to make work, simply because even with all the Foretell in the format, it is difficult to always benefit from the first two chapters on the card. When you can, it feels good, but this card is too inconsistent for me to want to play it in most decks.
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Svella, Ice Shaper image 4.5 Svella comes with reasonable stats for the cost, and the ability to make snow artifacts that provide fixing and snow mana. The late game ability to choose a card from the top four cards of your library to cast is nice additional upside, and Svella can get there surprisingly quickly thanks to the Icy Manaliths. It is definitely an amazing late-game mana sink. Svella is a bomb that, if she isn’t killed, will simply win you the game.
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Goldvein Pick image 3.0 This card is super good in this format. There are lots of good creatures to equip and the fixing it gives is great. While it is definitely better in more aggressive decks, it can work in any deck with a reasonable number of creatures, and that means you can value it pretty highly.
Snakeskin Veil image 1.5 This is a decent combat trick. It doesn’t give the biggest boost ever, even for one mana. Basically with tricks, you’re looking for the ones that can do the best job of helping your creature win combat, and you want to do it as efficiently as possible. One usually expects at least a +2/+2 boost from a one mana trick, and this doesn’t deliver there. However, it does grant a creature hexproof, and that means that it also has utility outside of combat -- plus, the boost it gives is permanent, so it isn’t SUPER far away from +2/+2.
Grizzled Outrider image 1.5 5-mana for a 5/5 is kind of alright. And that’s all there is to say about that.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Berg Strider image 3.5 I always like this kind of creature that taps something down when it comes into play, but they are usually only at their best if they can lock the creature down for a turn too. Berg Strider won’t always do that, but it will do it often enough, and hey, at least it does something even if you don’t have the snow mana. It is also another snow payoff that doesn’t demand 10+ snow lands, you can run it with just a few. Tapping something down even without snow mana can often enable an attack you didn’t have otherwise, and tapping something down for a turn can really swing a race in your favor, since that creature won’t be blocking or attacking. This is certainly beefier than most of these tap-down creatures are too -- it has good enough stats to be imposing on some board states.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Demon Bolt image 4.0 This is a very good common. So, even if you take Foretell out of the mix, we are talking about premium removal. 4-mana for 3 damage at instant speed always plays pretty well. It does enough damage that trading up with it is no problem. Adding Foretell to the mix is no joke either, as you can use it to really maximize the efficiency of your mana. Like, if you want to play a creature on a turn rather than play this, but you have two extra mana -- so you Foretell it, and only have to pay one Red for it the turn you cast it. So yeah, that upside is very real. This is Red’s best Common.
Snow-Covered Forest image 2.5 Green has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Craven Hulk
Hailstorm Valkyrie image 2.0 A 4-mana 2/2 with flying and trample is not good. By adding the ability to pump snow mana into this, you get something that is certainly better. Oftentimes your opponent will just have to take a hit from this because of the threat of activation of that ability. That said, being able to do it more than once in this format is far from a forgone conclusion, and because it has such a bad baseline, the upside doesn’t do enough to make it a whole lot better.
Koll, the Forgemaster image 3.5 This guy is pretty scary in RW decks, as making all of your Equipped and Enchanted creatures come back to your hand is a really big deal. The token pumping part comes up less often, but he’s still pretty good overall.
Crush the Weak image 2.5 These types of cards always feel sort of awkward to me. That’s because you will far too frequently have a board state where it doesn’t help at all -- either because your opponents board is too big, or because your board is too small. It is nice that it adds some extra graveyard hate to the mix, and has Foretell, making paying for it a little more manageable. It fits really nicely into Giant decks, which are mostly larger creatures.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Seize the Spoils image 1.0 This is not an efficient way to dig deeper into your library, and while it also gives you a Treasure, you mostly should avoid playing this.
Ravenous Lindwurm image 2.5 This is this format’s premier Common finisher. The efficient stats and life gain it grants you can turn around a lot of games, and if you’re in a mid-range or slow Green deck, you’ll be pretty happy with the Lindwurm.
Craven Hulk image 2.0 This coward may not be good at blocking, but a 4-mana 4/4 is a good enough deal in Limited that I’m okay with that. Its also a Giant, and that is probably the creature type that matters the most in this set, as it is the most tribal of the color pairs.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Master Skald image 2.0 5-mana for a 4/4 that returns an artifact or enchantment is not a bad deal. And sure, you also need a creature in your graveyard to make it happen, but by turn 5 that won’t normally be an issue. There are lots of good Artifacts and Enchantments in this set, but the Skald is at his best with Sagas, since they are designed to eventually go to your graveyard in the first place. If you have at least one Saga, playing a Master Skald is usually a pretty good idea.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Sculptor of Winter image 3.0 A two-mana 2/2 is passable. Additionally, the fact it can untap snow lands is pretty nice too, since it will allow you to ramp, and produce two snow mana off of one snow land, which matters for many cards in this set.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Ice Tunnel image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Frost Bite
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Gnottvold Slumbermound image 3.5 Blowing up lands in this format is bigger than normal because of snow lands and this cycle, and being able to make a 4/4 at instant speed is pretty nice too.
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Karfell Kennel-Master image 2.5 This has been solid top-curve in Black decks. It often comes down and enables 1-2 attacks that you just couldn’t have done before, and a 4/4 body is pretty good in this format.
Axgard Braggart image 2.0 So, this card will never really be efficient. I mean, it starts as a 4-mana 3/3, and even if you boast with it, you’ll have spent 6 mana on a 4/4. However, efficiency isn’t everything. The fact is that this creature can grow throughout the game, and just the threat of using the ability will be enough for people not to block it when it attacks. Boast creatures a lot of the time will just end up feeling like situational mana sinks, and that’s not necessarily bad. The pseudo-vigilance it gains when it Boasts isn’t bad either.
Frost Bite image 3.5 So, at the base level, this is a shock that can’t hit players. 2 damage for one mana is pretty nice, as it is very likely to allow you to trade up, and because it is an instant, you can occasionally get some pretty amazing blowouts for a very low cost. Then, it is a Snow spell that is a Snow payoff, and if you have enough Snow going on and this does 3 damage, you’re really in business.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Jarl of the Forsaken image 2.0 This type of removal effect is often underwhelming. Sure, when you do manage to trigger the effect it feels pretty good, but most of the time you had to give up a card to make that effect work in the first place, so it isn’t quite as good of a deal as it might seem at first. Now, adding Foretell here does matter -- because it means it will be easier to find a window where you can actually cast and use this, as spending 2 mana on the turn you actually cast the card is significantly better.
Snow-Covered Plains image 2.0 This is the least valuable snow land because White doesn’t care much about Snow.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Mists of Littjara
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Tergrid's Shadow image 1.5 I tend not to be a huge fan of symmetrical edict effects in Limited. They have some really wide variance in terms of what they can do. There will certainly be board states where it devastates your opponent and doesn’t hurt you as much -- and those will be situations where you cast it. But there will also be times where it hurts you more than your opponent, and you just won’t be able to cast this card. It does have Foretell, which means that maybe if the board isn’t ideal, but you have the mana around, you can Foretell it to pay less mana for it on a single turn further down the road. And yeah, there will be times where you just foretell this on turn two, let your opponent play two creatures, and then cast the Shadow on turn four, which will be pretty nice, but you can’t count on that panning out regularly.
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Codespell Cleric image 1.0 // 2.5 So, since this is one mana, casting it as your second spell in a turn won’t be super challenging, especially in a format with Foretell. I mean, in the late game it will be a little harder, like if you’re in top deck mode, but in the early and mid-game it will just happen. For this to be worth it, it does need to be making that +1/+1 counter a significant chunk of the time, and it can do that in aggro decks. Like Battlefield Raptor, it is much better in aggressive decks than it is elsewhere.
Grim Draugr image 2.0 This is fine. It has alright stats and it can gain some evasion in the later part of the game, giving it continued relevance.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Alpine Meadow image 3.0 This isn’t one of the more important snow lands around, because White and Red are the colors that care the least about Snow. Still, it does provide fixing and a snow permanent, and those are things that are pretty valuable in this set.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Berg Strider
Immersturm Skullcairn image 3.0 I think this is weaker that the others in this cycle because one of its effects often has diminished returns by the late game - in particular, the discard a card part of the card. Mostly, this will give you some reach, and maybe you end up getting some useful card out of your opponent’s hand, but it won’t line up that way very often. It is still a land that does something useful in the later game, and I’m always on board for that.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Draugr Recruiter image 1.5 So, this is definitely a Boast ability that is all about the late game. The boast is expensive, and also asks for cards in the graveyard, but if you do get to use this late, and attack with this Recruiter in a situation where the best your opponent can do is trade with it or chump block it, it is going to be pretty nice. That said, by the late game, a 4-mana 3/3 won’t always be capable of making that situation happen. Sometimes, if you have something good enough in your graveyard, it will be worth the bad attack, but it is still kind of a rough deal. I think I will probably cut this a little more than I play it.
Starnheim Courser image 2.5 This has the always-okay Wind Drake stats and reasonable upside. Good Equipment and Auras are plentiful in the set, so that upside does come up!
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Berg Strider image 3.5 I always like this kind of creature that taps something down when it comes into play, but they are usually only at their best if they can lock the creature down for a turn too. Berg Strider won’t always do that, but it will do it often enough, and hey, at least it does something even if you don’t have the snow mana. It is also another snow payoff that doesn’t demand 10+ snow lands, you can run it with just a few. Tapping something down even without snow mana can often enable an attack you didn’t have otherwise, and tapping something down for a turn can really swing a race in your favor, since that creature won’t be blocking or attacking. This is certainly beefier than most of these tap-down creatures are too -- it has good enough stats to be imposing on some board states.
Tuskeri Firewalker image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but its Boast effect is pretty nice. You really need to only be able to play somethin off of it once to feel good about the situation, since at that point, you’re getting a 2-for-1 in most cases. It even lets you pay lands if you exile one of them. The downside with this type of effect is often that you are unable to cast the spell you exile, and that’ll happen, but I think it’ll work out often enough that this seems pretty nice to me. Even if you just attack with it and it dies in combat, if you get a card out of the Boast, you’re doing just fine. I think this is a pretty good Red common.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Gnottvold Recluse image 2.0 Most spiders we see come with low power and high toughness. This makes them good at repeatedly blocking smaller flyers, but not so good at actually killing them. Gnottvold Recluse is different, in that it has higher power and lower toughness. This means it is going to be better at blocking and killing larger flyers, but a lot worse at repeatedly blocking flyers. 3-mana for a 4/2 line is often a borderline playable card even without Reach, and I think adding Reach to the mix here means you will feel fine about playing the first copy of this. Though, it would be nice if it were a snow permanent or something.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Strategic Planning
Axgard Armory image 2.5 If you have the right deck composition, this is a nice utility land that can draw you 2 pretty meaningful cards in the late game.
Ascent of the Worthy image 0.5 This card is way too difficult to set up effectively, and you should mostly not play it.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Demonic Gifts image 1.5 This type of trick is usually alright. The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies. This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability. It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too. It is still a trick, and the situational nature of them keeps most of them from ever being especially good.
Ravenous Lindwurm image 2.5 This is this format’s premier Common finisher. The efficient stats and life gain it grants you can turn around a lot of games, and if you’re in a mid-range or slow Green deck, you’ll be pretty happy with the Lindwurm.
Weigh Down image 3.0 -3/-3 for one Black mana is super efficient. Having to have a creature in the graveyard does mean this will often be dead in the early game, and sometimes even later than that -- but, all you have to do to make it work is trade with something, and if you’re doing that and getting the additional value out of that creature by exiling it to pay for this, it will feel pretty good. I think the first copy of this tends to really feel like premium removal, but you generally don’t want to run too many of them, as there is only so much fuel in your graveyard.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Jarl of the Forsaken image 2.0 This type of removal effect is often underwhelming. Sure, when you do manage to trigger the effect it feels pretty good, but most of the time you had to give up a card to make that effect work in the first place, so it isn’t quite as good of a deal as it might seem at first. Now, adding Foretell here does matter -- because it means it will be easier to find a window where you can actually cast and use this, as spending 2 mana on the turn you actually cast the card is significantly better.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Snow-Covered Island
Dual Strike image 0.5 Copying a cheap spell with this will be easier than it is with most Fork effects because of Foretell – you can set this aside in the early game and then wait for the opportune moment to copy a spell, and you only need one Red left over. Now, this won’t be giving you super insane value or anything, but copying something like a removal spell or card draw spell will be pretty nice. Still, you need things to line up right and this often ends up being a dead card, so I don’t think you normally want to play it.
Run Amok image 2.5 This is a key card for aggro decks in this format. If you’re going hard in that direction, this becomes a pretty high pick. It often lets you run over an opposing creature and do opposing damage, and can result in lethal out of nowhere. It isn’t especially good in other decks, though.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Giant Ox image 1.0 This is kind of a cool design. A two mana 0/6 is a card that you’ll play sometimes in really controlling decks, but this guy is also capable of crewing basically everything despite being only two mana. That said, this set isn’t exactly brimming with quality Vehicles – something I am pretty disappointed about, so I still don’t think most decks will be playing him – though, pairing him with the Plow is pretty funny.
Shimmerdrift Vale image 3.5 It isn’t often that one of the best Commons in a set is a Land, but that’s the case in Kaldheim. This land provides excellent fixing and snow mana, and those are really important things for many decks in this format.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Jarl of the Forsaken image 2.0 This type of removal effect is often underwhelming. Sure, when you do manage to trigger the effect it feels pretty good, but most of the time you had to give up a card to make that effect work in the first place, so it isn’t quite as good of a deal as it might seem at first. Now, adding Foretell here does matter -- because it means it will be easier to find a window where you can actually cast and use this, as spending 2 mana on the turn you actually cast the card is significantly better.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Snow-Covered Mountain
Firja, Judge of Valor image 3.5 A 5-mana 2/4 with flying and lifelink is sort of passable, and then if you can trigger her ability even once, you’re going to be in business. Keep in mind too, it is better than “Draw a card” because you get some card selection at the same time. She also helps you load your graveyard, and that’s not irrelevant! The ability itself can help you trigger it again next turn, too, since the extra card you get will likely be a spell.
Replicating Ring image 3.0 This provides great fixing, and it actually ends up making a bunch of copies more often than you might think! And all of that extra mana is also pretty good, because there are several creatures at lower rarities with snow mana activated abilities, and if you can sink that much snow mana into them, they become quite formidable.
Giant Ox image 1.0 This is kind of a cool design. A two mana 0/6 is a card that you’ll play sometimes in really controlling decks, but this guy is also capable of crewing basically everything despite being only two mana. That said, this set isn’t exactly brimming with quality Vehicles – something I am pretty disappointed about, so I still don’t think most decks will be playing him – though, pairing him with the Plow is pretty funny.
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Snow-Covered Mountain image 2.0 Red isn’t overflowing with snow payoffs, but this is still a snow land and those are quite useful in this format.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Pilfering Hawk
Niko Defies Destiny image 1.0 This has been challenging to make work, simply because even with all the Foretell in the format, it is difficult to always benefit from the first two chapters on the card. When you can, it feels good, but this card is too inconsistent for me to want to play it in most decks.
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Goldvein Pick image 3.0 This card is super good in this format. There are lots of good creatures to equip and the fixing it gives is great. While it is definitely better in more aggressive decks, it can work in any deck with a reasonable number of creatures, and that means you can value it pretty highly.
Grizzled Outrider image 1.5 5-mana for a 5/5 is kind of alright. And that’s all there is to say about that.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Crush the Weak
Koll, the Forgemaster image 3.5 This guy is pretty scary in RW decks, as making all of your Equipped and Enchanted creatures come back to your hand is a really big deal. The token pumping part comes up less often, but he’s still pretty good overall.
Crush the Weak image 2.5 These types of cards always feel sort of awkward to me. That’s because you will far too frequently have a board state where it doesn’t help at all -- either because your opponents board is too big, or because your board is too small. It is nice that it adds some extra graveyard hate to the mix, and has Foretell, making paying for it a little more manageable. It fits really nicely into Giant decks, which are mostly larger creatures.
Seize the Spoils image 1.0 This is not an efficient way to dig deeper into your library, and while it also gives you a Treasure, you mostly should avoid playing this.
Master Skald image 2.0 5-mana for a 4/4 that returns an artifact or enchantment is not a bad deal. And sure, you also need a creature in your graveyard to make it happen, but by turn 5 that won’t normally be an issue. There are lots of good Artifacts and Enchantments in this set, but the Skald is at his best with Sagas, since they are designed to eventually go to your graveyard in the first place. If you have at least one Saga, playing a Master Skald is usually a pretty good idea.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Mists of Littjara
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Scorn Effigy
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Mists of Littjara
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Annul
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Smashing Success
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Invasion of the Giants
Crippling Fear image 4.0 This can often be a one-sided board wipe, especially against aggressive decks. Since you choose the creature type, you can choose whatever hurts you the least and hurts your opponent the most. Sometimes your opponent will have Changelings, and that can be annoying, but this is still very strong.
Rune of Speed image 2.5 The Runes are all nice because they come with a cantrip, taking away the biggest downside of Auras -- the possibility of getting blown out by a 2-for-1. This is cheap enough that putting it on a new creature that can take advantage of Haste is a real possibility, though sometimes you may have to settle for only getting an advantage out of the +1/+0 part. Like all runes, if you put it on equipment it can really shine.
Inga Rune-Eyes image 3.0 So, I was pretty much sold on this card after the ETB ability. A 4-mana 3/3 that Scries 3 is very nice. Never underestimate how good scrying is, especially higher scry values like 3 -- that is going to have a very real impact on how good your next few draws are, and that can often determine a game. She then has an ability that will be a little bit harder to make work -- if you jump through some hoops though, her drawing you three cards is pretty much insane, and if you can pull it off, it will be hard for your opponent to win. But, temper your expectations, pulling that off will be difficult. The most likely outcome is that she has an impact on how your opponent attacks and blocks, since they will be trying to avoid letting you draw those cards, but that is definitely not a bad thing.
Invasion of the Giants image 2.5 This Saga is really cheap, and I generally think it will give you more than two mana’s worth of value. Scry 2 helps you set up both Chapter II and III, since both of them pay you off for having a Giant in your hand. Sometimes this will just amount to Scry 2 and draw a card, but even that isn’t too bad for the investment.
Weigh Down image 3.0 -3/-3 for one Black mana is super efficient. Having to have a creature in the graveyard does mean this will often be dead in the early game, and sometimes even later than that -- but, all you have to do to make it work is trade with something, and if you’re doing that and getting the additional value out of that creature by exiling it to pay for this, it will feel pretty good. I think the first copy of this tends to really feel like premium removal, but you generally don’t want to run too many of them, as there is only so much fuel in your graveyard.
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Koma's Faithful image 2.0 This seems solid. A 3-mana 3/1 with lifelink isn’t a terrible rate -- trading for an X/3 and gaining 3 life in the process isn’t bad, and it comes with some additional upside. Now, the graveyard isn’t a huge theme in this set, but there is some synergy to be had there.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Squash image 3.5 This is a very powerful removal spell if you’re in a Giant deck. 1R for 6 damage at instant speed is pretty incredibly efficient.. What’s nice is, 5 mana for 6 damage at instant speed isn’t completely horrendous either -- it isn’t great, mind you -- but it is the kind of removal that you’ll end up running one of a decent amount of the time. The goods news is, most Red decks will have at least a few Giants without even trying to take them, but the better news is, Giants is a very well-supported tribe in this set, and in those decks, this costing 1R won’t be that hard to achieve.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Glittering Frost image 2.5 This card is pretty important in the 4 and 5 color Snow decks, as it helps enable your mana while also giving you two snow permanents with a single card. It is pretty much useless in aggro decks, though.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Volatile Fjord
Battle for Bretagard image 3.5 This is a pretty powerful token payoff for the GW deck, and it does a good job all on its own. If this Saga is just left alone – with your opponent not doing anything to hinder it, and you not doing anything to make it do more, you end up paying 3 mana for four 1/1 tokens, and that’s not a bad deal. Obviously, you can make more than that happen with this, especially because the GW deck is all about tokens. It takes some set up to really take advantage of it, but sometimes it will just make your board drastically expand.
Gates of Istfell image 3.5 It is great having a land that can draw you some cards and gain you some life in the late game – most lands become useless at that point! But not this one.
Bretagard Stronghold image 3.5 Making two creatures bigger and giving them vigilance and lifelink is pretty awesome, especially because one of your lands id doing the job. Those two keywords combined can really help you win a race, since you gain life and allow your creatures to hang back as blockers.
Gnottvold Recluse image 2.0 Most spiders we see come with low power and high toughness. This makes them good at repeatedly blocking smaller flyers, but not so good at actually killing them. Gnottvold Recluse is different, in that it has higher power and lower toughness. This means it is going to be better at blocking and killing larger flyers, but a lot worse at repeatedly blocking flyers. 3-mana for a 4/2 line is often a borderline playable card even without Reach, and I think adding Reach to the mix here means you will feel fine about playing the first copy of this. Though, it would be nice if it were a snow permanent or something.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Run Amok image 2.5 This is a key card for aggro decks in this format. If you’re going hard in that direction, this becomes a pretty high pick. It often lets you run over an opposing creature and do opposing damage, and can result in lethal out of nowhere. It isn’t especially good in other decks, though.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Jaspera Sentinel image 2.0 The fixing this offers is a big deal for the decks trying to play 3+ colors. It doesn’t have the greatest stats, and Reach isn’t very exciting, but the mana production here is nice.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Shimmerdrift Vale image 3.5 It isn’t often that one of the best Commons in a set is a Land, but that’s the case in Kaldheim. This land provides excellent fixing and snow mana, and those are really important things for many decks in this format.
Volatile Fjord image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Squash
Provoke the Trolls image 2.5 4-mana to do 3 to anything is not an amazing deal, and it is definitely kept out of the “premium” tier of removal, but at least it can do it at instant speed. The additional upside here is that you can also use this as a combat trick, by targeting one of your own creatures to give it +5/+0. And, while that is certainly upside, it isn’t that much upside. First, you need the creature you target with it to survive, so that means it has at least 4 toughness. Second, if you’re using it to help you kill a blocking or attacking creature in combat, well -- you just 2-for-1’d yourself. Third, if you’re interested in using it to help you do lethal, it isn’t actually that much more damage than the card can do as a burn spell, since the 3 damage can just go after the opponent. So, yeah, on occasion you’ll use it for that stats boost -- but most of the time, this is just an okay removal spell.
Rootless Yew image 3.0 This card has been worse than it looks, largely because there aren’t that many common or uncommon creatures it can grab for you. However, it does have reasonable stats, and being able to grab a Lindwurm with this is pretty sweet.
Squash image 3.5 This is a very powerful removal spell if you’re in a Giant deck. 1R for 6 damage at instant speed is pretty incredibly efficient.. What’s nice is, 5 mana for 6 damage at instant speed isn’t completely horrendous either -- it isn’t great, mind you -- but it is the kind of removal that you’ll end up running one of a decent amount of the time. The goods news is, most Red decks will have at least a few Giants without even trying to take them, but the better news is, Giants is a very well-supported tribe in this set, and in those decks, this costing 1R won’t be that hard to achieve.
Gnottvold Recluse image 2.0 Most spiders we see come with low power and high toughness. This makes them good at repeatedly blocking smaller flyers, but not so good at actually killing them. Gnottvold Recluse is different, in that it has higher power and lower toughness. This means it is going to be better at blocking and killing larger flyers, but a lot worse at repeatedly blocking flyers. 3-mana for a 4/2 line is often a borderline playable card even without Reach, and I think adding Reach to the mix here means you will feel fine about playing the first copy of this. Though, it would be nice if it were a snow permanent or something.
Draugr Thought-Thief image 1.5 If you’re going to be a 3-mana 3/2, you probably need to have something going on that makes those inefficient stats worth it -- and I don’t really see that here. You get some very minor card selection, and an effect that might help you put something in your graveyard. Or, alternatively, something that lets you control your opponent’s next draw a little bit, but neither of those things is that great. It is kind of equivalent to Scry 1, but in most ways, it isn’t as good as Scry 1. You will certainly play this sometimes, but you’ll also cut it a fair bit.
Jaspera Sentinel image 2.0 The fixing this offers is a big deal for the decks trying to play 3+ colors. It doesn’t have the greatest stats, and Reach isn’t very exciting, but the mana production here is nice.
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Goldmaw Champion image 3.0 This really helps aggro decks in the format run over the slow, plodding control decks. They often don't have very many creatures in play, and that drastically increases how powerful the Champions ability is. It just enables all kinds of attack you wouldn't have without it.
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Arctic Treeline image 3.0 This is another snow land that isn’t super important because the colors it is in aren’t completely focused in on snow. However, it does provide fixing and a snow permanent, and those are valuable things
Pack 3 Pick 4: Axgard Cavalry
Rune of Might image 3.0 This is strictly better Setessan Training, and the Training was a pretty solid card! Granted, this set is not quite as Enchantment-focused as Theros Beyond Death, but this still seems pretty good. While a stats boost AND trample for 1G can be a really risky Aura to play, this draws you a card so you can avoid a total blowout from a 2-for-1 most of the time. Trample is an evasive ability too -- it might be flying -- but it does make it harder for your opponent to stop your creatures form damaging them.
Kardur, Doomscourge image 4.0 Kardur is strong, so it is kind of unfortunate that BR collectively isn’t really. You’ll mostly play him off a splash in other decks. Forcing all of your opponent’s creatures to attack you can make a big impact, not only because you can set up blocks to kill their creatures -- which, with Kardur in play, also means you’ll drain them 1 life -- but also because it opens your opponent up for a crack back that might just be lethal. In other words, Your opponent will have to attack in what is likely a less-than-optimal situation, while you’ll be able to attack in a pretty good one. Now, if your opponent’s board is significantly better than yours, things might not go so well, but if that’s true, well -- they were probably going to attack you with everything anyway! Note, by the way, that it doesn’t matter who controls an attacking creature for the drain life trigger, so it matters when you attack and when your opponent attacks.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Jaspera Sentinel image 2.0 The fixing this offers is a big deal for the decks trying to play 3+ colors. It doesn’t have the greatest stats, and Reach isn’t very exciting, but the mana production here is nice.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.0 This is a card we’ve seen a lot of, and generally I don’t like running it. It is super weird in this format too, because you’ll go up against aggro decks who have 0-2 targets for this, and against snow decks who will have like 7+. I think that really means you have to start it in your sideboard, since it will be so bad against a big part of the metagame.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Icehide Troll image 3.0 This is a key common for Snow decks, as if you are able to pump this it becomes a pretty powerful threat. Because it asks for two snow that won’t work in every deck, but in the decks where the troll DOES work, it will be one of your best Commons.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Ice Tunnel image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Berg Strider
Littjara Mirrorlake image 3.5 Making a copy of your best creature and making it a little bit better with a +1/+1 counter in the late game is no joke. This is a land that will add considerably to the board state in the late game, and that really shouldn’t be overlooked.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Berg Strider image 3.5 I always like this kind of creature that taps something down when it comes into play, but they are usually only at their best if they can lock the creature down for a turn too. Berg Strider won’t always do that, but it will do it often enough, and hey, at least it does something even if you don’t have the snow mana. It is also another snow payoff that doesn’t demand 10+ snow lands, you can run it with just a few. Tapping something down even without snow mana can often enable an attack you didn’t have otherwise, and tapping something down for a turn can really swing a race in your favor, since that creature won’t be blocking or attacking. This is certainly beefier than most of these tap-down creatures are too -- it has good enough stats to be imposing on some board states.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Squash image 3.5 This is a very powerful removal spell if you’re in a Giant deck. 1R for 6 damage at instant speed is pretty incredibly efficient.. What’s nice is, 5 mana for 6 damage at instant speed isn’t completely horrendous either -- it isn’t great, mind you -- but it is the kind of removal that you’ll end up running one of a decent amount of the time. The goods news is, most Red decks will have at least a few Giants without even trying to take them, but the better news is, Giants is a very well-supported tribe in this set, and in those decks, this costing 1R won’t be that hard to achieve.
Koma's Faithful image 2.0 This seems solid. A 3-mana 3/1 with lifelink isn’t a terrible rate -- trading for an X/3 and gaining 3 life in the process isn’t bad, and it comes with some additional upside. Now, the graveyard isn’t a huge theme in this set, but there is some synergy to be had there.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Snowfield Sinkhole image 3.0 Like most of the snow dual lands that have White in them, this one isn’t quite as good as the others. Still, it provides fixing and snow mana, and that’s useful in this format.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Augury Raven
The Trickster-God's Heist image 2.0 This is another situational Saga that doesn’t always do something. When you can play it and take full advantage it is strong, but it will be stuck in your hand doing nothing more often than you’d think.
Gnottvold Slumbermound image 3.5 Blowing up lands in this format is bigger than normal because of snow lands and this cycle, and being able to make a 4/4 at instant speed is pretty nice too.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Frostpeak Yeti image 1.5 So, this is a Hill Giant that can become unblockable if you have some Snow mana. That certainly isn’t a good card, but if you are in a controlling Snow deck and you need a win condition well...you probably hope this isn’t it, but it can do the job if you need it to.
Snowfield Sinkhole image 3.0 Like most of the snow dual lands that have White in them, this one isn’t quite as good as the others. Still, it provides fixing and snow mana, and that’s useful in this format.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Frost Bite
Kardur's Vicious Return image 2.0 This is harder to make work than it looks. Oftentimes you don’t want to sacrifice something with chapter I, and you don’t have anything worthwhile to do with Chapter III, and Chapter II might hur you just as much as your opponent. In the right deck it can still be alright, but it is hard to make this work in this format for the most part.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Run Ashore image 1.5 Blue often gets an expensive spell that lets you bounce a couple of things, and it is always a decent card, and I think that’s what we’re looking at here. One nice thing here is that one of the permanents will go back to the top of an opponent’s library, which means that you are actually trading one-for-one with Run Ashore, instead of just getting some tempo. Speaking of tempo, you can often find situations where paying 6 mana results in bouncing more than 6 mana worth of stuff for your opponent, and that’s nice too. You can, of course, also use it on your own stuff if you can get benefits out of it, and that sometimes is the case. This can really help a Blue deck stabilize, or potentially end the game. Take note also that it is an instant -- lots of previous similar cards have been sorceries -- and that does open up the chance for some more significant blowouts. That said, it is super expensive and fairly situational, and not really something you can ever afford to play more than one of.
Master Skald image 2.0 5-mana for a 4/4 that returns an artifact or enchantment is not a bad deal. And sure, you also need a creature in your graveyard to make it happen, but by turn 5 that won’t normally be an issue. There are lots of good Artifacts and Enchantments in this set, but the Skald is at his best with Sagas, since they are designed to eventually go to your graveyard in the first place. If you have at least one Saga, playing a Master Skald is usually a pretty good idea.
Frost Bite image 3.5 So, at the base level, this is a shock that can’t hit players. 2 damage for one mana is pretty nice, as it is very likely to allow you to trade up, and because it is an instant, you can occasionally get some pretty amazing blowouts for a very low cost. Then, it is a Snow spell that is a Snow payoff, and if you have enough Snow going on and this does 3 damage, you’re really in business.
Ravenous Lindwurm image 2.5 This is this format’s premier Common finisher. The efficient stats and life gain it grants you can turn around a lot of games, and if you’re in a mid-range or slow Green deck, you’ll be pretty happy with the Lindwurm.
Invoke the Divine image 1.5 This set has enough good artifacts and Enchantments that this ends up having a reasonable number of targets, making it an okay thing to run in your main deck.
Craven Hulk image 2.0 This coward may not be good at blocking, but a 4-mana 4/4 is a good enough deal in Limited that I’m okay with that. Its also a Giant, and that is probably the creature type that matters the most in this set, as it is the most tribal of the color pairs.
Demonic Gifts image 1.5 This type of trick is usually alright. The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies. This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability. It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too. It is still a trick, and the situational nature of them keeps most of them from ever being especially good.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Snow-Covered Mountain
The Trickster-God's Heist image 2.0 This is another situational Saga that doesn’t always do something. When you can play it and take full advantage it is strong, but it will be stuck in your hand doing nothing more often than you’d think.
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Vault Robber image 1.0 This is something you mostly won’t play. You could do worse if you are desperate for fixing, but the fact he is reliant on stuff in the graveyard to make Treasure can be rough, and his stats aren’t very good.
Behold the Multiverse image 3.5 4-mana for instant speed Scry 2 and draw 2 cards is usually pretty close to being a first pickable card when we’ve seen it in the past. It just does a great job of letting you see tons of cards, and is the kind of thing you’ll want one of in basically every Blue deck. Adding Foretell to the mix makes it even better, especially because, in this case, you’re not paying extra mana -- you pay the same amount, just in two installments, and that’s just great. Fortell is a lot like Morph or Suspend, in that it adds nice flexibility to a card, and lets you do something with any excess mana you might have -- like if you don’t have a two drop in the early game, you can just Fortell this, and that feels really good.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Snow-Covered Mountain image 2.0 Red isn’t overflowing with snow payoffs, but this is still a snow land and those are quite useful in this format.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Weigh Down
Rune of Speed image 2.5 The Runes are all nice because they come with a cantrip, taking away the biggest downside of Auras -- the possibility of getting blown out by a 2-for-1. This is cheap enough that putting it on a new creature that can take advantage of Haste is a real possibility, though sometimes you may have to settle for only getting an advantage out of the +1/+0 part. Like all runes, if you put it on equipment it can really shine.
Weigh Down image 3.0 -3/-3 for one Black mana is super efficient. Having to have a creature in the graveyard does mean this will often be dead in the early game, and sometimes even later than that -- but, all you have to do to make it work is trade with something, and if you’re doing that and getting the additional value out of that creature by exiling it to pay for this, it will feel pretty good. I think the first copy of this tends to really feel like premium removal, but you generally don’t want to run too many of them, as there is only so much fuel in your graveyard.
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Axgard Cavalry image 2.5 This is a nice two drop. Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice. If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does. These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Augury Raven
Gnottvold Recluse image 2.0 Most spiders we see come with low power and high toughness. This makes them good at repeatedly blocking smaller flyers, but not so good at actually killing them. Gnottvold Recluse is different, in that it has higher power and lower toughness. This means it is going to be better at blocking and killing larger flyers, but a lot worse at repeatedly blocking flyers. 3-mana for a 4/2 line is often a borderline playable card even without Reach, and I think adding Reach to the mix here means you will feel fine about playing the first copy of this. Though, it would be nice if it were a snow permanent or something.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Run Amok image 2.5 This is a key card for aggro decks in this format. If you’re going hard in that direction, this becomes a pretty high pick. It often lets you run over an opposing creature and do opposing damage, and can result in lethal out of nowhere. It isn’t especially good in other decks, though.
Depart the Realm image 2.0 Two mana to bounce nonland permanents at Instant speed is usually fine. Bounce spells won’t always straight up trade for a card, but the tempo they give you can be worth it – and, sometimes you can get one of your opponent’s cards with this, if you bounce something that they are using a trick on or putting an Aura on. This has Foretell too, but I still don’t think it is much more than “fine”.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Draugr Thought-Thief
Draugr Thought-Thief image 1.5 If you’re going to be a 3-mana 3/2, you probably need to have something going on that makes those inefficient stats worth it -- and I don’t really see that here. You get some very minor card selection, and an effect that might help you put something in your graveyard. Or, alternatively, something that lets you control your opponent’s next draw a little bit, but neither of those things is that great. It is kind of equivalent to Scry 1, but in most ways, it isn’t as good as Scry 1. You will certainly play this sometimes, but you’ll also cut it a fair bit.
Roots of Wisdom image 1.0 So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time – but not always, especially early. I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back. But yeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. It doesn’t help that the Elf deck isn’t very impressive.
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Arachnoform
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Tormentor's Helm
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Hagi Mob
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Annul
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Draft Pick Overview