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Premier Draft IKO 22 August 2021

22 August 06:41 - sang 7 Wins - 0 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (17)
1 Farfinder image
1 Almighty Brushwagg image
1 Crystalline Giant image
1 Chittering Harvester image
1 Skull Prophet image
2 Trumpeting Gnarr image
1 Cavern Whisperer image
1 Durable Coilbug image
1 Humble Naturalist image
1 Grimdancer image
1 Greater Sandwurm image
2 Boot Nipper image
1 Fertilid image
1 Void Beckoner image
1 Migratory Greathorn image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (6)
2 Ram Through image
2 Blood Curdle image
1 Charge of the Forever-Beast image
1 Lead the Stampede image
Land (17)
8 Swamp image
8 Forest image
1 Thornwood Falls image
Sideboard
1 Rooting Moloch image
1 Glimmerbell image
1 Mosscoat Goriak image
1 Phase Dolphin image
1 Excavation Mole image
2 Blitz Leech image
1 Bristling Boar image
1 Honey Mammoth image
2 Bushmeat Poacher image
1 Essence Scatter image
1 Fully Grown image
1 Wilt image
2 Adventurous Impulse image
1 Tentative Connection image
1 Plummet image
1 Barrier Breach image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Crystalline Giant
Crystalline Giant image 4.0 A 3 mana 3/3 that gains a random keyword ability or +1/+1 counter each combat is pretty nice. I also like that it makes sure it doesn’t ever give you double of the key word counters, which would obviously be useless. So, if left out long enough the Giant becomes a 4/4 with all those keyword abilities -- that isn’t ultra likely or anything, but just getting more and more powerful every turn seems is great! And it is colorless, so you know you’ll get to play this 100% of the time.
Unbreakable Bond image 3.0 This format has a very real reanimator deck in the BG color pair, and that makes Unbreakable Bond significantly better in this format than in most. You can cycle away a big ol’ creature, and then use this to reanimate it and give it lifelink! That can be a play that ends games. In short, this just will have far more attractive targets than it does in most formats, and that makes it a pretty nice card.
Footfall Crater image 3.0 Another card with one mana Cycling that makes it way better! The Enchant Land part of the card can sometimes do a thing, but this is one you’re going to be Cycling a lot.
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Springjaw Trap image 1.5 You’ll play this if you end up with enough flash in UB, or if you’re desperate for removal, OR if you have Lurrus. But that’s pretty much it.
Durable Coilbug image 2.5 This has decent Bear stats, and isn’t a bad mana sink in the late game.
Blade Banish image 2.5 This is situational for sure, but this format has a whole lot of big bois, so it is a little better than usual. It is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes really get a blow out.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Crystacean image 1.5 This is supposed to be here for the UB flash deck, but that deck just doesn’t come together that often, and this has a pretty mediocre floor.
Gust of Wind image 3.0 Even if this always cost 4, it would be a decent card. Bouncing something and drawing a card feels pretty great tempo-wise! But the great news is, this will often cost 2, and you don’t even have to try that hard to make that happen, since you’re playing blue.
Drannith Healer image 3.5 Another Cycling card that is better than it looks! This one is a bear with a Cycling payoff, in addition to having the great 1 mana Cycling effect.
Daysquad Marshal image 2.5 This gives you two bodies with one card, and 4/4 worth of stats. In most sets that a solid card, and that’s what it is here.
Spelleater Wolverine image 2.5 This is a nice little aggressive creature in this format, and it slots quite nicely into UR spells, but also into RW Cycling decks, since they tend to throw all kinds of cards with Cycling into the graveyard, including a bunch of instants and sorceries! Basically, it is way easier to get double strike online here than it looks.
Tranquil Cove image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Rooting Moloch
Momentum Rumbler image 2.5 This is a Hill Giant that gains First Strike permanently when it attacks, which isn’t a terrible card to start with. The fact it can then gain double strike on the next attack is nice additional upside! Now, this format has a surprising number of large creatures, and getting through with the Rumbler that first time isn’t always the easiest, but it is a solid card.
Rooting Moloch image 4.0 Another very nice Cycling payoff, the Moloch can rebuy a card with Cycling – either to Cycle it again or because you actually want to cast it. Either way, getting a 2-for-1 here is very easy. Then, it has Cycling itself, and that is a really key thing in this format that makes Cycling so darn good – almost all the payoffs have Cycling too, which makes for a very cohesive deck.
Cunning Nightbonder image 3.0 So I would feel fine about playing a two mana 2/2 with Flash anyway -- can occasionally ambush a more expensive creature with 2 toughness, or a creature with less than two power, and it has fine stats. But, reducing the cost of spells with Flash is nice too, especially because there seems to be a decent amount of it in this set.
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Memory Leak image 3.5 This is a situational discard effect that becomes useless in the late game. However! It has Cycling 1, and that gives everything a big upgrade in this format – you can cycle it away when it doesn’t do a thing, and when it can do a thing it isn’t too shabby.
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Cavern Whisperer image 2.5 So, a 5-mana 4/4 with Menace would make the cut a significant amount of the time. This also has a solid Mutate trigger, albeit one of the less exciting ones around, especially because its efficacy decreases as the game goes on. But hey, it can also lend Menace to a creature it Mutates on to! Or you can use it as the creature on top to make a 4/4 menace out of one of your creatures’. Still, costing 5 to mutate for an underwhelming trigger isn’t great, even if you’re upgrading a creature at the same time.
Essence Scatter image 2.5 Two mana counterspells offset the risks of your opponent playing around it, and even though it can only counter creatures, that’s going to be just fine in this set. This format has more creatures in than normal, too!
Prickly Marmoset image 3.5 This is another very good Cycling payoff who can make life a nightmare for your opponent. Every single time you attack with this your opponent has to make a choice between potentially taking a ton of damage to the face, or throwing a creature in front of it that will probably just die, since First Strike and even just one +2/+0 is enough to make the Marmoset win combat most of the time.
Whisper Squad image 0.0 // 3.0 This is unplayable with only one copy, but it gradually becomes more playable the more copies you get. Sure, paying two to get a 1/1 out of your deck doesn’t seem great, but it is actually some very real value, and an effective way to help you go wide. If you end up with 4 copies of this, it will become a pretty nice card.
Patagia Tiger image 2.5 A 5-mana ¾ Flyer is usually a serviceable card in Limited.. This brings some pretty real additional upside, in that it can pump humans. White and Black especially have a lot of humans, and in those decks this will be a nice common because it will frequently give one of your Humans an attack that wouldn’t have worked before the Tiger came down.
Essence Symbiote image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes
Dismal Backwater image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Chittering Harvester
Boon of the Wish-Giver image 3.5 If the Boon was just a 6-mana draw 4 it wouldn’t be great -- it would mean the only thing the card can do is tap you out for a turn, and while drawing 4 is awesome, not adding to the board is sometimes not an option. Basically this is a split card. The 6-mana sorcery, and a one-mana Instant that draws you a card. Both options will be nice sometimes – and of course, Cycling is extra good in this set because of all the payoffs.
Proud Wildbonder image 3.0 A 4-mana 4/3 with Trample is fine, and the fact that he can do 4 no matter how he gets block is a nice upgrade -- especially because he does it for all of your tramplers!
Chittering Harvester image 2.5 So, Edict effects may be extra good in a format with Mutate, since people will more frequently not be going wide as a result. But Edict effects can really let you down by the later part of the game -- like turn 5 when you play this. It can also have a nice effect -- but I mean, is making a creature into a 4/6 for 5 mana, while making your opponent sac something really that great? I don’t think it is. Making your opponent lose their worst creature is pretty close to irrelevant on many boards by that point. Sure, if you stack Mutating it gets sillier, but I’m still not in love with this one.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Frostveil Ambush image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Daysquad Marshal image 2.5 This gives you two bodies with one card, and 4/4 worth of stats. In most sets that a solid card, and that’s what it is here.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Lurking Deadeye image 3.0 These kinds of creatures are not normally something I am very impressed with – that is, creatures who kill something that has been dealt damage. This is because often-times making sure you damage something is difficult, and sometimes even when you do you have to give up a card to do it, so the window where this does something is not as high as you would like. However, this one has Flash, and that means that you will be able to find situations where it does its things more often than not. And even if you aren’t managing to kill something with the ability, sometimes flashing in a 4/2 to kill their X/4 is just fine too.
Of One Mind image 3.0 I am usually interested in running one Divination in most Limited formats, and this is a strictly better one since its cost can be reduced. If you are consistently casting this for one, it will be absolutely silly -- but the requirement it asks for, while doable, isn’t the kind of thing that will just always be the case.
Maned Serval image 1.5 This is a reasonably efficient French Vanilla creature that it is okay to mutate on top of.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 4: Skull Prophet
Bonders' Enclave image 4.0 I often think of lands like this as turning into something completely different in the late game. Early, it produces mana for you -- something you certainly need, but later it can turn into a card advantage engine. Sure, you do need to have a creature with high enough power to take advantage of that, but I think enough decks in this format will be able to draw with that ability in the later part of the game that this is going to be pretty darn good. It doesn’t take up a spell slot in your deck, and yet it can be a card that will win you longer games. It can also be played in any color deck, which is nice. The one hit you take from playing this is that it isn’t so great for your mana, so you may not want to run it in a 3-color deck that doesn’t have good fixing.
Skull Prophet image 4.0 Wow, talk about a Cycling payoff. Sure, you have to have the mana to spend, but Cycling in this set usually costs 1-2 mana, so it isn’t a stretch to be able to pay the 2, and when you do, you get to start killing smaller stuff and gaining life, which is pretty awesome. It is nice you get something out of the trigger even if you don’t actually kill their creature -- getting some life no matter what is not too bad. On top of that, it is just a nice aggressive body as a 2-mana 3/2.
Rumbling Rockslide image 3.0 This is pretty clunky as a 4-mana Sorcery, but it does scale as the game goes on, and can deal with virtually any creature, provided you get some lands in play.
Raking Claws image 3.0 Another situational card with Cycling, Raking Claws can sometimes do a whole lot as a trick, but when it can’t? Well, just Cycle it away and look for something else.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Greater Sandwurm image 3.5 This is an imposing presence if you can play it as a creature – but it is super expensive! The good news is that it has Cycling, so you can just throw it away early. This especially potent in the BG reanimator deck, as this is something you can throw away on turn two, and then reanimate on turn 4 or 5, which is often enough to win the game.
Unexpected Fangs image 1.5 As a trick, it gives a pretty mediocre stats boost, even if the counter is permanent. The best tricks drastically increase the chance of your creature winning in combat, and this just won’t line up that way often enough. Lifelink permanently is something I can get behind, but I feel like this trick has all the usual risks tricks have, without really being worth it.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Essence Scatter image 2.5 Two mana counterspells offset the risks of your opponent playing around it, and even though it can only counter creatures, that’s going to be just fine in this set. This format has more creatures in than normal, too!
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Swiftwater Cliffs image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Blood Curdle
Lead the Stampede image 2.0 Most of the time, this will just be Green Divination, which is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes it will draw you more – but sometimes it will also draw you less.
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Divine Arrow image 3.0 This is certainly situational, but also fairly efficient. You’re going to be spending only two mana to kill something, which will usually be less than your opponent paid for their creature. It might fall a little short of premium, but it is a nice removal spell.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Blood Curdle image 4.0 This is a great common. 4 mana for instant speed kill anything is something you always play and this permanently gives something lifelink. Sure, sometimes that upside won’t mean much, but sometimes it will really matter -- and when it is stapled to an already premium removal spell, I’m pretty happy about it.
Drannith Healer image 3.5 Another Cycling card that is better than it looks! This one is a bear with a Cycling payoff, in addition to having the great 1 mana Cycling effect.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 6: Trumpeting Gnarr
Skull Prophet image 4.0 Wow, talk about a Cycling payoff. Sure, you have to have the mana to spend, but Cycling in this set usually costs 1-2 mana, so it isn’t a stretch to be able to pay the 2, and when you do, you get to start killing smaller stuff and gaining life, which is pretty awesome. It is nice you get something out of the trigger even if you don’t actually kill their creature -- getting some life no matter what is not too bad. On top of that, it is just a nice aggressive body as a 2-mana 3/2.
Easy Prey image 3.0 This is a somewhat narrow removal spell – but it is still a removal spell. It certainly isn’t premium, but by adding Cycling to this card, which you would play one of in a lot of formats anyway, you end up with a pretty nice card.
Trumpeting Gnarr image 4.0 A 3-mana 3/3 is a nice baseline, and then this has a Mutate ability that offsets the risk of getting 2-for-1’d since it makes you a token every time. That mutate ability definitely isn’t efficient, but you’ll be surprised at how good it feels despite that
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Thieving Otter image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/2 that draws you a card when it hits the opponent would probably normally be kind of alright. It has a great ability, but actually getting in to draw you that card is difficult pretty much all game. But, this isn’t an ordinary format. There are keyword counters all over the place, and of course there is mutate. Playing this on turn 3, and then mutating something on to it later that has more size and/or abilities is going to feel pretty good. You still are dealing with a kind of ugly fail case on this little guy, but I think the upside is real enough that you end up playing this in most of your Blue decks, and it may even be better than that if you have enough Mutate going on. One combo with a couple of Commons is to play Otter turn 3, and then mutate the Heron onto it on turn 4 -- suddenly you have a ¾ flyer that draws you a card when it mutates and when it hits the opponent. This will happen a lot in this format.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Whisper Squad image 0.0 // 3.0 This is unplayable with only one copy, but it gradually becomes more playable the more copies you get. Sure, paying two to get a 1/1 out of your deck doesn’t seem great, but it is actually some very real value, and an effective way to help you go wide. If you end up with 4 copies of this, it will become a pretty nice card.
Crystacean image 1.5 This is supposed to be here for the UB flash deck, but that deck just doesn’t come together that often, and this has a pretty mediocre floor.
Bloodfell Caves image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Glimmerbell
Primal Empathy image 3.5 That draw you a card every turn are very powerful, it is the kind of card advantage that just becomes insurmountable for your opponent. And sure, you DO have to meet a requirement to draw that card, but even if you can’t draw a card, a +1/+1 counter every turn is nice too -- and obviously it also means that you will be able to get your creature big enough to start drawing cards with it eventually.
Rumbling Rockslide image 3.0 This is pretty clunky as a 4-mana Sorcery, but it does scale as the game goes on, and can deal with virtually any creature, provided you get some lands in play.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Glimmerbell image 2.0 This is here to be something sweet to Mutate on to, especially early. The Flying and Untap ability on a much larger creature can feel pretty good! It has a decent fail case too.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Thieving Otter image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/2 that draws you a card when it hits the opponent would probably normally be kind of alright. It has a great ability, but actually getting in to draw you that card is difficult pretty much all game. But, this isn’t an ordinary format. There are keyword counters all over the place, and of course there is mutate. Playing this on turn 3, and then mutating something on to it later that has more size and/or abilities is going to feel pretty good. You still are dealing with a kind of ugly fail case on this little guy, but I think the upside is real enough that you end up playing this in most of your Blue decks, and it may even be better than that if you have enough Mutate going on. One combo with a couple of Commons is to play Otter turn 3, and then mutate the Heron onto it on turn 4 -- suddenly you have a ¾ flyer that draws you a card when it mutates and when it hits the opponent. This will happen a lot in this format.
Plains image
Pack 1 Pick 8: Cavern Whisperer
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Hampering Snare image 2.5 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Cavern Whisperer image 2.5 So, a 5-mana 4/4 with Menace would make the cut a significant amount of the time. This also has a solid Mutate trigger, albeit one of the less exciting ones around, especially because its efficacy decreases as the game goes on. But hey, it can also lend Menace to a creature it Mutates on to! Or you can use it as the creature on top to make a 4/4 menace out of one of your creatures’. Still, costing 5 to mutate for an underwhelming trigger isn’t great, even if you’re upgrading a creature at the same time.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Drannith Healer image 3.5 Another Cycling card that is better than it looks! This one is a bear with a Cycling payoff, in addition to having the great 1 mana Cycling effect.
Pyroceratops image 3.0 This is a nice spell payoff that can big in a hurry, which feels good when you have Trample along for the ride.
Island image
Pack 1 Pick 9: Durable Coilbug
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Springjaw Trap image 1.5 You’ll play this if you end up with enough flash in UB, or if you’re desperate for removal, OR if you have Lurrus. But that’s pretty much it.
Durable Coilbug image 2.5 This has decent Bear stats, and isn’t a bad mana sink in the late game.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Daysquad Marshal image 2.5 This gives you two bodies with one card, and 4/4 worth of stats. In most sets that a solid card, and that’s what it is here.
Tranquil Cove image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Mosscoat Goriak
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Blazing Volley image 0.5 This is a sideboard card. There just aren’t enough things this kills for it to be a main deck card in this format.
Cavern Whisperer image 2.5 So, a 5-mana 4/4 with Menace would make the cut a significant amount of the time. This also has a solid Mutate trigger, albeit one of the less exciting ones around, especially because its efficacy decreases as the game goes on. But hey, it can also lend Menace to a creature it Mutates on to! Or you can use it as the creature on top to make a 4/4 menace out of one of your creatures’. Still, costing 5 to mutate for an underwhelming trigger isn’t great, even if you’re upgrading a creature at the same time.
Whisper Squad image 0.0 // 3.0 This is unplayable with only one copy, but it gradually becomes more playable the more copies you get. Sure, paying two to get a 1/1 out of your deck doesn’t seem great, but it is actually some very real value, and an effective way to help you go wide. If you end up with 4 copies of this, it will become a pretty nice card.
Patagia Tiger image 2.5 A 5-mana ¾ Flyer is usually a serviceable card in Limited.. This brings some pretty real additional upside, in that it can pump humans. White and Black especially have a lot of humans, and in those decks this will be a nice common because it will frequently give one of your Humans an attack that wouldn’t have worked before the Tiger came down.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Humble Naturalist
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Humble Naturalist image 3.0 This is a mana creature with okay stats, and those always tend to be nice inclusions in Limited Green decks.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Of One Mind image 3.0 I am usually interested in running one Divination in most Limited formats, and this is a strictly better one since its cost can be reduced. If you are consistently casting this for one, it will be absolutely silly -- but the requirement it asks for, while doable, isn’t the kind of thing that will just always be the case.
Mountain image
Pack 1 Pick 12: Essence Scatter
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Essence Scatter image 2.5 Two mana counterspells offset the risks of your opponent playing around it, and even though it can only counter creatures, that’s going to be just fine in this set. This format has more creatures in than normal, too!
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Lead the Stampede
Lead the Stampede image 2.0 Most of the time, this will just be Green Divination, which is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes it will draw you more – but sometimes it will also draw you less.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Swamp image
Pack 1 Pick 14: Fully Grown
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Crystacean image 1.5 This is supposed to be here for the UB flash deck, but that deck just doesn’t come together that often, and this has a pretty mediocre floor.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Plummet
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Grimdancer
Eerie Ultimatum image 5.0 The ultimatums are all way easier to cast in this format than they would be in most. The fixing here is just great. This means that there is a very real strategy of drafting an ultimatum as a win condition in a controlling deck, and Eerie Ultimatum is one of the ones that just wins you the game if you cast it. It does require some set up, since you’re going to need permanents in your graveyard, but that’s pretty likely by the time you cast it.
Grimdancer image 4.0 We have seen plenty of 3-mana 3/3s with just one of these keyword abilities be good, getting a combination of two of them is great -- Menace and Deathtouch together are typically a Nightmare for opponent’s to deal with. This thing will be getting in for lots of damage. Menace and Lifelink are pretty nice too -- basically all the combinations are, though I think Menace + Deathtouch will be the best way to go more often than not.
Easy Prey image 3.0 This is a somewhat narrow removal spell – but it is still a removal spell. It certainly isn’t premium, but by adding Cycling to this card, which you would play one of in a lot of formats anyway, you end up with a pretty nice card.
Boon of the Wish-Giver image 3.5 If the Boon was just a 6-mana draw 4 it wouldn’t be great -- it would mean the only thing the card can do is tap you out for a turn, and while drawing 4 is awesome, not adding to the board is sometimes not an option. Basically this is a split card. The 6-mana sorcery, and a one-mana Instant that draws you a card. Both options will be nice sometimes – and of course, Cycling is extra good in this set because of all the payoffs.
Excavation Mole image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes.
Garrison Cat image 1.5 This is a one drop that replaces itself, which isn’t too bad. It is also something you can mutate on to very early, and still getting a 1/1 when your mutated creature dies is okay upside. You still won’t play this most of the time, but it can be passable.
Dreamtail Heron image 3.5 I love herons in real life, and I’m glad this one seems pretty sweet in Limited. A 5-mana ¾ Flyer, which this is on a base level, is somewhat passable. It can serve as a finisher in decks that are really lacking one. But this does more than that, of course, thanks to the Mutate mechanic. If you play it first, it is a ¾ Flyer that might draw you a card later if you mutate on it. If you play it second, you can use it to give a beefier creature Flying and draw a card, or make a smaller creature into a ¾ flyer that draws you a card. That drawn card really helps avoid the 2-for-1 that you are potentially going to be dealing with here.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Essence Symbiote image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes
Coordinated Charge image 2.5 All the cards with Cycling in this set are way better than they look. They are functionally split cards that you can just cycle when what they do doesn’t matter. Plus, if you’re in RW you’re really looking for a critical mass of these and will just jam all of them into your deck. And..yeah, sometimes this effect doesn’t matter, since you need to be going wide. But you can just cycle it away! Then, when it does matter, it will feel pretty great.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Durable Coilbug image 2.5 This has decent Bear stats, and isn’t a bad mana sink in the late game.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Capture Sphere image 3.5 This is usually not quite premium removal since it is kind of expensive and doesn’t take away static abilities. However, in a set loaded up with Mutate, it gets a lot better, as sometimes your opponent will be taking the risk of mutating, but suddenly that means Capture Sphere can effectively give you a 2-for-1.
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Pack 2 Pick 2: Greater Sandwurm
Drannith Magistrate image 1.5 So, this is the kind of card really printed with constructed in mind. In most Limited games in this format, this Hatebear isn’t going to have anything to hate on, so he is effectively just a two mana ⅓. That can be a passable two-drop if you’re desperate.
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Channeled Force image 1.5 This is not especially easy to make work. It lets you rummage and then damage stuff, but the set up of having to have a bunch of cards in your hand just isn’t going to be worth that a lot of the time.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Helica Glider image 2.5 Most of the time you’re going to go with the Flying option -- but sometimes First Strike will be better. It is nice on turn three, and then later in the game a nice thing to mutate on top of thanks to the keyword ability it brings with it.
Divine Arrow image 3.0 This is certainly situational, but also fairly efficient. You’re going to be spending only two mana to kill something, which will usually be less than your opponent paid for their creature. It might fall a little short of premium, but it is a nice removal spell.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Greater Sandwurm image 3.5 This is an imposing presence if you can play it as a creature – but it is super expensive! The good news is that it has Cycling, so you can just throw it away early. This especially potent in the BG reanimator deck, as this is something you can throw away on turn two, and then reanimate on turn 4 or 5, which is often enough to win the game.
Fire Prophecy image 4.0 Two mana for three damage to a creature at instant speed is already premium, because it tends to be efficient enough to trade up pretty often. But, adding this card selection ability is a nice upgrade It will play much like rummaging would, except that you don’t get the card in the graveyard, so sometimes it will be weaker that rummage, but most of the time you wouldn’t know the difference. This is definitely premium removal -- kills something and then helps you find more gas, and I always like that.
Thieving Otter image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/2 that draws you a card when it hits the opponent would probably normally be kind of alright. It has a great ability, but actually getting in to draw you that card is difficult pretty much all game. But, this isn’t an ordinary format. There are keyword counters all over the place, and of course there is mutate. Playing this on turn 3, and then mutating something on to it later that has more size and/or abilities is going to feel pretty good. You still are dealing with a kind of ugly fail case on this little guy, but I think the upside is real enough that you end up playing this in most of your Blue decks, and it may even be better than that if you have enough Mutate going on. One combo with a couple of Commons is to play Otter turn 3, and then mutate the Heron onto it on turn 4 -- suddenly you have a ¾ flyer that draws you a card when it mutates and when it hits the opponent. This will happen a lot in this format.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Blade Banish image 2.5 This is situational for sure, but this format has a whole lot of big bois, so it is a little better than usual. It is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes really get a blow out.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
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Pack 2 Pick 3: Boot Nipper
Ketria Crystal image 2.5 The crystals all provide good fixing – something you want a lot of the time in this format – and they all have Cycling, which means when you draw one and don’t really need the fixing, you can just throw it away to draw another card.
Reptilian Reflection image 2.5 Most of the Red and White Cycling payoffs are really crazy good, but Reptilian Reflection is a bit worse than the others, mostly because it is so bad when you don’t have Cycling around. The other Cycling payoffs still do stuff when you can’t cycle, but this just sits on the table doing nothing! It also doesn’t pay you off for Cycling multiple times in a turn like the others. Still, it isn’t bad, just merely a solid Cycling payoff instead of a crazy good one. When it can really get going, it can put your opponent in a horrible situation.
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Springjaw Trap image 1.5 You’ll play this if you end up with enough flash in UB, or if you’re desperate for removal, OR if you have Lurrus. But that’s pretty much it.
Anticipate image 1.5 This is always fine, but never much more than that. It is a very replaceable effect, gives you some reasonable card selection.
Ferocious Tigorilla image 2.5 You’re usually going to be choosing Menace with this, as it just tends to be the better evasive ability. A 4-mana 4/3 with Menace is something you’d always play the first copy of, and having the Trample options isn’t bad.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Bristling Boar image 2.5 Making it so the only way it dies in combat is if your opponent has one creature that can do 3 damage is surprisingly effective, and grants it an evasive ability -- albeit a weak one. A 4-mana 4/3 is usually playable-ish anyway, and the upside here is real.
Garrison Cat image 1.5 This is a one drop that replaces itself, which isn’t too bad. It is also something you can mutate on to very early, and still getting a 1/1 when your mutated creature dies is okay upside. You still won’t play this most of the time, but it can be passable.
Boot Nipper image 3.0 This is a very nice two drop that gives you a couple of nice options. You would always play a two mana 2/1 with death touch, and you would frequently play a two mana 2/1 with lifelink. The power of having a choice between those two things is very real. If yo’ure behind, you probably go with death touch, but if you are the beatdown, you probably go with lifelink. This is a nice cheap creature to mutate on to as well, and those keyword counters will be nice on your mutated creature.
Patagia Tiger image 2.5 A 5-mana ¾ Flyer is usually a serviceable card in Limited.. This brings some pretty real additional upside, in that it can pump humans. White and Black especially have a lot of humans, and in those decks this will be a nice common because it will frequently give one of your Humans an attack that wouldn’t have worked before the Tiger came down.
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Pack 2 Pick 4: Phase Dolphin
Primal Empathy image 3.5 That draw you a card every turn are very powerful, it is the kind of card advantage that just becomes insurmountable for your opponent. And sure, you DO have to meet a requirement to draw that card, but even if you can’t draw a card, a +1/+1 counter every turn is nice too -- and obviously it also means that you will be able to get your creature big enough to start drawing cards with it eventually.
Alert Heedbonder image 2.5 A three mana 2/4 with Vigilance is fine, and so is gaining 1 life every end step -- which is what it is when it is alone. The fact you gain more life the more Vigilance creatures you have is nice additional upside, but still not something amazing. I think this is just decent, and not much else.
Phase Dolphin image 2.5 This is a decent creature early since it can help others get in, and it can be particularly nice to mutate on to.
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Flycatcher Giraffid image 2.0 Neither option here is great, but neither is bad, either.
Essence Scatter image 2.5 Two mana counterspells offset the risks of your opponent playing around it, and even though it can only counter creatures, that’s going to be just fine in this set. This format has more creatures in than normal, too!
Forbidden Friendship image 2.5 This is a reasonable deal for two bodies, and will help decks that want to go wide. It is a mostly better Krenko’s Command, since the dinosaur gets to have Haste, and that card is always just fine.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Mysterious Egg image 1.0 The flavor is cool and all, but I feel like you’d rather have a more exciting ability for Mutate, and a more exciting fail case than one mana 0/2.
Daysquad Marshal image 2.5 This gives you two bodies with one card, and 4/4 worth of stats. In most sets that a solid card, and that’s what it is here.
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Boot Nipper
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Lead the Stampede image 2.0 Most of the time, this will just be Green Divination, which is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes it will draw you more – but sometimes it will also draw you less.
Keensight Mentor image 2.5 Vigilance isn’t the most amazing keyword ability -- it doesn’t make a creature Evasive or anything, but its fine. And, at worst, this like all the Mentors just gives one thing Vigilance, and then in the later game you can pay mana to make that creature progressively larger. That’s a nice late-game mana sink, and if you have more creatures with Vigilance it can become a legitimate problem for your opponent.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Adventurous Impulse image 2.0 This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Imposing Vantasaur image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is a pretty high pick, and way better than it looks! It can be a big defensive creature if that’s what you need, but you can also just throw it away to look for something better – while also triggering all of your cycling payoffs.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 As always, this provides excellent fixing. It lets you splash a card off of only a single basic land, and that’s great consistency. Even in a two color deck, the impact it has on your mana is substantial.
Pyroceratops image 3.0 This is a nice spell payoff that can big in a hurry, which feels good when you have Trample along for the ride.
Boot Nipper image 3.0 This is a very nice two drop that gives you a couple of nice options. You would always play a two mana 2/1 with death touch, and you would frequently play a two mana 2/1 with lifelink. The power of having a choice between those two things is very real. If yo’ure behind, you probably go with death touch, but if you are the beatdown, you probably go with lifelink. This is a nice cheap creature to mutate on to as well, and those keyword counters will be nice on your mutated creature.
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Pack 2 Pick 6: Fertilid
Fertilid image 3.0 A three mana 2/2 isn’t especially good, but the fixing Fertilid provides for you is quite nice. Green usually gets nice commons for Splashing or going three colors, and that’s what this is. It has the ability to grab a couple of land over a few turns, and that is nice -- helps mitigate against mana screw, helps you find your colors, etc., If you don’t really need to fix when you play it, it also makes a good creature to mutate on to.
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Sleeper Dart image 1.0 This isn’t great, and is basically only the kind of card you run when you don’t have enough playables. It replaces itself, but the effect it has is really negligible.
Tentative Connection image 2.0 There are a couple of things going on here that make this a little better than most Threaten effects. First, when you can discount this because you have a Menace creature, it will feel pretty good – especially because Menace creatures already pair well with a Threaten effect. The other thing is, there are some efficient ways to sacrifice creatures in this format, and that means stealing an opposing creature and sacrificing it is pretty doable.
Springjaw Trap image 1.5 You’ll play this if you end up with enough flash in UB, or if you’re desperate for removal, OR if you have Lurrus. But that’s pretty much it.
Cloudpiercer image 2.5 5-mana for a 5/4 Reach is fairly passable, and adding a rummage mutate effect is fine.
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Daysquad Marshal image 2.5 This gives you two bodies with one card, and 4/4 worth of stats. In most sets that a solid card, and that’s what it is here.
Island image
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 As always, this provides excellent fixing. It lets you splash a card off of only a single basic land, and that’s great consistency. Even in a two color deck, the impact it has on your mana is substantial.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Void Beckoner
Void Beckoner image 3.5 So, an 8-mana 8/8 Deathtouch would not normally be something I want to play -- that’s because it is just so hard to get to 8 mana! But by adding cycling to this, it becomes much more intriguing. Cycling really lets you get away with playing stupid expensive cards, since if you can’t cast them, you can always turn them in for a card. It is especially nice that this Beckoner also has a trigger with Cycling -- giving something Deathtouch at Instant speed and drawing card is pretty nice. Even if your creature still dies in combat, you end up netting a card out of this, so that fact is offset, especially if you are trading a little guy who could previously only chump block for something scary on the opponent’s side of the table. This also gets an upgrade because BG decks can reanimate him pretty easily.
Savai Thundermane image 4.0 Wow, talk about a Cycling payoff. Sure, you have to have the mana to spend, but Cycling in this set usually costs 1-2 mana, so it isn’t a stretch to be able to pay the 2, and when you do, you get to start killing smaller stuff and gaining life, which is pretty awesome. It is nice you get something out of the trigger even if you don’t actually kill their creature -- getting some life no matter what is not too bad. On top of that, it is just a nice aggressive body as a 2-mana 3/2.
Adventurous Impulse image 2.0 This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Adaptive Shimmerer image 1.5 The idea here is that you mutate on top of this, giving +3/+3 to whatever stats your mutated creature has. It also has Flash, and there are a few cards that care about that. Still, as far as payoffs and enablers go, this is pretty darn inefficient.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Sleeper Dart image 1.0 This isn’t great, and is basically only the kind of card you run when you don’t have enough playables. It replaces itself, but the effect it has is really negligible.
Sudden Spinnerets image 1.0 This doesn’t give a big enough boost to help your creature win combat often enough, and a Reach counter isn’t very exciting.
Pyroceratops image 3.0 This is a nice spell payoff that can big in a hurry, which feels good when you have Trample along for the ride.
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Pack 2 Pick 8: Blood Curdle
Mosscoat Goriak image 2.0 This is some decent stats for three mana, especially because with Vigilance, he will often be able to attack on boards where he also happens to be a good blocker, and Vigilance lets him do both.
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Blood Curdle image 4.0 This is a great common. 4 mana for instant speed kill anything is something you always play and this permanently gives something lifelink. Sure, sometimes that upside won’t mean much, but sometimes it will really matter -- and when it is stapled to an already premium removal spell, I’m pretty happy about it.
Tentative Connection image 2.0 There are a couple of things going on here that make this a little better than most Threaten effects. First, when you can discount this because you have a Menace creature, it will feel pretty good – especially because Menace creatures already pair well with a Threaten effect. The other thing is, there are some efficient ways to sacrifice creatures in this format, and that means stealing an opposing creature and sacrificing it is pretty doable.
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Pack 2 Pick 9: Excavation Mole
Excavation Mole image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes.
Garrison Cat image 1.5 This is a one drop that replaces itself, which isn’t too bad. It is also something you can mutate on to very early, and still getting a 1/1 when your mutated creature dies is okay upside. You still won’t play this most of the time, but it can be passable.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Coordinated Charge image 2.5 All the cards with Cycling in this set are way better than they look. They are functionally split cards that you can just cycle when what they do doesn’t matter. Plus, if you’re in RW you’re really looking for a critical mass of these and will just jam all of them into your deck. And..yeah, sometimes this effect doesn’t matter, since you need to be going wide. But you can just cycle it away! Then, when it does matter, it will feel pretty great.
Lava Serpent image 3.5 A 6-mana 5/5 with Haste would make the cut some of the time, and this has Cycling, giving it a huge upgrade in a format that really cares about Cycling. You can just throw it away if you get it early, and then in the late game it can be a problem for your opponent.
Wingfold Pteron image 2.0 A 6-mana 3/6 with Hexproof, or a 6 mana 3/6 with Flying would be a kind of playable card already, at least in slower decks. But, the fact that this gives you flexibility is great. It can be especially nice t to name Hexproof with this, so that I have an excellent place to put a bunch of other keyword counters and/or Auras. Just going full Voltron on the Pteron with Mutate seems fun too.
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Pack 2 Pick 10: Blitz Leech
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Helica Glider image 2.5 Most of the time you’re going to go with the Flying option -- but sometimes First Strike will be better. It is nice on turn three, and then later in the game a nice thing to mutate on top of thanks to the keyword ability it brings with it.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Blade Banish image 2.5 This is situational for sure, but this format has a whole lot of big bois, so it is a little better than usual. It is also an Instant, which means you can sometimes really get a blow out.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
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Pack 2 Pick 11: Bristling Boar
Dark Bargain image 1.5 We see this kind of card a lot, and it is always pretty medium. Even in a set with a graveyard deck, I’m not super pumped about this because of the cost.
Anticipate image 1.5 This is always fine, but never much more than that. It is a very replaceable effect, gives you some reasonable card selection.
Bristling Boar image 2.5 Making it so the only way it dies in combat is if your opponent has one creature that can do 3 damage is surprisingly effective, and grants it an evasive ability -- albeit a weak one. A 4-mana 4/3 is usually playable-ish anyway, and the upside here is real.
Patagia Tiger image 2.5 A 5-mana ¾ Flyer is usually a serviceable card in Limited.. This brings some pretty real additional upside, in that it can pump humans. White and Black especially have a lot of humans, and in those decks this will be a nice common because it will frequently give one of your Humans an attack that wouldn’t have worked before the Tiger came down.
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Pack 2 Pick 12: Wilt
Frenzied Raptor image 1.5 Vanilla 3-mana 4/2s will make the cut sometimes, but you kind of hope they don’t.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Flycatcher Giraffid image 2.0 Neither option here is great, but neither is bad, either.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Pack 2 Pick 13: Adventurous Impulse
Lead the Stampede image 2.0 Most of the time, this will just be Green Divination, which is fine, but not amazing. Sometimes it will draw you more – but sometimes it will also draw you less.
Adventurous Impulse image 2.0 This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
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Pack 2 Pick 14: Tentative Connection
Tentative Connection image 2.0 There are a couple of things going on here that make this a little better than most Threaten effects. First, when you can discount this because you have a Menace creature, it will feel pretty good – especially because Menace creatures already pair well with a Threaten effect. The other thing is, there are some efficient ways to sacrifice creatures in this format, and that means stealing an opposing creature and sacrificing it is pretty doable.
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Pack 2 Pick 15: Forest
Forest image
Pack 3 Pick 1: Migratory Greathorn
Lutri, the Spellchaser image 4.0 Lutri is the easiest of the companions to make into your companion, as sometimes your deck will just meet the requirement without you even trying. The ability to copy a single spell pales in comparison to most of the other companions abilities, but the fact it is so easy to have it as a Companion really makes up for that.
Migration Path image 3.5 I really like the places they chose to put Cycling in this set -- and this is a great example of that. When you need to ramp or find mana of a specific color, this does the job really well. In fact, if you have a couple of these, it even potentially enables you splashing a double colored card. But one of the downsides of ramp spells like this, is that if you already have all the mana you need, casting it might not be the optimal thing to do. Instead, you can just Cycle it away and try to find something else. As I’ve been saying a lot -- this makes cards that have effects that have diminishing returns, or that have narrow effects, a lot better than they would be otherwise.
Will of the All-Hunter image 2.5 This isn’t an amazing trick, two for +2/+2 is nice, but not something that would even make the cut all that often. The defensive side of things is kind of interesting, in that the boost is permanent if you use it when you’re blocking. The thing that really saves Will of the all-Hunter from being terrible, though, is Cycling! It is a big deal in this set, and that makes this a solid playable for sure.
Barrier Breach image 2.5 This is another situational card that would normally be unplayable, but Cycling means that you’ll play it a decent amount of the time.
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Frost Lynx image 3.5 This type of tempo creature is always great for Blue. You get to add a 2/2 to your board while significantly impacting the board state. Tapping something down could mean that you suddenly have really good attacks. It could also mean that you buy yourself some time against an aggro deck.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Migratory Greathorn image 3.0 This is another decent peace of fixing and ramp for Green. Paying 3 mana to put this under something bigger, or on top of something smaller, while also searching up a land is a nice deal to me. It helps you splash while also giving you some Mutate synergy.
Greater Sandwurm image 3.5 This is an imposing presence if you can play it as a creature – but it is super expensive! The good news is that it has Cycling, so you can just throw it away early. This especially potent in the BG reanimator deck, as this is something you can throw away on turn two, and then reanimate on turn 4 or 5, which is often enough to win the game.
Coordinated Charge image 2.5 All the cards with Cycling in this set are way better than they look. They are functionally split cards that you can just cycle when what they do doesn’t matter. Plus, if you’re in RW you’re really looking for a critical mass of these and will just jam all of them into your deck. And..yeah, sometimes this effect doesn’t matter, since you need to be going wide. But you can just cycle it away! Then, when it does matter, it will feel pretty great.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Drannith Stinger image 4.0 5-mana for a 5/4 Reach is fairly passable, and adding a rummage mutate effect is fine.
Heightened Reflexes image 1.5 When tricks cost one mana, I start to get interested, as the pain of getting 2-for-1’s is no longer accompanied with a big tempo hit, and it is just easier to have the spare mana around. Still, this boost isn’t amazing -- +1/+0 and First Strike will win a fair number of combats, but it isn’t really a boost that makes it happen enough.
Jungle Hollow image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Charge of the Forever-Beast
Indatha Triome image 3.5 Triomes are really nice, giving you three colors of mana AND being cyclable.
Charge of the Forever-Beast image 3.0 When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Blitz of the Thunder-Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 So, you probably need at least two instants and sorceries in your graveyard for this to feel like it is worth it, and once you get 3 or more you will really be in business. The fact it exiles stuff isn’t going to be HUGE in this format, but it will matter sometimes. So, the problem with a card like this is usually that it is effectively blank, or almost blank for much of the early game, and that can be a pretty big problem! I also think you really need to be a spell-heavy deck to really take advantage of it, because those decks will make it stop being a blank card more consistently and earlier in most cases. I don’t think it is a foregone conclusion that Red decks will have the necessary 7+ Instants and Sorceries to make Blitz of the Thunder-Raptor make sense, and I think that your average deck that probably has 3-5 instants and sorceries will probably not be getting the best out of it.
Titanoth Rex image 3.0 A 9-mana 11/11 trampler just wouldn’t be playable in most formats – but in this one, it is significantly better than just “playable”! That’s partly because it has Cycling, which means when you can’t cast it – which will most of the time – you can just cycle it away. This format also has a very real BG reanimator deck, and you don’t need me to tell you that getting this back for 5 or 6 mana is absolutely silly.
Raking Claws image 3.0 Another situational card with Cycling, Raking Claws can sometimes do a whole lot as a trick, but when it can’t? Well, just Cycle it away and look for something else.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Lurking Deadeye image 3.0 These kinds of creatures are not normally something I am very impressed with – that is, creatures who kill something that has been dealt damage. This is because often-times making sure you damage something is difficult, and sometimes even when you do you have to give up a card to do it, so the window where this does something is not as high as you would like. However, this one has Flash, and that means that you will be able to find situations where it does its things more often than not. And even if you aren’t managing to kill something with the ability, sometimes flashing in a 4/2 to kill their X/4 is just fine too.
Hampering Snare image 2.5 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Farfinder image 3.5 We have seen cards like Skittering Surveyor and Pilgrim’s Eye be really nice sources of fixing in the past. And this set is a wedge set, where splashing a third color and even straight up playing a third color will happen a decent chunk of the time. On top of that, this is not the worst thing to Mutate on top of, since it at least gives your new monster the Vigilance keyword.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Almighty Brushwagg image 2.5 This card is a real overperformer. A one-mana 1/1 with Trample is pretty laughable, but the ability is surprisingly effective, and you end up in situations where you can use it twice more often than you’d think! The Brushwagg is also great for mutating on to, since Trample and that ability are much better served on a larger creature.
Dreamtail Heron image 3.5 I love herons in real life, and I’m glad this one seems pretty sweet in Limited. A 5-mana ¾ Flyer, which this is on a base level, is somewhat passable. It can serve as a finisher in decks that are really lacking one. But this does more than that, of course, thanks to the Mutate mechanic. If you play it first, it is a ¾ Flyer that might draw you a card later if you mutate on it. If you play it second, you can use it to give a beefier creature Flying and draw a card, or make a smaller creature into a ¾ flyer that draws you a card. That drawn card really helps avoid the 2-for-1 that you are potentially going to be dealing with here.
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Pack 3 Pick 3: Ram Through
Frondland Felidar image 4.0 Wow, this is real good, even on its own. A 4-mana ⅗ with Vigilance would probably be nice, and then this counts itself with its ability, so it can tap stuff down on its own. Being able to attack with this AND use that ability is seriously nice. Plus your other Vigilance creatures get that upgrade too, and it synergizes with them as well as it does the Felidar.
Regal Leosaur image 3.0 So the mutate trigger here doesn’t technically help you avoid a 2-for-1 most of the time, but it is powerful. Still, it is kind of an awkward card, since Mutate by its very nature does not help you go wide, so board pump on Mutate definitely feels weird. Still, it will frequently have a very real impact on the board state.
Glowstone Recluse image 3.5 A three-mana ⅔ with Reach is usually playable, and this has good mutate upside. You can use it to lend reach to a creature who really needs it, if you are mutating it and putting it underneath a big creature, but the more valuable option will usually be to Mutate with this on top, since it will be a ⅘ who also gains the abilities of whatever is underneath it.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Drannith Healer image 3.5 Another Cycling card that is better than it looks! This one is a bear with a Cycling payoff, in addition to having the great 1 mana Cycling effect.
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Startling Development image 3.0 Another highly situational card with one mana cycling, Startling Development is much better than it looks. The 4/4 part will come up sometimes, and when it does it will be nice! But yeah, the real power here comes from being able to Cycle away for one mana.
Vulpikeet image 2.5 This starts out with some pretty unimpressive stats, but the real value here comes from the Mutate, which will often give a pretty nice boost to one of your creatures – Flying AND a +1/+1 counter. Now, Mutate is inherently risky, and this isn’t the kind of mutate card that gives you some sort of value that sticks around no matter what – this will just die, and that will suck sometimes, but this can also be a pretty nice card for aggro decks trying to win in a hurry.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Adaptive Shimmerer image 1.5 The idea here is that you mutate on top of this, giving +3/+3 to whatever stats your mutated creature has. It also has Flash, and there are a few cards that care about that. Still, as far as payoffs and enablers go, this is pretty darn inefficient.
Unexpected Fangs image 1.5 As a trick, it gives a pretty mediocre stats boost, even if the counter is permanent. The best tricks drastically increase the chance of your creature winning in combat, and this just won’t line up that way often enough. Lifelink permanently is something I can get behind, but I feel like this trick has all the usual risks tricks have, without really being worth it.
Wind-Scarred Crag image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Ram Through
Alert Heedbonder image 2.5 A three mana 2/4 with Vigilance is fine, and so is gaining 1 life every end step -- which is what it is when it is alone. The fact you gain more life the more Vigilance creatures you have is nice additional upside, but still not something amazing. I think this is just decent, and not much else.
Raugrin Crystal image 2.5 The crystals all provide good fixing – something you want a lot of the time in this format – and they all have Cycling, which means when you draw one and don’t really need the fixing, you can just throw it away to draw another card.
Lurking Deadeye image 3.0 These kinds of creatures are not normally something I am very impressed with – that is, creatures who kill something that has been dealt damage. This is because often-times making sure you damage something is difficult, and sometimes even when you do you have to give up a card to do it, so the window where this does something is not as high as you would like. However, this one has Flash, and that means that you will be able to find situations where it does its things more often than not. And even if you aren’t managing to kill something with the ability, sometimes flashing in a 4/2 to kill their X/4 is just fine too.
Farfinder image 3.5 We have seen cards like Skittering Surveyor and Pilgrim’s Eye be really nice sources of fixing in the past. And this set is a wedge set, where splashing a third color and even straight up playing a third color will happen a decent chunk of the time. On top of that, this is not the worst thing to Mutate on top of, since it at least gives your new monster the Vigilance keyword.
Ram Through image 4.0 This is a great removal spell for Green. First, it is NOT a fight card, but a “punch” card – that is, your creature damages the opposing creature, but it doesn’t get damaged itself! That makes it much less risky, even if you do need to be a little careful, since if your creature that is Ramming Through gets killed in response, you get 2-for-1’d. But the upside here is well worth that! As an Instant, you will more easily find situations that aren’t risky, AND it has the Trample upside that will sometimes be crazy. This is premium removal.
Heightened Reflexes image 1.5 When tricks cost one mana, I start to get interested, as the pain of getting 2-for-1’s is no longer accompanied with a big tempo hit, and it is just easier to have the spare mana around. Still, this boost isn’t amazing -- +1/+0 and First Strike will win a fair number of combats, but it isn’t really a boost that makes it happen enough.
Of One Mind image 3.0 I am usually interested in running one Divination in most Limited formats, and this is a strictly better one since its cost can be reduced. If you are consistently casting this for one, it will be absolutely silly -- but the requirement it asks for, while doable, isn’t the kind of thing that will just always be the case.
Coordinated Charge image 2.5 All the cards with Cycling in this set are way better than they look. They are functionally split cards that you can just cycle when what they do doesn’t matter. Plus, if you’re in RW you’re really looking for a critical mass of these and will just jam all of them into your deck. And..yeah, sometimes this effect doesn’t matter, since you need to be going wide. But you can just cycle it away! Then, when it does matter, it will feel pretty great.
Adventurous Impulse image 2.0 This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Rumbling Rockslide image 3.0 This is pretty clunky as a 4-mana Sorcery, but it does scale as the game goes on, and can deal with virtually any creature, provided you get some lands in play.
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 5: Honey Mammoth
Porcuparrot image 2.5 Mutating this on to your two drop and turning it into a pinger sounds pretty nice. And yeah, this is part of the cycle of mutate creatures that really pays you off for going tall with Mutate, but that seems pretty dangerous here -- though the idea of being able to do 2+ damage to things with this ability is pretty awesome. Still though, I have a hard time being super high on any of the Mutate creatures who don’t mitigate against the 2-for-1 for you -- this can sort of do it, if you pick off some 1/1s, but that still won’t feel amazing or anything.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Helica Glider image 2.5 Most of the time you’re going to go with the Flying option -- but sometimes First Strike will be better. It is nice on turn three, and then later in the game a nice thing to mutate on top of thanks to the keyword ability it brings with it.
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Glimmerbell image 2.0 This is here to be something sweet to Mutate on to, especially early. The Flying and Untap ability on a much larger creature can feel pretty good! It has a decent fail case too.
Coordinated Charge image 2.5 All the cards with Cycling in this set are way better than they look. They are functionally split cards that you can just cycle when what they do doesn’t matter. Plus, if you’re in RW you’re really looking for a critical mass of these and will just jam all of them into your deck. And..yeah, sometimes this effect doesn’t matter, since you need to be going wide. But you can just cycle it away! Then, when it does matter, it will feel pretty great.
Convolute image 1.5 We see this a lot, and it is never that good. Leaving mana up for a counterspell is a big cost, and this one isn’t even a hard counter.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Forbidden Friendship image 2.5 This is a reasonable deal for two bodies, and will help decks that want to go wide. It is a mostly better Krenko’s Command, since the dinosaur gets to have Haste, and that card is always just fine.
Rugged Highlands image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Thornwood Falls
Wingspan Mentor image 4.0 A 3-mana 1/3 that gives something permanent Flying is alright nice, and this comes with the added upside of being able to put counters on all your Flyers! This can really take over games, even if you just have one creature to put the counter on.
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Excavation Mole image 3.0 This is a Grizzly Bears with some nice upside. Making mutate creatures bigger and gaining you a bit of life is a very real bonus. And, I think your average Green deck will probably have 3-5 cards with Mutate, so it will be triggering regularly in most decks in this format. Something to keep in mind too, is that if you Mutate ON to this, it will start putting counters on the new Mutate creature, something that might be the ideal path to take sometimes.
Springjaw Trap image 1.5 You’ll play this if you end up with enough flash in UB, or if you’re desperate for removal, OR if you have Lurrus. But that’s pretty much it.
Savai Sabertooth image 2.0 Two mana 3/1s tend to be fine two drops for aggressive decks.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Anticipate image 1.5 This is always fine, but never much more than that. It is a very replaceable effect, gives you some reasonable card selection.
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Thwart the Enemy image 0.0 Fogs are bad in Limited. Next!
Thornwood Falls image 3.0 As always, these provide nice fixing, and the 1 life is a solid bonus.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Trumpeting Gnarr
Primal Empathy image 3.5 That draw you a card every turn are very powerful, it is the kind of card advantage that just becomes insurmountable for your opponent. And sure, you DO have to meet a requirement to draw that card, but even if you can’t draw a card, a +1/+1 counter every turn is nice too -- and obviously it also means that you will be able to get your creature big enough to start drawing cards with it eventually.
Trumpeting Gnarr image 4.0 A 3-mana 3/3 is a nice baseline, and then this has a Mutate ability that offsets the risk of getting 2-for-1’d since it makes you a token every time. That mutate ability definitely isn’t efficient, but you’ll be surprised at how good it feels despite that
Hampering Snare image 2.5 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Bristling Boar image 2.5 Making it so the only way it dies in combat is if your opponent has one creature that can do 3 damage is surprisingly effective, and grants it an evasive ability -- albeit a weak one. A 4-mana 4/3 is usually playable-ish anyway, and the upside here is real.
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Lurking Deadeye image 3.0 These kinds of creatures are not normally something I am very impressed with – that is, creatures who kill something that has been dealt damage. This is because often-times making sure you damage something is difficult, and sometimes even when you do you have to give up a card to do it, so the window where this does something is not as high as you would like. However, this one has Flash, and that means that you will be able to find situations where it does its things more often than not. And even if you aren’t managing to kill something with the ability, sometimes flashing in a 4/2 to kill their X/4 is just fine too.
Tentative Connection image 2.0 There are a couple of things going on here that make this a little better than most Threaten effects. First, when you can discount this because you have a Menace creature, it will feel pretty good – especially because Menace creatures already pair well with a Threaten effect. The other thing is, there are some efficient ways to sacrifice creatures in this format, and that means stealing an opposing creature and sacrificing it is pretty doable.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
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Pack 3 Pick 8: Farfinder
Frostveil Ambush image 3.0 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Solid Footing image 1.5 This is an interesting Vigilance payoff, and you’ll play it sometimes if you have enough Vigilance, because in those scenarios it gives a big boost for only one mana. You’ll cut this a lot, though.
Shredded Sails image 3.0 I like the modality this has. It has two very sideboardy effects -- you won’t always have an artifact of a creature with Flying to hit with it, but between both being on this card you have a decentish chance of your opponent having a few targets. On top of that, it has Cycling -- so if you end up with some sweet Cycling payoffs, it is even more likely to be useful for your deck.
Serrated Scorpion image 2.0 As a ½, it can block the human tokens in this set, and with the death ability it has, it creates a 4 point swing in life. That’s not insignificant. This is not a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, nor is it a bad thing to mutate on to. But it isn’t exactly amazing in either of those cases either.
Plummet image 0.5 This is a sideboard card, like usual.
Farfinder image 3.5 We have seen cards like Skittering Surveyor and Pilgrim’s Eye be really nice sources of fixing in the past. And this set is a wedge set, where splashing a third color and even straight up playing a third color will happen a decent chunk of the time. On top of that, this is not the worst thing to Mutate on top of, since it at least gives your new monster the Vigilance keyword.
Maned Serval image 1.5 This is a reasonably efficient French Vanilla creature that it is okay to mutate on top of.
Gust of Wind image 3.0 Even if this always cost 4, it would be a decent card. Bouncing something and drawing a card feels pretty great tempo-wise! But the great news is, this will often cost 2, and you don’t even have to try that hard to make that happen, since you’re playing blue.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Barrier Breach
Barrier Breach image 2.5 This is another situational card that would normally be unplayable, but Cycling means that you’ll play it a decent amount of the time.
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Unlikely Aid image 2.0 While the boost it gives is not permanent, 2 power + indestructible is going to make a wider variety of creatures win combat in a wider variety of situations. Because of indestructible, you can use it in response to removal and things like that too if it comes up. Now, this is STILL a trick, and I have a hard time ever really loving them because they are situational and somewhat risky, but this is a trick you’ll play a significant amount of the time.
Suffocating Fumes image 3.0 Another card upgraded considerably by cycling. Giving your opponent’s team -1/-1 until end of turn will sometimes have a big impact, either cause it kills their X/1s outright, or you can use it to really mess up combat for your opponent. But about half the time, and maybe more, it doesn’t do anything significant, and that’s when you can Cycle it.
Coordinated Charge image 2.5 All the cards with Cycling in this set are way better than they look. They are functionally split cards that you can just cycle when what they do doesn’t matter. Plus, if you’re in RW you’re really looking for a critical mass of these and will just jam all of them into your deck. And..yeah, sometimes this effect doesn’t matter, since you need to be going wide. But you can just cycle it away! Then, when it does matter, it will feel pretty great.
Wilt image 2.5 Another situational cycler means another solid playable
Heightened Reflexes image 1.5 When tricks cost one mana, I start to get interested, as the pain of getting 2-for-1’s is no longer accompanied with a big tempo hit, and it is just easier to have the spare mana around. Still, this boost isn’t amazing -- +1/+0 and First Strike will win a fair number of combats, but it isn’t really a boost that makes it happen enough.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Almighty Brushwagg
Raking Claws image 3.0 Another situational card with Cycling, Raking Claws can sometimes do a whole lot as a trick, but when it can’t? Well, just Cycle it away and look for something else.
Spontaneous Flight image 1.5 The best tricks cost very little mana, and this doesn’t really deliver there. Still, it does give a pretty nice boost and permanently gives your creature Flying. That last part means that it can help you get in for lethal, or really alter a race in a hurry. Still, it has all the risks that tricks have – it is situational and you risk getting 2-for-1’d.
Hampering Snare image 2.5 Like all one-mana cyclers, this is much better than it looks! It has a very situational effect when you cast it as a spell – but the thing is, when you can take advantage of that effect it feels really good. When you can’t, you can just Cycle it away!
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Almighty Brushwagg image 2.5 This card is a real overperformer. A one-mana 1/1 with Trample is pretty laughable, but the ability is surprisingly effective, and you end up in situations where you can use it twice more often than you’d think! The Brushwagg is also great for mutating on to, since Trample and that ability are much better served on a larger creature.
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Pack 3 Pick 11: Bushmeat Poacher
Regal Leosaur image 3.0 So the mutate trigger here doesn’t technically help you avoid a 2-for-1 most of the time, but it is powerful. Still, it is kind of an awkward card, since Mutate by its very nature does not help you go wide, so board pump on Mutate definitely feels weird. Still, it will frequently have a very real impact on the board state.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Checkpoint Officer image 3.5 This isn’t QUITE Master Decoy -- they are identical other than that this costs an additional mana to tap stuff down -- but that’s close enough to Master Decoy to still be a pretty high quality common. Tap effects tend to be great, and it is a kind of pseudo-removal that is good all game long. It is better than usual in this format that is loaded up with huge monsters and Mutate, where tapping down one guy is bigger than it normally would.
Gloom Pangolin image 1.0 A ⅕ for 3 might be something you play in slower more controlling decks sometimes -- it can block pretty effectively, but I think most of the time you won’t REALLY want this, and you’ll play it when you’re desperate for creatures, and that’s about it.
Unexpected Fangs image 1.5 As a trick, it gives a pretty mediocre stats boost, even if the counter is permanent. The best tricks drastically increase the chance of your creature winning in combat, and this just won’t line up that way often enough. Lifelink permanently is something I can get behind, but I feel like this trick has all the usual risks tricks have, without really being worth it.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Adventurous Impulse
Of One Mind image 3.0 I am usually interested in running one Divination in most Limited formats, and this is a strictly better one since its cost can be reduced. If you are consistently casting this for one, it will be absolutely silly -- but the requirement it asks for, while doable, isn’t the kind of thing that will just always be the case.
Adventurous Impulse image 2.0 This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Fully Grown image 1.5 I have a hard time liking 3-mana combat tricks in most situations. It makes the risk of a blowout even more painful because of the extra mana you’re paying. And sure, +3/+3 will frequently be enough to win combat, and it is nice that the creature permanently gets Trample, instead of just temporarily, but tricks are just so situational, that I really only like the idea of them at lower mana costs in most cases.
Island image
Pack 3 Pick 13: Blitz Leech
Helica Glider image 2.5 Most of the time you’re going to go with the Flying option -- but sometimes First Strike will be better. It is nice on turn three, and then later in the game a nice thing to mutate on top of thanks to the keyword ability it brings with it.
Facet Reader image 2.0 In a set with Cycling, this type of ability is much less impressive, since a lot of your cards will already be able to do this. It is still fine and will make the cut some, but less often than usual.
Blitz Leech image 2.5 This has an ugly stat-line, but by adding Flash and a nice ETB trigger to the mix, it really overcomes that. You can flash this into kill an X/2, and then use the 5/2 body to block something bigger, and that’s a 2-for-1! Sure, it is kind of an expensive one, but that’s real upside. Now, it won’t always be able to do that for you, and it is a little situational, but still -- I basically always like the first copy of this in my Black decks. Going beyond that is a bit much because of the high mana cost though.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Bushmeat Poacher
Honey Mammoth image 2.5 It isn’t exciting, but a 6-mana 6/6 that gains you 4 life can go a long way towards helping you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Bushmeat Poacher image 3.0 This is a very nice activated ability. Cashing in creatures for cards is always a nice thing to have in Limited, because it isn’t unusual for some of your early creatures to become kind of useless as the game wears on, and this gives you something really nice to do with them -- gaining life and drawing a card is great. Any time those two are put together I’m pretty happy, because the life you gain makes it more likely you’ll be able to use that extra card you drew before you die. You can also use it in response to removal, or on a creature who has been shut down by an Aura. This can also be used to sacrifice creatures who are blocking and would die anyway. A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t even the worst stats ever, and overall this is pretty nice in slower Black decks.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Forest
Forest image
Draft Pick Overview