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Quick Draft MID 11 October 2021

11 October 09:46 - jfinumerable 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (18)
1 Devoted Grafkeeper // Departed Soulkeeper image
1 Larder Zombie image
1 Stormrider Spirit image
2 Unblinking Observer image
1 Covetous Castaway // Ghostly Castigator image
2 Overwhelmed Archivist // Archive Haunt image
2 Mourning Patrol // Morning Apparition image
2 Lunarch Veteran // Luminous Phantom image
2 Chaplain of Alms // Chapel Shieldgeist image
1 Gavony Trapper image
1 Beloved Beggar // Generous Soul image
1 Galedrifter // Waildrifter image
1 Shipwreck Sifters image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (6)
1 Startle image
1 Ominous Roost image
1 Mysterious Tome // Chilling Chronicle image
1 Vivisection image
1 Flip the Switch image
1 Silver Bolt image
Land (17)
8 Island image
7 Plains image
2 Evolving Wilds image
Sideboard
1 Component Collector image
1 Ecstatic Awakener image
1 Tavern Ruffian image
1 Kessig Naturalist image
1 Mysterious Tome image
1 Locked in the Cemetery image
1 Blessed Defiance image
1 Bladebrand image
1 Tapping at the Window image
2 Candletrap image
1 Sungold Barrage image
2 No Way Out image
1 Burn the Accursed image
1 Rotten Reunion image
1 Sunset Revelry image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Covetous Castaway
Curse of Shaken Faith image 0.5 This isn’t really here for Limited. The effect it has won’t come up enough for it to be worth it. All it does is damage too, and doing damage alone and not adding to the board in any way is very rarely worth it in Limited. This does have sideboard potential, to be used against someone going crazy with Flashback or Disturb, but that’s about it. Even then, its unlikely they have enough for this to punish them enough.
Sunset Revelry image 1.0 This card has a cool design, but seems pretty awkward. Basically, you have to be behind your opponent in one way or another for it to do something. And yeah, if you get all three modes here, you’re getting a great deal! But if you’re just drawing a card and gaining 4 life, that’s not a great card -- we see that card all the time and it isn’t good! You basically need to be getting the tokens and one of the other modes for this to feel like you’re doing a decent job. And...its just pretty hard to control those sorts of things. It will feel nice if you’re behind, but do stone nothing at parity or if you’re ahead, and that just doesn’t really appeal to me. This card seems too situational and finicky.
Covetous Castaway image 3.5 This starts by giving you a decent body that loads up your graveyard, and then in the later game it can give you another somewhat reasonable body that loads the graveyard more! Lots of decks in this format are interested in throwing stuff in the graveyard, including both UB and UW. This will be a nice inclusion in either of them.
Gavony Dawnguard image 4.0 This seems really strong. A 3-mana 3/3 with Ward 1 is already something you’d play a significant chunk of the time, but the night/day payoff here is very real! Your deck does need to have a relatively low curve to consistently draw a card with it, but drawing one card with this over a course of a game doesn’t seem far-fetched -- and that’s a 2-for-1!
Morkrut Behemoth image 2.5 The idea here is to sacrifice something to it that isn’t a big deal, like a Zombie token, and if you do that then yeah – a 7/6 with Menace on turn 5 is pretty imposing. You can also just straight up pay 7 for it, which isn’t great but its not a disaster either. This seems like some decent top curve for some Black decks in the format – especially UB and BW – but I think you’ll find you cut it a pretty significant chunk of the time for cards that are just better.
Plummet image 0.5 This format has lots of flyers as a result of Disturb, so Plummet might be a bit better here in the main deck than it is in most formats, but I think you’d still prefer to bring it in out of your sideboard. It is hard to guarantee it will have enough targets against some of the color pairs.
Brimstone Vandal image 2.5 A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is already something you play a decent chunk of the time, so the addition Night and Day value here is pretty great! On its own, it is a 3-mana ⅔ with Menace, and will do a a bit of damage over the course of the game. This is a quality common.
Baithook Angler image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common. A two mana 2/1 can trade with lots of stuff, and then the fact that you can get another reasonably costed body out of your graveyard is pretty amazing. I mean, that’s 4 mana for a 2/1 and a ½ Flyer. And sure, you don’t get the bodies at the same time, but that’s still a pretty nice card.
Gavony Trapper image 3.0 Master Decoys are always pretty nice in Limited. They can act as removal of sorts and stay relevant all game long. This has the additional upside of being a 0 power creature – which might not sound like upside, but in Coven decks having a creature with 0 power can really matter.
Famished Foragers image 3.0 A 4-mana 4/3 is sort of passable already, and this will often be able to come down and give you some mana, which -- if nothing else, you can use to rummage using its ability. Sometimes, it will enable a pretty impressive double spell turn too, which will feel amazing. You won’t always be making that happen, but the card has a very reasonable baseline and a pretty nice ceiling.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Ritual Guardian image 2.0 If this was a 3-mana 3/2 that always had Lifelink, it would probably be a 2.5 or 3.0. The fact this won’t always have it, and in fact probably won’t have it a decent chunk of the time, makes this significanlty worse than that, because a 3-mana 3/2 is just an ugly stat line these days.
Candlelit Cavalry image 2.5 On a base level, this is a 5-mana 5/5, something that makes the cut in some Green decks anyway, and it will gain trample sometimes. Seems decent enough.
Locked in the Cemetery image 3.0 So, if this always tapped the thing you attached it to, it would probably be premium removal. Two mana for that effect is pretty great! However, in the early game, making it do that is going to be pretty challenging. By the mid-game it becomes much more doable. Overall, I think having to have a loaded up graveyard to make this work does keep it from being premium, but it still a pretty good Blue common.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Overwhelmed Archivist
Ritual of Hope image 1.0 // 3.0 This is a nice payoff for going wide, especially if you can get Coven going, since it becomes Inspired Charge for half the cost! The good news is, by the time a card like this tends to be useful, you’re reasonably likely to have Coven online, since you’ll have to have a board with several different creatures on it, and those several different creatures are likely to have 3 or more powers among them. Obviously, you won’t be playing this other than in fairly aggressive decks, but it seems like a nice pump spell for them.
Overwhelmed Archivist image 4.0 You would almost always play a 3-mana 3/2 that loots when it enters the battlefield, especially in a graveyard set! So, the fact that it can give you a second body later in the game is some really great additional upside. Especially because that body will loot on every attack!
Field of Ruin image 0.0 We see this a lot, and it’s a card they print mostly to be used in constructed to hate on powerful lands. This format doesn’t really have those, so it isn’t worth playing. And yeah, it fixes for you, but you know what else does that doesn’t also fix for your opponent? Just playing a land that can produce mana that is in one of your colors!
Gavony Trapper image 3.0 Master Decoys are always pretty nice in Limited. They can act as removal of sorts and stay relevant all game long. This has the additional upside of being a 0 power creature – which might not sound like upside, but in Coven decks having a creature with 0 power can really matter.
Voldaren Stinger image 2.0 Your opponent does have to respect this as an attacker if you have the mana up, so this gives you a good way to chip in for one damage to activate your Bloodthirst stuff.
Mounted Dreadknight image 2.0 This has a decent baseline, and sometimes it will be especially big. Not a bad thing to have at the top of your curve.
Harvesttide Sentry image 2.5 This has decent base stats and if you can get coven going, it becomes a lot harder to easily block this thing.
Siege Zombie image 2.0 This seems passable, as in the early game it has alright stats, and in the late game it can be a real source of reach. It can also help you activate cards that give you a bonus if an opponent has lost life. Still, it does ask for a lot to make the opponent lose that 1 life, and it just won’t always be doable.
Harvesttide Infiltrator image 2.5 This has a decent fail case as a 3-mana 3/2 with Trample, and sometimes it will be bigger.
Return to Nature image 0.5 Its nice that this does three different things, making it a more reasonable main deck card, but I’m still pretty skeptical about main decking it on a regular basis. This format has artifacts and enchantments, but not a ton of them, and while exiling something from a graveyard is nice, yo’ure often only getting half a card of value when you do it, since your opponent already cast their spell with flashback or their creature with disturb. I think this should probably still start in your sideboard.
Search Party Captain image 3.5 A 4-mana 2/2 that draws you a card is like a 2.0, and decreasing that cost even by 1 is a huge upgrade. So, the fact that sometimes you can play this for two or one mana and then cast what you draw seems really good. This is one of White’s better Commons.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 This is always really nice fixing, and I tend to like it even more than the rare dual lands here, especially because it throws itself in the graveyard and that definitely matters in this set.
Locked in the Cemetery image 3.0 So, if this always tapped the thing you attached it to, it would probably be premium removal. Two mana for that effect is pretty great! However, in the early game, making it do that is going to be pretty challenging. By the mid-game it becomes much more doable. Overall, I think having to have a loaded up graveyard to make this work does keep it from being premium, but it still a pretty good Blue common.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Mourning Patrol
Spellrune Painter image 3.5 A 3-mana ⅔ that gets +1/+1 when you cast an instant or sorcery is a pretty solid little card to begin with. It has the kind of stats that make it kind of a pain to block or attack into against an opponent who has mana up and cards in hand. It would probably be a C if that’s all this card was. But, of course, its a werewolf, and if its night time, you get a bigger creature that gets even bigger when you cast an Instant or Sorcery! This thing looks like it will be a real beating.
Moonsilver Key image 2.5 This gives you fixing, and one is often in the market for that in Limited, since splashing bombs is usually a good idea. You won’t have many artifacts to get with the Key, though there are a few of them.
Burn the Accursed image 2.5 This isn’t exactly premium, but is an instant that kills most stuff, damages your opponent, and even exiles creatures, which certainly matters here.
Mourning Patrol image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/3 with Vigilance is fine, so the fact that this can come back as a 2/1 with Flying and Vigilance is pretty nice! Both halves in this case very capable of trading, too.
Plummet image 0.5 This format has lots of flyers as a result of Disturb, so Plummet might be a bit better here in the main deck than it is in most formats, but I think you’d still prefer to bring it in out of your sideboard. It is hard to guarantee it will have enough targets against some of the color pairs.
Cathar Commando image 2.5 You can flash this in to ambush block an X/3, and most X/3s will cost more than the Commando, so that’s nice! The additional utility of blowing up artifacts and enchantments doesn’t hurt either. This is a solid Common.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Pack's Betrayal image 1.0 Rummaging a few times a came with this seems fine, but not exactly game breaking. It does have decent stats to go along with that ability.
Bladebrand image 1.5 This is a reprint, and it is one that is pretty mediocre. Giving death touch + a cantrip is pretty nice in combat, but it is a very narrow card overall because it is only useful in combat. Sure, I guess you can cast it just to cycle it, but that’s pretty rough! There are some silly things you can do with it sometimes, like give death touch to something that is being triple blocked, but a lot of the time you just use this and trade a creature on the table for one in your library. And, while that’s fine, it is certainly not a great card, and not one that makes the cut more than half the time.
Blessed Defiance image 1.0 This doesn’t seem like a great trick to me. Only increasing power means there’s a good chance your creature will be dying, and while the life that you gain and the 1/1 flyer you get in exchange for that makes a difference, it will still usually feel like you’re getting 2-for-1’d when you use this.
Gavony Trapper image 3.0 Master Decoys are always pretty nice in Limited. They can act as removal of sorts and stay relevant all game long. This has the additional upside of being a 0 power creature – which might not sound like upside, but in Coven decks having a creature with 0 power can really matter.
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Lunarch Veteran
Faithful Mending image 3.0 Looting twice and gaining some life isn’t a bad deal for two mana, and being able to do it again from the graveyard is pretty nice. This will let you see a ton of cards in your deck, while simultaneously helping you put things in your graveyard. It does have the downside of, you know, not doing a whole lot immediately, but the life gain does help out a tiny bit on that front. I think the first copy looks appealing in most UW decks, but you don’t want to stock up on too many cards that don’t affect the board.
Ominous Roost image 0.0 // 3.5 Obviously, if you don’t have enough Flashback going on, you can’t really play this. It is going to be an F in many, many decks. 3 mana for a 1/1 flyer that can’t block is abysmal! However, if you can get 3 or more tokens with this, and some decks will be able to do it, it is going to be a pretty real win condition in grindy decks with lots of flashback.
Harvesttide Sentry image 2.5 This has decent base stats and if you can get coven going, it becomes a lot harder to easily block this thing.
Ardent Elementalist image 3.0 This will get you a pretty nice 2-for-1 most of the time, especially since as a 2/1, it stands a pretty good chance of trading with something in addition to getting you back a key instant or sorcery.
Blood Pact image 2.0 Its nice this is an Instant, it makes it a lot more palatable that it is. Instant speed Divination for three mana is pretty nice, and most Black decks will play the first copy of this. In a pinch, you can also use it to do 2 to your opponent, either to finish them off or trigger a bunch of your pseudo-bloodthirst effects, but mostly you’ll want to be drawing the cards.
Lunarch Veteran image 2.5 A two mana 1/1 with the life gain effect certainly isn’t impressive. The Disturb effect really matters though, as getting back a flyer that can also gain you some life. Neither half of this card is going to be letting you trade very often because they are so small, but this still seems like a solid Common.
Flare of Faith image 2.0 This seems like a decent trick if you’re a White aggro deck with lots of Humans in it. It gives a decent stats boost that will often allow your creature to win combat. Two mana for just +2/+2 is pretty mediocre for a trick, but the Human upside will make it worth running often enough
Morkrut Behemoth image 2.5 The idea here is to sacrifice something to it that isn’t a big deal, like a Zombie token, and if you do that then yeah – a 7/6 with Menace on turn 5 is pretty imposing. You can also just straight up pay 7 for it, which isn’t great but its not a disaster either. This seems like some decent top curve for some Black decks in the format – especially UB and BW – but I think you’ll find you cut it a pretty significant chunk of the time for cards that are just better.
Novice Occultist image 2.5 It won’t always be easy to trade with this and get a 2-for-1 since it’s a ½, so ideally you will sacrifice this to something for value, in which case you don’t really go down a card at all! I could see this ending up as a key common for both BW and UB.
Unruly Mob image 2.0 This is a reprint from our other two visits to Innistrad, and it wasn’t very good either time -- a 1.5 at best! It does grow as the game goes on, but it starts really small and grows pretty slowly. Only growing when your creatures die is tricky too. However, this will probably be better in this format than we’ve seen in the past, mostly because BW is a sacrifice deck this time around, and that combos pretty well with the Mob. The GW deck has lots of tokens too, so yeah, I think maybe this ends up being a solid playable this time around.
Shipwreck Sifters image 1.5 A two mana ½ who loots is fine, and this one can get bigger. I don’t think you’ll want to discard a spirit or a card with Disturb to it all that often, since the power of those cards is often in the fact that you get the two bodies, but you’ll discard those things sometimes and it’ll get bigger.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Chaplain of Alms
Vivisection image 2.5 If you can sacrifice a Zombie token to this, its going to feel pretty good, as you aren’t really giving up more than one whole card to draw three cards. There is also other good sacrifice fodder in the format. This doesn’t add to the board at all -- in fact it subtracts from it -- and sometimes that’s going to be a liability. However, the cards it gives you are a pretty big deal, and if you make it to your next turn you’re going to have a significant advantage. I think a lot of Blue decks in this format will be playing the first copy of this.
Chaplain of Alms image 3.5 The one mana 1/1 First Strike side of this would really only make the cut in the most aggressive of decks that are adept at boosting its stats, so you can get the best mileage possible out of first strike. But, of course, adding Disturb to the card makes it into something you’ll play in every White deck! I mean, honestly, if this was always just a 4 mana 2/1 with Flying and First Strike that gave Ward 1 to your board, you’d play that -- and this is far more flexible than that. You can first pick this.
Timberland Guide image 3.0 This is a reprint, and even if it wasn’t, we see cards like this a lot, and I also like them a decent amount. They are nice as two drops, as they can be two mana 2/2s, and then in the later game you can put the counter somewhere more relevant. There isn’t a +1/+1 counter deck in this format, but the counter this guy brings with him can really help you set up Coven, since you add him to the board and put the counter somewhere else, and you’re already 2/3 of the way there!
Geistwave image 2.5 This is a neat design for a bounce spell.. Bouncing an opposing nonland permanent for two mana is usually a decent card. It doesn’t give you the value of a whole card unless you use it in response to a trick or something, but it gives you some reasonable tempo and has that blow out upside. Using this to bounce your own thing is actually pretty interesting, since you do net a card, and if what you’re bouncing gives you some value from bouncing it, that’s going to feel pretty good! Especially if you do it in response to removal or something like that. Its probably just a C, but the “bounce your own stuff” upside is very real.
Bounding Wolf image 2.0 Reach is extra good in this format because there are a ton of flyers as a result that everything that has disturb comes back as a Flyer. So if you’re in Green, you’re going to need a way to stop that. Bounding Wolf can do it, and it even ambush block thanks to flash!
Falkenrath Perforator image 2.5 In a set where this had no synergy at all, this would probably be a 1.5. The stats aren’t good, and the 1 damage just isn’t enough to make up for that. However, this set’s BR archetype has a lot of cards that give you extra effects if your opponent lost life, and this is one way you can make that happen. Plus, its a vampire, and while the tribal themes for vampires aren’t massive int his set, they are still there! I think all of that is enough to bump this up to a solid playable.
Component Collector image 1.5 This has decent stats and an ability that will give you a bit of value, though it certainly isn’t exciting
Eccentric Farmer image 1.5 Lands will end up in your graveyard more often than normal in this format because of self-mill, and the Farmer brings some of that mill with him! You’ll get a land out of this reasonably often, and making sure you hit your next land drop and loading your graveyard has decent value.
Secrets of the Key image 3.0 Paying one Blue to investigate isn’t great, even to me, and I love Clue tokens! However, the additional flashback on it is very real, and means that in the end, this card end sup being a 3-for-1, even if it does it kind of slowly. You end up paying 5 mana for three Clues, and that’s not too shabby. Between Flashback, Investigate, and Disturb, this format looks to be kind of slow and grindy, and if that’s true, Secrets of the Key will be something you want one of in virtually all of your Blue decks, as the card advantage is very real. I thinkt he first copy will be a 3.0, though they do have diminishing returns after that because it doesn’t really impact the board.
Novice Occultist image 2.5 It won’t always be easy to trade with this and get a 2-for-1 since it’s a ½, so ideally you will sacrifice this to something for value, in which case you don’t really go down a card at all! I could see this ending up as a key common for both BW and UB.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Chaplain of Alms
Diregraf Rebirth image 3.0 5 mana to reanimate thing from your graveyard normally isn’t a great card in Limited -- but this has two things going on that certainly upgrade it. Sometimes, it will cost less mana, and it has Flashback. The cheaper cost applies for when you flash it back too, which is nice! If you do Flash this back, it means you’re getting a 2-for-1. Now, it still has the limitations of most reanimation spells in Limited -- you won’t always have a thing worth reanimating, but this format is graveyard-centric, and doing it in this format looks far more doable than in most. I still thinkt he set up here is real enough that it isn’t quite enough to pull me into the color pair.
Moonsilver Key image 2.5 This gives you fixing, and one is often in the market for that in Limited, since splashing bombs is usually a good idea. You won’t have many artifacts to get with the Key, though there are a few of them.
Chaplain of Alms image 3.5 The one mana 1/1 First Strike side of this would really only make the cut in the most aggressive of decks that are adept at boosting its stats, so you can get the best mileage possible out of first strike. But, of course, adding Disturb to the card makes it into something you’ll play in every White deck! I mean, honestly, if this was always just a 4 mana 2/1 with Flying and First Strike that gave Ward 1 to your board, you’d play that -- and this is far more flexible than that. You can first pick this.
Ritual Guardian image 2.0 If this was a 3-mana 3/2 that always had Lifelink, it would probably be a 2.5 or 3.0. The fact this won’t always have it, and in fact probably won’t have it a decent chunk of the time, makes this significanlty worse than that, because a 3-mana 3/2 is just an ugly stat line these days.
Might of the Old Ways image 2.0 This looks like a decent enough trick. Two mana for +2/+2 isn’t incredible, but when you can make the Coven thing happen, it turns into a draw spell, which will often mean a 2-for-1. You’ll end up playing this in aggressive Green decks.
Howl of the Hunt image 2.5 This kind of card pretty much always performs. Combat tricks and Auras both have some pretty serious problems. The chief one is that you can get totally blown out if you’re not careful. However, Auras with Flash tend to play reasonably well every time we see them, provided they are reasonably costed, and I think this one is. You have to be careful about when you play it of course, but if your opponent has no way to interact, this is basically a combat trick that takes something down, and then the Aura itself sticks around. The fact it works this way helps you mitigate the potential card disadvantage, since you’ll use the Aura to help you kill something up front. The werewolf upside here matters too. You usually want to be the aggressor with a trick, but giving your Wolf or Werewolf pseudo-vigilance is pretty nice, and having the option to ambush block is okay too.
Bladebrand image 1.5 This is a reprint, and it is one that is pretty mediocre. Giving death touch + a cantrip is pretty nice in combat, but it is a very narrow card overall because it is only useful in combat. Sure, I guess you can cast it just to cycle it, but that’s pretty rough! There are some silly things you can do with it sometimes, like give death touch to something that is being triple blocked, but a lot of the time you just use this and trade a creature on the table for one in your library. And, while that’s fine, it is certainly not a great card, and not one that makes the cut more than half the time.
Otherworldly Gaze image 0.5 Loading the graveyard is important in this format, its true, but a card that pretty much only does that, while giving you some card selection, isn’t something I’m interested in. You never get the card back. There are so many cards that load the graveyard while doing actual other things!
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Pack 1 Pick 7: Vivisection
Vivisection image 2.5 If you can sacrifice a Zombie token to this, its going to feel pretty good, as you aren’t really giving up more than one whole card to draw three cards. There is also other good sacrifice fodder in the format. This doesn’t add to the board at all -- in fact it subtracts from it -- and sometimes that’s going to be a liability. However, the cards it gives you are a pretty big deal, and if you make it to your next turn you’re going to have a significant advantage. I think a lot of Blue decks in this format will be playing the first copy of this.
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Crossroads Candleguide image 1.0 You’ll play it you’re desperate for a creature or fixing, but you really hope you don’t have to, because it doesn’t do either thing particularly well.
Might of the Old Ways image 2.0 This looks like a decent enough trick. Two mana for +2/+2 isn’t incredible, but when you can make the Coven thing happen, it turns into a draw spell, which will often mean a 2-for-1. You’ll end up playing this in aggressive Green decks.
Pack's Betrayal image 1.0 Rummaging a few times a came with this seems fine, but not exactly game breaking. It does have decent stats to go along with that ability.
Jack-o'-Lantern image 1.5 Well, if this set wasn’t screaming “Halloween!” at you already, it is now! This card looks kind of alright for Limited. Exiling a problem card in a graveyard and drawing a card for a total investment of two mana really isn’t that bad, and then it is fixing from your graveyard too, which seems fine. I definitely don’t think you always run this, but it seems like it will be your 23rd card sometimes, especially if you’re interested in the fixing.
Blood Pact image 2.0 Its nice this is an Instant, it makes it a lot more palatable that it is. Instant speed Divination for three mana is pretty nice, and most Black decks will play the first copy of this. In a pinch, you can also use it to do 2 to your opponent, either to finish them off or trigger a bunch of your pseudo-bloodthirst effects, but mostly you’ll want to be drawing the cards.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Startle
Necrosynthesis image 1.5 If this was just an Aura with the “Whenever another creature dies” bit, it would be close to unplayable. It doesn’t give an immediate stats boost, and it doesn’t do anything to mitigate against card disadvantage. However, it comes with an additional effect that does help mitigate against that disadvantage, since it will give you some pretty serious card selection when it dies. It is nice too that it doesn’t look at counters alone, it looks at the creature’s power, and that means you’ll always be netting a card when the thing dies. Now, it does still have the very real downside of not buffing the creature at all at first, but the creature will grow over the course of the game. Still, this isn’t great. Sure it replaces itself, but the effect of the Aura isn’t that great in the first place. Even with Zombies dying left and right, this doesn’t seem worth it.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Thraben Exorcism image 0.5 Against some opponents this will feel really good -- namely, against UW -- but against other decks it just won’t have targets often enough to be worth it.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 This is always really nice fixing, and I tend to like it even more than the rare dual lands here, especially because it throws itself in the graveyard and that definitely matters in this set.
Blood Pact image 2.0 Its nice this is an Instant, it makes it a lot more palatable that it is. Instant speed Divination for three mana is pretty nice, and most Black decks will play the first copy of this. In a pinch, you can also use it to do 2 to your opponent, either to finish them off or trigger a bunch of your pseudo-bloodthirst effects, but mostly you’ll want to be drawing the cards.
Startle image 2.0 I don’t normally play most Blue “combat tricks” that shrink the power of a creature, but this tacks on enough additional stuff that it seems like it will be pretty solid. The problem with this kind of card is it isn’t always possible for you to trade card-for-card with it, since your creature has to already be big enough to kill the other creature. However, this lets you draw a card and makes you a Decay Zombie, and that’s quite a bit for only two mana! The times where you are able to use this card to help you kill an opposing creature it will feel insane!
Abandon the Post image 0.0 // 2.5 I’m not a huge fan of this type of card, mostly because it basically does nothing unless you win the game with it. That said, if you have six mana available to cast it both times in a single turn, it does stand a pretty good chance of stealing a win out of nowhere. A card like this is soo all-in on aggro though that I think we do need to give it a buildaround grade If you are an aggro deck, you’ll probably play one copy of this and feel alright about it. Otherwise you pretty much can’t play it.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Gavony Trapper
Sunset Revelry image 1.0 This card has a cool design, but seems pretty awkward. Basically, you have to be behind your opponent in one way or another for it to do something. And yeah, if you get all three modes here, you’re getting a great deal! But if you’re just drawing a card and gaining 4 life, that’s not a great card -- we see that card all the time and it isn’t good! You basically need to be getting the tokens and one of the other modes for this to feel like you’re doing a decent job. And...its just pretty hard to control those sorts of things. It will feel nice if you’re behind, but do stone nothing at parity or if you’re ahead, and that just doesn’t really appeal to me. This card seems too situational and finicky.
Plummet image 0.5 This format has lots of flyers as a result of Disturb, so Plummet might be a bit better here in the main deck than it is in most formats, but I think you’d still prefer to bring it in out of your sideboard. It is hard to guarantee it will have enough targets against some of the color pairs.
Brimstone Vandal image 2.5 A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace is already something you play a decent chunk of the time, so the addition Night and Day value here is pretty great! On its own, it is a 3-mana ⅔ with Menace, and will do a a bit of damage over the course of the game. This is a quality common.
Gavony Trapper image 3.0 Master Decoys are always pretty nice in Limited. They can act as removal of sorts and stay relevant all game long. This has the additional upside of being a 0 power creature – which might not sound like upside, but in Coven decks having a creature with 0 power can really matter.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Ritual Guardian image 2.0 If this was a 3-mana 3/2 that always had Lifelink, it would probably be a 2.5 or 3.0. The fact this won’t always have it, and in fact probably won’t have it a decent chunk of the time, makes this significanlty worse than that, because a 3-mana 3/2 is just an ugly stat line these days.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Evolving Wilds
Field of Ruin image 0.0 We see this a lot, and it’s a card they print mostly to be used in constructed to hate on powerful lands. This format doesn’t really have those, so it isn’t worth playing. And yeah, it fixes for you, but you know what else does that doesn’t also fix for your opponent? Just playing a land that can produce mana that is in one of your colors!
Voldaren Stinger image 2.0 Your opponent does have to respect this as an attacker if you have the mana up, so this gives you a good way to chip in for one damage to activate your Bloodthirst stuff.
Mounted Dreadknight image 2.0 This has a decent baseline, and sometimes it will be especially big. Not a bad thing to have at the top of your curve.
Return to Nature image 0.5 Its nice that this does three different things, making it a more reasonable main deck card, but I’m still pretty skeptical about main decking it on a regular basis. This format has artifacts and enchantments, but not a ton of them, and while exiling something from a graveyard is nice, yo’ure often only getting half a card of value when you do it, since your opponent already cast their spell with flashback or their creature with disturb. I think this should probably still start in your sideboard.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 This is always really nice fixing, and I tend to like it even more than the rare dual lands here, especially because it throws itself in the graveyard and that definitely matters in this set.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Bladebrand
Moonsilver Key image 2.5 This gives you fixing, and one is often in the market for that in Limited, since splashing bombs is usually a good idea. You won’t have many artifacts to get with the Key, though there are a few of them.
Plummet image 0.5 This format has lots of flyers as a result of Disturb, so Plummet might be a bit better here in the main deck than it is in most formats, but I think you’d still prefer to bring it in out of your sideboard. It is hard to guarantee it will have enough targets against some of the color pairs.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Bladebrand image 1.5 This is a reprint, and it is one that is pretty mediocre. Giving death touch + a cantrip is pretty nice in combat, but it is a very narrow card overall because it is only useful in combat. Sure, I guess you can cast it just to cycle it, but that’s pretty rough! There are some silly things you can do with it sometimes, like give death touch to something that is being triple blocked, but a lot of the time you just use this and trade a creature on the table for one in your library. And, while that’s fine, it is certainly not a great card, and not one that makes the cut more than half the time.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Shipwreck Sifters
Blood Pact image 2.0 Its nice this is an Instant, it makes it a lot more palatable that it is. Instant speed Divination for three mana is pretty nice, and most Black decks will play the first copy of this. In a pinch, you can also use it to do 2 to your opponent, either to finish them off or trigger a bunch of your pseudo-bloodthirst effects, but mostly you’ll want to be drawing the cards.
Flare of Faith image 2.0 This seems like a decent trick if you’re a White aggro deck with lots of Humans in it. It gives a decent stats boost that will often allow your creature to win combat. Two mana for just +2/+2 is pretty mediocre for a trick, but the Human upside will make it worth running often enough
Shipwreck Sifters image 1.5 A two mana ½ who loots is fine, and this one can get bigger. I don’t think you’ll want to discard a spirit or a card with Disturb to it all that often, since the power of those cards is often in the fact that you get the two bodies, but you’ll discard those things sometimes and it’ll get bigger.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Component Collector
Timberland Guide image 3.0 This is a reprint, and even if it wasn’t, we see cards like this a lot, and I also like them a decent amount. They are nice as two drops, as they can be two mana 2/2s, and then in the later game you can put the counter somewhere more relevant. There isn’t a +1/+1 counter deck in this format, but the counter this guy brings with him can really help you set up Coven, since you add him to the board and put the counter somewhere else, and you’re already 2/3 of the way there!
Component Collector image 1.5 This has decent stats and an ability that will give you a bit of value, though it certainly isn’t exciting
Pack 1 Pick 14: Tapping at the Window
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Pack 2 Pick 1: Ominous Roost
Overgrown Farmland image 3.0 Like with virtually every Rare dual land cycle, these are pretty nice for fixing, and you’ll take them over most medium cards, but you don’t want to go after them super hard or anything.
Deathbonnet Sprout image 2.5 This starts out as a card that helps you mill yourself a bit, which is something you’re interested in in this format. I don’t think it is something that you would play a ton if that’s all it was, though. But, once it mills enough stuff, it can transform into a pretty real threat that becomes increasingly large. Now, making it transform is a bit tough, since it has to be three CREATURE cards, and you are going to have to mill quite a few cards to get there. Obviously creatures end in your graveyard naturally too, so it is definitely going to transform if it sticks around, but it will take awhile.
Ominous Roost image 0.0 // 3.5 Obviously, if you don’t have enough Flashback going on, you can’t really play this. It is going to be an F in many, many decks. 3 mana for a 1/1 flyer that can’t block is abysmal! However, if you can get 3 or more tokens with this, and some decks will be able to do it, it is going to be a pretty real win condition in grindy decks with lots of flashback.
Morbid Opportunist image 3.5 Drawing when a creature dies is nice, even if they did cap this at only once a turn. The stat line here is pretty ugly, but I think the Opportunist could be a very real engine, especially if you have some Zombie tokens around, trading those in recklessly for cards is going to feel pretty good.
Timberland Guide image 3.0 This is a reprint, and even if it wasn’t, we see cards like this a lot, and I also like them a decent amount. They are nice as two drops, as they can be two mana 2/2s, and then in the later game you can put the counter somewhere more relevant. There isn’t a +1/+1 counter deck in this format, but the counter this guy brings with him can really help you set up Coven, since you add him to the board and put the counter somewhere else, and you’re already 2/3 of the way there!
Gavony Trapper image 3.0 Master Decoys are always pretty nice in Limited. They can act as removal of sorts and stay relevant all game long. This has the additional upside of being a 0 power creature – which might not sound like upside, but in Coven decks having a creature with 0 power can really matter.
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Moonrager's Slash image 4.0 3 mana to do 3 to any target is already a premium removal spell, and this will sometimes just be Lightning Bolt! This is easily premium, and easily Red’s best Common.
Harvesttide Infiltrator image 2.5 This has a decent fail case as a 3-mana 3/2 with Trample, and sometimes it will be bigger.
Locked in the Cemetery image 3.0 So, if this always tapped the thing you attached it to, it would probably be premium removal. Two mana for that effect is pretty great! However, in the early game, making it do that is going to be pretty challenging. By the mid-game it becomes much more doable. Overall, I think having to have a loaded up graveyard to make this work does keep it from being premium, but it still a pretty good Blue common.
Howl of the Hunt image 2.5 This kind of card pretty much always performs. Combat tricks and Auras both have some pretty serious problems. The chief one is that you can get totally blown out if you’re not careful. However, Auras with Flash tend to play reasonably well every time we see them, provided they are reasonably costed, and I think this one is. You have to be careful about when you play it of course, but if your opponent has no way to interact, this is basically a combat trick that takes something down, and then the Aura itself sticks around. The fact it works this way helps you mitigate the potential card disadvantage, since you’ll use the Aura to help you kill something up front. The werewolf upside here matters too. You usually want to be the aggressor with a trick, but giving your Wolf or Werewolf pseudo-vigilance is pretty nice, and having the option to ambush block is okay too.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Pack 2 Pick 2: Overwhelmed Archivist
Bladestitched Skaab image 3.0 This is an efficient Zombie lord, and this set has lots of Zombies! This will be great in UB decks.
Overwhelmed Archivist image 4.0 You would almost always play a 3-mana 3/2 that loots when it enters the battlefield, especially in a graveyard set! So, the fact that it can give you a second body later in the game is some really great additional upside. Especially because that body will loot on every attack!
Contortionist Troupe image 3.5 This will never have the most efficient stats ever, but the fact that it can be really big in the late game and also be something you cast early is alright. What really makes it interesting though in the Coven mechanic. Because its Power is somewhat customizable, it will be able to make sure that you are triggering Coven reasonably often -- AND it does the Coven thing during your end step, which means it will often be able to give you some value even if your opponent untaps and kills it. Now, you won’t always be able to get Coven going, but it becomes a pretty impressive engine when you can, one that can win you the game if left unchecked.
Crossroads Candleguide image 1.0 You’ll play it you’re desperate for a creature or fixing, but you really hope you don’t have to, because it doesn’t do either thing particularly well.
Homestead Courage image 1.0 This gives a nice, efficient boost twice. It isn’t a boost that always makes a difference, though, and even when it does, I’m not sure it will always feel like you’re getting a full card worth of value. Being cheap to flashback is good for flashback payoffs, and also makes it easy to turn it back into day, and that matters.
Candlelit Cavalry image 2.5 On a base level, this is a 5-mana 5/5, something that makes the cut in some Green decks anyway, and it will gain trample sometimes. Seems decent enough.
Crawl from the Cellar image 2.0 This is an interesting take on the usual Sorcery that lets you return two creatures to your hand. The first time you cast this, the value is going to be pretty nice, provided you have a zombie, as it effectively replaces itself while making a creature bigger. The second time is less efficient, but in the you pay 5 mana for a 2-for-1 and two +1/+1 counters, which actually isn’t too bad. Now, you really would prefer to be putting these counters on zombies that don’t have decay to get full value out of them, but a significant chunk of the time that’s probably where the counter goes, and you may also just not have anywhere to put the counter in the first place.
Novice Occultist image 2.5 It won’t always be easy to trade with this and get a 2-for-1 since it’s a ½, so ideally you will sacrifice this to something for value, in which case you don’t really go down a card at all! I could see this ending up as a key common for both BW and UB.
Drownyard Amalgam image 2.0 This sets up some graveyard value for you and has a decent defensive body, not to mention an ability that will sometimes help you close out a game. A lot of the time though, it just won’t do enough. Seems reasonable in some controlling decks.
Moonrager's Slash image 4.0 3 mana to do 3 to any target is already a premium removal spell, and this will sometimes just be Lightning Bolt! This is easily premium, and easily Red’s best Common.
Otherworldly Gaze image 0.5 Loading the graveyard is important in this format, its true, but a card that pretty much only does that, while giving you some card selection, isn’t something I’m interested in. You never get the card back. There are so many cards that load the graveyard while doing actual other things!
Duel for Dominance image 2.5 This isn’t going to be premium removal. It will simply be 1G to Fight often enough that it just can’t get there. When you do get the +1/+1 bonus it will feel good for sure, and if it always did that, it would be premium, but as it is, I think it falls short of that designation. Its still decent Green removal of course, but not the kind you go after super hard.
Ecstatic Awakener image 2.5 One mana 1/1s are pretty bad, they just lose relevance quickly. The Awakener gets around that to some extent as a result of its ability to transform into Awoken Demon. Transforming it is a little bit steep at 3 mana and sacrificing something, but there is going to be some significant sacrifice fodder in both Black/White and Blue/Black, so it won’t hurt quite as much as it might look at first. Still, you aren’t really doing incredible when you transform this into a 4/4.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Beloved Beggar
Odric's Outrider image 3.5 This is pretty good. First, it counts itself dying, so most of the time the Outrider will give you some value, even if he isn’t long for this world. The BW deck is all about sacrificing and the GW deck is all about going wide, partially with tokens, and it is a good fit in either of those decks since creatures will be dying a whole lot. And really, creatures just die all the time in Magic anyway! So yeah, I think the whole package here looks pretty strong, like the kind of engine that can really win you a game, and the floor is pretty reasonable.
Cathartic Pyre image 4.0 Two mana for 3 damage is always premium, even on a Sorcery! And this is an Instant! And in a pinch you can also use it to rummage twice! You won’t be choosing that second option a ton, but sometimes that’s what you’ll be doing.
Beloved Beggar image 3.5 This looks pretty good. You play it early as a reasonable blocker, until it inevitably dies, and then in the late game it can come out of your graveyard and be a very real win condition. Six mana for a 4/4 with Flying and Vigilance certainly isn’t insanely efficient, but it isn’t that far off from what I’d be willing to pay. The 0/4 side won’t ever allow you to actually trade with anything, but keeping your opponent at bay with has some value, especially since it becomes a win condition later. Also, keep in mind you can put this in your graveyard by other means and just skip the 0/4 part sometimes. It also can help you get Coven!
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Lunarch Veteran image 2.5 A two mana 1/1 with the life gain effect certainly isn’t impressive. The Disturb effect really matters though, as getting back a flyer that can also gain you some life. Neither half of this card is going to be letting you trade very often because they are so small, but this still seems like a solid Common.
Flip the Switch image 1.5 This isn’t quite a hard counter, but its pretty close, and adding to the board while you counter a thing isn’t bad, even if what you’re adding is a token that can’t block and can only attack once.
Candlelit Cavalry image 2.5 On a base level, this is a 5-mana 5/5, something that makes the cut in some Green decks anyway, and it will gain trample sometimes. Seems decent enough.
Novice Occultist image 2.5 It won’t always be easy to trade with this and get a 2-for-1 since it’s a ½, so ideally you will sacrifice this to something for value, in which case you don’t really go down a card at all! I could see this ending up as a key common for both BW and UB.
Arrogant Outlaw image 2.0 When this is just a 3-mana 3/2, it won’t feel great. But sometimes, it will drain the opponent two life, which will feel like you’re getting your mana’s worth. You’ll probably cut this a significant chunk of the time, but playing it isn’t a disaster.
Burn the Accursed image 2.5 This isn’t exactly premium, but is an instant that kills most stuff, damages your opponent, and even exiles creatures, which certainly matters here.
Otherworldly Gaze image 0.5 Loading the graveyard is important in this format, its true, but a card that pretty much only does that, while giving you some card selection, isn’t something I’m interested in. You never get the card back. There are so many cards that load the graveyard while doing actual other things!
Abandon the Post image 0.0 // 2.5 I’m not a huge fan of this type of card, mostly because it basically does nothing unless you win the game with it. That said, if you have six mana available to cast it both times in a single turn, it does stand a pretty good chance of stealing a win out of nowhere. A card like this is soo all-in on aggro though that I think we do need to give it a buildaround grade If you are an aggro deck, you’ll probably play one copy of this and feel alright about it. Otherwise you pretty much can’t play it.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Lunarch Veteran
Heirloom Mirror image 4.0 So, this is not a flip card that does anything with “nightbound” or “daybound,” so it will always be Heirloom Mirror when you first play it. That part of the card isn’t amazing. It lets you rummage and stock your graveyard, and both of those things matter in this format, but if that’s all this was, I have my doubts that it would be worth a slot in your deck. However, what’s nice here, is that you can use the Mirror to help improve your draws and stock your graveyard for a while, and then it can just turn into a straight up win condition! A 4/4 Flyer that can get bigger by exiling things from graveyards is very, very real, and you actually pay a pretty reasonable rate overall -- between casting the MIrror and using the ability three times, and you get a pretty scary threat. I think its really nice that this has an early game mode that can be decently useful, and then turns into a demon.
Obsessive Astronomer image 2.5 Rummaging a few times a came with this seems fine, but not exactly game breaking. It does have decent stats to go along with that ability.
Sungold Barrage image 2.5 This is far from premium removal, as cards with 4 toughness aren’t incredibly common to see on the table. They will be a little more common in this set thanks to DFC creatures, who tend to be larger on one side. It can kill a lot of scary things for sure, but it is too situational to be anything more than solid.
Falcon Abomination image 3.0 This is a Wind Drake with some reasonable upside. Obviously this Zombie token doesn’t give you quite as much value as most Zombie tokens, but it still adds to the board in a way that will have at least some impact. The two bodies will be nice sacrifice fodder, and they’ll also just be good at pressuring your opponent.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Ritual Guardian image 2.0 If this was a 3-mana 3/2 that always had Lifelink, it would probably be a 2.5 or 3.0. The fact this won’t always have it, and in fact probably won’t have it a decent chunk of the time, makes this significanlty worse than that, because a 3-mana 3/2 is just an ugly stat line these days.
Lambholt Harrier image 2.0 This is a Bear that stays relevant all game long thanks to its ability. Now, that ability is pretty pricey, and you’ll normally only be able to make one thing unable to block, but it is an ability your opponent has to account for in the late game, as making one thing unable to block can really help someone find lethal out of nowhere.
Lunarch Veteran image 2.5 A two mana 1/1 with the life gain effect certainly isn’t impressive. The Disturb effect really matters though, as getting back a flyer that can also gain you some life. Neither half of this card is going to be letting you trade very often because they are so small, but this still seems like a solid Common.
Path to the Festival image 2.0 This is pretty clunky since it doesn't add to the board at all. It can do it again from the graveyard though, which can potentially really turbo your mana. It is also reasonable fixing, and if you're splashing a third color, that Scry will be nice.
Defenestrate image 3.5 This looks like premium removal -- and its flavorful too! Throwing a flyer out the window wouldn’t accomplish much. Anyway, this can kill most stuff for only three mana. And yeah, sometimes a flyer will be what you need to kill, but this efficiency is great.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Mysterious Tome
Sunrise Cavalier image 4.0 This is a pretty nice signpost for Blue Red, as it is simultaneously a cost reduction effect for spells and a win condition for those spell decks. It will often be a 4/4, especially in a set with flashback! It seems strong enough to me that it can pull you into its colors and is worth a first pick sometimes.
Mysterious Tome image 3.0 This has a really neat design, since it will constantly go back and forth. Both sides of the card have a relatively efficient ability. 2 to draw a card, or 1 to tap down a nonland permanent, is pretty nice! Now, you do pay 3 mana up front for something that often won’t impact the board right away -- and keep in mind even when it transforms it stays tapped, so you can never use both abilities in one turn. You’ll use one or the other, and there will definitely be times where you wish you could just stick on one side of the card. But still, this looks like it will grind out value over the course of a long game, both drawing you cards and either slowing down your opponent or allowing you to pressure them thanks to the tap ability. If this format is really fast, this might nto be great -- but with Flashback and Disturbed, it seems kind of unlikely this format will be super fast.
Eaten Alive image 3.5 There is a lot of sacrifice fodder int his format, so casting this for only one Black is very real, and the fail case is that you pay 5, which is perfectly fine. Exiling stuff has extra value in the format too.
Neonate's Rush image 2.5 When you manage to kill a creature with this, it is going to feel incredible. When you can’t, this is less true. However, it is an enabler for all the pseudo-bloodthirst in the format and it replaces itself, AND it will often only cost two mana, making the outcome a lot more palatable.
Novice Occultist image 2.5 It won’t always be easy to trade with this and get a 2-for-1 since it’s a ½, so ideally you will sacrifice this to something for value, in which case you don’t really go down a card at all! I could see this ending up as a key common for both BW and UB.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Famished Foragers image 3.0 A 4-mana 4/3 is sort of passable already, and this will often be able to come down and give you some mana, which -- if nothing else, you can use to rummage using its ability. Sometimes, it will enable a pretty impressive double spell turn too, which will feel amazing. You won’t always be making that happen, but the card has a very reasonable baseline and a pretty nice ceiling.
Galedrifter image 3.0 This isn’t quite a hard counter, but its pretty close, and adding to the board while you counter a thing isn’t bad, even if what you’re adding is a token that can’t block and can only attack once. 55 – Galedrifter – 3.0 A 4-mana 3/2 Flyer is a 1.5, so getting a second body out of this, even if it isn’t the most efficient one when you Disturb it, is going to be some nice additional value.
Crawl from the Cellar image 2.0 This is an interesting take on the usual Sorcery that lets you return two creatures to your hand. The first time you cast this, the value is going to be pretty nice, provided you have a zombie, as it effectively replaces itself while making a creature bigger. The second time is less efficient, but in the you pay 5 mana for a 2-for-1 and two +1/+1 counters, which actually isn’t too bad. Now, you really would prefer to be putting these counters on zombies that don’t have decay to get full value out of them, but a significant chunk of the time that’s probably where the counter goes, and you may also just not have anywhere to put the counter in the first place.
Howl of the Hunt image 2.5 This kind of card pretty much always performs. Combat tricks and Auras both have some pretty serious problems. The chief one is that you can get totally blown out if you’re not careful. However, Auras with Flash tend to play reasonably well every time we see them, provided they are reasonably costed, and I think this one is. You have to be careful about when you play it of course, but if your opponent has no way to interact, this is basically a combat trick that takes something down, and then the Aura itself sticks around. The fact it works this way helps you mitigate the potential card disadvantage, since you’ll use the Aura to help you kill something up front. The werewolf upside here matters too. You usually want to be the aggressor with a trick, but giving your Wolf or Werewolf pseudo-vigilance is pretty nice, and having the option to ambush block is okay too.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Blessed Defiance
Arcane Infusion image 2.0 This is UR’s signpost uncommon, and it tells you that you want to jam a ton of instants and sorceries into your deck. If you can do that, you end up with something pretty nice. If you can’t do that, this will be pretty ugly, because you can’t really afford to wiff with it on either activation. Still, getting 10ish spells is pretty doable, especially in UR. Over the course of a game, you can end up getting a 2-for-1 thanks to the Flashback too! I could give it a build around grade, but I think that UR decks will naturally find themselves with the right composition often enough that we don’t need to go there. That said, it also isn’t a signpost uncommon that pulls you into the color pair, either.
Cathar's Call image 1.5 mana is a lot for an Enchantment that offers only a very minimal stats boost to the creature you put it on. Vigilance just isn’t something to get excited about. Its nice that it churns out a token every turn, but you probably need to get at least 2 of them before the investment feels reasonable, and you’re going to get blown out in a big way if your opponent just kills the creature you stick this on. Green/White definitely wants to go wide, but there are less risky ways of doing that.
Blessed Defiance image 1.0 This doesn’t seem like a great trick to me. Only increasing power means there’s a good chance your creature will be dying, and while the life that you gain and the 1/1 flyer you get in exchange for that makes a difference, it will still usually feel like you’re getting 2-for-1’d when you use this.
Tavern Ruffian image 3.0 In most formats, a 4-mana ⅖ isn’t something that Red is interested in, though those are fairly reasonable defensive stats. However, this is a werewolf, and that means that if its already night time you get a 4-mana 6/5, and it also means that it can become one at some point in the game. That’s a pretty nice deal. And yeah, it isn’t always super easy to control what time of day it is, but this still seems like a solid Red Common to me.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Raze the Effigy image 1.5 This format doesn’t have a ton of artifacts, but having the option to destroy an artifact on a decent combat trick certainly makes it more flexible.
Hedgewitch's Mask image 1.5 This is a decent, albeit unimpressive, piece of Equipment. One to play and two to equip is kind of alright, and the upside of being unblockable by bigger stuff doesn’t hurt. It can help you get Coven. Still, this format doesn’t seem to have a huge equipment theme, and that probably means this gets cut a lot.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Locked in the Cemetery image 3.0 So, if this always tapped the thing you attached it to, it would probably be premium removal. Two mana for that effect is pretty great! However, in the early game, making it do that is going to be pretty challenging. By the mid-game it becomes much more doable. Overall, I think having to have a loaded up graveyard to make this work does keep it from being premium, but it still a pretty good Blue common.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Locked in the Cemetery
Vivisection image 2.5 If you can sacrifice a Zombie token to this, its going to feel pretty good, as you aren’t really giving up more than one whole card to draw three cards. There is also other good sacrifice fodder in the format. This doesn’t add to the board at all -- in fact it subtracts from it -- and sometimes that’s going to be a liability. However, the cards it gives you are a pretty big deal, and if you make it to your next turn you’re going to have a significant advantage. I think a lot of Blue decks in this format will be playing the first copy of this.
Dissipate image 2.5 Three mana counterspells, especially those that cost Double blue, usually aren’t great. The cost of leaving that mana up can be very real. You should generally just be adding to the board while you can, after all. Leaving up mana to try to counter something when you have other options can really cause you some significant problems! So generally, you end up just using it when you don’t have other stuff you could be doing. Adding the exile clause does matter in this format though, between Flashback, Disturb, and other graveyard shenanigans.
Timberland Guide image 3.0 This is a reprint, and even if it wasn’t, we see cards like this a lot, and I also like them a decent amount. They are nice as two drops, as they can be two mana 2/2s, and then in the later game you can put the counter somewhere more relevant. There isn’t a +1/+1 counter deck in this format, but the counter this guy brings with him can really help you set up Coven, since you add him to the board and put the counter somewhere else, and you’re already 2/3 of the way there!
Locked in the Cemetery image 3.0 So, if this always tapped the thing you attached it to, it would probably be premium removal. Two mana for that effect is pretty great! However, in the early game, making it do that is going to be pretty challenging. By the mid-game it becomes much more doable. Overall, I think having to have a loaded up graveyard to make this work does keep it from being premium, but it still a pretty good Blue common.
Hedgewitch's Mask image 1.5 This is a decent, albeit unimpressive, piece of Equipment. One to play and two to equip is kind of alright, and the upside of being unblockable by bigger stuff doesn’t hurt. It can help you get Coven. Still, this format doesn’t seem to have a huge equipment theme, and that probably means this gets cut a lot.
Bramble Armor image 2.5 This is a pretty decent boost when it equips for free, and it will also help you get coven online if that’s what you need. Equipping it after that first time is a little rough for sure, but if it keeps giving you coven or making creature sin to threats, that is reasonable.
Blessed Defiance image 1.0 This doesn’t seem like a great trick to me. Only increasing power means there’s a good chance your creature will be dying, and while the life that you gain and the 1/1 flyer you get in exchange for that makes a difference, it will still usually feel like you’re getting 2-for-1’d when you use this.
Novice Occultist image 2.5 It won’t always be easy to trade with this and get a 2-for-1 since it’s a ½, so ideally you will sacrifice this to something for value, in which case you don’t really go down a card at all! I could see this ending up as a key common for both BW and UB.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Galedrifter
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Jack-o'-Lantern image 1.5 Well, if this set wasn’t screaming “Halloween!” at you already, it is now! This card looks kind of alright for Limited. Exiling a problem card in a graveyard and drawing a card for a total investment of two mana really isn’t that bad, and then it is fixing from your graveyard too, which seems fine. I definitely don’t think you always run this, but it seems like it will be your 23rd card sometimes, especially if you’re interested in the fixing.
Galedrifter image 3.0 This isn’t quite a hard counter, but its pretty close, and adding to the board while you counter a thing isn’t bad, even if what you’re adding is a token that can’t block and can only attack once. 55 – Galedrifter – 3.0 A 4-mana 3/2 Flyer is a 1.5, so getting a second body out of this, even if it isn’t the most efficient one when you Disturb it, is going to be some nice additional value.
Bramble Armor image 2.5 This is a pretty decent boost when it equips for free, and it will also help you get coven online if that’s what you need. Equipping it after that first time is a little rough for sure, but if it keeps giving you coven or making creature sin to threats, that is reasonable.
Homestead Courage image 1.0 This gives a nice, efficient boost twice. It isn’t a boost that always makes a difference, though, and even when it does, I’m not sure it will always feel like you’re getting a full card worth of value. Being cheap to flashback is good for flashback payoffs, and also makes it easy to turn it back into day, and that matters.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Hedgewitch's Mask image 1.5 This is a decent, albeit unimpressive, piece of Equipment. One to play and two to equip is kind of alright, and the upside of being unblockable by bigger stuff doesn’t hurt. It can help you get Coven. Still, this format doesn’t seem to have a huge equipment theme, and that probably means this gets cut a lot.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Candletrap
Timberland Guide image 3.0 This is a reprint, and even if it wasn’t, we see cards like this a lot, and I also like them a decent amount. They are nice as two drops, as they can be two mana 2/2s, and then in the later game you can put the counter somewhere more relevant. There isn’t a +1/+1 counter deck in this format, but the counter this guy brings with him can really help you set up Coven, since you add him to the board and put the counter somewhere else, and you’re already 2/3 of the way there!
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Howl of the Hunt image 2.5 This kind of card pretty much always performs. Combat tricks and Auras both have some pretty serious problems. The chief one is that you can get totally blown out if you’re not careful. However, Auras with Flash tend to play reasonably well every time we see them, provided they are reasonably costed, and I think this one is. You have to be careful about when you play it of course, but if your opponent has no way to interact, this is basically a combat trick that takes something down, and then the Aura itself sticks around. The fact it works this way helps you mitigate the potential card disadvantage, since you’ll use the Aura to help you kill something up front. The werewolf upside here matters too. You usually want to be the aggressor with a trick, but giving your Wolf or Werewolf pseudo-vigilance is pretty nice, and having the option to ambush block is okay too.
Duress image 0.5 As always, this is a sideboard card. It misses too often to be worth it in your main deck. Even when you can hit stuff with it, it might have Flashback!
Pack 2 Pick 10: Ecstatic Awakener
Crossroads Candleguide image 1.0 You’ll play it you’re desperate for a creature or fixing, but you really hope you don’t have to, because it doesn’t do either thing particularly well.
Drownyard Amalgam image 2.0 This sets up some graveyard value for you and has a decent defensive body, not to mention an ability that will sometimes help you close out a game. A lot of the time though, it just won’t do enough. Seems reasonable in some controlling decks.
Otherworldly Gaze image 0.5 Loading the graveyard is important in this format, its true, but a card that pretty much only does that, while giving you some card selection, isn’t something I’m interested in. You never get the card back. There are so many cards that load the graveyard while doing actual other things!
Duel for Dominance image 2.5 This isn’t going to be premium removal. It will simply be 1G to Fight often enough that it just can’t get there. When you do get the +1/+1 bonus it will feel good for sure, and if it always did that, it would be premium, but as it is, I think it falls short of that designation. Its still decent Green removal of course, but not the kind you go after super hard.
Ecstatic Awakener image 2.5 One mana 1/1s are pretty bad, they just lose relevance quickly. The Awakener gets around that to some extent as a result of its ability to transform into Awoken Demon. Transforming it is a little bit steep at 3 mana and sacrificing something, but there is going to be some significant sacrifice fodder in both Black/White and Blue/Black, so it won’t hurt quite as much as it might look at first. Still, you aren’t really doing incredible when you transform this into a 4/4.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Flip the Switch
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Flip the Switch image 1.5 This isn’t quite a hard counter, but its pretty close, and adding to the board while you counter a thing isn’t bad, even if what you’re adding is a token that can’t block and can only attack once.
Arrogant Outlaw image 2.0 When this is just a 3-mana 3/2, it won’t feel great. But sometimes, it will drain the opponent two life, which will feel like you’re getting your mana’s worth. You’ll probably cut this a significant chunk of the time, but playing it isn’t a disaster.
Otherworldly Gaze image 0.5 Loading the graveyard is important in this format, its true, but a card that pretty much only does that, while giving you some card selection, isn’t something I’m interested in. You never get the card back. There are so many cards that load the graveyard while doing actual other things!
Pack 2 Pick 12: Sungold Barrage
Sungold Barrage image 2.5 This is far from premium removal, as cards with 4 toughness aren’t incredibly common to see on the table. They will be a little more common in this set thanks to DFC creatures, who tend to be larger on one side. It can kill a lot of scary things for sure, but it is too situational to be anything more than solid.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Pack 2 Pick 13: No Way Out
Neonate's Rush image 2.5 When you manage to kill a creature with this, it is going to feel incredible. When you can’t, this is less true. However, it is an enabler for all the pseudo-bloodthirst in the format and it replaces itself, AND it will often only cost two mana, making the outcome a lot more palatable.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Tavern Ruffian
Tavern Ruffian image 3.0 In most formats, a 4-mana ⅖ isn’t something that Red is interested in, though those are fairly reasonable defensive stats. However, this is a werewolf, and that means that if its already night time you get a 4-mana 6/5, and it also means that it can become one at some point in the game. That’s a pretty nice deal. And yeah, it isn’t always super easy to control what time of day it is, but this still seems like a solid Red Common to me.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Mourning Patrol
Mask of Griselbrand image 4.0 Three to play and three to equip is pretty steep, and flying and lifelink, while nice, are only going to really be worth it on a creature with decent stats anyway. Sure, it is a real upgrade on any creature, but not exactly a meaningful one on a 2/2 in a lot of situations. Still, medium-sized creatures on up will really flourish with the Mask, and the idea is that you’ll damage your opponent and gain life enough with it that if the creature does die, you draw a ton of cards and paying the life is no big deal. Overall, I do think this is quite good -- the cost is steep for a reason! And its nice that, if you manage to get it equipped, it will be hard for your opponent to come out ahead against that creature. Even just chumping and gaining life and paying life to draw cards isn’t terrible. I think the clunkiness of the card does keep it from being a bomb, but this sticking around on the table and getting attached to creature after creature is going to be really bad news for your opponent.
Play with Fire image 4.0 So, this is Shock with upside, and that’s something I can get behind. It will often be able to kill three and four drops for only a single mana, and that’s great, and in a pinch it can go for your opponent and give you a bit of card selection, which isn’t too bad. You’ll always have something to do with this, and it will often be premium removal.
Sunset Revelry image 1.0 This card has a cool design, but seems pretty awkward. Basically, you have to be behind your opponent in one way or another for it to do something. And yeah, if you get all three modes here, you’re getting a great deal! But if you’re just drawing a card and gaining 4 life, that’s not a great card -- we see that card all the time and it isn’t good! You basically need to be getting the tokens and one of the other modes for this to feel like you’re doing a decent job. And...its just pretty hard to control those sorts of things. It will feel nice if you’re behind, but do stone nothing at parity or if you’re ahead, and that just doesn’t really appeal to me. This card seems too situational and finicky.
Kessig Naturalist image 3.5 If it is day time, you get a pretty decent two drop that might be able to trade for something and ramp your mana a bit -- or even better, just ramp you mana without dying! If its night, you get a really nice Werewolf/Wolf lord that will be pumping a good chunk of your deck in RG. And, of course, like with all of these, it can go back and forth between the two modes. Additionally, setting thing up on turn two to start keeping track of day and night might be a big deal, too. Overall, I think this is a strong enough signpost Uncommon that it pulls you into its color pair, even very early on.
Mourning Patrol image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/3 with Vigilance is fine, so the fact that this can come back as a 2/1 with Flying and Vigilance is pretty nice! Both halves in this case very capable of trading, too.
Pestilent Wolf image 2.5 That’s a lot of mana to give a bear Deathtouch! Still, it starts out as a two mana 2/2, and has the ability to trade with anything later in the game. Wolf is also a somewhat useful creature type. I think the whole package is probably a 2.5
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Harvesttide Sentry image 2.5 This has decent base stats and if you can get coven going, it becomes a lot harder to easily block this thing.
Burn the Accursed image 2.5 This isn’t exactly premium, but is an instant that kills most stuff, damages your opponent, and even exiles creatures, which certainly matters here.
Pack's Betrayal image 1.0 Rummaging a few times a came with this seems fine, but not exactly game breaking. It does have decent stats to go along with that ability.
Otherworldly Gaze image 0.5 Loading the graveyard is important in this format, its true, but a card that pretty much only does that, while giving you some card selection, isn’t something I’m interested in. You never get the card back. There are so many cards that load the graveyard while doing actual other things!
Snarling Wolf image 2.0 Rootwalla is back, albeit in Wolf form! This kind of card tends to feel pretty good early, as your opponent just can’t block it because of the threat of activation, and then the fact it can become a 3/3 keeps it relevant in the later game too. Seems like a solid playable for aggressive Green decks.
Falkenrath Perforator image 2.5 In a set where this had no synergy at all, this would probably be a 1.5. The stats aren’t good, and the 1 damage just isn’t enough to make up for that. However, this set’s BR archetype has a lot of cards that give you extra effects if your opponent lost life, and this is one way you can make that happen. Plus, its a vampire, and while the tribal themes for vampires aren’t massive int his set, they are still there! I think all of that is enough to bump this up to a solid playable.
Flip the Switch image 1.5 This isn’t quite a hard counter, but its pretty close, and adding to the board while you counter a thing isn’t bad, even if what you’re adding is a token that can’t block and can only attack once.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Silver Bolt
Vengeful Strangler image 3.0 This seems pretty nice. Because it can’t block, the only way you can transform it is if your opponent blocks it or decides to kill it, or you sacrifice it yourself. Luckily that last part is pretty doable in the format. Once it transforms it isn’t super incredible, but it does tax your opponent pretty heavily for having whatever their best permanent is, and theoretically it could get to the point where they just decide to sacrifice it. Sometimes your opponent will have to choose between letting the 2/1 through or having to deal with the obnoxious aura, and that’s a nice choice to force on them.
Fading Hope image 2.5 One mana to bounce a creature is a pretty nice deal. You don’t trade card-for-card of course, but there is massive tempo to be gained when you bounce something larger. And, the nice thing is, this lets you get a little value back from Scry if you find yourself having to bump something smaller. It is also nice its a cheap spell for UR and for Day/Night purposes.
Sunrise Cavalier image 4.0 This is a pretty nice signpost for Blue Red, as it is simultaneously a cost reduction effect for spells and a win condition for those spell decks. It will often be a 4/4, especially in a set with flashback! It seems strong enough to me that it can pull you into its colors and is worth a first pick sometimes.
Larder Zombie image 1.5 So, a one mana ⅓ isn’t amazing, especially with Defender! But at least it can block and kill X/1s. Its ability asks for several creatures in play, and I guess the idea is that you’ll be making Zombie tokens so doing that might not be too hard! The ability itself isn’t bad -- as it can give you card selection and/or help you load up the graveyard. Still, I don’t see this being especially good overall.
Morkrut Behemoth image 2.5 The idea here is to sacrifice something to it that isn’t a big deal, like a Zombie token, and if you do that then yeah – a 7/6 with Menace on turn 5 is pretty imposing. You can also just straight up pay 7 for it, which isn’t great but its not a disaster either. This seems like some decent top curve for some Black decks in the format – especially UB and BW – but I think you’ll find you cut it a pretty significant chunk of the time for cards that are just better.
Component Collector image 1.5 This has decent stats and an ability that will give you a bit of value, though it certainly isn’t exciting
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Silver Bolt image 1.5 If you need removal really badly, you’ll play this in your main deck where it can be kind of passable. Especially because when you end up against werewolves, it will actually be a pretty good deal.
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Candlelit Cavalry image 2.5 On a base level, this is a 5-mana 5/5, something that makes the cut in some Green decks anyway, and it will gain trample sometimes. Seems decent enough.
Hedgewitch's Mask image 1.5 This is a decent, albeit unimpressive, piece of Equipment. One to play and two to equip is kind of alright, and the upside of being unblockable by bigger stuff doesn’t hurt. It can help you get Coven. Still, this format doesn’t seem to have a huge equipment theme, and that probably means this gets cut a lot.
Mourning Patrol image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/3 with Vigilance is fine, so the fact that this can come back as a 2/1 with Flying and Vigilance is pretty nice! Both halves in this case very capable of trading, too.
Famished Foragers image 3.0 A 4-mana 4/3 is sort of passable already, and this will often be able to come down and give you some mana, which -- if nothing else, you can use to rummage using its ability. Sometimes, it will enable a pretty impressive double spell turn too, which will feel amazing. You won’t always be making that happen, but the card has a very reasonable baseline and a pretty nice ceiling.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Unblinking Observer
Winterthorn Blessing image 2.5 Pumping a creature and tapping down another one for a turn cycle is a pretty good deal for two mana. You do need to be careful about when you cast this of course, because if your opponent kills the creature you target with the first part it can be a bummer. But the good news is that the second part of the card still happens in that scenario. The fact it has Flashback is pretty sweet too, as casting it twice in the same turn is the sort of thing that will close out a game out of nowhere, between the better stats and tapped down blockers. This looks like a nice card for UG decks, but not exactly the kind of card that pulls you into the color pair on its own.
Unnatural Moonrise image 2.0 The idea here is that if you’re in RG, making it Night is going to transform all of your scary werewolves, and there will certainly be times where that will be devastating! The small stats boost and trample matter too, especially because it can also draw you a card, allowing you to let this card replace itself, which seems especially nice, because sometimes you must go down a card for an effect like this. Then it has Flashback, which means it can happen all over again! Obviously, you have to have lots of creatures who are nightbound for this to really do its job, but because this is RG, it seems pretty likely you’ll have at least 5 of those most drafts without even trying, and that’s probably enough. This looks to have the potential to just end games in some situations. However, it isn’t very good in situations where that’s not the case.
Flame Channeler image 2.5 So, in Limited, you generally just won’t have enough spells that do damage for this to be super easy to transform. It is still a two mana 2/2 with the upside of becoming a 3/3, but then you have to cast more burn spells to actually get more than just the 3/3. This definitely feels more like a constructed card than a Limited card because of those limitations.
Howl of the Hunt image 2.5 This kind of card pretty much always performs. Combat tricks and Auras both have some pretty serious problems. The chief one is that you can get totally blown out if you’re not careful. However, Auras with Flash tend to play reasonably well every time we see them, provided they are reasonably costed, and I think this one is. You have to be careful about when you play it of course, but if your opponent has no way to interact, this is basically a combat trick that takes something down, and then the Aura itself sticks around. The fact it works this way helps you mitigate the potential card disadvantage, since you’ll use the Aura to help you kill something up front. The werewolf upside here matters too. You usually want to be the aggressor with a trick, but giving your Wolf or Werewolf pseudo-vigilance is pretty nice, and having the option to ambush block is okay too.
Vampire Interloper image 2.5 This has nice aggressive stats, and looks like a decent enabler for all the Black-Red cards that care about your opponent losing life.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Drownyard Amalgam image 2.0 This sets up some graveyard value for you and has a decent defensive body, not to mention an ability that will sometimes help you close out a game. A lot of the time though, it just won’t do enough. Seems reasonable in some controlling decks.
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Celestus Sanctifier image 2.0 If you are changing between night and day a lot, this gives you some decent card selection, and even lets you load the graveyard a bit -- like with Flashback or Disturb cards. That said, it has mediocre stats, and the ability isn’t incredible, and it won’t always be easy to get going in the first place.
Mounted Dreadknight image 2.0 This has a decent baseline, and sometimes it will be especially big. Not a bad thing to have at the top of your curve.
Thraben Exorcism image 0.5 Against some opponents this will feel really good -- namely, against UW -- but against other decks it just won’t have targets often enough to be worth it.
Might of the Old Ways image 2.0 This looks like a decent enough trick. Two mana for +2/+2 isn’t incredible, but when you can make the Coven thing happen, it turns into a draw spell, which will often mean a 2-for-1. You’ll end up playing this in aggressive Green decks.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Devoted Grafkeeper
Loyal Gryff image 2.5 A Wind Drake with Flash is already something that would pretty much always make the cut, and this comes with the additional upside of allowing to bounce one of your creatures. This can help a creature avoid removal, or allow you to retrigger an ETB ability, among other things. It isn’t always going to happen that you line up the ETB ability to actually do something, of course -- sometimes you’ll just need the creature here, but it is still nice upside on a solid card.
Devoted Grafkeeper image 4.0 This is a very strong signpost uncommon, with it really pushing you in the direction of Disturb. It both loads your graveyard a bit and pays you off for disturb -- and flashback, for that matter. And then, it of course has Disturb itself! In the end, you end up paying 5 mana for a 2/1 and a 3/1 Flyer, plus all that other upside, and that’s an excellent deal.
Sunset Revelry image 1.0 This card has a cool design, but seems pretty awkward. Basically, you have to be behind your opponent in one way or another for it to do something. And yeah, if you get all three modes here, you’re getting a great deal! But if you’re just drawing a card and gaining 4 life, that’s not a great card -- we see that card all the time and it isn’t good! You basically need to be getting the tokens and one of the other modes for this to feel like you’re doing a decent job. And...its just pretty hard to control those sorts of things. It will feel nice if you’re behind, but do stone nothing at parity or if you’re ahead, and that just doesn’t really appeal to me. This card seems too situational and finicky.
Eccentric Farmer image 1.5 Lands will end up in your graveyard more often than normal in this format because of self-mill, and the Farmer brings some of that mill with him! You’ll get a land out of this reasonably often, and making sure you hit your next land drop and loading your graveyard has decent value.
Soul-Guide Gryff image 2.5 This has decent Flying stats, and exiling a card with Flashback or Disturb is pretty relevant in the format.
Shipwreck Sifters image 1.5 A two mana ½ who loots is fine, and this one can get bigger. I don’t think you’ll want to discard a spirit or a card with Disturb to it all that often, since the power of those cards is often in the fact that you get the two bodies, but you’ll discard those things sometimes and it’ll get bigger.
Morkrut Behemoth image 2.5 The idea here is to sacrifice something to it that isn’t a big deal, like a Zombie token, and if you do that then yeah – a 7/6 with Menace on turn 5 is pretty imposing. You can also just straight up pay 7 for it, which isn’t great but its not a disaster either. This seems like some decent top curve for some Black decks in the format – especially UB and BW – but I think you’ll find you cut it a pretty significant chunk of the time for cards that are just better.
Raze the Effigy image 1.5 This format doesn’t have a ton of artifacts, but having the option to destroy an artifact on a decent combat trick certainly makes it more flexible.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Dawnhart Rejuvenator image 3.0 We have basically seen this card before -- Centaur Nurturer in War of the Spark, and it was pretty nice. It gives you fixing, and while it might not be the most imposing creature, the life it gains you can help you get to your next turn, where you can make use of that mana.
Shady Traveler image 3.0 A 3-mana 2/3 with Menace is a card you’ll play sometimes – probably a 2.5, and it will come into play as or transform into Stalking Predator pretty regularly, in which case you’re getting an amazing deal!
Pack 3 Pick 5: Kessig Naturalist
Kessig Naturalist image 3.5 If it is day time, you get a pretty decent two drop that might be able to trade for something and ramp your mana a bit -- or even better, just ramp you mana without dying! If its night, you get a really nice Werewolf/Wolf lord that will be pumping a good chunk of your deck in RG. And, of course, like with all of these, it can go back and forth between the two modes. Additionally, setting thing up on turn two to start keeping track of day and night might be a big deal, too. Overall, I think this is a strong enough signpost Uncommon that it pulls you into its color pair, even very early on.
Timberland Guide image 3.0 This is a reprint, and even if it wasn’t, we see cards like this a lot, and I also like them a decent amount. They are nice as two drops, as they can be two mana 2/2s, and then in the later game you can put the counter somewhere more relevant. There isn’t a +1/+1 counter deck in this format, but the counter this guy brings with him can really help you set up Coven, since you add him to the board and put the counter somewhere else, and you’re already 2/3 of the way there!
Path to the Festival image 2.0 This is pretty clunky since it doesn't add to the board at all. It can do it again from the graveyard though, which can potentially really turbo your mana. It is also reasonable fixing, and if you're splashing a third color, that Scry will be nice.
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 This is always really nice fixing, and I tend to like it even more than the rare dual lands here, especially because it throws itself in the graveyard and that definitely matters in this set.
Tireless Hauler image 3.0 Like with most of the werewolves, just the front side of the card is reasonable – a 4/5 with Vigilance can do some decent work! But it also has its werewolf side, where it has the potential to really dominate a board.
Pestilent Wolf image 2.5 That’s a lot of mana to give a bear Deathtouch! Still, it starts out as a two mana 2/2, and has the ability to trade with anything later in the game. Wolf is also a somewhat useful creature type. I think the whole package is probably a 2.5
Abandon the Post image 0.0 // 2.5 I’m not a huge fan of this type of card, mostly because it basically does nothing unless you win the game with it. That said, if you have six mana available to cast it both times in a single turn, it does stand a pretty good chance of stealing a win out of nowhere. A card like this is soo all-in on aggro though that I think we do need to give it a buildaround grade If you are an aggro deck, you’ll probably play one copy of this and feel alright about it. Otherwise you pretty much can’t play it.
Component Collector image 1.5 This has decent stats and an ability that will give you a bit of value, though it certainly isn’t exciting
Bat Whisperer image 2.5 If this always gave you a bat, it would be at least a 3.5. One nice thing about the bat too is that it might help you enable future cards that give you a bonus if your opponent has lost life on a particular turn. Sometimes it will be a 4-mana 4/2 though, and that’s pretty bad.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Evolving Wilds
Morbid Opportunist image 3.5 Drawing when a creature dies is nice, even if they did cap this at only once a turn. The stat line here is pretty ugly, but I think the Opportunist could be a very real engine, especially if you have some Zombie tokens around, trading those in recklessly for cards is going to feel pretty good.
Fangblade Brigand image 4.0 Just the Human side would be something you always play! It has passable base stats a very real activated ability that will make it a challenge to attack into or block And then, when it transforms, it becomes even more imposing, adding +1/+1 and an additional powerful activated ability.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Component Collector image 1.5 This has decent stats and an ability that will give you a bit of value, though it certainly isn’t exciting
Hedgewitch's Mask image 1.5 This is a decent, albeit unimpressive, piece of Equipment. One to play and two to equip is kind of alright, and the upside of being unblockable by bigger stuff doesn’t hurt. It can help you get Coven. Still, this format doesn’t seem to have a huge equipment theme, and that probably means this gets cut a lot.
Flare of Faith image 2.0 This seems like a decent trick if you’re a White aggro deck with lots of Humans in it. It gives a decent stats boost that will often allow your creature to win combat. Two mana for just +2/+2 is pretty mediocre for a trick, but the Human upside will make it worth running often enough
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 This is always really nice fixing, and I tend to like it even more than the rare dual lands here, especially because it throws itself in the graveyard and that definitely matters in this set.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Tavern Ruffian image 3.0 In most formats, a 4-mana ⅖ isn’t something that Red is interested in, though those are fairly reasonable defensive stats. However, this is a werewolf, and that means that if its already night time you get a 4-mana 6/5, and it also means that it can become one at some point in the game. That’s a pretty nice deal. And yeah, it isn’t always super easy to control what time of day it is, but this still seems like a solid Red Common to me.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Unblinking Observer
Join the Dance image 3.0 Don’t underestimate the Flashback here. Like a lot of Flashback cards, neither the original cost nor the flashback cost is efficient, but the fact remains that over the course of a normal game of Limited, this will give you 4 tokens for only one card, and that’s pretty nice. Just having the Flashback cost to do in the later part of the game is a nice mana sink too. Obviously, GW is all about going wide too, so it will be extra useful there.
Unblinking Observer image 2.5 This will help you cast enough stuff that it seems like a solid Common. It fits nicely in the UR spells deck and the UW deck, which will be the most disturb heavy deck in the format. I’m giving it a 2.5.
Plummet image 0.5 This format has lots of flyers as a result of Disturb, so Plummet might be a bit better here in the main deck than it is in most formats, but I think you’d still prefer to bring it in out of your sideboard. It is hard to guarantee it will have enough targets against some of the color pairs.
Pestilent Wolf image 2.5 That’s a lot of mana to give a bear Deathtouch! Still, it starts out as a two mana 2/2, and has the ability to trade with anything later in the game. Wolf is also a somewhat useful creature type. I think the whole package is probably a 2.5
Thraben Exorcism image 0.5 Against some opponents this will feel really good -- namely, against UW -- but against other decks it just won’t have targets often enough to be worth it.
Bladebrand image 1.5 This is a reprint, and it is one that is pretty mediocre. Giving death touch + a cantrip is pretty nice in combat, but it is a very narrow card overall because it is only useful in combat. Sure, I guess you can cast it just to cycle it, but that’s pretty rough! There are some silly things you can do with it sometimes, like give death touch to something that is being triple blocked, but a lot of the time you just use this and trade a creature on the table for one in your library. And, while that’s fine, it is certainly not a great card, and not one that makes the cut more than half the time.
Bird Admirer image 2.5 A 3 mana ¼ with Reach makes the cut reasonably often in most Limited formats, and this will sometimes be a much larger creature. Seems like a solid Common to me! I’m giving it a 2.5.
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Stormrider Spirit
Baneblade Scoundrel image 4.0 This looks really good. If this wasn’t a werewolf, I think Baneblade Scoundrel would be a very nice card. A 4-mana 4/3 that really makes blocking more difficult for your opponent is something I would definitely be on board with, but the fact it turns into a werewolf sometimes -- or, if its night already -- just enters the battlefield as a werewolf -- is pretty awesome. Especially because that Werewolf is bigger and also makes blocking even more difficult for your opponent! This is a high quality Uncommon.
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Homestead Courage image 1.0 This gives a nice, efficient boost twice. It isn’t a boost that always makes a difference, though, and even when it does, I’m not sure it will always feel like you’re getting a full card worth of value. Being cheap to flashback is good for flashback payoffs, and also makes it easy to turn it back into day, and that matters.
Bramble Armor image 2.5 This is a pretty decent boost when it equips for free, and it will also help you get coven online if that’s what you need. Equipping it after that first time is a little rough for sure, but if it keeps giving you coven or making creature sin to threats, that is reasonable.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Startle image 2.0 I don’t normally play most Blue “combat tricks” that shrink the power of a creature, but this tacks on enough additional stuff that it seems like it will be pretty solid. The problem with this kind of card is it isn’t always possible for you to trade card-for-card with it, since your creature has to already be big enough to kill the other creature. However, this lets you draw a card and makes you a Decay Zombie, and that’s quite a bit for only two mana! The times where you are able to use this card to help you kill an opposing creature it will feel insane!
Stormrider Spirit image 1.5 This is a reprint from our last trip to Innistrad, where it was mediocre. You can flash it in to ambush block a small thing, and then it is a decent threat in the air, but it isn’t especially efficient.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Burn the Accursed
Pestilent Wolf image 2.5 That’s a lot of mana to give a bear Deathtouch! Still, it starts out as a two mana 2/2, and has the ability to trade with anything later in the game. Wolf is also a somewhat useful creature type. I think the whole package is probably a 2.5
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Harvesttide Sentry image 2.5 This has decent base stats and if you can get coven going, it becomes a lot harder to easily block this thing.
Burn the Accursed image 2.5 This isn’t exactly premium, but is an instant that kills most stuff, damages your opponent, and even exiles creatures, which certainly matters here.
Pack's Betrayal image 1.0 Rummaging a few times a came with this seems fine, but not exactly game breaking. It does have decent stats to go along with that ability.
Snarling Wolf image 2.0 Rootwalla is back, albeit in Wolf form! This kind of card tends to feel pretty good early, as your opponent just can’t block it because of the threat of activation, and then the fact it can become a 3/3 keeps it relevant in the later game too. Seems like a solid playable for aggressive Green decks.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Larder Zombie
Larder Zombie image 1.5 So, a one mana ⅓ isn’t amazing, especially with Defender! But at least it can block and kill X/1s. Its ability asks for several creatures in play, and I guess the idea is that you’ll be making Zombie tokens so doing that might not be too hard! The ability itself isn’t bad -- as it can give you card selection and/or help you load up the graveyard. Still, I don’t see this being especially good overall.
Component Collector image 1.5 This has decent stats and an ability that will give you a bit of value, though it certainly isn’t exciting
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Hedgewitch's Mask image 1.5 This is a decent, albeit unimpressive, piece of Equipment. One to play and two to equip is kind of alright, and the upside of being unblockable by bigger stuff doesn’t hurt. It can help you get Coven. Still, this format doesn’t seem to have a huge equipment theme, and that probably means this gets cut a lot.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Candletrap
Howl of the Hunt image 2.5 This kind of card pretty much always performs. Combat tricks and Auras both have some pretty serious problems. The chief one is that you can get totally blown out if you’re not careful. However, Auras with Flash tend to play reasonably well every time we see them, provided they are reasonably costed, and I think this one is. You have to be careful about when you play it of course, but if your opponent has no way to interact, this is basically a combat trick that takes something down, and then the Aura itself sticks around. The fact it works this way helps you mitigate the potential card disadvantage, since you’ll use the Aura to help you kill something up front. The werewolf upside here matters too. You usually want to be the aggressor with a trick, but giving your Wolf or Werewolf pseudo-vigilance is pretty nice, and having the option to ambush block is okay too.
Candletrap image 3.0 This is pretty cheap removal. Before you get Coven online, it definitely isn’t great removal, because allowing the creature to still block is usually not what you want to be doing. It can’t do damage at least, but it still a presence on the board, and that means you aren’t trading a full 1-for-1. But its nice than in the later game, you can just get rid of that creature entirely. Still, it is probably a little too slow and clunky to be premium.
Mounted Dreadknight image 2.0 This has a decent baseline, and sometimes it will be especially big. Not a bad thing to have at the top of your curve.
Might of the Old Ways image 2.0 This looks like a decent enough trick. Two mana for +2/+2 isn’t incredible, but when you can make the Coven thing happen, it turns into a draw spell, which will often mean a 2-for-1. You’ll end up playing this in aggressive Green decks.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Sunset Revelry
Sunset Revelry image 1.0 This card has a cool design, but seems pretty awkward. Basically, you have to be behind your opponent in one way or another for it to do something. And yeah, if you get all three modes here, you’re getting a great deal! But if you’re just drawing a card and gaining 4 life, that’s not a great card -- we see that card all the time and it isn’t good! You basically need to be getting the tokens and one of the other modes for this to feel like you’re doing a decent job. And...its just pretty hard to control those sorts of things. It will feel nice if you’re behind, but do stone nothing at parity or if you’re ahead, and that just doesn’t really appeal to me. This card seems too situational and finicky.
Raze the Effigy image 1.5 This format doesn’t have a ton of artifacts, but having the option to destroy an artifact on a decent combat trick certainly makes it more flexible.
Tapping at the Window image 2.5 This gives some decent card selection while also loading your graveyard, and you end up with a 2-for-1 after you cast it the second time – and you’ve also seen a ton of cards!
Pack 3 Pick 13: Rotten Reunion
Path to the Festival image 2.0 This is pretty clunky since it doesn't add to the board at all. It can do it again from the graveyard though, which can potentially really turbo your mana. It is also reasonable fixing, and if you're splashing a third color, that Scry will be nice.
Rotten Reunion image 1.5 Hating on a couple graveyard cards and getting a couple of Zombies that can either pressure your opponent or act as sacrifice fodder seems alright for a three mana investment.
Pack 3 Pick 14: No Way Out
No Way Out image 1.0 Tacking a Decay zombie on to Mind Rot isn’t that great, especially in a format where people will happily discard many of their cards.
Draft Pick Overview