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Premier Draft GRN 07.januar 2021

7 January 10:24 - AliasV 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (6)
1 Justice Strike image
1 Righteous Blow image
1 Lava Coil image
1 Maniacal Rage image
1 Take Heart image
1 Cosmotronic Wave image
Creature (19)
1 Fresh-Faced Recruit image
1 Arclight Phoenix image
3 Skyline Scout image
2 Skyknight Legionnaire image
2 Wojek Bodyguard image
1 Bounty Agent image
1 Blade Instructor image
4 Healer's Hawk image
1 Smelt-Ward Minotaur image
1 Truefire Captain image
2 Parhelion Patrol image
Land (15)
1 Boros Guildgate image
7 Plains image
6 Mountain image
1 Sacred Foundry image
Sideboard
3 Rosemane Centaur image
1 Centaur Peacemaker image
1 Ledev Guardian image
1 Sumala Woodshaper image
2 Intrusive Packbeast image
1 Price of Fame image
2 Sworn Companions image
1 Cosmotronic Wave image
1 Demotion image
1 Candlelight Vigil image
2 Boros Locket image
1 Citywide Bust image
1 Selesnya Locket image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Arclight Phoenix
Arclight Phoenix image 4.0 A 4-mana 3/2 with Flying and Haste is already a good Limited card, and it is actually possible to bring this thing back – largely as a result of the Jump-Start mechanic.
Affectionate Indrik image 3.5 This can usually come down and kill something, while sticking around, and that’s a great way to stabilize after you’ve been behind early, making this a 6-drop that is definitely worth playing.
Golgari Findbroker image 4.0 This is really strong, giving you a very real ¾ body while also getting you back a permanent. That’s a great 2-for-1.
Sinister Sabotage image
Blade Instructor image 2.0 This can pretty frequently attack and put a counter on something, and because of its 3 power your opponent often can’t do anything but trade with it. Which…if they have a 1/1 token doesn’t feel great, but you still get a counter out of the deal.
Dazzling Lights image 1.5 This kind of effect is pretty underwhelming, as it just doesn’t accomplish enough most of the time. However, the fact that this format has a spell deck definitely upgrades it a bit, and Surveil isn’t too bad either.
Dimir Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Golgari Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Ledev Guardian image 1.5 This isn’t that great whether you cast it or power it out with Convoke.
Torch Courier image 1.5 This is a pretty mediocre one drop. A one mana 1/1 with Haste just doesn’t do enough these days – there are many boards where this is immediately irrelevant. The upside of giving Haste to something else is nice, but still not very impressive.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Capture Sphere image 3.0 This is pretty nice, as far as Blue removal spells go. Locking down a creature for 4, and being able to do it at Instant speed is fine. Of course, not turning off activated abilities and stuff like that is a bummer, but this does a decent job.
Child of Night image 2.0 This has decent stats and lifelink. Not much more to say about it!
Goblin Locksmith image 1.0 This isn’t that far from just being Goblin Piker, a card you really hope you don’t play in Limited.
Dimir Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Price of Fame
Wand of Vertebrae image 0.5 This is sideboard material to be brought in against really graveyard-heavy decks.
Price of Fame image 4.0 This is excellent removal. You won’t have many legendary creatures to target, but that’s fine, because 4 mana to kill any creature at Instant speed and Surveil 2 is absolutely premium.
Join Shields image 0.5 This is way too expensive to be very useful. It can be a more complicated fog effect, or save a creature from removal, but that’s just not what you want for 5 mana. Siding it in against someone with sweepers is worth doing, though.
Wild Ceratok image 1.5 This stat-line is passable if you’re desperate for a four drop.
Tenth District Guard image 1.5 This has okay starting stats, but its ETB ability is irrelevant about 90% of the time, and that means this isn’t that much better than a vanilla two mana 2/2.
Spinal Centipede image 2.5 This has decent stats, and it leaves some value behind as long as you have another creature – and usually you do!
Parhelion Patrol image 2.5 Flying and Mentor go pretty well together, since it becomes easier for it to attack and survive. It can of course only Mentor 1 power creatures – at least at first – but that’s fine, and you can often end up training it too, in which case it can become a real monster.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Direct Current image 3.0 This is a really nice card for aggressive Izzet and Boros decks, as it often wins you the game. It is a key card in those decks, but also not something you want to go after super early, since it is pretty much only good in those decks – where you’ll always want 1-2 copies of it.
Leapfrog image
Devious Cover-Up image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a pretty bad counterspell in most decks in the format. Four mana to counter something tends to be way too clunky, and shuffling cards into your deck isn’t that big of a deal. However, the UW decks in this format can sometimes end up in very real controlling builds where Devious Cover-Up is actually a quality card, especially if you have two of them to loop. You can just lock down the board and outvalue your opponent until their dead! So, this gets a build around grade. In the right deck, it is pretty legit – but don’t try to play it in any old Blue deck.
Wojek Bodyguard image 2.5 This needs friends to attack with, but that’s okay, because that’s usually what you’re going to be doing in a Boros deck that likes mentoring stuff, and this can train pretty much all the creatures that are one and two drops, making it a pretty nice Common.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Dimir Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Rosemane Centaur
Flight of Equenauts image 2.5 This underperforms a little bit. The format can be somewhat fast, and while you can definitely power this out for 5 or 6 mana, sometimes that’s just a little too late. It is still a pretty nice finisher, especially in GW, but not as incredible as it looks at first glance.
Selective Snare image 1.5 It is pretty tricky to get decent value out of this. Bouncing is already an effect where you’re usually going down a card and your opponent isn’t. You do get the tempo advantage of course, but it is tough for this to be worth it, especially because the creature type thing doesn’t line up nearly as much as you’d like.
Never Happened image 1.5 Coercion is very rarely good in Limited, but this format having some graveyard stuff does mean you often have something to go after in their graveyard too, in which case this can feel a bit like a 2-for-1.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Sure Strike image 2.0 As usual with this card that has been reprinted a ton, it is a reasonable trick that can help almost any creature win combat.
Leapfrog image
Barging Sergeant image 2.5 This can add a ton of damage to the board in a hurry, as it is capable of Mentoring most creatures. Its usually going to die during the attack, but the value it gives you is incredibly good.
Crushing Canopy image 0.5 This is mostly sideboard material.
Ironshell Beetle image 2.5 This kind of card is always pretty nice. Early, it can just be the two mana 2/2 you need, and late it can come down and put the counter on something better.
Fearless Halberdier image 1.0 If you are short on creatures, you’ll play this. Otherwise, not so much.
Hypothesizzle image 3.0 5 mana for 4 damage isn’t an amazing rate, but you also effectively get to loot. Now, you do have to discard a non-land which tends to mean you lose a very real card, but if you combine it with Jump-Start it doesn’t feel too bad.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Skyline Scout
Beamsplitter Mage image 2.0 There aren’t really enough good ways to abuse the Mage’s ability, though there are a few, and at worse it is a two mana 2/2.
Wand of Vertebrae image 0.5 This is sideboard material to be brought in against really graveyard-heavy decks.
Centaur Peacemaker image 2.0 While it isn’t great giving your opponent life, the fact that you both get it does mean you are coming out ahead from this card since..you know, you’re also getting this creature, so it isn’t as bad as it might seem.
Child of Night image 2.0 This has decent stats and lifelink. Not much more to say about it!
Dimir Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Urban Utopia image 1.5 This fixes decently and replaces itself, but you just don’t really need it in this format, as Gates are pretty easy to come by.
Devious Cover-Up image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a pretty bad counterspell in most decks in the format. Four mana to counter something tends to be way too clunky, and shuffling cards into your deck isn’t that big of a deal. However, the UW decks in this format can sometimes end up in very real controlling builds where Devious Cover-Up is actually a quality card, especially if you have two of them to loop. You can just lock down the board and outvalue your opponent until their dead! So, this gets a build around grade. In the right deck, it is pretty legit – but don’t try to play it in any old Blue deck.
Hammer Dropper image 2.0 This statline is pretty ugly, but the high power does mean it can Mentor pretty easily, and your opponent also kind of has to block it or things can get out of hand.
Skyline Scout image 2.0 Its nice that this can start going to sky once it can’t get in on the ground, but it isn’t exactly efficient as a creature, and paying two mana to make it Fly isn’t always something you’ll have the mana for.
Vicious Rumors image 1.0 This does a bunch of small stuff, but all of it is pretty irrelevant most of the time.
Golgari Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Skyknight Legionnaire
Join Shields image 0.5 This is way too expensive to be very useful. It can be a more complicated fog effect, or save a creature from removal, but that’s just not what you want for 5 mana. Siding it in against someone with sweepers is worth doing, though.
Inspiring Unicorn image 2.5 This doesn’t have the most impressive stats, and that often means it ends up eating a cheap removal spell before you ever attack with it, but if you’re allowed to untap with it, it helps make most boards pretty formidable.
Veiled Shade image 2.0 A Gray Ogre isn’t very good, but this being able to pump its stats does make it into a pretty interesting attacker.
Hitchclaw Recluse image 2.0 We see this card a lot, and its always pretty decent. Green can’t always deal with flyers very effectively, and this can help in that regard.
Skyknight Legionnaire image 3.0 This can do a lot of damage in the air in a hurry! And…that’s about all there is to say.
Righteous Blow image 2.0 This kills things fairly efficiently, but it is too situational to be anything special. You’ll run it if you’re desperate for removal.
Gateway Plaza image 2.5 This is nice fixing that happens to be a Gate, though having to effectively pay one mana for it is a bit of a bummer.
Wishcoin Crab image 1.5 This is passable if you need a defensive creature in your Blue decks, and blocks surprisingly well, even in the later part of the game.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Barging Sergeant image 2.5 This can add a ton of damage to the board in a hurry, as it is capable of Mentoring most creatures. Its usually going to die during the attack, but the value it gives you is incredibly good.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Wojek Bodyguard
Worldsoul Colossus image 2.0 This can be pretty big…but it is still just a big vanilla creature, and the massive investment doesn’t always feel worth it.
Book Devourer image 1.0 This has bad stats, and its combat damage trigger is only useful in very narrow situations.
Wary Okapi image 2.0 This is a decent French Vanilla creature, but not much else!
Garrison Sergeant image 1.5 In a deck with a lot of Gates this is a decent playable, though a 5-mana 3/3 with Double Strike isn’t exactly amazing either.
Moodmark Painter image 1.0 This Common is a big part of why Golgari decks in this format struggle, because it just isn’t very good, and its supposed to be a key Common for that deck! It has bad stats, and while the boost it offers can be nice, it usually isn’t enough for this card to be very good.
Collar the Culprit image 1.5 This is clunky for how situational it is. Being an instant is nice, though.
Maximize Altitude image 2.0 This is a nice tool for aggressive Izzet decks, as it can trigger your spell payoffs while also allowing you to attack pretty hard with one of your creatures in the air.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Centaur Peacemaker image 2.0 While it isn’t great giving your opponent life, the fact that you both get it does mean you are coming out ahead from this card since..you know, you’re also getting this creature, so it isn’t as bad as it might seem.
Wojek Bodyguard image 2.5 This needs friends to attack with, but that’s okay, because that’s usually what you’re going to be doing in a Boros deck that likes mentoring stuff, and this can train pretty much all the creatures that are one and two drops, making it a pretty nice Common.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Bounty Agent
Bounty Agent image 2.5 You’re mostly just getting a two mana 2/2 with Vigilance here, and that’s a decent card, especially in a format with lots of ways to put counters on it.
Gird for Battle image 2.0 This can really help power aggressive decks in the format, suddenly enabling two attacks you didn’t have before, and helping your creatures Mentor others.
Flower image 3.0 The Flower half isn’t too bad, as making sure you hit a land drop early is pretty nice. Its actually kind of neat that it costs hybrid mana, so you can actually use it to help you splash either Green or White in a deck that doesn’t have the other Selesnya color. Meanwhile, if you draw this late ona stalled out board, Flourish has a good chance of shifting the game in your favor.
Golgari Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Vernadi Shieldmate image 2.5 This has fine stats for a two drop and slots nicely into many decks in the format.
Gravitic Punch image 0.0 // 2.5 This is pretty much only playable in more aggressive Izzet decks that have various creatures whose power goes up when you cast spells. In those situations, this isn’t a bad way to do the last damage to your opponent. In all the other decks though, its unplayable. Cards that just do damage to an opponent usually aren’t great, and that’s still mostly true here.
Blade Instructor image 2.0 This can pretty frequently attack and put a counter on something, and because of its 3 power your opponent often can’t do anything but trade with it. Which…if they have a 1/1 token doesn’t feel great, but you still get a counter out of the deal.
Maniacal Rage image 1.5 This is a big boost for the cost, and it has the upside of being able to turn off an opposing blocker, but its still an Aura that can really result in you getting blown out, and it doesn’t quite do enough to overcome that.
Gateway Plaza image 2.5 This is nice fixing that happens to be a Gate, though having to effectively pay one mana for it is a bit of a bummer.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Sacred Foundry
Sacred Foundry image 2.5 These are good fixing.
Centaur Peacemaker image 2.0 While it isn’t great giving your opponent life, the fact that you both get it does mean you are coming out ahead from this card since..you know, you’re also getting this creature, so it isn’t as bad as it might seem.
Barging Sergeant image 2.5 This can add a ton of damage to the board in a hurry, as it is capable of Mentoring most creatures. Its usually going to die during the attack, but the value it gives you is incredibly good.
Skyline Scout image 2.0 Its nice that this can start going to sky once it can’t get in on the ground, but it isn’t exactly efficient as a creature, and paying two mana to make it Fly isn’t always something you’ll have the mana for.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Wall of Mist image 1.5 This is passable in the Blue control decks in the format, but you’re probably hoping for defensive creatures that are more impactful than this.
Fire Urchin image 2.0 Not too bad of a payoff if you’re in the aggressive Izzet deck, but certainly not one you go after very aggressively.
Izzet Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Blade Instructor
Blade Instructor image 2.0 This can pretty frequently attack and put a counter on something, and because of its 3 power your opponent often can’t do anything but trade with it. Which…if they have a 1/1 token doesn’t feel great, but you still get a counter out of the deal.
Dimir Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Golgari Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Ledev Guardian image 1.5 This isn’t that great whether you cast it or power it out with Convoke.
Torch Courier image 1.5 This is a pretty mediocre one drop. A one mana 1/1 with Haste just doesn’t do enough these days – there are many boards where this is immediately irrelevant. The upside of giving Haste to something else is nice, but still not very impressive.
Child of Night image 2.0 This has decent stats and lifelink. Not much more to say about it!
Goblin Locksmith image 1.0 This isn’t that far from just being Goblin Piker, a card you really hope you don’t play in Limited.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Parhelion Patrol
Wand of Vertebrae image 0.5 This is sideboard material to be brought in against really graveyard-heavy decks.
Join Shields image 0.5 This is way too expensive to be very useful. It can be a more complicated fog effect, or save a creature from removal, but that’s just not what you want for 5 mana. Siding it in against someone with sweepers is worth doing, though.
Tenth District Guard image 1.5 This has okay starting stats, but its ETB ability is irrelevant about 90% of the time, and that means this isn’t that much better than a vanilla two mana 2/2.
Parhelion Patrol image 2.5 Flying and Mentor go pretty well together, since it becomes easier for it to attack and survive. It can of course only Mentor 1 power creatures – at least at first – but that’s fine, and you can often end up training it too, in which case it can become a real monster.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Leapfrog image
Pack 1 Pick 11: Sworn Companions
Flight of Equenauts image 2.5 This underperforms a little bit. The format can be somewhat fast, and while you can definitely power this out for 5 or 6 mana, sometimes that’s just a little too late. It is still a pretty nice finisher, especially in GW, but not as incredible as it looks at first glance.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Crushing Canopy image 0.5 This is mostly sideboard material.
Fearless Halberdier image 1.0 If you are short on creatures, you’ll play this. Otherwise, not so much.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Rosemane Centaur
Wand of Vertebrae image 0.5 This is sideboard material to be brought in against really graveyard-heavy decks.
Centaur Peacemaker image 2.0 While it isn’t great giving your opponent life, the fact that you both get it does mean you are coming out ahead from this card since..you know, you’re also getting this creature, so it isn’t as bad as it might seem.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Urban Utopia image 1.5 This fixes decently and replaces itself, but you just don’t really need it in this format, as Gates are pretty easy to come by.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Rosemane Centaur
Join Shields image 0.5 This is way too expensive to be very useful. It can be a more complicated fog effect, or save a creature from removal, but that’s just not what you want for 5 mana. Siding it in against someone with sweepers is worth doing, though.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Centaur Peacemaker
Collar the Culprit image 1.5 This is clunky for how situational it is. Being an instant is nice, though.
Centaur Peacemaker image 2.0 While it isn’t great giving your opponent life, the fact that you both get it does mean you are coming out ahead from this card since..you know, you’re also getting this creature, so it isn’t as bad as it might seem.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Maniacal Rage
Maniacal Rage image 1.5 This is a big boost for the cost, and it has the upside of being able to turn off an opposing blocker, but its still an Aura that can really result in you getting blown out, and it doesn’t quite do enough to overcome that.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Skyline Scout
Watery Grave image 2.5 These are good fixing.
Pilfering Imp image 2.0 If you play this early it does a good job of chipping in for some damage, and then it has a decent disruptive effect for later in the game.
Citywatch Sphinx image 2.5 This card is a disappointment. I think in a lot of formats it would be quite good, but the aggro decks in this format really punish your plan of paying a 6-mana 5/4 Flyer. By the time you play this they can usually just swing into it with no real problem, and the fact you Surviel just doesn’t matter! It definitely isn’t bad, but at first glance it looks like a great Uncommon, and in reality its just a solid card.
Necrotic Wound image 2.5 This can kill things for only one mana, but part of what would normally make a one mana removal spell great is you can cast it early. And…you can’t do that here, since you need to set it up before it actually does something. It is definitely potent in the mid to late game, but the early game downside is a real problem.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.5 This is mostly a sideboard card, though it isn’t a complete disaster to have one in your main deck, as most decks in this format have enough targets for it. The real problem is running into a RW deck, which doesn’t tend to have many targets.
Candlelight Vigil image 1.0 The boost this gives is significant, but the risk of a 2-for-1 is very real, and it generally isn’t worth the risk.
Parhelion Patrol image 2.5 Flying and Mentor go pretty well together, since it becomes easier for it to attack and survive. It can of course only Mentor 1 power creatures – at least at first – but that’s fine, and you can often end up training it too, in which case it can become a real monster.
Fearless Halberdier image 1.0 If you are short on creatures, you’ll play this. Otherwise, not so much.
Wishcoin Crab image 1.5 This is passable if you need a defensive creature in your Blue decks, and blocks surprisingly well, even in the later part of the game.
Skyline Scout image 2.0 Its nice that this can start going to sky once it can’t get in on the ground, but it isn’t exactly efficient as a creature, and paying two mana to make it Fly isn’t always something you’ll have the mana for.
Kraul Foragers image 2.5 This isn’t a terrible Undergrowth payoff. As long as you are gaining 2+ life with it, it feels pretty good, and it is often enough to help you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Vedalken Mesmerist image 1.5 It isn’t a complete disaster if you play this as your two drop, but it isn’t something you should be happy about either. Its attack trigger rarely does enough.
Vigorspore Wurm image 2.0 This is a passable Undergrowth payoff, as it usually gives a relevant stats boost. The fact it can’t be double blocked is pretty real too, and this creature is surprisingly difficult to stop in combat.
Bartizan Bats image 2.0 3 power on a flyer for 4 mana is a decent deal…but the one toughness is pretty rough, as it means your opponent can often trade up for this thing with cheap removal or 1/1 flying tokens.
Izzet Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Healer's Hawk
Omnispell Adept image 1.5 This has bad stats and a really expensive and situational ability. Basically, the ability gives you a discount on spells, and you can also sort of look at it as fixing for spells, but I wouldn’t rely on it as your only source of fixing for an off-color spell. You should probably have some lands that help you out too, but if you’re splashing a couple of spells it does get a little bit of extra value.
Murmuring Mystic image 4.0 This is a very powerful build around for both Dimir and the slower versions of Izzet. Cranking out a 1/1 Flying token for every spell is enough to quickly overpower most opponents.
Affectionate Indrik image 3.5 This can usually come down and kill something, while sticking around, and that’s a great way to stabilize after you’ve been behind early, making this a 6-drop that is definitely worth playing.
Ornery Goblin image 2.5 This is a surprisingly pesky two-drop that is pretty difficult to attack through or block profitably in the early game, and that’s pretty nice.
Pack's Favor image 1.5 This is a decent trick, and it is sweet that sometimes you can cast it when you seemingly have no mana.
Izzet Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Generous Stray image 2.0 This isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, but its stats are pretty disappointing.
Cosmotronic Wave image 2.5 This is a really nice card for aggressive Izzet and Boros decks, as it often wins you the game. It is a key card in those decks, but also not something you want to go after super early, since it is pretty much only good in those decks – where you’ll always want 1-2 copies of it.
Command the Storm image 2.5 This has bad stats, and its combat damage trigger is only useful in very narrow situations.
Dazzling Lights image 1.5 This kind of effect is pretty underwhelming, as it just doesn’t accomplish enough most of the time. However, the fact that this format has a spell deck definitely upgrades it a bit, and Surveil isn’t too bad either.
Candlelight Vigil image 1.0 The boost this gives is significant, but the risk of a 2-for-1 is very real, and it generally isn’t worth the risk.
Moodmark Painter image 1.0 This Common is a big part of why Golgari decks in this format struggle, because it just isn’t very good, and its supposed to be a key Common for that deck! It has bad stats, and while the boost it offers can be nice, it usually isn’t enough for this card to be very good.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Izzet Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Wojek Bodyguard
Citywide Bust image 1.5 This is mostly a more complicated version of the usual “Destroy big creature” card. There aren’t a lot of board states where this will hit more than one thing, but it is nice that it has the upside of doing that. Problem is, there are also plenty of board states where it hurts you more or doesn’t do anything!
Thoughtbound Phantasm image 2.5 A one mana 2/2 with Defender is kind of an okay blocker in the early game that can at least trade, and then this is a pretty powerful Surveil payoff that can just get massive. Obviously, its at its best in UB, but it isn’t too bad in UW either.
Vedalken Mesmerist image 1.5 It isn’t a complete disaster if you play this as your two drop, but it isn’t something you should be happy about either. Its attack trigger rarely does enough.
Whisper Agent image 2.5 This can Flash in to ambush something – though that usually means you’re just getting a trade since it only has two toughness. But, that’s an okay deal, especially because you get Surveil 1. When you can Flash it in and kill an attacker and it survives, you feel pretty good!
Dazzling Lights image 1.5 This kind of effect is pretty underwhelming, as it just doesn’t accomplish enough most of the time. However, the fact that this format has a spell deck definitely upgrades it a bit, and Surveil isn’t too bad either.
Wild Ceratok image 1.5 This stat-line is passable if you’re desperate for a four drop.
Maximize Velocity image 2.0 This is a nice card in the aggressive Izzet decks, as you usually get some value out of just casting spells, so cheap ones like this are nice, especially because it can help you do more damage out of nowhere.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Wojek Bodyguard image 2.5 This needs friends to attack with, but that’s okay, because that’s usually what you’re going to be doing in a Boros deck that likes mentoring stuff, and this can train pretty much all the creatures that are one and two drops, making it a pretty nice Common.
Hammer Dropper image 2.0 This statline is pretty ugly, but the high power does mean it can Mentor pretty easily, and your opponent also kind of has to block it or things can get out of hand.
Rhizome Lurcher image 2.0 This is another pretty disappointing Common Undergrowth card. It isn’t bad, but the upside here usually isn’t all that great by turn 4 – getting a 3/3 or a 4/4 is what you can expect.
Dimir Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Take Heart
Electrostatic Field image 3.0 This is nice in the more controlling Izzet decks, where you can play this defensive creature and chip away at your opponent.
Wee Dragonauts image 4.0 This is a great signpost Uncommon. It hits hard in the air pretty often in the Izzet decks in the format, doing a ton of damage in only a few swings.
Sprouting Renewal image 2.0 Neither mode here is exactly exciting, but they are both fine, and this is a nice way to have some artifact/enchantment hate in your main deck that doesn’t cost you a whole lot.
Radical Idea image 2.0 This is pretty nice in UR decks because of the spell-triggers, and it isn’t bad in UW control decks either.
Ledev Guardian image 1.5 This isn’t that great whether you cast it or power it out with Convoke.
Hired Poisoner image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are pretty much always a 2.5. They are cheap and they can trade for anything, which is nice.
Tenth District Guard image 1.5 This has okay starting stats, but its ETB ability is irrelevant about 90% of the time, and that means this isn’t that much better than a vanilla two mana 2/2.
Generous Stray image 2.0 This isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, but its stats are pretty disappointing.
Unexplained Disappearance image 2.5 Two mana instant bounce spells are always decent enough, especially when you can use them in response to a combat trick or something like that, and tacking on Surveil is pretty nice.
Selesnya Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Take Heart image 2.0 This trick is fine. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be solid in Limited, and the life gain tacked on is nice.
Golgari Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Cosmotronic Wave
Hellkite Whelp image 2.5 This is definitely an underperformer. Basically any creature in this format that lags behind in stats for its cost is, and that’s what we have here with a 5-mana 3/3 Flyer. It is nice that it can pick off smaller creatures, and it isn’t bad, it just also isn’t good.
District Guide image 3.5 Being able to get a Gate with this is big, because you can play gates that are really great at fixing your mana – it is just way better than grabbing a basic most of the time, though even if this could only grab basics it would still be a nice card.
Haazda Marshal image 2.5 This does some pretty nice work if you play it early, especially if you do it alongside creatures who can Mentor it, so that it can attack more effectively. If it attacks and trades while giving you a 1/1 token, you’re doing a pretty good job!
Pitiless Gorgon image 2.0 Deathtouchers can trade with anything which is sweet – but the more they cost, the less impressive that becomes, since you won’t be getting a mana advantage out of a trade nearly as often.
Cosmotronic Wave image 2.5 This is a really nice card for aggressive Izzet and Boros decks, as it often wins you the game. It is a key card in those decks, but also not something you want to go after super early, since it is pretty much only good in those decks – where you’ll always want 1-2 copies of it.
Parhelion Patrol image 2.5 Flying and Mentor go pretty well together, since it becomes easier for it to attack and survive. It can of course only Mentor 1 power creatures – at least at first – but that’s fine, and you can often end up training it too, in which case it can become a real monster.
Wojek Bodyguard image 2.5 This needs friends to attack with, but that’s okay, because that’s usually what you’re going to be doing in a Boros deck that likes mentoring stuff, and this can train pretty much all the creatures that are one and two drops, making it a pretty nice Common.
Sumala Woodshaper image 3.0 This will usually draw you a card, and that means it typically represents a 2-for-1, which goes a long way towards making up for its bad stats. You do want to make sure you have like 18 cards in your deck it can hit, but that’s not a big challenge.
Torch Courier image 1.5 This is a pretty mediocre one drop. A one mana 1/1 with Haste just doesn’t do enough these days – there are many boards where this is immediately irrelevant. The upside of giving Haste to something else is nice, but still not very impressive.
Ornery Goblin image 2.5 This is a surprisingly pesky two-drop that is pretty difficult to attack through or block profitably in the early game, and that’s pretty nice.
Golgari Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Smelt-Ward Minotaur
Smelt-Ward Minotaur image 2.5 This is pretty nice in either of the Red aggressive decks (Izzet and Boros), as turning off a blocker is a big deal! Izzet will have more spells to enable it than Boros, but it has decent stats and solid upside, so its definitely nice in both.
Izzet Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Barging Sergeant image 2.5 This can add a ton of damage to the board in a hurry, as it is capable of Mentoring most creatures. Its usually going to die during the attack, but the value it gives you is incredibly good.
Dead Weight image 3.5 This kills a whole lot of stuff in this format for only one mana – including significantly more expensive creatures, and that makes it pretty great.
Veiled Shade image 2.0 A Gray Ogre isn’t very good, but this being able to pump its stats does make it into a pretty interesting attacker.
Portcullis Vine image 1.0 Its nice that you can throw this away for a card when it isn’t useful. Problem is, it usually isn’t useful, and paying 3 mana to draw a card isn’t exactly a deal.
Generous Stray image 2.0 This isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, but its stats are pretty disappointing.
Sumala Woodshaper image 3.0 This will usually draw you a card, and that means it typically represents a 2-for-1, which goes a long way towards making up for its bad stats. You do want to make sure you have like 18 cards in your deck it can hit, but that’s not a big challenge.
Tenth District Guard image 1.5 This has okay starting stats, but its ETB ability is irrelevant about 90% of the time, and that means this isn’t that much better than a vanilla two mana 2/2.
Dimir Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Truefire Captain
Truefire Captain image 3.5 This is a nice mentor creature, and doing damage to players any time it gets damaged is sweet too, because it means just trading for this in combat will also hurt your opponent – as will burn spells they point at it.
Vernadi Shieldmate image 2.5 This has fine stats for a two drop and slots nicely into many decks in the format.
Fire Urchin image 2.0 Not too bad of a payoff if you’re in the aggressive Izzet deck, but certainly not one you go after very aggressively.
Muse Drake image 2.5 A 4-mana 1/3 with Flying isn’t the most impressive stat-line, but because it replaces itself right away it actually tends to be feel like a pretty decent card.
Devkarin Dissident image 2.0 This is a bear with some mediocre late-game upside, which means it is decent enough.
Izzet Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Passwall Adept image 1.5 The Adept’s ability can definitely lead you to victory late in the right situation, but in the early game it is not a very impressive card.
Dimir Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Fresh-Faced Recruit
Grappling Sundew image 0.5 This is mostly a sideboard card. Its activated ability is insanely expensive and really not that impressive, but it isn’t bad to side in against a deck with lots of fliers.
Devious Cover-Up image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a pretty bad counterspell in most decks in the format. Four mana to counter something tends to be way too clunky, and shuffling cards into your deck isn’t that big of a deal. However, the UW decks in this format can sometimes end up in very real controlling builds where Devious Cover-Up is actually a quality card, especially if you have two of them to loop. You can just lock down the board and outvalue your opponent until their dead! So, this gets a build around grade. In the right deck, it is pretty legit – but don’t try to play it in any old Blue deck.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Fresh-Faced Recruit image 3.0 This is a nice creature for aggressive decks who is a bit of a pain to block all game long, especially if you’re putting counters on him.
Loxodon Restorer image 2.0 This is a decent way to stabilize against aggro decks, as the life gain and the body do a pretty good job of helping you hold on. If you’re a slower White deck, the first of these is usually going to make your deck. While, if you’re more aggressive you’re not going to have any reason to play it.
Fearless Halberdier image 1.0 If you are short on creatures, you’ll play this. Otherwise, not so much.
Gravitic Punch image 0.0 // 2.5 This is pretty much only playable in more aggressive Izzet decks that have various creatures whose power goes up when you cast spells. In those situations, this isn’t a bad way to do the last damage to your opponent. In all the other decks though, its unplayable. Cards that just do damage to an opponent usually aren’t great, and that’s still mostly true here.
Golgari Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Candlelight Vigil
Candlelight Vigil image 1.0 The boost this gives is significant, but the risk of a 2-for-1 is very real, and it generally isn’t worth the risk.
Fearless Halberdier image 1.0 If you are short on creatures, you’ll play this. Otherwise, not so much.
Wishcoin Crab image 1.5 This is passable if you need a defensive creature in your Blue decks, and blocks surprisingly well, even in the later part of the game.
Kraul Foragers image 2.5 This isn’t a terrible Undergrowth payoff. As long as you are gaining 2+ life with it, it feels pretty good, and it is often enough to help you stabilize against more aggressive decks.
Vedalken Mesmerist image 1.5 It isn’t a complete disaster if you play this as your two drop, but it isn’t something you should be happy about either. Its attack trigger rarely does enough.
Bartizan Bats image 2.0 3 power on a flyer for 4 mana is a decent deal…but the one toughness is pretty rough, as it means your opponent can often trade up for this thing with cheap removal or 1/1 flying tokens.
Izzet Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Cosmotronic Wave
Pack's Favor image 1.5 This is a decent trick, and it is sweet that sometimes you can cast it when you seemingly have no mana.
Izzet Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Generous Stray image 2.0 This isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, but its stats are pretty disappointing.
Cosmotronic Wave image 2.5 This is a really nice card for aggressive Izzet and Boros decks, as it often wins you the game. It is a key card in those decks, but also not something you want to go after super early, since it is pretty much only good in those decks – where you’ll always want 1-2 copies of it.
Candlelight Vigil image 1.0 The boost this gives is significant, but the risk of a 2-for-1 is very real, and it generally isn’t worth the risk.
Izzet Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Citywide Bust
Citywide Bust image 1.5 This is mostly a more complicated version of the usual “Destroy big creature” card. There aren’t a lot of board states where this will hit more than one thing, but it is nice that it has the upside of doing that. Problem is, there are also plenty of board states where it hurts you more or doesn’t do anything!
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Hammer Dropper image 2.0 This statline is pretty ugly, but the high power does mean it can Mentor pretty easily, and your opponent also kind of has to block it or things can get out of hand.
Dimir Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Ledev Guardian
Radical Idea image 2.0 This is pretty nice in UR decks because of the spell-triggers, and it isn’t bad in UW control decks either.
Ledev Guardian image 1.5 This isn’t that great whether you cast it or power it out with Convoke.
Generous Stray image 2.0 This isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, but its stats are pretty disappointing.
Selesnya Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Parhelion Patrol
Parhelion Patrol image 2.5 Flying and Mentor go pretty well together, since it becomes easier for it to attack and survive. It can of course only Mentor 1 power creatures – at least at first – but that’s fine, and you can often end up training it too, in which case it can become a real monster.
Sumala Woodshaper image 3.0 This will usually draw you a card, and that means it typically represents a 2-for-1, which goes a long way towards making up for its bad stats. You do want to make sure you have like 18 cards in your deck it can hit, but that’s not a big challenge.
Torch Courier image 1.5 This is a pretty mediocre one drop. A one mana 1/1 with Haste just doesn’t do enough these days – there are many boards where this is immediately irrelevant. The upside of giving Haste to something else is nice, but still not very impressive.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Sumala Woodshaper
Portcullis Vine image 1.0 Its nice that you can throw this away for a card when it isn’t useful. Problem is, it usually isn’t useful, and paying 3 mana to draw a card isn’t exactly a deal.
Sumala Woodshaper image 3.0 This will usually draw you a card, and that means it typically represents a 2-for-1, which goes a long way towards making up for its bad stats. You do want to make sure you have like 18 cards in your deck it can hit, but that’s not a big challenge.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Boros Locket
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Lava Coil
Gruesome Menagerie image 0.0 // 2.5 This might look like the usually mediocre vanilla creature that you’ll just never play…but it turns out that a 5-mana 4/5 is very reasonable in this format’s more controlling decks. It blocks a whole lot of stuff and even attacks surprisingly well.
Flower image 3.0 The Flower half isn’t too bad, as making sure you hit a land drop early is pretty nice. Its actually kind of neat that it costs hybrid mana, so you can actually use it to help you splash either Green or White in a deck that doesn’t have the other Selesnya color. Meanwhile, if you draw this late ona stalled out board, Flourish has a good chance of shifting the game in your favor.
Kraul Swarm image 2.5 The Swarm has high power for 5-mana Flyer – that’s enough that it can’t just be ignored, and the fact that it can keep coming back can really present a problem for your opponent.
Lava Coil image 4.0 This is great. Two mana for 4 damage is a great rate, and the exile upside actually matters sometimes.
Notion Rain image 2.5 This is a pretty powerful Divination variant, as Surveil 2 really helps you see a lot of cards. The damage is well worth it, and you pretty much always want the first copy of this in your UB decks.
Pack's Favor image 1.5 This is a decent trick, and it is sweet that sometimes you can cast it when you seemingly have no mana.
Passwall Adept image 1.5 The Adept’s ability can definitely lead you to victory late in the right situation, but in the early game it is not a very impressive card.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Sumala Woodshaper image 3.0 This will usually draw you a card, and that means it typically represents a 2-for-1, which goes a long way towards making up for its bad stats. You do want to make sure you have like 18 cards in your deck it can hit, but that’s not a big challenge.
Collar the Culprit image 1.5 This is clunky for how situational it is. Being an instant is nice, though.
Rubblebelt Boar image 2.0 Without Jump-Start, this is a pretty bad card since your opponent can usually make a decision that won’t hurt them very much – and that’s usually the damage. However, with Jump-Start, you end up really putting the screws to your opponent in terms of damage, and the second time you cast this your opponent can often be in a bind, so this is surprisingly solid.
Whisper Agent image 2.5 This can Flash in to ambush something – though that usually means you’re just getting a trade since it only has two toughness. But, that’s an okay deal, especially because you get Surveil 1. When you can Flash it in and kill an attacker and it survives, you feel pretty good!
Sonic Assault image 3.0 This is a key card in aggressive Izzet decks, as it represents a ton of damage. Obviously there’s the two damage that it does, but because you also tap down a creature, you make it easier for your creatures to get in for damage – and because its an Instant, you often get some additional bonuses to trigger with the cards you have in play. So, casting this and Jump-Starting it in the same turn often means game over!
Hunted Witness image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that leave behind 1/1s tend to be pretty decent in Limited, and that’s certainly the case here, especially with White aggro decks being so real in the format.
Boros Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Skyknight Legionnaire
Hatchery Spider image 2.5 This is a pretty nice Undergrowth payoff, and because it costs 7 mana – meaning you’ll be playing it late – it will be able to get something for you about half the time. It is a bummer the card has to be Green – since in Limited you’re very unlikely to only have Green creatures – but the upside is enough that this is worth playing in grindier Green decks.
Thought Erasure image 2.5 This is pretty efficient disruption – we usually see this effect for three mana - and adding Surveil 1 to the mix is pretty sweet.
Kraul Harpooner image 3.0 A two mana 3/2 with Reach is already a pretty darn good rate, so having the upside of just killing an opposing flyer right away is great – although keep in mind, as long as the creature it fights has 2 or more power, the Harpooner is going down too! But that’s okay – this is sort of like a card that is either an efficient creature or Plummet, and that’s a pretty nice modal card to have. If you get to kill something with 1 power and it sticks around, it feels really absurd.
Beamsplitter Mage image 2.0 There aren’t really enough good ways to abuse the Mage’s ability, though there are a few, and at worse it is a two mana 2/2.
Gateway Plaza image 2.5 This is nice fixing that happens to be a Gate, though having to effectively pay one mana for it is a bit of a bummer.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Take Heart image 2.0 This trick is fine. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be solid in Limited, and the life gain tacked on is nice.
Ledev Guardian image 1.5 This isn’t that great whether you cast it or power it out with Convoke.
Skyline Scout image 2.0 Its nice that this can start going to sky once it can’t get in on the ground, but it isn’t exactly efficient as a creature, and paying two mana to make it Fly isn’t always something you’ll have the mana for.
Devious Cover-Up image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a pretty bad counterspell in most decks in the format. Four mana to counter something tends to be way too clunky, and shuffling cards into your deck isn’t that big of a deal. However, the UW decks in this format can sometimes end up in very real controlling builds where Devious Cover-Up is actually a quality card, especially if you have two of them to loop. You can just lock down the board and outvalue your opponent until their dead! So, this gets a build around grade. In the right deck, it is pretty legit – but don’t try to play it in any old Blue deck.
Skyknight Legionnaire image 3.0 This can do a lot of damage in the air in a hurry! And…that’s about all there is to say.
Douser of Lights image 2.0 This might look like the usually mediocre vanilla creature that you’ll just never play…but it turns out that a 5-mana 4/5 is very reasonable in this format’s more controlling decks. It blocks a whole lot of stuff and even attacks surprisingly well.
Pause for Reflection image 0.0 As usual, Fog isn’t really worth playing in Limited.
Izzet Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Justice Strike
Whispering Snitch image 3.5 This is the best Surveil payoff around, as draining life is a huge deal, and helps a grindy Surveil deck stay alive while also helping you win the game.
Justice Strike image 3.0 This ends up not being able to kill stuff a little too often, but it can still kill enough stuff for only two mana that it is certainly a quality card.
Gatekeeper Gargoyle image 2.5 This is a decent payoff for decks with lots of gates in them.
Veiled Shade image 2.0 A Gray Ogre isn’t very good, but this being able to pump its stats does make it into a pretty interesting attacker.
Siege Wurm image 3.0 This is pretty powerful if you can power it out on turn 5 and really, it is big enough to be relevant all game long. You definitely need to be good at going a little wide to take full advantage, but its well worth it.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Sure Strike image 2.0 As usual with this card that has been reprinted a ton, it is a reasonable trick that can help almost any creature win combat.
Moodmark Painter image 1.0 This Common is a big part of why Golgari decks in this format struggle, because it just isn’t very good, and its supposed to be a key Common for that deck! It has bad stats, and while the boost it offers can be nice, it usually isn’t enough for this card to be very good.
Passwall Adept image 1.5 The Adept’s ability can definitely lead you to victory late in the right situation, but in the early game it is not a very impressive card.
Hired Poisoner image 2.5 One mana 1/1s with Deathtouch are pretty much always a 2.5. They are cheap and they can trade for anything, which is nice.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Healer's Hawk
Emmara, Soul of the Accord image 3.5 If you combine this with convoke, you can pretty easily get multiple tokens out of her, and even without any of that to support her, she’s a two mana 2/2 that makes a 1/1 token when she attacks, which is plenty good.
House Guildmage image 4.0 Both options here can be pretty nice. Freezing down a creature can really help you slow your opponent down and/or help you win a race. The repeatable Surveil is great card selection too, and goes especially well with the Surveil payoffs in the format.
Silent Dart image 1.5 If you need removal, this can do it – though it isn’t exactly efficient.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Vigorspore Wurm image 2.0 This is a passable Undergrowth payoff, as it usually gives a relevant stats boost. The fact it can’t be double blocked is pretty real too, and this creature is surprisingly difficult to stop in combat.
Pause for Reflection image 0.0 As usual, Fog isn’t really worth playing in Limited.
Parhelion Patrol image 2.5 Flying and Mentor go pretty well together, since it becomes easier for it to attack and survive. It can of course only Mentor 1 power creatures – at least at first – but that’s fine, and you can often end up training it too, in which case it can become a real monster.
Vicious Rumors image 1.0 This does a bunch of small stuff, but all of it is pretty irrelevant most of the time.
Hypothesizzle image 3.0 5 mana for 4 damage isn’t an amazing rate, but you also effectively get to loot. Now, you do have to discard a non-land which tends to mean you lose a very real card, but if you combine it with Jump-Start it doesn’t feel too bad.
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Rubblebelt Boar image 2.0 Without Jump-Start, this is a pretty bad card since your opponent can usually make a decision that won’t hurt them very much – and that’s usually the damage. However, with Jump-Start, you end up really putting the screws to your opponent in terms of damage, and the second time you cast this your opponent can often be in a bind, so this is surprisingly solid.
Dimir Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Healer's Hawk
Flight of Equenauts image 2.5 This underperforms a little bit. The format can be somewhat fast, and while you can definitely power this out for 5 or 6 mana, sometimes that’s just a little too late. It is still a pretty nice finisher, especially in GW, but not as incredible as it looks at first glance.
Selective Snare image 1.5 It is pretty tricky to get decent value out of this. Bouncing is already an effect where you’re usually going down a card and your opponent isn’t. You do get the tempo advantage of course, but it is tough for this to be worth it, especially because the creature type thing doesn’t line up nearly as much as you’d like.
Might of the Masses image 2.0 This can give a pretty real boost for the cost, but the fact it is so reliant on the rest of your board is a problem.
Fresh-Faced Recruit image 3.0 This is a nice creature for aggressive decks who is a bit of a pain to block all game long, especially if you’re putting counters on him.
Vedalken Mesmerist image 1.5 It isn’t a complete disaster if you play this as your two drop, but it isn’t something you should be happy about either. Its attack trigger rarely does enough.
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Loxodon Restorer image 2.0 This is a decent way to stabilize against aggro decks, as the life gain and the body do a pretty good job of helping you hold on. If you’re a slower White deck, the first of these is usually going to make your deck. While, if you’re more aggressive you’re not going to have any reason to play it.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Pack's Favor image 1.5 This is a decent trick, and it is sweet that sometimes you can cast it when you seemingly have no mana.
Urban Utopia image 1.5 This fixes decently and replaces itself, but you just don’t really need it in this format, as Gates are pretty easy to come by.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Righteous Blow
Haazda Marshal image 2.5 This does some pretty nice work if you play it early, especially if you do it alongside creatures who can Mentor it, so that it can attack more effectively. If it attacks and trades while giving you a 1/1 token, you’re doing a pretty good job!
Arboretum Elemental image 2.0 This is big and it has hexproof, but the cost is very real even with Convoke, and it isn’t like 5 toughness is impossible to take down in combat.
Circuitous Route image 2.5 If you need to ramp and you have an interest in gates, this is a pretty decent inclusion, but be careful using a card that doesn’t add to the board at all!
Generous Stray image 2.0 This isn’t a bad thing to sacrifice to various effects, but its stats are pretty disappointing.
Wishcoin Crab image 1.5 This is passable if you need a defensive creature in your Blue decks, and blocks surprisingly well, even in the later part of the game.
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Goblin Locksmith image 1.0 This isn’t that far from just being Goblin Piker, a card you really hope you don’t play in Limited.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Righteous Blow image 2.0 This kills things fairly efficiently, but it is too situational to be anything special. You’ll run it if you’re desperate for removal.
Pause for Reflection image 0.0 As usual, Fog isn’t really worth playing in Limited.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Demotion
Demotion image 2.0 RW decks in this format can be really aggressive, and this tends to be a solid inclusion in those decks, as turning off blocking and activated abilities is usually enough for you to keep on attacking, and the fact it costs one mana probably also means you still have mana to play another creature or use a combat trick. Outside of that deck, it isn’t nearly as good.
Selesnya Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Garrison Sergeant image 1.5 In a deck with a lot of Gates this is a decent playable, though a 5-mana 3/3 with Double Strike isn’t exactly amazing either.
Loxodon Restorer image 2.0 This is a decent way to stabilize against aggro decks, as the life gain and the body do a pretty good job of helping you hold on. If you’re a slower White deck, the first of these is usually going to make your deck. While, if you’re more aggressive you’re not going to have any reason to play it.
Dazzling Lights image 1.5 This kind of effect is pretty underwhelming, as it just doesn’t accomplish enough most of the time. However, the fact that this format has a spell deck definitely upgrades it a bit, and Surveil isn’t too bad either.
Devious Cover-Up image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a pretty bad counterspell in most decks in the format. Four mana to counter something tends to be way too clunky, and shuffling cards into your deck isn’t that big of a deal. However, the UW decks in this format can sometimes end up in very real controlling builds where Devious Cover-Up is actually a quality card, especially if you have two of them to loop. You can just lock down the board and outvalue your opponent until their dead! So, this gets a build around grade. In the right deck, it is pretty legit – but don’t try to play it in any old Blue deck.
Ironshell Beetle image 2.5 This kind of card is always pretty nice. Early, it can just be the two mana 2/2 you need, and late it can come down and put the counter on something better.
Wild Ceratok image 1.5 This stat-line is passable if you’re desperate for a four drop.
Tenth District Guard image 1.5 This has okay starting stats, but its ETB ability is irrelevant about 90% of the time, and that means this isn’t that much better than a vanilla two mana 2/2.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Healer's Hawk
Might of the Masses image 2.0 This can give a pretty real boost for the cost, but the fact it is so reliant on the rest of your board is a problem.
Truefire Captain image 3.5 This is a nice mentor creature, and doing damage to players any time it gets damaged is sweet too, because it means just trading for this in combat will also hurt your opponent – as will burn spells they point at it.
Healer's Hawk image 3.0 This is a really nice one-drop, especially in Boros, since it is such a great creature to Mentor. Putting counters on this can quickly put the game out of reach for your opponent.
Cosmotronic Wave image 2.5 This is a really nice card for aggressive Izzet and Boros decks, as it often wins you the game. It is a key card in those decks, but also not something you want to go after super early, since it is pretty much only good in those decks – where you’ll always want 1-2 copies of it.
Pitiless Gorgon image 2.0 Deathtouchers can trade with anything which is sweet – but the more they cost, the less impressive that becomes, since you won’t be getting a mana advantage out of a trade nearly as often.
Take Heart image 2.0 This trick is fine. One mana for +2/+2 tends to be solid in Limited, and the life gain tacked on is nice.
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Selesnya Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Boros Guildgate
Flower image 3.0 The Flower half isn’t too bad, as making sure you hit a land drop early is pretty nice. Its actually kind of neat that it costs hybrid mana, so you can actually use it to help you splash either Green or White in a deck that doesn’t have the other Selesnya color. Meanwhile, if you draw this late ona stalled out board, Flourish has a good chance of shifting the game in your favor.
Pack's Favor image 1.5 This is a decent trick, and it is sweet that sometimes you can cast it when you seemingly have no mana.
Rosemane Centaur image 2.5 This isn’t terrible if you just cast it normally, so the Convoke upside makes it a pretty nice Common.
Sumala Woodshaper image 3.0 This will usually draw you a card, and that means it typically represents a 2-for-1, which goes a long way towards making up for its bad stats. You do want to make sure you have like 18 cards in your deck it can hit, but that’s not a big challenge.
Collar the Culprit image 1.5 This is clunky for how situational it is. Being an instant is nice, though.
Hunted Witness image 2.5 One mana 1/1s that leave behind 1/1s tend to be pretty decent in Limited, and that’s certainly the case here, especially with White aggro decks being so real in the format.
Boros Guildgate image 2.5 These are good fixing, but they get bonus points because there are several cards in the set that pay you off for playing Gates.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Skyline Scout
Kraul Harpooner image 3.0 A two mana 3/2 with Reach is already a pretty darn good rate, so having the upside of just killing an opposing flyer right away is great – although keep in mind, as long as the creature it fights has 2 or more power, the Harpooner is going down too! But that’s okay – this is sort of like a card that is either an efficient creature or Plummet, and that’s a pretty nice modal card to have. If you get to kill something with 1 power and it sticks around, it feels really absurd.
Gateway Plaza image 2.5 This is nice fixing that happens to be a Gate, though having to effectively pay one mana for it is a bit of a bummer.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Ledev Guardian image 1.5 This isn’t that great whether you cast it or power it out with Convoke.
Skyline Scout image 2.0 Its nice that this can start going to sky once it can’t get in on the ground, but it isn’t exactly efficient as a creature, and paying two mana to make it Fly isn’t always something you’ll have the mana for.
Douser of Lights image 2.0 This might look like the usually mediocre vanilla creature that you’ll just never play…but it turns out that a 5-mana 4/5 is very reasonable in this format’s more controlling decks. It blocks a whole lot of stuff and even attacks surprisingly well.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Intrusive Packbeast
Veiled Shade image 2.0 A Gray Ogre isn’t very good, but this being able to pump its stats does make it into a pretty interesting attacker.
Siege Wurm image 3.0 This is pretty powerful if you can power it out on turn 5 and really, it is big enough to be relevant all game long. You definitely need to be good at going a little wide to take full advantage, but its well worth it.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Moodmark Painter image 1.0 This Common is a big part of why Golgari decks in this format struggle, because it just isn’t very good, and its supposed to be a key Common for that deck! It has bad stats, and while the boost it offers can be nice, it usually isn’t enough for this card to be very good.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Boros Locket
Silent Dart image 1.5 If you need removal, this can do it – though it isn’t exactly efficient.
Vigorspore Wurm image 2.0 This is a passable Undergrowth payoff, as it usually gives a relevant stats boost. The fact it can’t be double blocked is pretty real too, and this creature is surprisingly difficult to stop in combat.
Pause for Reflection image 0.0 As usual, Fog isn’t really worth playing in Limited.
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Sworn Companions
Might of the Masses image 2.0 This can give a pretty real boost for the cost, but the fact it is so reliant on the rest of your board is a problem.
Sworn Companions image 2.0 If you’re interested in going wide, this does a decent job of it. You’re more likely to want to do that in GW.
Loxodon Restorer image 2.0 This is a decent way to stabilize against aggro decks, as the life gain and the body do a pretty good job of helping you hold on. If you’re a slower White deck, the first of these is usually going to make your deck. While, if you’re more aggressive you’re not going to have any reason to play it.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Intrusive Packbeast
Boros Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Intrusive Packbeast image 2.0 Having one of these in aggressive decks isn’t too bad, as it can often allow you to swing for lethal if you’re curving out, but it is also a card you end up cutting pretty often, and certainly not something you need in those decks.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Selesnya Locket
Selesnya Locket image 2.0 These are all fine. They can help you splash a color, they ramp you a bit, and you can cash them in for cards in the late game, which is good – because drawing mana rocks great is pretty bad.
Draft Pick Overview