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Quick Draft VOW 27 December 2021

27 December 04:43 - jfinumerable 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (14)
1 Abrade image
1 Wedding Invitation image
1 Blood Fountain image
1 Sanguine Statuette image
1 Stensia Uprising image
1 Vampires' Vengeance image
1 Flame-Blessed Bolt image
1 Syncopate image
1 Lacerate Flesh image
1 Adamant Will image
1 Sure Strike image
3 Ancestral Anger image
Creature (15)
1 Lambholt Raconteur // Lambholt Ravager image
1 Kessig Flamebreather image
1 Fleeting Spirit image
1 Brine Comber // Brinebound Gift image
1 Fearful Villager // Fearsome Werewolf image
1 Militia Rallier image
1 Vampire Slayer image
2 Bloodtithe Harvester image
1 Blood Hypnotist image
2 Falkenrath Celebrants image
2 Voldaren Epicure image
1 Daybreak Combatants image
Land (17)
11 Mountain image
5 Swamp image
1 Evolving Wilds image
Sideboard
2 Fleeting Spirit image
1 Brine Comber image
1 Fearful Villager image
1 Militia Rallier image
1 Daybreak Combatants image
1 Weary Prisoner image
1 Ollenbock Escort image
1 Panicked Bystander image
1 Diregraf Scavenger image
1 Steelclad Spirit image
2 Vampire Slayer image
1 Syncopate image
1 Adamant Will image
1 Witch's Web image
1 Dread Fugue image
1 Cradle of Safety image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Stensia Uprising
Stensia Uprising image 3.5 4 mana to get a 1/1 token every turn isn’t exactly good. The additional upside here is pretty nice of course, as getting a couple of tokens and doing 7 for 4 mana is a great deal. It is reasonably likely that you’ll eventually get to 13 permanents with it in play too, provided the game goes long enough. After all, it provides two permanents almost immediately. This will create an interesting mini-game sometimes -- like if you have too many permanents, your opponent will find themselves in an awkward position when you attack them or when they attack you. And, if you have too few, your opponent may go out of their way to keep it from triggering. Now, they probably shouldn’t go that hard, unless 7 is enough to kill them on the spot, but even just removing a creature with this seems pretty good. This is definitely a weird card, but my initial impression of it is that its pretty good.
Biolume Egg image 3.5 So, a 3-mana 0/4 that Scries 2 is something that you would already play in mid-range or control decks. Scry 2 has a very real impact on the quality of cards you draw! So, the upside that sacrificing this gives you a 4/4 that is unblockable is pretty spicy. And, given that Explot is a mechanic in this set, it means that sacrificing this won’t really be difficult to come by. In fact, the Scry might help you find something!
Retrieve image 1.5 This doesn’t look great. It won’t be easy actually getting back two cards with this. Sure, having a creature in your graveyard is a foregone conclusion, but having a noncreature permanent is not. In Limited, that means we’re talking Lands, Artifacts, and Enchantments, and those things don’t routinely end up in the graveyard! Unless, of course, you’re in a self mill deck. In a deck like that, getting a land + creature will be pretty easy, and not a bad deal. Still, this is going to only be good in some pretty specific decks, and even then it won’t be that great.
Angelic Quartermaster image 4.0 This 5 mana to add 5/5 to the board, and at least 3/3 of that has an evasive key word ability. The Quartermaster will pretty regularly find a way to create attacks that just weren’t there before, and she gives you value even if she dies right away. It does need the two creatures to already be in play to get the full value but making that happen before you cast it shouldn’t be too challenging. Also, +1/+1 counters are a big theme in this set, especially in GW.
Wretched Throng image 0.0 // 3.5 I always really like collect ‘em all cards in Limited, they make for interesting picks, and this is a fun take on that. The main idea here is that you can keep getting Exploit fodder if you have multiple copies, but just the fact that it can block and trade and get you another Throng is actually pretty good too. A card like this always needs a range of grades. If you have one of these, you’re never going to play it, but as soon as you have two, you’re looking at a 2.5, if you have 3, it is 3.0, if you have 4 or more, it’s a 3.5.
Hookhand Mariner image 3.0 This is a nice Common werewolf, something they could have used in the last set! A 4-mana 4/4 is pretty close to a C, and when this transforms it is hard to block.
Mulch image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a reprint, and one that stands a good chance at impacting constructed! In Limited, it is probably only worth it in a deck that is interesting in loading the graveyard, which mostly seems to be UG this time around. It does give you a good shot at hitting a land drop or two, which is fine. Still, I think most decks won’t play this apart from UG.
Honored Heirloom image 1.5 3 mana mana rocks are very rarely good in Limited, even if they add mana of any color. This one luckily comes with some additional value, as exiling stuff from graveyards does legitimately matter in this format. Still, you probably don’t play this unless you’re splashing a third color, as it is still very low impact.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Hungry Ridgewolf image 2.5 This isn’t the most exciting payoff ever, but it has decent base stats and will sometimes be a 3/2 with Trample, which is especially nice.
Flourishing Hunter image 2.5 It is pretty likely that this gains you 3 or more life, and that will feel pretty good if you’re trying to stabilize against an aggressive deck. . Seems like a solid card to have in the Colossal Dreadmaw/Honey Mammoth.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Mindleech Ghoul image 2.0 This is a bear with some pretty nice upside, as sometimes taking away a card from your opponent’s hand will be worth losing the creature. Its nice that the card is exiled too, because you know, graveyard stuff.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Vampires' Vengeance
Vampires' Vengeance image 2.5 Doing 2 to the whole board can be pretty nice, and obviously if you’re a deck with lots of vampires, you can make this fairly one-sided. Of course, the downside is that your opponent might have vampires too, in which case this won’t feel too good, but I still think you’ll basically always play the first copy of this in a BR deck in the format. It will be able to kill enough creatures, and the fail case of making Blood isn’t too bad. I don’t think its anything special, though.
Infestation Expert image 3.5 I would be pretty happy playing this card even if it didn’t transform. 5 mana for ⅘ worth of stats across two bodies is sort of the fail case, and it can of course churn out tokens. Then, being a werewolf, sometimes it will be significantly more impressive, attacking harder and making more tokens, and obviously as a ⅘, it is more likely to be able to rumble.
Cloaked Cadet image 3.5 This looks really strong. It has a pretty bad starting rate, but the stats it has work really well with training, because it will likely get a counter and likely become a ⅗ when you attack with it, netting you a card. Because it then has 5 toughness, it is going to be hard to take down in combat, and even if they do, you’re probably getting a 2-for-1. And that’s without taking into account having other ways to put counters on stuff.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Kindly Ancestor image 3.0 This seems like a nice Common. A 3-mana ⅔ with Lifelink would be a 2.5, so adding the Disturb upside is pretty nice! Giving lifelink to evasive creatures is especially nasty, as life gain just utterly alters races. Its nice that it will also work pretty well in GW, as putting +1/+1 counters on a lifelinker tends to feel pretty good.
Massive Might image 2.0 It feels like the last few sets have had some pretty legit tricks, and this is definitely another one. One mana tricks tend to be pretty nice in aggressive decks, as you get some serious tempo when you use them to win combat, and this one definitely gives you enough of a boost to be worth running in those decks. Now, it IS still a track, and those always come with significant risks, but I think this is one you’ll play the first copy of reasonably often, provided you’re aggro.
Scattered Thoughts image 2.0 It is pretty funny to compare this card to Organ Hoarder from the last set, which was the same mana cost, but put a 3/2 body into play and only let you grab one card from the top three, but yeah, way better either way. Anyway, this might not be the best Common in the whole set like the Hoarder was, but it seems like a solid playable. Looking at 4 cards is pretty nice for the cost, and loading up the graveyard is worth doing too.
Gift of Fangs image 3.0 So, this is basically Dead Weight that has both Vampire upside, and downside, depending on what you’re trying to do. If you really need to kill an opposing vampire, it will be pretty frustrating that this can’t do it – but +2/+2 on one of your vampires for only one mana is pretty nice upside on Dead Weight. Dead Weight is normally a 3.0, and I think this will still end up there. It kills a whole lot of things efficiently, after all.
Lacerate Flesh image 1.5 This is some pretty mediocre removal. 5 for 4 damage just isn’t much, and you’ll often be trading drown with it. Getting some Blood doesn’t really save it from mediocrity. It is still removal and brings some Blood and Spell synergy, so it’s something you’ll play sometimes.
Moldgraf Millipede image 2.0 This is a decent payoff for the UG deck in the format, which likes milling. It is hard to overlook how bad this will feel if you only end up with one or two creatures, but I think if its at least a 4/4 you feel okay about it, and sometimes it will be much bigger. It is still just a big vanilla creature, though.
Blood Servitor image 1.0 If you’re really interested in Blood, you might play this, but there are plenty of other cards in the set that make blood that are more efficient.
Mulch image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a reprint, and one that stands a good chance at impacting constructed! In Limited, it is probably only worth it in a deck that is interesting in loading the graveyard, which mostly seems to be UG this time around. It does give you a good shot at hitting a land drop or two, which is fine. Still, I think most decks won’t play this apart from UG.
Sigarda's Imprisonment image 3.0 This is White’s usual aura-based premium removal. Now, there’s a very real chance this is worse than normal, since Exploit is in the format, but I still think the efficiency of the card is worth it -- 3 mana completely removes the card from combat, allowing you to attack and take advantage right away, and its nice that in the late game you can get rid of the creature entirely and get a Blood token out of the deal.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Flame-Blessed Bolt
Fleeting Spirit image 3.0 This is a nice aggressive creature. You can attack with it for free a lot of the time, since if things go sideways on you can just flicker it. That also means it pairs well with Training. And, in the late game, gaining first strike is no joke!
Vampires' Vengeance image 2.5 Doing 2 to the whole board can be pretty nice, and obviously if you’re a deck with lots of vampires, you can make this fairly one-sided. Of course, the downside is that your opponent might have vampires too, in which case this won’t feel too good, but I still think you’ll basically always play the first copy of this in a BR deck in the format. It will be able to kill enough creatures, and the fail case of making Blood isn’t too bad. I don’t think its anything special, though.
Sporeback Wolf image 2.5 We’ve seen two mana 2/2s with this box of text before, and its fine. Being a 2/4 is decent enough upside on a bear.
Kessig Flamebreather image 2.0 Every time we’ve seen a noncreature spell payoff that pings the opponent, it has ended up being better than it looks. It will tend to do enough incidental damage throughout the game that it ends up being a pretty nice payoff.
Voldaren Epicure image 2.0 This does a bunch of little things, and I think they add up enough to make this a decent card. I don’t think you’ll always play it, but chances are good you’ll be interested in the Blood if yo’ure in Red, and especially Black/Red, and getting it on turn one seems like it will fuel some stuff.
Syphon Essence image 1.5 This not being able to counter noncreature nonplaneswalkers definitely matters, but it does counter the card type people tend to have the most of, and getting that Blood is nice upside. Still, it’s a narrow enough counterspell that you’ll cut it a lot.
Courier Bat image 3.0 This is a very nice Common. Early, its a Wind Drake, which is passable -- and then from the mid-game on, you’re going to be able to get a creature back reasonably often. Obviously, you’re going to want some life gain stuff going on, and that’s really a thing in BW, but there’s enough life gain around that I think this will be pretty much an auto-include in most Black decks, especially because it has such a good floor.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Piercing Light image 2.5 This kills X/2s pretty efficiently, but its situational in two different ways, and I don’t love that. The creature has to be small and attacking or blocking. Scry is some minor additional value, but yeah, this falls well short of being premium removal. Its just a solid playable. I’m giving it 2.5.
Flame-Blessed Bolt image 3.5 This is premium removal. One mana for 2 at Instant speed always is, as you can very easily trade up. The exile clause definitely matters because of the disturb mechanic too.
Drogskol Infantry image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common to me! It is a bear on one side, and then can come back as a pretty nice Aura late. Look at it as a creature who can trade and leave an Aura behind, and that sounds pretty good.
Massive Might image 2.0 It feels like the last few sets have had some pretty legit tricks, and this is definitely another one. One mana tricks tend to be pretty nice in aggressive decks, as you get some serious tempo when you use them to win combat, and this one definitely gives you enough of a boost to be worth running in those decks. Now, it IS still a track, and those always come with significant risks, but I think this is one you’ll play the first copy of reasonably often, provided you’re aggro.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Fleeting Spirit
Markov Retribution image 3.5 This is quite the Vampire payoff. Keep in mind the effect is not a fight effect, the creature just does damage equal to its power to a creature, and the card will also give +1/+0 to the vampire, so its chances of taking things down go up considerably! If you’re in Red, you’re likely to end up with some vampires without even trying, so I don’t really think this needs a straight up build around grade, though obviously, it is at its best in BR, where you can have a real critical mas of Vampires. Overall, I think this looks like it has a pretty incredible ceiling, as punching a blocker out of the way and attacking with a board that is buffed up is pretty nice. Like always with this kind of thing, you have to pick your spot carefully, since if they destroy your target, you won’t be getting enough out of this card. Still, I think you can spend a high pick on this.
Fleeting Spirit image 3.0 This is a nice aggressive creature. You can attack with it for free a lot of the time, since if things go sideways on you can just flicker it. That also means it pairs well with Training. And, in the late game, gaining first strike is no joke!
Rot-Tide Gargantua image 2.5 Sometimes, the Edict effect here won’t actually do a whole lot, and when that’s the case, its just a 5-mana 5/4, which isn’t really worth it. The upside is definitely real, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t see this being super impressive in most situations.
Drogskol Infantry image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common to me! It is a bear on one side, and then can come back as a pretty nice Aura late. Look at it as a creature who can trade and leave an Aura behind, and that sounds pretty good.
Sheltering Boughs image 1.0 This Aura replaces itself, which definitely upgrades it, but the stats boost isn’t pretty. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Wretched Throng image 0.0 // 3.5 I always really like collect ‘em all cards in Limited, they make for interesting picks, and this is a fun take on that. The main idea here is that you can keep getting Exploit fodder if you have multiple copies, but just the fact that it can block and trade and get you another Throng is actually pretty good too. A card like this always needs a range of grades. If you have one of these, you’re never going to play it, but as soon as you have two, you’re looking at a 2.5, if you have 3, it is 3.0, if you have 4 or more, it’s a 3.5.
Pyre Spawn image 2.0 This doesn’t have good stats, but the fact it bolts a thing when it dies does usually mean you can get a 2-for-1, and if your opponent’s life is low they are going to be sweating this a ton. I think this is a decent top curve card.
Sporeback Wolf image 2.5 We’ve seen two mana 2/2s with this box of text before, and its fine. Being a 2/4 is decent enough upside on a bear.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Doomed Dissenter image 3.0 This is a reprint, and a nice one to have in a set with Exploit. This is a great thing to sacrifice, and even apart from that, it can be a really obnoxious creature that just makes all X/1s really sad, since it just trades and gives you a 2/2. You get 3/3 of stats out of this for only two mana in the end, and that’s pretty nice.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Syncopate
Laid to Rest image 1.0 // 4.0 This is mostly here for the GW deck, which is all about Humans and +1/+1 counters, and in that deck, this is going to be a pretty serious value engine. Drawing cards and gaining life is really going to enable you to grind out wins. Sure, costing 4 and not adding to the board is kind of a big deal, but the good news is that while it may not actually add something to the board, it does alter the board, in the sense that your opponent now has to deal with the fact that if they attack you, you can threaten to gain life and draw cards. This is definitely a build around, but I think its one that has a high enough ceiling that you may want to consider taking it early.
Crawling Infestation image 1.0 // 3.5 This is very similar to a card from our last trip to Innistrad called Creeping Sensation. So similar that I thought it was a reprint at first! They are pretty similar, the main difference is that this checks for creatures that go to the graveyard and not lands, and it only triggers once each turn, but this is a pretty similar card. It really helps you out if you’re interested in milling, and it cranks out Insect tokens fairly often. Basically, you get to add to the board while also loading up your graveyard. And, your own creatures dying also will give you those tokens. There’s a bit of a risk of milling yourself out, but based on how it worked out last time, you usually end up winning with all the graveyard value before that happens. You don’t wanna play this if you’re an aggro deck of course, but if you’re any sort of grindy graveyard deck, this is a very impressive engine
Scattered Thoughts image 2.0 It is pretty funny to compare this card to Organ Hoarder from the last set, which was the same mana cost, but put a 3/2 body into play and only let you grab one card from the top three, but yeah, way better either way. Anyway, this might not be the best Common in the whole set like the Hoarder was, but it seems like a solid playable. Looking at 4 cards is pretty nice for the cost, and loading up the graveyard is worth doing too.
Adamant Will image 1.5 We’ve seen this card a few times now, it’s a pretty reasonable trick. The boost it gives is enough to win just about any combat, and the indestructibility means you can even use it to save a creature from removal. It is still a trick and comes with all the inherent downsides those come with – like being situational and sometimes risky.
Stitched Assistant image 3.0 The exploit trigger lets you see two cards, and makes sure that the creature you sacrifice is instantly replaced. You won’t always want to sacrifice a thing, but the fact that you can is pretty nice, and there are enough decent sacrifice fodder type cards that this seems like a 3.
Rot-Tide Gargantua image 2.5 Sometimes, the Edict effect here won’t actually do a whole lot, and when that’s the case, its just a 5-mana 5/4, which isn’t really worth it. The upside is definitely real, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t see this being super impressive in most situations.
End the Festivities image 0.5 Yeah. No thanks. This is a sideboard card, there aren’t enough X/1s in this format that you want to be doing this.
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Heron-Blessed Geist image 2.5 A 5-mana 3/3 Flyer isn’t very good, but the fact it can make 1/1 flyers from the graveyard is big, and will often feel like you’re getting a 2-for-1. You do need to have an Enchantment in play to use that ability, which is a little annoying, but seems doable enough.
Syncopate image 2.5 This is a reprint, and actually a pretty reasonable counterspell. XU counterspells are nicely customizable, and you’ll find yourself able to counter a spell much more frequently without going out of your way to leave some amount of mana up as a result. Exiling the thing you counters certainly matters in this format too. Now, it is still a counterspell, and having to have the mana up at the exact right time just for this to trade 1-for-1 still isn’t awesome, but unlike a lot of counterspells, this one is worth it in Limited.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Brine Comber
Brine Comber image 3.5 This looks amazing, and kind of resembles Lingering Souls. Three mana a 1/1 and a 1/1 flyer isn’t bad, and you get at least one 1/1 flyer back from your graveyard, all from a single card! And that’s without taking into account the Aura upside. This is a great signpost Uncommon.
Desperate Farmer image 2.5 This starts out with a pretty ugly stat-line – a Gray Ogre with life link just isn’t worth three mana, but it has the ability to turn into a 4/3 with Lifelink, which is obviously pretty good for three mana! And transforming it isn’t’ super hard, something just has to die, so you can just play this and offer a trade for example. You can also exploit something to transform it.
Sure Strike image 1.5 This is a trick we see a lot. It can make almost any creature win combat which is nice, but because it doesn’t raise toughness it doesn’t have the additional value of helping you save a creature from removal – but the main purpose of tricks is using them in combat anyway. You’ll play this in aggro decks for sure, but probably not anywhere else.
Steelclad Spirit image 2.0 Two mana 3/3s with Defender are surprisingly not completely terrible. This is because they block pretty impressively early, and have enough size that your opponent is usually just going to have to trade. This has the nice upside of being an attacker sometimes.
Courier Bat image 3.0 This is a very nice Common. Early, its a Wind Drake, which is passable -- and then from the mid-game on, you’re going to be able to get a creature back reasonably often. Obviously, you’re going to want some life gain stuff going on, and that’s really a thing in BW, but there’s enough life gain around that I think this will be pretty much an auto-include in most Black decks, especially because it has such a good floor.
Toxic Scorpion image 3.0 This looks nice. A two mana 1/1 with Deathtouch is probably already a 2.0 or 2.5, since it can trade for anything and really represent a problem all game long. So, being able to give death touch to another creature on the ETB is nice, and gives it even more utility in the later game.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Grisly Ritual image 2.5 A 6 mana sorcery that kills something is certainly not premium. You almost always spend more mana, and having to tap all of your mana on your own turn is pretty brutal. Still, it is unconditional and gives you a couple of Blood tokens, so it isn’t bad. It just isn’t good either.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Evolving Wilds
Laid to Rest image 1.0 // 4.0 This is mostly here for the GW deck, which is all about Humans and +1/+1 counters, and in that deck, this is going to be a pretty serious value engine. Drawing cards and gaining life is really going to enable you to grind out wins. Sure, costing 4 and not adding to the board is kind of a big deal, but the good news is that while it may not actually add something to the board, it does alter the board, in the sense that your opponent now has to deal with the fact that if they attack you, you can threaten to gain life and draw cards. This is definitely a build around, but I think its one that has a high enough ceiling that you may want to consider taking it early.
Adamant Will image 1.5 We’ve seen this card a few times now, it’s a pretty reasonable trick. The boost it gives is enough to win just about any combat, and the indestructibility means you can even use it to save a creature from removal. It is still a trick and comes with all the inherent downsides those come with – like being situational and sometimes risky.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Stitched Assistant image 3.0 The exploit trigger lets you see two cards, and makes sure that the creature you sacrifice is instantly replaced. You won’t always want to sacrifice a thing, but the fact that you can is pretty nice, and there are enough decent sacrifice fodder type cards that this seems like a 3.
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Pyre Spawn image 2.0 This doesn’t have good stats, but the fact it bolts a thing when it dies does usually mean you can get a 2-for-1, and if your opponent’s life is low they are going to be sweating this a ton. I think this is a decent top curve card.
Wretched Throng image 0.0 // 3.5 I always really like collect ‘em all cards in Limited, they make for interesting picks, and this is a fun take on that. The main idea here is that you can keep getting Exploit fodder if you have multiple copies, but just the fact that it can block and trade and get you another Throng is actually pretty good too. A card like this always needs a range of grades. If you have one of these, you’re never going to play it, but as soon as you have two, you’re looking at a 2.5, if you have 3, it is 3.0, if you have 4 or more, it’s a 3.5.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 We see this all the time, and its always a pretty nice land. It does an excellent job of fixing for you. If you’re splashing something, just a single Wilds and a basic land in that splash color is enough, and that’s pretty great! Its at pretty much the same level as the Rare dual lands we just saw.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Fearful Villager
Laid to Rest image 1.0 // 4.0 This is mostly here for the GW deck, which is all about Humans and +1/+1 counters, and in that deck, this is going to be a pretty serious value engine. Drawing cards and gaining life is really going to enable you to grind out wins. Sure, costing 4 and not adding to the board is kind of a big deal, but the good news is that while it may not actually add something to the board, it does alter the board, in the sense that your opponent now has to deal with the fact that if they attack you, you can threaten to gain life and draw cards. This is definitely a build around, but I think its one that has a high enough ceiling that you may want to consider taking it early.
Fearful Villager image 2.0 This has alright base stats and some decent upside, but its nothing special.
Steelclad Spirit image 2.0 Two mana 3/3s with Defender are surprisingly not completely terrible. This is because they block pretty impressively early, and have enough size that your opponent is usually just going to have to trade. This has the nice upside of being an attacker sometimes.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Scattered Thoughts image 2.0 It is pretty funny to compare this card to Organ Hoarder from the last set, which was the same mana cost, but put a 3/2 body into play and only let you grab one card from the top three, but yeah, way better either way. Anyway, this might not be the best Common in the whole set like the Hoarder was, but it seems like a solid playable. Looking at 4 cards is pretty nice for the cost, and loading up the graveyard is worth doing too.
Honored Heirloom image 1.5 3 mana mana rocks are very rarely good in Limited, even if they add mana of any color. This one luckily comes with some additional value, as exiling stuff from graveyards does legitimately matter in this format. Still, you probably don’t play this unless you’re splashing a third color, as it is still very low impact.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Militia Rallier
Mulch image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a reprint, and one that stands a good chance at impacting constructed! In Limited, it is probably only worth it in a deck that is interesting in loading the graveyard, which mostly seems to be UG this time around. It does give you a good shot at hitting a land drop or two, which is fine. Still, I think most decks won’t play this apart from UG.
Honored Heirloom image 1.5 3 mana mana rocks are very rarely good in Limited, even if they add mana of any color. This one luckily comes with some additional value, as exiling stuff from graveyards does legitimately matter in this format. Still, you probably don’t play this unless you’re splashing a third color, as it is still very low impact.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Mindleech Ghoul image 2.0 This is a bear with some pretty nice upside, as sometimes taking away a card from your opponent’s hand will be worth losing the creature. Its nice that the card is exiled too, because you know, graveyard stuff.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Lacerate Flesh
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Lacerate Flesh image 1.5 This is some pretty mediocre removal. 5 for 4 damage just isn’t much, and you’ll often be trading drown with it. Getting some Blood doesn’t really save it from mediocrity. It is still removal and brings some Blood and Spell synergy, so it’s something you’ll play sometimes.
Moldgraf Millipede image 2.0 This is a decent payoff for the UG deck in the format, which likes milling. It is hard to overlook how bad this will feel if you only end up with one or two creatures, but I think if its at least a 4/4 you feel okay about it, and sometimes it will be much bigger. It is still just a big vanilla creature, though.
Blood Servitor image 1.0 If you’re really interested in Blood, you might play this, but there are plenty of other cards in the set that make blood that are more efficient.
Mulch image 1.0 // 2.5 This is a reprint, and one that stands a good chance at impacting constructed! In Limited, it is probably only worth it in a deck that is interesting in loading the graveyard, which mostly seems to be UG this time around. It does give you a good shot at hitting a land drop or two, which is fine. Still, I think most decks won’t play this apart from UG.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Fleeting Spirit
Fleeting Spirit image 3.0 This is a nice aggressive creature. You can attack with it for free a lot of the time, since if things go sideways on you can just flicker it. That also means it pairs well with Training. And, in the late game, gaining first strike is no joke!
Kessig Flamebreather image 2.0 Every time we’ve seen a noncreature spell payoff that pings the opponent, it has ended up being better than it looks. It will tend to do enough incidental damage throughout the game that it ends up being a pretty nice payoff.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Piercing Light image 2.5 This kills X/2s pretty efficiently, but its situational in two different ways, and I don’t love that. The creature has to be small and attacking or blocking. Scry is some minor additional value, but yeah, this falls well short of being premium removal. Its just a solid playable. I’m giving it 2.5.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Vampire Slayer
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Wretched Throng image 0.0 // 3.5 I always really like collect ‘em all cards in Limited, they make for interesting picks, and this is a fun take on that. The main idea here is that you can keep getting Exploit fodder if you have multiple copies, but just the fact that it can block and trade and get you another Throng is actually pretty good too. A card like this always needs a range of grades. If you have one of these, you’re never going to play it, but as soon as you have two, you’re looking at a 2.5, if you have 3, it is 3.0, if you have 4 or more, it’s a 3.5.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Adamant Will
Adamant Will image 1.5 We’ve seen this card a few times now, it’s a pretty reasonable trick. The boost it gives is enough to win just about any combat, and the indestructibility means you can even use it to save a creature from removal. It is still a trick and comes with all the inherent downsides those come with – like being situational and sometimes risky.
End the Festivities image 0.5 Yeah. No thanks. This is a sideboard card, there aren’t enough X/1s in this format that you want to be doing this.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Vampire Slayer
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Bloodtithe Harvester
Deathcap Glade image 3.0 As usual, two color duals tend to be pretty nice fixing. You don’t really want to go after them hard, but you’ll always play them if you’re in their colors or you’re splashing something
Soulcipher Board image 1.0 // 3.0 This seems like it might be a little slow. It doesn’t add to the board in a meaningful way until it transforms, and it will usually take a few turns for you to get there. Sure, any creature being milled or dying will remove a counter, so if you have a deck that is good at self-milling you could get it going pretty fast, but you probably can’t really count on this being good enough all on its own. I mean, if you don’t see a creature with the ability, it won’t remove a counter, and do you really want to not draw a creature? I mean, sometimes you won’t want to, but you frequently would rather have the creature than mill it. Once it does transform, its pretty impressive as an aerial threat with a very good mana sink ability, but I think it will be too slow in most decks.
Bloodtithe Harvester image 3.5 This is a very nice signpost Uncommon, that tells you BR is all about Blood tokens. This is a super efficient creature that brings one of those Blood tokens along with it -- and if that’s where this card ended -- a two mana 3/2 that gives you a Blood -- you would be pretty happy to play that! But it also comes with the ability to become a removal spell once you amass enough Blood. So yeah, gives you Blood, good Blood payoff, good stats. This is a signpost that you should be willing to go after pretty aggressively
Groom's Finery image 1.5 If you don’t also have Bride’s Gown, the boost from this card isn’t really going to be worth it. Two to play and two to equip for +2/+0 is basically never a worthwhile Equipment when we see it. Sure, it can enable an attack that wasn’t there before, but the lack of a toughness boost really matters.
Flourishing Hunter image 2.5 It is pretty likely that this gains you 3 or more life, and that will feel pretty good if you’re trying to stabilize against an aggressive deck. . Seems like a solid card to have in the Colossal Dreadmaw/Honey Mammoth.
Voldaren Epicure image 2.0 This does a bunch of little things, and I think they add up enough to make this a decent card. I don’t think you’ll always play it, but chances are good you’ll be interested in the Blood if yo’ure in Red, and especially Black/Red, and getting it on turn one seems like it will fuel some stuff.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Pointed Discussion image 1.5 Black always gets a draw spell like this, and the vast majority of them are pretty mediocre. Two cards for three mana and two life will be something worth paying in grindier decks, and the blood is nice upside. You won’t ever play it in more aggressive decks, though
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Blood Petal Celebrant image 3.0 This is a nice Common. We’ve seen two mana 2/1s who have first strike when they attack before, and they are always good two-drop aggro creatures, and this one gives you some Blood when it goes down. I don’t imagine you’ll cut this in Red decks.
Gryff Rider image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common. Because it has Flying, it will often be able to attack with other creatures that are bigger than it, so it can grow throughout the game, and even just getting one counter on it will feel pretty good. This seems like the kind of Common that will be the bread and butter of aggressive decks in this format.
Lantern Bearer image 3.5 This looks like a pretty good Common. A one mana 1/1 Flyer isn’t something that is worth it in a lot of formats all on its own, but it is a pretty decent play on turn one, as it can chip in for some real damage. Unlike most one mana 1/1 flyers though, once this become outclassed, you can just chump block with it and then Disturb it to get a pretty nice Aura! +1/+1 and Flying can turn almost any creature into a very real threat, and sure, 3 mana for that isn’t amazing, but remember that you also got a one mana 1/1 Flyer earlier in the game, and that sounds pretty good to me.
Toxic Scorpion image 3.0 This looks nice. A two mana 1/1 with Deathtouch is probably already a 2.0 or 2.5, since it can trade for anything and really represent a problem all game long. So, being able to give death touch to another creature on the ETB is nice, and gives it even more utility in the later game.
Aim for the Head image 1.5 It seems like we get a new take on Mind Rot every set, and this one is a bit interesting. 3 mana to get rid of two of your opponent’s cards is of course a 2-for-1 – but not impacting the board can be a pretty real cost, and an effect like this definitely has diminishing returns as the game goes on. It is a big deal that this exiles the cards though, because of the graveyard stuff in the format, and the alternate mode where it is a Zombie removal spell is nice too. That’s not to say this card is GOOD or anything, but it IS good as far as Mind Rots go.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Blood Hypnotist
Blood Hypnotist image 3.0 This looks pretty good to me. Sure, it can’t Block, but the fact it can make opposing things unable to block when you sacrifice Treasure is pretty big for aggressive decks. This can really be part of a pretty devastating curve out. Obviously, you need Blood, but if you’re in Red, you’ll have access to enough that this will be worth playing.
Dawnhart Geist image 2.5 This has passable stats and an ability that will gain you some life. There are a decent number of Enchantments in White, so I think you’ll pretty much always end up playing it. The life gain is welcome in the BW deck, and the Enchantment payoff is welcome in UW, but I don’t think you’re overjoyed for it in either.
Innocent Traveler image 3.0 You start out with a creature that is terrible on the vanilla test, but it can transform into a creature that does quite well on the vanilla test. The only way it won’t transform is if your opponent is willing to give up creatures, and that’s a pretty real cost. Sure, the first couple of times they may have some expendable stuff, but it will ultimately become a pretty real problem. Now, the downside is that your opponent may be able to hold off it off long enough so that a 3/3 Flyer isn’t a big deal or something, but the fact is that it still whittled away the opponent’s board a bit, and that’s not bad value to have on your 4-mana 3/3 Flyer. It is definitely kind of rough the turn you play it, since it’s such a terrible blocker, but by your upkeep I think you’ll be reasonably happy with its performance.
Gluttonous Guest image 2.5 This is a decent Common that slots in well into multiple Black decks. It has high toughness, which BG likes, it gains you life, which BW likes, and it makes Blood tokens, which BR likes! Now, it doesn’t exactly blow you away with what it does in any of those decks, but it is a solid card in all of them.
Fearful Villager image 2.0 This has alright base stats and some decent upside, but its nothing special.
Bleed Dry image 4.0 This is pretty much unconditional, and exiling the thing you kill is a nice bonus. This is premium removal for sure, and maybe Black’s best Common.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Syphon Essence image 1.5 This not being able to counter noncreature nonplaneswalkers definitely matters, but it does counter the card type people tend to have the most of, and getting that Blood is nice upside. Still, it’s a narrow enough counterspell that you’ll cut it a lot.
Daybreak Combatants image 2.5 This adds a pretty significant amount of power to the board out of nowhere, thanks to Haste. The boost is going to be enough to enable some attacks you may just not have had before, and the fact it can get in there too seems pretty nice. In a pinch, you can also make this into a 4/2 the turn it comes down, a 4/2 with Haste for three isn’t too shabby.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Cruel Witness image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Flyer always feels pretty good, and this lets you surveil every time you play a noncreature spell. That’s not the most exciting payoff ever, but it does improve your draws over time while also loading the graveyard, and the fact it starts out with such a good baseline is pretty nice.
Blood Fountain image 2.5 I always like to have one copy of the the Black card that gets you two creatures back from the graveyard, and that’s what we have here. For 5 mana you get those two creatures and a blood token, and that’s a pretty reasonable rate, especially because you’re paying it in two installments, and can pay the larger part at instant speed! You don’t normally want to overdo it with copies of this kind of card because they tend to not be great early, but this offsets that a bit since it does give you Blood before the other part of the card becomes useful. But yeah, getting two creatures back late can often give you what you need to win the game. I think the first copy of this is a 2.5, with diminishing returns after that.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Lambholt Raconteur
Ollenbock Escort image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 with Vigilance is kind of alright in this format, since there is an Aura deck and a +1/+1 counter deck, but it gets a lot better with its ability to make something gain lifelink and indestructibility. Those two keywords are huge, and this is going to have some serious impact on the board if you have a creature with a counter somewhere, as your opponent has to respect this ability or get completely wrecked.
Cloaked Cadet image 3.5 This looks really strong. It has a pretty bad starting rate, but the stats it has work really well with training, because it will likely get a counter and likely become a ⅗ when you attack with it, netting you a card. Because it then has 5 toughness, it is going to be hard to take down in combat, and even if they do, you’re probably getting a 2-for-1. And that’s without taking into account having other ways to put counters on stuff.
Lambholt Raconteur image 3.0 This is a pretty nice payoff for the spell deck, especially when it transforms! You’ll always play this in UR, and it will probably make the cut in pretty much any deck with 5 or so spells.
Courier Bat image 3.0 This is a very nice Common. Early, its a Wind Drake, which is passable -- and then from the mid-game on, you’re going to be able to get a creature back reasonably often. Obviously, you’re going to want some life gain stuff going on, and that’s really a thing in BW, but there’s enough life gain around that I think this will be pretty much an auto-include in most Black decks, especially because it has such a good floor.
Honored Heirloom image 1.5 3 mana mana rocks are very rarely good in Limited, even if they add mana of any color. This one luckily comes with some additional value, as exiling stuff from graveyards does legitimately matter in this format. Still, you probably don’t play this unless you’re splashing a third color, as it is still very low impact.
Fear of Death image 2.5 This kind of removal is nowhere close to being premium. Only reducing a creature’s power just doesn’t do enough. The thing can still block with its full toughness and use abilities, so you don’t even get rid of a whole card with it on some creatures. That, combined with the necessary set up, makes this a fairly unimpressive card. It does mill you, which is important, but it isn’t anything more than a decent playable.
Belligerent Guest image 2.5 This has alright stats and is going to make you blood sometimes, both are welcome.
Nature's Embrace image 1.5 This has a pretty interesting design. Its either a mediocre aura or a mediocre way to fix and ramp. Each card individually is probably a 1.0 at best – and you probably won’t play this at all if you don’t need fixing, so I think it’s a 1.5.
Estwald Shieldbasher image 2.5 This doesn’t have great stats for the cost, but the ability to become indestructible when it attacks makes up for that. It’s a nice place to put +1/+1 counters and Auras, and those are very real things in this format.
Unholy Officiant image 2.0 A one mana ½ with Vigilance is not a very good card. Its the kind of card people often overrate, because they think “One mana is only enough to get a 1/1 most of the time!” and while that’s sort of true, the problem in Limited is that this kind of card will get outclassed pretty quickly. That said, it comes with an ability that actually does something in the late game, even if 5 is a lot for a single counter. Its also a decent place to put counters thanks to its keyword ability. So, yeah. This is an alright one drop that you’ll play in your most aggressive GW decks, but it doesn’t look that great anywhere else.
Cruel Witness image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Flyer always feels pretty good, and this lets you surveil every time you play a noncreature spell. That’s not the most exciting payoff ever, but it does improve your draws over time while also loading the graveyard, and the fact it starts out with such a good baseline is pretty nice.
Syncopate image 2.5 This is a reprint, and actually a pretty reasonable counterspell. XU counterspells are nicely customizable, and you’ll find yourself able to counter a spell much more frequently without going out of your way to leave some amount of mana up as a result. Exiling the thing you counters certainly matters in this format too. Now, it is still a counterspell, and having to have the mana up at the exact right time just for this to trade 1-for-1 still isn’t awesome, but unlike a lot of counterspells, this one is worth it in Limited.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Falkenrath Celebrants
Bramble Wurm image 3.5 This is a pretty nice thing to ramp into, and a good finisher in general, as it will really allow you to stabilize between its size and the life it gains you. Its too bad it doesn’t draw you a card, like some other big Wurms we’ve seen, but even without that, this looks like a nice top curve for slower decks.
Sanguine Statuette image 2.0 On its own, you’ll be able to activate this once -- and while that’s not amazing, it is nice that it can do a thing without any other help, unlike some payoffs. Plus, you can play this and sac the token for an additional mana, and rumble right away with it which will certainly come up. You do probably need a critical mass of Blood to really get it going, but I think most Red decks will have like 5 ways to make blood without trying super hard.
Lacerate Flesh image 1.5 This is some pretty mediocre removal. 5 for 4 damage just isn’t much, and you’ll often be trading drown with it. Getting some Blood doesn’t really save it from mediocrity. It is still removal and brings some Blood and Spell synergy, so it’s something you’ll play sometimes.
Sporeback Wolf image 2.5 We’ve seen two mana 2/2s with this box of text before, and its fine. Being a 2/4 is decent enough upside on a bear.
Syncopate image 2.5 This is a reprint, and actually a pretty reasonable counterspell. XU counterspells are nicely customizable, and you’ll find yourself able to counter a spell much more frequently without going out of your way to leave some amount of mana up as a result. Exiling the thing you counters certainly matters in this format too. Now, it is still a counterspell, and having to have the mana up at the exact right time just for this to trade 1-for-1 still isn’t awesome, but unlike a lot of counterspells, this one is worth it in Limited.
Falkenrath Celebrants image 2.5 This is a decent 5-drop. A 5-mana 4/4 with Menace is A 2.0 at best, but the two blood tokens it gives you can fuel some stuff or improve your hand.
Doomed Dissenter image 3.0 This is a reprint, and a nice one to have in a set with Exploit. This is a great thing to sacrifice, and even apart from that, it can be a really obnoxious creature that just makes all X/1s really sad, since it just trades and gives you a 2/2. You get 3/3 of stats out of this for only two mana in the end, and that’s pretty nice.
Gift of Fangs image 3.0 So, this is basically Dead Weight that has both Vampire upside, and downside, depending on what you’re trying to do. If you really need to kill an opposing vampire, it will be pretty frustrating that this can’t do it – but +2/+2 on one of your vampires for only one mana is pretty nice upside on Dead Weight. Dead Weight is normally a 3.0, and I think this will still end up there. It kills a whole lot of things efficiently, after all.
Fear of Death image 2.5 This kind of removal is nowhere close to being premium. Only reducing a creature’s power just doesn’t do enough. The thing can still block with its full toughness and use abilities, so you don’t even get rid of a whole card with it on some creatures. That, combined with the necessary set up, makes this a fairly unimpressive card. It does mill you, which is important, but it isn’t anything more than a decent playable.
Fearful Villager image 2.0 This has alright base stats and some decent upside, but its nothing special.
Blood Fountain image 2.5 I always like to have one copy of the the Black card that gets you two creatures back from the graveyard, and that’s what we have here. For 5 mana you get those two creatures and a blood token, and that’s a pretty reasonable rate, especially because you’re paying it in two installments, and can pay the larger part at instant speed! You don’t normally want to overdo it with copies of this kind of card because they tend to not be great early, but this offsets that a bit since it does give you Blood before the other part of the card becomes useful. But yeah, getting two creatures back late can often give you what you need to win the game. I think the first copy of this is a 2.5, with diminishing returns after that.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Voldaren Epicure
Sawblade Slinger image 2.5 A 4-mana 4/3 is a 1.0 or 1.5- these days, and the Slinger has a couple of narrow abilities that will sometimes give you a 2-for-1. The Fight part is the most exciting, but he won’t always have a Zombie to fight. The same is true for Artifacts. There’s a few nice ones around, but not really enough that this will always have a thing to hit. That said, I don’t think this is a sideboard card. It has a reasonable baseline already and will be able to do a thing often enough with the ETB trigger that you’ll definitely play the first of these in most Green decks.
Soulcipher Board image 1.0 // 3.0 This seems like it might be a little slow. It doesn’t add to the board in a meaningful way until it transforms, and it will usually take a few turns for you to get there. Sure, any creature being milled or dying will remove a counter, so if you have a deck that is good at self-milling you could get it going pretty fast, but you probably can’t really count on this being good enough all on its own. I mean, if you don’t see a creature with the ability, it won’t remove a counter, and do you really want to not draw a creature? I mean, sometimes you won’t want to, but you frequently would rather have the creature than mill it. Once it does transform, its pretty impressive as an aerial threat with a very good mana sink ability, but I think it will be too slow in most decks.
Daybreak Combatants image 2.5 This adds a pretty significant amount of power to the board out of nowhere, thanks to Haste. The boost is going to be enough to enable some attacks you may just not have had before, and the fact it can get in there too seems pretty nice. In a pinch, you can also make this into a 4/2 the turn it comes down, a 4/2 with Haste for three isn’t too shabby.
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Drogskol Infantry image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common to me! It is a bear on one side, and then can come back as a pretty nice Aura late. Look at it as a creature who can trade and leave an Aura behind, and that sounds pretty good.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Unhallowed Phalanx image 1.0 // 2.5 The idea here is that you play this in the toughness matters deck, and I think you’ll play this reasonably often there, but you won’t really be playing it anywhere else. Sure, it can block well, but a 1/13 just isn’t that exciting -- it won’t be able to kill anything in combat, and the fact it can’t block right away is pretty brutal. There are some sweet combos to pull off with this in BG, like sacrificing this to the flipped Catapult creature.
Dawnhart Disciple image 2.5 This is a nice two drop, one that will often be a 3/3 when you’re just curving out.
Lightning Wolf image 1.5 This is pretty underwhelming. A 4-mana 4/3 isn’t a great place to start these days, and while its ability will make it harder to block, its also really frustrating its only Sorcery speed.
Voldaren Epicure image 2.0 This does a bunch of little things, and I think they add up enough to make this a decent card. I don’t think you’ll always play it, but chances are good you’ll be interested in the Blood if yo’ure in Red, and especially Black/Red, and getting it on turn one seems like it will fuel some stuff.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Sure Strike
Frenzied Devils image 2.0 This card’s a bit awkward. It costs 5, so most of the time you’re not going to be able to buff it the first turn you play it, so having Haste, while certainly better than not having it, won’t be that great. And it starts out so small that it dies to a ton of stuff, and that’s not something I love for 5 mana. Now, the upside here is that this thing is incredibly hard to block if you have cards in hand and mana available, and your opponent will find themselves just taking it when that’s the case -- or blocking because they might die lethal, and playing that “threat of activation” game can be pretty nice. But the baseline here is still pretty unexciting to me.
Chill of the Grave image 2.5 This sort of effect is always pretty decent when paired with a draw. If you can pay two for this consistently, it will feel especially good. It looks reasonably well suited for both the UB and UR decks, which are Zombies and spells respectively. You generally want to use this type of effect aggressively to alter the race, but it isn’t the worst thing defensively.
Aim for the Head image 1.5 It seems like we get a new take on Mind Rot every set, and this one is a bit interesting. 3 mana to get rid of two of your opponent’s cards is of course a 2-for-1 – but not impacting the board can be a pretty real cost, and an effect like this definitely has diminishing returns as the game goes on. It is a big deal that this exiles the cards though, because of the graveyard stuff in the format, and the alternate mode where it is a Zombie removal spell is nice too. That’s not to say this card is GOOD or anything, but it IS good as far as Mind Rots go.
Sure Strike image 1.5 This is a trick we see a lot. It can make almost any creature win combat which is nice, but because it doesn’t raise toughness it doesn’t have the additional value of helping you save a creature from removal – but the main purpose of tricks is using them in combat anyway. You’ll play this in aggro decks for sure, but probably not anywhere else.
Nature's Embrace image 1.5 This has a pretty interesting design. Its either a mediocre aura or a mediocre way to fix and ramp. Each card individually is probably a 1.0 at best – and you probably won’t play this at all if you don’t need fixing, so I think it’s a 1.5.
Witch's Web image 1.5 We see this trick a lot, and its always passable in aggressive decks. It gives enough of a boost that the creature usually wins combat, and it can even be used to ambush an attacking flyer, though typically you’d rather use this aggressively than defensively.
Desperate Farmer image 2.5 This starts out with a pretty ugly stat-line – a Gray Ogre with life link just isn’t worth three mana, but it has the ability to turn into a 4/3 with Lifelink, which is obviously pretty good for three mana! And transforming it isn’t’ super hard, something just has to die, so you can just play this and offer a trade for example. You can also exploit something to transform it.
Mindleech Ghoul image 2.0 This is a bear with some pretty nice upside, as sometimes taking away a card from your opponent’s hand will be worth losing the creature. Its nice that the card is exiled too, because you know, graveyard stuff.
Dawnhart Disciple image 2.5 This is a nice two drop, one that will often be a 3/3 when you’re just curving out.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Ancestral Anger
Dawnhart Geist image 2.5 This has passable stats and an ability that will gain you some life. There are a decent number of Enchantments in White, so I think you’ll pretty much always end up playing it. The life gain is welcome in the BW deck, and the Enchantment payoff is welcome in UW, but I don’t think you’re overjoyed for it in either.
Ancestral Anger image 1.0 I like collect ‘em all cards, but just pumping power at Sorcery speed just isn’t that great, even with Trample. Now, I do think it has a little bit of value in the UR deck, since it is a spell that cantrips, but I’m still not very impressed.
Binding Geist image 2.0 So, the attack trigger here won’t usually make it so the Geist won’t die in combat, but it does let you force your opponent into situations where the best they can do is trade, and that’s not too bad… though it isn’t great either. 1 toughness is a just a big hurdle on a 3-mana creature. Having that ability in Aura form isn’t exactly exciting either when you disturb it.
Blood Petal Celebrant image 3.0 This is a nice Common. We’ve seen two mana 2/1s who have first strike when they attack before, and they are always good two-drop aggro creatures, and this one gives you some Blood when it goes down. I don’t imagine you’ll cut this in Red decks.
Doomed Dissenter image 3.0 This is a reprint, and a nice one to have in a set with Exploit. This is a great thing to sacrifice, and even apart from that, it can be a really obnoxious creature that just makes all X/1s really sad, since it just trades and gives you a 2/2. You get 3/3 of stats out of this for only two mana in the end, and that’s pretty nice.
Sure Strike image 1.5 This is a trick we see a lot. It can make almost any creature win combat which is nice, but because it doesn’t raise toughness it doesn’t have the additional value of helping you save a creature from removal – but the main purpose of tricks is using them in combat anyway. You’ll play this in aggro decks for sure, but probably not anywhere else.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Ancestral Anger
Spiked Ripsaw image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Plate Armor, and that’s pretty good company to keep, because that was a very powerful piece of Equipment. It costs the same to play and equip and gives the same stats boost, though Plate Armor also granted Ward and could reduce its equip cost. In place of that, though, Spiked Ripjaw can make your creature have trample, which is pretty nice. But yeah, this big of a stats boost can make almost any creature into a threat, and that’s what makes this so nice.
Blood Fountain image 2.5 I always like to have one copy of the the Black card that gets you two creatures back from the graveyard, and that’s what we have here. For 5 mana you get those two creatures and a blood token, and that’s a pretty reasonable rate, especially because you’re paying it in two installments, and can pay the larger part at instant speed! You don’t normally want to overdo it with copies of this kind of card because they tend to not be great early, but this offsets that a bit since it does give you Blood before the other part of the card becomes useful. But yeah, getting two creatures back late can often give you what you need to win the game. I think the first copy of this is a 2.5, with diminishing returns after that.
Adamant Will image 1.5 We’ve seen this card a few times now, it’s a pretty reasonable trick. The boost it gives is enough to win just about any combat, and the indestructibility means you can even use it to save a creature from removal. It is still a trick and comes with all the inherent downsides those come with – like being situational and sometimes risky.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Bloodcrazed Socialite image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 with Menace isn’t amazing -- it is probably a 2.0 at best -- however -- this brings a blood token along with it, and I think I’d already be playing that card a reasonable chunk of the time, but it also has the impressive upside of making itself into a 5/5 when it attacks, provided you have blood. Because the Socialite brings a Blood token with it, you’ll get to do it at least once, and if you have other blood lying around, this will be a beating.
Nurturing Presence image 1.5 This gives you a 1/1 Flyer no matter what, and that helps mitigate the risk of playing it. It’s too bad the rest of the card isn’t very good. The stats boost is situational and unimpressive. The turn you play it will giving +1/+1 to the thing, but still – you’re not really doing a great job with that.
Ancestral Anger image 1.0 I like collect ‘em all cards, but just pumping power at Sorcery speed just isn’t that great, even with Trample. Now, I do think it has a little bit of value in the UR deck, since it is a spell that cantrips, but I’m still not very impressed.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Voldaren Epicure
Groom's Finery image 1.5 If you don’t also have Bride’s Gown, the boost from this card isn’t really going to be worth it. Two to play and two to equip for +2/+0 is basically never a worthwhile Equipment when we see it. Sure, it can enable an attack that wasn’t there before, but the lack of a toughness boost really matters.
Voldaren Epicure image 2.0 This does a bunch of little things, and I think they add up enough to make this a decent card. I don’t think you’ll always play it, but chances are good you’ll be interested in the Blood if yo’ure in Red, and especially Black/Red, and getting it on turn one seems like it will fuel some stuff.
Militia Rallier image 2.5 This has efficient stats, even if it can’t attack alone. The good news is it can block alone, and it does a good job of that! And as long as he has some friends, he can rumble too, while untapping a creature, so it has pseudo-vigilance. On top of that, its a nice size for training other creatures.
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Toxic Scorpion image 3.0 This looks nice. A two mana 1/1 with Deathtouch is probably already a 2.0 or 2.5, since it can trade for anything and really represent a problem all game long. So, being able to give death touch to another creature on the ETB is nice, and gives it even more utility in the later game.
Aim for the Head image 1.5 It seems like we get a new take on Mind Rot every set, and this one is a bit interesting. 3 mana to get rid of two of your opponent’s cards is of course a 2-for-1 – but not impacting the board can be a pretty real cost, and an effect like this definitely has diminishing returns as the game goes on. It is a big deal that this exiles the cards though, because of the graveyard stuff in the format, and the alternate mode where it is a Zombie removal spell is nice too. That’s not to say this card is GOOD or anything, but it IS good as far as Mind Rots go.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Daybreak Combatants
Gluttonous Guest image 2.5 This is a decent Common that slots in well into multiple Black decks. It has high toughness, which BG likes, it gains you life, which BW likes, and it makes Blood tokens, which BR likes! Now, it doesn’t exactly blow you away with what it does in any of those decks, but it is a solid card in all of them.
Nebelgast Beguiler image 2.0 Master Decoy-type effects tend to play pretty well in Limited, sort of becoming like removal in the late part of the game. The creature here is very clunky and unimpressive, though. Having a defensive creature who has to tap to use its ability is a bit annoying, and I think you’ll cut this a decent chunk of the time.
Daybreak Combatants image 2.5 This adds a pretty significant amount of power to the board out of nowhere, thanks to Haste. The boost is going to be enough to enable some attacks you may just not have had before, and the fact it can get in there too seems pretty nice. In a pinch, you can also make this into a 4/2 the turn it comes down, a 4/2 with Haste for three isn’t too shabby.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Ollenbock Escort
Ollenbock Escort image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 with Vigilance is kind of alright in this format, since there is an Aura deck and a +1/+1 counter deck, but it gets a lot better with its ability to make something gain lifelink and indestructibility. Those two keywords are huge, and this is going to have some serious impact on the board if you have a creature with a counter somewhere, as your opponent has to respect this ability or get completely wrecked.
Honored Heirloom image 1.5 3 mana mana rocks are very rarely good in Limited, even if they add mana of any color. This one luckily comes with some additional value, as exiling stuff from graveyards does legitimately matter in this format. Still, you probably don’t play this unless you’re splashing a third color, as it is still very low impact.
Fear of Death image 2.5 This kind of removal is nowhere close to being premium. Only reducing a creature’s power just doesn’t do enough. The thing can still block with its full toughness and use abilities, so you don’t even get rid of a whole card with it on some creatures. That, combined with the necessary set up, makes this a fairly unimpressive card. It does mill you, which is important, but it isn’t anything more than a decent playable.
Nature's Embrace image 1.5 This has a pretty interesting design. Its either a mediocre aura or a mediocre way to fix and ramp. Each card individually is probably a 1.0 at best – and you probably won’t play this at all if you don’t need fixing, so I think it’s a 1.5.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Sanguine Statuette
Sanguine Statuette image 2.0 On its own, you’ll be able to activate this once -- and while that’s not amazing, it is nice that it can do a thing without any other help, unlike some payoffs. Plus, you can play this and sac the token for an additional mana, and rumble right away with it which will certainly come up. You do probably need a critical mass of Blood to really get it going, but I think most Red decks will have like 5 ways to make blood without trying super hard.
Sporeback Wolf image 2.5 We’ve seen two mana 2/2s with this box of text before, and its fine. Being a 2/4 is decent enough upside on a bear.
Fearful Villager image 2.0 This has alright base stats and some decent upside, but its nothing special.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Daybreak Combatants
Daybreak Combatants image 2.5 This adds a pretty significant amount of power to the board out of nowhere, thanks to Haste. The boost is going to be enough to enable some attacks you may just not have had before, and the fact it can get in there too seems pretty nice. In a pinch, you can also make this into a 4/2 the turn it comes down, a 4/2 with Haste for three isn’t too shabby.
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Witch's Web
Witch's Web image 1.5 We see this trick a lot, and its always passable in aggressive decks. It gives enough of a boost that the creature usually wins combat, and it can even be used to ambush an attacking flyer, though typically you’d rather use this aggressively than defensively.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Falkenrath Celebrants
Hiveheart Shaman image 4.0 4-mana for a ⅗ is actually a pretty decent rate, and everything else this card has going on is really nice. In a typical Limited deck, you may not be able to take advantage of the attack trigger, but if you’re splashing, there’s a good chance it will help you out. Most of the card’s value, though, comes from its ability to churn out insect tokens. They are going to be 3/3s or better most of the time, and while spending six on that isn’t incredible, the fact its repeatable does really matter, and a 3/3 is a very real body! If you are splashing, it will be making 4/4s, which is insane. It is too bad you can only use the ability at Sorcery speed, though, but still – a very nice card.
Brine Comber image 3.5 This looks amazing, and kind of resembles Lingering Souls. Three mana a 1/1 and a 1/1 flyer isn’t bad, and you get at least one 1/1 flyer back from your graveyard, all from a single card! And that’s without taking into account the Aura upside. This is a great signpost Uncommon.
Fell Stinger image 4.0 This looks like a great uncommon to me. This is basically the Black Mulldrifter! Without Exploit, this is a card that always makes the cut. It has decent stats and the ability to trade with anything. With Exploit, it becomes a pretty high pick, as adding draw two to this is pretty massive. Giving up one creature for that still has you come out ahead, and that is even more true if you sacrifice something ideal. It can even sacrifice itself, and sometimes that will be worth doing. I think this is one of the best Uncommons in the set.
Skull Skaab image 3.5 So yeah, Skull Skaab is all about Exploit, and so is the UB color pair! This is a two mana 2/2 who can sac something to get a 2/2 Zombie. That on its own isn’t great, but giving up a 1/1 or something you want in the yard getting a 2/2 is pretty good. Where the value really adds up, though, is when you have other cards with Exploit. With those cards, you can sacrifice a thing to get another effect as well as the 2/2 Zombie, which itself is pretty good Exploit fodder. Like most of the signposts in this set, this looks quite good!
Undying Malice image 1.5 It seems like they give Black an Instant like this in every set these days, and they are always a little too situational and mediocre, especially if they don’t provide a stats boost up front to help the creature win combat. Supernatural Stamina, this is not. However, it does have some interesting applications in this set, especially alongside Exploit. You can use it to rebuy a creature you were sacrificing to Exploit, or to rebuy an Exploit trigger in the first place, and that seems like it might be worth doing. If you just have this in your deck as a way to save a creature from dying in combat or as way to counter removal, it probably won’t be worth it, but yeah – if ETBs and Exploit abound in your deck, it seems serviceable.
Gryff Rider image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common. Because it has Flying, it will often be able to attack with other creatures that are bigger than it, so it can grow throughout the game, and even just getting one counter on it will feel pretty good. This seems like the kind of Common that will be the bread and butter of aggressive decks in this format.
Syphon Essence image 1.5 This not being able to counter noncreature nonplaneswalkers definitely matters, but it does counter the card type people tend to have the most of, and getting that Blood is nice upside. Still, it’s a narrow enough counterspell that you’ll cut it a lot.
Ancestral Anger image 1.0 I like collect ‘em all cards, but just pumping power at Sorcery speed just isn’t that great, even with Trample. Now, I do think it has a little bit of value in the UR deck, since it is a spell that cantrips, but I’m still not very impressed.
Heron-Blessed Geist image 2.5 A 5-mana 3/3 Flyer isn’t very good, but the fact it can make 1/1 flyers from the graveyard is big, and will often feel like you’re getting a 2-for-1. You do need to have an Enchantment in play to use that ability, which is a little annoying, but seems doable enough.
Falkenrath Celebrants image 2.5 This is a decent 5-drop. A 5-mana 4/4 with Menace is A 2.0 at best, but the two blood tokens it gives you can fuel some stuff or improve your hand.
Unhallowed Phalanx image 1.0 // 2.5 The idea here is that you play this in the toughness matters deck, and I think you’ll play this reasonably often there, but you won’t really be playing it anywhere else. Sure, it can block well, but a 1/13 just isn’t that exciting -- it won’t be able to kill anything in combat, and the fact it can’t block right away is pretty brutal. There are some sweet combos to pull off with this in BG, like sacrificing this to the flipped Catapult creature.
Binding Geist image 2.0 So, the attack trigger here won’t usually make it so the Geist won’t die in combat, but it does let you force your opponent into situations where the best they can do is trade, and that’s not too bad… though it isn’t great either. 1 toughness is a just a big hurdle on a 3-mana creature. Having that ability in Aura form isn’t exactly exciting either when you disturb it.
Courier Bat image 3.0 This is a very nice Common. Early, its a Wind Drake, which is passable -- and then from the mid-game on, you’re going to be able to get a creature back reasonably often. Obviously, you’re going to want some life gain stuff going on, and that’s really a thing in BW, but there’s enough life gain around that I think this will be pretty much an auto-include in most Black decks, especially because it has such a good floor.
Spore Crawler image 3.0 I like this. It doesn’t do anything fancy, but it has 2-for-1 written all over it, and I always like Commons that can produce those easily.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Fearful Villager
Dormant Grove image 3.5 This kind of Enchantment always feels pretty good, as it gives you value on the turn you play it and then can start to snowball. When we’ve seen this kind of Aura be really great it usually costs around 3 mana, so this is a bit more expensive than I’d like, but the upside that it can become a pretty nice creature when you really need one is nice. The GW deck also really likes +1/+1 counters, and can get some extra value out of it.
Spiked Ripsaw image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Plate Armor, and that’s pretty good company to keep, because that was a very powerful piece of Equipment. It costs the same to play and equip and gives the same stats boost, though Plate Armor also granted Ward and could reduce its equip cost. In place of that, though, Spiked Ripjaw can make your creature have trample, which is pretty nice. But yeah, this big of a stats boost can make almost any creature into a threat, and that’s what makes this so nice.
Thirst for Discovery image 3.0 3 mana to draw 3 at instant speed and discard a land is a pretty good deal, and in some decks in this format, discarding nonlands will also be beneficial. It doesn’t impact the board of course, and you don’t want to jam too many cards like that into your deck, but I think this looks pretty good overall, and would value the first copy fairly high.
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Heron-Blessed Geist image 2.5 A 5-mana 3/3 Flyer isn’t very good, but the fact it can make 1/1 flyers from the graveyard is big, and will often feel like you’re getting a 2-for-1. You do need to have an Enchantment in play to use that ability, which is a little annoying, but seems doable enough.
Piercing Light image 2.5 This kills X/2s pretty efficiently, but its situational in two different ways, and I don’t love that. The creature has to be small and attacking or blocking. Scry is some minor additional value, but yeah, this falls well short of being premium removal. Its just a solid playable. I’m giving it 2.5.
Flourishing Hunter image 2.5 It is pretty likely that this gains you 3 or more life, and that will feel pretty good if you’re trying to stabilize against an aggressive deck. . Seems like a solid card to have in the Colossal Dreadmaw/Honey Mammoth.
Diregraf Scavenger image 2.5 This looks decent. Death touchers do tend to get a little less impressive the more mana you spend on them, because the fact they can trade with anything is less attractive when they are trading down, but the ETB ability here definitely does enough to make up for that. Draining your opponent 2 life with this will be fairly commonplace, and that means you get to hate on the opposing graveyard while also triggering your life gain stuff, and you are adding a pretty obnoxious creature to the board at the same time.
Dreadlight Monstrosity image 1.5 This doesn’t seem very good. A 6-mana 5/5 is an ugly rate, even with Ward 2, and yeah – it can become unblockable, but only for a huge chunk of mana, and only if you have a card in exile. Now, by the time you can use the ability it is reasonably likely you have something in exile because of Disturb, but there will be times where that just isn’t the case, and without that ability, this card is really not good. You’ll play it if you’re desperate for a finisher I guess, but you’re hoping for something better.
Fearful Villager image 2.0 This has alright base stats and some decent upside, but its nothing special.
Apprentice Sharpshooter image 2.0 This seems decent. 3-mana 1/4s with Reach are always kind of alright, and this one’s Training upside is pretty real! If you end up playing this on turn three, you’ll often find that it isn’t that important you have a blocker, but attacking with a ¼ just isn’t worth it either, but now if you attack with almost anything else, it will become a ⅖, which is definitely more formidable.
Gryff Rider image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common. Because it has Flying, it will often be able to attack with other creatures that are bigger than it, so it can grow throughout the game, and even just getting one counter on it will feel pretty good. This seems like the kind of Common that will be the bread and butter of aggressive decks in this format.
Steelclad Spirit image 2.0 Two mana 3/3s with Defender are surprisingly not completely terrible. This is because they block pretty impressively early, and have enough size that your opponent is usually just going to have to trade. This has the nice upside of being an attacker sometimes.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Abrade
Ollenbock Escort image 2.5 A one mana 1/1 with Vigilance is kind of alright in this format, since there is an Aura deck and a +1/+1 counter deck, but it gets a lot better with its ability to make something gain lifelink and indestructibility. Those two keywords are huge, and this is going to have some serious impact on the board if you have a creature with a counter somewhere, as your opponent has to respect this ability or get completely wrecked.
Markov Purifier image 3.0 This is a nice signpost Uncommon that tells you BW is all about life gain, and its nice that on his own, he can gain you life thanks to lifelink, which means he can draw you cards. You won’t always be able to spend the mana of course, but once you reach a point in the game where you have the spare mana, this is going to be pretty powerful.
Ceremonial Knife image 1.5 This gives a very small boost, especially for an Equip cost of 2, and the fact you get Blood out of it isn’t really enough to make me excited about this.
Hookhand Mariner image 3.0 This is a nice Common werewolf, something they could have used in the last set! A 4-mana 4/4 is pretty close to a C, and when this transforms it is hard to block.
Chill of the Grave image 2.5 This sort of effect is always pretty decent when paired with a draw. If you can pay two for this consistently, it will feel especially good. It looks reasonably well suited for both the UB and UR decks, which are Zombies and spells respectively. You generally want to use this type of effect aggressively to alter the race, but it isn’t the worst thing defensively.
Abrade image 4.0 Woo boy, this is a very powerful reprint, and its one that was UNCOMMON last time, so the downshift is pretty exciting. Two to do 3 to something is always premium, and having the other mode is nice too, even if this format isn’t exactly filled to the brim with Artifacts.
Crushing Canopy image 0.5 There are flyers and Enchantments in this set of course, but not really enough of either to main deck this in most cases. Even blowing up a disturb Aura isn’t great, as most of the time you’re trading a whole card for half of one.
Hungry Ridgewolf image 2.5 This isn’t the most exciting payoff ever, but it has decent base stats and will sometimes be a 3/2 with Trample, which is especially nice.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Aim for the Head image 1.5 It seems like we get a new take on Mind Rot every set, and this one is a bit interesting. 3 mana to get rid of two of your opponent’s cards is of course a 2-for-1 – but not impacting the board can be a pretty real cost, and an effect like this definitely has diminishing returns as the game goes on. It is a big deal that this exiles the cards though, because of the graveyard stuff in the format, and the alternate mode where it is a Zombie removal spell is nice too. That’s not to say this card is GOOD or anything, but it IS good as far as Mind Rots go.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Moldgraf Millipede image 2.0 This is a decent payoff for the UG deck in the format, which likes milling. It is hard to overlook how bad this will feel if you only end up with one or two creatures, but I think if its at least a 4/4 you feel okay about it, and sometimes it will be much bigger. It is still just a big vanilla creature, though.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Panicked Bystander
Panicked Bystander image 3.5 You would always play a two mana 2/2 that gains you life every time a creature you control dies, especially in a deck with a life gain archetype! I always loved Limited cards that help you do the thing and then pay off for the thing, because that means they can fuel themselves, and that’s certainly what we have here. Gaining 3 life and transforming this is a very doable thing once you add a little more life gain to the mix, and this thing is a pretty tough customer once its a ⅗ that can gain death touch.
Laid to Rest image 1.0 // 4.0 This is mostly here for the GW deck, which is all about Humans and +1/+1 counters, and in that deck, this is going to be a pretty serious value engine. Drawing cards and gaining life is really going to enable you to grind out wins. Sure, costing 4 and not adding to the board is kind of a big deal, but the good news is that while it may not actually add something to the board, it does alter the board, in the sense that your opponent now has to deal with the fact that if they attack you, you can threaten to gain life and draw cards. This is definitely a build around, but I think its one that has a high enough ceiling that you may want to consider taking it early.
Dawnhart Geist image 2.5 This has passable stats and an ability that will gain you some life. There are a decent number of Enchantments in White, so I think you’ll pretty much always end up playing it. The life gain is welcome in the BW deck, and the Enchantment payoff is welcome in UW, but I don’t think you’re overjoyed for it in either.
Steelclad Spirit image 2.0 Two mana 3/3s with Defender are surprisingly not completely terrible. This is because they block pretty impressively early, and have enough size that your opponent is usually just going to have to trade. This has the nice upside of being an attacker sometimes.
Cruel Witness image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Flyer always feels pretty good, and this lets you surveil every time you play a noncreature spell. That’s not the most exciting payoff ever, but it does improve your draws over time while also loading the graveyard, and the fact it starts out with such a good baseline is pretty nice.
Aim for the Head image 1.5 It seems like we get a new take on Mind Rot every set, and this one is a bit interesting. 3 mana to get rid of two of your opponent’s cards is of course a 2-for-1 – but not impacting the board can be a pretty real cost, and an effect like this definitely has diminishing returns as the game goes on. It is a big deal that this exiles the cards though, because of the graveyard stuff in the format, and the alternate mode where it is a Zombie removal spell is nice too. That’s not to say this card is GOOD or anything, but it IS good as far as Mind Rots go.
Massive Might image 2.0 It feels like the last few sets have had some pretty legit tricks, and this is definitely another one. One mana tricks tend to be pretty nice in aggressive decks, as you get some serious tempo when you use them to win combat, and this one definitely gives you enough of a boost to be worth running in those decks. Now, it IS still a track, and those always come with significant risks, but I think this is one you’ll play the first copy of reasonably often, provided you’re aggro.
Unholy Officiant image 2.0 A one mana ½ with Vigilance is not a very good card. Its the kind of card people often overrate, because they think “One mana is only enough to get a 1/1 most of the time!” and while that’s sort of true, the problem in Limited is that this kind of card will get outclassed pretty quickly. That said, it comes with an ability that actually does something in the late game, even if 5 is a lot for a single counter. Its also a decent place to put counters thanks to its keyword ability. So, yeah. This is an alright one drop that you’ll play in your most aggressive GW decks, but it doesn’t look that great anywhere else.
Drogskol Infantry image 3.0 This looks like a nice Common to me! It is a bear on one side, and then can come back as a pretty nice Aura late. Look at it as a creature who can trade and leave an Aura behind, and that sounds pretty good.
Parish-Blade Trainee image 2.5 This will get bigger relatively easy since it starts with one power. One kind of awkward thing about it, though, is the fact that if you play this as your two drop, it almost definitely won’t be growing on turn three. It is nice that it pays you off for counter stuff more generally too, but this seems pretty awkward to curve out with, and I think that hurts its grade a little.
Sanctify image 0.5 This is good at destroying Artifacts and Enchantments, and I think there are enough of them that this might make your main deck sometimes. While there are lots of Auras, keep in mind, blowing up the disturbed side of a card isn’t really going to be a one-for-one and won’t feel that great, and I think that limits how good this is in your main deck. You mostly want this out of your sideboard.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Weary Prisoner
Valorous Stance image 3.0 This is a reprint, and it was pretty nice in Limited last time. We usually get an effect that costs 3 or 4 and kills big things, so having it at two mana is a huge upgrade, and if it doesn’t have a target, the other mode comes up sometimes. You can use it to save a creature, sometimes creating big blow outs. As a removal spell alone I don’t quite think its premium because it is conditional, but the additional mode does enough to give this the kind of grade a card in the lower ranger of “premium” would get.
Sigardian Paladin image 3.5 This is another great signpost Uncommon. It has a baseline of being a 4-mana 4/4, and brings all kinds of amazing additional value. The one bummer about the card is it doesn’t also bring a +1/+1 counter along with it, but there are so many of them in this format that it will really do some serious work.
Syncopate image 2.5 This is a reprint, and actually a pretty reasonable counterspell. XU counterspells are nicely customizable, and you’ll find yourself able to counter a spell much more frequently without going out of your way to leave some amount of mana up as a result. Exiling the thing you counters certainly matters in this format too. Now, it is still a counterspell, and having to have the mana up at the exact right time just for this to trade 1-for-1 still isn’t awesome, but unlike a lot of counterspells, this one is worth it in Limited.
Mindleech Ghoul image 2.0 This is a bear with some pretty nice upside, as sometimes taking away a card from your opponent’s hand will be worth losing the creature. Its nice that the card is exiled too, because you know, graveyard stuff.
Weary Prisoner image 1.5 This reminds me a whole lot of Tavern Brawler, a card that ended up being super underwhelming in Midnight Hunt. On one side it is a defensive creature, and on the other it is an aggressively costed big creature. Those two things are a bit awkward together, and if you played Midnight Hunt you know that completely controlling day and night how you want it isn’t always easy. This might end up being better than the Brawler -- Midnight Hunt did have an unusual amount of good common removal that made big vanilla creatures bad -- but for now I’m pretty skeptical.
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Pyre Spawn image 2.0 This doesn’t have good stats, but the fact it bolts a thing when it dies does usually mean you can get a 2-for-1, and if your opponent’s life is low they are going to be sweating this a ton. I think this is a decent top curve card.
Cruel Witness image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Flyer always feels pretty good, and this lets you surveil every time you play a noncreature spell. That’s not the most exciting payoff ever, but it does improve your draws over time while also loading the graveyard, and the fact it starts out with such a good baseline is pretty nice.
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Dreadlight Monstrosity image 1.5 This doesn’t seem very good. A 6-mana 5/5 is an ugly rate, even with Ward 2, and yeah – it can become unblockable, but only for a huge chunk of mana, and only if you have a card in exile. Now, by the time you can use the ability it is reasonably likely you have something in exile because of Disturb, but there will be times where that just isn’t the case, and without that ability, this card is really not good. You’ll play it if you’re desperate for a finisher I guess, but you’re hoping for something better.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Kessig Flamebreather
Sawblade Slinger image 2.5 A 4-mana 4/3 is a 1.0 or 1.5- these days, and the Slinger has a couple of narrow abilities that will sometimes give you a 2-for-1. The Fight part is the most exciting, but he won’t always have a Zombie to fight. The same is true for Artifacts. There’s a few nice ones around, but not really enough that this will always have a thing to hit. That said, I don’t think this is a sideboard card. It has a reasonable baseline already and will be able to do a thing often enough with the ETB trigger that you’ll definitely play the first of these in most Green decks.
Dread Fugue image 0.0 // 1.0 Neither side of this card is very good in Limited. If you just cast it normally, there’s a good chance you hit nothing, and the 3-mana effect is just Coercion, a card that generally isn’t playable in Limited. You’ve got to be adding to the board meaningfully in most Limited formats, and this doesn’t do that, and it will often do nothing. It gets a little better as a sideboard card, but its probably still just a 1 there.
Blood Servitor image 1.0 If you’re really interested in Blood, you might play this, but there are plenty of other cards in the set that make blood that are more efficient.
Kessig Flamebreather image 2.0 Every time we’ve seen a noncreature spell payoff that pings the opponent, it has ended up being better than it looks. It will tend to do enough incidental damage throughout the game that it ends up being a pretty nice payoff.
Adamant Will image 1.5 We’ve seen this card a few times now, it’s a pretty reasonable trick. The boost it gives is enough to win just about any combat, and the indestructibility means you can even use it to save a creature from removal. It is still a trick and comes with all the inherent downsides those come with – like being situational and sometimes risky.
Nature's Embrace image 1.5 This has a pretty interesting design. Its either a mediocre aura or a mediocre way to fix and ramp. Each card individually is probably a 1.0 at best – and you probably won’t play this at all if you don’t need fixing, so I think it’s a 1.5.
Piercing Light image 2.5 This kills X/2s pretty efficiently, but its situational in two different ways, and I don’t love that. The creature has to be small and attacking or blocking. Scry is some minor additional value, but yeah, this falls well short of being premium removal. Its just a solid playable. I’m giving it 2.5.
Wanderlight Spirit image 2.5 This is a reasonably aggressive flyer. Not being able to block ground creatures isn’t a huge deal.
Grisly Ritual image 2.5 A 6 mana sorcery that kills something is certainly not premium. You almost always spend more mana, and having to tap all of your mana on your own turn is pretty brutal. Still, it is unconditional and gives you a couple of Blood tokens, so it isn’t bad. It just isn’t good either.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Blood Fountain
Laid to Rest image 1.0 // 4.0 This is mostly here for the GW deck, which is all about Humans and +1/+1 counters, and in that deck, this is going to be a pretty serious value engine. Drawing cards and gaining life is really going to enable you to grind out wins. Sure, costing 4 and not adding to the board is kind of a big deal, but the good news is that while it may not actually add something to the board, it does alter the board, in the sense that your opponent now has to deal with the fact that if they attack you, you can threaten to gain life and draw cards. This is definitely a build around, but I think its one that has a high enough ceiling that you may want to consider taking it early.
Aim for the Head image 1.5 It seems like we get a new take on Mind Rot every set, and this one is a bit interesting. 3 mana to get rid of two of your opponent’s cards is of course a 2-for-1 – but not impacting the board can be a pretty real cost, and an effect like this definitely has diminishing returns as the game goes on. It is a big deal that this exiles the cards though, because of the graveyard stuff in the format, and the alternate mode where it is a Zombie removal spell is nice too. That’s not to say this card is GOOD or anything, but it IS good as far as Mind Rots go.
Sure Strike image 1.5 This is a trick we see a lot. It can make almost any creature win combat which is nice, but because it doesn’t raise toughness it doesn’t have the additional value of helping you save a creature from removal – but the main purpose of tricks is using them in combat anyway. You’ll play this in aggro decks for sure, but probably not anywhere else.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Moldgraf Millipede image 2.0 This is a decent payoff for the UG deck in the format, which likes milling. It is hard to overlook how bad this will feel if you only end up with one or two creatures, but I think if its at least a 4/4 you feel okay about it, and sometimes it will be much bigger. It is still just a big vanilla creature, though.
Dreadlight Monstrosity image 1.5 This doesn’t seem very good. A 6-mana 5/5 is an ugly rate, even with Ward 2, and yeah – it can become unblockable, but only for a huge chunk of mana, and only if you have a card in exile. Now, by the time you can use the ability it is reasonably likely you have something in exile because of Disturb, but there will be times where that just isn’t the case, and without that ability, this card is really not good. You’ll play it if you’re desperate for a finisher I guess, but you’re hoping for something better.
Blood Fountain image 2.5 I always like to have one copy of the the Black card that gets you two creatures back from the graveyard, and that’s what we have here. For 5 mana you get those two creatures and a blood token, and that’s a pretty reasonable rate, especially because you’re paying it in two installments, and can pay the larger part at instant speed! You don’t normally want to overdo it with copies of this kind of card because they tend to not be great early, but this offsets that a bit since it does give you Blood before the other part of the card becomes useful. But yeah, getting two creatures back late can often give you what you need to win the game. I think the first copy of this is a 2.5, with diminishing returns after that.
Apprentice Sharpshooter image 2.0 This seems decent. 3-mana 1/4s with Reach are always kind of alright, and this one’s Training upside is pretty real! If you end up playing this on turn three, you’ll often find that it isn’t that important you have a blocker, but attacking with a ¼ just isn’t worth it either, but now if you attack with almost anything else, it will become a ⅖, which is definitely more formidable.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Bloodtithe Harvester
Bloodtithe Harvester image 3.5 This is a very nice signpost Uncommon, that tells you BR is all about Blood tokens. This is a super efficient creature that brings one of those Blood tokens along with it -- and if that’s where this card ended -- a two mana 3/2 that gives you a Blood -- you would be pretty happy to play that! But it also comes with the ability to become a removal spell once you amass enough Blood. So yeah, gives you Blood, good Blood payoff, good stats. This is a signpost that you should be willing to go after pretty aggressively
Snarling Wolf image 1.5 This is another reprint from Midnight Hunt. It was solid there, as it could come down early and help set up Pack Tactics. It will probably be about the same here, except it will help set up Training. Still nothing special though, and not something you even always run. There are a lot of two drops that are just way better.
Sure Strike image 1.5 This is a trick we see a lot. It can make almost any creature win combat which is nice, but because it doesn’t raise toughness it doesn’t have the additional value of helping you save a creature from removal – but the main purpose of tricks is using them in combat anyway. You’ll play this in aggro decks for sure, but probably not anywhere else.
Weaver of Blossoms image 2.5 This is a nice source of fixing and ramp with decent stats, and sometimes those stats are more than decent and it ramps even more!
Daybreak Combatants image 2.5 This adds a pretty significant amount of power to the board out of nowhere, thanks to Haste. The boost is going to be enough to enable some attacks you may just not have had before, and the fact it can get in there too seems pretty nice. In a pinch, you can also make this into a 4/2 the turn it comes down, a 4/2 with Haste for three isn’t too shabby.
Crushing Canopy image 0.5 There are flyers and Enchantments in this set of course, but not really enough of either to main deck this in most cases. Even blowing up a disturb Aura isn’t great, as most of the time you’re trading a whole card for half of one.
Selhoff Entomber image 1.5 Forcing you to discard a specific card type really devalues the effectiveness of a rummage or loot effect. The idea here is to discard something you want in the graveyard, like if it has disturb, but a lot of the time you’d rather just cast both halves of the card.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Ancestral Anger
Skull Skaab image 3.5 So yeah, Skull Skaab is all about Exploit, and so is the UB color pair! This is a two mana 2/2 who can sac something to get a 2/2 Zombie. That on its own isn’t great, but giving up a 1/1 or something you want in the yard getting a 2/2 is pretty good. Where the value really adds up, though, is when you have other cards with Exploit. With those cards, you can sacrifice a thing to get another effect as well as the 2/2 Zombie, which itself is pretty good Exploit fodder. Like most of the signposts in this set, this looks quite good!
Undying Malice image 1.5 It seems like they give Black an Instant like this in every set these days, and they are always a little too situational and mediocre, especially if they don’t provide a stats boost up front to help the creature win combat. Supernatural Stamina, this is not. However, it does have some interesting applications in this set, especially alongside Exploit. You can use it to rebuy a creature you were sacrificing to Exploit, or to rebuy an Exploit trigger in the first place, and that seems like it might be worth doing. If you just have this in your deck as a way to save a creature from dying in combat or as way to counter removal, it probably won’t be worth it, but yeah – if ETBs and Exploit abound in your deck, it seems serviceable.
Syphon Essence image 1.5 This not being able to counter noncreature nonplaneswalkers definitely matters, but it does counter the card type people tend to have the most of, and getting that Blood is nice upside. Still, it’s a narrow enough counterspell that you’ll cut it a lot.
Ancestral Anger image 1.0 I like collect ‘em all cards, but just pumping power at Sorcery speed just isn’t that great, even with Trample. Now, I do think it has a little bit of value in the UR deck, since it is a spell that cantrips, but I’m still not very impressed.
Unhallowed Phalanx image 1.0 // 2.5 The idea here is that you play this in the toughness matters deck, and I think you’ll play this reasonably often there, but you won’t really be playing it anywhere else. Sure, it can block well, but a 1/13 just isn’t that exciting -- it won’t be able to kill anything in combat, and the fact it can’t block right away is pretty brutal. There are some sweet combos to pull off with this in BG, like sacrificing this to the flipped Catapult creature.
Binding Geist image 2.0 So, the attack trigger here won’t usually make it so the Geist won’t die in combat, but it does let you force your opponent into situations where the best they can do is trade, and that’s not too bad… though it isn’t great either. 1 toughness is a just a big hurdle on a 3-mana creature. Having that ability in Aura form isn’t exactly exciting either when you disturb it.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Diregraf Scavenger
Bramble Armor image 1.0 We just saw this in the last set. It wasn’t very good last time around, even with the free Equip, and really kind of underperformed. While this format has Training, which this can help with, the last format had Coven, which this could have helped with, and it still wasn’t a card you ran very often.
Diregraf Scavenger image 2.5 This looks decent. Death touchers do tend to get a little less impressive the more mana you spend on them, because the fact they can trade with anything is less attractive when they are trading down, but the ETB ability here definitely does enough to make up for that. Draining your opponent 2 life with this will be fairly commonplace, and that means you get to hate on the opposing graveyard while also triggering your life gain stuff, and you are adding a pretty obnoxious creature to the board at the same time.
Dreadlight Monstrosity image 1.5 This doesn’t seem very good. A 6-mana 5/5 is an ugly rate, even with Ward 2, and yeah – it can become unblockable, but only for a huge chunk of mana, and only if you have a card in exile. Now, by the time you can use the ability it is reasonably likely you have something in exile because of Disturb, but there will be times where that just isn’t the case, and without that ability, this card is really not good. You’ll play it if you’re desperate for a finisher I guess, but you’re hoping for something better.
Apprentice Sharpshooter image 2.0 This seems decent. 3-mana 1/4s with Reach are always kind of alright, and this one’s Training upside is pretty real! If you end up playing this on turn three, you’ll often find that it isn’t that important you have a blocker, but attacking with a ¼ just isn’t worth it either, but now if you attack with almost anything else, it will become a ⅖, which is definitely more formidable.
Steelclad Spirit image 2.0 Two mana 3/3s with Defender are surprisingly not completely terrible. This is because they block pretty impressively early, and have enough size that your opponent is usually just going to have to trade. This has the nice upside of being an attacker sometimes.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Wedding Invitation
Crushing Canopy image 0.5 There are flyers and Enchantments in this set of course, but not really enough of either to main deck this in most cases. Even blowing up a disturb Aura isn’t great, as most of the time you’re trading a whole card for half of one.
Vampire Slayer image 1.5 This set has a lot of vampires, but not so many that a two mana 2/2 that kills Vampires in combat is that great. This is especially true because many vampires are already kind of small and this can trade with them.
Wedding Invitation image 1.5 This replaces itself, and that’s good, because the effect it has wouldn’t be worth anywhere close to worth an entire card. But yeah, since it replaces itself, the effect is pretty decent, especially on a vampire, as lifelink can really alter races. Still isn’t a great card, though. It will be pretty easy to cut since it is so low impact.
Moldgraf Millipede image 2.0 This is a decent payoff for the UG deck in the format, which likes milling. It is hard to overlook how bad this will feel if you only end up with one or two creatures, but I think if its at least a 4/4 you feel okay about it, and sometimes it will be much bigger. It is still just a big vanilla creature, though.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Steelclad Spirit
Dawnhart Geist image 2.5 This has passable stats and an ability that will gain you some life. There are a decent number of Enchantments in White, so I think you’ll pretty much always end up playing it. The life gain is welcome in the BW deck, and the Enchantment payoff is welcome in UW, but I don’t think you’re overjoyed for it in either.
Steelclad Spirit image 2.0 Two mana 3/3s with Defender are surprisingly not completely terrible. This is because they block pretty impressively early, and have enough size that your opponent is usually just going to have to trade. This has the nice upside of being an attacker sometimes.
Sanctify image 0.5 This is good at destroying Artifacts and Enchantments, and I think there are enough of them that this might make your main deck sometimes. While there are lots of Auras, keep in mind, blowing up the disturbed side of a card isn’t really going to be a one-for-one and won’t feel that great, and I think that limits how good this is in your main deck. You mostly want this out of your sideboard.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Cradle of Safety
Cradle of Safety image 2.0 This is functionally identical to Starlit Mantle, a card we saw fairly recently that overperformed. This Aura doesn’t give the most amazing boost for the cost, but hexproof can be used to counter spells and it will feel really swingy when you can do that. It will be especially nice in the UW deck, which pays you off for Auras. I think this will be a fine playable, just like the mantle was.
Dreadlight Monstrosity image 1.5 This doesn’t seem very good. A 6-mana 5/5 is an ugly rate, even with Ward 2, and yeah – it can become unblockable, but only for a huge chunk of mana, and only if you have a card in exile. Now, by the time you can use the ability it is reasonably likely you have something in exile because of Disturb, but there will be times where that just isn’t the case, and without that ability, this card is really not good. You’ll play it if you’re desperate for a finisher I guess, but you’re hoping for something better.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Dread Fugue
Dread Fugue image 0.0 // 1.0 Neither side of this card is very good in Limited. If you just cast it normally, there’s a good chance you hit nothing, and the 3-mana effect is just Coercion, a card that generally isn’t playable in Limited. You’ve got to be adding to the board meaningfully in most Limited formats, and this doesn’t do that, and it will often do nothing. It gets a little better as a sideboard card, but its probably still just a 1 there.
Draft Pick Overview