Tracker App

Quick Draft ZNR 08.januar 2021

8 January 08:43 - Zakarias 7 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (17)
1 Kabira Outrider image
1 Malakir Blood-Priest image
2 Paired Tactician image
1 Scion of the Swarm image
1 Ghastly Gloomhunter image
2 Kor Celebrant image
1 Makindi Ox image
1 Canyon Jerboa image
2 Attended Healer image
2 Prowling Felidar image
1 Skyclave Sentinel image
1 Legion Angel image
1 Cleric of Life's Bond image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (6)
1 Bloodchief's Thirst image
1 Zof Consumption image
1 Vanquish the Weak image
1 Thwart the Grave image
1 Mind Drain image
1 Blood Beckoning image
Land (17)
8 Swamp image
9 Plains image
Sideboard
1 Farsight Adept image
1 Drana's Silencer image
1 Expedition Skulker image
1 Skyclave Sentinel image
1 Demon's Disciple image
1 Merfolk Windrobber image
1 Cleric of Chill Depths image
1 Tuktuk Rubblefort image
1 Blood Price image
1 Tormenting Voice image
1 Sizzling Barrage image
1 Resolute Strike image
1 Cliffhaven Kitesail image
1 Pressure Point image
1 Adventure Awaits image
2 Lithoform Blight image
1 Broken Wings image
1 Utility Knife image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Paired Tactician
Shadows' Verdict image 3.5 This can completely crush several different decks in this format – especially the tribal ones, since they are so reliant on cheap creatures. Now, there are some opponents’ against whom it will do very little, but the upside is still worth running it.
Paired Tactician image 3.0 His seems like a nice, if not incredible Warrior payoff. The Tactician will often still find itself to be vulnerable to an easy trade on its first attack even in situations where it attacks with a friend, as a 4/3 attacking on turn 4 isn’t exactly game-breaking -- but it can definitely snowball if you can support it.
Umara Mystic image 3.5 Triggering off of spells and Wizards is even better than you might think. It it isn’t far-fetched to imagine your deck having 10+ ways to power this thing, and sometimes multiple times a turn. This will attack as a 3/3 with regularity, and often threaten to be even bigger than that.
Blackbloom Rogue image 4.0 This is a really card in this cycle. It gives you the usual benefits this whole cycle gives you -- which is the flexibility to have this be a land when you are manascrewed, and a creature when you are flooding. A 3-mana ⅔ with Menace that in the late game is pretty good!
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Reclaim the Wastes image 2.5 This is a nice card for fixing if you’re a base Green deck. Any time we see this type of card in Limited it is always something you go after if you need fixing, but you probably don’t go after it otherwise. But, having the ability to splash things is inherently powerful in Limited -- provided you’re splashing something that is WORTH splashing -- so I think this should be valued as at least an average card.
Farsight Adept image 2.5 This kind of card is usually better than it looks. You and your opponent are both drawing cards, which means you are breaking even -- but you are adding to the board as well with this 3-mana 3/3, so you really are the one coming out ahead for the most part. Your opponent will often have the first crack at using that new card, but that’s a fair trade overall.
Feed the Swarm image 3.5 Look, a Black card that can hit Enchantments! That’s pretty weird. Anyway, this is a good removal spell. It is cheap and kills two permanent types, no questions asked. Now, the damage it does to you certainly matters -- but if you are paying two mana to blow up their 5 drop, paying 5 life for that is a reasonable cost most of the time. Now, playing more than one of these can be a little risky – you only have so much life after all, but value the first copy pretty highly.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Gnarlid Colony image 3.0 This is a nice Common. Having a Grizzly Bear with a +1/+1 counter payoff as a base form isn’t bad when you have other late game option of paying 5-mana for a 4/4 with Trample. Neither side of this is especially efficient -- but that often doesn’t matter with creatures who have Kicker, as we’ve seen in the past. Just having an alternate option in the late game to make this a more imposing creature is nice, even if the rate isn’t great.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Nahiri's Binding image 4.0 This is basically arrest – it is a little harder to cast, but it can also go after planeswalkers. That upside won’t come up much, but that’s fine – having an Enchantment removal spell that can shut down just about everything about a creature is great. As awesome as Pacifism always is, it can sometimes be really frustrating that you can’t take away a powerful activated ability with it, and Binding does that!
Dauntless Survivor image 2.5 We have seen this card a lot, and it is always solid. At worst, it is a two mana 2/2 -- and it has the upside of being able to make some other more relevant creature get a +1/+1 counter in the later part of the game. The BG deck in this format also has +1/+1 counter synergies, AND it has a creature type relevant for partying, so it will be a nice two drop in multiple decks in this format.
Chilling Trap image 0.0 // 2.0 If you can’t consistently turn this into a cantrip it is unplayable. But, if you’re a UR deck that is interested in both spells and Wizards, this is a solid playable.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Bloodchief's Thirst
Bloodchief's Thirst image 4.0 This is premium removal. One mana to kill things that are two mana or less would be a fine card, and this is hage huge upside. This can kill anything in the later part of the game, and that’s usually what you want anyway in the later part. Sometimes you have a 4-mana Sorcery speed spell that kills something and your opponent plays a cheap creature you desperately want to kill, and it doesn’t feel so good -- Bloodchief’s Thirst gives you the best of both worlds.
Grotag Night-Runner image 2.5 The damage trigger here is nice, but with the stats it has, it really isn’t that easy to get in with it.
Thwart the Grave image 4.0 Even if you have 0 party members, this will usually be reanimating two things from your graveyard. Sure, to get two things back you will need at least one creature with a party creature type in your graveyard, but that isn’t exactly a hard ask in this format. Paying the full six mana for two reanimated creatures is definitely worth it, and if that’s all this was, I would think it would be a solid playable. It is a bit costly, and requires some set up, but it has a very big impact. But this is actually better than that, because you will frequently be casting it for 5 or less mana.
Akoum Hellhound image 1.5 This is going to be decent in really aggressive decks in this format, since it will usually attack on turn two as a ⅔ with no problem. But it isn’t going to be easy to trigger landfall multiple times a turn in this format, and that means that the Hellhound is going to become irrelevant somewhere around turn three in most cases. That means that less aggressive decks won’t want it at all, and even in the aggro decks it isn’t going to be incredible.
Fissure Wizard image 2.5 This is pretty unexciting. It does a bunch of meh stuff. It has bad stats for the cost, it lets you rummage, and it has a creature type that matters in this format. While none of that is exciting, it coming all together does make it a decent enough playable.
Drana's Silencer image 1.0 This doesn’t line up well very often, and just tends to be expensive and not have much of an impact.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This seems like it can target enough things that it is a reasonable main deck inclusion, though if you are playing Best of 3, you would probably much rather bring it in out of the sideboard.
Negate image 0.5 This doesn’t counter enough things to be something you want in your main deck.
Living Tempest image 2.5 This is a functional reprint of cards like Stormrider Spirit and Wind Strider -- and those cards were probably slightly better, because both of them had creature types that had a tribal archetype in those formats, and Living Tempest does not. That said, it is still pretty decent. Flash has serious upside for any deck looking to cast expensive instants or hold up activated abilities, and even if you don’t have that stuff going on, this is large enough that it can flash in and gobble up a 2/2 or something like that, and then threaten the opponent in the air. It isn’t a special card or anything -- it is a solid playable.
Tazeem Raptor image 3.0 This has decent stats and it lets you return lands to your hand, which is useful for trigger landfall, and useful for returning MDFC lands.
Nissa's Zendikon image 1.0 These types of Auras always underperform. It seems like it would be really efficient to put this on a land, but it doesn’t generally pan out that way. The land does come back, which in a roundabout way can help you trigger landfall, but this just asks for too much effort.
Cunning Geysermage image 2.5 This isn’t quite Roaming Ghostlight, but it seems alright. Early it can be a not completely horrible 3-mana 3/2, and in the later part of the game you can pay 6 for a 3/2 that bounces something That rate is admittedly not great, but any time you can add to the board while subtracting from your opponents’ feels pretty great.
Feed the Swarm image 3.5 Look, a Black card that can hit Enchantments! That’s pretty weird. Anyway, this is a good removal spell. It is cheap and kills two permanent types, no questions asked. Now, the damage it does to you certainly matters -- but if you are paying two mana to blow up their 5 drop, paying 5 life for that is a reasonable cost most of the time. Now, playing more than one of these can be a little risky – you only have so much life after all, but value the first copy pretty highly.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Scion of the Swarm
Scion of the Swarm image 3.0 This is a decent payoff for the Cleric decks. It is expensive for what it starts as, and you will often find your opponent kills it for way less mana, but if it is left unchecked it can really take over the skies.
Kitesail Cleric image 3.0 I like one mana 1/1 flyers who have some late game utility. They can do damage early if that’s what you need, and then in the late game have an effect that will have a larger impact. For the Cleric, that involves Kicking it, at which point it becomes a 4-mana 1/1 Flyer that taps down two opposing creatures.
Spikefield Hazard image 3.0 One mana to do one to something is not usually a great card in Limited, it just doesn’t kill enough stuff. This card can at least hit players or planeswalkers too, but that’s still not that great. Even adding the Exile clause doesn’t help a whole lot. But you know what does help? Having a land on the other side! When you can’t really kill anything with the spell side, having a land isn’t a terrible back up.
Turntimber Ascetic image 2.5 Decent stats +3 life, this will sometimes pull you out of a fire thanks to slowing down an aggressive assault and the life it gives you.
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Skyclave Sentinel image 1.5 So, this is mostly a payoff for decks that can put counters on stuff. This is mostly going to be BG, but White has some ways to do it too. It is kind of ok in the absence of +1/+1 counter stuff, as a 3-mana 2/3 with Flying and Defender with the possible option of being a 7 mana ¾ with Flying in the late game.
Makindi Ox image 1.5 This is too expensive for the aggro decks that might normally be interested in tapping something down, and not impactful enough for control deck, so you don’t play it very often.
Blood Beckoning image 2.0 Black gets a card like this in every set -- one that returns two creatures from the graveyard -- and it is always a decent card to have one of, since in the late game it often does enough to pull you ahead -- it is of course balanced out by being pretty useless early though. 4 mana for that effect is a bit steep, but the fact that it can cost one in situations where that is worthwhile does enough to keep this as a solid playable.
Expedition Champion image 2.5 A 4/3 for three mana is a decent creature for sure, though it isn’t really going to be taking over the game or anything like that, and it will still be a ⅔ some of the time. Seems like a solid card for Red Warrior decks, but not much more than that.
Sea Gate Colossus image 1.5 You have to be a party deck to really take advantage, because if you are paying any more than 5 for this it isn’t going to feel very good, and even then it is just a big guy with no evasion.
Marauding Blight-Priest image 3.0 This is a key common for the BW cleric deck, and can often do some serious damage to the opponent, as those decks frequently have a critical mass of ways to gain life.
Gnarlid Colony image 3.0 This is a nice Common. Having a Grizzly Bear with a +1/+1 counter payoff as a base form isn’t bad when you have other late game option of paying 5-mana for a 4/4 with Trample. Neither side of this is especially efficient -- but that often doesn’t matter with creatures who have Kicker, as we’ve seen in the past. Just having an alternate option in the late game to make this a more imposing creature is nice, even if the rate isn’t great.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Zof Consumption
Vastwood Surge image 2.5 Some more fixing and ramp for Green that also triggers landfall a couple of times! 4-mana spells that search up two basics tend to be fine in Limited, assuming a format isn’t blistering fast, so adding the Kicker upside here is nice -- especially because it turns your board into a force to be reckoned with. Some ramp/fixing spells feel pretty useless in the late game when you already have a ton of man, and the Kicker here definitely makes this card matter than most.
Zof Consumption image 3.0 I think a lot of people will come into this format underestimating just how good it is to have a land that can actually do something impactful in the late game. It is not dissimilar from having a non-basic land with a sacrifice ability that comes up in the late game -- and that upside is always great. Sure, paying 6 to draw your opponent 4 life would not be a good card if that’s all this was, but the fact that this can also just be a regular old land for you early is a huge upgrade -- just as the fact that it can do something in the later game is a huge upgrade.
Cleric of Chill Depths image 1.5 Look it is a creature that is a really good chump blocker! Unfortunately, that’s not really the kind of card you’ll want most of the time. If you need a two drop, and you’re trying to get there on party, you’ll play it.
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Prowling Felidar image 2.5 This starts as a rather inefficient creature, but it will get larger throughout the game. Vigilance is always nice on a creature that is both a good attacker and a blocker, and this will certainly become that. I think in an ideal scenario, you play this and then a land in the same turn, that way you put it out of range of a bunch of removal. It does start fragile and inefficient, but it’s a nice Common.
Tormenting Voice image 1.5 As usual this is fine as the last card in your deck. It is probably a little less good in this set because of the DFC lands, and landfall, because the main thing it is nice for is to avoid flooding out – but flooding out is going to be harder than normal in this format. This is a little appealing in the UR deck because it gives you a spell trigger, but you’ll cut it more than you play it.
Malakir Blood-Priest image 3.0 This is a key common for party decks, as draining 2+ life with it is pretty easy to do in those decks, even just play it on curve.
Smite the Monstrous image 2.0 We see this a lot. It is always an ok removal spell. It is conditional, but at least it is an instant, and it can kill some big stuff.
Zulaport Duelist image 2.0 This isn’t Faerie Duelist, but its kind of a similar creature. You can sometimes use it to really mess up combat for your opponent, and even when you can’t you do at least get a creature that can prevent some damage while also milling a bit.
Nimana Skydancer image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/1 with Flying and Flash is already a reasonable card, but this is also a Rogue that mills your opponent, and that’s something that the UB decks are pretty interested in.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Vanquish the Weak
Song-Mad Treachery image 2.5 So, Threaten effects are super situational, and this one is wayyy overcosted. Stealing one of your opponent’s guys for a turn just doesn’t matter in scenarios where you aren’t either killing your opponent, setting them up to be killed on the next turn, or sacrificing the creature you steal. If this was just straight up the spell half of the card, I think this would be an F. But luckily for Song-Mad Treachery -- it has another side, that is a land. This is roughly equivalent to having an overcosted Threaten effect in your deck with Cycling, and that always makes something like this more bearable.
Territorial Scythecat image 3.0 This will get large without a whole lot of effort, and that is really nice because it also happens to have Trample! It does die to just about everything initially, and sometimes it will be better to play it and then a land in the same turn to make it so fewer spells can take it down.
Smite the Monstrous image 2.0 We see this a lot. It is always an ok removal spell. It is conditional, but at least it is an instant, and it can kill some big stuff.
Sizzling Barrage image 1.0 This removal is way too conditional, you should only be running if it you have no other removal.
Vanquish the Weak image 2.5 This can kill stuff at Instant speed, but it is a bit situational. It falls short of premium removal.
Malakir Blood-Priest image 3.0 This is a key common for party decks, as draining 2+ life with it is pretty easy to do in those decks, even just play it on curve.
Joraga Visionary image 3.5 Cantrip creatures are always good when they are reasonably costed, and a 3/2 body is big enough that it can represent something that is actually relevant on the board, and is perfectly capable of trading, and it’s a 2-for-1 when you can make that happen.
Field Research image 2.5 So, on a base level, this is Divination, a card that is a decent playable in most Limited formats -- somewhere between a C- and a C. But, this becomes more powerful in the late game, drawing you three cards if you have the spare mana around to do it. Now, 6-mana at Sorcery speed to draw 3 cards is pretty clunky, but it is attached to what is already a reasonable card, which means being able to cast it with Kicker is all upside.
Tajuru Snarecaster image 1.5 We see this card in lots of sets -- it is just usually a Spider. Like all those times, this is something you’ll play in your Green decks because you tend to not have great ways of dealing with flyers, but it won’t even always make the cut.
Expedition Skulker image 2.5 This is a decent little two drop. It has a relevant creature type for the format, and it will have deathtouch pretty often.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Ghastly Gloomhunter
Merfolk Windrobber image 3.0 This is a nice one drop, especially for the Rogue deck, because it lets you get in some damage early and start stocking up the graveyard. Then, in the late game, you can cash it in to draw a card, which gives it utility even when it can no longer attack.
Kazuul's Fury image 3.0 So the spell side of this is an overcosted Fling. It is highly situational, but it can feel especially nice to sacrifice something your opponent is trying to kill, and it feels even nicer when it just happens to give you the lethal you need. But you just don’t always have something relevant to sacrifice. But this can be a land where the other side doesn’t help you, and that’s nice.
Hagra Constrictor image 2.5 On its own, the Constrictor is a 3-mana 2/2 with Menace. However, this set has enough +1/+1 stuff going on, with BG as the +1/+1 counter deck this time going around, that the Constrictor will often immediately impact the board, making one of your other creatures much more difficult to block effectively.
Dreadwurm image 2.0 This will be indestructible sometimes, and that’s nice – but it will often also just be a 5-mana 5/4, and that’s not so nice.
Ghastly Gloomhunter image 2.0 This isn’t very efficient cast normally OR with Kicker, but the flexibility to choose either is enough to make that inefficiency matter less, as is the fact that it can gain you some life, which the BW deck really cares about.
Oblivion's Hunger image 1.0 This doesn’t even seem to be worth it in +1/+1 counter decks, as it is still too situational.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This seems like it can target enough things that it is a reasonable main deck inclusion, though if you are playing Best of 3, you would probably much rather bring it in out of the sideboard.
Resolute Strike image 1.5 One mana for +2/+2 is a pretty reasonable trick even if it has nothing else going on. It will usually make your creature win combat, and it will do it cheaply. The additional Warrior and Equipment upside here is nice, and any time you can Equip a creature for free with this you’re going to feel really great.
Fissure Wizard image 2.5 This is pretty unexciting. It does a bunch of meh stuff. It has bad stats for the cost, it lets you rummage, and it has a creature type that matters in this format. While none of that is exciting, it coming all together does make it a decent enough playable.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Paired Tactician
Paired Tactician image 3.0 His seems like a nice, if not incredible Warrior payoff. The Tactician will often still find itself to be vulnerable to an easy trade on its first attack even in situations where it attacks with a friend, as a 4/3 attacking on turn 4 isn’t exactly game-breaking -- but it can definitely snowball if you can support it.
Marauding Blight-Priest image 3.0 This is a key common for the BW cleric deck, and can often do some serious damage to the opponent, as those decks frequently have a critical mass of ways to gain life.
Kabira Outrider image 2.0 Those Hill Giant stats aren’t pretty, and that ETB isn’t super impressive either, though it can often enable an attack you just didn’t have before. But the Party upside here is nice, if you can get +2/+2 out of the trigger you end up with a much nicer card, and obviously, there’s a chance you can go even bigger. I think this is decent enough for White decks to play the first copy most of the time.
Skyclave Sentinel image 1.5 So, this is mostly a payoff for decks that can put counters on stuff. This is mostly going to be BG, but White has some ways to do it too. It is kind of ok in the absence of +1/+1 counter stuff, as a 3-mana 2/3 with Flying and Defender with the possible option of being a 7 mana ¾ with Flying in the late game.
Deliberate image 1.5 So, this is pretty similar to Anticipate – though it is likely a bit better. It is an Instant speed Preordain that costs twice as much. You get to see up to 3 cards when you use it, and if you happen to have two things on top of your library you really want, you can leave them both there, which is nice. And if you don’t want either, well, you can smooth out your draws – you get the picture. This kind of card often just feel very replaceable.
Kor Celebrant image 3.0 This has nice defensive stats, and it is one of the key Commons for the BW Cleric deck. It provides you with a repeatable source of life gain, which triggers all sorts of powerful cards. Even outside of that deck, this is serviceable as a defensive creature.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Drana's Silencer image 1.0 This doesn’t line up well very often, and just tends to be expensive and not have much of an impact.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Kor Celebrant
Concerted Defense image 0.0 This doesn’t counter enough things and it is too situational.
Kor Celebrant image 3.0 This has nice defensive stats, and it is one of the key Commons for the BW Cleric deck. It provides you with a repeatable source of life gain, which triggers all sorts of powerful cards. Even outside of that deck, this is serviceable as a defensive creature.
Drana's Silencer image 1.0 This doesn’t line up well very often, and just tends to be expensive and not have much of an impact.
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Pressure Point image 0.5 We have seen this before, and it was not very impressive. Tapping a creature is sometimes a useful effect, but it is very rarely worth a whole card, and it is quite situational. Adding a cantrip does keep this from being completely dismal, but I think you don’t play this very often.
Utility Knife image 1.0 Even with an Equipment deck in this format, Utility Knife isn’t really worth it. It gives an okay boost to start with, but the equip cost after that is just exorbitant.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Farsight Adept
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Farsight Adept image 2.5 This kind of card is usually better than it looks. You and your opponent are both drawing cards, which means you are breaking even -- but you are adding to the board as well with this 3-mana 3/3, so you really are the one coming out ahead for the most part. Your opponent will often have the first crack at using that new card, but that’s a fair trade overall.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Dauntless Survivor image 2.5 We have seen this card a lot, and it is always solid. At worst, it is a two mana 2/2 -- and it has the upside of being able to make some other more relevant creature get a +1/+1 counter in the later part of the game. The BG deck in this format also has +1/+1 counter synergies, AND it has a creature type relevant for partying, so it will be a nice two drop in multiple decks in this format.
Chilling Trap image 0.0 // 2.0 If you can’t consistently turn this into a cantrip it is unplayable. But, if you’re a UR deck that is interested in both spells and Wizards, this is a solid playable.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Drana's Silencer
Drana's Silencer image 1.0 This doesn’t line up well very often, and just tends to be expensive and not have much of an impact.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This seems like it can target enough things that it is a reasonable main deck inclusion, though if you are playing Best of 3, you would probably much rather bring it in out of the sideboard.
Negate image 0.5 This doesn’t counter enough things to be something you want in your main deck.
Living Tempest image 2.5 This is a functional reprint of cards like Stormrider Spirit and Wind Strider -- and those cards were probably slightly better, because both of them had creature types that had a tribal archetype in those formats, and Living Tempest does not. That said, it is still pretty decent. Flash has serious upside for any deck looking to cast expensive instants or hold up activated abilities, and even if you don’t have that stuff going on, this is large enough that it can flash in and gobble up a 2/2 or something like that, and then threaten the opponent in the air. It isn’t a special card or anything -- it is a solid playable.
Nissa's Zendikon image 1.0 These types of Auras always underperform. It seems like it would be really efficient to put this on a land, but it doesn’t generally pan out that way. The land does come back, which in a roundabout way can help you trigger landfall, but this just asks for too much effort.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Makindi Ox
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Skyclave Sentinel image 1.5 So, this is mostly a payoff for decks that can put counters on stuff. This is mostly going to be BG, but White has some ways to do it too. It is kind of ok in the absence of +1/+1 counter stuff, as a 3-mana 2/3 with Flying and Defender with the possible option of being a 7 mana ¾ with Flying in the late game.
Makindi Ox image 1.5 This is too expensive for the aggro decks that might normally be interested in tapping something down, and not impactful enough for control deck, so you don’t play it very often.
Sea Gate Colossus image 1.5 You have to be a party deck to really take advantage, because if you are paying any more than 5 for this it isn’t going to feel very good, and even then it is just a big guy with no evasion.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Tormenting Voice
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Tormenting Voice image 1.5 As usual this is fine as the last card in your deck. It is probably a little less good in this set because of the DFC lands, and landfall, because the main thing it is nice for is to avoid flooding out – but flooding out is going to be harder than normal in this format. This is a little appealing in the UR deck because it gives you a spell trigger, but you’ll cut it more than you play it.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Sizzling Barrage
Sizzling Barrage image 1.0 This removal is way too conditional, you should only be running if it you have no other removal.
Tajuru Snarecaster image 1.5 We see this card in lots of sets -- it is just usually a Spider. Like all those times, this is something you’ll play in your Green decks because you tend to not have great ways of dealing with flyers, but it won’t even always make the cut.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Broken Wings
Broken Wings image 1.5 This seems like it can target enough things that it is a reasonable main deck inclusion, though if you are playing Best of 3, you would probably much rather bring it in out of the sideboard.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Canyon Jerboa
Lithoform Engine image 0.0 This is cool, but too expensive and clunky to ever really do anything in Limited.
Canyon Jerboa image 3.5 Well, this seems like a strong uncommon. Sure, he’s a little guy who dies to a lot, but the potential of pumping your entire team multiple times should not be overlooked. You can even get around the danger of it dying before you get to trigger it, at least in the late game, by playing it, and playing a land to get the trigger right away. You do need some board state for this to really shine, but even just pumping 2-3 creatures +1/+1 on multiple turns is pretty awesome for the mana investment.
Skyclave Pick-Axe image 2.0 Sometimes this won’t give your creature a boost at all, and that will hurt, but on most turns early, this will be giving a creature +2/+2 for an initial investment of two mana, and if your deck has ways to abuse landfall, giving your creature +4/+4 on occasion won’t be that hard either! Like all the equipment in this set that equips for free the first time, this does have a steep Equip cost after that first time, but I think the initial Equip being free is enough to sort of counteract that.
Bala Ged Recovery image 3.0 This is not an efficient way to get something back from your graveyard, but that’s ok, because it can be a land when that effect is underwhelming. Similarly, it is at least better than drawing a land when you’re in top deck mode, right? That mediocre spell doesn’t look so bad in that scenario, right? Keep in mind that landfall is a big deal in this set too, so sometimes the triggers you get from playing a land will just be better than casting this.
Oblivion's Hunger image 1.0 This doesn’t even seem to be worth it in +1/+1 counter decks, as it is still too situational.
Bubble Snare image 3.5 Getting away with just paying one for this on a creature that is already tapped is going to feel great, and when you are the more defensive player, that is probably often how you’ll use it, since it will enable you to do some other things on your turn. Sometimes, you need to just be able to lock down an opposing creature, and you can pay the Kicker when that’s necessary to get a blocker out of the way, or a creature your opponent just won’t attack with that is cause you all kinds of problems.
Field Research image 2.5 So, on a base level, this is Divination, a card that is a decent playable in most Limited formats -- somewhere between a C- and a C. But, this becomes more powerful in the late game, drawing you three cards if you have the spare mana around to do it. Now, 6-mana at Sorcery speed to draw 3 cards is pretty clunky, but it is attached to what is already a reasonable card, which means being able to cast it with Kicker is all upside.
Murasa Brute image 1.5 This has decent stats and a party creature type, so it will make the cut sometimes.
Tajuru Blightblade image 2.5 We see this card in lots of sets, and it is always fine. It can trade for anything, giving it relevance all game long, but it is never particularly impactful.
Resolute Strike image 1.5 One mana for +2/+2 is a pretty reasonable trick even if it has nothing else going on. It will usually make your creature win combat, and it will do it cheaply. The additional Warrior and Equipment upside here is nice, and any time you can Equip a creature for free with this you’re going to feel really great.
Synchronized Spellcraft image 2.0 Removal this is, but premium it is not. 5 mana to do 4 at instant speed just isn’t going to get you there most of the time -- you will frequently be trading down. And sure, it has party upside, and yeah if you are doing 2+ to your opponent at the same time you are ending up with a more reasonable spell, but even with a full party, this isn’t incredible -- and good luck setting that up.
Zulaport Duelist image 2.0 This isn’t Faerie Duelist, but its kind of a similar creature. You can sometimes use it to really mess up combat for your opponent, and even when you can’t you do at least get a creature that can prevent some damage while also milling a bit.
Kazandu Nectarpot image 1.5 This is a surprisingly decent card for stalling if you’re in a controlling deck, as the statline and the life help make you harder to kill.
Anticognition image 0.0 // 2.5 This ends up being a hard counter a significant chunk of the time, especially in UB which does a good job of milling. If you can’t consistently get this to be a hard counter, you probably don’t play it, but if you can it ends being a pretty nice card to have around.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Thwart the Grave
Thwart the Grave image 4.0 Even if you have 0 party members, this will usually be reanimating two things from your graveyard. Sure, to get two things back you will need at least one creature with a party creature type in your graveyard, but that isn’t exactly a hard ask in this format. Paying the full six mana for two reanimated creatures is definitely worth it, and if that’s all this was, I would think it would be a solid playable. It is a bit costly, and requires some set up, but it has a very big impact. But this is actually better than that, because you will frequently be casting it for 5 or less mana.
Goma Fada Vanguard image 3.5 These creatures who make stuff unable to block always play really well in Limited, because they can have a drastic impact on combat, making it so that creatures who didn’t have good attacks previously can now attack. Now, the best versions of this we see generally have Haste, and don’t ask us to jump through hoops -- but they also generally aren’t so cheap and don’t have such reasonable stats.
Spikefield Hazard image 3.0 One mana to do one to something is not usually a great card in Limited, it just doesn’t kill enough stuff. This card can at least hit players or planeswalkers too, but that’s still not that great. Even adding the Exile clause doesn’t help a whole lot. But you know what does help? Having a land on the other side! When you can’t really kill anything with the spell side, having a land isn’t a terrible back up.
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Cliffhaven Kitesail image 1.5 This seems fine. 1 mana to give something Flying is a reasonable rate, especially because it sticks around to give your other guys flying if they need it. It will, of course, be especially attractive in the RW deck that’s all about Equipment, but I think it is a reasonable inclusion anywhere.
Disenchant image 0.5 Look everyone, Disenchant is back! This format has a reasonable number of Enchantments and Artifacts, but probably not enough that you feel ok about mainboarding this. This is a sideboard card, and if you are playing it in your deck, you are probably pretty desperate.
Glacial Grasp image 2.0 So, on a base level, this is Divination, a card that is a decent playable in most Limited formats -- somewhere between a C- and a C. But, this becomes more powerful in the late game, drawing you three cards if you have the spare mana around to do it. Now, 6-mana at Sorcery speed to draw 3 cards is pretty clunky, but it is attached to what is already a reasonable card, which means being able to cast it with Kicker is all upside.
Mesa Lynx image 1.5 This is a 2-mana 2/1 as an attacker, and a two-mana ⅔ as a blocker. In this day and age, even a vanilla two-mana ⅔ would probably not be much more than a C, so a card that is only one half of the time is considerably worse. I would actually prefer it was a ⅔ during your turn than the other way around, since White is more often than not a color that wants to be attacking well early.
Reclaim the Wastes image 2.5 This is a nice card for fixing if you’re a base Green deck. Any time we see this type of card in Limited it is always something you go after if you need fixing, but you probably don’t go after it otherwise. But, having the ability to splash things is inherently powerful in Limited -- provided you’re splashing something that is WORTH splashing -- so I think this should be valued as at least an average card.
Akoum Hellhound image 1.5 This is going to be decent in really aggressive decks in this format, since it will usually attack on turn two as a ⅔ with no problem. But it isn’t going to be easy to trigger landfall multiple times a turn in this format, and that means that the Hellhound is going to become irrelevant somewhere around turn three in most cases. That means that less aggressive decks won’t want it at all, and even in the aggro decks it isn’t going to be incredible.
Vanquish the Weak image 2.5 This can kill stuff at Instant speed, but it is a bit situational. It falls short of premium removal.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Dauntless Survivor image 2.5 We have seen this card a lot, and it is always solid. At worst, it is a two mana 2/2 -- and it has the upside of being able to make some other more relevant creature get a +1/+1 counter in the later part of the game. The BG deck in this format also has +1/+1 counter synergies, AND it has a creature type relevant for partying, so it will be a nice two drop in multiple decks in this format.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Attended Healer
Attended Healer image 3.5 This is a powerful life gain AND cleric payoff. Getting a cat token the first time you gain life each turn is nice, especially because the Healer can make sure you are gaining that life, provided there are some other Clerics lying around. The activated ability isn’t exactly cheap, so I think that for the Healer to really shine, you are hoping to have some other ways to trigger the life gain clause. The good news is that is very doable in this format.
Iridescent Hornbeetle image 3.5 This is a pretty sweet +1/+1 counter payoff. Keep in mind it gives you a creature token for each +1/+1 counter. We frequently see effects like this that only count instances of counters, but the Hornbeetle counts each counter individually, so it will be producing a nice little army for you. Now, it is important to remember that it isn’t a trigger that happens right away, it only triggers at the end of your turn, so players will be able to kill this before it spits out the tokens sometimes.
Beyeen Veil image 2.5 The reason this type of effect isn’t great is because it doesn’t do anything, or does far too little way more often than it actually does do something. However, when that window does open, it can do some nasty stuff, like completely wreck combat for your opponent. But, if it is clear it isn’t going to be much use, you can play it as a land to get more mana, and maybe even trigger landfall.
Might of Murasa image 1.5 So, this is an overcosted Giant Growth without kicker, and with it -- well, it still isn’t all that efficient. 5-mana for +5/+5 doesn’t really do it for me. Sure, sometimes it will turn damage lethal and all that, and it will certainly win combat for you, but to go that route you usually have to give up on developing the board for a turn, which just won’t be worth it a lot.
Canopy Baloth image 2.5 This has decent starting stats and attacks pretty hard when you trigger landfall. It is a solid Common.
Blood Price image 1.5 Black always gets a draw spell like this one, and this one is a little overcosted. Two cards for two life and four mana just doesn’t seem worth it to me for the most part.
Kor Celebrant image 3.0 This has nice defensive stats, and it is one of the key Commons for the BW Cleric deck. It provides you with a repeatable source of life gain, which triggers all sorts of powerful cards. Even outside of that deck, this is serviceable as a defensive creature.
Sea Gate Colossus image 1.5 You have to be a party deck to really take advantage, because if you are paying any more than 5 for this it isn’t going to feel very good, and even then it is just a big guy with no evasion.
Deliberate image 1.5 So, this is pretty similar to Anticipate – though it is likely a bit better. It is an Instant speed Preordain that costs twice as much. You get to see up to 3 cards when you use it, and if you happen to have two things on top of your library you really want, you can leave them both there, which is nice. And if you don’t want either, well, you can smooth out your draws – you get the picture. This kind of card often just feel very replaceable.
Mesa Lynx image 1.5 This is a 2-mana 2/1 as an attacker, and a two-mana ⅔ as a blocker. In this day and age, even a vanilla two-mana ⅔ would probably not be much more than a C, so a card that is only one half of the time is considerably worse. I would actually prefer it was a ⅔ during your turn than the other way around, since White is more often than not a color that wants to be attacking well early.
Scorch Rider image 2.0 So, a 4-man 4/3 is generally a C- these days. It is reasonable stats to be sure, but not anything special either. The Kicker here isn’t super exciting either, as a 6-mana 4/3 with Haste is not especially good -- BUT that’s not really the way to look at cards with Kicker. If it has a reasonable base line, as this does -- the fact it can have Haste later in the game is just upside.
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Prowling Felidar
Fireblade Charger image 3.5 Woo boy, talk about an Equipment payoff! So, a one mana 1/1 that does 1 damage to something when it dies is passable. It provides a nice little creature that can trade up for X/2s, and really make your opponent rethinking attacking or blocking when they have a couple of X/1s. But this will get absolutely insane with equipment – or combat tricks for that matter. It is going to be doing 3+ damage with regularity in this format – there’s enough good Equipment around for that to be the case, and that means it will have Haste reasonably often too. Basically, it is good on turn one – and if you get in the late game and can give it some Equipment, it is going to be great.
Demon's Disciple image 2.0 This kind of card is always great when you are the one with more creatures -- making your opponent give up a key creature while you lose something irrelevant is a nice feeling. BUT, it won’t always work out that way. Sometimes you’ll just wish you could play this for the body, but you can’t always, since if it is your only creature, it sacrifices itself. Sometimes your opponent will have the better board than you, and them losing one thing won’t hurt them a whole lot.
Synchronized Spellcraft image 2.0 Removal this is, but premium it is not. 5 mana to do 4 at instant speed just isn’t going to get you there most of the time -- you will frequently be trading down. And sure, it has party upside, and yeah if you are doing 2+ to your opponent at the same time you are ending up with a more reasonable spell, but even with a full party, this isn’t incredible -- and good luck setting that up.
Prowling Felidar image 2.5 This starts as a rather inefficient creature, but it will get larger throughout the game. Vigilance is always nice on a creature that is both a good attacker and a blocker, and this will certainly become that. I think in an ideal scenario, you play this and then a land in the same turn, that way you put it out of range of a bunch of removal. It does start fragile and inefficient, but it’s a nice Common.
Pyroclastic Hellion image 2.5 This seems solid enough. Returning a land is a may clause here, so you only need to do it when you really want those 2 damage, or if returning a land otherwise benefits you.
Highborn Vampire image 1.5 So yeah, this is a vanilla creature, who comes with some upside because he has a creature type that fits into a “party.” A 4-mana 4/3 isn’t the worst rate for Limited, and I think the Warrior upside does enough to make this a card you’ll play a little more than you won’t.
Cunning Geysermage image 2.5 This isn’t quite Roaming Ghostlight, but it seems alright. Early it can be a not completely horrible 3-mana 3/2, and in the later part of the game you can pay 6 for a 3/2 that bounces something That rate is admittedly not great, but any time you can add to the board while subtracting from your opponents’ feels pretty great.
Tazeem Raptor image 3.0 This has decent stats and it lets you return lands to your hand, which is useful for trigger landfall, and useful for returning MDFC lands.
Rabid Bite image 3.5 We have seen this several times, and it has always been premium removal for Green and one of the color’s best Commons, if not THE best. Green has creatures that are large enough that paying two for this is often a great deal, since you’ll be taking down something that cost way more mana than that. Now, you have to be careful when you use it -- because you get 2-for-1’d by a removal spell, and even though it is just a 1-for-1, you don’t really want your opponent to save their creature with a trick either. But if you pick your spots, Rabid Bite is going to be great removal.
Molten Blast image 1.5 3-mana to do two damage at instant speed is not so good – I mean, it is removal, but it is not efficient – you’ll basically always be trading down with it. But the modality here really matters. This set has plenty of good artifacts – not like, a million of them or anything – but enough that this will be blowing up artifacts on occasion too, and being able to have that in your main deck is real upside.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Expedition Skulker
Merfolk Windrobber image 3.0 This is a nice one drop, especially for the Rogue deck, because it lets you get in some damage early and start stocking up the graveyard. Then, in the late game, you can cash it in to draw a card, which gives it utility even when it can no longer attack.
Expedition Champion image 2.5 A 4/3 for three mana is a decent creature for sure, though it isn’t really going to be taking over the game or anything like that, and it will still be a ⅔ some of the time. Seems like a solid card for Red Warrior decks, but not much more than that.
Seafloor Stalker image 2.5 A 3-mana ⅔ isn’t good, and paying 4 to make it unblockable and give it a power boost does mean it stays relevant in the late game. And obviously you can end up paying even less -- paying 3 or 2 for the boost is much better, and obviously turning this into Blue firebreathing with a full party is kind of funny. This isn’t a bad way to close out games in this format.
Kazandu Nectarpot image 1.5 This is a surprisingly decent card for stalling if you’re in a controlling deck, as the statline and the life help make you harder to kill.
Cliffhaven Kitesail image 1.5 This seems fine. 1 mana to give something Flying is a reasonable rate, especially because it sticks around to give your other guys flying if they need it. It will, of course, be especially attractive in the RW deck that’s all about Equipment, but I think it is a reasonable inclusion anywhere.
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Deliberate image 1.5 So, this is pretty similar to Anticipate – though it is likely a bit better. It is an Instant speed Preordain that costs twice as much. You get to see up to 3 cards when you use it, and if you happen to have two things on top of your library you really want, you can leave them both there, which is nice. And if you don’t want either, well, you can smooth out your draws – you get the picture. This kind of card often just feel very replaceable.
Expedition Skulker image 2.5 This is a decent little two drop. It has a relevant creature type for the format, and it will have deathtouch pretty often.
Farsight Adept image 2.5 This kind of card is usually better than it looks. You and your opponent are both drawing cards, which means you are breaking even -- but you are adding to the board as well with this 3-mana 3/3, so you really are the one coming out ahead for the most part. Your opponent will often have the first crack at using that new card, but that’s a fair trade overall.
Pressure Point image 0.5 We have seen this before, and it was not very impressive. Tapping a creature is sometimes a useful effect, but it is very rarely worth a whole card, and it is quite situational. Adding a cantrip does keep this from being completely dismal, but I think you don’t play this very often.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Skyclave Sentinel
Relic Amulet image 3.5 This doesn’t have to sacrifice to use its ability, so in a UR deck it often becomes a repeatable source of removal that is difficult for your opponent to overcome. It can be a bit slow, but this is great in those decks.
Negate image 0.5 This doesn’t counter enough things to be something you want in your main deck.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Molten Blast image 1.5 3-mana to do two damage at instant speed is not so good – I mean, it is removal, but it is not efficient – you’ll basically always be trading down with it. But the modality here really matters. This set has plenty of good artifacts – not like, a million of them or anything – but enough that this will be blowing up artifacts on occasion too, and being able to have that in your main deck is real upside.
Smite the Monstrous image 2.0 We see this a lot. It is always an ok removal spell. It is conditional, but at least it is an instant, and it can kill some big stuff.
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Skyclave Sentinel image 1.5 So, this is mostly a payoff for decks that can put counters on stuff. This is mostly going to be BG, but White has some ways to do it too. It is kind of ok in the absence of +1/+1 counter stuff, as a 3-mana 2/3 with Flying and Defender with the possible option of being a 7 mana ¾ with Flying in the late game.
Cunning Geysermage image 2.5 This isn’t quite Roaming Ghostlight, but it seems alright. Early it can be a not completely horrible 3-mana 3/2, and in the later part of the game you can pay 6 for a 3/2 that bounces something That rate is admittedly not great, but any time you can add to the board while subtracting from your opponents’ feels pretty great.
Practiced Tactics image 3.0 It bothers me a ton that sometimes it will literally be a blank card, but that won’t happen a TON, and it also has some serious upside - though it is too bad they didn’t decide to make this one of the DFC lands. It is situational, but if it is typically doing 4 damage for one mana to a blocking or attacking creature, well, you’re getting a great deal.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Mind Drain
Kazandu Stomper image 2.0 This is a surprisingly decent card for stalling if you’re in a controlling deck, as the statline and the life help make you harder to kill.
Scorch Rider image 2.0 So, a 4-man 4/3 is generally a C- these days. It is reasonable stats to be sure, but not anything special either. The Kicker here isn’t super exciting either, as a 6-mana 4/3 with Haste is not especially good -- BUT that’s not really the way to look at cards with Kicker. If it has a reasonable base line, as this does -- the fact it can have Haste later in the game is just upside.
Cunning Geysermage image 2.5 This isn’t quite Roaming Ghostlight, but it seems alright. Early it can be a not completely horrible 3-mana 3/2, and in the later part of the game you can pay 6 for a 3/2 that bounces something That rate is admittedly not great, but any time you can add to the board while subtracting from your opponents’ feels pretty great.
Inordinate Rage image 1.5 This is an alright trick. You’ll run it in super aggressive decks but not anywhere else.
Dreadwurm image 2.0 This will be indestructible sometimes, and that’s nice – but it will often also just be a 5-mana 5/4, and that’s not so nice.
Blood Beckoning image 2.0 Black gets a card like this in every set -- one that returns two creatures from the graveyard -- and it is always a decent card to have one of, since in the late game it often does enough to pull you ahead -- it is of course balanced out by being pretty useless early though. 4 mana for that effect is a bit steep, but the fact that it can cost one in situations where that is worthwhile does enough to keep this as a solid playable.
Scavenged Blade image 2.0 Two mana to give something +2/+0 isn’t an awesome rate, but you can kind of think of it as an Aura that sticks around to be used elsewhere in the later part of the game. Then, you factor in the fact that Equipment is a pretty big theme in this set in Red – and especially in Red/White, and this definitely is a card that will make the cut in your deck a decent chunk of the time.
Mind Drain image 1.5 So, here is a strictly better Mind Rot! It adds draining life and milling a card to the mix, in addition to making your opponent discard the two cards. Playing it early is sometimes a liability because it means you aren’t adding to the board on turn three, and getting it late can be bad too, because your opponent is in top deck mode. Mid-game or so is usually where it is at its best. Mind Drain adds enough extra stuff to the mix to overcome Mind Rot’s usual problem though -- it will do something no matter what. And sure, draining your opponent for 1 and milling their top card for three isn’t a good deal, but it is a heck of a lot better than a dead card, which Mind Rot often is.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Blood Beckoning
Blood Beckoning image 2.0 Black gets a card like this in every set -- one that returns two creatures from the graveyard -- and it is always a decent card to have one of, since in the late game it often does enough to pull you ahead -- it is of course balanced out by being pretty useless early though. 4 mana for that effect is a bit steep, but the fact that it can cost one in situations where that is worthwhile does enough to keep this as a solid playable.
Makindi Ox image 1.5 This is too expensive for the aggro decks that might normally be interested in tapping something down, and not impactful enough for control deck, so you don’t play it very often.
Turntimber Ascetic image 2.5 Decent stats +3 life, this will sometimes pull you out of a fire thanks to slowing down an aggressive assault and the life it gives you.
Oblivion's Hunger image 1.0 This doesn’t even seem to be worth it in +1/+1 counter decks, as it is still too situational.
Tazeem Roilmage image 3.0 A two mana 2/1 is a D+ at best these days, we just expect better stats for a two mana investment. However, the kicker upside here is quite strong in the late game.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Mesa Lynx image 1.5 This is a 2-mana 2/1 as an attacker, and a two-mana ⅔ as a blocker. In this day and age, even a vanilla two-mana ⅔ would probably not be much more than a C, so a card that is only one half of the time is considerably worse. I would actually prefer it was a ⅔ during your turn than the other way around, since White is more often than not a color that wants to be attacking well early.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Resolute Strike
Oblivion's Hunger image 1.0 This doesn’t even seem to be worth it in +1/+1 counter decks, as it is still too situational.
Murasa Brute image 1.5 This has decent stats and a party creature type, so it will make the cut sometimes.
Resolute Strike image 1.5 One mana for +2/+2 is a pretty reasonable trick even if it has nothing else going on. It will usually make your creature win combat, and it will do it cheaply. The additional Warrior and Equipment upside here is nice, and any time you can Equip a creature for free with this you’re going to feel really great.
Zulaport Duelist image 2.0 This isn’t Faerie Duelist, but its kind of a similar creature. You can sometimes use it to really mess up combat for your opponent, and even when you can’t you do at least get a creature that can prevent some damage while also milling a bit.
Kazandu Nectarpot image 1.5 This is a surprisingly decent card for stalling if you’re in a controlling deck, as the statline and the life help make you harder to kill.
Anticognition image 0.0 // 2.5 This ends up being a hard counter a significant chunk of the time, especially in UB which does a good job of milling. If you can’t consistently get this to be a hard counter, you probably don’t play it, but if you can it ends being a pretty nice card to have around.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Cliffhaven Kitesail
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Cliffhaven Kitesail image 1.5 This seems fine. 1 mana to give something Flying is a reasonable rate, especially because it sticks around to give your other guys flying if they need it. It will, of course, be especially attractive in the RW deck that’s all about Equipment, but I think it is a reasonable inclusion anywhere.
Disenchant image 0.5 Look everyone, Disenchant is back! This format has a reasonable number of Enchantments and Artifacts, but probably not enough that you feel ok about mainboarding this. This is a sideboard card, and if you are playing it in your deck, you are probably pretty desperate.
Mesa Lynx image 1.5 This is a 2-mana 2/1 as an attacker, and a two-mana ⅔ as a blocker. In this day and age, even a vanilla two-mana ⅔ would probably not be much more than a C, so a card that is only one half of the time is considerably worse. I would actually prefer it was a ⅔ during your turn than the other way around, since White is more often than not a color that wants to be attacking well early.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Blood Price
Might of Murasa image 1.5 So, this is an overcosted Giant Growth without kicker, and with it -- well, it still isn’t all that efficient. 5-mana for +5/+5 doesn’t really do it for me. Sure, sometimes it will turn damage lethal and all that, and it will certainly win combat for you, but to go that route you usually have to give up on developing the board for a turn, which just won’t be worth it a lot.
Blood Price image 1.5 Black always gets a draw spell like this one, and this one is a little overcosted. Two cards for two life and four mana just doesn’t seem worth it to me for the most part.
Scorch Rider image 2.0 So, a 4-man 4/3 is generally a C- these days. It is reasonable stats to be sure, but not anything special either. The Kicker here isn’t super exciting either, as a 6-mana 4/3 with Haste is not especially good -- BUT that’s not really the way to look at cards with Kicker. If it has a reasonable base line, as this does -- the fact it can have Haste later in the game is just upside.
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Demon's Disciple
Demon's Disciple image 2.0 This kind of card is always great when you are the one with more creatures -- making your opponent give up a key creature while you lose something irrelevant is a nice feeling. BUT, it won’t always work out that way. Sometimes you’ll just wish you could play this for the body, but you can’t always, since if it is your only creature, it sacrifices itself. Sometimes your opponent will have the better board than you, and them losing one thing won’t hurt them a whole lot.
Highborn Vampire image 1.5 So yeah, this is a vanilla creature, who comes with some upside because he has a creature type that fits into a “party.” A 4-mana 4/3 isn’t the worst rate for Limited, and I think the Warrior upside does enough to make this a card you’ll play a little more than you won’t.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Pressure Point
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Pressure Point image 0.5 We have seen this before, and it was not very impressive. Tapping a creature is sometimes a useful effect, but it is very rarely worth a whole card, and it is quite situational. Adding a cantrip does keep this from being completely dismal, but I think you don’t play this very often.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Adventure Awaits
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Legion Angel
Legion Angel image 4.0 This is mostly just a 4-mana 4/3 with Flying in Limited – but good news, that’s great!
Kargan Warleader image 3.5 Lords are always good if they have enough things to pump – and Kargan Warleader definitely does. RW is obviously the Warrior archetype, as this signpost uncommon is telling you, so much of your board will get a boost out of this creature which is also already a 3-mana 3/3.
Rockslide Sorcerer image 4.0 This is a strong Uncommon. As I’ve said about other “Wizard, Instant, Sorcery” payoffs, I think they’re going to perform really well, especially in the UR deck. Having a deck with 10+ cards that can trigger this is not a far-fetched scenario, and that means this can ping a ton in a single game, which can allow you to pick off small creatures or go for your opponent’s dome. If you can play multiple cards to trigger it in the same turn, it will get really silly.
Beyeen Veil image 2.5 The reason this type of effect isn’t great is because it doesn’t do anything, or does far too little way more often than it actually does do something. However, when that window does open, it can do some nasty stuff, like completely wreck combat for your opponent. But, if it is clear it isn’t going to be much use, you can play it as a land to get more mana, and maybe even trigger landfall.
Ghastly Gloomhunter image 2.0 This isn’t very efficient cast normally OR with Kicker, but the flexibility to choose either is enough to make that inefficiency matter less, as is the fact that it can gain you some life, which the BW deck really cares about.
Prowling Felidar image 2.5 This starts as a rather inefficient creature, but it will get larger throughout the game. Vigilance is always nice on a creature that is both a good attacker and a blocker, and this will certainly become that. I think in an ideal scenario, you play this and then a land in the same turn, that way you put it out of range of a bunch of removal. It does start fragile and inefficient, but it’s a nice Common.
Might of Murasa image 1.5 So, this is an overcosted Giant Growth without kicker, and with it -- well, it still isn’t all that efficient. 5-mana for +5/+5 doesn’t really do it for me. Sure, sometimes it will turn damage lethal and all that, and it will certainly win combat for you, but to go that route you usually have to give up on developing the board for a turn, which just won’t be worth it a lot.
Bubble Snare image 3.5 Getting away with just paying one for this on a creature that is already tapped is going to feel great, and when you are the more defensive player, that is probably often how you’ll use it, since it will enable you to do some other things on your turn. Sometimes, you need to just be able to lock down an opposing creature, and you can pay the Kicker when that’s necessary to get a blocker out of the way, or a creature your opponent just won’t attack with that is cause you all kinds of problems.
Anticognition image 0.0 // 2.5 This ends up being a hard counter a significant chunk of the time, especially in UB which does a good job of milling. If you can’t consistently get this to be a hard counter, you probably don’t play it, but if you can it ends being a pretty nice card to have around.
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Synchronized Spellcraft image 2.0 Removal this is, but premium it is not. 5 mana to do 4 at instant speed just isn’t going to get you there most of the time -- you will frequently be trading down. And sure, it has party upside, and yeah if you are doing 2+ to your opponent at the same time you are ending up with a more reasonable spell, but even with a full party, this isn’t incredible -- and good luck setting that up.
Into the Roil image 3.0 Two mana for an Instant that bounces nonland permanents is always a playable card. Adding Kicker here is just great, because if you kick it, into the Roil goes from being a card that gets you some tempo to being a card that actually trades for a whole card. And obviously as an instant, youc an sometimes blow out Auras or combat tricks too.
Sneaking Guide image 1.5 There are definitely some sweet creatures you can make unblockable with this, and maybe if you get some of those it will be worth it. But you cut this a lot.
Kabira Outrider image 2.0 Those Hill Giant stats aren’t pretty, and that ETB isn’t super impressive either, though it can often enable an attack you just didn’t have before. But the Party upside here is nice, if you can get +2/+2 out of the trigger you end up with a much nicer card, and obviously, there’s a chance you can go even bigger. I think this is decent enough for White decks to play the first copy most of the time.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Cleric of Life's Bond
Windrider Wizard image 3.5 This has decent stats and a pretty good Wizard payoff, looting is always a good way to improve your draws.
Lithoform Blight image 1.0 If you’re desperate for fixing, this does the job. If you’re not, don’t play it.
Cleric of Life's Bond image 3.5 So, the signpost uncommon for BW want you to be both gaining life, and playing Clerics, since it pays you off for both! It gets larger when you gain life, and playing clerics gains you life, so you don’t really have to go out of your way for the +1/+1 counter part of the card to trigger, though obviously having some other ways to gain life will make it better.
Scale the Heights image 2.0 This does several little things, and they are generally enough for this to make the cut in your deck a significant chunk of the time, but they are also little enough that you won’t always play this.
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Spare Supplies image 1.0 Two mana to draw a card, and 4 to draw two over the course of a couple of turns is..a thing? But in a set without artifact or sacrifice payoffs, I don’t see this making the cut most of the time.
Risen Riptide image 2.5 This is a surprisingly serviceable payoff for the Kicker deck, as getting whatever value out of what you kicked AND making this a 5/5 feels great, as it is often a very difficult creature to block effectively.
Kabira Outrider image 2.0 Those Hill Giant stats aren’t pretty, and that ETB isn’t super impressive either, though it can often enable an attack you just didn’t have before. But the Party upside here is nice, if you can get +2/+2 out of the trigger you end up with a much nicer card, and obviously, there’s a chance you can go even bigger. I think this is decent enough for White decks to play the first copy most of the time.
Synchronized Spellcraft image 2.0 Removal this is, but premium it is not. 5 mana to do 4 at instant speed just isn’t going to get you there most of the time -- you will frequently be trading down. And sure, it has party upside, and yeah if you are doing 2+ to your opponent at the same time you are ending up with a more reasonable spell, but even with a full party, this isn’t incredible -- and good luck setting that up.
Into the Roil image 3.0 Two mana for an Instant that bounces nonland permanents is always a playable card. Adding Kicker here is just great, because if you kick it, into the Roil goes from being a card that gets you some tempo to being a card that actually trades for a whole card. And obviously as an instant, youc an sometimes blow out Auras or combat tricks too.
Blood Beckoning image 2.0 Black gets a card like this in every set -- one that returns two creatures from the graveyard -- and it is always a decent card to have one of, since in the late game it often does enough to pull you ahead -- it is of course balanced out by being pretty useless early though. 4 mana for that effect is a bit steep, but the fact that it can cost one in situations where that is worthwhile does enough to keep this as a solid playable.
Practiced Tactics image 3.0 It bothers me a ton that sometimes it will literally be a blank card, but that won’t happen a TON, and it also has some serious upside - though it is too bad they didn’t decide to make this one of the DFC lands. It is situational, but if it is typically doing 4 damage for one mana to a blocking or attacking creature, well, you’re getting a great deal.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Malakir Blood-Priest
Vastwood Surge image 2.5 Some more fixing and ramp for Green that also triggers landfall a couple of times! 4-mana spells that search up two basics tend to be fine in Limited, assuming a format isn’t blistering fast, so adding the Kicker upside here is nice -- especially because it turns your board into a force to be reckoned with. Some ramp/fixing spells feel pretty useless in the late game when you already have a ton of man, and the Kicker here definitely makes this card matter than most.
Spoils of Adventure image 3.0 So, 6-mana to draw 3 and gain 3 at instant speed would actually already be a playable card in control decks. Now, it wouldn’t be more than something kind of mediocre, but still, that’s our base level here. I like expensive draw spells that gain you life, because they tend to mitigate against the big downside of using a whole turn to cast it, something that usually costs you life since your opponent will probably be attacking you. I really think once you have this down to 5 mana you’re in business, and anything less than that and it will get pretty silly.
Skyclave Cleric image 3.0 Here is another flexible DFC creature-land. On one side, you have a card that impacts the board -- and frequently thats what you want. On the other, you have land -- and sometimes you need that more. Basically, this helps you whether you are flooding out or mana screwed, and there aren’t many cards that can say that -- this will make your deck run much more smoothly as a result, even if the two mana ⅓ that gains you 2 life is nothing special, and the land comes into play tapped, the flexibility here is for real. And it also has a useful creature type and gains you life, all things BW wants.
Deliberate image 1.5 So, this is pretty similar to Anticipate – though it is likely a bit better. It is an Instant speed Preordain that costs twice as much. You get to see up to 3 cards when you use it, and if you happen to have two things on top of your library you really want, you can leave them both there, which is nice. And if you don’t want either, well, you can smooth out your draws – you get the picture. This kind of card often just feel very replaceable.
Ardent Electromancer image 3.0 This is a key common for party decks, and it can really help you set up a double-spell turn three, which often is what you need to quickly win a game.
Skyclave Sentinel image 1.5 So, this is mostly a payoff for decks that can put counters on stuff. This is mostly going to be BG, but White has some ways to do it too. It is kind of ok in the absence of +1/+1 counter stuff, as a 3-mana 2/3 with Flying and Defender with the possible option of being a 7 mana ¾ with Flying in the late game.
Practiced Tactics image 3.0 It bothers me a ton that sometimes it will literally be a blank card, but that won’t happen a TON, and it also has some serious upside - though it is too bad they didn’t decide to make this one of the DFC lands. It is situational, but if it is typically doing 4 damage for one mana to a blocking or attacking creature, well, you’re getting a great deal.
Malakir Blood-Priest image 3.0 This is a key common for party decks, as draining 2+ life with it is pretty easy to do in those decks, even just play it on curve.
Dauntless Survivor image 2.5 We have seen this card a lot, and it is always solid. At worst, it is a two mana 2/2 -- and it has the upside of being able to make some other more relevant creature get a +1/+1 counter in the later part of the game. The BG deck in this format also has +1/+1 counter synergies, AND it has a creature type relevant for partying, so it will be a nice two drop in multiple decks in this format.
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Gnarlid Colony image 3.0 This is a nice Common. Having a Grizzly Bear with a +1/+1 counter payoff as a base form isn’t bad when you have other late game option of paying 5-mana for a 4/4 with Trample. Neither side of this is especially efficient -- but that often doesn’t matter with creatures who have Kicker, as we’ve seen in the past. Just having an alternate option in the late game to make this a more imposing creature is nice, even if the rate isn’t great.
Guul Draz Mucklord image 2.0 This has reasonable stats, and it is nice it leaves a counter behind when it dies. Obviously, that isn’t quite worth a whole card, but trading with this and getting that counter of the deal won’t feel too bad.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Merfolk Windrobber
Merfolk Windrobber image 3.0 This is a nice one drop, especially for the Rogue deck, because it lets you get in some damage early and start stocking up the graveyard. Then, in the late game, you can cash it in to draw a card, which gives it utility even when it can no longer attack.
Utility Knife image 1.0 Even with an Equipment deck in this format, Utility Knife isn’t really worth it. It gives an okay boost to start with, but the equip cost after that is just exorbitant.
Hagra Constrictor image 2.5 On its own, the Constrictor is a 3-mana 2/2 with Menace. However, this set has enough +1/+1 stuff going on, with BG as the +1/+1 counter deck this time going around, that the Constrictor will often immediately impact the board, making one of your other creatures much more difficult to block effectively.
Skyclave Squid image 1.5 So, a two mana 3/2 – even if it could attack all the time – isn’t actually super incredible in Limited. Don’t get me wrong, that’s obviously better than a 2-mana 2/2 – but in this day and age a vanilla grizzly bear just isn’t good. Adding one power is better, but it isn’t so efficient that it doesn’t still die to pretty much all the two drops in combat.
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Fissure Wizard image 2.5 This is pretty unexciting. It does a bunch of meh stuff. It has bad stats for the cost, it lets you rummage, and it has a creature type that matters in this format. While none of that is exciting, it coming all together does make it a decent enough playable.
Tajuru Snarecaster image 1.5 We see this card in lots of sets -- it is just usually a Spider. Like all those times, this is something you’ll play in your Green decks because you tend to not have great ways of dealing with flyers, but it won’t even always make the cut.
Kazandu Nectarpot image 1.5 This is a surprisingly decent card for stalling if you’re in a controlling deck, as the statline and the life help make you harder to kill.
Risen Riptide image 2.5 This is a surprisingly serviceable payoff for the Kicker deck, as getting whatever value out of what you kicked AND making this a 5/5 feels great, as it is often a very difficult creature to block effectively.
Sizzling Barrage image 1.0 This removal is way too conditional, you should only be running if it you have no other removal.
Resolute Strike image 1.5 One mana for +2/+2 is a pretty reasonable trick even if it has nothing else going on. It will usually make your creature win combat, and it will do it cheaply. The additional Warrior and Equipment upside here is nice, and any time you can Equip a creature for free with this you’re going to feel really great.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Attended Healer
Attended Healer image 3.5 This is a powerful life gain AND cleric payoff. Getting a cat token the first time you gain life each turn is nice, especially because the Healer can make sure you are gaining that life, provided there are some other Clerics lying around. The activated ability isn’t exactly cheap, so I think that for the Healer to really shine, you are hoping to have some other ways to trigger the life gain clause. The good news is that is very doable in this format.
Veteran Adventurer image 3.5 As a 6-mana 5/5 with Vigilance that can fill whichever party role you need, this would probably be a C, perhaps even a C+ -- but it of course can also reduce its cost, and it isn’t crazy to imagine playing this for 5 mana, and playing it for 4 won’t be super rare either, and in those cases this is going to feel really good. A creature this size with Vigilance is always really nice in Limited, as it really makes it harder for opponents to effectively race you if you have a big creature who can play both offense and defense.
Tangled Florahedron image 3.5 This double-faced creature-land is kind of funny, because no matter which side you pick, it gives you mana! Most of the cards in this cycle give you something that can at least be a little more impactful in the late game -- though most of them are also more situational than this -- so it is probably a wash. Basically, you’ll play this as a creature if you already played a land on turn and you want to ramp, and you’ll play it as a land if you really need one of those. This might not feel quite as good to draw late as the other card sin the cycle, but the fact remains that in the late game, this is a land that you can draw and still have it actually add to the board.
Nimana Skydancer image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/1 with Flying and Flash is already a reasonable card, but this is also a Rogue that mills your opponent, and that’s something that the UB decks are pretty interested in.
Kor Celebrant image 3.0 This has nice defensive stats, and it is one of the key Commons for the BW Cleric deck. It provides you with a repeatable source of life gain, which triggers all sorts of powerful cards. Even outside of that deck, this is serviceable as a defensive creature.
Chilling Trap image 0.0 // 2.0 If you can’t consistently turn this into a cantrip it is unplayable. But, if you’re a UR deck that is interested in both spells and Wizards, this is a solid playable.
Expedition Champion image 2.5 A 4/3 for three mana is a decent creature for sure, though it isn’t really going to be taking over the game or anything like that, and it will still be a ⅔ some of the time. Seems like a solid card for Red Warrior decks, but not much more than that.
Practiced Tactics image 3.0 It bothers me a ton that sometimes it will literally be a blank card, but that won’t happen a TON, and it also has some serious upside - though it is too bad they didn’t decide to make this one of the DFC lands. It is situational, but if it is typically doing 4 damage for one mana to a blocking or attacking creature, well, you’re getting a great deal.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Prowling Felidar
Lithoform Blight image 1.0 If you’re desperate for fixing, this does the job. If you’re not, don’t play it.
Prowling Felidar image 2.5 This starts as a rather inefficient creature, but it will get larger throughout the game. Vigilance is always nice on a creature that is both a good attacker and a blocker, and this will certainly become that. I think in an ideal scenario, you play this and then a land in the same turn, that way you put it out of range of a bunch of removal. It does start fragile and inefficient, but it’s a nice Common.
Disenchant image 0.5 Look everyone, Disenchant is back! This format has a reasonable number of Enchantments and Artifacts, but probably not enough that you feel ok about mainboarding this. This is a sideboard card, and if you are playing it in your deck, you are probably pretty desperate.
Chilling Trap image 0.0 // 2.0 If you can’t consistently turn this into a cantrip it is unplayable. But, if you’re a UR deck that is interested in both spells and Wizards, this is a solid playable.
Tormenting Voice image 1.5 As usual this is fine as the last card in your deck. It is probably a little less good in this set because of the DFC lands, and landfall, because the main thing it is nice for is to avoid flooding out – but flooding out is going to be harder than normal in this format. This is a little appealing in the UR deck because it gives you a spell trigger, but you’ll cut it more than you play it.
Tajuru Blightblade image 2.5 We see this card in lots of sets, and it is always fine. It can trade for anything, giving it relevance all game long, but it is never particularly impactful.
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Tajuru Snarecaster image 1.5 We see this card in lots of sets -- it is just usually a Spider. Like all those times, this is something you’ll play in your Green decks because you tend to not have great ways of dealing with flyers, but it won’t even always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Kor Celebrant
Springmantle Cleric image 2.0 // 3.0 In a typical two color deck this is fine, and if you get there on a 3+ color deck, it improves to be a very efficient creature.
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Tajuru Snarecaster image 1.5 We see this card in lots of sets -- it is just usually a Spider. Like all those times, this is something you’ll play in your Green decks because you tend to not have great ways of dealing with flyers, but it won’t even always make the cut.
Marauding Blight-Priest image 3.0 This is a key common for the BW cleric deck, and can often do some serious damage to the opponent, as those decks frequently have a critical mass of ways to gain life.
Inordinate Rage image 1.5 This is an alright trick. You’ll run it in super aggressive decks but not anywhere else.
Blood Beckoning image 2.0 Black gets a card like this in every set -- one that returns two creatures from the graveyard -- and it is always a decent card to have one of, since in the late game it often does enough to pull you ahead -- it is of course balanced out by being pretty useless early though. 4 mana for that effect is a bit steep, but the fact that it can cost one in situations where that is worthwhile does enough to keep this as a solid playable.
Kor Celebrant image 3.0 This has nice defensive stats, and it is one of the key Commons for the BW Cleric deck. It provides you with a repeatable source of life gain, which triggers all sorts of powerful cards. Even outside of that deck, this is serviceable as a defensive creature.
Zulaport Duelist image 2.0 This isn’t Faerie Duelist, but its kind of a similar creature. You can sometimes use it to really mess up combat for your opponent, and even when you can’t you do at least get a creature that can prevent some damage while also milling a bit.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Cleric of Chill Depths
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Molten Blast image 1.5 3-mana to do two damage at instant speed is not so good – I mean, it is removal, but it is not efficient – you’ll basically always be trading down with it. But the modality here really matters. This set has plenty of good artifacts – not like, a million of them or anything – but enough that this will be blowing up artifacts on occasion too, and being able to have that in your main deck is real upside.
Teeterpeak Ambusher image 2.0 This has decent starting stats, a party creature type, and an ability that can keep it relevant. Seems fine.
Cleric of Chill Depths image 1.5 Look it is a creature that is a really good chump blocker! Unfortunately, that’s not really the kind of card you’ll want most of the time. If you need a two drop, and you’re trying to get there on party, you’ll play it.
Shell Shield image 2.5 Because of all the kicker payoffs in this format, Shell Shield really overperforms. It allows you to save your creatures fairly cheaply, and it can sometimes also work more as a combat trick.
Glacial Grasp image 2.0 So, on a base level, this is Divination, a card that is a decent playable in most Limited formats -- somewhere between a C- and a C. But, this becomes more powerful in the late game, drawing you three cards if you have the spare mana around to do it. Now, 6-mana at Sorcery speed to draw 3 cards is pretty clunky, but it is attached to what is already a reasonable card, which means being able to cast it with Kicker is all upside.
Field Research image 2.5 So, on a base level, this is Divination, a card that is a decent playable in most Limited formats -- somewhere between a C- and a C. But, this becomes more powerful in the late game, drawing you three cards if you have the spare mana around to do it. Now, 6-mana at Sorcery speed to draw 3 cards is pretty clunky, but it is attached to what is already a reasonable card, which means being able to cast it with Kicker is all upside.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Kabira Outrider
Might of Murasa image 1.5 So, this is an overcosted Giant Growth without kicker, and with it -- well, it still isn’t all that efficient. 5-mana for +5/+5 doesn’t really do it for me. Sure, sometimes it will turn damage lethal and all that, and it will certainly win combat for you, but to go that route you usually have to give up on developing the board for a turn, which just won’t be worth it a lot.
Anticognition image 0.0 // 2.5 This ends up being a hard counter a significant chunk of the time, especially in UB which does a good job of milling. If you can’t consistently get this to be a hard counter, you probably don’t play it, but if you can it ends being a pretty nice card to have around.
Strength of Solidarity image 1.0 This can potentially give you a whole lot for only one mana! But…it can also potentially be blank card. The likelihood of it being blank is about as likely as it is that you have a full party. On average, it will probably give somewhere between 1 and 2 tokens, and that hardly seems worth it to me.
Synchronized Spellcraft image 2.0 Removal this is, but premium it is not. 5 mana to do 4 at instant speed just isn’t going to get you there most of the time -- you will frequently be trading down. And sure, it has party upside, and yeah if you are doing 2+ to your opponent at the same time you are ending up with a more reasonable spell, but even with a full party, this isn’t incredible -- and good luck setting that up.
Sneaking Guide image 1.5 There are definitely some sweet creatures you can make unblockable with this, and maybe if you get some of those it will be worth it. But you cut this a lot.
Kabira Outrider image 2.0 Those Hill Giant stats aren’t pretty, and that ETB isn’t super impressive either, though it can often enable an attack you just didn’t have before. But the Party upside here is nice, if you can get +2/+2 out of the trigger you end up with a much nicer card, and obviously, there’s a chance you can go even bigger. I think this is decent enough for White decks to play the first copy most of the time.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Lithoform Blight
Lithoform Blight image 1.0 If you’re desperate for fixing, this does the job. If you’re not, don’t play it.
Scale the Heights image 2.0 This does several little things, and they are generally enough for this to make the cut in your deck a significant chunk of the time, but they are also little enough that you won’t always play this.
Adventure Awaits image 1.0 We see a Green card like this in most sets, and they are always kind of meh. They give you some nice card selection, and it is also kind of nice that if you wiff on a creature, you still get a card out of it. Whiffing on a creature is unlikely in most limited decks, but it DOES happen sometimes, so having protection from this doing absolutely nothing is nice. That said, this type of card, especially at two mana, generally feels like it is easy to cut in most decks.
Spare Supplies image 1.0 Two mana to draw a card, and 4 to draw two over the course of a couple of turns is..a thing? But in a set without artifact or sacrifice payoffs, I don’t see this making the cut most of the time.
Cascade Seer image 1.5 I think this is fine. A 4-mana 3/3 that scries 1 would probably be a C-. We recently had Octoprophet, which was a 4-mana 3/3 that always Scried 2, and that was definitely a solid C -- and that’s what this will be a decent chunk of the time. Obviously with a full party it gets better, but you shouldn’t really look at this as doing that very often, because it won’t.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Skyclave Sentinel
Deliberate image 1.5 So, this is pretty similar to Anticipate – though it is likely a bit better. It is an Instant speed Preordain that costs twice as much. You get to see up to 3 cards when you use it, and if you happen to have two things on top of your library you really want, you can leave them both there, which is nice. And if you don’t want either, well, you can smooth out your draws – you get the picture. This kind of card often just feel very replaceable.
Skyclave Sentinel image 1.5 So, this is mostly a payoff for decks that can put counters on stuff. This is mostly going to be BG, but White has some ways to do it too. It is kind of ok in the absence of +1/+1 counter stuff, as a 3-mana 2/3 with Flying and Defender with the possible option of being a 7 mana ¾ with Flying in the late game.
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Guul Draz Mucklord image 2.0 This has reasonable stats, and it is nice it leaves a counter behind when it dies. Obviously, that isn’t quite worth a whole card, but trading with this and getting that counter of the deal won’t feel too bad.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Utility Knife
Utility Knife image 1.0 Even with an Equipment deck in this format, Utility Knife isn’t really worth it. It gives an okay boost to start with, but the equip cost after that is just exorbitant.
Spitfire Lagac image 1.5 This has underwhelming stats and unimpressive landfall trigger. You’ll play it less than you’ll cut it.
Tajuru Snarecaster image 1.5 We see this card in lots of sets -- it is just usually a Spider. Like all those times, this is something you’ll play in your Green decks because you tend to not have great ways of dealing with flyers, but it won’t even always make the cut.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Tuktuk Rubblefort
Tuktuk Rubblefort image 0.5 I’m not the biggest fan of creatures with defender who want you to be aggressive – as those two things seem odd together, so I’m not interested.
Cleansing Wildfire image 1.0 Two mana land destruction, with a cantrip! That would be super crazy if it didn’t also let your opponent replace the land that they lose. Now, that mostly means that, in terms of destroying opposing lands, it will mostly only be worth it if your opponent has powerful non-basics, and while there are some of those in this format, there aren’t enough for this to be used that way very often. In those situations, it is mostly just a cantrip. However, it is kind of a modal card. You can use it to destroy one of your own land to search up a basic land you might need -- like if you’re splashing. That isn’t amazing, but it does give Red decks a way to fix, and tacking a cantrip on to it makes it a little less painful. It can also trigger landfall, but the whole thing is just too situational.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Lithoform Blight
Lithoform Blight image 1.0 If you’re desperate for fixing, this does the job. If you’re not, don’t play it.
Draft Pick Overview