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Premier Draft SNC 14 May 2022

14 May 05:22 - Sylverblade 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (10)
1 Murder image
1 Big Score image
1 Gilded Pinions image
1 Unleash the Inferno image
1 Light 'Em Up image
1 Grisly Sigil image
2 Sticky Fingers image
1 Prizefight image
1 Most Wanted image
Creature (19)
1 Obscura Interceptor image
2 Rakish Revelers image
1 Darling of the Masses image
1 Riveteers Requisitioner image
2 Goldhound image
1 Pugnacious Pugilist image
1 Security Rhox image
1 Night Clubber image
1 Exhibition Magician image
1 Plasma Jockey image
1 Crew Captain image
1 Girder Goons image
1 Scuttling Butler image
1 Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder image
1 Freelance Muscle image
1 Spara's Adjudicators image
1 Riveteers Initiate image
Land (18)
1 Riveteers Overlook image
5 Swamp image
7 Mountain image
5 Forest image
Sideboard
1 Rakish Revelers image
1 Goldhound image
1 Caldaia Strongarm image
1 Inspiring Overseer image
1 Wrecking Crew image
2 Suspicious Bookcase image
1 Boon of Safety image
1 Join the Maestros image
1 Broken Wings image
1 Extract the Truth image
1 Ominous Parcel image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Murder
Evolving Door image 1.0 This is pretty interesting, but my feeling is that it probably isn’t very good in Limited. You have to sacrifice a creature and then also have the mana to play whatever you search up, and that’s doable, but you’re basically giving something up on the board and paying one extra mana for some creature in your deck. There will also be times where the color of your creatures just doesn’t line up the right way to get you what you want. Though, sacrificing a mono-colored creature to get a two-colored creature or a two-colored creature to get a three-colored one seems like it will happen pretty often. But yeah, unless you have plenty of sacrifice fodder, I’m not a big believer in this.
Hypnotic Grifter image 2.5 This seems like a nice manasink that can load your graveyard and potentially grow the Grifter. It definitely won’t be doing a whole lot early, but in the late game this is the kind of effect that can really help you get there. Still, it does take awhile to get going.
Out of the Way image 3.0 Even without the Green discount, Out of the Way would be a pretty solid card. 4 to bounce a nonland permanent and draw a card is a card we’ve seen several times and its always nice. It might be a bit harder to get a tempo advantage when paying 4 for a bounce, but the fact it replaces itself makes up for that, and the times where this only costs two it will feel completely absurd. And the good news is that lots of opponents will have Green permanents in a set that is so focused on three color shards.
Grisly Sigil image 3.5 This has a really neat design for a card with casualty. Basically, without Casualty this can kill an X/1 and with Casualty it can kill an X/4, and that is a pretty amazing deal for the mana! The Casualty certainly takes some setup, but it feels like there are enough nice 1 power things to sacrifice to this that it won’t really feel like you’re paying that much extra for a super efficient removal spell.
Boon of Safety image 2.0 A shield counter will allow your creature to survive a whole lot of stuff, whether its a removal spell or damage in combat. In combat, your creature will still get to damage the thing that it is blocking or being blocked by, and if its big enough it can just kill it. It feels like there are enough situations where you can generate some sweet tempo with this that I can definitely see running a copy of it in aggressive White decks.
Civil Servant image 3.0 This has above rate stats, and it looks like there are enough Citizens in this set to make those stats even more impressive for a fairly low cost. This isn’t really the Citizen payoff you’re hoping for, but it does seem like a pretty nice Common for that deck.
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Backup Agent image 2.5 We see the Green version of this all the time, and it’s always solid. It can be a 2/2 for 2 if its alone, and the ability to put the counter somewhere else stays surprisingly relevant all game long. It has the Citizen creature type and there are some counter synergies in the set too.
For the Family image 2.0 This seems like a solid trick. One for +2/+2 usually plays reasonably well, and the multiple creature upside is pretty legit.
Botanical Plaza image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Make Disappear image 1.5 Without Casualty, this kind of counter spell isn't great, since your opponent is likely to have the spare mana the longer the game goes on. With casualty…I still don't think it is great, but obviously it will allow you to counter more spells more often.
Murder image 4.0 Murder at Common! As usual, it is premium removal you always want. It can’t be splashed, which is a bit of a bummer, but it is still worth a high pick. I’m giving it a 4
Plasma Jockey image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Goblin Heelcutter or Clamor Shaman, both of which were great cards in aggressive decks in their respective formats. It probably isn’t quite as good as either of them, but it will have a similar impact. You will Blitz this on a turn where it really makes an immediate impact, but its nice you can also just cast it normally if you’re more interested in adding permanently to the board – like if you’re not the beat down when you play it.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Obscura Interceptor
Obscura Interceptor image 4.0 You can flash this in to bounce a spell back to your opponents hand, while also getting a Connive trigger that will make it a 4/2 with lifelink in some cases. It isn’t quite a 2-for-1 situation, since you are only gaining tempo and not a whole card, but this is going to feel pretty good when you cast it.
Courier's Briefcase image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 and a Treasure is a pretty good deal, and this set should have enough fixing that you manage to produce 5 colors on occasion, especially in the Red-Green treasure deck.
Ceremonial Groundbreaker image 3.0 The GW color pair in this format is Citizen tribal, and this card pushes you pretty hard in that direction. +2/+1 and Trample are a decent boost, and enough of one to make many creatures into a threat, but paying 3 to equip this is not ideal. Equipping it to a citizen is a great deal though. Some of them are 1/1 tokens of course, but there are many of nontoken citizens in GW too that you’ll be able to equip this to very efficiently.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Majestic Metamorphosis image 2.0 As we learned in Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, slapping “draw a card” on this type of spell is a big upgrade. Just temporary altering your creature’s stats is a bit too narrow of a use to be something you want to use a card on all the time, but this makes up for that with the cantrip. The times where you use this as a trick that wrecks your opponent is pretty sweet. It probably won’t be quite as good as Suit Up was, since Ninjutsu made for an interesting environment in terms of how opponents would block, but this definitely seems solid.
Most Wanted image 1.5 Flash Auras can be nice, since they are sort of like combat tricks that leave some permanent value behind, but only giving +1 to toughness does mean this won’t save your creature as often as you’d probably like. Getting two Treasure when the creature dies does soften the blow if you get 2-for-1’d, but probably not by enough for me to excited about this.
Girder Goons image 2.5 Neither mode with this is great, but both are fine. A 5-mana 4/4 that leaves behind a 2/2 can definitely generate a 2-for-1, and if you Blitz this you not only get to draw a card when it dies, you also add to the board.
Fake Your Own Death image 1.5 I guess we get a trick like this every set now! And, most versions of it tend to be pretty decent, and I think this one certainly is. +2/+0 is a boost that can allow your creature to win a whole lot of combats, and while it stands a good chance of dying too, Fake Your Own Death makes it not really matter, since the creature comes back! This gets especially spicy with ETB abilities, and there are also some potential Casualty and sacrifice shenanigans that this can enable.
Civil Servant image 3.0 This has above rate stats, and it looks like there are enough Citizens in this set to make those stats even more impressive for a fairly low cost. This isn’t really the Citizen payoff you’re hoping for, but it does seem like a pretty nice Common for that deck.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Kill Shot image 2.0 Is decent removal, but it is situational enough that it is nowhere near premium. An aggressive deck isn’t super interested in a card like this, because you really want cards that let you kill blockers, and your opponent can also play around a card like this pretty effectively.
Big Score image 2.5 This is an easier-to-cast Unexpected Windfall. While that card has been great in constructed, it wasn’t that great in Limited. It isn’t a bad card to have around though, as it helps you find some fresh cards while also providing you with some ramping and fixing, and the extra treasure it gives you might even enable you to cast something! But it doesn’t really do anything to immediately impact the game, and that makes it a card that you can cut sometimes.
Jackhammer image 1.5 We’ve seen a purely colorless version of this before, and I wasn’t particular impressed with that, so one that requires Red mana to cast isn’t exactly something I’m looking to play. Sticking this on a token is the most appealing thing, as a 3/1 token can’t be ignored, but the two mana to equip this is a pretty steep rate on a card that doesn’t do anything else.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Rakish Revelers
Wingshield Agent image 3.5 You can attack with this once without worrying that it will die, and that goes pretty well with its ability to give another creature Flying. You also just put your opponent in a really ugly spot if they are in a situation where the best they can do is trade with the Agent, because that means you get to attack twice and force them to use a resource each time to kill the Agent, and in the meantime it gets to attack twice and give something else Flying both times.
Elegant Entourage image 3.0 A 5-mana 5/5 tends to be pretty solid, even these days where creatures seem to keep getting better. Then, this has a pretty nice alliance trigger, as +1/+1 and Trample is going to be enough to really improve your attacks on a given turn. IT is a bit of a bummer that the Entourage can’t pump itself, but it still feels like this will create problems for your opponent most of the time when you trigger Alliance.
Swooping Protector image 3.0 The stats aren’t great but like with all these shield counter creatures – they are costed this way for a reason! The shield counters are really good and provide some pretty amazing protection. It’s nice you can Flash this in to block an X/2 to kill it in exchange for just the shield counter, and it can just threaten some damage in the air too.
Rakish Revelers image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/3 that makes a 1/1 is something I would already sign up for, so the fact that it can fix your mana earlier in the game is some upside on a card that’s already quite playable.
Hold for Ransom image 3.0 This is a Pacifism that your opponent can pay 7 mana to get rid of. We’ve seen removal auras in the past that let your opponent pay mana to get rid of the Aura, and most of them haven’t been great. I think this one has enough going on, though, that it looks better than previous cards like that we’ve seen. For one thing, 7 mana is a ton – so much that your opponent may just never get there. For another, your opponent also lets you draw a card off of it, and they can only pay for it at Sorcery speed. Your opponent may finally get rid of it, but they will spend their whole turn doing it most of the time, and then it replaces itself! Now, like all Aura removal, this is at a bit of a disadvantage in this format because of the presence of the Casualty mechanic and other sacrifice stuff more broadly.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Social Climber image 2.0 This has passable stats and a decent Alliance trigger. Gaining a bit of life here and there can add up sometimes, and that’s especially true with the tokens you’ll be making in Cabaretti!
Daring Escape image 1.5 +1/+0 and First Strike makes for a decent trick for one mana. The power boost isn’t ultra impressive, but First Strike obviously makes combat go much more favorably for your creature. I still think Antagonize is probably the trick you’re after if you’re playing Red aggro, but this can fill the role.
Case the Joint image 1.5 4 mana to draw 2 at instant speed is kind of passable. This has additional minor upside in that it gives you a bit of information, but that doesn’t really do enough for this to be something that consistently makes the cut in your deck.
Obscura Storefront image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Join the Maestros image 2.5 This seems like a solid Common. Without Casualty it is pretty ugly, but if you have some decent fodder to sacrifice, getting two 4/3 bodies is pretty good for the cost.
Light 'Em Up image 3.0 Two mana to do 2 at Sorcery speed is usually a solid card, so having the Casualty upside of doubling the spell is pretty sweet. That means you can take down X/4s with it sometimes, or even better – kill two creatures!
Pack 1 Pick 4: Darling of the Masses
Arc Spitter image 2.0 This is an interesting piece of Equipment. My first instinct is that this is probably not very good, since it doesn’t augment the stats of the creature you put it on, but this is a card where threat of activation is going to be very real, as it is relatively cheap to take down a blocking creature with the effect. Now, it does absolutely nothing when you’re on the back foot, and is only good if you’re the beat down, but I think this might be a little better than it looks. It is cheap to cast, cheap to equip, and its ability is also reasonably costed, so much so that it will make people really think about whether they want to block. Also, if you combine this with death touch it can be particularly nasty! I think in aggressive decks this is actually a decent playable.
Darling of the Masses image 3.5 The GW color pair is very much into CItizens. There’s a lot of Citizens in this set, including tokens, so the Darling will impact the board right away pretty often. The fact she generates more tokens when she attacks is great too, though as a 2/4 she won’t always be capable of giving you those tokens.
Tramway Station image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Corrupt Court Official image 2.0 I think people will be tempted to compare this to Virus Beetle, but I think the Official will feel more like a Ravenous Rats than a Beetle. The Beetle had the advantage of being an artifact, and in a set with ninjutsu that could rebuy ETB abilities – so it isn’t going to overperform quite like that card did. However, this is still pretty well placed in this format, mostly because you can take a card away from your opponent and then sacrifice this to something with Casualty and you end up with pretty decent value. In the late game, sometimes it won’t have anything to hit of course, but at least it adds something to the board.
Jackhammer image 1.5 We’ve seen a purely colorless version of this before, and I wasn’t particular impressed with that, so one that requires Red mana to cast isn’t exactly something I’m looking to play. Sticking this on a token is the most appealing thing, as a 3/1 token can’t be ignored, but the two mana to equip this is a pretty steep rate on a card that doesn’t do anything else.
Gathering Throng image 0.0 // 3.0 Collect ‘em all cards are always pretty fun in Limited. A 3-mana 3/1 is bad, but as long as you have two of these, this is very playable, since a 3-mana 3/1 that draws another one is a pretty good deal. It makes sure you will continue to have stuff to play, and getting these also guarantees you can go wide and keep triggering Alliance. They are also Citizens! So yeah, Basically, if you have only one copy of this, its pretty much unplayable – if you have two, it’s a 2.5, and it probably maxes out around a 3.0.
Caldaia Strongarm image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. Cast the normal way, it gives you a 5-mana ⅘ – which isn’t great, but that’s the fail case of the card. It can do a lot more than that! You can of course put the counters on another creature, and that can add some significant additional damage to the board immediately. And if adding as much damage to the board as quickly as possible is your thing, you can Blitz this, which lets you ad ⅘ worth of stats to the board for only 4 mana, and then you get to draw a card to replace it! You’ll often be able to get close to a card of value out of it when you do Blitz it, so that’s not a bad deal, especially because it makes sure to leave something on the board even once it sacrifices itself.
Deal Gone Bad image 2.5 This isn’t the most efficient removal spell, but at least its an Instant, and it comes with some extra value with the mill effect. The way this format is looking, you probably want to mill yourself more often than your opponent since you can get a lot of value going in that direction. This isn’t premium removal, but it seems like a solid Common.
Rooftop Nuisance image 2.5 We usually see this effect as an Instant, and being a Sorcery instead is definitely a downgrade. If it is an instant, you get to stop two rounds of attacks and blocks when you cast it. As a Sorcery, you only stop one attack – though you still make your opponent unable to block with that creature for two turns, which is usually the best part about this card anyway. So, adding a very cheap Casualty option to the card is pretty appealing – locking down two creatures and drawing two cards for only three mana is pretty great, even if you lose a token. This is going to end up closing out a lot of games in this format.
Light 'Em Up image 3.0 Two mana to do 2 at Sorcery speed is usually a solid card, so having the Casualty upside of doubling the spell is pretty sweet. That means you can take down X/4s with it sometimes, or even better – kill two creatures!
Buy Your Silence image 2.5 This can deal with any nonland permanent, but its also a pretty clunky sorcery that gives your opponent back a treasure. It definitely falls short of being Premium removal, but I do think the first copy is going to be something you want in most White decks, since it is sort of a catch-all removal spell. Running more than one probably isn’t great, though.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Riveteers Requisitioner
An Offer You Can't Refuse image 0.0 I think I WILL be refusing this offer. This mostly seems like it was printed for constructed. Most Limited decks don’t have enough non-creature spells for this sort of thing to be good, and giving them treasure seems like way too much downside on an already narrow counterspell, even if it is efficient. It is probably a sideboard card at best.
Riveteers Requisitioner image 3.0 It is easy enough to get a decent trade with your 3/1, and that will feel pretty good when you get a Treasure when it dies. The Blitz option is also really appealing, since you pay 3 mana, get a 3/1 that dies at the end of the turn, get a treasure, and draw a card when that creature dies. So yeah, both sides of this seem like a quality card
Body Dropper image 3.5 This is a pretty nice payoff for Sacrificing stuff, which is going to be very doable in Black-Red in this format as a result of both Alliance and Blitz, and it of course comes with its own way to sacrifice things and gain Menace. This seems like it could become a real problem for your opponent in many Black-Red decks!
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Raffine's Guidance image 1.5 Auras that can come back from the graveyard always tend to be kind of decent, since your opponent has a hard time ever truly getting rid of them. However, this one offers a pretty small boost. Still, with Connive being a thing, discarding this to get a +1/+1 counter and then having the opportunity to slap it on a creature late seem okay.
Witty Roastmaster image 2.5 This has passable stats and a solid if unexciting ability. It can definitely chip in for a decent chunk of damage over the course of the game, especially if you’re making tokens!
Make Disappear image 1.5 Without Casualty, this kind of counter spell isn't great, since your opponent is likely to have the spare mana the longer the game goes on. With casualty…I still don't think it is great, but obviously it will allow you to counter more spells more often.
Revel Ruiner image 2.0 This seems solid. A 4-mana 4/2 with Menace is a decent enough card, and this can be that if you want it to be most of the time. The alternative of this helping you throw away an unwanted land for a fresh card, and giving you a 3/1 menace seems solid too.
Brokers Hideout image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Gilded Pinions image 1.5 This gives you fixing and Flying for a relatively fair cost. But, typically, Equipment that only grants flying isn’t great, because it isn’t very impressive on smaller creatures. In other words, your creature already has to be pretty nice for this to be worth it.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Rakish Revelers
Angelic Observer image 3.0 Most of the tokens in this format are Citizens, especially within White and more broadly within the Cabaretti colors, and there are also a decent number of non-token citizens around. Getting this to 5 mana seems eminently doable, and while that’s not great, it is certainly passable, and sometimes you’ll cast it for a lot less. 4 mana is probably going to be a pretty common occurrence.
Rakish Revelers image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/3 that makes a 1/1 is something I would already sign up for, so the fact that it can fix your mana earlier in the game is some upside on a card that’s already quite playable.
Maestros Initiate image 2.0 This doesn't have the best stats, but trading with it and then using the ability from the graveyard seems nice, and it also seems like a card that works nicely with Connive or Casualty thanks to the graveyard value.
Sky Crier image 1.5 Flying and Lifelink make this a nice place to put counters, but apart from that, this card just isn’t all that efficient. And the draw effect also isn’t great since its symmetrical – and in some ways it is worse than symmetrical since you’re the one paying mana for the card and your opponent doesn’t pay anything! If you time it right, you can take advantage of the card before they do, but I still don’t like the idea of doing that. If this set didn’t have a decent +1/+1 counter theme, this would probably be a 1.0, but I think it will be a little bit better than that.
Jetmir's Fixer image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some very nice upside. Even if it didn’t have the Treasure bonus, being able to pump this creature’s stats for a single red and a single green would be a pretty nice card. Obviously though, Red-Green is very into Treasure in this format, so you’re going to be able to trigger the bonus if you want to.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Skybridge Towers image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Cabaretti Courtyard image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Goldhound
Goldhound image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A one mana 1/1 with Menace and First Strike is kind of a pain to interact with early, and it’s a great place to put counters and stuff. Then, once it becomes irrelevant, it can also just ramp and fix for you. This provides a lot for only one Red mana.
Revelation of Power image 1.5 The boost isn’t amazing, but the counter upside will definitely come up. It can let you win combat and gain life as well as help you get in for a bunch in the air. You’ll play this in aggressive decks with lots of counters.
Sewer Crocodile image 1.5 // 2.5 If you can get the ability on this down to a single Blue, it represent a pretty reasonable win condition, since you can crack in with your unblockable Crocodile and still have plenty of mana left over to add to the board too. That’s usually the problem with this big inefficient creatures who ask for a lot of mana to become unblockable – you can’t really do more than use the ability, but with the Crocodile, sometimes you’ll be able to get it going pretty cheaply. In a Blue deck that isn’t good at loading the graveyard you probably don’t end up playing this – so this probably deserves a build around.
Brokers Hideout image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Rhox Pummeler image 2.5 The shield counter is pretty nice on a creature with high power and trample, as it really can put your opponent in a bind when it comes to blocking it. For some of these shield creatures, you can just throw one of your tokens in front of it to get the shield to go away – and you can still do that here, but you’re probably taking 5 in the process! This seems like a decent top curve.
Jackhammer image 1.5 We’ve seen a purely colorless version of this before, and I wasn’t particular impressed with that, so one that requires Red mana to cast isn’t exactly something I’m looking to play. Sticking this on a token is the most appealing thing, as a 3/1 token can’t be ignored, but the two mana to equip this is a pretty steep rate on a card that doesn’t do anything else.
Ominous Parcel image 1.5 This can help you fix your mana, or it can be a removal spell. Its pretty bad at both of those things when you look at the total mana you spend for each, but the fact it can do both definitely makes it a decent enough playable.
Jetmir's Fixer image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some very nice upside. Even if it didn’t have the Treasure bonus, being able to pump this creature’s stats for a single red and a single green would be a pretty nice card. Obviously though, Red-Green is very into Treasure in this format, so you’re going to be able to trigger the bonus if you want to.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Goldhound
Refuse to Yield image 1.5 +2 power for two mana doesn’t make for a great trick, even with a huge toughness boost. We usually get +2/+2 for a single mana, so paying twice that for the toughness boost isn’t the best thing ever. This is because it doesn’t help actually take down the opposing creature as much. Your creature has to have higher power on average to win the combat. Now, the upside is you can use Refuse to Yield to save a creature from damage-based removal, and I think as a whole that makes this a trick you’ll play sometimes, but it will get cut a decent chunk of the time too.
Incriminate image 2.0 Black often has cards that let the opponent make a decision about something, and they pretty much always underperform, since there are too many situations where your opponent can minimize the damage. However, I think this might make your opponent make a narrow enough decision that it will be decent. Sure, you’ll have situations where your opponent hasl ike a 1/1 and some bomb creature and it isn’t going to feel too good in those scenarios – and I’m certainly not saying this is premium removal ro anything – but I do think there will be enough board states where this kills something you want dead for two mana. Don’t go into it thinking it is Doom Blade, and I think you’ll feel okay about what you’re getting.
Sewer Crocodile image 1.5 // 2.5 If you can get the ability on this down to a single Blue, it represent a pretty reasonable win condition, since you can crack in with your unblockable Crocodile and still have plenty of mana left over to add to the board too. That’s usually the problem with this big inefficient creatures who ask for a lot of mana to become unblockable – you can’t really do more than use the ability, but with the Crocodile, sometimes you’ll be able to get it going pretty cheaply. In a Blue deck that isn’t good at loading the graveyard you probably don’t end up playing this – so this probably deserves a build around.
Raffine's Guidance image 1.5 Auras that can come back from the graveyard always tend to be kind of decent, since your opponent has a hard time ever truly getting rid of them. However, this one offers a pretty small boost. Still, with Connive being a thing, discarding this to get a +1/+1 counter and then having the opportunity to slap it on a creature late seem okay.
Goldhound image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A one mana 1/1 with Menace and First Strike is kind of a pain to interact with early, and it’s a great place to put counters and stuff. Then, once it becomes irrelevant, it can also just ramp and fix for you. This provides a lot for only one Red mana.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.0 // 2.5 This is mostly a sideboard card to bring in against an opponent with many expensive spells. Most of the time, it just doesn’t have enough targets. If this format turns out to lean pretty hard on spells with a mana value of 4 or greater that could change.
Jetmir's Fixer image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some very nice upside. Even if it didn’t have the Treasure bonus, being able to pump this creature’s stats for a single red and a single green would be a pretty nice card. Obviously though, Red-Green is very into Treasure in this format, so you’re going to be able to trigger the bonus if you want to.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Boon of Safety
Boon of Safety image 2.0 A shield counter will allow your creature to survive a whole lot of stuff, whether its a removal spell or damage in combat. In combat, your creature will still get to damage the thing that it is blocking or being blocked by, and if its big enough it can just kill it. It feels like there are enough situations where you can generate some sweet tempo with this that I can definitely see running a copy of it in aggressive White decks.
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
For the Family image 2.0 This seems like a solid trick. One for +2/+2 usually plays reasonably well, and the multiple creature upside is pretty legit.
Make Disappear image 1.5 Without Casualty, this kind of counter spell isn't great, since your opponent is likely to have the spare mana the longer the game goes on. With casualty…I still don't think it is great, but obviously it will allow you to counter more spells more often.
Plasma Jockey image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Goblin Heelcutter or Clamor Shaman, both of which were great cards in aggressive decks in their respective formats. It probably isn’t quite as good as either of them, but it will have a similar impact. You will Blitz this on a turn where it really makes an immediate impact, but its nice you can also just cast it normally if you’re more interested in adding permanently to the board – like if you’re not the beat down when you play it.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Big Score
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Majestic Metamorphosis image 2.0 As we learned in Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, slapping “draw a card” on this type of spell is a big upgrade. Just temporary altering your creature’s stats is a bit too narrow of a use to be something you want to use a card on all the time, but this makes up for that with the cantrip. The times where you use this as a trick that wrecks your opponent is pretty sweet. It probably won’t be quite as good as Suit Up was, since Ninjutsu made for an interesting environment in terms of how opponents would block, but this definitely seems solid.
Most Wanted image 1.5 Flash Auras can be nice, since they are sort of like combat tricks that leave some permanent value behind, but only giving +1 to toughness does mean this won’t save your creature as often as you’d probably like. Getting two Treasure when the creature dies does soften the blow if you get 2-for-1’d, but probably not by enough for me to excited about this.
Big Score image 2.5 This is an easier-to-cast Unexpected Windfall. While that card has been great in constructed, it wasn’t that great in Limited. It isn’t a bad card to have around though, as it helps you find some fresh cards while also providing you with some ramping and fixing, and the extra treasure it gives you might even enable you to cast something! But it doesn’t really do anything to immediately impact the game, and that makes it a card that you can cut sometimes.
Jackhammer image 1.5 We’ve seen a purely colorless version of this before, and I wasn’t particular impressed with that, so one that requires Red mana to cast isn’t exactly something I’m looking to play. Sticking this on a token is the most appealing thing, as a 3/1 token can’t be ignored, but the two mana to equip this is a pretty steep rate on a card that doesn’t do anything else.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Join the Maestros
Social Climber image 2.0 This has passable stats and a decent Alliance trigger. Gaining a bit of life here and there can add up sometimes, and that’s especially true with the tokens you’ll be making in Cabaretti!
Daring Escape image 1.5 +1/+0 and First Strike makes for a decent trick for one mana. The power boost isn’t ultra impressive, but First Strike obviously makes combat go much more favorably for your creature. I still think Antagonize is probably the trick you’re after if you’re playing Red aggro, but this can fill the role.
Case the Joint image 1.5 4 mana to draw 2 at instant speed is kind of passable. This has additional minor upside in that it gives you a bit of information, but that doesn’t really do enough for this to be something that consistently makes the cut in your deck.
Join the Maestros image 2.5 This seems like a solid Common. Without Casualty it is pretty ugly, but if you have some decent fodder to sacrifice, getting two 4/3 bodies is pretty good for the cost.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Caldaia Strongarm
Arc Spitter image 2.0 This is an interesting piece of Equipment. My first instinct is that this is probably not very good, since it doesn’t augment the stats of the creature you put it on, but this is a card where threat of activation is going to be very real, as it is relatively cheap to take down a blocking creature with the effect. Now, it does absolutely nothing when you’re on the back foot, and is only good if you’re the beat down, but I think this might be a little better than it looks. It is cheap to cast, cheap to equip, and its ability is also reasonably costed, so much so that it will make people really think about whether they want to block. Also, if you combine this with death touch it can be particularly nasty! I think in aggressive decks this is actually a decent playable.
Jackhammer image 1.5 We’ve seen a purely colorless version of this before, and I wasn’t particular impressed with that, so one that requires Red mana to cast isn’t exactly something I’m looking to play. Sticking this on a token is the most appealing thing, as a 3/1 token can’t be ignored, but the two mana to equip this is a pretty steep rate on a card that doesn’t do anything else.
Caldaia Strongarm image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. Cast the normal way, it gives you a 5-mana ⅘ – which isn’t great, but that’s the fail case of the card. It can do a lot more than that! You can of course put the counters on another creature, and that can add some significant additional damage to the board immediately. And if adding as much damage to the board as quickly as possible is your thing, you can Blitz this, which lets you ad ⅘ worth of stats to the board for only 4 mana, and then you get to draw a card to replace it! You’ll often be able to get close to a card of value out of it when you do Blitz it, so that’s not a bad deal, especially because it makes sure to leave something on the board even once it sacrifices itself.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Gilded Pinions
An Offer You Can't Refuse image 0.0 I think I WILL be refusing this offer. This mostly seems like it was printed for constructed. Most Limited decks don’t have enough non-creature spells for this sort of thing to be good, and giving them treasure seems like way too much downside on an already narrow counterspell, even if it is efficient. It is probably a sideboard card at best.
Gilded Pinions image 1.5 This gives you fixing and Flying for a relatively fair cost. But, typically, Equipment that only grants flying isn’t great, because it isn’t very impressive on smaller creatures. In other words, your creature already has to be pretty nice for this to be worth it.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Broken Wings
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Pugnacious Pugilist
Depopulate image 4.0 A 4 mana Wrath is pretty sweet. This one does come with a pretty significant downside though – most of the time your opponent will get to draw a card. You will probablyd raw a card too, but they get to untap with an extra card and rebuild the board before you do. There will still be plenty of situations where this can really turn things around for you, but I think it falls short of being a bomb since letting your opponent get that card will hurt pretty bad in some situations.
Pugnacious Pugilist image 3.0 Either way you play this, it looks like it is going to be pretty decent. If you Blitz it, you get a permanent Devil token in addition to sending a 4/4 at your opponents face, and then you of course get to draw a card when the Pugilist goes away. Just casting it is nice too sometimes, even if a 5-mana 4/4 feels pretty clunky these days. You still have a sizable creature who spits out tokens.
Crew Captain image 2.5 This is going to be pretty scary the turn it comes down, as the combination of Haste, indestructibility, and 4 power means there won’t always be a good way to stop this. That said, there are a lot of tokens in the format that can just chump this, and there will be plenty of times where just taking 4 isn’t going to hurt your opponent that much. It does stick around as a 4/2 – and that’s nice – but I’m not super impressed with this. If you play it on turn three it will feel pretty good, but the more developed your opponents board is, the less impressive it becomes. You’ll play it when you’re all three of these colors of course, but it definitely isn’t the kind of thing that really pulls you in that direction.
Courier's Briefcase image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 and a Treasure is a pretty good deal, and this set should have enough fixing that you manage to produce 5 colors on occasion, especially in the Red-Green treasure deck.
Mayhem Patrol image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. On its own, it is basically a two mana 2/2 with Menace, but the fact it can lend that power boost to other creatures is pretty nice, and the Blitz upside is fine too. It won’t generally be too long before it can’t attack any more, so just Blitzing it when you draw it in that situation is nice.
Body Dropper image 3.5 This is a pretty nice payoff for Sacrificing stuff, which is going to be very doable in Black-Red in this format as a result of both Alliance and Blitz, and it of course comes with its own way to sacrifice things and gain Menace. This seems like it could become a real problem for your opponent in many Black-Red decks!
Caldaia Strongarm image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. Cast the normal way, it gives you a 5-mana ⅘ – which isn’t great, but that’s the fail case of the card. It can do a lot more than that! You can of course put the counters on another creature, and that can add some significant additional damage to the board immediately. And if adding as much damage to the board as quickly as possible is your thing, you can Blitz this, which lets you ad ⅘ worth of stats to the board for only 4 mana, and then you get to draw a card to replace it! You’ll often be able to get close to a card of value out of it when you do Blitz it, so that’s not a bad deal, especially because it makes sure to leave something on the board even once it sacrifices itself.
Girder Goons image 2.5 Neither mode with this is great, but both are fine. A 5-mana 4/4 that leaves behind a 2/2 can definitely generate a 2-for-1, and if you Blitz this you not only get to draw a card when it dies, you also add to the board.
Majestic Metamorphosis image 2.0 As we learned in Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, slapping “draw a card” on this type of spell is a big upgrade. Just temporary altering your creature’s stats is a bit too narrow of a use to be something you want to use a card on all the time, but this makes up for that with the cantrip. The times where you use this as a trick that wrecks your opponent is pretty sweet. It probably won’t be quite as good as Suit Up was, since Ninjutsu made for an interesting environment in terms of how opponents would block, but this definitely seems solid.
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Obscura Storefront image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Run Out of Town image 3.0 This is decent Blue removal – and it is removal, because bouncing a card to the deck makes it a 1-for-1, even if your opponent can just draw the thing again. It is definitely a bit costly, but its flexibility makes it a pretty nice card.
Cutthroat Contender image 1.5 A vanilla one mana 2/1 already isn’t a great card in Limited, since it really tends to get outclassed in a hurry – and this is basically a one mana 2/1 that is conditional. A 2/1 is only marginally better than a 1/1 in most games. It doesn’t really seem worth it to me, even in an aggro deck. I guess the idea is that you can buff it so that your one drop can be sacrificed to a Casualty 2 spell, but that doesn’t make it that much better.
Brokers Initiate image 1.5 A one mana 0/4 isn’t really what you want to be doing in Limited most of the time. Sure, it can block some things, but that’s just not enough these days. It has a minimal impact on the board – up until you can pump mana into it to make it a 5/5 – but it is a lot of mana. It isn’t unplayable or anything, but I don’t see it making the cut even in every deck that can pay for the ability.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Inspiring Overseer
Crew Captain image 2.5 This is going to be pretty scary the turn it comes down, as the combination of Haste, indestructibility, and 4 power means there won’t always be a good way to stop this. That said, there are a lot of tokens in the format that can just chump this, and there will be plenty of times where just taking 4 isn’t going to hurt your opponent that much. It does stick around as a 4/2 – and that’s nice – but I’m not super impressed with this. If you play it on turn three it will feel pretty good, but the more developed your opponents board is, the less impressive it becomes. You’ll play it when you’re all three of these colors of course, but it definitely isn’t the kind of thing that really pulls you in that direction.
Metropolis Angel image 3.5 This looks pretty good. Its fragile, but it seems like it will be drawing you cards pretty often in both of the families it overlaps into it, thanks to Obscuara’s Connive and the Brokers’ Shield counters. It also hits pretty hard if the air is clear!
Riveteers Decoy image 3.0 A two mana 3/1 with decent upside is basically always playable, and this comes with two! First, it has to be blocked, which means it can create problems for your opponent in combat. Second, it has Blitz, which means it can come out of nowhere and force your opponent to block it instead of something they want to block more, and sometimes it will feel a bit like a removal spell.
Paragon of Modernity image 2.0 This looks solid. It starts out as an inefficient creature, but most decks will be three colors in this format, so putting counters on this as a mana sink in the mid to late game seems like a legitimate strategy. If your deck doesn’t have good enough fixing to consistently get three colors this is much worse, but I think most decks will be able to do it, so it isn’t a build around or anything.
Halo Scarab image 1.5 This has okay stats, and gives you some value out of the graveyard. That will be nice whether you mill it, discard it, or just have it die from being in play. Two mana to make a treasure is obviously not a great rate, but it does give you the potential to have fixing in just about any deck. I think this is going to be pretty easy to cut as decks will usually have good enough fixing without it, but it isn’t a disaster to play it either.
Skybridge Towers image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Dig Up the Body image 2.5 This is a pretty clunky version of this effect – three mana to get one thing back is not especially good, even with the mill thrown in. Basically, for this to feel like its worth it, you’ll need to be doubling the spell, and that’s easy enough since it only needs one power, but I still think this is the kind of card you’re really only going to want one of in Black decks. You really don’t want this showing up in your opening hand, you want it late.
Jetmir's Fixer image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some very nice upside. Even if it didn’t have the Treasure bonus, being able to pump this creature’s stats for a single red and a single green would be a pretty nice card. Obviously though, Red-Green is very into Treasure in this format, so you’re going to be able to trigger the bonus if you want to.
Chrome Cat image 1.5 This is a 3-mana 3/2 with some tiny upside. Its probably something that won’t normally make the cut, but it isn’t a disaster to run either.
High-Rise Sawjack image 2.0 We’ve seen this card in Spider-form before, and it was fine. 4 power is enough to take down most flyers and it is a nice thing to trade for those types of creatures.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Girder Goons image 2.5 Neither mode with this is great, but both are fine. A 5-mana 4/4 that leaves behind a 2/2 can definitely generate a 2-for-1, and if you Blitz this you not only get to draw a card when it dies, you also add to the board.
Inspiring Overseer image 4.0 This is a pretty incredible Common. It gives you a passable flying body while replacing itself and even gaining you a life! We saw a Blue version of this once without the life gain and it was really good – and we’ve seen a non-flying version of this card in the recent past that was also quite good. That trend will continue here. This is probably just White’s best Common.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Security Rhox
Security Rhox image 3.5 This looks pretty good. A 4 mana 5/4 is already above rate, and there are enough treasures in the set that you can power it out for 2. You shouldn't expect to do it early, but playing this and a three drop on turn 5 sounds pretty good.
Grisly Sigil image 3.5 This has a really neat design for a card with casualty. Basically, without Casualty this can kill an X/1 and with Casualty it can kill an X/4, and that is a pretty amazing deal for the mana! The Casualty certainly takes some setup, but it feels like there are enough nice 1 power things to sacrifice to this that it won’t really feel like you’re paying that much extra for a super efficient removal spell.
Slip Out the Back image 1.0 This doesn’t seem great to me. Sure, it can save your creature and it gets a permanent buff, but good effects like this can actually allow you to take down the creature that you’re blocking. That’s part of what made Tamiyo’s Safekeeping so good – it had an effect that was good against removal, but it could also make your creature win combat when it would have been a trade. And…you can’t do that with Phasing. Basically, this can only save your creature and buff it – and that’s not really worth a card. It is just too narrow.
Midnight Assassin image 2.5 As a deathtoucher, this can trade with anything – and Flying makes it so it can trade for even more than most death touchers! And, in the meantime, it can attack away in the air for a bit of damage.
For the Family image 2.0 This seems like a solid trick. One for +2/+2 usually plays reasonably well, and the multiple creature upside is pretty legit.
Kill Shot image 2.0 Is decent removal, but it is situational enough that it is nowhere near premium. An aggressive deck isn’t super interested in a card like this, because you really want cards that let you kill blockers, and your opponent can also play around a card like this pretty effectively.
Revelation of Power image 1.5 The boost isn’t amazing, but the counter upside will definitely come up. It can let you win combat and gain life as well as help you get in for a bunch in the air. You’ll play this in aggressive decks with lots of counters.
Girder Goons image 2.5 Neither mode with this is great, but both are fine. A 5-mana 4/4 that leaves behind a 2/2 can definitely generate a 2-for-1, and if you Blitz this you not only get to draw a card when it dies, you also add to the board.
Glamorous Outlaw image 2.5 Like the rest of this cycle, exiling this gives you some fixing that isn’t great, but because you can also just cast it the normal way and get passable value – or you can play it from exile in the later game.
Big Score image 2.5 This is an easier-to-cast Unexpected Windfall. While that card has been great in constructed, it wasn’t that great in Limited. It isn’t a bad card to have around though, as it helps you find some fresh cards while also providing you with some ramping and fixing, and the extra treasure it gives you might even enable you to cast something! But it doesn’t really do anything to immediately impact the game, and that makes it a card that you can cut sometimes.
Case the Joint image 1.5 4 mana to draw 2 at instant speed is kind of passable. This has additional minor upside in that it gives you a bit of information, but that doesn’t really do enough for this to be something that consistently makes the cut in your deck.
Maestros Theater image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Night Clubber
Night Clubber image 3.5 This is good. It is a lot like Plague Mare, and that card played pretty well. Giving -1/-1 to all of your opponents creatures often opens the door to much more effective attacks for you, and it will just outright kill a creature or two pretty often. Having Blitz in the mix is nice, because you’ll feel like you’re getting a card worth of value out of this a lot anyway, so getting the effect going, being able to attack with the Clubber, and then also getting a card back is going to feel pretty good. I think you can take this pretty highly.
Patch Up image 1.5 If your deck has a significant number of creatures that cost 3 mana or less, this seems alright. Especially if you can get multiple bodies back, since that will let you trigger your cards with Alliance. It is a bit of a dud in the early game a lot of the time, and sometimes you just won’t be able to get it going – and it doesn’t feel like it is even close to a card you always play in White or anything.
Grisly Sigil image 3.5 This has a really neat design for a card with casualty. Basically, without Casualty this can kill an X/1 and with Casualty it can kill an X/4, and that is a pretty amazing deal for the mana! The Casualty certainly takes some setup, but it feels like there are enough nice 1 power things to sacrifice to this that it won’t really feel like you’re paying that much extra for a super efficient removal spell.
Caldaia Strongarm image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. Cast the normal way, it gives you a 5-mana ⅘ – which isn’t great, but that’s the fail case of the card. It can do a lot more than that! You can of course put the counters on another creature, and that can add some significant additional damage to the board immediately. And if adding as much damage to the board as quickly as possible is your thing, you can Blitz this, which lets you ad ⅘ worth of stats to the board for only 4 mana, and then you get to draw a card to replace it! You’ll often be able to get close to a card of value out of it when you do Blitz it, so that’s not a bad deal, especially because it makes sure to leave something on the board even once it sacrifices itself.
Mayhem Patrol image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. On its own, it is basically a two mana 2/2 with Menace, but the fact it can lend that power boost to other creatures is pretty nice, and the Blitz upside is fine too. It won’t generally be too long before it can’t attack any more, so just Blitzing it when you draw it in that situation is nice.
Run Out of Town image 3.0 This is decent Blue removal – and it is removal, because bouncing a card to the deck makes it a 1-for-1, even if your opponent can just draw the thing again. It is definitely a bit costly, but its flexibility makes it a pretty nice card.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Glittermonger image 2.0 This is a decent source of fixing and mana, especially if you’re in a deck that has some Treasure payoffs – but its base stats aren’t especially good.
Make Disappear image 1.5 Without Casualty, this kind of counter spell isn't great, since your opponent is likely to have the spare mana the longer the game goes on. With casualty…I still don't think it is great, but obviously it will allow you to counter more spells more often.
Join the Maestros image 2.5 This seems like a solid Common. Without Casualty it is pretty ugly, but if you have some decent fodder to sacrifice, getting two 4/3 bodies is pretty good for the cost.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Unleash the Inferno
Unleash the Inferno image 4.0 4 mana to do 7 at instant speed is pretty good, and will allow you to kill almost anything – unless it has a pesky Shield counter. Its nice that it has the upside of blowing up artifacts or enchantments if you do lethal damage, and that will probably actually come up sometimes, but most of the card’s value just comes from it being a removal spell – and a really good one.
A Little Chat image 3.0 The base level of this card would probably be a 1.5 or 2.0. It doesn’t do much, but it gives you some okay card selection. However, I think the Casualty upside here is pretty big, because once this turn into a 4 mana card that draws you two of the top four cards of your library, we’re talking about something pretty powerful! And you can sacrifice almost any creature to get that copy. You won’t always be able to do that of course, but the sort of acceptable baseline and the big upside makes this a card that I don’t think you’ll cut from most Blue decks.
Scuttling Butler image 1.0 // 3.0 This is definitely a build around, because a 3-mana 4/1 just isn’t worth it in your typical deck. It is probably a D at best. However, the upside here is actually kind of nuts, as giving a 4/1 double strike is pretty amazing. Your deck needs to be able to give this double strike a significant chunk of the time, and the good news is that looks like it can happen in many decks in this format, though it is perhaps the easiest in Green-White or Cabaretti more broadly, because of Citizen tokens which are both colors
Glittermonger image 2.0 This is a decent source of fixing and mana, especially if you’re in a deck that has some Treasure payoffs – but its base stats aren’t especially good.
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Girder Goons image 2.5 Neither mode with this is great, but both are fine. A 5-mana 4/4 that leaves behind a 2/2 can definitely generate a 2-for-1, and if you Blitz this you not only get to draw a card when it dies, you also add to the board.
Brokers Hideout image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Attended Socialite image 2.0 This looks like a fine, if unexciting, two drop for creature-heavy Green decks. It will often attack as a 3/2, which isn’t the biggest upgrade ever since most two drops can still trade with it.
Skybridge Towers image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Jetmir's Fixer image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some very nice upside. Even if it didn’t have the Treasure bonus, being able to pump this creature’s stats for a single red and a single green would be a pretty nice card. Obviously though, Red-Green is very into Treasure in this format, so you’re going to be able to trigger the bonus if you want to.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Exhibition Magician
Rogues' Gallery image 2.5 I think most Black decks in the format will have enough creatures of different colors to be interested in the first copy of this. Getting two things back with it is solid, and if you can get 3+ it will be downright insane! The format has plenty of graveyard action to enable it to. I think I like valuing the first copy of this at a 2.5, though you don’t really want more than that first copy.
Riveteers Initiate image 2.5 Like most of this cycle, this is solid. It has okay base stats, and it can gain a useful keyword! Deathtouch does mean it can trade with anything, and that’s nice.
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Plasma Jockey image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Goblin Heelcutter or Clamor Shaman, both of which were great cards in aggressive decks in their respective formats. It probably isn’t quite as good as either of them, but it will have a similar impact. You will Blitz this on a turn where it really makes an immediate impact, but its nice you can also just cast it normally if you’re more interested in adding permanently to the board – like if you’re not the beat down when you play it.
Exhibition Magician image 3.0 This is a good Common. A three mana 2/1 that makes a 1/1 – in a color that has lots of pay offs for going wide – is a pretty nice card – probably a C+. So, also having the Treasure option is nice upside – sometimes you’ll want it to help you ramp, and sometimes you’ll be in a deck that cares about Treasure than it does going wide, especially if you’re in Red/Green.
Antagonize image 2.0 That’s a pretty nice boost for the cost – enough of one that it will make most creatures survive combat and take down whatever is blocking it. +4 is enough that this can let you sneak in lethal sometimes too. I think you’ll feel pretty good about the first one of these in most of your aggressive Red decks. It is still a trick of course, and comes with the inherent downsides they always have: they are situational and risky. But as far as tricks go, this is pretty good quality.
Revelation of Power image 1.5 The boost isn’t amazing, but the counter upside will definitely come up. It can let you win combat and gain life as well as help you get in for a bunch in the air. You’ll play this in aggressive decks with lots of counters.
Paragon of Modernity image 2.0 This looks solid. It starts out as an inefficient creature, but most decks will be three colors in this format, so putting counters on this as a mana sink in the mid to late game seems like a legitimate strategy. If your deck doesn’t have good enough fixing to consistently get three colors this is much worse, but I think most decks will be able to do it, so it isn’t a build around or anything.
Case the Joint image 1.5 4 mana to draw 2 at instant speed is kind of passable. This has additional minor upside in that it gives you a bit of information, but that doesn’t really do enough for this to be something that consistently makes the cut in your deck.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Light 'Em Up
Public Enemy image 0.0 This doesn’t look very good to me. The idea is that you put this on your creature and force your opponent to attack you. Sometimes that will actually do something, but it won’t do anything real far too often. If your opponent already wants to attack it doesn’t really matter, and if they don’t have something you can actually kill in combat it is also useless. It does eventually replace itself, but there’s just too much that can go wrong with this card.
Raffine's Guidance image 1.5 Auras that can come back from the graveyard always tend to be kind of decent, since your opponent has a hard time ever truly getting rid of them. However, this one offers a pretty small boost. Still, with Connive being a thing, discarding this to get a +1/+1 counter and then having the opportunity to slap it on a creature late seem okay.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.0 // 2.5 This is mostly a sideboard card to bring in against an opponent with many expensive spells. Most of the time, it just doesn’t have enough targets. If this format turns out to lean pretty hard on spells with a mana value of 4 or greater that could change.
Light 'Em Up image 3.0 Two mana to do 2 at Sorcery speed is usually a solid card, so having the Casualty upside of doubling the spell is pretty sweet. That means you can take down X/4s with it sometimes, or even better – kill two creatures!
Paragon of Modernity image 2.0 This looks solid. It starts out as an inefficient creature, but most decks will be three colors in this format, so putting counters on this as a mana sink in the mid to late game seems like a legitimate strategy. If your deck doesn’t have good enough fixing to consistently get three colors this is much worse, but I think most decks will be able to do it, so it isn’t a build around or anything.
For the Family image 2.0 This seems like a solid trick. One for +2/+2 usually plays reasonably well, and the multiple creature upside is pretty legit.
Witty Roastmaster image 2.5 This has passable stats and a solid if unexciting ability. It can definitely chip in for a decent chunk of damage over the course of the game, especially if you’re making tokens!
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Plasma Jockey
Refuse to Yield image 1.5 +2 power for two mana doesn’t make for a great trick, even with a huge toughness boost. We usually get +2/+2 for a single mana, so paying twice that for the toughness boost isn’t the best thing ever. This is because it doesn’t help actually take down the opposing creature as much. Your creature has to have higher power on average to win the combat. Now, the upside is you can use Refuse to Yield to save a creature from damage-based removal, and I think as a whole that makes this a trick you’ll play sometimes, but it will get cut a decent chunk of the time too.
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Gilded Pinions image 1.5 This gives you fixing and Flying for a relatively fair cost. But, typically, Equipment that only grants flying isn’t great, because it isn’t very impressive on smaller creatures. In other words, your creature already has to be pretty nice for this to be worth it.
Plasma Jockey image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Goblin Heelcutter or Clamor Shaman, both of which were great cards in aggressive decks in their respective formats. It probably isn’t quite as good as either of them, but it will have a similar impact. You will Blitz this on a turn where it really makes an immediate impact, but its nice you can also just cast it normally if you’re more interested in adding permanently to the board – like if you’re not the beat down when you play it.
For the Family image 2.0 This seems like a solid trick. One for +2/+2 usually plays reasonably well, and the multiple creature upside is pretty legit.
Sewer Crocodile image 1.5 // 2.5 If you can get the ability on this down to a single Blue, it represent a pretty reasonable win condition, since you can crack in with your unblockable Crocodile and still have plenty of mana left over to add to the board too. That’s usually the problem with this big inefficient creatures who ask for a lot of mana to become unblockable – you can’t really do more than use the ability, but with the Crocodile, sometimes you’ll be able to get it going pretty cheaply. In a Blue deck that isn’t good at loading the graveyard you probably don’t end up playing this – so this probably deserves a build around.
Obscura Storefront image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Crew Captain
Crew Captain image 2.5 This is going to be pretty scary the turn it comes down, as the combination of Haste, indestructibility, and 4 power means there won’t always be a good way to stop this. That said, there are a lot of tokens in the format that can just chump this, and there will be plenty of times where just taking 4 isn’t going to hurt your opponent that much. It does stick around as a 4/2 – and that’s nice – but I’m not super impressed with this. If you play it on turn three it will feel pretty good, but the more developed your opponents board is, the less impressive it becomes. You’ll play it when you’re all three of these colors of course, but it definitely isn’t the kind of thing that really pulls you in that direction.
Caldaia Strongarm image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. Cast the normal way, it gives you a 5-mana ⅘ – which isn’t great, but that’s the fail case of the card. It can do a lot more than that! You can of course put the counters on another creature, and that can add some significant additional damage to the board immediately. And if adding as much damage to the board as quickly as possible is your thing, you can Blitz this, which lets you ad ⅘ worth of stats to the board for only 4 mana, and then you get to draw a card to replace it! You’ll often be able to get close to a card of value out of it when you do Blitz it, so that’s not a bad deal, especially because it makes sure to leave something on the board even once it sacrifices itself.
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Obscura Storefront image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Run Out of Town image 3.0 This is decent Blue removal – and it is removal, because bouncing a card to the deck makes it a 1-for-1, even if your opponent can just draw the thing again. It is definitely a bit costly, but its flexibility makes it a pretty nice card.
Cutthroat Contender image 1.5 A vanilla one mana 2/1 already isn’t a great card in Limited, since it really tends to get outclassed in a hurry – and this is basically a one mana 2/1 that is conditional. A 2/1 is only marginally better than a 1/1 in most games. It doesn’t really seem worth it to me, even in an aggro deck. I guess the idea is that you can buff it so that your one drop can be sacrificed to a Casualty 2 spell, but that doesn’t make it that much better.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Girder Goons
Halo Scarab image 1.5 This has okay stats, and gives you some value out of the graveyard. That will be nice whether you mill it, discard it, or just have it die from being in play. Two mana to make a treasure is obviously not a great rate, but it does give you the potential to have fixing in just about any deck. I think this is going to be pretty easy to cut as decks will usually have good enough fixing without it, but it isn’t a disaster to play it either.
Dig Up the Body image 2.5 This is a pretty clunky version of this effect – three mana to get one thing back is not especially good, even with the mill thrown in. Basically, for this to feel like its worth it, you’ll need to be doubling the spell, and that’s easy enough since it only needs one power, but I still think this is the kind of card you’re really only going to want one of in Black decks. You really don’t want this showing up in your opening hand, you want it late.
Jetmir's Fixer image 3.0 This is a two mana 2/2 with some very nice upside. Even if it didn’t have the Treasure bonus, being able to pump this creature’s stats for a single red and a single green would be a pretty nice card. Obviously though, Red-Green is very into Treasure in this format, so you’re going to be able to trigger the bonus if you want to.
Chrome Cat image 1.5 This is a 3-mana 3/2 with some tiny upside. Its probably something that won’t normally make the cut, but it isn’t a disaster to run either.
Girder Goons image 2.5 Neither mode with this is great, but both are fine. A 5-mana 4/4 that leaves behind a 2/2 can definitely generate a 2-for-1, and if you Blitz this you not only get to draw a card when it dies, you also add to the board.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Grisly Sigil
Grisly Sigil image 3.5 This has a really neat design for a card with casualty. Basically, without Casualty this can kill an X/1 and with Casualty it can kill an X/4, and that is a pretty amazing deal for the mana! The Casualty certainly takes some setup, but it feels like there are enough nice 1 power things to sacrifice to this that it won’t really feel like you’re paying that much extra for a super efficient removal spell.
For the Family image 2.0 This seems like a solid trick. One for +2/+2 usually plays reasonably well, and the multiple creature upside is pretty legit.
Big Score image 2.5 This is an easier-to-cast Unexpected Windfall. While that card has been great in constructed, it wasn’t that great in Limited. It isn’t a bad card to have around though, as it helps you find some fresh cards while also providing you with some ramping and fixing, and the extra treasure it gives you might even enable you to cast something! But it doesn’t really do anything to immediately impact the game, and that makes it a card that you can cut sometimes.
Case the Joint image 1.5 4 mana to draw 2 at instant speed is kind of passable. This has additional minor upside in that it gives you a bit of information, but that doesn’t really do enough for this to be something that consistently makes the cut in your deck.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Wrecking Crew
Run Out of Town image 3.0 This is decent Blue removal – and it is removal, because bouncing a card to the deck makes it a 1-for-1, even if your opponent can just draw the thing again. It is definitely a bit costly, but its flexibility makes it a pretty nice card.
Join the Maestros image 2.5 This seems like a solid Common. Without Casualty it is pretty ugly, but if you have some decent fodder to sacrifice, getting two 4/3 bodies is pretty good for the cost.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Scuttling Butler
Scuttling Butler image 1.0 // 3.0 This is definitely a build around, because a 3-mana 4/1 just isn’t worth it in your typical deck. It is probably a D at best. However, the upside here is actually kind of nuts, as giving a 4/1 double strike is pretty amazing. Your deck needs to be able to give this double strike a significant chunk of the time, and the good news is that looks like it can happen in many decks in this format, though it is perhaps the easiest in Green-White or Cabaretti more broadly, because of Citizen tokens which are both colors
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Extract the Truth
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder
Scheming Fence image 2.5 This has some pretty incredible upside – not only doing the Pithing Needle thing to a permanent but also stealing its activated abilities. Problem is, in Limited, there will be many instances where that part of the card is just irrelevant. There just isn’t always something around worth naming, and you don’t have enough knowledge of the opposing deck most of the time to name something relevant. Its still a two mana ⅔ with upside, and there will be times where it feels incredible – but other times it will just feel Vanilla.
Arc Spitter image 2.0 This is an interesting piece of Equipment. My first instinct is that this is probably not very good, since it doesn’t augment the stats of the creature you put it on, but this is a card where threat of activation is going to be very real, as it is relatively cheap to take down a blocking creature with the effect. Now, it does absolutely nothing when you’re on the back foot, and is only good if you’re the beat down, but I think this might be a little better than it looks. It is cheap to cast, cheap to equip, and its ability is also reasonably costed, so much so that it will make people really think about whether they want to block. Also, if you combine this with death touch it can be particularly nasty! I think in aggressive decks this is actually a decent playable.
Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder image 3.5 This looks pretty nice. What I like the most is that the turn you play it it will often already have some impact, as it will make one of your creatures into a much more formidable attacker. It can of course pump its own power too, so when it attacks its a 4/4, but you’re usually hoping for something spicier than that. It also pairs well with Blitz, as your opponent often won’t want to block a Blitzed creature, since you’ll be getting a card anyway when it dies and the creature isn’t sticking around for good, but Mr. Orfeo complicates that, since the creatures will be hitting harder.
Sizzling Soloist image 2.5 The bad stats here are going to bite you sometimes, since it can die to really cheap removal despite costing 4 mana, but hey – at least you’re trading 1-for-1, and the Alliance effect this has is a pretty big deal. Stopping a creature from blocking tends to drastically alter a turn, although your opponent will know this is coming, so it isn’t quite as impressive as versions of it that come out of nowhere. But still, your opponent has to alter their game plan once you play something like this, because they just may be unable to block! If you get alliance twice with it, not only are two things not blocking, but you can also force an attack – which will mean that thing won’t be blocking on the next turn either!
Make Disappear image 1.5 Without Casualty, this kind of counter spell isn't great, since your opponent is likely to have the spare mana the longer the game goes on. With casualty…I still don't think it is great, but obviously it will allow you to counter more spells more often.
Big Score image 2.5 This is an easier-to-cast Unexpected Windfall. While that card has been great in constructed, it wasn’t that great in Limited. It isn’t a bad card to have around though, as it helps you find some fresh cards while also providing you with some ramping and fixing, and the extra treasure it gives you might even enable you to cast something! But it doesn’t really do anything to immediately impact the game, and that makes it a card that you can cut sometimes.
Midnight Assassin image 2.5 As a deathtoucher, this can trade with anything – and Flying makes it so it can trade for even more than most death touchers! And, in the meantime, it can attack away in the air for a bit of damage.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Jewel Thief image 3.5 This is an excellent Common. A 3-mana 3/3 with Vigilance and Trample is probably close to a C+, and adding treasure to the mix is a pretty big deal – not only does it ramp and fix for you – there is also treasure synergy throughout the set.
Riveteers Overlook image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Tramway Station image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Celebrity Fencer image 3.0 This has the potential to get really massive, but I don’t love that it starts out as a 3/2. You’re going to get really blown out sometimes when you play this and your opponent destroys it for one or two mana. But in a lot of White decks in this format, especially the Cabaretti, like putting a ton of creature tokens into play, and that will allow the Fencer to do some serious work.
Corrupt Court Official image 2.0 I think people will be tempted to compare this to Virus Beetle, but I think the Official will feel more like a Ravenous Rats than a Beetle. The Beetle had the advantage of being an artifact, and in a set with ninjutsu that could rebuy ETB abilities – so it isn’t going to overperform quite like that card did. However, this is still pretty well placed in this format, mostly because you can take a card away from your opponent and then sacrifice this to something with Casualty and you end up with pretty decent value. In the late game, sometimes it won’t have anything to hit of course, but at least it adds something to the board.
Revelation of Power image 1.5 The boost isn’t amazing, but the counter upside will definitely come up. It can let you win combat and gain life as well as help you get in for a bunch in the air. You’ll play this in aggressive decks with lots of counters.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Freelance Muscle
Freelance Muscle image 3.0 This will often get a boost when it attacks or blocks, but it has some pretty bad base-stats and it doesn’t have any evasion or anything else. It will get huge sometimes, but there will certainly be times where you play this and it just doesn’t get enough of a boost to be relevant.
Pyre-Sledge Arsonist image 1.0 // 4.0 This is definitely a buildaround. If you can get it going, it can do some pretty absurd stuff – and it works well with two mechanics that are in guilds that have Red in them – both Maestros and Riveteers. Treasure tokens are also all over the place. But still, it seems like your typical deck probably won’t be able to consistently get the Arsonist going. There’s enough sacrifice that it isn’t a straight up F in your typical deck, but it is probably just a 1.0. It has a ceiling at 4.0 though. Even if you are only using the ability to do one damage at a time, that’s not a bad effect. And if you are able to do 2+ with it, it will feel pretty insane.
Disciplined Duelist image 3.5 A 3-mana 2/1 with Double Strike and a shield counter sounds like a pretty darn good deal. Double Strike pairs particularly well with the Shield, because it means the Duelist can keep itself from getting hit at all in combat against smaller creatures, so it will hold on to the shield. Meanwhile, it is capable of taking down 4 toughness creatures and surviving to tell the tale, since it will just lose the shield counter. It will get spicier if you can increase its stats of course, like most double strikers.
Attended Socialite image 2.0 This looks like a fine, if unexciting, two drop for creature-heavy Green decks. It will often attack as a 3/2, which isn’t the biggest upgrade ever since most two drops can still trade with it.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Skybridge Towers image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Raffine's Informant image 3.0 This is a nice White common. It is either a two mana 2/1 that lets you throw a land away for a fresh card, or a two mana 3/2 that makes you discard a real card, but the card you discard will often be able to give you some sort of value! Both options are pretty appealing.
Cabaretti Courtyard image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Sticky Fingers image 3.0 If you get this on a creature early, it is going to allow you to really run away with the game. Your creature won’t be easily blocked and you’ll generate treasure that allows you to pull further ahead. It does have diminishing returns as the game goes on, but this is capable of effectively ending games very early.
Quick-Draw Dagger image 2.0 This is kind of like a combat trick that offers +1/+1 and First Strike for three mana which is…pretty bad for the cost on the face of it, but it is a boost that is pretty good at helping your creature win combat, and the fact it leaves behind an Equipment that can move around pretty cheaply and offer +1/+1 to stuff is pretty nice.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Body Dropper image 3.5 This is a pretty nice payoff for Sacrificing stuff, which is going to be very doable in Black-Red in this format as a result of both Alliance and Blitz, and it of course comes with its own way to sacrifice things and gain Menace. This seems like it could become a real problem for your opponent in many Black-Red decks!
Pack 3 Pick 3: Sticky Fingers
Sizzling Soloist image 2.5 The bad stats here are going to bite you sometimes, since it can die to really cheap removal despite costing 4 mana, but hey – at least you’re trading 1-for-1, and the Alliance effect this has is a pretty big deal. Stopping a creature from blocking tends to drastically alter a turn, although your opponent will know this is coming, so it isn’t quite as impressive as versions of it that come out of nowhere. But still, your opponent has to alter their game plan once you play something like this, because they just may be unable to block! If you get alliance twice with it, not only are two things not blocking, but you can also force an attack – which will mean that thing won’t be blocking on the next turn either!
Wingshield Agent image 3.5 You can attack with this once without worrying that it will die, and that goes pretty well with its ability to give another creature Flying. You also just put your opponent in a really ugly spot if they are in a situation where the best they can do is trade with the Agent, because that means you get to attack twice and force them to use a resource each time to kill the Agent, and in the meantime it gets to attack twice and give something else Flying both times.
Arc Spitter image 2.0 This is an interesting piece of Equipment. My first instinct is that this is probably not very good, since it doesn’t augment the stats of the creature you put it on, but this is a card where threat of activation is going to be very real, as it is relatively cheap to take down a blocking creature with the effect. Now, it does absolutely nothing when you’re on the back foot, and is only good if you’re the beat down, but I think this might be a little better than it looks. It is cheap to cast, cheap to equip, and its ability is also reasonably costed, so much so that it will make people really think about whether they want to block. Also, if you combine this with death touch it can be particularly nasty! I think in aggressive decks this is actually a decent playable.
Mayhem Patrol image 2.5 This looks like a solid Common. On its own, it is basically a two mana 2/2 with Menace, but the fact it can lend that power boost to other creatures is pretty nice, and the Blitz upside is fine too. It won’t generally be too long before it can’t attack any more, so just Blitzing it when you draw it in that situation is nice.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Riveteers Initiate image 2.5 Like most of this cycle, this is solid. It has okay base stats, and it can gain a useful keyword! Deathtouch does mean it can trade with anything, and that’s nice.
Crooked Custodian image 2.0 This has above rate stats, but coming into play tapped kind of cancels that out – it isn’t like its stats are CRAZY good anyway. Still, seems like a nice two drop for an aggro deck, and its one of the more efficient ways to get 3 power in play for the spells that have higher Casualty costs.
Midnight Assassin image 2.5 As a deathtoucher, this can trade with anything – and Flying makes it so it can trade for even more than most death touchers! And, in the meantime, it can attack away in the air for a bit of damage.
Dapper Shieldmate image 2.5 If you take the shield counter out of the equation here, this card would be a 1.0. A 4-mana 2/2 that’s only a 4/2 on your turn just isn’t good. However, the shield counter definitely matters here. Your opponent is going to have to give up something in most cases just to get rid of the counter. And sure, they could just chump it with a token or something, but they still have to put in some work, and they can’t just ignore this since it can hit for 4 damage at a time.
Brokers Veteran image 2.5 This has medium stats, but giving a shield counter to one of your creatures is some nice upside to have on a two drop. The times when you don’t have a creature in play to put the counter on will be rough – and that can happen early, but this seems like a solid playable.
Sticky Fingers image 3.0 If you get this on a creature early, it is going to allow you to really run away with the game. Your creature won’t be easily blocked and you’ll generate treasure that allows you to pull further ahead. It does have diminishing returns as the game goes on, but this is capable of effectively ending games very early.
Goldhound image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A one mana 1/1 with Menace and First Strike is kind of a pain to interact with early, and it’s a great place to put counters and stuff. Then, once it becomes irrelevant, it can also just ramp and fix for you. This provides a lot for only one Red mana.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Prizefight
Disciplined Duelist image 3.5 A 3-mana 2/1 with Double Strike and a shield counter sounds like a pretty darn good deal. Double Strike pairs particularly well with the Shield, because it means the Duelist can keep itself from getting hit at all in combat against smaller creatures, so it will hold on to the shield. Meanwhile, it is capable of taking down 4 toughness creatures and surviving to tell the tale, since it will just lose the shield counter. It will get spicier if you can increase its stats of course, like most double strikers.
Suspicious Bookcase image 1.5 This is a reprint, and a pretty uninteresting one! It wasn’t particularly good last time we saw it, but it wasn’t a disaster either. It has okayish defensive stats and can send things in unblocked late. You’ll play it in some more controlling decks.
Riveteers Decoy image 3.0 A two mana 3/1 with decent upside is basically always playable, and this comes with two! First, it has to be blocked, which means it can create problems for your opponent in combat. Second, it has Blitz, which means it can come out of nowhere and force your opponent to block it instead of something they want to block more, and sometimes it will feel a bit like a removal spell.
Snooping Newsie image 3.0 This seems solid. Early it is a decent creature that loads your graveyard, and in the later game it becomes a 3/3 lifelinker, something that has an impact on most boards. I do think it will be a little challenging to get it going, but the set seems to have enough ways to load the graveyard that it will be doable.
Prizefight image 2.0 Cards that just fight and don’t offer a stats boost of any kind tend to be pretty medium. Buffing the creature makes it so that a wider variety of creatures can do something useful with them, and you just don’t get that here at all. It does combo interestingly with shield tokens, since it can enable you to fight with a shielded creature without losing it, and that does kind of expand the range of creatures that can fight with this and survive.
Expendable Lackey image 2.5 True to his name, this Lackey is a pretty nice creature to sacrifice to a card with Casualty, since he can then make a Fish token from the graveyard – which you can also sacrifice. He also works well with Connive, because you still get value out of discarding him. They’ve been making a lot of one drops lately that overlap into multiple decks, and I think that’s what this is. This doesn’t exactly feel like the premium card you want to really abuse those two mechanics, but it does seem pretty decent there.
Security Bypass image 1.0 Unblockable when attacking alone + the ability to Connive every time you hit the opponent is kind of decent for the cost, but I don’t feel like its worth the inherent risk of playing an Aura. Connive isn’t quite worth a card after you do it once, though, and that means if your opponent can deal with whatever you put this on before you do it a second time, you’re ending up way behind. So, in the end, this feels like an Aura that won’t quite do enough to be worth the risk. Even if you’re discarding things for value, I’m skeptical.
Brokers Veteran image 2.5 This has medium stats, but giving a shield counter to one of your creatures is some nice upside to have on a two drop. The times when you don’t have a creature in play to put the counter on will be rough – and that can happen early, but this seems like a solid playable.
Obscura Storefront image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Antagonize image 2.0 That’s a pretty nice boost for the cost – enough of one that it will make most creatures survive combat and take down whatever is blocking it. +4 is enough that this can let you sneak in lethal sometimes too. I think you’ll feel pretty good about the first one of these in most of your aggressive Red decks. It is still a trick of course, and comes with the inherent downsides they always have: they are situational and risky. But as far as tricks go, this is pretty good quality.
Hold for Ransom image 3.0 This is a Pacifism that your opponent can pay 7 mana to get rid of. We’ve seen removal auras in the past that let your opponent pay mana to get rid of the Aura, and most of them haven’t been great. I think this one has enough going on, though, that it looks better than previous cards like that we’ve seen. For one thing, 7 mana is a ton – so much that your opponent may just never get there. For another, your opponent also lets you draw a card off of it, and they can only pay for it at Sorcery speed. Your opponent may finally get rid of it, but they will spend their whole turn doing it most of the time, and then it replaces itself! Now, like all Aura removal, this is at a bit of a disadvantage in this format because of the presence of the Casualty mechanic and other sacrifice stuff more broadly.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Most Wanted
Ceremonial Groundbreaker image 3.0 The GW color pair in this format is Citizen tribal, and this card pushes you pretty hard in that direction. +2/+1 and Trample are a decent boost, and enough of one to make many creatures into a threat, but paying 3 to equip this is not ideal. Equipping it to a citizen is a great deal though. Some of them are 1/1 tokens of course, but there are many of nontoken citizens in GW too that you’ll be able to equip this to very efficiently.
Rumor Gatherer image 3.0 A 3-mana 2/1 – and one that costs double white – is just really bad. Scrying any time a creature enters the battlefield is nice upside though, and if you can make enough tokens or double spell with creatures, it will end up netting you a card. I think this will net you a card often enough that I want to start the format valuing this card pretty highly, bad stats and all.
Botanical Plaza image 2.5 These offer good fixing, and being able to pitch them for a whole card in the late game is really nice, as it offers you some flood insurance and gives you somethign to do with all your mana. Like most duals, this is something you should value as a C+. It will really help your mana, and that’s more important than normal in a set with a big 3-color focus.
Cabaretti Courtyard image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Most Wanted image 1.5 Flash Auras can be nice, since they are sort of like combat tricks that leave some permanent value behind, but only giving +1 to toughness does mean this won’t save your creature as often as you’d probably like. Getting two Treasure when the creature dies does soften the blow if you get 2-for-1’d, but probably not by enough for me to excited about this.
Ominous Parcel image 1.5 This can help you fix your mana, or it can be a removal spell. Its pretty bad at both of those things when you look at the total mana you spend for each, but the fact it can do both definitely makes it a decent enough playable.
Ready to Rumble image 2.5 No matter which mode you choose, you aren’t getting a great deal for the mana, but hey – 5 damage does kill most stuff! Just… paying 5 to kill something that costs a lot less is pretty rough. You probably play one copy of this in most Red decks though, as it gives you some removal that does the job and comes with some artifact-hate upside.
Buy Your Silence image 2.5 This can deal with any nonland permanent, but its also a pretty clunky sorcery that gives your opponent back a treasure. It definitely falls short of being Premium removal, but I do think the first copy is going to be something you want in most White decks, since it is sort of a catch-all removal spell. Running more than one probably isn’t great, though.
Join the Maestros image 2.5 This seems like a solid Common. Without Casualty it is pretty ugly, but if you have some decent fodder to sacrifice, getting two 4/3 bodies is pretty good for the cost.
Chrome Cat image 1.5 This is a 3-mana 3/2 with some tiny upside. Its probably something that won’t normally make the cut, but it isn’t a disaster to run either.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Spara's Adjudicators
Citizen's Crowbar image 3.0 I always like Equipment that makes a creature for it to equip to automatically. Basically, this is a two mana 2/2 that leaves behind a reasonable piece of Equipment – or you can give up the Equipment to Disenchant something while you keep the creature token. Both of those outcomes are quite good for the investment.
Suspicious Bookcase image 1.5 This is a reprint, and a pretty uninteresting one! It wasn’t particularly good last time we saw it, but it wasn’t a disaster either. It has okayish defensive stats and can send things in unblocked late. You’ll play it in some more controlling decks.
Spara's Adjudicators image 2.5 The ETB trigger here can be nice in a lot of situations, where it buys you more time or makes it so you can attack more effectively on your turn. Like with all of these, you get a pretty decent creature that has the upside of helping you fix early.
Buy Your Silence image 2.5 This can deal with any nonland permanent, but its also a pretty clunky sorcery that gives your opponent back a treasure. It definitely falls short of being Premium removal, but I do think the first copy is going to be something you want in most White decks, since it is sort of a catch-all removal spell. Running more than one probably isn’t great, though.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.0 // 2.5 This is mostly a sideboard card to bring in against an opponent with many expensive spells. Most of the time, it just doesn’t have enough targets. If this format turns out to lean pretty hard on spells with a mana value of 4 or greater that could change.
Fake Your Own Death image 1.5 I guess we get a trick like this every set now! And, most versions of it tend to be pretty decent, and I think this one certainly is. +2/+0 is a boost that can allow your creature to win a whole lot of combats, and while it stands a good chance of dying too, Fake Your Own Death makes it not really matter, since the creature comes back! This gets especially spicy with ETB abilities, and there are also some potential Casualty and sacrifice shenanigans that this can enable.
Gathering Throng image 0.0 // 3.0 Collect ‘em all cards are always pretty fun in Limited. A 3-mana 3/1 is bad, but as long as you have two of these, this is very playable, since a 3-mana 3/1 that draws another one is a pretty good deal. It makes sure you will continue to have stuff to play, and getting these also guarantees you can go wide and keep triggering Alliance. They are also Citizens! So yeah, Basically, if you have only one copy of this, its pretty much unplayable – if you have two, it’s a 2.5, and it probably maxes out around a 3.0.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Rakish Revelers
Sizzling Soloist image 2.5 The bad stats here are going to bite you sometimes, since it can die to really cheap removal despite costing 4 mana, but hey – at least you’re trading 1-for-1, and the Alliance effect this has is a pretty big deal. Stopping a creature from blocking tends to drastically alter a turn, although your opponent will know this is coming, so it isn’t quite as impressive as versions of it that come out of nowhere. But still, your opponent has to alter their game plan once you play something like this, because they just may be unable to block! If you get alliance twice with it, not only are two things not blocking, but you can also force an attack – which will mean that thing won’t be blocking on the next turn either!
Speakeasy Server image 2.5 A passable Flyer with an ETB that gains you life always tends to perform reasonably well in Limited. It can really help you stabilize. The downside here is that you need a board in place to gain any life – it doesn’t even gain you 1 life on its own, which is a little sad. Still, in White you’ll be able to go wide, and gaining 3+ with this should be pretty decent.
Glittermonger image 2.0 This is a decent source of fixing and mana, especially if you’re in a deck that has some Treasure payoffs – but its base stats aren’t especially good.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Rakish Revelers image 2.5 A 5-mana 5/3 that makes a 1/1 is something I would already sign up for, so the fact that it can fix your mana earlier in the game is some upside on a card that’s already quite playable.
Plasma Jockey image 3.0 This reminds me a lot of Goblin Heelcutter or Clamor Shaman, both of which were great cards in aggressive decks in their respective formats. It probably isn’t quite as good as either of them, but it will have a similar impact. You will Blitz this on a turn where it really makes an immediate impact, but its nice you can also just cast it normally if you’re more interested in adding permanently to the board – like if you’re not the beat down when you play it.
Halo Scarab image 1.5 This has okay stats, and gives you some value out of the graveyard. That will be nice whether you mill it, discard it, or just have it die from being in play. Two mana to make a treasure is obviously not a great rate, but it does give you the potential to have fixing in just about any deck. I think this is going to be pretty easy to cut as decks will usually have good enough fixing without it, but it isn’t a disaster to play it either.
Incriminate image 2.0 Black often has cards that let the opponent make a decision about something, and they pretty much always underperform, since there are too many situations where your opponent can minimize the damage. However, I think this might make your opponent make a narrow enough decision that it will be decent. Sure, you’ll have situations where your opponent hasl ike a 1/1 and some bomb creature and it isn’t going to feel too good in those scenarios – and I’m certainly not saying this is premium removal ro anything – but I do think there will be enough board states where this kills something you want dead for two mana. Don’t go into it thinking it is Doom Blade, and I think you’ll feel okay about what you’re getting.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Goldhound
Brass Knuckles image 1.0 This is a really roundabout way to give one of your creatures double strike! You basically pay 4 mana and then 1 to equip the original one as well as the copy. That’s..not a great rate. And yeah, it gets better in situations where you can buff the creature, but the Knuckles don’t buff the thing at all, so it had better already be a pretty good attacker. It gets especially ugly in situations where your opponent can deal with one of the copies, and then your creature just loses double strike on the spot – and there isn’t really enough good Equipment around for this to work that often without its copy.
Demon's Due image 2.5 This is a pretty solid draw spell. You see up to 4 cards, giving you a good chance to draw something you want, and paying 2 life for it is perfectly reasonable. It isn’t really the kind of thing you want to go after early, or that you want to run more than one of – after all, it has no impact on the board -- but it seems like the first copy is going to make the cut in your Black decks most of the time.
Goldhound image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A one mana 1/1 with Menace and First Strike is kind of a pain to interact with early, and it’s a great place to put counters and stuff. Then, once it becomes irrelevant, it can also just ramp and fix for you. This provides a lot for only one Red mana.
Majestic Metamorphosis image 2.0 As we learned in Kamigawa Neon Dynasty, slapping “draw a card” on this type of spell is a big upgrade. Just temporary altering your creature’s stats is a bit too narrow of a use to be something you want to use a card on all the time, but this makes up for that with the cantrip. The times where you use this as a trick that wrecks your opponent is pretty sweet. It probably won’t be quite as good as Suit Up was, since Ninjutsu made for an interesting environment in terms of how opponents would block, but this definitely seems solid.
Celebrity Fencer image 3.0 This has the potential to get really massive, but I don’t love that it starts out as a 3/2. You’re going to get really blown out sometimes when you play this and your opponent destroys it for one or two mana. But in a lot of White decks in this format, especially the Cabaretti, like putting a ton of creature tokens into play, and that will allow the Fencer to do some serious work.
Chrome Cat image 1.5 This is a 3-mana 3/2 with some tiny upside. Its probably something that won’t normally make the cut, but it isn’t a disaster to run either.
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Riveteers Overlook
Arc Spitter image 2.0 This is an interesting piece of Equipment. My first instinct is that this is probably not very good, since it doesn’t augment the stats of the creature you put it on, but this is a card where threat of activation is going to be very real, as it is relatively cheap to take down a blocking creature with the effect. Now, it does absolutely nothing when you’re on the back foot, and is only good if you’re the beat down, but I think this might be a little better than it looks. It is cheap to cast, cheap to equip, and its ability is also reasonably costed, so much so that it will make people really think about whether they want to block. Also, if you combine this with death touch it can be particularly nasty! I think in aggressive decks this is actually a decent playable.
Make Disappear image 1.5 Without Casualty, this kind of counter spell isn't great, since your opponent is likely to have the spare mana the longer the game goes on. With casualty…I still don't think it is great, but obviously it will allow you to counter more spells more often.
Big Score image 2.5 This is an easier-to-cast Unexpected Windfall. While that card has been great in constructed, it wasn’t that great in Limited. It isn’t a bad card to have around though, as it helps you find some fresh cards while also providing you with some ramping and fixing, and the extra treasure it gives you might even enable you to cast something! But it doesn’t really do anything to immediately impact the game, and that makes it a card that you can cut sometimes.
Obscura Initiate image 2.5 This is a Wind Drake with some solid upside – life link is no joke on an evasive creature, and can really alter races!
Riveteers Overlook image 2.5 This is some more very nice fixing for the format, which isn’t a huge surprise since three colors is what this format is all about. This is basically a more narrow Evolving Wilds, but one that also gains you a life – and it doesn’t have to tap either, though that isn’t coming up much in Limited. You definitely will play these in a lot of your decks, as they’ll be nice for mana. They don’t have the late game upside of the dual land cycle, so I think I would rank them a little lower.
Revelation of Power image 1.5 The boost isn’t amazing, but the counter upside will definitely come up. It can let you win combat and gain life as well as help you get in for a bunch in the air. You’ll play this in aggressive decks with lots of counters.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Sticky Fingers
Pyre-Sledge Arsonist image 1.0 // 4.0 This is definitely a buildaround. If you can get it going, it can do some pretty absurd stuff – and it works well with two mechanics that are in guilds that have Red in them – both Maestros and Riveteers. Treasure tokens are also all over the place. But still, it seems like your typical deck probably won’t be able to consistently get the Arsonist going. There’s enough sacrifice that it isn’t a straight up F in your typical deck, but it is probably just a 1.0. It has a ceiling at 4.0 though. Even if you are only using the ability to do one damage at a time, that’s not a bad effect. And if you are able to do 2+ with it, it will feel pretty insane.
Attended Socialite image 2.0 This looks like a fine, if unexciting, two drop for creature-heavy Green decks. It will often attack as a 3/2, which isn’t the biggest upgrade ever since most two drops can still trade with it.
Extract the Truth image 1.5 The first mode will often be able to hit something, even in the middle part of the game, and having some enchantment hate in your main deck is nice. Now, there will be times where neither mode does anything, and that’s rough – but most of the time you’ll do something with it, even if it isn’t anything big.
Sticky Fingers image 3.0 If you get this on a creature early, it is going to allow you to really run away with the game. Your creature won’t be easily blocked and you’ll generate treasure that allows you to pull further ahead. It does have diminishing returns as the game goes on, but this is capable of effectively ending games very early.
Wrecking Crew image 2.5 This has decent French Vanilla stats. Not much more to say about it.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Riveteers Initiate
Arc Spitter image 2.0 This is an interesting piece of Equipment. My first instinct is that this is probably not very good, since it doesn’t augment the stats of the creature you put it on, but this is a card where threat of activation is going to be very real, as it is relatively cheap to take down a blocking creature with the effect. Now, it does absolutely nothing when you’re on the back foot, and is only good if you’re the beat down, but I think this might be a little better than it looks. It is cheap to cast, cheap to equip, and its ability is also reasonably costed, so much so that it will make people really think about whether they want to block. Also, if you combine this with death touch it can be particularly nasty! I think in aggressive decks this is actually a decent playable.
Broken Wings image 1.5 As is usually the case with this card -- it will have enough targets that main decking it isn’t the worst thing in the world, though it is much safer to keep it in your sideboard.
Riveteers Initiate image 2.5 Like most of this cycle, this is solid. It has okay base stats, and it can gain a useful keyword! Deathtouch does mean it can trade with anything, and that’s nice.
Goldhound image 3.0 This looks pretty nice. A one mana 1/1 with Menace and First Strike is kind of a pain to interact with early, and it’s a great place to put counters and stuff. Then, once it becomes irrelevant, it can also just ramp and fix for you. This provides a lot for only one Red mana.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Suspicious Bookcase
Suspicious Bookcase image 1.5 This is a reprint, and a pretty uninteresting one! It wasn’t particularly good last time we saw it, but it wasn’t a disaster either. It has okayish defensive stats and can send things in unblocked late. You’ll play it in some more controlling decks.
Expendable Lackey image 2.5 True to his name, this Lackey is a pretty nice creature to sacrifice to a card with Casualty, since he can then make a Fish token from the graveyard – which you can also sacrifice. He also works well with Connive, because you still get value out of discarding him. They’ve been making a lot of one drops lately that overlap into multiple decks, and I think that’s what this is. This doesn’t exactly feel like the premium card you want to really abuse those two mechanics, but it does seem pretty decent there.
Brokers Veteran image 2.5 This has medium stats, but giving a shield counter to one of your creatures is some nice upside to have on a two drop. The times when you don’t have a creature in play to put the counter on will be rough – and that can happen early, but this seems like a solid playable.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Ominous Parcel
Ominous Parcel image 1.5 This can help you fix your mana, or it can be a removal spell. Its pretty bad at both of those things when you look at the total mana you spend for each, but the fact it can do both definitely makes it a decent enough playable.
Buy Your Silence image 2.5 This can deal with any nonland permanent, but its also a pretty clunky sorcery that gives your opponent back a treasure. It definitely falls short of being Premium removal, but I do think the first copy is going to be something you want in most White decks, since it is sort of a catch-all removal spell. Running more than one probably isn’t great, though.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Suspicious Bookcase
Suspicious Bookcase image 1.5 This is a reprint, and a pretty uninteresting one! It wasn’t particularly good last time we saw it, but it wasn’t a disaster either. It has okayish defensive stats and can send things in unblocked late. You’ll play it in some more controlling decks.
Draft Pick Overview