Draft Trainer
Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Limited Quiz
Answered: 0/20
Accuracy: 0
Accuracy: 0
Average Picked At: 7.18
Total Times Picked: 66
Average Last Seen At: 5.53
Total Times Seen 509
Total Times Picked: 66
Average Last Seen At: 5.53
Total Times Seen 509
Pro Rating: 3.0
Pro Comment: Counterspells have some very real downside over a lot of removal, in that you have to be able to cast it whenever what you want to remove is cast. That’s not the case for other removal -- this makes counter-magic situational, and if it is hard to create that situation -- and leaving up three mana isn’t always possible -- that makes a lot of counter magic subpar in Limited. However! This is a good illustration of how Cycling can really change a card. By adding Cycling, you end up with a card that is much less situational -- in fact, you can pretty much always do something with it, even if that thing is just Cycling it.
Pro Comment: Counterspells have some very real downside over a lot of removal, in that you have to be able to cast it whenever what you want to remove is cast. That’s not the case for other removal -- this makes counter-magic situational, and if it is hard to create that situation -- and leaving up three mana isn’t always possible -- that makes a lot of counter magic subpar in Limited. However! This is a good illustration of how Cycling can really change a card. By adding Cycling, you end up with a card that is much less situational -- in fact, you can pretty much always do something with it, even if that thing is just Cycling it.
Average Picked At: 5.22
Total Times Picked: 63
Average Last Seen At: 5.10
Total Times Seen 412
Total Times Picked: 63
Average Last Seen At: 5.10
Total Times Seen 412
Pro Rating: 3.5
Pro Comment: This seems like a pretty sweet buildaround for a spell deck, and obviously that is UR’s thing in this set, so getting a counter or two on this won’t be a challenge. It is also made interesting by the fact that it is great to mutate on to. The +1/+1 counters will stick around on the newly mutated creature, and the other abilities of Flying and Haste will become part of the creature too. Most of the power of this card is in its textbox, and that’s just going to go well with Mutate every single time.
Pro Comment: This seems like a pretty sweet buildaround for a spell deck, and obviously that is UR’s thing in this set, so getting a counter or two on this won’t be a challenge. It is also made interesting by the fact that it is great to mutate on to. The +1/+1 counters will stick around on the newly mutated creature, and the other abilities of Flying and Haste will become part of the creature too. Most of the power of this card is in its textbox, and that’s just going to go well with Mutate every single time.
Average Picked At: 4.97
Total Times Picked: 104
Average Last Seen At: 4.35
Total Times Seen 402
Total Times Picked: 104
Average Last Seen At: 4.35
Total Times Seen 402
Pro Rating: 3.5
Pro Comment: One White mana to exile a tapped creature is pretty good. It might be situational, but it is crazy efficient. Obviously, this isn’t quite that -- it makes you tap one of your creatures to pay for the cost, and that won’t always be a cost you can easily pay. The upside is that the creature you tap also gets a +1/+1 counter, though -- so you get to kill something and make one of your creature’s permanently bigger, and that feels really good. You upgrade your board while significantly downgrading your opponents’, all for one mana!
Pro Comment: One White mana to exile a tapped creature is pretty good. It might be situational, but it is crazy efficient. Obviously, this isn’t quite that -- it makes you tap one of your creatures to pay for the cost, and that won’t always be a cost you can easily pay. The upside is that the creature you tap also gets a +1/+1 counter, though -- so you get to kill something and make one of your creature’s permanently bigger, and that feels really good. You upgrade your board while significantly downgrading your opponents’, all for one mana!
Average Picked At: 5.03
Total Times Picked: 125
Average Last Seen At: 4.80
Total Times Seen 412
Total Times Picked: 125
Average Last Seen At: 4.80
Total Times Seen 412
Pro Rating: 4.0
Pro Comment: There is so much you can do here. Let’s start with the ideal case. Because this is an Instant, you can do something nasty like bring back a big boy who blocks one of their creatures, and also have that creature fight one of their small creatures. If your creature is big enough to take all that damage, you end up with an amazing deal. So yeah, that won’t line up all the time -- but even if your creature dies from the damage, you still take down 2 things of your opponent’s. And then, there’s also the case where all you can do is kill a single creature with the fight effect -- but that’s fine too. So what’s the downside here? Well, you have to have a creature in your graveyard that is worth fighting with, but that’s not hard to do in this format. This is just great.
Pro Comment: There is so much you can do here. Let’s start with the ideal case. Because this is an Instant, you can do something nasty like bring back a big boy who blocks one of their creatures, and also have that creature fight one of their small creatures. If your creature is big enough to take all that damage, you end up with an amazing deal. So yeah, that won’t line up all the time -- but even if your creature dies from the damage, you still take down 2 things of your opponent’s. And then, there’s also the case where all you can do is kill a single creature with the fight effect -- but that’s fine too. So what’s the downside here? Well, you have to have a creature in your graveyard that is worth fighting with, but that’s not hard to do in this format. This is just great.
Pro Rating: 3.0
Pro Comment: So the mutate trigger here doesn’t technically help you avoid a 2-for-1 most of the time, but it is powerful. Still, it is kind of an awkward card, since Mutate by its very nature does not help you go wide, so board pump on Mutate definitely feels weird. Still, it will frequently have a very real impact on the board state.
Pro Comment: So the mutate trigger here doesn’t technically help you avoid a 2-for-1 most of the time, but it is powerful. Still, it is kind of an awkward card, since Mutate by its very nature does not help you go wide, so board pump on Mutate definitely feels weird. Still, it will frequently have a very real impact on the board state.
Average Picked At: 1.53
Total Times Picked: 19
Average Last Seen At: 1.52
Total Times Seen 27
Total Times Picked: 19
Average Last Seen At: 1.52
Total Times Seen 27
Pro Rating: 5.0
Pro Comment: So, if you don’t mutate this, it is a 5-mana 6/6 with Flying and Trample -- that’s a pretty good deal, even if it does ask you for three different colors of mana. However, the real power of this card will come from you either casting it for its Mutate cost, or Mutating other stuff with it, because then it will grab a nonland permanent from your deck and put it into play for free, which is pretty absurd. Mutate does have the danger of devastating you with spot removal when you stack creatures on top of eachother, but this Mutate trigger helps offset that. Soemthing to note here too -- while you have to be three colors if you want to hardcast Iluna, you don’t necessarily have to be if your plan is Mutating -- because it has RG Hybrid mana as part of the Mutate cost, you can Mutate this in a UG or RG deck too -- and like I said, the real value will come from doing that an way. Between impressive stats and the amazing Mutate trigger, it is hard to imagine Iluna not being incredible -- especially because it is playable in two color decks!
Pro Comment: So, if you don’t mutate this, it is a 5-mana 6/6 with Flying and Trample -- that’s a pretty good deal, even if it does ask you for three different colors of mana. However, the real power of this card will come from you either casting it for its Mutate cost, or Mutating other stuff with it, because then it will grab a nonland permanent from your deck and put it into play for free, which is pretty absurd. Mutate does have the danger of devastating you with spot removal when you stack creatures on top of eachother, but this Mutate trigger helps offset that. Soemthing to note here too -- while you have to be three colors if you want to hardcast Iluna, you don’t necessarily have to be if your plan is Mutating -- because it has RG Hybrid mana as part of the Mutate cost, you can Mutate this in a UG or RG deck too -- and like I said, the real value will come from doing that an way. Between impressive stats and the amazing Mutate trigger, it is hard to imagine Iluna not being incredible -- especially because it is playable in two color decks!
Average Picked At: 10.59
Total Times Picked: 56
Average Last Seen At: 7.73
Total Times Seen 715
Total Times Picked: 56
Average Last Seen At: 7.73
Total Times Seen 715
Pro Rating: 1.5
Pro Comment: This is not especially easy to make work. It lets you rummage and then damage stuff, but the set up of having to have a bunch of cards in your hand just isn’t going to be worth that a lot of the time.
Pro Comment: This is not especially easy to make work. It lets you rummage and then damage stuff, but the set up of having to have a bunch of cards in your hand just isn’t going to be worth that a lot of the time.
Average Picked At: 6.44
Total Times Picked: 87
Average Last Seen At: 5.54
Total Times Seen 491
Total Times Picked: 87
Average Last Seen At: 5.54
Total Times Seen 491
Pro Rating: 4.0
Pro Comment: Wow, talk about a Cycling payoff. Sure, you have to have the mana to spend, but Cycling in this set usually costs 1-2 mana, so it isn’t a stretch to be able to pay the 2, and when you do, you get to start killing smaller stuff and gaining life, which is pretty awesome. It is nice you get something out of the trigger even if you don’t actually kill their creature -- getting some life no matter what is not too bad. On top of that, it is just a nice aggressive body as a 2-mana 3/2.
Pro Comment: Wow, talk about a Cycling payoff. Sure, you have to have the mana to spend, but Cycling in this set usually costs 1-2 mana, so it isn’t a stretch to be able to pay the 2, and when you do, you get to start killing smaller stuff and gaining life, which is pretty awesome. It is nice you get something out of the trigger even if you don’t actually kill their creature -- getting some life no matter what is not too bad. On top of that, it is just a nice aggressive body as a 2-mana 3/2.
Pro Rating: 3.5
Pro Comment: Triomes are really nice, giving you three colors of mana AND being cyclable.
Pro Comment: Triomes are really nice, giving you three colors of mana AND being cyclable.
Pro Rating: 4.5
Pro Comment: This guy doesn’t stay dead, and I always like that, especially in Limited where that type of resilience is crazy. And sure, you have to have something for it to Mutate with, but that isnt’ a big ask. Usually, it will lead to a heavily upgraded creature -- normally you’ll be putting Brokkos on top to get the 6/6 trample, and then you will of course have any abilities of the cards underneath it, which is pretty sweet. The whole graveyard thing means that you will always be able to drasticaly upgrade a creature, even from your graveyard. All the Apex creatures have hybrid mana in their cost too, which means it is easier to paly this than it might seem at first glance, as you don’t even necessarily have to splash anything, since two-color decks can pay for the Mutate cost.
Pro Comment: This guy doesn’t stay dead, and I always like that, especially in Limited where that type of resilience is crazy. And sure, you have to have something for it to Mutate with, but that isnt’ a big ask. Usually, it will lead to a heavily upgraded creature -- normally you’ll be putting Brokkos on top to get the 6/6 trample, and then you will of course have any abilities of the cards underneath it, which is pretty sweet. The whole graveyard thing means that you will always be able to drasticaly upgrade a creature, even from your graveyard. All the Apex creatures have hybrid mana in their cost too, which means it is easier to paly this than it might seem at first glance, as you don’t even necessarily have to splash anything, since two-color decks can pay for the Mutate cost.
Average Picked At: 10.56
Total Times Picked: 133
Average Last Seen At: 8.83
Total Times Seen 2035
Total Times Picked: 133
Average Last Seen At: 8.83
Total Times Seen 2035
Pro Rating: 1.0
Pro Comment: This is modal, but none of the effects on it are especially good.
Pro Comment: This is modal, but none of the effects on it are especially good.
Average Picked At: 10.28
Total Times Picked: 170
Average Last Seen At: 8.67
Total Times Seen 1970
Total Times Picked: 170
Average Last Seen At: 8.67
Total Times Seen 1970
Pro Rating: 2.0
Pro Comment: This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Pro Comment: This is always a fine, very replacable card. If you need a land, it can usually find you one, and if you need a creature, it can do that too.
Average Picked At: 2.21
Total Times Picked: 56
Average Last Seen At: 2.25
Total Times Seen 79
Total Times Picked: 56
Average Last Seen At: 2.25
Total Times Seen 79
Pro Rating: 4.0
Pro Comment: So, 2B to destroy a creature at Instant speed is a very good card, and certainly premium removal. This comes with the additional upside of, if you are going straight up Abzan, you can turn this into almost Vindicate, and destroy any nonland permanent -- not just creatures! Still, most of the time you’ll just be killing a creature with this really efficiently, and that’s kind of nice. Most of the other Mythos really need you to be in the right wedge to get their full value, but this one only gets a minor upgrade, which means it is very splashable.
Pro Comment: So, 2B to destroy a creature at Instant speed is a very good card, and certainly premium removal. This comes with the additional upside of, if you are going straight up Abzan, you can turn this into almost Vindicate, and destroy any nonland permanent -- not just creatures! Still, most of the time you’ll just be killing a creature with this really efficiently, and that’s kind of nice. Most of the other Mythos really need you to be in the right wedge to get their full value, but this one only gets a minor upgrade, which means it is very splashable.
Average Picked At: 14.72
Total Times Picked: 61
Average Last Seen At: 11.13
Total Times Seen 940
Total Times Picked: 61
Average Last Seen At: 11.13
Total Times Seen 940
Average Picked At: 6.17
Total Times Picked: 88
Average Last Seen At: 5.26
Total Times Seen 494
Total Times Picked: 88
Average Last Seen At: 5.26
Total Times Seen 494
Pro Rating: 3.0
Pro Comment: When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Pro Comment: When this works, it feels pretty good – but there are a lot of times where this doesn’t do anything – like if you don’t have a creature in your hand of a large enough size for the spell to actually matter, and that happens more often than you might think.
Pro Rating: 5.0
Pro Comment: A 4-mana ⅗ double strike as a fail case is really good -- even if it DOES ask for three colors of mana, which is by no means easy to pull off in most formats. However, like all the apexes, he has an easier-to-cast Mutate thanks to Hybrid mana, and his Mutate trigger lets you do 4 to something and gain 4 life, which certainly offsets the risk of mutating. Plus, putting this on top of a Mutation, and holding on to the Double Strike while it gains additional abilities is pretty tempting.
Pro Comment: A 4-mana ⅗ double strike as a fail case is really good -- even if it DOES ask for three colors of mana, which is by no means easy to pull off in most formats. However, like all the apexes, he has an easier-to-cast Mutate thanks to Hybrid mana, and his Mutate trigger lets you do 4 to something and gain 4 life, which certainly offsets the risk of mutating. Plus, putting this on top of a Mutation, and holding on to the Double Strike while it gains additional abilities is pretty tempting.
Average Picked At: 14.89
Total Times Picked: 61
Average Last Seen At: 11.10
Total Times Seen 972
Total Times Picked: 61
Average Last Seen At: 11.10
Total Times Seen 972
Average Picked At: 9.09
Total Times Picked: 189
Average Last Seen At: 7.96
Total Times Seen 1734
Total Times Picked: 189
Average Last Seen At: 7.96
Total Times Seen 1734
Pro Rating: 3.0
Pro Comment: Another situational card with Cycling, Raking Claws can sometimes do a whole lot as a trick, but when it can’t? Well, just Cycle it away and look for something else.
Pro Comment: Another situational card with Cycling, Raking Claws can sometimes do a whole lot as a trick, but when it can’t? Well, just Cycle it away and look for something else.
Pro Rating: 5.0
Pro Comment: I think in an ideal world, you hang on to this until you can pay the Mutate cost. It is kind of like a 6-mana 3/3 Flying Ravenous Chupacabra -- but one that requires you to have a non-human creature in play. I’m willing to jump through that hoop though, and it won’t be that hard. In a pinch, you also have a 4-mana 3/3 flyer, which is a nice rate anyway. Basically this has a very efficient body and it can kill stuff. That makes it a bomb.
Pro Comment: I think in an ideal world, you hang on to this until you can pay the Mutate cost. It is kind of like a 6-mana 3/3 Flying Ravenous Chupacabra -- but one that requires you to have a non-human creature in play. I’m willing to jump through that hoop though, and it won’t be that hard. In a pinch, you also have a 4-mana 3/3 flyer, which is a nice rate anyway. Basically this has a very efficient body and it can kill stuff. That makes it a bomb.
Pro Rating: 4.5
Pro Comment: His +1 grants you card advantage, and in a way also help you find ways to protect him. Granted, the turn you play him, you most likely won’t be able to cast one of the cards you exiled that turn, since he costs 5 mana. But, the potential card advantage he can grant you, even in a typical Limited deck with 15 or so creatures, is pretty awesome, and can definitely take over games. His -2 is nice too, and theoretically you could use it when he comes down in an effort to find a bigger creature who can do a better job of keeping him alive. His -7 isn’t super exciting or interesting, but it definitely can end games. Basicaly, if you play Lukka and get to untap, and then use his +1 a second time -- you are going to be in business. He will have a moment of vulnerability the turn you play him most of the time, but after that it is going to be hard for your opponent to take him down.
Pro Comment: His +1 grants you card advantage, and in a way also help you find ways to protect him. Granted, the turn you play him, you most likely won’t be able to cast one of the cards you exiled that turn, since he costs 5 mana. But, the potential card advantage he can grant you, even in a typical Limited deck with 15 or so creatures, is pretty awesome, and can definitely take over games. His -2 is nice too, and theoretically you could use it when he comes down in an effort to find a bigger creature who can do a better job of keeping him alive. His -7 isn’t super exciting or interesting, but it definitely can end games. Basicaly, if you play Lukka and get to untap, and then use his +1 a second time -- you are going to be in business. He will have a moment of vulnerability the turn you play him most of the time, but after that it is going to be hard for your opponent to take him down.
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