Khans of Tarkir Limited Bombs

It's been nearly a decade since we last visited Tarkir. The original set had a fantastic draft experience that stands out as unique even after all these years. And with the set dropping on MTGA yesterday, players can experience it again. That said, today, I'll review the best limited bombs from Khans of Tarkir.

Best Limited Bombs In Khans of Tarkir

Check out the entire set ranked here - Khans of Tarkir Limited Ratings

Butcher of the Horde has a great 5/4 body and evasion, which already makes it a game-ending threat. And its activated ability ensures that it's always great, no matter when it comes down.

The haste (along with fling makes it even more aggressive on offense. Should you find yourself down in a game, the vigilance and lifelink allow you to stabilize and protect yourself, all while keeping your foot on the gas.

There is a lot to like about Sage of the Inward Eye. First, a 3/4 body with flying is nothing to scoff at for base stats. Then, anytime you cast a non-creature spell, you give your entire board lifelink.

Granted, if this is on the board alone (or you have no spells), that's a bit of a bust. But it also gives lifelink to itself, and a 3/4 flying and lifelink can always turn the tides in your favor.

Spell slinging is what Jeskai wants to do in KTK limited, and Narset, Enlightened Master is a hell of a payoff. She is also a great attacker thanks to first strike and hexproof. And if you can pump her up, she can be a massive threat.

Dragon-Style Twins is a 3/3 with double strike and prowess. Not only does this thing attack as a 6/6, but it also has a massive threat of activation. Anytime you have open mana, your opponent must be cautious - One prowess trigger, and they're looking at eight damage.

I like Crater's Claws because it's great removal and can be a finisher. Plus, if you have ferocious online, it gets even better.

This may not look appealing in your aggro deck, but still. In my experience, the ability to reset the game is often too valuable of an ace in the hole not to pick up. Especially at the five-mana spot.

Sagu Mauler is a bomb. It has a big 6/6 body, trample, and hexproof. What more could you ask for? It puts players on a rather short clock, can't be chump-blocked well, and is incredibly hard to get rid of once resolved.

Once an opponent knows this is in your deck, they'll be terrified of any morphs you have in play. So, there's some psychological upside there as well.

Abzan Ascendancy is always good because it supports itself quite well. The ability to pepper your board with +1/+1 counters scales with the size of your board, of course. If you've gone wide, that's going to be backbreaking.

If you only have a few creatures in play, Abzan Ascendancy can help make more, and getting a 1/1 flyer whenever your stuff dies is amazing. If you're ahead, this will pull you further; if you're down, those tokens can turn the tide for you.

You can't beat having a clean answer to whatever you need gone, and Utter End is just that.

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Commons And Uncommon Bombs

Putting three bodies on the board all at once is amazing value. This will support your aggressive, go-wide strategies in red very well. Beyond that, being a non-creature spell also means it lends itself to spell-slinging decks.

Sultai Soothsayer is a 2/5 body with some great upside for Sultai decks. First, it essentially draws you a card by digging five deep and putting one into your hand. Secondly, it fills up your graveyard, which helps fuel most strategies in the B/G/U color combo. 

A five-mana 5/5 with upside is plenty good, and this even has some added upside. If you're drafting a morph deck, this uncommon pulls much weight. Of course, it has morphed itself. And it untaps your morphs as they flip up, giving them a turn with pseudo vigilance.

There are no bad options on this charm, and having them all on a single card is some serious value. The first option gives you a removal spell for the format's more significant threats.

Option two is a fairly efficient card draw spell. The third and final option is an excellent combat trick that boosts your creature(s). They are all great options in their own right, and this will never be a dead card.

Bear's Companion is a 2/2 creature that makes a 4/4 creature. So, that's six power and toughness (spread over two bodies) for five mana. It is nothing not to like, in my opinion.

If you find yourself in U/R/W, you'd be remiss not to play Jeskai Charm. Mode one is an effective removal spell. Mode two is a burn spell. Maybe not the best one in the world, but hey, it's only 1/3 of the card. And finally, you often have a power mass pump that comes with Lifelink.

I love this car at uncommon. There are enough high-toughness creatures in the set to make this highly effective quite often. In fact, you can sometimes pull out a 4/4 on turn two if things go your way. And Kin-Tree Invocation continues to improve as the game progresses and your creatures get bigger.

In the context of limited this charm really only has two viable options. However, they're strong enough to compensate for the fact that the discard isn't great. Dealing four damage to a creature makes this an excellent removal spell. And two 1/1s with first strike can be great too... Especially at instant speed.

Ponyback Brigade is a powerhouse common no matter how you cast it. Either way, you're getting four bodies (with five power and toughness) from a single card, and that's no joke.

Lands To Look Out For

Usually, we wouldn't be talking about many lands in a limited bombs article, but hear me out. The set heavily features wedges or three color combinations. So, you'll often find yourself in a three-color deck, and having all three colors becomes very important. Here are some lands you'll want to watch for and consider taking pretty early.

Tri-Lands

Fetch Lands

Gain Lands