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Traditional Draft BRO 10 January 2023

10 January 05:49 - Nyx 3 Wins - 2 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (12)
1 Teething Wurmlet image
1 Self-Assembler image
2 Boulderbranch Golem image
1 Hoarding Recluse image
2 Haywire Mite image
1 Blitz Automaton image
1 Goblin Blast-Runner image
1 Mishra, Excavation Prodigy image
1 Argothian Sprite image
1 Argothian Opportunist image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (12)
1 Perilous Vault image
1 Swiftfoot Boots image
1 Giant Growth image
1 Draconic Destiny image
1 Mechanized Warfare image
1 Key to the City image
1 Fade from History image
1 Shoot Down image
1 Mask of the Jadecrafter image
1 Mishra's Research Desk image
1 Raze to the Ground image
1 Epic Confrontation image
Land (17)
1 Argoth, Sanctum of Nature image
1 Tocasia's Dig Site image
1 Demolition Field image
7 Forest image
7 Mountain image
Sideboard
1 Hurkyl, Master Wizard image
1 Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard image
1 Tawnos, the Toymaker image
1 Thopter Mechanic image
1 Hurkyl's Final Meditation image
1 Thran Power Suit image
1 Giant Growth image
1 The Stone Brain image
1 Military Discipline image
1 Shoot Down image
1 The Temporal Anchor image
1 Desynchronize image
1 Wasteful Harvest image
1 Tawnos's Tinkering image
1 Goblin Firebomb image
2 Ivory Tower image
1 Llanowar Wastes image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Teething Wurmlet
Cloud Key image 1.0 Using up a card to reduce the cost of one card type just isn’t worth it most of the time in Limited. You really want to add to the board in some way and get this effect, and that isn’t an option here. Even in a world where you ramp a lot, using up a card and mana to play this thing doesn’t feel very good.
Teething Wurmlet image 4.0 This is quite the one drop! Gaining one life every single time an artifact enters under your control is nice, but the fact you can get a counter on this once a turn is great, especially because it counts things like powerstones entering the battlefield
Splitting the Powerstone image 1.0 I don’t love this. It is super clunky as a Sorcery, especially because the Powerstones you get back enter tapped. And sure, sometimes you get to draw a card – but that won’t happen often enough. They mostly went for a cool flavor win here with the “legendary” clause on the card, and this is certainly flavorful – but pretty bad for Limited. Giving up an Artifact for two Powerstones just doesn’t seem like what I want to be doing most of the time. You can combine it with Unearth, or even sacrifice a powerstone to it, but I’m still not seeing this be very effective.
Take Flight image 3.5 This is quite the Aura! +1/+0 and Flying is going to make a lot of creatures problematic, and because you get to draw a card when your creature attacks, it helps get around the dangerous 2-for-1 downside that is inherent with an Aura. If the creature you put this on is allowed to continue unchecked, you’re just going to win.
Reconstructed Thopter image 2.5 A three mana 2/1 Flyer isn’t great these days, but this comes with the upside of an important card type and Unearth, which certainly allows it to generate some more value
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
Combat Courier image 2.0 It is nice that you can cash this in for a card – twice, thanks to Unearth – and that does give you a 2-for-1, albeit an expensive one. But if you can get some extra value out of this being around, it is definitely worth it.
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Airlift Chaplain image 3.0 Chances are decent you’ll hit something you can get back with the mill trigger, and if you don’t or choose not to get something back, you get a three mana 2/2 with Flying that loaded your graveyard some, which is pretty nice.
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Moment of Defiance image 2.0 This is a bit expensive for a trick that only boosts toughness by 1, which means that oftentimes your creature will also die, but it definitely makes up for that by drawing you a card. In situations where you creature does survive, you get a 2-for-1, and in situations where it doesn’t, you break even while gaining some life. It also draws you a card, checking the box for the Blue-Black deck. That seems fine to me
Fallaji Chaindancer image 2.0 This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! Powerstones will make this ability easier to activate than you might think, too
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Bitter Reunion image 1.5 This is a neat take on a Tormented Voice-type effect. While the UR deck in this format cares about spells, it actually cares about all non-creature spells, so this will still trigger them like Tormented Voice would. The ability to give haste to your whole board will come up sometimes too. I think you probably cut this most of the time in any deck that doesn’t care about spells, and even in the spell deck it probably isn’t the card you’re happily shoving in your deck
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Pack 1 Pick 2: Hurkyl, Master Wizard
Millstone image 1.0 Now we’ve got the original mill card, which is where the mechanic gets its name! And…it also isn’t great in Limited, though the fact that you actually can control who this hurts more makes it better than something like the Orb. This can actually win you some games if you’re a control deck, but most of the time you’d rather just have something that actually adds to the board.
Hurkyl, Master Wizard image 4.0 This has a neat design, and it seems like she will draw you a card often enough to be pretty good. It is a bit of a bummer she doesn’t count creatures, as those are likely to be the most prevalent type in your deck, but you have a pretty good shot at hitting artifacts with her too. Some Blue decks will undoubtedly also have enough instants and/or sorceries to make her work. But yeah, seems like she will draw you a card about half the time, and that’s pretty strong. She can actually draw you multiple cards too, if you cast multiple spells with different noncreature types during your turn.
Thran Power Suit image 1.5 On its own, this is a two mana to play and two to equip equipment that grants +1/+1 and Ward 2. The Ward 2 is a pretty nice thing to have, as it makes your investment in equipping it feel a little less painful.
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Perimeter Patrol image 2.5 A three mana 3/3 is solid, and this has some real upside that will let it attack a lot more effectively
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Dwarven Forge-Chanter image 3.0 Back in Khans of Tarkir there was a White two mana 1/3 with Prowess and it was a really nice common – so, adding Ward – Pay 2 life to that also makes for a pretty sweet common! A creature with Prowess is always really obnoxious to block or attack into, since you never know what your opponent might be able to do. The threat of activation is very real! This is a great two drop for Blue-Red decks, and lots of other Red decks will have enough non-creature spells to have a pretty good time with this
Mishra's Onslaught image 1.5 You are overpaying for both modes on this card – usually each of these effects costs three. You do get some modality here, but the token effect is generally underpowered while the mass pump effect is narrow, so I think this will get cut a fair bit
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Swiftgear Drake image 1.5 5-mana for a 2/4 with Flying and Haste isn’t amazing, but it isn’t a completely terrible rate either – probably something like a D+, so the ETB upside here is kind of nice. You can get rid of some graveyard action your opponent is utilizing, or you can put a card back on the bottom of your library that you want to draw later
Mishra's Domination image 1.5 This has some nice flexibility, as it can be a decent removal spell for an aggro deck or a way to buff a creature. It doesn’t do either thing well, though
Gaea's Gift image 2.0 This is a nice trick. In addition to doing a good job of helping a creature win combat, the slew of keywords it gets makes it so you can blank most removal when you cast it. We’ve seen a lot o tricks like this of late, and they’ve all ended up being a card you always want one or two of in aggressive decks, and I think that’s what we have here
Pack 1 Pick 3: Self-Assembler
Self-Assembler image 0.0 // 3.0 Last time we saw this, it was the only Assembly-Worker in the set, so you needed multiple copies of it to get it going – and that was actually fairly doable. And a 5-mana 4/4 that draws you another 5-mana 4/4 is pretty nice in Limited. Efficiency matters in Limited, but outcarding your opponent matters a lot too, so the inefficiency didn’t matter! In this set, there are plenty of other assembly-workers for you to search up, so it is probably even better! It does need a build around grade, as you don’t want to play this if you have 0 Assembly-Workers to search up, and even just having one other assembly-worker can be a little sketchy, as once you draw them both you’re kind of in trouble. So, you really need 2+ assembly-workers to get this going – but the good news is, that’s doable
Skyfisher Spider image 3.5 This is another very good signpost Uncommon. Having Bone Splinters stapled to a 3/3 with Reach is quite the deal, especially in a color pair with expendable bodies and a reason to put creatures in the graveyard. The life gain it gives you can really make a difference too! You shouldn’t always exile it of course, as getting this back for value is also quite good, but the life gain will be the way to go a decent percentage of the time
Steel Exemplar image 2.5 This is going to be easier to play as a 6/6 Trampler than you might think – once again, because of powerstones! Obviously most Limited decks are two colors, so your mana base probably can’t support doing this all on its own, but if you have a few powerstones in play, it becomes much easier to cast this at full size. The fail case isn’t the worst thing ever either
Splitting the Powerstone image 1.0 I don’t love this. It is super clunky as a Sorcery, especially because the Powerstones you get back enter tapped. And sure, sometimes you get to draw a card – but that won’t happen often enough. They mostly went for a cool flavor win here with the “legendary” clause on the card, and this is certainly flavorful – but pretty bad for Limited. Giving up an Artifact for two Powerstones just doesn’t seem like what I want to be doing most of the time. You can combine it with Unearth, or even sacrifice a powerstone to it, but I’m still not seeing this be very effective.
Veteran's Powerblade image 1.5 One mana to equip this is pretty nice, but three to cast is always going to feel pretty ugly. Still, it makes your solder tokens into 3/1s, which means they can swing in most cases! Obviously works with other soldiers too, but I don’t really feel like this is the soldier payoff you’re really hoping for when you draft the UW deck.
Tomakul Scrapsmith image 2.5 You either get a three mana 3/2, or a three mana 2/1 that draws you an Artifact. Obviously the latter option is the better one, and this would be at least a 3.5 if that’s what it was – but it will only do that half the time, and the 3/2 option is less exciting. It also takes a bit of a hti because Red is not very interested in the graveyard in this set, so loading it up a little bit is unlikely to give you any extra value
Citanul Stalwart image 2.0 Even with powerstones, it can be a little tricky finding a way to consistently use this to fix and ramp your mana. There will be times where you just can’t do it, and its an ability that isn’t that great in the late game. That said, this format does have many payoffs for doing such a thing, and the powerstones certainly make this better.
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Goblin Blast-Runner image 2.0 This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Powerstone Engineer image 2.0 Trading this off and getting a powerstone in the process seems fine.
Goring Warplow image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 death touch is okay – that card is probably a 1.5. Having the option between the two makes this a 2.5
Pack 1 Pick 4: Hurkyl's Final Meditation
Well of Lost Dreams image 0.0 // 3.5 There are ways to gain life in this format, and I think there are actually enough of them that this isn’t a straight up F. It will be an F in most decks in the format, but if you have 5+ ways to gain life – especially if those ways are repeatable – this can draw you a ton of cards, and powerstones will make it easier for you to pay the cost. It is a bit of a bummer that this is the only life gain payoff in the deck, making it less organic for you to find somewhere to play this.
Hurkyl's Final Meditation image 1.0 These kinds of cards usually disappoint in Limited. Bouncing all nonland permanents just doesn’t actually do what you want it to mot of the time. You spend a card and set yourself back. And yeah, you set your opponent back too, but it usually isn’t by enough – especially because they will typical get to rebuild for you! The whole “End the turn” part of the card is sort of interesting, as it can functionally be a counterspell since it empties the stack and doesn’t let the cards have their effects – and that is certainly some nice additional upsid – as is the fact that you can cast this on your opponent’s turn – but to do that you have to pay ten mana. If you can get there, this can basically function like a time walk that bounces the whole board which is pretty powerful, but that is just so much mana.
Disciples of Gix image 2.0 The idea here is that you can search up stuff that you can get value out of while it is in the graveyard, and there are certainly Artifacts with Unearth in this set – but the fact it doesn’t let you search up creatures more broadly is a little frustrating, especially because the Black-Green deck in the format demands creatures be in the graveyard in particular. Still, lots of Artifacts in the set are creatures, so it will be able to help out that kind of deck a decent chunk of the time. The stats are bad, but I feel like this ETB will feel like you’re drawing a card
Haywire Mite image 2.0 This has plenty of targets in this format, so it is certainly a main deck card. Doesn’t hurt that it is a cheap artifact in a format that really cares about such things
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Unleash Shell image 3.0 5 mana is a lot, but at least its an Instant! It can deal with most creatures in the format too, and Shocking your opponent in the face when you use it is definitely some decent additional upside. The problem with paying 5 for this effect is you’’ll often have to use it on a creature that costs less, and you’re losing some serious tempo when you do that – and sometimes you just can’t get the mana to deal with a cheap creature and that’s a problem too. You don’t really want more than one of these most of the time, because they are so expensive, but I do think the first copy should be valued reasonably highly
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Carrion Locust image 2.0 Incidental graveyard hate is going to be nice in this format, as there are plenty of things that will be nice to exile – especially Unearth creatures. It comes attached to a reasonable flyer, and sometimes you’ll even make your opponent lose a life
Penregon Strongbull image 3.0 This looks pretty sweet. There are plenty of artifacts to sacrifice, including the powerstones that can help pay for the ability, which effectively makes this say “Sacrifice a powerstone: It gets +1/+1 and deals 1 damage to an opponent.” The ability is just very affordable, and this creature attacking with a few artifacts in play is going to be a pretty sizable problem. Love that it also damages the opponent, giving it the capability of doing some very significant damage if it goes unblocked
Swiftgear Drake image 1.5 5-mana for a 2/4 with Flying and Haste isn’t amazing, but it isn’t a completely terrible rate either – probably something like a D+, so the ETB upside here is kind of nice. You can get rid of some graveyard action your opponent is utilizing, or you can put a card back on the bottom of your library that you want to draw later
Goring Warplow image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 death touch is okay – that card is probably a 1.5. Having the option between the two makes this a 2.5
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Pack 1 Pick 5: Perilous Vault
Perilous Vault image 4.0 This is a lot of mana of course, but it is also quite the reset button, as it rids the board of all permanents apart from lands, and it even exiles them! The effect is almost unrivaled in its ability to change the state of the game, and power stones make it more doable. All that good stuff out of the way, it does still have the very real problem of being bad in situations where you’re ahead of your opponent or at parity – but it is just about the best thing you can do when you’re behind.
Spectrum Sentinel image 1.0 This looks pretty bad for Limited. Multicolored isn’t a huge theme in the format, and neither are nonbasic lands. Mostly, you’re going to be getting a one mana ½. It is both an artifact and a soldier, so in decks that care about those things it isn’t the biggest disaster ever, but it still isn’t very good
Battlefield Butcher image 3.0 In addition to having a cost reduction built in, this activated ability will feel cheaper in this format than it would normally thanks to power stones. This seems like a nice win condition for the graveyard decks in the format.
Scrapwork Mutt image 2.5 A three mana 2/1 that rummages when it ETBS is probably a 1.5, and I think adding Unearth to the mix is some real upside, since you get the ETB all over again. This looks like it can nicely set up graveyard and artifact payoffs.
Coastal Bulwark image 2.0 Obviously, if you’re playing Blue, this is going to be a 3/3 – and a wall that can Surveil 1 is going to be a solid thing to have in more defensive decks.
Power Plant Worker image 2.0 This is a fun cycle, since they all reference the original Urza lands. I think the card seems pretty decent too. The stats aren’t great, but +2/+2 for three mana isn’t the worst rate in a set with power stones everywhere. I wouldn’t count on getting all three of these in play, but you might achieve it on occasion.
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Tomakul Scrapsmith image 2.5 You either get a three mana 3/2, or a three mana 2/1 that draws you an Artifact. Obviously the latter option is the better one, and this would be at least a 3.5 if that’s what it was – but it will only do that half the time, and the 3/2 option is less exciting. It also takes a bit of a hti because Red is not very interested in the graveyard in this set, so loading it up a little bit is unlikely to give you any extra value
Combat Courier image 2.0 It is nice that you can cash this in for a card – twice, thanks to Unearth – and that does give you a 2-for-1, albeit an expensive one. But if you can get some extra value out of this being around, it is definitely worth it.
Gix's Caress image 1.5 Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still don’t like this.
Evolving Wilds image 3.0 We see this all the time, and its always a pretty nice land. It does an excellent job of fixing for you. If you’re splashing something, just a single Wilds and a basic land in that splash color is enough, and that’s pretty great! Its at pretty much the same level as the Rare dual lands we just saw.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Boulderbranch Golem
The Stone Brain image 0.0 As usual, this kind of card is unplayable in Limited. You generally don’t have the necessary knowledge of your opponent’s deck to take full advantage of a card like this, and even when you do it still isn’t very good most of the time, especially because this version lets your opponent draw a card if you hit a card in their hand! Even if you do hit a card in your opponent’s deck, you are basically going to feel like you have mulliganed, since hitting one card in your opponent’s deck just doesn’t do enough in Limited. Basically, you go down a card for no real effect on the game, and you never want that in Limited. This is a card that makes sense in constructed, where it can rip apart a combo deck – but that’s just not a thing here
Argivian Avenger image 2.0 This is a fun reference to lots of older cards with similar abilities, but I think this seems fairly underwhelming overall, even in a format where powerstones will make casting it and using its abilities easier. It just has such underwhelming base stats, and while gaining key words is nice and all, the fact its stats get worse when you do it doesn’t have me that interested
Disciples of Gix image 2.0 The idea here is that you can search up stuff that you can get value out of while it is in the graveyard, and there are certainly Artifacts with Unearth in this set – but the fact it doesn’t let you search up creatures more broadly is a little frustrating, especially because the Black-Green deck in the format demands creatures be in the graveyard in particular. Still, lots of Artifacts in the set are creatures, so it will be able to help out that kind of deck a decent chunk of the time. The stats are bad, but I feel like this ETB will feel like you’re drawing a card
Union of the Third Path image 1.0 Three mana to draw one card is abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall
Goblin Blast-Runner image 2.0 This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good
Boulderbranch Golem image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 that gains you 3 life when it enters is a 2.5, and the upside here is going to be the kind of card that really allows you to stabilize, as a 6/5 that gains you 6 is going to make any opponent having a fast start very sad. This is one of Green’s best Commons
Aeronaut Cavalry image 3.0 You often end up paying 5 mana for 4/5 worth of stats here, and ¾ of it has flying! That’s a pretty good deal, and the format has plenty of soldiers for this to do its thing, especially in Blue-White.
Depth Charge Colossus image 1.0 I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. Even with powerstones I don’t think I’m playing this.
Disenchant image 2.5 This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always nice.
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Pack 1 Pick 7: Swiftfoot Boots
Swiftfoot Boots image 3.0 The Boots are pretty nice on the right creature, though the downside they always have is that the creature you put it on already has to be pretty impressive, otherwise it makes very little difference! That said, once you have a creature worth protecting, the Boots are a nightmare for your opponent! It doesn’t hurt that they can also give haste, something that can really change your attacks.
Disciples of Gix image 2.0 The idea here is that you can search up stuff that you can get value out of while it is in the graveyard, and there are certainly Artifacts with Unearth in this set – but the fact it doesn’t let you search up creatures more broadly is a little frustrating, especially because the Black-Green deck in the format demands creatures be in the graveyard in particular. Still, lots of Artifacts in the set are creatures, so it will be able to help out that kind of deck a decent chunk of the time. The stats are bad, but I feel like this ETB will feel like you’re drawing a card
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Gixian Skullflayer image 2.0 This is a nice little payoff for getting creatures in your graveyard, a strategy that looks to be well supported in the format. I do wish this enabled itself a little bit, like by milling a single card or something – but it will be able to grow with relative ease in Black/Green decks especially
Clay Revenant image 1.5 This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal, even with powerstones. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Pack 1 Pick 8: Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard
Soul-Guide Lantern image 2.0 This is another artifact that replaces itself, making it useful in the format. It also hates on the graveyard – something else of value in a format with Unearth and a couple of graveyard decks. You can main deck this pretty happily
Hajar, Loyal Bodyguard image 2.5 This is mostly just a two mana 3/3 in Limited, as this format doesn’t have very many legendary creatures at lower rarities. Sometimes you’ll be able to do something with this, and that will be pretty sweet! But a two-mana vanilla 3/3 isn’t that great in Limited, especially when it costs two mana of different colors to cast.
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Recommission image 1.5 If you can consistently get back a 3 mana creature with this, it is going to feel pretty dang good, as your creature will easily be worth more than 2 mana. The problem is that you have to set this up and have the right deck make up. And while those things are doable, there will certainly be times where this is stuck in your hand.
Tomakul Honor Guard image 2.0 This has solid stats, and cheap removal will cost extra to destroy it! The format does have a bunch of 1/1 tokens, though, and that always makes a 3/1 sad
Gix's Caress image 1.5 Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still don’t like this.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Hoarding Recluse
Splitting the Powerstone image 1.0 I don’t love this. It is super clunky as a Sorcery, especially because the Powerstones you get back enter tapped. And sure, sometimes you get to draw a card – but that won’t happen often enough. They mostly went for a cool flavor win here with the “legendary” clause on the card, and this is certainly flavorful – but pretty bad for Limited. Giving up an Artifact for two Powerstones just doesn’t seem like what I want to be doing most of the time. You can combine it with Unearth, or even sacrifice a powerstone to it, but I’m still not seeing this be very effective.
Hoarding Recluse image 2.0 This can trade for anything, and while that’s not the most exciting at 4 mana, a 2/3 Reach can also block lots of small stuff in addition to making your opponent hesitant to attack with big stuff. The death ability here actually matters a bit too, as Green-Black decks will be milling themselves a significant chunk of the time, and sometimes you end up milling things you didn’t really want to mill, and this can help you get that card back
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Moment of Defiance image 2.0 This is a bit expensive for a trick that only boosts toughness by 1, which means that oftentimes your creature will also die, but it definitely makes up for that by drawing you a card. In situations where you creature does survive, you get a 2-for-1, and in situations where it doesn’t, you break even while gaining some life. It also draws you a card, checking the box for the Blue-Black deck. That seems fine to me
Fallaji Chaindancer image 2.0 This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! Powerstones will make this ability easier to activate than you might think, too
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Pack 1 Pick 10: Thran Power Suit
Millstone image 1.0 Now we’ve got the original mill card, which is where the mechanic gets its name! And…it also isn’t great in Limited, though the fact that you actually can control who this hurts more makes it better than something like the Orb. This can actually win you some games if you’re a control deck, but most of the time you’d rather just have something that actually adds to the board.
Thran Power Suit image 1.5 On its own, this is a two mana to play and two to equip equipment that grants +1/+1 and Ward 2. The Ward 2 is a pretty nice thing to have, as it makes your investment in equipping it feel a little less painful.
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Giant Growth
Splitting the Powerstone image 1.0 I don’t love this. It is super clunky as a Sorcery, especially because the Powerstones you get back enter tapped. And sure, sometimes you get to draw a card – but that won’t happen often enough. They mostly went for a cool flavor win here with the “legendary” clause on the card, and this is certainly flavorful – but pretty bad for Limited. Giving up an Artifact for two Powerstones just doesn’t seem like what I want to be doing most of the time. You can combine it with Unearth, or even sacrifice a powerstone to it, but I’m still not seeing this be very effective.
Citanul Stalwart image 2.0 Even with powerstones, it can be a little tricky finding a way to consistently use this to fix and ramp your mana. There will be times where you just can’t do it, and its an ability that isn’t that great in the late game. That said, this format does have many payoffs for doing such a thing, and the powerstones certainly make this better.
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Pack 1 Pick 12: Haywire Mite
Well of Lost Dreams image 0.0 // 3.5 There are ways to gain life in this format, and I think there are actually enough of them that this isn’t a straight up F. It will be an F in most decks in the format, but if you have 5+ ways to gain life – especially if those ways are repeatable – this can draw you a ton of cards, and powerstones will make it easier for you to pay the cost. It is a bit of a bummer that this is the only life gain payoff in the deck, making it less organic for you to find somewhere to play this.
Haywire Mite image 2.0 This has plenty of targets in this format, so it is certainly a main deck card. Doesn’t hurt that it is a cheap artifact in a format that really cares about such things
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Swiftgear Drake image 1.5 5-mana for a 2/4 with Flying and Haste isn’t amazing, but it isn’t a completely terrible rate either – probably something like a D+, so the ETB upside here is kind of nice. You can get rid of some graveyard action your opponent is utilizing, or you can put a card back on the bottom of your library that you want to draw later
Pack 1 Pick 13: Giant Growth
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Combat Courier image 2.0 It is nice that you can cash this in for a card – twice, thanks to Unearth – and that does give you a 2-for-1, albeit an expensive one. But if you can get some extra value out of this being around, it is definitely worth it.
Gix's Caress image 1.5 Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still don’t like this.
Pack 1 Pick 14: The Stone Brain
The Stone Brain image 0.0 As usual, this kind of card is unplayable in Limited. You generally don’t have the necessary knowledge of your opponent’s deck to take full advantage of a card like this, and even when you do it still isn’t very good most of the time, especially because this version lets your opponent draw a card if you hit a card in their hand! Even if you do hit a card in your opponent’s deck, you are basically going to feel like you have mulliganed, since hitting one card in your opponent’s deck just doesn’t do enough in Limited. Basically, you go down a card for no real effect on the game, and you never want that in Limited. This is a card that makes sense in constructed, where it can rip apart a combo deck – but that’s just not a thing here
Disciples of Gix image 2.0 The idea here is that you can search up stuff that you can get value out of while it is in the graveyard, and there are certainly Artifacts with Unearth in this set – but the fact it doesn’t let you search up creatures more broadly is a little frustrating, especially because the Black-Green deck in the format demands creatures be in the graveyard in particular. Still, lots of Artifacts in the set are creatures, so it will be able to help out that kind of deck a decent chunk of the time. The stats are bad, but I feel like this ETB will feel like you’re drawing a card
Pack 1 Pick 15: Military Discipline
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Draconic Destiny
Defense Grid image 0.0 Yeah, this is too narrow. It is a sweet sideboard card in constructed of course, but there aren’t decks that are just all about leaving their mana up and interacting with you on their turn. Against most decks this will do very little.
Draconic Destiny image 5.0 This looks pretty great. It gives an amazing boost to a creature, making virtually anything into a threat, and the fact that it returns to your hand when that creature dies helps get around the dangerous downside most Auras have. It isn’t quite Rancor, though. It only returns to your hand when the creature dies, not when this Aura goes to the graveyard. So, You do have to worry about your opponent removing the creature you target with it, as the potential for getting 2-for-1 is very real! But if you time it right, your opponent will have a hard time ever coming out ahead against this. Most of the time, it will just keep making another creature into a serious problem, giving your opponent a real headache
Arbalest Engineers image 3.5 You’ll probably choose to make this a three mana 3/3 with Trample and Haste most of the time, but having the option of picking off a small creature or ramping your mana is great. Any of those cards individually would be pretty good, so having the option between all three is great.
Haywire Mite image 2.0 This has plenty of targets in this format, so it is certainly a main deck card. Doesn’t hurt that it is a cheap artifact in a format that really cares about such things
Mass Production image 2.5 Six mana is a bit more than I would want to pay for four tokens at Sorcery speed, but the fact that these tokens are Artifacts makes it significantly more impressive that it might look at first. It helps you go wide and triggers your artifact things.
Goring Warplow image 2.5 Two mana for a 1/1 death touch is okay – that card is probably a 1.5. Having the option between the two makes this a 2.5
Gixian Skullflayer image 2.0 This is a nice little payoff for getting creatures in your graveyard, a strategy that looks to be well supported in the format. I do wish this enabled itself a little bit, like by milling a single card or something – but it will be able to grow with relative ease in Black/Green decks especially
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Ambush Paratrooper image 2.5 This has passable Flying stats, and in the late game it can buff the whole board. Keep in mind, too, that activated abilities in this format are all going to be easier than normal to activate thanks to power stones.
Airlift Chaplain image 3.0 Chances are decent you’ll hit something you can get back with the mill trigger, and if you don’t or choose not to get something back, you get a three mana 2/2 with Flying that loaded your graveyard some, which is pretty nice.
Scrapwork Cohort image 2.5 A 4-mana 3/1 that makes a 1/1 token is a playable card, especially in a format where one card making multiple artifacts matters. So, the fact it can Unearth and leave behind some permanent value in the form of that 1/1 is some nice late game upside to have.
Penregon Strongbull image 3.0 This looks pretty sweet. There are plenty of artifacts to sacrifice, including the powerstones that can help pay for the ability, which effectively makes this say “Sacrifice a powerstone: It gets +1/+1 and deals 1 damage to an opponent.” The ability is just very affordable, and this creature attacking with a few artifacts in play is going to be a pretty sizable problem. Love that it also damages the opponent, giving it the capability of doing some very significant damage if it goes unblocked
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Disenchant image 2.5 This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always nice.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Mechanized Warfare
Semblance Anvil image 0.0 2-for-1ing yourself to get a discount on one type of spell isn’t what you want to be doing in Limited 99% of the time. You end up really putting yourself back, and only for a discount, which is basically never what you want to do
Mechanized Warfare image 1.0 // 3.5 There are a few cards in this set that really want you to lean into a more mono-colored direction, and this is certainly one of those. The nice thing about this kind of card is that on a lot of boards it does actually impact the board right away, as it makes all of your red and artifact creatures into significantly better attackers! You won’t always have a board that can take advantage right away of course, and if you aren’t a heavy Red and/or artifact deck this just won’t be worth it anyway
Steel Exemplar image 2.5 This is going to be easier to play as a 6/6 Trampler than you might think – once again, because of powerstones! Obviously most Limited decks are two colors, so your mana base probably can’t support doing this all on its own, but if you have a few powerstones in play, it becomes much easier to cast this at full size. The fail case isn’t the worst thing ever either
Thran Power Suit image 1.5 On its own, this is a two mana to play and two to equip equipment that grants +1/+1 and Ward 2. The Ward 2 is a pretty nice thing to have, as it makes your investment in equipping it feel a little less painful.
Battlefield Butcher image 3.0 In addition to having a cost reduction built in, this activated ability will feel cheaper in this format than it would normally thanks to power stones. This seems like a nice win condition for the graveyard decks in the format.
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Powerstone Engineer image 2.0 Trading this off and getting a powerstone in the process seems fine.
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Mishra's Domination image 1.5 This has some nice flexibility, as it can be a decent removal spell for an aggro deck or a way to buff a creature. It doesn’t do either thing well, though
Swiftgear Drake image 1.5 5-mana for a 2/4 with Flying and Haste isn’t amazing, but it isn’t a completely terrible rate either – probably something like a D+, so the ETB upside here is kind of nice. You can get rid of some graveyard action your opponent is utilizing, or you can put a card back on the bottom of your library that you want to draw later
Goblin Blast-Runner image 2.0 This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good
Tomakul Scrapsmith image 2.5 You either get a three mana 3/2, or a three mana 2/1 that draws you an Artifact. Obviously the latter option is the better one, and this would be at least a 3.5 if that’s what it was – but it will only do that half the time, and the 3/2 option is less exciting. It also takes a bit of a hti because Red is not very interested in the graveyard in this set, so loading it up a little bit is unlikely to give you any extra value
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Stone Retrieval Unit image 2.5 The rate here isn’t amazing, but it is one card that adds two artifacts to the board, and ramps you. Seems solid to me
Pack 2 Pick 3: Key to the City
Key to the City image 3.5 This is a pretty nice card. Unblockability is the kind of thing that allows you to close out a game – or just allows you to pressure your opponent no matter what they are doing – and while you have to discard a card for the effect, you are ultimately just rummaging, since you can pay mana to draw a card when it untaps. Powerstones can pay for that ability too! This was nice last time we saw it, and I think it is pretty good here too.
The Temporal Anchor image 4.5 You have to pay six for this and not add to the board – and you even have to wait a whole turn to get it going. However, it effectively draws you two extra cards every single turn, which is of course absolutely absurd. You’ll just Scry 2 cards to the bottom of the library with this basically every time since you effectively draw 2 when you do that. It can even get sillier with more Scry! It is going to be pretty hard for you to lose the game if you make it to your next turn after casting this. Having to wait for that whole turn definitely hurts the Anchor’s stock, as does the fact it costs three blue mana – but I still feel like this sneaks into the lower bomb range. It just generates so much card advantage. You can even use powerstones to cast it, though obviously they aren’t going to help you with that triple Blue.
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Flow of Knowledge image 1.0 // 3.0 I don’t love this if you aren’t basically mono-blue. If you cast this with three Islands in play – a pretty common occurrence in your typical two-color Limited deck – you aren’t going to be very happy. By the later game it is likely to do a little better, but because you have to discard two you need to be drawing at least 4 with this consistently, and even that doesn’t feel great.
Whirling Strike image 1.5 This is a solid trick, as it will usually keep your creature alive, kill the opposing creature, and even do some trample damage! It gets better in a set with Prowess and other spell payoffs
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Scrapwork Rager image 3.0 This is a fun reference to Phyrexian Rager. When you cast it, it is a little bit worse, since you pay one more mana for the same effect – but the Unearth side of things means this bad boy gives you a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice.
Fallaji Chaindancer image 2.0 This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! Powerstones will make this ability easier to activate than you might think, too
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Tomakul Scrapsmith image 2.5 You either get a three mana 3/2, or a three mana 2/1 that draws you an Artifact. Obviously the latter option is the better one, and this would be at least a 3.5 if that’s what it was – but it will only do that half the time, and the 3/2 option is less exciting. It also takes a bit of a hti because Red is not very interested in the graveyard in this set, so loading it up a little bit is unlikely to give you any extra value
Pack 2 Pick 4: Fade from History
Fade from History image 0.5 This has a neat design, but I feel like it is mostly a sideboard card. This set will have a few different archetypes focused on Artifacts, and bringing this in against them is pretty good. It will usually feel well worth it to give your opponent a 2/2 and destroy a bunch of stuff. You don’t want to run this, though, if you’re interested in running Artifacts yourself – you want to use it when it is fairly one-sided. It isn’t good enough against enough decks in the format to main deck in an artifact-lite Green deck either, though
Mask of the Jadecrafter image 2.0 This is a pretty nice thing to spend powerstone mana on. It will basically never be that efficient, whether you’re using it the first time or after unearthing it, but it does give you 2 bodies in the end, and that always plays well
Fallaji Vanguard image 3.5 Kind of a bummer that this can’t buff itself and attack the turn it comes down, but it will be able to offer a boost to something else most of the time, and that creature will have a much better attack as a result! After that first turn, buffing the Vanguard will probably be the most attractive, since it has First Strike. It also counts each individual creature that enters, which means creating tokens is extra spicy.
Great Desert Prospector image 3.5 It is a bit of a bummer that this guy doesn’t count himself, so the floor on the card is a pretty ugly 5-mana 3/2. However, the ceiling can be pretty silly, as he can really enable you to ramp into artifact stuff or sink mana into activated abilities. Generally speaking, there are lots of ways to make use of power stones in the set!
Aeronaut's Wings image 2.0 +1/+0 and Flying is enough to make a creature a problem for your opponent, even if two to play and two to equip will feel a little clunky.
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Overwhelming Remorse image 3.5 A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a 3.0, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper
Conscripted Infantry image 2.5 A three mana 3/1 is far from ideal, but this does leave behind a 1/1 when it dies, meaning it is good sacrifice fodder
Survivor of Korlis image 2.5 Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty nice card
Veteran's Powerblade image 1.5 One mana to equip this is pretty nice, but three to cast is always going to feel pretty ugly. Still, it makes your solder tokens into 3/1s, which means they can swing in most cases! Obviously works with other soldiers too, but I don’t really feel like this is the soldier payoff you’re really hoping for when you draft the UW deck.
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Scrapwork Rager image 3.0 This is a fun reference to Phyrexian Rager. When you cast it, it is a little bit worse, since you pay one more mana for the same effect – but the Unearth side of things means this bad boy gives you a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Blitz Automaton
Static Net image 4.0 Paying one more mana for Oblivion Ring is already a pretty good deal, but you actually get a return on your investment in the form of life and a powerstone! That’s obviously amazing, and allows this easily to reach premium removal status.
Demolition Field image 0.0 This card is basically Field of Ruin, and that’s a card that just isn’t worth running in Limited. Sure, it can sort of fix your mana, but this format won’t have so many basic lands that you can count on that consistently, and your opponent gets some help too! It isn’t good for your mana base and it has an ability that isn’t good in Limited.
Third Path Savant image 2.0 This has a very powerful ability that draws you cards late, and if you’re flooding out or have a bunch of powerstones, that’s a nice ability to help get you out of it. It has a pretty bad stat-line until you get to that point, though.
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Lat-Nam Adept image 2.5 4-mana 3/3s have felt pretty awful lately, but this one can grow throughout the game as you draw more cards – and that’s one of the format’s main archetypes, so this will certainly have a home in the format.
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Sibling Rivalry image 0.5 // 3.0 This format has a very real Sacrifice deck in it, meaning that Sibling Rivalry is going to be pretty well-positioned, as the best thing to do with these is to steal an opposing creature or artifact and sacrifice it to one of your sacrifice outlets – like the Minotaur we saw earlier. This also gives you a powerstone, which gives you something else to sacrifice in many cases! This is definitely a build around, as it isn’t very good in just any deck in the format
Blitz Automaton image 3.0 A three mana 3/2 with Haste is right around a 2.5, so adding the more expensive upside of this being a 6/4 with Haste sometimes is nice. Yes, 7 mana for a 6/4 with Haste is an awful rate, but the modality of all of these prototype cards is great in Limited!
Recommission image 1.5 If you can consistently get back a 3 mana creature with this, it is going to feel pretty dang good, as your creature will easily be worth more than 2 mana. The problem is that you have to set this up and have the right deck make up. And while those things are doable, there will certainly be times where this is stuck in your hand.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Shoot Down
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Pyrrhic Blast image 2.5 We see these sacrifice effects a lot and they are usually kind of a pain to use, since you 2-for-1 yourself! But this gets around that by replacing itself with a draw a card effect. You can also hit any player with it, so it can finish someone off which is cool. Now, it still does require some set up that is surprisingly awkward sometimes – like you need a creature with high enough power or some sacrifice synergy or this can fall pretty flat. It is an Instant, so you can use it in response to removal and stuff which helps
Goblin Firebomb image 1.5 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal
Overwhelming Remorse image 3.5 A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a 3.0, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper
Coastal Bulwark image 2.0 Obviously, if you’re playing Blue, this is going to be a 3/3 – and a wall that can Surveil 1 is going to be a solid thing to have in more defensive decks.
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Deadly Riposte image 2.5 This is a solid removal spell for non-aggressive decks, as removing something and gaining life goes a long way towards helping you stabilize. Meanwhile, it is pretty bad in a deck that wants to be aggressive, as you’d rather have removal that can deal with blockers, and this just doesn’t! It demands a tapped creature and the creature has to be small for this to do its job, so it certainly isn’t premium.
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Llanowar Wastes
Llanowar Wastes image 2.5 These do a good job of fixing your mana for you. They will probably be a little better here than in Dominaria United, because this format doesn’t have Domain and a cycle of common dual lands that are better!
Repair and Recharge image 1.0 5 mana to reanimate something is usually a pretty disappointing card in most Limited formats, and this can’t even get back creatures if they aren’t Artifacts. While it is nice it can get both Enchantments and Artifacts, leaving creatures out is a pretty big problem, as it makes the card even more limited. If you have a lot of artifact creatures, it definitely gets better – and it can be kind of fun to use it reanimate a creature with Prototype, since they will come into play in their biggest form – and milling something like Su-Chi and reanimating with this on turn five seems pretty cool, but unfortunately I think those things will be far too challenging.
Thopter Architect image 3.5 This is a pretty nice artifact payoff, as sending your best creature into the air can result in combat shifting much more in your favor! It even counts powerstones and the like, which is nice
Lat-Nam Adept image 2.5 4-mana 3/3s have felt pretty awful lately, but this one can grow throughout the game as you draw more cards – and that’s one of the format’s main archetypes, so this will certainly have a home in the format.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Coastal Bulwark image 2.0 Obviously, if you’re playing Blue, this is going to be a 3/3 – and a wall that can Surveil 1 is going to be a solid thing to have in more defensive decks.
Airlift Chaplain image 3.0 Chances are decent you’ll hit something you can get back with the mill trigger, and if you don’t or choose not to get something back, you get a three mana 2/2 with Flying that loaded your graveyard some, which is pretty nice.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
Argoth, Sanctum of Nature image 3.5 Again, you won’t really be able to make the Meld happen very often in Limited, but the card is pretty good all on its own, so that’s okay! It will enter tapped most of the time, but the ability to generate creature tokens is pretty massive, as it lets this land add to the board in a very real way. Green/Black decks in the format love milling themselves too, although sometimes the mill part of this card will feel more like a downside than an upside. Still, you can take this pretty early – it just generates so much value for a card in the land slot
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Clay Revenant image 1.5 This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal, even with powerstones. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Gnarlroot Pallbearer image 2.0 This doesn’t have a great stat-line – but a 5/5 trampler is passable -- and the ETB trigger will be pretty effective in most Green decks, allowing you to attack with something that just couldn’t before. Still, it is rather expensive and dependent on your graveyard
Mishra's Onslaught image 1.5 You are overpaying for both modes on this card – usually each of these effects costs three. You do get some modality here, but the token effect is generally underpowered while the mass pump effect is narrow, so I think this will get cut a fair bit
Loran's Escape image 2.0 These effects have been playing pretty well lately, and I think that’s probably the case here too. Blanking removal and various other effects while also improving a creature’s ability to win combat is pretty solid.
Whirling Strike image 1.5 This is a solid trick, as it will usually keep your creature alive, kill the opposing creature, and even do some trample damage! It gets better in a set with Prowess and other spell payoffs
Pack 2 Pick 9: Haywire Mite
Haywire Mite image 2.0 This has plenty of targets in this format, so it is certainly a main deck card. Doesn’t hurt that it is a cheap artifact in a format that really cares about such things
Gixian Skullflayer image 2.0 This is a nice little payoff for getting creatures in your graveyard, a strategy that looks to be well supported in the format. I do wish this enabled itself a little bit, like by milling a single card or something – but it will be able to grow with relative ease in Black/Green decks especially
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Airlift Chaplain image 3.0 Chances are decent you’ll hit something you can get back with the mill trigger, and if you don’t or choose not to get something back, you get a three mana 2/2 with Flying that loaded your graveyard some, which is pretty nice.
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Disenchant image 2.5 This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always nice.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Goblin Blast-Runner
Semblance Anvil image 0.0 2-for-1ing yourself to get a discount on one type of spell isn’t what you want to be doing in Limited 99% of the time. You end up really putting yourself back, and only for a discount, which is basically never what you want to do
Thran Power Suit image 1.5 On its own, this is a two mana to play and two to equip equipment that grants +1/+1 and Ward 2. The Ward 2 is a pretty nice thing to have, as it makes your investment in equipping it feel a little less painful.
Swiftgear Drake image 1.5 5-mana for a 2/4 with Flying and Haste isn’t amazing, but it isn’t a completely terrible rate either – probably something like a D+, so the ETB upside here is kind of nice. You can get rid of some graveyard action your opponent is utilizing, or you can put a card back on the bottom of your library that you want to draw later
Goblin Blast-Runner image 2.0 This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Stone Retrieval Unit image 2.5 The rate here isn’t amazing, but it is one card that adds two artifacts to the board, and ramps you. Seems solid to me
Pack 2 Pick 11: The Temporal Anchor
The Temporal Anchor image 4.5 You have to pay six for this and not add to the board – and you even have to wait a whole turn to get it going. However, it effectively draws you two extra cards every single turn, which is of course absolutely absurd. You’ll just Scry 2 cards to the bottom of the library with this basically every time since you effectively draw 2 when you do that. It can even get sillier with more Scry! It is going to be pretty hard for you to lose the game if you make it to your next turn after casting this. Having to wait for that whole turn definitely hurts the Anchor’s stock, as does the fact it costs three blue mana – but I still feel like this sneaks into the lower bomb range. It just generates so much card advantage. You can even use powerstones to cast it, though obviously they aren’t going to help you with that triple Blue.
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Flow of Knowledge image 1.0 // 3.0 I don’t love this if you aren’t basically mono-blue. If you cast this with three Islands in play – a pretty common occurrence in your typical two-color Limited deck – you aren’t going to be very happy. By the later game it is likely to do a little better, but because you have to discard two you need to be drawing at least 4 with this consistently, and even that doesn’t feel great.
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Pack 2 Pick 12: Mask of the Jadecrafter
Mask of the Jadecrafter image 2.0 This is a pretty nice thing to spend powerstone mana on. It will basically never be that efficient, whether you’re using it the first time or after unearthing it, but it does give you 2 bodies in the end, and that always plays well
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Survivor of Korlis image 2.5 Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty nice card
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Pack 2 Pick 13: Desynchronize
Air Marshal image 2.5 Three mana is kind of a lot for giving Flying only to creatures with a particular type, but the good news is that it is easier than normal to produce mana to pay for abilities in this set thanks to powerstones and there are lots of soldiers. It can also target itself.
Ashnod's Intervention image 1.0 Returning the creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It can be especially nice if your creature has an ETB ability or something, but I kind of feel like the tempo hit you take in casting this to win combat is a little bit too much. This seems like it is efficient, but it really isn’t when you consider having to recast your creature. You can also use this with an Unearthed creature of course, but I still don’t feel like that’s enough upside.
Desynchronize image 2.0 5 mana is a lot, and while this does let you trade 1-for-1, since it doesn’t just bounce the permanent – it puts it on top or bottom of your opponent’s library – it also doesn’t do a great job of dealing with some really problematic permanents, which your opponent can just draw again.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Wasteful Harvest
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Pack 2 Pick 15: Tawnos's Tinkering
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Pack 3 Pick 1: Boulderbranch Golem
Ichor Wellspring image 2.5 This is another 2 mana artifact that replaces itself, and that’s nice – especially because you can also sacrifice it and turn it into a 2-for-1, something that feels pretty doable, especially in Black-Red
Fateful Handoff image 0.0 This is bad. Sure, you get to draw some cards, but giving your opponent a permanent is pretty bad. And you might be saying “Well, give them something that isn’t good!” Well..if you’re giving them a one or two mana card, it still isn’t really worth it, since you draw way fewer cards – and you still used a card to give your opponent a permanent, so you’re starting way behind when you cast this. It does work in an interesting way with Unearth, but you have to pay to Unearth the creature and cast this, which is a big ask. I guess if you feel like you have enough removal in your deck, using this and drawing into that removal could be alright, but I think overall, this is just a card to be avoided.
Gruesome Realization image 2.5 Paying three mana to draw 2 and pay 2 life is a solid card in most Limited formats, so having the option of using this to sweep away some small creatures is a nice addition
Demolition Field image 0.0 This card is basically Field of Ruin, and that’s a card that just isn’t worth running in Limited. Sure, it can sort of fix your mana, but this format won’t have so many basic lands that you can count on that consistently, and your opponent gets some help too! It isn’t good for your mana base and it has an ability that isn’t good in Limited.
Junkyard Genius image 3.5 As usual, Black-Red has a sacrifice theme – one that feels a lot like what we saw in Forgotten Realms, a few sets back. It can sacrifice creatures, but can also sacrifice a plentiful artifact token resource in the set – in this case, Powerstones. This comes with one of those stones, so you can use this ability without any extra help, and it is a pretty strong one! +1/+0 and Menace makes a board a heck of a lot more imposing, and there is plenty of other sacrifice support in the set. The one thing this doesn’t have going for it is the awful stat-line, but it largely overcomes that to be a pretty powerful signpost Uncommon
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Scatter Ray image 2.5 This looks like a very nice counterspell for the format, as creatures and artifacts are going to make up the bulk of spells in most decks. It isn’t a hard counter, but 4 mana is enough that it will be relevant all game long. One downside in this format: powerstones can be used to help pay for costs like this.
Bitter Reunion image 1.5 This is a neat take on a Tormented Voice-type effect. While the UR deck in this format cares about spells, it actually cares about all non-creature spells, so this will still trigger them like Tormented Voice would. The ability to give haste to your whole board will come up sometimes too. I think you probably cut this most of the time in any deck that doesn’t care about spells, and even in the spell deck it probably isn’t the card you’re happily shoving in your deck
Boulderbranch Golem image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 that gains you 3 life when it enters is a 2.5, and the upside here is going to be the kind of card that really allows you to stabilize, as a 6/5 that gains you 6 is going to make any opponent having a fast start very sad. This is one of Green’s best Commons
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Depth Charge Colossus image 1.0 I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. Even with powerstones I don’t think I’m playing this.
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
Recommission image 1.5 If you can consistently get back a 3 mana creature with this, it is going to feel pretty dang good, as your creature will easily be worth more than 2 mana. The problem is that you have to set this up and have the right deck make up. And while those things are doable, there will certainly be times where this is stuck in your hand.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Mishra's Research Desk
Lodestone Golem image 2.0 So, this is a 4-mana 5/3, which is close to a 2.0, and it does have an extra effect that adds a tax to non artifacts! Problem is, the effect is symmetrical, and is likely to hurt you and your opponent similar amounts. If you end up with a deck that I very heavy in artifacts and your opponent’s deck is surprisingly low on them, it will overperform.
Tawnos, the Toymaker image 0.0 // 3.0 Unfortunately, this format does not have a whole lot of Beasts or Birds in it, so successfully building around this isn’t that easy in the format. You probably need at least 2 Beasts or Birds in your deck before you consider playing this, and it is going to be difficult to end up with many more than that in the first place.
Mishra's Research Desk image 1.5 This is kind of cool, as it gives you an artifact that can draw you two cards – which yeah, that’s a 2-for-1. Problem is, when you Unearth it and sacrifice it you have to pay three mana upfront, which reduces the number of things you can actually play with the card, but at least you can play lands off of it! Sometimes you’ll also be able to treat it as sacrifice fodder, which seems fine
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Evangel of Synthesis image 3.5 A two mana ⅔ that loots on ETB is a nice card. It is also nice that this is both an enabler and a payoff for the draw extra cards deck, though it is a little sad that it will technically trigger the turn you play it, it just won’t matter
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Boulderbranch Golem image 3.5 A 4-mana 3/3 that gains you 3 life when it enters is a 2.5, and the upside here is going to be the kind of card that really allows you to stabilize, as a 6/5 that gains you 6 is going to make any opponent having a fast start very sad. This is one of Green’s best Commons
Energy Refractor image 1.5 It is a good thing this replaces itself, because it is pretty bad at filtering mana! Two mana for one mana of any color just isn’t a very good rate, though it can do it multiple times a turn because it doesn’t tap. The format does care about artifacts and noncreature spells, and one that replaces itself has some inhererent value, with the filtering part just some minor upside. It does let you make your powerstones produce colored mana, but still not efficient at all.
Aeronaut Cavalry image 3.0 You often end up paying 5 mana for 4/5 worth of stats here, and ¾ of it has flying! That’s a pretty good deal, and the format has plenty of soldiers for this to do its thing, especially in Blue-White.
Moment of Defiance image 2.0 This is a bit expensive for a trick that only boosts toughness by 1, which means that oftentimes your creature will also die, but it definitely makes up for that by drawing you a card. In situations where you creature does survive, you get a 2-for-1, and in situations where it doesn’t, you break even while gaining some life. It also draws you a card, checking the box for the Blue-Black deck. That seems fine to me
Deadly Riposte image 2.5 This is a solid removal spell for non-aggressive decks, as removing something and gaining life goes a long way towards helping you stabilize. Meanwhile, it is pretty bad in a deck that wants to be aggressive, as you’d rather have removal that can deal with blockers, and this just doesn’t! It demands a tapped creature and the creature has to be small for this to do its job, so it certainly isn’t premium.
Scrapwork Rager image 3.0 This is a fun reference to Phyrexian Rager. When you cast it, it is a little bit worse, since you pay one more mana for the same effect – but the Unearth side of things means this bad boy gives you a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice.
Scrapwork Cohort image 2.5 A 4-mana 3/1 that makes a 1/1 token is a playable card, especially in a format where one card making multiple artifacts matters. So, the fact it can Unearth and leave behind some permanent value in the form of that 1/1 is some nice late game upside to have.
Goblin Blast-Runner image 2.0 This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good
Pack 3 Pick 3: Mishra, Excavation Prodigy
Ornithopter image 1.0 This is another 0 mana artifact that doesn’t really give you a full card of value. You just don’t get enough out of playing a 0/2 Flyer to make it worth the card, and that matters a ton in Limited. This can basically come down and chump block something – and sometimes you can equip it or give it some counters, which makes things more interesting – but that’s a lot of work to make a terrible card passable
Mishra, Excavation Prodigy image 3.0 This looks like a pretty nice Uncommon. Looting is a great ability to have around in Limited, as it improves the quality of your draws – and Mishra here pays you off a little bit for discarding artifacts, since he can give you mana back. I’m not sure how often it is going to be optimal to do that, but it is nice to have the option. The stat-line is a little rough, as he can die to pretty much anything, including spells that cost 1/3rd what he does, but at least having Haste means you can usually do something with him right away
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Goblin Firebomb image 1.5 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Warlord's Elite image 1.5 A three mana 4/4 is nice and all, but not incredible, and this makes you jump through some significant hoops to actually get it into play. Tapping lands or creatures to play this feels like it will be a pretty big pain most of the time, and overall it feels like this will effectively be a 5-mana 4/4 pretty often
Power Plant Worker image 2.0 This is a fun cycle, since they all reference the original Urza lands. I think the card seems pretty decent too. The stats aren’t great, but +2/+2 for three mana isn’t the worst rate in a set with power stones everywhere. I wouldn’t count on getting all three of these in play, but you might achieve it on occasion.
Penregon Strongbull image 3.0 This looks pretty sweet. There are plenty of artifacts to sacrifice, including the powerstones that can help pay for the ability, which effectively makes this say “Sacrifice a powerstone: It gets +1/+1 and deals 1 damage to an opponent.” The ability is just very affordable, and this creature attacking with a few artifacts in play is going to be a pretty sizable problem. Love that it also damages the opponent, giving it the capability of doing some very significant damage if it goes unblocked
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Tomakul Scrapsmith image 2.5 You either get a three mana 3/2, or a three mana 2/1 that draws you an Artifact. Obviously the latter option is the better one, and this would be at least a 3.5 if that’s what it was – but it will only do that half the time, and the 3/2 option is less exciting. It also takes a bit of a hti because Red is not very interested in the graveyard in this set, so loading it up a little bit is unlikely to give you any extra value
Clay Revenant image 1.5 This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal, even with powerstones. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway
Gixian Infiltrator image 2.0 This is a solid, if unexciting sacrifice payoff that will work especially well in the Black/Red deck. It starts with decent stats and a few counters are enough to make it a threat
Pack 3 Pick 4: Tocasia's Dig Site
Chromatic Star image 2.0 Because this is a noncreature spell and an artifact that replaces itself, it is going to be very playable, as multiple decks in this format care about that stuff. It also fixes your mana of course, though it is a bit clunky if you’re just using it for those purposes
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
Loran, Disciple of History image 3.0 This will usually be a 4-mana 3/3 that gets an artifact back from the graveyard, and that’s pretty good! White is unusually good at loading the graveyard, especially if you’re going with the Black-White deck, and the format has lots of artifacts, so it seems very doable. There aren’t a lot of legendary creatures in the set, so triggering it more than once isn’t going to happen very often.
Scrapwork Cohort image 2.5 A 4-mana 3/1 that makes a 1/1 token is a playable card, especially in a format where one card making multiple artifacts matters. So, the fact it can Unearth and leave behind some permanent value in the form of that 1/1 is some nice late game upside to have.
Whirling Strike image 1.5 This is a solid trick, as it will usually keep your creature alive, kill the opposing creature, and even do some trample damage! It gets better in a set with Prowess and other spell payoffs
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Coastal Bulwark image 2.0 Obviously, if you’re playing Blue, this is going to be a 3/3 – and a wall that can Surveil 1 is going to be a solid thing to have in more defensive decks.
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Gixian Skullflayer image 2.0 This is a nice little payoff for getting creatures in your graveyard, a strategy that looks to be well supported in the format. I do wish this enabled itself a little bit, like by milling a single card or something – but it will be able to grow with relative ease in Black/Green decks especially
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Ambush Paratrooper image 2.5 This has passable Flying stats, and in the late game it can buff the whole board. Keep in mind, too, that activated abilities in this format are all going to be easier than normal to activate thanks to power stones.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Argothian Sprite
Ivory Tower image 0.0 This isn’t good in Limited. You need to be a draw go style control deck to really make this gain you life that matters, and that just doesn’t happen in Limited. This will frequently do nothing or close to nothing.
Kayla's Reconstruction image 2.0 Paying 4 for this doesn’t seem amazing, it gives you a bit of card selection and will put one thing in play. Once were’re talking about 5 or six mana, though, I get a little bit interested. That said, your deck will need the right make up for this to actually give you the value you want, and even then I feel like there’s a reasonable chance you wiff on hitting two artifacts or creature cards with the right mana value. This is definitely going to be clunky sometimes, but the fact it usually adds something to the board does make up for that a little bit.
Fallaji Archaeologist image 2.5 This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a two mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only hits noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Depth Charge Colossus image 1.0 I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. Even with powerstones I don’t think I’m playing this.
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Argothian Sprite image 2.5 This is better than it looks. There are lots of Artifact creatures in the set, including most of the format’s creature tokens, so this will be a nice attacker on many boards. Then, in the mid-to-late game you can buff it to make sure it stays relevant. As I’ve been saying, power stones make an ability like this easier to use than it looks! This looks like a quality two-drop for Green decks int he format
Tower Worker image 2.0 Ramp is a real thing in this format, so this will certainly be seeing some play. Getting the other two Assembly-Workers in play at the same time is a fun goal, but don’t count on it
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Aeronaut's Wings image 2.0 +1/+0 and Flying is enough to make a creature a problem for your opponent, even if two to play and two to equip will feel a little clunky.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Raze to the Ground
Ivory Tower image 0.0 This isn’t good in Limited. You need to be a draw go style control deck to really make this gain you life that matters, and that just doesn’t happen in Limited. This will frequently do nothing or close to nothing.
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
Tower Worker image 2.0 Ramp is a real thing in this format, so this will certainly be seeing some play. Getting the other two Assembly-Workers in play at the same time is a fun goal, but don’t count on it
Stern Lesson image 2.5 This is a solid card that will slot nicely into the spell decks and the artifact decks – especially the ramp-oriented artifact deck. Three mana to draw two and discard one on its own on an instant is usually kind of alright, and I do think the Powerstone upside here is enough for this to be a one-of in most Blue decks in the format. Any noncreature spell that draws you cards will be welcome in Blue-Red too.
Raze to the Ground image 2.5 This format does have a ton of Artifacts, so this will usually have a target, many of which will be creatures. And its also nice that it can draw you a card when it hits a cheap artifact. In a pinch you could even go after your own powerstone! However…it is a little overcosted and clunky to be that good. Three mana to kill only one permanent type, even one that is relatively plentiful in the set, just isn’t a great rate. The uncounterable clause only matters a tiny bit here too. I mean, I don’t think this is bad at all – but I think some people will see this and think it is premium, but it just won’t be
Yotian Medic image 2.0 This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks
Mishra's Juggernaut image 2.0 Boy, this is pretty disappointing for referencing an old card that was a powerhouse during Magic’s early days! 5 mana for a 5/3 with Trample that always has to attack is just a 1.5. Adding Unearth to the mix is nice for a Trampler, though
Thraxodemon image 2.0 This is a bear with some decent upside – giving up a creature or artifact to draw a card is nice, though I don’t love paying three mana for the effect – but powerstones will soften the blow some
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
Giant Growth image 2.0 Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage
Pack 3 Pick 7: Argothian Opportunist
Thopter Mechanic image 3.5 I am already in on a two mana 2/1 that makes a Thopter token when it dies, so adding the card draw upside here is just gravy!
Defabricate image 0.5 This set might have a lot of artifacts and enchantments in it, but I’m still thinking this is a bit too narrow to be good in your main deck. It can counter activated or triggered abilities, which gives it some additional uses – but it is often hard to get a full card back when you counter one of those. Yeah, this still feels like sideboard material.
Mishra's Onslaught image 1.5 You are overpaying for both modes on this card – usually each of these effects costs three. You do get some modality here, but the token effect is generally underpowered while the mass pump effect is narrow, so I think this will get cut a fair bit
Argothian Opportunist image 3.0 This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going.
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
Power Plant Worker image 2.0 This is a fun cycle, since they all reference the original Urza lands. I think the card seems pretty decent too. The stats aren’t great, but +2/+2 for three mana isn’t the worst rate in a set with power stones everywhere. I wouldn’t count on getting all three of these in play, but you might achieve it on occasion.
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Airlift Chaplain image 3.0 Chances are decent you’ll hit something you can get back with the mill trigger, and if you don’t or choose not to get something back, you get a three mana 2/2 with Flying that loaded your graveyard some, which is pretty nice.
Stone Retrieval Unit image 2.5 The rate here isn’t amazing, but it is one card that adds two artifacts to the board, and ramps you. Seems solid to me
Pack 3 Pick 8: Epic Confrontation
Slagstone Refinery image 1.0 Even in a set with a sacrifice theme going on, this doesn’t feel very good. 4 mana is a ton for something that won’t do much for at least a turn, and while the format does have a sacrifice deck, it just feels like you’re spending too much mana for minimal upside
Blanchwood Armor image 0.0 // 2.5 This is a reprint, and it is not especially good in Limited. It can offer a huge boost, especially if you’re heavy Green, but it doesn’t do enough to mitigate against the downside of getting 2-for-1’d. There are some good targets for it in the format for sure, but having one of those targets in play is additional set up in addition to needing a bunch of Forests!
Epic Confrontation image 3.5 This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this
Military Discipline image 1.5 The turn you cast this, it will definitely help your creature win combat, and then you get a permanent +1/+0 effect to stick around. This will definitely generate some serious tempo sometimes, allowing your creature to survive against something that costs a lot more mana! It does have the inherent risks auras have, and you have to be careful about playing this, but I think this seems solid.
Goblin Firebomb image 1.5 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Tocasia's Dig Site image 1.5 This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually!
Ravenous Gigamole image 2.5 This loads your graveyard, and will frequently also get you something back – when it doesn’t, it is a 4-mana ¾ -- which isn’t great, but because you’re interested in graveyard stuff, putting those cards in the graveyard definitely matters.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Demolition Field
Fateful Handoff image 0.0 This is bad. Sure, you get to draw some cards, but giving your opponent a permanent is pretty bad. And you might be saying “Well, give them something that isn’t good!” Well..if you’re giving them a one or two mana card, it still isn’t really worth it, since you draw way fewer cards – and you still used a card to give your opponent a permanent, so you’re starting way behind when you cast this. It does work in an interesting way with Unearth, but you have to pay to Unearth the creature and cast this, which is a big ask. I guess if you feel like you have enough removal in your deck, using this and drawing into that removal could be alright, but I think overall, this is just a card to be avoided.
Gruesome Realization image 2.5 Paying three mana to draw 2 and pay 2 life is a solid card in most Limited formats, so having the option of using this to sweep away some small creatures is a nice addition
Demolition Field image 0.0 This card is basically Field of Ruin, and that’s a card that just isn’t worth running in Limited. Sure, it can sort of fix your mana, but this format won’t have so many basic lands that you can count on that consistently, and your opponent gets some help too! It isn’t good for your mana base and it has an ability that isn’t good in Limited.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Urza's Rebuff image 1.5 Adding a second mode to Cancel is definitely an upgrade, but Cancel is usually a D+. Three mana counter spells that cost two blue ask a little too much of you – that’s a lot of mana to leave up - but its nice you can use this to tap some stuff down too.
Depth Charge Colossus image 1.0 I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. Even with powerstones I don’t think I’m playing this.
Dredging Claw image 1.5 +1/+0 and Menace is a decent – but not great – boost for a two mana Equipment that costs two to equip. The cool thing here is that if you have Unearth creatures, it equips for free, drastically increasing the chance that creature can crack in for some damage. While Unearth is definitely prevalent in the format, I don’t really feel like it is so prevalent that I’ll regularly be running this in my Black decks
Pack 3 Pick 10: Tawnos, the Toymaker
Tawnos, the Toymaker image 0.0 // 3.0 Unfortunately, this format does not have a whole lot of Beasts or Birds in it, so successfully building around this isn’t that easy in the format. You probably need at least 2 Beasts or Birds in your deck before you consider playing this, and it is going to be difficult to end up with many more than that in the first place.
Keeper of the Cadence image 1.0 This is a neat ability, and if you can find a way to mill yourself out, this can effectively let you choose what you draw every turn! Before you get to that point, though, you just have an overcosted creature whose ability won’t be impacting the game for quite some time. Basically, in the most controlling deck ever this is a pretty real win condition, but that kind of deck often doesn’t exist in Limited.
Evangel of Synthesis image 3.5 A two mana ⅔ that loots on ETB is a nice card. It is also nice that this is both an enabler and a payoff for the draw extra cards deck, though it is a little sad that it will technically trigger the turn you play it, it just won’t matter
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Moment of Defiance image 2.0 This is a bit expensive for a trick that only boosts toughness by 1, which means that oftentimes your creature will also die, but it definitely makes up for that by drawing you a card. In situations where you creature does survive, you get a 2-for-1, and in situations where it doesn’t, you break even while gaining some life. It also draws you a card, checking the box for the Blue-Black deck. That seems fine to me
Scrapwork Rager image 3.0 This is a fun reference to Phyrexian Rager. When you cast it, it is a little bit worse, since you pay one more mana for the same effect – but the Unearth side of things means this bad boy gives you a 2-for-1, and that’s pretty nice.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Goblin Firebomb
Arms Race image 1.0 This Artifact-only but more expensive version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play, like basically everything with Prototype. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage or get your creature chump blocked, and that’s not usually worth it. You also invest a total of 8 mana to cheat your first thing into play, and I don’t love that! You need a few things to make this worth playing – payoffs for sacrificing stuff, big artifact creatures to cheat into play, and things that give you value when they enter the battlefield or die. I feel like that’s probably asking too much of a draft or a sealed pool. This has some potential, but hard to imagine it working very consistently
Goblin Firebomb image 1.5 We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal
Wasteful Harvest image 1.5 This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Clay Revenant image 1.5 This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal, even with powerstones. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway
Pack 3 Pick 12: Shoot Down
Shoot Down image 2.5 This has a whole lot of targets in this format. It is a bit clunky as a 4 mana Sorcery, but it just feels like this will be able to deal with enough permanents in this format that I like the first copy in most Green decks
Blanchwood Prowler image 3.0 This is either a two mana 1/1 that draws you a land and loads your graveyard, or a two mana 2/2 that loads your graveyard. Both of those options are solid, and you can get some extra value out of milling yourself in Green, as the Green-Black deck is all about it
Coastal Bulwark image 2.0 Obviously, if you’re playing Blue, this is going to be a 3/3 – and a wall that can Surveil 1 is going to be a solid thing to have in more defensive decks.
Tawnos's Tinkering image 1.0 I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough
Pack 3 Pick 13: Ivory Tower
Ivory Tower image 0.0 This isn’t good in Limited. You need to be a draw go style control deck to really make this gain you life that matters, and that just doesn’t happen in Limited. This will frequently do nothing or close to nothing.
Trench Stalker image 2.0 If this always had death touch and life link, it would be a 3.5. That’s just a very real creature that can’t be ignored! Unfortunately, it doesn’t always have those keywords – though getting them online will be easy enough in the Blue-Black deck.
Retrieval Agent image 1.5 This has somewhat passable defensive stats and a nice creature type, but the ability is expensive and underwhelming – even with powerstones around.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Ivory Tower
Ivory Tower image 0.0 This isn’t good in Limited. You need to be a draw go style control deck to really make this gain you life that matters, and that just doesn’t happen in Limited. This will frequently do nothing or close to nothing.
Thran Vigil image 1.0 // 3.0 This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going in Black, as we’ve seen in this video. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Thopter Mechanic
Thopter Mechanic image 3.5 I am already in on a two mana 2/1 that makes a Thopter token when it dies, so adding the card draw upside here is just gravy!
Draft Pick Overview