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Premier Draft KHM 03.mars 2021

3 March 06:53 - abo92 7 Wins - 1 Losses
Maindeck
Creature (17)
1 Reidane, God of the Worthy image
3 Augury Raven image
1 Beskir Shieldmate image
1 Starnheim Courser image
2 Mistwalker image
2 Gods' Hall Guardian image
1 Pilfering Hawk image
2 Vega, the Watcher image
1 Codespell Cleric image
1 Story Seeker image
1 Battlefield Raptor image
1 Battershield Warrior image
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (7)
2 Mists of Littjara image
1 Saw It Coming image
1 Ravenform image
2 Bound in Gold image
1 Bind the Monster image
Land (16)
8 Island image
8 Plains image
Sideboard
1 Starnheim Courser image
1 Arni Brokenbrow image
1 Master Skald image
1 Battershield Warrior image
1 Axgard Braggart image
1 Frost Augur image
1 Koma, Cosmos Serpent image
1 Sarulf, Realm Eater image
1 Giant Ox image
1 Undersea Invader image
1 Ravenform image
1 Rune of Mortality image
1 Raise the Draugr image
1 Warhorn Blast image
1 Divine Gambit image
1 The Three Seasons image
1 Wings of the Cosmos image
1 Runed Crown image
1 Strategic Planning image
1 Mists of Littjara image
1 Great Hall of Starnheim image

Pack 1 Pick 1: Reidane, God of the Worthy
Reidane, God of the Worthy image 4.0 Like most Gods, this is pretty powerful. On the side, she is a 3-mana ⅔ with Flying and Vigilance -- already a great starting point in terms of efficiency -- but in addition to that she also significantly punishes your opponent. Making their snow lands enter tapped, and making them pay extra for big non-creature spellis is good too- and those two things can potentially combine to make your opponent wait a lot longer to cast their expensive noncreature spells. The artifact side is good too, and is definitely going to be better to play if you’re behind. It does a good job of making your creatures harder to kill, and that can be a pretty big nightmare for your opponent. All-in-all, I think that means Reidane is something you can first pick most of the time when you see it.
Path to the World Tree image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a big payoff for going five colors. On its own, it provides you with some fixing, something you often want in Limited to splash powerful cards. Worth noting this can get you snow lands if that’s what you need. Where it really gets interesting, though, is if you can utilize its activated ability -- and obviously, it can help you do that because of the fixing it gives you. That ability is no joke -- you get 2 cards, 2 life, and a 2/2 bear -- while your opponent loses 2 life and an X/2 creature. That’s the kind of late game effect that will win you games. Now, how realistic is it to be able to use that ability? I mean, you probably shouldn’t count on it, but it is doable in some decks. In decks that have a lot of fixing, this turns out to be pretty great – in decks that don’t, it is pretty bad.
Rune of Mortality image 2.5 “draw a card” to an Aura goes a long way towards making an Aura better, since it takes away a 2-for-1. The fact that these can go on any permanent means that sometimes you can effectively cycle them too, by putting them on a land if you’re manascrewed. Deathtouch is a nice keyword ability to grant, too, because it can make any creature capable of trading with any other creature, and since you drew a card off of this, a trade will feel fine.
Aegar, the Freezing Flame image 4.5 With Aegar in play, if you do more damage to a creature than it has toughness, you get to draw a card -- provided the source of that damage is a Giant, Wizard, or spell. And, of course, that includes Aegar -- which means that if a 2/2 blocks it for example, you get to draw a card. That’s pretty sweet, and this kind of card will really warp games where your opponent might have to choose between blocking more effectively, or allowing you to draw a card -- and that’s never a good choice. Obviously, the UR color pair is about spells and Giants too, so you should have at least a handful of cards in your deck that can trigger this. It isn’t difficult to draw 2-3 cards with Aegar, and I think that makes him a bomb, even if he does require a bit of work to build around.
Story Seeker image 2.0 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid. Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life. Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Mistwalker image 3.5 This card will overperform for you. 3-mana 1/4s are usually already playable, but the Changeling status and the ability to pump power makes it so that Mistwalker can do a whole lot of stuff for a three drop. It counts for your Giant payoffs, blocks effectively, and can even attack pretty hard.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Elderleaf Mentor image 2.5 This is fine. . Creatures who make two bodies are always nice -- and in the end here you get a solid deal -- 4 -mana for 4/3 worth of stats spread across two bodies. Unfortunately, the Elf deck in this format is hard to make work, and that holds it back a little bit.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Woodland Chasm image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Augury Raven
Elven Bow image 3.0 Generally, I think it is a bad plan to just straight up cast this as Equipment – when you do that, the bonus you get from them is not very good – 3 to equip is rough for +1/+2 and Reach. So normally, you want to cast this and make the elf token – which in effect, turns this into a 3-mana 2/3 with Reach that, if it dies, leaves equipment behind. And in a lot of ways, it is better than that – because you can move the Equipment before then if there’s a reason too, and even if your creature gets shut down by an Aura or bounced, you still have the Bow.
Draugr's Helm image 3.0 Two to play and four to equip for +2/+2 and Menace is just too much mana -- especially the Equip part. The good news, though, is that this normally won’t just be the equipment. If you pay 5 for it, you get a 2/2 zombie token that is equipped with it -- which means 5 for a 4/4 with Menace. That’s a decent rate, especially because if the token does die, you still have the Equipment. And, yeah, that Equip cost is pretty steep, but it also makes most creature into a threat. And, it is really just upside on a 5-mana 4/4 with Menace, and that’s not too shabby.
Bloodline Pretender image 2.5 A 3-mana 2/2 is not good. However, if you are in a tribal deck, the Pretender is going to be able to grow enough to be worth playing, especially because it also will benefit from any tribal payoffs you have. It can slot into a lot of decks in this format and be a pretty solid card.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Grim Draugr image 2.0 This is fine. It has alright stats and it can gain some evasion in the later part of the game, giving it continued relevance.
Horizon Seeker image 3.0 This card enables splashes, makes it easier to find your snow mana, and has pretty reasonable stats. He fits into any Green deck really, and that’s nice.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Infernal Pet image 2.0 You probably need to trigger this at least once to make it worth it, and since it starts out as an inefficient 3-mana 2/2, you may even want to trigger it twice before you feel okay about stuff. While that is certainly doable, I don’t really think this is going to be one of the key double spell payoffs that you need for the deck.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Shackles of Treachery image 0.5 Even in the most aggressive of decks, this card tends to be too situational to be worthwhile, and there isn’t enough of a sacrifice theme in this set to really abuse it.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Glacial Floodplain image 3.0 Like most of the snow dual lands that have White in them, this one isn’t quite as good as the others. Still, it provides fixing and snow mana, and that’s useful in this format.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Beskir Shieldmate
Rune of Mortality image 2.5 “draw a card” to an Aura goes a long way towards making an Aura better, since it takes away a 2-for-1. The fact that these can go on any permanent means that sometimes you can effectively cycle them too, by putting them on a land if you’re manascrewed. Deathtouch is a nice keyword ability to grant, too, because it can make any creature capable of trading with any other creature, and since you drew a card off of this, a trade will feel fine.
Provoke the Trolls image 2.5 4-mana to do 3 to anything is not an amazing deal, and it is definitely kept out of the “premium” tier of removal, but at least it can do it at instant speed. The additional upside here is that you can also use this as a combat trick, by targeting one of your own creatures to give it +5/+0. And, while that is certainly upside, it isn’t that much upside. First, you need the creature you target with it to survive, so that means it has at least 4 toughness. Second, if you’re using it to help you kill a blocking or attacking creature in combat, well -- you just 2-for-1’d yourself. Third, if you’re interested in using it to help you do lethal, it isn’t actually that much more damage than the card can do as a burn spell, since the 3 damage can just go after the opponent. So, yeah, on occasion you’ll use it for that stats boost -- but most of the time, this is just an okay removal spell.
Fall of the Impostor image 3.5 Three mana for a +1/+1 counter won’t make it feel like the greatest investment ever at first, and really -- even after you get the second counter it won’t feel great either -- but hey, it does impact the board a little bit at least! The most value the card gives you is with chapter three, which will typically take down your opponent’s best creature -- and that means you spent three mana for two +1/+1 counters and a removal spell, which is actually crazy efficient! It is, of course, slow -- and sometimes you’ll really wish you could just kill their creature first, but this is still really efficient.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Weigh Down image 3.0 -3/-3 for one Black mana is super efficient. Having to have a creature in the graveyard does mean this will often be dead in the early game, and sometimes even later than that -- but, all you have to do to make it work is trade with something, and if you’re doing that and getting the additional value out of that creature by exiling it to pay for this, it will feel pretty good. I think the first copy of this tends to really feel like premium removal, but you generally don’t want to run too many of them, as there is only so much fuel in your graveyard.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Beskir Shieldmate image 3.0 This is a solid two-drop. A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel pretty good. Overall, this is a nice two drop that will pretty much always make the cut
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Glittering Frost image 2.5 This card is pretty important in the 4 and 5 color Snow decks, as it helps enable your mana while also giving you two snow permanents with a single card. It is pretty much useless in aggro decks, though.
Ice Tunnel image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Starnheim Courser
Runed Crown image 3.0 You do need at least one Rune around to play this, but once you’re there, it is pretty nice because it searches up the Rune and draws you a card with that Runes ETB ability, and it also becomes a much better equipment once you do that, and usually paying 2 to Equip it feels fine once it has a Rune.
Dwarven Reinforcements image 2.0 Normally when you pay 4 mana for a couple of tokens, you expect a couple of 2/2s -- and that isn’t what you get here. However, Foretell does mean you can pay for this in two separate installments, which does help overcome that downside.
Jarl of the Forsaken image 2.0 This type of removal effect is often underwhelming. Sure, when you do manage to trigger the effect it feels pretty good, but most of the time you had to give up a card to make that effect work in the first place, so it isn’t quite as good of a deal as it might seem at first. Now, adding Foretell here does matter -- because it means it will be easier to find a window where you can actually cast and use this, as spending 2 mana on the turn you actually cast the card is significantly better.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Doomskar Oracle image 2.5 BW and UW are both color pairs interested in Foretell, and Doomskar Oracle fits well into both of those decks. It has Foretell itself, AND it is a Foretell payoff. And, the payoff it gives you isn’t the most powerful thing ever, but incidental life gain can go a long way towards helping you survive in Limited, and since it is attached to a 3-mana 3/2 with foretell, I think you’ll find yourself playing this pretty regularly in White, even if you aren’t in one of the foretell decks. The Foretell here adds up to the same amount of mana you would normally pay, you just get to do it in two installments, which could allow for more flexible turns in the future. Like with a lot of these, I think you should only be foretelling it if you have extra mana lying around, -- or if you have a bunch of foretell payoffs - since just casting it is going to be reasonable a lot of the time too.
Dread Rider image 1.0 This has some nice defensive stats and an activated ability that can close out games, but it tends to be too expensive and not powerful enough for even control decks to be interested in it.
Squash image 3.5 This is a very powerful removal spell if you’re in a Giant deck. 1R for 6 damage at instant speed is pretty incredibly efficient.. What’s nice is, 5 mana for 6 damage at instant speed isn’t completely horrendous either -- it isn’t great, mind you -- but it is the kind of removal that you’ll end up running one of a decent amount of the time. The goods news is, most Red decks will have at least a few Giants without even trying to take them, but the better news is, Giants is a very well-supported tribe in this set, and in those decks, this costing 1R won’t be that hard to achieve.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Starnheim Courser image 2.5 This has the always-okay Wind Drake stats and reasonable upside. Good Equipment and Auras are plentiful in the set, so that upside does come up!
Glittering Frost image 2.5 This card is pretty important in the 4 and 5 color Snow decks, as it helps enable your mana while also giving you two snow permanents with a single card. It is pretty much useless in aggro decks, though.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Mists of Littjara
Great Hall of Starnheim image 3.5 Because you have to give up a creature for this effect, you will often just be upgrading a creature -- or sacrificing one that has been negated by an Aura or something -- but if you have some tokens around, or creatures with death triggers, it will feel pretty good, and I think it will be often enough that ONE of those things is going on on your board in the later part of the game, which means this is just another really nice utility land that does something very real late.
Divine Gambit image 2.0 Two mana to exile any of those three types of cards is great -- but letting your opponent put their best permanent into play...not so much. Now, if yo’ure using this to deal with a super high power card, chances are good you’re downgrading their board state, but it won’t always feel like removal since they’ll get something out of the deal. You basically have to look at this as a really expensive removal spell – because you only want to play it late when your opponent can’t really take advantage of the upside. It isn’t entirely unplayable, but it is nowhere near premium removal either! It is mostly just filler.
Village Rites image 1.0 This is a reprint, and not one that I thought was particularly good in Limited. For this type of card to really be something special, you need for there to be a significant sacrifice or token sub-theme, and neither seems to be an overwhelming focus of this set, though the Elf deck might do the best of taking advantage of this. It is nice that it is an instant, so you can sacrifice something after you declare a block, or in response to an opponent’s removal, but you’re basically still just doing the same sort of thing that Tormenting Voice does. Giving up two cards to get two back. And that’s not bad it just isn’t the kind of thing you will always have roomf or in your deck. Mostly, I think you’ll only play this if you’re short on playables.
Deathknell Berserker image 2.0 There are a decent number of ways in this format to get the Berserker to 3 power, so he makes that 2/2 Zombie way more often than you might think! And when he does that, he feels quite good. That’s nice upside to have on an already okay creature stats-wise.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Dwarven Reinforcements image 2.0 Normally when you pay 4 mana for a couple of tokens, you expect a couple of 2/2s -- and that isn’t what you get here. However, Foretell does mean you can pay for this in two separate installments, which does help overcome that downside.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Master Skald
Withercrown image 1.0 So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem. This is also weakened by the presence of Good Auras, +1/+1 Counters, and Equipment, since those all mean that the creature still won’t have 0 power. It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way. That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature. You generally only play this if you didn’t get better removal spells.
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Masked Vandal image 2.5 This format has lots of things the Vandal can blow up, and that makes it a pretty nice card for your main deck. Having all creature types is nice too.
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Master Skald image 2.0 5-mana for a 4/4 that returns an artifact or enchantment is not a bad deal. And sure, you also need a creature in your graveyard to make it happen, but by turn 5 that won’t normally be an issue. There are lots of good Artifacts and Enchantments in this set, but the Skald is at his best with Sagas, since they are designed to eventually go to your graveyard in the first place. If you have at least one Saga, playing a Master Skald is usually a pretty good idea.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Jaspera Sentinel image 2.0 The fixing this offers is a big deal for the decks trying to play 3+ colors. It doesn’t have the greatest stats, and Reach isn’t very exciting, but the mana production here is nice.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Frost Augur
Port of Karfell image 3.5 Reanimating something in the late game is a huge deal, and if you have a powerful creature in play and you have Karfell Port around too, your opponent is going to be in a lot of trouble. Now, sure, 6 mana to reanimate something isn’t the most efficient thing ever -- but that’s fine, since it is really just here as a late-game effect on one of your lands.
Frost Augur image 1.0 // 3.5 Drawing more cards than your opponent is a good way to win in Limited, and this little one drop can definitely enable that. You do need to have a decent chunk of Snow permanents to make it do its thing consistently, but I think 5-7 is probably enough that you run this -- even drawing once with it is great. It will certainly be possible in this set to end up with 10+ snow cards though, and when you do, that’s when you’ll be in business. It is pretty bad in a deck without that critical mass though, so keep that in mind.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Icehide Troll image 3.0 This is a key common for Snow decks, as if you are able to pump this it becomes a pretty powerful threat. Because it asks for two snow that won’t work in every deck, but in the decks where the troll DOES work, it will be one of your best Commons.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Fearless Pup image 2.0 A one mana 1/1 with first strike is not that impressive, those are just stats that quickly become irrelevant, and in some games it will feel like you should have just played a four drop that is more impactful. Adding Boast to the mix obviously matters, though, and often just the threat of activation will mean that your opponent just takes hits from this thing. This is also another great creature to enhance with equipment, counters, and Auras.
Bind the Monster image 2.5 Blue does not often get super efficient Auras that are capable of getting a blocker out of the way with no problem, and in general it doesn’t usually get removal that can just straight up shut down most creatures – but that’s what this is. For one mana, this can deal entirely with most creatures, and sure – you’re going to take some damage, but I think it is worth it for the efficiency. Playing more than one of these can get a bit risky, since you only have so much life you can pay for an effect like this, but I think you pretty much always play the first copy, especially if you’re light on other removal.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Dread Rider image 1.0 This has some nice defensive stats and an activated ability that can close out games, but it tends to be too expensive and not powerful enough for even control decks to be interested in it.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Saw It Coming
Return Upon the Tide image 1.5 So, most of the time, if you’re reanimating an Elf with this, you’re probably not getting the largest creature -- probably a 3/3 at the most, so it is nice that if you do go for an Elf you get those tokens, which will make the 5-mana investment a little bit less of a burden. Then, if you reanimate something big, you won’t get the tokens, but you’re probably still getting your 5 mana’s worth. So, basically, if you’re in an elf deck at least, Return Upon the Tide helps you get around the downside of 5-mana reanimation spells, by giving you a wider variety of options that will feel like you are doing an okay job with the card. It also has Foretell, which means that you can pay for it in installments, though with this one you end up paying one additional total mana if you go that route -- but that will sometimes be worth doing.
Saw It Coming image 2.5 This is the kind of card with Foretell that will undoubtedly have people saying “You’ve activated my trap card!” Because it is an instant, you can cast it directly from exile, and being able to do it for only two mana is pretty nice. Sure, your overall investment will have been 4 mana, which isn’t the best in terms of efficiency, but leaving up two mana for this is going to be far easier than leaving up 3. If you know me, I’m not usually a lover of counter magic in Limited, since you have to use it during a very specific window for it to actually do something, but I think this ends up being efficient enough in the end that it will be a counterspell you want to run a lot, especially in Foretell decks. It still has all the downsides counterspells have, but by decreasing the amount you pay to cast it from Foretell, that downside is drastically reduced.
Glittering Frost image 2.5 This card is pretty important in the 4 and 5 color Snow decks, as it helps enable your mana while also giving you two snow permanents with a single card. It is pretty much useless in aggro decks, though.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Shackles of Treachery image 0.5 Even in the most aggressive of decks, this card tends to be too situational to be worthwhile, and there isn’t enough of a sacrifice theme in this set to really abuse it.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Snow-Covered Plains image 2.0 This is the least valuable snow land because White doesn’t care much about Snow.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Mistwalker
Story Seeker image 2.0 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid. Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life. Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Mistwalker image 3.5 This card will overperform for you. 3-mana 1/4s are usually already playable, but the Changeling status and the ability to pump power makes it so that Mistwalker can do a whole lot of stuff for a three drop. It counts for your Giant payoffs, blocks effectively, and can even attack pretty hard.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Annul image 0.0 This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards. It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me. It is way better to have cards that destroy this type of permanent rather than counter them, because you can draw the removal after the fact and be okay. You have to have this in your hand at the exact right time for it to do something.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Gods' Hall Guardian
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Grim Draugr image 2.0 This is fine. It has alright stats and it can gain some evasion in the later part of the game, giving it continued relevance.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Shackles of Treachery image 0.5 Even in the most aggressive of decks, this card tends to be too situational to be worthwhile, and there isn’t enough of a sacrifice theme in this set to really abuse it.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Rune of Mortality
Rune of Mortality image 2.5 “draw a card” to an Aura goes a long way towards making an Aura better, since it takes away a 2-for-1. The fact that these can go on any permanent means that sometimes you can effectively cycle them too, by putting them on a land if you’re manascrewed. Deathtouch is a nice keyword ability to grant, too, because it can make any creature capable of trading with any other creature, and since you drew a card off of this, a trade will feel fine.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Ravenform
Dwarven Reinforcements image 2.0 Normally when you pay 4 mana for a couple of tokens, you expect a couple of 2/2s -- and that isn’t what you get here. However, Foretell does mean you can pay for this in two separate installments, which does help overcome that downside.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Dread Rider image 1.0 This has some nice defensive stats and an activated ability that can close out games, but it tends to be too expensive and not powerful enough for even control decks to be interested in it.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Great Hall of Starnheim
Great Hall of Starnheim image 3.5 Because you have to give up a creature for this effect, you will often just be upgrading a creature -- or sacrificing one that has been negated by an Aura or something -- but if you have some tokens around, or creatures with death triggers, it will feel pretty good, and I think it will be often enough that ONE of those things is going on on your board in the later part of the game, which means this is just another really nice utility land that does something very real late.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Pilfering Hawk
Pilfering Hawk image 2.0 This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me! Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game. On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow. I think this is a solid card.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Raise the Draugr
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Koma, Cosmos Serpent
Koma, Cosmos Serpent image 5.0 Well, this is pretty obviously a bomb. Note that you get a serpent token every upkeep, which includes your opponents, and that’s important, because Koma can turn those Serpent tokens into powerful effects. Your opponent will basically never be able to untap and kill Koma, because by the time it gets to their main phase you will have a serpent you can sacrifice to make him indestructible, and the Serpent fuel will only keep on coming. Making things tapped and turning off activated abilities isn’t quite as powerful in Limited, but it is a nice bonus effect. Basically, Koma generates Serpetn tokens like crazy and is very difficult to kill.
Port of Karfell image 3.5 Reanimating something in the late game is a huge deal, and if you have a powerful creature in play and you have Karfell Port around too, your opponent is going to be in a lot of trouble. Now, sure, 6 mana to reanimate something isn’t the most efficient thing ever -- but that’s fine, since it is really just here as a late-game effect on one of your lands.
Basalt Ravager image 4.0 This is a 4-mana 4/2 that does 1 to something when it comes into play, even if it is all alone, and doing two with this isn’t far-fetched at all. 3+ might not be that common, but it will happen too. It is great that it can also hit players, as that is not something we always see on these red creatures with an ETB ability that damages something. I also love that it has high power, which means it can block and kill a whole lot of things, getting you that muc-needed 2-for-1. Typically, this will come down and add to your board while subtracting something from your opponents, and that type of creature is very good.
Doomskar Titan image 3.5 He might cost 6 mana, but he’s going to add a whole lot of damage to the board often enough that he is well worth it! And, if you foretell him on an earlier turn where you have mana around to do it, he’ll come down a turn earlier! Now, the downside here, is that on his own, he can’t do a ton, but keep in mind, his ability affects him too -- he becomes a 5/4 with Haste, and that isn’t the worst fail case ever -- and how often will your board be empty anyway? He does need you to be really going at least somewhat wide to do his best work, but he will have an impact even if you just have a couple of creatures.
Valor of the Worthy image 2.0 I often complain about Auras that don’t give a good boost for the mana cost, as well as auras that don’t give you value to help a 2-for-1 not feel so bad. This does kind of okay on both of those fronts, but not super well on either. The efficiency here is pretty nice when you look at the whole package - one mana for a +1/+1 Aura and a 1/1 flyer if things go wrong, but I’m still not sure I like the risk of putting this on something. +1/+1 can have an impact, but it isn’t ultra likely to be game changing, and while you only spend a single White mana, you still have some risk here, as the 1/1 you get is probably worse than whatever you put it on.
Tuskeri Firewalker image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but its Boast effect is pretty nice. You really need to only be able to play somethin off of it once to feel good about the situation, since at that point, you’re getting a 2-for-1 in most cases. It even lets you pay lands if you exile one of them. The downside with this type of effect is often that you are unable to cast the spell you exile, and that’ll happen, but I think it’ll work out often enough that this seems pretty nice to me. Even if you just attack with it and it dies in combat, if you get a card out of the Boast, you’re doing just fine. I think this is a pretty good Red common.
Berg Strider image 3.5 I always like this kind of creature that taps something down when it comes into play, but they are usually only at their best if they can lock the creature down for a turn too. Berg Strider won’t always do that, but it will do it often enough, and hey, at least it does something even if you don’t have the snow mana. It is also another snow payoff that doesn’t demand 10+ snow lands, you can run it with just a few. Tapping something down even without snow mana can often enable an attack you didn’t have otherwise, and tapping something down for a turn can really swing a race in your favor, since that creature won’t be blocking or attacking. This is certainly beefier than most of these tap-down creatures are too -- it has good enough stats to be imposing on some board states.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Masked Vandal image 2.5 This format has lots of things the Vandal can blow up, and that makes it a pretty nice card for your main deck. Having all creature types is nice too.
Bound in Gold image 4.0 So, here’s White’s usual Common Aura that is a premium removal spell. For three mana this shuts down pretty much everything -- apart from static abilities -- and that’s a really good deal. Keeping the creatures from even being able to crew vehicles is a really big deal too. This is white’s best common -- it just answers pretty much everything, and does it efficiently. It has the downsides of aura-based removal of course -- like there are ways to get rid of it -- but it is worth the risk. You can also splash it easily, which really matters in this format.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Vega, the Watcher
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Great Hall of Starnheim image 3.5 Because you have to give up a creature for this effect, you will often just be upgrading a creature -- or sacrificing one that has been negated by an Aura or something -- but if you have some tokens around, or creatures with death triggers, it will feel pretty good, and I think it will be often enough that ONE of those things is going on on your board in the later part of the game, which means this is just another really nice utility land that does something very real late.
Elven Bow image 3.0 Generally, I think it is a bad plan to just straight up cast this as Equipment – when you do that, the bonus you get from them is not very good – 3 to equip is rough for +1/+2 and Reach. So normally, you want to cast this and make the elf token – which in effect, turns this into a 3-mana 2/3 with Reach that, if it dies, leaves equipment behind. And in a lot of ways, it is better than that – because you can move the Equipment before then if there’s a reason too, and even if your creature gets shut down by an Aura or bounced, you still have the Bow.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Jaspera Sentinel image 2.0 The fixing this offers is a big deal for the decks trying to play 3+ colors. It doesn’t have the greatest stats, and Reach isn’t very exciting, but the mana production here is nice.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Horizon Seeker image 3.0 This card enables splashes, makes it easier to find your snow mana, and has pretty reasonable stats. He fits into any Green deck really, and that’s nice.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Karfell Kennel-Master image 2.5 This has been solid top-curve in Black decks. It often comes down and enables 1-2 attacks that you just couldn’t have done before, and a 4/4 body is pretty good in this format.
Story Seeker image 2.0 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid. Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life. Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.
Icehide Troll image 3.0 This is a key common for Snow decks, as if you are able to pump this it becomes a pretty powerful threat. Because it asks for two snow that won’t work in every deck, but in the decks where the troll DOES work, it will be one of your best Commons.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Sulfurous Mire image 3.5 This is a Snow land to value fairly highly. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs at lower rarities.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Battershield Warrior
Birgi, God of Storytelling image 4.0 Like most of these gods, I like both sides here. On one side you get an efficient creature that will pay you back some mana that is also a pretty nice Boast payoff -- taking away the “once a turn” part of Boasting is pretty nice. I imagine you’ll often play that side if it is earlier in the game, and you’re trying to kill your opponent quickly. The extra mana might help you double spell and things like that -- but it does get weaker as the game goes on, and you just don’t have the extra cards to play to make that mana matter. Still, Birgi is obviously really good. You also have the Harnfel side, which is a bit expensive at 5 mana -- especially because it doesn’t do anything to the board state immediately -- but if a game goes long, it is going to get silly. Pitching lands and getting to play the two top cards of your library every turn will quickly get you to the point where you are overwhelming your opponent. That card advantage is no joke!
Battershield Warrior image 3.0 That is a very nice boast effect. Obviously, a 3-mana 2/2 isn’t so good, but being able to give your whole board +1/+1 -- including itself -- is pretty nice. A lot of these Boast creatures have some serious threat of activation, and that is certainly an issue here if you are trying to block when someone attacks with this and some other creatures. There’s a good chance it will die after that first swing, but it and all of its friends will be much harder to block, so you’re probably coming out ahead in that exchange.
The Three Seasons image 1.0 This has not been very good. It seems like it might be an okay snow payoff, but it turns out that getting the most out of Chapter II is difficult, and that’s not great news when Chapter I has no immediate impact on the board. Then, Chapter III is kind of a bummer, because you have to give your opponent back some cards. Now, you can choose their worst ones and all that, but I’ve seen that side of the card backfire a lot.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Weigh Down image 3.0 -3/-3 for one Black mana is super efficient. Having to have a creature in the graveyard does mean this will often be dead in the early game, and sometimes even later than that -- but, all you have to do to make it work is trade with something, and if you’re doing that and getting the additional value out of that creature by exiling it to pay for this, it will feel pretty good. I think the first copy of this tends to really feel like premium removal, but you generally don’t want to run too many of them, as there is only so much fuel in your graveyard.
Draugr Thought-Thief image 1.5 If you’re going to be a 3-mana 3/2, you probably need to have something going on that makes those inefficient stats worth it -- and I don’t really see that here. You get some very minor card selection, and an effect that might help you put something in your graveyard. Or, alternatively, something that lets you control your opponent’s next draw a little bit, but neither of those things is that great. It is kind of equivalent to Scry 1, but in most ways, it isn’t as good as Scry 1. You will certainly play this sometimes, but you’ll also cut it a fair bit.
Seize the Spoils image 1.0 This is not an efficient way to dig deeper into your library, and while it also gives you a Treasure, you mostly should avoid playing this.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Story Seeker image 2.0 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid. Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life. Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.
Rimewood Falls image 3.0 Good Snow land. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Codespell Cleric
Path to the World Tree image 1.0 // 3.5 This is a big payoff for going five colors. On its own, it provides you with some fixing, something you often want in Limited to splash powerful cards. Worth noting this can get you snow lands if that’s what you need. Where it really gets interesting, though, is if you can utilize its activated ability -- and obviously, it can help you do that because of the fixing it gives you. That ability is no joke -- you get 2 cards, 2 life, and a 2/2 bear -- while your opponent loses 2 life and an X/2 creature. That’s the kind of late game effect that will win you games. Now, how realistic is it to be able to use that ability? I mean, you probably shouldn’t count on it, but it is doable in some decks. In decks that have a lot of fixing, this turns out to be pretty great – in decks that don’t, it is pretty bad.
Invasion of the Giants image 2.5 This Saga is really cheap, and I generally think it will give you more than two mana’s worth of value. Scry 2 helps you set up both Chapter II and III, since both of them pay you off for having a Giant in your hand. Sometimes this will just amount to Scry 2 and draw a card, but even that isn’t too bad for the investment.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
King Harald's Revenge image 1.0 I don’t like this type of card. Sure, lure-type effects are nice, but they only really get powerful if they force EVERYTHING to block something, allowing the rest of your board to get through. This will just require one block. And yeah, sometimes this will make your creature absolutely massive, and adding Trample to that is nice -- but it still seems so clunky to me. You have to wait for the absolute right window for this to work out for you -- one where you have enough creatures for it to matter -- one where forcing the block makes a difference -- and one where your opponent doesn’t have cards in hand and mana up, since if they do, you have a good chance at getting completely blown out.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Codespell Cleric image 1.0 // 2.5 So, since this is one mana, casting it as your second spell in a turn won’t be super challenging, especially in a format with Foretell. I mean, in the late game it will be a little harder, like if you’re in top deck mode, but in the early and mid-game it will just happen. For this to be worth it, it does need to be making that +1/+1 counter a significant chunk of the time, and it can do that in aggro decks. Like Battlefield Raptor, it is much better in aggressive decks than it is elsewhere.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Tuskeri Firewalker image 3.0 A 3-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but its Boast effect is pretty nice. You really need to only be able to play somethin off of it once to feel good about the situation, since at that point, you’re getting a 2-for-1 in most cases. It even lets you pay lands if you exile one of them. The downside with this type of effect is often that you are unable to cast the spell you exile, and that’ll happen, but I think it’ll work out often enough that this seems pretty nice to me. Even if you just attack with it and it dies in combat, if you get a card out of the Boast, you’re doing just fine. I think this is a pretty good Red common.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Horizon Seeker image 3.0 This card enables splashes, makes it easier to find your snow mana, and has pretty reasonable stats. He fits into any Green deck really, and that’s nice.
Snow-Covered Forest image 2.5 Green has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Mists of Littjara
Provoke the Trolls image 2.5 4-mana to do 3 to anything is not an amazing deal, and it is definitely kept out of the “premium” tier of removal, but at least it can do it at instant speed. The additional upside here is that you can also use this as a combat trick, by targeting one of your own creatures to give it +5/+0. And, while that is certainly upside, it isn’t that much upside. First, you need the creature you target with it to survive, so that means it has at least 4 toughness. Second, if you’re using it to help you kill a blocking or attacking creature in combat, well -- you just 2-for-1’d yourself. Third, if you’re interested in using it to help you do lethal, it isn’t actually that much more damage than the card can do as a burn spell, since the 3 damage can just go after the opponent. So, yeah, on occasion you’ll use it for that stats boost -- but most of the time, this is just an okay removal spell.
Divine Gambit image 2.0 Two mana to exile any of those three types of cards is great -- but letting your opponent put their best permanent into play...not so much. Now, if yo’ure using this to deal with a super high power card, chances are good you’re downgrading their board state, but it won’t always feel like removal since they’ll get something out of the deal. You basically have to look at this as a really expensive removal spell – because you only want to play it late when your opponent can’t really take advantage of the upside. It isn’t entirely unplayable, but it is nowhere near premium removal either! It is mostly just filler.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Dwarven Reinforcements image 2.0 Normally when you pay 4 mana for a couple of tokens, you expect a couple of 2/2s -- and that isn’t what you get here. However, Foretell does mean you can pay for this in two separate installments, which does help overcome that downside.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Sculptor of Winter image 3.0 A two-mana 2/2 is passable. Additionally, the fact it can untap snow lands is pretty nice too, since it will allow you to ramp, and produce two snow mana off of one snow land, which matters for many cards in this set.
Fearless Pup image 2.0 A one mana 1/1 with first strike is not that impressive, those are just stats that quickly become irrelevant, and in some games it will feel like you should have just played a four drop that is more impactful. Adding Boast to the mix obviously matters, though, and often just the threat of activation will mean that your opponent just takes hits from this thing. This is also another great creature to enhance with equipment, counters, and Auras.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Axgard Braggart
The Three Seasons image 1.0 This has not been very good. It seems like it might be an okay snow payoff, but it turns out that getting the most out of Chapter II is difficult, and that’s not great news when Chapter I has no immediate impact on the board. Then, Chapter III is kind of a bummer, because you have to give your opponent back some cards. Now, you can choose their worst ones and all that, but I’ve seen that side of the card backfire a lot.
Axgard Braggart image 2.0 So, this card will never really be efficient. I mean, it starts as a 4-mana 3/3, and even if you boast with it, you’ll have spent 6 mana on a 4/4. However, efficiency isn’t everything. The fact is that this creature can grow throughout the game, and just the threat of using the ability will be enough for people not to block it when it attacks. Boast creatures a lot of the time will just end up feeling like situational mana sinks, and that’s not necessarily bad. The pseudo-vigilance it gains when it Boasts isn’t bad either.
Skull Raid image 2.0 Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited. In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3. Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often. This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand. Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall. Foretell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.
Run Amok image 2.5 This is a key card for aggro decks in this format. If you’re going hard in that direction, this becomes a pretty high pick. It often lets you run over an opposing creature and do opposing damage, and can result in lethal out of nowhere. It isn’t especially good in other decks, though.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Bind the Monster image 2.5 Blue does not often get super efficient Auras that are capable of getting a blocker out of the way with no problem, and in general it doesn’t usually get removal that can just straight up shut down most creatures – but that’s what this is. For one mana, this can deal entirely with most creatures, and sure – you’re going to take some damage, but I think it is worth it for the efficiency. Playing more than one of these can get a bit risky, since you only have so much life you can pay for an effect like this, but I think you pretty much always play the first copy, especially if you’re light on other removal.
Snakeskin Veil image 1.5 This is a decent combat trick. It doesn’t give the biggest boost ever, even for one mana. Basically with tricks, you’re looking for the ones that can do the best job of helping your creature win combat, and you want to do it as efficiently as possible. One usually expects at least a +2/+2 boost from a one mana trick, and this doesn’t deliver there. However, it does grant a creature hexproof, and that means that it also has utility outside of combat -- plus, the boost it gives is permanent, so it isn’t SUPER far away from +2/+2.
Icehide Troll image 3.0 This is a key common for Snow decks, as if you are able to pump this it becomes a pretty powerful threat. Because it asks for two snow that won’t work in every deck, but in the decks where the troll DOES work, it will be one of your best Commons.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Snow-Covered Plains image 2.0 This is the least valuable snow land because White doesn’t care much about Snow.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Bound in Gold
Skemfar Shadowsage image 2.5 This set is a lot less tribal than it looks, and the Elf deck isn’t particularly good, so the Shadowsage has really underperformed. Afterall, you do have to have at least two creatures in play that share a type for this to do anything . It doesn’t have the worst stats for 4 mana, as a ⅖ is a decentish defensive body. The set up here is just harder than one might think. I’m not saying it is bad exactly, just not as good as it would be in a super tribal set.
Doomskar Titan image 3.5 He might cost 6 mana, but he’s going to add a whole lot of damage to the board often enough that he is well worth it! And, if you foretell him on an earlier turn where you have mana around to do it, he’ll come down a turn earlier! Now, the downside here, is that on his own, he can’t do a ton, but keep in mind, his ability affects him too -- he becomes a 5/4 with Haste, and that isn’t the worst fail case ever -- and how often will your board be empty anyway? He does need you to be really going at least somewhat wide to do his best work, but he will have an impact even if you just have a couple of creatures.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Snakeskin Veil image 1.5 This is a decent combat trick. It doesn’t give the biggest boost ever, even for one mana. Basically with tricks, you’re looking for the ones that can do the best job of helping your creature win combat, and you want to do it as efficiently as possible. One usually expects at least a +2/+2 boost from a one mana trick, and this doesn’t deliver there. However, it does grant a creature hexproof, and that means that it also has utility outside of combat -- plus, the boost it gives is permanent, so it isn’t SUPER far away from +2/+2.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Draugr Thought-Thief image 1.5 If you’re going to be a 3-mana 3/2, you probably need to have something going on that makes those inefficient stats worth it -- and I don’t really see that here. You get some very minor card selection, and an effect that might help you put something in your graveyard. Or, alternatively, something that lets you control your opponent’s next draw a little bit, but neither of those things is that great. It is kind of equivalent to Scry 1, but in most ways, it isn’t as good as Scry 1. You will certainly play this sometimes, but you’ll also cut it a fair bit.
Shackles of Treachery image 0.5 Even in the most aggressive of decks, this card tends to be too situational to be worthwhile, and there isn’t enough of a sacrifice theme in this set to really abuse it.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Bound in Gold image 4.0 So, here’s White’s usual Common Aura that is a premium removal spell. For three mana this shuts down pretty much everything -- apart from static abilities -- and that’s a really good deal. Keeping the creatures from even being able to crew vehicles is a really big deal too. This is white’s best common -- it just answers pretty much everything, and does it efficiently. It has the downsides of aura-based removal of course -- like there are ways to get rid of it -- but it is worth the risk. You can also splash it easily, which really matters in this format.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Battershield Warrior
Saw It Coming image 2.5 This is the kind of card with Foretell that will undoubtedly have people saying “You’ve activated my trap card!” Because it is an instant, you can cast it directly from exile, and being able to do it for only two mana is pretty nice. Sure, your overall investment will have been 4 mana, which isn’t the best in terms of efficiency, but leaving up two mana for this is going to be far easier than leaving up 3. If you know me, I’m not usually a lover of counter magic in Limited, since you have to use it during a very specific window for it to actually do something, but I think this ends up being efficient enough in the end that it will be a counterspell you want to run a lot, especially in Foretell decks. It still has all the downsides counterspells have, but by decreasing the amount you pay to cast it from Foretell, that downside is drastically reduced.
Battershield Warrior image 3.0 That is a very nice boast effect. Obviously, a 3-mana 2/2 isn’t so good, but being able to give your whole board +1/+1 -- including itself -- is pretty nice. A lot of these Boast creatures have some serious threat of activation, and that is certainly an issue here if you are trying to block when someone attacks with this and some other creatures. There’s a good chance it will die after that first swing, but it and all of its friends will be much harder to block, so you’re probably coming out ahead in that exchange.
Grim Draugr image 2.0 This is fine. It has alright stats and it can gain some evasion in the later part of the game, giving it continued relevance.
Infernal Pet image 2.0 You probably need to trigger this at least once to make it worth it, and since it starts out as an inefficient 3-mana 2/2, you may even want to trigger it twice before you feel okay about stuff. While that is certainly doable, I don’t really think this is going to be one of the key double spell payoffs that you need for the deck.
Icehide Troll image 3.0 This is a key common for Snow decks, as if you are able to pump this it becomes a pretty powerful threat. Because it asks for two snow that won’t work in every deck, but in the decks where the troll DOES work, it will be one of your best Commons.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Valor of the Worthy image 2.0 I often complain about Auras that don’t give a good boost for the mana cost, as well as auras that don’t give you value to help a 2-for-1 not feel so bad. This does kind of okay on both of those fronts, but not super well on either. The efficiency here is pretty nice when you look at the whole package - one mana for a +1/+1 Aura and a 1/1 flyer if things go wrong, but I’m still not sure I like the risk of putting this on something. +1/+1 can have an impact, but it isn’t ultra likely to be game changing, and while you only spend a single White mana, you still have some risk here, as the 1/1 you get is probably worse than whatever you put it on.
Jarl of the Forsaken image 2.0 This type of removal effect is often underwhelming. Sure, when you do manage to trigger the effect it feels pretty good, but most of the time you had to give up a card to make that effect work in the first place, so it isn’t quite as good of a deal as it might seem at first. Now, adding Foretell here does matter -- because it means it will be easier to find a window where you can actually cast and use this, as spending 2 mana on the turn you actually cast the card is significantly better.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Bound in Gold
Port of Karfell image 3.5 Reanimating something in the late game is a huge deal, and if you have a powerful creature in play and you have Karfell Port around too, your opponent is going to be in a lot of trouble. Now, sure, 6 mana to reanimate something isn’t the most efficient thing ever -- but that’s fine, since it is really just here as a late-game effect on one of your lands.
Valor of the Worthy image 2.0 I often complain about Auras that don’t give a good boost for the mana cost, as well as auras that don’t give you value to help a 2-for-1 not feel so bad. This does kind of okay on both of those fronts, but not super well on either. The efficiency here is pretty nice when you look at the whole package - one mana for a +1/+1 Aura and a 1/1 flyer if things go wrong, but I’m still not sure I like the risk of putting this on something. +1/+1 can have an impact, but it isn’t ultra likely to be game changing, and while you only spend a single White mana, you still have some risk here, as the 1/1 you get is probably worse than whatever you put it on.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Bound in Gold image 4.0 So, here’s White’s usual Common Aura that is a premium removal spell. For three mana this shuts down pretty much everything -- apart from static abilities -- and that’s a really good deal. Keeping the creatures from even being able to crew vehicles is a really big deal too. This is white’s best common -- it just answers pretty much everything, and does it efficiently. It has the downsides of aura-based removal of course -- like there are ways to get rid of it -- but it is worth the risk. You can also splash it easily, which really matters in this format.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Story Seeker
Great Hall of Starnheim image 3.5 Because you have to give up a creature for this effect, you will often just be upgrading a creature -- or sacrificing one that has been negated by an Aura or something -- but if you have some tokens around, or creatures with death triggers, it will feel pretty good, and I think it will be often enough that ONE of those things is going on on your board in the later part of the game, which means this is just another really nice utility land that does something very real late.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Story Seeker image 2.0 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid. Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life. Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Battlefield Raptor
The Three Seasons image 1.0 This has not been very good. It seems like it might be an okay snow payoff, but it turns out that getting the most out of Chapter II is difficult, and that’s not great news when Chapter I has no immediate impact on the board. Then, Chapter III is kind of a bummer, because you have to give your opponent back some cards. Now, you can choose their worst ones and all that, but I’ve seen that side of the card backfire a lot.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Story Seeker image 2.0 Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid. Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life. Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Warhorn Blast
Tormentor's Helm image 2.5 Like Run Amok, this is a great card for aggressive decks, as it gives an efficient stats boost and can even help you close out a game because of the inevitable damage every time you attack, but it isn’t really very good anywhere else.
Warhorn Blast image 1.0 // 3.0 So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks. This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing. Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around. If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often. Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Divine Gambit
Divine Gambit image 2.0 Two mana to exile any of those three types of cards is great -- but letting your opponent put their best permanent into play...not so much. Now, if yo’ure using this to deal with a super high power card, chances are good you’re downgrading their board state, but it won’t always feel like removal since they’ll get something out of the deal. You basically have to look at this as a really expensive removal spell – because you only want to play it late when your opponent can’t really take advantage of the upside. It isn’t entirely unplayable, but it is nowhere near premium removal either! It is mostly just filler.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Pack 2 Pick 14: The Three Seasons
The Three Seasons image 1.0 This has not been very good. It seems like it might be an okay snow payoff, but it turns out that getting the most out of Chapter II is difficult, and that’s not great news when Chapter I has no immediate impact on the board. Then, Chapter III is kind of a bummer, because you have to give your opponent back some cards. Now, you can choose their worst ones and all that, but I’ve seen that side of the card backfire a lot.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Wings of the Cosmos
Wings of the Cosmos image 1.0 This trick is mostly not worth playing. You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air. But -- a trick is a trick. It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Arni Brokenbrow
Arni Brokenbrow image 3.5 A 3-mana 3/3 with Haste is already pretty nice, and the Boast here is pretty nice. It is one of the cheaper ones in the set, so you don’t have to go out of your way to activate it, and because it has Haste, you will sometimes be able to play it and smash your opponent right away with an enlarged Arni. Now, if Arni is your biggest creature, the Boast ability does absolutely nothing, but that’s the fail case on what is already a pretty efficient card.
Kaya's Onslaught image 3.0 Three mana for +1/+1 and double strike is something that you’ll play sometimes, and that’s what this is at a base level. That type of boost makes it very likely that your creature will be able to win combat, and it can also manufacture lethal damage out of nowhere. The problem that all tricks have, though, is that you can really get blown out if your opponent can interact in response, and if you have to pay all three mana for this in a single turn, it also makes it harder for you to play another spell on the same turn. But, by splitting this into two payments, you will more easily find windows where it is worth the risk, since paying a single White mana is way easier than paying three in the same turn. Now, as I often say -- it is still a trick, and even this one has the problems all tricks have: they are highly situational, and you are risking a blowout. That said, this is a nice enough trick that you’ll almost always run it in a White deck with a reasonable number of creatures. It can win the game out of nowhere sometimes!
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Aegar, the Freezing Flame image 4.5 With Aegar in play, if you do more damage to a creature than it has toughness, you get to draw a card -- provided the source of that damage is a Giant, Wizard, or spell. And, of course, that includes Aegar -- which means that if a 2/2 blocks it for example, you get to draw a card. That’s pretty sweet, and this kind of card will really warp games where your opponent might have to choose between blocking more effectively, or allowing you to draw a card -- and that’s never a good choice. Obviously, the UR color pair is about spells and Giants too, so you should have at least a handful of cards in your deck that can trigger this. It isn’t difficult to draw 2-3 cards with Aegar, and I think that makes him a bomb, even if he does require a bit of work to build around.
Demonic Gifts image 1.5 This type of trick is usually alright. The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies. This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability. It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too. It is still a trick, and the situational nature of them keeps most of them from ever being especially good.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Breakneck Berserker image 2.0 Three mana 3/2s with Haste are just fine in aggressive decks. It also has a couple of useful creature types, so that’s nice.
Elderfang Disciple image 1.5 A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases. Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card. Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, and those are serious limitations, but this seems decent enough.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.0 This is a card we’ve seen a lot of, and generally I don’t like running it. It is super weird in this format too, because you’ll go up against aggro decks who have 0-2 targets for this, and against snow decks who will have like 7+. I think that really means you have to start it in your sideboard, since it will be so bad against a big part of the metagame.
Sarulf's Packmate image 4.0 This is a great common. A 4-mana 3/3 that draws you a card is already a good card. It is going to give you a two-for-one almost every time, especially because the stats it has are actually passable for the mana cost. Then, you add foretold to the mix, which in this case lets you pay for the card in two separate installments, and you have a card that is super powerful for a common.
Battlefield Raptor image 1.5 // 3.5 This is a key card for aggressive decks. It wears the cheap Equipment and Auras it he format well, and suiting it up early can often win games. If you’re an aggro deck, you’re never cutting this, and it will be one of the best things you can do on turn one. Obviously, it isn’t very good anywhere else, so keep that in mind.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Arachnoform image 1.0 This set has a lot of nice Auras, but Arachnoform isn’t one of them. It doesn’t mitigate agains the 2-for-1, and the bonus it grants is not significant enough for me to be interested in taking a risk. +2/+2, reach, and changeling status just doesn’t do it for me.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Mistwalker
Frenzied Raider image 2.5 This is a nice Boast payoff, and will give you another bonus to get while you’re attacking that could further complicate combat. There is a lot of Boast in Red, so it isn’t too hard to make him work in most Red decks.
Immersturm Skullcairn image 3.0 I think this is weaker that the others in this cycle because one of its effects often has diminished returns by the late game - in particular, the discard a card part of the card. Mostly, this will give you some reach, and maybe you end up getting some useful card out of your opponent’s hand, but it won’t line up that way very often. It is still a land that does something useful in the later game, and I’m always on board for that.
Forging the Tyrite Sword image 0.5 You mostly don’t want to be playing this. It has little impact on the board early, and that’s not something RW is interested in – and neither is Treasure for the most part. The one situation where you do consider playing this is if you have Halvar in your deck, as he is one of the best cards in the format, and giving up some tempo to search him up in a couple turns is worth it.
Feed the Serpent image 3.5 This has been surprisingly disappointing in this set. Black is a weak color overall and it isn’t easy to splash, and it is too slow to combat aggro decks. That doesn’t mean it isn’t still quite good, mind you, just that it would normally be even better. It is still easily Black’s best commons and can deal with a whole lot of stuff!
Demonic Gifts image 1.5 This type of trick is usually alright. The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies. This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability. It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too. It is still a trick, and the situational nature of them keeps most of them from ever being especially good.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Gnottvold Recluse image 2.0 Most spiders we see come with low power and high toughness. This makes them good at repeatedly blocking smaller flyers, but not so good at actually killing them. Gnottvold Recluse is different, in that it has higher power and lower toughness. This means it is going to be better at blocking and killing larger flyers, but a lot worse at repeatedly blocking flyers. 3-mana for a 4/2 line is often a borderline playable card even without Reach, and I think adding Reach to the mix here means you will feel fine about playing the first copy of this. Though, it would be nice if it were a snow permanent or something.
Guardian Gladewalker image 2.5 So, we see versions of this card all the time -- and they are always pretty nice commons for Green. The +1/+1 counter ETB trigger makes it so that it is relevant all game long -- often times a single counter is enough to enable attacks you just didn’t have before. And, you know, sometimes, this is just a two-mana 2/2, like in the early game. Adding changeling to the mix is significant upside on an already pretty good Green common.
Axgard Braggart image 2.0 So, this card will never really be efficient. I mean, it starts as a 4-mana 3/3, and even if you boast with it, you’ll have spent 6 mana on a 4/4. However, efficiency isn’t everything. The fact is that this creature can grow throughout the game, and just the threat of using the ability will be enough for people not to block it when it attacks. Boast creatures a lot of the time will just end up feeling like situational mana sinks, and that’s not necessarily bad. The pseudo-vigilance it gains when it Boasts isn’t bad either.
Mistwalker image 3.5 This card will overperform for you. 3-mana 1/4s are usually already playable, but the Changeling status and the ability to pump power makes it so that Mistwalker can do a whole lot of stuff for a three drop. It counts for your Giant payoffs, blocks effectively, and can even attack pretty hard.
Rimewood Falls image 3.0 Good Snow land. It gives you snow mana and fixing, and it is in colors that have some nice snow payoffs.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Sarulf, Realm Eater
Sarulf, Realm Eater image 4.5 So, a 3-mana 3/3 that gets a +1/+1 counter every time an opposing permanent goes to the graveyard is pretty good. Sure, sometimes it will just get killed before gaining in size at all, but it is a creature that gets more imposing throughout the game, and it does a good job on the vanilla test anyway. Sarulf adds to that the ability to remove all of its counters during your upkeep to exile all nonland permanents with a CMC less than or equal to the number of counters. You get to decide when to do it, so you can always do it at an opportune time – like when it hurts your opponent a ton and doesn’t hurt you nearly as much.
Kaya's Onslaught image 3.0 Three mana for +1/+1 and double strike is something that you’ll play sometimes, and that’s what this is at a base level. That type of boost makes it very likely that your creature will be able to win combat, and it can also manufacture lethal damage out of nowhere. The problem that all tricks have, though, is that you can really get blown out if your opponent can interact in response, and if you have to pay all three mana for this in a single turn, it also makes it harder for you to play another spell on the same turn. But, by splitting this into two payments, you will more easily find windows where it is worth the risk, since paying a single White mana is way easier than paying three in the same turn. Now, as I often say -- it is still a trick, and even this one has the problems all tricks have: they are highly situational, and you are risking a blowout. That said, this is a nice enough trick that you’ll almost always run it in a White deck with a reasonable number of creatures. It can win the game out of nowhere sometimes!
Struggle for Skemfar image 3.5 So, this is a strictly better Hunt the Weak. And, while I think Hunt the Weak seems a bit weaker these days thani t used to, it was always a solid card. The +1/+1 counter makes it so more of your creatures are capable of killing opposing creatures, and yeah -- you do have to be super cautious with this, since if your opponent interacts in response it will be a blow out -- but it still does a pretty good job at getting creatures out of the way for Green decks. Adding Foretell to this is great -- because in this case, you actually end up paying less total mana. Additionally, by only costing Green the turn you cast it, it means you can play a new creature and have it fight right away, and in general, it will mean that it is easier for you to find a safe window to cast it, since you don’t need a whole bunch of mana to make it do its thing. This is premium removal for Green.
Shackles of Treachery image 0.5 Even in the most aggressive of decks, this card tends to be too situational to be worthwhile, and there isn’t enough of a sacrifice theme in this set to really abuse it.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Village Rites image 1.0 This is a reprint, and not one that I thought was particularly good in Limited. For this type of card to really be something special, you need for there to be a significant sacrifice or token sub-theme, and neither seems to be an overwhelming focus of this set, though the Elf deck might do the best of taking advantage of this. It is nice that it is an instant, so you can sacrifice something after you declare a block, or in response to an opponent’s removal, but you’re basically still just doing the same sort of thing that Tormenting Voice does. Giving up two cards to get two back. And that’s not bad it just isn’t the kind of thing you will always have roomf or in your deck. Mostly, I think you’ll only play this if you’re short on playables.
Giant Ox image 1.0 This is kind of a cool design. A two mana 0/6 is a card that you’ll play sometimes in really controlling decks, but this guy is also capable of crewing basically everything despite being only two mana. That said, this set isn’t exactly brimming with quality Vehicles – something I am pretty disappointed about, so I still don’t think most decks will be playing him – though, pairing him with the Plow is pretty funny.
Horizon Seeker image 3.0 This card enables splashes, makes it easier to find your snow mana, and has pretty reasonable stats. He fits into any Green deck really, and that’s nice.
Frostpeak Yeti image 1.5 So, this is a Hill Giant that can become unblockable if you have some Snow mana. That certainly isn’t a good card, but if you are in a controlling Snow deck and you need a win condition well...you probably hope this isn’t it, but it can do the job if you need it to.
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Bound in Gold image 4.0 So, here’s White’s usual Common Aura that is a premium removal spell. For three mana this shuts down pretty much everything -- apart from static abilities -- and that’s a really good deal. Keeping the creatures from even being able to crew vehicles is a really big deal too. This is white’s best common -- it just answers pretty much everything, and does it efficiently. It has the downsides of aura-based removal of course -- like there are ways to get rid of it -- but it is worth the risk. You can also splash it easily, which really matters in this format.
Snow-Covered Forest image 2.5 Green has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Augury Raven
Harald, King of Skemfar image 3.0 In many BG decks Harald is a 3-mana 3/2 with Menace that draws you a card, and that’s pretty nice. Unfortunately, BG is one of the weaker color pairs in the format, and that holds him back significantly. The other Elf payoffs are pretty disappointing.
Guardian Gladewalker image 2.5 So, we see versions of this card all the time -- and they are always pretty nice commons for Green. The +1/+1 counter ETB trigger makes it so that it is relevant all game long -- often times a single counter is enough to enable attacks you just didn’t have before. And, you know, sometimes, this is just a two-mana 2/2, like in the early game. Adding changeling to the mix is significant upside on an already pretty good Green common.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Raven Wings image 1.5 This is fine. 2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big guys into the air is particularly appealing.
Village Rites image 1.0 This is a reprint, and not one that I thought was particularly good in Limited. For this type of card to really be something special, you need for there to be a significant sacrifice or token sub-theme, and neither seems to be an overwhelming focus of this set, though the Elf deck might do the best of taking advantage of this. It is nice that it is an instant, so you can sacrifice something after you declare a block, or in response to an opponent’s removal, but you’re basically still just doing the same sort of thing that Tormenting Voice does. Giving up two cards to get two back. And that’s not bad it just isn’t the kind of thing you will always have roomf or in your deck. Mostly, I think you’ll only play this if you’re short on playables.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Valor of the Worthy image 2.0 I often complain about Auras that don’t give a good boost for the mana cost, as well as auras that don’t give you value to help a 2-for-1 not feel so bad. This does kind of okay on both of those fronts, but not super well on either. The efficiency here is pretty nice when you look at the whole package - one mana for a +1/+1 Aura and a 1/1 flyer if things go wrong, but I’m still not sure I like the risk of putting this on something. +1/+1 can have an impact, but it isn’t ultra likely to be game changing, and while you only spend a single White mana, you still have some risk here, as the 1/1 you get is probably worse than whatever you put it on.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Glittering Frost image 2.5 This card is pretty important in the 4 and 5 color Snow decks, as it helps enable your mana while also giving you two snow permanents with a single card. It is pretty much useless in aggro decks, though.
Glacial Floodplain image 3.0 Like most of the snow dual lands that have White in them, this one isn’t quite as good as the others. Still, it provides fixing and snow mana, and that’s useful in this format.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Bind the Monster
Frenzied Raider image 2.5 This is a nice Boast payoff, and will give you another bonus to get while you’re attacking that could further complicate combat. There is a lot of Boast in Red, so it isn’t too hard to make him work in most Red decks.
Koll, the Forgemaster image 3.5 This guy is pretty scary in RW decks, as making all of your Equipped and Enchanted creatures come back to your hand is a really big deal. The token pumping part comes up less often, but he’s still pretty good overall.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Starnheim Courser image 2.5 This has the always-okay Wind Drake stats and reasonable upside. Good Equipment and Auras are plentiful in the set, so that upside does come up!
Broken Wings image 1.5 This card is very mainboardable in this format because it has lots of good targets. It still isn’t great or anything, though.
Grim Draugr image 2.0 This is fine. It has alright stats and it can gain some evasion in the later part of the game, giving it continued relevance.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Codespell Cleric image 1.0 // 2.5 So, since this is one mana, casting it as your second spell in a turn won’t be super challenging, especially in a format with Foretell. I mean, in the late game it will be a little harder, like if you’re in top deck mode, but in the early and mid-game it will just happen. For this to be worth it, it does need to be making that +1/+1 counter a significant chunk of the time, and it can do that in aggro decks. Like Battlefield Raptor, it is much better in aggressive decks than it is elsewhere.
Bind the Monster image 2.5 Blue does not often get super efficient Auras that are capable of getting a blocker out of the way with no problem, and in general it doesn’t usually get removal that can just straight up shut down most creatures – but that’s what this is. For one mana, this can deal entirely with most creatures, and sure – you’re going to take some damage, but I think it is worth it for the efficiency. Playing more than one of these can get a bit risky, since you only have so much life you can pay for an effect like this, but I think you pretty much always play the first copy, especially if you’re light on other removal.
Smashing Success image 0.0 Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited. This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it. And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, but you still shouldn’t play it.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Runed Crown
Runed Crown image 3.0 You do need at least one Rune around to play this, but once you’re there, it is pretty nice because it searches up the Rune and draws you a card with that Runes ETB ability, and it also becomes a much better equipment once you do that, and usually paying 2 to Equip it feels fine once it has a Rune.
Undersea Invader image 1.0 One of the great things about flash is being able to ambush block, and you won't be doing that here because it enters tapped. It might be a giant, but it is mostly just an inefficient creature. If it wasn't a Giant you probably wouldn't play it all.
Ravenous Lindwurm image 2.5 This is this format’s premier Common finisher. The efficient stats and life gain it grants you can turn around a lot of games, and if you’re in a mid-range or slow Green deck, you’ll be pretty happy with the Lindwurm.
Vault Robber image 1.0 This is something you mostly won’t play. You could do worse if you are desperate for fixing, but the fact he is reliant on stuff in the graveyard to make Treasure can be rough, and his stats aren’t very good.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Karfell Kennel-Master image 2.5 This has been solid top-curve in Black decks. It often comes down and enables 1-2 attacks that you just couldn’t have done before, and a 4/4 body is pretty good in this format.
Draugr Recruiter image 1.5 So, this is definitely a Boast ability that is all about the late game. The boast is expensive, and also asks for cards in the graveyard, but if you do get to use this late, and attack with this Recruiter in a situation where the best your opponent can do is trade with it or chump block it, it is going to be pretty nice. That said, by the late game, a 4-mana 3/3 won’t always be capable of making that situation happen. Sometimes, if you have something good enough in your graveyard, it will be worth the bad attack, but it is still kind of a rough deal. I think I will probably cut this a little more than I play it.
Goldmaw Champion image 3.0 This really helps aggro decks in the format run over the slow, plodding control decks. They often don't have very many creatures in play, and that drastically increases how powerful the Champions ability is. It just enables all kinds of attack you wouldn't have without it.
Cinderheart Giant image 1.5 So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting. It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice. It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.
Snow-Covered Swamp image 2.5 Black has some nice snow payoffs, so you should value this over most average cards.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Augury Raven
Rune of Mortality image 2.5 “draw a card” to an Aura goes a long way towards making an Aura better, since it takes away a 2-for-1. The fact that these can go on any permanent means that sometimes you can effectively cycle them too, by putting them on a land if you’re manascrewed. Deathtouch is a nice keyword ability to grant, too, because it can make any creature capable of trading with any other creature, and since you drew a card off of this, a trade will feel fine.
Spectral Steel image 2.0 A two mana aura that gives +2/+2 is alright, but not usually worth the risk. Auras put you at great risk of getting blown out by a 2-for-1, so for them to be worth it, they have to do something to mitigate that risk, and Spirit Blade does that. Once it is in your graveyard you can use it to get back an Aura or Equipment, meaning that it pays you back for the card that you gave up in using it. It also means that if it gets milled, it can give you some nice graveyard value. Now, the question really is -- how often will it be able to get something back? And I think the answer is -- sometimes, but not all the time. Still, this gives a nice boost, and is a great thing to put on your one drop – and then has some late game utility. That all seems solid to me.
Revitalize image 0.5 This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time. Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.
Augury Raven image 3.0 A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that! Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Snakeskin Veil image 1.5 This is a decent combat trick. It doesn’t give the biggest boost ever, even for one mana. Basically with tricks, you’re looking for the ones that can do the best job of helping your creature win combat, and you want to do it as efficiently as possible. One usually expects at least a +2/+2 boost from a one mana trick, and this doesn’t deliver there. However, it does grant a creature hexproof, and that means that it also has utility outside of combat -- plus, the boost it gives is permanent, so it isn’t SUPER far away from +2/+2.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Karfell Kennel-Master image 2.5 This has been solid top-curve in Black decks. It often comes down and enables 1-2 attacks that you just couldn’t have done before, and a 4/4 body is pretty good in this format.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Strategic Planning
Duskwielder image 1.0 You’ll play this in really aggressive Black decks, but even then you’re kind of hoping you’ll get a better one drop than this! Overall, this is quickly outclassed on the board, and the Boast effect doesn’t do enough to help that.
Karfell Kennel-Master image 2.5 This has been solid top-curve in Black decks. It often comes down and enables 1-2 attacks that you just couldn’t have done before, and a 4/4 body is pretty good in this format.
Koma's Faithful image 2.0 This seems solid. A 3-mana 3/1 with lifelink isn’t a terrible rate -- trading for an X/3 and gaining 3 life in the process isn’t bad, and it comes with some additional upside. Now, the graveyard isn’t a huge theme in this set, but there is some synergy to be had there.
Undersea Invader image 1.0 One of the great things about flash is being able to ambush block, and you won't be doing that here because it enters tapped. It might be a giant, but it is mostly just an inefficient creature. If it wasn't a Giant you probably wouldn't play it all.
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Immersturm Raider image 1.5 We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same. It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.
Raiders' Karve image 1.5 Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly. If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright. That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.
Snow-Covered Plains image 2.0 This is the least valuable snow land because White doesn’t care much about Snow.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Vega, the Watcher
Vega, the Watcher image 3.5 Even if you only draw one card with Vega you are going to feel pretty good about your investment, since it has such reasonable stats to begin with. Drawing that one card isn’t too challenging, either!
Demonic Gifts image 1.5 This type of trick is usually alright. The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies. This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability. It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too. It is still a trick, and the situational nature of them keeps most of them from ever being especially good.
Funeral Longboat image 1.5 This is a decent vehicle. Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time. And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.
Breakneck Berserker image 2.0 Three mana 3/2s with Haste are just fine in aggressive decks. It also has a couple of useful creature types, so that’s nice.
Disdainful Stroke image 1.0 This is a card we’ve seen a lot of, and generally I don’t like running it. It is super weird in this format too, because you’ll go up against aggro decks who have 0-2 targets for this, and against snow decks who will have like 7+. I think that really means you have to start it in your sideboard, since it will be so bad against a big part of the metagame.
Open the Omenpaths image 0.0 This is a card a lot of people will play when they are desperate for fixing – but don’t do it. Ritual effects like this aren’t good in Limited, you two for one yourself for some fixing and a small mana boost, and that card disadvantage is likely to cause you to lose the game. The alternate mode this has doesn’t help make any more playable either.
Snow-Covered Island image 2.5 Blue has some nice snow payoffs, and that means you should be valuing this Snow land over most average cards.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Gods' Hall Guardian
Immersturm Skullcairn image 3.0 I think this is weaker that the others in this cycle because one of its effects often has diminished returns by the late game - in particular, the discard a card part of the card. Mostly, this will give you some reach, and maybe you end up getting some useful card out of your opponent’s hand, but it won’t line up that way very often. It is still a land that does something useful in the later game, and I’m always on board for that.
Demonic Gifts image 1.5 This type of trick is usually alright. The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies. This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability. It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too. It is still a trick, and the situational nature of them keeps most of them from ever being especially good.
Brinebarrow Intruder image 1.0 This doesn’t seem especially good. It is easy to imagine situations where you flash it in and killed a 3/1 or something, but it is mostly too situational to be worth playing. That decrease to power just doesn’t do enough often enough. You mostly won’t play this.
Gods' Hall Guardian image 2.0 This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice. Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit. Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive – but it is already borderline playable. It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.
Hagi Mob image 1.5 This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine. Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too. It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.
Dogged Pursuit image 1.0 Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life. If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me. Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside. You’ll be cutting this a lot, it really takes the right deck for it to be worth it.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Giant Ox
Shackles of Treachery image 0.5 Even in the most aggressive of decks, this card tends to be too situational to be worthwhile, and there isn’t enough of a sacrifice theme in this set to really abuse it.
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Giant Ox image 1.0 This is kind of a cool design. A two mana 0/6 is a card that you’ll play sometimes in really controlling decks, but this guy is also capable of crewing basically everything despite being only two mana. That said, this set isn’t exactly brimming with quality Vehicles – something I am pretty disappointed about, so I still don’t think most decks will be playing him – though, pairing him with the Plow is pretty funny.
Frostpeak Yeti image 1.5 So, this is a Hill Giant that can become unblockable if you have some Snow mana. That certainly isn’t a good card, but if you are in a controlling Snow deck and you need a win condition well...you probably hope this isn’t it, but it can do the job if you need it to.
Mammoth Growth image 1.5 This is a decent trick. Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat. The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this. Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Ravenform
Scorn Effigy image 1.0 This is efficient, but it doesn’t have impressive stats in the end. It can help decks with lots of double-spell payoffs, but that’s really the only place its worth it.
Village Rites image 1.0 This is a reprint, and not one that I thought was particularly good in Limited. For this type of card to really be something special, you need for there to be a significant sacrifice or token sub-theme, and neither seems to be an overwhelming focus of this set, though the Elf deck might do the best of taking advantage of this. It is nice that it is an instant, so you can sacrifice something after you declare a block, or in response to an opponent’s removal, but you’re basically still just doing the same sort of thing that Tormenting Voice does. Giving up two cards to get two back. And that’s not bad it just isn’t the kind of thing you will always have roomf or in your deck. Mostly, I think you’ll only play this if you’re short on playables.
Ravenform image 2.0 Cards that remove a creature but then give your opponent a token tend to be really unimpressive in Limited. The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer. That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around. I’m not saying this card is bad. It isn’t. It is cheap and can deal with lots of things. It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice, but this isn’t close to being premium removal.
Raise the Draugr image 2.0 Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that! Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome. You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want. I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed. And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal. But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Starnheim Courser
Strategic Planning image 1.0 For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard. These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal. They aren’t bad, but you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature most of the time.
Starnheim Courser image 2.5 This has the always-okay Wind Drake stats and reasonable upside. Good Equipment and Auras are plentiful in the set, so that upside does come up!
Grim Draugr image 2.0 This is fine. It has alright stats and it can gain some evasion in the later part of the game, giving it continued relevance.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Undersea Invader
Undersea Invader image 1.0 One of the great things about flash is being able to ambush block, and you won't be doing that here because it enters tapped. It might be a giant, but it is mostly just an inefficient creature. If it wasn't a Giant you probably wouldn't play it all.
Draugr Recruiter image 1.5 So, this is definitely a Boast ability that is all about the late game. The boast is expensive, and also asks for cards in the graveyard, but if you do get to use this late, and attack with this Recruiter in a situation where the best your opponent can do is trade with it or chump block it, it is going to be pretty nice. That said, by the late game, a 4-mana 3/3 won’t always be capable of making that situation happen. Sometimes, if you have something good enough in your graveyard, it will be worth the bad attack, but it is still kind of a rough deal. I think I will probably cut this a little more than I play it.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Mists of Littjara
Mists of Littjara image 1.5 This type of Blue removal spell is always pretty alright. The fact you can’t use it to keep a creature from still being a good blocker can be annoying sometimes, but the fact it can also shut down vehicles and has Flash do make up for that a little bit. The Flash side of it will sometimes allow you to double block and kill something, while keeping both of your creatures, and when you can make this trade 1-for-1 it is going to feel good. That won’t be the regular occurrence, I don’t think – but it will happen often enough that you’ll play this if you need removal.
Draft Pick Overview