Starfield of Nyx
0 // 3.5 This looks like a more legit Limited buildaround than it did last time we saw it, as this format has tons of Enchantments -- but it's still going to be difficult to really get it going. If you have like 10+ Enchantments I say go for it, but anything less and it'll be tough to get going.
Triplicate Spirits
4 This was an amazing card last time we saw it, as you can usually get those spirits for very little mana. They get better in multiples too!
Shipbreaker Kraken
2 A 6-mana 6/6 is a reasonable top-curve creature -- and if this ever goest Monstrous you probably win the game, as it's probably smashing in for 10 all on it's own. Problem is, getting to 8 mana doesn't happen that often in Limited.
Anax and Cymede
4 A three mana 3/2 with first strike and vigilance is already pretty good -- and this Heroic trigger can be devastating.
Steam Augury
3 I don't love that this doesn't add to the board, but it's usually going to draw you a few card and stock your graveyard.
Pilgrim's Eye
3.5 The body you get is bad, but it draws you a card that usually fixes your mana. It's great fixing.
Silundi Vision
2 This is super situational, and not all decks will really be able to get a card out of it. But in decks that can, it's a land with some pretty solid upside.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Opal Lake Gatekeepers
0 // 2.5 This is a solid build around for gates decks, where it's virtually always a 2-for-1.
Akoum Warrior
2.5 You'd never play a card that's always a 6-mana 4/5 trample, but this is a land in the early game -- and it's a land that if you draw late, adds a pretty real body to the board.
Lyev Skyknight
3.5 This removes a creature from the equation for a whole turn, while adding a pretty solid body to the board. That's some seroius tempo.
Boros Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Thopter Engineer
3.5 Getting a 1/3 and a 1/1 with Haste for three mana is excellent, and this makes your other artifact creatures better, too.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Dreadbore
Zephyr Winder
2.5 This basically gives itself or another creature pseudo-vigilance. You're not going to usually be able to pull off any shenanigans, but a two mana 2/1 flyer with this ability is pretty solid anyway.
Dinrova Horror
3.5 Adding a 4/4 body to the board, bouncing something, and making your opponent discard is very nice for six mana -- and sometimes it can effectively destroy the creature it bounces.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Savage Punch
3 When you have Ferocious this is incredible. When you don't, it's pretty bad. Good news is, Green decks will often get there on Ferocious.
Witch's Mark
2.5 You get a pretty good return on your two mana investment + a card, since you add something to the board while digging deeper into your deck.
Gnarlback Rhino
3.5 This has a nice baseline, and while it doesn't technically have "Heroic" it works the same way. Combat tricks and fight spells are the Rhino's best friend, and there's enough of that in the format for this to be pretty amazing.
Sejiri Shelter
2.5 This is a more situational modal double-faced land, but it's always nice when a land has the potential to be a real card.
Halo Scarab
1.5 This was pretty weak last time we saw it, and it will be here too. It has bad stats, and while getting Treasure can be nice, paying 2 mana for it isn't.
Essence Scatter
3 This counters most spells and is easy to cast. It can generate some great tempo.
Gateway Plaza
2.5 This is a bit clunky since you need to effectively spend a mana on it, but the gate typing definitely matters.
Pelakka Predation
3 Having a free discard spell attached to a land is surprisingly good. You won't always hit something with Predation, but it's great disruption when you can -- and if you're pretty sure that effect won't do anything, you can always play it as a land.
Simic Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Fog
0 Fog is terrible in Limited. It's easy to imagine the ideal scenario -- your opponent swings out and you Fog, and then swing back for lethal. But that scenario is incredibly rare. Most of the time, you go down a card for an almost meaningless effect.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Dinrova Horror
Zephyr Winder
2.5 This basically gives itself or another creature pseudo-vigilance. You're not going to usually be able to pull off any shenanigans, but a two mana 2/1 flyer with this ability is pretty solid anyway.
Dinrova Horror
3.5 Adding a 4/4 body to the board, bouncing something, and making your opponent discard is very nice for six mana -- and sometimes it can effectively destroy the creature it bounces.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Savage Punch
3 When you have Ferocious this is incredible. When you don't, it's pretty bad. Good news is, Green decks will often get there on Ferocious.
Witch's Mark
2.5 You get a pretty good return on your two mana investment + a card, since you add something to the board while digging deeper into your deck.
Gnarlback Rhino
3.5 This has a nice baseline, and while it doesn't technically have "Heroic" it works the same way. Combat tricks and fight spells are the Rhino's best friend, and there's enough of that in the format for this to be pretty amazing.
Sejiri Shelter
2.5 This is a more situational modal double-faced land, but it's always nice when a land has the potential to be a real card.
Halo Scarab
1.5 This was pretty weak last time we saw it, and it will be here too. It has bad stats, and while getting Treasure can be nice, paying 2 mana for it isn't.
Essence Scatter
3 This counters most spells and is easy to cast. It can generate some great tempo.
Gateway Plaza
2.5 This is a bit clunky since you need to effectively spend a mana on it, but the gate typing definitely matters.
Pelakka Predation
3 Having a free discard spell attached to a land is surprisingly good. You won't always hit something with Predation, but it's great disruption when you can -- and if you're pretty sure that effect won't do anything, you can always play it as a land.
Simic Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Fog
0 Fog is terrible in Limited. It's easy to imagine the ideal scenario -- your opponent swings out and you Fog, and then swing back for lethal. But that scenario is incredibly rare. Most of the time, you go down a card for an almost meaningless effect.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Stab Wound
Kiora's Follower
3 This is good at ramping your mana, and it can also give creatures pseudo-vigilance or help you reuse activated abilities.
Seed Guardian
4 Without even trying, this will usually leave behind at least a 1/1, and by the later stages of the game killing this will result in a huge monster token.
Stab Wound
3.5 This can outright kill something small, but it's almost better when you put it on a creature that doesn't die. Turning a 4/4 into a 2/2 is usually enough to take away it's relevance, and Stab Wound can bleed your opponent out surprisingly quickly.
Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
0 // 3 This is unplayable if you don't have like 6+ gates, but if you do it's a pretty nice payoff.
Consider
2.5 This is always a nice card selection spell, and in a format with plenty of Prowess and similar effects, it'll be solid.
Tah-Crop Skirmisher
2.5 You get two bodies out of one card which is always nice, even if they are overcosted in both cases.
Zendikar Incarnate
2 This is just a big vanilla creature. It'll never feel bad, but it'll never feel great either.
Sejiri Shelter
2.5 This is a more situational modal double-faced land, but it's always nice when a land has the potential to be a real card.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Gnarlback Rhino
3.5 This has a nice baseline, and while it doesn't technically have "Heroic" it works the same way. Combat tricks and fight spells are the Rhino's best friend, and there's enough of that in the format for this to be pretty amazing.
Gateway Plaza
2.5 This is a bit clunky since you need to effectively spend a mana on it, but the gate typing definitely matters.
Boros Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Goblin Heelcutter
Rapid Hybridization
0 This is terrible in Limited. If you use it on your opponent's creature, you effectively 2-for-1 yourself, and using it on your own is only moderately better.
Seed Guardian
4 Without even trying, this will usually leave behind at least a 1/1, and by the later stages of the game killing this will result in a huge monster token.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Opal Lake Gatekeepers
0 // 2.5 This is a solid build around for gates decks, where it's virtually always a 2-for-1.
Devour Flesh
2 Edicts are nice, but letting your opponent gain life isn't the best. You can use it to gain life yourself in a pinch, but if you're forced to 2-for-1 yourself like that, you're probably losing.
Gateway Plaza
2.5 This is a bit clunky since you need to effectively spend a mana on it, but the gate typing definitely matters.
Khalni Ambush
3 The Ambush is a mediocre removal spell, but having a land that can also be a removal spell is amazing.
Gruul Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Goblin Heelcutter
3.5 This was an excellent Common last time we saw it. Turning off blockers is an aggro deck's dream, and the Heelcutter can Dash in and do it every turn. Your opponent also has to account for it every single turn, or risk dying.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Rakdos Guildgate
Bala Ged Recovery
3.5 You'll always play this as a land early, and then in the late game it can get your best card back from the graveyard -- which is often exactly what you want at that stage of the game.
Shipbreaker Kraken
2 A 6-mana 6/6 is a reasonable top-curve creature -- and if this ever goest Monstrous you probably win the game, as it's probably smashing in for 10 all on it's own. Problem is, getting to 8 mana doesn't happen that often in Limited.
Opal Lake Gatekeepers
0 // 2.5 This is a solid build around for gates decks, where it's virtually always a 2-for-1.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Nivix Cyclops
2 This will be able to rumble as a 4/4 a decent chunk of the time in Blue-Red, but you're only getting a slightly above-rate deal when that's the case.
Skyrider Elf
2.5 This is a two mana 2/2 Flyer at worst, and with Gates in the format it isn't impossible for it to be a 4-mana 4/4 flyer or a 5-mana 5/5 flyer.
Purphoros's Emissary
2.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Menace is passable, and if you draw it late, it's likely to drastically improve your attack.
Rakdos Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Stain the Mind
0 These "Lobotomy" effects are always terrible in Limited. It's tough to name the right card, and even if you do, you're spending lots of mana and/or tapping a bunch of creatures without affecting the board at all, and there are many games where you just whiff entirely.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Orzhov Guildgate
Clear Shot
4 This is always an excellent Uncommon. It's very easy to destroy creatures with on most board states, and sometimes you even get a 2-for-1.
Silundi Vision
2 This is super situational, and not all decks will really be able to get a card out of it. But in decks that can, it's a land with some pretty solid upside.
Skyrider Elf
2.5 This is a two mana 2/2 Flyer at worst, and with Gates in the format it isn't impossible for it to be a 4-mana 4/4 flyer or a 5-mana 5/5 flyer.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Gladecover Scout
1 // 3.5 This is a great creature to augment thanks to hexproof, but it's very bad if you can't do that.
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 A one mana 0/4 is kind of brutal, but buffing this is plenty doable in the format.
Baleful Eidolon
2 This doesn't feel great either way you cast it, but the flexibility keeps it from being too bad.
Orzhov Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Cavern Lampad
2 As with many Bestow cards, both modes are kind of underwhelming, but the modality keeps it from being terrible.
Pack 1 Pick 8: Imperious Oligarch
Humble Defector
2.5 This is better than it looks! Sure, symmetrical draw isn't awesome -- nor is giving your opponent a card, but you always get to draw cards with it first, and that makes a huge difference. It can get especially nice if you sacrifice it in response to the ability.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 These give you good fixing, though there isn't much additional synergy in the format for it.
Imperious Oligarch
3.5 This is ultimately 2 mana for a 2/1 with Vigilance and a 1/1 Flyer. While you don't get both of those at the same time, the fact remains that you are getting a great rate.
Read the Bones
2.5 This is always a nice draw spell. You can see up to 4 cards, which is great for 3 mana.
Ghostblade Eidolon
1.5 A three mana 1/1 with double strike is way too fragile to be great, and paying 6 for +1/+1 and double strike doesn't really move the needle either.
Windrider Patrol
2 This is a bit overcosted, but the combat damage trigger is nice.
Gladecover Scout
1 // 3.5 This is a great creature to augment thanks to hexproof, but it's very bad if you can't do that.
Sungrace Pegasus
2 This is a nice place to put counters or Auras, but is fairly underwhelming otherwise.
Pack 1 Pick 9: Pilgrim's Eye
Steam Augury
3 I don't love that this doesn't add to the board, but it's usually going to draw you a few card and stock your graveyard.
Pilgrim's Eye
3.5 The body you get is bad, but it draws you a card that usually fixes your mana. It's great fixing.
Silundi Vision
2 This is super situational, and not all decks will really be able to get a card out of it. But in decks that can, it's a land with some pretty solid upside.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Opal Lake Gatekeepers
0 // 2.5 This is a solid build around for gates decks, where it's virtually always a 2-for-1.
Pack 1 Pick 10: Read the Bones
Stormtide Leviathan
2.5 8 mana is a lot, but this does often win you the game even if you're really far behind. Your opponent can't attack you, and they end up taking 8 a turn.
Bala Ged Recovery
3.5 You'll always play this as a land early, and then in the late game it can get your best card back from the graveyard -- which is often exactly what you want at that stage of the game.
Alpha Authority
1 This looks pretty exciting -- but it's kind of like Swiftfoot Boots -- that is to say, awful in Limited, because the creature you put it on already has to be good, and that really limits it's utility.
Unravel the Aether
0.5 This is mostly sideboard material in the format. You can't count on there being a permanent it can hit.
Read the Bones
2.5 This is always a nice draw spell. You can see up to 4 cards, which is great for 3 mana.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Silumgar Butcher
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Savage Punch
3 When you have Ferocious this is incredible. When you don't, it's pretty bad. Good news is, Green decks will often get there on Ferocious.
Pelakka Predation
3 Having a free discard spell attached to a land is surprisingly good. You won't always hit something with Predation, but it's great disruption when you can -- and if you're pretty sure that effect won't do anything, you can always play it as a land.
Simic Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Fog
0 Fog is terrible in Limited. It's easy to imagine the ideal scenario -- your opponent swings out and you Fog, and then swing back for lethal. But that scenario is incredibly rare. Most of the time, you go down a card for an almost meaningless effect.
Pack 1 Pick 12: Boulder Salvo
Kiora's Follower
3 This is good at ramping your mana, and it can also give creatures pseudo-vigilance or help you reuse activated abilities.
Tah-Crop Skirmisher
2.5 You get two bodies out of one card which is always nice, even if they are overcosted in both cases.
Zendikar Incarnate
2 This is just a big vanilla creature. It'll never feel bad, but it'll never feel great either.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Pack 1 Pick 13: Boulder Salvo
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Gateway Plaza
2.5 This is a bit clunky since you need to effectively spend a mana on it, but the gate typing definitely matters.
Khalni Ambush
3 The Ambush is a mediocre removal spell, but having a land that can also be a removal spell is amazing.
Pack 1 Pick 14: Nivix Cyclops
Nivix Cyclops
2 This will be able to rumble as a 4/4 a decent chunk of the time in Blue-Red, but you're only getting a slightly above-rate deal when that's the case.
Skyrider Elf
2.5 This is a two mana 2/2 Flyer at worst, and with Gates in the format it isn't impossible for it to be a 4-mana 4/4 flyer or a 5-mana 5/5 flyer.
Pack 1 Pick 15: Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 A one mana 0/4 is kind of brutal, but buffing this is plenty doable in the format.
Pack 2 Pick 1: Ob Nixilis's Cruelty
Oath of Nissa
2.5 This is a nice card selection spell, and while the Planeswalker sheet is around, it's other effect might actually come up.
Tenth District Legionnaire
3.5 This is a strong Heroic trigger, since it permanently grows the Legionnaire while also improving your draws -- which can often mean more heroic triggers.
Rescue from the Underworld
1.5 This is a reanimation spell that requires you to have a creature for it to do it's thing -- with the added upside of potentially triggering that creature's death and/or enters trigger. Still, it's way too fiddly to work out very often.
Archway Angel
1.5 // 4 This was a pretty legit buildaround last time we saw it. Gate decks really want this card, since they often have slow starts because they are playing so many colors and so many tap lands, the Angel helps even things out on turn 5, and often pulls you ahead. If you don't have lots of gates though, she's pretty bad.
Gate Colossus
0 // 4.0 This is a very powerful gate payoff, since you can get it down ahead of schedule and bring it back pretty easily. It's unplayable outside of the gate deck, though.
Purphoros's Emissary
2.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Menace is passable, and if you draw it late, it's likely to drastically improve your attack.
Pilgrim's Eye
3.5 The body you get is bad, but it draws you a card that usually fixes your mana. It's great fixing.
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 A one mana 0/4 is kind of brutal, but buffing this is plenty doable in the format.
Leafcrown Dryad
2.5 This feels fine on two, and Bestowing it for 4 is often going to make one of your creatures much more effective.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Ob Nixilis's Cruelty
4 This kills almost anything for three mana, and even turns off graveyard shenanigans -- including death triggers.
Selesnya Charm
3.5 Making a 2/2 for two is fine, and while the other two modes are more situational, they are both great in the right situation.
Windrider Patrol
2 This is a bit overcosted, but the combat damage trigger is nice.
Rakdos Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Goblin Heelcutter
3.5 This was an excellent Common last time we saw it. Turning off blockers is an aggro deck's dream, and the Heelcutter can Dash in and do it every turn. Your opponent also has to account for it every single turn, or risk dying.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Hero of Iroas
Oath of Nissa
2.5 This is a nice card selection spell, and while the Planeswalker sheet is around, it's other effect might actually come up.
Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma
4 The attack trigger counts itself, so even if it's all alone it attacks as a 5/4 trampler, and there's a good chance that you have plenty of other cards that this makes much better.
Crackdown Construct
0 The base stat-line is awful, and buffing the Construct isn't particularly easy.
Steam Augury
3 I don't love that this doesn't add to the board, but it's usually going to draw you a few card and stock your graveyard.
Consider
2.5 This is always a nice card selection spell, and in a format with plenty of Prowess and similar effects, it'll be solid.
Cloudfin Raptor
2 This is awesome on turn one -- and a lot less awesome the rest of the game, since it's unlikely to grow quite as much. It's a terrible topdeck, too.
Gust of Wind
2.5 Paying two for this feels pretty incredible, as it replaces itself and gives you some nice tempo. Paying 4 makes it a little harder to feel good about the tempo, but that's a passable card too.
Dragon Mantle
2.5 This is a nice way to trigger heroic since it replaces itself, and that also makes it have a very reasonable baseline.
Hero of Iroas
3.5 The baseline here is nice, and the format has enough ways to target him -- including Auras -- that the upside is very accessible.
Rimrock Knight
3.5 This was surprisignly great last time we saw it. The buff doesn't always let your creature survive combat, but even just chipping in for extra damage and then adding a 3/1 to the board is a pretty good deal.
Pelakka Predation
3 Having a free discard spell attached to a land is surprisingly good. You won't always hit something with Predation, but it's great disruption when you can -- and if you're pretty sure that effect won't do anything, you can always play it as a land.
Silundi Vision
2 This is super situational, and not all decks will really be able to get a card out of it. But in decks that can, it's a land with some pretty solid upside.
Izzet Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Call the Gatewatch
0 // 1.5 There's going to be a planeswalker bonus sheet during part of this set's run, and when that's the case it might be sort of kind of playable, but you're still basically paying 3 extra mana for it, which tends to make a card a lot worse.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Dreadbore
Behold the Beyond
1.5 7 mana is a lot, but this does draw the three best cards in your deck. Granted...you probably have to wait a full turn to use them, and if you ever have cards in your hand when you cast it, it's pretty terrible.
Extricator of Sin
3 Turning a land or something else expendable into a 3/2 is pretty sweet, and once it transforms it maintains the ability to churn out tokens while granting itself and all those tokens Vigilance.
Stormchaser Mage
3.5 This is tough to block all game long because of Prowess, and if you get it down early it can put the game away on it's own.
Steward of Solidarity
4 This can attack like mos ttwo mana 2/2s early, and then it can crank out a 1/1 for free every couple of turns once it can't attack anymore. That's pretty great.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Essence Scatter
3 This counters most spells and is easy to cast. It can generate some great tempo.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Dreadbore
4 Two mana to kill any creature or planeswalker is an incredible deal. This will be extra good when the Planeswalker bonus sheet is around.
Leafcrown Dryad
2.5 This feels fine on two, and Bestowing it for 4 is often going to make one of your creatures much more effective.
Witch's Mark
2.5 You get a pretty good return on your two mana investment + a card, since you add something to the board while digging deeper into your deck.
Keening Apparition
2 This has okay stats, and the format has enough Enchantments for this ability to be relevant sometimes.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 These give you good fixing, though there isn't much additional synergy in the format for it.
Golgari Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Swift Reckoning
Shamanic Revelation
2 This is always kind of a win-more card. If you have enough creatures in play to draw a bunch of cards, you're probably already winning.
Dark Deal
0 This kind of card is almost never going to do something good. Sure, maybe you make your opponent discard some cards they wanted to hold on to, but that upside is negated by the fact that you are the one who used the card -- and it's just as likely that they draw into what they were looking for.
Seed Guardian
4 Without even trying, this will usually leave behind at least a 1/1, and by the later stages of the game killing this will result in a huge monster token.
Knightly Valor
2.5 This effectively adds 4/4 worth of Vigilance stats to the board, and 2/2 of it basically has Haste. Adding that body to the board really helps offset the downside Auras usually have.
Ingenious Skaab
3 2/3s with Prowess tend to feel pretty good, as the high toughness that can go even higher makes them tough to block, and the Skaab is a pretty nice threat even when you can't trigger Prowess, because your opponent has to respect it.
Swift Reckoning
2.5 It's efficient, but when it doesn't have Flash it's pretty bad -- since it means that your opponent will force you to deal with an attack before you kill their thing.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Lotus-Eye Mystics
2 The stat-line is bad, and even in a format with a decent number of Enchantments, you frequently don't have one to get back.
Nimbus Naiad
2 Wind Drake isn't that exciting, but it's sort of passable, and in the late game putting this on just about any creature makes it a major threat.
Nemesis of Mortals
1 // 3 This is pretty bad in most decks, but if you're good at loading the graveyard it's a pretty slid threat.
Azorius Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Reckless Bushwhacker
2.5 Surging this is where you really want to be, and it can add tons of damage to the board whether you Surge it or cast it normally. It's not great if you're behind, though.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Hero of Iroas
Dinrova Horror
3.5 Adding a 4/4 body to the board, bouncing something, and making your opponent discard is very nice for six mana -- and sometimes it can effectively destroy the creature it bounces.
Monastery Swiftspear
3.5 While not as good in Limited as it is in 60-card formats, the Swiftspear is still very good. It does a ton of damage early, and prowess helps keep it relevant all game.
Humble Defector
2.5 This is better than it looks! Sure, symmetrical draw isn't awesome -- nor is giving your opponent a card, but you always get to draw cards with it first, and that makes a huge difference. It can get especially nice if you sacrifice it in response to the ability.
Cartel Aristocrat
3.5 This is a great sacrifice outlet, and protection is pretty good at keeping it alive and/or allowing it to get in for damage.
Zendikar Incarnate
2 This is just a big vanilla creature. It'll never feel bad, but it'll never feel great either.
Dragon Mantle
2.5 This is a nice way to trigger heroic since it replaces itself, and that also makes it have a very reasonable baseline.
Hero of Iroas
3.5 The baseline here is nice, and the format has enough ways to target him -- including Auras -- that the upside is very accessible.
Possessed Skaab
3 This is a bit clunky, but it's also a 2-for-1 that usually gets you back a very real card -- like a creature or removal spell.
Devour Flesh
2 Edicts are nice, but letting your opponent gain life isn't the best. You can use it to gain life yourself in a pinch, but if you're forced to 2-for-1 yourself like that, you're probably losing.
Gnarlback Rhino
3.5 This has a nice baseline, and while it doesn't technically have "Heroic" it works the same way. Combat tricks and fight spells are the Rhino's best friend, and there's enough of that in the format for this to be pretty amazing.
Rakdos Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Imperious Oligarch
Guild Summit
0 // 2.5 This is a decent gate buildaround, though not usually one of the premium ones you're after. It is nice that it gives you value whether you already have Gates when it comes into play or if you play them after.
Artisan of Forms
2 This certainly has some blowout potential, and it can permanently change into another creature -- but it's also a 2-mana 1/1 that takes some significant set up to be relevant.
Windrider Patrol
2 This is a bit overcosted, but the combat damage trigger is nice.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Gurmag Angler
1 // 3.0 If you are good at loading your graveyard, the Angler is a pretty nice payoff. It's just a big vanilla creature, but playing one of those for 1-3 mana is pretty nice.
Imperious Oligarch
3.5 This is ultimately 2 mana for a 2/1 with Vigilance and a 1/1 Flyer. While you don't get both of those at the same time, the fact remains that you are getting a great rate.
Gust of Wind
2.5 Paying two for this feels pretty incredible, as it replaces itself and gives you some nice tempo. Paying 4 makes it a little harder to feel good about the tempo, but that's a passable card too.
District Guide
4 This at Common is pretty amazing! It gives you amazing fixing, especially if you're in a gate deck -- and it's almost always going to generate a 2-for-1.
Izzet Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Cavern Lampad
2 As with many Bestow cards, both modes are kind of underwhelming, but the modality keeps it from being terrible.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Supernatural Stamina
Destructive Revelry
0.5 This is a great sideboard card, but even though this format has a decent number of Enchantments, it isn't really enough for you to ever want this in your main deck.
Rescue from the Underworld
1.5 This is a reanimation spell that requires you to have a creature for it to do it's thing -- with the added upside of potentially triggering that creature's death and/or enters trigger. Still, it's way too fiddly to work out very often.
Knightly Valor
2.5 This effectively adds 4/4 worth of Vigilance stats to the board, and 2/2 of it basically has Haste. Adding that body to the board really helps offset the downside Auras usually have.
Witch's Mark
2.5 You get a pretty good return on your two mana investment + a card, since you add something to the board while digging deeper into your deck.
Nivix Cyclops
2 This will be able to rumble as a 4/4 a decent chunk of the time in Blue-Red, but you're only getting a slightly above-rate deal when that's the case.
Windrider Patrol
2 This is a bit overcosted, but the combat damage trigger is nice.
District Guide
4 This at Common is pretty amazing! It gives you amazing fixing, especially if you're in a gate deck -- and it's almost always going to generate a 2-for-1.
Supernatural Stamina
2.5 This is a very nice trick because it's so cheap, and great in combat or against removal.
Golgari Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Keening Apparition
Sphere of Safety
0 Even if you have lots of Enchantments, this is a card that doesn't add to the board in any meaningful way, and it's not even guaranteed to keep your opponent from killing you.
Keening Apparition
2 This has okay stats, and the format has enough Enchantments for this ability to be relevant sometimes.
Ingenious Skaab
3 2/3s with Prowess tend to feel pretty good, as the high toughness that can go even higher makes them tough to block, and the Skaab is a pretty nice threat even when you can't trigger Prowess, because your opponent has to respect it.
Boundary Lands Ranger
3 This has a solid baseline and can really let you dig deeper into your deck by the mid-game.
Zendikar Incarnate
2 This is just a big vanilla creature. It'll never feel bad, but it'll never feel great either.
Gladecover Scout
1 // 3.5 This is a great creature to augment thanks to hexproof, but it's very bad if you can't do that.
Possessed Skaab
3 This is a bit clunky, but it's also a 2-for-1 that usually gets you back a very real card -- like a creature or removal spell.
Flitterstep Eidolon
2 A two mana 1/1 that can't block isn't very good -- and while casting this as an Aura late can definitely be nice, it's pretty expensive.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Rakdos Guildgate
Tenth District Legionnaire
3.5 This is a strong Heroic trigger, since it permanently grows the Legionnaire while also improving your draws -- which can often mean more heroic triggers.
Purphoros's Emissary
2.5 A 4-mana 3/3 Menace is passable, and if you draw it late, it's likely to drastically improve your attack.
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
2 A one mana 0/4 is kind of brutal, but buffing this is plenty doable in the format.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Selesnya Charm
3.5 Making a 2/2 for two is fine, and while the other two modes are more situational, they are both great in the right situation.
Windrider Patrol
2 This is a bit overcosted, but the combat damage trigger is nice.
Rakdos Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Call the Gatewatch
Crackdown Construct
0 The base stat-line is awful, and buffing the Construct isn't particularly easy.
Steam Augury
3 I don't love that this doesn't add to the board, but it's usually going to draw you a few card and stock your graveyard.
Cloudfin Raptor
2 This is awesome on turn one -- and a lot less awesome the rest of the game, since it's unlikely to grow quite as much. It's a terrible topdeck, too.
Dragon Mantle
2.5 This is a nice way to trigger heroic since it replaces itself, and that also makes it have a very reasonable baseline.
Silundi Vision
2 This is super situational, and not all decks will really be able to get a card out of it. But in decks that can, it's a land with some pretty solid upside.
Call the Gatewatch
0 // 1.5 There's going to be a planeswalker bonus sheet during part of this set's run, and when that's the case it might be sort of kind of playable, but you're still basically paying 3 extra mana for it, which tends to make a card a lot worse.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Extricator of Sin
Behold the Beyond
1.5 7 mana is a lot, but this does draw the three best cards in your deck. Granted...you probably have to wait a full turn to use them, and if you ever have cards in your hand when you cast it, it's pretty terrible.
Extricator of Sin
3 Turning a land or something else expendable into a 3/2 is pretty sweet, and once it transforms it maintains the ability to churn out tokens while granting itself and all those tokens Vigilance.
Stormchaser Mage
3.5 This is tough to block all game long because of Prowess, and if you get it down early it can put the game away on it's own.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Lotus-Eye Mystics
Dark Deal
0 This kind of card is almost never going to do something good. Sure, maybe you make your opponent discard some cards they wanted to hold on to, but that upside is negated by the fact that you are the one who used the card -- and it's just as likely that they draw into what they were looking for.
Ingenious Skaab
3 2/3s with Prowess tend to feel pretty good, as the high toughness that can go even higher makes them tough to block, and the Skaab is a pretty nice threat even when you can't trigger Prowess, because your opponent has to respect it.
Lotus-Eye Mystics
2 The stat-line is bad, and even in a format with a decent number of Enchantments, you frequently don't have one to get back.
Nimbus Naiad
2 Wind Drake isn't that exciting, but it's sort of passable, and in the late game putting this on just about any creature makes it a major threat.
Pack 2 Pick 13: Dragon Mantle
Humble Defector
2.5 This is better than it looks! Sure, symmetrical draw isn't awesome -- nor is giving your opponent a card, but you always get to draw cards with it first, and that makes a huge difference. It can get especially nice if you sacrifice it in response to the ability.
Zendikar Incarnate
2 This is just a big vanilla creature. It'll never feel bad, but it'll never feel great either.
Dragon Mantle
2.5 This is a nice way to trigger heroic since it replaces itself, and that also makes it have a very reasonable baseline.
Pack 2 Pick 14: Returned Centaur
Windrider Patrol
2 This is a bit overcosted, but the combat damage trigger is nice.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Pack 2 Pick 15: Nivix Cyclops
Nivix Cyclops
2 This will be able to rumble as a 4/4 a decent chunk of the time in Blue-Red, but you're only getting a slightly above-rate deal when that's the case.
Pack 3 Pick 1: Martial Glory
Aetherling
4.5 It's definitely expensive, but if you can play this and leave mana up to blink it, it's probably never going to die, and it's always a threat since it's hard to block and can hit pretty hard.
Shipbreaker Kraken
2 A 6-mana 6/6 is a reasonable top-curve creature -- and if this ever goest Monstrous you probably win the game, as it's probably smashing in for 10 all on it's own. Problem is, getting to 8 mana doesn't happen that often in Limited.
Crypt Incursion
0 This can gain you a bunch of life, but a graveyard has to be well-stocked, and just gaining life is rarely worth a card anyway.
Honored Hydra
4.5 This is pretty insane at Uncommon. It gives you two very real bodies -- one of which is appropriately costed, and the other is undercosted. You can also mill or discard it and get a 6/6 trampler in the early game.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Martial Glory
2 This is here to enable Heroic stuff in the Red-White deck, and it's a passable combat trick even when you're not pulling that off.
Possessed Skaab
3 This is a bit clunky, but it's also a 2-for-1 that usually gets you back a very real card -- like a creature or removal spell.
Akoum Warrior
2.5 You'd never play a card that's always a 6-mana 4/5 trample, but this is a land in the early game -- and it's a land that if you draw late, adds a pretty real body to the board.
Rimrock Knight
3.5 This was surprisignly great last time we saw it. The buff doesn't always let your creature survive combat, but even just chipping in for extra damage and then adding a 3/1 to the board is a pretty good deal.
Ingenious Skaab
3 2/3s with Prowess tend to feel pretty good, as the high toughness that can go even higher makes them tough to block, and the Skaab is a pretty nice threat even when you can't trigger Prowess, because your opponent has to respect it.
Darksteel Ingot
1.5 3-mana mana rocks are rarely good in Limited, but if you really need fixing or ramp, you'll use this.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Azorius Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Narset Transcendent
2 // 4.0 She starts with really high loyalty which is great, but her +1 and -2 are both super dependent on doing stuff with noncreatures, which not all Blue/White decks are going to be good at it. If you have lots of spells in UW she can be pretty potent though, drawing you cards, doubling removal, and so on.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Dreadbore
Polukranos, World Eater
4.5 A 4-mana 5/5 is pretty beefy, and the Monstrosity here can be really strong -- even if you're just paying 2 for X, it ends up letting you kill something and grow Polukranos to a 7/7, and the ceiling is much higher.
Rapid Hybridization
0 This is terrible in Limited. If you use it on your opponent's creature, you effectively 2-for-1 yourself, and using it on your own is only moderately better.
Mentor of the Meek
1.5 // 3.5 In a deck with enough ways to trigger this, it turns into quite the engine. Although, you'd be surprised how often you just don't have the spare mana to pay for it.
Jhessian Thief
2.5 This was surprisingly hard to get in with last time we saw it, but when you do it feels pretty amazing.
Lotus-Eye Mystics
2 The stat-line is bad, and even in a format with a decent number of Enchantments, you frequently don't have one to get back.
Dreadbore
4 Two mana to kill any creature or planeswalker is an incredible deal. This will be extra good when the Planeswalker bonus sheet is around.
Treasure Cruise
0 // 3.5 You need a graveyard deck, but if you have a good enough one this basically becomes Ancestral Recall.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Lyev Skyknight
3.5 This removes a creature from the equation for a whole turn, while adding a pretty solid body to the board. That's some seroius tempo.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 These give you good fixing, though there isn't much additional synergy in the format for it.
Leafcrown Dryad
2.5 This feels fine on two, and Bestowing it for 4 is often going to make one of your creatures much more effective.
Gruul Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Crumble to Dust
0.0 Land destruction is rarely where you want to be in Limited, and even with a Gate theme this will typically be a blank and/or irrelevant card.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Steward of Solidarity
Wandering Fumarole
4 The flexibility here is pretty sweet, since you can have a nice 1/4 blocker when you need one -- and when it gets through on an attack, it can smash in for 4.
Bane of Bala Ged
2 Pseudo-annihilator is kind of cool, but it's understatted and expensive.
Steward of Solidarity
4 This can attack like mos ttwo mana 2/2s early, and then it can crank out a 1/1 for free every couple of turns once it can't attack anymore. That's pretty great.
Scytheclaw Raptor
2.5 This has a nice aggressive stat-line and it does punish your opponent in a pretty big way for casting stuff on your turn.
Jwari Disruption
3.5 A land that can also counter spells is amazing. Basically, if you have this early you can hold on to it and hope to snipe a spell in the first few turns -- and once you need a land, it can do that too.
Fallaji Archaeologist
3 This was a SUPER good common last time we saw it. If you're in Blue with lots of spells, you're going to frequently make this a two mana 0/3 that draws a card on ETB, and the fail case is a two mana 1/4 that helps you load the graveyard.
Pelakka Predation
3 Having a free discard spell attached to a land is surprisingly good. You won't always hit something with Predation, but it's great disruption when you can -- and if you're pretty sure that effect won't do anything, you can always play it as a land.
Boundary Lands Ranger
3 This has a solid baseline and can really let you dig deeper into your deck by the mid-game.
Darksteel Ingot
1.5 3-mana mana rocks are rarely good in Limited, but if you really need fixing or ramp, you'll use this.
Nessian Asp
2 A 4-mana 4/5 with Reach plays reasonably well, and in the late game it turns into a very big monster.
Devour Flesh
2 Edicts are nice, but letting your opponent gain life isn't the best. You can use it to gain life yourself in a pinch, but if you're forced to 2-for-1 yourself like that, you're probably losing.
Artful Maneuver
1.5 This is pretty expensive for the buff, and while Rebound does mean you get it twice -- the second time your opponent knows it's coming.
Izzet Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Painful Truths
Painful Truths
2.5 A three mana draws 2 that loses you 2 life is a passable card in many Black decks, and this has some serious additional upside. Of course, sometimes it'll only draw you 1 card, too.
Hero of Leina Tower
2 Having the mana left over after triggering Heroic is a pretty big ask, even if the ceiling here is really impressive.
Crypt Incursion
0 This can gain you a bunch of life, but a graveyard has to be well-stocked, and just gaining life is rarely worth a card anyway.
Akoum Warrior
2.5 You'd never play a card that's always a 6-mana 4/5 trample, but this is a land in the early game -- and it's a land that if you draw late, adds a pretty real body to the board.
Gurmag Angler
1 // 3.0 If you are good at loading your graveyard, the Angler is a pretty nice payoff. It's just a big vanilla creature, but playing one of those for 1-3 mana is pretty nice.
Halo Scarab
1.5 This was pretty weak last time we saw it, and it will be here too. It has bad stats, and while getting Treasure can be nice, paying 2 mana for it isn't.
Nemesis of Mortals
1 // 3 This is pretty bad in most decks, but if you're good at loading the graveyard it's a pretty slid threat.
Ingenious Skaab
3 2/3s with Prowess tend to feel pretty good, as the high toughness that can go even higher makes them tough to block, and the Skaab is a pretty nice threat even when you can't trigger Prowess, because your opponent has to respect it.
Ghirapur Gearcrafter
3.5 This was Red's best Common last time we saw it, and it'll be in the conversation here too. Three mana for a 2/1 and a 1/1 flyer is excellent.
Nivix Cyclops
2 This will be able to rumble as a 4/4 a decent chunk of the time in Blue-Red, but you're only getting a slightly above-rate deal when that's the case.
Dimir Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Stampeding Elk Herd
2.5 This brings 5 power to the baord on it's own, so getting Formidable is certainly doable.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Fall of the Hammer
Haven of the Spirit Dragon
0 There aren't enough dragons in this format for it to be worth playing a land that is bad for your mana base.
Dark Deal
0 This kind of card is almost never going to do something good. Sure, maybe you make your opponent discard some cards they wanted to hold on to, but that upside is negated by the fact that you are the one who used the card -- and it's just as likely that they draw into what they were looking for.
Stormchaser Mage
3.5 This is tough to block all game long because of Prowess, and if you get it down early it can put the game away on it's own.
Gladecover Scout
1 // 3.5 This is a great creature to augment thanks to hexproof, but it's very bad if you can't do that.
Fallaji Archaeologist
3 This was a SUPER good common last time we saw it. If you're in Blue with lots of spells, you're going to frequently make this a two mana 0/3 that draws a card on ETB, and the fail case is a two mana 1/4 that helps you load the graveyard.
Heliod's Pilgrim
0 // 3 If you don't have a few Enchantments to get with this, it's unplayable. If you do have some Enchantments -- especially if they are creatures or removal spells -- this ends up being a really good Common.
Tah-Crop Skirmisher
2.5 You get two bodies out of one card which is always nice, even if they are overcosted in both cases.
Dreg Mangler
3 Scavenge means this gives you value in addition to being a solid three mana 3/3 haste. While it's not quite a 2-for-1, getting 3 +1/+1 counters is pretty close to a card of value.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Fall of the Hammer
3.5 Getting this effect at instant speed for two mana has always played well. Sure, you need a creature -- and you have to be careful not to play it when your opponent can interact, but because it's an instant finding that window isn't too hard.
Dimir Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Priest of the Blood Rite
Temporal Trespass
0 // 3.5 This is tough to cast in Limited, but not impossible. There are graveyard decks in the format, and they'll be able to fire this off, and oftentimes it will be gamewinning, as Time Walk effects so often are.
Thunderclap Wyvern
3.5 This can Flash in and buff a few creatures, and just adding a 2/3 to the board out of nowhere means it can ambush block 2/2s pretty effectively.
Pulse of Murasa
3 This is a great recursive spell because it's an instant, and it gains you a ton of life -- which gives you the time to use the card that you brought back.
Priest of the Blood Rite
4 5-mana for a 5/5 flyer and a 2/2 is pretty great, and Black has plenty of ways to get rid of the 2/2 so you can shut off the downside. Your opponent often won't want to block or attack into the 2/2 either -- which is itself a disadvantage.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Courier's Briefcase
2 This fixes your mana pretty effectively while also adding a body to the board. I wouldn't count on cashing it in for 3 cards, though.
Nemesis of Mortals
1 // 3 This is pretty bad in most decks, but if you're good at loading the graveyard it's a pretty slid threat.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Selesnya Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Retraction Helix
2 This doesn't have the silly combo potential it has in 60-card formats, but it is a roundabout way to bounce something for one mana. Granted, having an untapped creature is a requirement, and that holds it back -- but it's a playable card.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Valakut Awakening
Notion Thief
0.5 This is hard to make use of in Limited, as not all decks can draw extra cards. I think that makes it a sideboard card that you bring in against Blue opponents, more or less. When you can steal those draws, it feels pretty insane.
Valakut Awakening
3 This is a great design for a MDFC, since early you'll just play it as a land -- and late, it can become a pretty nice draw spell.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Halo Scarab
1.5 This was pretty weak last time we saw it, and it will be here too. It has bad stats, and while getting Treasure can be nice, paying 2 mana for it isn't.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Lotus-Eye Mystics
2 The stat-line is bad, and even in a format with a decent number of Enchantments, you frequently don't have one to get back.
Scion of Ugin
1 A 6-mana 4/4 flyer doesn't real move the needle in Limited these days.
Dimir Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Boros Guildgate
Unflinching Courage
1.5 // 3.5 It's a little risky playing this on just any creature, although the lifelink does mean you can usually get some value out of it before your opponent 2-for-1s you by destroying your creature. But if you have some of the hexproof creatures in the set, this can be a devastating play.
Rogue's Passage
1.5 This is a decent late-game mana sink, but it hurts your mana base in the mean time.
Dreadbore
4 Two mana to kill any creature or planeswalker is an incredible deal. This will be extra good when the Planeswalker bonus sheet is around.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Unravel the Aether
0.5 This is mostly sideboard material in the format. You can't count on there being a permanent it can hit.
Khalni Ambush
3 The Ambush is a mediocre removal spell, but having a land that can also be a removal spell is amazing.
Undead Butler
2.5 This sets up the graveyard nicely, and even has a decent effect to take advantage of that fact.
Boros Guildgate
3 These offer great fixing, and the format has tons of gate payoffs, too.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Akoum Warrior
Shipbreaker Kraken
2 A 6-mana 6/6 is a reasonable top-curve creature -- and if this ever goest Monstrous you probably win the game, as it's probably smashing in for 10 all on it's own. Problem is, getting to 8 mana doesn't happen that often in Limited.
Possessed Skaab
3 This is a bit clunky, but it's also a 2-for-1 that usually gets you back a very real card -- like a creature or removal spell.
Akoum Warrior
2.5 You'd never play a card that's always a 6-mana 4/5 trample, but this is a land in the early game -- and it's a land that if you draw late, adds a pretty real body to the board.
Ingenious Skaab
3 2/3s with Prowess tend to feel pretty good, as the high toughness that can go even higher makes them tough to block, and the Skaab is a pretty nice threat even when you can't trigger Prowess, because your opponent has to respect it.
Darksteel Ingot
1.5 3-mana mana rocks are rarely good in Limited, but if you really need fixing or ramp, you'll use this.
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Pack 3 Pick 10: Silumgar Butcher
Rapid Hybridization
0 This is terrible in Limited. If you use it on your opponent's creature, you effectively 2-for-1 yourself, and using it on your own is only moderately better.
Lotus-Eye Mystics
2 The stat-line is bad, and even in a format with a decent number of Enchantments, you frequently don't have one to get back.
Boulder Salvo
2.5 A 5-mana deal 4 is bad, but Surging with this is pretty doable.
Silumgar Butcher
2.5 The stat-line is bad, but there's plenty of fodder in the format -- and in a pinch it can sacrifice itself for the effect.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 These give you good fixing, though there isn't much additional synergy in the format for it.
Crumble to Dust
0.0 Land destruction is rarely where you want to be in Limited, and even with a Gate theme this will typically be a blank and/or irrelevant card.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Devour Flesh
Wandering Fumarole
4 The flexibility here is pretty sweet, since you can have a nice 1/4 blocker when you need one -- and when it gets through on an attack, it can smash in for 4.
Bane of Bala Ged
2 Pseudo-annihilator is kind of cool, but it's understatted and expensive.
Fallaji Archaeologist
3 This was a SUPER good common last time we saw it. If you're in Blue with lots of spells, you're going to frequently make this a two mana 0/3 that draws a card on ETB, and the fail case is a two mana 1/4 that helps you load the graveyard.
Devour Flesh
2 Edicts are nice, but letting your opponent gain life isn't the best. You can use it to gain life yourself in a pinch, but if you're forced to 2-for-1 yourself like that, you're probably losing.
Artful Maneuver
1.5 This is pretty expensive for the buff, and while Rebound does mean you get it twice -- the second time your opponent knows it's coming.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Akoum Warrior
Hero of Leina Tower
2 Having the mana left over after triggering Heroic is a pretty big ask, even if the ceiling here is really impressive.
Crypt Incursion
0 This can gain you a bunch of life, but a graveyard has to be well-stocked, and just gaining life is rarely worth a card anyway.
Akoum Warrior
2.5 You'd never play a card that's always a 6-mana 4/5 trample, but this is a land in the early game -- and it's a land that if you draw late, adds a pretty real body to the board.
Nivix Cyclops
2 This will be able to rumble as a 4/4 a decent chunk of the time in Blue-Red, but you're only getting a slightly above-rate deal when that's the case.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Returned Centaur
Gladecover Scout
1 // 3.5 This is a great creature to augment thanks to hexproof, but it's very bad if you can't do that.
Tah-Crop Skirmisher
2.5 You get two bodies out of one card which is always nice, even if they are overcosted in both cases.
Returned Centaur
1.5 The stat-line is bad, and there are better ways to load the graveyard in the format.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Sanitarium Skeleton
Sanitarium Skeleton
0 // 2.5 If you've got a sacrifice deck, this is a decent build around since it can constantly give you fodder, albeit inefficiently.
Retraction Helix
2 This doesn't have the silly combo potential it has in 60-card formats, but it is a roundabout way to bounce something for one mana. Granted, having an untapped creature is a requirement, and that holds it back -- but it's a playable card.
Pack 3 Pick 15: Lotus-Eye Mystics
Lotus-Eye Mystics
2 The stat-line is bad, and even in a format with a decent number of Enchantments, you frequently don't have one to get back.