Doubling Season
0 This doesn't add to the board at all, and you very quickly need to start generating value from it to make that happen -- but there won't be decks in this format that can do that.
Inspiration from Beyond
0 // 3 This has a nice ceiling, but a miserable floor. You need lots of spells and lots of graveyard stuff going on, and neither of those are guaranteed.
Wardens of the Cycle
3 Just getting the Morbid trigger once is enough to feel good about things, and that's good -- but don't expect to make this go off one very turn.
Angel of Finality
2.5 This is a nice stat-line, and sometimes you'll take threshold away from your opponent.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Healer's Hawk
3 This is a great one drop, especially in a format with lots of ways to buff the Hawk.
Broken Wings
0.5 This is a sideboard card. There aren't enough targets in most decks for it to be wortwhile in the main deck.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Mocking Sprite
2 Last time we saw this, the stat-line really held it back. This format has fewer incidental ways to kill it, but I'm still skeptical of it being able to stick around.
Hare Apparent
1.5 // 2.5 You can't really play this if you only have one, but if you have 4+, you'll get enough tokens for them to be worthwhile.
Pack 1 Pick 2: Banishing Light
Meteor Golem
2 Adding a 3/3 to the board and destroying your opponents best permanent is powerful, but not all decks are going to get to 7 mana.
Arcane Epiphany
2.5 5 mana to draw 3 is powerful but a little bit expensive. However, most Blue decks will be able to make this cost 4 often enough for me to get behind playing it a good chunk of the time.
Angel of Finality
2.5 This is a nice stat-line, and sometimes you'll take threshold away from your opponent.
Apothecary Stomper
2.5 This is pretty solid for the cost. The counters will augment your board in a pretty big way, and even as a 4/4 the stomper isn't really a creature that can be ignored.
Refute
2 Cancel is usually not a card that always makes the cut, and this probably doesn't quite get there either -- although adding Loot to the mix is definitely better.
Stab
4 This is super efficient removal that can often trade up.
Gnarlid Colony
2 This was super underwhelming when we saw it last, and while this format has a +1/+1 counter theme, the creature is inefficient and trample only matters on the largest creatures.
Sure Strike
1.5 This is a good trick in combat, but it's a little bit expensive and not useful against most removal.
Banishing Light
3.5 As usual, this is pretty efficient and flexible, so it's good removal.
Strix Lookout
2 The stats aren't amazing, but it can attack for much of the game, and once it can't looting isn't too shabby.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Jungle Hollow
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Pack 1 Pick 3: Ajani's Pridemate
Brineborn Cutthroat
2 This has bad starting stats but there are enough cards with flash and instants in the set for it to grow.
Ajani's Pridemate
3 As usual, the Pridemate is a nice life gain payoff with a reasonable baseline.
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Campus Guide
1.5 This is the fixing you play when you're desperate. Or the two drop you play when you're desperate. Mostly, it's bad at being either of those things, so you hope you don't play it.
Fleeting Flight
2 This is a solid trick, it'll win combat most of the time and has the "oops I win" upside of sending your big creature into the air.
Involuntary Employment
1.0 // 2.5 You can't really play this unless you're crazy aggressive or you have good sacrifice outlets. If you do have those things, it can be solid.
Llanowar Elves
3 Playing this on turn one will win you a lot of games, but it is a pretty bad top deck late.
Bake into a Pie
3.5 It's a little expensive but makes up for that in a big way with that food token.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Healer's Hawk
3 This is a great one drop, especially in a format with lots of ways to buff the Hawk.
Bulk Up
1.5 The ceiling here is real -- you can spend 8 mana and quadruple power. The flower is awful -- since it doesnt' buff toughness at all, it's not much of a combat trick.
Pack 1 Pick 4: Dazzling Angel
Grappling Kraken
3 It's expensive, but it has a very strong landfall trigger. Once it's in play, each land you draw becomes a removal spell -- so you don't really care if you flood out.
Stromkirk Bloodthief
1.5 Last time we saw this was in a way more vampire-heavy set and it was not very good. It's probably going to be worse here. The stat-line is bad and the trigger is surprisingly hard to get.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Sanguine Syphoner
2.5 This attack trigger plays pretty well, especially in a format with a life gain deck.
Bushwhack
2.5 Each of these modes is kind of medium, but having a card that can fix your mana when you need it or be a mediocre removal spell is fine.
Dazzling Angel
3 This is a solid stat-line and the incidental life gain is going to feel good in go-wide and lifegain decks in the format.
Involuntary Employment
1.0 // 2.5 You can't really play this unless you're crazy aggressive or you have good sacrifice outlets. If you do have those things, it can be solid.
Make Your Move
0.5 There aren't enough artifacts or enchantments in this format for this to be main deck material.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Spectral Sailor
3 This is a great one drop that can chip in for damage early, and in the late game it has a nice mana sink ability.
Pack 1 Pick 5: Bake into a Pie
Inspiration from Beyond
0 // 3 This has a nice ceiling, but a miserable floor. You need lots of spells and lots of graveyard stuff going on, and neither of those are guaranteed.
Involuntary Employment
1.0 // 2.5 You can't really play this unless you're crazy aggressive or you have good sacrifice outlets. If you do have those things, it can be solid.
Bake into a Pie
3.5 It's a little expensive but makes up for that in a big way with that food token.
Broken Wings
0.5 This is a sideboard card. There aren't enough targets in most decks for it to be wortwhile in the main deck.
Icewind Elemental
2.5 5-mana 3/4 Flyers have held up pretty well in Limited, and a loot trigger is pretty powerful.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Eaten Alive
3 Not going to be as good here as it was in Crimson Vow, as decayed zombie tokens aren't everywhere, but it's still petty awesome when you do have something expendable to give up.
Lightshell Duo
2.5 This'll never be great, but it slots in nicely to your spell and graveyard decks.
Bushwhack
2.5 Each of these modes is kind of medium, but having a card that can fix your mana when you need it or be a mediocre removal spell is fine.
Pack 1 Pick 6: Infestation Sage
Mischievous Pup
1.5 This was underwhelming last time we saw it -- it has a bad stat-line and a narrow enters trigger, so it's not going to make the cut all the time.
Boltwave
1 This might just be a 0, but there are enough spell payoffs in the format that I'm cutting it a little bit of slack. The main problem is that a spell that only does direct damage doesn't impact the board at all -- sometimes casting it feels like mulliganing.
Lightshell Duo
2.5 This'll never be great, but it slots in nicely to your spell and graveyard decks.
Armasaur Guide
2.5 You can get a counter from this even when it doesn't attack, and it's nice it can put the counter on itself too, as a 5/5 vigilance is pretty formidable.
Dwynen's Elite
2.5 This'll just be a two mana 2/2 reasonably often, but it'll also make a 1/1 token a decent chunk of the time, and if it always did that it would be a 4.0.
Run Away Together
1.5 It's temping to imagine scenarios where you bounce a creature with an "enters" trigger or help a creature dodge removal, but this is mostly just an awkward bounce spell.
Gorehorn Raider
2.5 This is strong when you can Raid, and pretty mediocre when you can't.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Pack 1 Pick 7: Prideful Parent
Extravagant Replication
4 You have to wait a turn, which can be scary -- but after that it can help you run away with the game, since you'll get a copy of your best creature -- and it'll just keep doing it from there.
Juggernaut
1.5 If you need a 4-drop you can probably do worse, but how often are you desperate for a 4 drop in Limited?
Sanguine Syphoner
2.5 This attack trigger plays pretty well, especially in a format with a life gain deck.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Prideful Parent
3.5 Three mana 2/2s that make 1/1s are always quality cards in Limited, and the 2/2 in this case even comes with Vigilance.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Icewind Elemental
2.5 5-mana 3/4 Flyers have held up pretty well in Limited, and a loot trigger is pretty powerful.
Twinblade Blessing
2 It's a little bit clunky, but it can usually help your creature win combat or do lethal out of nowhere, and it offers a buff that makes most creatures problematic.
Arcane Epiphany
2.5 5 mana to draw 3 is powerful but a little bit expensive. However, most Blue decks will be able to make this cost 4 often enough for me to get behind playing it a good chunk of the time.
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Gutless Plunderer
1.5 Three-mana 2/2s with death touch aren't anything special and even if you get this Raid trigger it's hard to feel good about casting this.
Goldvein Pick
3 This is great Equipment. It offers a good buff for the cost, and the treasure makes it very easy to move around -- while also giving you a mana boost that you might have access to every turn.
Apothecary Stomper
2.5 This is pretty solid for the cost. The counters will augment your board in a pretty big way, and even as a 4/4 the stomper isn't really a creature that can be ignored.
Tranquil Cove
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Mocking Sprite
2 Last time we saw this, the stat-line really held it back. This format has fewer incidental ways to kill it, but I'm still skeptical of it being able to stick around.
Arcane Epiphany
2.5 5 mana to draw 3 is powerful but a little bit expensive. However, most Blue decks will be able to make this cost 4 often enough for me to get behind playing it a good chunk of the time.
Refute
2 Cancel is usually not a card that always makes the cut, and this probably doesn't quite get there either -- although adding Loot to the mix is definitely better.
Sure Strike
1.5 This is a good trick in combat, but it's a little bit expensive and not useful against most removal.
Strix Lookout
2 The stats aren't amazing, but it can attack for much of the game, and once it can't looting isn't too shabby.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Pack 1 Pick 11: Elementalist Adept
Campus Guide
1.5 This is the fixing you play when you're desperate. Or the two drop you play when you're desperate. Mostly, it's bad at being either of those things, so you hope you don't play it.
Involuntary Employment
1.0 // 2.5 You can't really play this unless you're crazy aggressive or you have good sacrifice outlets. If you do have those things, it can be solid.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Inspiration from Beyond
0 // 3 This has a nice ceiling, but a miserable floor. You need lots of spells and lots of graveyard stuff going on, and neither of those are guaranteed.
Etali, Primal Storm
4.5 This probably dies when it attacks, but it'll usually generate a very efficient 2-for-1 at a minimum, and the ceiling is much higher.
Faebloom Trick
3 Even if this didn't tap something, it'd be a pretty nice rate -- adding the tap to the mix makes it a lot more likely your new flyers can get in for a hit, too.
Wildwood Scourge
2 This never feels like an efficient creature, and it doesn't exactly grow quickly.
Fiery Annihilation
4 This kills most stuff and turns off death triggers and any threat of recursion. Format has a decent number of equipment, too.
Meteor Golem
2 Adding a 3/3 to the board and destroying your opponents best permanent is powerful, but not all decks are going to get to 7 mana.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Luminous Rebuke
2.5 This is either too narrow or too expensive, but having the choice between the modes makes it greater than the sum of its parts.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 This plus a basic land is always a nice way to fix for a bomb, and it can even help you get threshold.
Elfsworn Giant
3.5 This is a very strong landfall trigger, and while the stat-line isn't incredible, it's not thard to make sure you get at least one 1/1 out of this, and if it's left alone, it becomes a value engine.
Eaten Alive
3 Not going to be as good here as it was in Crimson Vow, as decayed zombie tokens aren't everywhere, but it's still petty awesome when you do have something expendable to give up.
Rugged Highlands
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Pack 2 Pick 2: Heroic Reinforcements
Banner of Kinship
1.5 The set really doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to be a factor in 99% of decks.
Needletooth Pack
3.5 This is a great Morbid trigger. Getting it once is plenty strong, and if you can set it up on other turns too, you're going to win.
Heroic Reinforcements
3.5 If you can curve out with this at the top, you usually win the game -- and even if thigns aren't going quite that smoothly, it usually results in a big turn.
Clinquant Skymage
2 This starting stat-line is absolutely abyssmal, but the text box does mean it can grow in a hurry.
Sure Strike
1.5 This is a good trick in combat, but it's a little bit expensive and not useful against most removal.
Sanguine Syphoner
2.5 This attack trigger plays pretty well, especially in a format with a life gain deck.
Wary Thespian
2.5 Green isn't super graveyard-oriented in the format, but the solid stat-line and card selection this offers will be welcome in pretty much any Green deck.
Llanowar Elves
3 Playing this on turn one will win you a lot of games, but it is a pretty bad top deck late.
Helpful Hunter
3.5 Two mana 1/1s that draw a card are also quality Limited cards, and there's no reason that won't be true here.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Fanatical Firebrand
2.5 This is really nice on turn one, and it's ping ability keeps it at least somewhat relevant all game long.
Pack 2 Pick 3: Serra Angel
Serra Angel
3 This is still a pretty legit creature in Limited. The stat-line's great and it performs well as both an attacker and blocker, which is great, since it has Vigilance.
Heraldic Banner
1.5 This is an awkward card, because you usually don't want to name the same color for both effects -- but you have no choice here.
Diregraf Ghoul
2 Entering tapped is a big downside unless you drop this on turn one, but at least a 2/2 body is sort of relevant on most boards.
Burglar Rat
2.5 This is always a solid Limited creature. It's certainly not a full-blown 2-for-1, but it gets a card up front and then you have a body around to block or sacrifice.
Bigfin Bouncer
3 Adding a 3/2 to the board and bouncing your opponent's best creature feels pretty nice -- although it can be a little rough against "enters" triggers.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Dwynen's Elite
2.5 This'll just be a two mana 2/2 reasonably often, but it'll also make a 1/1 token a decent chunk of the time, and if it always did that it would be a 4.0.
Courageous Goblin
2.5 This'll be able to rumble on turn 3 as a 3/2 Menace reasonably often in this format.
Squad Rallier
2.5 The stat-line is a bit underwhelming, but that activated ability is exactly what you want in the mid-to-late game. It's some serious flood insurance.
Eaten Alive
3 Not going to be as good here as it was in Crimson Vow, as decayed zombie tokens aren't everywhere, but it's still petty awesome when you do have something expendable to give up.
Pack 2 Pick 4: Burst Lightning
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Youthful Valkyrie
2.5 This is an okayish stat-line, and most White decks will have like 3 angels, so the upside is accessible.
Skyship Buccaneer
3.5 If you always drew with this, it would be a 4.5! However, you just can't count on always raiding. And when you don't, it's a 2.0.
Witness Protection
1 This is a removal spell that gives you less than a 1-for-1. Leaving a 1/1 creature around is brutal since it can still attack and block, and if you have any X/1s it can be super miserable.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Luminous Rebuke
2.5 This is either too narrow or too expensive, but having the choice between the modes makes it greater than the sum of its parts.
Thrill of Possibility
2 This is always a decent card, especially in spell decks that can use it to chain multiple spell triggers together.
Aegis Turtle
1 This isn't worth a card. All it does is block, and it doesn't do it all that well, since it just absorbs damage and can't trade for anything.
Wary Thespian
2.5 Green isn't super graveyard-oriented in the format, but the solid stat-line and card selection this offers will be welcome in pretty much any Green deck.
Scoured Barrens
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Burst Lightning
4 This is Shock with upside, and the upside is real -- since in the late game it can deal with much larger creatures or finish the opponent off.
Pack 2 Pick 5: Divine Resilience
Frenzied Goblin
2.5 This can definitely let an aggro deck get through for a big attack, even in the late game.
Self-Reflection
1.5 It's tough to feel like you're getting your mana's worth, since you need an impressive creature to copy. Flashback does mean you get a 2-for-1 eventually, though.
Hare Apparent
1.5 // 2.5 You can't really play this if you only have one, but if you have 4+, you'll get enough tokens for them to be worthwhile.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Apothecary Stomper
2.5 This is pretty solid for the cost. The counters will augment your board in a pretty big way, and even as a 4/4 the stomper isn't really a creature that can be ignored.
Sanguine Syphoner
2.5 This attack trigger plays pretty well, especially in a format with a life gain deck.
Fleeting Distraction
1 // 2.5 This is only going to make the cut regularly in spell decks that love the idea of a card that triggers prowess and replaces itself.
Divine Resilience
1.5 This is good at blanking removal, not so good at winning combat -- and you kind of need both these days for a trick to be exciting.
Pack 2 Pick 6: Goblin Surprise
Juggernaut
1.5 If you need a 4-drop you can probably do worse, but how often are you desperate for a 4 drop in Limited?
Empyrean Eagle
3 An anthem for your flyers can be a powerful thing, helping you do tons of damage even when your opponent is building out their own board.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Llanowar Elves
3 Playing this on turn one will win you a lot of games, but it is a pretty bad top deck late.
Goblin Surprise
2.5 Neither mode is great. The tokens are a bit below rate and the buff is situational, but having a choice between them is a big upgrade.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Armasaur Guide
2.5 You can get a counter from this even when it doesn't attack, and it's nice it can put the counter on itself too, as a 5/5 vigilance is pretty formidable.
Pack 2 Pick 7: Heroic Reinforcements
Omniscience
0 This is too expensive to be relevant, and even when you do get it in play in Limited, you probably don't have any cards you need to cast for free anyway -- since you have 10 mana.
Heroic Reinforcements
3.5 If you can curve out with this at the top, you usually win the game -- and even if thigns aren't going quite that smoothly, it usually results in a big turn.
Rune-Sealed Wall
1.5 Purely defensive creatures are rarely worth it in Limited, and while this can surveil, that's not enough upside.
Marauding Blight-Priest
2 This isn't the most exciting payoff, but it's fine -- and it's a two-card combo with Bloodthirsty Conqueror.
Gleaming Barrier
1 If this format had an artifact theme this might be more useful, as is it's just a bad defensive creature that gives you a little mana back.
Witness Protection
1 This is a removal spell that gives you less than a 1-for-1. Leaving a 1/1 creature around is brutal since it can still attack and block, and if you have any X/1s it can be super miserable.
Wary Thespian
2.5 Green isn't super graveyard-oriented in the format, but the solid stat-line and card selection this offers will be welcome in pretty much any Green deck.
Scoured Barrens
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 8: Fleeting Flight
Burnished Hart
2 This ramps and fixes your mana pretty well, while also providing a body that can chump block. Not all decks want that, but I think enough of them will.
Firebrand Archer
1.5 // 2.5 You can only play this if you lots and lots of noncreature spells, since the stat-line is so bad. You need a few triggers to make up for that.
Ambush Wolf
2.5 This can trade up when it ambush blocks, and when it doesn't it can add significantly to the board during your opponent's end step, and maybe even hate on the graveyard.
Dwynen's Elite
2.5 This'll just be a two mana 2/2 reasonably often, but it'll also make a 1/1 token a decent chunk of the time, and if it always did that it would be a 4.0.
Fleeting Flight
2 This is a solid trick, it'll win combat most of the time and has the "oops I win" upside of sending your big creature into the air.
Pack 2 Pick 9: Meteor Golem
Meteor Golem
2 Adding a 3/3 to the board and destroying your opponents best permanent is powerful, but not all decks are going to get to 7 mana.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Erudite Wizard
1.5 This has a weak starting stat-line and isn't that easy to grow.
Elementalist Adept
2 1 toughness prowess creatures can underperform, since they often need two triggers to survive being block by a 2/2, but Flash being in the mix helps make it more likely you can find a window to get in with it.
Eaten Alive
3 Not going to be as good here as it was in Crimson Vow, as decayed zombie tokens aren't everywhere, but it's still petty awesome when you do have something expendable to give up.
Rugged Highlands
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 2 Pick 10: Fanatical Firebrand
Banner of Kinship
1.5 The set really doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to be a factor in 99% of decks.
Sure Strike
1.5 This is a good trick in combat, but it's a little bit expensive and not useful against most removal.
Sanguine Syphoner
2.5 This attack trigger plays pretty well, especially in a format with a life gain deck.
Fanatical Firebrand
2.5 This is really nice on turn one, and it's ping ability keeps it at least somewhat relevant all game long.
Pack 2 Pick 11: Squad Rallier
Diregraf Ghoul
2 Entering tapped is a big downside unless you drop this on turn one, but at least a 2/2 body is sort of relevant on most boards.
Squad Rallier
2.5 The stat-line is a bit underwhelming, but that activated ability is exactly what you want in the mid-to-late game. It's some serious flood insurance.
Eaten Alive
3 Not going to be as good here as it was in Crimson Vow, as decayed zombie tokens aren't everywhere, but it's still petty awesome when you do have something expendable to give up.
Pack 2 Pick 12: Scoured Barrens
Exsanguinate
1 You need a ton of mana before this is worth casting, and even then it doesn't impact the board.
Aegis Turtle
1 This isn't worth a card. All it does is block, and it doesn't do it all that well, since it just absorbs damage and can't trade for anything.
Scoured Barrens
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Elenda, Saint of Dusk
4 This is immune to a bunch of removal in the set and has a great stat-line. Don't count on it being huge all that often, but it might get the first buff sometimes.
Essence Scatter
3 This is always a great counterspell. It's easy to cast and usually generates some serious tempo.
Sun-Blessed Healer
4 A two mana 3/1 with lifelink is something you play 100% of the time, and this has an insane kicker mode in the late game.
Swiftfoot Boots
1 For this to be good, your creature already has to be great -- and in Limited that's not very likely.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Beast-Kin Ranger
2.5 Making tokens can make this hit really hard, but a 3-mana 3/3 trampler isn't anythign special.
Mocking Sprite
2 Last time we saw this, the stat-line really held it back. This format has fewer incidental ways to kill it, but I'm still skeptical of it being able to stick around.
Grow from the Ashes
2 It can be tough to play a card that doesn't add to the board, but this can fix and ramp really effecitvely, and can be particularly good with landfall.
Infestation Sage
3 Getting two 1/1 bodies -- including one that can fly -- for only one mana is nice. Makes it good sacrifice fodder and a good Raid enabler.
Goldvein Pick
3 This is great Equipment. It offers a good buff for the cost, and the treasure makes it very easy to move around -- while also giving you a mana boost that you might have access to every turn.
Vanguard Seraph
2 It's been awhile since a 4-mana 3/3 Flyer was exciting, and this life gain payoff is underwhelming.
Pack 3 Pick 2: Healer's Hawk
Nessian Hornbeetle
3.5 Growing at combat is big, and this creature can very quickly become a threat.
Arbiter of Woe
2.5 You're going to need some fodder to make this really work out, but there's plenty of that in the format, and the enters trigger is pretty legit.
Claws Out
1.5 // 2.5 If you're good at going wide and you have like 4+ cats, this'll be worth playing for sure. If you're not lowering the cost and don't have enough creatures in general, it's unplayable.
Goblin Negotiation
3 This is never going to feel like efficient removal, but being able to use this to add to the board in a big way too makes up for that a little bit.
Icewind Elemental
2.5 5-mana 3/4 Flyers have held up pretty well in Limited, and a loot trigger is pretty powerful.
Prideful Parent
3.5 Three mana 2/2s that make 1/1s are always quality cards in Limited, and the 2/2 in this case even comes with Vigilance.
Healer's Hawk
3 This is a great one drop, especially in a format with lots of ways to buff the Hawk.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Bushwhack
2.5 Each of these modes is kind of medium, but having a card that can fix your mana when you need it or be a mediocre removal spell is fine.
Dismal Backwater
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Hero's Downfall
3.5 This is premium removal. It's a little hard to cast at times, but answering creatures or planeswalkers for three mana is great on an instant.
Pack 3 Pick 3: Felidar Savior
Banner of Kinship
1.5 The set really doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to be a factor in 99% of decks.
Midnight Snack
1 This doesn't impact the board much on it's own, and even if it's giving you food, finding a turn where you can sink a bunch of mana into it and use it's ability is going to be a rarity.
Needletooth Pack
3.5 This is a great Morbid trigger. Getting it once is plenty strong, and if you can set it up on other turns too, you're going to win.
Brazen Scourge
2.5 This is a good stat-line, but the double red makes it less likely you actually run it out on 3.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Goblin Surprise
2.5 Neither mode is great. The tokens are a bit below rate and the buff is situational, but having a choice between them is a big upgrade.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Bloodfell Caves
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Eager Trufflesnout
3 Getting one food out of this feels good, and if you get more than that you're going to be thrilled.
Pack 3 Pick 4: Angel of Finality
Elvish Archdruid
3 This has a passable baseline as a three mana 2/2 that can tap for Green, and most Green decks in this format will have enough Elves for there to be additional upside.
Angel of Finality
2.5 This is a nice stat-line, and sometimes you'll take threshold away from your opponent.
Hungry Ghoul
2.5 It has passable starting point and it's activated ability has some good applications in the format, in addition to just being solid on it's own.
Healer's Hawk
3 This is a great one drop, especially in a format with lots of ways to buff the Hawk.
Beast-Kin Ranger
2.5 Making tokens can make this hit really hard, but a 3-mana 3/3 trampler isn't anythign special.
Run Away Together
1.5 It's temping to imagine scenarios where you bounce a creature with an "enters" trigger or help a creature dodge removal, but this is mostly just an awkward bounce spell.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Prideful Parent
3.5 Three mana 2/2s that make 1/1s are always quality cards in Limited, and the 2/2 in this case even comes with Vigilance.
Sower of Chaos
1.5 The stat-line's mediocre and the ability is too expensive.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Shivan Dragon
2 This can win the game, but it's big, slow and clunky. It's a passable top-curve threat.
Pack 3 Pick 5: Slumbering Cerberus
Faebloom Trick
3 Even if this didn't tap something, it'd be a pretty nice rate -- adding the tap to the mix makes it a lot more likely your new flyers can get in for a hit, too.
Slumbering Cerberus
2 This is an early enabler for the Red/Green deck, and it can definitely swing hard for the cost -- but it also dies to pretty much everything.
Juggernaut
1.5 If you need a 4-drop you can probably do worse, but how often are you desperate for a 4 drop in Limited?
Squad Rallier
2.5 The stat-line is a bit underwhelming, but that activated ability is exactly what you want in the mid-to-late game. It's some serious flood insurance.
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Gnarlid Colony
2 This was super underwhelming when we saw it last, and while this format has a +1/+1 counter theme, the creature is inefficient and trample only matters on the largest creatures.
Gorehorn Raider
2.5 This is strong when you can Raid, and pretty mediocre when you can't.
Hare Apparent
1.5 // 2.5 You can't really play this if you only have one, but if you have 4+, you'll get enough tokens for them to be worthwhile.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 6: Squad Rallier
Dreadwing Scavenger
4 This is a very strong signpost Uncommon. Looting on entering and attack is super powerful, and it's likely to get you to threshold even on it's own.
Squad Rallier
2.5 The stat-line is a bit underwhelming, but that activated ability is exactly what you want in the mid-to-late game. It's some serious flood insurance.
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.
Tolarian Terror
1.5 // 4 If you're in a spell heavy deck like UR, or a UB deck that's good at milling itself, the Terror is going to be a super powerful card that can often end games.
Broken Wings
0.5 This is a sideboard card. There aren't enough targets in most decks for it to be wortwhile in the main deck.
Goblin Surprise
2.5 Neither mode is great. The tokens are a bit below rate and the buff is situational, but having a choice between them is a big upgrade.
Swiftwater Cliffs
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Goldvein Pick
3 This is great Equipment. It offers a good buff for the cost, and the treasure makes it very easy to move around -- while also giving you a mana boost that you might have access to every turn.
Pack 3 Pick 7: Wind-Scarred Crag
Brass's Bounty
0 You never need 7 treasure in Limited when you already have 7 mana.
Aetherize
1.5 It's temping to imagine bouncing an entire alpha strike, but that won't happen very often. Can feel good in response to combat tricks, but if that's not the case, you're going down a card and your opponent isn't.
Campus Guide
1.5 This is the fixing you play when you're desperate. Or the two drop you play when you're desperate. Mostly, it's bad at being either of those things, so you hope you don't play it.
Cathar Commando
2.5 This has a passable stat-line and Flash can allow it to trade up sometimes, and having disenchant in your main deck is nice.
Gutless Plunderer
1.5 Three-mana 2/2s with death touch aren't anything special and even if you get this Raid trigger it's hard to feel good about casting this.
Aegis Turtle
1 This isn't worth a card. All it does is block, and it doesn't do it all that well, since it just absorbs damage and can't trade for anything.
Wind-Scarred Crag
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Goblin Surprise
2.5 Neither mode is great. The tokens are a bit below rate and the buff is situational, but having a choice between them is a big upgrade.
Pack 3 Pick 8: Luminous Rebuke
Secluded Courtyard
0 This format doesn't have enough of a typal theme for this to ever make sense. It will rarely produce colored mana.
Bushwhack
2.5 Each of these modes is kind of medium, but having a card that can fix your mana when you need it or be a mediocre removal spell is fine.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Vampire Soulcaller
2 Not being able to block is a big downside, as it makes it way harder to generate a 2-for-1 with this than with something like Gravedigger.
Luminous Rebuke
2.5 This is either too narrow or too expensive, but having the choice between the modes makes it greater than the sum of its parts.
Aegis Turtle
1 This isn't worth a card. All it does is block, and it doesn't do it all that well, since it just absorbs damage and can't trade for anything.
Pack 3 Pick 9: Inspiring Paladin
Swiftfoot Boots
1 For this to be good, your creature already has to be great -- and in Limited that's not very likely.
Mocking Sprite
2 Last time we saw this, the stat-line really held it back. This format has fewer incidental ways to kill it, but I'm still skeptical of it being able to stick around.
Goldvein Pick
3 This is great Equipment. It offers a good buff for the cost, and the treasure makes it very easy to move around -- while also giving you a mana boost that you might have access to every turn.
Icewind Elemental
2.5 5-mana 3/4 Flyers have held up pretty well in Limited, and a loot trigger is pretty powerful.
Spitfire Lagac
2 This has mediocre stats and an underwhelming landfall trigger.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Dismal Backwater
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 11: Bloodfell Caves
Uncharted Voyage
3 These 4-mana "Time Ebb" effects always tend to perform well. They give you good 1-for-1 removal that can even be disruptive, and adding Surveil to the mix is nice.
Macabre Waltz
2.5 Giving up a land late to get two good creatures back from the yard is a good way to win those games, although this is pretty bad when you get it early.
Crypt Feaster
2 The floor is mediocre and so is the ceiling. This isn't really the graveyard payoff you're looking for, but you'll play it.
Bloodfell Caves
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 12: Felidar Savior
Run Away Together
1.5 It's temping to imagine scenarios where you bounce a creature with an "enters" trigger or help a creature dodge removal, but this is mostly just an awkward bounce spell.
Felidar Savior
4 For 4 mana, you get 4/5 worth of stats, 2/2 of which effectively has haste, and 2/3 of which has lifelink. That's an amazing rate, and counters and life gain have support in the format.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 These all offer nice fixing, and the lifegain on the BW can be extra nice.
Pack 3 Pick 13: Squad Rallier
Squad Rallier
2.5 The stat-line is a bit underwhelming, but that activated ability is exactly what you want in the mid-to-late game. It's some serious flood insurance.
Axgard Cavalry
1.5 This stat-line is pretty bad these days, and Haste is too narrow of a keyword ability for this to be very useful.
Pack 3 Pick 14: Pilfer
Pilfer
2 This is a nice way to disrupt your opponent, although not adding to the board is always a problem.