Thoughts On Core 2019 Limited (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Core 2019 Limited is going to be fully spoiled this Friday.  Unfortunately, I'm going out of town tomorrow and won't be able to start my set review until Monday.  However, I have given myself a head start by writing down my preliminary thoughts on the cards spoiled through today, and as my patrons I wanted you guys to have early access to that.  It is 30 pages on Word, so I hope you have some free time!

Keep in mind as the set gets fully spoiled cards may move around a bit, but for now, this is how I see things.

  

CORE 2019 Limited Review!

White

Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants – B+

This is a good planeswalker, but it isn’t one of those overpowered types that just wins the game on the spot – which I think is a good thing for Limited. He can sort of protect himself – either by making a creature or creatures you have better blockers, or by bringing back a small creature from your graveyard. And his ultimate isn’t the kind that completely ends the game – not immediately anyway, but over time getting 3 1/1s with lifelink every turn will kill your opponent, unless they were insanely ahead of you. So, this Ajani is very good – but not quite “A” level good for me. He doesn’t come with removal, and it is hard to give a walker who doesn’t have a removal ability an “A” in a lot of cases. Still, he’s going to be first pickable in most packs as a B+.

Ajani’s Last Stand – B-

This is an interesting one. It basically amounts to being a 4-mana 4/4 angel with flying that makes you give up a creature. That’s not a bad deal, but it isn’t one I’m ultra excited about either. It does get better in the GW Enchantments deck and in any deck that can make creature tokens, because then you aren’t really giving anything up for the 4/4. The last line of text on it is powerful for other formats, not so powerful for Limited where most discard isn’t especially good – of course, if your opponent makes you discard with their Psychic Symbiont, you’re going to be pretty happy, and that will come up a bit, just not at on. If I were grading a 4-mana 4/4 Angel that made you give up a creature one way or another, I would probably give it a C+, I think the extra value and synergy it has in this format pushes into the B- range, though, meaning it is worth spending a first pick on – provided there’s no premium removal in your pack. 

Ajani’s Pridemate – C // B

This thing is obviously a build around, but he does benefit from having a reasonable ceiling as a two-mana 2/2. If your deck can get a few cards with lifegain in it he will more than pull his weight, and if your deck has a ton of life gain, he can get pretty insane.

Ajani’s Welcome – F / C

This effect just isn’t worth it in your average Limited deck. It will gain you a fairly negligible amount of life, something like 5-7 a game on average. But, there IS a lifegain deck in this format, and the payoffs for gaining life are pretty real, and I think in that deck you feel alright running this. I think this is an F though in most Limited decks, and I’m giving it a buildaround grade of a C.

Angel of the New Dawn – B-

Well we saw this a few sets ago, more or less – Dawnfeather Eagle was the same apart from creature type, and it ended up being super strong. A 5-mana 3/3 flyer that pumps your whole board and gives it vigilance is kind of nuts for a common, so I’m surprised to see it at that rarity again. Even when you just have like 2 other creatures in play this is nice, and it gets crazy if you’re going really wide. It is great in a race, because it lets you smash into your opponent without giving up blockers. This is going to be one of White’s best Commons, only coming in below something like Luminous Bonds, I think.

Cavalry Drillmaster – C+

This is a quality common. A two-mana 2/1 isn’t great, but this card gets some serious points for also being relevant in the latter part of the game. +2/+0 and first strike is enough to make most creatures a problem for your opponent to block, so chances are he’s going to come down and get you an attack you wouldn’t have had otherwise, in addition to offering up a body that can trade with a ton of things. He’s a nice common, and I’m going to give him a C+.

Cleansing Nova – B-

Boardsweepers can be kind of awkward in Limited. Usually if you are an aggressive deck, they aren’t the greatest. I still think they are playable there, as they give you a reset button if things go awry, and that can often win you the game. But sweepers are just going to be better in more controlling decks. This one is nice though, because even if you are ahead on board, you can use it to blow up a couple of artifacts and/or enchantments. Overall, I do think this is first pickable, but just barely because it just won’t be at its best in a lot of decks, I’m going to give it a B-. I like the idea of starting my draft with a boardsweeper and sort of building around that knowledge.

Contrite Cleric – C+

A two-mana 2/1 with Flying is good, and this comes with a bit of added value in the ability to get rid of cards in the graveyard. That isn’t going to be super relevant in this format, but there’s enough graveyard stuff going on for it to be pretty good. You would play as many of these as you could get – course it’s a rare, so you won’t get many. IT’s a C+.

Daybreak Chaplain – C

A two-mana 1/3 with lifelink is fine, but not much else. It is definitely an obnoxious blocker for decks with lots of 2/2s or creature tokens, and it carries equipment and auras well – as lifelink creatures always do. Seem like the kind of two drop you will end up with one of in a lot of White decks, but it is never one you’re excited about. Think that’s a classic C.

Dwarven Priest – C

4-mana for a 2/4 isn’t terribly off-rate, and in a worst-case this is a 4-mana 2/4 that gains you 1 life. You can definitely go wider and gain a bunch with it too. Seems like a good card for helping you stabilizing in the early game, should super fast aggro decks be a thing here. Still, I’m giving it a C.

Fell Specter – C+

A 4-mana 1/3 with flying is pretty awful stats, but one that makes your opponent discard something and does 2 damage to them? That’s not bad. It isn’t going to be easy to cash in the discard damage more than just when you play the card, but there are some other good ways to cash in on it, with the UB signpost uncommon first coming to mind. But yeah, I’d play this even if it was a 4-mana 1/3 flyer that made them discard a card and only did 2, which is what it will be most of the time. I think it is a C+.

Herlad of Faith – B-

A 5-mana 4/3 flyer is already knocking on the door of the lower B range, adding the fact that it gains you 2 life each time it attacks puts it firmly in there. I’m going to give this a B-, it is one of White’s best uncommons in the set.

Inspired Charge – D / C+

We’ve seen this one a lot. It is basically always a build around. If there is a go-wide deck in this format, it will be the win condition for a lot of them. If there isn’t, it will barely see play. It is probably like a D in a typical deck and could kick up to a C+ in a deck that can really go wide. 

Knight of the Tusk – C

Some interesting stats here. This is the kind of thing you want vigilance on too, because there will be board states where your opponent just can’t block it effectively and has to take 3, and then they have to deal with it as a blocker too. Still, it isn’t exactly something you jump for joy for. It’s basically filler, I’ll give it a C.

Knight’s Pledge – C-

We’ve been seeing lots of efficiently costed auras lately, and Knight’s Pledge is another in that line. No One With the Wind, but it does offer significant stats boost for a low cost. Like all auras it has the problem of really opening you up to a blow out, but if you can put this on something evasive and your opponent can’t deal with it? You’ll be in good shape. IN other words, it is super swingy. I’m going to start it where I start most playable Auras, and that’s a C.

Loxodon Line Breaker – D+

Yawn. This is just a vanilla creature with mediocre stats. That’s kind of the classic definition of a “D.” You’ll play this in a world where you can’t seem to find yourself enough playables or enough creatures, but in an ideal world you’re never playing it.

Luminous Bonds – B-

Just like last time we saw it, Bonds is premium removal and one of the best commons in this set. You can take it over the bulk of cards you’ll see in your pack. I’m going to give it a B-.

Mentor of the Meek – D // C+

This is a cool card to see a reprint of, but it isn’t a super good one for Limited. You don’t really want a deck with a bunch of 2 power or less creatures in Limited, that’s a good way to get owned because your board needs to progressively get bigger in your typical limited game. Now, I’m not saying the Mentor will never work out – sometimes it will, because you can make a lot of creature tokens or whatever. But I don’t thik I would firs tpick it, though it does have a high ceiling. It’s going to be a D in your typical Limited deck, and a B- in a deck with, let’s say 10 creatures that can trigger tha ability.

Mighty Leap – C

This is a playable combat trick, and it offers more upside than most combat tricks because sometimes it can just end the game for you out of nowhere. I mean, I guess all combat tricks can do that – but not all of htem offer you flying, which can just make a stable board into game over for your opponent sometimes. Still, it’s just a combat trick and it has the inherent risks that they all have – serious blowout potential – you’ll play one in any white deck with like 15 creatures in most cases, but it isn’t going to be great most of the time. It’s a C.

Militia Bugler – C+

This guy’s pretty good as a 3-mana 2/3 with Vigilance already, I mean – that would probably be a C on its own, maybe getting close to the C+ range. The additional ability it has does make it better, but in your typical Limited deck I feel like that trigger will miss like half the time. And I don’t think you should warp your deck too much to make it so that you hit more consistently with this, if your’e doing that, your deck is going to be in trouble because it has too many small creatures in it. If this format ends up being stupid fast, he would definitely move into the B range because suddenly you will WANT to be playing all the 2-power guys you can. This is definitely going to be better in constructed, where you can build a deck with more 2 power creatures.

Oreskos Swiftclaw – C

I like two-mana 3/1s reasonably. They can trade up in the late game sometimes (like for an X/3 it blocks), and in the early game they can hit pretty hard. Not much more to say about this vanilla dude. He’s a C, a fine two-drop.

Pegasus Courser – C+

We just had this guy in Dominaria, where he was one of the best White commons around. Looks like we’ll be seeing even more of him. This flying horse is great because it offers good defensive stats as long as you need it to, and when it is time to go on the offensive it can send a lot of damage up in the air. You’ll play as many of these as you can get your hands on in creature-heavy white decks. I’m going to give it a C+.

Resplendent Angel – A

3-mana 3/3 flyers have been known to quickly kill opponents who don’t have removal for them, and this one comes with a whole bunch of extra text. She would probably be a B on stats alone. Add all the rest of to the mix and she gets a whole lot stronger – if your deck is capable of gaining lots of life she can just make a bunch of Serra Angels. I do think it will be hard for most decks to gain 5 life a turn in Limited, but she has that covered with her second ability, which basically reads “Cause a 10 point life swing between you and your opponent, make a 4/4 Angel.” Sure, she could get killed in response to the ability which will really hurt, but if your opponent can’t answer this they’re just dead. This is a solid A.

Revitalize – C-

This lifegain spell is kind of interesting. Usually spells that just gain life, even if they are cantrips, aren’t great. We’ve seen similar stuff like Healing Hands in the past, but that was sorcery speed and cost one more mana. I think this actually does enough for two mana to be playable sometimes in your White decks, it is basically just a card with cycling that gains you a couple life. That’s a C-.

Rustwing Falcon – D

Here’s my vote for the card that new players will overrate the most in this set! There’s always sort of a card like this where talking about the Vanilla test/French Vanilla test is important – this card isn’t good. I mean yeah, it’s a one mana ½ with fying, maybe that’s more than you expect to get for one mana, and hey at least it is relevant in the late game because evasion. But the problem is that a ½ quickly gets outmatched. Sure, if your opponent has like no flyers or something maybe it remains relevant – but in most cases it will quickly get outclassed by like turn 3, at which point it is useless. You’ll play it if your’e desperate for a creature – but that means it is a D.

Serra’s Guardian – A-

A 6-mana 5/5 flyer with Vigilance is great – I mean just think about Serra Angel which is a great Limited card – this costs one more and gives you an additional +1/+1 in stats! Not only that, it also gives your whole board Vigilance. Vigilance isn’t he most exciting keyword ability ever, but it is certainly some extra gravy on top of an already incredible creature. I’m going to start this at B+, there aren’t many cards you should take over her.

Shield Mare – C+/B-

A 3-mana 2/3 that gains you 3 life when it comes into place is pretty nice. The fact that sometimes it will be difficult to block makes it even a little bit more valuable, but like most of these Mares, it is playable enough without that line of text, that you don’t really want to be putting this in your sideboard. It is a C+.

Star-Crowned Stag – C+

We’ve seen this card under many guises, most recently [that three drop dino]. This is a little slower, so it probably won’t quite be the force that card was – but this effect is still pretty strong. There are frequently board states where turning off one of your opponent’s blockers means you can just attack with everything, and this is the kind of common that really forces your opponent to play less aggressively or end up in a world of hurt, and that’s not too hard to punish. It’s a good common, I’m going to give it a C+. If this format is really fast, I could see it going higher.

Take Vengeance – C+

This isn’t premium removal, unfortunately. But it’s fine. It at least kills things pretty efficiently at two mana, but the conditions it asks for make it much less powerful. The creature has to be tapped, and that means most of the time a more offensive minded deck won’t be interested in this type of removal, they want a way to get blockers out of the way – this doesn’t do that. It’s also only a sorcery, so if you’re the defensive-minded deck where this is better-suited, you still have to take a hit to the face from something before you kill it. Don’t get me wrong, removal is removal, and as such it can’t drop too low, but I just want to convey this isn’t removal in the “first pickable” camp. I’m going to give it a C+.

Trusty Packbeast – D+//C+

This has ok stats as a 3-mana 2/3, but you probably don’t want to play it if your deck doesn’t have any artifacts. I mean, you will if you’re desperate for playable – but that makes it like a D in your typical limited deck. Get 4 or 5 artifacts though and this moves into the solid playable range of a C+.

Valiant Knight – C+ / B

A 4-mana ¾ that can make itself indestructible for 5-mana is already like a C+ -- add some Knights to the mix and this gets considerably better, all the way up to B. I could see first picking this since it has a reasonable floor and high ceiling.

Blue

Air Elemental – B

Air Elemental has appeared in a lot of core sets, and is frequently on the short list of Blue’s best commons or uncommons in a format, and I think that’s the case here. The stats and evasiveness it offers are great for the mana cost. Not much more to be said about it. Might be kind of boring, but it is definitely worth of a first pick. 

Anticipate – C

This card is basically the Opt of this set. It is fine, and is a good way to get deeper into your deck, but it doesn’t actually do that much. It is going to be a 23rd card in a lot of decks, though, and if you manage to build a spells matter deck it obviously goes higher, but I’m going to give it a C.

Aven Wind Mage – C+

Poor Wind Drake. Was a time where a 3-mana 2/2 vanilla flyer at common was a pretty good common, but the last few sets have really shown us some power creep on wind drakes – we had the Kicker one in Dominaria, the one who gave other stuff flying in Ixalan block – and now this thing. 3-mana for a 2/2 flyer is already a good rate, so adding the “pseudo-prowess” ability this thing has makes it a pretty nice common. Your opponent will have to think twice before attacking into or blocking this if they have X/3s, because who knows what you might have in your hand! This is a C+.

Aviation Pioneer – C+

This is a very good common. We have seen cards pretty close to it before – back in Kaladesh and Magic Origins – but not these exact stats. But you are paying 3-mana for 2/3 worth of stats, and the 1/1 has flying, and that’s a pretty nice deal. It gets bonus point too, because artifacts are the UW archetype. This is one of Blue’s best commons, and a C+ -- maybe even a B-.

Cancel – D // C

I think Wizards is contractually obligated to put Cancel in every Standard format. It’s not good in most Limited formats, and what I have seen so far leads me to believe this format is going to be fairly fast, and Cancel isn’t really going to work out for you there. I’ll do my usual counterspell soap box thin here, feel free to skip if you’ve heard me say it before. Counterspells DO NOT equal removal. I know many people think of them that way. They aren’t, though, and that’s because with removal you don’t have to leave mana up to use it at the exact right time – with a counterspell you do – so cheaper counterspells, like those that cost 2 or less, are miles better than 3-mana one. Leaving up 3-mana is a massive opportunity cost. Oh the things you could have done with that 3 mana! If your opponent doesn’t play into your Cancel it’s really going to hurt you. That said, even an expensive counterspell like this one has its place coming out of sideboards, against decks with a bomb or three, it’s worth maybe not getting to use all of your mana once or twice during a game. I’m going to give it a D mainboard, and a C in the side.

Departed Deckhand – B-

I like this card a lot. It is a two-mana 2/2 that is unblockable the vast majority of the time, and in the late game it turns into an incredible manasink that makes your other creatures nigh-unblockable. Sure, your opponent can target it with any spell, including a combat trick to kill it – but if it didn’t have that downside it would be utterly insane for an uncommon. I think this is first pickable a lot of the time, I’m giving it a B-.

Disperse – C+

We have seen this card and cards like it a lot lately, and they never disappoint. The flexibility of bouncing any nonland permanent at instant speed is nice, and two mana is a fair cost for that. You can just do a ton of things with it. Bounce spells frequently just give you some tempo – that is, they play like an 5-drop and you pay tow mana to make them do it again – and that’s nice. But that’s really just the base of this card. Sometimes you can actually trade cards with your opponent, or blow them out – like if they try to put an aura on something or use a combat trick. Those situations will arise, so be ready for them in this format. This is one of Blue’s better commons, I’m going to give it a C+

Divination – C-

We just came from a format where this overperformed, but Dominaria was super slow. Most formats Divination isn’t terrible but certainly not the kind of card you look forward to casting either. I’m going to be skeptical and go on the lower end here – I think they’re trying to trick us! I’m going to give it a C-.

Dwindle – C+

I think I like this spell. It is a cool yet simple design. Blue almost never gets “premium” removal spells, while other colors do, but I think this gets close. Typically a blue removal spell would only have the first line of text on this card, the -6/-0 part – and that would be a playable removal spell. But instead of leaving an obnoxious blocker behind forever, Dwindle makes sure that that creature can only block once after you put the Dwindle on it, then it goes away. I’m a fan. I think this is arguably Blue’s best common, but I’m still hesitant to call a card that doesn’t completely remove a creature from the battlefield right when you play it “premium,” so I’m going to start it at C+.

Exclusion Mage – B

Say hello to what is probably Blue’s best uncommon, and a contender to be my favorite card in the set. If you know my content, you know I love Man-O’-Wars, and it has been awhile since we’ve had a 3-mana 2/2 that can bounce something – and that’s what we have here. Cards like this are valuable because they allow you to develop your board while you set your opponent’s back a bit, all with one card. This is a first pick quality uncommon, and a solid B.

Frilled Sea Serpent – C-

If your Blue deck is lacking finishers, this seems like the kind of thing that can get it done for you. Basically a bad Gearseeker Serpent, this thing is nothing special. It costs a ton, and if your opponent does anything in response to that activated ability you may as well pack up your cards and go home. But you could do worse as a finisher. I’m going to give it a C-.

Gearsmith Prodicy – D // C

So this is a build around for the Artifact deck. And not a very exciting one, for Limited anyway (could have applications in constructed I suppose). I think you should basically never play this in a deck that doesn’t have any artifacts, and it’s probably like a C in a deck that does.

Ghostform – D+

This has some potential, especially in a spells matter deck where this might pump your guys while also making them unblockable. But it does ask you to be a Blue deck with a significant number of creatures that are worth making unblockable, and that isn’t something a Blue deck can always promise you. I’m skeptical of this for now, and going to give it a D+.

Horizon Scholar – B-

Woo baby, I like this card. We just had a scry sphynx in Dominaria and it was pretty good, ad this one is comparable. I’m hesitant to say it is better, since it costs one more and all you get out of that deal is another toughness – but that one toughness does matter when you look around at the removal in this format. Either way, this is a good card, and I think first pickable. Good evasive stats and the ability to improve your draws is something I’m happen to do at 6.

Metamorphic Alteration – B

This is kind of a weird card, but I think it is actually quite good. It is incredibly flexible – you can put it on your opponent’s best creature to make it whatever the worst creature on the table is, and you can use it on your creature to make it whatever the best creature on the table is. That’s pretty strong for two mana. Obviously it is kind of useless in some situations, where the downgrade or upgrade just isn’t significant enough, but I think this will pull value frequently enough that I am going to start this format by taking it pretty early. I think it is a solid B.

Mirror Image – B-

This is an interesting design as a one-sided clone. While it has some problems – for instance you can’t play it on an empty board – overall this seems pretty good, as it will give you a second copy of whatever your best creature in play is. In the later game that is probably worth more than 3 mana. It also gets better when you copy things with ETB triggers. This card is definitely harder to judge than your typical clone, but I think it is still a pretty strong one, and one that you should consider first picking. I’m going to give it a B-.

Mistcaller – F / D

This doesn’t do much in this format. You definitely want to start it in your sideboard, because one-mana 1/1s that don’t do anything are worthless. However, if you go up against someone playing Bone Dragon or Isareth the Awakener, well, siding it in isn’t the worst option. But it is good in such narrow scenarios that I think even as a sideboard card, it tops out as a D.

One With the Machine – F // C+

Obviously, this is a buildaround. If your deck doesn’t have any artifacts with reasonably high CMCs (I think you want to have at least a 3 in play for this to be good, a 2 in play isn’t horrendous though), you just can’t play this, and it is an F. There will be times where this can draw an absurd number of cards, but I think it will usually get you 2-4, which is still pretty good for the right deck. But don’t go after this early, see if you are getting a decent number of Artifacts first. I think it is a C+ in the deck that can use it best, which is probably UW.

Omenspeaker - C

I love Scrying, and I’m happy to see Omenspear is back. Decent stats for a defensive deck, and relevance at all stages of the game thanks to Scry makes this an appealing card to me for my Blue decks. Still, it isn’t incredible. I’m going to give it a C.

Omniscience – F

Have fun trying to cast this in Limited. This isn’t Dominaria all over again, where getting to 10 is pretty likely – this format looks like it will be at least average speed instead of glacial.  But like, even if you DO get to 10 in Limited, guess what? Your hand is probably empty because the game has been going on so long and you had to use your cards to get you there, and you can cast any cards you draw because – guess what? You have 10 mana! So yeah, it is basically a 10-mana do nothing, and a total F.

Patient Rebuilding – C+

This is an interesting card. In Limited it does have a very real chance of milling your opponent to death, but I think most of the value comes from the drawing extra cards. Most of the time you’ll draw one off of this every upkeep, and that’s nice. Sometimes you will get to draw more – and sometimes you’ll get 0 – I’ll like Frank Karsten do the math on all those outcomes, but my feeling is that the typical interaction will be drawing one card. 5 is an expensive Phyrexian Arena, and it is an Enchantment that doesn’t impact the board at all, so there will be states where you just can’t slam this on turn 5 and hope you survive. If this format turns out to be a grind it will be better, but I’m going to start it at C+.

Sai, Master Thopterist – F // A-

Obviously enough, this is a buildaround. I think your average deck in this format is going to have like, 1 Artifact in it, and if that’s what you got, you probably shouldn’t play Sai, though he isn’t horrendous on the Vanilla test, he certainly isn’t good. However, once you end up with an artifact heavy deck he becomes pretty insane. Making Thopter tokens and having the ability to turn artifacts into cards is incredibly strong. While he has a pretty terrible floor, his ceiling is so high that I think risking a first pick on him is worth it, since I think he can get all the way into the A-range in a deck with 7-10 artifacts.

Salvager of Secrets – C

I think it is fair to compare this to Ghitu Chronicler in Dominaria, it will serve the same role in a deck. Unlike chronicler it can’t come down early and protect you in an emergency, but it also costs one lost and comes iwht more power, so I think they are very comparable cards. We’ve seen other cards like this too, and they’re basically always nice cards for Blue decks in Limited – buying back removal spells is good, I know shocking! That said, it doesn’t fit into every deck ever – if you have like 2 instants or sorceries this isn’t hwat you want to be doing, and to reflect that I’m going to give it a C.

Scholar of Stars – F // C+

This is a build around who has grades that are very far apart. A 4-mana 3/2 is just horrendous, so you don’t want to play this in a deck where you can never get the “Draw a card” trigger. IF your deck can consistently trigger that though, this suddenly becomes pretty good, moving into the C+ range. Don’t take this early, other people won’t be either – take it if you end up with some artifacts and it will work for you.

Skilled Animator – F // C+

This is another all-or-nothing buildaround that cares about artifacts. This thing is downright bad in a deck without enough artifacts, but in a deck where you have like 6 or 7, it can be pretty good. The kind of tricky thing is that ideally you want non-creature artifacts to be the target of this, because if you’re targeting an artifact creature with it you aren’t gaining as much value, as you will only be improving the creature, so the total amount of Power and Toughness gained is much lower. Its all or nothing nature means it is a straight F in your typical Limited deck, but moves into the C+ range in a deck with enough artifacts.

Sleep – C+

Cards like this are hard to represent properly with a grade. This card is at its best in an aggressive deck. People sometimes think of it the other way around, but there’s a pretty basic reason why it is better in an aggro deck: your opponent’s creatures are tapped for two rounds of blocking. They’re only tapped for one round of attacking. This is the kind of card that can just straight end games, because suddenly your board of 10 power can just bash into your opponent a couple time. It isn’t terrible in less aggressive decks, since it can buy you some time, but it is definitely the kind of card that is best when you have a board state that can punish your opponent. This card has an enormously high ceiling, and anyone playing a creature-heavy Blue deck in Limited will love this, and have this be one of their best cards. Still, I don’t think I would recommend first picking it, because not everyone blue deck will go down that road. I’m going to start it at C+.

Snapping Drake – C

Another French Vanilla reprint, and we have seen functional reprints of this and color-shifted versions of this all over. Aven Sentry in Dominaria for example. Like all those that came before it, this is a fine 4-drop and flyer to have in your deck, but it’s nothing special.

Surge Mare – C

I think this may be the weakest Mare in the cycle. Starting out as a 0/5 for UU is kind of rough. Yeah, you can make it also be a 2/3 or a 4/1, and it has a nice trigger when you hit the opponent, but I think this one is the one most likely to stay in sideboards in some cases. This is because the stats just don’t lend themselves to just any Blue deck, only the more controlling ones. I think this is a solid C still, so it is playable, but I have the other mares higher.

Tolarian Scholar – D

Tolarian Scholar overperformed a little in Dominaria because of its creature type. That won’t matter here. So you’re just getting a 3-mana 2/3. So yeah, don’t play this unless you’re desperate. I’m giving it a D.

Totally Lost – C+

We’ve seen this a lot, and it is always solid. It isn’t efficient, but unlike a lot of Blue spells that interact with your opponent’s creatures – this one actually lets you trade for a card, since it puts the card back on top of your opponent’s library. So this one gives you both tempo and a card, and sometimes you can get a two-for-one if a combat trick or an Aura is involved. You’ll play the first one of these in almost any Blue deck.

Uncofmortable Chill – C-

If this wasn’t a cantrip it would probably be like a D-, adding the Cantrip effect helps salvage the card, but it still isn’t going to be good. It is sort of like a fog effect, and sometimes you’ll find a way to make it so you kill a creature with its help and that’ll be nice. But this is nothing special. I’m giving it a D+.

Wall of Mist – D+

If your deck has a lot of flyers or is interested in being defensive earlier, this is for you. Otherwise, steer clear. 

Waterknot – B-

This is another pretty solid removal spell for Blue, and it was last time we saw it, since it locks down a creature. It has the problem of a lot of Blue removal spells: activated abilities and static abilities might still be a problem, but that is a corner case in most cases.

Black:

Abnormal Endurance – C-

We have seen almost this card before – Supernatural Stamina, which did the exact same thing and had a synonymous name, but it cost one lest mana. Supernatural Stamina was pretty nice – a trick that makes your creature able to kill something it couldn’t before, and keeps your creature alive is strong. Especially if that creature has a ETB ability, because you get to trigger it all over again! That said, increasing the mana cost by 100% does decrease how good this trick is, but that’s ok, as Supernatural Stamina is one of the best combat tricks in recent memory. This one is still an ok playable for any Black deck, but it is a card that will also be easy to cut. I’m giving it a C-.

Blood Divination – C

This would have been pretty powerful in Dominaria’s black decks, with Saprolings all over the place. It is less powerful here, there isn’t a creature-token centric archetype in Black, instead the ideal thing to do with this is sacrifice something that gives you value when it dies – or better, use a Threaten effect to steal your opponent’s creature and THEN sacrifice it, that’s some insane value. That said, there will be lots of times where you just can’t cast this thing because you can’t give up your board position. It is going to be better in the late game than anywhere else in most scenarios. I’m going to start it at C.

Bogstomper – C- 

This is a Vanilla creature, but it brings some reasonable stats to the table, so I think it is a little better than a typical “D” Vanilla creature with mediocre stats. Not by a lot, mind you, but I can see a lot of black decks running this at the top of their curve when they don’t find a better option. I’m going to give it a C-.

Bone Dragon – A-

Hard to find anything wrong with this card, it boasts impressive stats, and it refuses to stay dead. You do need some ample graveyard resources to bring him back, but just the fact that you can play this early and say “if you can’t kill ths, you’re probably dead!” and then get him back later in the game is pretty disgusting. This is a first pickable bomb, and an A-

Child of Night – C-

A two-mana 2/1 with Lifelink is nothing special, even in a set where lifegain is an archetype (the BW one in particular). I don’t think this is the kind of card you feel bad about having as a two-drop, but I think you can do a whole lot better. I’m going to give it a C- -- obviously it does go up slightly, probably to solid C stats – in a synergistic BW deck.

Death Baron – D- // B-

This set has several skeletons and Zombies, which makes playing the Death Baron possible. However, on his own he is pretty terrible – that said, I think your typical deck with Black in it probably has at least a couple zombies or skeletons without really trying, so it isn’t a straight up F in your typical limited deck – but it is probably a D-, which isn’t much better. That said, as you get more skeletons and zombies, his value goes up drastically, and he is like a B- in a deck where you really get there with those creature – let’s say with 7 or more of them. Pumping and deathtouch can be a real beating for your opponent. I wouldn’t take it early despite the high ceiling, just because it has such a low floor.

Demon of Catastrophes – B

Oh, hey, Zahid is back! Ok, not exactly – but similar. If you can jump through some hoops, you can have a 4-mana massive flyer – in this case a 6/6 with trample too. The hoops to jump through here are easier than even Zahid was – but it is also costlier – tapping an artifact is way less of a cost than giving up a creature. That said, black seems well-suited to have creatures who do nice things when they die, and if you can combo this with those that’s pretty sweet. Even if you can’t, giving up your 2-drop on turn 4 for a 6/6 with flying an trample is worth it for sure. I think he is a solid B.

Diregraf Ghoul – C-

One mana 2/2s already aren’t great in Limited because they can get outclassed so quickly. They are pretty good in constructed because you can have a critical mass of cards that allows your deck to consistently curve out, but that doesn’t happen in MOST limited formats (although, if this format is anything like our last core set, Magic Origins, then curving out may be a real possibility). This one-mana 2/2 also comes with a downside – and it is actually a significant one. If you get him late and he has to come into play tapped it could really cost you. Obviously coming down as a one-mana 2/2 on turn one it won’t really matter that he’s tapped, but at all other stages it might matter. This thing is a C-.

Epicure of Blood – D+ / C

A 5-mana 4/4 is some pretty mediocre stats, but this one does come with a text box – sometimes anyway. A lifegain buildaround, the Epicure really wants you to gain life so it can do some extra damage to your opponent. But honestly? It is perhaps the weakest lifegain payoff in the set, coming with an over-costed body and a pretty mild upside. Not saying you won’t play it, just don’t go after it super hard unless you’re firmly in the lifegain deck,a nd even then I think he will get cut sometimes. All that means he is a D in your typical Limited deck in this format, and like a C in the life gain deck.

Gravedigger – B-

Graveidgger is back! Every time it is around it is one of Black’s better Limited cards. We’ve seen it tons of times, most recently in Amonkhet. Just like in that set, he is uncommon – which is a good thing, in past core sets Gravedigger at common made Black decks a little overpowered. So what makes this good? Well a 4-mana 2/2 isn’t very good, but getting a creature back from your graveyard at the same time makes this a 2-for-1. It gets better if you have creatures with ETB or death triggers, or just big bomby creatures, as the value of the cards he is getting back go up. Gravedigger is first pickable in some waker packs, I’m going to give it a B-.

Graveyard Marshal – B+

Wow this thing is good. A two-mana 3/2 does great on the vanilla test, and then this comes with the very powerful ability to turn any creature card in your graveyard into a 2/2 Zombie Token. This means he is great on turn two because of the stats, and excellent late because it can turn your graveyard into a horde of zombies. It does cost double Black, but that’s not a huge hurdle since playing it late is so good. I think you should first pick this almost every time you see it, I’m giving it a B+.

Infernal Judgment – F

Uh yeah, this wasn’t printed with Limited in mind at all. It was printed as a sideboard answer against Eldrazi in the Eternal formats. There might be a rare occasion where you side this in because your opponent has several artifact creatures, but that doesn’t seem very likely to me. I’m just going to give it an F.

Infernal Scarring – D

We saw this card in our last core set, Magic Origins! That was a set which was stupid aggressive, and this card still wasn’t very good. No toughness boost means it is kind of difficult for you to make the creature into a better attacker. Sure, unlike a lot of Auras at least this one replaces itself, but still. I don’t like it – I’m going to give it a D.

Isareth the Awakener – B+

A 3-mana 3/3 with Deathtouch is already a really good card. Creatures with deathtouch are great, because they can trade for anything. This particular one also comes with another huge block of text this is also powerful. Death touch creatures are already kind of a pain to block, and this one gets to bring back a buddy from the graveyard every time she attacks. So she is really good, and probably the best 3-drop in the entire set? Not a bad distinction to have. She’s not quite a Bomb, but it is hard for most 3-drops to be, and she’s about as close as you can get. I’m giving her a B+, meaning I’m happy to first pick her even over premium removal.

Lich’s Caress – B-

This is a good removal spell. Sure, it is a little bit clunky at 5 mana – and if this format turns out to be super fast this might slip a little bit, but in most Limited formats this would be really good. It even does a good job of making up for the fact that you may well have to take your entire turn to cast it by gaining you some life, which makes up at least a little bit for the fact that you may not get to advance your board the turn you cast it. This is a good removal spell, one I will feel fine about spending a first pick on. I’m going to give it a B-.

Murder – B+

Murder is always incredibly good. 3-mana at instant speed to kill anything is great. Sure, you can’t really splash it, but that’s probably a good thing for the health of the format! This is a B+.

Nightmare’s Thirst – D+ // B-

Say hello to a life gain buildaround. In most cases, it will be best suited to a BW deck, although sometimes any Black deck can end up with enough lifegain to play it. It also ins’t completely unplayable alone – one mana to give something -1/-1 and gain you one life at Instant speed is by no means Good, but it isn’t unplayable. I think it is a D+ in your typical Limited deck in thie format, but it can easily move up to the B- area in a deck that can really abuse it, where it basically becomes Path of Exile with no drawback.

Open the Graves – C+

On the face of this, it is a 5-mana enchantment that doesn’t do anything immediately to improve your boar dstate, and that can be bad. But, being able to get value out of every creature that dies is great. Suddenly your trades aren’t really trades any more, and you come out on the better end of all of them. That said, it does require you to have some board presence – and its ideal home is in the BR sacrifice deck that can really easily get the Zombie tokens and really easily use them – but I think it is will be solid in most Black decks. But I don’t think it is close to first pickable. I’m going to give it a C+

Phylactery Lich – F

While obviously quite powerful, this has two different things holding you back. 1) The triple Black cost means it just won’t be playable in most Limited decks, and 2) having artifacts for this to put its phylactery counter on is a real cost, and Black doesn’t have much artifact synergy apart from this, so basically almost no Limited deck will be able to play this. For the odd mono-black artifact-heavy deck you end up with it will be strong – but in most cases, you just can’t play it, and I’m going to give it an F to reflect that. I could give it a buildaround grade too, but it just seems too difficult to pull off.

Plague Mare – B-

The Black part of the mare cycle, Plague Mare comes with a pretty powerful ETB trigger – note it only hits your opponent’s creatures – that’s actually pretty powerful on a three drop. You can easily set up attacks where this finishes off creatures, and it obviously really punishes any X/1s your opponent is playing. Just how good the Mare is in a given game is dependent on your opponent’s deck, but I think it is a solid playable in any deck at all. Making it give you at least a 2-for-1 isn’t far-fetched, and I think I would consider first picking this in a weaker back. I’m giving it a B-.

Reassembling Skeleton – D // C

This card is meant to slide into decks that can take advantage of sacrificing creatures, as he is constant sacrifice fodder. I think that is basically the only place you play him, and even there he’s probably a C. A two-mana 1/1 that refuses to die just isn’t enough for me.

Skeleton Archer – C

This is a solid common. A 4-mana 3/3 isn’t great stats, but not too far off from what you expect – something like a 4/3 or a ¾ would be better – but the ETB trigger on it makes up for that. You can use it to do the last damage to a creature your opponent tblocked with, to straight up kill an X/1, and in a worst-case scenario, you still get to hit your opponent for one. I’m going to give this a C – you’ll play one of them in all your Black decks, basically.

Skymarch Bloodletter – C+

Another card from the fairly recent past, I think it will be just as good here. A 3-mana 2/2 with flying is solid stats, and the ETB trigger here is also nice. There is even a lifegain deck in this format to take advantage of that ETB trigger. This is one of Black’s better commons, I’m going to give it a C+.

Sovereign’s Bite – F

I don’t like cards like this in most formats. They don’t impact the board in any way. Sure, 6 damage of life swing can be nice, and sometimes it will end games, but you gotta have cards that actually impact the board. This card is pretty bad unless you’re way ahead of your opponent and beating down on them. It isn’t good if you’re behind or at parity, because it just won’t do anything. I’m going to give it an F.

Stitcher’s Supplier – F // C+

So milling yourself can be good in some decks, but won’t be in most in this format, making this an F in most decks. It looks like UB is probably going to be the most interested in milling itself, and it will be a solid playable there, and good at enabling graveyard synergy. BG could also be a fan of this. I think it is a C+ there.

Strangling Spores – B-

Another good black common, giving a creature -3/-3 at Instant speed for 4 seems like an ok deal to me. These kinds of weakening effects always have a little extra utility too, sure – you can use it as straight up removal to kill something with 3 or less toughness – but you can also use it to weaken a creature and then block it to kill it without losing your creature. I think this is another first pickable Black common, I’m going to give it a B-.

Two-Headed Zombie - C

A 4-mana 4/2 menace is some pretty aggressive stats. A lot of the time he will at least get you a 2-for-1, thanks to that Menace. Menace creatures are always super amazing with combat tricks too, since you KNOW your opponent has to set themselves up for a 2-for-1 if they want to kill it. So this will be a nice pick up for aggressive black decks, but it’s nothing special. I’m going to give it a C.

Vampire Sovereign – B

Look, Siege Rhino is back! Ok, maybe that’s hyperbolic, but this is a very good uncommon. A 5 mana for a ¾ flyer is already a pretty good deal, adding the Lightning Helix to your opponent’s dome effect makes this even better. The Sovereign is much better than her bite, since she brings an impressive body with her. The 6-point life swing means you get value out of it even if it dies (again, think Siege Rhino)

Walking Corpse – D+

Hello generic two-mana 2/2. There once was a time when vanilla Grizzly Bears were Cs in limited, but creature power creep is real, and these days you only play these vanilla dudes when you’re desperate for a two-drop. I’m going to give this a D+.

Red

Act of Treason – D

This card is always interesting. In most cases in the past when its been printed, it is commonly one of the last cards in packs during the draft. But I don’t think it is unplayable – it just isn’t great. It can be good in a couple scenarios though: one of these is that your deck is incredibly aggressive, and Act of Treason can consistently end games for you. The other is that you have sacrifice outlets that let you actually kill your opponent’s creature in addition to stealing it. Still, those two corner-cases aside, this isn’t very good. I’m going to give it a D.

Alpine Moon – F

This thing isn’t printed for Limited, it is printed to hold down the flip-lands in standard and tron lends in non-rotating formats. It will basically do nothing in this Limited format, and is deserving of its F.

Apex of Power – F

This card is cool, but I don’t think it is especially good. 10 mana should end a game, and this won’t do that consistently enough. Its too random – sure, 7 cards is a huge percentage of your deck in Limited, but on average like 3 of those are going to be lands. Maybe you get 4 other spells, but you can’t even cast all of them, because the card still makes you pay their mana costs. Sure, it gives you your 10 mana back, but still. Maybe it will prove me wrong, but I just don’t imagine this working out very well between costing 10 mana and being inconsistent.

Banefire – A-

X burn spells are excellent in Limited, they scale as the game goes on, unlike most Red removal spells – meaning this can kill pretty much anything. It can also go to the dome to end the game when necessary. This is something you first pick most of the time when you see it, I’m giving it an A-.

Catalyst Elemental – C

A 3-mana 2/2 that can sacrifice for two Red seems pretty ok to me. It can help you cast bigger creatures and spells and that’s nice. But I don’t think this is anything special. You’ll play one or two in most Red decks but never be thrilled about it. I’ll give it a C.

Dark-Dweller Oracle – C+

So this is a two-mana 2/2 with some serious upside. This is red’s pseudo-card draw effect, and this is the most powerful version of it, because you can even play lands off of this – with some of these effects you don’t get to play lands. It has a really low mana-cost to use the effect too, so you have a good shot at actually being able to play what you reveal. In a worst case scenario, this can sacrifice itself for the effect – it gets really nasty though when you bring in creature tokens, or creatures that your opponent targets with removal. It kind of incentivizes your opponent to cast removal on their own turn in a weird way, since if you reveal anything that isn’t an Instant you won’t get to use it. Making your opponent do it on their own turn is pretty nice I think, especially with the additional upside here. Still, it does require some set up, but it is a pretty nice Red card that grind you out a win, and that’s not always something Red is capable of. I think you’ll first pick it on some rare occasions with some weak packs, but I think it is a C+.

Electrify – B-

Last time we saw this it kind of underperformed. This is because Amonkhet was a crazy aggressive set, and you ended up killing two and three mana creatures with this and that didn’t feel too great, since your opponent was coming out ahead mana-wise so often. It was still good – don’t get me wrong, but it was more like a C+ in that format. I think in most formats though this gets into the B range, meaning you want to first pick it a lot of the time. I’m going to give it a B-.

Fiery Finish – B-

This is kind of a weird card to me. I keep looking at it thinking it must do SOMETHING else than 7 damage. I guess I’m just greedy, cause 7 damage is obviously a lot – enough to take down most creatures. But, if this format proves to be fast this is going to be super clunky removal. I think I’m still obligated to start it in the B range, because in most formats it will be food enough, but man 6-mana at sorcery speed can get ugly sometimes.

Fire Elemental – D+

We just saw this in Dominaria, where it was like a D+. That’s what it is in most Limited formats, just because those stats aren’t especially good for the cost, and you’ll only play it when really lacking in the creature department.

Golin Instigator – C+

So I THINK this is basically a better Dragon Fodder or Krenko’s Command. Why better? Because if you can find a way to do it, you can abuse the ETB trigger on these to get more Goblins. Either way, this card’s good. As a two-drop that brings you two bodies, it is good at basically all stages – it also provides sacrifice fodder for the RB deck. I’m going to give it a C+, it is a good common.

Goblin Motivator – D+

We have seen many an incarnation of this card, and I’m never really a fan of it. Sure in your really aggressive deck maybe it’ll do some nice stuff. But I just don’t feel like it does enough in most situations to be good. Haste isn’t as good as some other keyword abilities because it is basically only good if you’re already ahead. If there is a board stall or you’re behind, you can’t attack anyway. I’m going to give this a D+.

Goblin Trashmaster – C // B

So at worst, this is a 4-mana 3/3 that can blow up an artifact when necessary. That’s serviceable, though not great – probably a C. The more goblins you get, though, the better this gets. It isn’t clear yet whether or not there are enough Goblins in this set to make it worth it, but I hope there are. 

Guttersnipe –D // B-

Obviously enough, this is a build around – one that will pan out most frequently in UR, and probably next most frequently in UB. A 3-mana 2/2 isn’t good, but making every single instant or sorcery spell you play do 2 to the opponent is pretty good. I think an average Limited deck probably 3-5 of those just naturally, so he is probably like a D in your average Limited deck. Push that to 10 or more though, and he moves into the B-. range.

Havoc Devils – C+

Wow, I guess Summit Prowler isn’t good enough any more. Creature power creep just keeps on coming, as a 4-mana 4/3 with Trample is actually some pretty amazing stats. I think this is a solid 4-drop for any deck in Red.

Hostile Minotaur – C

Some decent stats here. Going to be a fine 4 drop for Red decks, not much more or less. That’s a C.

Lathliss, Dragon Queen – A- // A+

I’m always going to sign up for a 6-mana 6/6 flyer – those stats alone would get a card into the B range. But, this also comes with an activated ability that at a minimum lets you pump her, and means you can swing for 9 with her at least on her first attack. I am going to give this a buildaround grade even though it is already insane with 0 other dragons – it is an A- in your typical Limited deck just because of its evasiveness and size. In a deck that has a few dragons in it? Well, she’s completely insane! She makes you extra dragons and can also pump them, so she becomes an A+.

Lava Axe – F

I’m not usually interested in Lava Axe in Limited. Sure, it can give your aggro deck some reach, but this card is automatic card disadvantage. In other words, it doesn’t impact the board at all, and is basically only good if it kills your opponent – which it just won’t do often enough to make up for the other times where it is an utterly useless sorcery that costs 5 mana. I’m going to give it an F.

Lena, Selfless Champion – B

This is pretty strong. The fail case here is a 6-mana 3/3 that makes a 1/1 soldier – and that certainly isn’t good, but it will rarely do that little. Even if you only have two other creatures, this is pretty nice, and anything above that starts to get pretty insane. Having the ability to save all the tokens she makes – and your other small creatures is just gravy. I think you first pick this happily, I’m giving it a solid B.

Lightning Strike – B

This card is premium removal, and is going to be first pickable in most packs. Instant speed two mana for 3 damage is an excellent deal. Gets some bonus points for also being able to dome the opponent when that is necessary. I’m giving it a B.

Omakke Ogre – D+

Another creature with some pretty mediocre stats, but boy does it hit hard for a 3-drop! I don’t see myself playing this though unless things didn’t go very well in my draft. I’m going to give it a D+.

Sarkhan Fireblood – C

Talk about an underwhelming planeswalker. Sure, he costs 3 which is super low for a planeswalker – but this guy is more Tibalt than Liliana. The first +1 isn’t bad, rummaging is a nice effect in Limited – the second one could also come in handy, provided you have a few Dragons, and his ultimate IS the kind that wins the game. But he comes with no real card advantage engine, no removal, and no way to protect himself. Those things all amount to make him a serviceable card for most Red decks, but not much more than that. Don’t be tricked by the Rarity and sweet card type here, this is far from a first pickable card. It’s just a C.

Shock – B-

The removal keeps piling up for Red! This is another good one, as it can kill most early creatures and because it only costs a single mana it will basically always help you trade up. It isn’t quite as good as Lightning Strike, but it is still a firs tpickable Red removal spell, and a B-.

Smelt – F // C-

This is obviously a sideboard card. This set isn’t dense enough in artifacts that you ever want to mainboard it. However, it does blow them up super efficiently. Still, unless your opponent plays a couple of targets for this, you shouldn’t even bother siding it in. Once they do have the required targets I think it gets better, but it is probably still only a C- as a sideboard card.

Sparktongue Dragon – C+

This basically has kicker, and the feel of playing this will feel pretty familiar if you were just drafting Dominaria. Basically you either get a 5-mana 3/3 flyer, acceptable not great – or an 8-mana 3/3 flyer that cast Lightning Bolt. It is doubtful this format is quite as grindy as Dominaria was – this would probably be close to a B- in Dominaria. Still, I think this is probably still a C+, since the fail case is acceptable and the upside is real.

Spitflame – B- / A

So the floor on this is that it is a better Ellectrify – it is Bombard, which we just saw recently. The ceiling is that you can just keep on bringing it back if you have Dragons. Even if you have like, 3 dragons in your deck this gets way better. This thing having a fail case of being a premium removal spell, and a ceiling of being a recurring one gets this a B- in a deck with 0 dragons, and a straight up A in a deck with a few of them.

Sure Strike – C-

This is always a serviceable combat trick that basically wins you any combat. In exchange, it isn’t the kind of trick that can save your creature for removal. You will play this in your aggressive decks, but not really anywhere else. I’m going to give it a C-.

Thud – C

This removal spell is cheap, but it does ask for a pretty big sacrifice in the form of one of your creatures. And you can’t just give up some creature token here, because if you do that you’re getting basically no value. So, this is usually going to Two-For-One you – unless you use something like Act of Agression, which would be pretty disgusting. This CAN also target your opponent too, so keep that in mind. Generally I feel like this is going to be hard to make work – you need a creature that replaces itself somehow or has a good death effect, or to steal an opponnet’s creature to get the full value. But still, this could conceivably end games or kill your opponent’s best creature for only a single mana. It’s kind of hard to evaluate – sort of like Fling, but Fling being an Instant sort of alters it altogether, since you can sacrifice in place of removal, in which case you know you’re getting value – can’t do that here. I’m just going to start this at C. It is difficult-to-use removal/finisher, and I’ll leave it at that for now.

Tormenting Voice – C-

This is the kind of card that ends up being your 23rd card in Red a lot of the time. That’s what it has been every time we have seen it. It helps you dig through your deck but with a fairly significant cost. Sure, it gets a little better in the UR deck which cares about spells, but not by a lot. This is the kind of card that barely misses the cut or barely makes the cut all the time. Remember that if you are running one of these you should be holding on to extra lands. But yeah, this is a C-.

Trumpet Blast – F // C

I don’t like this sort of effect – it doesn’t pump toughness at all, so you basically HAVE to set up an alpha strike that kills your opponent for it to work out, unlike other spells that also pump creature toughness and can get you some advantages in combat. Basically this will only be playable in decks where you can go really really wide to kill your opponent, and is an F everywhere else.

Volcanic Dragon – C+

6-mana for a 4/4 with flying and Haste seems pretty good to me. Not the most interesting card to talk about – just some good stats and keyword abilities. Still, it is a 6 drop and isn’t super impressive or anything, I think it’s a C+.

Volley Veteran – C- / B+

So obviously, this is something of a build around, and I’m not 100% sure yet whether or not there will be enough Goblins in the set, will have to wait until full spoiler day – but I’m hopeful that they don’t do what they did in DOM with just a few payoffs and not enough Goblins. Either way, though, this has a reasonable floor, as a 4-mana 4/2 that does 1 to a creature it can pick things up, do 1 last damage and so forth. If your deck has a critical mass of Goblins – if that’s possible – this will be wayyyy better, and basically become Flame-Tongue Kavu. So this is like a C- in a deck with no or only a few Goblins, and a B+ in a world where you have a ton of them.

Viashino Pyromancer – C

I’ve said it about several cards in this set: this is a two drop that is relevant even late. Maybe to a lesser extent than the others I have said it about, since 2 damage isn’t exactly going to have a huge effect, but in can sometimes. And when it comes with decent stats for two mana, I think most Red decks will feel fine about having a couple of these as two drops. I’m going to give it a C.

Green

Bristling Boar – C

Bristling Boar has anti-menace, and doesn’t like it when creatures team up to block it. That isn’t irrelevant text – it means your opponent HAS to have a 3-power or more creature to kill it in combat, and if they don’t? Well, you have what basically amount to free attacks. IT also does a solid job on the vanilla test as a 4-mana 4/3. This is a perfectly serviceable card for Green decks, I’m going to give it a C.

Centaur Courser – C

This is a boring vanilla creature, but not one of the ones that falls into the D range. That’s because there just aren’t many 3-mana 3/3s around these days. Those stats are pretty good for the mana cost. It’s a solid C.

Colossal Dreadmaw – C

Of course Colossal Dreadmaw is back! My guess is it will be about as good the last 50 times we saw it – a solid C. The kind of Green creature that fits well at the top of your curve thanks to its size and evasive keyword ability. But you can find better finishers at higher rarities. Still, I think it is a C.

Colossal Majesty – F // C+

I’m pretty excited to try to build around this card – and make no mistake – it is a buildaround card. Your average limited deck will have probably 4 or 5 cards that trigger this, and that’s just nto enough to want to run this thing. I think it is a straight F in most decks. However, if your deck can ramp and/or you are playing creature with high power at lower manacosts (like the 3-mana 4/2 Ogre), this gets interesting because of the sheer card advantage it grants you. IT is sort of hard to build around, as you don’t want a deck just filled with 4 power creatures, otherwise you may get run over early, but I think if you have like 7 or more cards with 4 or more power, this becomes playable. I’m going to be a little skeptical though, and give it a c+ to represent the difficulty of building around it.

Declare Dominance – C

I don’t like cards like this very much. I know some people think they are great in Limited, but I respectfully disagree. I don’t think it is terrible or anything, I mean it gives a creature a huge boost and basically forces your opponent into uncomfortable blocks. So what’s the problem with this? Well, the fact that a pretty decent chunk of the time you won’t be able to cast it for any sort of value. If you are behind its pretty useless, at parity it can be good sometimes, but if your opponent just has a big dude on their side of the board it is still pretty useless. If you’re ahead it will work wonders, and is a great way to clear out blockers – so that means it is really good in on scenario that you just won’t always be in. As a result I think that just makes this a C. Oh, and don’t forget to basically never cast this if your opponent has mana up, as your creature getting killed in response to this will basically mean you lose the game between the massive mana-loss and two-for-one.

Druid of the Cowl – C+

We saw this not too long ago, and it was pretty nice. It has the kind of body that can block two drops, and also provides you with some ramp. Not as good as Llanowar Elves which we just had in Dominaria, but not super far off either – in fact, in the later part of the game you’d probably rather have the Druid! This is a solid playable and a C+.

Dryad Greenseker – B-

I like this card a lot. A two-mana 1/3 is passable on the Vanilla test, but the fact that this can tap to draw you cards is nuts. Yes, that card has to be a land, but guess what? It will be a land a significant percentage of the time. This will do a bad Courser of Kruphix impression, but a bad Courser is still stupid good. This is a B-.

Elvish Clancaller – F // C+

This is another card printed with non-rotating formats in mind, but isn’t that great in Limited. You need to have a critical mass of Elves for this to be worth it,a nd because it is a rare the activated ability is basically irrelevant. This is an F in your typical Limited deck, and if you amass enough Elves it does get better, but I’m not sure how easy it is to stuff your deck with Elves in this format, since it isn’t really a broadly supported theme. I’m going to give it a C+, I think that will be its ceiling.

Elvish Rejuvenator – C+

This card is pretty cool. It helps you ramp into stuff. I kind of which it had better stats though. I don’t think it would have broken anything for it to be a ½ or something. As is a obviously it does a horrendous job on the vanilla test as a 3-mana 1/1, but it does ramp you and get you a land which is nice. I don’t think you want to run this in aggressive Green decks, but if you’re interested in getting to higher CMC as quickly as possible, you’ll play this. I think it is a C+.

Ghastbark Twins – C

This is a finisher, but not a great one. I don’t think it is a whole lot better than Colossal Dreadmaw as a finisher, since it costs 1 more and has +1/+1. However, Ghastbark can do double duty and that’s kind of nice. If you’re behind and you play this, the fact that it can block two bodies – and probably kill both of them with those stats, will come in handy. Still, it is a 7-drop creature that isn’t THAT scary, and I think that means it is a C.

Giant Spider – C

This card has been in, by my estimation, one million Limited formats, and it is always serviceable but unexciting.  A 4-mana 2/4 is a little below what you want stats wise, but the Reach is great and can shut down a lot of flyers. I think playing one of these in your mainboard will happen a lot in Green decks, and you’ll always feel fine about it.

Giganotsaurus – F 

A 5-mana 10/10 does a great job on the vanilla test – but let’s be real, this is an F in 99% of decks in this format. Your deck has to be super green – like mono-green or almost mono-green for this to be worth playing, and that’s pretty hard to pull off in Limited, because usually one color just isn’t that open for you to do it. I’m going to give this an F to scare people away from trying to shove this into their 10-forest deck, with the caveat that hey if your deck is mono-green or close to it – like 15 forests and 2 lands of a splash color – you should play this.

Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma – B

This is pretty good. While it is something of a build around, your average deck is going to have enough 4-power creatures – lets say 5 -- to make this guy worth it, especially because he bring solid stats as a 4-mana 4/3, and he becomes a 4-mana 5/4 with trample every time he attacks. Decreasing the cost of your future 4 power creatures and giving a mini-overrun effect to them is nice. I think he is just a solid B, and very first pickable.

Highland Game – D+

This is a pretty unexciting two-drop. Two-mana 2/1s need to do something interesting to get out of the D range, and this doesn’t – gaining 2 life doesn’t qualify as interesting – it just isnt’ enough value. That said, it isn’t terrible – but it is the kind of two drop that you’ll only play if you have to. Keep this card in mind out of the sideboard though, as against super aggressive decks it will become much better – trading with one of their two-drops and gaining two life is a pretty good deal in that situation.

Invoke the Divine – C-

We just saw this in Dominaria, where it was very mainboardable and a solid C. I think it is probably a fine mainboard card in this format too – after all, UW and GW are going to lean heavily on these two kinds of permanents, and other decks will have random ones too. But I don’t think it will be quite as good in Dominaria, where there were a ton of artifacts and a lot of enchantments. After full set reveal it is possible that this moves either up or down, depending on how many artifacts or Enchantments are around.

Oakenform – D

This gives a nice stats boost for the mana, but I think steering clear of this Aura is the right thing most of the time. It doesn’t add an evasive ability or replace itself, and that makes me less interested in it. I think it is probably a D.

Plummet – D // C+

The classic flying-hating sideboard card, Plummet can be run mainboard in a desperate situation, but sometimes you’ll never see a target so I think it gets a D there. It is the kind of sideboard card that you usually want one of though – so I think it is a C+ sideboard card.

Prodigious Growth – D

This is what you want to be putting on your Vine Mare (we’ll get to that later), but overall I don’t think it is very good. 6-mana is a ton, and yeah this makes any creature a threat, but if I’m playing a 6-mana Aura in my deck I better have hexproof or other ways to take advantage of enchantments (which to be fair, GW does have). This is because it is so easy to blow someone out when they put this on their creature. A removal spell is a 2-for-1 and basically a timewalk with the amount of mana you pump into it. I think it will be playable in some corner cases (like when you get 2 or more Vine Mares), but I think it is dangerous to play this for the most part. I’m going to give it a D.

Rabid Bite – B-

This is a great removal spell for Green, just like it was last time we saw it. Keep in mind that this card doesn’t actually “Fight” your creature just punches one of your opponent’s creatures in the face. Ideally your deck has some beefy guys in it to really take advantage, but even killing their 3/3 with yours is a good deal here. You do have to really pay attention to when your opponent has mana up when you cast this though, as you open yourself up to all kinds of blow outs if they mana for a pump or removal spell in response. Still, I think this will be premium removal again, and probably Green’s best common – which makes it a reasonable first pick.

Reclamation Sage – D // B

This hasn’t been a very mainboardable card in the past, and I don’t think it will be here either (would have been in Dominaria though), there just aren’t enough artifacts and enchantments to think you will also have targets, so it will amount to a 3-mana 2/1 a lot of the time. That said, it is very flexible in dealing with two different card types, and as a result it is a great sideboard card that in an ideal world you’ll always have one of – I think it is a B out of your sideboard.

Recollect – D

I’m never a huge fan of these sorts of effects. They don’t impact the board at all and the payoff for them is usually minimal. That said, Recollect can be good if your deck has several bombs in it – but guess what, your deck was already good because it has several bombs in it. I’m giving this a D.

Root Snare – F

Fog is already a terrible card in Limited, and this one costs two mana instead of one. So yeah, it is unplayable. Fog effects just aren’t worth a card in this format, you basically are just giving yourself card disadvantage every time you play this, you might as well mulligan to 6! So yeah, an F.

Runic Armasaur – B-

A 3-mana 2/5 is pretty studly on the vanilla test, and coming with a upside to punish activated abilities pushes this all the way into the B- range for me. Most opponent’s are going to have a handful of activated abilities in their decks, so drawing one with this is probably going to happen a significant amount of the time.

Scapeshift – F

This is a nice reprint for Modern players, and will probably be worth some money, so considering taking it for that reason is probably worthwhile. However, in terms of playability, there’s no real reason to play this card. In a format that maybe had a bunch of landfall or something it would be interesting, but we don’t have that here. It’s an F.

Thornhide Wolves – C-

Last time we saw this it kind of overperformed, I think I gave it a D and it did better than that. Turns out those stats can grind the board to a screeching halt a lot of the time, and you aren’t paying a crazy amount for them or anything. It isn’t great or ideal for your deck, but I do think it gets a C- instead of a D.

Titanic Growth – C

This is a nice combat trick. But it is still a combat trick that comes with a lot of inherent risk, and requires your opponent to play into it to actually take an opponent’s creature away from that. It is a solid C, you’ll play one in most of your Green decks that have 15+ creatures, but you probably don’t want more than one.

Vine Mare – C+

So I mentioned this earlier when talking about Prodigious Growth. Lately, Wizards has really liked printing a creature at common or uncommon with Hexproof. They don’t usually have great stats on their own, but they are a great place to put Auras! And this actually has the best stats of any of the ones we’ve seen lately, at least as far as efficiency goes. A 4-mana 5/3 would probably be a solid C, add Hexproof to it and the fact that it can’t be blocked by Black creatures and I think it easily pushes into the C+ range. Also, that high power synergizes pretty well with several cards in this format that like power 4 or higher.

Vivien Reid – B-

Vivien Reid doesn’t impress me much. She does come down with 5 loyalty, but both her +1 and -3 are kind of underwhelming. She won’t always have a target for the -3 so it may as well not be there – would have been sweet if they added “land” to it! And her +1 is nice for drawing cards. Her ultimate is the kind that can instantly win a game. But yeah, she has some problems. She doesn’t protect herself at all – I mean I guess a planesawlker being able to kill flyers could lead to some protection – but she needs you to have some board presence ot really thrive, where she will start drawing you cards. I’m not trying to say she is bad, but she’s not a planesawlker who pulls you ahead when you’re behind. You’re still gonna be behind when you play her. If you’re at parity or ahead of your opponent she does come out pretty well, basically drawing you cards and threatening to turn your board into something frightening. I do think she is firs tpickable, but honeslty I would take premium removal over her. I’m going to give her a B-.

Vivien’s Invocation – B

I actually like Vivien’s Invocation more than I like Vivien herself. It does require a bit of set-up, but honeslty – even if you cast this and get a 3/3 and kill their 2/2 with it, that’s not a bad return for 7 mana. And that’s a scenario on the low-end. You might also get to put a 7/7 into play that kills something. Basically your deck does probably need a decent number of biggish creatures for this to be good, but I think the average Limited deck will find their deck has 4-5 of those anyway, and since this looks at the top 7 cards of your library it has a decent chance at hitting one. I think this is a solid B, also a cool design.

Wall of Vines – D // C

I don’t usually like do-nothing walls. And I don’t really like this one, either. It does get bonus points for Reach I guess, but meh.

Artifacts

Amulet of Safekeeping – F

This is a card meant as a sideboard card for Constructed. It will not usually ever be relevant in this format, though there may be some weird cornercases where it is worth siding it in, I’m giving it an F.

Crucible of Worlds – F

This is a card that was included for non-rotating constructed formats, and maybe it could make a splash in Standard, but I don’t see a lot of value there. Anyway we aren’t here to talk about constructed, I’m just trying to explain why they gave us this reprint. Since it is an F in Limited. It just won’t do anything 99.9% of the time.

Chaos Wand – B-

This is a weird one, and one of the ones I am mostly likely to be wrong on. I think if this were in Dominaria, it would have been super good – probably in the high B rang, as having a card advantage engine like this one could grind you out a win. You are a little reliant on your opponent having spells – but I mean, most limited decks have 3-5 of those, and usually they are removal spells. It does ask for a lot of mana over time, but I think it is probably worth it. I’m going to give it a B- -- the chances that this format is as grindy as Dominaria are low, but it will definitely go up if that’s what we see.

Desecrated Tomb – F

This is a build around, and one that is really here because of constructed. I don’t think you can ever end up with a draft deck capable of abusing it, and that means it is an F.

Diamond Mare – C

So this card has kind of a great design for Limited. That doesn’t mean it is really good though, just to say that upfront. What I like about it is that it can fit into any deck, and actually synergizes really well with two archetypes: BW lifegain and UW artifacts. Still though, it is mostly a 2-mana 2/2 that is going to gain you like 3 life in a game, and that’s not exactly special. I do think the synergy it has with two different archetypes pushes it into the solid C range, though.

Field Creeper – D-

You’ll run this in two situations: 1) Your deck needs artifacts really badly, which probably means it is Blue-White or 2) youre desperate for a two drop. That manes this is a D-, about as close to an F as you can get without being completely unplayable

Fountain of Renewal – D+

I actually think this is kind of ok. There is a lifegain archetype and an artifact archetype, and this work well in both. Sure, gaining life doesn’t have the biggest impact, especially only one a turn – but being able to eventually pitch this for a new card is what keeps it from being a complete and total F. Still, you probably never run this in a deck that doesn’t care about life gain or artifacts.

Gearsmith Guardian – D // C+

This is kind of a buildaround. I mean, you aren’t going to be playing a 5-mana 3/5 artifact in your deck if it doesn’t have Blue in it, unless you’re desperate, so that means it is a D in a non-Blue deck. In a Blue deck though? He gets to be pretty good, as 5-mana 5/5s don’t exactly grown on trees. He gets some bonus points too for fitting especially well into the UW artifact deck. I think he gets all the way to C+ in a Blue deck.

Magistrate’s Scepter – F

My feeling is, in most Limited decks this is way too slow. Overall, you invest a ton of time and mana to make this work. A total investment of 15 mana, delivered across three turns to take an extra turn? I feel like at best that’s just going to cancel itself out, so you may as well not play this. I think its an F.

Manalith – C 

This isn’t the best fixing there is, but hey, it is still fixing and that is always nice when you’re trying to splash. The artifact type is relevant in this format too, this is a solid C.

Marauder’s Axe – D+

We’ve basically seen this equipment before – heck we may have actually seen this specific one before, I don’t remember – but the point is it isn’t very good. Not boosting toughness is a big problem for equipment, since it makes your creature hit harder, but doesn’t really help them survive combat in any way. Basically, you need a creature with an evasive ability to make this worth it – so if you have a bunch of fliers this becomes reasonably appealing, but other than that, not so much. I’m going to give it a D+.

Meteor Golem – B-

The art and idea behind this card are really cool – a Golem that basically just falls out of the sky and crushes stuff. Also, it is a good card – a 7-mana 3/3 that just destroys a permanent is something you’ll play all day. I really love the flexibility it has too – I mean usually you’re going to want to kill a creature, but sometimes blowing up an enchantment or artifact will be better, and that’s nice. This DOES cost 7 mana, but it feels like 7 mana worth of card to me. I’m going to give it a B-, I think you’ll feel ok about first picking it.

Rogue’s Gloves – D

I don’t like this card very much. It is really only worth putting on something evasive, but even then the amount of mana you have to put into it really makes it hard to make it worth playing. I’m giving it a D.

Sigiled Sword of Valeron – B-

I’m disappointed this doesn’t give some toughness boost – that always helps make these things better, since it can help a creature survive a combat it might not have been able to otherwise. Still, making a 2/2 knight with every attack is nice, and can make sure that you have a steady stream to put this on. I think the card advantage the Knights will give you makes this a pretty nice piece of equipment. I think this is first pickable, and being colorless is always nice – I’m giving it a B-.

Skyscanner – C

A 3-mana 1/1 flyer is pretty bad, but one that replaces itself is nice, especially as an artifact. It isn’t anything special, but you’ll find yourself playing one of these a lot. I’m giving it a C.

Gold

Aerial Engineer – B

A 4-mana 2/4 isn’t the worst floor, and in the UW color pair this will be a 4/4 a lot of the time even if you don’t try very hard. 

Arcades, the Strategist - C+

O…k? This seems pretty weird to me, a defender buildaround? I mean there’s some defender in this set, but not a ton.  I feel like this was printed mostly with EDH in mind so people could have a defender lord. Still, I mean it is a 4-mana 3/5 with Flying and Vigilance, which is great stats. But the difficulty in taking full advantage of this card is real. I don’t even really think this is worth splashing for in most cases despite the reasonable stats, because 3-colors of mana is hard enough to do in Limited that you want a bigger payoff than this. Sure, if you end up with a few creatures with defender it moves up a bit, but that’s just not going to happen often enough.

Psychic Symbiont – B

Hello 3-for-1. I like this a lot, a 6-mana 3/3 flyer is obviously pretty bad – but making your opponent lose a card while you draw one, and then having a 3/3 that can be attacking in the air? All of that together is pretty good, I hope I get to play a lot of these – reminds me of Dinrova Horror, though it isn’t quite as good.

Brawl-Bash Ogre – C+

This is kind of underwhelming for a signpost uncommon, especially compared to the others. A 4-mana 3/3 Menace as a floor isn’t bad, and sure you can make it a 5/5 if you sac a creature, but you need to either be making creature tokens or stealing your opponent’s creature for that to be worth it most of the time. When you do that, it will be strong, but I just don’t think you will be able to do that enough.

Draconic Disciple – B-

This helps you fix and ramp which is great – if that’s all it was I would feel pretty good about it. But, in the late game, it transforms into a win condition by giving you a scary dragon token. 

Satyr Enchanter – D // C+

Chromium – B

A 7-mana 7/7 flyer with Flash is going to eat a ton of creatures. On top of that, this is difficult to deal with as long as you hold on to cards, because Chromium can make itself Hexproof whenever it needs to. I like the design here, as obviously just gaining hexproof with a discard would be nuts, so making the creature shrink itself down is a cool design. You’ll always play this if you’re in those three colors, this is a B.

Nicol Bolas, the Ravager – B

This Bolas is kind underwhelming on the front – a 4-mana 4/4 with flying that makes your opponent discard is good, don’t get me wrong – but he is spready across 3 colors, none of which are Green, making playing him a bit difficult. If you can play him, I think you should – since when he transforms he gets to be pretty freaking insane. He comes with what makes planeswalkers strong: card draw and removal. You’ll play him if you can play these 3 colors, but the difficulty in doing so keeps him to a B.

Palladia-Mors, the Ruiner – B+

A 6-mana 6/6 with Flying Vigilance and Trample, even across three colors – especially when one of those colors is excellent at fixing - is already a bomb. Add to that fact that she has hexproof until she deals damage and she gets even better. Sure, the hexproof likely won’t last long, but your opponent will have their turn and not be able to kill it immediately in most cases, and you’ll get one hit at a minimum thanks to that keyword. Going across three colors does keep this from quite being in the A range, as you can’t reliably pick this up and play it, but I think this elder dragon still gets a B+, and there will be lots of packs where you should first pick her despite her three colors.

Poison-Tip Archer – B

A 4-mana 2/3 with Reach and Deathtouch is already quite good. Adding the fact that it does a bit of damage over the course of the game is nice, but honestly most of this card’s value is in those two keyword abilities. I think this is a solid B, and a gold card to consider taking with a first pick.

Regal Bloodlord – B-

Like most signpost uncommons, this is a build around. A 5-mana 2/4 with flying isn’t really worth it, but if you end up with ways to gain life – which looks pretty easy in BW, it turns into a token engine that will take over the game. In good BW decks, your opponent will have to kill this or die, basically. I think it is a B-.

Satyr Enchanter – D // C+

I’m kind of disappointed in this as a signpost uncommon – I feel like they should have at least made it a 3/3, that would have helped this a lot, or maybe given it First Strike or something. As it stands, you could end up in a GW deck where you don’t actually want to play this thing because it doesn’t have good stats, and that’s never a good sign for a signpost uncommon. Still, he is going to be pretty powerful when you build around him, basically doing an Enchantress impression is pretty strong in the right deck. If you have 5 or more Enchantments you probably play him, but less than that and you probably avoid him, since he’s an F when it comes to stats.

Skyrider Patrol – B+

If you know me, you know I love UG, and Skyrider Patrol gives us another very sweet UG signpost uncommon. A 4-mana 2/3 with flying is almost reasonable on the vanilla test, but what makes this super strong is the fact that it not only gives creatures +1/+1 tokens, it gives whatever creature it puts the token on that turn FLYING too. Are you kidding? Sure, there’s a mana investment there, but that effect will take over games, making this come pretty close to being a full-blown bomb. If it could put the counter on itself, it would probably get there. Still, another gold card that I think first picking is reasonable for.

Vaevictic Asmadi – C+

I’m pretty underwhelmed here. A 6-mana 6/6 flyer is obviously good, and Green is one of its colors so splashing it won’t be very hard but…the huge block of text on this is super awkward. You and your opponent both sacrifice things – and yes, you at least get to decide what gets sacked, but you know what you don’t get to decide? What is on top of your opponent’s library. There are going to be times where you basically help your opponent and you don’t get a whole lot out of the ability. I think this is a C+.