Early Thoughts on Ravnica Allegiance Spoilers (Last Updated 1/10/2019 @ 9:30 a.m. ET) (Patreon)

  This is probably the final update, as my set review begins tomorrow!

Ravnica Allegiance Set Review Notes

Azorius

Absorb – C-

This is really nothing special in Limited. We just had Ionize, which is easier to cast and probably better – doing 2 damage is way better than gaining 3. Plus, Ionize existed in a format where “spells matter” was pushed pretty hard, making ti even more playable. As is, this is just a slight upgrade from Cancel, and not something you want to go out of your way to take. If you’re Azorius, you probably just count on it wheeling, and if you’re not, you just don’t want it. I’m giving it a C-.

Azorius Skyguard – B

I like this a fair bit. The -1/-0 to your opponent’s whole team effects have impressed in the past when we’ve seen them. And in a format with spirit tokens coming out of the woodwork, it may be even better here. Dampening Pulse and Hunter of Nightveil are examples of this effect we’ve had before that both ended up being pretty good. What this card has that the others don’t is the fact that it also has decent stats itself, and can be either an effective blocker or attacker. I think I am onboard with the idea of first picking this over everything that isn’t a bomb or premium removal spell, and that means it is a B.

Depose // Deploy – C+

Split cards are always nice because of the flexibility they bring, and both sides of this have their place. I think something like 90% of the time you want to cast deploy, because it is actually very efficient for what it does. At worse, 4-mana to make two Thopters and gain 2 life is a pretty good deal, especially as an Instant. Those thopters may be a little weaker in this format than most because of Afterlife, but even taking that into account this seems pretty good. The Depose half can sometimes offer more, like getting a key blocker out of the way, or using it on turn 3 if you miss your land drop. I don’t see a reason you would ever not play one of these in an Azorius deck, and it might be a nice splash in the already token-heavy Orzhov decks. I don’t quite think I want to be taking this early on in the first pack – I think there are lots removal spells and creatures who you would take over it, so I think it is a C+.

Dovin, Grand Arbiter – B

So, this isn’t the kind of planeswalker that busts the game open. Though if you play him on turn 3 and your opponent has no board state I guess he’ll probably just win you the game. I do think he is good, though. His +1 is a bit weird and doesn’t impact the board, but he can definitely build up his loyalty quickly. That’s probably why his Ultimate is good, but not one of the game-winning variety. I think a lot of the time the best thing to do with him will be to play him , use his +1, and swing your 2-drop, and then just make a Thopter a turn for awhile. Obviously, those Thopters combo well with +1, and can help him build back up. But the +1 ability is primarily where you’re going to be getting things done here, they provide both protection and can operate as a win condition. All in all, I think Dovin is good enough to take with a first pick in most packs, just don’t expect him to win the game every time you play him like some planeswalkers. I think he is a solid B.

Deputy of Detention – B

So, Fiend Hunter is always good, and this is basically Fiend Hunter except for it Detention Spheres things, which is slightly better – it probably won’t exile more than one thing in most Limited matches. Still, it is a powerful removal spell, and that makes it worth first picking to be sure. I think it is a B.

Dovin’s Acuity – D // B-

So, this isn’t quite Disinformation campaign, but it is another card-drawing engine that is a payoff for a guild mechanic, so there are some serious similarities. The cool thing about this is that, while it is really telling you to play cards with Addendum, you can get value out of any Instants during main phases. For this card to be worth it, you probably need around 7 instants that aren’t too painful to cast during main phases, and once you’re there, it is going to feel a bit like Disinformation Campaign, as it continues to draw you cards and gain you life. Obviously, it isn’t on the level of the Campaign most of the time – you’d rather make your opponent discard than gain 2 life – but I think this will be a really fun card to play in an Azorius deck that has met the requirements. I think you should probably avoid playing it if you have 5 or fewer cards that fit the bill in most cases – I’m giving it a D there – but I think if you build around it successfully, it is probably a B-. 

High Alert – F

This seems like it is trying to be a Defender buildaround, and as I’m writing this it is entirely possible that enough cards with Defender end up in this set to make this make sense, but it would have to be a pretty huge number – like a bonafide defender sub-theme would have to be present in Azorius – for this to be any good. Sure, yeah you can just build a deck full of big-butts with it, and if there was a big-butts sub-theme that would work too – but I don’t see that really happening. I think you are best served just avoiding this card altogether.

Lavinia, Azorius Renegade – D+

She was printed with constructed in mind, not Limited. In Limited she will usually just be a 2-mana 2/2, because there aren’t going to be enough ways to either cast things that cost more than the number of lands you control or cast things for free. She’s just going to be a vanilla 2-drop in an Azorius deck, and for that reason, I think she’s just a D+.

Senate Guildmage – B

This guildmage is probably the best of the 5 in Allegiance, and might be better than any of the 5 that were in Guilds of Ravnica, though I think the Izzet one probably can challenge for that title. But yeah, this is really good. Like all the guildmages, it is nice on turn 2, and does a lot late. What pushes this one over the edge for me is how incredibly cheap the activated abilities are. Yeah, paying W for 2 life isn’t super exciting, but the looting part? Sign me up for that! Having a spare mana around in the middle part of the game is way more likely than having a spare 3 or 4 like most of the Guildmages want you to pay for their abilities. Looting is very powerful in Limited, you just drastically improve your draws and that is a good way to make sure you win a longer game. Overall, I think this guildmage is the only one in this particular set that I would take with a first pick. I'm giving it a B. 

Sphinx’s Insight – C

So, the Addendum mechanic is going to make a bunch of Instants into split cards, more or less. This one is either a 4-mana draw 2 at instant speed, or a 4-mana divination that gains you 2 life. Both halves of that card are reasonable, but certainly not exciting. Azorius will probably be the premiere control deck in this format, and you will very likely want to be running at least one copy of this in most of your decks. This is a solid C.

Sphinx of New Prahv – B

A 4-mana 4/3 with Flying and Vigilance is probably already a B-. The additional text on the card is, I think, enough to push it firmly into B range. Making kill spells cost more to kill it isn’t the greatest ability, but sometimes it will make your opponent have to wait a couple turns longer to kill it, and at the very least, it makes it so that there aren’t very many removal spells that can hope to trade up with it. I think this is a B, and a member of this double-colored cycle that is worth taking with a first pick a good chunk of the time.

Emergency Powers – B

Man, does this look fun, or what? While this is definitely going to have more power in constructed formats where you can more reliably draw into an obscene win condition, it is still going to be pretty nice in Limited. With addendum, you’re always going to come out ahead after you cast this, since you’ll get a free permanent. This will be especially powerful to cast if your opponent has card advantage over you already – say they have 2-3 cards in their hand and you have 0, getting you both back to 7 is a nice option when that’s the situation. I don’t really see a reason why you ever want to cast this without Addendum, though there are probably some corner cases. I think this card will have a powerful effect on the game, and it can be good on a large percentage of board states. If you’re ahead, it seals the deal, if you’re at parity, it pulls you ahead, and if you’re only a little behind, it probably gets you to parity. That said, if your opponent is already way ahead of you on board, the impact of this card will be less. Where to grade this card is a bit challenging, but I think that it brings enough power and can really shift a game in your favor, so I’m going to give it a B.

Warrant//Warden - B

Several of the rare split cards in this set have a nice removal spell on one side and a decent token-making spell on the other side. Seems like kind of lazy design, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t all pretty dang good. One half of this lets you Time Ebb a creature to the top of your opponent’s library – it does have to be attacking or blocking, but luckily those things happen a lot. Something that I think often gets loss when people see effects like this, is just how much better they are than bouncing a creature. When you just bounce a creature, you are just getting some tempo, but you go down a card in an effort to do so in most cases. An effect like this actually trades for a card, since the card you get rid of is what your opponent will be drawing again. Still, not an effect you want to be using on creatures with nice ETB abilities and the like, but overall I think a good spell. The Warden half makes a Sphinx token pretty efficiently. This particular split card is a bit hard to figure out which side you will cast more. Generally, I think you will cast Warrant if a particularly nice situation emerges, or you have an opening to win the game if you use it or something. But a 4/4 with flying and vigilance can really take over games, and sometimes that’s really what you’ll need. Whichever half you cast more, this is overall a very good card, having an option between two good spells is pretty nice! I think this is first pickable, I’m going to give it a B.

Gruul 

Bolrac-Clan Crusher – C // B

This guy seems like a lot of fun. A 5-mana 4/4 doesn’t do a great job on the vanilla test, but it isn’t completely horrendous either. Add to that a powerful activated ability and you get a pretty good card on your hands. Both Gruul and Simic have +1/+1 counter stuff going on, so this may be at its best in a 3-color deck. He works particularly well with Adapt, because you can just keep putting counters on your creature and sacrificing them, but he works fine with Riot too. I do think he is a buildaround – I mean, I think your average Gruul deck will have no problem getting 3-4 +1/+1 counter cards, so I think it is going to be solid in your average Gruul deck. But if you’ve really gotten there on +1/+1 counters, I think this pushes itself all the way up to the B range. And by “gotten there” I mean 7+ ways to put counters on things.

Clan Guildmage – B-

I like this guy. Obviously he is pushing Gruul’s aggressive theme, and he does a good job of it. Cards that can repeatedly make creatures unable to block tend to be pretty nice in aggro decks. Oftentimes, making one thing unable to block just makes it so way more of your creatures can attack. I feel like that ability will be used the most frequently, but the other ability is good too. You can use it to get in for some more damage, you can even use it on defense if you need a beefy blocker – and your opponent will have to respect that threat of activation. Overall, this is a good guildmage, the kind that should make you consider first picking it and seeing if Gruul is open. I’m giving it a B-.

Collision/Colossus – C+

One side of this is a nice kill spell, even if it is limited to flyers, and the other side is a solid combat trick. If this were just the kill spell, it would be a sideboard card, and if it was just the combat trick, it would probably be like a C at the highest? But the flexibility this provides is very real, and both sides are going to come in handy during your draft. That doesn’t make it first pickable or anything, but my point is that the card is more than the sum of its parts, because each half of it individually wouldn’t be anything special. I think this is something you never cut the first copy of from your Gruul decks. I’m giving it a C+.

Domri, Chaos Bringer – B-

I don’t think this is all that impressive. I like that he starts with 5 loyalty, meaning he will probably get to stick around. And yeah, his +1 is certainly useful – essentially ramping you up the turn after you play him while also giving a bonus to that creature in the form of Riot. But he doesn’t have any real way to protect himself, other than maybe helping you play a creature you couldn’t otherwise, but that’s not really going to happen the turn you play him. I do think that his loyalty is high enough that the need to protect himself is a little less pronounced, but it would be nice if he could. His -3 is pretty nice, and I think sometimes you’re going to play him as a 4-mana draw spell, but a pretty powerful one that lets you avoid taking lands. Sometimes you may hit only one creature, but if your deck has 15+, you have a good chance of hitting the two. His ultimate, while certainly good, isn’t something that is impossible to overcome either. So, overall, I think Domri is pretty good – his fail case of being a 4-mana draw 2 that draws some attacks from your opponent is a reasonable floor. And if you have a board that can protect him, he’s definitely going to give you serious advantages. But lacking either a removal or protection effect, it is hard to get behind him as a full on bomb. I do think you first him in most packs, though – he is probably a B-.

Legendary Centaur – B-

So, a 5-mana 5/5 is pretty nice on the vanilla test. Not being able to cast creature spells is kind of a pain – but making it so that mana you produce doubles for all your creature spells and for activated abilities and stuff? That’s pretty good. I think most Gruul decks will probably only run 3-5 non-creature spells anyway, and sometimes turning them off will get you, but if your deck has some nice high-curve creatures and creatures with activated abilities, I think you’ll get enough extra mana out of this for it to be worth it. I think this is a card that just barely sneaks into “first pickable even though it is Gold” range. I’m going to give it a B-.

Frenzied Arynx – C+

So, cards with Addendum are split cards that aren’t split cards – creatures with Riot are sort of the same thing. The Arynx is either a 4-mana 3/3 with Haste and Trample, or a 4-mana 4/4 with with Trample. Both options are attractive, especially when coupled with the activated ability. While it is obviously expensive, it is undoubtedly upside in the late game, especially on a creature with Trample. This is a solid common for Gruul, and I think you’re always going to feel fine about playing 1 or 2 of them. I’m going to give it a C+.

Gruul Spellbreaker – B-

So, this Riot creature can either be a 3-mana 3/3 with Haste and Trample, or a 3-mana 4/4 with Trample – plus that whole Hexproof clause. That’s a pretty powerful and efficient creature, and one that I think is worth considering first picking. I don’t think you want to ever take it ahead of great removal, and there are probably a handful of other commons and uncommons that will rank ahead of it, but there will be some packs where it is fine to first pick, and any time you’re in Gruul you’ll feel great about picking one of these up. I’m going to give it a B-. 

Ravager Wurm – A-

I like this card a lot -- no matter what you decide to do with this – and there are lots of options – you will easyily get more than 6-mana worth of value out of it. Either a 6-mana 5/6 or a 6-mana 4/5 with Haste is nice when combined with the Fight effect – which is probably what you do with it the majority of the time. And you can decide to do whichever is more impactful, and that kind of flexibility is great. If your opponent only has one blocker and it is a 4/4 or smaller, you can kill it with the Fight and attack with the Wurm. If you need 5 power to take something down, well, make him bigger! The one thing he doesn’t have going for him? He isn’t going to be splashable in Rakdos because of the double-green. But that’s hardly an issue. Basically, this is the world’s best Affectionate Indrik. I think it is probably worth first picking in most packs despite the mana requirements – he’s that good. I’m giving him an A-.

Rhyme of the Wild ? (Portuguese Card, guessing on the name at this point) - C

So, the creature spells can’t be countered part won’t come up very much in Limited. Giving Riot to everything you play though is pretty interesting. It isn’t quite as impactful as, say, playing an Anthem effect, because this only makes creatures better that come after it, but I could see playing a 2-drop, playing this, and then playing creatures from turn 4 on being a pretty big beating. That said, it also means that this is horrendous as a late-game top deck in most cases – it has to get down early to be at its best, and I think that requirement keeps this from being anything incredible. I think playing it in an aggressive Gruul deck is probably fine, but not much more than that. I’m giving it a C. 

Savage Smash – B-

Now this is a Fight card. There are shades of Savage Punch here! Fight cards that make your guys toughness AND power bigger are usually pretty great in Limited, because it makes a large percentage of your creatures good targets for it. Unlike just straight “fight” effects, you don’t have to hope that you end up with a critical mass of 3 power or more things, because this will make even 1/1s and 2/2s fight reasonably well! It has the usual downside that Fight cards have – you can get blown out if your opponent has removal – so I advise picking your spots with this carefully, when you know your opponent either can’t interact or there is a very low chance. There will be times, like with Savage Punch, where you are able to smash a blocker out of the way and attack with your newly enlarged creatures, as well as any friends it might have. All of this makes this a really good removal spell for Gruul decks, and one I think I would consider first picking in some weaker packs. I’m giving it a B-.

Sunder Shaman – B-

Like all the cards in this cycle, this card is pretty good. A 4-mana 5/5 that can’t be blocked by more than one thing is great It is nice to know when you attack with him that no double-blocking can happen, and attacks can feel a lot safer if all your opponent’s creatures are 4/4 or smaller – it is a very real evasive ability. The rest of the text on the card is going to come up some too. There are aura-based removal spells he can blow up, and a few playable artifacts. It won’t come up a ton, but it is pretty nice to add to a beefy creature. Overall, I do think this guy is in the lower-range of first pickable despite his difficult mana cost, and I’m going to give him a B- to reflect that.

Thrash//Threat – B-

This is another good card for the cycle of rare split cards in the set. One side of this is a very efficient removal spell, with an effect we usually only see for three mana in Limited. Keep in mind this effect is not “Fight” just straight up damage equal to a creature’s power. You do still have to worry about whether your opponent can remove your creature in response, so pick your opening wisely. The Threat half is also reasonably efficient, but I would guess it gets cast less often than the removal side. Sometimes though, if you are in a difficult situation and in top deck mode and desperately need a creature, it will come in handy that this has that other half. All-in-all, the efficient removal spell coupled with the creature when you need it makes this a card that is in the lower range of “first pickable” which means it is a B-. 

Zhura-Taa Goblin – C+

This guy doesn’t do anything fancy – he’s just super efficient, whichever option you choose with the Riot mechanic. Not much more to say about him. He’s good early, relatively relevant late. I think he’s just a C+.

Orzhov

Basilica Bell-Haunt – C+

This might be the weakest card in this cycle so far, but that’s ok – because that still means it is really good, and it is. It is usually going to be a 2-for-1, brings decent stats, and gaining life can always be nice in a race. Is this the kind of card you want to take P1P1 despite its difficult mana cost? No, I don’t think so – it doesn’t push you that direction. But you’ll play as many as you can get in any Orzhov deck. I’m giving it a C+.

Canonize / Consume (not sure on the name) – C+

This seems pretty nice. The Consume half would be playable on its own, the Canonize half is obviously a lot more situational – that’s how most of these split cards are, and this is another pretty good one. I don’t think it is quite a premium removal spell – you can’t really control what dies from it, though a good chunk of the time it will end up killing their best creature, I foresee too many scenarios where you’re frustrated with what it kills. Still, the lifegain it gives you does matter. Overall, I don’t think you ever cut this from ORzhov, but I don’t think it is the kind of thing that is all that great to splash. I’m going to start it at C+.

Ethereal Absolution – B+

At 6 mana this is a bit steep, but unlike a lot of 6-mana enchantments, it does immediately impact the board, one way or another. Even if your opponent doesn’t have creatures or you don’t, you’re getting half of the static effect on this card. Add to that the fact that it lets you start turning cards in your opponent’s graveyards into 1/1s – which will be 2/2s whent his is out – and you’re just going to win the long game with this. I don’t think this is a full blown A-level bomb, mostly because it is a hefty mana investment – even making the creature token isn’t the most efficient thing ever, but if you get to untap with this, I have a hard time imagining you losing. But yeah, the mana cost keeps it from really getting into A territory, but I think it is close. I’m giving it a B+.

Grasping Thrull – C

A 5-mana 3/3 with flying isn’t really what you’re looking for. It would probably make this like a D+ or C- on its own. Adding the other text helps, draining your opponent for 2 and dropping an evasive body seems alright. But I’m not looking forward to playing it or worried about playing against it or anything. I think it is just filler, which makes it a C. 

Imperious Oligarch – C+

The Afterlife mechanic seems pretty awesome. Any time you can trade with something and get a 1/1 flyer out of the deal, you’re going to come out ahead. The Oligarch doesn’t have the greatest stats around for two mana, but hey – she can trade with other two-drops and give you that flyer. That makes her a nice card for Orzhov decks, and a creature you’d probably feel fine about playing 2 or 3 copies of. I’m going to give her a C+.

Kaya – F

So uh, she’s not good, at all. I’m not sure the last time a planeswalker got a straight up F from in a set review – maybe never? Sometimes there are planeswalkers that are more about building around, but in the right deck they can really excel. Kaya does not do that. Her +1 will be irrelevant a good chunk of the time, her -1 will do nothing a good chunk of the time, and her ultimate isn’t good either. Maybe if this format had like, Dredge in it, she would be a sideboard card? As is, she’s just an F. Don’t play her.

Kaya’s Wrath – A

Luckily, Kaya’s wrath is a lot better than she is. Obviously you’re only going to be able to consistently cast this in an ORzhov deck, but I think that’s the ideal place for it anyway. The dream is to cast this when you have a few creatures with Afterlife in play, so it doesn’t hit you quite as hard. Now, that upside is also something of a downside, because your opponent might also have Afterlife creatures, but I don’t think that’s a problem. Overall, this is an incredibly powerful board sweeper for 4 mana, and it even gains you some life, something that can be nice because sometimes – depending on your mana situation, you might Wrath and then your opponent gets the opportunity to actually play a creature first, so that lifegain helps mitigate against that problem. Overall, I thinkt his card is incredibly strong, and a snap first pick. Wrath effects sometimes have decks they are bad in – like really aggressive ones – but even an aggressive Orzhov deck will have Afterlife, making this thing incredible. So yeah, this is an A. First pick it, consider grabbing it if you see it even if you aren’t sure those colors were work, the risk is worth it!

Mortify – B

We’ve seen this before and it was really good. We’re seeing it now and its really good. 3-mana to kill one of two creature types at Instant speed is good, and obviously it isn’t that hard to splash. I think this is an easy first pick in most packs. I’m giving it a B.

Pitiless Pontiff – B-

This is a very strong card. Even in a format without Afterlife, this would be a good card. Sometimes the problem with sacrifice effects is that you aren’t sure you can get that card’s value back, but by giving your creature indestructible and deathtouch? You’re usually going to be getting it back, since this can block and attack through just about anything due to its ability. The one weakness is of course, that it can be killed in response to the ability, but that’s all made up for by the fact that it is still a 2-mana 2/2! This thing is great, and I haven’t even mentioned how disgusting it is with Afterlife! This seems like a pretty good first pick to me in some weaker packs, and a card you run as many of as you can get in an Orzhov deck, so I’m giving it a B-. 

Revival//Revenge – C+

The Revival half of this is solid, but not insane or anything. The Revenge half will sometimes be capable of flipping a game around, but it does so at an expensive cost, and how good it is will vary wildly depending on what the life totals are. But, that’s where the flexibility is nice. When Revenge is bad you can cast Revival, and vice versa. Problem here is, sometimes both will be bad. All of that makes me less enthusiastic about this than the other cards in the cycle. It is still good, but I don’t think I will feel good about first picking this. I’m giving it a C+.

Seraph of the Scales – A

Well, this is a really good card. A 4-mana 4/3 with flying is probably already a solid B, add the rest of the text box – and this is an easy A. The ability to gain vigilance and deathtouch are both nice, but Afterlife 2 is what firmly pushes the Seraph into A-territory. The fact that, even if your opponent manages to kill it one way or another, it is going to leave behind a couple spirits, is pretty great. Facing off against this is going to be a nightmare, because you’re going to be desperate for removal – and once you cast it, it still won’t feel too good. Vigilance AND deathtouch both play really well with Afterlife as well. They can allow you to attack with it once in the air with Vigilance, then – if the situation demands it – you can threaten to block and use the Deathtouch ability to take down anything your opponent attacks you with. Yeah, this thing is great, and a solid A. It is gold, but that doesn’t really matter with something this powerful.

Syndicate Guildmage – C+

I am kind of underwhelmed here. This might be the least impressive guildmages of the 10 in this trip to Ravnica? I dunno, it is still good – I mean, guildmages are always good. But only being able to tap down big creatures, and then having an alright ability to give you some reach doesn’t seem all that exciting ot me. It is still a 2-mana 2/2 with late game relevance, and certainly a solid card, but not a guildmage that I’m remotely interested in taking pack one pick one. I’m giving it a C+.

Teysa Karlov – B-

So, obviously this is mainly an afterlife build around. Between making afterlife triggers happen twice and giving the creature tokens flying, she is going to make cards with Afterlife even better! She also comes with reasonable stats for a 4-drop, but it is worth noting that she won’t be doing much in a deck that doesn’t get a reasonable amount of afterlife and/or other death triggers going. Still, even if you just have 1-2 afterlife you probably play her because the floor is reasonable. I feel like she has an enormously high ceiling too. Despite being a build around and not worth splashing in most cases, I think that in a pack that has no premium removal she is probably worth taking first and trying to buildaround. I’m going to give her a B-.

Rakdos

Bedevil – B+

So, this is an excellent and extremely flexible instant speed removal spell. Even though it has a mana cost that is a bit difficult if you don’t end up in Rakdos, the upside here is too real to pass this in most scenarios. You will be hard pressed to find a better removal spell in the whole set. What’s more is, you can actually splash the Red part in your Rakdos decks, so the mana cost is somewhat manageable – provided you are splashing Red. I’m giving this a B+, I think there are probably only 10-15 cards in this set you’ll want to take over this, and most of them are rare or mythic rare.

Captive Audience – F

This is a very cool card. Is it a good card for Limited though? I’m leaning towards…probably not. 7 mana to play this is a doozy, and yeah it has some impact on the board during your opponent’s next turn, but the immediate impact will be whatever matters to them the least. What’s more is, while it definitely can help you win a game, there are going to be a decent number of board states where one of two things happens

1) Your opponent kills you before a relevant option effects them, since you just spent 7 mana on something that isn’t developing the board in a real way.

2) Your opponent was ahead of you.

I can see this being nice if you are at parity – but it isn’t good if you’re behind or your opponent is ahead. If you’re behind, it is going to dig you a deeper hole before you can get out of it, and if your opponent is ahead, what this enchantment does just won’t be worth it. I am inclined to just avoid playing the thing at this point. I’m giving it an F.

Carnival/Carnage – C

I’m not super impressed with this. One damage to do 1 to a creature/planeswalker and player is nothing special, though it could improve if there are lots of good X/1s in the format. The other half of the card is a bad Blightning, and Blightning has never been amazing in Limited, though it is fine. Basically, both halves are fine. Which means the card is fine. I’m giving it a C. 

Cult Guildmage – B-

Like all guildmages, you’ll feel good about playing this in your Rakdos deck. The first ability can be used to really disrupt your opponent, especially later in the game, and the second ability provides you with some nice reach – not to mention, a way to easily make it so you can cast cards for their Spectacle cost. All of that makes it so that this guy is a reasonable first pick in some weaker packs, and a B-.

Fireblade Artist – C+

A two -mana 2/2 with Haste is a nice little creature. Add to that the ability to start hurling your creatures at your opponent when they are low on life, and you have an even nicer little creature. Especially in a format that seems to have lots of ways to sacrifice for value – whether it is an Afterlife creature or to help you pay the Spectacle alternate cost for a card. I thinkt his will be a nice thing to have in your Rakdos decks, but it isn’t going to be a premiere uncommon for the deck or anything. I’m giving it a C+.

Hackrobat - B-

So, if we take Spectacle off of this thing, it is probably already a C+. It has two nice activated abilities – one that is great when your opponent can’t really block, so she can get in for some extra damage, and the other better when you’re on defense, and needing to trade with anything. Obviously, deathtouch can be sueful for attacking too – you could turn on the deathtouch to deter your opponent from blocking, and after no blocks are declared, make her hit for 4. So yeah, she’s a 3-drop that’s good all game long thanks to those abilities. The fact that she has Spectacle isn’t going to come up a ton, because one-drops aren’t usually played a lot in Limited, so playing her on turn 2 – which would be incredible – probably won’t happen very often. But the Spectacle does matter in the later game, where maybe it lets you cast two spells in one turn or something. Overall, I think she is a B- -- she’s just a very well-rounded card that is solid in multiple roles, and I think that means she is on the lower end of being worth first picking in a pack.

Judith, Scourge Diva – B-

So, she seems pretty good. A 3-mana 2/2 that pumps your whole board’s power is already nice, the rest of the text on it is also pretty awesome, since unlike most versions of this type of effect, she can even hit creatures! One thing to note that they did, probably to suppress her power a bit, is that it says non-token – so you can’t splash her in your Orzhov deck and take advantage of Spirit Tokens – not exactly anyway. You’ll still want to splash her there, because she pumps your spirit tokens and when you trade cards with Afterlife you’ll still get to do the 1. Overall, she seems good in most decks, and I think that makes her worth first picking despite being Gold. I’m going to start her at B-.

Rafter Demon – D+

I’m not all that impressed here. A 4-mana 4/2 is mediocre stats, the fact that you can cast it for 5 with Spectacle and have it become the world’s beefiest Ravenous Rats is fine, but still nothing special. I think this will get cut a little more often than it gets played. I’m giving it a D+.

Rakdos Firewheeler – C+

So, the cycle of double-colored things for each Guild was strong last time, and it is strong this time too. Just like last time, some of them are going to be worth first picking despite difficult mana costs, but they are all going to be super good when your deck has no problem casting them. I think the Firewheeler falls short of being the kind I want to first pick in most cases – I mean, a 4-mana 4/3 that does 2 to a creature and your opponent is nice, but it isn’t the kind of thing that you take until you’re firmly already in Rakdos, and that means it is limited to a C+ for me, with the caveat that if you’re already playing Rakdos, it is probably a B.

Rakdos Roustabout – C-

Rakdos, the Showstopper – B+

Well, the new Rakdos seems pretty nice. Another creature with Flample – which comes in handy in a world of spirit tokens – and an efficient body. His real power, though, comes from his ETB trigger. It does effect your creatures as well as your opponents, but I think that’s ok. Giving you a 50% chance ot kill each individual creature your opponent has is well worth it when attached to a huge creature like this one. You can also build around it to some degree, Rakdos cards are already populated with plenty of Demons, Devils, and Imps, and they will go up a bit. He is also a great finisher in any deck that doesn’t have a ton of creatures, though I think your average Rakdos deck probably has a lot. All-in-all, I think this guy is a bomb. Sometimes he might hurt you more than your opponent, but the fact is that you’ll be holding on to your 6/6 flample regardless, so there’s a good chance you’re the one who comes out ahead. I thinkt his is first pickable, I’m starting it at B+.

Theater of Horrors – B+

So, I think I like this a whole lot. Cards that can grant you tons of card advantage tend to be great ways to just win a game of Limited, and that’s what this can do. There are some important things to note about this card that may go overlooked when you first look at it. For one thing, once you get the damage done to your opponent, you can play any card that has been exiled with it. So if you have a couple of turns where you don’t damage your opponent and can’t cast anything you exiled, don’t worry – if you ever do damage – and obviously this has a built in way to do damage – if you ever do damage, you essentially get to add the cards that were exiled to your hand for an entire turn. Another thing to note is that it says “during your turn” so doing damage to your opponent on your own turn won’t enable you to cast your Instants during their turn. This will make it so any Instants you exile with it have to be cast during your turn. All that said, I feel like this is close enough to something like Phyrexian Arena or Outpost siege that you want to be playing this any time you can, and it is probably even worth splashing. I am a little hesitant to push it all the way to the A range, because this card is a little weird and I don’t feel that confident about it, but I’m willing to get pretty close – I think it is a B+.

Vanity//Vandalism – B-

This is a weird one. For the other split rare cards in this cycle – both in Guilds and in Allegiance – the more expensive half was also a pretty good card. That’s not really the case here. The Vanity half is nice. It will be frequently used just as a removal spell, but having the flexibility to help one of your big creatures do lethal doesn’t hurt. The Vandalism half is pretty awful in Limited though. In this case, I think you probably cast the Vanity half 99.9% of the time. There may be rare occasions where you really need to blow up your opponent’s only source of some color that maybe it is worth using, but saying the other half gets cast .1% of the time might even be an exaggeration. So, basically, this split card loses the benefit of flexibility the other cards in this cycle have, because it is essentially just a solid removal spell that itself has a bit of built-in flexibility. So, as a removal spell, does this get into the first pickable range? I think in some weak packs it probably does, especially because the Hybrid mana makes it so tons of decks can cast it. It isn’t quite Lightning Bolt, but I feel like it is close enough to warrant taking firs tpick sometimes. I’m giving it a B-. 

Simic 

Aeromunculus – C+

I like this guy. A 3-mana 2/3 flyer is always playable in Limited, and probably already a C+. Adding the Adapt mechanic to it does make it better, though not enormously so – I think it is still a C+, though maybe a 79 instead of a 78. 

Biomancer’s Familiar – C+

So, this is a two-mana 2/2 that brings all kinds of upside to the table with the Simic mechanic “Adapt.” It makes it cheaper, and lets creatures adapt more than once. Most simic decks will probably have 4-5 cards with Adapt without even trying, and if you end up with an insane number this guy’s value jus tkeeps going up. Worth noting that he can reduce the cost of any activated abilities too, so decreasing Guildmage costs and the like is pretty sweet. Still, I don’t think you want this guy with your first pick – I’m more inclined to be interested in him if I’m already sure Simic is open and I’ll be getting plenty of adapt. I’m going to give him a C+. 

Combine Guildmage – C+

This seems pretty powerful. Both abilities are useful places to spend your excess mana. Making your creatures a little bigger when they come into play is always nice, and having the ability to move counters around is super obnoxious. You can do it at instant speed, so the threat of activation here is going to be a real pain if you’re playing against it, because finding a good way to block when a counter can just be moved to another creature is not a good time. The question, though, is whether this is the kind of card that you want to be taking with a first pick, even though it is Gold, or if it should usually be taken a bit later. For now, my instinct is that I should avoid picking this pack one pick one, but I will not be surprised if I have to admit I was wrong about this one. I’m giving it a C+.

Engineer of the Spiral – C+

These 3-mana 1/1 mana dorks usually underperform, mostly because they die to everything, and make you trade down. Sure, it can add two mana – which is nice, it means you can ramp faster, use your Adapt mechanic more quickly and what not. And don’t get me wrong, this isn’t actively bad, it just isn’t as good as something like Llanowar Elves. The fact that the Elves only cost one makes a world of difference in terms of how much earlier it can ramp you, and the fact that if someone wants to kill it, they’re going to be paying at least the one mana you paid! Not so here. Still, it is a card that you’ll play in most Simic decks I think, just not one that you’re excited to see in the first 1-4 picks or something. I’m giving it a C+.

Frilled Mystic – B

Ok, so Mystic Snake is one of my favorite cards ever, and that’s basically what this is. I love creatures who can counter stuff – they aren’t that far off from being creatures who kill something when the Enter the Battlefield. They almost always provide a 2-for-1, and this thing having 3-power means it can even attack decently well until your opponent trades with it. Despite the prohibitive mana cost, I think you still first pick this over a lot of cards in the set and hope that Simic is open.

Galloping Lizrog – C

This guy is pretty neat, but I don’t think he is that great. First, his fail case is pretty miserable as a 5-mana 3/3 with Trample. Second, there are lots of times where you just should not be removing +1/+1 counters from other creatures – sure, he gets more of them – but putting all your eggs in one basket can be disastrous against all the spot removal out there. He DOES of course let creatures who have adapted already to adapt again because he takes their +1/+1 counters, and that’s nice. And he is evasive, so that’s nice too. There are other bonuses for +1/+1 counters out there as well that he’s nice with. I don’t mean to say he is bad, just that he isn’t really the premiere payoff for the Simic +1/+1 counter deck. He’s just a payoff. A solid one, but I think he is limited to a C.

Growth Spiral – C

So, this card is a little hard to judge. It seems like it has real power for constructed, but in Limited, Explore has never been all that exciting. Yes, this is an instant speed version of it and that’s cool, and yes, in the late game it basically cycles while helping you ramp in the early game. But I’m not sold on this being anything special. I think its just a C.

Hydroid Krasis – A

Wow, I love this card. Simic is my favorite guild to appear in this set (Izzet is my other favorite), and getting this guy P1P1 would be a dream! Look at it this way, if you pay 5 mana for this, you get 3/3 who gains you a life and draws you a card. That’s a good card, probably at least a B on its own. Add to that this gets progressively crazier the longer the game goes on? This is going to be nice in the mid-game and completely break games open late. On top of that, it is splashable! This is an A for sure, even though its gold, it is so powerful that you’re willing to take the risk – which won’t even be a crazy risk since you can splash it. 

Incubation // Incongruity - C

Well, this is interesting. I think in most cases the Incubation half is going to be what you want to use, that’s pretty nice card selection for a single mana. Effects like it we have seen before have been perfectly playable – like Commune with Nature and Commune with Dinosaurs. On its own, that would probably make this at least a C-. Add to that, though, the additional flexibility it has as a split card, and it gets better. Is the Incongruity half always going to be relevant? Heck no, but since it is on a card that is pretty much always relevant, it just adds to the flexibility of the card. Obviously you can use it to sort of downgrade your opponent’s creature, but the ideal scenarios probably involve using it to still fully take away one of your opponent’s cards – like in response to a combat trick or Aura. You can also use it on your own guy to upgrade him as a terrible combat trick, but sometimes that will work alright. Another nice thing about it is that you can obviously play the Incubation half in a wide variety of decks – it will be good in Gruul, probably less good in Azorius, so that Hybrid mana comes out pretty nice. Overall, I think this will pretty frequently make the cut as one of the last cards in your deck in both Simic and Gruul, and I think that makes it a C.

Prime Speaker Vannifar - C

So, this is interesting. Giving me Birthing Pod flashbacks for sure. I’m not sure how great this will be in constructed though, because putting together a nice chain of creatures isn’t going to be as easy. That said, it does have decent stats for the cost, so it isn’t like the failcase is all that terrible. If you do draft this, I recommend really keeping in mind what is in your deck mana-wise, because there will definitely be times when it is awesome to use this ability, since it will give you a huge upgrade on your creature or a nice ETB ability or something like that, but there will be other times where it just isn’t worth it. I dunno, I’m not ultra impressed with an effect like this in Limited, I’m going to start it at C – I don’t think it will be anything special. 

Repudiate // Replicate – C+

So, the Repudiate half will come up on occasion in Limited, but I think most of the time you’re casting the Replicate half here. Like all of these split cards, the flexibility it has is great – sometimes your opponent will be one activated or triggered ability away from beating you, and being able to cast Stifle on that ability is nice. But copying creatures for 3 mana is going to be advantageous considerably more often. As long as you are copying something worth 3 mana, you’re getting a decent deal – an even better deal if it has an ETB ability. This card isn’t incredible, and not the kind of Rare that is better than all the Commons or something, its just a C+.

Sharktocrab – B-

So, a 4-mana 4/4 is a great deal on the vanilla test. Top that off with the ability to not only adapt, but give you a pretty powrful bonus every time you add a counter to it – from adapt or otherwise? And you have a very good card. Because Adapt can be used at Instant speed, you can threaten the activation a lot too without actually using it. Overall though, you have a creature with a good floor and a very high ceiling. The crazier you go with +1/+1 counters, the crazier this Fish Octopus Crab gets.  I think it is worth first picking in some weak packs. I’m giving it a B-.

Simic Ascendancy – C+

This card kind of reminds me of Hadana’s Climb – though I don’t think it is as good. It has an alternate win condition on it, but I think in most cases in Limited it is a win-more kind of effect. If you have 20 growth counters on this, it means you’ve put 20 +1/+1 counters on things, which means you probably won. While it is a reasonable mana sink for a Simic deck, the effect is a bit clunky. I think you’ll play this in Simic decks, especially decks where you have +1/+1 counter payoffs, but I don’t think you really want to go after it early. I’m going to start it at C+. 

Zegana, Utopian Speaker – B+

Well, Zegana is back, and she’s awesome. Obviously she does a great job on the vanilla test as a 4-mana 4/4, but in your Simic decks she will frequently also draw you a card. Then, she makes all of her +1/+1-counter loving friends gain trample, including herself, if she gets to use her Adapt ability. Worth noting too, that because Riot also uses +1/+1 counters, she is a pretty sweet creature to splash in a Gruul deck! I think you’re pretty happy to first pick her in most packs. She may be a bit of a buildaround, but because two guilds in this set have a lot of +1/+1 counters, it won’t be that hard to make her work. I’m giving her a B+

Black

Awaken the Erstwhile – F

What even IS this? Even if this only worked for you discarding cards to get Zombies, it would not be very good. It would be a way to turn like 2-3 lands in your hand in the late game into creatures. That would maybe be like a D. But letting your opponent do it too? I think that pushes it firmly to F. Sure yeah, I’m sure you will occasionally get your opponent with it where they have 0 cards and you have like 5, but those situations won’t come up very often, and even if that is the situation, it isn’t exactly game breaking. This is an F, don’t play it. 

Bankrupt in Blood – F // C

So, this card is going to be pretty bad in any deck that doesn’t have Afterlife, so in a lot of ways this is really only around for the Orzhov deck. So yeah, if you can make lots of creature tokens and sacrifice htem, or sacrifice creatuers with Afterlife to this, it’s going to be nice. But that essentially makes this a buildaround. I think this is borderline unplayable in a deck that doesn’t have nice ways to pay the additional cost, and is a D-. Even in an Afterlife deck, I would be hesitant to play this unless I was really getting there on the mechanic, so I’m going to say its ceiling is probably around a C. 

Blade Juggler – B-

This is pretty strong for a common. I would play a 5-mana 3/2 that draws me a card already – it would probably be at least a C. And that’s the fail-case here. If you can play this on turn 3 or 4 with Spectacle than you’ll really be getting there. 2-for-1s go a long way towards winning, and that’s what he will represent most of the time. As far as commons go, this is one of the best in the entire set that isn’t removal. I honestly think you can first pick this without feeling too bad about it, I’m giving it a B-.

Bramido del Carnarium – C+

So, this is the kind of effect that people will be wanting in more controlling decks to stymie those more aggressive strategies that are out there.  The fact that it exiles the stuff it kills does matter too, in a world of Afterlife. Still, usually when we see this effect, it is only good in a very narrow number o fdecks – you don’t want to be playing this if you’re the beat down, and both Rakdos and Orzhov seem like they can go that route. As a result I think it can be really great in the right deck, but that deck won’t come together often enough to warrant taking this early.

Drill Bit – D // C

I don’t like discard spells in most Limited formats. For them to be worth it, like a do a little something extra – like Surveil or Scry or something. Making an opponent discard a card, even one of your choice, is not worth 3 mana. This can be a super efficient discard spell at one Black, but 2B is super steep – I mean, who ever played Never Happened in the mainboard in the last set? If you did, you probably shouldn’t have. I don’t know, because this can be one Black some of the time, I do think you can play it as a sub-par 23rd card or whatever, but I think you mostly want to bring this out of the sideboard against decks that have cards even in the mid to late game. That’s the problem with discard spells in general – they get less good as the game goes on against a good chunk of decks. But decks with high curves and scary bombs will make this worth siding it. So I’m going to give it a D as a mainboard card, but a B as a sideboard card.

Font of Agonies - F

Well, this is a weird card. I think I need to wait until I see the full spoiler to gauge whether or not this is worth anything. My first instinct is that it probably won’t work that well in the Limited format. Having to pay life four times just to destroy a creature just won’t work out in Limited most of the time, because there aren’t usually enough ways to gain life. I think its an F.

Orzhov Imposter – B-

Well, this seems good. I’m always happy with Deathtouch creatures that can trade for anything – add a 1/1 spirit token to that trade and I’m even happier with the deal. This seems like it is going to grind opponents to a screeching halt on the ground. That’s not something every deck will be into, but hey – it can even attack if you need it to. I think this is something you actively feel good about having in your deck, because it goes with the Orzhov game plan so well – that is, swarm the board with flyers and lock down the ground – this can either be the flyer or what locks the ground down! I think in some weak packs, you can first pick this – and you should feel pretty good about taking it relatively early. I’m giving it a B-.

Orzhov Racketeers – C+

A 5-mana 3/2 with this ability is not something that would normally be all that good, mostly because you will basically never hit your opponent with it since it is so easy to trade down with. Adding Afterlife to this makes it interesting though. Your opponent has to choose whether or not they want to deal with annoying tokens, or take the 3 damage and discard a card. There will be times where that choice is very difficult, and it’s always good to make your opponent’s life difficult. This can do defense alright too, trading with any X/3 and leaving behind your spirit tokens. Yeah, I think this is the kind of card you probably want one of in any Black deck, but not the kind of card I want to take with a first pick ever, which puts it at C+.

Priest of the Forgotten Gods – C+ // A-

Well, isn’t this interesting. Obviously, the dream here is to pair it with White and get lots of Afterlife going so you aren’t sacrificing much. The truth is, though, that sometimes sacrificing two creatures for this effect will be worth it anyway. If you have lots of extra creatures and your problem is that you need to dig through your deck for a removal spell, she can do the job – while also killing the opponent’s creatures. I mean, I think she is a build around – but she’s not the kind with an absurdly low floor. I think she is probably a C+ even in a deck with 0 Afterlife, and if you can really abuse her? She probably pushes into the A range, as she will just win you the game. Because of the reasonable floor and high ceiling, I know I’m going to be tempted to first pick her – you should be too!

Spawn of Mayhem – A-

A 4-mana 4/4 with flying and trample is great – but you know what’s better? Also having the potential to be a 3-mana 4/4 flying trample! Also, by the way, in most formats having both of those keywords seems kind of silly – since so few things can block a flyer. But I think in this format where Spirit tokens will be everywhere, trample and flying together makes a significant difference. Anyhow, this guy represents an even quicker clock than his 4/4 body represents, because he also does 1 to everything, and if you’re at low enough life he starts to get bigger. The fact that you don’t get to control the 1 damage thing could hurt you on rare occasions, but mostly? This guy is just going to kill your opponent before they know what’s going on. This is an easy first pick, and an A-.

Gutterbones – C+

So, this is the kind of card that will be way better in constructed – one-mana 2/1s don’t scale well in Limited, where you can’t really guarantee you have a deck filled with cheap efficient creatures, which is where this will shine. But, the fact that it can block does make it better than some of these, and the fact that it can attack without abandon in a lot of situations is nice. I mean, if you are attacking with something you know will get through because of flying or whatever, then you might as well attack with Gutterbones since you can just bring it back if they kill it. So, it’s fine. But nothing special. I think it may have more of a future in an aggressive deck in Standard, but I’m going to give it a C+.

Pestilent Spirit – B-

So, this is nasty. It is basically an upgraded Boggart Brute – that is to say, a 3-mana 3/2 with Menace – a card that is a C+ in most limited formats, a nice little 3 drop with some evasion. But this just gets nasty with everything else it comes with. Adding Deathtouch to a Menace creature is always scary, because it means that no matter what, you’re going to take down 2 creatures that block this. Making any of your spells that do damage into kill spells is no joke, either, though if I had to guess I think in most cases that comes up like, once a draft, though you can certainly build around this to some degree, I wouldn’t recommend going crazy because the both this thing has is fairly fragile. It also isn’t bad on defense, since it can trade for anything! So it is a 3-drop that is good at all stages of the game, and as a result I think it is worth taking with a first pick in many packs. I’m going to start it at B-.

Red: 

Amplifire – C-

As far as wordplay goes this card as an A+, as an actual card? Well, it doesn’t really come close to that. You don’t need me to tell you that a 4-mana 1/1 is terrible on the vanilla test. And yeah, this does get a huge stats boost every single turn, but the fact that you don’t have much control over how that goes is a little frustrating. What’s more is, even if things are going really well, this is just going to be a huge vanilla creature who can be easily chump blocked. This card kind of reminds me of Tilonalli Skinshifter – a creature who could potentially make itself much bigger every turn. The problem with both of these cards is that they revert to a single toughness and can be killed by just about anything. Now, this is probably better than the Skinshifter, because the Skinshifter had to target a creature to gain its stats, and if it got destroyed in response you were in trouble. That can’t happen here. Overall, I think this is playable, but not the kind of rare you go after even remotely early. I think it is a C-, I see myself cutting it a significant portion of the time. 

Burn Bright – D

I don’t like cards like this. Sure, pumping your entire team can just win you the game out of nowhere! But because this effect doesn’t pump toughness at all, it is much weaker than most cards like this. With something like Inspired Charge that pumps toughness, you can cast it before you can straight up do lethal to your opponent more frequently, because you can use it to make your guys who get blocked win in a few of the combats, while destroying your opponent’s board. Here, you have to be going wide enough that you can do lethal, because the combats aren’t really going to be going your way so much – your guys who get blocked are much or likely dead. All that said, this probably will have a place in an ultra-aggressive Red deck like Rakdos looks like it can be, but I think most of the time you don’t play it. I’m giving it a d. 

Burning-Tree Vandal – C

I like what they did on a lot of this Riot creatures, and this is another example. Both options here have their place. If you really need to rummage right away and your opponent’s shields are down, you can go for the haste. If you’d rather have a 3-mana 3/2 if you need more power to be able to attack with it, or foresee yourself needing to trade, you can do that too. Both of those options are fine, and makes this is a solid option for a 3-drop in Red decks in the format. By adding rummage to an early-game creature, it means that it can have some late-game effectiveness, since it can help you improve your draws. I’m giving it a C. 

Electrodominance – B

So, the problem with X-spells sometimes is that they are never going to be efficient – even ones like Blaze, you generally have to spend more mana than the creature that you are killing. That said, they have the bonus of being able to go after the opponent late. Plus, this version helps you get around the fact that you frequently tap out for a card like this, because it lets you cast a spell for free too! Sure, sometimes, it will just be an expensive Blaze because you don’t have cards in your hand or whatever, but the upside here is very real, and most of the time I think you will cast a free spell when you cast this. While certainly not “premium” removal on its own, the additional value is enough to push it into that type of grade. I think this is a B, and first pickable in most packs. 

Gates Ablaze – F 

Well, this really intrigues me. Ever want to just make a 5-color grab all the gates kind of deck? This enables that incredibly well, because it can allow you to be a durdly deck just trying to play cards of a bunch of colors, because once you have around 4 Gates in play it will just start wiping the board. This is the kind of card that can help a deck that went crazy on Gates survive long enough to make their game plan happen. With all that in mind though, I think in 99% of decks in this format this won’t be playable. Between wanting you to play Gates, and not being especially good in a deck with a lot of creatures, it is asking a lot of you. I want to acknowledge that this has potential, and I guess I’m saying I kind of hope I’m wrong, because this kind of card looks like fun, but this is probably just an F, intriguing as it is.

Immolation Shaman – C-

So, a vanilla two-mana 1/3 is usually a D. Obviously, with that huge block of text, this isn’t exactly vanilla, but for a lot of games I think it will be. If you can get it down turn 2, maybe it does 1-2 damage to your opponent over the course of the game, and that certainly doesn’t hurt. The activated ability being added to this does make it go from being pretty bad in Limited to…kind of ok in Limited. IT is almost like they designed this without that ability, and planned on it being useful in constructed only, but then decided to slap that activated ability on to it so that it can actually do some work in the latter part of the game. And I think that ability does successfully let this crawl out of the D-range, although I think just barely. I’m giving it a C-.

Light up the Stage – C+

I always like the Red “card draw” effect, it is one of the best design decisions they’ve made in the last 5 years or so. Obviously, if you are paying 3 for this in most cases, it isn’t going ot be great – but you know, in the late game, that might be ok. Paying one for it is kind of silly though, and could result in you really drawing 2 cards. One thing to keep in mind with Light up the Stage is that you should never play a land before you cast it, because you can play lands from the exiled cards, and you definitely want to use one of those lands before you use the ones in your hand. Overall, this card is admittedly hard to grade. I can see it really doing some work in the mid- to late-game, so I think it is probably a C+

Mirror Match – F

So, it is cool they found a way to name a card after some Magic slang, but I think this is pretty bad. Imagine that this didn’t have the coin flip clause at all, and you just always got to do it. I don’t even think that card would be incredible – paying 6 for an Enchantment that does not immediately impact the board is a frightening thing in most games. It would definitely be capable of taking the game over after you untap – but only if you have creatures that this actually matters with. There will be plenty of times when you just play a Grizzly Bear and that extra token won’t make a real difference on the board. I could definitely see this being interesting with ETB abilities, but yeah – point is, while without flipping a coin the card would be considerably better, it would still have its problems. Add the coin flip and you have a card that is unplayable. Not only does it not impact the board immediately, it may not impact the board for several turns if you are unlucky with your flips! Yeah, don’t play this. F for sure.

Rix Maadi Reveler – B

So, a two-mana 2/2 who lets you rummage when it comes into play is already a nice card because it is fine when you curve out, and has utility in the late game. The Reveler takes the “utility in the late game” thing to new levels, though, because it allows you to potentially pay 4 and draw 3 cards! That is pretty insane, and can single-handedly win you the game if you can cast it with Spectacle at any point in the mid to late game. Because it has such a good floor and such a high ceiling, this little 2-drop is a B, something I think you’re happy first picking.

Scorch Mark – C+

This is a nice removal spell for Red decks. I don’t think it quite gets to the “premium” level, where you first pick it on a regular basis, but maybe the fact that it can exile annoying Afterlife creatures pushes it a little higher. As is, it’s the kind of common Red removal spell you always play, but not the one you’re hoping you get – which we’ll get to in a couple cards. That makes it a C+.

Skarrgan Hellkite – A-

I like the design here, where Riot makes you take into account more than just whether it has haste or is bigger. If this was a 5-mana 4/4 with Haste, that would probably be enough for it to be a B- or even B, and a 5-mana 5/5 flyer is probably about the same. However, when you add flexibility, and the potential to have the ability to start damaging things, this card’s value gets pushed a lot higher. Basically, one side of this is what you use when you’re ahead in the game and need to close it out – the Haste side. The other side will be way better at breaking up board stalls and winning you a grindy game, since that ability can do some serious work, either going after your opponent or their creatures. All-in-all, I think this card pushes all the way up to an A-, making it worth first picking over the vast majority of cards in the set. 

Skewer the Critics – B

Wow, this is a strong common! If you get Spectacle going, you have a sorcery speed Lightning Bolt, and even if you can’t cast it for the Spectacle cost, you’re still looking at a pretty efficient spell. Don’t forget this one can go for the head too. I think this is an early candidate for best common in the set, and I think it is a pretty firm B – the kind of card that you feel good about first picking.

Smelt-Ward Ignus – C+

So, a two-drop that can get in for some damage early and then have late game value is always going to make the cut – and that’s what we have here! Being able to use it to clear a small creature out of the way that then joins the attack is great. Unlike most Threaten effects, your opponent will know this is coming, but I don’t think that diminishes the value any. This is a C+.

White

Angel of Grace – A

So, a 5-mana 5/4 flyer with Flash would probably be a firm B. Once Flash creatures get this big, flashing them in and killing something becomes much easier. Add the rest of the text on this thing and it clearly becomes a straight-up bomb, something it was already pretty close to being with key words and stats alone! The fact that she can make it so you don’t die for a turn will come up from time to time – and it’s a pretty cool reference to the card Angel’s Grace, too. There will be times where you flash this in to save you and maybe trade, and then put your life back up to 10 on your turn. That’s not the ideal scenario for her, certainly, you’d rather she stay in play – but she can do some good work in a variety of situations, and help you come back from the brink of losing. All of that makes her a bomb. I’m giving her an A. 

Angelic Exultation - C

Well, this is interesting. If you have ever played with Exalted, you know that an effect like this can enable attacks that you couldn’t dream of otherwise, and this is like mega exalted. Being able to hold back all your blockers but smash in with one big thing can often be a real problem for your opponent. I often don’t like 4-mana enchantments that don’t impact the board right away, and that’s what this will be sometimes. But the fact that on a lot of boards, it will enable an attack right away, means it isn’t always going to do nothing on the board. I think it is really here for use with Afterlife, which not only gives you an evasive creature in the spirit token, but also enables you to keep the board populated more easily than most other decks. Overall, I think I’m just going to give this a C, but I would not be super surprised to see it move up. For now, I don’t think I want to be taking this early. 

Archway Angel – D+ // C

So, these gate buildarounds are always interesting. I would guess that one ends up with a couple of gates most drafts, but I don’t think a couple of gates is really enough to make the Angel worth it. 6 mana for a ¾ flyer is horrendous, so she really consistently needs to be gaining you life. I think if she can give you 4 consistently, she is probably worth playing. I would guess you need 4+ gates to really consider this particular gate build around though, and I’m going to give it two grades to reflect that. If you only have a couple of gates, the Angel is probably a D+, meaning in an ideal world it wouldn’t make your deck. But, if you have a decent number of gates, she probably gets at least to C.

Hero of Precinct One – C // B-

So this is a bit of a build around, but not the kind that is unplayable if you don’t get enough synergy – which in this case means multi-colored cards. Since it is a grizzly bears worst case scenario, and in a deck that isn’t even trying to get synergy you will probably have at least a few gold cards, I think it has a floor of like a C. But if you end up in a deck that has tons of Gold cards, it basically becomes Young Pyromancer, and that is a very real threat. I think in that case, it pushes into the B- range. I think in some especially weak packs, first picking this because of the high ceiling and reasonable floor is probably not a bad idea.

Lumbering Battlement – B

I like this. A 5-mana 4/5 with Vigilance does pretty well on the vanilla test, and obviously this has way more upside than that! You can use it to exile creatures who have become irrelevant on certain boards, or creatures shut down by Aura removal spells, or creatures with nice ETB abilities, so that if your opponent does manage to kill the huge creature, they’re going to be dealing with stuff coming back. And killing it won’t be easy, I mean even at 6/7, this won’t go down super easy. I know I don’t comment on flavor a ton, but the flavor here is really sweet too! Overall, I don’t think this is quite a bomb – probably needed evasion to get there, but I imagine playing against this being awful. It is going to be a pick your poison scenario even if you do get a removal spell. Note, though, that if your opponent slaps an Aura-based removal spell on this, that’s not going to be very fun for you. Overall, though, I think this is an easy first pick in most packs. I’m giving it a B.

Minstrant of Obligation – B-

So a 3-mana 2/1 isn’t great on the vanilla test, but in the end you get 4/3 worth of stats for 3 mana, so you definitely come out ahead. The ideal scenario is to trade this for an X/2 and then get the spirits, that is how to maximize value, and it isn’t like that is a pie-in-the-sky scenario. You get such a good deal on this card that I think it is efficient enough to consider taking with a first pick. I’m going to give it a B-.

Spirit of the Spires – C+

A 4-mana 2/4 with flying is already a good deal stats wise. Adding the ability to pump the toughness of other flying creatures could certainly come in handy – making all those spirits tokens into 1/2s for example certainly doesn’t hurt. There is a Blue creature we will get to tomorrow that pumps the power of creatures with flying, and while I like pumping power more than toughness, this creature does a much better job on the vanilla test, so I think the two cards are comparable. I think you play it in any White deck where it can be a nice blocker or attacker in the sky, with some useful additional upside. That’s a C+.

Tithe Taker – C+

So, a two-mana 2/1 that has Afterlife 1 is a fine card, a C+ on its own I think. Making anything your opponent wants to do during your turn cost more, especially if you play this in the early game, can have a very real effect on your opponent and slow them down considerably. However, it is an ability whose usefulness diminishes as the game goes on, and it is nowhere near guaranteed to have an effect on your opponent even in the early game! When that comes with a creature who can trade with any X/2 and bring a Spirit into play, that seems like a solid deal to me, but I don’t quite think this is a card you ever want to first pick. I’m giving it a C+.

Smothering Tithe – F

This is a really cool way to give White fixing that doesn’t seem like it breaks the color pie. That said, I’m not sure how useful it will really be in Limited. Sure, you get Treasure Tokens – and that could matter. This is definitely a source of fixing if your’e desperate for that, but I feel like you’d still rather just have guildgates than this thing, which costs 4 mana and has no immediate impact on the board. There will be plenty of times where the Treasure tokens don’t accomplish anything, too! I don’t think you want to play this, I’m giving it an F.

United Stand – B-

Well, this seems nice, and is yet another addendum card that you should probably cast with Addendum like 90% of the time. Generally, a card that just gives your whole team indestructible is not all that good. It frequently acts as a fog effect, and we all know those aren’t very good. But the addendum here is nuts! It permanently pumps your creatures and gives them vigilance on top of indestructible – now you’re really in business. This gives you a completely free attack against your opponent. You aren’t losing a blocker, and you aren’t losing any creatures because they have indestructible. The turn you play this is going to be a beating, and making your creatures permanently bigger is awesome. Obviously, your deck has to be pretty creature heavy to use this – but I don’t think that will be a problem most of the time, certainly not for Orzhov with all of their afterlife creatures keeping the board populated. It may not be quite as good in an Azorius deck, but I think it will still be good there. It does require you to have an actual board presence to do what it needs to, but I think the ceiling on it is insane – free attacks like the kinds this enables are the stuff of nightmares to play against. I’m going to start it out at B-, I think you can first pick it in some packs. 

Blue 

Arrester’s Admonition – C+

So, 3 mana for this effect would already be playable, probably a C. Adding to that the fact that you can use it during your main phase and it replaces itself, and you have a pretty nice card for just about any Blue deck in the format, though it is probably at its best in Azorius. I think you feel fine about playing a couple of these, but I don’t think it is the kind of card to go after early. I’m giving it a C+.

Benthic Biomancer – C // B-

So, this is an interesting card. Turn 3 and beyond it essentially becomes a 3 mana 2/2 that lets you loot, and that on its own would probably be a C? It means it has utility all game long. And that’s just what it can do alone! There are plenty of other ways to put counters on this, or alternatively to remove the counter and then let it adapt all over again. If you can loot with this consistently, I think it goes from being a C – which is the grade I would give it when you haven’t successfully picked up enough other +1/+1 counterr stuff – to being a B-. Looting is just such a powerful effect in Limited, as improving the quality of your draws turn-after-turn is a good way to win a game, while your opponent is stuck in top deck mode. 

Gale Drake – C+

A 5-mana 3/3 with flying is not the greatest rate, but I think pumping the power of fliers is always nice. Especially because – if you have an Azorius deck anyway – you’re going to have some Spirit tokens. Making those little tokens hit harder is pretty awesome – and obviously, it pumps all other flying creature as well, which there are lots of in Blue and in White, just like in any set. It’s a decent card with some relevant upside, and gets a little better the more fliers you have. I’m giving it a C+. 

Essence Capture – C

I’m not usually a big fan of counterspells, but two-mana counterspells are usually good enough to make the cut. This one does cost two Blue, making it a bit more challenging to cast, and it only counters creature spells – but I think both of those things are fine. Essence Scatter is usually playable in Limited because most decks run so many creatures. The fact it can add a +1/+1 counter as well gives it some nice additional upside too. This isn’t great, I don’t think, but I don’t see it making the cut pretty frequently in Azorius and Simic. I think it is a C. 

Precognitive Perception – B-

If you’ve watched my videos for awhile, you know that this is my kind of card! Like all addendum cards, it is basically a split card – and I like both halves here. On some of these Addendum cards there is no reason to cast it without Addendum, but here, sometimes that will be the right thing to do. Drawing 3 cards for 5 mana at instant speed is an excellent deal – but if you are desperate to hit something in particular, casting this as a Sorcery for the Scry 3 is going to be worth it. It lets you see up to 6 cards in your deck, which is kind of absurd! This is the kind of card where, if the format proves to be a fast one, it will drop significantly, but I see no reason to think that will be the case. Sure, Rakdos and Gruul will have aggressive decks, but I think both Simic and Azorius decks will be thrilled to play this. I think it is a borderline first pickable card, I’m giving it a B-. 

Humongulus – C

Why Wizard insists on shoving something blue or Green with hexproof into every set is beyond me – they seem to like the swinginess that ensues in the event you can slap a powerful Aura on it. In this format, it will be a good place to stick +1/+1 counters too. Between having the upside to get suited up and be unstoppable, it also provides a decent blocker on the ground that can’t be pushed aside easily thanks to hexproof. It is a solid playable for Blue decks, but nothing special most of the time. I’m going to give it a C. 

Mesmerizing Benthid – A-

This is pretty nice. 5-mana for 4/9 worth of stats is a good deal, especially across three different bodies! And two of those bodies are the most annoying chump blockers ever, since they lock down whatever they block for a whole turn. Plus, the Benthid is going to have hexproof a good chunk of the time, as long as other illusions are in play – obviously it brings its own, and there are a few other in the set too. This is definitely the kind of card that allows you to dramatically shift the game in your favor. If you’re getting beaten down – by creatures on the ground anyway – this is going to grind your opponents’ attacks to a screeching halt. I do think this will probably have the swingiest effect when you’re the one who is behind, but if you’re ahead, you can probably start getting in there with the octopus and leaving your illusions back. I think this thing has the kind of power necessary to be considered a “bomb” and I’m going to give it an A-. There just aren’t very many other cards around that you should take over it P1P1. 

Quench – F

I’m not interested in this kind of counterspell in Limited. In most formats, a counterspell has to be pretty pushed to be good in Limited (Guilds of Ravnica not withstanding, a format where just about any counterspell was pretty good), and this is definitely not pushed. You would rather have something like cancel even though it costs one more, because it can counter stuff all game long. This won’t, once you get to the mid to late game, you have to hope that not only your opponent plays a spell into your counter spell, but also that they pay enough of their mana that your card actually does something. Ouch. I think that maybe sometimes you bring this in from the sideboard against an opponent with a higher curve, but most of the time? I just think you should avoid playing it. I’m giving it an F. 

Skatweing Spy – B-

I like this +1/+1 counter payoff. It won’t be an uncommon thing for it to come down and give something you have flying an immediately enable an attack. Its adapt is pretty steep, but I think that’s ok. In the early game it definitely will need some friends with +1/+1 counters, but in Simic that’s not going to be hard. I just see this improving board states considerably when it comes down too often for it not being worth first picking. I’m giving it a B-.

Sphinx of Foresight – A-

Uhm, what? Normally when we see a card that has a pre-game effect like this, it isn’t all that great when you cast it – or it is really inefficient. The Sphinx really puts an end to that trend, since if this was just a 4-mana 4/4 with Flying and lets you Scry 1 every turn, it would probably be a B+. Add the Scry 3 thing and I think it pushes it over the top into the lower A range. I think this is going to be a snap first pick.

Mass Manipulation – C+

This is an interesting one. Obviously it has a difficult mana cost with the 4 Blue, but if we look at how much you have to pay here – Mass Manipulation can let you steal one thing for 6 mana. That’s usually pretty good in Limited. We’ve seen cards like In Bolas’ Clutches and Lay Claim be pretty good in recent formats. Now, both of those cards were easier to cast and had additional upside (In Bolas’ Clutches was Legendary in a set that cared about that, and Lay Claim had cycling), but I still think this card is alright. I think you really have to look at it as a 6-mana mind control with somewhat difficult mana requirements, but in a world with guildgates it doesn’t seem impossible. And, sometimes, you can pay 8 for it and steal two things, so I guess that is additional upside. Normally, an effect like this would probably push itself into the B range, but I think that the mana cost here makes me hesitant to put it that high. I am going to start it at C+.

Salamander Drake – D+

This is kind of a weird card to see here. If this format had both Izzet and Simic in it, it might make sense. As it stands, this is mostly just a one-mana 1/1 flyer – a stat-line that is frequently overrated. Creatures of that size don’t represent any real threat to your opponent, and get outclassed the second any other creature with flying or reach comes down. Now, it IS true that we could see this thing be a bit like Healer’s Hawk in Guilds of Ravnica, except instead of Mentor, you put +1/+1 counters on this thing – usually with effects other than its Adapt. And while Simic will be able to do that, it isn’t going to be nearly as quick as what Mentor decks could do in Guilds. So, I think the home that will most work out for this is probably Azorius, which will likely be the Blue deck most interested in Instants and Sorceries. It feels like Simic decks will be running 3-5 of those types of things, which is certainly not enough to reliably activate that ability. So, overall, I think you can run this if you’re desperate, but you’re not going to be happy about it, which makes it a D+.

Verity Circle – C+

So, I wanna start my discussion of this card by saying that this is the exact kind of card I love in Limited, and my review of it could possibly…MAYBE be a little overly optimistic. In long grindy games of Magic, Verity Circle is the kind of card that will give you an edge with the powerful mana sink ability that essentially reads “Tap target creature without flying, draw a card.” That is the exact thing you want to have on the table when you go into top-deck mode. It is also nice that any other tap abilities your opponent’s use net you a card, and there will be a few of those around. I think the one thing this needed for me to think of it as first pickable would have been ETB effect, like “draw a card” or “tap target creature.” As is, Blue grindy decks in the format will love this, but it won’t be for everyone. I’m going to give it a C+ -- once again with the caveat that, I might be overrating it!

Green

Biogenic Ooze – A-

Man, can this get out of hand in a hurry or what? Worse case scenario, you pay 5 mana for two 2/2 tokens – which isn’t great, but when it is your fail case – and your upside is ridiculous – that’s kind of ok. The upside here is that if your opponent lets you untap, they’re going to have a major headache. Your Oozes get bigger, you have the mana to make more of them. Yeah, this is the kind of card that can get you back from behind rather quickly, can seal the deal for you, and put an end to parity. Now, the base creatures you get out of it aren’t exactly scary, but the advantage you will build is pretty insane. I think this is just a bomb. If it is good regardless of the board state, that’s usually what it means. I’m giving it an A-.

Biogenic Upgrade – C+

So, at a minimum, this is 6 mana for 6 +1/+1 counters – which isn’t too bad. Where this could really get silly, though – is in both the Green decks in this format. Gruul has Riot that will give you more +1/+1 counters to work with and Simic has Adapt that also gives you counters. This is going to be the kind of card that makes you groan when its casted against you, because it can dramatically shift attacks into your opponent’s favor, and in many cases it may mean your end. So, that’s all the good stuff about it. What’s bad about it? Well, if things aren’t going well for you on the board, and you draw this, it isn’t going to be so great. Though even in a fail case slapping 6 +1/+1 counters on to a single creature isn’t too bad. Overall, though, I actually think this is pretty good. I think maybe I should give it a buildaround grade, because if your deck doesn’t end up with enough +1/+1 counters, it is probably something like a C-, but if you have a good number of other counters, it probably pushes all the way to C+.

Rare 3G Enchantment – B-

I think I’m in love. If you know me, you know I love effects that draw me cards, and potentially adding “Draw a card” to all your creatures is something I’m in for! It reminds me a bit of the enchantment that gave Explore to everything, and that was something I loved. What’s more, is this card seems especially good in Limited, where the chances that you have multiples of the same creature are lower, so this just naturally can be better in Limited than any where else. I’m going to give this a pretty high grade – with the caveat that I may be a bit biased on this time of card – but I’m giving it a B-.

End-Raze Forerunners – D+

So, obviously, should you cast this, it is going to win the game a good chunk of the time. It will be great for busting through a major board stall. However, it does cast 8 mana – and yeah,e ven if your board is less than scary, chances are good that this can get in there the turn it comes down thanks to the Haste, and it can’t be chump-blocked effectively because of Trample. But I have my doubts that getting to 8 mana in this format will be an easy thing to accomplish. It will be doable, certainly, but probably only in a very specific deck that goes all in on ramp, and as a result I think this card really only wants to be in that deck, and not any other Green decks in the format. I’m going to start it at D – it is cool for sure, but I think you are setting yourself up for failure if you think you will be able to cast this on a regular basis. 

Growth-Chamber Guardian – C+

So, a two-mana 2/2 that can become a 4/4 as early as turn 3 is a good card. It makes it a relevant card much later in the game than your average 2-drop. Its additional ability to search up additional copies of itself will come up on occasion too, even though its rare. If you already have one of these, the second copy is going to be worth taking most of the time. On its own though, as just one copy of itself, I think it is probably just a C+, with the caveat that, if you have 2 of these, they will collectively be Bs. A two-mana 2/2 that draws you a card is no joke! But yeah, C+ overall.

Gruul Beastmaster – C+

This is another nice use of the Riot mechanic. When you choose the Haste option, Gruul Beastmaster will be capable of representing 4 damage out of nowhere. When you choose the +1/+1 counter, she can now contribute +6 power to the board when she attacks, albeit a little bit slower. Like most cards with Riot, there will be times where one option is better than the other, and that kind of flexibility is really nice. It isn’t an exciting card by any means – she is small, and her chances of surviving combat when your opponent is ready for her aren’t excellent, and she doesn’t boost the power of creatures who you attack with. She does get better if you have some +1/+1 counters going on, because obviously her attack gets 2 more power for every +1/+1 counter on her, assuming she has a friend. She’s a solid card, but I don’t think anything special that you should be taking especially early. She’s just a C+.

Incubation Druid – B

Well, a two-mana 0/2 mana dork is usually a pretty good card, and this is going to be a little better most of the time, since it will pretty regularly be capable of producing 2 kinds of mana. Obviously, you can’t rely it on a source of that color of mana in the first place, but the fact it can help you cast double-colored stuff is nice. One of the downsides manadorks often have in Limited is that – while explosive early – they are pretty bad to top deck. This makes up for that by having Adapt, which can give it an actual relevant body at 3/5, and hey – if you need more mana, she’ll do that for you too. The additional upside here is also that any +1/+1 counter will do, and there are ways to get a counter on this early and have this just go insane with the mana. All of that makes this a pretty good card, the kind that you are pretty happy to first pick. I’m giving her a B. 

Rampage of the Clans – F

This is one of those cards that was clearly printed with EDH in mind, to the exclusion of ever being worth playing in Limited. Sure, I guess, maybe sometimes your opponent will have enough artifacts and enchantments to make this worth siding in, but in 99% of cases you’d still rather just have a Disenchant effect! I think this is just an F.

Sauroform Hybrid – C

It feels like every set has a card like this – a Grizzly Bears that can get bigger one way or another in the later part of the game.  And they’re always fine filler, a two-drop you probably play one or two of without feeling bad about. It is worth noting that he does get outclassed pretty quickly in most cases, before finally catching up when you get to 6 mana. But all of that’s fine. This is a C. 

Silhana Guide – C

So, a two-mana 2/1 is nothing special – and neither is the ETB ability. I think most of the time it probably equates to something comparable to a two-mana 2/1 with Scry 1. It will be pretty difficult to miss with this in Limited, since something like 32 of your cards will be hittable. So it gives you some fine card selection, and can sort of kind of give you fixing in the sense that it can dig you deeper for the land you need for your third color. None of that is very exciting though. This card isn’t anything special and shouldn’t be taken early. It is just a solid C. You’ll play it a lot, but it isn’t ever going to impress you. 

Titanic Brawl – C+

So, this is Pounce – a card we’ve seen before that was fine, but not terribly impressive. If the creature you want to fight with has a +1/+1 counter, it becomes instant speed Prey Upon, which is certainly more interesting. By being a fight card that doesn’t pump your creature though, this card already really limits itself. You need to be playing a deck with some big boys in it, ideall big boys with +1/+1 counters, for this to be at its best. In this set, though, that will be more often than usual. Both Simic and Gruul will have creatures who like +1/+1 counters and who make +1/+1 counters, and both decks will have a decent number of creatures 3/3 or bigger – which I feel like is usually the baseline for this type of card. So overall, I think this fits nicely into the format. It certainly isn’t premium removal – in addition to the problems that Fight cards have that I already mentioned, the fact that you can get completely blown out by your opponent using removal in response is also a thing, so be careful about when you use this. It being Instant speed does help you improve your chances of getting this off in an ideal window. So yeah, I think this will be solid, maybe a little more than solid, in the Green decks in this format, so I’m going to give it a C+. 

Trollbred Guardian – C+

So, 5-mana 5/5s usually play pretty well in Limited, that just isn’t efficiency you see on a regular basis, certainly not at lower rarities. Add to that the potential this has to immediately impact the board because it just gave a couple creatures trample, and we’re looking at something pretty nice. Add to THAT that if you have some extra mana lying around you can make him a 7/7 trample and things get even more interesting. This is a nice payoff for +1/+1 counter decks for sure, but I don’t think I quite want to be first picking this one – like I do its Blue friend Skatewing Spy – flying is just way better than Trample. I think this is a C+, but it definitely should move up in value the more +1/+1 counters you have lying around. One thing this has going for it, though, is it is good in both Green decks in the format – Gruul and Simic both like +1/+1 counters, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind. 

Wilderness Reclamation – F

So this card is very difficult to evaluate without knowing more of what is in the set. If there are lots of activated abilities, this becomes more interesting. Decks with Adapt going on might be interested in this for example. But my instinct is that this won’t be very good in Limited – it was printed with EDH in mind – untapping your lands during your opponent’s turn isn’t going to be relevant most of the time. Again, though, if you’re reading this on Patreon, this is definitely a card that could move up depending on what remains to be spoiled. 

Artifacts

Gate Colossus – F // C+

So this is a nice Gate build around. An 8-mana 8/8 is pretty terrible, so if your deck has like 0-2 gates you probably don’t play him, and he’s an F. However, if you can manage 3-5 Gates, he gets pretty reasonable. He basically makes it so that Gates tap for 2 mana (at least when they are casting him), and the fact that he refuses to stay in your graveyard if you play more Gates is nice. But yeah, this is a build around to be sure. If you aren’t running more than a gate or two you can’t play him, but if you have a decent number of Gates he seems like a nice finisher.

Guildpact Artifact – F // C+

So, as in every other Ravnica set we played, most decks will end up with a few Gold creatures no matter what. I would guess the average is like 4 or 5. Is that enough? Probably not to run this. However, there is one thing to keep in mind. Afterlife tokens – the Spirit tokens are Black and White – so this pumps those too. This means that this Artifact will probably be best in an Orzhov deck where they can most effectively be taken advantage of. I would say though, that if you have 7 or so Gold creatures and/or cards with afterlife, it is probably worth playing. The thing it doesn’t have going for it that the “Mult-colored” payoff cards in Guilds of Ravnica had, is that it is a complete dud in a world where you don’t get your Gold creatures. The Rampaging Monument was always at least a creature, and the filter land that could make your Gold creatures come into play bigger was always a land. So yeah, I think this is an F if you can’t hit that critical mass, and probably realistically has a ceiling of C+. Could you draft a deck with like 15 gold creatures and have it be better than a C+? Maybe, but forcing that sounds dangerous. Overall, I think you just take this if it gets passed to you and you have a decent number of Gold creatures, otherwise just keep passing it. 

Tome of the Guildpact – D // B-

I like this card – but you know me, I love the words “draw a card.” Obviously this is a build around – as mentioned just a moment ago, you’re not always going to have enough Gold card sto make this worth it. Sure, it is a source of fixing, but at 5 mana it is pretty steep if that’s the only reason you’re playing it. You’d rather have a guildgate for sure. However, if you get enough multicolored spells – so many that you have a chance ot chain several together as you draw them – this becomes very interesting. Obviously, the thing it has going for it is that it does enable you to play more gold cards to some degree, but if you are relying on this as a mana source things could get a little scary. The mana helps, sure, but drawing cards is where your’e really going to grind out a win with this thing. Basically, if you have like 7 or more multi-colored spells, I think you play this and it is pretty good. If you have like 0-3, it is pretty terrible. I think the dream to shoot for is probably 10 or so, and if you do that, it probably has a ceiling in the lower B range. I’m going to give it a D in a deck that doesn’t get there on synergy, and a B- in a deck that does.

Lands

Harmony Square – F

Another card that asks you to play a lot of Gates, Harmony Square doesn’t seem very good to me. If you already have Gates in play that produce the color of mana you need, it isn’t like Harmony Square is going to really fix your mana. Yeah, I know, sometimes you have to pay double costs, its true. And it does gain you life no matter what – that could potentially actually matter out of the sideboard or something against really aggressive decks in this format. But overall, this is another gate payoff that doesn’t really get there for me. You need a lot of Gates to make this work, and even once you do…what are you getting? Not a whole lot. I’m going to give it an F.

Scrabbling Claws – F // D

So, this is always a nice hate card because it can always replace itself when it doesn’t work out. However, I don’t think this format has enough incentives to want to place this most of the time. There isn’t a graveyard heavy strategy, there isn’t an artifact sub-theme – and without either of those? I don’t know why you’d place this most of the time. There are a few cards in the set that maybe you side this in against – cards that can come back from the graveyard and stuff – and the cost of siding it in is low because it can basically cycle itself, so it isn’t completely useless, but its almost there. This is an F in your mainboard, and probably a D sideboard card.