Early Thoughts on War of the Spark Spoilers (last update 4/10/19 @ 10:00 p.m. ET) (Patreon)

War of the Spark Limited Review Super Ultra Early Thoughts

Green: 

Arlinn’s Wolf – C

I really feel like we need to see this ability keyworded. We see it all the time these days, and mostly on Green – and I like that green has a more evasive effect that FEELS Green, so keyword it! Anyway, that stuff aside, a 3-mana 3/2 that can’t be blocked by smaller creatures is nice. Sometimes your 3/2 gets in trouble against a couple of 1/3s or something, and this prevents that. It isn’t anything special, but it is definitely a 3-drop you’ll play without feeling bad about, and I think that makes it a C.

Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi – B

So, I think this is pretty good. 5 mana for a 9/9 with haste is a good deal, right?  Though you basically need 6 mana for it to attack right away.  It is a big dumb vanilla creature to be sure, but this efficiency makes that ok.  It does have the additional downside over a regular 5 mana 9/9 that if your opponent can kill it, they also make you lose a land, but I think that’s fine.  Being an Instant also means that you can make a land into a 9/9 after your opponent declares attacks, and eat their best creature.  If you get to do that and then swing back at your opponent, you’re going to be in great position.   This is first pickable for sure.  I’m giving it a B.

Kronch Wrangler – C

So a 2-mana 2/1 with trample is probably a D+ or C-.  Add this other text to it, though and it obviously gets a good deal better.  Obviously best suited to RG, where there are the most “ferocious” pay offs, but the fact that this gets bigger in the late game is nice when coupled with the fact that it can do some damage or trade early.  I think this is a solid C.

Thundering Ceratok – C+

So a 5-mana 4/5 with Trample is already a C for me, it is a body big enough that trample really means something.  Making it so this also gives trample to your whole team is nice, though it is worth noting that I would guess that around 50% of the time you play this, that won’t matter.  There will also be plenty of times when it does, just don’t expect it to be a huge play all the time, and don’t value it that way, because it won’t.  Still, it seems like a good card for Green decks in this format, and having exactly 4 power is nice for the “ferocious” payoffs.  I think this is a C+.

Forced Landing – D // C+

This is an interesting version of the Green flyer hate sideboard card that every set has.  Instead of just straight Plummet, this lets you put the creature on the bottom of their library – which is sometimes better, like if the creature has a death trigger or your opponent has ways to get stuff back from their graveyard.  Still,t his is mostly likely a sideboard card – though a good one, as Plummet often is.  I think it is a D if you mainboard it – there are enough creatures with Flying that it isn’t completely unplayable in your 40 cards, but it is a C+ out of the sideboard, and I think you probably want one of these most of the time when youd raft Green.

Steady Aim – C-

This seems like a decent combat trick to me.  Will make your creature survive combat frequently, and can be used in response to damage-based removal.  The untap part and reach is nice because it means you can use it defensively.  What I don’t love is that it isn’t that exciting offensively, and generally you want your combat tricks to produce blowouts on the attack, like blowing up double blocks – which this won’t do as often.  I think it is an ok trick, but I don’t want more than one in an ideal world.  I’m giving it a c-.

Defiant Troll – B

Wow, I like this a lot. So, on its own it is a 5-mana 6/5 that can’t be blocked by more than one creature. That’s already a very good card, maybe even in the B- territory, because it is not easy to take down a 6/5 in combat if you can’t double block him. But adding this effect to all your big boys? I’m in for that. I think this is a great card for Green decks, and even worth first picking sometimes. I’m giving him a solid B.

Evolution Sage – C+

So, a 3-mana 3/2 is usually not that great, and something you only include when desperate – but this obviously brings more than that to the table. Landfall for Proliferate seems pretty nice, especially because Green seems interested in +1/+1 counters, and obviously all decks will have planeswalkers. So yeah, this could make some board states really get out of hand after a couple of land drops. Still, it doesn’t have a place in all decks – some just won’t care about proliferating, so I don’t think I can put it above C+.

Pollenbright Druid – C+

So, a 2-mana 1/1 that puts a counter anywhere – including on itself, is usually a pretty decent card already. At worst it is going to be a Grizzly Bears, and there are other times where putting the counter elsewhere makes a big deal, like on an evasive creature. But this has the additional ability to also just Proliferate, which you will be doing if you already have other counters in play. Either way, you’re going to get some value out of your 2 drop in the late game, and that’s not always easy to come by. This is a good Common for Green decks, and I think you’d run 4 of these pretty happily, I’m giving it a C+.

Arlinn, Voice of the Pack – C+

Man, these planeswalkers are going to be hard to evaluate – especially in the early going of spoiler season like I’m trying to do. So, For 6-mana, she gives immediately makes a 2/2 wolf token – with a counter, so basically a 3/3. That definitely protects her a bit, and may even make it so that she can make 3 of these 3/3s. But in general, I feel like if you manage to make 2 with her, you’re probably feeling alright about your situation, and she of course also has some synergy with other wolves – you know, like the one we just talked about – and she also has some synergy with proliferate because of the +1/+1 counters. If we sort of pretend she isn’t a planeswalker, and – say, an enchantment for 6 that makes a 3/3 3 turns in a row, that would be a pretty nice card and a source of card advantage. I think now, in the super early going of spoiler season – I’m going to give her a C+. I think she’ll be playable, but she isn’t going to be something I want to first pick most of the time.

Band Together - B-

This seems like a card that will likely confuse a lot of people at the pre-release!  Just up front: note this does not let you target two different creatures of your opponent's.  Instead, you target two of your creatures, who then do damage equal to their power to one creature your opponent controls.  Now that that's clear -- this is still an excellent common for Green.  We have seen instant speed versions of this effect before, and they all only allowed you to target one creature on your side to do the damage -- this lets you do even more damage, allowing your two smallish creatures to take down one of your opponent's much larger creatures.  Being Instant speed is just huge on a card like this too, since it comes with the inherent risk of getting you blown out if your opponent can kill one of your creatures when you play it, but since it is an Instant, you have a much larger window where you can make it work -- like if your opponent taps out at the end of your turn for example.  This seems like a premium removal spell to me, at least as close as Green gets to it most of the time -- sure, you have to have creatures, but that requirement is easily fulfilled.  I think this is first pickable in some packs, and a B-.

Bloom Hulk – C+

A 4-mana 4/4 isn’t something you get real often at common in Limited on its own, that’s probably a solid C. But then you add proliferate, which means you’ll be able to get additional value out of this a decent percentage of the time. That makes it a good Common for Green decks, and one you’d be happy to run multiples of. I’m giving it a C+.

Courage in Crisis - C-

If this was just 3-mana to put a counter on something at Sorcery speed, it would be an F or close to it.  But you add proliferate to the mix and things get more interesting.  Basically, at its worse, this gives you two +1/+1 counters at sorcery speed, and there will be plenty of times where it will add counters some other places too.  That said, it does come with some pretty huge risk in that it can open you up to a 2-for-1 if you're not careful.  I'm not sure this has a high enough ceiling to make it the kind of card you feel good about playing despite that risk, but obviously, if your deck really gets there on counters, this will probably be pretty decent.  I'm giving it a C-.

Giant Growth – C+

Giant Growth is back! We don’t see combat tricks like this very often anymore. A single mana giving such a massive P/T boost is great, and will make a creature capable of winning almost any combat. The opportunity cost of leaving up one Green mana is really low, and the upside here is very high. It is still a combat trick, so it has some issues of being situational and easy to get blown out on – but I think the upside here is enough that this is a C+.

Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter – C- // B-

So, this is a planeswalker who is definitely a +1/+1 counter build around. His static ability will be pretty nice in decks that get their on the counters, and the fact that he can make creatures get counters all on his own is nice. He has low starting loyalty, and he asks that a creature already be in play, so I think in your typical Green deck he isn’t great – maybe a C-. But I think there is a high ceiling here, and a deck that gets there one +1/+1 counters it is probably closer to a B-.

Mowu, Loyal Companion – D // C

Like his owner, Mowu is a +1/+1 counter build around. 4-mana 3/3s aren’t worth playing ont heir own in most limited formats unless you’re super desperate, and that makes this a D in most Limited decks. Get enough ways to put counters on things though, and this goes up in value to a C.

Nissa, Who Shakes the World – A

She is definitely going to be shaking the world when she come down. Her static ability giving you a bunch of extra mana might not always matter by the time you play her, but I feel like there are enough activated abilities and big fatties around that it could. But she is powerful because she can really effectively protect herself by animating your lands – even giving them Vigilance means they can play both offense and defense. Her ultimate making all your animated lands indestructible – and all your other lands too I guess, but the ones who are creatures are who really matters at that point – seems pretty great. She’s the kind of walker who can protect herself, and then snowball advantage for you as more and more creatures – or larger and larger ones, join your side of the table and she ticks up in loyalty. She seems like a windmill slam first pick, which means she is an A.

Nissa’s Triumph – C

So, paying two mana to draw 2 cards is usually pretty good, even when both those lands are forests. It helps make sure you hit your land drops, and that can be nice. That said, it costs double Green, and only gets more Green mana. Which isn’t a bad thing, it just means that it isn’t super flexible. I see no reason you wouldn’t play this in a deck that is heavy Green, like 10+ more Forests, but you probably don’t play it otherwise. I think I’m just going to give it a C.

Paradise Druid – B+

Well, this is great. So, one of the annoying things about mana dorks can be that you play them, and they have horrible stats, so your opponent can take it down with literally any removal spell, and then you don’t have the mana that you were eagerly planning on heaving for your next turn to ramp out something awesome. Paradise Druid doesn’t let that happen, since she has hexproof, she almost guarnatees you’ll get to make some mana your next turn. On top of that, she has reasonable stats that you can send into combat if you desperately have to, and she produces mana of any color. Yeah, she’s a great uncommon, the kind that will be better than most rares in the set! I’m giving her a B+.

Primordial Wurm – C

A 6-mana 7/6 is some pretty decent vanilla stats. I still would rather have Colossal Dreadmaw because Trample, but the Primordial Wurm is a fine common curve topper to have in your deck. It is a C.

Vivien’s Arkbow – C+

This card is interesting, that’s for sure. I think it is the kind of card that can give you some pretty absurd lategame value – like if you’re flooding out, the Arkbow will give you something to do– and its something pretty powerful! The problem, though, is you’re not going to really be able to use this at all early, but I think that’s ok – it is still good at parity or when you’re ahead – most cards aren’t good in all possible board-states, but she’s good in 2 out of 3. I don’t know, I like this card a ton as a lategame manasink, but I don’t think I’m willing to say you should first pick it. I’m giving it a C+

Vivien, Champion of the Wilds – C+

The static ability here can be nice, for sure, as putting Flash on big Green creatures can often result in those creatures being better than removal spells. Your opponent will have to think twice about attacking you or Vivien if you have untapped mana and even one card in hand – so probably a good time to hold on to basics. Her +1 isn’t the most exciting thing – though it does kind of help protect her, since Vigilance means you can attack without worrying about the crack back so much, and Reach means that flyers will be held in check too. That said, you do need to have creatures in play already for it to work out. Her -2 doesn’t impress me a ton either, to be honest – she can only play creature cards off of the ability, and yeah most of the time that means that you will basically draw 1 card off of it – and yeah, you will also be able to play that creature at Instant speed – but it just doesn’t seem like enough. Especially since whiffing on looking at the top 3 is a very real thing, even in a deck with 15+ creatures. In the end, she doesn’t impress me all that much. Her static ability feels like where you’ll get the most value, and her loyalty abilities are fine but not great. I’m going to give her a C+.

Vivien’s Grizzly – C

Like her Arkbow, her Grizzly also is a nice manasink, though less reliable than the legendary artifacts. But still, this is basically a really bad Duskwatch Recruiter – but the Recruiter was an absurd limited card, so being a bad version of it doesn’t mean the card itself is bad. It has alright stats and the ability to draw you cards sometimes in the late game – and you certainly don’t want to run this unless you can get 15+ creatures, but I think it is a solid card for most Green decks. I’m giving it a C. 

Wardscale Crocodile – C

Wizards won’t stop with the common Hexproof creatures will they? And this one actually has some aggressive stats. I mean sure, it can die in combat pretty easily, but because it has hexproof you can make sure that it only dies in combat when it is beneficial for you—like killing a creature with 5 toughness. Then, there is the usual upside that Hexproof creatures bring – risky spells, like Fight cards, or auras and the like become a lot better, because you know your opponent won’t be able to easily 2-for-1 you. Still, I think this is just a C – with the caveat that if your deck ends up with enough ways to really abuse hexproof, the Croc definitely gets better. 

White

Bulwark Giant – C-

Well, this is the kind of card that really stabilize you against an aggressive deck. 5 life is huge against decks intent on ending the game quickly, and a 3/6 is no small roadblock. Obviously, this is primarily a defensive card, and any card like that isn’t something every deck is going to want, especially in White. Because of that, I don’t think I can really go higher than a C- here. I think you cut it more than you play it. 

Defiant Strike - D

Last time we saw this card, it was surprisingly good because it was in Khans of Tarkir, and the Prowess mechanic was all over the place, including on White cards.  Not the case here though.  +1/+0 is the kind of stat boost that will have very little impact on combat the majority of the time, and normally you want your combat tricks to make it more likely your creature wins combat against larger creatures-- and sure, this cycles itself, and that's what keeps it from being unplayable, but it still isn't very good.  I don't plan on playing this unless I'm desperate.  I'm giving it a D.

Grateful Apparition – C

While proliferating a lot is nice, this thing can get held down in the sky way too easily. Lots of creatures with flying in this set, some with Reach, and it is as small as you can get pretty much. That said, I guess if you want to be proliferating, you probably have +1/+1 counter synergies going on, so maybe it gets bigger? I don’t know, I see this is as a fine, but not very exciting card in most cases. I’m giving it a C.

Convoke the Winged – F // C+

This is interesting.  Obviously you need a ton of flyers for this to work out, but I think the UW will be pretty flier filled.  You probably need at least 7 flyers for this to be worth it, and more would probably be better, so I guess I should give it a buildaround grade.  It is probably an F in most decks in the format.  However, if you have enough flyers, this definitely becomes interesting.  It is flexible, in that you can use it to do lethal, but you can also use it to get larger flyers out of your way and keep your creatures alive.  You can also use it to untap all your flyers to eat your opponent’s creatures.  Most of the time, going aggressive with it will be best, but having the other options doesn’t hurt.  So yeah, I think it is an F in most decks, and a C+ in a deck with enough flyers.

Law-Rune Enforcer – B

Wow, this is a great Common! Any time we have seen master decoy around, it has been great – and in some ways, this is even better. For one thing, it is one fewer mana to cast for the same stats, and it only asks for colorless mana to tap things. Of course, the original Master Decoy can tap any creature – but tapping things with CMC 2 or greater is what you do with this kind of card any way, so that isn’t a huge downgrade. Being able to lock down your opponent’s best creature, or get problem blockers out of the way is huge, and in a lot of ways a card like Law-Rune Enforcer becomes a removal spell. This is an absolutely excellent common, and I think one you’re happy to first pick. I’m giving it a B.

Martyr for the Causes - C

These days, a 2-mana 2/2 is nothing special – the kind of thing you’ll play in your aggro deck if your’e desperate for 2 drops, making it like a D+ to me on its own.  This guy adds proliferate though, which means that he has some late-game relevance, even if he can just block and add a couple counters to your permanents that’s going to do something.  This makes him a solid 2-drop option for White decks.  I’m giving him a C.

Topple the Statue – C-

So, when we see 3 mana “tap a permanent, draw a card” effects, they usually aren’t all that great.  They aren’t terrible either, especially since it replaces itself.  The fact this one is an instant – and many other times we’ve seen this it hasn’t been – but the fact it is is also pretty nice, as you can use it not only to get a blocker out of the way, but to also stop an attack that might be a problem.  Then, there’s the whole artifact upside, which I think will come up sometimes, but not a ton.  All in all, I think this is a very replacable card, but it is one that will be your 22nd or 23rdcard pretty consistently.  I’m giving it a C-.

Sunblade Angel – B-

Wow, I remember back in the day Akroma Angel of Wrath was crazy powerful and cost a lot more mana! Obviously that’s hyperbole – this isn’t quite Akroma, but it is a mini Akroma.  Packed full of keyword abilities that all work well together – Flying and First Strike make it hard to block, meaning it will get in for damage frequently and gain you life with lifelink which makes it incredibly difficult for your opponent to race you.  Meanwhile, Vigilance make sure that she can hang back to block, and as a 3 power hexproof creature she will be pretty good at that.  The one thing she doesn’t have going for her is her low toughness, meaning lots of cheap removal spells can take her down.  Short of that, though, this can easily take over a game.  I might be a little too high on it right now, but I see this as a great finisher for any White deck – I also like that it is potentially splashable.  I’m going to start it at B-, which means I would feel alright about first picking this in a weak pack.

Loxodon Sergeant - C-

A 4-mana 3/3 with Vigilance is probably something like a D+, maybe a C-?  But those stats are bad, and Vigilance, while certainly an upgrade, doesn't do a ton to help you feel good about playing it.   Obviously, Vigilance for your whole team when this comes down is decent, but it is the kind of ETB ability that I would guess won't matter about 50% of the time.  Don't get me wrong, it makes a difference, but I don't feel like enough of one.  I think this is a card that you don't feel bad about having in your deck, but you probably don't want more than one.

Makeshift Battalion – C

A 3-mana 3/2 is a D in most formats these days. You’ll play it if you’re an aggro deck and you don’t have enough 3 drops, but you mostly hope you don’t end up playing it. This comes with additinional upside – it basically has the “Battalion” mechanic, which is clever given its name, but the upside there isn’t that huge. It just won’t always be easy to send in two additional creatures into combat, and it won’t be worth risking trades so much either since the payoff is just a +1/+1 counter. I’m not saying this is bad, just not something you should be excited about. I think it is fine, and hey – at least it is an upgrade for the usually 2W 3/2 we seem to be getting in most sets lately! I think it is a C.

Gideon’s Triumph – B-

This is super situational, but might just be efficient enough that it doesn’t matter.  Keep in mind, by the way, that you can wait to use this until after combat is over – like if your opponent double blocks and you can only kill one of their creatures in combat, if you use this after the one creature died in combat, you can also get the second creature.  Generally, your opponent will be attacking with and blocking with their largest creature, so I think overall this will do what you need it to.  I think it is first pickable in some packs as a B-.

Rising Populace – C        

This sort of creature always seems to disappoint, though it does look like maybe BW is going to be an aristocrat deck, in which case it is probably better than I think.   3-mana 2/2 is not a state line you want to have, but it does get bigger the longer the game goes on.  It seems alright, but yeah – might be better with more sacrifice outlets.

Single Combat - B

Board sweepers that let your opponent make decisions can be pretty frustrating.   I mean this is still a boardsweeper, btu the fact your opponent will always hold on to their best creature is a problem, because it means that if you cast this and your opponent has the best creature on the table, you can't do anything about it.  Sure, it wipes out the rest of your opponent's team, and sometimes thats what you need, and yeah -- it makes it so that netiher player can play creatures on their next turn, which is kind of cool flavor -- you know, the idea that they want everyoen to stay out of this fight.   But still, the fact that this is a situational boardsweeper keeps it from being a bomb for me.  It is still good, don't get me wrong -- but a B, not an A.

Teyo, the Shieldmage – D

I don’t like this new planeswalker very much. Basically, you are paying 3 for a 0/3 wall, and maybe he makes you a second one too.  With most of these walkers, if you get to use their ability the second time, they sound pretty good.  In this case?  Not so much.  3 mana for two 0/3s is something, but nto anything special.  It isn’t like 0/3s are even that hard to bust through in the long run.  I guess maybe in conjunction with some other walkers you want to protect it could be something?  But mostly I think this is a D, something you’ll only play if your’e desperate.   And no, the static ability doesn’t really make a difference.

Teyo’s Lightshield – C

I actually like this more than I like Teyo himself.  A 3-mana ¼ is an ok deal, and a 3-mana 0/3 that puts a counter on something a little more meaningful is even better.  I think this is solid filler for White decks, and a C.

The Wanderer – C // B

I think this walker is probably decent in your main 40 cards – most opponents will have a few targets for this, and paying 4 to take down two fatties is nice.  However, some opponents just may only have one, and others may not have any.  Sure, the static ability will matter here, basically just against Red decks, but that adds only marginal value, I think.  So I think this is probably a C in your main 40, but a B out of your sideboard – if you can consistently take down two creatures with it, it is going to be good.

Tomik, Distinguished Advokist – C

So, this is obviously a hatebear with constructed decks like Dredge in its sights – but it isn’t anything special in Limited. I mean, a 2-mana 2/3 flyer is good and all, but the mana cost here isn’t the easiest, and your chances of actually playing it on turn 2 in Limited are not so good because of that. I’m not saying it’s a bad card or anything – the efficiency is great – it just isn’t something remotely first pickable. I’m giving it a C.

Wanderer’s Strike – B-

I am sort of on the fence about whether this constitutes premium removal. 5 mana is a lot, but these days kind of what we expect to kill something.  Being at Sorcery speed hurts a little, but adding Populate in a set that seems to have a plethora of reasons to Populate is nice.  I dunno, for now I’m going to say it is a B- -- in the lower range of first pickable – but I might hedge down to a C+ before the final set review.

Ajani’s Pridemate – C // B

The Pridemate is back! It is good every time we’ve seen it. A 2-mana 2/2 as a fail case makes it so that it has a very reasonable floor. You do need some lifegain in your deck to get it going, but I would guess most White decks in this format probably will end up with 2-3 cards that can gain them life, and if that’s the case – then the Pridemate is a C in your typical White deck in the format, but it has an impressive ceiling and can definitely take games over if you get a bunch of cards with lifegain. So yeah, C in most decks, B as a buildaround.

Ingite the Beacon – C

This would be a straight F in your typical Limited format. Most Limited formats have only mythic rare planeswalkers, and you’ll basically never get 2. Int his format? Well, getting 2 seems pretty easy – literally every pack has a planeswalker in it after all! That means even getting to 3 walkers isn’t that hard. How many planeswalkers do you need though for this to be worth it? I don’t know, probably 4? And even then it isn’t incredible – 5 mana to draw 2 is pretty inefficient – and if all your planeswalkers are shrugworthy uncommons, I don’t know if I’d play this. You need to have some of the stronger ones in your deck to make it worth it, and you would probably need 4 or more. All of that makes it a buildaround – probably a D or so in your typical deck in this format, and I guess I’ll say a C in a deck that reached the requirements I mentioned.

Parhelion II – D+

8 mana is a ton in Limited, and the vast majority of games are over before either player has 8 mana in most formats. As a result, as cool as this card is, and as powerful as it is after it comes into play, you just won’t always be able to make that happen, and it will get stuck in your hand more frequently than it will come into play. That said, 13 damage in the air is a nightmare for your opponent, and it is kind of cool that the angels have vigilance, so you can still crew to block during your opponent’s turn if you want to. Still, 8 mana AND crew 4 means there will be times when you get this and you just can’t crew it. I don’t think you should first pick this, I think you should pick it up mid-to-late pack if it looks like you’re a control deck, or if you have a lot of ramping. But most of the time I just don’t think you can play this. I’m giving it a D+.

Pouncing Lynx – C+

Two mana 2/1 first strike is pretty darn good, and yeah – this can only do it when it attacks, but that’s still pretty great. This is a difficult creature to deal with in the early game, and first strike can even pose problems later in games for your opponent. This can be especially good in conjunction with combat tricks. This has a good chance to be the best common two drop for White decks in the format. I think it is a C+.

Ravnica at War -- ?

It is hard to judge how good this will be without having a full understanding of how much multicolored will be in this set. I think it is safe to say there will be a lot, enough to make this playable against most opponents, but the thing to keep in mind is that it will also get your own multicolored permanents, so to some degree you have to pick your spots to cast this or even build around to some degree so that it becomes more favorable for you. I think I’m just going to avoid giving this a grade right now, before we have some more information about the composition of the set. 

War Screecher – C

2-mana 1/3 flyers are usually something like a C-, nothing special but hey – they block alright and can get in for a few evasive damage. This 2-mana 1/3 flyer remains relevant for longer than most, though, because by the late part of the game it can pump your whole team. This can obviously be a powerful ability even just to threaten when you are attacking, and can even be useful when blocking, where you can declare the block first and pump this to 2/4 for combat, as well as making the rest of your team bigger. Obviously this gets better the wider you can go, but I think that it will be fine in most White decks. It isn’t anything special, but it is solid filler, which makes it a C.

Blue

Augur of Bolas – C+ / B-

This is a reprint that is pretty good in constructed, but it is way harder to make work in Limited.  To get a hit consistently on your top 3 cards, you need way more instants and sorceries than most decks are gonna have – which is like, 4 or 5.  Now, it isn’t like the fail case for this card is abysmal, since it is still a two-mana 1/3, and if you can get the card out of it like even 50% of the time, it is probably worth it.  I think it is a buildaround – maybe a C in your typical deck, and a B-  If your deck has 7+ instants and sorceries and you can consistently draw the card off of it.

Eternal SKylord – B

Wow, I like this guy a lot, he might just be the best creature with ETB Amass trigger in the entire set.  So, you pay 5 mana here to always get 5/5 worth of stats, and 2/2 of that will have flying.  If you already have an Army in play, it getting flying and +2/+2 right away is great.  You can play this and have it be great in a deck with 0 other ways to make Armies, too, because it is just efficient on its own.  Because of all that, this seems like one of the better uncommons in the set.  I’m going to give it a B, which means I will be happy to first pick it.

Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor – B-

This is one of the better uncommon walkers in the set.  4 mana for a 2/2 that loots would already be kind of a passable card.  I mean it wouldn’t be great, probably a D, but the point is that’s what this card is at its worse, and it obviously can do way more.  I think getting two 2/2s and looting twice is a great deal for 4 mana, and adding the static ability is sort of just an extra bonus.  I think in some weaker packs, she’ll be worth first picking.

Kasmina’s Transmutation – B-

I think this might be a premium removal spell for Blue.  And at common! Sure, it doesn’t straight up get rid of the creature because your opponent will get to block with the thing – but now it is a 1/1, and it has lots all abilities – it essentially blanks the creature.  In some ways, that is better than pacifism, because Pacifism doesn’t turn off powerful activated or static abilities – but this does.  For only two mana.  Now, it is worth noting that there are lots of ways to sacrifice and bounce creatures in this format that may make this worse – because your opponent can then just use the creature as a resource anyway – but I still think this looks pretty good.  I’m staring it at B-.

Crush Dissent – D

This doesn’t look very good to me.  I’m already not very high on counterspells that aren’t hard counters because their value diminishes into the late game, but if they are cheaper – like Quench in Ravnica Allegiance – then you can at least play it relatively early, and leaving the mana up for it later isn’t as much of an issue.  In the case of this, you can play around it pretty easily – if your opponent has to leave a wopping 4 mana up to do this, and you play a 2 or 3 drop with the mana available to pay for this if they counter it, they’re going to be in serious trouble.  This costsdouble what Quench does, and the opponent can still pay 2 mana to undo it.  Adding Amass to it does make it a little better than the F it would be without it – and yeah, even if you don’t counter the spell, at least you get a 2/2 or make your Army bigger.   But uh, I feel like that is all this card will do a significant portion of the time, and for that reason I don’t think I want to play this unless I’m really short on playables.  That makes it a D.

Erratic Visionary – C

If you know me, you know I love to Loot and this does it!  It comes with uninspiring but passable stats as a 2-mana 1/3, and sure – I’d rather loot for less than 2 mana, but I’m ok with this.  This is the kind of card that has value early as a defensive creature, maybe even does a damage or two, and has value late thanks to ripping through your deck for you.  It is a nice common for Blue, and a solid C.

Kiora’s Dambreaker – C

A 6-mana 5/6 isn’t great, but it is passable stats, especially in Blue. That on its own would probably be a D+ or so. Add Proliferate to that and it certainly gets better – especially in a set whose cup runneth over with various types of counters. I think this is a solid C.

Lazotep Plating - C

There are a few cards in this set that seem to have been printed with the intent of taking away the downside Amass has -- that is, that you can put at on of resources into one of those tokens and have it get bounced or destroyed and really not feel so good about the situation.  Overall, I think this is actually a pretty nice card.  Sometimes we see these hexproof effects and they are hard to want to actually play, but since this one coems with Amass, it does more than just blank a removal spell.  I also think the special synergy with Amass will make this pretty solid.  Still, it is highly situational -- against some opponents it wont' really matter -- but hey, at least you can Amass 1 in those matches, I guess?  I don't think I would ever want more than one of these, but I would feel fine playing the first.  I'm giving it a C.

Totally Lost - C

We've seen this card a lot, and it is always fine.  Putting something on top of your library is better than just bouncing something, because it means you are replacing your opponent's draw, meaning you are trading one card for one card -- which is not the guess with regular bounce spells.  Still, at 5 mana this is a bit clunky, though it can enable some nice blowouts in response to combat tricks and will be nice against Amass tokens, I think it is just a C in this format, like it is in most.

Naga Eternal – D

Obligatory Blue creature in the uninspiring vanilla creature cycle.  You’ll play this if you’re desperate, but you won’t usually.  This is a D.

Rescuer Sphinx – C+

So a 4-mana 3/2 with flying is always solid or so, a C- or a C in most formats. However, the Sphinx comes with a decent amount of upside. Like in most sets, returning one of your permanents to your hand can give you some value – either by making an Aura-based removal spell fall off, or by taking advantage of an ETB ability. In this set, you can also had Planeswalkers to the list, who you can bounce when they are low on loyalty. Plus, the Sphinx gets a +1/+1 counter out of the deal if it does that. Still, I think a significant percentage of the time, the Sphinx will just be a 4-mana 3/2 with Flying, and that keeps it from being firs tpickable for me. I’m giving it a C+.

Fblthp, the Lost – C

So, this is Elvish Visionary with some additional upside and downside, and Elvish Visionary is always a solid card in Limited. A two mana 1/1 who draws you a card is just nice value, and sometimes can even get you a 2-for-1. That’s probably what will happen here most of the time. However, you can use effects like Vivien’s Arkbow to put it into play and draw more cards. You can also shuffle it back into your library …if you want, by targeting him with a spell, but I don’t think that comes up a whole lot. Sometimes your opponent will get an advantage out of that effect too, because if Fblthp is your own blocker for example, and they have lethal if they get him out of the way – they will have even more cards than usual to enable that. Unless this set ends up having a ton of ways to draw 2 cards with Fblthp, I don’t imagine him being much more than a C, like Elvish Visionary. 

Flux Channeler – D // C

So, this set has both +1/+1 counters we already know of – with things like Ajani’s Pridemate and Army – and it has lots of loyalty counters because of the huge number of planeswalkers. So, Proliferate seems pretty nice. That said, this is a 3-mana 2/2, which is a horrendous statline, and it doesn’t get to help you proliferate right away or anything, at least not most of the time. That said, as soon as you play noncreatures – including planeswalkers, being able to add counters to stuff as a repeatable effect seems pretty nice. I think this is something of a buildaround, because it asks for noncreatures – so your deck will need a reason to proliferate and enough non-creature spells to make it worth it. I think most decks will be able to get some use out of this, but not enough for it to feel great in your deck – I’m giving it a D in most decks, and a C in decks that can meet both requirements it asks of you.

Jace, Wielder of Mysteries – C

I don’t think this Jace is particularly good, at least for Limited. Sure, the idea of winning the game Laboratory Maniac-style is kind of cool, but the fact that he doesn’t protect himself at all, and has a static ability that doesn’t effect the board at all immediately makes him seem not all that great to me. Sure, if you already have a good board state, he’s going to draw you a bunch of cards and you’ll win with him, so he isn’t bad – he just isn’t really a way of gaining advantage all on his own.  In a lot of ways, I just think he is a hard to cast divination. Which means he’s a C.

No Escape – C

I have been wrong on counterspells in both of the last sets, where 3-mana counterspells have been solid, and I think this one will be solid too. 3-mana to counter creatures or planeswalkers isn’t great, but the fact that its one Blue makes it a little better – having the exile clause actually matters too. What really fully sells me on this being a solid playable for Blue decks though is Scry 1. I love me some Scry, and being able to say “no” to your opponent’s spell – and keep in mind being able to counter a creature or a planeswalker probably amounts to 80% or more of your opponent’s deck – but saying “no” to your opponent and smoothing out your next draw seems pretty sweet to me. 

Relentless Advance - D

I don’t think this is good. You have two possibilities here: one is that you just paid 4 to put 3 +1/+1 counters onto a Zombie Army token you already have, the other is that you paid 4 mana for a 3/3 – in other words, a Hill Giant. Sure, it has some synergy with populate and other cards with Amass, but neither of those deals would be a particularly attractive card in Limited. I thinkt his is a D. You’ll play it when you have to, like most Hill Giants, but I don’t think you want to be doing it.

Spellkeeper Weird – C

A 3-mana ¼ has some not entirely horrendous defensive stats, and this one comes with the ability to get back key spells – with removal spells being the most interesting. While I think this will probably be best in a UR spells deck, I think most Blue decks in this format will probably run enough instants and sorceries for the Weird to be a solid inclusion in the deck. I think this is a solid C.

Stealthmission – D

I normally don’t like cards like this – the payoff isn’t worth the risk most of the time. Sure, you get a free swing in, and sometimes that will win you the game. But a lot of the time it just doesn’t matter. And it is super risky because it opens you up to the dreaded 2-for-1 in many situations if you aren’t careful. All that said, there IS a common creature with HExproof in this set, so I think in conjunction with that, plus some +1/+1 counter synergies, this could be a little better than I expect. I think it is a D for now, though.

Teferi’s Time Twist – C

So, this sort of flicker effect is probably extra good in this format. Why? Well, because if you use this on a planeswalker, it can reset their loyalty. Because this is an Instant, if your opponent tries to take down said planeswalker, you can use the Time Twist, both saving it and settings its loyalty back to what it was when it came into play. On top of that, Teferi’s Time Twist is also good with ETB creatures, can help your creature dodge a removal spell, and so on and the fact it also makes those creatures bigger is nice. I think most Blue decks in the format probably have enough things that this is good with that this might just be a solid C.

Black

Aid the Fallen – D // C

So, this card is kind of a difficult one to gauge, I think. If all you can do with it is get back a single creature, it probably isn’t worth playing in most situations. Generally, for these effects to make the cut in Limited, they need to return 2 creatures (see Dead Revels, for example). And while this can never do 2 creatures, if you are consistently able to get 2 cards back from your graveyard with it – one walker and one creature – then it is certainly a nice card. Thing is, even in a set with this many walkers, making sure that you get both in your graveyard won’t be easy. I mean I would guess the average deck probably has 3 planeswalkers? And that probably makes Aid the Fallen the kind of card that only makes the cut if you’re desperate – or maybe have some especially bomby planesawlkers or creatures. I feel like once you get to 5 planeswalkers, this is worth including in your deck. I’m giving this a D in your typical deck in the format, and a C in a deck with enough planeswalkers.

Banehound – D

This is the kind of card new players will overrate because on the surface it seems like a pretty great deal. I mean, a one mana 1/1 with two keyword abilities is somewhat tempting, right? Well, not really. That’s because these two particular keyword abilities, lifelink and haste, aren’t particularly useful on a 1/1. For both of those to be at their best, you want a bit more power, so the returns on having those two keyword abilities really doesn’t make this all that much better than having a vanilla 1-mana 1/1.  Now, this might be a good place to put an Aura, should this format be good for those, but still, I think you should avoid playing this most of the time. I’m giving it a D.

Lazotep Behemoth - C-

A 5-mana 5/4 is some ok stats.  Better than some vanilla statlines.  I think you'll play one of these some of the time.  I'm giving it a C-.

Lazotep Reaver - C-

I'm less high on this Amass creature than most, since 2 mana to add 2/3 to the battlefield, while an ok deal -- isn't anything special.  I think this is a C-. 

Sorin's Thirst - C+

These types of removal spells are always nice.  Killing small creatures at Instant speed and gaining some life is a pretty good deal.  The one thing I don't like about it, though, is its mana cost, and for me, that prevents it from quite being "premium removal."  This is because you really need to cast it early in the game, when it will be most effective, and hitting double Black, even iwth 10 black sources ,isn't really a guarantee.  Obviously it is still quite good, and would probably be a B- if it cost 1B isntead of BB, but as it is, I think it is a C+.

Bolas’s Citadel - D

This is a weird card, and the kind that will be really difficult to get right – which I think there is more than the usual amount of in this set, what with the new static ability uncommon planeswalkers and the like. But yeah, this one is hard to judge – so for 6 mana, it can let you start ripping cards off the top of your library – and you can play them without paying for the mana, but losing life. Also worth noting that this lets you play lands, which you don’t have to pay life for. So, it is kind of like Experimental Frenzy, but probably worse on average because of the higher mana cost, and the fact that you can’t keep ripping through spell after spell a turn, or your life is going to be in trouble. But a couple of spells you pay life for seems reasonable. Then it has this other crazy ability, where you can sac 10 nonland permanents. This seems like a bit of a pipe dream in Limited, you don’t get 10 nonland permanents out very often in Limited, and sure – there might be a time where your opponent drops this and you’re at less than 10 and they actually have the permanents, but still. And yeah, the first part of the card does kind of help the second part happen, since it can give you some extra cards. I know I already said it, but this is very hard to judge! My gut says that it will be difficult to make this work well in Limited, though. I’m going to start it at a D.

Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage – C+

In the past, I’ve had some fun playing with cards like The Rack, and Davriel makes me a little nostalgic. I think he is pretty hard to judge. So, if I could pay 3 mana and make my opponent discard 3 upfront, that would be a great card. But how about an Enchantment that makes my opponent discard (potentially at least) one time each turn for 3 turns? And that punishes the opponent for now having cards in their hand? I think that’s a pretty decent card. The fact that on the face of it, Davriel can function as a 3-for-1 makes me interested in him from the start. He does have low loyalty, and if you can’t protect him at all that might be annoying – but at worst, he is going to give you a 1-for-1. Sometiems in the late game the discard part won’t do anything, but the 2 damage certainly won’t hurt. I dunno, a card with 3-for-1 potential is pretty hard for me not to like, so I think I’m going to give him a C+.

Davriel’s Shadowfuge – D+

I like Davriel more than I like this. 4 mana to make the opponent discard 2 and lose 2 life just isn’t a good deal. Mind Rot, which makes the opponent discard 2 for 3 mana is often not good enough for Limited, and this costs one more and adds a negligible effect. Now, the thing this does have going for it is the fact that even in the late game if you draw this and your opponent’s hand is empty, it does 2 damage – and that’s not ag reat deal, but does make it better than a regular old discard spell. Still, I don’t think it is particularly good – maybe if you end up with a couple of Davriels it gets better? I’m giving this a D+.

Dreadhorde Invasion – B-

This is an interesting card. It has drawn Bitterblossom comparisons, but obviously it isn’t quite that good – Bitterblossom makes evasive creatures, and it lets you go wide with the Faerie tokens. With how Amass works, you can’t go wide here. Not really. But I think it is still pretty good. In situations where you’re behind, the 1/1 that can chump every turn doesn’t hurt, and if the board is at parity or you’re ahead, you’re going ot have a progressively larger Army that will eventually start gaining back the life it took from you. How good this card is going to be might be dependent on just how many bounce spells are in this format at lower rarities, but overall I like this card, and think it is worth taking with a fairly early pick, even a first pick in some weaker packs. I’m giving it a B-.

Eternal Taskmaster – B-

This seems pretty good to me. Two mana for a 2/3 is a nice deal, even coming into play tapped, and the fact that this guy can bring creatures back to your hand from your graveyard is really nice too, and something that gives him usefulness all game long. This is the kind of creature that if you can get one creature back to your hand you’re already feeling pretty good, but if you can do it more than once? Like manage to have him survive the first attack and get another creature back? Then you’re really in business. Backing him up with removal and/or combat tricks seems especially nasty. Right now, I think I’m pretty high on him – I’m going to give him a B- , though I can see getting a bit lower on him as spoiler season continues.

Herald of the Dreadhorde – C+

I like this guy. A 4-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but hey – it can trade with plenty of 4 drops, and if you’re trading with this your’e probably going to come out ahead, because it comes with Amass 2. Whether this makes you a 2/2 creature or makes your Army a bigger, it is a good deal, since it is coming in addition to a trade. This seems like a nice common for Black, the kind that you probably feel fine about having 2 or 3 copies of. I’m giving it a C+.

Kaya’s Ghostform – D

I don’t see this as being useful most of the time.  It is nice that it counts being exiled, because it seems like there is a lot of that going around in this set, but still.  You open yourself up to a 2-for-1 when you cast it in the first place, and then when it sticks you do get something pretty nice – the creature comes back.  But for that to really be worth it you probably need something awesome, or something with a death trigger or ETB trigger.  If you can do that, maybe you play it, but mostly I think you should steer clear of this.

Liliana’s Triumph – C

Most edict effects we see are probably like, a C- or worse in Limited.  This is because your opponent always get to make the choice on something like this, and frequently it wont’ be very impactful, especially in the late game.  But when you make it Instant speed and only two mana, you’re getting into some attractive territory.  Being an Instant can make it so that you can cast it in response to a creature coming into play, and sometimes that’s the best thing to do, so that you have a better chance of making your opponent lose their best creature.  Being 2 mana means you can cast it really early, such as on turn 2 to take down your opponent’s two drop.  It still will be not all that great on a huge board, but it will still trade for a card most of the time.  Since Liliana is only at Mythic Rare in this set, you’re not going to get the additional value of the card very often – but if you do, it will make this really good.  I think this is just a solid C.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General – A(+ maybe?)

Well, if you pay 6 for a planeswalker you’re usually counting on the card being a bomb – and that’s what we have here. The best planeswalkers usually can protect themselves in one way or another – either by thinning out the opponent’s board or making creature tokens to block – Liliana can do both. If your opponent is going a little too wide, her -4 might be what you have to do immediately, but on a lot of boards, just using her +1 is some serious business. Even if that 2/2 is just chump blocking, her static ability means that it replaces itself with a card in your hand, which in turn can help you do a better job of protecting Liliana and having her be a win condition, because you’re more likely to find more creatures to block or removal spell. Her ultimate is going to be gamebreaking most of the time, and she really stands a chance of getting there. Even if she doesn’t, she’s going to wreak havoc while she’s around, and provide with some zombies. She’s a huge bomb, and I can’t imagine there being something in this set that you want to pick over her.

Massacre Girl – A-

Well this is an interesting design. Up front, worth saying a 5-mana 4/4 menace on its own is usually at least a C, maybe a C+ in some formats. But she does wayyy more than that. As her name implies, she comes down and massacres stuff. How much stuff? Well, it depends. Basically, if there is the right distribution of toughness on the table, she can wipe the entire board, as she just keeps triggering her “Whenever a creature dies this turn” effect every time one thing dies, so if a 1/1 dies, it happens again, and now all X/2s die, and then it happens again, and so forth. Also worth noting, that the things dno’t have to be killed by her ETB ability, if you have the mana to also play a removal spell, and you were just short of being able to wipe all your opponent’s creatures, you can still make it happen. In general, I think she is amazing – she isn’t THAT far from being a 5-mana 4/4 with Menace that wipes the whole board – I mean, she’s pretty far – but not insanely so! I think in plenty of situations she will take down a couple of small creatures, but even if that’s all, you’re looking at a really strong card. The solid stats attached to that ability are what really sells me on her. I think she’s a bomb, and I wouldn’t hesitate to first pick her. I’m giving her an A-.

Ob-Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted - C

The design here is super interesting. His static ability will do some damage to your opponent, and then his -2 has a ton of flexibility. In a pinch, you can use it to kill your opponent’s creature – though I would say, on most boards, letting your opponent draw 2 – even if it does 2 to them – isn’t worth it most of the time, but yeah, sometimes that’s what he will be doing. Other times, it will let you cash in a creature for cards. Neither of those options is stellar, but they’re both fine, and hey – sometimes you just HAVE to kill something, and he can do it. That said, he is in no way premium removal, even though he can do it twice, since in the long run you’re giving your opponent card advantage. I think he’s just a C.

Ob Nixilis’ Cruelty – B

Well, this is Black’s obligatory premium common removal spell. 3 mana for -5/-5 is a great deal, especially at instant speed, and especially with the exile clause attached to it. The great thing about this kind of card too, is that it doesn’t have to outright kill a creature to give you value, sometimes, you can set up a block and use it to make your opponent’s creature smaller so yours survives in combat. Granted, -5/-5 is going to do the job on its own most of the time, but -X/-X Black removal spells always come with that bit of upside. This will be one of the best Commons in the set, and one of the most first pickable. I’m giving it a B.

Shriekdiver – C-

I think a 3-mana 2/1 with flying is usually a C-.  Adding Haste to this does make it a little better, cause sometimes that extra 2 hasty damage can make a real difference – but there are lots of times where it just doesn’t.  I don’t think it is enough to get it above C-, which means it ist he kind of common that is fine, but you probably don’t want more than one copy of it in an ideal world.

Vizier of the Scorpion – C+

So, if this were a 3-mana 1/1 that made a 1/1 with deathtouch – which is what it will be a significant chunk of the time – what grade would it get? Probably something like a C+. Of course, the Vizier gets extra value because it also makes future armies have death touch, and if youc an keep trading armies for your opponent’s stuff, and then making a new Army, this looks pretty nice. Granted, I do think you need lots of Amass to make this at its best, even though the base level of this card seems pretty alright. In the end, I think this will be a fine card for Black decks, but not one worth first picking. I’m giving it a C+.

Red

Burning Prophet – C

This is my kind of card.  I love scrying, and I always love the UR spell deck, and this does both!  Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t incredible at all – but this is pretty close to Prowess, and a 2-mana 1/3 with Prowess is usually a solid, if unexciting, card.  I’m kind of thinking of giving it a buildaround grade, but I don’t think it gets much of an upgrade from being a C whether in a spell heavy deck or not.  It is nice that the effect here isn’t only useful in  combat, and can just tack “scry 1” onto all of your non-creature spells, though.

Chainwhip Cyclops – C

I am always a pretty big fan of abilities that make a creature unable to block.  There are tons of board states where an ability like that really opens the flood gates – get that one problem blocker out of the way, and now the best your opponent can do is chump or trade!  It does cost a lot of mana here, at 4, and it comes on an inefficient creature as a 5-mana 4/4, but the power of that effect is real, and seems like a good late-game manasink.  This is a solid playable for Red decks. I’m giving it a C.

Raging Kronch - C

Usually when we see creatures who can’t attack alone they have more impressive stats than this.  That said, usually creatures who can’t attack alone can’t block alone either – but this Kronch can.  Obviously a fine card in an aggressive deck, and it cheaply triggers all the “ferocious” pay offs in the set, I think this is a solid playable, at C – and maybe it gets a bit better in decks with lots of “ferocious.”

Bolt Bend – C

Well, this is a weird one. These types of effects can be pretty nice – turning your opponent’s removal back onto their own creature is going to be a 2-for-1. Less excitingly you can also redirect your opponent’s auras and combat tricks that they might use to make their creatures better. The whole power 4 or greater part of the card is a bit odd, since this seems best suited in a less aggressive deck, but this wants you to have some big dudes in play. The problem cards like this sometimes have is that they aren’t always useful. Sometimes your opponent just won’t play spells when you have the mana up for this, and then you just have a dead card. I still think it is playable, but probably like a C.

Blindblast - C-

Adding a card-draw effect to a card always makes it way more attractive, and I think that is certainly the case here.  This can kill some small creatures, in which case you get a straight-up two-for-one, but my guess is that you'll usually just use this to make your opponent's best creature unable to block.  That kind of effect is often quite strong in aggressive Red decks, as sometimes you go from not being able to attack at all, to being able to attack with everything after a problem creature is removed from the equation.  The fact this always replaces itself means that even if the effect is negligible, you can cycle it in a pinch.  I'm not saying this card is anything special, just that I think you'll play it a decent chunk of the time.  It also has synergy with the UR spells matter deck, and that doesn't hurt.  I'm giving this a C-.

Chandra, Fire Artisan – B

I like this. Her +1 ability is a nice way to draw an extra card every turn, and if your opponent can’t pressure her at all, your’e just going to kill them with your planeswalker version of Outpost siege. On top of that, even if things don’t go so well, she makes sure to punish your opponent a bit. She ticks up to 5 loyalty right away, and that means that your opponent has to take 5 damage to kill her. Obviously that’s not incredible, but as a fail case that’s not too bad. Her ultimate is obviously crazy as well, as it will do 7 damage to your opponent and let you dig deep into your deck. Still, she doesn’t have a good way of protecting herself, and that keeps her from being a straight up bomb for me – Outpost Siege was because it was an enchantment, which are harder to deal with – but she’s still a great card. I’m going to give her a B, she will be first pickable in most packs. 

Chandra’s Trimumph – B

Two mana to do 3 to something at Instant speed is always a good removal spell. This isn’t quite lightning strike, because it doesn’t hit players, but it is still pretty good. The upside on it will happen on occasion, since Chandra is at Rare instead of Mythic Rare, but it still won’t be happening with any sort of regularity, so mostly – this is just a Lightning Strike that can’t hit players. Which, you know, is still a pretty good removal spell, and probably a solid B.

Chandra’s Pyrohelix – B-

We’ve seen this exact card and others like it a few times, and it is always good. Being able to kill an X/2 is nice, being able to go to your opponent’s face is nice too when it will finish them off. Most formats also have enough X/1s in them that you can get a 2-for-1 with this a decent chunk of the time. I think that for me, this gets into the lower range of “premium removal,” and is first pickable in some weaker packs. I’m going to give it a B-.

Cyclops Electromancer - D // B

I always love this kind of spells buildaround!  So, I think this is the kind of card that needs two grades.  If you are playing a deck that has a fairly standard 2-4 instants or sorceries in it, this is going to be almost unplayable.  Basically, I think you want to have at least 2 instants and sorceries in your graveyard when you play this, as that gives you a good chance to kill a creature -- it needs to be doing that, because 5 for a 4/2 is obviously not so good.  If you end up in a spell-heavy deck, which it looks like UR wants to be in this format, though, this will be one of the best cards in your deck, and will do an impressive Flame-Tongue Kavu impression.  Because of that, I think this is probably a D in most decks in this format, but if you get lots of instants and sorceries?  It is probably a B.  That may mean that this is worth taking as a first pick sometimes, because the ceiling is so high on it.

Demolish – F

I always try to give this a sideboard grade, but the reality is – you will never side this in in this set.  There aren’t enough artifacts or problem lands, so most of the time this reads “Pay 4 mana, discard this and do almost nothing.”  This is an F, don’t run it, don’t side it in.

Dreadhorde Twins  - B-

4 mana for 4/4 worth of stats, and a at least a 2/2 that has Trample is a pretty decent deal. Plus, in the event you have an even larger Army in play, this giving it Trample is some pretty great upside, especially because it can take advantage of it right away. I think this is first pickable in some weaker packs, I’m giving it a B-.

Ihlarg, the Raze-Boar – A

Man, I love everything about this card – the name, the creature type, the art, what it does. It just looks like they had a lot of fun designing this thing, and I think it will be lots of fun to play with it. Because, well, it is pushed super hard. A 5-mana 6/6 with Trample would already be a good card, though not anything exciting – but the rest of that text is pretty silly! Getting to put a creature onto the battlefield tapped and attacking every time he attacks is nice, especially if that creature is evasive or has an ETB ability – but either way, if you’re already attacking with a 6/6 trample, dropping another creature on to the table is not going to be fun for your opponent to deal with. Now, I do think there will be times where you just don’t have any creature to put down, but you still have a massive creature doing work for you. Plus, when he dies, he gets tucked back into your library – even if he is exiled, which is some nice additional upside. So, yeah, I think this is a bomb. I’m giving it an A.

Jaya’s Greeting – B

Two mana to do 3 to a creature is already a good card, probably a B-. Then, you add Scry 1 to it? I think that’s probably enough to make it move up to a solid B. It is just such an efficient removal spell, and the fact that it both impacts the board and improves your next draw slightly is pretty nice. This is first pickable. I’m giving it a B.

Jaya, Venerated Firemage – B-

This seems like one of the good uncommon planeswalkers. For 5 mana you get to do 3 to something – not the greatest rate ever, but it allows for some impact on the board immediately. Then, if she can make it to your next turn with at least 2 loyalty, she can do it again. 6 mana to do 3 to two target creatures would be a great card. And while this isn’t quite that since she can be attacked and taken off of the board that way, it seems like doing 3 to something and then drawing a bunch of attacks is some decent value. On top of all that, if your deck has more red sources of damage – and it almost assuredly will – she brings you even more value. Even if she just makes one combat more difficult for your opponent, she’s doing her job. With all of that, I do think she’s first pickable in some weaker packs. I’m giving her a B-.

Turret Ogre – C

A 4-maan 4/3 with Reach is already a C, I think – the kind of red card that playing 2 or 3 of doesn’t feel too bad.  But adding the “4 power or greater” payoff? Well, it makes it better…but I’m not sure it does enough to get it out of being a C.  I mean 2 damage is great when attached to an aggressive body, but still, it won’t always be doing it, and it isn’t THAT great.  This is a solid C.

Devouring Hellion – C

So, it is pretty clear that RB is going to be interested in sacrificing stuff – including planeswalkers who have outlived their usefulness, and this is a card that can help you get some value out of sacrificing. It has a pretty abysmal floor, as a 3-mana 2/2, but with just one sacrificed creature or planeswalker, it is a 4/4, and it scales up from there. The ideal thing is to sacrifice something that isn’t worth having around anymore – like an uncommon Planeswalker with only 1 loyalty left, or a creature with a death trigger, or a creature token, or a creature with an aura-based removal spell on it. Problem is, you just won’t always be able to set that up, even in the most synergistic of decks there will be times where this just isn’t worth doing, and because of that I have a hard time thinking of it as anything more than a solid playable. I’m giving it a C.

Goblin Assailant - D+

Obligatory two-mana vanilla creature for Red.  These tend to see more play in Red decks than in some other colors, mostly because there are times when you're in an aggro deck and you'll play pretty much any two-drop that comes your way once you're short on them.  Still, you'd rather run a bunch of other two-drops than this, and in an ideal world it would get cut.  That makes it a D+.

Goblin Assault Team - C

I kind of like this.  So, a 4-mana 4/1 with Haste would normally not be so good -- maybe it can get in for 4 once or something, but then it dies to literally everything.  However, because this also leaves a +1/+1 counter behind, it helps you get around that downside.  There is also additional upside here in the fact that it can trade for a ton of stuff with 4 power -- any time you can trade for something decently sized with this and get the counter, you're going to feel ok about things.  I'm not sure you'll ever want more than one of these, but the first of these seems like a reasonable inclusion in most Red decks.  I'm giving it a C. 

Heartfire - C

So, two mana to do 4 to anything at Instant speed would be premium removal.  This asks you to do a little more work than that though, wanting you to sacrifice a creature or planeswalker to use it.  Now, it looks like the RB deck is going to be interested in doing some sacrificing, and will also have creatures that are good to sacrifice, so maybe that's the best place for it.  But either way, I think this is an alright card -- what saves it from being outright bad is the fact that it is an Instant, and the fact it can go to your opponent' face.  As an Instant, it can be used in situations where losing the creature isn't as much of a downside -- like after you block something first, then sacrifice the creature to kill something else.  The most attractive time to use this is in response to your opponent's removal of course.  But still, even in those "ideal" situations, you're not really getting  a 2-for-1.  To do that you'll need to be giving up tokens.  The fact it provides late game reach maeks it better too.  But still, it is a spell that asks for some serious set up and a very real cost, and I think that keeps it from being anything other than a C.

Grim Initiate – C-

Like all these cards with Amass, you have to look at this as having one of two possibilities. One is that, when this dies, it makes a 1/1 token that has synergy with Amass payoffs and Proliferate. The other is that it makes your Army bigger. I think both of those options are pretty nice when attached to a one-drop with First Strike, and means that it has at least some usefulness all game long, even if that usefulness is never going to be earthshattering. I think you’ll play this a decent amount of the time, but I think that you’ll cut it pretty often too. I’m giving it a C-.

Honor of the God Pharaoh – C-

So, this is Tormenting voice with Amass attached to it, so it costs one more mana.  I think the additional mana for that cost is kind of nice, though it is worth noting that part of what makes tormenting voice a nice 23rd card is that you can draw your two off of it late and usually play something.  That can happen here too of course, but costing 3 does obviously reduce the chances of that happening.  It does help that you either get a 1/1 or make your Army bigger, meaning you don’t have to play something as badly.  Still, I think this will occupy a similar place that Tormenting Voice does in most formats – that is, it is a solid 23rd card, but you’re probably going to cut it a lot, that is a pretty classic definition of a C- for me.

Invading Manticore - C+

This seems like a solid common to me, though I'm not 100% convinced Red decks will be wanting something like this.  But hey, whether or not you already have an army, you are paying 6 mana to add 6/7 to the battlefield, and that's a good deal.   I think this is a C+

Krenko - B+

Obviously, a 3-mana 1/2 is pretty bad, but as soon as this attacks the first time it becomes a 2/3, and spawns TWO goblin tokens.  If your opponent can't kill Krenko on that first swing, they are going to be in a world of trouble, because he's going to keep attacking and keep making more tokens.  If you end up with Krenko, combat tricks are going to be your best friend, since keeping him alive for any extra turns is going to be backbreaking for your opponent.  He obviously also has a bit of synergy with +1/+1 counter synergies in the format.  He does start small, and he's easy to kill, but I think the upside here is worth it, and I think he is going to be first pickable most of the time when you see him.  I'm giving him a B+.

Spellgorger Weird - C // B

Oh man, you know I love this card, right? I’m always hugely into spells decks, and always love a common buildaround that can do some work – and this reminds me of Pyre Hound. That’s a good place to be! So, I do think this needs two grades, as in a deck that has 3-5 instants and sorceries, it is probably something like a C-, maybe as low as a D+ even. Sure, if you get it to 3/3 you’re doing alright, but obviously you want a deck with 7+ instants and sorceries to fully take advantage of this thing. So, I think it is a C- in just a regular old Red deck, but as high as a B in decks that can really take advantage of this. Doesn’t hurt that it has synergy with proliferate either! I’m going to be all about drafting a deck with 4-5 of these. I can’t wait!

Nahiri's Stoneblades - F

I don't like tricks that don't help my creature survive combat, and this doesn't do that.  No toughness boost, no keyword ability like First Strike -- and yeah, if this did that to two creatures that would be busted since it only costs 2, but my point is just that I would rather have something like Sure STrike than this.  The good tricks are the ones that help your creature survive a significant percentage of the time -- this won't do that in most cases, and sure yeah -- sometimes you can maybe get a 2-for-1 out of it, but that is only going to happen if your creatures align perfectly with your opponent.  It might help you take a creature down, but probably at the cost of 2-for-1ing yoruself.  Yeah, I don't think you should play this at all.  I'm giving it an F.

Neheb Dreadhorde Champion – B+

Ok so, on vanilla test alone, a 4-mana 5/4 with Trample would be at least a C+, and I’d be willing to entertain an argument for B-. But obviously Neheb comes with a huge block of text after that. When it hits a player or planeswalker, you get to get rid of any cards in your hand that you don’t need – like excess basic lands – and you get Red mana and get to reload your hand. This works nicely together too, because if you are drawing new cards, it doesn’t hurt to have mana to play them! The Trample here makes it so people can’t just chump block Neheb so you don’t get that combat damage trigger. I am hesitant to go allt he way into the A range here, but I think Neheb gets pretty close – I’m giving him a B+.

Samut’s Sprint – C

They have been taking Scry 1 onto Red combat tricks lately – and I can’t say I mind, I love the little extra value that mechanic gives you.  Anyway, this is just red’s obligatory solid combat trick that will be nice in aggro decks.  +2/+1 is enough of a boost for a creature to win a lot of combats, and the additional Haste upside doesn’t hurt.  Still, it IS a combat trick and it comes with all the inherent risks that combat tricks have they are inherently situational and come with the risk of a 2-for-1 that blows you out.  But I think most Red decks will feel fine about the first copy.  I’m giving it a C.

“Wheat Farmer of Bolas” – C+

This seems like a key common for Red decks.  A 3-mana 2/2 with First strike on your turn is probably a C- or so, adding this activated ability is some serious business.  Of course, you do have to be a bit careful – if your opponent has mana up you might be about to get seriously blown out – but I think there will be more situations where that ability and its threat of activation just make it so you get in for 2 with this thing.  I think it is a nice common for Red, and a C+.

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator – C

Tibalt got a new planeswalker and…well, I think it is better than his last one. The whole “Your opponents can’t gain life” thing is unlikely to come up in Limited very often, but the ability to make a devil the turn he comes down, and another on the next turn – assuming he’s still around, isn’t too shabby. They can effectively protect him, while also having the threat of taking down two X/1s, and anything with 2 toughness. I mean, he isn’t great by any stretch – but he seems decent. I think he’ll get be about a C.

Tibalt’s Rager – C

So, if you’ve watched my set review or Limited content a lot, this is the kind of creature I don’t like. In fact, even when we have had a one-mana ½ with the ability to pump its power, like Lavastep Raider, I didn’t like it. Why is that? Well, because you almost always end up coming out way behind in terms of mana equity. Any X/2 can trade with cards like this, but you have to spend at least 4 mana to take down an X/2! And that’s been true with other card slike this – but the slight addition of doing 1 damage to something when it dies is actually a huge upgrade. This means it can trade easily with fellow 2-drops, and threaten to be a 2-for-1 on some board states. It also comes with the upside cards like Lavestep Raider and Bellows Lizard have – it can still trade with things in the late game because it can pump its power, or be a threatening attacker – but it gets around the downsides those have. Don’t get me wrong, this certainly isn’t incredible – but instead of being a D like most cards similar to it, I thinkt his is a C.

Gold

Angrath, Captain of Chaos – C

Menace to your whole team for 4 mana is certainly not a good Enchantment, but I feel like you’ll feel alright if you can use the loyalt ability twice to get a 4/4 out of the deal as well.  I think Angrath is just a C.

Cruel Celebrant – C+

We have seen a lot of creatures that drain the opponent for 1 every time something dies, and they’re always pretty nice.  Having one at 2 mana will probably be pretty similar to Zulaport Cutthroat, which was a pretty good card in its format.  I think this could get even better, and maybe need a buildaround grade if it is revealed that sacrifice is really easy to make work in this set. For now, I’m giving it a C+

Dovin’s Veto – F // C-

This is definitely a card that was printed with constructed in mind.  Negate is usually pretty nice in constructed, it is not nearly as nice in Limited.  Your typical Limited deck will only have about 5 cards that this can counter, and that’s not nearly enough for you to ever want to play this in your main 40 cards.  I think it is an F if you’re playing it there – in other words, don’t play it at all!  It is a decent sideboard card though, against opponents who have really powerful non-creature spells.  But even then, I am pretty sure that you won’t be siding it in all that often.  I’m giving it a C- as a sideboard card.

Dreadhorde Butcher – C+

So, at worst, this is a 2 mana 1/1 that does 1 damage to something when it dies. So, a worse Footlight Fiend is what it will be on some board states, and while that’s nothing special, it would probably be the kind of card you play when you have to, so like a D? But obviously, this has far more upside than that. The haste it comes with means getting in for 1 with it won’t be super difficult, at which point you have a 2-drop that can now Shock something when it dies, and if you get there, you’re in pretty awesome shape. Clearing the way for him with removal spells and combat tricks isn’t anything crazy in this color pair either. Then it has huge upside with proliferate too. So this is a card that has a pretty attainable and powerful ceiling, where just a 2/2 is great and if you can go bigger it is even better. There will be times of course, where you play this and it just doesn’t do much – and it is the worst Footlight Fiend that I mentioned earlier – and I think that bad floor probably limits this from being something you want to first pick – I can’t really see cutting this from BR decks. I’m giving it a C+.

Gleaming Overseer – B-

So, here’s a card to pay you off for amassing a massive Army on your side of the battlefield. One of the big weaknesses of this Army tokens has to be that they can be removed or bounced relatively easily, at which point dumping a bunch of resources into making one huge creature can feel pretty bad. The other problem they have is they aren’t evasive at all, just big dumb huge creatures. Well, Gleaming Overseer takes care of that, turning your Army into a very difficult to kill creature with Menace! And it helps add to the fun too, either giving you a 1/1 token or making your Army bigger. If we just look at this in a vacuum – as a 3-mana ¼ that makes a 1/1 with hexproof and menace, I’m already in on this being a pretty good card. But the fact that this has extra synergy with Amass, which in turn has synergy with Proliferate? I think this is an excellent uncommon, and probably the signpost for the UB deck in this format. I’m starting it at B-.

Kaya, Bane of the Dead – B-

I like this uncommon planeswalker a lot.  She doesn’t do anything fancy – and her static ability will often be irrelevant, but at worse you pay 6 mana to permanently kill any creature.  That’s obviously not a great card – we just had Consign to the Pit in Ravnica Allegiance which was about a C, and it came up with some additional upside of doing 2 damage.  However, I think a good chunk of the time Kaya will take down two creatures, an excellent deal for 6 mana. If you can add counters to her even once, she can do it 3 times potentially.  I think all of that makes her a B-

Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner – C // B-

Man, that is a lot of starting loyalty!   Kiora seems to be all about playing big dudes.  Her static ability pays you off for doing so, and her -1 ability can help you ramp.  Worth noting, also, that her -1 may help you protect her because it can let you untap a creature to block. With a lot of these walkers that can only -1, I am trying to evaluate them by thinking about them as Enchantments – which obviously, isn’t perfect, because there are some advantages and disadvantages over Enchantments, but I still think that’s a good place to start.  So, an Enchantment with her static ability alone is often playable already as a buildaround – where you probably need like 7+ creatures with 4 or more power.   I think the additional value she can give you by untapping permanents, especially lands, makes her pretty solid in just about any deck, though nothing special.  I think I want to give her a C in your typical Limited deck in the format, and a B- in a deck loaded with big guys to ramp into.

Tenth District Legionnaire - B-

This is pretty good, and looks to be one of the signpost uncommons for RW.  A two mana 2/2 for Haste does some work already, but the fact this also has Heroic -- more or less -- and such a good trigger for when you target it makes it very interesting.  Combat tricks will be even more powerful than usual on this guy, since he gets extra big and does so permanently.  Same with auras!  And Scry on top of all of that is very nice.  Yeah, this is worth first picking and going to be a really important card in RW aggro decks in this format.  I'm giving it a B-.

Mayhem Devil - C // B

This is very much a buildaround, but the good news is that it has reasonable stats even if you can't quite build around it.  When you do manage to have ways to sacrifice stuff in your deck, it is an incredible payoff, as doing 1 to anything can really make effects far more powerful!  Worth noting too, that if your opponent sacrifices something, you get to take advantage of the trigger then, too -- so edict effects go up in value a little bit if you have Mayhem Devil.  I think he is probably going to be a C in your typical Limited deck, but a B in a deck that can really take advantage of him.

Saheeli, Sublime Artifcer – D // C

So, a 3-mana enchantment that makes a 1/1 Servo every time you play a non-creature spell would be a pretty nice buildaround. Obviously, this isn’t EXACTLy an enchantment, since opponents can attack and kill her, but hey – she has servos who can protect her. Problem is, her loyalty ability seems to be one of the few effects in this set that is supposed to be an artifact payoff, and this set just does not seem to have enough artifacts. So basically, she is a more vulnerable enchantment, and a build around. I think she is probably a D in your typical deck in the format, and probably gets to C if you have enough non-creature spells.

Samut, Tyrant Smasher – C+

So, like all of these, sort of thinking about the uncommon walkers as Enchantments is how I’m evaluating them, even if that’s not perfect.  4-mana for an enchantment that gives Haste to everything, and then can give +2/+1 and Scry 1 at the beginning of combat for a few turns would probably be decent. Kind of weird that her static ability gives Haste AND her Loyalty ability gives Haste, but it does mean that if she uses up her last loyalty the creature she pumped will still have the Haste.  Overall, I thinkt his will be nice for aggressive decks – she may not protect herself super well, but I kind of feel like doing the ability a couple of times and getting to attack harder and more will probably be good enough for her to be a C+.

Teferi, Time Traveler – B-

Teferi seems pretty nice.  His static ability will probably hurt your opponent a little bit, and his +1 isn’t the most exciting, but I’m pretty interested in that -3.  If this were 1WU for a sorcery that bounced an artifact, creature, or enchantment and drew you a card, it would probably be something like a C+, because that’s a great deal – it has flexibility and replaces itself, so you don’t only get tempo, you get a new card.  I think adding the additional upside to the card – like the fact that he might be able to do it more than once – makes him pretty good, and worth considering first picking.  I’m giving him a B-.

Role Reversal – C+

This is an interesting one to evaluate. We have seen a few other cards that had an effect like this over the years, such as Switcheroo which costs 2 more mana and only allows the exchange of creatures, and Shifting Loyalties which has the same textbox but cost twice as much mana. These cards have never been amazing, though they are somewhat polarizing – you may hear some say that these cards are great. And yeah, sometimes you can set up situations where these play pretty well, but there are also plenty of situations where the exchange isn’t in your favor or just isn’t worth it, limiting just how good of a card it can be. Still, knocking the mana cost all the way down to 3 certainly makes things interesting. I think this will be fine, how good it will really be may depend on how easy it is to do something like make creature tokens in this set, or exchange a creature who has a good eTB ability but bad stats. I think for now I’m going to say it’s a C+, but this is one that could change a lot.

Angrath’s Wrath – C+

This is a nice modal card. The planeswalker and artifact options may sometimes be the best because your opponent is likely to have less, but a two-mana edict effect is usually pretty solid since you can play it early to kill an opponent’s one creature, and then maybe in the late game you can make it so this does some work, though it does take some more set up – like killing an opponent’s smaller creatures, etc., I don’t think this is premium removal, but I can’t see not playing this in Black-Red decks – I’m giving it a C+.

Ajani, the Greathearted – B

This Ajani seems nice – giving yoru whole team Vigilance is a nice way to provide a bit of protection for himself – if your creatures can hang back and black and attack, he will be staying in play a lot longer. His +1 isn’t anything special, but can certainly help dig you out of a difficult situation provided that you have a board state. His -2 is where the real power is, since he can pump up your entire board. Imagine a 4-mana spell that gave +1/+1 counters to your whole team and gave them vigilance until end of turn. Would that be great? Probably not, but it would probably be like a D+ or C-, and Ajani is obviously a lot more than that. Using the ability a second time will really feel great, and yeah – he can also tick up and gain you life when he needs too. Don’t mistake Ajani here for a straight up bomb, though – his main problem is how reliant he is on you having a decent boardstate to begin with – Vigilance doesn’t matter and making your creatures bigger doesn’t matter if all you have is a single 3/3 in play. He needs some friends ahead of him. That said, 2-drop, 3-drop, Ajani would be a pretty nasty thing to stare down. I think in most boardstates, he will prove useful, but he won’t always be what your’e hoping to draw. Still, he’s first pickable for sure, and a solid B.

Invade the City – F//C

Obviously enough, this is a buildaround. Like spell payoffs in most formats, your’e not always going to get enough spells together to make playing this work out for you. Basically, you’re not going to feel like this is worth it unless you can get 3+ instants and sorceries in your graveyard, and doing that by turn 3 isn’t going to happen much in Limited, even in decks with lots of instants and sorceries. Sure, it scales as the game goes on, and sometimes will make a huge Army, but hey – an Army is still just a huge vanilla creature – though I’m sure we’re going to see some cards that can enhance your army before spoiler season is over. Either way, this is definitely a build around, and not one that I’m excited about at this point. I think it is an F in most decks, and probably a C in spells decks.

Dovin, Hand of Control – D

So, he provides a bit of a hatebear effect, making some of your opponents stuff cost more. Unfortunately, there are lots of games where that effect won’t make much of a difference, since most decks don’t run THAT many cards in those three categories – wish they had included planeswalkers too at least! His loyalty ability might be a nice way to slow down the game for control decks, and can help you find answers, but mostly he seems like he is a mediocre fog effect to me. I’m not sure I’m interested. I’m going to start him at D.

Time Wipe – A

So, frequently the problem with a Wrath is that you have to lose all of your creatures too. However, when you can keep your creature alive – like we’ve seen before with Duneblast – you are given something really powerful. This isn’t exactly Duneblast, because you do still have to return your creature, and frequently your opponent will get the first chance to repopulate the board, but the fact that you save your best creature who at worst can come down again next turn is pretty good. Also synergizes with ETB abilities, for what that’s worth. All of that makes this board wipe a straight up bomb. I’m giving it a B.

Vraska, Swarm’s Eminence – C+

I have gone back and forth about how I feel about Vraska. When she was first spoiled I wasn’t impressed, but as I look over her again to write this, I’m starting to think my initial reaction was wrong. So, obviously, a 4-mana 1/1 with deathtouch isn’t incredible in any way – but hey, it does serve to protect her quite well, since it can kill anything that tries to get to her, so on board states lacking evasive creatures, she’ll probably get a chance to make that second deathtoucher too. Her static ability might actually come up sometimes, and it gives Vraska a way to be really annoying on offense too, since you will be phased with the decision of letting the creature hit you and get bigger, or just trade one of your creatures for it. I think that many boardstates involving Vraska will result in her getting you a 2-for-1 because of the pesky deathtouch creatures she makes. Will that be the average board state? I don’t know, that might involve your opponent attacking you and killing her, but giving up a creature for it – in which case, its just a sort of round-about trade. Which certainly isn’t bad, but isnt’ special either. For now, I’m going to put her a C+, and keep an eye on any deathtouch commons or uncommons spoiled, which will make her a bit better. 

Death Sprout - B+

A 4-mana instant speed kill anything would probably at least be a B or so.  This also lets you fix your mana and ramp.  And sure, it has a somewhat challenging mana cost, but the upside here is incredible.  This is definitely a candidate for best uncommon in the set.  I'm giving it a B+.

Leyline Prowler - B

A 3-mana 2/3 with Lifelink and Deathtouch is somethig I'd already be in on.  Those are two great keyword abilities -- being able to trade with anything and gain you life is a good deal, and obviously it stonewalls smaller creatures.  Then, they made it so that this not only ramps but also fixes your mana?!  Yeah, I think I'm super in on this, and it is going to be worth taking highly despite being Gold.  It is a B.

Living Twister – B-

This is a pretty cool card. I’m always a sucker for Seismic Assault type effects – cashing in lands late to do damage to stuff can be pretty nice in Limited.  People used to combine Seismic Assault and Trade Routes to do what this does on its own – bounce lands back to your hand and then chuck them at your opponent or their creatures. Sure, it was cheaper to do with trade winds, but being a one-man wrecking crew is pretty insane here. In the early game it might be hard to cast, but if you do get it down, it has nice defensive stats that pair well with the late-game plan of turning all your lands into Shocks, which is often just enough to win the game. I may be a little high on this because it reminds me so much of decks I had back in the day, but I’m pretty interested in taking this highly since it can just churn out so much damage as a late-game mana sink, and is serviceable in the early going. It is gold, and not especially easy to splash – but I’m giving it a B-.

Merfolk Skydiver – B-

I like this a lot. A two-mana 2/2 flyer, or you can put the counter somewhere else if that’s more impactful – but either way, that’s a good deal, much like Pollenbright Druid. What pushes this past the Druid is that it can Proliferate repeatedly, which even in a worst case scenario will mean you are Proliferating the +1/+1 counter of this thing over and over, and in most scenarios you will have +1/+1 counters or Loyalty counters elsewhere too. It is a great late game manasink. Depsite being Gold, I think that this is first pickable. I’m giving it a B-.

Nahiri, Storm of Stone - B-

This is a great uncommon planeswalker.  Her static ability is nice, since it can enable so many attacks that weren't possible otherwise -- first strike can be a real game changer.  But her value comes from the fact that she's also a reasonable removal spell.  For 4 mana, she can take down tapped creatures with up to SIX toughness.  And sure, killing something that is tapped usually means it hit you first, and that's never great, but when it comes with the additional upside of perhaps being able to kill 2 or 3 creatures, and First Strike for your team (and maybe the equip part will matter? Probably not much though), that seems like a good card to me.  I'm giving her a B-.

Neoform – D

This is a weird card. Generally, the “Birthing Pod” effect isn’t anything special – see Prime Speaker Vannifar in Ravnica Allegiance. It is just difficult to make it actually worth trading one card for another in most scenarios, and in this case – you actually have to 2-for-1 yourself by using NEoform, so I think it is worse. I don’t think adding the counter to the creature makes it much better. I could see playing this on occasions where, let’s say you have a bomb that is a 5-drop and you 4 or 5 4-drops or something? But I don’t know, anything that creates card disadvantage is hard for me to get behind. I’m giving it a D.

Ral, Storm Conduit – C+

I am a little underwhelmed here. Scry 1 to increase loyalty is fine, but not great. More than anything, Ral – as he often is – is a spell buildaround. His static effect doing damage to your opponent when you can instants and sorceries and his ability to make copies of instants and sorceries push you in that direction, and his -2 is probably where the most power is. Since 4 mana to copy two spells is great. But you know what? A lot of decks – even Blue-Red ones, won’t be able to take full advantage of him, and that makes me not want to take him early in a draft. I’m giving him a C+.

Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord - B-

Sorin seems nice, but not great to me.  The fact he gives lifelink to your stuff is obviously great, as that keyword ability often makes it impossible for your opponent to race you.  It is also nice that he gives lifelink to himself, so his +2 effect actually drains the opponent too.  His -X effect is the only way he really has to protect himself, so generally, he is asking for a little help to really excel, he won't dominate the game on his own.  He will make it easier for you to win, though, that's for sure!  I think he is in the lower tier of "first pickable," which means he is a B-.

Storren, Devkarin Lich - B+

Well, this guy kills it on the vanilla test and has a powerful ability.  Even if you just attack with this once, your opponent trades a 4/4 for it or something, and you still get in for 1 -- the fact you also get a creature back thanks to that Trample is just great, and means you are getting a 2-for-1.  There will be other board states where your opponent just can't stop it, and the game will snowball out of control for your opponent.  I think that despite the somewhat difficult mana requirements, this is first pickable a significant portion of the time.  I'm giving it a B+

Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves – B+

Wow is this powerful or what? 5 mana for 6/6 worth of stats, plus you gain 3 life, plus your wolf can kill something with 3 or less toughness, and in an ideal scenario, kills something small enough that it survives. There are also some other wolves running around in this set, so getting some additional value out of that doesn’t seem impossible. Tolsimir does have a somewhat difficult mana cost, but I think you still want to first pick this in 99% of packs. Let’s go with B+ here.

Domri’s Ambush – B

This is pretty great!  Any time there are spells that let a creature deal damage equal to its power to another creature, they tend to be pretty darn good.  Keep in mind that this isn’t a “fight,” your opponent’s creature does not do damage to yours.  RG for this effect would already be a pretty solid card, but adding a +1/+1 counter to the mix, along with the ability to talk planesawlkers, and we are definitely in the realm of premium removal.  Sure, it is somewhat situational in that you have to have a creature, and you have to be careful when you cast it so you don’t get blown out – and the fact that it is a Sorcery does make it a little harder to find an ideal opening, but it is still pretty good. Depsite being Gold, I think this is worth first picking.  I’m giving it a B-.

Domri, Anarch of Bolas – C+

I’m not loving this.  His static ability is obviously pretty good, but his +1 is only good if he makes it to the next turn.  The ideal line of play with him is probably to play him, use his -2 to kill an opponent’s creature, and then just keep him alive for the static ability and the mana, while intermittently using the fight effect.  The problem with that plan is how easily he can be taken down on that first or second turn, but I think for 3 mana he’s still giving you some decent value.  He does really ask you to have creatures in play, so playing him on turn 3 may not be the easiest thing to do, but I think he seems pretty good, though not quite first pickable for me.  I’m giving him a C+.

Feather, the Redeemed – B-

She has a difficult mana cost like this whole cycle of legends does, but she is also powerful like the whole cycle.  A 3-mana ¾ with flying is great for Limited, and the rest of her text might require a little building around – but I don’t think it will be that much, since there seem to be several RW cards in this set that incentivize playing combat tricks, so it isn’t like you are playing them just to abuse with Feather, there will be other ways to take advantage too.  I think she is worth first picking, but probably only in some weaker packs.  I’m taking premium removal over her.           

Roalesk, Apex Hybrid – A

This seems incredibly good.  For 5 mana you get a 4/5 with trample and flying, which would already be a pretty good card, even if the mana requirements aren’t the easiest thing ever.  Add to that, though, the rest of the card and you have an outright bomb.  Putting two counters on another creature means that you pay 5 for 6/7 worth of stats.  Then, if your opponent does manage to take him down before he takes them down, he will add extra counters to your stuff – and since he put a couple counters on a creature when he came down, chances are good he is going to add at least 2 counters to one card.  Having value immediately when he enters and when he dies means it is hard for your opponent to ever come out ahead with him.  Even if they kill him before he ever attacks, you are getting some serious value out of this guy.  Also, I have a hard time looking at this card and not seeing Ravnica’s version of a super hero.  Anyhow, point here is that he’s a straight up bomb.  The fact that Green is his heaviest color also means that he will probably be easy to splash.  So yeah, take him any time you see him, pretty much.  I’m giving him an A.

Ral’s Outburst – B-

Well, you know I love this. 4 mana to do 3 at Instant speed to anything would probably be a C or C- on its own, but the fact that this not only draws you a card, but even gives you a bit of card selection makes this great. It will always be a 2-for-1, and if you can’t kill a creature with it, you can still hit your opponent and try to dig for something. I think this is premium removal since it is basically always a 2-for-1. I’m giving it a B-.

Solar Blaze – C+

This kind of card is always weird, because how good it depends very specifically on how P/T are distributed in a format.  What percentage of creatures can this kill?  Is there a way you can build around it by taking creatuers who don’t die to it?  I mean, I think the answer to those, respectively, is “most creatures” and “yes, you can build around it.”  But how often does a RW deck really want this? I mean, RW is all about aggro, so this is likely going to kill the whole deck.  So it is probably better as a splash in a more controlling deck.  But yeah, this is a hard one to figure out, but I think it will be a fine card, just hard to find the decks for it.  I’mg iving it a C+

Widespread Brutality – C+

Well, this is definitely an Amass payoff. So, this can do a couple of different things. Sometimes, this will let you pay 4 to put a 2/2 on the battlefield and kill all the small creatures on the board – and sometimes that will be plenty good. Other times, though, you’ll already have an Army in play, and you can do even more damage to the board. If you can get this up to 3 or 4, you’ll be in some serious business. Especially because if the creature was already in play that got amassed, you can bash in with it after all the other creatutres on the board die. Even on its own, 4 mana for a 2/2 that does 2 to the whole board is kind of attractive, though somewhat situational. One thing it doesn’t have going for it is its somewhat difficult mana cost. Even with lots of fixing, hitting the double Red on this will be hard, and will make it more difficult to splash, and that definitely matters. I think overall, this is probably a C+, but it looks like it might be one of the better payoffs for going crazy with amass.

Artifact

God-Pharoah's Statue - F

I don't like this very much.  By the time you're at 6 mana, making your opponent pay 2 extra mana for spells will have a pretty negligible effect.  And sure, I guess it can function as a win condition in a super controlling deck, but it is basically a super bad version of Ill-Gotten Inheritance.  I think I'm just going to give it an F.

Iron Bully – D+

I’m not real interested in this. It is kind of like Pollenbright Druid that we have looked at earlier in the week, except that Pollenbright Druid is cheaper, and can Proliferate when that makes sense. Sure, you add Menace here and lose that flexibility, but I don’t think that’s enough. A 3-mana 2/2 with Menace isn’t much more than a D. Sure, you have the flexibility to put the counter somewhere else, and that can sometimes be a big deal on an evasive creature or something, but still – I only think you run this if you’re desperate for +1/+1 counter making things because you got a bunch of payoffs, or your draft went kind of crappy. I’m giving this a D+.

Karn, the Great Creator – F

This Karn does not seem great in this Limited format. This set just does not have enough artifacts in it to make this artifact build around planeswalker worthwhile. I think he was printed more with constructed formats in mind, because his ability to make your opponent’s artifacts unable to use activated abilities, and the ability to do what Karn does – that is, animate an artifact – or to let you grab an Artifact from your sideboard – just doesn’t seem worth the payoff here. I think he’s just an F.

Saheeli’s Silverwing – D

I don’t think I’m very interested in this. There doesn’t seem to be enough of an artifact sub-theme in the set that you want to play sub-par cards just because they are artifacts, and that’s what this is. 4 mana for a 2/3 flyer is not a good rate, and the ETB ability it has is not the most relevant. It gives you some minor information, and that’s not enough to overcome these bad stats. I’m giving this a D.

Mizzium Tank – D+ // C+

This is not going to be especially good in your typical Limited deck in the format, because a 3-mana 3/2 vehicle with trample and Crew 1 isnt’ anything to get excited about. However, if you have are the Spells deck in the format, this is a nice Rare payoff for you, as it makes the Tank come to life – meaning it doesn’t need to get crewed, and it gets bigger. I still don’t think it is incredible, but it will definitely be nice in those decks. So yeah, a D in most decks, but a C+ in the spells deck.

Lands

Karn’s Bastion –

This is one I don’t think I can really give a grade yet.  You need lots of cards in play with counters to make paying 4 to populate really worth it, I think, especially because this land only produces colorless mana, but I think maybe getting populate going won’t be so hard in this format?  I dunno.  Maybe it is a C-?  I’ll make a decision on this once we know more.

Emergence Zone – C

I think I like this non-basic land. Lands that only produce colorless have to do something pretty nice to be playable because they make your mana worse. I think Emergence Zone probably does enough to see play. I think you’ll generally get the most value out of it by flashing a creature into play to eat one of your opponent’s attackers – and I recommend paying attention to your opponent’s land in this format and take that into account when you’re attacking. Being able to play sorceries and planeswalkers at Instant speed doesn’t hurt either. I do think you probably need a pretty stable manabase to fit this in, but I think most of the time, running one of these probably will be worth it. I’m giving it a C.

Interplanar Beacon – D-

This is pretty terrible. Filter lands are always only worth playing if you’re utterly desperate to splash something. This is better than your typical filter land in that it actuall gives you 2 mana as you tap 2 lands for it (copunting the Beacon, I mean), however you can only use it for planeswalkers. And yeah, it can gain you some life too, but even in a set with 36 planeswalkers, I think you’ll only play this if you have a super bomby one that you need to splash. 

Mobilized District – C+

I’m a pretty big fan of creature lands. They can catch an opponent offguard, dodge all sorcery speed removal, and – you know, go from just being a land, which is always useful for mana – to being part of your actual board. It is a good place to put mana when you’re flooding out too. Sure, the cost of 4 is a lot to turn in into a 3/3 with Vigilance, but even if this always costed 4, I think it would probably still be a C. The one thing to keep an eye on is your mana situation, because this set looks to have some considerable mana requirements, and this obviously makes your mana worse, and that does hold it back a little bit. Still, I think this is a nice land that you’ll play in just about every deck, except maybe the most mana-starved. I’m giving it a C+.