Ongoing Kaldheim Limited Set Review Notes (Last Updated 1/18/2021 @ 4:00 p.m. ET) (Patreon)

Kaldheim Limited Review:

White:

Axgard Braggart - C

So, this card will never really be efficient.  I mean, it starts as a 4-mana 3/3, and even if you boast with it, you’ll have spent 6 mana on a 4/4.  However, efficiency isn’t everything.  The fact is that this creature can grow throughout the game, and just the threat of using the ability will be enough for people not to block it when it attacks.  Boast creatures a lot of the time will just end up feeling like situational mana sinks, and that’s not necessarily bad.  The pseudo-vigilance it gains when it Boasts isn’t bad either.  This seems like a serviceable White common.  I’m giving it a C.

Battlefield Raptor - C-

They are really pushing how much you can get for one mana these days -- two key words and a 1/2!  This is the exact kind of card people are likely to overate in Limited.  Now look, it definitely isn’t bad -- but some people will see this and be heavily influenced by how efficient it seems, when the reality is, it will quickly become irrelevant.  Now, first strike does mean it can also block reasonably well early, and obviously putting auras and Equipment on this are really good -- but you’d be surprised how often this thing is just hanging around not doing much after the first few turns are over.  It is way better than most one mana 1/1 flyers we see -- that additional toughness and first strike do make a difference! But I still don’t think you’ll find yourself running this a ton in this format.  I’m giving it a C-.

Battershield Warrior - B-

That is a very nice boast effect.  Obviously, a 3-mana 2/2 isn’t so good, but being able to give your whole board +1/+1 -- including itself -- is pretty nice.  A lot of these Boast creatures have some serious threat of activation, and that is certainly an issue here if you are trying to block when someone attacks with this and some other creatures.  There’s a good chance it will die after that first swing, but it and all of its friends will be much harder to block, so you’re probably coming out ahead in that exchange.  I think this is good enough to take with a first pick sometimes.  I’m giving it a B-.

Beskir Shieldmate - C

This is a solid two-drop.  A two mana 2/1 is far from ideal, but if you can trade with this and then get a token, you’re going to feel fine about things.  Not a bad deal for two mana, but not amazing either.  This is a pretty textbook C.

Clarion Spirit - B

This seems like a really strong engine.  Since it starts out as a 2-mana 2/2, you don’t have to get that much out of it for it to feel like you’re doing a good job -- even one 1/1 flying token will get you there, and this will sometimes produce far more than that.  Double-spelling in this set is easier than it usually is, largely because of the Foretell mechanic, which typically allows you to pay less mana in a single turn for spells.  But, even in a normal set, I would really be inclined to think of this as a B-, in a set with foretell, I think the ceiling might be even higher.  If you can get 2+ tokens out of this, you’re going to be in great shape.  I think this is an excellent uncommon, and I’m giving it a B.

Codespell Cleric - C-

So, since this is one mana, casting it as your second spell in a turn won’t be super challenging, especially in a format with Foretell.  I mean, in the late game it will be a little harder, like if you’re in top deck mode, but in the early and mid-game it will just happen.  For this to be worth it, it does need to be making that +1/+1 counter a significant chunk of the time.  I think this will do that often enough to be a C.

Doomskar - B+

This is a powerful board sweeper -- straight up 5 mana to blow up all creatures, or paying 5 over a couple of turns both feel pretty good.  Wraths can be awkward to be sure, especially if you’re an aggro deck, but my general philosophy on cards lik this is this:  They have an effect that is so powerful, and so irreplaceable, that you should be taking it highly no matter what, and it should make your deck -- provided you can cast it, of course.  And yeah, sometimes you’ll look at a board and you’ll wish you just had a 4 drop to follow up your 2 and 3 drop, and that is a bit of a bummer -- but if things end up going sideways on you because you can’t do that?  Guess what, you can just play Doomskar!  I do think the fact that this will be a little more awkward in some decks keeps it from being a straight up bomb -- I’m giving it a B+ -- with the caveat that, in a control deck, it definitely gets into bomb range.

Doomskar Oracle - C

So, BW and UW are both color pairs interested in Foretell, and Doomskar Oracle fits well into both of those decks. It has Foretell itself, AND it is a Foretell payoff.  And, the payoff it gives you isn’t the most powerful thing ever, but incidental life gain can go a long way towards helping you survive in Limited, and since it is attached to a 3-mana 3/2 with foretell, I think you’ll find yourself playing this pretty regularly in White, even if you aren’t in one of the foretell decks.  The Foretell here adds up to the same amount of mana you would normally pay, you just get to do it in two installments, which could involve for more flexible turns in the future.  Like with a lot of these, I think you should only be foretelling it if you have extra mana lying around, -- or if you have a bunch of foretell payoffs - since just casting it is going to be reasonable a lot of the time too. I’m giving this a C.

Divine Gambit - D

Well, this is...kind of weird.  This set has a lot of interesting things going on color pie wise, and this is one of them.  The effect of exiling a creature, artifact or enchantment makes perfect sense in White! But, the whole “your opponent puts a permanent into play” part of it doesn’t feel all that White to me -- more like Blue, Red, or Green.  But hey, the color pie doesn’t matter in terms of the actual game play -- but in that sense, it is also a pretty weird card.  Two mana to exile any of those three types of cards is great -- but letting your opponent put their best permanent into play...not so much.  Now, if yo’ure using this to deal with a super high power card, chances are good you’re downgrading their board state, but you also aren’t really getting a one-for-one out of the deal, in fact, unless your opponent drops a land or nothing when you cast this, you are basically two-for-oning yourself, no matter what they put into play.  This seems risky at most stages of the game too, unless your opponent’s hand is empty, and there’s no guarantee that they get there.  I don’t know, the efficiency at removing something is great -- but the downside here might be too much to overcome.  I don’t think I want to be playing this most of the time, unless I’m truly desperate for removal.  I’m giving it a D.

Giant Ox - C

This is kind of a cool design.  A two mana 0/6 is a card that you’ll play sometimes in really controlling decks, but this guy is also capable of crewing basically everything despite being only two mana, and that’s pretty darn relevant if you have a few vehicles around.  I think it will be useful in enough decks in this format that it is a solid common.  I’m giving it a C.

Glorious Protector - B

So, this is like a fixed version of Restoration Angel.  It has Flash and the ability to save a creature from a removal spell -- kind of.  Unlike Restoration Angel, that creature doesn’t come right back, but there is some upside to that too.  In particular, it means that if your Angel dies you get that creature back, and basically no matter what you save with it, that means you are getting something back.  Additionally, just being a decently sized creature with Flash can be a big deal, as it allows it to ambush block attacking creatures.  In this case Fortell is a greater total mana investment, but you do only pay three mana for the angel the turn you play it, and that’s pretty sweet.  So, basically -- this can act like a removal spell as an ambush blocker, it can help save a creature from complete and total death, and it can just be a win condition as a large flyer -- not to mention helping out Angel and Foretell decks in general.  I don’t quite think she’s a bomb, but she’s pretty glorious.  I’m giving her a B.

God’s Hall Guardian - C

This is a Foretell card that doesn’t end up costing you extra mana in the end.. You still pay a total of six mana, but having the flexibility to pay that mana in installments -- two on one turn, 4 on another -- is nice.  Plus, like most foretell cards, it lets you play something ahead of curve -- getting this down on turn 4 is pretty legit.  Now, 6-mana for a 3/6 with Vigilance is far from impressive -- probably close to a D+ or C- in most formats.  It is a good defensive body that can also pressure the opponent a little bit.  Overall, I think Foretell and the various synergies this set has for it makes it so this is a little better than that.  I’m giving it a C.

Halvar, God of Battle - A-

So with this double-faced modal card, you either get a decent Equipment or a God that will make all of your Enchanted and equipped creatures have double strike -- while also allowing you to move those things around for free. Keep in mind with this double-faced modal cards, you won’t be transforming them -- you just choose one side or the other and for the most part, it will remain that card.  So, if we just look at the Equipment side of this, I’d say we’re looking at a pretty good card -- +2/+0 and Vigilance isn’t the most exciting, but it isn’t a terrible boost, especially because the equipped creature comes back to your hand if your opponent kills it.  That can be particularly nice with creatures who have ETB abilities, but it is nice in general.  +2/+0 is enough to make many creatures into threats, and your opponent just won’t be able to block whatever it is effectively most of the time, since you keep getting it back!  That said, the Sword does require you to have a board state already to be worthwhile most of the time, but still -- just the equipment side on this card is probably a B-.  Then, you add to the mix the fact that you can also play this as a 4-mana 4/4 with insane upside, and we’re talking about a great card.  Now, obviously, the God side of the card is a little bit more build aroundy than the Equipment side, but it won’t be difficult to get Auras and Equipment int his set, so I don’t think we need to penalize it too much.  Overall, I think this card does enough to get into the lower range of being a bomb.  Both sides of the card can take over games depending on the board state.  I’m giving it an A-.

Invoke the Divine - D // C

Like most effects like this, this is mostly sideboard material.  Most opponents just won’t enough targets for it.  When they do have targets, it is pretty efficient at removing them, and the life gain is nice upside -- but I’m going to say this is a D in your main deck and a C in your sideboard.

Iron Verdict - C+

This is another “Trap card” with foretell.  So, in the past, 3-mana cards that do 5-damage to attacking creatures have been solid -- and this can actually work on any tapped creature, not just attacking ones.  This is better than most of the other cards like that we’ve seen because of Foretell too.  Being able to put this aside and use it for a single white mana later on in the game is great -- and this type of effect is situational, so putting it aside for awhile until you need it is going to work out pretty well.  Now, I still don’t think this is quite “premium” removal -- you still are paying a total of 3 mana for the effect, and it is still pretty situational.  But it is a nice White common.  I’m giving it a C+.

Kaya’s Onslaught - C+

This is a very playable trick.  Three mana for +1/+1 and double strike is something that you’ll play sometimes, and that’s what this is at a base level.  That type of boost makes it very likely that your creature will be able to win combat, and it can also manufacture lethal damage out of nowhere.  The problem that all tricks have, though, is that you can really get blown out if your opponent can interact in response, and if you have to pay all three mana for this in a single turn, it also makes it harder for you to play another spell on the same turn.  But, by splitting this into two payments, you will more easily find windows where it is worth the risk, since paying a single White mana is way easier than paying three in the same turn.  Now, as I often say -- it is still a trick, and even this one has the problems all tricks have: they are highly situational, and you are risking a blowout.  That said, this is a pretty nice trick -- I’m giving it a C+, which is a pretty high rating for a trick!  I think White decks will be happy to have the first copy of this, and should take it somewhat highly -- provided they are aggressive.

“Immobilize in Gold” - B

So, here’s White’s usual Aura that is a premium removal spell.  For three mana this shuts down pretty much everything -- apart from static abilities -- and that’s a really good deal.  Keeping the creatures from even being able to crew vehicles is a really big deal too.  This is likely white’s best common -- it just answers pretty much everything, and does it efficiently.  It has the downsides of aura-based removal of course -- like there are ways to get rid of it -- but it is worth the risk.  This is a B.

Rally the Ranks - C // B-

This is basically a reprint of an old card called Shared Triumph.  I think it will be pretty good, since this set goes so hard on tribal.  Now, you probably do need 7+ creatures with the same creature type before you can make it work -- afterall, if it isn’t pumping your creatures, it is basically a blank card.  If you have enough creatures though, the anthem effect it gives you will be a big deal.  I think I need to give a buildaround grade here -- it is probably a C in your typical deck in this format, and a B- in a deck that has enough creatures with the same type.

Reidane, God of Justice - B

So, for most of these Gods, I think you will find yourself casting both the God side and the non-God side pretty often, but with Reidane, I think in Limited you will cast the God side wayyy more often.  On that side, she is a 3-mana ⅔ with Flying and Vigilance -- already a great starting point in terms of efficiency -- but in addition to that she also significantly punishes your opponent.  Making their snow lands enter tapped, and making them pay extra for big non-creature spellis is good too- and those two things can potentially combine to make your opponent wait a lot longer to cast their expensive noncreature spells.  As I’ve noted, I’m less impressed with the Artifact side here for Limited. 4 mana for an artifact that has a minimal impact on the board doesn’t seem that good to me.  It does do a good job of making your creatures harder to kill, and that’s certainly nice -- but I think both effects are a little bit too situational.  But, the nice thing is, you may find yourself in a situation sometimes where a 3-mana ⅔ with Flying and Vigilance is less useful for your board than an Artifact that messes with your opponent’s targeted spells and the amount of damage they do.  Like, in the late game, when it helps you either attack or block your opponent’s stuff.  So, even though I think the Shield is situational, it is definitely just upside attached to a very good creature.  All-in-all, I think that means Reidane is something you can first pick most of the time when you see it.  I’m giving it a B.

Resolute Valkyrie - C+

So, a 4-mana 3/2 with Flying is usually like a C- in Limited, and the alternate casting cost here is some pretty nice upside. If you’re paying two for this consistently, that’s going to be pretty nice.  Especially because as we’ve seen, BW is interested in casting multiple spells in a turn, and this also helps on that front.  Now, using the alternate cost won’t come up a ton in the early game, but it is worth noting that if you trade your 2/2 for theirs, you’re probably going to get more value out of that trade than they will thanks to your Valkyrie.  But yeah, from the mid-game on, the alternate casting cost here will become increasingly easy to accomplish, and on a lot of boards a 3/2 with Flying is always relevant.  I’m kind of tempted to go all the way up to a B- here, but I do think that this will be that 4-mana 3/2 often enough that the card will be held back a bit.  Being an Angel does help a little, but yeah -- I think I want to go with a C+ on this one.

Revitalize - D

This is an underwhelming reprint. A cantrip that gains you life isn’t bad, it is just one of those cards that will be the last card cut from your deck most of the time.  Especially because this set doesn’t seem to have a strong life gain theme.  Now, it may kind of help BW decks double spell sometimes, since it cheap and might draw you something else to play, but I still think I’ll cut this a lot more than I  will play it.  I’m giving it a D.

Shepherd of the Cosmos - B-

This seems pretty good to me.  So, even without Foretell, a 6-mana 3/3 with Flying that reanimates a 2-drop would be a pretty nice card - at least a C+ and maybe a B-.  It is generally going to give you that 6 manas worth of value no problem.  By adding Foretell, we get an upgrade here, since having the option to pay for it in installments is definite upside.  It doesn’t hurt that there are foretell payoffs in the set too! Anyway, I think that does enough to make this a card you first pick some of the time, I’m giving it a B- -- but I feel like it is pretty darn close to being a solid B.

Sigrid, God-Favored - B

Wow, this has a lot going on!  Creatures that oblivion ring other creatures are always good.  Sigrid is a little more situational than some of those, because he does need the creature to be attacking or blocking, but he also is way better in combat than most creatures like this we’ve seen before.  A 3-mana 2/2 with First Strike is basically playable in Limited anyway, and it also works nicely with Flash.  There will be times where you Flash this in, exile a scary attacker, and then use Sigrid to block something he can just straight up kill in combat without dying himself.  That will be a pretty brutal turn.  And yes, he also has protection from Gods, and that will come up on very rare occasions, but it doesn’t factor much into his evaluation.  All that said, this is going ot be great in Limited.  You can first pick it happily.  I’m giving it a B.

Search for Glory -  D

3-mana tutors are almost never worth it in Limited.  It is just a very inefficient way to search up a card, and it can really leave you open to a lot of damage if your opponent is, you know, actually adding tot he board when you do something like this.  The life gain clause ont his does mean that it can counteract that a little bit -- but you won’t be gaining more than 1 or 2 life with this most of the time, and gaining 3 is the absolute most you can gain anyway, and that’s not exactly impressive.  Now, you will play this some time, if you have a bomb or bombs it can search up.  But most of the time? You can’t really play it in Limited.  I’m giving it a d.

Spirit Blade - C-

Well, this is kind of cool.  A two mana aura that gives +2/+2 is usually not going to be worth it.  Auras put you at great risk of getting blown out by a 2-for-1, so for them to be worth it, they have to do something to mitigate that risk, and Spirit Blade does that.  Once it is in your graveyard you can use it to get back an Aura or Equipment, meaning that it pays you back for the card that you gave up in using it.  It also means that if it gets milled, it can give you some nice graveyard value.  Now, the question really is -- how often will it be able to get something back?  And I think the answer is -- sometimes, but not all the time.  I still don’t thinkt his is great mind you, even in the RW deck that seems to love Auras and EQuipment, but it is playable -- and that’s not something I can say about a lot of Auras.  I’m giving it a C-.

Starnheim Unleashed - A-

Well, this is good.  So, even if you don’t foretell this, you get a 4-mana 4/4 Angel with flying and vigilance -- that on its own is probably a B.  Then, you add the Foretell upside into the mix and things get really silly.  I mean, just paying 5 mana to cast this from foretell gives you TWO 4/4 angels, and that is insanely efficient.  Now, you did pay two mana on another turn to make that happen, but still, the amount of power this can give you on a later turn is pretty amazing.  7 mana gives you three, which is pretty nice too.  I think this will create 2-3 angels often enough that I can’t really see how it isn’t at least in the lower range of being a bomb, especially because its fail case is already so good! I’m giving this an A-.

Story Seeker - C

Two mana 2/2s with Lifelink are always solid.  Just being able to trade for another two drop and gaining you 2 life is a decent fail case, and if they are allowed to stick around they will end up gaining you significant life.  Auras and Equipment are also your friend with a creature like this.  I’m giving this a C.

Usher of the Fallen - C+

One mana 2/1s aren’t normally as impressive in Limited as they are in constructed.  They just end up trading 1-for-1 for the most part, and you really need a critical mass of really good aggressive cards to make them thrive, and that’s hard to do in Limited.  Luckily for Usher of the Fallen, though, that isn’t all it is.  It also comes with a pretty nice Boast effect, which makes a one-one token.  That means that trading 1-for-1 with this is suddenly not too bad.  If you play this on turn one, and attack into your opponents one or two drop on a later turn, you get to make a 1/1 token before the Usher goes down, and that’s not a bad deal.  If you can get it to attack more than once, and have the extra mana for Boasting, it will be pretty nice.  That said, the likely outcome with this will more often be what I first described -- one token out of the deal.  And that’s not bad, but it isn’t incredible either.  I think this is a C+.

Valkyrie’s Sword - C

This is part of a whole cycle of Equipment that lets you pay mana to make a creature for the Equipment to attach to.  Overall here, you pay 7 mana to get a 6/5 with flying and Vigilance, which is an alright right -- thought not a stellar one.  But if you look at this as a 7-drop creature with a bunch of additional upside and flexibility, it does get a little better.  Afterall, you can play it early if you need to -- though the cost of playing it and equipping it isn’t very pretty.  I think ideally, you hold on to this until you can pay the extra mana, and then you get that large Angel who happens to leave behind some Equipment.  It is really expensive to play this, but it does not seem like a bad top curve to me.  I think this is a C.

Warhorn’s Blessing - D / C

So, mass pump spells always have some decks they will be good in -- obviously, the ones that are going wide -- but they are pretty bad in less aggressive decks.  This one does add Foretell to the mix -- this is one of the foretell cards where the total investment is the same whether you Foretell it or not, so if you have the extra mana it will definitely be worth doing, since only paying three for this the turn you play it is no small thing.  Still, this kind of card is always kind of a build around.  If you’re a typical deck int his format, it is probably a D or D+.  If you’re an aggro deck that is good at going wide, you’re going to want one copy of this pretty often.  Even in those decks it is situational, but the situation is much more likely to arise in those decks -- it is probably a C if that’s what you’re interested in.

Wings of the Cosmos - C-

This is an alright trick.  You can use it both offensively and defensively pretty effectively, and the fact it grants flying might mean sometimes it will also let you sneak in for lethal in the air.  But -- a trick is a trick.  It is situational, and its risky, and it doesn’t do a whole lot to make any of that less of a problem.  I’m giving this a C-.

Blue:

Aerial Rune - C

This is nice.  We’ve seen Auras before that for two mana give a creature flying and draw you a card -- and they are always solid.  This is because it makes sure to replace itself -- which means you don’t get 2-for-1’d later in the game when your opponent blows up your enchanted creature.  This has the extra upside of being something you can put on any permanent too -- ideally, on either a creature or equipment -- but hey, in a pinch, you can stick this on a land too if you really need to hit your third land or something.  It also has the “rune” type, which a few cards in this format care about.  I think you play the first copy of this in most Blue decks.  I’m giving it a C.

Annul - F

This is a reprint, and it isn’t really one that is here to be played in Limited -- it is for constructed sideboards.  It will be a rare thing in this format for people to have enough targets for this for it to be worth running, you might bring it out of your sideboard on occasion, but even then it doesn’t seem that likely to me.  This is an F in Limited.

Alrund’s Epiphany - B

Well, Time Walk effects are always super strong -- but they are also always pretty expensive.  Alrund’s Epiphany does a couple of things that make it better than your typical 7-mana Time Walk, though.  One of these is that it actually adds to the board -- and sure, it just adds a couple of Bird tokens, but adding to the board is a big deal -- we have seen other time walks that make creatures, like the one with Awaken, and it was pretty nice.  The other nice thing about Alrund’s Epiphany is that with Foretell, you can actually cast this a little earlier.  Now, note that unlike some cards with Foretell, this one doesn’t cost the same total mana -- it actually costs one more -- but that will usually be worth getting it down a turn earlier.  I don’t think this is a bomb -- after all, for a Time Walk to do its job it does generally need to have an at least decent board state, but it is really good.  I’m giving it a B.

Alrund, God of the Cosmos // Hakka, Whispering Raven - B

So, this is a pretty cool design for a modal double-faced card.  On one side you have the cheaper spell -- one that is reasonably efficient and even gives you some nice card selection with Scry.  But what is really cool about it, is that if it hits an opponent you not only scry, you also bounce it to your hand, giving you the chance to play Alrund on a later turn -- or you know, that exact same turn.  Now, normally, creatures who hav eP/T equal to cards in hand aren’t amazing in Limited, you just don’t usually horde a bunch of cards in that format, but by adding the Raven side to the mix, and the foretold upside, as well as a powerful card-draw effect every turn, Alrund is obviously really, really good.  I still have a hard time coming all the way around on this calling it a straight up bomb -- he will be like a 1/1 or 2/2 way more often than you’d think.  I’m giving this a B.

Ascendant Spirit - C

So, how good this is, will be determined, obviously enough, by how easy it is to draft snow lands and other snow sources.  For something like this, I am skeptical it will be easy to pull off.  And, the efficiency of this card isn’t that great to begin with -- though it is a good mana sink for snow mana. But yeah,  You need two snow mana just to make this a 3-mana ⅔, and that’s not great.  If you get the second ability, you have now paid for a 6-mana 4/4 Flyer, also not amazing.  Then, you eventually get to something you pay a total of 10 mana for, and it is a 6/6 flyer that draws you a card when it does damage to a player.  Now, paying it installments is a little bit different than just straight up  paying the mana, but the fact is that this won’t be particularly good early, because you’d rather be going wide than tall in most cases.  It will be more attractive late, but really only if you have enough snow sources to really make it work, and even then, you can really get blown out by an opponent just letting you sink mana into it even though they have a removal spell waiting.   Some people will look at this and just imagine playing it on turn one, and using each ability on subsequent turns -- which would be pretty sweet, but you aren’t going to have that much snow mana -- and that still doesn’t take away the serious risk associated with this card.  So uh, yeah.  I don’t think this is bad or anything, but I don’t think its good either.  It is risky, inefficient, and it asks you to have a bunch of snow mana. I think it is just a C.

Augury Raven - B-

A 4-mana 3/3 flyer is a great rate in Limited, and this little Common has more upside than that!  Because of Foretell, you can spread the cost of the card across two different payments, and while it won’t always make sense to do that -- there will be times where it helps you be really efficient with your mana, like if you want to play a 3-drop and foretell this instead of casting it that turn, or if you have nothing to do on turn two or three, foretelling this lets you pay less mana for it on a later turn.  A 4-mana 3/3 flyer on its own is at least a C+, and I think adding Foretell here does enough to push it into the lower range of first pickable.  I’m giving it a B-.

Avalanche Caller - C+

This is a pretty powerful mana sink for the late game.  Flooding out? No problem, as long as you have a few snow lands you can just turn them into fairly formidable 4/4 creatures and send them at your opponent. It will be difficult to use the ability early, and that certainly suppresses how good this card is, but at least it is also a two mana ⅓, which isn’t the most horrendous thing ever with this significant of upside.  Still, it really only will have an impact late, and I think that holds it to a C+.

Behold the Multiverse - B-

So, 4-mana for instant speed Scry 2 and draw 2 cards is usually pretty close to being a first pickable card when we’ve seen it in the past.  It just does a great job of letting you see tons of cards, and is the kind of thing you’ll want one of in basically every Blue deck.  Adding Foretell to the mix makes it even better, especially because, in this case, you’re not paying extra mana -- you pay the same amount, just in two installments, and that’s just great.  Fortell is a lot like Morph or Suspend, in that it adds nice flexibility to a card, and lets you do something with any excess mana you might have -- like if you don’t have a two drop in the early game, you can just Fortell this, and that feels really good.  This is an excellent Common, and I think in the lower range of first pickable. It is worth noting that running more than one of these can be a bit risky, since even with Foretell they aren’t the best thing ever to have in your opening hand, but still,  I’m giving it a B-.

Brinebarrow Intruder - C

This kind of card also seems pretty solid to me.  Flashing in and shrinking something enough for it to kill it will be pretty nice -- and granted, it can only do that on 3/1s or smaller -- but it isn’t that far-fetched.  That’s what it can do in the early game. In the late game it can have more of an impact, by completely wrecking combat on a complex board state, since it can suddenly shrink a creature who was going to win its combat, and then make your creature survive -- in addition to adding the ½ to the board.  These cards are certainly sort of situational, and it doesn’t have a creature type that matters a whole lot in this set, but I think the first copy seems solid in most Blue decks.  I’m giving it a C.

Cosima, God of the Voyage - B

There are several cards in this set that feel strange as far as the color pie goes, and a Blue card outside of Zendikar caring about lands is one of the strangest! But, you know, that doesn’t matter for Limited at all, just strange in terms of design.  Anyhow, to get back to Limited, both sides of Cosima are things I would be interested in playing.   On the front, you have a 3-mana 2/4, and you’ll leave Cosima in play if you really need the body -- but in an ideal world, you’ll exile Cosima for a few turns, play some lands, and bring her back later as a bigger creature that reloads your hand.  Sometimes, you won’t have time for that, and that means you may have to live with the 3-mana 2/4 -- OR you can cast the Vehicle side, which is reasonably efficient, crews for only one mana, and helps you steal lands from your opponents library, all things that I like.  I don’t quite think Cosima is a bomb.  It takes way too long for it to do its thing for it to ever really help you out when you are really far behind.  But at parity or if you’re ahead, she’s going to do a lot to improve your chances of winning.  I’m giving cosima a B.

Cosmos Charger - B

I like this card a lot.  A 4-mana 3/3 with Flying and Flash would be a B-.  It has enough size that Flashing it in and blocking a smaller creature will not be an uncommon occurrence, and then it has some nice stats for threatening the opponent in the air.  Then, you add in a number of things -- like the possibility of using foretell with it, and the fact that it reduces the cost of Foretell, and you have a really, really good card.  This is a card where the overall investment for Foretell will end up being more than you would pay for it if you were casting it, but because you can cast it from exile for 2U, it does allow you to pay less mana the turn you decide to cast it, and that can be especially relevant when you want to flash it in.  All in all, this is a nice Rare, and one that you will first pick regularly.  I’m giving it a B.

Draugr Mindthief - C-

I’m not that interested in this.  If you’re going ot be a 3-mana 3/2, you probably need to have something going on that makes those inefficient stats worth it -- and I don’t really see that here. You get some very minor card selection, and an effect that might help you put something in your graveyard.  Or, alternatively, something that lets you control your opponent’s next draw a little bit, but neither of those things is that great.  It is kind of equivalent to Scry 1, but in most ways, it isn’t as good as Scry 1.  You will certainly play this sometimes, but you’ll also cut it alot.  I’m giving it a C-.

Disdainful Stroke - D // C

This is a card we’ve seen a lot of, and generally I don’t like running it.  It does kind of depend on how the format shakes out, but it is a little too narrow of a counterspell for me.  It often won’t have enough targets, and that’s a problem.  I’m giving it a D.  If you’re playing best of three, it is probably a C out of hte sideboard.

Fearless Liberator - C+

I like that this creature populates the board with its Boast ability.  Now, it doesn’t do it efficiently, and frequently this 2/1 is going to die when it attacks, but having the option when it attacks to make a token is definitely not a bad thing.  If you’re a Dwarf deck, going wide with this will be especially appealing.  Also, like with all these Boast creatures, anything you can do to help it survive combat, or maybe give it evasion, is going to be nice.  I think this is a C+.  Left unchecked, this can be a real problem.

Forerunner - C

We have seen cards very similar to this several times, and they’re always alright.  Being able to use the mana for Foretell does make it better than most other versions of this we’ve seen, but it still just a decent two drop for most spells decks.  I’m giving it a C.

Frost Augur - C//B-

Oh boy, I’m a sucker for this kind of card.  Drawing more cards than your opponent is a good way to win in Limited, and this little one drop can definitely enable that.  You do need to have a decent chunk of Snow permanents to make it do its thing consistently, but I think 5-7 is probably enough that you run this -- even drawing once with it is great.  It will certainly be possible in this set to end up with 10+ snow cards though, and when you do, you’ll be in business.  I think that this does need a build around.  In a typical deck in this format, which probably has like 5 snow permanents -- it is probably a C.  But in a deck that really gets there on snow?  This will be capable of taking over games for you -- and you can’t say that about a lot of one drops.  I think it is a B- in a deck like that.   Which means it is definitely worth speculating on early.

Frostpeak Yeti - C-

So, this is a Hill Giant that can become unblockable if you have some Snow mana.  That certainly isn’t a good card, but if you are in a controlling Snow deck and you need a win condition well...you probably hope this isn’t it, but it can do the job if you need it to.  I think you cut this a little more often than you play it.  I’m giving it a C-.

Frostpyre Arcanist - C // B-

This type of design always interests me -- and by “this type” I mean cards that pay you off for having multiple copies of some card in your deck.  The Giant deck -- which is UR -- is a spells deck, so this fits in very nicely -- it costing 4 or even 3 won’t be that far-fetched, and a ⅖ isn’t too shabby for that kind of mana.  So, what do you need to do to consistently trigger the ETB ability and actually get to draw a card, too?  Well, I would think you probably need at least two sets of duplicate spells, and ideally, cheap ones, so that is more likely when you play this that one of them is in your graveyard.  If you can get this to draw a card for you even like half the time, you’re going to be pretty happy with this card.  I think I want to give this a build around grade, because I do think the gap between how this performs in a typical Blue deck, and how it performs in a deck with 2 or 3 sets of duplicate spells is wide enough to make that necessary.  This is probably a C in a typical Blue deck, which will be able to reduce its cost enough and maybe trigger the ability on rare occasions, and probably a B- in a deck with 2 or more sets of cheap spell duplicates.

Gian’ts Amulet - C+

This is a neat design for Equipment -- they have been doing lots of cool stuff with it in the last few sets actually.  Anyway, basically, this is something of a split card.  You can play it early as just the Equipment, like if you desperately need to give Hexproof to something -- but most of the time you’ll want to wait until later, when it amounts to being a 5-mana ⅘ with Hexproof that leaves Equipment behind.  It has been a bit since we’ve seen a decent hexproof card in Limited at a lower rarity, but that’s what we have here, so get ready to be frustrated! Hexproof creatures are a great place to put Auras and the like, and sometimes will just end games.  That said, this creature doesn’t come with evasion at all, and I don’t quite think it is something you want to first pick -- but it will be a swingy and frustrating card sometimes.  I’m giving it a C+.

Giant Snow Wizard - C+

I always like this kind of creature that taps something down when it comes into play, but they are usually only at their best if they can lock the creature down for a turn too.  Giant Snow Wizard won’t always do that, but it will do it often enough, and hey, at least it does something even if you don’t have the snow mana.  Tapping something down even without snow mana can often enable an attack you didn’t have otherwise, and tapping something down for a turn can really swing a race in your favor, since that creature won’t be blocking or attacking.  This is certainly beefier than most of these tap-down creatures are too -- it has good enough stats to be imposing on some board states.  I think this first copy of this is going to be nice for most Blue decks.  I’m giving it a C+.

Glacial Detention PIllar - C+

So, this is basically the Snow version of Icy Manipulator -- come to think of it, kind of weird Icy Manipulator isn’t snow in the first place.  But anyway, this type of card is always quite strong in Limited -- it often amounts to a removal spell that is flexible enough to allow you to switch which creature you use it on, and you can also choose whether to use it defensively or aggressively.  And, even though it costs Snow mana, it only asks for one, so it isn’t super crazy.  That said, the times where you play this and don’t have snow mana, it will be super abysmal, and that will happen -- even in the snowiest of decks.  Icy Manipulator is usually a straight up B, but I think the mana requirement here is enough to push it down to a C+.  If snow mana is even easier to get than I’m expecting, this will definitely move up.

Glimpse the Cosmos - C+

So, if you have 0 Giants in your deck, this is a Sorcery speed Anticipate, which is the kind of card that makes the cut when you are low on playables -- so like a D+.  But, this has some very real upside.  You get to cast this a second time from your graveyard for only U if you have a Giant in play, and Giants are one of the well-supported tribes in this set, so doing that won’t be very hard.  If you have even a few Giants in your deck, this is worth running.  It basically becomes a better version of Divination, since it gives you such big card selection.  You don’t even have to wait for things to line up really perfectly to use it -- if you just have U left over after you cast a Giant, you can do this.  Obviously, the more Giants the better, but this has a reasonable floor and is very easy to make work.  It reminds me a bit of Think Twice.  I’m giving it a C+.

Goldmaw Champion - C+

This does not seem awesome compared to similar cards we’ve seen at Common -- like Territorial Hammerskull, which had the same stats but did the tap thing for free -- but hey, that was a really good Common, and maybe we shouldn’t make the comparison.  This still seems decent to me -- unlike most Boast creatures, it can actually do something ot make sure it survives attacking, since it can tap down whatever the best blocker is.  And, if you’re in an aggro deck, having the ability to tap down a blocker is often very strong, and really tends to lead to your attack being a lot more devastating.  I think this is good enough to be a C+ -- not quite something you want to firs tpick, but I imagine this being a key common for aggro decks, especially in Red-White.

Graven Lore - B-

5 mana to draw three at instant speed is usually a pretty playable card -- a C+ even, I think.  Sure, it doens’t impact the board in a big way, but because its an instant you can find a time to cast it that doesn’t feel super clunky.  You don’t usually want too many cards like Graven Lore, just because you can only spend so much mana without affecting the board, but this is still really good, and grants the kind of card advantage and selection that can be instrumental in winning games.  If you can manage to Scry 5 with this, it will be absolutely silly -- but that probably won’t happen a ton.  However, I would think Scry 1 or 2 with it is pretty likely, and that still makes for a pretty nice card.  I think this is in the lower range of first pickable.  I’m giving it a B-.

Inga Rune-Eyes - B-

So, I was pretty much sold on this card after the ETB ability.  A 4-mana 3/3 that Scries 3 is very, very nice.  Never under estimate how good scrying is, especially higher scry values like 3 -- that is going to have a very real impact on how good your next few draws are, and that can often determine a game.  She then has an ability that will be a little bit harder to make work -- if you jump through some hoops though, her drawing you three cards is pretty much insane, and if you can pull it off, it will be hard for your opponent to win.  But, temper your expectations, pulling that off will be difficult.  But the good news is that even without that, she’s a pretty nice card.  She is definitely at least a C+, and I’m trying to decide whether or not the second ability does enough for her to be in the lower range of first pickable.  I just like drawing cards so much!  I think in the end, that additional upside is enough for her to be a B-, if she wasn’t there already.

Littjara Kinseekers - C

This is my kind of Limited card.  So, 4-mana for a 2/4 with every creature type would likely be at least a D+, and maybe a C- in this format depending on how important tribal stuff is.  But, if you can trigger its ETB ability, you’re going to be super happy -- as a 4-mana ⅗ that scries one is a pretty good deal.  That card is probably a C+ or so.  Now, because it has Changeling, you will just need two other creatures with matching creature types to trigger it, and while that isn’t always going to be what your board looks like, I imagine that in the late game it won’t be that hard to trigger.  The ideal thing to do would be to curve out with creatures with the same types, but that won’t always be doable.  Still, this being a reasonable 4-mana 2/4 changeling int he early game, and a much more impressive card in the later part of the game makes me think this is a pretty solid common for Blue.  I’m giving it a C.

Mystic Reflection - C

I don’t think I like this a whole lot, mostly just because it is straight up card disadvantage.  You give up a card to simply upgrade another one, and that is often not a good strategy in Limited -- attrition is often the way you win.  And sure, making some dinky two drop into a copy of your bomb is great, but it just won’t line up that way often enough.  They designed a lot of situational cards like this in this set and gave them Foretell, which does make them better -- after all, you only need U available ot mak a creature you cast become a copy of another creature -- and, you can even do it with your opponent’s creatures, which is worthwhile.  Now, I don’t think this is unplayable at all, I just think a lot of people will see this and get best case scenario tunnel vision, and that’s just not how this will pan out.  I think I’m going to start this as a C.

Orvar, the All-Form - C+

So, a 4-mana 3/3 with every creature type -- if we stop there, is probably at least a C in a tribal set, and then this guy has a whole lot of text!  Unfortunately though, most of that text will be hard to make matter in Limited.  You will need to be running combat tricks to take full advantage of this -- and this does take away some of the major risk of combat tricks, since it will make copies of whatever you target -- but Blue is not exactly a color renowned for its combat tricks.  Obviously you won’t be mono-blue, and you can pick them up elsewhere, I’m just saying it won’t be the easiest thing ot make happen.  The discard clause will almost never happen.  I think overall this Mythic is a bit of a bummer to open for Limited, since I think it falls short of being first pickable, even in weaker packs.  I’m giving it a C+.

Prowling Hawk - C

This is a snow creature that can loot for a single snow mana, and that seems pretty alright to me!  Looting is always a solid effect in Limited, as it lets you drastically improve your card quality over the course of the game.  On top of that, It is evasive, which means it can chip in some damage early, and it of course will be well-positioned in any deck that cares about Snow.  I think this is a solid card.  I’m giving it a C.

Ravenform - C+

So, this kind of card always seems to underperform in Limited.  The efficiency is nice, and it can deal with artifacts AND creatures, but don’t underestimate the downside of giving them a 1/1 flyer.  That makes it so you aren’t exactly getting a straight up 1-for-1 with the card, and aggressive decks will be especially annoyed that their removal spell still leaves a blocker around.  I’m not saying this card is bad.  It isn’t.  It is cheap and can deal with lots of things.  It also comes with Foretell upside which is nice.  But for now? I’m hesitant to call it premium.  I’ve seen too many cards like it not quite reach that level.  I’m giving it a C+

Reflections of Littjara - D // B

So, if you’re in a heavy tribal deck -- and there’s a decent chance you are -- this is certainly worth playing.  Making token copies of all your creatures of a chosen type is great.  That said, unlike some tribal payoff things in this set, Reflections of Littjara is something you probably only play when you really get there on a creature type -- I’m talking 10+ cards.  This is because it has a pretty significant downside, which is the fact that the turn you play it -- it doesn’t do anything.  That means you really have to be able to untap and utilize it immediately, and if you can’t, you might be dead.  So, I do think a buildaround grade is necessary here, because you can’t get away with 5 or 6 creatures with the same creature type with this card -- you need to be going really hard into one creature type.  I’m going to say it is a D in your typical Blue deck in the format, but a B in a deck that can really abuse it.  For me, that means it is worth taking early sometimes, even though it can be really hit or miss.

Run Ashore - C

Blue often gets an expensive spell that lets you bounce a couple of things, and it is always a decent card, and I think that’s what we’re looking at here.  One nice thing here is that one of the permanents will go back to the top of an opponent’s library, which means that you are actually trading one-for-one with Run Ashore, instead of just getting some tempo.  Speaking of tempo, you can often find situations where paying 6 mana results in bouncing more than 6 mana worth of stuff for your opponent, and that’s nice too. You can, of course, also use it on your own stuff if you can get benefits out of it, and that sometimes is the case.  This can really help a Blue deck stabilize, or potentially end the game.  Take note also that it is an instant -- lots of previous similar cards have been sorceries -- and that does open up the chance for some more significant blowouts. That said, it is super expensive, and not really something you can ever afford to play more than one of.  But I think that first copy will be played often enough for this to be a C.

Saw it Coming - C+

This is the kind of card with Foretell that will undoubtedly have people saying “You’ve activated my trap card!”  Because it is an instant, you can cast it directly from exile, and being able to do it for only two mana is pretty nice.  Sure, your overall investment will have been 4 mana, which isn’t the best in terms of efficiency, but leaving up two mana for this is going to be far easier than leaving up 3.  If you know me, I’m not usually a lover of counter magic in Limited, since you have to use it during a very specific window for it to actually do something, but I think this ends up being efficient enough in the end that it will be a counterspell you want to run a lot, especially in Foretell decks.  It still has all the downsides counterspells have, but by decreasing the amount you pay to cast it from Foretell, that downside is drastically reduced.  I’m giving this a C+.

Strategic Planning - D+

This is a reprint of a Portal: Three Kingdoms card, and its also similar to a whole bunch of different cards we see on a regular basis.  For two mana you get some card selection and some help loading your graveyard.  These type of spells that just let you go 1-for-1 are always easy to cut, as their effects are so minimal.  They aren’t bad, but like -- you’d probably rather have a two-drop creature in most decks than this.  I’m giving it a D+.

Tornado Summoner - B+

When you pay 7 mana for a card in Limited, it better do something big!  And Tornado sUmmoner definitely delivers there.  Bouncing everything but a couple of creature types and lands will drastically reshape the board in most cases.  And sure, it is a symmetrical effect, so it can hurt you too -- but your Tornado Summoner will still be in play at the very least, so you’re usually coming out way ahead there.  And, if you’re in Blue and took the Summoner at some point in the draft, there’s a good chance you have plenty of other giants and wizards who are going to stick around.  Now, it does require some set up -- and sometimes you’ll be playing against another deck with lots of Giants and Wizard s-- and it does cost a whopping 7 mana, but it still gets pretty close to being a bomb for me.  I’m giving it a B+.

Undersea Invader - D+

Well, one of the great things about flash is being able to ambush block, and you won’t be able to do that here since it comes into play tapped.  But, it isn’t the only benefit of flash -- there’s also just being able to add to your board when your opponent doesn’t think you can, plus all of the upside involved with being able to leave up mana for other effects.  This is also a Giant, so I suspect you’ll be running it sometimes for that reason, but overall, this card doesn’t seem too great to me.  If you have lots of mana sinks and instants it might get better, but for now? I think this is a D+.

Red:

Arni Brokenbow - B

A 3-mana 3/3 with Haste is good enough to be a C+, and the Boast  here is pretty nice.  It is one of the cheaper ones in the set, so you don’t have to go out of your way to activate it, and because it has Haste, you will sometimes be able to play it and smash your opponent right away with an enlarged Arni.  Now, if Arni is your biggest creature, the Boast ability does absolutely nothing, but that’s the fail case on what is already a pretty efficient card.  I think Arni is a B.

Axgard Cavalry - C+

This is a very nice two drop.  Having a bear that can give haste to stuff is really nice.  If the board is such that it can’t attack itself, there’s a good chance you can play a creature that has a nice attack on the board if you can make it attack right away, and that’s what the Cavalry does.  These creatures who can give haste to other creatures always seem to overperform, and I think this looks like a nice Common for Red.  I’m giving it a C+.

Basalt Ravager - B-

This seems quite good to me -- it is a 4-mana 4/2 that does 1 to something when it comes into play, even if it is all alone, and doing two with this isn’t far-fetched at all.  3+ might not be that common, but it will happen too.  It is great that it can also hit players, as that is not something we always see on these red creatures with an ETB ability that damages something.  I also love that it has high power, which means it can block and kill a whole lot of things, getting you that muc-needed 2-for-1.  Typically, this will come down and add to your board while subtracting something from your opponents, and that type of creature is really, really good -- I will be first picking this sometimes, and taking it pretty early in general.  I’m giving it a B-.

Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty - B+

Like most of these gods, I like both sides here.  On one side you get an efficient creature that will pay you back some mana that is also a pretty nice Boast payoff -- taking away the “once a turn” part of Boasting is pretty nice.  I imagine you’ll often play that side if it is earlier in the game, and you’re trying to kill your opponent quickly.  The extra mana might help you double spell and things like that -- but it does get weaker as the game goes on, and you just don’t have the extra cards to play to make that mana matter.  Still, Birgi is obviously really good.  You also have the Harnfel side, which is a bit expensive at 5 mana -- especially because it doesn’t do anything to the board state immediately -- but if a game goes long, it is going to get silly.  Pitching lands and getting to play the two top cards of your library every turn will quickly get you to the point where you are overwhelming your opponent.  That card advantage is no joke!  With these powerful options combined, I think Birgi gets close to being a bomb -- but I think she is just a B+.  Which, you know, just means you take her over almost everything in this set.

Breakneck Berserker - C

Three mana 3/2s with Haste are just fine in aggressive decks.  It also has a couple of useful creature types, so that’s nice.  This is kind of a trademark C -- it’ll make the cut more often than it won’t, but you’re never going to be either happy or sad about it.

Calamity Bearer - B-

So, on its own, Calamity bearer is effectively a 4-mana 6/4, since it doubles its own damage too.  That means it hits pretty hard, and can trade for just about anything.  Then, if you have even more giants, things will get really silly.  Especially if you have a giant or giants in play when you play this -- because if you do, the board will immediately be impacted.  It isn’t super impressive on its own, but the reasonable fail case does mean you can play it in any red deck, and it has some considerable upside if you end up in Giants.  I think you can first pick this sometimes.  Im’ giving it a B-.

Cinderheart Giant - C-

So, this is a big ol’ giant with Trample, something that normally wouldn’t be so good -- but its death trigger is pretty interesting.  It basically means it will kill something at random when it dies -- not much can stand up to 7 damage -- and that’s pretty nice.  It is random unfortunately, so you may kill an Elf token instead of a real card, but by having a death trigger, it does help mitigate against some of the danger of running a 7-drop in your deck, because now if it gets removed, at least it will impact the board one way or another. Now, I still don’t really think you’ll play thi sin most decks, even Giant decks, but it seems like a reasonable top curve if you’re in need of that.  I’m giving it a C-.

Craven Hulk - C

This coward may not be good at blocking, but a 4-mana 4/4 is a good enough deal in Limited that I’m okay with that. Those stats are often enough for a vanilla creature to be a C+, and I think taking blocking normally away from this is annoying, but it does also have the Giant creature type, which gets back some of that value.  I think this is a C.

Crush the Weak - D+

These types of cards always feel sort of awkward to me.  That’s because you will far too frequently have a board state where it doesn’t help at all -- either because your opponents board is too big, or because your board is too small.  It is nice that it adds some extra graveyard hate to the mix, and has Foretell, making paying for it a little more manageable, but I still have a hard time ever consistently running these Pyroclasm effects in most Limited decks.  If you’re in a control deck that can cast this, that is probably the ideal scenario.  But most of the time, I don’t think I’m going to play this.  I’m giving it a D+.

Demonic Lightning - B

This is a very good red common.  So, even if you take Foretell out of the mix, we are talking about premium removal.  4-mana for 3 damage at instant speed always plays pretty well.  It does enough damage that trading up with it is no problem.  Adding Foretell to the mix is no joke either, as you can use it to really maximize the efficiency of your mana.  Like, if you want to play a creature on a turn rather than play this, but you have two extra mana -- so you Foretell it, and only have to pay one Red for it the turn you cast it.  So yeah, that upside is very real.  This is possibly Red’s best common.  I’m giving it a B.

Doomskar Titan - C+

I like this guy.  He might cost 6 mana, but he’s going to add a whole lot of damage to the board often enough that he is well worth it!  And, if you foretell him on an earlier turn where you have mana around to do it, he’ll come down a turn earlier!  Now, the downside here, is that on his own, he can’t do a ton, but keep in mind, his ability affects him too -- he becomes a 5/4 with Haste, and that isn’t the worst fail case ever -- and how often will your board be empty anyway?  He does need you to be really going at least somewhat wide to do his best work, and I do think he is held back a little by that -- but still a pretty nice Uncommon for Red.  I’m giving it a C+.

Dragonkin Berserker - B+

This starts out with very nice stats -- a two mana 2/2 first strike can have relevance all game long, as the key word makes it kind of tricky to beat it in combat.  That kind of card is often a c+ already.  Then, this berserker brings a whole lot more to the table. While the “reduce cost of Boast” part of the card won’t be making a huge impact when he comes down, the fact that he can make a Dragon when he attacks is no joke, even at 5 mana for the effect.  And, obviously, the more Dragons he makes, the cheaper it gets -- though if you can do this more than once, you probably just win the game anyway.  Now, he is a little fragile, and needs to get to the mid-game to get crazy, and I think that keeps him a little short of being a bomb.  I’m giving him a B+.

Dwarven Hammer - C

So, if you cast this and pay for the Dwarf, you’re going to get a 5-mana 5/1 with Trample.  That is...not the most exciting thing in the world.  However, like with this whole cycle, if we look at these as effectively being creatures who leave inefficient Equipment behind, they don’t seem too bad.  And make no mistake, this Hammer is inefficient.  3 to play and 3 to equip for that boost isn’t awesome, though Trample and +3/+0 is generally going to be enough to make any creature a threat, so that’s nice.  It is still super clunky, and the creature token option isn’t the most amazing thing ever, so I think it is probably just a C

Dwarven Reinforcements - C

Normally when you pay 4 mana for a couple of tokens, you expect a couple of 2/2s -- and that isn’t what you get here.  However, Foretell does mean you can pay for this in two separate installments, which does help overcome that downside.  This seems fine to me, especially if you’re interested in Dwarves.  I’m giving it a C.

Fearless Pup - C

A one mana 1/1 with first strike is not that impressive, those are just stats that quickly become irrelevant, and in some games it will feel like you should have just played a four drop that is more impactful.  Adding Boast to the mix obviously matters, though, and often just the threat of activation will mean that your opponent just takes hits from this thing.  The Boast here is kind of steep, but I guess if it was much cheaper it would get kind of silly.  As is, I think this is probably a solid playable.  I’m giving it a C.

Frenzied Raider - C+

This seems like a powerful payoff for Boasting, and will give you another bonus to get while you’re attacking that could further complicate combat.  One problem I can see in general with Boast, though, is oftentimes you won’t have the mana to do it more than once, and even if you do have the mana, I still feel like it will be better to just add to the board in most cases, and most Boast cards don’t do that.  That isn’t necessarily bad -- Boast probably will end up being the late game plan for aggro decks in most cases, as it gives them places to spend their mana -- but it does make me a bit hesitant about this card, because I don’t imagine it will grow a ton in the early going.  For now, I think it is a C+.

Frost Bite - B-

So, at the base level, this is a shock that can’t hit players.  2 damage for one mana is pretty nice, as it is very likely to allow you to trade up, and because it is an instant, you can occasionally get some pretty amazing blowouts for a very low cost.  Then, it is a Snow spell that is a Snow payoff, and if you have enough Snow going on and this does 3 damage, you’re really in business.  All in all, this is a premium removal spell.  I’m giving it a B-, you can take it early.

Goldspan Dragon -  B+

So, a 5-mana 4/4 with Flying and Haste is at least a B-, and obviously this has way more going on! First, it makes you treasure, which are good for fixing of course, and second, it upgrades all of your treasure to add two mana, and that could come in handy.  The fact it has Haste AND makes treasure when it is targeted also means that your investment will almost always net you at least some damage and treasure, even if the Dragon does die quickly.   Now, there will be times in the late game where the treasure doesn’t really matter, and we do have to keep that in mind.  Right now, I do think the Dragon falls a little short of bomb status -- but if Treasure is an even bigger deal than I am expecting in this set, that could change -- it is already pretty close to a bomb as is! I’m giving it a B+.

Hagi Mob - C

This seems alright. A 5-mana 5/4 isn’t great, but it isn’t abysmal either -- and its Boast ability is fine.  Doing 1 damage to a creature is the ideal scenario, but if you can use it to make blocking harder for your opponent, or to ping your opponent because they are close to dead, that works too.  It isn’t super efficient at any of the stuff it does, and it isn’t very exciting, but it seems like an alright top curve card for Red decks.  I’m giving it a C.

Immersturm Raider - C

We see this card a lot -- I mean, Fissure Wizard in Zendikar Rising is basically the same.  It is a solid card, gives you some card selection -- which can even make it matter in the late game, and all of that makes it so that it can overcome the downside of its mediocre stats.  This is a C.

Open the Omenpaths - D

They are being pretty bold in this set about the color pie!  This is Red fixing, which they have tried to make fell red by having it be a ritual effect, but it still seems kind of weird to me!  But, that doesn’t impact how good it is in Limited -- so let’s get to that. I think you basically only end up playing this in a deck that is interested in some fixing as well as going wide, since the second option on Omenpaths will sometimes be useful as a mass pump spell. This type of ramp/fix in Limited isn’t as good as is in constructed most of the time, because you have to realize you are more or less 2-for-1ing yourself for the fixing -- you played a card that does nothing but add mana so you could cast another card, and that is not always the wise choice.  I think Red decks have enough access to treasure in this format too, that I’m not going to be interested in this very often.  I’m giving this a D.

Provoke the Trolls - C

Well, this is definitely a weird card.  4-mana to do 3 to anything is not an amazing deal, and it is definitely kept out of the “premium” tear of removal, but at least it can do it at instant speed.  The additional upside here is that you can also use this as a combat trick, by targeting one of your own creatures to give it +5/+0.  And, while that is certainly upside, it isn’t that much upside.  First, you need the creature you target with it to survive, so that means it has at least 4 toughness.  Second, if you’re using it to help you kill a blocking or attacking creature in combat, well -- you just 2-for-1’d yourself.  Third, if you’re interested in using it to help you do lethal, it isn’t actually that much more damage than the card can do as a burn spell, since the 3 damage can just go after the opponent.  So, yeah, on occasion you’ll use it for that stats boost -- but most of the time, this is just an okay removal spell.  I’m giving it a C.

Reckless Crew - D

This is an interesting one. So, it is basically only going to be worthwhile in a deck that really got there on equipment and artifacts -- and especially Equipment, since you get some free equips when you play this.  You need to be getting at least two tokens out of this with regularity for it to be worth it, and I think because of that..  This will very likely be an F in your typical Red deck, which will probably have 2-3 vehicles and equipment.  And, the problem is, running more vehicles and equipment than that can sort of be a liability, after all, you need creatures to utilize equipment and vehicles, and the more of those you shove into your deck, the harder it gets to use them.  I mean, maybe just getting one dwarf and a free equip will feel like 4-mana’s worth of action sometimes, but I feel like overall it is going to be hard to make this thing work.  So, ysure, maybe you get there enough on vehicles and equipment to play it, but you’re probably hurting your deck if you have like 7+ of those, which is kind of what it feels like this card needs.  I think it will be hard to make this work.  I’m giving it a D.

Run Amok - C-

This is a reprint, and it was a pretty nice trick the last time we saw it. +3/+3 for two mana is decently efficient, and adding trample to the mix also means you’ll usually get some damage out of it, in addition to the fact that it will help most creatures win combat.  As you always hear me say -- it does have some very real downside that all tricks have -- any type of interaction in response and you get blown out, but as long as you’re careful with this it can be pretty nice, but the fact that you need to be careful in the first place means it is super situational.  I think most Red aggro decks in this format will be playing the first copy, though.  I’m giving it a C-.

Shackles of Treachery - D+

This is an interesting take on a “Threaten” effect, and it is strictly better than Threaten, since it has the “blow up Equipment” upside.  The main problem with this type of effect is that it is very underwhelming unless it is allowing you to deal lethal, or sets you up for lethal the next turn.  This is because stealing something for a turn is only a very temporary effect -- and sure, it gets a blocker out of your way and gives you an additional attacker -- which is nice in some situations, but it is also a dead or useless card pretty often.  Adding the Equipment upside matters, because that means you can actually manage to trade 1-for-1 with this if you steal an Equipped creature.  Even though this set has a decent amount of Equipment, I don’t quite think it has enough for this to be mainboardable most of the time.  You probably will need to have sacrifice outlets for this to be worth it -- which is basically always the case. Stealing a creature and then sacrificing it is pretty devastating, but that won’t be super easy in this set.  I’m giving it a D+.

Smashing Success - D-

Land destruction spells are almost never worth it in Limited.  This is because it often has a negligible effect on the game -- if you get it late it basically does nothing, if you get it early it might do something, but even then there is about a 50% chance that your opponent still won’t be bothered by it.  And yeah, this one is an instant, can hit artifacts, and makes a treasure when it destroys artifacts, and that does make it better, but really? All that does is make it a D- instead an F.  Even out of your sideboard, this is woefully inefficient.

Quakebringer - B

This seems pretty nice in Limited.  A 5-mana 5/4 that does two to your opponent during each of your upkeeps is pretty close to a B-.  Then, you factor in the graveyard and foretell upside, and you have a considerably better card.  This type of effect really puts pressure on your opponent, and the fact that killing the Quakebringer won’t necessarily put an end to his damaging them every turn is great.  This is a card where, in an ideal world, you aren’t ever going to use the foretell side of things, because your total investment is 6-mana instead of 5, but, like all of these, if you have the extra mana lying around anyway, fortelling it isn’t a bad plan, since you will get it into play a turn earlier.  This guy  might be a mythic, but he doesn’t really scream “bomb” to me.  He’s merely quite good.  He doesn’t have evasion and the stats aren’t incredible.  I’m giving him a B.

Magda, Brazen Outlaw - B

So, on her own, Magda is a 2-mana 2/1 that basically reads “When Magda is tapped, create a Treasure.”  That would be a playable card in Limited already, as the fixing that provides is no joke, and it is kind of like she is giving back one of the mana you spend on her.  But, also pumping Dwarf power, and creating treasures for every tapped Dwarf is a big deal.  That’s a ton of mana -- or, you can hold on to it to use her Treasure activated ability, which lets you cheat a Dragon into play.  Now, you’re probably not going to get there that often in Limited -- but it also won’t surprise me to see it happen, it just isn’t something that will occur with regularity.  Overall, Magda seems like a really good first pick, although I don’t see her as a bomb.  I’m giving her a B.

Seize the Spoils - D+

So, this is basically a more expensive Tormenting Voice that also gives you a Treasure.  In a way, that Treasure makes this sort of only cost two, since you do get one mana back!  And, I do think making treasure means that you’re going to play this more than you might Tormenting Voice because of the fixing.  But I still think you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it -- just like Tormenting Voice.  It just doesn’t do a whole lot, it isn’t giving you great value at all, just some card selection.  I’m giving this a D+.

Squash - B-

Man, this is a very powerful removal spell if you’re in a Giant deck.  1R for 6 damage at instant speed is pretty incredibly efficient..  What’s nice is, 5 mana for 6 damage at instant speed isn’t completely horrendous either -- it isn’t great, mind you -- but it is the kind of removal that you’ll end up running one of a decent amount of the time.  The goods news is, most Red decks will have at least a few Giants without even trying to take them, but the better news is, Giants is a very well-supported tribe in this set, and in those decks, this costing 1R won’t be that hard to achieve. I think this has a reasonable enough floor and a high enough ceiling that I’m going to be willing to first pick this sometimes.  I’m giving this a B-.

Tibalt’s Trickery - F

This has a neat design.  I’ve been talking a little bit about some interesting color pie things that are going in this set, and for most of them I have a hard time understanding how they aren’t changing the color pie to make them work -- but this is one that I think makes perfect sense for Red. Red can definitely have a counterspell that has all this randomness attached to it.  Now, that certainly doesn’t make Tibalt’s Trickery good, and I don’t even really think it is playable in Limited, since at best, you are downgrading a spell for your opponent -- which means you are 2-for-1ing yourself -- and at worst, you’re actually going to give them something better.  Yeah, I think that makes this an F.

Toralf, God of Fury - A-

This God seems super good to me. So, let’s start with that god side.  Toralf is 4-mana 5/4 with trample that will make all of your burn spells way more potent, as you can spread around the damage from your spells -- while it doesn’t quite make all your spells feel like Arc Lightning or Pyrotechnics, it gets pretty close.  And, if yo’ure in Red, it is a safe bet to think that you will have at least 2 or 3 ways of doing noncombat damage to stuff.  So, if Toralf was always the Toralf side, I think he would be at least a B.  Then, let’s look at his Hammer -- that is also quite good, as it gives you a repeatable source to do 3 damage to things.  You do have to pay a total of four mana for it every time, which is a little bit clunky -- but not that clunky for repeatable damage that can even go to the dome. And sure, it won’t give any other benefit to most creatures, but I don’t think it matters -- basically it is a really nice card that has the kind of relevant upside of also pumping the power of legendary creatures it gets equipped too.  And, obviously enough -- the ability to return to your hand not only enables you to keep on playing it and re-equipping it -- which in the late game might be a lot of fun -- imagine having 8 mana around! But yeah, it isn’t only good for that reason -- but also because if you need it to turn into a creature, you can return it to your hand and cast the other side.  If it was just the Hammer part, this card would probably be a tleast a B too.  I think the overall flexibility this gives you, by having both sides of the card, is enough to push this into bomb territory.  Throwing the hammer at people over and over, or running them over with a super efficient God that can spread burn damage around sounds pretty good to me.  I’m giving this an A-.

Tormentor’s Helm - C-

This is a solid piece of equipment.  One mana to play and one to equip that grants a +1/+1 is borderline playable anyway, the stats boost is efficient enough, especially in sets that have some equipment synergies -- and this set does.  Adding the additional ability to the mix matters too, because it basically means chump blocking whatever is wearing this will still result in some damage.  Now, it isn’t a crazy strong equipment or anything, but it is the kind you will be running in aggro decks, especially the ones that have Equipment sub-themes.  I’m giving this a C-.

Tuskeri Firewalker - C+

This seems like a nice common to me.  A 3-mana 3/2 isn’t great, but its Boast effect is pretty nice.  You really need to only be able to play somethin off of it once to feel good about the situation, since at that point, you’re getting a 2-for-1 in most cases.  It even lets you pay lands if you exile one of them.  The downside with this type of effect is often that you are unable to cast the spell you exile, and that’ll happen, but I think it’ll work out often enough that this seems pretty nice to me.  Even if you just attack with it and it dies in combat, if you get a card out of the Boast, you’re doing just fine.  I think this is a pretty good Red common.  I’m giving it a C+.

Black:

Bloodsky Berserker - B-

This seems pretty nice to me. Even if we take Foretell out of the equation -- and it does matter, because it will make it easier to double spell at will in this format -- but even if we ignore that, this is a pretty nice card.  Just triggering the ability once will be enough to feel like your investment was wroth it, and if you do it more than that, this Berserker will get silly in a hurry.  You won’t always be able to double spell, but you’ll be able to often enough that this is a very real threat, despite only being a two drop.  I mean, if on turn four you play this and another two drop, that’s a pretty darn good turn four, even if you won’t get to take advantage of the menace side of things.  This card, like a lot of BW cards in this set, incentivizes having a low curve and/or a lot of Foretell.  Now, he does start out very vulnerable, and there will be times where you can’t get him going, or he dies to a one-mana removal spell -- but that’s fine.  I think you can first pick this in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Blood on the Snow - B+

Man, if you have some snow mana around when you cast this, it is going to feel great!  Even without snow mana, this is a board sweeper -- which is a pretty irreplaceable effect.  Sure, some decks might not love to run it if they are the beat down, but having a card in your deck that just completely reshapes the board is worthwhile everywhere.  There aren’t very many cards that can change a game so drastically.  Now, one of the downsides of board sweepers -- especially a 6 mana one -- is that your opponent likely gets to add to the board first.  But the Snow upside here helps make that less of an issue, since you get to reanimate something.  Even with just two snow mana here, you’re going to be in good shape, and that isn’t a crazy thing to have by the time you have 6 mana.  I think that makes this pretty close to a bomb, honestly.  It is held back some by just being a sweeper and that not being a thing that fits quite as well in some decks, but it is still a B+.

Crippling Fear - B

This format is a tribal one, with pretty much every color pair being built around a different tribe, so a card like this should be pretty good.  Sure, sometimes you’ll line up against someone in your sime color pair and it will be a bit awkward there, but you also have the upside of this being a one-sided -- or close to it -- board sweeper, and that’s no joke at all.  There is also the downside that even if you’re in a particular color pair, typically not all the creatures in your deck will have the same creature type, but I think you’ll be able to get close enough that this is a high pick.  I’m giving it a B.

Critical Horror - B-

This set is super tribal, so making this work to your advantage is not that far-fetched.  Obviously, you decide when to cast it and what to name, so I think most of the time when you can cast it, it will swing games in your favor.  The problem with all cards like this is that sometimes it just won’t really do anything -- maybe your opponent has creatures with the same type as you and you don’t want to kill your creatures, maybe your opponents creatures are too big to die to it, and so forth.  Those are all valid concerns that do hold this card back some, but this type of effect is pretty powerful and irreplaceable, so I think those risks are often going to be worth it.  I think you can first pick this in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Death Knell Berserker - C

This seems alright as a two-mana 2/2 with upside.  If you can get a Zombie out of it when it dies, you’ll feel pretty good, and doing that isn’t some pipe dream.  There are equipment, auras, tricks, and +1/+1 counters in this set, among other things, and you generally just need one of those to get the death trigger to happen.  Now, you shouldn’t expect to be able to make it happen all the time either, but the reasonable floor on this coupled with the nice upside is enough for this to be a solid common.  I’m giving it a C.

Demonic Gifts - C

This type of trick is usually a pretty solid inclusion, although I definitely prefer when it costs only one mana!  The stats boost is enough to make your creature take down larger creatures in combat, and it doesn’t really have to “win” the combat, since the Gifts will bring your creature right back if it dies.  This can get especially nasty if your creature has an ETB ability.  It also doesn’t hurt that it does something against most removal too.  I think the first copy of this will make it in most Black decks.  I’m giving it a C.

Dogged Pursuit - C-

So, this is not unlike Ill-Gotten Inheritance, a card from the recent past that I was really wrong about in my set review.  The basic effect of this card is the same, though the INheritance also had an expensive activated ability that allowed you to drain four in the late game -- and this doesn’t.  But I think this will probably still be a bit better than it looks. Draining one life gives you inevitability, and because it is also gaining you life, it helps you to survive longer -- which in turn helps you drain more life.  If you are a control deck, this seems like a decent win condition to me.  Now, tapping out to play this on turn four will not always be smart, because you need to be building your board in the early game to not die, and that is a pretty significant downside, but I do think you’ll play this often enough that it gets a C-.  Will be interesting to see if I underrate this one too -- for reference, I gave Ill-Gotten Inheritance a D-, and it ended up being about a C in that format -- so we’ll see!

Draugr Necromnacer - B

I think this will be pretty good.  A vanilla 4-mana 4/4 is normally a C, and this guy is far from vanilla!  Just making your opponent’s creatures that die go to exile is a somewhat relevant ability. Most decks have at least 1-2 cards that care about the graveyard, so hey, that’s upside.  But where you really get the value is out of the ability to cast the creatures that are exiled by the Necromancer.  Now, you do have to have snow mana to cast creatures that aren’t in a color that lands you control could produce, but that isn’t a huge ask -- you generally will just need one snow land to make that work in most cases, and then of course there’s the fact that a decent chunk of opponents will have creatures you can cast with your mana anyway!  Now, the snow limitation is definitely relevant, and there will be times where this guy is just too slow to help you out, but I think he’s pretty good, and going to be a card you take over most other cards in the set.  I’m giving it a B.

Dragur’s Helm - C

So, as just an equipment, this isn’t very good. Two to play and four to equip for +2/+2 and Menace is just too much mana -- especially the Equip part.  The good news, though, is that this normally won’t just be the equipment.  If you pay 5 for it, you get a 2/2 zombie token that is equipped with it -- which means 5 for a 4/4 with Menace.  That’s a decent rate, especially because if the token does die, you still have the Equipment.  And, yeah, that Equip cost is pretty steep, but it is really just upside on a 5-mana 4/4 with Menace, and that’s not too shabby.  This is something most Black decks will play the first copy of.  I’m giving it a C.

Dream Devourer - B-

Well, this is a neat design, and also one that I think is sort of hard to evaluate.  Obviously a two-mana 0/3 isn’t so good, but making it so you can foretell all your cards isn’t bad, especially since it basically guarantees you’ll never pay more than its mana cost to foretell it, so you just get the upside of being able to pay for things in installments.  Attacking with this when you have a bunch of face down foretell card is going to be pretty hilarious, and kind of a nightmare for opponents -- and, getting all those face down card isn’t an impossibility, since the Devourer lets you do it with all of your nonland cards!  I think most of the time, this will cause serious problems for opponents, in addition to helping make it easier for you to cast cards, and that’s a lot of nice stuff to have on a two-drop.  The real question is, how good of a job can you really do pumping its power? I sort of think that it will be challenging to keep it reallys cary forever, because eventuall you’ll run out of cards -- but still, I think the upside here is pretty nice, and you can first pick this in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.  This is a weird one, where I wouldn’t be surprised if I was wrong one way or another.  Probably need to play this format some and get more of a feel for Foretell before it is easier to figure out what’s going on here.

Duskwielder - D

I don’t like this a whole lot.  It is a ½, so it just won’t be able to attack very often, and most of the card’s value comes from its boast trigger.  Even if you do play it early, and it attacks ac couple times, you would rather play other creatures than Boast with this.  It is an Elf and a Berserker, both of which matter, but I still don’t think I’ll be playing this very often.  I’m giving it a D.

Gruesome Draugr - C

We have seen almost this exact card before -- Kozilek’s Shrieker was a very similar card to this -- both utilize special mana from the set, both are 3-mana 3/2s, and both gain +1/+0 and Menace.   The Draugr is a little bit worse in that you need two mana to use its ability, but it also has the Berserker creature type, which matters in this format.  Overall, the Shrieker was not much more than just a solid card, and I don’t see the DRaugr doing much better than that.  I’m giving it a C.

Egon, God of Death - B

This guy is part of the cycle of gods in this set, which all have pretty innovative designs -- but this might be the one that is the most innovative.  So, both sides of this card really want you to have cards in your graveyard.  On the Egon side, you need to have two cards for him to exile, or he sacrifices himself and draws you a card.  The nice thing about that is, even if you can’t quite keep him in play, he will be on the board for a whole turn, and a 6/6 deathtouch is no joke as a blocker.  Then, when your turn comes, he replaces himself.  So the fail case here if you can’t quite keep him in play is not that miserable.  The other side of the card, Throne of Death, is a pretty sweet little graveyard engine.  It mills a card every turn, and presumably you’ll get creatures in your graveyard from that effect, and then in the later part of the game it can cash in creatures in the graveyard for cards. There is a decent amount of graveyard synergy in this set, and that will make both sides of this card pretty happy.  Now, both do need some considerable set up to really be at their best, but I think they are both good enough, even in a fail case, that you’re willing to take this card with a first pick most of the time.  I’m giving it a B.

Eradicator Valkyrie - A

Well, this is really good -- like “bomb” level good.  A 4-mana 4/3 with lifelink and flying is probably a B at worst, and I think I would argue for B+.  Evasiveness + Lifelink is a great way to win a race, and that’s often what you’re trying to do in Limited.  The lifepoint gap between players created by this creature every time it hits an opponent is eight, and that’s no joke.  Then, you throw in the Boast ability, which allows you to give up a creature to make your opponent sacrifice a creature, and you suddenly have a 4-mana 4/3 with lifelink and flying that also works as removal.  And sure, sometimes that effect won’t matter, but it will do something more often than it won’t, and it is stapled to a highly efficient creature anyway.  Oh, it also has hexproof from planeswalkers, which might come up on super rare occasions, so that doesn’t hurt either.  But yeah, this is an easy first pick.  I’m giving it an A.

Feed the Serpent - B

This is premium removal. 4 mana to exile creatures or planeswalkers is great.  This common can deal with pretty much all problematic creatures in the format, and it can do it at instant speed, increasing your chances of getting a 2-for-1.  In the end, Feed the Serpent is probably Black’s best common in this set.  I’m giving it a B.

Hailstorm Valkyrie - C

So, this has the Snow super type and the Angel creature type -- both things cards in this set care about, so that’s nice.  Its basic stats aren’t all that impressive, though.  A 4-mana 2/2 with flying and trample is probably something like a D+ -- it just isn’t very efficient.  By adding the ability to pump snow mana into this, you get something that is certainly better.  Oftentimes your opponent will just have to take a hit from this because of the threat of activation of that ability.  That said, being able to do it more than once in this format is far from a forgone conclusion -- two snow mana sources will be possible, but expecting to have more than that with regularity is a bit of a stretch, and even getting two out is far from a guarantee.  Sometimes this will just be that D+ card -- a 4-mana 2/2 with flying and trample.  Overall, I think this is just a solid playable, and not much more.  I could be wrong if snow mana is even easier than I’m expecting.  I’m giving it a C.

Hellish Pet - C

So, like all of these double spell payoffs, this is mostly here as a payoff for Foretelling stuff.  Because you pay less mana in a single turn for most foretell spells, it will be easier to double spell.  You probably need to trigger this at least once to make it worth it, and since it starts out as an inefficient 3-mana 2/2, you may even want to trigger it twice before you feel okay about stuff.  While that is certainly doable, I don’t really think this is going to be one of the key double spell payoffs that you need for the deck.  I think it is just a C.

Jarl of the Abandoned - C

This type of removal effect is often underwhelming, and -- if this were only ever a 4-mana 3/2 with that effect, it would probably be a C- at the very, very best.  Sure, when you do manage to trigger the effect it feels pretty good, but most of the time you had to give up a card to make that effect work in the first place, so it isn’t quite as good of a deal as it might seem at first.  Now, adding Foretell here does matter -- because it means it will be easier to find a window where you can actually cast and use this, as spending 2 mana on the turn you actually cast the card is much, much better. I still think the situational nature of the card holds it to a C though.

Karfell Kennel-Master - C

So, we have seen cards similar to this -- but normally they only give one thing +1/+0 and indestructible, and I think giving it to two things is a pretty reasonable upgrade.  Chances are good that it will enable at least one creature to attack who couldn’t before.  That said, there are board states where its ETB is pretty much meaningless, and in those cases a 5-mana 4/4 isn’t going to feel too good.  I think you feel fine about the first copy of this, but you probably don’t want to go beyond that.  I’m giving this a C.

Koma’s Faithful - C

This seems solid.  A 3-mana 3/1 with lifelink isn’t a terrible rate -- trading for an X/3 and gaining 3 life in the process isn’t bad, and it comes with some additional upside.  Mostly, I think that upside will be useful for loading up your graveyard, and less useful if you’re trying to straight up mill your opponent out with it.  It is also an Elf, and that definitely matters! I’m giving this a C.

Raise the Draugr - C

Black always seems to get a common spell that lets you return creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and here is the Kaldheim version of that!  Cards in the past with similar effects are basically always something you want to run a single copy of, because they give your deck some late game punch, and allow you to get extra uses out of the best creatures in your deck, which is pretty awesome.  You don’t usually want more of this type of card because they are so useless early, but that first copy is something I always want.  I think this one is particularly nice, because it is an instant -- we normally see this effect at Sorcery speed.  And sure, it asks for a little bit of help to get going -- you really only want to play this if you are consistently getting the two creatures back, just getting one is not a great deal.  But, with that in mind, I think your typical black deck in the format will have enough creatures that share creature types that this will get two things back by the mid to late game most of the time.  So, like pretty much every version of this card we get, I think this is a C.

Elderfang Disciple - C-

Ravenous Rats is an old favorite of mine, and that’s basically what this is.  A two mana 1/1 that makes an opponent discard a card is nice, and because it does that, you’re at least starting out with a 1-for-1 in most cases.  Then, if it can trade for an X/1, you’re getting some serious 2-for-1 value out of this card.  Now, it won’t always line up that way, and in the late game the discard thing might not matter too much, but it makes up for some of that by having the “Elf” creature type, which certainly matters in this set.  Still, this is a card that you’ll be cutting a decent chunk of the time -- I’m giving it a C-.

Poison the Cup - B+

This is an excellent removal spell -- I mean, it is strictly better Murder, and Murder is already a premium removal spell.  Three to kill anything at instant speed is just an amazing deal, especially at Instant speed.  The Foretell upside here is no joke either.  You do end up paying one more mana for it if you go that route, but it also lets you pay it installments, which is sometimes worth while, AND of course, it also adds Scry 2 to the mix, which is probably worth that additional mana anyway.  This is probably the best uncommon in the whole set.  You’ll even take it over most rares.  I’m giving this a B+.

Return Upon the Tide - C

So, most of the time, if you’re reanimating an Elf with this, you’re probably not getting the largest creature -- probably a 3/3 at the most, so it is nice that if you do go for an Elf you get those tokens, which will make the 5-mana investment a little bit less of a burden.  Then, if you reanimate something big, you won’t get the tokens, but you’re probably still getting your 5 mana’s worth.  So, basically, if you’re in an elf deck at least, Return Upon the Tide helps you get around the downside of 5-mana reanimation spells, by giving you a wider variety of options that will feel like you are doing an okay job with the card.  It also has Foretell, which means that you can pay for it in installments, which will sometimes be worth doing.  This deck does have some significant graveyard sub-themes, so I could see this turning out to be a bit better if a reanimation deck can really get there like it does in some formats, but for now, I’m giving this a C.

Rise of the Dread Marn - B-

This kind of card is often very awkward -- it is just hard to manufacture the necessary turn for this to do a whole bunch.  You can use it pretty reasonably if you can get two zombies out of it, but you’d be surprised how often combat doesn’t exactly go the way you want it to to make that happen, especially because you have to have three mana lying around to do it.  That said, this is more efficient than most versions of this we’ve seen, even if you just cast it normally, so it is a reasonable card even without Foretell.  However, adding Foretell here is a big deal, because it will allow you to find that window a little more easily.  Only having to pay one Black for it means it will be easier to use it in an advantageous situation.  I think it is likely going to most effective when you’re the one blocking, since you have far more control over how combat goes as the blocker.  And yeah, sometimes there will be board states where this gives you like 10 zombies, and those will be amazing, but I think you have to imagine that getting 2-3 is the norm -- but that’s still pretty good.  I’m a little skeptical about this card, but I think I want to start the format with it pretty high in my pick order.  I’m giving it a B-.

Skemfar Avenger - B

This seems quite good to me.  A two mana 3/1 is usually borderline playable, and the Avenger brings a very powerful ability along for the ride.  Sure, you need Elves and Berserkers to get it going, but that’s not going to be too hard in Black.  This trading 1-for-1 is kind of your worst-case scenario, and that’s not too bad for a two-drop.  If you just draw one card off of this, you’re going to be in business, and you’ll often be able to do more.  Making opponents decide whether it is worth attacking you or blocking your creatures when you have this in play is a good thing.  I think you can first pick this most of the time when you see it.  I’m giving it a B.

Skemfar Shadowsage - C+

This set has a lot of tribal stuff going on, and Skemfar Shadowsage is pretty happy about that.  Obviously, it will work well in Elf decks, but it will also be good in decks with several changelings, and you know -- any Black deck that has significant tribal stuff going on.  It is even splashable in a tribal deck that doesn’t have any Black in it.  This seems like a card that you will groan about a lot when you see it, because it will frequently either allow a deck to claw their way back by gaining the person who casts it 3-4 life, or it will finish someone off by doing the last few points of damage out of nowhere.  Now, you do have to have at least two creatures in play that share a type for this to do anything -- since, you know, sharing has to involve more than one creature, but I think that will be fairly attainable.  It doesn’t even have the worst stats for 4 mana, as a ⅖ is a decentish defensive body.  All that said, I do think the set up for this is significant enough that you don’t want to be first picking it -- I’m going to give it a C+.  That said, this does really feel like a card I could be wrong on, and if I am, I am probably underrating it -- I guess we’ll found it!

Tegrrid - B

So, both sides of this seem like they have their place.  The god side really needs your deck to have the right composition to really take advantage.  Not all Black decks will have enough sacrifice or discard effects to actually utilize that part of her text, but she is a 5-mana ⅘ with Menace at worst, so she has a very reasonable floor.  Even if you just have like two ways to take advantage of that text, she would be pretty nice.  The Lantern side, on the other hand, needs a little bit less effort to be built around.  Basically, it just pressures your opponent by making them give up a permanent or life, and that type of effect can sometimes be really bad -- like if your opponent is significantly ahead of you.  But guess what, if that’s the case, you can just play Tergid, who will be far better in that scenario.  If you’re well ahead of your opponent, the Lantern side will likely be better at helping you finish off your opponent, especially because, if you have enough mana lying around, you can use the ability more than once a turn!  So, it is interesting to look at each side of this individually -- the Tegrid half would probably be a B- that would improve if you could really build around her, and the Lantern would probably be a C at best -- but having both options is all upside, and sometimes you will build around TEgrid well enough for her to really be crazy good. Overall, I think that makes Tegrid and her Lantern a B.

Tergrid’s Shadow - C

I tend not to be a huge fan of symmetrical edict effects in Limited.  They have some really wide variance in terms of what they can do.  There will certainly be board states where it devastates your opponent and doesn’t hurt you as much -- and those will be situations where you cast it.  But there will also be times where it hurts you more than your opponent, and you just won’t be able to cast this card.  It does have Foretell, which means that maybe if the board isn’t ideal, but you have the mana around, you can Foretell it to pay less mana for it on a single turn further down the road.   And yeah, there will be times where you just foretell this on turn two, let your opponent play two creatures, and then cast the Shadow on turn four, which will be pretty nice.  But there are just too many other situations where this won’t be worth casting, and for that, I don’t think this is more than a C.

Terrifying Rider - C-

I...kind of like this card.  That isn’t to say that it is good, but I can see myself running one of these as a decent win condition in really slow, controlling black decks.  It doesn’t have great stats, but they are the kind of stats that makes it really hard for your opponent to effectively attack trhough it, and also the kind of stats that limit the number of removal spells that will actually work on it.  This late-game mana sink turns a full graveyard into some pretty significant value -- making an opponent lose 3 every turn is a pretty good fail case, and gives you something to do even if you’re flooding, and will put serious pressure on your opponent in the late game.  All that said -- it isn’t exactly good, but will be a reasonable card for some control decks out there.  You basically never play it in aggressive decks.  I’m giving it a C-.

Tundra Fumarole - B

3 mana to do 4 to a creature or planeswalker is efficient enough to be premium removal, and this comes with some not insignificant Snow upside.  You’ll be able to kill most things with this, and mostly things that cost more mana than this too.  Getting some of the mana back you spend on this is pretty nice, though it won’t always matter. Sometimes there’s just not something to do with it.  But, because this card is good without that, it is just some nice upside to an already pretty good removal spell.  This is first pickable.  I’m giving it a B.

Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire - B

So, a 3-mana ⅔ with Deathtouch is probably already a C, and is definitely at least a C-.  Then, Varragoth adds a pretty nice Boast effect -- he lets you tutor up a card and put it on top of your library.  Combining Boast with Deathtouch is nice, because a death touch creature is much more likely to survive their attack than most other 2/3s, so getting to Boast more than once is a real possibility.  Even if they do decide to block it, it is very likely their creature is also going to die, while you also get to improve your card quality.  So, with Boast on board, this is basically a 5-mana ⅔ with death touch that puts your best or most needed card on top of your library, and that’s pretty nice.  Keep in mind, putting a card on top is significantly worse than putting it in your hand -- if it went to your hand he would obviously be insane, but still, on top of your library is pretty nice.  I think overall, Varragoth is a B.

Village Rites - D+

This is a reprint, and not one that I thought was particularly good in Limited.  For this type of card to really be something special, you need for there to be a significant sacrifice or token sub-theme, and neither seems to be an overwhelming focus of this set.  It is nice that it is an instant, so you can sacrifice something after you declare a block, or in response to an opponent’s removal, but you’re basically still just doing the same sort of thing that Tormenting Voice does.  Giving up two cards to get two back.  And that’s not bad it just isn’t the kind of thing you will always have roomf or in your deck.  Mostly, I think you’ll only play this if you’re short on playable.  I’m giving it a D.

Weigh Down - C+

I like these cards that make you exile a creature card from your graveyard to pay for them - it allows them to design pretty efficient spells, since the set up on them won’t be easy to achieve in the very early game, and that’s what we have here.  Obviously, were this just straight up one black for -3/-3 at Sorcery speed, we’d be talking about a solid B, maybe even a B+.  Having to have a creature in the graveyard does mean this will often be dead in the early game, and sometimes even alter than that -- but, all you have to do to make it work is trade with something, and if you’re doing that and getting the additional value out of that creature by exiling it to pay for this, it will feel pretty good.  I do think being unable to cast this on like turn 2 or 3 in most cases keeps this from the “premium” label, but it is close.  It has the efficiency for sure, it just won’t be easy enough to cast to get there.  I’m giving it a C+.

Wither Crown - C+

Well, this is a weird removal spell.  So, I have a hard time ever calling removal “premium” if it still allows whatever you put it on to block, and this does have that problem -- but for most creatures, lowering their power to 0 is enough to make them hugely insignificant.  It doesn’t hurt that this makes your opponent lose life every turn or sacrifice the creature, at which point, you do actually get the blocker out of the way.  That said, most of the time, you’ll probably play this and your opponent will just use the creature to block and die, as it allows them to get something out of the weakened creature.  But again, the fact the creature can block does make this a bit of a bummer, and it certainly isn’t premium.  It seems like a nice Common for black, but not one you want to take early.  I’m giving it a C+.

Green:

Battle Mammoth - B+

A 5-mana 6/5 trampler isn’t a bad deal -- probably enough to be at least a C+ with those stats alone, but this Mammoth has two other things going on.  First, it lets you draw a card any time a permanent is targeted by an opponent.  This means that if your opponent uses removal of any kind on your board, you’re going to turn the situation into a 2-for-1.  And, most of the time, it is likely they’ll go after the Mammoth since he is the source of those problems, so it is great that he includes himself in his ability.  That makes his fail case scenario into a 2-for-1.  This mammoth also has Foretell, which in this case does result in you paying more mana -- 6 total instead of 5 -- but sometimes paying it in installments will be more appealing -- like if you don’t have anything to do on turn two, it isn’t going to hurt you to Foretell this and manage to bring it down a turn earlier.  All in all, this Mammoth is very good, just because he make sure to give you value no matter what.  I don’t quite think it is a bomb, but it is pretty close.  I’m giving it a B+.

Blessing of Frost - B

This seems pretty nice, though you pretty much have to be getting the Snow mana going for it to be worth it. 5-mana just to draw a card for each creature you control with power 4 or greater is rough and highly situational.  Even if you’re drawing two cards with it -- which is by no means guaranteed -- you are being hugely inefficient and not impacting the board.  The great thing here, though, is if you do have snow mana, you add an immediate impact to the board, while also increasing your chances of drawing more cards, since your creatures will get bigger.  Paying 5 mana for this, putting two +1/+1 counters on your board, and drawing two or three cards is a pretty darn big deal.  So, it does take some set up, but even just one counter to your whole board is reasonable enough, and I think that will generally be very doable.  If you really got there on snow mana it will be absolutely absurd, too -- so it is nice having that upside.  I think this is a frequently first pickable card.  I’m giving it a B.

Boreal Outrider - B-

This seems like a really good snow payoff.  On a base level, you have a 3-mana 3/2 that is a snow permanent, which isn’t a bad place to start -- but the fact that this will pump all of your creatures equal to the number of snow mana spent on them is no joke.  Even if you only have one way to produce snow mana, having a couple creatures enter the battlefield with an additional counter each is a great return on the 3 mana that you spent. Keep in mind, that the Outrider triggers when the creature is cast, and that means that it won’t do its thing for itself -- just other creature spells.  Over all, this seems really strong to me, as you will usually end up with more than one snow land lying around -- if you have two, it will really well...snowball.  I think this is an excellent uncommon with a decent floor and a very high ceiling, and I think I’ll be taking it pretty highly.  I’m giving it a B-.

Broken Wings - C-

This is a reprint, and it is always a card that you can main board in some situations.  It hits enough different permanent types that it will have several targets against most decks.  Still, you’d rather run removal that can more consistently deal with a wide variety of creatures, and I think this gets cut a significant amount.  It is generally going to be more useful out of the sideboard.  I’m giving it a C-.

Esika, God of the Tree - B

So, in Limited, Esika will mostly just be Esika.  The Prismatic Bridge side is obviously crazy strong -- and a fun reference to the Bifrost -- but actually casting it is unlikely.  The good news is, Esika is super good without having the other side.  A 3-mana ¼ with Vigilance that taps for mana of any color and lets your other legendary creatures have Vigilance and the ability to tap for mana is a pretty good deal, especially because it seems like most decks in this format will have 3 or so legendary creatures, since there are more than the normal amount of them around.  I think this is a great source of fixing and ramp and it has nice defensive stats.  The Prismatic Bridge part also being there is only upside, because obviously, if you do have the mana to play it, that’s the side you’re going to choose most of the time.  Overall, I think this is an easy first pick.  I’m giving it a B.

Eska’s Chariot - B

Well, that’s ONE way to design some good equipment for Limited.  So, 4-mana to make 2/2 tokens on its own is usually a solid card in Limited, so everything else this does is upside -- and that upside is considerable.  Sure, crew 4 on a 4/4 Vehicle is kind of rough,  but the fact that this copies a token you control every time it attacks helps to make up for that.  And also, keep in mind, this comes with the necessary creatures to crew it in the first place.  It is still going to be a bit clunky in terms of crewing it, and sometimes you just won’t be able to do it -- sometimes the two 2/2 tokens is all you’ll get -- but like I said, that is a decent card in most Limited formats, and this has the potential to take over games on the right board state.  I think this is a very nice card, and one you first pick most of the time.  I’m giving it a B.

Elderwood Mentor - C+

This is a nice Common for Green.  Creatures who make two bodies are always nice -- and in the end here you get a solid deal -- 4 -mana for 4/3 worth of stats spread across two bodies.  It is going to be better than it looks in this set too, because going wide with Elves looks to be a very real strategy for BG decks in this format, and this really helps you out there.  I’m giving this a C+.

Elvish Warmaster - C+ // B+

So, this card has a reasonable ceiling and incredible upside.  Most Green decks in this format are likely to have 3-5 elves without even trying, and the Warmaster will be happy in that type of deck.  Just getting one extra token out of this will be a good deal, after all, he is a two mana 2/2.  Now, if your deck can really go crazy on Elves -- and make extra Elf tokens, and then utilize the overrun ability in the late game, then you’re talking.  I think this warrants a build around grade.  I’d say he is a C+ in yoru average Green deck in the format, and probably a B+ in a deck that gets there on Elves.  I think that means it is worth taking with a first pick a decent chunk of the time, and you won’t get too burned for it if you don’t get a ton of elves, so it isn’t too much of a “high risk, high reward” pick.

Fynn, the Fangbearer - C+

So, a two-mana ⅓ with death touch is actually a very good statline.  This is because it can actually block one and two drops and survive, while still killing them.  Then, Frynn adds some crazy deathtouch upside to the mix -- death touch combat damage to a player turning into poison counters is no small thing, though unless there are other ways in this set to make those counters, it probably won’t be that easy to win that way in Limited.  I guess if you get like, two Fynns and 7 or 8 cards with Deathtouch it might happen, but it will be challenging.  I still this is a C+, based on its good statline as well as the poison counter upside.

Glittering Frost -  C-

I’m not a huge fan of this.  Most of these types of Auras that make a land add more mana for you need to do something else to be worth it.  Like draw you a card, or put a +1/+1 counter somewhere, or gain you life.  This doesn’t do those things, and that means you are paying a good chunk of mana for something that doesn’t immediately do anything else in most cases.  Now, there are a few things going for Glittering Forst.  One of them is the “Snow” theme in this set -- it can give you two snow permanents with only a single card, and that matters for cards that count snow permanents.  Additionally, because it makes the land into a snow permanent, that land can now tap for snow mana, and that also matters for several cards in this set.  So, I think you do end up playing this some of the time, if you need fixing and some snow stuff, you could do a lot worse. That said, I also don’t think this is your ideal way of getting snow payoffs going.  I’m giving this a C-.

Gnottvold Recluse - C

So, most spiders we see come with low power and high toughness.  This makes them good at repeatedly blocking smaller flyers, but not so good at actually killing them.  Gnottvold Recluse is different, in that it has higher power and lower toughness.  This means it is going to be better at blocking and killing larger flyers, but a lot worse at repeatedly blocking flyers.  3-mana for a 4/2 line is often a borderline playable card even without Reach, and I think adding Reach to the mix here means you will feel fine about playing the first copy of this. Though, it would be nice if it were a snow permanent or something.  Anyway, I’m giving it a C.

Guardian Gladewalker - C+

So, we see versions of this card all the time -- and they are always pretty nice commons for Green.  The +1/+1 counter ETB trigger makes it so that it is relevant all game long -- often times a single counter is enough to enable attacks you just didn’t have before.  And, you know, sometimes, this is just a two-mana 2/2, like in the early game.  Adding changeling to the mix is significant upside on an already pretty good Green common.  I’m giving this a C+.

Horizon Seeker - C

A boaster that lets you search up basic lands isn’t too bad, especially if you are interested in splashing.  Since this is at common, I can imagine it really helping green decks do that.  The stats are of course underwhelming, but I think the land-searching upside is enough for this to be solid at least.  I’m giving it a C.

Ice-Hide Troll - C

This card seems pretty solid.  A 3-mana ⅔ isn’t a great start, but it has a very real activated ability -- one that your opponent will always have to respect, provided you have the Snow mana lying around.  This is one of those cards where just the threat of using the ability will force your opponent to play different -- either by not attacking when the troll is around, or not blocking when it attacks.  Something I want to clear up here, because on past set review people have been confused by effects like this -- the “Tap” here is not part of the cost.  That means this can absolutely attack and still use the ability.  The tap is part of the effect, not the cost.  So, this seems like a fine Common for Green, especially in Snow decks.  I’m giving this a C.

In Search of Greatness -  C

This is an interesting one to evaluate.  So, in the early game, it seems like this could be pretty potent -- it would make casting two spells in one turn pretty easy on say, turn four for example, and that could get you really far ahead.  However, as the game wears on, you will run out of extra spells for this to do anything with.  Now, the good news is, even if it isn’t letting you cast stuff for free anymore, you do get Scry 1 every turn out of it.  So, I feel like a game where it lets you get ahead of your opponent early, and then scries late for you is going to feel fine.  When it won’t be so good is when you get it late, at which point it will just be the Scry, but hey, at least it still does something unlike some cards like this.  Still, I don’t think this is anywhere close to a high pick, I’m very skeptical about it in Limited, and I’m going to start it out at a C.

Jasper’s Sentinel - C-

We have seen a very similar card to this before - Loam Dryad from Shadows over Innistrad.  This is strictly better because it also has reach, and it also has one of the tribal creature types, but I think it will perform similarly to Loam Dryad in Limited, which is to say: it is alright, you’ll run it if you need fixing and/or ramp, but needing a second creature to tap to add the mana is no small cost, it is often hard to have that be worth it in a game of Limited, where you need to keep a creature back so it can trade or block. This set does have a 5-color sub-theme, and this does help with that, but we’ll see how real that is in Limited.  Anyway,  I think you’ll cut this almost as much as you’ll play it.  I’m giving it a C-.

Jorn, God of Winter // Kaldring, the Rimestaff - B

This seems pretty nice to me!  On the god side, you have, at worst, a 3-mana 3/3 that untaps itself when it attacks, which -- you know, isn’t amazing or anything, but would probably be a C+ or so.  But it has way more upside than that, as it untaps all snow permanents.  This could get especially nice in a world where you have several snow lands, or other snow creatures attacking, since it will give them pseudo-vigilance.  So, yeah, the God side is a very good snow payoff -- and so is the the artifact side.  Being able to play snow permanents from your graveyard is nice, even if they do come into play tapped.  The fact that Kaldring just taps for the effect is really nice, since it means that all of your mana will be available for you to cast a snow permanent from the graveyard.  By the way, since it says “play” this means you can get snow lands too, though that isn’t the ideal way to use the card.  So, by having two sides with completely different colors, you do have a card that is optimal in a Sultai deck -- since having both options would be nice -- but it will also just be a good card in either a Green deck or a Dimir deck.  The rimestaff is a complete nothing if you don’t get there on snow permanents, while Jorn has a reasonable floor.  One kind of nice thing about this is it means you can take it early, and you are pretty likely to play it, since you are likely to end up in some combination of colors that lets you cast at least one side.  Anyway, I thinkt he total package here is a card you take with a first pick most of the time.  I’m giving it a B.

King Harald’s Revenge - D+

I’m not usually the biggest fan of this type of card.  Sure, lure-type effects are nice, but they only really get powerful if they force EVERYTHING to block something, allowing the rest of your board to get through.  This will just require one block.  And yeah, sometimes this will make your creature absolutely massive, and adding Trample to that is nice -- but it still seems so clunky to me.  You have to wait for the absolute right window for this to work out for you -- one where you have enough creatures for it to matter -- one where forcing the block makes a difference -- and one where your opponent doesn’t have cards in hand and mana up, since if they do, you have a good chance at getting completely blown out.  A good rule of thumb in Limited is: if a card is going to be highly situational, you probably don’t want to play it.  I don’t think I’ll play this most of the time.  I’m giving this a D+.

Kolvori, God of Kinship // The Ringhart Crest - B

So, obviously enough, both sides of this card love legendary creatures.  And, the good news is, this set has a pretty strong legendary creatures sub-theme, with several appearing at uncommon.  That said, it won’t be super easy to get enough legendary creatures to really take advantage of the god side of this card.  Getting her to a 6/6 will be unlikely.  But, her activated ability pays you off for just having a few legendary creatures at least, and she will be able to draw you a card with it sometimes even if you just have three in your whole deck, and taht’s acceptable since she is also a 4-mana 2/4.  I think it is probably kind of likely you play the artifact side of this more though.  It is a two mana mana-rock, and that’s no joke -- even if it is limited to legendary spells and creatures of a specific type. It won’t always line up for you either -- both sides of this are a little dependent on your deck having just the right composition to really excel -- but I think that’s probably ok.  I don’t think it will be hard to take advantage of either side, just don’t go into it thinking you’ll be able to regularly make her a 6/6 or something like that.  I think she is first pickable a lot of the time.  I’m giving it a B.

Littjara Glade-Warden - C+

So, it is definitely a bit of a bummer that you can only use this ability at sorcery speed, but turning creatures in the graveyard into value in the late game is pretty nice.  Two +1/+1 counters can make a significant difference on many board states.  And in addition to that, it is also a changeling, so tribal synergies will make it better too.  It does start out as a Hill Giant, but the ability is good enough to overcome that mediocre performance on the vanilla test.  I do thinkt he fact that you have to lose it as a blocker or an attacker when you use it keeps it from quite being first pickable, but it close.  I’m giving it a C+

Masked Vandal - C

So this seems fine.  It is a changeling in a tribal set, which automatically means it will be worth playing as long as it isn’t completely terrible, and it really isn’t! It has kind of okay stats, and an ability that lets you exile artifacts or enchantments.  There seem to be enough of both of those for this to be mainboardable most of the time, especially with the Changeling upside.  I think this is a C.

Path to the World Tree - D+ // B-

This card seems like fun.  So, on a basic level, it provides you with some fixing, something you often want in Limited to splash powerful cards.  But as far as fixing goes this isn’t the most impressive.  One kind of expects to pay one mana to search up a basic land and put it into their hand, and this costs two.  Where it really gets interesting, though, is if you can utilize its activated ability -- and obviously, it can help you do that because of the fixing it gives you.  That ability is no joke -- you get 2 cards, 2 life, and a 2/2 bear -- while your opponent loses 2 life and an X/2 creature.  That’s the kind of late game effect that will win you games.  Now, how realistic is it to be able to use that ability? I mean, you probably shouldn’t count on it, but I imagine it will be doable in some decks.  I think it probably needs a build around grade.  It is probably a D+ in a deck that can’t use the ability, and a B- in a deck that can.  That means it might be worth taking kind of early, though it is a bit of a high-risk high-reward pick.

Ravenous Greatwurm - C

This kind of card always feels like pretty nice top-curve.  Not only do you get a reasonably efficient creature, you also get 4 life -- and this creature’s size combined with that life can often be enough to help a deck stabilize after taking a beating in the early part of the game.  I’m giving this a C.

Realmwalker - B-

So, this 3-mana ⅔ comes with some very significant upside.  First, it can be whatever creature type you need it to be, and in a set with tribal stuff going on, that’s significant upside.  But where it really gets sweet is when you get to cast stuff off the top of your library -- something that is very significant card advantage.  Now, I would guess that on average you’ll get like one free card out of that, but that’s a great deal -- and sometimes it might take over games.  You do have to be smart when naming creature types, but many decks in this format will be built around a creature type, so it won’t be that difficult ot make it happen.  I think this is in the lower range of first pickable.  I’m giving it a B-.

Sarulf’s Packmate -B-

This is a great common.  A 4-mana 3/3 that draws you a card is generally a B-.  It is going to give you a two-for-one almost every time, especially because the stats it has are actually passable for the mana cost.  Then, you add foretold to the mix, which in this case lets you pay for the card in two separate installments, and you have a card that is quite flexible.  This is a very high quality Common, and one you can first pick over most uncommons.  I’m giving it a B-.

Snakeskin Veil - C-

This is a decent combat trick.  It doesn’t give the biggest boost ever, even for one mana.  Basically with tricks, you’re looking for the ones that can do the best job of helping your creature win combat, and you want to do it as efficiently as possible.  One usually expects at least a +2/+2 boost from a one mana trick, and this doesn’t deliver there.  However, it does grant a creature hexproof, and that means that it also has utility outside of combat -- plus, the boost it gives is permanent, so it isn’t SUPER far away from +2/+2.  Now, I’m not super high on any but the most impressive of combat tricks.  They are highly situational, and the fewer cards like that you can have, the better -- but again, the hexproof aspect does mean you can use this to save a creature from removal too, making it a little less situational.  But yeah, it is still a trick, with significant limitations.  I’m giving it a C-.

Struggle for Skemfar - C+

So, this is a strictly better Hunt the Weak.  And, while I think Hunt the Weak seems a bit weaker these days thani t used to, it was always a solid card.  The +1/+1 counter makes it so more of your creatures are capable of killing opposing creatures, and yeah -- you do have to be super cautious with this, since if your opponent interacts in response it will be a blow out -- but it still does a pretty good job at getting creatures out of the way for Green decks.  Adding Foretell to this is great -- because in this case, you actually end up paying less total mana.  Additionally, by only costing Green the turn you cast it, it means you can play a new creature and have it fight right away, and in general, it will mean that it is easier for you to find a safe window to cast it, since you don’t need a whole bunch of mana to make it do its thing.  I do think this falls a little short of being premium removal -- fight cards have to be crazy efficient to sway me in that respect, just because they are more situational than most removal spells -- but it is still one of Green’s better commons.  I’m giving it a C+.

Old-Growth Troll - B

So, this is sort of hard to cast on curve in Limited, but I think that’s ok -- 4/4 trampler is relevant for the entirety of most games, especially one that gives you some value when it dies.  A lot of the time you probably won’t be particularly intereste din the ramp aspect of this troll, but you will absolutely be interested in basically turning one of your lands into a 4/4 with Trample.  It isn’t exactly a 2-for-1, because you do end up giving up a land, but a 4/4 trampler is a huge upgrade over a land by the mid to late game especially.  I think you can first pick this.  I’m giving it a B.

Mammoth Growth - C-

This is a decent trick.  Paying the three mana up front isn’t the greatest deal, but the stats boost it gives is enough that it can help almost any creature win combat.  The downside is the massive tempo hit you can take if your opponent can do something in response, so like with all tricks, be as careful as you can with this.  Adding foretell to the mix does help reduce the downside a little bit -- since you only pay one Green mana the turn you actually use it, and you probably decided to Foretell it on a turn when you couldn’t do anything with your mana anyway, so if you do get blown out the tempo won’t be so bad.  I think most creature-heavy Green decks will play the first copy of this most of the time, but it is still a little too clunky for my taste to think it will make the cut frequently enough to be a solid C -- I think it is more like a C-.

Rootless Yew - B

This is a very nice Uncommon.  You get a creature that does okayish on the vanilla test that also replaces itself, and it will generally replace itself with something pretty beefy.  That’s a 2-for-1, and if you’re trading this for an opposing creature of similar size and grabbing a big creature from your deck, it is going to feel really good -- and that’s not going to be some rarity, that will just happen.  Now, you do probably need at least a couple of creatures who can be searched up with this, and 3-4 is probably even better -- but that won’t be a challenge for Green.  I think this is a pretty high pick, and one of the better uncommons around.  I’m giving it a B.

Roots of Wisdom - D+

So, this card helps you mill yourself, and then gets an elf or land back from the graveyard most of the time.  That’s the kind of card that is often the 23rd card in your deck, just because it isn’t that impactful -- it has no impact on the board immediately, and it mostly just gives you some card selection -- think of this as sort of a Green anticipate.  I do like that you get to draw a card if you can’t get a land or elf, which means that you don’t have to have a huge number of elves for it to be super okay. I do kind of wish that it would let you make the choice -- like, if you have an elf and/or land in your graveyard, you could still choose to draw, but it doesn’t work that way -- you only draw if there is nothing to get back.  Bu tyeah, like Anticipate, and Tormenting Voice and other cards like this, I imagine you’ll cut this more than you’ll play it. Frankly, it just doesn’t do a whole lot. The graveyard and elf synergy it gives is decent, but nothing special.  I’m giving this a D+.

Sculptor of Winter - C+

This seems nice to me.  A two-mana 2/2 is passable, especially with the Elf creature type and the Snow super type -- both are things that cards in this set care about.  And, the fact it can untap snow lands is pretty nice too, since it will allow you to ramp.  Now, you won’t always have snow lands, but you will often enough for this to be useful.  This seems like a quality Green common to me.  I’m giving it a C+.

“Snow Fight” - C // B-

So, this is a strictly better Prey Upon, and Prey Upon is usually a solid but not great removal spell in the formats we’ve seen it in -- about a C.  Fight cards have a significant downside most other removal doens’t -- if your opponent can interact at all, you can end up getting blown out.  There’s also the fact that you need a decent number of sizable creatures to make it worth it.  However, by only costing a single Green mana, finding a window where you can use this one isn’t too difficult.  I think any Green deck probably plays the first copy of this, and if you can get enough snow permanents going, it will be crazy good, as +1/+0 and indestructible is no joke! That usually means that in addition to killing something, you’ll also have a free attack, and that type of turn will be devastating.  I want to give this a build around grade, because I think the upgrade is super significant in a snow deck.  I’ll say this is a C in a regular Green deck, and a B- in a deck that has enough snow permanents -- in those decks, this is premium removal.

Spirit of the Aldergard - C+

This is a pretty nice card for decks that either interested in snow or fixing -- both of which seem to be what Green is interested in this format, so it has that going for it.  Now, in terms of fixing, you will need to have picked up snow lands in the draft to really get the full value out of it as a “fixer” but that probably won’t be a huge problem if you’re going hard into the Snow deck.  It does have kind of terrible stats on a base level, and I think it is interesting they didn’t allow it to count itself -- it isn’t like a 4-mana ¼ or 2/4 is crazy, but that may indicate that the Snow deck is more powerful than I’m imagining.  I think you’re generally going to be happy if you can get this to 2/4, and it will get larger than that most of the time.  I don’t think you want to first pick this, but it is a nice card.  I’m giving it a C+.

Toski, Bearer of Secrets - B

This is a legendary squirrel which is already pretty silly, but it also has a pretty interesting design.  It is kind of like a Green Bident of Thassa with a body.  That type of “draw a card” effect for each creature that does combat damage to a player is super strong, and can really snowball things for you in a hurry -- the more cards you draw, the more creatures you can play who will draw you more cards when they hit your opponent.  Toski isn’t easy to kill either, meaning the effect will normally stick around.  Now, you do need SOME board state for Toski to be great, but at least Toski can block whatever it wants on the first turn, before attacking every turn after that.  Toski will take over games thanks to the cards you get, though, and while it needs a little too much help to be a straigh tup bomb, this legendary squirrel is certainly first pickable. I’m giving it a B.

Tyvar Kell - B

So, obviously, Tyvar will excel in decks with a ton of elves -- but one of the nice things about him is he isn’t completely reliant on your deck having like 10+.  This is because he can make Elves himself with his 0 loyalty ability.  Those Elves can protect him, and because of his static ability, they can also tap for Black mana.  Once you have Elves, he can put counters on them, untap them, and give them deathtouch with the +1, and obviously his -6 does kind of ask you to have a ton of elves, but you won’t often get there anyway.   So, basically, I think your average Green deck in this format will have 5 or so elves without trying, and he is going to be a good card in those decks. Then, with 10+ elves, he gets really silly.  I think I’m going to give him a B, with the caveat that, if you have a ton of elves, he is probably a bomb.

Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider - B

So, a 6-mana 6/6 with Trample and Haste is already a card I’m interested in -- it is very likely to get in for damage before it can be removed, and if it doesn’t get removed it will do a whole lot more than that! On top of that, you have some counter payoffs going on here, and while counters don’t look to be like a major theme of this set, there are counters in every set, and I’m sure Vorinclex will find you ways to gain additional value.  He can even help you get through your Sagas more quickly, which will be nice sometimes.  I’m giving this a B -- it is a high pick, but not a bomb unless +1/+1 counters are a bigger thing than it currently appears.

Multi-Colored:

Aegar, the Freezing Flame - B-

This is a pretty innovative design.  Basically, if you do more damage to a creature than it has toughness, you get to draw a card -- provided the source of that damage is a Giant, Wizard, or spell.  And, of course, that includes Aegar -- which means that if a 2/2 blocks it for example, you get to draw a card.  That’s pretty sweet, and this kind of card will really warp games where your opponent might have to choose between blocking more effectively, or allowing you to draw a card -- and that’s never a good choice.  Obviously, the UR color pair is about spells and Giants too, so you should have at least a handful of cards in your deck that can trigger this.  I think this is a first pickable signpost uncommon.  I’m giving it a B-.

Arni Slays the Troll - B-

This Saga seems pretty nice to me.  It starts out with a Fight effect, which is effectively a removal spell -- even if it is a somewhat restrictive one.  You won’t always have a good Fight to make happen, but you will often enough in a Red Green deck.  Chapter II gives you some counters and some mana too, and chapter III gains you some life.  None of these chapters individually are that impressive, but if you think about the amount of mana you’re paying, you’re going to be pretty happy.  It is notable tha you don’t have to fight with Chapter I if you think you could use Chapter II and III, though usually I think you want to be Fighting with this.  In the end, I think you can take this with a first pick in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Ascent of the Worthy - B-

This is some really fun Viking flavor.  The idea here is that with chapter I and II, your creature is making a huge sacrifice to help victory be attained on the battlefield, and then at chapter III, that creature ascends to Valhalla -- or, Starnheim as it is called in Kaldheim.  This is definitely a candidate for most flavorful card of the set -- but is it good?  I think it kind of is.  The ability to redirect damage sometimes just won’t matter at all, but sometimes it will really mess things up.  It will allow you to attack with your board in some scenarios without fear of losing your attacking creatures, and that’s pretty nice.  It does a similar job if you’re on defense, allowing you to block much more effectively than you would otherwise be able to.  Then, in the end, you pay 3 mana to reanimate a creature and giving it Flying, and that’s pretty efficient, even if it is slow.  This is a weird card to be sure, and maybe I’m being swayed by how much I like the design, but I think you can first pick this in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Awaken the Trolls - D+

So, I don’t think I love this card -- and keep in mind, that’s from someone who has an affinity for land destruction!  It costs a whole lot of mana to do very little over the first two turns it is out.  Destroying a land on turn 6 will rarely be very impactful for your opponent, and the same is true about getting a land back out of the graveyard -- and you know, the idea is to steal your opponent’s land that you destroyed during chapter one.  Chapter three is where things get a little bit more interesting -- a 4/4 troll with trample is no joke, and you get one based on how many more lands you control than your opponent, and theoretically, chapters one and two will have made it so that you’re going to come out ahead there.  So, how many do you need to get for this to feel worth it? I would say at least two, and even that might not be enough since the card is so slow.  Three is probably where you feel pretty good about your decision.   But the thing that is annoying, is that there isn’t even a guarantee you get one .  Sure, chances are good you get some, especially because RG is a color pair that wants you to ramp, but sometimes you’ll get this late and it will basically do nothing, and it only does nothing very, very slowly.  I like the design of this card, but I don’t think I want to be playing it most of the time in Limited.  I’m giving it a D+.

Battle of Frost and Fire - B+

This seems pretty good to me.  Chances are good that if you’re in UR, you’ve got a decent number of giants, so Chapter 1 will almost always hurt your opponent more than it hurts you.  Chapter II doen’t have quite the impact on the board, but Scry 3 can really help you set up optimal draws -- and that’s especially useful because chapter 3 lets you draw two cards and discard one if you play something that has a CMC of 5 or greater -- which is pretty likely after you Scry 3.  I like that this Saga has its big game-changing chapter as chapter one, instead of chapter three like most of them.  And yeah, sometimes, your opponent will be a giant deck too and it won’t be so good, but most of the time?  This is going to be really great for the player who casts it.   I do think it stops short of being a straight up bomb, but having a boardsweeper like this that you can make kind of one-sided, and one that gives you some additional value is pretty great.  I’m giving it a B+.

The Bears of Littjara - B

This seems pretty good, and will normally give you a ton of value for three mana.  Even if your board is otherwise empty, this makes a 2/2 when you play it, then turns it into a 4/4 on the next turn, and then lets you do damage equal to that creature’s power on the following turn.  And, yeah, things could go really wrong there, but most of the time you will have a board with a few more shapeshifters around to really abuse this card.  But the fact that this is pretty good even on its own certainly makes it attractive.  You get a 4/4 token and removal in the end, all for only three mana.  Sign me up!  I’m giving this a B.

Binding the Old Gods -  B

So, this is really good.  I would already sign up for a Sorcery that was 4 mana to destroy a nonland permanent -- more than sign up, I would take it with a first pick a decent chunk of the time, even if it was multi-colored! But because this is a Saga, it does some other stuff too -- and while most of the power is in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and 3 aren’t nothing -- getting an extra land can help you ramp, and giving your whole board death touch can make your attacks a little more of a problem for your opponent.  You definitely will take this with a first pick most of the time you see it, even if it is multi-colored.  I’m giving this a B.

Fall of the Impostor - B-

This is a pretty nice Saga.  Three mana for a +1/+1 counter won’t make it feel like the greatest investment ever at first, and really -- even after you get the second counter it won’t feel great either -- but hey, it does impact the board a little bit at least!  The most value the card gives you is with chapter three, which will typically take down your opponent’s best creature -- and that means you spent three mana for two +1/+1 counters and a removal spell, which is actually crazy efficient!  It is, of course, slow -- and sometimes you’ll really wish you could just kill their creature first, but I still think this is so efficient in the long run that you want to first pick it in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Firja, Judge of Valor - B-

Well, this is interesting.  I’m not sure how i feel about BW being about casting more than one spell a turn, at least when it comes to the color pie, but I think this is a pretty nice card for Limited.  A 5-mana 2/4 with flying and lifelink is sort of passable, and then if you can trigger her ability even once, you’re going to be in business. Keep in mind too, it is better than “Draw a card” because you get some card selection at the same time.  She also helps you load your graveyard, and that’s not irrelevant!  The ability itself can help you trigger it again next turn, too, since the extra card you get will likely be a spell.  So, yeah, I think you can first pick her sometimes.  I’m giving it a B-.

Firja’s Punishment - A-

This is a very good Saga.  It impacts the board immediately with its Chapter I effect, and a 4-mana 4/4 angel with flying and Vigilance is probably about a B- when it costs two different colors of mana.  Chapter II then lets you turn all of your angels into removal spells, and chapter three will make your angels really scary by granting them double strike.  So, even if your deck has 0 other Angels, this is going to be a good card --- getting a token that can kill something is pretty good.  If your deck has other Angels in play when this comes down, it will be completely busted.  I think your typical BW deck in this format will have enough Angels in it for this to do more than just what is printed on the card.  Now, if your board doesn’t have Angels by Chapter II and III this won’t feel so good, but if that’s the case, your opponent likely traded 1-for-1 with your Angel token, so it isn’t like it is the end of the world or anything. In the end, I think this sneaks into the lower range of “bomb” status.  The Angel token you make is virtually a must-kill, and again, if you have other Angels around, the game is probably over for your opponent.  I’m giving this an A-.

Forging the Tyrite Sword - C

So, this is probably worth playing provided you have at least a couple of equipment.  It provides some decent fixing, and this set has a lot of treasure synergy, but if chapter three doesn’t do anything, it will not be ideal to play this card.  That said, if it does do something, this seems pretty solid.  Obviously, if you have Halvar it is extra good since it is likely Halvar is the best card in your deck.  Overall, I think this is just a solid playable -- I’m giving it a C.

Harald, King of Skemfar - B-

So, this will typically amount to being a 3-mana 3/2 with Menace that draws you a card, and I’m definitely interested in that.  If you’re black green, that means you’re in the elf color pair, and you will almost always have something to hit in your top five, and that’s without even talking about how it can hit warriors and sagas too!  This seems like a really nice signpost uncommon for Black-Green, one that is good enough to take with a first pick sometimes.  I’m giving it a B-.

Harald Unites the Elves - B

So, I don’t think this needs a build around grade, because your typical BG deck in the format will be able to utilize this really effectively.  Each chapter on this card does something to affect the board, and that’s really nice.  Chapter I will probably let you reanimate an Elf, chapter two will at least put a counter on that elf -- and probably on others too -- and then chapter three can make an Elf attack into a removal spell.  I’m down for all of those things.  Obviously, it can be a sort of risky first pick, because if you’re not in BG at all, you won’t play this -- it won’t even be worth it as a splash.  But I think the ceiling on this is high enough that it is going to be worth that risk a lot of the time.  I’m giving it a B.

Immersturm Predator - A-

This seems quite good.  It start out as a 4-mana 3/3 flyer, which is great -- and it will become larger and larger as the game goes on, while also potentially hating a bit on an opposing graveyard.  The thing that really puts him over the top is his ability to become indestructible.  That will make it very difficult to kill, and that’s something you want to be saying about an efficient creature who will just keep growing.  Note, by the way, that the “Tap” here is not part of the cost -- it is only part of the effect, so if you attack with this you can still make it indestructible.  The “Tap” part matters more if you’re trying to block, but I think most of the time you’re going to be rumbling with this thing anyway.  I think this does enough to get into bomb territory, making it a very easy first pick.  I’m giving it an A-.

Kardur, Doomscourge - B-

Well, this is a kind of wacky one for Limited.  Obviously, unless you’re playing a rather rare game of multi-player Limited, your opponent won’t be able to attack other players -- they’ll just be attacking you. That part of the card is mostly just there for EDH.  But anyway, for Limited, this still seems pretty good.  Forcing all of your opponent’s creatures to attack you can make a big impact, not only because you can set up blocks to kill their creatures -- which, with Kardur in play, also means you’ll drain them 1 life -- but also because it opens your opponent up for a crack back that might just be lethal.  In other words, Your opponent will have to attack in what is likely a less-than-optimal situation, while you’ll be able to attack in a pretty good one.  Now, if your opponent’s board is significantly better than yours, things might not go so well, but if that’s true, well -- they were probably going to attack you with everything anyway!  I think this signpost uncommon is good enough that you can first pick it in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Kardur’s Vicious Return - B-

This card strikes me as very similar to The Eldest REborn, and that’s good company to keep, because The Eldest Reborn is one of the best uncommons we have seen in a Limited format in the recent past. Now, the first two chapters on this are symmetrical, unlike on The Eldest REborn, and hte last chapter only lets you get something out of your graveyard, but I think that’s ok.   This comes down and lets you give up a creature to do 3 to something, and while that won’t always be worth doing, I think it will be worthwhile more often than it isn’t.  I mean, if that’s all this card did it wouldn’t be very good, but since it is a Saga with more chapters to go, it isn’t a bad way to kick things off.  Giving up a weak creature of yours to kill an X/3 is just fine!  Chapter two making both players discard is nice too, especially because you know that you get chapter three -- which will allow you to reanimate something -- and you are likely to have something to reanimate between chapter one and two -- and that creature comes back with a counter and gains haste, which is no joke!  Overall, I thinkt his delivers a ton of value, and is kind of a poor man’s The Eldest Reborn, but that’s still good enough to be worth taking with a first pick in some weaker packs.  I’m giving this a B-.

Kaya, the Inexorable - A

This Kaya is really good.  It is a general rule of thumb that if you have a planeswalker that can protect itself AND act as removal, it is going to be amazing in Limited, and Kaya does both of those things.  Now, her +1 does require you to have a creature in play for it to work, but it makes life for your opponent super difficult.  Sure, maybe they can kill what gets the counter -- but then you get the card back and you also get a 1/1 to protect Kaya!  So, she made need something in play already for that ability to really work, but she makes it very likely that something will be able to protect her thank to that token.  Note, by the way, that you can actually use her +1 on your opponent’s creatures.  Normally, I don’t think you should do that -- for obvious reasons -- but you do still get the 1/1 token when your opponent’s creature dies, so there may be a cornercase where it makes sense.  Her -3 doesn’t require nearly as much analysis -- it kills pretty much everything, no questions asked, and that’s awesome.  Her ultimate is a little challenging ot make work in Limited, but it doesn’t really matter -- the +1 and -3 are enough for her to dominate games in Limited.  Kaya is a bomb.  I’m giving her an A.

Koll, the forgemaster - C+

So, obviously enough, RW is interested in Equipment and Auras, as well as going wide.  Koll does a nice job of encapsulating all of that in a single card.  Returning creatures who die while equipped or enchanted is nice, as it overcomes one of hte major downsides of those types of cards -- the huge tempo loss you can get from equipped creatures dying, and the complete blowout of a 2-for-1 from a creature dying while it has an Aura.  Pumping equipped or enchanted tokens is pretty nice too, especially because it all comes in a two-mana 2/2 package.  I do think this will be challenging enough to build around that it isn’t the kind of signpost I see myself first picking.  I’m giving it a C+.

Koma, Cosmos Serpent - A

Well, this is pretty obviously a bomb.  Note that you get a serpent token every upkeep, which includes your opponents, and that’s important, because Koma can turn those Serpent tokens into powerful effects.  Your opponent will basically never be able to untap and kill Koma, because by the time it gets to their main phase you will have a serpent you can sacrifice to make him indestructible, and the Serpent fuel will only keep on coming.  Making things tapped and turning off activated abilities isn’t quite as powerful in Limited, but it is a nice bonus effect.  Basically, Koma generates Serpetn tokens like crazy and is very difficult to kill.  He will take over pretty much every game when he comes down.  This is an A.

Maja, Breagard Protector - B

This seems like a very powerful Uncommon to me.  In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was rare!  Anthem effects are a powerful thing, especially when they come attached to a creature.  And sure, the creature itself doesn’t have the most impressive of stats, but it will typically be adding a ton of power and toughness to the board -- especially because it comes with landfall that makes a 1/1 token!  The ideal thing to do with it will often be to play it and then play a land so you get at least some value if Maja dies, but given that Maja will usually reshape the board anyway, it will be pretty challenging not to get some value out of the card.  Overall, I think this is a pretty easily first pickable card -- even if it is multi-colored and has somewhat of a challenging mana cost, I would take it pretty highly.  I’m giving it a B.

Master Skald - C

5-mana for a 4/4 that returns an artifact or enchantment is not a bad deal.  And sure, you also need a creature in your graveyard to make it happen, but by turn 5 that won’t normally be an issue.  The real issue will be whether you have enough Artifacts and Enchantments for this to be worth it.  It looks like that is the most likely to occur in RW, but other color pairs can make it happen too.  If you have at least 5 cards with those permanent types, this will be worth running.  I’m giving it a C.

Moritte of the Forst - B

This seems like a really nice signpost uncommon.  Clones tend to be nice because they can be whatever the best creature on the battlefield is -- or, in this case, whatever your best permanents is -- , though clones that cost 5 do start to be a little less attractive, because it is normally less likely that you’ll be able to get 5 mana’s worth of value out of it.  But, the whole “two +1/+1 counters” thing is no joke, and it will often make it hard for Moritte not to give you 5 mana’s worth of value.  As long as you are copying something that costs 3+ mana, it will feel pretty nice -- and oftentimes you’ll get a lot more than that.  I think you’ll be copying creatures with this like 90% of the time, but the fact he can also copy like an Aura that is a removal spell and stuff like that is definitely nice additional upside.  It also has Legendary and Snow upside, both things that are relevant for multiple cards int his format.  I think you can first pick this over most of the common and uncommons in the set that aren’t really great removal spells, even if it is multi-colored.  Just seems like a lot of upside to me.  I’m giving this a b.

Narfi, Betrayer King - B-

So this Zombie Snow Lord seems pretty sweet.  In most UB decks, Narfi will likely be able to pump at least half of your creatures, and that’s more than enough for Narfi to be pretty powerful.  His recursion ability won’t always be something you can use, but the good news is that he is going to be nice to bring back even in the late game.  Note, by the way, that you can do it at instant speed, and you  may be able to take advantage of that to really surprise your opponent with the additional stats boost for your creatures.  I think this is a first pickable signpost uncommon.  I’m giving it a B-.

Niko Aris - B+

Well, this planeswalker is very interesting.  One thing I really like here, is that if you are able to pump some mana into X, Niko Aris will have a permanent effect on the board, even if they die right away.  And those Shard tokens are no joke -- I loved Clue tokens, and these are basically better versions of those!  It is also nice that you don’t have to put any mana into X -- you can just cast Niko Aris for three mana, and even without Shards, Niko is pretty nice.  The +1 is pretty interesting -- making a creature unblockable is nice, having it bounce back to your hand won’t always be ideal, but sometimes you can make that into upside thanks to ETB abilities.  In a weird way, you can also make that effect into protection for Niko, since, if it bounces to your hand, you can play it again and now it can block on your opponent’s turn.  Then, the -1 is a nice removal effect -- Niko will usually be able to do 2 damage to a tapped creature right when they come down, and if you have some Shards lying around, or other ways to draw cards, Niko can really threaten to kill them.  Niko can then, of course, make more Shard tokens too.  Overall, I like Niko -- seems like a card-drawing engine, and I’m always on board for that.  They don’t protect themselves super well, and the removal effect isn’t the best one around, but the fact Niko will leave behind value in the form of Shard tokens in most cases makes them well worth a high pick for me, though I don’t quite think they are a bomb. I’m giving Niko Aris a B+.

Niko Defies Destiny - C

So, this takes some pretty serious set up to actually do anything. This set has a good amount of Foretell, but I’m not sure it quite has enough to make Niko work in just your average Blue White deck.  Additionally, none of the chapters on Niko Defies Destiny help you add to the board in any way.  Sure, gaining some life will help you stay alive, but I don’t think you will typically be gaining more than 2-4 life with Chapter I.  Chapter 2 does help you cast spells that have foretell, and maybe that lets you play something you couldn’t, but a significant amount of the time I don’t think it will do a whole lot.  Chapter III returns a foretell card, but I’m not that into that either -- it takes so long to get there, and in the end you’re just getting some life, a little bit of restricted mana, and one card back from the graveyard.  This isn’t bad exactly, but it is worse than most of the other Rare Sagas in this set.  I think this is just going to be a decent playable and no tmuch more.  I’m giving it a C.

Sarulf, Realm Eater - B+

So, a 3-mana 3/3 that gets a +1/+1 counter every time an opposing permanent goes to the graveyard is pretty good.  Sure, sometimes it will just get killed before gaining in size at all, but it is a creature that gets more imposing throughout the game, and it does a good job on the vanilla test anyway.  Sarulf adds to that the ability to remove all of its counters during your upkeep to exile all nonland permanents with a CMC less than or equal to the number of counters.  That’s pretty powerful.  The question is, how easy will it to be toa actually set it up? And how often will it hurt you more than it helps?  The good news about that second question is:  You get to decide when you do it, so if it hurts you more than it helps you just won’t do it.  So, generally, it will be punishing your opponent more than it punishes you.  How easy it is to set up is another matter.  It seems likely players will do their best to avoid Sarulf getting the necessary counters to mess things up, but if they’re doing that, that means that they aren’t blocking and things like that as much as normal.  So, yeah, this card is sort of hard to evaluate EXACLTY how good it will be in Limited, but I don’t think it si hard to say that it will at least be really good.  It is a 3-mana 3/3 with very real upside, the kidn of upside that can reshape the game -- but keep in mind it won’t always be doing that.  I think that holds it back from being a bomb, but probably not by a lot.  I’m giving it a B+.

Scorn Effigy - C

So, keep in mind, with Foretell you have to wait at least a turn before you can cast it from exile -- so you can’ tjust play this as a straight up two mana ⅔.  It is more like a two mana ⅔ with Suspend 1 -- although SUspend actually gives Haste, so that’s not a perfect comparison -- point is, though, you won’t be playing this the same turn you foretell it.  Overall, this doesn’t seem great, it is mostly a vanilla creature -- sure, it is efficient if you look at mana alone, but sometimes you’re just going to have to play this cause you need the blocker..  This card will be pretty nice, though, in the BW deck, which is all about casting two spells a turn, and this certainly makes that easy, and there are other cards with Foretell upside that also make it a little better.  I think I want to start this at a C.

Showdown of the Skalds - B

This Saga looks pretty good.  Sure, you do have to pay 4 for it to do very little the first turn, at least in the early and mid-game, but on subsequent turns the card advantage and +1/+1 counters this thing gives you is really good.  Note, by the way, that you can play lands off of the Showdown, although the lands aren’t spells so they don’t trigger the ability in the second and third chapter of the Showdown.  In the later part of the game this will grant you more immediate card advantage, which is nice.  There will definitely be times where this is too slow to save you -- or maybe you don’t have enough of a board presence to take advantage of those +1/+1 counters, but most of the time this will really shift a game in your favor -- especially if you untap after you play it.  I’m giving this a B.

Svella, Ice Shaper - C+

The signpost common for Green/Red sure makes it clear you are interested in both snow and ramping!  Svella comes with reasonable stats for the cost, and the ability to make snow artifacts that provide fixing is no joke.  The super late-game ability to choose a card from the top four cards of your library to cast is nice additional upside, but I said “super late-game” for a reason -- 8 mana is a lot, though obviously, Svella’s Icy Manaliths can help you with that, as can other ramp spells.  It is definitely an amazing late-game mana sink.  I’m a bit skeptical this is the kind of signpost uncommon that you take super early -- while fixing is great and all, it may not be powerful enough to warrant a high pick, though obviously you’ll always play it in Red-Green.  I’m giving it a C+.

The Raven’s Warning - C+

I like this  -- and not just because it involves birds!  Three mana for a 1/1 flyer that gains you 2 life isn’t going to feel super amazing as your initial effect -- but at least it adds to the board right away, and at least the two life you gain can offset some of the downside of how slow this card is.  Provided you have some flyers-- like, you know, the bird that you just got -- chapter II is likely to draw you a card.  Chapter III then gives you a pretty interesting Wish effect -- these are normally not super amazing in Limited, but being able to take sideboard cards because you have Raven’s Warning, and knowing you can bring them in sometimes isn’t bad upside.  Now, I don’t think this is crazy good or anything -- I mean generally, it replace sitself, you get a 1/1 flyer, and MAYBE you get some decent card selection -- and that’s not bad for three mana, but that does take a while.  I think this is short of a card you’re likely to first pick.  I’m giving it a C+.

The Three Seasons - C+

This seems like a reasonable snow payoff.  Two mana to get two snow permanents back is actually a pretty nice deal, and obviously chapter one sets it up for you.  Chapter III is an interesting one since its symmetrical, and if your opponent has some scary things in their graveyard it might get a little frustrating, but I think the upside here is worth it, if you have enough Snow cards in your deck, anyway.  I do think it probably isn’t much better than a C+, because of the set up and potential downsides.

The Trickster-God’s Heist - B-

This seems pretty good to me.  Cards that do just what the first chapter of this does are often solid.  I mean, it isn’t nearly as good as a straight up mind-control effect, but trading your worst creature for your opponent’s best creature can be quite good.  Now, there will also be times where it isn’t especially impactful, and that definitely matters.  Chapter two seems like it will be a little bit harder to make work -- basically you are left with exchanging artifacts or enchantments in Limited, and things won’t line up that often to make it work.  Then, chapter three gives you some nice additional value  by draining 3 life from your opponent.  So, it is certainly a bit situational, and you may only get value out of the first and third chapter, but I think the whole package makes this a pretty good card, and one you can take with a first pick in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Valki, God of Lies - A-

Well, this is really good -- also really cool flavor to have Tibalt disguising himself as one of Kaldheim’s Gods.  Anyway, on the creature side, you have a very good creature -- one that makes your opponent exile a creature card of your choice from their hand would already be pretty good as far as disruption goes, especially since Valki has decent stats! But it doesn’t stop there, oh no -- Valki can also become a copy of the creatures he exiles, which is neat.  Sure, they get their card back if they ever kill Valki, but I’ve played with enough disruptive creatures like this over the years to know that even if they get their card back, you will have disrupted them enough for it to be well worth it.  If this was JUST the Valki side, it would be an easy B.  Then, you add the Tibalt side to the mix and things get really crazy!  You get a planeswalker who can exile artifacts, creatures, and cards from the top of your opponent’s library, and you can steal all that stuff you exile too!  He does start with kind of low loyalty for the cost, and he isn’t able to protect himself with tokens or whatever, but his abilities will snowball, and you’ll start casting creatures with him that will protect him int he long run.  His ultimate is cool too, but honestly not a completely game-breaking one -- and you have to keep Tibalt in play to really take advantage of it.  If he was JUST the planeswalker side, he would probably be a B+.  I think that by adding flexibility of choosing a side to the mix, you end up with a card that is in the lower range of a bomb -- I’m giving it an A-.

Vega, the Watcher - B-

This is a strong signpost uncommon that really pays you off for foretelling stuff.  It has the always respectable stats of a wind drake to go along with the ability to draw you a card every time you cast something using foretell, and I think the total package here is enough to spend a first pick on in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Artifacts:

Bloodline Pretender - C+

So, a 3-mana 2/2 is not good.  However, if you are in a tribal deck, the Pretender is going to be able to grow enough to be worth playing, especially because it also will benefit from any tribal payoffs you have.  I think that means this will slot in to a good chunk of decks in this format, making it a pretty nice uncommon, and one that you should go after sort of aggressively, though I don’t think it is very close to first pickable.  I’m giving it a C+.

Funeral Longboat - C

Seems like a solid vehicle to me.  Crew 1 is just so easy to do, that this is going to just feel like a two mana 3/3 with Vigilance some of the time.  And, the fact it is so easy to crew AND has vigilance, means your opponent also has to take into account while attacking you.  I’m giving this a C.

Goldvein Pick - D+

This doesn’t seem very good to me.  2 mana to play and 1 to equip for this is a card we have seen a few times, and it generally doesn’t make the cut.  Adding the treasure side of things is cute, but I would have to be really interested in treasure and/or Equipment to want to play this.  Most of the time, I won’t.  I am giving it a D+.

Raiders’ Knave - C-

This is a decent vehicle.  Crew 3 is kind of a lot for a 4/4 vehicle, but the fact that it will effectively ramp and draw you a card like 40% of the time does help make that look a little less ugly.  If you can get the land off the top with this even once, you’re going to feel alright.  That said, it isn’t exactly efficient, and I think you probably cut this a little more than you play it.  I’m giving it a C-.

Raven Wings - C-

This seems okayish.  2 to play and 2 to equip is a bit steep, but giving evasion and +1/+0 to something will often make a pretty big difference -- sending your big gusy into the air is particularly appealing.  This set also has some Equipment payoffs, and I think that means you’ll play this often enough that it is at least a C-.

Replicating Ring:- C-

This is a cool design for a mana rock, though I get the impression that it is probably intended for commander most of all.  That said, it isn’t useless in Limited or anything -- just being a 3-mana mana rock that adds snow mana of any color means that you’ll be playing this sometimes in decks that either need fixing or snow permanents or snow mana, and if you do manage to make this thing replicate, it will make your cards that care about snow permanents and/or mana pretty nice!  I don’t think it is a high pick exactly, but I think you’ll play it often enough in this format that it is at least a decent playable. It does have the downside of being a 3 mana card that doesn’t add to your board in a super meaningful way, which can sometimes be a problem. I’m giving it a C-.

Runed Crown - F // C

This ia pretty neat design.  So, obviously enough, you’re going to need at least 2 runes for this to be worth while.  Three mana for what this does without runes is just not going to be worth it at all, it is too inefficient.  For that reason, I think we need to give this a build around grade -- one rune or fewer, and this is basically an F. 2+ runes, and you have a solid card -- keep in mind most Runes have some type of ETB effect, in addition to making Equipment add some additional bonuses, so if you can find a rune you’re getting good value.  The reason I say 2 or more runes is, it is reasonably likely one will still be in your library by the time you cast this.  If you have enough Runes to find, this is probably a C.

Maskwood Nexus - C

This is an interesting one to look at.  If we are just looking at this as a creature token generator, it isn’t especially good.  Paying 7 total mana to make one token is ugly, even if it is a changeling.  It just isn’t that great at making tokens, though it isn’t a bad mana sink in the late game.  How good this is, I think, will really come down to how game-changing the first part of the card is -- if your deck is loaded up with tribal synergies, and playing this suddenly makes a massive difference for your board, then yeah, you’ll be interested in this.  My feeling, though, is that most of the time when you play this it won’t have much of an immediate impact.  Most decks will be tribal already, so it isn’t likely that there will be a huge change to the board, where payoffs for one creature type are suddenly helping your whole board.  It will happen for sure, just not on a scale where I think I want to be playing this all the time.  Like I said, though, this is a hard one to evaluate -- and if it turns out that first part is better than I think, it could certainly be better.  For now, I think I just have this at a C.

Weathered Runestone - F

This isn’t really here for Limited, it is a hate card for constructed sideboards, and one that won’t have much of an impact on most of your games in Limited, so you should never play it.  I’m giving it an F.

Lands:

Axgard Armory - C+

So, this is the first of a cycle of really neat utility lands, all of which enter tapped, tap for one color of mana, and then have an activated ability that costs two colors of mana.  And, they are all pretty nice.  One should never underestimate utility lands like this.  I think some will look at these and think “Well, it comes into play tapped and it has an ability that will likely take most of my mana in a turn, so it isn’t very good” -- but those people are wrong!  Think of each of the cards in this cycle as a land that becomes a relevant spell in the late game.  That is effectively what they are.  The effects on these are all really there to be used late, and that’s awesome -- because you know what most lands do when the game gets late?  Yeah, nothing.  Axgard Armory here lets you draw up to two cards -- provided you have on Equipment and one aura in your deck will get two -- and that’s pretty real.  Imagine having this around late, when you’re in top deck mode -- getting two real cards out of this will often be enough to help break a stalemate.  And that’s kind of what all of these do.  I will talk about all of these cards individually, because they are different -- but I think all of them are C plusses or better, meaning you should be taking them over average filler type cards -- or cards that get a C or below in these videos.  I think Axgard Armory is a C+.

Bretagard Stronghold - C+

I love value lands like this.  In the early game, the Stronghold gives you mana just like any other land -- but then, in the late game, it has some very real utility -- unlike most lands.  Making two creatures bigger and giving them vigilance and lifelink is no joke.  Those two keywords combined can really help you win a race, since you gain life and allow your creatures to hang back as blockers.  I think you can take this relatively highly -- for a land.  Obviously, you need to be in GW to really get value out of it.   I’m giving it a C+.

Colossal Plow - F

This is a pretty funny card to combo with the Ox we saw earlier in the week -- and flavorful too!  However, I think in most decks this is not going to be worth it.  Crew 6 is a TON, and gaining some mana and life back when it attacks just isn’t going to be enough for me to overcome it.  If I have like 4 of the oxen, I might be on board with this, but other than that? I don’t think you can play this..it is just too clunky and difficult to crew.  I’m giving this an F.

Cosmos Elixir -D

I don’t think life gain is a big enough theme in this set for this to be worth it.  Obviously, if you can draw cards with this it will be great -- but gaining 2 life a turn is not normally going to be enough to get you to that point all on its own.  Especially because paying 4 mana for this thing doesn’t add to the board in any real way, and usually means you’re going to be taking some extra damage since you didn’t play a creature to deter attacks or anything like that.  If life gain is a bigger thing than I expect, maybe this will be worth it -- but right now? I think it is a D.

Faceless Haven - B-

I always like creature lands.  Most lands quickly run out of usefulness in the late game, but not lands that can turn into creatures!  Now, turning this into a creature doesn’t seem like it will be the easiest thing ever -- three snow mana is no joke -- but it is doable, especially by the later part of the game.  It doesn’t hurt that it counts as a snow permanent and produces snow mana for cards that care about that, and having all creature types also means it will sometimes be able to take advantage of tribal synergies on your board.  I think this is a very nice land, one you can first pick in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Gates of Istvell - C+

The Azorius member of this cycle is also pretty nice, unsurprisingly.  Cashing a land in in the late game for a bit of life and a couple of cards is pretty nice -- any time we’ve seen a land that draws you cards late it does pretty well.  This is another C+ land, which means you’ll be taking it over a whole lot of non-land cards in this set!

Gnottvold Slumbermound - C+

So, this one is not too far from being a creature land.  The fact it blows up a land isn’t huge, but it might be bigger in this format than usual because of snow lands and this cycle, but a land that gives you a 4/4 trampler late is some nice late game value.  I think this is a C+.

Immersturm Skullkairn - C+

This is probably the worst card in this cycle -- but it still isn’t a bad card.  I think it is weaker that the others because one of its effects often has diminished returns by the late game - in particular, the discard a card part of the card.  Mostly, this will give you Reach, and maybe you end up getting some useful card out of your opponent’s hand, but it won’t line up that way very often.  It is still a land that does something useful in the later game, and I’m always on board for that -- and I even think it is a C+ -- just, less of a C+ than the other lands in this cycle I gave that grade to -- it gets a 77 while the others are 79s, let’s say.

Karfell Port - B-

So, this whole cycle is nice, but I think Karfell Port is probably the best of the bunch.  As I’ve already said about other cards in this cycle, having a land that has a real effect in the late game is a big deal -- and the effect here is very real.  Reanimating something in the late game is a huge deal, and if you have a powerful creature in play and you have Karfell Port around too, your opponent is going to be in a lot of trouble.  Now, sure, 6 mana to reanimate something isn’t the most efficient thing ever -- but that’s fine, since it is really just here as a late-game effect on one of your lands.  The fact it mills you does also mean that sometimes you’ll find something really good to bring back.  Also, note that it can do this at Instant speed -- some other cards in this cycle can’t, but it can -- that means if your opponent isn’t paying attention you may really be able to punish them, and it also just means you can leave your mana up and then use it at the end of your opponents turn.  So, this is sort of like a signpost uncommon because of the cost of the ability -- you have to be in Dimir to really make it work -- but I think it is strong enough to be first pickable in some weaker packs anyway.  Don’t underestimate this utility land, don’t think of it as having an expensive reanimation effect -- think of it instead as a land that is a spell in the late game, because that’s basically what it is.  I’m giving it a B-.

Skemfar Elderhall - B-

Like this whole cycle, I’m a fan of this card.  I don’t need to go deep on why lands with abilities are good again, since I’ve already done that in this video, but suffice it to say, this is a land that can turn into a removal spell and a couple of tokens in the late game, and I’m all about that.  The Sorcery limitation is a bit of a bummer, but it would probably be insane if it didn’t have it, so I guess I can live with it.  I think this is one of the better cards in this cycle -- I’m willing to first pick it in some weaker packs.  I’m giving it a B-.

Skull Raid - C

Well, this is an innovative way to design a Mind Rot effect.  They could have just slapped Foretell on it and called it a new card, but they went further than that, and I like what they did.  Mind Rot effects are often not great in Limited.  In the early game, you can get a 2-for-1 with them -- but it comes at the great sacrifice of not adding to the board at all on turn 3.  Then, in the late game, it tends to get worse as the game goes on, and will be a terrible draw way too often.  I usually give them like a D+.  This card gets around those problems by becoming a draw spell if your opponent odeon’t have two cards to discard, so that means that this Mind Rot has all the upside of most of them -- it can get you a 2-for-1 -- but it can still do it if your opponent has one or no cards in the hand.  Now, it isn’t exactly an efficient draw spell, but that’s ok with me overall.  Fortell, of course, also makes it easier to cast because you get to pay in installments.  That all might sound like I’m super high on this card, and I am, as far as Mind Rots go -- but it is still just a C, the first copy is a solid inclusion in most Black decks.

Surtland Frozenflame - C+

This whole cycle is looking pretty nice to me.  Utility lands should not be underestimated -- they are very powerful things, since they end up giving you the mana you need early, and then a real effect late -- unlike most lands.  And the effect here is pretty darn real.  Doing 2 damage to everything and letting you Scry 2 is not a bad deal at all.  Sure, you have to be in a UR deck to really utilize it, but that’s not a big deal.  You also won’t always be able to get the value you want out of the ability, since maybe it hurts you more than your opponent -- but adding Scry 2 to the mix does help a little bit on that front.  Still, the effect here is admittedly situational -- but the cost of having this around is very low.  I think you can take this over most average cards in the format, provided UR looks likely for you.  I’m giving this a C+.

Tyrite Sanctum -  F // C

This set does have more legendary creatures in it that most do, but it isn’t exactly Kamigawa -- there aren’t enough legendaries around for you to be able to support this very often.  Because it hurts your mana base, I would think you need at least 3 legendary creatures before you run it, and even then I would be a little cautious about it.  This is a card that you typically won’t play -- and it is an F, but I think it deserves a buildaround, because sometimes you’ll find yourself able to play this and make use of it.  And if you can, a land that spits out +1/+1 counters and can potentially grant indestructibility isn’t too bad.   Let’s say if you have 3+ legends, it is a C -- and if you can go beyond that, it only gets better.

Valley of the Wandering Glow - C

If you’re interested in snow or fixing, this land is going to do a pretty good job for you.  It enters tapped which can be a bummer sometimes, but having good mana is usually worth such a thing.  You want always want this, but I think it will end up in a whole lot decks, since snow and fixing will be something ltos of decks are intereste din.  I’m giving this a C.

The World Tree -  C+

So, early on, this is a Forest that comes into play tapped, and then in the late game it gives you incredibly good fixing.  I feel like you’ll always play this in a Green deck that is more than one color -- which, you know, basically means all of them.  The fact it can fix and help enable 3, 4 or 5 color decks is nice too.  The God effect on it will basically never come up, but hey -- it might be useful on rare occasions.  I’m giving this a C+