Brothers War Limited Review Notes (Last Updated 11/2/2022 @ 2:40 p.m. ET) (Patreon)

It is set review season again! As new cards are revealed each day, I will update the notes with my thought on them. These are the tentative notes that will eventually become my set review.

Brothers War Set Review

White:

4 - Calamity’s Wake - F

This isn’t here for Limited. You don’t really want to use up a card to hate on the graveyard and stop noncreature spells for the turn most of the time. It is kind of reasonable as a sideboard card in situations where your opponent has lots of graveyard action I guess, but even then I’m not ultra impressed with such a narrow hate effect that doesn’t really give you a card back. I’m giving this an F.

5 - Ambush Paratrooper - C

This looks like a solid Common. I thas passable Flying stats, and in the late game it can buff the whole board. Keep in mind, too, that activated abilities in this format are all going to be easier than normal to activate thanks to power stones. I think this is a C.

6 - Disenchant - C

This is a solid main deck card in this format. There are lots of artifacts and a decent number of Enchantments. It is efficient and Instant speed too, which is always nice. This is going to be at least a C in your main deck, and I could see it going higher.

7 - Guardian of the Great Desert - C+

It is a bit of a bummer that this guy doesn’t count himself, so the floor on the card is a pretty ugly 5-mana 3/2. However, the ceiling can be pretty silly, as he can really enable you to ramp into artifact stuff or sink mana into activated abilities. Generally speaking,  there are lots of ways to make use of power stones in the set! I think this is a C+.

8 - In The Trenches - B+

This is a strictly better Glorious Anthem, which is pretty sweet. These days, Anthem isn’t nearly as good as it once was, as we often expect a creature for a similar cost that also buffs the whole board! That said, buffing your whole board is pretty darn good, so the fact this can also be a removal spell later in the game is pretty amazing. I’m giving this a B+

9 - Kayla’s Command - B+

When you break down the various things you get when you pay three mana for this, you feel pretty good! I think you will amost always want to make the 2/2 and then choose another option.  A three mana 2/2 that draws me a Plains? Yep, that’s good. A three mana 2/2 that puts a counter on something and gives it double strike until end of turn? Yep, that’s good. A three mana 2/2 that gains you 2 and scries 2? That’s good too! This is just a great turn on your mana investment. Nothing it does is gamebreaking of course, but you will often feel like you’re getting 2 cards worth of value when you cast this. I’m giving it a B+.

10 - Kayla’s Reconstruction - C+

Paying 4 for this doesn’t seem amazing, it gives you a bit of card selection and will put one thing in play.  Once were’re talking about 5 or six mana, though, I get a little bit interested. That said, your deck will need the right make up for this to actually give you the value you want, and even then I feel like there’s a reasonable chance you wiff on hitting two artifacts or creature cards with the right mana value. This is definitely going to be clunky sometimes, but the fact it usually adds something to the board does make up for that a little bit. I’m giving it a C+

11 - Lay Down Arms - B-

This is at its best if you go mono-white, and at the very least you do need to be pretty heavy into White – like 10+ Plains – but as long as you can use this to consistently hit things with a mana value of three, I think you’ll feel pretty good about it. I think most White decks will get enough use out of this for it to be a B-. There will be some awkward times with it though, for sure.

12 - Loran of the Third Path - B+

This is going to be great in this format, mostly because you’ll usually be able to destroy an artifact when you play it, setting up the all-important 2-for-1! A three mana 2/1 with Vigilance isn’t very exciting, but it is a body that matters a little bit at least! The card draw effect can end up being quite nice too, especially because you can use it in a way where you get to use the new card first, helping to mitigate against the downside of your opponent drawing. I think this is a B+.

13 - Loran, Disciple of History - B-

There are enough legendary creatures and Artifacts in this set that you’ll be able to get value out of this pretty regularly – and when you do, you’re getting a 2-for-1! I’m giving this a B-.

15 - Mass Production - C

Six mana is a bit more than I would want to pay for four tokens at Sorcery speed, but the fact that these tokens are Artifacts makes it significantly more impressive that it might look at first. It helps you go wide and triggers your artifact things, seems pretty solid! I’m giving it a C.

18 - Myrel, Shield of Argive - B+

Shutting down your opponent’s ability to interact during your turn is pretty nice, as it really allows you to do stuff without fear of your opponent messing something up. On her own, she will generate one soldier token and she’ll just make more every time you attack, and you’re likely to have a few more around as well. This is a B+.

23 - Recruitment Officer - C+

This has nice base stats that can allow it to do some significant damage early, and a mana sink ability that can do some pretty serious work in the late game. It is definitely the least useful in the middle part of the game, when it isn’t big enough to matter and you don’t really have the mana to spend on the ability. I think this is a C+.

24 - Repair and Recharge - C+

5 mana to reanimate a creature is usually a pretty disappointing card in most Limited formats, but this is better than that effect usually is, and this format looks pretty ripe for reanimation strategies. It can hit more than just creatures, giving you way more flexibility – and This format has lots of big artifact creatures in it, and getting them in your graveyard and reanimating them on turn five seems eminently doable. Getting a powerstone in addition to the reanimation effect is sweet too. I think this is a C+

25 - Siege Veteran - B+

This is a lot like Luminarch Aspirant, and this is good company to keep! A counter every combat really improves your board in a hurry – and it can do it the turn it comes down, which usually means you can get something out of it before your opponent manages to kill it. Generating tokens when your stuff dies is nice too, and means you’ll usually have somewhere to put the counter. It can of course put the counter on itself too. I’m giving this a B+.

26 - Soul Partition - C

This is interesting. It is mostly just going to generate tempo for you when you use it on your opponent, since they will ultimately be able to cast the card – just for an increased tax. Using it on your own stuff is certainly a thing, if you want to rebuy ETBs and stuff, but you still have to pay the cost for the card again, which is way worse than just blinking or flickering something. It is basically a White version of a bounce spell in a lot of ways – though making them pay extra does make it better than straight up bounce in some ways. Ultimately, you’re going to get nice tempo but go down a card when you cast this. I think it is probably just a C.

27 - Static Net - B

Paying one more mana for Oblivion Ring is already a pretty good deal, but you actually get a return on your investment in the form of life and a powerstone! That’s obviously amazing, and allows this easily to reach premium removal status. I’m giving it a B.

28 - Survivor of Korlis - C

Soldier is a creature type that matters here, and that’s nice. This is also a good place to put counters and the like thanks to First Strike! And getting a bit of value out of the graveyard is nice too. This seems like it might be one of those one mana 1/1s we’ve seen lately that does lots of little things and the whole package turns out to be a pretty high quality card. For now, I think I’m starting it at a C.

29 - Thopter Architect - C+

This is a pretty nice artifact payoff, as sending your best creature into the air can result in combat shifting much more in your favor! It even counts powerstones and the like, which is nice. I’m giving this a C+.

30 - Tocasia’s Welcome - B-

This is a pretty nice engine if you have a bunch of cards that can trigger it. Luckily, it counts creature tokens as well as creature cards with a low mana value, so building around it seems pretty doable. The turn you play it will be kind of miserable sometimes, and it never actually adds to the board, and those are both problems – and even drawing like 2 cards of it won’t feel insane, since it is basically Divination at that point. So, it is definitely a build around. It would be an F in a deck that has fewer than about 7 cards that trigger it, and a B- in a deck that can trigger it with regularity.

31 - Union of the Third Path - D+

Three mana to draw one card is pretty abysmal. Adding life gain to the mix certainly improves things, although the fact this format doesn’t actually have a life gain deck makes that matter a lot less. I think you’ll cut this more than you play it, it just doesn’t seem impactful enough overall. I’m giving it a D+.

33 - Yotian Medic - C-

This is a solid little defensive creature. It can block for a lot of the game while giving you back some life, which is certainly going to be a pain for aggro decks. But, not all White decks are going to be interesting in something this defensive. I’m giving it a C-.

34 - Autonomous Assembler - B+

This is great either way you cast it! Both give you fairly efficient bodies for the cost, and both can put counters on themselves. There are a few other Assembly-Workers in the set too, of course, but most of the time you’ll just be putting the counter on the Assembler. This can get out of hand in a hurry, especially because thanks to VIgilance, it can attack, block and use its ability every turn cycle. I’m giving this a B+.

35 -  Combat Thresher - B

This looks like a great Uncommon. A three mana 1/1 with Double Strike that draws you a card is amazing, as you get a pretty nice 2-for-1, as a 1/1 double striker can trade with X/2s, and can really make life difficult for X/1s. The Double Striker also loves it when you augment its stats of course. That card would already be a great Uncommon you always play – so the fact you can pay more mana late to make it a bigger double strike is some sweet upside. I’m giving it a B.

36 - Platoon Dispenser - A

This is a bomb. It has really solid stats, the ability to generate creature tokens, and the ability to draw you cards! Don’t forget you can use power stones to power out those 1/1 tokens either! It really isn’t a pipe dream to be drawing cards with this, and it will often just get you that card when it comes down, immediately insuring you get a 2-for-1 at the very least. And, if you untap, you can start making more tokens and drawing more cards! Unearth is some nice additional value, as bringing it back will almost feel like Blitz – in the sense that you probably get to draw a card with it before it goes away. This is an A.

37 - Scrapwork Cohort - C

A 4-mana 3/1 that makes a 1/1 token is a playable card, especially in a format where one card making multiple artifacts matters. So, the fact it can Unearth and leave behind some permanent value in the form of that 1/1 is some nice late game upside to have. I think this is a C.

38 - Steel Seraph - A

This is a bomb. If you pay three for it, you get a super efficient creature who can give keyword abilities to your creatures – this can include itself, by the way, which is great! It makes your board sooo much better for a very low investment, and it can give a keyword ability right away!  Then if you cast it the normal way for 6, you get a creature that is less efficient overall, but obviously – much larger. This is also strong enough to include in your deck even if you can never cast it as a Prototype. I’m giving this an A.

39 - Tocasia’s Onulet - C

A 5-mana 4/4 that gains you 2 life when it dies is probably a D+. This has a pretty reasonable Unearth cost too, though, and you get to gain 2 more life! This is basically Kitchen Finks! Okay, obviously, nowhere near that good, but it does remind me a bit of that card. I think this is a C.

40 - Urza’s Sylex - B+

This is a nice sweeper, especially because it deals with so many permanent types! If you happen to have a planeswalker it can be super silly, since getting to search one up to play it after the dust settles is completely absurd. You won’t do that very often, though. Like usual, sweepers can be a little bit awkward, as they don’t slot easily into aggressive decks, but the impact this card can have on the game is basically unrivaled. The awkwardness of this card in so many decks does make this fall a little short of being a bomb – but I think this is a B+.

41 -

42 - Yotian Frontliner - C-

This will be pretty sweet to play on turn one, because it is likely to get in and buff other creatures in the process. However, even with Unearth, it has diminishing turns as the game goes on, because it just won’t survive attacking on very many boards. Basically, you end up paying a couple of mana to buff a creature twice, and I’m not super impressed by that. It is both an artifact and a soldier, which this format cares about, and that helps some.  I’m giving this a C-.

Blue:

47 - Drafna, Founder of Lat-Nam - B

This has decent base stats, and a couple of nice abilities that work well together. The idea is, you’ll use the first ability to bounce an artifact to your hand, and then ont he next turn make a copy of that artifact when you cast it again. Now, three mana is a pretty big cost to play to make a dual copy, but in the late game Drafna is going to do stuff that really wins you the game, and it is also fine on turn two. I’m giving it a B.

48 - Fallaji Architect - C

This is a cool design. It will either be a two mana ¼ – which is passable – or a tow mana 0/3 that gets you something from the graveyard. Now, keep in mind you only get the card back if it is among those that are milled – and this only h its noncreature nonlands, so you may wiff sometimes. But if you’re a spell heavy deck in the format – which generally means UR – it seems like this will do what you want it to do most of the time, and at least you get a consolation prize if you do wiff. I’m giving this a C.

49 - Flow of Knowledge - D+ // C+

I don’t love this if you aren’t basically mono-blue. If you cast this with three Islands in play – a pretty common occurrence in your typical two-color Limited deck – you aren’t going to be very happy. By the later game it is likely to do a little better, but because you have to discard two you need to be drawing at least 4 with this consistently, and even that doesn’t feel great. I think this is probably a D+ in your typical Blue deck, but if you’re a deck that is really heavy into blue – or straight up mono blue – this is more like a C+.

50 - Forging the Anchor - C

It seems like most of the time this is just going to be a Divination – and one that you had to do some work with in order to actually draw two cards. Hitting three things with this will start to feel significantly better, and it is certainly a possibility in an artifact-heavy set, but I’m still skeptical you can do it often enough for this to be more than a C.

51 - Hurkyl, Master Wizard - B

This has a neat design, and it  seems like she will draw you a card often enough to be pretty good. It is a bit of a bummer she doesn’t count creatures, as those are likely to be the most prevalent type in your deck, but you have a pretty good shot at hitting artifacts with her too. Some Blue decks will undoubtedly also have enough instants and/or sorceries to make her work. But yeah, seems like she will draw you a card about half the time, and that’s pretty strong. I’m giving her a B.

52 - Hurkyl’s Final Meditation - D

These kinds of cards usually disappoint in Limited. Bouncing all nonland permanents just doesn’t actually do what you want it to mot of the time. You spend a card and set yourself back. And yeah, you set your opponent back too, but it usually isn’t by enough – especially because they will typical get to rebuild for you! The whole “End the turn” part of the card is sort of interesting, as it can functionally be a counterspell since it empties the stack and doesn’t let the cards have their effects – and that is certainly some nice additional upsid – as is the fact that you can cast this on your opponent’s turn – but to do that you have to pay ten mana. If you can get there, this can basically function like a time walk that bounces the whole board which is pretty powerful, but that is just so much mana.  Yeah, as cool as this card is, I think it is probably just a D.

56 - Lat-Nam Adept - C

4-mana 3/3s have felt pretty awful lately, but this one can grow throughout the game as you draw more cards – and that’s one of the format’s main archetypes, so this will certainly have a home in the format. I’m giving it a C.

58 - Mightstone’s Animation - C

There are a whole lot of Artifacts you can animate in this format, including powerstones – and turning those into a very real creature seems like quite the deal! Especially because this also replaces itself. I’m giving it a C.

59 - One with the Multiverse - C+

This is incredibly powerful, since it will just let you rip through your library and grant you absurd card advantage. It does cost 8 though, and you can’t use Powerstones to cast it, so it doesn’t get the boost that some other expensive cards get in this format. How good this is will come down to how possible it is to build a non-artifact focused ramp deck, and it will also depend on how slow the format is. My guess is that it is a mistake to think of this as something that will be easy to cast in most games, which really limits how good it can be. It is the kind of card I am going to take with a high pick early in the format to give it a try, but if I were being responsible, I think I would take it significantly lower than that since it seems pretty iffy. I’m going to start it at a C+.

61 -

62 - Skystrike Officer - B+

This is great. It has a nice stat-line, cranks out soldier tokens, and can even draw you cards! Obviously it makes soldiers on its own and is a soldier itself, but there are plenty of other soldiers in the set too. This can quickly get out of hand. I’m giving it a B+.

63 - Splitting the Powerstone - D

I don’t love this. It is super clunky as a Sorcery, especially because the Powerstones you get back enter tapped. And sure, sometimes you get to draw a card – but that won’t happen often enough. They mostly went for a cool flavor win here with the “legendary” clause on the card, and this is certainly flavorful – but pretty bad for Limited. Giving up an Artifact for two Powerstones just doesn’t seem like what I want to be doing most of the time. You can combine it with Unearth, or even sacrifice a powerstone to it, but I’m still not seeing this be very effective. I’m giving this a D.

64 - Stern Lesson - C

This is a solid card that will slot nicely into the spell decks and the artifact decks – especially the ramp-oriented artifact deck. Three mana to draw two and discard one on its own on an instant is usually kind of alright, and I do think the Powerstone upside here is enough for this to be a one-of in most Blue decks in the format. I’m giving it a C.

65 - Take Flight - B-

This is quite the Aura! +1/+0 and Flying is going to make a lot of creatures problematic, and because you get to draw a card when you hit the opponent, it helps get around the dangerous 2-for-1 downside that is inherent with an Aura. If the creature you put this on is allowed to continue unchecked, you’re just going to win. I’m giving this a B-.

66 - Teferi, Temporal Pilgrim - A+

This is a bomb. The 0 ability is effectively a +1, and he gains 1 loyalty every time you draw a card in general, so he’s going to be able to gain loyalty pretty effectively, especially if you have some other draw effects. Meanwhile, his -2 creates a very real creature who does a great job of protecting him – and it also grows throughout the game. The ultimate probably isn’t going to happen very often in Limited, but obviously if you do get there it stands a pretty good chance of winning you the game, since it takes away everything but a single nonland permanent. This is an A+.

67 - Third Path Savant - C-

This is the kind of card people tend to overrate. Yes, it has a very powerful ability that draws you cards late, and if you’re flooding out that’s a nice ability to help get you out of it. However, you are going to get to the point where that ability matters a really low percentage of the time, even with Powerstones around.  So this is definitely better than a vanilla three mana ⅔ – but not by a lot. I’m giving it a C-.

68 - Thopter Mechanic - B

I am already in on a two mana 2/1 that makes a Thopter token when it dies, so adding the card draw upside here is just gravy! This is a great Uncommon, I’m giving it a B.

70 - Urza’s Command - B+

Like most Commands, this is going to be pretty good in Limited. You’ll probably most frequently choose to make a creature token and Scry 1 and draw a card. And, if that’s what this always did it would certainly be a B. After all, that has a good chance at being a 2-for-1! The other two modes are a bit more situational, but buffing down an entire opposing board can be powerful in the right situation, and sometimes you’ll want a powerstone to ramp into something powerful. I think this is a B+.

74 - Zephyr Sentinel - B-

You will always play a two mana 2/1 with flying and Flash, so the additional effect is a great thing to add! You can use it to save a creature from removal, or to rebuy an ETB ability – the soldier bonus is nice too! But yeah, you won’t always have a reason to use the bounce effect. I’m giving this a B-

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75 - Arcane Proxy - B

Playing this for three and copying a cheap spell is going to be a great feeling, and it is certainly doable! Though you basically never play this early as a result. Going the Prototype route makes it so you have even more options out of the graveyard! I think this is a B.

78 - Depth Charge Colossus - D

I don’t love this. Both modes are pretty inefficient for a creature you have to pay extra mana for to untap. I think this is a D.

81 - Surge Engine - A-

This looks great – it is a two drop that has to be answered, or you just lose. You can basically make this an unblockable three mana 3/2, and that’s a card you always play in Limited – but it is even better than that, because you can pay that three mana in two separate installments and it has two other abilities! A 5/4 that can’t be blocked ends the game quickly, and if it isn’t doing enough on its own, you can even draw cards with it! This is a bomb.  I’m giving it an A-.

82 - The Temporal Anchor - A-

You have to pay six for this and not add to the board – and you even have to wait a whole turn to get it going. However, it effectively draws you two extra cards every single turn, which is of course absolutely absurd. You’ll just Scry 2 cards to the bottom of the library with this basically every time since you effectively draw 2 when you do that. It can even get sillier with more Scry!  It is going to be pretty hard for you to lose the game if you make it to your next turn after casting this. Having to wait for that whole turn definitely hurts the Anchor’s stock, as does the fact it costs three blue mana – but I still feel like this sneaks into the lower bomb range. It just generates so much card advantage. I’m giving it an A-.

83 - Terisian Mindbreaker - C

Here is this format’s mill card that lots of people will overrate! Milling just isn’t a viable strategy in most Limited formats – it happens sometimes – but I don’t think its happening very often here if the Mindbreaker is your main way of getting there. Hitting half of an opposing library with every attack is definitely sweet, and even if your opponent kills it, you can Unearth it! And all of that’s fine, but it isn’t really going to mill your opponent out very often. It has mediocre stats too, which make it hard for it really attack that effectively very often. It is better than some cards that are all in on mill, because at least in this case you get a creature, and the repeatable nature of the mill trigger definitely helps too.  This is probably just a C.

Black:

84 - Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist - B

A one mana 1/1 Death touch is basically always a C, and this one has tons of upside! Generating powerstones in exchange for creatures is useful in the right deck, and the ability to exile creatures from the graveyard for creature tokens is really great. It is a bit costly, but because you can use the powerstones to pay for it, it is really cheaper than it looks. This looks like a B to me.

85 - Ashnod’s Intervention - C

Returning hte creature to your hand instead of to the battlefield is obviously a big downgrade from other versions of this effect we have seen before, but it does mean that you can use this to trade one-for-one for something while holding on to your creature. It also works alright in response to removal, though your opponent is likely to still gain some tempo. This is probably just a C-.

86 - Battlefield Butcher - C+

In addition to having a cost reduction built in, this activated ability will feel cheaper in this format than it would normally thanks to power stones. This seems like a reasonable enough win condition for the graveyard decks in the format, although I don’t think it is quite the payoff you’re really seeking out to complete your deck. I’m giving it a C+

88 - Corrupt - D // B-

This is a pretty sweet reprint, and it gives you a very good reason to go really hard into Black. This can be a very real win condition or an excellent removal spell. While it is costly and a Sorcery, all the life it can gain you is enough to outweigh that. Now, if you aren’t a deck running 13+ Swamps it is going to get significantly worse, so keep that in mind. It is probably just a D in a two-color deck, but a B- in a mono-black deck.

89 - Diabolic Intent - D

Tutors don’t tend to perform very well in Limited, and I don’t think there’s an exception here – even at two mana. This is mostly because you have 2-for-1 yourself to make it do its thing, and while some decks in Limited have powerful enough cards to make that worth doing, you won’t usually have such a card. If you can find a way to sacrifice something worth less than a card – like a creature token, it gets more interesting – but I’m starting this at a D.

90 - Disciples of Gix - C

6 mana for a 4/4 is rough, but the idea here is that you can search up cards with Unearth – or other cards that have graveyard synergy, in which case the value this gives you will often feel like it is drawing you at least one card, and sometimes it can do even more serious work than that! I really wish they had at least made this a 5/5 though, as that stat-line is a tough one. I think you will be able to generate enough value out of searching up three artifacts, though, that this is worth playing. I’m giving it a C.

91 - Disfigure - B-

As usual, this is premium removal. It can kill a pretty wide spectrum of things for only one mana, giving you a great deal. This is a B-.

92 - Dreams of Steel and Oil - C

This is a very efficient way to disrupt the opponent, and it can hit a whole lot of cards in the format. I’m usually not super high on discard, but when it gets down to a single mana and allows you to hit a wide variety of cards, I’m on board. It is nice that you even get to exile something, which will often at least take away something with Unearth or something like that. That isn’t quite a 2-for-1, but if you hit a card in hand and a card they could use in their graveyard, you’re getting a good deal.  Don’t get me wrong – it still isn’t great. The fail case on the card – where you don’t hit anything - is still pretty ugly and will feel like you’re mulliganing. The upside is that you do still get to exile something from their graveyard, and that’s nice. I’m giving this a c.

94 - Fateful Cooperation - F

This feels like a card that is mostly intended for Commander. In Limited, this is pretty bad. Sure, you get to draw some cards, but giving your opponent a permanent is pretty bad. And you might be saying “Well, give them something that isn’t good!” Well..if you’re giving them a one or two mana card, it still isn’t really worth it, since you draw way fewer cards – and you still used a card to give your opponent a permanent, so you’re starting way behind when you cast this.  I guess if you feel like you have enough removal in your deck, using this and drawing into that removal could be alright, but I think overall, this is just a card to be avoided. I’m giving it an F.

95 - Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor - A-

This is really good, mostly because of the first ability. Every single time you have a creature hit your opponent, you can pay 1 life and draw a card. And that ability gets going right away, so the turn you play Gix you can try to take advantage of the ability – and that set up just means having played a two drop, so it isn’t asking for much! You probably win the game with the insane card advantage this gives you before you ever really need to use the other ability – but obviously, you are going to draw a bunch fo cards, so you can also discard a bunch and pay 7 to cast cards from your opponent’s library for free, which is insane. This is a bomb – it isn’t htat hard to generate value with it before your opponent ever untaps, and if they don’t kill it quickly, it will end the game in your favor.

96 - Gix’s Caress - C-

Coercion is basically never good in Limited, and that’s what the first part of this card is. Paying three to trade one-for-one and not do anything on the board is a real problem, even if you do get to disrupt your opponent. This gives you a little thing back in the form of a powerstone, which certainly makes it better – but I still think you cut this a lot. I’m giving it a C-.

97 - Gix’s Command - B+

Like the other commands, this looks pretty darn good. You’ll frequently want to make your opponent sacrifice their big creature, and that effect alone isn’t worth much less than five mana – so everything else you can get is pretty sweet, and most of it is very impactful. Making a creature bigger and giving it lifelink until end of turn can really change the game, as can sweeping away small creatures or returning two creatures to your hand from the graveyard! This can give you a 3-for-1 a few different ways, which is sweet – even if it is a bit clunky as a 5-mana Sorcery. I’m giving it a B+.

101 - Gnawing Vermin - C

This gives you a bunch of little stuff, but getting all of it for one mana is a pretty decent deal! One mana 1/1s that can give -1/-1 to something when they die are usually pretty nice, as they can trade up for X/2s or even get a 2-for-1 if your opponent has two X/1s. The fact it mills sets up a couple of different Black decks in the format too. I’m giving this a C.

102 - Go For the Throat - B

As usual, this is a premium removal spell. Yes, the set has lots of Artifact creatures – but that was true last time we saw this card too. It still kills 80+% of the creatures in the set at a very efficient rate. I’m giving it a B.

103 - Gruesome Realization - C+

Paying three mana to draw 2 and pay 2 life is a solid card in most Limited formats, so having the option of using this to sweep away some small creatures is a nice addition. I’m giving this a C+.

109 - No One Left Behind - B

This is a really cool design for a reanimation spell. We see 5 mana reanimation spells all the time, and most of them are duds because the set up of having something worth reanimating in your graveyard is surprisingly challenging in formats without a dedicated reanimator-type deck. This makes up for that in a big way, since you can reanimate 3 mana things for only two mana. In other words, setting this up so it is actually worth using is way, way easier than most versions of this effect we have seen before, and it still has the same super powerful top end of being able to reanimate a massive bomb or something. Black decks look well-positioned to take advantage of this. I’m pretty high on this. I’m giving it a B.

110 - Overwhelming Remorse - B

A card that was always 5 for this effect is probably a C+, and this will often cost significantly less, especially in graveyard decks. Just getting it down to 4 is pretty much getting you to the premium level, and it will often be even cheaper! I’m giving this a B.

111 - Painful Quandary - F

This is a reprint, and it was bad last time.. The problem is that your opponent can find ways to set up situations where it is easy for them to choose an option that doesn’t really hurt them that much. There are definitely times where playing this can be a huge problem, but there are also plenty of times where playing this has a minimal impact on the game – and those will be far more common. I think this is an F.

112 - Powerstone Fracture - C

In case you didn’t get it from the card’s name, the ideal thing to do here is going to be to sacrifice a powerstone. In that case, you aren’t using up a real card – and that’s good, because giving up a real card to cast this is pretty bad. It is basically a wore bone splinters, and it isn’t like bone splinters is an incredible card. I still think this falls below premium removal because of the set up needed to make it decent. I’m giving it a C.

114 - Thran Vigil - F // B-

This will mostly trigger off of Unearth in this format, but there are other ways to get it going. Obviously, this is a build around, because not all decks – even Black decks – will reach the critical mass of synergy needed to make this thing do its job. It is probably just a D in your typical Black deck in the format, and a B- in a deck that has enough Unearth and other ways to move cards out of the graveyard.

117 - Ashnod’s Harvester - C+

A two mana 3/1 that hates on the graveyard will pretty much always make the cut, especially one that’s an artifact! Unearth is a very real presence in the format, and being able to take one of those away from your opponent will feel pretty nice! It can even Unearth on its own to take a card out of it has to. I think this is a C+.

118 - Clay Revenant - D

This kind of creature almost always seems to underperform, and I think this version is worse than most cheap creatures who make you pay mana to get them back from the graveyard. The idea here is that this is something you can sacrifice over and over again, or that you can get value out of if you discard or mill it, but it is just so clunky. You have to pay 4 mana every time to get it back in play, and that’s pretty dismal. What’s more is, a one mana ½ isn’t that relevant for that long anyway. I’m giving it a D.

122 - Bladewhip Trasmogrant - C+

This card is definitely here more for aggro decks in constructed. It isn’t unplayable or anything in Limited, but not being able to block is a bigger downside in Limited, and you’ll never be able to reduce the cost of the graveyard activated ability in Limited either, as there just won’t be enough non-basics around. So, all that out of the way – this is a creature that can attack pretty effectively on a lot of boards, and you can get it back from the graveyard as a 4/2, which is pretty nice – especially because powerstones will help you out some there. Like I said, not being able to block can be a problem, but if this is a 4/2, you can just throw it at your opponent every turn and they usually can’t just ignore it. I’m giving it a C+.

123 - Phyrexian Fleshgorger - A-

Both options here are great! If you can cast it on turn three, it is going to be a real problem for your opponent. It represents a problematic threat that will quickly make the gap between your life and your opponent’s insurmountable! And the fact it has Ward means that even if your opponent can kill it, they have to give up some life. Obviously, casting this for 7 in the late game is going to be even better a lot of the time, as it becomes a 7/5 – which also means the Ward is even more painful! Interacting with the 7/5 version of the card is a nightmare, since menace and lifelink will make it very hard to take down profitably, and it isn’t like your removal will feel great either thanks to Ward.  Both modes of this card are probably a B+ or so, and together, I think you get a bomb. I’m giving it an A-.

124 - Transmogrant Altar - D // B-

There is a pretty real sacrifice deck in this format, so I am very intrigued by this. There is plenty of fodder and payoffs for sacrificing, so generating extra value when you use either of these abilities isn’t far-fetched, and that seems pretty darn good. In that sort of deck, this looks like it could be a very real engine. I think it needs a build around grade for sure, as it probably doesn’t make sense outside of Black-Red. If you can’t get some extra stuff out of sacrificing things, this isn’t nearly as good. This is probably a D in your typical deck in the format, and a B- in the Black-Red deck.

125 - Transmogrant’s Crown - A-

This sort of feels like a fixed version of Skullclamp. It isn’t quite as busted as that card was of course, but this is a very powerful card, especially if you can consistently only pay a single mana to equip it! +2/+0 is enough to make many creatures a threat, and your opponent will absolutely hate the idea of trading with anything this is equipped too. So, you’ll put them in a bad spot – where they have to take a bunch of damage, or get 2-for-1’d! Sometimes they will be able to chump of course, but you’re still coming out ahead there. Because the equip is so cheap you can also move it in the second main phase very commonly, making another creature a better blocker that can generate a 2-for-1. So..yeah, I think this is a bomb. I’m giving it an A-.

Red:

126 - Arms Race -

This Artifact-only version of Sneak Attack is pretty cool, and this format certainly has some beefy artifact creatures that you could cheat into play. However, it is hard to take full advantage of a card like this in Limited, as you often find yourself going down cards in order to do some damage, and that’s not usually worth it. This is probably just a D, but I can potentially see there being a deck for it.

127 - Bitter Reunion - C-

This is a neat take on a Tormented Voice-type effect. While the UR deck in this format cares about spells, it actually cares about all non-creature spells, so this will still trigger them like Tormented Voice would. The ability to give haste to your whole board will come up sometimes too. I think you probably cut this most of the time in any deck that doesn’t care about spells, and even in the spell deck it probably isn’t the card you’re happily shoving in your deck. I’m giving it a C-.

128 - Brotherhood’s End - B

This looks pretty good, as each of the modes can really decimate a decent chunk of decks in the format. Clearing out a bunch of soldiers or other small creature is going to feel really good, and blowing up cheap artifacts – including power stones – is going to be nice too! Obviously you want this more in a deck where you can always choose a mode that is fairly one-sided, but both of those modes are powerful enough and flexible enough that I’m taking this pretty highly. I’m giving it a B.

130 - Draconic Destiny - A-

This looks pretty great. It gives an amazing boost to a creature, making virtually anything into a threat, and the fact that it returns to your hand when that creature dies helps get around the dangerous downside most Auras have. It isn’t quite Rancor, though. It only returns to your hand when the creature dies, not when this Aura goes to the graveyard. So,  You do have to worry about your opponent removing the creature you target with it, as the potential for getting 2-for-1 is very real! But if you time it right, your opponent will have a hard time every coming out ahead against this. Most of the time, it will just keep making another creature into a serious problem, giving your opponent a real headache. I think this is a bomb. I’m giving it an A-.

131 - Exaggeration - F

This isn’t good for Limited. You can try and have more nonland permanents than your opponent when you cast this so that, in theory, you come out ahead. However, having that sort of control over a game isn’t easy, and even if you get fewer permanents, your opponent might actually get better permanents. It is just too random, and not the kind of thing you want to be doing if you’re trying to win the game consistently. This is an F.

133 - The Fall of Kroog - F

As usual, land destruction tends to be pretty bad in Limited. There aren’t enough powerful nonbasics around, so you find yourself just destroying regular lands, and doing that for six mana isn’t really where you want to be. Land destruction at that stage often has a minimal impact on the game. And sure, this adds a bolt to the face and can kill some X/1s, but I still don’t feel like its enough to play this thing. I’m giving it an F.

134 - Fallaji Chaindancer - C

This is going to be tough to block on a lot of boards, as a 2/4 double strike can deal with a whole lot of creatures without going down itself. The threat of activation will let this get in for 2 a decent chunk of the time, and if you have other ways to augment it – it can get even sillier! I’m giving this a C.

135 - Feldon, Ronom Excavator - B-

This has a neat design! A two mana 2/2 with Haste is probably a C+, taking away blocking probably knocks it down to a C – but this thing has some nice upside. When your opponent can’t do anything but trade with it, they will definitely be taking the 2 damage, otherwise you’re going to get a 2-for-1. Once they can just block it without losing a creature, they will – but you’re going to get some pretty nice card selection and you will effectively draw a card. The real sweet thing is to find a way for it to take damage and survive – this can be accomplished if you use some tricks and stuff like that, and that’s when it will feel really great. Basically, you can always attack with this and get something out of it, whether your opponent takes 2 or blocks it to kill it. Anyway, this is a nice card – I’m giving it a B-.

136 - Giant Slagmaw - C+

A three mana 4/3 with Trample is a nice aggressive creature, and shutting down lifegain matters sometimes too. This is a C+.

137 - Goblin Blat-Runner - C

This seems like a pretty nice sacrifice payoff at Common. A 3/2 with Menace can swing effectively for a long time, and sometimes it will be bigger! At the same time, it will also be a ½ a decent chunk of the time, and that’s not so good. This is probably just a C.

139 - Mechanized Warfare - D // B-

There are a few cards in this set that really want you to lean into a more mono-colored direction, and this is certainly one of those. The nice thing about this kind of card is that on a lot of boards it does actually impact the board right away, as it makes all of your red and artifact creatures into significantly better attackers! You won’t always have a board that can take advantage right away of course, and if you aren’t a heavy Red deck this just won’t be worth it anyway. That probably means it needs a buildaround grade – it is probably a D in your typical two-color Red deck, and a B- in a heavy Red deck.

140 - Mishra, Excavation Prodigy - C+

This looks like a pretty nice Uncommon. Looting is a great ability to have around in Limited, as it improves the quality of your draws – and Mishra here pays you off a little bit for discarding artifacts, since he can give you mana back. I’m not sure how often it is going to be optimal to do that, but it is nice to have the option.  The stat-line is a little rough, as he can die to pretty much anything, including spells that cost 1/3rd what he does, but at least having Haste means you can usually do something with him right away. I’m giving him a C+.

141 - Mishra’s Command - A-

This is very good. If it was always just an X spell that could hit any creature, it would be a B- or a B.  That kind of effect never feels efficient, but the fact it scales all game long makes up for that. And yeah, you’ll almost always want to choose the removal option and that’s what will give you the most value. However, you also get a whole other effect! Most of the time the planeswalker part doesn’t matter, but buffing one of your creatures or reloading your hand can be pretty darn nice. If you just imagine that this is always doing X damage to a creature and giving you one of those other effects, you’re talking about something amazing – and you get options! I think this sneaks into the lower bomb range. I’m giving it an A-.

142 - Mishra’s Domination - D

We’ve pretty much seen this card before, and it wasn’t very impressive. It is easy to think of this as being really flexible, but it is less useful than it looks. Unless casting this wins you the game, you basically never want to put this on an opposing creature, so what you’re mostly paying for here is the stat-boost. And while it is sizable, it also opens you up to a very serious 2-for-1 without really doing anything to help mitigate against that massive downside. I think this is a D.

143 - Misrha’s Onslaught - D+

You are overpaying for both modes on this card – usually each of these effects costs three. You do get some modality here, but the token effect is generally underpowered while the mass pump effect is narrow, so I’m not looking to run this very often. I’m giving it a D+.

144 - Monastery Swiftspear - C+

This is a pretty spicy reprint for constructed! It isn’t nearly as good in Limited, though. It just isn’t that easy to load up on enough spells to trigger it, and it also has diminishing returns as the game goes on. That said it is still pretty darn good, just not “one of the best Limited one drops ever” good. I’m giving it a C+.

145 - Obliterating Bolt - B

Red always gets a super efficient uncommon removal spell, and that’s certainly what this is! The fact it exiles the target will actually come up in a format with Unearth too. This is premium removal. I’m giving it a B.

148 - Pyrrhic Blast - C

This is a neat design. We see these sacrifice effects a lot and they are usually kind of a pain to use, since you 2-for-1 yourself! But this gets around that by replacing itself with a draw a card effect.You can also hit any player with it, so it can finish someone off which is cool. Now, it still does require some set up that is surprisingly awkward sometimes – like you need a creature with high enough power or some sacrifice synergy or this can fall pretty flat. It is an Instant, so you can use it in response to removal and stuff which helps. But yeah, this is probably still just a C. Too many situations where it is very awkward to cast this.

149 - Raze to the Ground - C

This format has lots of Artifacts, so this is definitely something you can play in your main deck and it will be solid. I like that you can basically cycle it too, by blowing up a Powerstone or something else cheap. It is still a Sorcery and kind of clunky, so I think its just a C – but in most formats it would be a sideboard card!

151 - Sardian Cliffstomper - F // C

This isn’t especially impressive to me, even if you end up in mono-red – and it is pretty much unplayable if you’re not in mono-red. Sure, it can get some high power, but without evasion to take advantage of it, I’m not that excited about it. And yeah, it only costs two mana, but the fact it only starts doing its thing once you have four mountains is a pretty big hurdle. I thinkt his is an F in a two-color deck in the format, and a C in a deck that is heavy red.

152 - Sibling Rivalry - D // C+

Even with a powerstone tacked on, a Threaten effect isn’t worth playing unless you have ways to sacrifice the creature you steal. That means that, as usual, this gets a build around grade. It is a D in most Red decks, and a C+ in a deck with cheap ways to sacrifice things. Good news is, the Black-Red deck in this format will most certainly be able to utilize this.

154 - Tyrant of Kher Ridges - A

Take away the enter the Battlefield ability, and the card is a B. Decent flying stats and firebreathing make it a formidable finisher.  That ETB is an incredible one though. It will either kill a creature or finish off the opponent, and both are awesome options! This is an A.

156 - Visions of Phyrexia - B+

Drawing an extra card every turn is great, and I like that you get a Powerstone if you hit something you can’t cast. Now, tapping out for this can be dangerous in some situations, but if you get to untap, it is going to generate enough value to win you the game within a few turns. I’m giving this a B+.

159 - Fallaji Dragon Engine - C

So, a three mana ⅓ with Flying that can raise its power is probably a C-, and an 8 mana 5/5 Flyer with that ability is probably a D. However, a card that can be either of those things is significantly better, especially in a set with an Artifact theme! Powerstones make it easier to cast and its ability is a place to spend that mana.  It still doesnt’ seem incredible to me, though – I think it is a C.

160 - Heavyweight Demolisher - C

A 7-mana 8/6 with Menace is no joke..but it isn’t so good that I like the fact that it punishes you by making you pay three mana just to untap it. The Unearth upside is sweet of course, as your opponent has to account for it or end up dying in the late game, but the untap tax is enough for me to really feel like I won’t always be happy about playing this. And yes, you can use your Powerstones to ramp into it and to untap it, but I still don’t feel great about this.  I’m giving it a C.

161 - MIshra’s Juggernaut - D+

Boy, this is pretty disappointing for referencing an old card that was a powerhouse during Magic’s early days! 5 mana for a 5/3 with Trample that always has to attack is just a D – and, adding Unearth to the mix is an upgrade, but at 6 mana it doesn’t feel that good. I’m giving it a D+.

162 - Mishra’s Research Desk - C

This is kind of cool, as it gives you an artifact that can draw you two cards – which yeah, that’s a 2-for-1. Problem is, when you Unearth it you have to pay three mana upfront, which reduces the number of things you rcan actually play with the card, but at least you can play lands off of it! This is kind of a roundabout, artifact-based version of Divination – with some better card selection. It is probably just a C.

163 - Phyrexian Dragon Engine - B

An easy to cast three mana 2/2 with Double Strike is probably already a B-. That’s just a great rate for the cost! That means you’ll play this in decks in this format even if you can’t produce Red mana, because the format has artifact payoffs and this is just a good card without Unearth. That said, in an ideal world you can also access that Unearth upside, because it is really powerful! Not only do you get a threatening creature back for a turn, you also get to reload your land late. Now, the Meld upside on the card is pretty close to irrelevant, as getting this Rare and the Mythic Rare Mishra, Claimed by Gix is highly unlikely in Limited. Especially because each of those cards is pretty good all on its own, so it isn’t like they will be floating around for someone to grab both of.  So, you may as well treat that as flavor text. STill a nice card though. I’m giving it a B.

165 - Skitterbeam Battallion -  B+

5 mana for three 2/2s with Trample and Haste is a great deal – and if you happen to get 9 mana, you also get a nice deal of 9-mana for thre 4/4s with Trample and Haste. I wouldn’t count on getting to 9 very often in Limited, even with Power stones so even though this is colorless when you can’t cast it for its prototype cost, you don’t really want to play this unless you can cast it for its Prototype. I’m giving it a B+.

Green:

166 - Alloy Animist - C

With all the power stones around, this ability is going to overperform – between the fact that they can pay for the ability and the fact you can animate them! I still don’t feel great about this card though. Three mana is a lot for a temporary creature. Obviously it is a solid mana sink in the late game, but in the early and mid-game you just won’t have time to use this, which certainly hurts the card. I think it is probably just a C.

167 - Argothian Opportunist - C

This seems like a bread-and-butter Common for Green decks. It has passable stats and gets you some power stone ramp going. I’m giving it a C.

169 - Audacity - C+

I like this Aura. It is basically a fixed Rancor, which is pretty fun. +2/+0 and Trample is enough to make a whole lot of creatures problematic, and the fact you get to draw a card when Audacity goes to the graveyard means you don’t have to worry about getting 2-for-1’d. I’m giving this a C+.

170 - Awaken the Woods - B+

This creates an army of Dryad Arbors, which is pretty cool! This gives you a ton of bodies that also happen to ramp you. It seemsl ike this is pretty good at most stages of the game. Paying 4 total mana to get two 1/1s that can tap for Green is pretty solid as they will help you build out your board in addition to adding to the board themselves, and in the later stages of the game you can crank out a whole bunch of bodies. I think this is a B+.

171 - Blanchwood Armor - F // C

This is a reprint, and it is not especially good in Limited. It can offer a huge boost, especially if you’re heavy Green, but it doesn’t do enough to mitigate against the downside of getting 2-for-1’d. There are some good targets for it in the format for sure, but having one of those targets in play is additional set up in addition to needing a bunch of Forests! I think this is an F in a deck that isn’t heavy into green, and probably a C at best in a heavy green deck.

175 - Epic Confrontation - B-

This is a reprint, and it was a premium removal spell last time. The stats boost is surprisingly effective at helping your creature win the fight. You do have to be careful with this kind of removal spell, because if your opponent can respond by removing your creature you get blown out, and that does matter – but you can often find a good window to cast this. I’m giving it a B-.

176 - Fallaji Excavation - C+

As you can see, Powerstone ramp is a pretty real thing in this format. There are plenty of sweet artifacts to ramp into in the format, so this will often precede you slamming a scary 8 drop on to the battlefield! Now…it doesn’t really impact the board immediately, and that can be a problem – but gaining 3 life when you cast this makes it more likely you can endure a hard hit on your opponent’s turn, which makes it more likely you untap and slam an 8/8 on the table. I’m giving this a C+

177 - Fade From History -  F / B-

This has a neat design, but I feel like it is mostly a sideboard card. This set will have a few different archetypes focused on Artifacts, and bringing this in against them is pretty good. It will usually feel well worth it to give your opponent a 2/2 and destroy a bunch of stuff. You don’t want to run this, though, if you’re interested in running Artifacts yourself – you want to use it when it is fairly one-sided. It isn’t good enough against enough decks in the format to main deck in an artifact-lite Green deck either, though. It is probably an F in your main deck, but a pretty powerful B- when you bring it in out of hte sideboard.

179 - Fauna Shaman - C+

This is a fun reprint. It starts with passable stats, and comes with the ability to search up creatures which is great. Now, that ability is significantly weaker than it might look at first, mostly because you have to give up a creature to get a creature, so you’re really just getting card selection. Card selection is great of course, but you have to weigh whether using the ability is worth more than just casting the creature. The answer to that is usually dependent on the contents of your deck and whether there are any creatures who are better in a given situation. If you have a bomb creature or two, this gets far better. One nice thing here is that the Shaman synergizes well with the format’s Black/Green deck, which wants creatures in the graveyard. Overall, I think this is a C+.

180 - Fog of War - F

Fogs are bad in Limited. You spend a card to delay the inevitable in most cases. People always talk about the scenarios where you can cast something like this when your opponent alpha strikes, survive, and alpha strike back to win the game! But you have to have things line up perfect for those scenarios to happen. And they will happen sometimes, but this will be an irrelevant card far more often. Gaining some life does make it a little bit better, but the fact it doesn’t stop larger creature from doing damage is a really big problem. This is an F.

181 - Gaea’s Courser - B-

While this is a pretty nice payoff for graveyard decks in the format, I do think it is a little disappointing for an uncommon t is meant to be one of the premiere payoffs for getting things in the graveyard. This is because it has below rate stats, and it has to attack to trigger the ability. Now, you’re going to feel fine about this card if you can draw a card with it and trade it off, but the ideal scenario is drawing with it multiple times! I still think it is pretty good, but probably just barely a B-.

182 - Gaea’s Gift - C

This is a nice trick. In addition to doing a good job of helping a creature win combat, the slew of keywords it gets makes it so you can blank most removal when you cast it. We’ve seen a lot o tricks like this of late, and they’ve all ended up being a card you always want one or two of in aggressive decks, and I think that’s what we have here. I’m giving it a C.

183 - Giant Growth - C

Giant Growth is back! As always, it is a very nice trick. One mana for this stats boost lets your creature win a whole lot of combats, and you can do it for a very, very low investment, giving you a nice advantage. Aggressive Green decks in the format will basically always want at least one. I’m giving it a C.

187 - Obstinate Baloth - B

This is a reprint, and one that got downshifted from rare! A 4-mana 4/4 that gains you 4 when it enters is just a great card in Limited. It gives you an efficient creature and a very relevant body to help you pull ahead if your opponent was having an aggressive start. The discard part of the card isn’t going to come up much, but that’s fine. I’m giving this a B.

191 - Tawnos’s Tinkering - C-

This is a neat take on an effect like this. Using this to put counters on something that is already a creature doesn’t feel great for the cost, but if you can use it to animate a land or an artifact it gets a little more interesting. That said, I feel like actually generating a card of value with this is going to be a little bit challenging, and it is a pretty big investment for a card that won’t always be able to do enough. I’m giving it a C-.

193 - Titania, Voice of Gaea - C+

A three mana ¾ with Reach is an easy C+, so the other upside is nice to have, though it doesn’t seem likely to come up super often. Obviously if you’re self-milling you will be gaining some life, and there are some other ways to make it happen, but yeah. If you also managed to have the rare land it mentions, you have quite the combo – as that card mills your deck – so in theory you can eventually get the huge scary version of Titania. But uh..don’t count on it. It involves having both a Rare and a Mythic in play, and meeting the requirement it asks of you. So yeah, this is mostly a Three mana ¾ with Reach that will gain you 2 life on occasion. Which is something you’ll always play in Green – but not anything special. I’m giving this a C+.

196 - Wasteful Harvest -  D+

This format does have a deck that really wants to mill cards, but I’m still not super into this. Three mana to get a single permanent back from the graveyard is pretty underwhelming, even with mill attached. I’d much rather impact the board and mill myself at the same time, and there are ways to do that in the format. I’m giving this a D+.

200 - Iron-Craw Crusher - C

Both modes on this are solid creatures, but neither is amazing. Obviously, the 4/6 version can be a bigger problem on the board, but costing 7 is no small thing! Meanwhile, the prototype is itself a mediocre attacker, and the boost it offers isn’t that impressive. I think this is just a C.

202 - Persistent Behemoth - C

There aren’t many lands you will be playing from the graveyard in this format. There is definitely some graveyard stuff going on, but not enough for this to be that exciting. It does offer a big defensive body, and has a pretty cheap unearth cost. The idea of milling yourself to get this in your graveyard, Unearthing it and playing a land from the graveyard isn’t too bad. But it is hardly exciting either. I think this is just a C.

204 - Rust Goliath - C

A 5-mana ⅗ with Reach and Trample isn’t great, neither is a 10-mana 10/10 with Reach and Trample. However, the fact you can cast this as an okayish creature for five or cast it in the late game as a big monster is pretty nice, especially in a format that seems to have some legitimate artifact ramp. I think this is a C.

205 - Simian Simian - B+

This is great. It can make itself a 4/3 in a pinch, and you’ll often have some better bodies to put it on, especially because you’re kind of interested in trading this off so you can Unearth it and get those counters again! I’m giving this a B+.

Multicolored:

206 - Arbalest Engineers - B-

This seems pretty sweet. You’ll probably choose to make this a three mana 3/3 with Trample and Haste most of the time, but having the option of picking off a small creature or ramping your mana is great. Any of those cards individually would be pretty good, so having the option between all three is great. I’m giving this a B-.

208 - Deathbloom Ritualist - B

This format has lots of things to ramp into, so this feels like it will be better here than it would be in most sets. And in most sets it would be pretty good! The stats are passable, and it will be capable of ramping and fixing mana pretty effectively. I’m giving this a B.

209 - Evangel of Synthesis - B-

A two mana ⅔ that loots on ETB is a nice card. It is also nice that this is both an enabler and a payoff for the draw extra cards deck, though it is a little sad that it will technically trigger the turn you play it, it just won’t matter! I’m giving it a B-.

210 - Fallaji Vanguard - B-

Kind of a bummer that this can’t buff itself and attack the turn it comes down, but it will be able to offer a boost to something else most of the time, and that creature will have a much better attack as a result! After that first turn, buffing the Vanguard will probably be the most attractive, since it has First Strike. This is a nice signpost Uncommon for a color pair interested in going wide and attacking hard. I’m giving it a B-.

211 - Hajar, Loyal Bodugard - C

This is mostly just a two mana 3/3 in Limited, as this format doesn’t have very many legendary creatures at lower rarities. Sometimes you’ll be able to do something with this, and that will be pretty sweet! But a two-mana vanilla 3/3 isn’t that great in Limited, especially when it costs two mana to cast. I think this is just a C.

212 - Harbin, Vanguard Aviator - B

This has a great baseline as a two mana 3/2 Flyer, and it slots perfectly into the UW deck in the format, which is soldier tribal! You will generally only need to trigger this once and it will probably win you the game, and that seems fairly doable. I’m giving it a B.

213 - Hero of the Dunes - B

This looks like a pretty impressive signpost Uncommon! The stat-line is bad, but everything beyond that is quite impressive. It directly reanimates a small creature to the battlefield, that on its own already has me pretty interested, so the fact it also buffs all of your low CMC creatures – including the one it brings back – really has me excited. This feels like a signpost uncommon that pulls you into its color pair. I’m giving it a B.

214 - Junkyard Genius - B

As usual, Black-Red has a sacrifice theme – one that feels a lot like what we saw in Forgotten Realms, a few sets back. It can sacrifice creatures, but can also sacrifice a plentiful artifact token resource in the set – in this case, Powerstones. This comes with one of those stones, so you can use this ability without any extra help, and it is a pretty strong one! +1/+0 and Menace makes a board a heck of a lot more imposing, and there is plenty of other sacrifice support in the set. The one thing this doesn’t have going for it is the awful stat-line, but it largely overcomes that to be a pretty powerful signpost Uncommon. I’m giving it a B.

216 - Mishra, Claimed by Gix - B+

Mishra has some solid stats, but the card’s real power all comes from its attack trigger. Draining your opponent 1 life for every one of your attacking creatures is really strong, and you can play Mishra and take advantage of that right away, provided you can attack with some stuff. Gaining life while doing additional damage is a great way to turn a game around! You shouldn’t really count on Melding this, as the other card you need is a rare, but it will happen on rare occasions! I’m giving Mishra, Claimed by Gix a B+.

217 - Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa - B

A 5-mana 4/4 with this Ward ability is pretty solid, since it includes itself. Sure, your opponent can just give up a meaningless land or token, but that’s something, and a decent chunk of the time they won’t have anything meaningless to give up! This would probably be pretty close to a B- without any other abilities – but it does have another one, and its pretty sweet! It gives all of your artifacts Unearth. Note that it is not just artifact creatures – it is all artifacts. Period. Getting creatures back is usually going to be better of course, but keep in mind you can bring back any artifact at all! If you have some especially large artifact creatures this will feel like a really great deal, since three mana is such a small amount. This looks really good across the board. I’m giving it a B.

218 - Queen Kayla bin-Kroog  - B-

Kayla has some pretty serious power, as she can allow you to rummage away your whole hand – and even put some of those cards directly on the battlefield. That is some pretty incredible upside. Now, actually pulling this off where you put some stuff directly into play will not be a cake walk in Limited. However, most Limited decks do have a few creatures and/or artifacts with a mana value of 1 or 2, so it will actually do something sometimes. And the fail case is still a three mana ⅔ that can let you dig deeper into your library. Sure, its at sorcery speed and costs 4, which is clunky as heck – but I think there is enough upside here for this to sneak all the way up to a B-.

219 - Saheeli, Filigree Master - A-

This looks like a bomb planeswalker to me! Her -2 generates two nice bodies to protect her, and because they are artifacts, they bring all sorts of extra synergy – including with her other two loyalty abilities! Drawing with her +1 seems very doable in the format, and her ultimate will certainly impact the game, even if it isn’t the strongest thing ever. I’m giving her an A-.

222 - Tawnos, the Toymaker - D // B-

This is pretty sweet! You know I love a card that is a tribal bird payoff! That said, this format doesn’t really have enough of either of these creature types to really make it insane. I think if you have 2-3 Beasts or Birds, you’re going to play this, and it is going to do silly stuff sometimes, but a lot of the time it will just be a 5-mana ⅗. This probably needs a buildaround grade because making it work just won’t happen that organically. It is probably a D in your typical Blue-Green deck, and a B- in a deck with 3+ beasts and birds.

223 - Third Path Iconcolast - B

I always love UR Prowess decks, and this is quite the payoff! It is basically a gold version of Young Pyromancer – it is harder to cast than the ‘mancer, but it also counts all noncreature spells and not just instants and sorceries! This thing can generate quite the army and make all of your spells significantly better. Love it. I’m giving it a B.

224 - Tocasia, Dig Site Mentor - B+

A 4-mana 4/3 that gives all of your creatures Vigilance and Surveil 1 is a really great card, even if you have to spend three different colors of mana! Her graveyard ability is also pretty absurd, but I wouldn’t count on being able to fully utilize it and have the mana to cast it all that often. Mostly, you’re just looking to keep her in play so you can dig deep in your library and load your graveyard.  I’m giving this a B+.

225 - Urza, Lord Protector - C+

A three mana 4 that decreases the cost of some of your spells is probably just a C+, and as I have said about other meld cards – you shouldn’t count on actually getting that part of the card to matter, it is just highly unlikely in Limited – so I think this Urza is just a C+.

226 - Urza, Prince of Kroog - B+

This Urza looks really great for the format. Artifact creatures are everywhere, so that +2/+2 boost won’t be that hard to get going, and the fact he can copy other artifacts you control is a great mana sink. Keep in mind, they will effectively be 3/3s while Urza is around! And you can even copy non-creature Artifacts with the ability. I’m giving him a B+.

227 - Yotian Dissidents - B

This counts artifacts that come into play in any way at all, and that includes making powerstone tokens. This looks like it will be capable of stacking up a whole lot of counters! It does start very small and vulnerable, though.

229 - Bladecoil Serpent - A-

This is super cool. Having two mana of each Grixis color isn’t going to line up perfectly most of the time, but the fact of the matter is, even if you can only make one of these triggers happen a single time, you’re getting a reasonable deal. A 6-mana 5/4 that draws you a card, or makes your opponent discard, or a 6 mana 6/5 with trample and Haste are all cards you are always pretty happy with in Limited, and the ceiling here gets really insane, since you can trigger these things together and potentially do it multiple times! Like I said, you shouldn’t count on lining things up perfectly, but I think getting 2 out of 3 going, or triggering one of them twice is pretty doable. I think this sneaks into the lower bomb range. I’m giving it an A-.

230 - Clay Champion - A-

So, if you just pay 4 for this and you happen to be able to pay double green AND double white, you’re going to end up with a 5/5 that puts two +1/+1 counters on your creatures. If that’s always what this was doing, that would be an easy bomb. And, the fact you can sink even more mana into it is pretty great! If we’re being realistic though, casting this for 4 with double of both colors won’t line up that well in Limited, certainly not ona actual turn 4. Still, it isn’t an impossible amount of mana to produce, and even if you are only managing to trigger one of its ETB abilities, you’re still getting a pretty good deal. Yeah, I think this probably sneaks into the lower bomb range – with the caveat that you need to be Green/White to really take full advantage. I’m giving this an A-.

Artifact:

232 - Argivian Avenger - C-

This is a fun reference to lots of older cards with similar abilities, but I think this seems fairly underwhelming overall, even in a format where powerstones will make casting it and using its abilities easier. It just has such underwhelming base stats, and while gaining key words is nice and all, the fact its stats get worse when you do it doesn’t have me that interested. I’m giving this a C-.

233 - Cityscape Leveler - A-

This costs a lot, but it won’t be quite as hard to cast as it looks thanks to power stones! And that’s good, because this thing is pretty dang powerful. Your opponent might get a power stone back, but destroying a nonland permanent on being cast and when it attacks is going to quickly become a problem for them, and it even comes with Unearth – so even if they do manage to deal with this thing, they’re going to end up losing at least one more permanent. In most formats something that costs 8 mana wouldn’t really be a bomb because the mana would be too challenging, but in this one it is a bomb – power stones really change things. I’m giving it an A-.

235 - Goblin Firebomb - D+

We’ve seen cards like this before, and they are always pretty mediocre. It isn’t efficient, even for destroying any permanent type. Now, the format does have an artifact theme, and if you can find ways to recur this, it can get interesting! But I’m pretty low on it to start the format. I’m giving it a D+. You’ll run it if you’re really desperate for removal.

236 - Levitating Statue - D

We’ve seen some spell payoffs like this in the past, and they have always been kind of underwhelming. This is because for much of the game, casting this seems like it didn’t accomplish much. After all, it is just a hunk of metal on the battlefield until you pay mana to animate it, and that’s a pretty big bummer, even in a world of powerstones. Then you jump through hoops to make it grow too.   It is nice that it can sort of sit around and accumulate counters before starting to threaten your opponent, and there are certainly games where things will work out that way, but I think there will be more where taking the time to cast this thing puts you behind the eight ball in a big way. I’m giving this a D.

237 - Liberator, Urza’s Battlethopter - B+

This looks pretty great. The format has a ton of artifacts, so giving them all flash is very real upside, as is the fact that Liberator can grow pretty effectively throughout the game. It isn’t the kind of card that will win you the game immediately most of the time, but if it is allowed to stick around for a couple of turns, it will generate a ton of value for you. I’m giving this a B+.

238 - The MIghtstone and Weakstone - B-

This has a neat design. It is a super clunky mana rock that can’t be used to cast non artifact spells, but because it comes down and does something right away, it is easier to look past that problem! Now, neither option is efficient exactly – 5 mana to give something -5/-5 at Sorcery speed, or to draw 2 cards is just not a rate you’re normally into, but this does give you some additional relevant value simply by being an Artifact and being an Artifact payoff. Again, don’t count on actually melding this. I think that allows this to come in at B-.

240 - Portal to Phyrexia - B+

This costs a bunch of mana, but powerstones in this format are going to make it easier to cast this than it would be in most formats. Forcing the opponent to lose three creatures can be pretty sweet of course, though sometimes by the time you hit 9 mana the effect can be minimal! However, on your next turn, you get to start reanimating something every single turn, and it is likely that the ETB on the card has allowed you to insure that you will be able to get some creatures back. In short, I think ramping into this is doable here, it does impact the board immediately, and it is certainly going to win you games. I’m giving this a B+

241 - Power Plant Worker - C

This is a fun cycle, since they all reference the original Urza lands. I think the card seems pretty decent too. The stats aren’t great, but +2/+2 for three mana isn’t the worst rate in a set with power stones everywhere. I wouldn’t count on getting all three of these in play, but you might achieve it on occasion. I’m giving it a C.

242 - Reconstructed Thopter - C

A three mana 2/1 Flyer isn’t great these days, but this comes with the upside of an important card type and Unearth, which certainly allows it to generate some more value. I’m giving this a C.

245 - The Stasis Coffin - F

It is pretty cool that we have the words “protection from everything” on another card, but this doesn’t feel particularly good for Limited. It is basically a glorified Fog effect, and Fogs are basically never good in Limited. You spend a card to have no real impact on the board, only delaying the inevitable in most cases. You’d much rather just have a creature! In some ways it is even worse than a Fog, because you can’t even get it going as a surprise – your opponent will know it is coming. Now, it is also better than Fogs in some ways – like it can stop effects that target you. But I don’t feel like that’s enough. This is an F.

247 - The Stone Brain - F

As usual, this kind of card is unplayable in Limited. You generally don’t have the necessary knowledge of your opponent’s deck to take full advantage of a card like this, and even when you do it still isn’t very good most of the time, especially because this version lets your opponent draw a card if you hit a card in their hand! Even if you do hit a card in your opponent’s deck, you are basically going to feel like you have mulliganed, since hitting one card in your opponent’s deck just doesn’t do enough in Limited. Basically, you go down a card for no real effect on the game, and you never want that in Limited. This is a card that makes sense in constructed, where it can rip apart a combo deck – but that’s just not a thing here. We’ve seen effects like this dozens of time at this point, and they are always an F.

249 - Su-Chi Cave Guard - C+

This is a quality thing to ramp into with your Powerstones. It is huge, hard to kill, and can play offense and defense! Plus, if it dies, it gives you a whole bunch of mana, and this format has a decent number of mana sinks around since they wanted you to have stuff to do with your power stones. I think this is a C+.

253 - Thran Power Suit - C-

On its own, this is a two mana to play and two to equip equipment that grants +1/+1 and Ward 2. That’s probably about a C-. The Ward 2 is a pretty nice thing to have, as it makes your investment in equipping it feel a little less painful. There are Auras and Equipment around in the set, but not so many that I see this being much better than a C-.

254 - Thran Spider - B

This is pretty darn good. It starts with solid stats, and it ramps your mana! It is a little unfortunate your opponent gets a powerstone too, and they will be able to use their much sooner than you can use yours, since they get to untap it on their turn. However, I think the spider’s ability really makes up for that, since it will be able to draw you cards pretty consistently, and your Powerstones can help pay for it. I’m giving this a B.

Land:

258 - Blast Zone - B-

This is a reprint, and a pretty nice utility land! Unlike most lands, it can have a very real impact on the board sometimes. It does take some time to set up, but the fact your land can be something of a removal spell is pretty darn nice. It is generally going to be worth the hit to your mana to play this. I’m giving it a B-.

260 - Demolition Field -  F

This card is basically Field of Ruin, and that’s a card that just isn’t worth running in Limited. Sure, it can sort of fix your mana, but this format won’t have so many basic lands that you can count on that consistently, and your opponent gets some help too! It isn’t good for your mana base and it has an ability that isn’t good in Limited. That’s an F.

262 - Fortified Beachhead - C

This is going to be pretty sweet if you’re in UW. Soldiers are plentiful in the color pair, meaning you can have it entered untapped a reasonable chunk of the time, and it can buff your soldiers too! If you’re not in UW, this gives you a decent way to improve your mana base if you’re trying to splash something. All in all, this is probably just a C.

263 - Hall of Tagsin - C

Filter lands aren’t good in most formats, as the cost of producing that mana is just too high. However, I think adding the ability to make powerstones certainly matters, as powerstone ramp decks look pretty legit. Still, this is probably just a C. Your typical filter land is a D, though!

265 - Mishra’s Foundry - C+

Creature lands are good, and that’s certainly the case here! It does hurt your mana a bit to play something like this, but if this is a two-color format – and it looks like it largely will be – it is certainly worth taking a small hit to your mana base. Having a land that can be a creature is almost like gaining an entire card of value, since most lands can never give you anything but mana! There are also a few other assembly-workers in the set.  I’m giving it a C+

264 - Tocasia’s Dig Site - C-

This isn’t great for your mana, but having a repeatable source of Surveil is going to be worth it in some decks, because it can both laid your graveyard and improve your card quality. Three mana is a lot for sure, and that’s an ability you’ll only be using when you have nothing better to do – but hey, it will find you something to do eventually! This is probably a C-.

The Painlands - C+

These do a good job of fixing your mana for you. They will probably be a little better here than in Dominaria United, because this format doesn’t have Domain and a cycle of common dual lands that are better!