So we know how the Commons and Uncommons of the set are for Limited, now let's examine the big drops in the form of the Rares and the Mythic rarity, as well as how they work in limited, so without further ado let's begin, for those unfamiliar with the system to rate these for limited here it is.
A - Very Good, draft this at all times in this color.
B - Easily playable, focuses heavily on the color in question
C - Middle of the Road, splashable and semi playable.
D - Sideboard Material, for tough matchups only.
F - Never play this, ever
So without further ado let's begin.
White
#1) Angel of Serenity - B, for a 7 drop in the format it's one hell of a bomb card, it is a 5/6 that flies and Oblivion Rings up to three creatures from either the graveyard or battlefield upon entering the battlefield, a neat ability for a 5/6 flyer and it's pretty solid when a opponent sees this drop.
#14) Martial Law - B, Another very good enchantment for the color, 4 mana to detain something every turn, forces a lot of people to take this out with their removal and such, a decent playable if you come across one.
#15) Palisade Giant - C, for a 2/7 it isn't that great, it's good at absorbing damage though and acting as a steady brick wall to prevent attack damage for maybe 1 or 2 turns, it's 6 mana cost turns it off of being completely playable for the format.
#17) Precinct Captain - A, One of those rares you must never pass, a 2/2 with first strike and it self generates it's own army, a very nice effect for a card as meager as a 2 drop.
#18) Rest in Peace - B, Preventing Scavenge or any graveyard based stuff from happening is white's speciality, since the reprint of Tormod's Crypt, in M13 that is, this and that may be a perfect pair for the color
Blue
#33) Conjured Currency - D, sure it does one of the things blue does best, switch control of things, but it's a 5 mana enchantment, so technically it's not useful in any sense here and should be at least a sideboard card max, if nothing more, expect to not see this in limited as much.
#35) Cylonic Rift - A, Now this is something i am a fan of, a 2 mana bounce spell that hits a target nonland permanent you don't control or for the 7 mana investment to hit all non land permanents, this is something i'd be happy paying 2 or 7 with either way as the investment is well worth it for the format.
#44) Jace, Architect of Thought - B, For a walker for the format, he's gonna be hard to draft as mostly all walkers these days are allocated to the mythic rare slot, but his 1st and 2nd abilites are gonna be the most used if you can get him in the draft, his ultimate though is also a nice touch.
#49) Search the City - D, a enchantment that really has little to no value in the format, i mean stopping some of the best cards your opponent controls, sure but it's gonna be hit with removal pretty fast in the format, so avoid this one.A
#52) Sphinx of the Chimes - B, A solid 5/6 body with flying, plus you discard 2 cards of the same name to draw 4 cards in return, seriously one of those things blue players need, more card draw, if you manage to draft this, go for it honestly.
Black
#63) Desecration Demon - A, A 6/6 flyer with 4 mana cost is pretty sick, plus it forces opponents to consistently sacrifice their creatures to this to prevent it from attacking, but the upside of giving it a +1/+1 counter is kind of nice.
#67) Grave Betrayal - D, One of the bad cards of the color, 7 mana for a enchantment that what gives things +1/+1 counters when they die to creatures you don't control and puts them under your control and turns them into Black Zombies, thanks but no.
#71) Necropolis Regent - D, Unless your desperate for a 6/6 that flies and costs 6 mana as a mythic rare for crying out loud, this is something to avoid, unless your playing Rakdos as well, then perhaps it is worth it, but overall sideboard material.
#74) Pack Rat - A. This is one of those rares not to pass up in this color, 2 mana for a variable power/toughness creature and you get to make copies of this simply by paying 3 and discarding a card, sign me up here.
#83) Underworld Connections - B, I've fallen in love with this and this is exactly what Black players are looking for in a aura, the ability to have a enchanted land that's a new Phyrexian Arena i would have given this a A but it's a aura folks, not a enchantment.
Red
#86) Ash Zealot - B, It's relevant ability isn't that useful in the format, but it's a 2 drop 2/2 with first strike, did i mention it has haste as well.
#90) Chaos Imps - A, This thing is a beast, a 7/6 with flying, trample and it's got unleash on it, starting as a 6/5, it's trample and undying effects blend nicely together and overall provide a nice feel in this color.
#97) Guild Feud - D, Not a good card, this is the worst card of the color as a matter of fact, it's a 6 drop enchantment that sure lets 2 players cheat out creatures, but forces em to fight each other and with the enchantment removal in the format, it's not worth a slot.
#101) Mizzium Mortars - B, 6 mana to basically to have a 1 sided sweeper effect or 2 to deal 4 damage to a single creature pretty good if you ask me, most players will want to try and overload this bad boy though.
#110) Utvara Hellkite - D, the mythic for this color is probably kinda lame, i mean though it makes dragons which is something we like, this thing is just a 6/6 body with flying for 8 and it's a bad investment.
Green
#120) Deadbridge Goliath - A, A 5/5 for 4 is always welcome here, plus it's scavenge effect is perhaps the sole reason to want to go after this.
#121) Death's Presence - C, Stuff dies, this triggers and basically scavenges their power onto another creature, a nice touch for the format and it's mana cost is pretty decent at well, sitting at a nice curve, plus it is splashable into a deck.
#130) Mana Bloom - A, Just due to the 2nd effect on the card, when it runs out of counters, return it to your hand, showing that wizards does care about the ramp in every format, it is a decent card and worth drafting since it can be played as early as turn 2 to get you ahead.
#139) Wild Beastmaster - B, One of those 3 drops that you cannot get enough of, give this a boost as you move to attack and it's a overrun effect on a body, a nice touch for the limited format wizards.
#140) Worldspine Wurm - F, Unless your playing a massive ramp strategy this isn't going to be played, it's a 11 mana 15/15 and it's mythic so the chances of drafting this aren't good at all, it's only going to see play in EDH.
Multicolor - Selesnya
#143) Armada Wurm - A, Unlike the previous wurm, it wins games plain and simple, is a 5/5 that churns out another 5/5, both have trample and it's a reasonable cost for what it does, a game winner mythic if you get it.
#150) Collective Blessing - D, This is one of those things that for 6 mana belong in EDH or the sideboard, sure it's a nice thing to have in a draft, if your a EDH player, but it's not that useful for the format.
#178) Loxodon Smiter - B, It's pretty solid, a 4/4 beater that can't be countered and if it's discarded via a discard spell, then it goes into play for free, other then that a 4/4 beater is pretty hard to deal with early on, even for 3 mana.
#206) Trostani, Selesyna's Voice - B, It's a solid mythic for the color, should you draft this, it's a very sturdy body, 2/5 but it's populate and life gain are the main reasons to draft this.
#209) Wayfaring Temple - C, This one is rather difficult to decide on, sure it is cheap to play at 1, White and Green, but it requires a lot of creatures to be powerful, to be honest i'd rather play Grove of the Guardian's 2nd ability over this.
Multicolor - Rakdos
#147) Carnival Hellsteed - B, I like how this has both first strike and haste, making it super playable in the long run, plus it's unleash effect makes it bigger and bolder, one of the premium draft rares for this guild.
#157) Dreadbore - B, Removal in the format is very hard to find essentially and this is probably the best piece of removal your going to find, in the rare slot anyways for this guild, 2 mana blow up a creature or a planeswalker is pretty draft worthy.
#166) Havoc Festival - D, One of those EDH enchantments only i'm afraid, for 6 mana you gotta wait till the next upkeep for it to be effective, in a format where's it's 20 life only it's not going to be useful enough to warrant a main deck slot.
#187) Rakdos, Lord of Riots - A, Holy crap this thing is beast, a 6/6 with flying and trample but it's downside doesn't matter if you focus a strategy of direct damage with this guy, it's a pretty good deal honestly for what he does.
#188) Rakdos's Return - B, A great way to both deal damage and force opponent's to discard cards in the long run, sure it's a mythic, but it's a decent mythic to draft if you get it for a discard/direct damage strategy.
Multicolor - Golgari
#141) Abrupt Decay - A, One of the premier rares of the set, if you get this, never pass it up since it's trade bait essentially as well as being a premier piece of removal for 3 cmc and lower cards, plus it cannot be countered.
#152) Corpsejack Menace - B, Another really good piece of beat stick material, a 4/4 for 4 that grants double the number of +1/+1 should one be placed on it, plus it's a well rounded beater in the long run.
#174) Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord - B, The mythic guild leader for the color, he's pretty underwhelming at first, but gets bigger for the amount of creatures in your graveyard, plus he can return to your hand and he can sacrifice creatures to deal direct damage to a player, not bad.
#175) Jarad's Orders - B, One of the decent tutors, it searches for 2 creatures, allows you to have a scavenge target should you draft a few and allows you to dig for your best creature, all for 4, not bad.
#177) Lotleth Troll - A, Best rare in terms of creatures for this particular guild a 2/1 with trample plus it allows you to pitch scavenge cards to make it stronger or any creature rather, one of those excellent 2 drops, plus it can regenerate itself after being killed in combat.
#208) Vraska the Unseen - A, 2nd planeswalker of the set and she's in golgari colors, her first 2 abilites are excellent and are the sole reasons why you should play her, plus she makes herself a target in the long run, allowing you to get that extra few points of damage in.
Multicolor - Izzet
#153) Counterflux - B, In today's current enviroment, it seems counter magic is a dying breed, but with this uncounterable counter spell, it sure seems like it's still alive and kicking, sure it costs Blue, Blue, Red at instant speed, but the good thing is it cannot be countered itself.
#159) Epic Experiment - C, I can see this being used in a spell heavy deck, even though it's mythic to be honest, sure you may have to modify the deck to as few creatures as possible, but this makes stuff all the more exciting to play, think of this as Genesis Wave 2.0 but for spells only.
#162) Firemind's Foresight - D, The unworthy lone card of the set for this guild, it's too over costed and only searches for a instant with 1, then 2 and then 3 cmc, not a really good thing unless your playing a very counter heavy deck.
#170) Hypersonic Dragon - A, Best rare of the color period, it's a 4/4 with flying, haste and makes sorceries able to be cast at instant speed, whoa this is sweet, even though it's 3, Blue and Red it's still good.
#183) Niv-Mizzet Dracogenius - B, Not a bad final card for this guild, it's leader is pretty good 6 mana for a 5/5 with flying and you can pay red and a blue to deal 1 damage, but every time you deal a point of damage with him, you can draw a card which is nice for the investment.
Multicolor - Azorius
#142) Archon of the Triumvirate - B, A solid 4/5 flyer for 7 that detains 2 non land permanents, i think it's perhaps one of the solid rares of the guild.
#155) Detention Sphere - A, This is the only way to go with this, 3 mana to detain a permanent and every permanent with the same name as the detained permanent, means people playing multiple copies of one card are screwed, it's still solid either way though.
#171) Isperia, Supreme Judge - C, Worst guild leader of them all me thinks, a 6/4 flying that when a creature attacks you or a planeswalker, you draw a card, sure it gives you card advantage, but a 2, White, White, Blue, Blue card drawer that doesn't have a way to abuse your mana is kind of lame.
#189) Righteous Authority - B, I like this solely due to the effect it gives off, it may cost a whopping 5 mana to cast this, but it's a decent aura all the same since it works off the amount of cards in your hand, making it pretty decent if you ask me.
#200) Sphinx's Relevation - C, Sure gaining life and drawing cards seems nice, but with a X spell it depends on how much you pour into it to make it effective, since it costs X, White, Blue, Blue and it's mythic doesn't mean it's good in all Blue/White decks.
#201) Supreme Verdict - B, If you absolutely need a way to clear the field, this is the card to do it, uncounterable wrath effects are always nice, plus it costs 1, White, White, Blue making it decently costed for it's effect.
Hybrid
#210) Azor's Elecutors - B, For limited this can win you the game quite easily, sure it requires it have 5 counters on it to trigger, but a 5 mana enchantment can do something no one can expect, win the game within a short time frame.
#212) Cryptborn Horror - B, Due to it's enter the battlefield effect this can be pretty good, since it already has trample slapped onto it, making it harder to deal with already, plus it's a 3 mana creature of impressive interest.
#213) Deathrite Shaman - A, This is one of those things if you expect to see this, your going to have a difficult time dealing with, it's fragile body isn't that bad since it has 2 toughness, but a mere 1 attack, but it's abilites are the reason to be drafting this bad boy.
#217) Growing Ranks - B, If your playing any type of token deck, this is necessary for sure, it's a 4 mana enchantment that allows you to populate for free during your upkeep, it's going to make sure you don't run out of token creatures for quite a while.
#219) Nivmagus Elemental - A, Best hybrid rare of the color, can be splashed in almost every color, it's 1 mana and it's a 1/2 that can you exile sorceries or instants off the stack to give this counters to make it stronger, very good as a beat stick.
Artifacts
#226) Chromatic Lantern - B, If you are in need of mana fixers this is it, for 3 you get to tap it to produce one of any color, yes, any color and it makes all lands tap for whatever color you want, it's a very good piece of fixing if you ask me.
#231) Pithing Needle - D, Really do we need this back, no, there are much better prevention effects even currently in draft compared to this, it's not useful unless you need to deal with the biggest threat on the table, even then turn 2 comes around it's gonna be removed anyways.
#236) Volatile Rig - F, First rare that fails the grade for this set, that isn't a mythic rare, it's too random and wacky to belong here, sure it's a sweeper spell if all else goes wrong, but it's not playable in the slightest.
Lands
#238) Blood Crypt - A, Do i need to say more here, trade bait, playable um stupid good here.
#240) Grove of the Guardian - B, In a heavy creature strategy this thing is good, it's 5 mana and tapping 2 creatures to make it a 8/8 with vigilance. it's very good, very effective and it's a nice solid playable for green/white.
#241) Hallowed Fountain - A, See Blood Crypt
#243) Overgrown Tomb - A, See Blood Crypt
#247) Steam Vents - A, See Blood Crypt
#248) Temple Garden - A, See Blood Crypt
And with that we are done this set review, stay tuned on monday for the standard deck examinations with brand new ideas improved upon and a whole new take on other popular decks.
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