Return to Ravnica Limited Review: Rares and Mythic Rares

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.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 9: Artifacts and Lands

Hello and welcome to the final part of the return to ravnica limited set review where we take a look at all the uncommons and commons of the set and how they impact limited, for those unfamiliar with the review scale here's how it's broken down.


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

With that in mind let's begin.

Artifacts

#225) Azorius Keyrune - A, The keyrune cycle to me seems like a nice way to make sure the mana base is solid and have a nice attacker while your at it, since it has evasion it's a beast, at least try to get 1 per draft in the color your going.

#227) Civic Saber - A, Since this is the only piece of equipment in the set, overall it's pretty good due to the hybrid colors and the multicolored flavor of the set, a nice choice honestly.

#228) Codex Shredder - D, A lame way to mill someone or return something from your graveyard to your hand, the fact it costs 1 saves it from the F rating.

#229) Golgari Keyrune - B, Another piece of the keyrune cycle, the fact it makes itself with deathtouch is a nice touch, but it doesn't have evasion rates it a little lower.

#230) Izzet Keyrune - B, Being able to loot at a whim when dealing combat damage is always nice, another really nice looter effect for any format.

#232) Rakdos Keyrune - A, First strike on this one is pretty good since it's a 3/1 for essentially 3 mana, plus it's animating cost, it's a decent effect and grants you a extra offensive attacker when needed.

#233) Selesnya Keyrune - A, Making itself a 3/3 Watchwolf is pretty good, probably the 2nd best keyrune of the set, next to the azorius one.

#234) Street Sweeper - D, Sure a 4/6 for 6 is alright, but it's ability is decent when you need to deal with pesky auras attached to lands, which there are quite a few of in this set, but it's nothing but a sideboard card.

#235) Tablet of the Guilds - B, Playing multicolored spells makes this thing stupid good, it's a decent effect for 2 and it allows you to choose any of the 2 colors in magic, regardless of what colors you play, a decent life gain effect for 2.

Lands

#237) Azorius Guildgate - B, Do i need to explain why, it fixes the mana and allows for a much easier transition into your guild leader should you draft him, making it one of the desired cards to play for the format.

#239) Golgari Guildgate - B, See Azorius Guildgate for the reason.

#242) Izzet Guildgate - B, See Azorius Guildgate for the reason.

#244) Rakdos Guildgate - B, See Azorius Guildgate for the reason.

#245) Rogue's Passage - C, Making stuff unblockable is what this format needed for sure, it generates a colorless of course and for 4 and tapping it you can make a creature unblockable, great for a stall out match.

#246) Selesyna Guildgate - B, See Azorius Guildgate for the reason.

#249) Transguild Promenade - B, Like the guild gates this is pretty good, you gotta pay 1 to keep it on the field as it enters the battlefield, but it generates any color you need it to, like it's previous incarnation Rupture Spire which was a fine card in limited.

And with that, we are done the common and uncommon limited review for the set, stay tuned on friday for the Rare and Mythic rare limited review.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 8: Hybrids

Welcome to part 8 of this review, in this edition it's the commons and uncommons of the hybrid mana cost cards in this set, so let's review how this is broken down for those who don't know.


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

Let's begin straight away then with this particular section of the review.

#211) Blistercoil Weird - B, For 1 mana you get a decent effect to be honest for limited, +1/+1 and you get to untap it when you play a instant or sorcery, sweet thing right here folks, i'd probably have to look at this card a bit more closely for the format.

#214) Dryad Militant - A, Seriously whoever let this slip by in R&D deserves to be shot when it comes to limited, i mean it's already stupid enough a 2/1 body for 1, but stopping all graveyard decks in their tracks is just enough.

#215) Frostburn Weird - C, I mean a 1/4 body that can even reduce it's toughness and make it stronger for offense is always nice, give this first strike and it'd probably be broken.

#216) Golgari Longlegs - C, This is pretty good already, a 5/4 vanilla body for 5 is decent, a solid defender/beat stick.

#218) Judge's Familiar - A, Another one of the cards that should have never been printed, this 1 drop 1/1 flyer is stupid enough, but to be a mini Cursecatcher, seriously

#220) Rakdos Cackler - A, Unleash on this equals a broken card, as was put by someone i know at the prerelease this + the lone equip from this set is bad news bears.

#221) Rakdos Shred-Freak -A, Another reason perhaps why that this set is so really broken for limited, a 2 drop 2/1 with haste is just insane this followed up by cackler is almost unstoppable.

#222) Slitherhead - A, Another perfect example why limited is going to be super fun for the format, a 1 drop 1/1 with a scavenge cost of 0, yes, 0, perfect way to balance this card, not.

#223) Sundering Growth - B, Best enchantment/artifact removal for the color in the format, bar none and you get to populate as well, amazing job at breaking this card wizards.

#224) Vassal Soul - B, Why is everything in this color not sucking, seriously a 3 drop 2/2 flyer for this set is stupid good personally, I'm hoping this limited makes this guy fun to play.

And with that, all the hybrid cards are done, stay tuned on wednesday for the finale of the review in commons/uncommons with artifacts and lands.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 7: Multicolor Part 2, Izzet, Azorius and Rakdos

Welcome to part 2 of the multicolored review, in this portion of the review, i'll be talking about the Izzet, Azorius and Rakdos multicolored uncommons and commons for the set, for those unfamiliar with this review, here is how it is broken down.


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

With that out of the way, let's begin the second and final part of the limited review for multicolor.

Izzet

#149) Chemister's Trick - B, This is something i think Blue/Red needs for limited, since it either forces all creatures your opponent controls to attack and makes them lose 2 attack in the process per creature or a singular creature for this effect as well, it's not bad, either cost for this card is worth it for the format.

#160) Essence Backlash - C, Expensive counter magic, but counter magic all the same and it deals damage equal to the spell's CMC to it's controller, it's a neat effect for a counter spell, but with a cycle of uncounterable spells, it's probably only best for limited.

#163) Goblin Electromancer - B, His effect is probably the best thing you can do for the format, sure it is a 2/2 that lowers instants and sorceries by 1, but think about it, all the expensive spells are now diamonds thanks to this.

#172) Izzet Charm - A, Best charm of the set, period bar none, this thing is beast mode 2.0, dealing 2 damage to something, drawing 2 and discarding 2 or countering a spell is so worth it for this card, plus it's just that dang good.

#173) Izzet Staticaster - B, 3 mana flash and haste, you got me sold, it can be snuck in during a opponent's turn and it pings for 1 for a creature and hits every creature with the same name as this, very nice honestly, only down side is it's a 0/3 for 3, so what?

#182) Nivix Guildmage - B, Copying spells and looting for a nice cost is decent, plus it's like all the other guild mages, a 2/2 for 2, which is something a lot of formats like, a decent cost with a decent body.

#202) Teleportal - B, Being able to basically have unblockable creatures are pretty nice, it is a nice finisher card even if you don't overload it, since it's overload cost is rather effective and it's original mana cost is always a nice touch, a decently balanced card for the format.

#203) Thoughtflare - C, 5 mana for a draw 4, discard 2 spell, nice touch, gets twice as much value for a single spell, it's decent enough to run as a draw spell.

Azorius

#145) Azorius Charm - B, I like this one due to the fact it grants either lifelink, allows you to draw a card or  put a blocker/attacker on top it's owner's library, it's decent and fits the theme of the law maker azorius faction.

#156) Dramatic Rescue - C, Bouncing a creature back to it's owner's hand and gaining 2 life is a neat combat trick, gets you ahead and makes sure you get some value out of your attacks.

#161) Fall of the Gavel - C, 5 mana counter spells aren't all that good sometimes, but gaining 5 life is the upside it seems, other then that it's not really gonna be effective till late.

#169) Hussar Patrol - C, Flash and vigilance, 2/4, pretty nice, it's balanced enough to the point where it seems playable.

#179) Lyey Skynight - A, Just due to detain here, a 3/1 that flies is secondary, but for 3 you get what you pay for for this bad boy.

#181) New Prahv Guildmage - B, It's good don't get me wrong, it's first ability is the most relevant and it's like the other guild mages, useful for the format.

#193) Search Warrant - B, One resolution of this spell might be enough to save you, plus it allows you to know what your opponent has, so it's a 2 for 1, life gain plus information.

#196) Skymark Roc - B, 4 mana for a 3/3 flyer that returns a toughness 2 or less creature opponents control, sign me up, this is a evader as well, meaning it is rather useful for the format.

Rakdos

#144) Auger Spree - B, great as either a kill spell or to get the last few points of damage in, this format so needed something like this i feel to keep up in this department.

#167) Hellhole Flailer - B, it's unleash/secondary ability is very nice here, since you can sacrifice it if you have the mana as a response to being targeted by a spell, plus it's a 4/3 beat stick for 3.

#184) Rakdos Charm - C, Worst of the charms i'm afraid, since it's abilites aren't really that useful for limited, graveyard removal/blowing up a artifact or it's 3rd ability to have each creature target player controls deal 1 damage to them, it's decent though for limited with it's 3rd ability.

#185) Rakdos Ragemutt - C, A 3/3 with lifelink and haste, sure but for 5 it's a little steep, it's still playable though due to lifelink and haste.

#186) Rakdos Ringleader - D, A 3/1 for 6 isn't that good, even if it forces people to discard when it deals combat damage, regenerating itself isn't as relevant as one would think either.

#192) Rix Maadi Guildmage - C, Like the charm i'm afraid this guild mage is a little lamer then the rest, it's abilites are decently costed and such, but it's not really going to be useful outside of it's 1st ability or being a beat stick.

#195) Skull Rend - B, This is rather useful dealing 2 damage to each opponent plus forcing them to discard 2 cards is really good, deprives them of resources and whittles them down for 5.

#199) Spawn of Rix Maadi - B, 5 for a 6/4 beat stick of death, pretty good for a common if i do say so myself, this is great for the late game of course.

And with that, that's it for the multicolor commons/uncommons, stay tuned on tuesday for the Hybrid commons/uncommons, till then this is vergil signing off.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 6: Multicolor Part 1, Selesyna and Golgari

Welcome to part 6 of the limited review, in this edition we will cover the many cards in both the Selesyna and Golgari factions of the multicolor area, all except for the rares and mythics of each faction, as per the usual, here's how the review is broken down.

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

With that in mind let's begin.

Selesnya

#146) Call of the Conclave - A, One of the better uncommons of the set, since it's 2 for a 3/3 centaur, meaning it's worth every little bit of investment onto it.

#148) Centaur Healer - B, A decent common since it gives you a 3/3 and gains you 3 life in the process, showing perhaps it's worth it to draft since it only costs 3 mana.

#151) Common Bond - C, Putting +1/+1 counters on something is nice and all, but it costs 3 mana to do this and the fact it has to have a legal target for it to work, perhaps draft 1 of these.

#154) Coursers Accord - D, This is probably the worst spell of the guild, putting a 3/3 onto the field then populating for 6 isn't exactly what i'd call nice, since it requires a lot of populate targets to be worth it.

#168) Heroes Reunion - B, Gaining you 7 for 2 mana is actually pretty damn cool at the uncommon rarity, it is nice to have a way to get back 1/3'rd of your life total.

#190) Risen Sanctuary - C, If you really need a beater, then this is perhaps it, a 8/8 vigilance for 7 is kind of worth it honestly, it is a decent blocker, attacker and is a nice late game investment.

#194) Selesnya Charm - A, Best uncommon of the guild, bar none, your going to want to draft as many as you can get your hands on, this is a great way to get more ahead when need be.

#207) Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage - B, A decent 2/2 for 2, plus it's abilites are always nice to activate on the fly, as long as you got the mana open of course.

Golgari

#158) Dreg Mangler - B, Haste and a 3/3 for 3 is always nice of course, but it's scavenge effect isn't all that bad as well, it's a overall nice way to start the golgari swarm for the deck.

#164) Golgari Charm - A, Holy crap, this thing is beast for the format, a 2 mana instant that nukes all 1/1's, blows up a enchantment or regenerates each creature you control, this is a nice card for sure.

#165) Grisly Salvage - B, Being able to search for either a land or creature for 2 is always nice, plus it allows you to use scavenge for the creatures in the yard, granting even more reason to use this in a graveyard heavy guild.

#176) Korozda Guildmage - A, The best guild mage of the set, it costs 2 to play, is a 2/2 and it's abilites aren't over costed, since it can trigger as early as turn 3 for the format, which is always nice honestly, decent abilites and a decent body mean this is good limited material.

#191) Rites of Reaping - D, Since this costs 6 mana it's easily not playable, i mean to grant +3/+3 and -3/-3 to another creature isn't all that nice, but it's a decent piece of removal since it says just target creature, which dismisses it from the F rating.

#198) Sluiceway Scorpion - B, A decent 2/2 for 4 since it has deathtouch, plus it's scavenge cost is really nice as well, meaning it's easy to play, easy to use as well, overall a good common.

#204) Treasured Find - B, Being able to reuse something for 2 mana is nice, this essentially is a Regrowth for the format, which is weird honestly since that card originally was good, it allows you to return a target card, but it's downside isn't all that bad either.

#205) Trestle Troll - F, A 3 mana 1/4 with defender and reach, plus it's got a 3 mana regenerate effect, i'm not impressed with this guy overall and how he tends to just sit there and block.

And with that that is it for part 1 of the multicolored review, on monday we will look at the remaining 3 guilds, Izzet, Azorius and Rakdos, starting with Izzet, till then this is vergil signing off.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 5: Green

Hello and welcome to the last single color on the color wheel, Green which seems like it has some decent limited cards for the set, but do they truly stand up to the rating system, let's find out with a in depth review of the Green cards in RTR, For those unfamiliar with the ratings system, here is how it is broken down.


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

With that in mind, let's begin this section of the review.

#113) Aerial Predation - B, For green to get removal in this format is pretty common these days, but killing a flying creature and gaining 2 life in the process is pretty good i hear, dealing with a big bad threat and getting a little more ahead, yeah what green wants for sure.

#114) Archweaver - C, Whoa, where did this come from a 7 drop 5/5 with reach and trample, I don't necessarily consider it sideboard material since of course we have a lot of good stuff for the format, but technically this is playable if done correctly.

#115) Axebane Guardian - B, Yeah let's break the format by reprinting defenders with a mana ramp effect, sure wizards i'll take it for sure, Blue/Green's necessary glue to hold together the defender strategy.

#116) Axebane Stag - D, A vanilla 6/7 for 7, yikes if this had some sort of ability it's playable, but just as a big body, i'm not too impressed with this one.

#117) Brushstrider - C, Now we are talking a 3/1 with vigilance for 2, though it lacks toughness, it's certainly playable as a 2 drop slot in green.

#118) Centaur's Herald - B, Who went and printed this seriously, in limited it's stupid good, a 0/1 for 1 and you can pay 2 and a green and sacrifice it to make a 3/3 centaur, whoa wizards you are really pushing the limited format for the set with this guy.

#119) Chorus of Might - C, A decent finisher for a creature filled board, it's not Overrun though, so don't get your hopes up, but it's a mini overrun effect on a 2 drop spell at least.

#122) Drudge Beetle - C, Before you folks start bitching why this is a C, look at it from it's mana cost, 1 and a green for a 2/2, it's a Grizzly Bear in a new body, before you also start complaining but it's scavenge costs 6, so what your going to be using this to hit opponents a lot more then using it's scavenge effect.

#123) Druid's Deliverance - B, I'll admit in any token based strategy this is a great card, even without populate it's playable due to the fact it's a Fog effect for 2, it stalls for a turn to give you a chance to recover from a massive army, which is what you need in a pinch.

#124) Gatecreeper Vine - A, Even as a 0/2 for 2, it's super playable due to one thing, it thins the deck out by fetching either a gate or a basic land, this is what you want to get you further ahead so you don't miss those crucial land drops.

#125) Giant Growth - B, Oh this is back, great, though it's a pump spell, we shouldn't over look it in green, since it does what you want it to, get those extra few points of damage in for limited, overall providing a good thing, ensuring your not screwed when doing damage.

#126) Gobbling Ooze - C, For a 5 drop 3/3 it's decent but since it makes itself bigger you probably will want 1 of these for limited, since it's a nice way to sacrifice creatures before combat damage resolves.

#127) Golgari Decoy - C, It's another one of these eh, a all creatures block this creature special, well it's good for a turn since a alpha strike with this attacking forces everything to block this, it's scavenge effect is useful since it's a mere 1 mana higher then it's CMC, just the 2/2 body is a little frightening.

#128) Horncaller's Chant - F, No, this is probably the worst populate card of the set, 8 mana is a big investment for a spell that makes a 4/4 rhino and populates, at sorcery speed, if this was a instant i'd probably consider changing my stance on it.

#129) Korozda Monitor - B, Wow a 3/3 with trample for 4, yeah this is something a lot of players may look at due to this alone, it's scavenge effect we could care less about, the limited format needs decent beat sticks and this is one of those that a lot of players may want to draft.

#131) Oak Street Innkeeper - D, Yeah giving your tapped creatures shroud is a decent effect but that's all that saves it from being a F, i'm not overall impressed with this card, since it can set in the sideboard for matchups where spells target your creatures, but that's it.

#132) Rubbleback Rhino - C, I like this due to the sole fact it's got hexproof on itself, which is something not a lot of creatures can do this set, it self protects itself with that, a 3/4 body for 5 isn't all that bad honestly,  decent creatures are actually being printed for the format.

#133) Savage Surge - B, This is something i can see getting played a few times in green, untapping a creature you control is great and giving it +2/+2 as a blocker for your opponent's biggest dude is always a nice thing, maybe a 2 of in a green deck.

#134) Seek the Horizon - B, Yeah, ramp in this format is low as ever, but this compensates since it gets you 3 basic lands ensuring you never miss land drops for the format, glad that wizards decided to reprint this bad boy.

#135) Slime Molding - B, Making a X/X ooze where X is the investment into the spell is always nice and with populate it gets better since you can have multiple copies of this token.

#136) Stonefare Crocodile - B, Another decent creature for the format, sure the 3/2 body for 3 is good, but it's off color ability to give it lifelink is the reason why it should be drafted in Black/Green, it's a nice way to make sure you survive the extra turn or 2 so you may go off.

#137) Towering Indrik - C, A 2/4 for 4 is pretty nice, but with it having reach is kind of what you need since green has no flyers in the lone color for this set, which is kind of sad.

#138) Urban Burgeoning - B, One of those enchant lands which are useful for the format, since it untaps during every untap step, being able to have that extra 1 land untapped is crucial.

And with that, the color pie is done, join me tommorow where i talk about the Selesyna and Golgari cards in the multicolor slot.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 4: Red

Welcome to part 4 of the limited review, in this portion of the limited review I will be talking about the many cards in the particular color, Red, but remember this limited review will only cover commons and uncommons of the set, in another portion of the review i will cover the many rares and mythic rares of each color, so for those unfamiliar with my set review, here's how it works.


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

With that in mind, let's start part 4 of the set review.

#85) Annihilating Fire - A, One of the best pieces of burn in this set, hitting the best creature that's 3 toughness or less is sweet, but it exiles whatever it kills which is something that a lot of burn spells which aren't very common.

#87) Batterhorn - B, A conditional destroy target artifact on a 4/3 body, it's always nice and fits quite well into a draft deck, even if it costs 5 mana, it's still a nice removal piece/attacker.

#88) Bellows Lizard - C, I'm not too impressed with a 1/1 for 1 that you gotta pump 2 mana to to give it +1/+1 at all, but it's a decent 1 drop for the color of course, but could of course use some work.

#89) Bloodfray Giant - B, Trample and unleash give it a decent rating, plus it's a 5/4 for 4, which is unheard of recently for the format, i like this particular card a lot.

#91) Cobblebrute - C, 5/2 for 4, vanilla bodies like this are nice for the late game, but nothing else.

#92) Dynacharge - A, Great finisher spell for sure as lots of guys means the overload is more and more worth it with this one, expect to see this as a finisher quite often in Red/Blue.

#93) Electrickery - B, Dealing 1 damage for 2 mana is nice and all to everything you don't control, plus it's a nice instant, so combat damage is the sole reason you should be playing this.

#94) Explosive Impact - D, one of the weaker spells of the color, a Lava Axe for 6 isn't very fun at all, considering it is normally 5 mana, if it was 2 cheaper in terms of casting cost, then maybe it would be playable.

#95) Goblin Rally - C, 5 mana for 4 1/1 goblins, not bad at sorcery speed, you're getting what you invest in this spell for at least.

#96) Gore-House Chainwalker - B, 3/2 for 2 mana, ok, seriously this is something that is highly playable, perhaps solely due to Undying.

#98) Guttersnipe - B, Instants and sorceries are shockers, quite literally to your opponents, this is one of those cards you can build around for sure.

#99) Lobber Crew - B, How the hell did this get past R&D for crying out loud, a pinger which is 3 mana and untaps when you play multicolored spells, turn 3 this, turn 4, ping then Rakdos, Lord of Riots

#100) Minotaur Aggressor - D, 7 mana for a 6/2 with first strike and haste, way too lame for this format, even as a late game bomb, i'm sorry but this is getting worse.

#102) Pursuit of Flight - C, Flying attached to this is the reason why it's playable, just simply due to having a single blue source and you gain flying for a turn, great for offense and defense.

#103) Pyroconvergence - C, One of those enchantments which are hard to build around, this is saying "Build around me" but with this being uncommon of course, it's gonna be hard to do so in red.

#104) Racecourse Fury - D, One of the worst auras in the set, granting something haste is the only reason it stays off the F rating, plus it costs 1 red to cast this aura at that.

#105) Splatter Thug - B, 3/3 with first strike and unleash, you sure as hell think i'm gonna pass this bad boy, nope not at all, this is a nice common for the color and fits the motive.

#106) Street Spasm - C, It's overload cost and the fact it costs X to cast is the reason it's a little worse then the previous Overload card then Electrickery for sure.

#107) Survey the Wreckage - B, 5 mana to destroy a land and make a 1/1, yeah that seems like something red does quite well, but playable wise, it's at least a 1 of in a deck.

#108) Tenement Crasher - D, even as a 5/4 with haste, it's 6 cmc isn't very useful, but it's always a nice sideboard card to take out for a unpreforming card for the format.

#109) Traitorous Instinct - C, every set there has to be a steal effect doesn't there, well with this it's no exception, those who played this know what it does.

#111) Vandalblast - B, 5 mana to blow up all artifacts you don't control or 1 mana to hit an artifact you don't control, pretty sweet for the removal package in red.

#112) Viashino Racketeer - B, 3 mana to Loot and a 2/1 body, nice, it replaces dead weight cards with potential good cards, i like this guy for the format as a decent body.

And with that that is all she wrote for red, stay tuned Tommorow for Green's turn on the scale.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 3: Black

Welcome back, this is part 3 of the limited set review this time around, we will of course be covering the many black cards offered by the set and how they work well in the limited format, only commons and uncommons will be looked at as i will be doing a seperate article for all the rares and mythics of the set later on, for those unfamiliar with the set review, here's how it's broken down.

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 with that out of the way here's part 3.

#57) Assassin's Strike - D, If you are really desperate for a 6 mana kill spell for the format, then this is the choice here, though it also makes the controller discard a card, it's not as good as specific other things for the set.

#58) Catacomb Slug - D, A disappointing example of a 2/6 with no abilites, if this had some abilites maybe it would be considered good for the format, however it is not, so don't attempt to draft this one, since it is way too under powered.

#59) Cremate - C, Decent graveyard exile for the format, it replaces itself as well meaning it's never usually a waste to cast tthis for a single black.

#60) Daggerdrome Imp - B, I love this card in limited, since it's a 1/1 flying lifelink body, all for a mere 2 mana at that, making it one of those tolerable and interesting cards for the format.

#61) Dark Revenant - C, Honestly a 4 mana 2/2 with flying that sets itself back onto the top of the library is kind of nice i guess in this color, easily playable here.

#62) Dead Reveler - B, Unleash is what makes this a decent card for the format, a 3/4 for 3 is not all that bad, since it's going to hit like a truck for the format, i expect this at least as a 1-2 of in a black deck.

#64) Destroy the Evidence - C, Land destruction isn't what black is known for but it's a decent spell all the same, deprives the player of potential resources and mills them for 5 as well as blowing up their best land, a solid pick if you need it.

#65) Deviant Glee - C, Honestly a aura that requires a allied color mana is kind of nice plus it grants +2/+1 and for a red you get trample on something which is very useful, a nice aura if you need it.

#66) Drainpipe Vermin - B, Rats are gonna be a thing now it seems, since this is a reasonable 1 drop for the format, only being a 1/1 isn't that bad plus when it dies you pay the additional cost and it forces a player to discard a card, which is a solid black flavor.

#68) Launch Party - B, Solid kill spells are pretty solid, though it has a additional cost it's ok, this is still good regardless, since it destroys a target creature and makes it's controller lose 2 life in the process, defintely a must have for any black player.

#69) Grim Roustabout - B, A solid card if you ask me, 2/2's for 2 are hard for anyone to come by in this format and it even regenerates itself in the process, one of those 2 of's at least.

#70) Mind Rot - C, One of those spells which i feel doesn't always need a reprint for limited as it wastes a spot, but fits black's motive quite well, if you need to fill a slot, use this at least.

#72) Ogre Jailbreaker - B, Now i was just talking about a 2/2 for 2, now it's a 4/4 for 4, gee wizards loves to give us some serious excellent limited material here, plus controlling a gate is what makes this a solid beatstick.

#74) Perilous Shadow - D, I'm not impressed with this 0/4 for 4, but it's ability is what saves it from being a F on the rating scale, it's +2/+2 self pump for 2 is nice and all, a great way to pour all the black resources into this, if you ever draft it.

#75) Sewer Shambler - C, Scavenge itself isn't the best thing on this, but a 2/1 for 3 isn't that bad honestly, it has swamp walk which saves it big time, plus it's a mere common, so it's easy to work around.

#76) Shrieking Affliction - C, if you intend to go a discard strategy, this is the best reason to go that route, since there are so many options for limited this time around, i feel this is what makes discard viable, just watch out for removal though.

#77) Slum Reaper - B, 4 mana for a 4/2 isn't bad at all, but it's ability is the best thing i've seen yet, say hello to Fleshbag Marauder 2.0 which makes me super happy cause i remember drafting back in Shards of Alara and seeing it consistently.

#78) Stab Wound - B, A decent aura if you want to deal damage without the need of creatures, since it is entirely possible to go the non-creature route in limited, have a pure control strategy for the format, stops the weenies and such dead cold, plus it makes the controller with this attached lose 2 life in the process.

#79) Tavern Swindler - D, I'd only consider him a D on the scale due to the fact he's a 2/2 for 2, his ability is a 50/50 chance to win, but it costs 3 life every time, so in the long run it's not worth it to run this guy for his ability only as a beater.

#80) Terrus Wurm - C, A 5/5 for 7 and a scavenge cost equal to the cost of this card is the sole reason it's a middle of the road card, if it had something like Deathtouch or Trample, perhaps it would be useful to run, but it has nothing to really give itself anything other then scavenge, which sucks.

#81) Thrill-Kill Assassin - B, This is a impressive 2/3 for 2, with deathtouch as well which is what makes it so versatile in the long run, now give it flying and lifelink and you've got a Vampire Nighthawk for the format.

#82) Ultimate Price - A, Best removal in the format in terms of hitting mono color creatures, this is only a mere 2 mana and it's instant speed like it should be, one of the most useful spells in the lone color of black.

#84) Zanikev Locust - D, Bad 3/3's for 7 are bad, even if they fly and have a scavenge cost lower then what the CMC of this card is, if you intend to draft this you are a bad magic player, i'm sorry.

And with that that is part 3, stay tuned monday for part 4, red as well as a article i've started but never finished on sunday.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 2: Blue

Welcome back to the 2nd part of the RTR limited review, this edition covers the blue cards and how they will be in limited this time around, of course, no Mythic rares or rares are covered in here as each are unique and i'll talk about them in a later edition, with that here's a reminder of the system i use to grade these for limited.

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 with that in mind, let's begin part 2 of this review, Blue.

#29) Aquus Steed - D, unless you wanna play this in some janky control/mill strategy in limited, avoid this at all costs, it's power/toughness ratio sucks, it's 4 cmc cost overall makes it unplayable and it's ability is of those things you should avoid unless you magically drafted the Jace of this set.

#30) Blustersquall - B, Blue's specialty to my knowledge has always been midrange control/keeping the opponents locked down, for a 1 mana instant to tap something down or the overload cost of 4 seems like this makes it playable in some sense, since this is a instant speed Sleep 

#31) Cancel - B, One of those required blue spells of choice, since counter magic is something that makes or breaks blue players usually, maybe 1 or 2 of these in a nice control deck will make it seem easier to play.

#32) Chronic Flooding - C, Unless you intend to drown out their resources early on, in a some what playable mill strategy, this seems like one of those cards that is very splashable, can be a nice game ender if played correctly and is one of those simple 2 drops which works.

#34) Crosstown Courier - B, It's power/toughness ratio is the reason this gets a nice rating, it's ability though requires a lot of fostering, IE: Making him unblockable turn after turn, but if he gets in there, he'll not only do damage, but drown out the resources as well.

#36) Dispel - C, I don't expect blue players to take this as often, since it counters only instants, but this is great for a counter spell war, which there will not be very many of in this format, one of those required instances where it's maybe alright to throw 1 in a nice control deck.

#37) Doorkeeper - B, In limited it seems like Mill is the definite strategy for a lot of blue players this time around, focusing more so on that then anything else, a 2 drop 0/4 is always nice, plus it's ability is pretty solid and sometimes can be a game ender for the limited format.

#38) Downsize - C, Semi splashable here with it's overload cost being a mere 3 mana and fits any control player's strategy quite nicely for a single turn, though it only does -4/-0, it's still a decent card otherwise.

#39) Faerie Impostor - A, One of those 1 drops in blue you gotta have for limited, a 2/1 flyer that bounces a creature you control is a nice downside if you ask me, sure it's a uncommon, but for what it does it's certainly going to get there fast.

#40) Hover Barrier - B, Oh wow, a 2 and a blue for a 0/6 with defender and flying, not since the days of Ilusionary Wall and the like have i seen this type of card come back, i mean it's a solid body for the 3 mana investment, easily playable in just about any strategy for blue.

#41) Inaction Injuction - B, Detains plus drawing a card for 2 is pretty good i hear, plus since it replaces itself it makes itself more reliable as a spell, a nice common for the color.

#42) Inspiration - A, No questions, this is a must draft for pretty much any reason for playing blue, 4 mana instant speed draw 2, sure, i'll take it, even if it costs 4 i'm still drafting this high, just due to card draw being that good.

#43) Isperia's Skywatch - D, Sorry detain saves it from getting the first F rating of my review for the set, sure a 3/3 for 6 is good and all, plus it flies, but that's all it really is useful for, another late game flyer.

#45) Mizzium Skin - C, Easily playable in these colors and grants hexproof for all your creatures for a mere 2 mana, plus that +0/+1 bonus is always nice, a nice solid common.

#46) Paralyzing Grasp - B, Control players value lock down stuff, this is no exception, Blue/White are best buddies due to this rule, 3 mana aura to lockdown a creature is always nice in this format, plus it's a common, which makes it super effective.

#47) Psychic Spiral - C, Who put this in this set, seriously this is super ridiciulous for limited, 5 mana to reshuffle your graveyard into your library and mill a opponent for the amount of cards reshuffled at sorcery speed, if it was instant speed, this thing would be super broken.

#48) Runewing - B, I like solid 2/2's that have flying for a mere 4, it's a preference, but this one when it dies it draws a card to replace itself, plus it's common rarity makes it nice and playable for a beater in the air.

#50) Skyline Predator - D, Such a waste of a 3/3 for it's cost, it's only redeeming qualites are flash and flying, but for 6 mana it's hardly worth the investment for the format, almost gets my first F rating of the review.

#51) Soulsworn Spirit - C, Only redeeming factor here from being sideboard only is the detain and unblockable factors for 4 mana, it's uncommon rarity is nice and balanced and makes it hard to draft, being one of those middle of the road cards for the format in this color.

#53) Stealer of Secrets - B, Card draw off combat damage is always nice, considering how little of these kinds of cards exist for the format, it's common rarity makes it one of those high priority picks in this color.

#54) Syncopate - B, One of the only counter spells in this lone color, the better ones being in the multicolor this time around, it exiles whatever it counters, whether it'd be a legendary, etc, a nice way to stop the opponent's best thing from hitting the board.

#55) Tower Drake - C, Semi playable only due to the flying ability it has, but a 2/1 body is still a nice Welkin Tern for 3 even if it's ability requires a allied color mana.

#56) Voidwielder - D, 5 mana to get a 1/4 that bounces your stuff is just a not playable card, regardless, i mean we have that Faerie for crying out loud in this color.

Well with that that is all she wrote for Blue this time, in terms of the limited cards of choice, stay tuned tommorow for Black.

Return to Ravnica Limited Review Part 1: White

Hello everyone and welcome to the beginning of the emporium's own Return to Ravnica: Limited Set Review, where over the course of the next few articles, i will of course be talking about how each card, Common and Uncommon only will be useful in the upcoming RTR limited format, here are the basics for the limited review for those unfamiliar with it.

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 this set review.

#2) Armory Guard - C, You know for a 2/5 for 4 mana it's pretty decent when it comes to this, but the "Gates" are what make this guy playable in limited, just barely, since two different guild gates can make the color mana necessary to play this guy.

#3) Arrest - B, being able to lock down something in limited, for white is one of it's strongest attributes i would think, but this being upgraded to a uncommon means that this may not be seen as much, if you intend to draft white, at least 1 of these is necessary for a white player's pool for this set.

#4) Avenging Arrow - C, White doesn't have a lot of removal this set, but this is one of those semi playable cards of the color, sure it costs a investment of 3 mana, but dealing with a pesky attacker that dealt damage is the long run reward here.

#5) Azorius Arrester - B, Detain is going to be one of those limited format necessites in white, since it's either Populate or this, but for the mana cost and it's P/T rating, it's sure one of those unique commons you may end up wanna drafting 2 of.

#6) Azorius Justiciar - B, For a 4 drop this has a nice effect when it enters the battlefield, detain is one of those superior limited mechanics in this color and should be considered at least a little in this color, though it's a mere 2/2 it's not going to be used as a blocker, just a attacker/enter the battlefield effect.

#7) Bazaar Krovod - C, Essentially this guy is splashable as a 5 drop in white, but is only really useful when he attacks, though untapping something you want to block with kinda useful here, don't expect to take this right away.

#8) Concordia Pegasus - B, Evasion in this set is very necessary since white doesn't offer usually a lot of flyers, max i'd end up stuffing in a 40 card deck is probably 2 at the very maximum

#9) Ethereal Armor - C, Auras in this set are going to be useful in some way, but this is only fully maximized when you have like 3 or 4 enchantments at your control, i'd defintely splash this in some Blue/White/Green control style deck for sure.

#10) Eyes in the Skies - B, Easily playable in both Azorius and Selesyna guild colors, plus it's a self producer, makes 2 1/1 flyers in the process, if i was you i'd probably take like 2, even if your going Azorius since you need evasion in white.

#11) Fencing Ace - A, Just due to double strike here it gets this rating, a 2 drop 1/1 with double strike is a very nice creature indeed, it may even see play outside of limited to boot for what it does.

#12) Keening Spirit - C, Splashable and it's a 2/2 for 2 mana, but the upside is you can deal with a pesky enchantment with this, i'd rate this a little higher but it's still decent in the color.

#13) Knightly Valor - B, Token based strategies are going to love this common and it fits into a Green/White draft deck so very well with only 1 color requirement, since it makes it's own creature a 2/2 knight and grants both the knight and equipped creature vigilance, a very nice late game drop spell.

#16) Phantom General - B, Tokens are going to be getting a lot of white love for the set, sure it's a 2/3 for 4, but it grants all tokens +1/+1 that you control, making it one of those very useful cards in my humble opinion.

#19) Rootborn Defenses - A, This is one of those commons that prove why white is good this set for limited, 3 mana for a populate plus it makes all your creatures indestrucible this turn, a very nice way to enter combat and swing for a win.

#20) Security Blockade - B, One of those auras i'd want to draft due to it's mana cost, 4 mana is a nice investment to grant a 2/2 on the board plus enchant a land with a prevention effect when needed, allowing white players to survive that extra turn perhaps.

#21) Selesyna Sentry - D, One of those sideboard cards you'd want to keep a 2/3 that only regenerates with green mana, unless your desperate for creatures and or going for green in your prerelease, i'd suggest staying away from this.

#22) Seller of Songbirds - B, A really grant 1/2 for 3 mana, generates itself and a 1/1 flyer as it enters the battlefield, making it one of those excellent targets for populate.

#23) Soul Tithe - B, Forcing a opponent to tap out all their resources for a late game 6 drop is kinda nice, since it keeps them occupied, otherwise they lose their best creature in the process of their upkeep, a very unique flavor for white this set, since white has been known to have a lack luster following in limited.

#24) Sphere of Safety - B, One of these interesting choices for limited to force opponents to pay to attack you for the amount of enchantments you control, if you are azorius and are in a enchantment heavy strategy this is the go to card.

#25) Sunspire Griffin - A, One of the better drops of the set, 2/3 on a flyer for 3 mana, highly valuable and it's a common so take as many as you can in this color if you want a creature heavy deck.

#26) Swift Justice - C, 1 mana for a lifelink, first striker granter that grants also a +1/+0 boost to a creature is great and all, perhaps one of the weaker spells of the color, but overall a good limited pick since it only costs 1 white.

#27) Trained Caracal - B, 1/1 for 1 white and lifelink, do i need to say more, the only 1 drop creature in the color, plus it's common 2 are required for a creature heavy strategy.

#28) Trostani's Judgment - B, White has little to no removal, with this being the last piece this set, in terms of single color spells, plus the populate mechanic is slapped onto this, making this more playable in the late game then anything.

And with that, it's all she wrote for white in the limited review, stay tuned tommorow for Blue.

Avacyn Restored Limited Review: Blue

Hello everyone and welcome to the review of Avacyn Restored in limited, prerelease time is over and it's time to check out how i think Avacyn Restored limited will do as a stand alone draft format, much similar to Rise of the Eldrazi from 2 years prior, i will explain the ratings down below as always and give my utmost thoughts on each color of the set, remember this limited review will only cover Uncommons and Commons in the set, rares will be a seperate entity and covered in one article.

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.

Without further ado let's begin.

#42) Alchemist's Apprentice - C, the first card in this color and it's showing it's a middle of the road material card, sure it's a 1/1 for 1 and a blue, but you can sacrifice as a response to removal and get a card out of it, not a bad deal honestly.

#43) Amass the Components - B, Being able to draw three cards and effectively place a useless card from the hand onto the bottom of the library is key here, but something to keep in mind is if your going to be using Miracle cards, it only applies to the first card of the turn, still a good draw spell.

#46) Crippling Chill - C, 3 mana for a instant speed lock down for a full 2 turns, plus you get a free card to replace it, something blue is quite good at doing in limited this time around, though the rarity is a little off balance since it's a common, should have been uncommon instead.

#49) Dreadwaters - D, In this format a mill spell like this is only good if you got a deck focused around it, but for X where X is the number of lands you control is not bad, considering most of the time you'll have about 6 lands when you cast it, so X will usually be about 4 to 6, keeps it out of the F range.

#50) Elgaud Shieldmate - C, one of the better soulbond dudes, 2/3 four mana and a hexproofer, not bad considering this is blue, but again soulbond is iffy since of course it relies on 2 creatures instead of just the one.

#51) Favorable Winds - B, Heavy blue players are going to love this enchantment, considering it gives all your fliers +1/+1 for a mere 2 mana, if i didn't know better i swear this was the replacement for Intangible Virtue.

#52) Fettergeist - D, 3/4 for a 2 and a blue, but you gotta pay 1 mana for each creature you control, sure it is good alone, but what if you control 7 creatures, then you gotta basically pay all resources just to keep it alive, this is kinda bad honestly for a uncommon.

#53) Fleeting Distraction - C, giving a creature -1/-0 until end of turn and being able to replace itself are nice, this is a interesting reprint since the last time we saw this was 2 years ago in Rise of the Eldrazi, how fitting this comes back for another limited format.

#54) Galvanic Alchemist - C, being a 1/4 body with soul bond is kinda nice, since you can throw this up as a brick wall for a few turns, but the trick is soul bond you instantly pair this and gets somewhat better, since at any time you can pay 2 and a blue for either creature and untap it, however being said i'm not favoring this new mechanic at all.

#55) Geist Snatch - B, Being a counter spell which costs 4 mana is ok i suppose, but when you get to put a 1/1 blue spirit as well on the battlefield, it makes it a little more desirable as a counter spell, the only problem is it counters creatures only, otherwise it'd be the perfect counter spell for this format.

#56) Ghostform - B, having a 2 mana spell that makes 2 creatures unblockable is kinda nice, even if they are 2/2's in this format, you still get 4 points of free damage if they are 2 power, minimum damage dealt with this is mostly 2, since there are a few 1/1's in this format.

#57) Ghostly Flicker - C, Honestly with this i'm not exactly sure why i gave it a C on my rankings scale, sure it's good for abusing enter the battlefield effects like the new one soul bond, which is somewhat good, but other then that, maybe it has it's uses in limited as a potential addition for this color.

#58) Ghostly Touch - B, Lock down effects in limited are superb here, with this being no exception of course, 2 mana enchantment that when the creature enchanted with this attacks it taps or untaps target creature, so making synergy seem more valuable here for something.

#59) Gryff Vanguard - D, Honestly i would expect more of a 3/2 with flying, enter the battlefield you can trip of course, but that i feel is one of the only things that save this particular card from the F rating, is the replacement effect, sideboard this if you are having troubles with flyers in limited.

#60) Havengul Skaab - C, for a bomb it's pretty good, when it attacks you bounce something you control, a creature anyways and you get a chance to abuse it's enter the battlefield effect if it has one, but for a 4/5 for 6, it's quite a limited material bomb.

#62) Into the Void - D, 4 mana Unsummon that hits two creatures at sorcery speed, not good enough, this is so sideboard material, blue is starting to feel like a more support color in this set.

#63) Latch Seeker - B, This particular format is going to have a lot of 3 drops, this is one of those excellent 3 drop dudes, 3/1 unblockable, throw a piece of equipment on this and you are golden.

#66) Mass Appeal - C, Honestly something that works with only humans for this particular format is going to get a middle of the road rating, sure it costs 3 mana, but it's a Divination at sorcery speed only for a specific creature type, maybe in limited you'll get to play this once.

#67) Mist Raven - B, Abuse of entering the battlefield effects in this set seems to be very apparent, 4 mana for a 2/2 flyer that bounces a creature when it enters the battlefield, not a bad thing, since this format seems to be a quick format, based upon what's been seen so far.

#69) Nephalia Smuggler - A, it's a piece of late game material waiting to happen, sure it may be a 1 drop 1/1 but when it comes down to it, most players are going to be using this guy for his ability more so then anything, considering soul bond is around.

#70) Outwit - B, A very specific counter spell which hits spells that target a player, but it's a counter spell regardless for 1 blue, yeah most blue players are going to always keep a mana open in case of a Miracle spell like Thunderous Wrath pops up.

#71) Peel from Reality - C, there are way too many bounce effects in this set, is this the bounce abuse set or something, besides this being a reprint, it's a instant speed 2 drop spell that hits a target creature you control and a target creature a opponent controls, it's a decent combat trick at least.

#72) Rotcrown Ghoul - B, 5 drops that hit for 1/8th of a library in limited are huge, considering when they are common as well, the only reason it didn't get a A on this scale is due to the simple fact it only triggers when it dies.

#73) Scrapskin Drake - D, 2/3 flyer that can only block flyers is the reason that this is a D on the scale, sorry but when your not able to block little 1/1's on the ground by turn 3, you got something wrong here, sure it's a great sideboard card, but other then that don't expect too much outta it.

#74) Second Guess - B, Late game counter spells anyone, this is what blue is known for in limited a lot of the time, being able to drag the game out to a near halt while controlling the board, plus this counters the second spell cast this turn, so you can essentially put this on the stack and go nuts.

#75) Spectral Prison - B, Lock down auras in here are very nice, considering it forces the opponent to waste a spell to get rid of it, meaning you'll be able to open up much faster and easier even if you are facing a blue player in this format, still a great aura for limited.

#77) Stern Mentor - B, A decent soul bond effect where it mills, is a good 4 drop that's a 2/2 and it both creatures consistently hit 4 cards at a time, if both are paired, a creature that's really good in limited and i gotta examine this guy further someday.

#80) Tandem Lookout - B, Soul bond with a Jon Finkel effect is very nice, considering there is no Black to  worry about in the mana cost for this guy, being able to attack, get a card or two and have a slight advantage is always nice, blue seems to have the better of the soul bond guys.

#82) Vanishment - A, the only Miracle card that's a uncommon in this color, 5 mana for it's base casting cost but 1 blue for it's Miracle cost and it's at instant speed, the new Unsummon of the set, truly there hasn't been a better unsummon till now.

#83) Wingcrafter - B, Being able to throw flying in the early game is super exciting, with this being a 1 drop card and a 1/1 at that, makes it so that you can effectively play this and play your next creature, attack for 1 in the air and go nuts in the very early game in this color.

Well that's it for this edition of the Limited Review, Black is next on the list, as always i will take a look at the Rares and Mythic Rares in another article.

Complete Limited Set Review - Dark Ascension

The following was done in a span of three days 2 months ago after the arrival of Dark Ascension, this isn't to be taken very seriously at all, as this is one player's thoughts on the set as a whole, this entire set review will cover all 8 categories, White, Blue, Black, Red, Green, Multicolor, Lands and Artifacts. The final thoughts on the set as a whole will be posted at the end of the review, but for now enjoy.


For the purpose of this review i will be using the following points system.

1 – Avoid this if you can
2 – Maybe can be useful here, depending on the situation
3 – Middle of the Road material
4 – 2 copies or more, always
5 – Always go for it if you got it.

White


#2) Bar the Door – 2/5, for a combat trick it’s not bad, but not desirable, i’d leave it unless you absolutely are going a weak toughness route.

#3) Break of Day – 3/5, Fateful Hour i feel is what saves this card from being a 2, sure the boost for +1/+1 is nice but when it’s a pinch it’s nice to have indestrucibilty on your side.

#4) Burden of Guilt – 2/5, Unless you go a control route avoid it, i mean sure enchanting a opponent’s creature is nice, since it only says enchant creature and all, still only draft when necessary.

#5) Curse of Exhaustion – 2/5, control spells like this make me wonder if limited is truly getting any good stuff these days, since innistrad’s arrival it’s seemingly getting more interesting, but more difficult as well.

#6) Elguad Inquisitor – 3/5, A solid body with lifelink, puts a extra creature on the battlefield, which is also rather nice, expect to at least see 2 of these pass through your draft, if your going white i’d recommend drafting 1 of them.

#7) Faith’s Shield – 3/5, Combat is something of White’s forte these days and while protection is nice, fateful hour is what gives the boost to the overall limited score of the card, protection for you and your entire team for the rest of the turn is quite handy in a pinch.

#8) Gather the Townsfolk – 4/5, Often or not 2 mana sorcery’s usually turn out to suck but when they put 2 1/1′s on the field and have fateful hour that allows for 5 1/1′s to be present, it makes it quite desirable honestly for this good draft card, i hope this is the first of many.

#9) Gavony Ironwright – 2/5, Fateful hour is the only thing that saves this from being a 1 on my scale, 3 mana 1/4′s are nice and all but at the uncommon level i’d rather be drafting Fiend Hunter from Innistrad instead, but a +1/+4 boost from fateful hour helps in a pinch.

#10) Hollowhenge Spirit – 3/5, Flash flyers often have a habit of being rather clunky, but it’s enter the battlefield effect seems like a great overall thing when something isn’t going your way.

#12) Lingering Souls – 5/5, probably the best uncommon of the color so far, 3 drop sorcery that brings out 2 1/1 spirits with flying, even without flashback it’s still super powerful, a must have for any white player.

#13) Loyal Cathar/Unhallowed Cathar – 3/5, 2 different creatures but the transformation happens when it’s dead, really and for 2 white mana it gives it that nice i’m just gonna keep attacking vibe regardless, the vigilance also helps here.

#14) Midnight Guard – 3/5, another middle of the road guy, sure he untaps every time a creature hits the board, 2/3′s though are nothing to scoff at in limited

#15) Niblis of the Mist – 2/5, 3 mana for a flying 2/1 is kind of a little over costed here, espically for it’s secondary ability of tapping a creature, at least it’s not a 1 here.

#16) Niblis of the Urn – 3/5, This is better honestly, a 1/1 flyer that when attacking can also tap a creature down, the more perfectly balanced of the 2 for this particular color.

#17) Ray of Revelation – 3/5, Probably one of the only spells worth drafting in white for this set, i mean if your drafting green/white humans go for it easily, it does deal with those nasty curses and such.

#19) Sanctuary Cat – 1/5, 1 drops in this format that are vanilla aren’t that desirable espically a 1/2 vanilla, thus why it’s kind of like a last resort pick here.

#21) Silverclaw Griffin – 2/5, 5 mana is a awful lot to spend in limited in white even for a 3/2 flyer with first strike, your better off spending the 5 mana on something more worthwhile.

#22) Skillful Lunge – 2/5, Combat tricks are nice and all, but they are getting old here, seriously.

#26) Thraben Heretic – 3/5, Something that deals with nasty graveyard creatures is excellent here, limited needed something like this to compete with the zombies of Innistrad as well as the other things here, even for 2 mana and a 2/2 it’s nice

Rares Good to Draft: Thraben Doomsayer, Increasing Devotion, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Rares i wouldn’t mind taking: Requiem Angel, Seance, Sudden Disappearance

Rares to Pass: Archangel’s Light


Blue


#27) Artful Dodge – 2/5, combat tricks are nice as i previously stated but however they are getting very old here and i don’t want to constantly have to worry about this particular card taking up one of the many slots in my deck.

#29) Bone to Ash – 4/5, in any non constructed format counter spells are what blue players desire here, with this however you not only counters a spell but get a free card out of it, making it even more worthwhile.

#31) Chant of the Skifsang – 3/5, For a 3 drop aura it’s not that bad, better then a lot of the prevention tricks in this set so far, of which there is none prior to this card.

#32) Chill of Foreboding – 3/5, usually 3 mana mill spells turn out to be total jank but in limited this thing is going to be a beast, blue’s getting some decent material here.

#35) Divination – 4/5, Card draw in this format is very limited and with a reprint like this returning for said format i wonder if it’s not going to be impacted by the fact there’s stuff like Burning Vengeance and Snapcaster Mage available.

#38) Griptide – 2/5, for something that puts a creature on top of it’s owner’s library 4 mana is a little much, if it was 3 mana i’d consider making it a middle of the road card on my scale.

#40) Headless Skaab – 2/5, Not one of the more desirable zombies if your going that route but if not then i’d suggest to avoid this at all costs.

#42) Mystic Retrieval – 4/5, returning your spells and such is awesome and all, espically when you can go Red/Blue and play a burning vengeance style deck with this card, since it returns instants and sorceries to your hand, giving you that much more fuel.

#43) Nephalia Seakite – 3/5, 2/3 flash fliers in limited are nice, but 4 mana makes it a little easier to cast when your playing blue due to stuff like Deranged Assistant.

#44) Niblis of the Breath – 2/5, 2/1 flier that untaps things, excellent here honestly but with so many three drops in this format it’s kinda hard to decide if this is good early on.

#45) Relentless Skaabs – 3/5, 4/4′s normally are good here and with undying i think this card makes it a 3 instead of a 2/5 even with the high 5 mana cost it’s still a decent beater.

#46) Saving Grasp – 3/5, a much better combat trick that saves a creature when necessary or threatened by a spell, even with a white flashback cost it’s still decent for blue.

#47) Screeching Skaab – 4/5, Powering a zombie deck early on with this guy is going to be key, with Deranged Assistant and him i think zombies is going to be tough to beat in limited.

#48) Secrets of the Dead – 4/5, Finally a enchantment spell that rewards flashback costs for players, even for 3 mana it’s still really good and will power a flashback deck to victory.

#49) Shriekgeist – 3/5, so many 2 drops so little time but when it takes 2 cards off the defending player’s library it helps all the better here.

#50) Soul Seizer/Ghastly Haunting – 2/5, sure a creature that turns into a Mind Control is a nice thing and all but it’s a 1/3 for 5, which takes up a lot of resources early on and is easily dealt with removal.

#51) Stormbound Geist – 3/5, a 3 drop that has flying, undying and can only block other fliers, it’s ok, i mean it’s got it’s advantages like chumping and coming back as s 3/3 here, plus it has some serious evasion.

#52) Thought Scour – 4/5, If you draft blue at all this card is one not to be avoided, since the fact is it deprives resources of your opponent early on if you choose and let’s you draw a card, which isn’t half bad honestly.

#53) Tower Geist – 5/5, i only ever give 5′s when i see a effect like his, getting a card when he enters the battlefield, putting the other into the graveyard, as well as a flying 2/2 for 4 mana, sign me up.

Rares i would draft: Call to the Kindred, Geralf’s Mindcrusher, Increasing Confusion

Rares i wouldn’t mind drafting: Counterlash, Curse of Echoes, Dungeon Geists

Rares to avoid: Beguiler of Wills


Black


#54) Black Cat – 3/5, Sure a 1/1 is not much to talk about but when it’s 2 mana and forces a opponent to discard a possible threat when it dies, fantastic and with a ton of sacrifice outlets in limited this is a potential target for them.

#55) Chosen of Markov/Markov’s Servant – 2/5, Well for a DFC in this set, it’s not really that great for black unless you run a tribal vampires deck in limited and have some great bombs to go with it, for a 3 mana card that you gotta tap a vampire to transform it into a vanilla 4/4 i’m just not seeing it.

#57) Curse of Thirst – 2/5, Curses in limited may vary since the fact of the matter is they are so widespread over a lot of the different colors of the block, meaning if you want to draft a curse deck it’s more ill advisable then anything.

#58) Deadly Allure – 2/5, I’m not too impressed by this whatsoever i mean for 1 black you could probably end up playing a creature like Diregraf Ghoul in this format, but i suppose flashback kind of saves it here.

#59) Death’s Caress – 3/5, for a removal spell here it’s not that bad, even if it 5 mana to play, it’s still nice to have some removal here.

#60) Falkenrath Torturer – 3/5, 2/1′s that you can give a boost to are nice, but this one i believe is a middle of the road since it requires humans to do the job effectively.

#61) Farbog Bonefinger – 2/5, for a 5 mana 2/2 that gives a -2/-2 to one creature it’s kind of over costed here, for 5 mana i’d rather just go ahead and play something like Bloodgift Demon or even Mokrut Banshee here.

#65) Gravepurge – 4/5, 3 mana recursion for all your creatures and you get to draw a card, a high value card for Black finally here.

#66) Gruesome Discovery – 2/5, 4 mana discard that requires you to have morbid to make use of it, sure some things might die but i wouldn’t waste a slot unless i had no other option for Black

#67) Harrowing Journey – 4/5, Black really has a undervalued card draw motif here, with this being one of the three spells that does it this set, for 5 mana it’s basically a Sign in Blood and a half which is nice as a uncommon.

#68) Highborn Ghoul – 3/5, Zombies tribal is nice and all for 2 black, 2/1 intimidaters but i’d much rather take something like Spectral Rider over this if i wanted intimidate at least it’s a 2/2

#72) Sightless Ghoul – 2/5, Not one of the more impressive zombies of the block, considering it cannot block and has Undying, only pick this if you are going tribal and need a extra early attacker.

#73) Reap the Seagraf – 3/5, a balanced mix of flashback and that for 2 zombie tokens as a common give it all that much more incentive to draft a zombies deck here.

#74) Skirsdag Flayer – 4/5, Solid limited removal if you got a ton of sacrifice outlets and want to clear a opponent’s board, as a 1/1 for 2 mana too it’s a balanced piece of removal.

#75) Spiteful Shadows – 2/5, Psuedo Lifelink here is nice and all but meh honestly.

#76) Tragic Slip – 5/5, best removal spell for black this set honestly, what more needs to be said.

#77) Undying Evil – 2/5, for a undying card enabler it kind of is lame and is just basically another combat trick here.

#78) Vengeful Vampire – 3/5, 6 mana flying, undying 3/3′s are kind of nice but for the late game material here.

#79) Wakedancer – 4/5, Morbid enabler that grants tokens, yes please in limited.

Rares i would Draft: Geralf’s Messenger, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Zombie Apocalypse, Increasing Ambition

Rares i wouldn’t Mind drafting: Ravenous Demon/Archdemon of Greed, Gravecrawler, Fiend of the Shadows

Rares to Avoid: Curse of Misfortunes


Red


#81) Afflicted Deserter/Werewolf Ransacker – 2/5, For the first card of a color you’d expect it to be more useful in limited but if it had to be good, it’s only good when it transforms, but stopping it from changing is simple, play lots of spells which is what limited dows well.

#83) Burning Oil – 3/5, for a Incinerate with flashback it’s very useful here, deals 3 damage to attackers or blockers in both white and red colors, making red/white seem useful, allowing for perhaps easier alpha strikes.

#84) Blood Feud – 1/5, 6 mana to make 2 creatures fight, i’d rather pay 6 mana for a really useful card like the mythic of this color, Moonveil Dragon

#86) Erdwal Ripper – 3/5, for 3 mana and with haste it’s nice, plus it gets the pump from dealing damage since it’s a vampire plus it’s a common so expect to see these a lot.

#87) Faithless Looting – 4/5, red so needs card draw, this is it, 1 mana card draw at sorcery speed, excellent, flashback excellent, a overall worthwhile pick for red players.

#88) Fires of Undeath – 2/5, sure a 3 mana spell that deals 2 damage to target creature or player is nice, but if you want the flashback cost you gotta go black, which means vampires.

#90) Fling – 3/5, Decent reprint for a instant, it’s nice to see another reprint for Innistrad which is a constant, which means you can expect to see a lot of high power creatures being flung.

#91) Forge Devil – 4/5, Sure 1 drops that ping you and a creature are limited, but when they can attack the very next turn or get rid of a blocker against you early on, it’s worthwhile here.

#92) Heckling Fiends – 2/5, sure a 2/2 for 3 mana is nice and all, but when you gotta pay mana for it’s ability, i’d much rather pay for something like Olivia Voldaren or something like that.

#93) Hinterland Hermit/Hinterland Scourge – 3/5, a much better DFC for this set, sure it has a transform clause like all other werewolves, but it costs 2 mana to play and is easily playable in this set’s many DFC style decks for limited.

#97) Markov Warlord – 4/5, Late game 6 drops like this are sweet and yet sickeningly expensive, 4/4 with haste and two creatures can’t block awesome way to finish off a opponent with a uncommon.

#100) Nearheath Stalker – 3/5, Undying is perhaps the only reason this is a middle of the road card here, sure it’s a 4/1 but it becomes a 5/2 in the long run, great for blocking then attacking.

#101) Pyreheart Wolf – 3/5, Another undying card, so little time, but it basically makes half your team or all your team unblockable due to the first ability to allow only 2 or more blockers for each creature, with undying for 3 mana it’s also a nice end game material card in limited.

#102) Russet Wolves – 2/5, 4 mana vanilla 3/3′s are nice and all but the lack of abilites turns me off here.

#103) Scorch the Fields – 3/5, Land destruction and pinging humans for 1 damage each, not bad but not good.

#104) Shattered Perception – 2/5, Sure for 3 mana it’s great to reload your hand with new cards, but in limited you’d maybe only use this once, unless you had a way of returning spells to your hand or something.

#105) Talons of Falkenrath – 1/5, Enchantments like this turn me off of this color 2 mana to enchant, 2 mana to activate and with flash it still doesn’t save it.

#106) Torch Fiend – 4/5, removal for stuff like Runechanter’s Pike and the like is sweet, even for 2 mana, Shatter on a stick anyone?

#107) Wrack with Madness – 3/5, great way to remove a serious threat in this format by making a creature target itself, even as a common this is pretty middle of the road material.

Cards i Would Draft: Flayer of the Hatebound, Increasing Vengeance, Hellrider.

Cards i wouldn’t mind Drafting: Moonveil Dragon, Markov Blademaster, Mondronen Shaman/Tolovar’s Magehunter,

Cards to Avoid: Curse of Bloodletting, Alpha Brawl


Green



#108) Briarpack Alpha – 3/5, for a 4 mana card that has flash and grants a temporary boost to a creature it’s kind of nice to flash this in as a blocker in response to your opponent’s attack then counter attack afterwards.

#109) Clinging Mists – 2/5, A Fog is still a dog’s combat trick here, just add fateful hour and boom you get clinging mists.

#110) Crushing Vines – 3/5, For removal it’s not bad honestly, middle of the road material for nasty fliers or artifacts.

#111) Dawntreader Elk – 2/5, For a new Civic Wayfinder, it’s gotta prove to be better then land fetching in the form of a good reprint in this set, which isn’t the case here.

#113) Favor of the Woods – 1/5, Lame enchantment is very lame here.

#116) Gravetiller Wurm – 3/5, for a potential 8/8 with trample it’s not that bad, i mean a 4/4 though is nothing to scoff at in green and with morbid i feel with a creature dying this guy is going to get crazy big, crazy fast.

#117) Grim Flowering – 2/5, Sure green has card draw, but expensive late game card draw, 6 mana is kind of a lot to spend on a single draw spell, without flashback no less.

#118) Hollowhenge Beast – 2/5, Another vanilla 5/5 here for 5 mana is not what this set needs, it’s just a piece of filler.

#119) Hunger of the Howlpack – 3/5, A morbid enabler that puts 3 +1/+1 counters is good, for 1 mana to boot, nice little piece of limited tech for green.

#121) Kessig Recluse – 2/5, for 4 mana a 2/3 deathtouch reach creature isn’t that desirable.

#122) Lambholt Elder/Silverpelt Werewolf – 4/5, a very nice DFC when it changes, but a 3 mana 1/2 that changes into a 4/5 with card draw potential is what gives it such a high score.

#125) Scorned Villager/Moonscarred Werewolf – 4/5, Another really good DFC for it’s color, adding mana for 2 mana is not bad and this gives a new meaning to mana acceleration in DFC form.

#126) Somberwald Dryad – 3/5, Middle of the road 2/2′s for 2 mana with forestwalk, sure it’s a nice touch but we’ve seen it before.

#127) Strangleroot Geist – 5/5, One of the best uncommons of the color honestly, 2/1 that turns into a 3/2 for 2 mana with haste and undying beast of a card.

#128) Tracker’s Instincts – 4/5, Allowing to put a creature into your hand for 2 mana from the top 4 cards of the library is excellent here, with flashback it’s pretty good as well.

#129) Ulvenwald Bear – 3/5, a 3 mana 2/2 is good and when morbid is enabled it’s a bit better here.

#130) Village Survivors – 2/5, 4/5 vigilance with fateful hour to grant vigilance no thanks.

#132) Wild Hunger – 3/5, Great finisher material for 3 mana here, with flashback it’s just that much better.

#134) Young Wolf – 2/5, 1 mana undying with no real abilites, sorry folks, undying has it’s really good card already.

Cards i would Draft: Vorapede, Wolfbitten Captive/Krallenhorde Killer, Predator Ooze, Increasing Savagery

Cards i wouldn’t mind Drafting: Ghoultree, Feed the Pack, Deranged Outcast

Cards to Avoid: Lost in the Woods


Multicolor, Lands and Artifacts

Multicolor

#135) Diregraf Captain – 4/5, A very good uncommon for the set overall, a zombie lord that has deathtouch and makes opponent’s lose life whenever a zombie dies, pretty sweet.

#136) Drogskol Captain – 4/5, Spirit lord and wow, granting hexproof and +1/+1 at the uncommon level is pretty simplistic and awesome.

#141) Immerwolf – 4/5, Wolf lord for the set, grants wolf and werewolves +1/+1 and non human werewolves cannot transform back, excellent.

#143) Stromkirk Captain – 4/5, Last of the lords for the set, not bad, granting first strike along with the usual +1/+1 boost for all vampires, meaning multicolor had a good uncommon showing this time around.

Artifacts

#144) Altar of the Lost – 1/5, i don’t think i’d use this very much honestly, first you’d need like 14 flashback spells to even justify this particular card and with flashback not returning in Avacyn Restored, it kind of justifies the 1/5.

#145) Avacyn’s Collar – 2/5, For 1 mana it doesn’t do enough, sure it may churn out tokens for your dead guys, but that doesn’t really save it here honestly, even for a poultry 2 mana.

#146) Chalice of Life/Chalice of Death – 1/5, Just avoid this at all costs, it isn’t even worth inclusion into your deck and this being the second last Double sided card of the set is sure as hell dissapointing.

#148) Excutioner’s Hood – 2/5, Honestly i expect a little more out of equipments for s small set, just intimidate alone for 2 mana and then 2 mana to attach, sorry.

#150) Heavy Mattock – 2/5, sure it helps humans, but it doesn’t do much besides a traditional +1/+1 pump here and for it’s cost it’s just dissapointing still.

#153) Warden of the Wall – 3/5, A much better artifact for the set honestly, changes into a 2/3 with flying and you can tap it to add 1 mana for a mere 3 mana, not bad mid game material here.

#154) Wolfhunter’s Quiver – 1/5, The equip cost alone makes this a 1/5 in my book you gotta spend 5 mana on a 1 mana equipment to equip it, but then it only usually will hit werewolves, not.

Lands

#155) Evolving Wilds – 4/5, Nice reprint is still nice.

#157) Haunted Fengraf – 3/5, For a recursion land it’s good, well costed and well rounded making this a middle of the road material card.

Cards i would Draft: Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Falkenrath Aristocrat, Havengul Lich, Huntmaster of the Fells/Ravager of the Fells, Grafdigger’s Cage, Vault of the Archangel

Cards i would Consider drafting: Grim Backwoods.

Cards to Avoid: Drogskol Reaver, Jar of Eyeballs, Helavault, Elbrus, the Binding Blade/Withengar Unbound.


Well with that, this is all 158 cards done in a limited review format, what this applies to is Draft, nothing but draft, suffice it to say this set has been out 2 months since this article was typed up, so without further ado here are the final thoughts on this set.

Dark Ascension has been interesting to say the least, 158 cards of unique horror flavor which goes quite well in limited, as well as some cards going better for constructed purposes obviously. Double Faced Cards in this set are equally as interesting as the last and with 2 mythic Double Faced Cards in this set compared to the last one, it is sure to be of some interest to players, but with a overall feel of horror i'm going to give Dark Ascension on a limited stand point a well earned 4 out of 5 werewolves.

That's it for another article, stay tuned tommorow when i catch back up on missed content.