With most of the cards spoiled I think we can start writing up stuff.
Status: White and Blue written up for the known cards. EDIT1: Black is written up as well; and I adjusted the rating of Gideon's Triumph a little. EDIT2: Took some time, but Red is written up. EDIT3: Green written up; some adjustments made.
White
Ajani's Pridemate 2.5/5 Solid 2-drop, needs support to be amazing. Thanks to Proliferate, one lifegain trigger can be enough for it to spiral out of control.
Battlefield Promotion 2/5 Grows your creature permanently while also gaining you life and synergizing with Proliferate. I'm in.
Bond of Discipline 1.0/5 Sleep this is not. Could see bumping this to a 1.5 or 2.0 if boardstalls are very common, but even then it seems clunky and lifelink < opp. creatures staying tapped.
Bulwark Giant 1.5/5 Stabilizes you against aggro, but that seems too little for a 6-drop. I'd probably want 1 in the sideboard, but other than that I'll pass.
Charmed Stray 0/5 This obviously gets better in multiples, but for it to be good you'd need to draw 3 reliably, which means 6+ of them in the deck. Probably not going to happen.
Defiant Strike 1.5/5 Nice, cheap trick that replaces itself, but not boosting toughness makes it less versatile than it looks.
Divine Arrow 2.5/5 Very efficient early-game removal spell that stays relevant late; timing can be odd though.
Enforcer Griffin 2/5 Solid late-game flier that can definitely get the job done.
Finale of Glory 4/5 Once you hit 12 mana this is an insta-win, but you'll have a hard time getting there. Thankfully, this is good at more reasonlable values (2-5) for X as well.
Gideon Blackblade 3.5/5 Really wants another creature on the board, but it seems White can grant him that wish; and if he survives just 1 turn he'll come in as a 4/4 the next turn. Solid.
Gideon's Sacrifice 1/5 You'll really need a complicated combat scenario to even get something out of this trick; and even then you're proe to blowouts. I'll start fairly low on this one.
Gideon's Triumph 2/5 Edict effect on an attacking or blocking creature. Quite good early, probably a bit worse late.
God-Eternal Oketra 5/5 This'll make an army really quickly and you can't stop it; but maybe you can delay it and win the game in the air. Busted card still.
Loxodon Sergeant 1.5/5 I don't expect the Vigilance team buff to be too relevant, so this is mostly a Hill Giant. Filler playable, could see bumping this to 2 if the Vigilance turns out a bigger deal than I'm giving it credit for.
Makeshift Battallion 2/5 I don't expect this to be able to attack with two other creatures and not trade off all that often. Still, there's potential upside, especially given Proliferate, and I respect that.
Martyr for the Cause 2.5/5 Solid 2-drop with some potential upside late. We'll take these.
Parhelion II 3.5/5 Hoo, boy. 8 mana and crew 4 are big asks, but if you get to attack with this even once the upside is definitely there.
Rally of Wings 0.5/5 VERY situational combat trick. I'd expect the average Limited deck to not want this; but once you have ~8+ fliers this might change.
Ravnica at War 0.5/5 This seems too unreliable for Limited. Might be sideboard material against HybridWalkers.dec though.
Single Combat 0.5/5 Apparently I'm an idiot. and this card is terrible. since they get to rebuild first.
Sunblade Angel 2.5/5 Slightly overcosted, but there's a floor to how bad this can be, and it's fairly high.
Teyo, the Shieldmage 1/5 I don't know how I feel about Teyo, but he's probably not winning you any games anytime soon. Unless you're playing Constructed and sideboard him in against mono-Red, that is.
Teyo's Lightshield 1.5/5 I'll give this the benefit of doubt. Proliferate is a thing, and at worst this is a Horned Turtle - not great, but playable.
Tomik, Distinguished Advokist 3/5 Flavor text aside, this is a hard to cast 2/3 flier for 2, and that's fairly good in my book.
Topple the Statue 1.5/5 Pressure Point is and has always been a filler; tacking on some artifact hate could prove useful. I'd rather start it in the sideboard, but would not be ashamed to maindeck 1.
The Wanderer 2/5 Basically Smite the Monstrous that demands the next occasional burnspell to be argeted at it. A tad situational, but potentially powerful. Could see upping the ratig to 2.5.
Trusted Pegasus 3/5 Either this or the next card are White's best Common. Attacking for 2 in the air while lifting something else is amazing.
Wanderer's Strike 3/5 Unconditional removal with upside? Yes, please.
War Screecher 2.5/5 This card screams utility. Good early blocker, can get in for 1 Flying damage and can Hymn the rest of the crew. I'll be happy running this as my 2-drop.
Blue
Ashiok's Skulker 2/5 Good blocker that can sometimes attack through a stalled board. This is a rock-solid Common.
Augur of Bolas 1.5/5 // 3/5 It depends on how many spells you have whether this is just a 1/3 blocker or a source of card selection and -advantage. Thus, this ranges from filler to solid Uncommon.
Aven Eternal 3/5 It's Wind Drake, and he brought a little friend. Me like.
Bond of Insight 2/5 Potentially powerful, but very slow and needs at least a bit of build-around. I'm not looking to pick this up early.
Callous Dismissal 2.5/5 This'd be much better if not for Sorcery speed . Still this can literally kill Armies and set back Proliferated dudes, so I'm in on it.
Commence the Endgame 4/5 It is 6 mana, but the effect is definitely powerful. I'll start rather high on it; quite possible I'll have to nudge it down to a 3.5 though.
Contentious Plan 1.5/5 In the right deck this is powerful, but playing this as a 2-mana sorcery speed cycler is not where you want to be. I'll want at least 8 Proliferate payoffs before I take these aggressively.
Crush Dissent 1/5 I'll guess this is a 2/2 Flash more often than not. Once you're able to get your opponent with this you'll feel really clever, but if your opponent can afford to play around it, you're not looking in good shape.
Erratic Visionary 2/5 Decent early blocker with an expensive loot ability. Solid playable.
Eternal Skylord 3/5 5/5 worth of stats, 2 of which flying and possibly haste - that's a good deal for 5 mana. I'll be happy to take it early fairly often.
Finale of Revelation 3.5/5 Good balance breaker. Again, casting this for X=3-5 is a good card, and casting this for X=10 potentially wins the game.
Flux Channeler 2/5 This is in a similar boat to Contentious Plan, but I'm a bit more willing to take it earlier since its floor is a bit higher and it potentially generates multiple triggers.
God-Eternal Kefnet 4.5/5 Similar to Oketra, this'll eventually win the game if left unchecked and is very hard to answer permanently; making it an incredible bomb.
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries 3/5 Jace basically is a card advantage engine. Unfortunately, he has no way to protect himself and is fairly hard to cast; making it a bit tricky to get full value out of him; but if supported enough he can definitely run away with the game.
Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor 3/5 Early takes, but I really like Kasmina. She comes with innate protection, forwards the board AND fixes your hand the turn she comes down. Looking really solid.
Kasmina's Transmutation 2/5 This looks to be the best way to deal with Gods or other problematic things running rampant. Still, this is fairly situational.
Kiora's Dambreaker 2/5 This locks down the board, possibly gets to attack into it and has a nice ETB trigger; making it a solid Common.
Lazotep Plating 1/5 Tacking a 1/1 on a very situational spell doesn't make it enough better in my book.
Naga Eternal 1.5/5 Definition of curve filler. Moving on.
Narset, Parter of Veils 1/5 // 3.5/5 Similar to Augur of Bolas, except her variance is higher. She really relies on spells to be remotely playable, but once you have the spell density she gets quite good; with her -2 basically being an Azcanta activation. Really interesting card for Constructed btw.
Narset's Reversal 0.5/5 I'll let the Constructed masterminds figure out how to make counterwars even more of a nightmare. In Limited, this seems too narrow to be effective.
No Escape 2.5/5 Not quite Essence Scatter, but hitting Planeswalkers and Scry is nice, so between 2 and 2.5 I'll give it the benefit of doubt.
Relentless Advance 2/5 A somewhat weird card for Blue, but not necessarily bad.
Rescuer Sphinx 3/5 Decently sized flier that possibly grants additional value while getting bigger. That'll do just fine, thanks for asking.
Sky Theater Strix 2/5 Cheap flier that pecks them for 1-2 each turn. I want a high noncreature spell density before I'm happy to play it, though.
Spark Double 2.5/5 I'll start fairly low on this, but am ready to adjust it upward to a 3 or even 3.5. If it has a target it's really good, but if it doesn't it's a dead card.
Stealth Mission 1.5/5 This could be a card people tend to sleep upon; and it might turn out to be the most lowkey-good card similar to Ill-Gotten Inheritance. Still, I'll start low for now.
Tamiyo's Epiphany 2.5/5 Sorcery speed, but highly effective. Me likey.
Teferi's Time Twist 2/5 I almost put a 2.5 here; and in a normal format I'd be much lower on this. However, in addition to have your creature dodge a removal spell, this can also reset your PWs loyality back to the start, making a usually narrow card quite versatile. You still don't want too many, though.
Thunder Drake 3/5 Solid flier that'll pick up a counter or two on a somewhat regular basis. I like it.
Totally Lost 2/5 This is a possible out to your opponent going off Proliferating on one creature; not my favourite card in general, though.
Wall of Runes 1/5 Early defender I guess, not one I particularly like though.
Black
Aid the Fallen 1.5/5 Slightly situational, but a good lategame card advantage while possibly being decent utility midgame. You probably don't want more than 1, but it's solid nonetheless.
Banehound 0.5/5 Unless I have multiple ways to get counters on this AND proliferate, this earns a hard pass.
Bleeding Edge 3.5/5 2/2 body that kills something small? I'm in.
Bolas's Citadel 3.5/5 This one is hard to rate because it is both expensive and hard to cast and you probably won't be able to spend your life total as willy-nilly as you'd like by the time this comes down. Still, this at least knocks lands off the top of your library and it is powerful; I could see this being a 4.
Charity Extractor 1.5/5 This feels like a mediocre roadblock more than anything else. Still, this will protect your walkers and gain you a drip of life in the process.
Command the Dreadhorde 1/5 This seems like a mostly worse Raise Dead, as by the time you've reached 6 mana and there's something useful in the yards, you're probably not paying 10 or so life willy-nilly in addition to the 6 mana this costs. This might be at home in a WB control deck with incidental lifegain; otherwise I feel like I'd pass on this.
Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage 2.5/5 This looks like Extortion: the card. He absolutely needs protection, but once you can grant that, he'll either put you ahead in resources or serve as a clock.
Davriel's Shadowfugue 1/5 As always, it depends on the format how good a Mind Rot is; this format feels like it won't be that great and this card is slightly worse; so I'll start fairly low on this.
Deliver Unto Evil 0.5/5 Getting the third and fourth best card in your graveyard doesn't seem too appealing to me; I'd rather choose what to get back myself.
Dreadhorde Invasion 4/5 While this is far from Bitterblossom, it still generates a boardstate out of nowhere. This should be a very solid rare.
Dreadmalkin 1/5 This is a much worse Stronghold Confessor, which is not that great a card to begin with. I'll pass, thank you very much.
Duskmantle Operative 1.5/5 Basically a bear with some probably-not-too-relevant flavor text. This'll do the job, but it's unexciting.
The Elderspell 1.5/5 Even if Limited decks look like they'll have 2-3 walkers on average, this card just seems too narrow to see much play. A quite powerful sideboard card for Constrcted and possibly Limited, but not a high pick.
Eternal Taskmaster 3/5 This one is a 2-drop I can get behind. Shambling Ghoul is a quite good early play, and this one tacks on a Gravedigger-like effect. Sure, giving it haste might not work, but I expect this to be a very solid card.
Finale of Eternity 5/5 Even at X=4 or X=5, this is close enough to an affordable Plague Wind. This looks like a slam-dunk Rare to me.
God-Eternal Bontu 5/5 Another amazing black Mythic. Overstatted 5-drop that cannot be chumped, is hard to remove permanently and makes sure you don't run out of gas on ETB.
Kaya's Ghostform 1/5 Demonic Vigor was pretty bad. Ghostform might be slightly better due to being able to enchant a Walker, bust its last counters and immediately gettig it back; also there is a small sacrifice theme going on; but I'll still start low on this because it does open you up for 2-for-1s. Still, I could see bumping this up to 1.5 or even 2.
Lazotep Reaver 2.5/5 Solid 2-drop that can start an army; I'll take it.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General 5/5 Jesus, all of Black's Mythics are fantastic. Lili is expensive, but granting you both Zombies and cards while probably decimating the opposing board seems quite powerful.
Massacre Girl 4.5/5 4/4 Menace for 5 is a very solid baseline, and with a potential boardwipe attached to it this could easily end up in a bloodbath. This is a candidate to rise to a 4.5, but I'll start slightly lower.
Ob Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted 3/5 Hard to rate Ob as well. The unconditional removal comes at a very steep price and at a risk to put you further behind; so he might be better off used as Altar's Reap. I'd like to rate him higher, but I feel like he's running a definite risk of being a dead card more often than you'd like.
Ob Nixilis's Cruelty 3.5/5 Not quite Murder, but this is easily still top Common material and should edge out most Uncommons as well.
Price of Betrayal 1.5/5 This'll occasionally kill a Walker for 1 mana, but I'm not sold on this being actually good.
Sorin's Thirst 2.5/5 Effects like this one tend to be decently powerful; and this looks like no exception even if it's hard to cast.
Spark Harvest 3.5/5 Unconditional removal on a split card with Bone Splinters is quite powerful; and this even hits Planeswalkers. Me like.
Spark Reaper 2/5 Solid enough blocker that can turn your 1-loyality Walkers and/or chumpblockers (including itself) into cards. It is fairly expensive, but I would not sleep on this card.
Tithebearer Giant 2/5 This is really good; locks down the ground and replaces itself. Biggest downside is the fairly steep cost.
Toll of the Invasion 1.5/5 This is decent when cast during development, but becomes a 1/1 later. I could see this being a 2, but definitely not higher; quite potentially lower even.
Unlikely Aid 1.5/5 This lets your creature survive some combats and dodge some removal, but has little upside besides that. In short, this is very much your standard Combat trick.
Vizier of the Scorpion 2.5/5 Deathtouch on your Army seems not as useful, but this can still hold down the ground nicely enough that I'll bite.
Vraska's Finisher 2/5 Good on-curve play that can finish off a damaged big blocker. I'm in for this; could see bumping this to a 2.5.
Red
Ahn-Crop Invader 2/5 Good attacker with a threatening activated ability. I'll play this in most of my red decks.
Blindblast 1.5/5 I like this card; but wouldn't pick it very highly as it seems they get worse in multiples and aren't terribly high-impact. Still, I could see the first one making red aggressive decks as well as UR Spells.
Bolt Bend 0.5/5 Unless I can reliably cast this for 1 mana I'm not interested, and even then I would probably only want to sideboard it in against decks with juicy targets for their own removal spells. It's good, but VERY narrow.
Bond of Passion 2/5 I feel like this card is decent at finishing games, but it's also really expensive and doesn't work in every situation.
Burning Prophet 2.5/5 Adding Scry 1 to any of your non-creature spells seems sweet, especially in a set with a Planeswalker theme. Add that this blocks decently well early and I'm in.
Chainwhip Cyclops 2/5 Siegebreaker Giant was fairly bad; I'm a little more hopeful here due to the extra point of toughness. Solid, if unexciting.
Chandra, Fire Artisan 4/5 Straight card advantage that also functions like a Boros Reckoner? Sign me up. I could see her being a 4.5, but the fact that she can't reliably protect herself ticks her down a smidge IMO.
Chandra's Pyrohelix 2.5/5 I could see this being a 3, but this is where I'll start. Solid early game removal spell that can ping off PWs later seems solid, but it is slightly narrow.
Chandra's Triumph 3.5/5 I don't have any reservations here, though. This is a very good removal spell for both PWs and creatures.
Cyclops Electromancer 1.0 // 3.5 This one really depends on your instant and sorcery density as a 4/2 for 5 with no ability is terrible. I'd reckon it'll need 8+ cheap-ish instants and sorceries before this'll get to its full potential, though.
Demolish 0/5 3R Destroy target piece of cardboard this is printed on.
Devouring Hellion 2.5/5 T2 Lazotep Reaver, T3 this and your opponent better have removal or a deathtoucher ready. Even later on, if you have an expendable lying around, a 4/4 for 3 is no joke. It does need that expendable, but in the right deck this could easily be a 3.
Dreadhorde Arcanist 2/5 1/3 for 2 is a solid baseline, though you do need some way to amp up its power before I'm really happy. This might be best friends with Samut's Sprint though.
Finale of Promise 1/5 The first Finale I'm not high on. It needs setup cost, gets expensive VERY quickly, and the X=10 variant doesn't win you the game on the spot. In most cases I'd rather have Bond of Insight than this.
Goblin Assailant 1.5/5 What he lacks in abilities, flashy text and appeal to play him, he makes up for in being a 2/2 for 2.
Goblin Assault Team 2/5 Lightning Elemental got a much needed upgrade. This'll trade easily enough and grow a creature on the way out; seems solid enough.
Grim Initiate 2.5/5 Cards like Doomed Traveler and Hunted Witness tend to overperform, and this one cannot be attacked into well by 1-toughness creatures. I'll start very high on this, but this could get notched down to a 2.
Heartfire 2.5/5 The first one of these is going to be great in any deck, the second one probably needs a more dedicated sacrifice theme. Being able to go to the dome is a nice upside as well.
Honor the God-Pharaoh 2/5 Discard an excess land to make a 1/1 and draw 2 cards seems like a sweet deal for any Red deck.
Ilharg, the Raze-Boar 4.5/5 An oversized trampler that is hard to deal with permanently is great enough, and giving your creatures in hand Raid is a very powerful bonus. This might be a straight-up 5.
Invading Manticore 2/5 Ilhard is this guy's best friend, but even so, 6/7 worth of well-distributed stats over 2 bodies is a solid deal for 6 mana. This might end up a 2.5, but 6 mana is so expensive.
Jaya, Venerated Firemage 3/5 Being able to pick off two small creatures while bumping your red spells, this looks like one of the better Uncommon walkers.
Jaya's Greeting 3.5/5 'Hello!' will be emted a lot next Arena Limited season.
Mizzium Tank 2/5 This is close to a 3/2 Trample Prowess that I'm okay grading it as such.
Nahiri's Stoneblades 0/5 Not bosting toughness is a downside major enough that I'm not interested at all.
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion 4.5/5 5/4 Trample for 4 is great, and once he deals damage you can rummage away all of the excess lands and get enough mana to play all of the awesome spells you've drawn? Yes, please.
Raging Kronch 2.5/5 Even if this cannot attack alone, it's a solid enough blocker and a creature with 4 or more Power.
Samut's Sprint 1/5 LRR called this straight unplayable, I think this is better than that while still not being insane. It's definitely the worst rate out of all of the combat tricks in the set bar Nahiri's Stoneblades, but Scry 1 and actually boostig toughness make this acceptable for 1 mana and the ability to cast this precombat to give something Haste adds a small flexibility point. This will do the trick, though I still prefer others. Could see a 1.5 here, but I'll start a tad lower.
Sarkhan the Masterless 5/5 A 4/4 Dragon for 5 would already be top Uncommon material, this is much closer to 2 or even more of these. Great card.
Sarkhan's Catharsis 1/5 This can e a finisher or PW removal, but it is clunky enough that I never want more than 1, and even the first one is questionable.
Tibalt, Rakish Instigator 2.5/5 These devils are a ton better than 0/3 walls, and his ability absolutely hoses some cards (MAte, not filling Ajani with pride there).
Tibalt's Rager 2.5/5 Good quality 2-drop. I actually like him a bit better on defense, but he can definitely fill ffensive roles quite nicely as well.
Arlinn's Wolf 2.5/5 The extra text means it doesn't trade down like other 3/2s for 3 and doesn't get blanked by defensive creatures. Definitely like it.
Awakening of Vitu-Ghazi 4/5 9/9 for 5 is big, and instant speed gives it quasi-haste (or just Haste if you have 6 mana). This is really powerful.
Band Together 3.5/5 Instant speed makes this a very solid removal spell, even if this does need board presence.
Bloom Hulk 3/5 4/4 for 4 would already be good, and Proliferate is a very nice cherry on top.
Bond of Flourishing 1/5 There's only so many of this type of effect you can put into your deck, and this doesn't dig you very deep. It's playable, but I'd prefer not to.
Centaur Nurturer 2.5/5 Blocks well, stabilizes and makes sure you can cast your 6-drops and splash cards. This is great in the slower green decks.
Challenger Troll 2.5/5 6/5 for 5 is big, and making sure your big creatures don't get multiblocked is a nice bonus.
Courage in Crisis 1.5/5 This is quite good if your deck is centered around Proliferate, and fairly mediocre otherwise. I wouldn't prioritize it highly in the beginning.
Evolution Sage 3/5 This, on the other hand, is a very strong build-around. 3/2 for 3 is an acceptable floor; and as for the ceiling, sky's the limit.
Finale of Devastation 1/5 I don't love this. Paying 2 as a retail to play your best creature in the deck is a price I'm unwilling to pay (maybe unless I get a God), and 12 mana is too much for the other text to be relevant.
Forced Landing 1.5/5 This looks like more of a sideboard card, but it is maindeckable as a filler if your deck is soft to fliers, and it should do the job. Being a counter to Kefnet is a nice bonus as well.
Giant Growth 2.5/5 The OG of combat tricks, brutally efficient and with raw power.
God-Eternal Rhonas 4/5 The weakest of the Eternals by a mile, but still very good. Doubling power only and not being ridiculously oversized does that to you.
Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter 2.5/5 Jiang seems very solid, playing nicely with both Proliferate and splashes as long as he has a buddy.
Kronch Wrangler 2.5/5 Solid 2-drop with decent upside in the right deck. Colour me interested.
Mowu, Loyal Champion 2/5 Mowu is great in the right deck, but outside of that his floor is much lower than most 4-drops, which is why I'm not putting him as highly.
New Horizons 1.5/5 Ramp with decent utility for the right decks. Decent enough, but can definitely get cut.
Nissa, Who Shakes the World 4/5 Again, making 3/3s that work with Proliferate is a very solid ability, and giving them indestructible with her ult is decently threatening as well.
Nissa's Triumph 0.5/5 Once you have 2 Forests, the third and fourth become much less of a priority. I'll pass.
Paradise Druid 3/5 You cannot bolt this bird easily, and it fixes. Love it.
Planewide Celebration 3.5/5 7 mana is a lot, but this is flexible and powerful enough to still be a worthwhile addition.
Pollenbright Druid 2.5/5 Solid on turn 2, solid on turn 6, makes this a great 2-drop.
Primordial Wurm 1.5/5 This is as much of a filler as it has always been.
Return to Nature 0.5/5 Basically Naturalize. Good sideboard card, but adding the exile clause doesn't make it more maindeckable, especially in this format.
Snarespinner 2/5 Solid defensive creature, not much more.
Steady Aim 1/5 Put Giant Growth next to this and you'll see why I graded this one so low.
Storm the Citadel 1.5/5 The most dorky and inefficient Overrun I've ever seen, and there's no tokens. This might be even worse than the 1.5 I gave it initially.
Joined: Mar 18, 2016 Posts: 5360 Location: Anyway the wind blows
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Charmed Stray seems like the Goblin Gathering of this set. If you try to draft them, you'll only see one or two - if you're passing them you'll see a dozen. Numot will spend 4 or 5 drafts trying to force them before admitting failure.
I think white bond could be better than a 1. Effects that let you swing unblockable with the team tend to be good - Cosmotronic Wave would have still seen play without the damage clause. Easier to splash for than sleep, and the lifelink makes crackback attacks tricky if you didn't just swing for lethal. Maybe the amount of removal in the set will keep board states from reaching critical mass, but if not - this in a creature heavy deck will be a 5 mana you-win-the-game. I can't imagine wanting more than 1 copy, but I can see 1 copy being very desirable - especially if I'm playing green.
I think you want more than 4 strays. Probably more than 5 too, could even see needing 8-9 for them to be decent. Kasmina's trasmutation seems decent tbh, could easily see it being a 2.5 or even a 3.0
At this point I have no clue how to draft this set whatsoever... what are even the basic archetypes?
It looks like a ton of options - all the guilds are represented in gold cards. I need to play with that draft tool once it's updated with the new set to see how packs look to better understand how realistic it is to construct various archetypes and how good they may be, but initially there appears to be a wealth of possibilities.
I see a Rakdos sacrifice deck, an amass deck in Grixis colors, Azorius flyers, a lifegain deck in Abzan colors, proliferate deck in Bant colors, Boros aggro, Gruul beatdown, Izzet spells matter, butts matter deck in Selesnya, controlly Planeswalkers decks in all color combinations that don't include green, a fringe self mill in blue - a true wealth of possibilities. Pretty excited for this set.
My first run was an unfocused mess. Buttoned down for following ones, and drafted what appeared to be a solid simic proliferate deck (opened bomb simic mythic and rare, got on color PWers and decent amount of proliferate), then got the fringe butts matter build in selesnya (dinosaur lady walker and shield mage walker in 1st pack and was able to build around that).
Simic proliferate seemed very doable. Butts matter seemed hella fringe - green and white creatures split between Gruul and Boros themed bodies with higher power than toughness. I’d prob only try to build it if I happened to get those walkers early in 1st pack - and I’d only take those if my other rare/uncommon were bad.
I don’t know what to think about Ob. I had chances to take him in every draft, but I’m not trying to draw my opponent 2 freaking cards per activation. In a sacrifice themed deck, I’d probably take him and not feel too bad, but it’s still 5 mana. Thinking Bo3 he’d be nice sideboard tool (bring in vs decks running the blue enchantment that makes creature 1/1 or to answer bomb you struggled to deal with). But man that’s a tricky drawback. The utility of alters reaping your own stuff OR removing bomb (at notable resource cost) is something - but I’m rating him fairly low at the moment.
Joined: Mar 18, 2016 Posts: 5360 Location: Anyway the wind blows
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I'm really liking GW proliferate beatdown. Refreshing after Guild's lame convoke version. Nice mix of evasion and ground beef - and the weenie fliers can grow with proliferate. I haven't been able to mock draft a good looking Gruul deck yet, but I'm always happy to grab Samut's hybrid cost for GW.
I haven't been able to put together a BU build yet. Some really nice rare/uncommon spells for it, but the commons never take me there if I don't open a bomb multicolor spell early. Find myself going GB or GU when I start with mono U or B spells.
I love green in this set. Having the mana dorks that give any color along with green ramp aura let you splash for off color bombs.
One thing I think is going to be really nice for Arena is the bots won't be hate drafting. This should increase the likelihood of getting your multicolor spells, since odds aren't as high as previous sets that bots will be in your color pair. It was working like that for me vs draftisms bots, and I assume similar results will be had with Arena bots.
Joined: Mar 18, 2016 Posts: 5360 Location: Anyway the wind blows
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You planning to finish reviews? I'm interested.
Also, I think Dreadmalkin will be way better than Confessor in the right deck. RB sacrifice archetype will want him more than any deck ever wanted Confessor. The fact he can eat minus-only Planeswalkers will be relevant I think, and allow you to cast Aid the Fallen for full value (i.e. the only way you'll want to cast it) more reliably. Eating Amass 1s lets him buff for minimal resource cost. Instant speed sac effect makes combat difficult for opponents.
The only way he seems worse than Confessor is that you could toss Confessor in any deck running black as a filler card. I agree Dreadmalkin will be worse in some shells, but believe bomb level in others. You'd never spend premium removal killing a 1 rating creature, but you'll have to do that on this 1-mana guy.
I intend to finish them, but haven't found the time to do so recently.
Dreadmalkin is one of many sac outlets, quite possibly the worst of them and IMO Rakdos is not short on the outlets but on the fodder, especially seeing how the token subtheme goes tall rather than large and the Act of Treason costs 6 (!) Mana. There's the odd 1 loyality PW, but not a ton else.
Also Dreadmaklin is not really a 1-mana guy. For Dreadmalkin to be a 3/3 Menace, it takes 4 mana and something else. For Confessor to be a 3/3 Menace, it just takes 4 mana. That's better even in a Crats deck, unless you're REALLY short on sac outlets.
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My decks can be found in my deckbuilder archive. Enter here!
Kinda off-topic, but how did they miss to give God-Eternal Oketra Reach? Just look at the art and that of her Divine Arrow.
Sure, mechanics trump lore, but still. Was there ever a dragon or an angel without Flying?
edit, now on-topic: This set reminds me of Dominaria, which was a better drafting experience than most. But then with the power level of some mythics we might get quite a few non-games between the guy that opened Lyra Dawnbringer and me with Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle.
How do you guys feel about rare-drafting each and every rare this time around? The idea isn't new: Due to the duplicate protection any rare will get you one booster closer to having all the rares of the set. But - aside from the usual competitiveness limitations - I'm not sure how important the rares of this set will be - in relation to the mythics. There is no land cycle to collect and the rares I've seen appear to be not that relevant in Constructed.
I intend to finish them, but haven't found the time to do so recently.
Dreadmalkin is one of many sac outlets, quite possibly the worst of them and IMO Rakdos is not short on the outlets but on the fodder, especially seeing how the token subtheme goes tall rather than large and the Act of Treason costs 6 (!) Mana. There's the odd 1 loyality PW, but not a ton else.
Also Dreadmaklin is not really a 1-mana guy. For Dreadmalkin to be a 3/3 Menace, it takes 4 mana and something else. For Confessor to be a 3/3 Menace, it just takes 4 mana. That's better even in a Crats deck, unless you're REALLY short on sac outlets.
Excellent - I was hoping you hadn't abandoned the project. Looking forward to the rest.
Just disagree with malkin. Don't believe he's the worst of the outlets. Red/black amass wants to continually generate and sac small armies. Blue amass wants to go tall (hexproof granting 1/4 Dood). The red Minotaur is the best aggressive sac outlet for aggro R/B sac, but I put malkin behind him in that deck. The hellion is close and I'd be happy to include, but it's a 1-off outlet and is limited by the fact amass stacks up rather than spreads out, plus no evasion. The black 2/3 draw card sack outlet is better in some decks but I'm not as high on him for an aggressive strategy. Ob's better, but he's top end and not competing for the same deck spot. Malkin's instant speed repeatable permanent buff on evasive body should not be dismissed so casually. No way in hell do I take Confessor for a crats deck over Dreadmalkin. That's crazy talk
Joined: Nov 20, 2013 Posts: 806 Location: Bama gulf coast
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Modulo great start to a guide! Do you want some help finishing? I'm sure this takes a while to put together, hit me up i will format the cards and ship it to you.
I am not sure I agree with you regarding single combat. Versus go wide it will be great. Funny it's in white as that's what white usually is trying to do. I just don't like that they get to choose. In duels there was a reason Tragic arrogance was a great card and Cataclysmic gearhulk was very meh. Not being able to play creatures on your next turn gives them the advantage unless your deck is designed to drop instant/sorcery tokens but in limited i dunno.
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The Last Fight Club Champion "If there can be no victory, then I will fight forever." —Koth of the Hammer
Here's what I think are the most predominant archetypes:
WU Proliferate Control UB Amass Control BR Amass Aristocrats RG Monsters (power 4 or greater) GW Proliferate Beatdown WB Lifegain Control UR Spells matter (Amass subtheme) BG Multicolour goodstuff RW Aggro GU Proliferate Tempo
I would love to see what each of these decks should look like. It's not hard to figure out i suppose but what cards are good in each deck can help me keep on track. I'm always like "OOH SHINY RARE must take it!" when really my deck would benefit from sticking to a plan and taking a weaker common.
My first run was an unfocused mess. Buttoned down for following ones, and drafted what appeared to be a solid simic proliferate deck (opened bomb simic mythic and rare, got on color PWers and decent amount of proliferate), then got the fringe butts matter build in selesnya (dinosaur lady walker and shield mage walker in 1st pack and was able to build around that).
Simic proliferate seemed very doable. Butts matter seemed hella fringe - green and white creatures split between Gruul and Boros themed bodies with higher power than toughness. I’d prob only try to build it if I happened to get those walkers early in 1st pack - and I’d only take those if my other rare/uncommon were bad.
I don’t know what to think about Ob. I had chances to take him in every draft, but I’m not trying to draw my opponent 2 freaking cards per activation. In a sacrifice themed deck, I’d probably take him and not feel too bad, but it’s still 5 mana. Thinking Bo3 he’d be nice sideboard tool (bring in vs decks running the blue enchantment that makes creature 1/1 or to answer bomb you struggled to deal with). But man that’s a tricky drawback. The utility of alters reaping your own stuff OR removing bomb (at notable resource cost) is something - but I’m rating him fairly low at the moment.
I keep drafting UR spells but I am finding there isn't enough removal like I would like in those colors just counters and not enough burn based removal that i have seen. There isn't as many mana fixing in this set either so going 3 colors is probably a mistake.
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The Last Fight Club Champion "If there can be no victory, then I will fight forever." —Koth of the Hammer
Joined: Nov 20, 2013 Posts: 806 Location: Bama gulf coast
Preferred Pronoun Set: SleepHmper on XBL add me
I tried a big butts draft but I think Huatli, the Sun's Heart is terrible. If she had the defenders can attack clause she wouldn't be so bad but for whatever reason they left it out of her passive and didn't give her an ability that says it either, just a conditional player gains life. The card is really really bad imo. The lack of good color fixing is disturbing me too. I guess RNA being the first set i ever drafted i just thought decent color fixing is a thing in all sets. Where are the guild gates!?
I would love to see what each of these decks should look like. It's not hard to figure out i suppose but what cards are good in each deck can help me keep on track. I'm always like "OOH SHINY RARE must take it!" when really my deck would benefit from sticking to a plan and taking a weaker common.
I keep drafting UR spells but I am finding there isn't enough removal like I would like in those colors just counters and not enough burn based removal that i have seen. There isn't as many mana fixing in this set either so going 3 colors is probably a mistake.
Check out Nizzahon Magic's limited archetype guide. it's helpful for visualizing what cards you should be looking for in which archetypes.
Last set I noticed a discrepancy between removal availability on draftism and arena. It was the first time I played with draftism before a release, and I noticed removal in general (red burn in particular) were favored a little more by draftism bots than arena bots. Draftism is more for having fun and getting a general feel for how packs will look with rarity distributions than for priming yourself for arena drafts. Red has a decent anount of burn between common and uncommon rarities - and fortunately, this set counts all noncreature spells in a number of spells matter cards, so the transmutation aura cleans up bigger butts for RU spells while still triggering many spells matter effects.
I tried a big butts draft but I think Huatli, the Sun's Heart is terrible. If she had the defenders can attack clause she wouldn't be so bad but for whatever reason they left it out of her passive and didn't give her an ability that says it either, just a conditional player gains life. The card is really really bad imo. The lack of good color fixing is disturbing me too. I guess RNA being the first set i ever drafted i just thought decent color fixing is a thing in all sets. Where are the guild gates!?
Yeah, Hualti is pretty bad. I mock drafted a GW butts matter/proliferate deck with her that looked like it would be good, but I think that's pretty fringe. If I have a pridemate/life matters deck, I'd be ok running her provided she didn't make too many of my creatures worse (and she slots in Abzan colors where you might be making a life matters deck), and in the fringe butts matter deck - but she's no High Alert. Anywhere else and I'd feel bad picking her.
You got spoiled in Ravnica. Really hard to do 3 color decks in "normal" sets. In DOM you could do 3 colors cause they had Skittering Surveyor and Grow from the Ashes at common, but even then you were more often sticking to 2 colors than in Ravnica. Artifacts that fix mana this set aren't Surveyor good at fixing (2/1 is fragile and fixes at a cost of -1 mana, the 2 mana one that cantrips is single use, and the 3 and 4 mana ones don't put a body on board). I think G / GB is the only place I'd be comfortable splashing 3rd color bombs/premium removal. Possible to do it with artifacts in other color combos, but not going to be as good as it was in Ravnica or even DOM. You're usually going to want to stick with 2 colors (not counting hybrid costs of course).
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. Still this can literally kill Armies and set back Proliferated dudes, so I'm in on it.
