Amonkhet Blue

Ancient Crab

Nothing special here, a three mana 1/5. Great for blocking, not great for attacking.

Angler Drake

A very powerful top end curve card. It has a good body, evasion and temporary removal. If you're in blue you always play this in limited.

As Foretold

As Foretold is like Aether vile for spells. I love this card because it gets me thinking of decks to abuse it in, but unfortunately I think this is going to be residing on the casual tables. It's ok in limited as it does effectively give you creatures flash and bare in mind that it's once per turn, not each of your turns so you can get two spells at the same cost over yours and your opponents turn.

Aven Initiate

Another fantastic Embalm creature; powerful, evasion and sit nicely on the curve to begin with. The Embalm cost is high but even just as a four mana 3/2 flyer, its good enough. Again, if you're playing blue, you play this guy.

Cancel

We've seen Cancel a lot before. It's the standard counter spell and will see play in both limited and constructed.

Cartouche Of Knowledge

It replaces itself and gives a creature of your choice evasion. It's good and always playable in limited but as always, auras are a lot worse in constructed as they are always a two for one in your opponents favour. Saying that, this is one that comes close to constructed playable just because it replaces itself.

Censor

Force spike 2.0 and it could be constructed playable. Yes it does allow them to pay one mana to counter the counter effect but, at the point that might be an issue, you can just Cycle it. Good in the early game and replaces itself in the late game. Counter spells tend to be pretty meh in limited but the Cycling probably puts it into playable there.

Compelling Argument

Targeted milling effects, to some players, always target your opponent. It makes sense, if they run out of cards before you do, you win. However, in Amonkhet, there are a lot of creatures with Embalm. Compelling argument can open up a lot of opportunities later on in the game all coming from your graveyard. Yes it might hit lands and spells but that's a risk you can calculate depending on how many Embalm creatures you're playing. Worst case scenario, it Cycles.

Cryptic Serpent

A seven mana 6/5 that becomes cheaper the more instant and sorcery cards you're playing. It sits high on the curve but if you end up playing a heavy instants and sorceries deck then you could see it a lot earlier than turn seven. Play one in limited, maybe two depending on how high your spell count is.

Curator Of Mysteries

This card is just great all over. Four mana, 4/4, flying and at worst it Cycles. Most of the time, you'll play this as the value creature it is, but there will be some rare times in limited where you can really abuse the Scry ability. Those times make the game really easy as you get to sculpt the top of your deck. Always in limited and I could see an argument for constructed.

Decision Paralysis

A good limited combat trick and a good way to keep the early opposing creatures at bay. In Amonkhet it's also a good way of preventing Exert triggers.

Drake Haven

Drake Haven is another great card to abuse Cycling with. If you end up with a lot of Cycling cards and Drake Haven, you become the draw go deck that can eventually start making two or more drakes a turn. I would love to see this in constructed but it might be a bit of a commitment to Cycling.

Essence Scatter

Essence scatter's back and it's just as good as it has been before. It's the standard creature counter spell that will see play and will be good.

Floodwaters

Floodwaters is good at clearing the path for the opportunity of a finishing attack. Failing that, it can Cycle in the early game for a new card. Limited applications most probably, maybe a one of in a control deck in constructed.

Galestrike

This is such a good combat trick. You can pick off whichever attacker you like and you get a card for your troubles. This is the blue removal for limited and depending how creature heavy the constructed format is, it may be making an appearance.

Glyph Keeper

A massive limited bomb here. Very big and difficult to deal with and even if it does get dealt with, you can embalm it later on in the game. Always in limited, I would like to see it in constructed but it may be asking a bit much.

Hekma Sentinels

Hekma Sentinels can become your aggressive creature in blue if you can find enough Cycling. Multiples of these on the board at the same time could prove to be game winning.

Hieroglyphic Illumination

Four mana for two cards or one mana for one card? Instantly my mind just wants to cycle this all the time as it's more mana efficient, but for those times later on in the game and for just when you have the mana to spare, the extra card won't hurt.

Illusory Wrappings

Most enchantments like this will just prevent the creature from attacking or blocking. Illusory Wrappings actively changes the creature base power and toughness which is essentially the same thing but it does make it easier to destroy with damage. A weird one but I think it could see play in constructed maybe to combat a resolved Eldrazi or other large creature.

Kefnet The Mindful

Kefnet is the blue god and a pretty sweet looking 5/5 for three mana. As a god Kefnet can't attack or block, but his ability, in this case wanting you to have seven or more cards in your hand, can change that very quickly. For four mana you can draw a card and return a land, most probably one you have tapped to pay for Kefnet's ability, to you hand and this means you have already gained two cards to help aid Kefnet. In limited you always play this even if it is just a draw engine, in constructed I could see it in a control deck if you can drop it early enough.

Labyrinth Guardian

Another "illusion" creature meaning, creatures that you have to sacrifice if they become the target of a spell or ability. It is a good body for two mana and the fact that you can embalm it is good but both times the labyrinth guardian will almost certainly instantly die.

Lay Claim

There is usually a control magic in every set nowadays and as the years have gone on the mana requirements have had to be increased with every iteration. Lay Claim is a great one of to have in your limited deck as it can steal your opponents bomb creature, or if you're really lucky planeswalker, and bash their face with it. In this case, as it's a big theme in Amonkhet, Lay Claim also cycles, so if you find yourself stuck on land or thinking that it's a bit win more you can always cash it in. Probably just in limited but in a control deck I could see one in constructed.

Naga Oracle

Need more ways to enable Embalm? Well look no further. Naga Oracle provides you with the ability to pick and choose which cards you want to ditch and then fix your next draws. Even if you aren't playing many embalm creatures, this card can be very useful in limited.

New Perspectives

New Perspectives is one of those cards that looks very powerful and gets your mind thinking about how to get the most out of it, but honestly it's a bulk rare. Three cards is a lot of cards to draw at one time, but for six mana you probably won't be able to use any of them in the same turn. Even if those cards have Cycling, you're not actively doing anything, just drawing more cards that you can't use. Never play this in limited and only in casual constructed.

Open Into Wonder

Open Into Wonder is on the same level as fireball in my mind, you almost always try and splash for it. Obviously in the late game, with enough mana, it becomes the game winning card as it pushes all the damage needed through. It's very effective in the early game though, being able to get some damage through and net you some cards as well to give you some gas for the late game.

Pull From Tomorrow

Remember Sphinxes Revelation? Well this is kind of a fixed version. It's reduced in mana because it's also reduced in colours and you do have to discard a card, but it's still powerful. Instant speed card draw is always very good and only gets better when it has an X on it. It will be worse in limited than it is in constructed only because you don't gear your deck towards such a sudden influx of cards as much, but even that being said it will still be very powerful in limited even if it draws two cards in the early game.

River Serpent

Blue serpents usually have a tie between the inability to attack and the number of islands you control, this one's slightly different. With the Cycling mechanic being prevalent in Amonkhet, River Serpent's inability to attack is tied to the number of cards in your graveyard, namely five. On top of that, it itself has Cycling, so if you end up playing multiples then you can Cycle one early and help with the later serpent. All of this is purely limited speaking as it has no place in constructed.


Sacred Excavation

Sacred Excavation fits nicely in blue decks in limited when you have too many Cycling cards, it allows you to dig through your deck and then reuse them later on. I don't think it's good playing more than one in limited or constructed as they could just start to clog your hand up and even then I would only suggest playing one if you have a hell of a lot of Cycling cards.

Scribe Of The Mindful

A good body on a creature that sits nicely on the three drop slot of the curve. Scribe Of The Mindful is good at attacking and decent at blocking and can also get back one of those instants or sorceries you may have Cycled early on. Even if you aren't playing a lot of instants or sorceries you can justify the body of Scribe Of The Mindful in limited and every now and again being able to use its ability.

Seeker Of Insight

The looting ability (drawing a card then discarding a card) is powerful, so much so that it doesn't appear as much as it used to and when it does, like in this case, it comes with a proviso that you need to meet. Shouldn't be hard though as, in blue in particular, you would tend to have a higher average of non creature spells. Ability aside, Seeker Of Insight is still a good blocker to hold the ground in the early game in limited.

Shimmerscale Drake

Shimmerscale Drake may not be the biggest but with flying it will be difficult to deal with and works very well in multiples because it Cycles. It's a decent sized threat that could prove very effective if your opponent doesn't have many flying creatures.

Slither Blade

This one mana unblockable creature is the perfect place to attach all those Cartouches you'll have. Dropping this on turn one and then attaching all your auras to it could provide you with a game winning creature, the downside is that Slither Blade isn't hard to kill so it could end up that you lose a few cards if you put too many eggs in this basket. Really you shouldn't be playing Slither Blade in limited unless you really have  to and never in constructed.

Tah-Crop Skirmisher

A creature like Tah-crop Skirmisher plays well in whichever limited deck you decide to play. It doesn't demand to much colour mana so you can splash it if needed and you can use it to trade efficiently with an opposing creature and then Embalm it later.

Trial Of Knowledge

You got an immense amount of card advantage from the blue Trial. You get to sculpt your hand with and additional three cards and even though it makes you discard one, in Amonkhet more often than not that's a good thing as you can trigger multiple creatures just with the one discard. Also remember the Cartouche trigger, because that could be invaluable when digging; for eight mana over two turns, and a Cartouche of course, you get to draw six cards which, in limited anyway, is almost more than enough to find your bombs or just dig your way out of a sticky situation. The fact that Trial Of Knowledge costs four will probably be the reason it resides in limited, but if the standard format slows down enough I could see one or two of these making their way into a control deck.

Vizier Of Many Faces

Who needs a limited bomb when you can copy your opponents. I can see the situation now; your opponent plays an Angel Of Sanction to take out a creature of yours and then your Vizier Of Many Faces copying the angel to rid the board of your opponents angel and leaving you with a 3/4 flyer of your own. There are lots of other creatures you're going to copy, some big and splashy like Angle Of Sanctions example and some just because you need a creature, either way Vizier Of Many Faces will do work in limited. As for constructed, back in the day Clone got some play but that was in a time where the legend rule was different and it could effectively be a four mana removal spell, Vizier Of Many Faces isn't quite on that level but the ability to Embalm it and choose a different creature could be powerful in constructed.

Vizier Of Tumbling Sands

Blue's proactive Cycling card, Vizier Of Tumbling Sands, is going to do work for you in limited. It works perfectly with your Exert creatures allowing you to get maximum value or you could use it on a non Exert creature just to give it sudo vigilance. On top of all that it blocks fairly efficiently and is great in multiples as you can Cycle away any early ones you draw turning them into combat tricks and it's easy to splash. I love this card in limited.

Winds Of Rebuke

Blues removal spells have to be on a worse level than blacks or reds because otherwise it would make it more unfair to play against blue decks. Winds Of Rebuke allows you to deal with any non land permanent at instant speed for two mana, almost like boomerang, but it does also make both players mill themselves (put the top x amount of cards from their library into the graveyard) for two. You may think that's a downside but it Amonkhet, as we've already discovered, using cards from your graveyard can be a major advantage. The fact that Winds Of Rebuke says non land permanent and not just creature leads me to think it could find its way into constructed as that's a place where you can build around utilizing cards in your graveyard.

Zenith Seeker

Zenith Seeker is the four drop your want in your limited deck when it goes wider more so than taller. What I mean by wider is that your deck tends to play a lot of smaller creatures than fewer bigger creatures. A nice mix of have weenie creatures and a few Cycles with Zenith Seeker can provide you with difficult creatures to block as you can pick and choose which ones fly and when.

That's brings us to the end of the blue cards, stay tuned because coming up next are the black cards.