So we're done with all the monocoloured cards in Ixalan, it's time for a look through all of the multicoloured cards, and some of them are quite powerful.
Admiral Beckett Brass
The pirate lord is here! This four mana 3/3 could really bring your pirate deck together and I would urge you to play it even if you're only in two of those colours, splash one land for the third colour. Obviously if you enough Pirates that is because the Admiral not only pumps his crew but if you can get in with three Pirates she starts to acquisition your opponents stuff. The most thematic play you could possibly make with Beckett Brass is dealing combat damage with three Pirates and then stealing you're opponents Sky Sovereign, Consul Flagship which will be very powerful in addition to keeping very pirate. A limited bomb and despite how good the pirate theme is in limited I don't think there will be a tribal pirate constructed deck featuring the Admiral, slam dunk for commander.
Belligerent Brontodon
So Doran, The Siege Tower was pretty good as far as three mana 5/5's went and while Belligerent Brontodon may have the same ability as Doran, I don't think it will be breaking out of limited play. You see Doran also affected your opponent's creatures as well, so you could build your deck around low power/high toughness creatures that tended to come at a cheap cost. Belligerent Brontodon does not affect your opponent's creatures and therefor instantly loses playability points, the second thing is that it costs way too much. Seven mana for essentially a 6/6 with nothing else is fine but in this set you're getting close to that power and toughness for much less cost. Maybe in limited if you somehow find yourself with lots of high toughness creatures but I think it's too slow even then.
Call To The Feast
Great limited card, okay three power for four mana isn't the best but it's split over three bodies all of which have Lifelink. It really helps with any vampire tribal you may have going on, like Sanctum Seeker. My closest comparison to Call To The Feast is Spectral Procession and though that card cost three White at its cheapest, the deck that played it had no trouble producing that mana. You may find yourself in the spot of having no black or white mana at which point this becomes a dead card. It's still playable in limited and at a push in constructed, I guess my point is three power on turn three is better than turn four.
Deadeye Plunderers
This guys could be a powerhouse in limited and it helps with any pirate tribal you may have going. As a five mana 3/3 Deadeye Plunderers may not seem like the most powerful creature but in Ixalan limited there are a lot of cards that produce Treasures so it could easily be above the curve as a 6/6 or 7/7. The best part is that Deadeye Plunderers itself produces Treasures so it can just grow and grow at instant speed too. A limited all star and powerhouse rolled into one, if you're in blue black you should be playing this guy.
Dire Fleet Captain
Another pirate and one that sits well in an aggressive tribal deck. Dire Fleet Captain is cheap and it can turn into a very difficult creature to block given another two or three attacking pirates. It only gets the boost when attacking though and because of that is weak on defense, if you come across a few Pirates in red and black then Dire Fleet Captain will play very nicely with them in limited.
Gisharth, Sun's Avatar
Gisharth is probably the biggest and splashiest dinosaur in Ixalan, it's expensive and can have a massive effect on the game. As we've established, you will come across many dinosaurs in Ixalan limited as they are being pushed as a new creature type, this makes Gisharth much more effective with its combat damage trigger. The Trample and seven power almost ensure that you will deal some amount of damage, once you hit you could jump so far ahead on board depending on how many dinosaurs you reveal. This has so much potential both for limited and constructed, obviously it's a massive limited bomb but it is still hard to cast and the effect is dependent on how many dinosaurs you're playing. As for constructed, I think Gisharth could work in a ramp shell but it will rely on how many other dinosaurs are constructed playable.
Hostage Taker
This is my pick of the set as one of the strongest cards. Hostage Taker can be such a beating just as a tempo play to take out there blocker and still have a 2/3 for your troubles, but it could even be a useful sideboard card against certain creatures of artifacts while still getting the body value. I think there could be a Grixis tempo deck that would love this but my thoughts turn to God-Pharaoh's Gift. Being able to bring Hostage Take back as a 4/4 with Haste that takes out a blocker gives you so much value on the board and if you drop another you can get so far ahead. It has its downside like them getting the card back when Hostage Taker dies but with a little countermagic and removal spells, that can be circumvented. Keep your eye on Hostage Taker, it could be an all star in both limited and the constructed metagame to come.
Huatli, Warrior Poet
Huatli is the first dinosaur centric planeswalker we've had in magic's history. Five mana for three loyalty is a little underwhelming particularly for a planeswalker with an affinity for dinosaurs but on the upside she does have a nice +2 ability that has the potential to take her out of attacking range and give you a nice little life bonus. The real kicker that makes Huatli very powerful is her 0 ability to make decent sized dinosaurs, every turn, for free! Free creatures are always very powerful, Gideon showed us that, couple that with her first ability and you can start gaining more and more life while steadily increasing your board position. Lastly, Huatli's "ultimate" can be super effective against creature based strategies efficiently clearing the way for any of your attackers, or on a grander scale you could use it as removal for a specifically annoying creature. Huatli is obviously nuts in limited as planeswalkers usually are and she has some potential in constructed but I think she may be a bit slow, five mana for a 3/3 is fine but if your opponent has a removal spell then it could have been all for nothing.
Marauding Looter
Marauding Looter looks so powerful, four power for four mana is great but even beyond that being able to "loot" every turn just for attacking, and you don't even have to successfully deal combat damage. Just getting one card out of Marauding Looter is good value so anything beyond that is gravy. Marauding Looter could be a limited great in a midrange deck and doubles up as help for your pirate theme as well.
Raging Swordtooth
This dinosaur is going to be a limited all star, five mana for a 5/5 with Trample is going to be hard to block and will get in for a fair bit of damage. The kicker with Raging Swordtooth is it's enter the battlefield trigger, it only deals one damage to each creature and that may be enough to get a creature or two but the main reason for this is ability is to get the most out of your Enrage creatures. If you can curve out turn three and four with Enrage creatures and then Raging Swordtooth on turn five the value you get could be insane. Keep in mind that you may have to deal with your opponents Enrage triggers thanks to the damage from Raging Swordtooth so pick your moment.
Regisaur Alpha
This is another card on my powerful Ixalan cards list, Regisaur Alpha is value all the way through. Five mana four a 4/4 doesn't seem that good but that's not all you get as Regisaur Alpha brings a 3/3 dinosaur friend with it so in fact you're paying five mana for seven power which is very good. The token gains Haste from Regisaur Alpha, so given an open board you could even sneak three damage in and any dinosaur played after this can get in straight away as well. It's a limited bomb and I think could be a player in constructed even just as five mana for two creatures, watch this guy.
Shapers Of Nature
It's Merfolk guildmage in essence, it is one more mana than a traditional guildmage but the abilities it has makes Shapers Of Nature a limited all star. Drop this guy on turn three and then on turn four you can threaten a 4/4 on the attack and it could just get bigger and bigger from there on. It can also provide you with a lot of card advantage in the late game and because of I think this is a slam dunk in limited, if could be ok in constructed but the mana intensity is a little on the costly side.
Sky Terror
This cheap dinosaur is going to do work for you in limited, hitting it on turn two is going to be really good and it will be hard to block and provide you with a threat if coupled with any sort of pump. More than one in limited will prove very awkward to deal with in combat and with all the dinosaur matters cards in Ixalan you won't be short of reasons to play Sky Terror.
Tishana, Voice Of Thunder
There are a lot of words on this card, a lot of then to do with your hand and drawing cards. A limited bomb obviously because the power level is high but Tishana is a little slow, maybe she's more attuned to Commander and casual play but as far as competitive constructed goes, I would say no.
Vona, Butcher Of Magan
This guy is insane, the power and value is just immense. Stat wise a five mana 4/4 is fine, give it vigilance and Lifelink and it becomes much more powerful. The really power and value is in Vona's last ability enabling you to pay seven life to deal with any nonland permanent, any single one of them. You can only use it on your turn but the best part is you can attack with Vona and before blockers are declared use Vona's ability to take out a possible blocker thanks to the vigilance. A massive limited bomb and if left in play could just run a game and seal the victory with ease. I would love to see Vona, Butcher Of Magan in constructed but it is a little slow having no immediate impact on the game, however the potential is so incredible that it might just happen.
Vraska, Relic Seeker
So it turns out Vraska is a gorgon pirate and one that commands much respect from her crew. Vraska seems ridiculously good as a six mana six loyalty planeswalker, she only needs two up activations to get to her devastating ultimate and in doing that you get a couple of 2/2's. The value doesn't stop there, if you are outnumbered by your opponent's creatures then you could just use her down ability to deal with one and even the numbers up slightly, or lacking creatures you can shoot down an enchantment or artifact of your choice, the leftover Treasure you're giving your opponent could be a thing but it's a good trade I'd say. Massive bomb in limited and definitely one to watch for constructed in those midrange decks.
Almost at the end, tomorrow its all the artifact and land cards to round out the week. Keep checking back to Game Changers for more gaming news and updates.
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