It's finally here.
Dominaria has been getting closer and closer and as of Friday the set will be released for all to play with. This week I'm going to be taking a look through all of the cards in Dominaria and today I'm going to be starting with all of the white cards.
Is everyone ready? Then lets jump right in.
Adamant Will
Great limited combat trick. Cheap, easily splashable and good on both sides of combat.
Aven Sentry
This is one of those creatures that’s fine. Fine isn’t always what you want however, a white four drop can be better than Aven Sentry but if you have to a four mana 3/2 flyer is fine. It’s fairly fragile but if you can protect it and it meets no ariel blockers Aven Sentry could deal a chunk of damage in limited.
Baird, Steward Of Argive
If there was going to be a defensive Mono White deck in standard then I think Baird could provide that deck with some great options. A four mana 2/4 is serviceable and the vigilance is a nice addition. The real crux of Baird, Steward Of Argive is the Ghostly Prison-esc effect, this effect means that combat is awkward for your opponent and remember you still have a 2/4 blocker to further that awkwardness. It’s too early to say whether or not the metagame will favour creature based strategies more but if it does then Baird may see a lot of play along side other controlling cards be they hand disruption or more board control. Baird is particularly effective in limited as it tends to be a much more combat centric format which is where he shines.
Benalish Honour Guard
BWU. Is this good enough shorthand for Bear With Upside? I’m gonna try it out hopefully it will catch on. Benalish Honour Guard is fine in all white decks for limited, it’s on curve with no downside. With the amount of legendary creatures that will make an appearance in Dominaria this two drop 2/2 could easily turn into a a 4/2 or even 5/2. It will trade with almost any other creature in combat but the growing threat will be enough to cause panic for your opponent.
Benalish Marshal
You may have guessed this by now but my first thought when I saw Benalish Marshal was tokens. With Metallic Mimic at two mana and then Benalish Marshal at three going wide and tall may have just gotten a lot easier. The downside is the triple white mana cost as it forces you to dedicate your mana base to one colour, because of that I don’t know if Benalish Marshal will find a home and it’s also fighting for the three drop spot with Radiant Destiny. Radiant Destiny is much easier to cast, has the same effect (even if it’s more specific), and has an additional upside of Vigilance. Benalish Marshal doesn’t even look too good in limited either, mainly because of its mana cost, but a three mana 3/3 is still on curve and can take over the early game.
Blessed Light
Love it. Removal in white is always so satisfying, almost wrong, I think the fact that Blessed Light doubles up as enchantment removal kind of gives it a pass. For five mana this is probably only going to see limited play but it is an instant which makes it really powerful in limited, it’s easy to splash too thanks to its single white mana in the cost. Blessed Light is not a bad removal spell at all, always play it in limited.
Board The Weatherlight
Card selection in white is an odd thing to see as it doesn’t tend to draw cards outside of the draw step. Board The Weatherlight utilises the new bringing together of Artifacts, Legendaries and Sagas as Historic cards and for just two mana lets you find one of them. As weird as it is to have access to this in white I think it has the potential to be quite powerful, with such an influx of legendary creatures in Dominaria you’re not going to be at a loss for options in constructed. The power level of the Sagas in constructed is as yet unknown though I am hopeful and artifacts are always popping up, so the selection of cards you can get out of Board The Weatherlight could be very useful in the right deck. As for limited, it’s a sure thing. You’re almost always going to find a historic card with Board The Weatherlight, probably an artifact but with the amount of legendary creatures running about there’s a very good chance you’ll see one or two. Essentially this reads two mana draw a card in my eyes and in white you don’t come across that often so abuse it while you can.
Call The Cavalry
If you were offered a 4/4 with Vigilance for 3W you would snap up that deal all day long, with a little help it could even see constructed play. Call The Cavalry is essentially a four mana 4/4 with Vigilance just split over two bodies, this means removal spells are less effective against it on a card for card basis. Obviously Call The Cavalry is only playable in limited as the 2/2’s in constructed wouldn’t make a dent, the two bodies in limited though could be a viable threat in the late game when most of your opponent’s resources have been depleted.
Charge
This is a great spell for those go wide strategies in limited. Drop some cheap, small creatures and suddenly your attacks become threatening by just leaving one white mana open. At worst Charge could help you trade up on the defensive or at least help keep you in a game with fewer creatures. Great limited combat trick.
D’Avenant Trooper
This card is nuts and it’s at common, pick up a couple of artifacts and some legends and D’Avenant Trooper will easily dictate that tide of the game. This three mana 3/2 will keep any blockers out of the way and put a decent clock on your opponent, in multiples things become ridiculous and D’Avenant Trooper is easy to splash. It’s a tempo creatures through and through and is a really good one with or without triggering its Historic ability.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon
Ignore everything except for the text box for a minute, ignore the flavourful name, the below curve power/toughness in comparison to the mana cost. A creature with Lifelink, Vigilance and First Strike is nuts, it will run combat in limited easily and given some sort of permanent boost it can run away with a game. Luckily the other part of the text box helps with auras and equipment quite nicely making this flurry of keywords a viable threat. Now we can look at the rest of the card, I’m loving the name obviously being an homage to Gerrard Capashen, not so hot on the three mana for a 2/2 but when a creature comes with all of these keywords you need to over cost it a little lest it break constructed or warp limited. Lastly, keeping with the warping limited thing, Danitha is an uncommon legendary creature, this is something to be aware of as you are more likely to see multiples in limited. Don’t run two out unless you want to get some nifty legendary hijinks going. Limited all star all the way, I want Danitha to be good in constructed but I guess it depends on what auras and equipment show there heads in the coming weeks.
Daring Archeologist
It’s a Regrowth for artifacts attached to a creature so if you have any artifacts to return Daring Archeologist it essentially turns into a two for one. The second part of Daring Archeologist could turn this four mana 3/3 into a game winning creature thanks to the heavy themes of Legendary creatures and Sagas along with all of the artifacts. In limited, Daring Archeologist is a bomb and even if you don’t get the two for one out of it you’re still getting a possibly ever growing four mana 3/3 which isn’t bad for sealed or draft. There may be a deck in constructed that could use Daring Archeologist but in truth I think it could spawn a new deck, one that can abuse artifacts and uses Daring Archeologist to get extra mileage out of every last one.
Dauntless Bodyguard
I don’t know what to think about Dauntless Bodyguard. A one mana 2/1 gets you off to a good start from turn one there’s no doubt about that but then you get to it’s ability. First off, if you want to utilise the ability in any form you can’t drop Dauntless Bodyguard on turn one as you won’t have another creature to protect, this is a creature that you probably want to drop on turns 3 through 5 depending on what other creatures you have. The plus side to this is that Bodyguard is cheap and shouldn’t put that much of a speed bump in your plans. Ultimately though, what would you want to protect with Dauntless Bodyguard: having a late game threat that you can give indestructible once might be enough in the same way that an early creature could run away with a game in lieu of any removal spells. I’m not sure where Dauntless Bodyguard will end up, there could be a weenie strategy that just uses it for value as well as a Savannah Lion or it could find a home in some sort or combo deck, I guess we’ll wait and see.
Dub
I’m not a fan of the name, though it is thematic, but Dub looks pretty good from a limited perspective. Power/toughness boost and evasion all for three mana is very effective especially if you curve out and drop it on a one or two drop in the early game. You don’t want to run too many Dubs as they can have diminishing returns - enchanting a creature once runs the risk of a two for one so imagine enchanting that creature two or three times - but there is a place for it in limited.
Evra, Halcyon Witness
In loose terms, I see Evra, Halcyon Witness as almost a fixed Serra Avatar. The first fix is that you don’t have a 20/20 creature - you can, but you won’t straight away. The second fix is the Lifelink, I’m not saying Serra Avatar should’ve had Lifelink but I think the power level of the card could have dealt with it without being too good, like I said you already have a 20/20 flyer. Being able to pick and choose when to switch your life total with Evra’s power will result in some very awkward situations for your opponent: drop Evra on turn six, attack on turn seven (hypothetically unblocked) and score damage switch your life total with Evra’s power. All of a sudden you hit for a tonne and gain it all back, leaving you with a huge creature and load of life. You do run a slight risk the first time you switch power and life where your opponent could have enough burn to just get you. Another problem is that Evra will always have toughness of 4, making removing it on the easier side. Whatever the risks and rewards Evra is a limited bomb and could see play in constructed being one of few win conditions in a super control deck.
Excavation Elephant
Elephants can’t excavate, they have no thumbs or want to excavate, what a silly name for a card. Ok so a five mana 3/5 is alright, it blocks well and could get some shots in, you’d play it if you needed another top end creature to fill a gap. For an additional two mana this elephant can get you back an artifact from your graveyard, card advantage sounds good, but just think about it for a second: seven mana for a 3/5 to get you back an artifact, that artifact needs to be pretty damn good if you’re on the back foot and even if you’re not it still needs to cover the fact that you paid seven mana for an elephant. Excavation Elephant is a solely limited only card, it’s only as good as the artifact it returns and limited is the only place you can get to seven mana without being punished for not doing anything.
Fall Of The Thran
Is this a combo card? It kinda looks like it: a big mana cost, a huge effect that will always hit your opponent harder. Armageddon for six is probably the fair cost to destroy all lands and as I said, you will always be ahead because you play Fall Of The Thran before playing your land for the turn. I think the real fun starts when you can cast Fall Of The Thran and destroy it before The second Lore counter gets placed on it. Yes it would put you back to square one but if you can decimate your opponent’s board position and then to after there lands almost anything can win you the game then. Maybe I’m giving Fall Of The Thran a little too much credit, this is probably just a bulk rare for use in commander.
Gideon’s Reproach
White removal in limited is usually really good and Gideon’s Reproach is no different. It can deal with every creature in the early game and in the late game becomes a cheap bullet combat trick. At common you’re going to see Gideon’s Reproach quite a bit and it may be tempted to fill your deck with them but you probably shouldn’t, I would go with probably two at most unless I really needed more removal or just tricks in general.
Healing Grace
Another brilliant limited combat trick at one mana. Healing Grace will probably save a creature most of the time and net you some life in the process. In multiples combat becomes a wash as you could save multiple creatures and gain a chunk of life, enough to off set damage and let you get some in. It’s probably going to be restricted to limited but there could be small applications in constructed: for example if your opponent points a Lightning Strike at you not only does Healing Grace counter the burn spell but gains 3 life as well, meaning they would need two Lightning Strikes to get you back to net 0. I think this will be a great “gotcha” card in a limited sense.
History Of Benalia
Because the effects here are spread over three turns it may not look that good. However, three mana for four powers worth of vigilance creatures is great and add in the fact that four power than turns into eight power and your board position vastly increases. I’m not sure what type of deck History Of Benalia wants to be in in constructed but in limited this three mana enchantment gives you two bodies and can help put you over the top.
Invoke The Divine
Artifact and enchantment removal has come and gone, most of it doing very similar things. Life gain is pretty standard, though it usually comes with a hoop or two to jump through like triggering Revolt, but for three mana Invoke The Divine is playable in limited and constructed and could take the place of Decommission.
Knight Of Grace
A Grizzly Bear with First Strike is more than playable in limited. Knight Of Grace is so close to being constructed playable part in thanks to the additional power for either player controlling a black permanent but mostly because of the Hexproof from black. Now, if the Knight just had Hexproof then it would be incredibly good: drop it on turn two, stick an equipment or enchantment on it and ride it to victory. Hexproof from black is probably the next best thing especially when the best removal spells in standard at the minute are black; Fatal Push, Vraska’s Contempt, Unlicensed Disintegration. The First Strike and extra power make Knight Of Grace effective in combat while also having evasion, in limited it’s great and I think it could find a home in constructed.
Knight Of New Benalia
Aggressive limited two drop, a little fragile though but you’re still going to play Knight Of New Benalia and it will do work trading up in the early game.
Kwende, Pride Of Femeref
At first Kwende may seem powerful: a 2/2 Double Strike creature could command combat. Unfortunately, at four mana I think it’s a little costed out of constructed and also to get proper mileage out of Kwende you would want to play more First Strikers which could limit your options a bit. Kwende is a limited bomb but I don’t think it will see its way into constructed.
Lyra, Dawnbringer
This is a slam dunk! Once upon a time there was a card called Baneslayer Angel. This angel terrorised standard for years, dominating combat steps and swiftly ending games everywhere it went. Heed my call, Lyra Dawnbringer is Baneslayer Angel in all but name (and a couple of non thematic lines of text), this is probably my pick of the set to smash the metagame wide open, If you can control the game and protect Lyra then she can make short work of your opponent. The Legendary status does put a little speed bump in the way but most of the time you will only need one 5/5 First Strike, Flying, Lifelink to close out a game. Swingy bomb rare in limited and its only a matter of time before Lyra dominates standard like her predecessor.
Mesa Unicorn
Tempo? In white?! Two mana 2/2’s blah blah blah, but actually Mesa Unicorn is really good. It’s an early creature that not only applies pressure but takes you further out of reach of your opponent, it’s going to make combat so awkward for them with Lifelink and it can help trade in the early game. There are so many upsides to Mesa Unicorn and at common you’re going to see a lot of it in limited, play them all. It’s honestly that good both in the early and late game and could dig you out of some sticky situations with an aura or two on it.
On Serra’s Wings
Every now and again Magic players have the opportunity to play what is termed “battle cruiser Magic”. What this term means is a player has the ability to equip and enchant a creature with multiple things in order to create a big, cobbled together threat and, depending on the creature you start with, this can take a handful of equipment and auras to do so. That time has come and gone, in this day and age players only need one aura to build a big threat of a creature: On Serra’s Wings. For four mana you can have a Flying, Vigilant, Lifelinking creature helping you take over a game, there is a slight power/toughness increase but ultimately we’re here for the additional abilities. Alas, On Serra’s Wings does suffer with the same problem other Auras suffer with, the inert ability to get two for oned which no player wants. Just imagine the situation: you put On Serra’s Wings on your 3/3 creature (turning it into a 4/4 Flying, Vigilance, Lifelink) just for them to have a removal spell to see to not only the creature but the four mana white aura. That does tend to happen more in constructed however as removal is a lot more run of the mill and On Serra’s Wings is an obvious limited powerhouse, drop this early onto a 2/2 and you can run away with the game.
Pegasus Courser
Ok, so it’s not a particularly pretty card, specs wise that is as Pegasus are obviously beautiful creatures, but Pegasus Courser allows you to get over the top in the mid game in limited and apply some pressure. At three mana this 1/3 isn’t going to make you jump for joy but it can be a nice little utility creature in those tight spots of a ground stall, where it can jump one of your bigger creatures to eek some damage through. It blocks pretty well in the early game up until a point where it will become progressively more and more of an insignificant creature in general.
Sanctum Spirit
This guy’s alright in limited, a little highly costed but a three power Lifelinker is still worth a look at. Sanctum Spirit will probably meet its match at some point but if you can net a couple of hits with it the life you’ve gained will make it worthwhile and it’s indestructible ability could keep this spirit dabbling in combat for a while, provided you can keep up he Historic card discard. Sanctum Spirit only has limited potential due to its cost but it will do work for you there: trading up, netting life, and sticking around for more, what more would you want from your white four drops.
Seal Away
Another one of my picks for a metagame warping cards, Seal Away has a lot of potential power in a two mana enchantment. It’s cheap, fast and effective, what more could you want. The main thing that makes Seal Away appealing is that there aren’t many good white removal spells on the low end of the mana curve in standard right now. Sure, you have Baffling End but Seal Away is so much more effective in the late game, where Baffling End could realistically hit a creature on turns one through three Seal Away can take care of a very large and scary four, five or six drop late on. I think Seal Away is going to see a lot of play in constructed, maybe more so in sideboards if the metagame is less creature dependent but it feels like a card you don’t want to pass up.
Sergeant-At-Arms
Some cards are designed for limited and some cards are designed to be meh, this is both. Sergeant-At-Arms is fine as a three drop, he probably won’t win you the game but will provide a body in the early game for blocking and attacking uses. In the late game you can get a bit more bang for your buck by doubling the cost and having four power spread over three bodies which could be very useful in limited. Having more creatures to deal with rather than one big one that could be hit with one removal spell is more preferable.
Serra Angel
It’s Serra Angel, fantastic in limited not so much in constructed. Easy as that.
Serra Disciple
This guy could do some work for you in limited if you can continue to churn out Historic cards. The evasion and combat helpful keyword make Serra Disciple a good two drop for a slower or more aggressive deck, unfortunately you’re going to find it hard to utilise it’s self pump effect as a combat trick which is were you’d want it most. At a push, you can run Serra Disciple in limited without that many Historic cards to trigger it as just a decent early creature with First Strike that can be handy in combat.
Shalai, Voice Of Plenty
I’m having a really hard time believing Shalai is a rare, with these stats and effects for four mana surely she should be a mythic rare. A four mana 3/4 flyer is good enough, it’s going to do well in combat and has evasion allowing you to get past any opposing creatures. Shalai makes everything a tonne worse for your opponent by giving not just you but the entirety of the rest of your board Hexproof, adding extra evasion into the mix. Lastly, getting into the late game gives you more options with Shalai by letting you put +1/+1 counters on each creature you control, including Shalai, so if she goes uncheck Shalai could really take over a game. She stops and removal spells that aren’t aimed at her, which is a downside but at least she draws a removal spell almost instantly, and she stops anything being aimed at your face, in limited Shalai is an absolute bomb and should always be played even if you need to splash for her. Constructed, I want to see Shalai break in but I don’t know where she’d fit in, the effects are powerful but without an immediate impact she could be just in the bad side of playability.
Teshar, Ancestors Apostle
Getting value out of cards is what we do as players and Teshar is offering that to you on a silver platter. First off, the stats aren’t particularly impressive - a four mana 2/2 flyer is pretty meh - but the next few lines of text are where you want to look. Whenever you cast a Historic spell (this includes Artifacts, Saga’s and Legendaries) you can return a creature with CMC 3 or less from your graveyard to play. Just to give you perspective, that Historic spell could be the massive legendary bomb rare costing 6+ or it could even be an Ornithopter, they all count. If you can land Teshar with some nice targets in your graveyard then you can start to build your board up again and again, the only way out is either exiling the targets from your graveyard or dealing with Teshar.
Tragic Poet
I really like this guy in limited, a one mana 1/1 is fine but where it really shines is the sacrifice effect. First off it’s free, secondly with the amount of Saga’s in Dominaria you’re not going to be at a loss for enchantments to return and getting extra use out of Saga could be powerful. Sure, Tragic Poet is fragile but what would you expect from something that has a lot of limited potential, you could also have it re-buy an aura and have a makeshift Rancor on your hands. I wouldn’t go above one or two unless I could really abuse the effect but Tragic Poet is definitely worth a try.
Triumph Of Gerrard
Sagas are a brand new card type to Magic which means that the design space is going to be used in almost every (non broken) way, and even then some may slip through the cracks. Triumph Of Gerrard provides you with a nice reusable additional counter effect for two mana, it’s cheap and can help you push damage through or just make combat slightly more awkward. Honestly though, I’m not a massive fan of it, the longevity is almost non existent (past the fact that it can trigger three times over three turns) and the effect isn’t as big as you’d want it to be. In limited Triumph Of Gerrard will be a great way to apply pressure early but as far as constructed goes it probably won’t see play.
Urza’s Ruinous Blast
A Wrath effect for five mana isn’t the worst thing in the world, right now we have Fumigate which is serving decks pretty well. That could be mainly to do with the life gain but Urza’s Ruinous Blast does come with an added bonus, kind of. Destroying non-legendary permanents may seem useful but when you think about it you want to be able to deal with opposing planeswalkers, which Urza’s Ruinous Blast doesn’t. It really depends how you build your deck and what your opponent is playing: if it’s a heavy planeswalker Control deck then this card is useless, a much more creature heavy deck and it’s brilliant. I’m not even really sure how good this is in limited because you’re investing a lot of mana and if they have even just one legendary creature or a planeswalker it was all for nothing.
Great limited combat trick. Cheap, easily splashable and good on both sides of combat.
Aven Sentry
This is one of those creatures that’s fine. Fine isn’t always what you want however, a white four drop can be better than Aven Sentry but if you have to a four mana 3/2 flyer is fine. It’s fairly fragile but if you can protect it and it meets no ariel blockers Aven Sentry could deal a chunk of damage in limited.
Baird, Steward Of Argive
If there was going to be a defensive Mono White deck in standard then I think Baird could provide that deck with some great options. A four mana 2/4 is serviceable and the vigilance is a nice addition. The real crux of Baird, Steward Of Argive is the Ghostly Prison-esc effect, this effect means that combat is awkward for your opponent and remember you still have a 2/4 blocker to further that awkwardness. It’s too early to say whether or not the metagame will favour creature based strategies more but if it does then Baird may see a lot of play along side other controlling cards be they hand disruption or more board control. Baird is particularly effective in limited as it tends to be a much more combat centric format which is where he shines.
Benalish Honour Guard
BWU. Is this good enough shorthand for Bear With Upside? I’m gonna try it out hopefully it will catch on. Benalish Honour Guard is fine in all white decks for limited, it’s on curve with no downside. With the amount of legendary creatures that will make an appearance in Dominaria this two drop 2/2 could easily turn into a a 4/2 or even 5/2. It will trade with almost any other creature in combat but the growing threat will be enough to cause panic for your opponent.
Benalish Marshal
You may have guessed this by now but my first thought when I saw Benalish Marshal was tokens. With Metallic Mimic at two mana and then Benalish Marshal at three going wide and tall may have just gotten a lot easier. The downside is the triple white mana cost as it forces you to dedicate your mana base to one colour, because of that I don’t know if Benalish Marshal will find a home and it’s also fighting for the three drop spot with Radiant Destiny. Radiant Destiny is much easier to cast, has the same effect (even if it’s more specific), and has an additional upside of Vigilance. Benalish Marshal doesn’t even look too good in limited either, mainly because of its mana cost, but a three mana 3/3 is still on curve and can take over the early game.
Blessed Light
Love it. Removal in white is always so satisfying, almost wrong, I think the fact that Blessed Light doubles up as enchantment removal kind of gives it a pass. For five mana this is probably only going to see limited play but it is an instant which makes it really powerful in limited, it’s easy to splash too thanks to its single white mana in the cost. Blessed Light is not a bad removal spell at all, always play it in limited.
Board The Weatherlight
Card selection in white is an odd thing to see as it doesn’t tend to draw cards outside of the draw step. Board The Weatherlight utilises the new bringing together of Artifacts, Legendaries and Sagas as Historic cards and for just two mana lets you find one of them. As weird as it is to have access to this in white I think it has the potential to be quite powerful, with such an influx of legendary creatures in Dominaria you’re not going to be at a loss for options in constructed. The power level of the Sagas in constructed is as yet unknown though I am hopeful and artifacts are always popping up, so the selection of cards you can get out of Board The Weatherlight could be very useful in the right deck. As for limited, it’s a sure thing. You’re almost always going to find a historic card with Board The Weatherlight, probably an artifact but with the amount of legendary creatures running about there’s a very good chance you’ll see one or two. Essentially this reads two mana draw a card in my eyes and in white you don’t come across that often so abuse it while you can.
Call The Cavalry
If you were offered a 4/4 with Vigilance for 3W you would snap up that deal all day long, with a little help it could even see constructed play. Call The Cavalry is essentially a four mana 4/4 with Vigilance just split over two bodies, this means removal spells are less effective against it on a card for card basis. Obviously Call The Cavalry is only playable in limited as the 2/2’s in constructed wouldn’t make a dent, the two bodies in limited though could be a viable threat in the late game when most of your opponent’s resources have been depleted.
Charge
This is a great spell for those go wide strategies in limited. Drop some cheap, small creatures and suddenly your attacks become threatening by just leaving one white mana open. At worst Charge could help you trade up on the defensive or at least help keep you in a game with fewer creatures. Great limited combat trick.
D’Avenant Trooper
This card is nuts and it’s at common, pick up a couple of artifacts and some legends and D’Avenant Trooper will easily dictate that tide of the game. This three mana 3/2 will keep any blockers out of the way and put a decent clock on your opponent, in multiples things become ridiculous and D’Avenant Trooper is easy to splash. It’s a tempo creatures through and through and is a really good one with or without triggering its Historic ability.
Danitha Capashen, Paragon
Ignore everything except for the text box for a minute, ignore the flavourful name, the below curve power/toughness in comparison to the mana cost. A creature with Lifelink, Vigilance and First Strike is nuts, it will run combat in limited easily and given some sort of permanent boost it can run away with a game. Luckily the other part of the text box helps with auras and equipment quite nicely making this flurry of keywords a viable threat. Now we can look at the rest of the card, I’m loving the name obviously being an homage to Gerrard Capashen, not so hot on the three mana for a 2/2 but when a creature comes with all of these keywords you need to over cost it a little lest it break constructed or warp limited. Lastly, keeping with the warping limited thing, Danitha is an uncommon legendary creature, this is something to be aware of as you are more likely to see multiples in limited. Don’t run two out unless you want to get some nifty legendary hijinks going. Limited all star all the way, I want Danitha to be good in constructed but I guess it depends on what auras and equipment show there heads in the coming weeks.
Daring Archeologist
It’s a Regrowth for artifacts attached to a creature so if you have any artifacts to return Daring Archeologist it essentially turns into a two for one. The second part of Daring Archeologist could turn this four mana 3/3 into a game winning creature thanks to the heavy themes of Legendary creatures and Sagas along with all of the artifacts. In limited, Daring Archeologist is a bomb and even if you don’t get the two for one out of it you’re still getting a possibly ever growing four mana 3/3 which isn’t bad for sealed or draft. There may be a deck in constructed that could use Daring Archeologist but in truth I think it could spawn a new deck, one that can abuse artifacts and uses Daring Archeologist to get extra mileage out of every last one.
Dauntless Bodyguard
I don’t know what to think about Dauntless Bodyguard. A one mana 2/1 gets you off to a good start from turn one there’s no doubt about that but then you get to it’s ability. First off, if you want to utilise the ability in any form you can’t drop Dauntless Bodyguard on turn one as you won’t have another creature to protect, this is a creature that you probably want to drop on turns 3 through 5 depending on what other creatures you have. The plus side to this is that Bodyguard is cheap and shouldn’t put that much of a speed bump in your plans. Ultimately though, what would you want to protect with Dauntless Bodyguard: having a late game threat that you can give indestructible once might be enough in the same way that an early creature could run away with a game in lieu of any removal spells. I’m not sure where Dauntless Bodyguard will end up, there could be a weenie strategy that just uses it for value as well as a Savannah Lion or it could find a home in some sort or combo deck, I guess we’ll wait and see.
Dub
I’m not a fan of the name, though it is thematic, but Dub looks pretty good from a limited perspective. Power/toughness boost and evasion all for three mana is very effective especially if you curve out and drop it on a one or two drop in the early game. You don’t want to run too many Dubs as they can have diminishing returns - enchanting a creature once runs the risk of a two for one so imagine enchanting that creature two or three times - but there is a place for it in limited.
Evra, Halcyon Witness
In loose terms, I see Evra, Halcyon Witness as almost a fixed Serra Avatar. The first fix is that you don’t have a 20/20 creature - you can, but you won’t straight away. The second fix is the Lifelink, I’m not saying Serra Avatar should’ve had Lifelink but I think the power level of the card could have dealt with it without being too good, like I said you already have a 20/20 flyer. Being able to pick and choose when to switch your life total with Evra’s power will result in some very awkward situations for your opponent: drop Evra on turn six, attack on turn seven (hypothetically unblocked) and score damage switch your life total with Evra’s power. All of a sudden you hit for a tonne and gain it all back, leaving you with a huge creature and load of life. You do run a slight risk the first time you switch power and life where your opponent could have enough burn to just get you. Another problem is that Evra will always have toughness of 4, making removing it on the easier side. Whatever the risks and rewards Evra is a limited bomb and could see play in constructed being one of few win conditions in a super control deck.
Excavation Elephant
Elephants can’t excavate, they have no thumbs or want to excavate, what a silly name for a card. Ok so a five mana 3/5 is alright, it blocks well and could get some shots in, you’d play it if you needed another top end creature to fill a gap. For an additional two mana this elephant can get you back an artifact from your graveyard, card advantage sounds good, but just think about it for a second: seven mana for a 3/5 to get you back an artifact, that artifact needs to be pretty damn good if you’re on the back foot and even if you’re not it still needs to cover the fact that you paid seven mana for an elephant. Excavation Elephant is a solely limited only card, it’s only as good as the artifact it returns and limited is the only place you can get to seven mana without being punished for not doing anything.
Fall Of The Thran
Is this a combo card? It kinda looks like it: a big mana cost, a huge effect that will always hit your opponent harder. Armageddon for six is probably the fair cost to destroy all lands and as I said, you will always be ahead because you play Fall Of The Thran before playing your land for the turn. I think the real fun starts when you can cast Fall Of The Thran and destroy it before The second Lore counter gets placed on it. Yes it would put you back to square one but if you can decimate your opponent’s board position and then to after there lands almost anything can win you the game then. Maybe I’m giving Fall Of The Thran a little too much credit, this is probably just a bulk rare for use in commander.
Gideon’s Reproach
White removal in limited is usually really good and Gideon’s Reproach is no different. It can deal with every creature in the early game and in the late game becomes a cheap bullet combat trick. At common you’re going to see Gideon’s Reproach quite a bit and it may be tempted to fill your deck with them but you probably shouldn’t, I would go with probably two at most unless I really needed more removal or just tricks in general.
Healing Grace
Another brilliant limited combat trick at one mana. Healing Grace will probably save a creature most of the time and net you some life in the process. In multiples combat becomes a wash as you could save multiple creatures and gain a chunk of life, enough to off set damage and let you get some in. It’s probably going to be restricted to limited but there could be small applications in constructed: for example if your opponent points a Lightning Strike at you not only does Healing Grace counter the burn spell but gains 3 life as well, meaning they would need two Lightning Strikes to get you back to net 0. I think this will be a great “gotcha” card in a limited sense.
History Of Benalia
Because the effects here are spread over three turns it may not look that good. However, three mana for four powers worth of vigilance creatures is great and add in the fact that four power than turns into eight power and your board position vastly increases. I’m not sure what type of deck History Of Benalia wants to be in in constructed but in limited this three mana enchantment gives you two bodies and can help put you over the top.
Invoke The Divine
Artifact and enchantment removal has come and gone, most of it doing very similar things. Life gain is pretty standard, though it usually comes with a hoop or two to jump through like triggering Revolt, but for three mana Invoke The Divine is playable in limited and constructed and could take the place of Decommission.
Knight Of Grace
A Grizzly Bear with First Strike is more than playable in limited. Knight Of Grace is so close to being constructed playable part in thanks to the additional power for either player controlling a black permanent but mostly because of the Hexproof from black. Now, if the Knight just had Hexproof then it would be incredibly good: drop it on turn two, stick an equipment or enchantment on it and ride it to victory. Hexproof from black is probably the next best thing especially when the best removal spells in standard at the minute are black; Fatal Push, Vraska’s Contempt, Unlicensed Disintegration. The First Strike and extra power make Knight Of Grace effective in combat while also having evasion, in limited it’s great and I think it could find a home in constructed.
Knight Of New Benalia
Aggressive limited two drop, a little fragile though but you’re still going to play Knight Of New Benalia and it will do work trading up in the early game.
Kwende, Pride Of Femeref
At first Kwende may seem powerful: a 2/2 Double Strike creature could command combat. Unfortunately, at four mana I think it’s a little costed out of constructed and also to get proper mileage out of Kwende you would want to play more First Strikers which could limit your options a bit. Kwende is a limited bomb but I don’t think it will see its way into constructed.
Lyra, Dawnbringer
This is a slam dunk! Once upon a time there was a card called Baneslayer Angel. This angel terrorised standard for years, dominating combat steps and swiftly ending games everywhere it went. Heed my call, Lyra Dawnbringer is Baneslayer Angel in all but name (and a couple of non thematic lines of text), this is probably my pick of the set to smash the metagame wide open, If you can control the game and protect Lyra then she can make short work of your opponent. The Legendary status does put a little speed bump in the way but most of the time you will only need one 5/5 First Strike, Flying, Lifelink to close out a game. Swingy bomb rare in limited and its only a matter of time before Lyra dominates standard like her predecessor.
Mesa Unicorn
Tempo? In white?! Two mana 2/2’s blah blah blah, but actually Mesa Unicorn is really good. It’s an early creature that not only applies pressure but takes you further out of reach of your opponent, it’s going to make combat so awkward for them with Lifelink and it can help trade in the early game. There are so many upsides to Mesa Unicorn and at common you’re going to see a lot of it in limited, play them all. It’s honestly that good both in the early and late game and could dig you out of some sticky situations with an aura or two on it.
On Serra’s Wings
Every now and again Magic players have the opportunity to play what is termed “battle cruiser Magic”. What this term means is a player has the ability to equip and enchant a creature with multiple things in order to create a big, cobbled together threat and, depending on the creature you start with, this can take a handful of equipment and auras to do so. That time has come and gone, in this day and age players only need one aura to build a big threat of a creature: On Serra’s Wings. For four mana you can have a Flying, Vigilant, Lifelinking creature helping you take over a game, there is a slight power/toughness increase but ultimately we’re here for the additional abilities. Alas, On Serra’s Wings does suffer with the same problem other Auras suffer with, the inert ability to get two for oned which no player wants. Just imagine the situation: you put On Serra’s Wings on your 3/3 creature (turning it into a 4/4 Flying, Vigilance, Lifelink) just for them to have a removal spell to see to not only the creature but the four mana white aura. That does tend to happen more in constructed however as removal is a lot more run of the mill and On Serra’s Wings is an obvious limited powerhouse, drop this early onto a 2/2 and you can run away with the game.
Pegasus Courser
Ok, so it’s not a particularly pretty card, specs wise that is as Pegasus are obviously beautiful creatures, but Pegasus Courser allows you to get over the top in the mid game in limited and apply some pressure. At three mana this 1/3 isn’t going to make you jump for joy but it can be a nice little utility creature in those tight spots of a ground stall, where it can jump one of your bigger creatures to eek some damage through. It blocks pretty well in the early game up until a point where it will become progressively more and more of an insignificant creature in general.
Sanctum Spirit
This guy’s alright in limited, a little highly costed but a three power Lifelinker is still worth a look at. Sanctum Spirit will probably meet its match at some point but if you can net a couple of hits with it the life you’ve gained will make it worthwhile and it’s indestructible ability could keep this spirit dabbling in combat for a while, provided you can keep up he Historic card discard. Sanctum Spirit only has limited potential due to its cost but it will do work for you there: trading up, netting life, and sticking around for more, what more would you want from your white four drops.
Seal Away
Another one of my picks for a metagame warping cards, Seal Away has a lot of potential power in a two mana enchantment. It’s cheap, fast and effective, what more could you want. The main thing that makes Seal Away appealing is that there aren’t many good white removal spells on the low end of the mana curve in standard right now. Sure, you have Baffling End but Seal Away is so much more effective in the late game, where Baffling End could realistically hit a creature on turns one through three Seal Away can take care of a very large and scary four, five or six drop late on. I think Seal Away is going to see a lot of play in constructed, maybe more so in sideboards if the metagame is less creature dependent but it feels like a card you don’t want to pass up.
Sergeant-At-Arms
Some cards are designed for limited and some cards are designed to be meh, this is both. Sergeant-At-Arms is fine as a three drop, he probably won’t win you the game but will provide a body in the early game for blocking and attacking uses. In the late game you can get a bit more bang for your buck by doubling the cost and having four power spread over three bodies which could be very useful in limited. Having more creatures to deal with rather than one big one that could be hit with one removal spell is more preferable.
Serra Angel
It’s Serra Angel, fantastic in limited not so much in constructed. Easy as that.
Serra Disciple
This guy could do some work for you in limited if you can continue to churn out Historic cards. The evasion and combat helpful keyword make Serra Disciple a good two drop for a slower or more aggressive deck, unfortunately you’re going to find it hard to utilise it’s self pump effect as a combat trick which is were you’d want it most. At a push, you can run Serra Disciple in limited without that many Historic cards to trigger it as just a decent early creature with First Strike that can be handy in combat.
Shalai, Voice Of Plenty
I’m having a really hard time believing Shalai is a rare, with these stats and effects for four mana surely she should be a mythic rare. A four mana 3/4 flyer is good enough, it’s going to do well in combat and has evasion allowing you to get past any opposing creatures. Shalai makes everything a tonne worse for your opponent by giving not just you but the entirety of the rest of your board Hexproof, adding extra evasion into the mix. Lastly, getting into the late game gives you more options with Shalai by letting you put +1/+1 counters on each creature you control, including Shalai, so if she goes uncheck Shalai could really take over a game. She stops and removal spells that aren’t aimed at her, which is a downside but at least she draws a removal spell almost instantly, and she stops anything being aimed at your face, in limited Shalai is an absolute bomb and should always be played even if you need to splash for her. Constructed, I want to see Shalai break in but I don’t know where she’d fit in, the effects are powerful but without an immediate impact she could be just in the bad side of playability.
Teshar, Ancestors Apostle
Getting value out of cards is what we do as players and Teshar is offering that to you on a silver platter. First off, the stats aren’t particularly impressive - a four mana 2/2 flyer is pretty meh - but the next few lines of text are where you want to look. Whenever you cast a Historic spell (this includes Artifacts, Saga’s and Legendaries) you can return a creature with CMC 3 or less from your graveyard to play. Just to give you perspective, that Historic spell could be the massive legendary bomb rare costing 6+ or it could even be an Ornithopter, they all count. If you can land Teshar with some nice targets in your graveyard then you can start to build your board up again and again, the only way out is either exiling the targets from your graveyard or dealing with Teshar.
Tragic Poet
I really like this guy in limited, a one mana 1/1 is fine but where it really shines is the sacrifice effect. First off it’s free, secondly with the amount of Saga’s in Dominaria you’re not going to be at a loss for enchantments to return and getting extra use out of Saga could be powerful. Sure, Tragic Poet is fragile but what would you expect from something that has a lot of limited potential, you could also have it re-buy an aura and have a makeshift Rancor on your hands. I wouldn’t go above one or two unless I could really abuse the effect but Tragic Poet is definitely worth a try.
Triumph Of Gerrard
Sagas are a brand new card type to Magic which means that the design space is going to be used in almost every (non broken) way, and even then some may slip through the cracks. Triumph Of Gerrard provides you with a nice reusable additional counter effect for two mana, it’s cheap and can help you push damage through or just make combat slightly more awkward. Honestly though, I’m not a massive fan of it, the longevity is almost non existent (past the fact that it can trigger three times over three turns) and the effect isn’t as big as you’d want it to be. In limited Triumph Of Gerrard will be a great way to apply pressure early but as far as constructed goes it probably won’t see play.
Urza’s Ruinous Blast
A Wrath effect for five mana isn’t the worst thing in the world, right now we have Fumigate which is serving decks pretty well. That could be mainly to do with the life gain but Urza’s Ruinous Blast does come with an added bonus, kind of. Destroying non-legendary permanents may seem useful but when you think about it you want to be able to deal with opposing planeswalkers, which Urza’s Ruinous Blast doesn’t. It really depends how you build your deck and what your opponent is playing: if it’s a heavy planeswalker Control deck then this card is useless, a much more creature heavy deck and it’s brilliant. I’m not even really sure how good this is in limited because you’re investing a lot of mana and if they have even just one legendary creature or a planeswalker it was all for nothing.
We're off to a flying start after a look through all of the white cards in Dominaria. Tomorrow it's all of the blue cards so remember to check back to Game Changers for more set reviews, gaming news and updates.
No comments:
Post a Comment