Affectionate Indrik
Aww, he’s adorable don’t you think? Well, at first he is until he starts fighting but it’s so cute how he nudges people off of high places. A six mana 4/4 is going to be ok in the late game, Affectionate Indrik really wants to be powered out early to get good use out of the fight ability but as far as late game limited creatures go, it’s not bad.
Arboretum Elemental
It’s big and splash and comes with a great mechanic to help power it out. Arboretum Elemental is going to win you a lot of limited games, if you can hit your land drops and creature drops then it will certainly come out before turn seven. The protection in the form of Hexproof is nice and makes it hard to deal with outside of combat but alas it is missing Trample to help force some damage through.
Beast Whisperer
I love this card and I really want it to be good. At the time of writing I’ve already started trying it out in modern elves as a way to give the deck longevity but I think Beast Whisperer will have a big impact on standard. If you give this type of card to a midrange aggro deck then they’re on easy street, each creature replaces itself and can find you more creatures and let you keep going. Now that Abrade is gone the chance of Beast Whisperer seeing a removal spell is lower but not impossible so be careful not to just run it out there with nothing to back it up. It’s a limited all star for sure and I think will add a new dimension to the metagame.
Bounty of Might
I love Bounty of Might in limited mainly because of the instant speed. You may be wondering why it lets you target three separate creatures as three different targets as opposed to all part of one effect, that’s because if one of the targets gets removed in response to Bounty of Might the other targets are still legal so it won’t be countered by state based effects. Bounty of Might will help you trade profitably and probably win you the game at some point, it’s a surprise and will be very effective.
Circuitous Route
Decent mana ramp and a good way to integrate the gates back into standard. Circuitous Route will see limited play but it could be a little costly for constructed, maybe as a one of.
Crushing Canopy
Great utility spell in limited and constructed. Crushing Canopy will we play in many formats because it gives you options at instant speed, three mana to take out a Lyra for example is really efficient and there are always enchantments running around.
Devkarin Dissident
Good bear with upside. Late in the game in limited you’ll be able to activate Devkarin Dissident for value and even later on you could activate it twice, even though that’s super inefficient.
District Guide
So it’s confirmed: Wood Elves is too good. Now we have to deal with three mana creatures, that tend to me elves, that can only find a land and put it into hand not play but I digress. District Guide is a good creature, it will see play in limited and possibly constructed. The best thing about this three mana 2/2 is that it can help fix your mana by either finding you a basic land or a gate, having that kind of versatility doesn’t go unnoticed, though I still wish it was a Wood Elves.
Generous Stray
A good value creature if a bit fragile. Cute art though, but only cute enough to see limited play.
Golgari Raiders
Golgari Raiders is a good four drop, dependent on how full of creatures tor graveyard is, but actually probably wants to hit the table closer to the late game. You naturally fill up your graveyard with creatures so why not give Golgari Raiders a bit more of a boost by waiting a couple of turns and dropping it on turn six or seven, that way you could end up with a four mana 10/10 Haste creature that’s very hard to deal with at short notice. Good limited creature even if you have to drop on turn four probably as a 3/3, which is just about in curve.
Grappling Sundew
This two mana plant will hold up the ground and air in the early game. In the late game when you have extra mana lying around you could pump it into Grappling Sundew and have a permanent blocker. It won’t be doing much on the offensive side of things but as a blocker in limited there’s much worse.
Hatchery Spider
Hatchery Spider could be a limited bomb if you’re a green heavy deck but despite its ability, dropping it in the late game will make combat really awkward for your opponent. If you do find a green permanent on the top of your deck then Hatchery Spider just became the best two for one you could have asked for, imagine hitting a planeswalker and then activating said planeswalker. Constructed could see this but it’s a steep cost so you may have to ramp up and drop Hatchery Spider early and get a huge advantage swing.
Hitchclaw Recluse
This is Giant Spider’s younger brother, a mana cheaper and a power less but it’s definitely still good enough to see limited play. Hitchclaw Recluse blocks well on the ground and in the air in the early game and can still provide a blocking threat later on if you can produce a combat trick.
Ironshell Beetle
A nice versatile limited creature. Ironshell Beetle will eaither be a two mana 2/2, which is on curve, or a two mana 1/1 that can help boost another creature. Early on I like Ironshell Beetle as a two mana 2/2 but late on in the game it can help bolster a threat with the +1/+1 counter, this creature is deceptively good in limited because of its versatility.
Kraul Foragers
Good limited creature with a good body and Kraul Prey Snatcher can bring you back into game or provide a huge life swing.
Kraul Harpooner
Loving this in limited. Kraul Harpooner is either going to be an above the curve aggressive creature or a super narrow removal spell for two mana. It’s slightly annoying that it can only target Flying creatures but it’s flavourful and even without filling your graveyard with creatures Kraul Harpooner will still probably take a creature out.
Might if the Masses
Great combat trick for those decks that go wide but it’s perfectly playable even if you only have one or two creatures in play. The best thing about Might of the Masses is that it’s cheap so you can bluff it quite easily without having to leave up a tonne of mana, limited loves this and you will probably see it in constructed with all of the token generators running around.
Nullhide Ferox
There’s a lot going on on Nullhide Ferox. Four mana for a 6/6 with Hexproof is nuts so obviously it has to come with drawbacks, not being able to cast non-creature spells being a huge one. It might seem weird that any player can pay 2 mana to get rid of the Hexproof until end of turn but it’s there to give your opponent a chance to target Nullhide Ferox, though it also means you can play non-creature spells so swings and roundabouts. Lastly, there’s the discard clause which is really nice if your opponent wants to decimate your hand, but it’s not the key part of this card. Nullhide Ferox is an absolute powerhouse in limited and could be the key to you winning every game. I think it’s also going to hit constructed quite hard, we already have a mono Green Stompy deck running around and this four mana beast feels like a great addition to that, they have to have an answer or the games over.
Pack’s Favor
Brilliant combat trick for three mana and the kicker is that you could essentially cast Pack’s Favor for free using the Convoke. Probably limited only, though the fact that it could end up being a “free” spell may help it branch out into constructed.
Pause for Reflection
A three mana Fog isn’t the most efficient but the Convoke really helps Pause for Reflection. Bant Nexus is losing a Fog effect in the rotation but it will gain Pause for Reflection to fill the gap, a slow deck like that wouldn’t mind paying three mana for a Fog. In limited it’s fine but you probably want to run one for those times they become dead cards in multiples.
Pelt Collector
This could turn out to be a really powerful creature if you can consistently trigger it. Pelt Collector has virtually unlimited growing potential and even gains Trample with its third +1/+1 counter, in something like Mono Green Stompy you could trigger Pelt Collector enough to make it a viable threat. Great in limited because it poses a threat, though you may have a harder time triggering it.
Portcullis Vine
Good early blocker in limited and Portcullis Vine could provide you with card advantage later on in the game. If it survives blocking it can net you at least one card and if you’ve come across more defenders then you can really start pulling ahead of your opponent on cards. Portcullis Vine works in a much slower deck in limited that are looking to gum up the ground and get to the late game to cast bombs, the sweetest part is that this one mana plant wall helps you dig to those bombs.
Prey Upon
Typical limited green removal, it’s cheap and with the right creature can be very effective.
Siege Wurm
This is a fantastic limited card. It’s big and aggressive but can also be powered out early thanks to Convoke. If you can drop Siege Wurm on, say, turn 4 it gives you such a big board presence and allows you to force damage through thanks to the Trample. It’s a one of in limited due to the high mana cost but the pay off is worth having a moderately high top end.
Sprouting Renewal
This is a good card for midrange decks because it gives them options, a three mana 2/2 is on curve and fine in some situations but in others the Naturalize effect is what you want. As a kicker Sprouting Renewal even has Convoke and at such a low cost could end up being free. All of this combined adds up to a great spell which would have been way too powerful as an instant, as a sorcery I could still see it making it into standard but the format would have to be much slower than it is now. Brilliant limited card all day long.
Urban Utopia
Urban Utopia helps you fix your mana for a cheap cost and it replaces itself. This type of effect usually resides in limited but in this time of restricted mana bases I could see a heavy green deck using this to splash a third colour and smooth out the second.
Vigospore Wurm
Big late game creature that can force a great block before its even attacked. For six mana you get a 6/4 that’s awkward to block profitable and Vigospore Wurm boosts another creature that could force some damage through, at worst, if that creature survives then you have an extra blocker. You probably only want to run one Vigospore Wurm in limited as it’s quite mana intensive but it’s not a bad top end to have.
Vivid Revival
I don’t like this at all. Five mana to rebuy three cards could be justified but at sorcery speed feels like you’re losing so much ground, at a sorcery it could be a bit good but the mana cost would sort that out. Rebuying any less than three cards really isn’t worth the five mana you’re putting in, you might be able to run Vivid Revival in limited if your deck is particularly multicolour heavy but it’s not even on my radar for anything beyond casual.
Wary Okapi
Love it. Wary Okapi is a great creature in limited that sits on the curve and is good at both attacking and blocking thanks to the Vigilance.
Wild Ceratok
Good on the curve creature, Wild Ceratok will do work in combat and probably end up trading with a creature which isn’t the worst thing in the world. There are better four drops but you won’t be unhappy to play this one.
We're winding down as we get towards the end of the week but tomorrow is the turn of all of the multicoloured cards. I hope you guys have enjoyed this week and it's not over yet so be sure to head back to Game Changers tomorrow and Sunday for the last of the set reviews, and just keep coming back for more gaming news and updates. Go follow us on Twitter at @gcgamingtank and let us know what your favourite card from Guilds of Ravnica has been, personally mine is Firemind's Research.
Happy gaming guys!
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