 |
| Give it to me, baby |
10 – These cards are like Michael Phelps in 2008. So sexy. Uh, I mean, really good. You always want to play them, and they will make your deck way better. A recent example is something like Kalitas or Gideon.
8-9 – While not a slam dunk, these are probably a penalty kick. Or something. I'm not great at hockey. These are archetype staples or just very, very good cards, and you'll want to almost always use em. Thunderbreak Regent or Mantis Rider would fit here.
5-7 – You know how when you look around in a traffic jam, like half the cars are Chevy Malibus? These are the Malibus of Magic - useable, but totally average. Most of your deck will be made of these cards. Stalking Drone, and Kor Shadowglider fit in this section.
2-4 – These are more like the 1986 Jeep Cherokee that has seats made mostly of duct tape. They'll work, but you'd rather have something else. Sideboard junk also fits here. Loam Larva, Ancient Crab, and artifact/enchantment hate land here.
1 – Honestly, I'd rather sleeve up a Yu-Gi-Oh card than play any of these. The worst of the worst, these are your Fugitive Wizards.
For our last review, we'll be doing something special. Hah, APRIL FOOLS, it's the same. We'll have our opinions separated, so you can read only one of us or both of us, and make fun of whoever you think is dumb. We'll also be posting a Two-Headed Giant rating if a card performs better or worse in an environment with more nerds.
White is normally all good and holy, but these angles are pissed, so let's take a look at this righteous fury.
Dan:
Even with tokens being a heavy theme in white, this card is too good to pass up. It gives all of your creatures +1/+1 which is ok but the vigilance is what does it for me. Having all of your creatures have vigilance and be a little stronger with limited enchantment removal is going to be big.
Now this is definitely a little expensive but if you built your deck keeping in mind you would need delirium online, it shouldn't be too hard to get it by turn 8. If you notice the delirium trigger doesn't happen until damage is dealt. This means you could play instants or sacrifice a vessel before damage to make sure that delirium is online the turn you attack.
This is the bomb.common. I will play these, and I will exile things, and I will love it. This card is too versatile to be bad. You can sac a creature you no longer need, you can sac a token creature, you can sac a clue, you can take control of their guy with Malevolent Whispers and then sac it. Then you can exile any of their dudes, exile any of their enchantments, or any artifacts. This is super wide, and I will always play this if I'm white. Just be aware that once you hit around three copies, it gets hard to have that much shit to sacrifice unless you're in a heavy token/investigate deck, or have something that can keep coming back from the yard.
Nah. Gaining 5 isn't worth a card, and don't try to say "hurr hurr delirium tho." Just play a better sorcery.
It can just straight up exile a huge dude of your opponent, even if they do investigate. It can also clear a board full of tokens. Sure, they investigate a ton, but would you rather them have six clues or six 2/2's poised to kill you? It isn't bad, and I'd rather they have a clue token than an Avacyn, so I'd be fine playing a copy of this.
If you can't use this for combat tricks what's even the point? You might force them to block some stuff that may have otherwise killed them, but it's going to be hard to make this card useful. I would keep it in your sideboard for games where you are running all flyers and they have none because it could be a finisher but you're still better off with other cards.
Two mana for a 2/2 is right where you want to be, and is good filler. Later on, once you have a bunch of dude, she flips into something way more formidable, and then just keeps getting bigger and bigger while giving you more dudes. As long as you aren't playing a control deck with mostly non-creature spells, she fits in perfectly, and doesn't take a lot of extra work to be very good.
If you have the luxury of playing normal flyers that don't require delirium, do so. If not then this can be an early game lander to either block or do damage and then later game take to the skies for some damage.
It's a bit slower but with lifelink and a small benefit to it being in the graveyard this card is very playable. Do some aggro things or some block things and then when it ultimately dies get not 1 but 2 1/1 flyers to take it's place and continue the poking in the skies.
First thing to remember that I will definitely forget is that this triggers at each combat. So even at the beginning of your opponents combat you get to give all of your creatures any bonuses. White has lots of flying and vigilance and giving your whole board those on both players turns means you swing above and have flying blockers for their turn. My terrible decision will be to pair this with Haunted Cloak to give all of my creatures vigilance, trample, and haste.
For what it does, this is an expensive combat trick. If you are desperate for card draw and are playing a fast combat tricks aggro this might do something for you but not a lot. It will keep one creature alive and let you draw a card at some point. But it's only the one creature and that's a little sad.
Its upsides: It's a 1/2 for 1, it lets you investigate upon entering, it's a human. Its downsides: after it hits the field it doesn't do a whole lot. It is a pretty solid early game drop but when you draw this late game it will be super disappointing even if it does let you investigate.
I'ma play this spaghetti inspector way more than I should. I'm a fan of 1/2's for one, because if you can block a token and have them live, it feels like you're winning even if you aren't. Adding investigate onto her makes her a nice play, since you can just cash that if you have nothing else turn two. She also fits nicely into the human tribal, and has a nice ETB, so pair with Thalia's Lieutenant and Eerie Interlude to crush the spirit of your opponent.
Most everything that makes this the best card in both standard and limited still hold true for 2HG with the added bonus of both opponents tap down a creature. Pretend that this rating is slightly higher than the other 11. Best. Card. In. Set. Now topple on out of here (or keep reading).
Sidenote: Wizard's if you're reading this, where is the full art/promo Topplegeist I so desperately need?
White is normally all good and holy, but these angles are pissed, so let's take a look at this righteous fury.
Let's prove that Whites got bite:
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| At least this isn't creepy or anything. |
Limited: 8
These kinds of cards are so annoying. Your dudes are bigger, and now you can attack and block with them. Just make sure you don't accidentally build a token deck after first picking this, and you'll be in a good place.
Gaige:
Limited: 9
Even with tokens being a heavy theme in white, this card is too good to pass up. It gives all of your creatures +1/+1 which is ok but the vigilance is what does it for me. Having all of your creatures have vigilance and be a little stronger with limited enchantment removal is going to be big.
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| "Angel of Deliverance" looks covered in blood, and that's making me a bit skeptical of her moniker... |
Gaige:
Limited: 7
Now this is definitely a little expensive but if you built your deck keeping in mind you would need delirium online, it shouldn't be too hard to get it by turn 8. If you notice the delirium trigger doesn't happen until damage is dealt. This means you could play instants or sacrifice a vessel before damage to make sure that delirium is online the turn you attack.
Dan:
Limited: 6
With delirium on, all you need to do is attack with her to win. Even if they block her, you get to start exiling. But damn, that is a big ass mana cost. If you're running an extremely controlling deck with 18 land, she's an amazing finisher, but it's going to take a very special deck to get there.
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| The best way to save people is skewering with swords. |
Dan:
Limited: 8
This is the bomb.common. I will play these, and I will exile things, and I will love it. This card is too versatile to be bad. You can sac a creature you no longer need, you can sac a token creature, you can sac a clue, you can take control of their guy with Malevolent Whispers and then sac it. Then you can exile any of their dudes, exile any of their enchantments, or any artifacts. This is super wide, and I will always play this if I'm white. Just be aware that once you hit around three copies, it gets hard to have that much shit to sacrifice unless you're in a heavy token/investigate deck, or have something that can keep coming back from the yard.
Gaige:
Limited: 8
This card gives me a fear boner both from the art and the functionality. There are a lot of cards with ETB effects that don't do much after they are on the battlefield that you can use as a sacrifice, like Thraben Inspector. If you're running white you have the potential to get clue tokens that you can use as a sacrifice for this and trigger Daring Sleuth to transform. Late game when you have more lands than you know what to do with you can sac one of those. The end result is you get rid of something HARD. It won't hit planeswalkers but it hits everything else you might have to worry about. It's only 3 cost and is mainboard enchantment and artifact removal because if they aren't running enchantments and artifacts you just use this to kill a creature.
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| Even in the afterlife he loves to party. |
Gaige:
Limited: 5
This card definitely isn't my first choice to go into a deck. It's also not really my second choice either. If I'm lacking flyers I'll put this in their to keep my safe in the sky, but I would prefer other things. The gaining life part of this may be relevant depending on what colors you're playing and if you have a reasonable amount of spirits or this may end up just being a sky chumper for you.
Dan:
Limited: 6
This is solid filler. A 2/3 flying at this cost isn't bad, cause he's a good blocker and can poke for two. If you happen to have another spirit, health is neat, and this becomes a very desireable dude. He can also snatch booze from behind the counter for you, which is a great upside.
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| "ARE YOU PURE?" |
Dan:
Limited: 10
I'll let Gaige talk about this, because he is so obsessed that I'm pretty sure he's going to get a Waifu pillow with her face on it. But she's amazing, always play her, and probably win.
Gaige:
Limited: 10
I already have a waifu pillow of her from Avacyn Restored, and this one will be a nice addition because I can flip the pillow based on whether I want to cuddle or I want it rough. She's a strong independent angle who don't need no humans. There are a lot of good keywords on this 4/4 for 5. Flying, flash, and vigilance alone make this card really good in limited. Then when she enters she give everything indestructible (including herself). These things together give you a lot of options. When she transforms she's a psuedo board wipe and anything you didn't kill you can just fly over for victory. If you some how manage to pull two in a single pre-release and then on top of that get both in hand, you can play one, transform it, and then play the other without the legend rule kicking in until the second Avacyn transforms. And remember children, no waifu no life-u.
Two-Headed Giant: 10
The added bonus in 2HG is that when she transforms you wipe out double creatures and hit each opponent for 3.
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| Unlike the Spanish, quite a few people expected the Lunarch Inquisition. |
Gaige:
Limited: 5
There is only a handful of equipment cards in this set and in order for this to be effective you need to pull some equipment, draw it, and equip it to this. If you manage to do all that for this card then this card can do some stuff for you. It will get rid of a creature but that is only until your opponent ultimately kills this. That can be helpful but it can also be a lot of work to get rid of a creature for half a turn. If you don't have any better removal play this, but you would be better off sacrificing this as part of Angelic Purge's cost.
There is only a handful of equipment cards in this set and in order for this to be effective you need to pull some equipment, draw it, and equip it to this. If you manage to do all that for this card then this card can do some stuff for you. It will get rid of a creature but that is only until your opponent ultimately kills this. That can be helpful but it can also be a lot of work to get rid of a creature for half a turn. If you don't have any better removal play this, but you would be better off sacrificing this as part of Angelic Purge's cost.
Dan:
Limited: 6
There aren't a ton of pieces of equipment that make it worth playing this 3/3 for four, but there is a minor theme in white that cares about equipment. If you can grab Slayer's Plate and Neglected Heirloom, this crew starts to look a lot better. I wouldn't play shitty equipment to try and banish something to the shadow realm, but if you are flipping him while he's equipped with something good, he is very strong. Be sure to grab the common white guy that uses equipment too, and you might be able to make a deck.
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| Once you cast this on a creature, you can also throw rotten fruit at it. |
Dan:
Limited: 8
White gets some balling removal, and this is one of them. It shuts down their beatdown decks, it helps your beatdown, and you can even sac a clue or token or whatever you don't need to put this on your opponent's latest and greatest. If I can run it, I will always play this.
Gaige:
Limited: 8
If this also stopped activated abilities this card would be perfect. It's pretty close though. It's like that burrito you eat where when you get about halfway through and you realize it's missing guacamole but you don't care because it's still so good. Use this to shutdown any creature and with limited enchantment removal, this will be super difficult to get rid of. If you can hit Avacyn with this you will have just totally turned the tides of the game (or maybe not depending on how bad you are).
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| Sometimes you just have to let bishops be bishops. |
Gaige:
Limited: 8
I'm sure you've heard both Dan and myself say this way too many times, but any flyer you can grab in limited makes your deck that much better. This flyer in particular gives you a nice bonus for any small creatures you might play. If you have enough for spirits, this card adds to that synergy and a lot of the spirits are at a CMC of 3 or less.
Dan:
Limited: 7
Flying 2/3 for three? Sure, I'm in. His upside is nice in spirits, and there are quite a few good low cost guys to hang out with him. My standard deck also runs this guy, and with Rattlechains on the field, flashing Bishop and a Topplegeist in to tap and get a clue feels a lot like cheating.
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| If my dog was a creature he'd be like a 0/8. |
Dan:
Limited: 4
This pup doesn't seem too great. I like my 3/1s to only cost two, and though this does have an upside, it's not like you can trigger it reliably every turn. He isn't bad if you are attacking early, and he does pair well with combat tricks, but for the most part I'd stay away from him.
Gaige:
Limited: 4
This could fit in a aggro deck with combat tricks or some sort of weird, disgusting WR control deck with burn. Either deck it's not a great addition because it's too slow for aggro and too weak for control. If you need white to work and you need white filler, sure, throw this in there but if this is what you need as filler I would recommend using a different color.
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| At least there's one person on Innistrad that isn't just fucking everything up. |
Gaige:
Limited: 2
I have a special place in my heart for lifegain cards like this, but that is the only reason it gets a 2 instead of a 1. This card isn't even filler. It's rare that this 5 life will be the difference between you losing and you winning. If you really want a justifiable use for this I would say swap this out for removal if you play some burn control deck with no creatures. If you are playing a deck like that though you should just kill them faster with creatures than they can kill you.
Dan:
Limited: 1
Nah. Gaining 5 isn't worth a card, and don't try to say "hurr hurr delirium tho." Just play a better sorcery.
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| If you dig up her grave, she returns as a spooky ghost to help you! |
Dan:
Limited: 6
This is going to be one of the better uncommons, methinks. She attacks well, she can trade for a three-toughness creature, and once she dies you can get a 1/1 later on when you need it. That's not bad for only three initial cost, and I'd love to have a white deck with a few of these.
Gaige:
Limited: 6
In the words of Bob the Blocker: "Can we block it" "YES WE CAN!" If you're a little spooked by their board state this can at least be a creature to get you through two phases of chump blocking. The other option is recklessly attack since you don't really care if it dies.
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| It's like in Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening when you would screen-hop and get stuck in a mountain. |
Gaige:
Limited: 8
Although the "all other creatures with the same name" part of this card will be rarely relevant, this is just 2 cost white removal. You help them a bit by giving them a clue, but I will gladly give you a clue to permanently get rid of Sigarda or Olivia. Plus if they have 30 spirit tokens this is a board wipe.
Dan:
Limited: 6
It can just straight up exile a huge dude of your opponent, even if they do investigate. It can also clear a board full of tokens. Sure, they investigate a ton, but would you rather them have six clues or six 2/2's poised to kill you? It isn't bad, and I'd rather they have a clue token than an Avacyn, so I'd be fine playing a copy of this.
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| "Go down on Evil" was the original name. |
Dan:
Limited: 8
It's expensive, but a boardwipe is a boardwipe. Exiling is relevant with all the spooky graveyard parties going on in this set, and if you have delirium, you even get something left on board afterwards. If I get this early I'd take it and build controly around this.
Two-Headed Giant: 10
Mmm, delicious boardwipes. Attack with everything, then play this before your teammate casts anything, get your 4/4 flier, and then let your teammate play any creatures they want. You just punched in some damage, killed everything your opponents had, and left yourself with a very solid board. I would always play this if you get one in your pool.
Gaige:
Limited: 10
This is the only hard board wipe in this set making it all the better and more difficult to deal with. This can bring you back from a really bad board state and if you have delirium it's all the better.
Two-Headed Giant: 10
Wipes more creatures, does more things. This card will be the game changer that lets you win.
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| The foxes are part hedgehog on Innistrad. |
Gaige:
Limited: 4
A decent vanilla aggro filler when you want a higher power with no extra abilities to confuse you. It can kill some 3 and 4 drops with toughness 3. I dunno man, this card doesn't do a whole lot. It's Innistrad's one fox in a world of wolves. You can't expect much from it.
Dan:
Limited: 5
I have won way more games with 3/1s for two than I really deserve. They're very aggressive and bash for a lot, and if you need them to block they can trade up. This set has a lot of tokens and small creatures though, and Dual Shot does make this a lot more vulnerable, so I'm ranking him a bit lower than I normally would. He's still fine filler for an aggressive deck, and I'm sure I'll be getting foxxxy all the time in SoI limited.
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| Their regiment's motto is "DROGSKOL 2 SWOLE" |
Dan:
Limited: 6
He's a big ol' flier, but he costs a ton to drop. In a spirit deck this is a dope finisher, cause now your spirits gain you health when you cast them. In a non-spirit deck, this is a dope finisher, cause now your spirits gain you health when you spawn them. The only thing holding him back is that huge seven mana price tag, but if you manage to untap with him, you're in very good shape.
Gaige:
Limited: 6
"Pay 4 gain 2 life." That part is nice except for how expensive he is. If you manage to run spirits this card will bonkers. It's a little more of a tame late game drop compared to some of the others out there but with flying it should still be able to do some damage. And If you're able to play a land next turn and have nothing else to do, you can drop 2 spirits and gain 4 life.
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| This is why I'm going to buy a house built in the last 5 years. It's too new to have ghosts. |
Gaige:
Limited: 7
If you aren't running blue counter spells, then this is your answer to boardwipes and removal. If they got lucky enough to pull Descend Upon the Sinful and maybe you saw it game one or when they were flicking their cards so fast that they threw it face up on the table. Then you keep 3 mana open and when they decide to play it, it hurts them more than it hurts you.
Dan:
Limited: 6
This is great with ETB effects, since you get to retrigger however many you have. This can also blank removal, which is always nice to have. If you have ETB guys on board, and then they cast a boardwipe, and you respond with this... holy shit, good job. That is literally the best possible situation, and you should be proud of yourself. I'd play it in most of my decks, and I'd prioritize it more if I have a fair amount of ETB shiz.
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| They could sleep if they would just get off the internet once in a while. |
Dan:
Limited: 6
I love me some fliers with thick booties, and this Emissary has clearly been doing squats. Flying 2/4s can block a ton of things, and five mana is an OK price to pay, if a bit overcosted. If you can cast this after a combat where something died, she is suddenly dope, since she brings a tiny buddy along. I'd only ignore her if I'm in a very aggressive deck, but even there you may be able to squeeze one in as a flying finisher.
Gaige:
Limited: 7
I am partial to fliers and I plan on a lot of my creatures dying. Now hopefully that creature that dies is a grounder and I can trade up for a 1/1 flier. Now I have 2 fliers for the price of 1...or 2 depending on how you look at it. More fliers = better and that's why I might play this card.
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| "BOO!" - Spooky Ghost |
Gaige:
Limited: 3
If you can't use this for combat tricks what's even the point? You might force them to block some stuff that may have otherwise killed them, but it's going to be hard to make this card useful. I would keep it in your sideboard for games where you are running all flyers and they have none because it could be a finisher but you're still better off with other cards.
Dan:
Limited: 3
In the right boardswarm deck, this is how you win. That deck looks possible with all off the tokens floating around, so I expect to get fucked by this a few times. If you are looking for this effect, don't worry about picking it up early, because very few decks want to cast this.
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| If you cast this on yourself, you are exposing yourself and will be removed from the store. |
Dan:
Limited: 5
Tapping down two guys before combat on their turn saves you some health, and lets you swing back at 'em without being able to block. Investigate is a nice upside, and I'd be fine playing a copy in most of my white decks, even if it is fairly low-impact.
Gaige:
Limited: 6
When you play this feel free to really get into it and yell "EXPOSE YOURSELF" and make your opponent forfeit out of embarrassment. Not only do you prevent two creatures from attacking you, you get card draw. Also use this on your turn to just swing in some extra damage with that draw artifact still hitting the board.
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| Just like the eagles at the end of LotR. |
Gaige:
Limited: 6
Normally I don't recommend auras but for 1 cost and with the ability to bring it back makes this playable. It's costly to bring it back but while you wait for that extra 4 mana it sits in your graveyard helping along delirium. Use this to make your land bombs bombier by bringing them into the sky.
Dan:
Limited: 4
I personally think this is very good, but I realize it's costly. Evasion and an extra point of power is great for one mana. I've heard the argument "YAH BUT WOULD YOU PAY FOUR FOR AN EQUIPMENT THAT DID THIS?!" Shut up man, this isn't an equipment. This is an aura that'll chill in your yard for delirium, and then late game when you have a bunch of mana and enough things to keep delirium on, you can bring it back on your biggest threat.
Two-Headed Giant: 5
You can also throw this on your bro's guys, which is a nice bonus.
Two-Headed Giant: 5
You can also throw this on your bro's guys, which is a nice bonus.
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| All hail tentacle circle! |
Dan:
Limited: 7
Two mana for a 2/2 is right where you want to be, and is good filler. Later on, once you have a bunch of dude, she flips into something way more formidable, and then just keeps getting bigger and bigger while giving you more dudes. As long as you aren't playing a control deck with mostly non-creature spells, she fits in perfectly, and doesn't take a lot of extra work to be very good.
Gaige:
Limited: 8
I don't like this card in the sense that I will definitely lose to this card shitting out clerics every turn. It's a 2/2 for 2 which is good and depending on your deck it may be hard to transform it but if you can it will never transform back and will poop out creatures until it dies, which may be the cause of it's death because clerics are pretty big and butt holes are not.
Two-Headed Giant:
every card is a 10 because 2hg is the best
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| Allows you to beat people to death with a Thurible (the incense-thing). |
Gaige:
Limited: 3
Unless you have Hanweir Militia Captain I wouldn't play this. How many creature are you ever going to get and how many of them are human? Plus when they just kill it with anything you lose a creature and enchantment. Just use this in combination with Gryff's Boon as a finisher on your Westvale Cult Leader to swing above everyone for a lot of damage.
Dan:
Limited: 3
If you have a ton of tokens, this might be worth the risk. Poppin' on a human for +4/+4 or more and first strike is huge for three mana. Auras are inherently dangerous though, so it's still not great. But if you can get a huge payoff, I'd try it and see how it goes.
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| Plot twist: she's the brute and the werewolf is about to humble her. |
Dan:
Limited: 4
Maindecking this could be a huge whiff if their deck is low to the ground, and this is a big, expensive mistake. Most of the time, though, this will find at least one target, and instant speed destruction with a clue isn't bad, even if it does cost way too much.
I'd be comfortable running this here. One head will probably have something big, and I doubt you want to just let them keep it. Also, here's a clue, don't spend it all in once place.
Two-Headed Giant: 6
I'd be comfortable running this here. One head will probably have something big, and I doubt you want to just let them keep it. Also, here's a clue, don't spend it all in once place.
Gaige:
Limited: 4
This has sideboard material written all over it. I hope you have better removal that this unless you're playing me, then I hope you have no removal and junk rares. If you do have limited removal and they have a lot of big creatures this isn't a bad idea. It's not a great idea, but probably not the worst one you've had.
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| Ox tribal gets better with every set. |
Gaige:
Limited: 5
In today's economy it's hard to get a butt this fat with some front action for this price. And that sweet sweet delirium trigger just gives more frontsies and vilijance to make this ox REAL durable.
Two-Headed Giant: 6
This will be the card that blocks everything in 2HG and stalls the board for you while you both wait to draw your bombs.
Dan:
Limited: 5
This is an exceptional behind, and he can block a ton of things without much effort. Once delirium is on, he actually becomes a respectable beater who is still able to block. Yoked Ox has come a long way, and I'll happily ride my furry steed into battle in slow decks.
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| They see me ridin, they hatin |
Dan:
Limited: 5
He gets stronger in a token deck, but even with just a couple of creatures on board, this is a good effect. A 3/3 by himself ain't too shabby, so he's ok to include in a deck that wants to attack a bunch, but he wouldn't inspire me to go out of my way to build that deck.
Gaige:
Limited: 5
If you have the board state to support this it can be a small finisher. Give everything +1/+1 then swing in at their face and overrun them with little things that are now slightly bigger. This is a card you would just include in a deck where the theme is already "I make lots of dudes." Don't build a deck around this though.
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| He's a bitch without a weapon. |
Gaige:
Limited: 3
At its base it's alright filler for 3 cost but please for both of our sake don't build around this. In order for this to get its really sub-par bonus you need to fill your deck with really low level equipment cards which bring your deck down. Plus even if you had 4 of these and all the equipment in the world it still dies to Fiery Impulse and isn't hard to deal with at all.
Dan:
Limited: 3
Playing 2/3 for three isn't the end of the world, but I wouldn't brag about it to my friends. If you have four or more good pieces of equipment, a few of these guys look a lot better. Note that I said good pieces of equipment, cause I wouldn't just start grabbing shitty stuff in order to play a crappy common.
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| I drift to and fro. It is the wind that moves me. Boo! I am spooky. |
Dan:
Limited: 6
Spirit bear! I'd play it. Even if you never get delirium on, you at least have a 2/2. Once you do get delirium on, your bear soars majestically through to air to bite their face, and this becomes a really good card. Spirits not required, but you'll be way cooler if you have have 'em.
Gaige:
Limited: 4
If you have the luxury of playing normal flyers that don't require delirium, do so. If not then this can be an early game lander to either block or do damage and then later game take to the skies for some damage.
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| Whatever Sorin did, man, he really fucked up. |
Gaige:
Limited: 7
With enchantments being hard to deal with this can be that extra umph you need. Having any sort of sizable creature that won't just bump off a fat butt can start clearing their board. You can swing in every turn with a single creature and leave your others back to keep you safe. This is also the perfect counter to Puncturing Light if you're attacking with a small thing. It works in any white deck but if you are running red then you can pay 2 to do 1 more damage as many times as you need to kill that pesky blocker.
Two-Headed Giant: 8
With the possibility of a lot of combat tricks you can use it's 2 cost ability to kill off anything they try to buff to keep alive. You then successfully kept your creature alive, made them waste a combat trick, and still killed off their creature. If you're losing and know you're going to lose anyways, use this to kill off your partners blockers.
Two-Headed Giant: 8
With the possibility of a lot of combat tricks you can use it's 2 cost ability to kill off anything they try to buff to keep alive. You then successfully kept your creature alive, made them waste a combat trick, and still killed off their creature. If you're losing and know you're going to lose anyways, use this to kill off your partners blockers.
Dan:
Limited: 7
I love playing aggressively, and this rewards you for doing just that. Making one of those 3/1 horny foxes invincible sounds good to me, and if you're playing red along with them, you can kill a ton of things and make combat very confusing for your opponent.
Two-Headed Giant: 8
If you're playing these colors, chances are you will play this. Combat gets very messy in 2HG, and having something to clean up close calls is spectacular. You can only give your own creatures indestructible, which kind of sucks, but you are able to shoot any creature that blocks, even if they blocked your teammate's creatures.
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| It must also always be freezing on Innistrad, cause no one wears shorts. |
Dan:
Limited: 7
This one is easy. The base stats for cost are bad, but lifelink with three power is a lot of life. He dies easily, but once he does, you can just recycle him into two fliers, and that is yummy. I don't know why he had two spirits in his body, but whatever, I won't judge.
Gaige:
Limited: 7
It's a bit slower but with lifelink and a small benefit to it being in the graveyard this card is very playable. Do some aggro things or some block things and then when it ultimately dies get not 1 but 2 1/1 flyers to take it's place and continue the poking in the skies.
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| I will forget this. |
Gaige:
Limited: 5
I basically see this as a 1/1 flyer for 2. Which isn't the best but sometimes you just need a flyer. You can then put something you love back on top of your library or you have the possibility to stop their delirium trigger. If they only have the 1 or 2 enchantments or artifacts in their deck and only 1 ends up in the graveyard you can put it to the bottom of their library.. This card also helps stop any cards from recurring. It's more sideboard than anything but it has its uses.
Dan:
Limited: 2
If they have something very, very good in their deck that they can recur, this is OK to board in. You can throw that on bottom and make them dig for it, and get a 1/1 for your trouble. This can also be used to bring back a threat of your own, but I don't think it's great for that, and I'd only use it for that if you have something insane like a Planeswalker that you want to be able to play again if they kill it.
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| Must be orcs nearby if his sword is glowing. |
Dan:
Limited: 8
Some keywords are better than others. In white, I think the most common big payoffs are flying and vigilance. This pairs stupidly well with Nahiri's Mechanations too, because suddenly everything is indestructible. If you build your deck around Odric so that you can get a good amount of tasty keywords, he puts in a ton of work and will make your crew way better.
Gaige:
Limited: 8
First thing to remember that I will definitely forget is that this triggers at each combat. So even at the beginning of your opponents combat you get to give all of your creatures any bonuses. White has lots of flying and vigilance and giving your whole board those on both players turns means you swing above and have flying blockers for their turn. My terrible decision will be to pair this with Haunted Cloak to give all of my creatures vigilance, trample, and haste.
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| This is what I imagine all of my RPG characters look like when their inventories are full. |
Gaige:
Limited: 1
There is no Aura or Equipment card in this set good enough to play this. Then again what do I know? Find out for yourself how useful this card will be and prove me wrong.
Dan:
Limited: 2
If you have Slayer's Plate and Bound by Moonsilver, you're welcome to play this. Preferably if you have multiple of those, because this isn't great if you've already drawn both and then you draw this later.
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| When in doubt, just stab everything. |
Dan:
Limited: 6
Another 3/2 for three. There are a ton of these this set, which just furthers my point from our Black Review that Biting Rain is going to be a house in this format. But anyways, he is an OK attacker to start with, and once he's delirious. he's exceptional. If you can't get delirium reliably, he's a mediocre card, so make sure you have ways to get crazy if you want to play him, cause then he goes up to a 7.
Gaige:
Limited: 6
This is pretty good without delirium but even better if you can get it. A nice thing to pair with Odric "I lived through one block and Emrakul isn't gonna stop me from living through another" Lunarch. A 4/2 creature with first strike is good but a field of first strike is better.
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| He'll also just stab you with his little Avacyn symbol. |
Gaige:
Limited: 7
If you're running humans or spirits or anything where you are going to have a lot of something this card is awesome. Neither side says non-token so any spirits or cleric or human tokens you make all give you life when they enter and then when you transform him they all gain you life and do damage when they die. Start get a cleric every turn with Westvale Cult Leader and chump block them to death.
Dan:
Limited: 6
He's a small dude, but a bit of incidental lifegain sounds good to me. Sac a clue or a dude to flip, and he's a good blocker, and represents a way to get in more damage. If you're playing with Red, he pairs insanely well with Devils, but he is good with any tokens. Or just like, dudes.
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| Sunlight - the number one weakness of us basement dwellers. |
Dan:
Limited: 6
This actually hits most creatures, so you're pretty safe including it in your deck. They will attack or block at some point in the game, and if they do neither... well, you probably are winning.
Gaige:
Limited: 8
This will hit a majority of creatures, especially early game, and killing that one creature can be enough to change things around. This is also nice if all you have is bigger creatures and they keep poking you with a 1 or 2 power skulk.
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| "Now boarding Flight Moonsilver. Would the passenger, Reaper please come to the front?" |
Gaige:
Limited: 6
She's a decent sized flyer that if she can get through can do some serious damage. She has a nice means of fizzling out Puncturing Light as well. If you can't get delirium she should be able to still function on her own although it may be a rough couple of turns.
Dan:
Limited: 7
She's a nice big flier, and you can pump her as soon as you're all crazy. Unlike Markov Dreadknight, the pump doesn't cost mana, so if you can get in with her, you can just sac your whole board to put through a buttload of damage to close out the game. It's even better with tokens, but she's not bad in any white deck that can get delirium on, and is an average card if you can't.
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| "Bathe yourself in garlic." |
Dan:
Limited: 4
Get fucked, werewolf. I like how there's a sword stuck in him, but no one nearby. I imagine they launched the sword at it with a crossbow, judging by some of the other art we've seen of Innistrad's weaponry. You can't always hold up four mana and pass, so that knocks this down a bit, but having a copy and finding one thing to shoot with it shouldn't be tough. Just when you topdeck this, pretend you're pissed and say pass, then yell "NOT TODAY, KAIBA" and thrown down your trap card when they attack.
Gaige:
Limited: 5
For 2 extra mana (compared to Puncturing Light) you get to destroy their bomb. There is definitely better removal but sometimes you are forced white and didn't get any of that good removal you heard everyone talking about. Bad removal is better than no removal. But no removal means you're at least playing magic, and that's still better than talking to girls.
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| "Gotta raise this ghost sheep to feed my ghost fam" |
Gaige:
Limited: 6 without spirits 7 with
If I saw a neon sign that said "Flyers, Flyers, Flyers" I would probably enter that building. Because flyers are good and for some reason that is the theme of a shady building with a neon sign. My point being: play this as decent early game filler and if you are able to run spirits place this as weird spirit bounce control. Note: he can bounce himself back your hand.
Dan:
Limited: 7
If you're running heavy on the spirit tribal, this could be the best card in your deck. Paying two to make them waste removal is stapling infinite Negates to this dude, and if you have extra mana you can even save a few from a board wipe. It's also important to note that he can bounce himself. It's more important to note that if you're super lucky, you can bounce Rattlechains and flash him in again to make something hexproof, and if you do that, you have officially lived the dream.
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| Is he giving me angry eyes and arresting me, or trying to come onto me? Either way it's making me randy. |
Dan:
Limited: 3 or 7
One cost tappers are usually great, and this guy is no exception if you're heavy in a madness deck. In any random deck, he's a mediocre tapper that you can use once or twice to turn on delirium, but then you can't discard a card every turn to tap something. That brings him down a lot. But with the right madness support, he could easily be one of the strongest cards in your deck, tapping down opposing creatures while flashing in your own creatures or sorceries.
Gaige:
Limited: 7
If you're not running madness, ignore this card and move on. Potentially you could use this in a deck where you don't mind throwing anything into the graveyard but if you have that kind of deck then I'm sorry about your 0-5. Back to madness: play this guy so you can use all your madness cards at instant speed with no additional cost and start driving your opponent mad.
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| This is not the Thalia card everyone was hoping for. |
Gaige:
Limited: 3
This is just a combat trick and nothing more. Ignore the equipment sub-theme this set appears to have because its not good. It's to trick you into building an equipment deck and then losing miserably with it. This can be some used to save your creature or punch through some extra damage though.
Dan:
Limited: 4
As just a +2/+2 trick, it isn't terrible. It'll make you win a combat with a weak dude, and that's neat. If you've managed to scrap together an equipment deck, this goes up a bit, because one cost for a spirit and buff is excellent.
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| Something tells me she isn't going to survive. |
Dan:
Limited: 4
I didn't enjoy using Make a Stand all that much in OGW, and that hit all of your creatures. Trading "all" for "target" and adding on a clue doesn't make this suddenly great. It is an OK trick, it will make you win a combat, and poop a clue for a bonus. If you're attacking a lot, this card is acceptable.
Gaige:
Limited: 4
For what it does, this is an expensive combat trick. If you are desperate for card draw and are playing a fast combat tricks aggro this might do something for you but not a lot. It will keep one creature alive and let you draw a card at some point. But it's only the one creature and that's a little sad.
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| If they had better fitting pants they could run faster. |
Gaige:
Limited: 5
This is a nice combat trick for two reasons: hits all of your creatures, and gives you a bunch of life. This is definitely a card where you want to swing in with everything but there may be a couple of instances where you just get in with enough creatures to do some damage and gain some life so that you don't lose anything and you give your opponents some tough choices in their next coming turns.
Dan:
Limited: 5
This is a blowout trick that I like to see. Board is stalled, roughly equal powers, and you swing in. S/he laughs and doesn't block, because s/he lives, and has lethal swingback. S/he attacks, you drop this, you block and kill everything, gain a ton of life, and cheer. Or s/he counters it. More than likely s/he counters it. But if s/he doesn't, it's gonna feel buttery smooth.
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| You're in the middle of nowhere leading nobody. You aren't even trying. |
Dan:
Limited: 7
If this guy was a 2/2 he'd be amazing, but as he is, he's only amazing. Yeah I know that didn't make sense, and no I don't care. If you pick this early, go humans hard, and watch as you make them so swole. He's good to play early, since each human makes him scarier, and he's also good to play late, since he buffs your squad. Couple with Eerie Interlude for maximum dopeness.
Gaige:
Limited: 9
If you have any sort of human theme going on then this is the kind of card where if you don't play it you lose all your friends and your mother forgets your name. It almost doesn't matter when you play it, it's always good. If you play it early it only gets bigger and if you play it late and have some humans on the field then they all get bigger. It makes everything bigger, including my dick.
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| "Yeap, that's demon spaghetti alright." |
Gaige:
Limited: 5
Its upsides: It's a 1/2 for 1, it lets you investigate upon entering, it's a human. Its downsides: after it hits the field it doesn't do a whole lot. It is a pretty solid early game drop but when you draw this late game it will be super disappointing even if it does let you investigate.
Dan:
Limited: 5
I'ma play this spaghetti inspector way more than I should. I'm a fan of 1/2's for one, because if you can block a token and have them live, it feels like you're winning even if you aren't. Adding investigate onto her makes her a nice play, since you can just cash that if you have nothing else turn two. She also fits nicely into the human tribal, and has a nice ETB, so pair with Thalia's Lieutenant and Eerie Interlude to crush the spirit of your opponent.
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| "Boop." |
Dan:
Limited: 6
I can't wait to read Gaige's review of this, because he is bonkers for this card. I don't really blame him - it's pretty awesome. We're way too hyped on this card, and I'm sure people will say we're wrong, but whatever, they were going to anyways. In an aggressive deck, this gets a blocker out of the way for a turn, and then gets to boop them each turn. In a slower controlling deck, once you have delirium, this taps down their scariest munster. I'm sure a lot of us are still having PTSD from Citadel Siege, so we know how powerful that kind of effect can be.
Sidenote: Easily, easily, the best art in the set. None of that digital fake-looking nonsense, it looks like beautiful classic MTG art, and it's absolutely hilarious.
Two-Headed Giant: 8
"Each opponent." Damn. That delirium payoff is huge, and a one cost guy tapping down two creatures every turn is massive, and we will most definitely run every copy of toppleguy we can.
Sidenote: Easily, easily, the best art in the set. None of that digital fake-looking nonsense, it looks like beautiful classic MTG art, and it's absolutely hilarious.
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| "Booooop." |
Gaige:
Limited: 11
Mother. Fucking. 11/10. This is the only card I am giving and ever will give an 11. There is no bad time to play this card. THERE IS NO BAD TIME FOR THIS CARD. You can play it right away on turn one and start booping candles left and right and laugh as they play Thraben Inspector. "OH YES YOU MAY INVESTIGATE BUT DO YOU HAVE A CANDLE-TIPPER-OVER-GEIST? NO YOU DO NOT SIR/MADAM!" Facing vampire aggro this weekend? No problem. Drop this bitch on the field and tap one down and block whatever bullshit they and try and attack you with cause he has flying. If it's late game, oh look, drop him then tap something down and delirium is online so at your next upkeep tap down more shit. When it comes to draft you just need to pull 3 or so of these and you win. How can they cope with tapping down three things at the beginning of each of their upkeeps. This mother fucker is going to tip shit over left and right and while everything is spilling all over your opponent they're not going to know how to handle this and just when they think they have a solution BOOM! another Topplegeist. If you think I'm playing anything other than 10 Topplegeists this weekend then you clearly have not been reading our other posts (which I recommend you do). And if you're wondering how I'm going to get 10 Topplegeists in 6 packs, well I haven't figure that part out yet but I'll get there.
Two-Headed Giant: 11
Most everything that makes this the best card in both standard and limited still hold true for 2HG with the added bonus of both opponents tap down a creature. Pretend that this rating is slightly higher than the other 11. Best. Card. In. Set. Now topple on out of here (or keep reading).
Sidenote: Wizard's if you're reading this, where is the full art/promo Topplegeist I so desperately need?
Gaige:
Limited: 4
So I play this creature turn 1. Turn 2 I play (in one of the best case scenarios) Thalia's Lieutenant and put a +1/+1 counter on gossipmonger and then tap both to transform. Turn 3 I either can play a card or buff the Incited rabble once. We'll say either way I get +1 to attacks either from Incited Rabble or playing a human and getting a counter on the lieutenant. If I swing in I swing in for 3 damage with incited rabble alone and 5 if I swing in with both. I've heard this card is supposed to be incredible and I see where it fits in to decks, but it seems pretty mediocre and too killable to do any real damage. Late game if you play this I'll just keep him tapped by knocking over candles onto his head.
Dan:
Limited: 1
This card is wet garbage. Why would anyone think this is good? It comes down turn one as a 1/1, which is shite. Then turn two if you play another creature, you get the MLG pro-plays option to tap down both of them to make that 1/1 a mighty, mighty 2/3. Then, finally, on your third turn, you could spend most of your mana to buff him to a 3/3. This is the best-case scenario. And he has to attack every turn anyways, so the second they play something with three power, RIP. I realize you can pump him late, and he does trade up, but holy fuck do you need to jump through some hoops to do that. Realistically he's probably a 3 or 4 in the right deck. If you're always playing him turn one, he's good, but any turn after that, he feels bad.
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| Can't have a mob without some pitchforks! |
Dan:
Limited: 5
He's good! Creatures that grow are always fun, because your opponents are loathe to blow a removal spell on a 1/1, but they're just a looming thing, threatening to rabble in for a bunch of damage. This pairs very well with Angelic Purge and the other "sacrifice a thing to do a thing" cards, but I'd be fine running this in most creature-heavy decks, since at some point a creature will probably die. And if they never do, well, that sounds great too.
Gaige:
Limited: 6
It's REAL killable early on but in a human deck with lots of chump blockers and lots of dead things this will get big fast. Also note it does include when token creatures die so all your spirit tokens also help make this bigger.
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| It's ghost soup. Probably booberry flavor. |
Gaige:
Limited: 6
Although you are technically paying 5 mana for 2 1/1 creatures, this card has it's place. It's a pretty decent two drop and if you have nothing else to play you can sac it whenever to get spirits at instant speed for blockers or for damage. Let's also not forget that once sacrificed it helps delirium get online.
Dan:
Limited: 6
I think this is the only Vessel that can compete with the green one. I said as much when it was spoiled, but everyone called me a retard and disagreed and said it was the worst. Well, they're wrong. This is one dank bowl of spirits. Two cost to get on the field is not bad, and then three to enable delirium (which several white decks really need) and get two fliers is great. Splitting up the cost makes it awesome, and I will definitely play this in my white decks, and maybe even multiple copies.
Well that's the set everyone. You made it through the week and we made it through the week. Now it's time for pre-release weekend and if you decide to listen to any of our advice, then best of luck to you. We hope you pull everything you want and you win a bunch of games. May Topplegeist ever keep your candles upright.
Want to brag about your pre-release experience? Want to tell us how wrong our ratings are? Think Topplegeist should be lower? Well it shouldn't and you can leave. BUT, before you leave, drop a comment and let us know what you think!
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