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housebeleren · 5 years

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Core Set 2020 Limited - Premium Uncommons

We’re barreling towards Core Set 2020 Prerelease, so with that in mind, let’s also barrel forward and take a look at the Uncommons of the set and see what’s going to factor into the Limited environment in a meaningful way. Let’s get to it.

White

White is interesting in this set. There are no really standout killer cards, but there are a lot of solid picks you’ll usually run. Angel of Vitality is like that. On the surface, it’s just a Wind Drake, which is totally playable. But it has a higher ceiling if you have some good life gain effects. It not only enhances those effects, but rewards you for them as well. I’d definitely try to snag a few copies of Daybreak Chaplain if I got this card. But, it’s not a bomb. 3.0/5

I don’t know why I picked another Angel here, but sure. There’s an Angel theme and they’re generally pretty good. This one is one mana too expensive for its base stats, but if you untap with it, things start getting nuts. You definitely want to prioritize having lots of fliers if you’re running Herald, but the reward for doing so is good. 3.0/5

Master Splicer is 5/5 worth of stats spread out over two bodies for 4 mana, and that’s pretty sweet. This plays well with the go-wide strategy, and you can potentially find some ways to reuse it using cards like Yarok’s Wavecrasher. Also, there incidentally some other Golems in the set, so make sure to stay aware of that interaction if you plan on running this guy. Depending on how the set plays out, I could argue this as the best White Uncommon. 3.5/5

Blue

Air Elemental is always good, and in a set with so many small fliers, having a big one like this is the best way to keep the tide going in your favor. I’ve never seen a format where I didn’t grab Trusty Gusty here. 3.5/5

I love this guy. He’s a flier for all the decks that care about that, he can drop in out of nowhere, and he can keep the your hand filled. Azure Mage has always been playable, and this one’s even better. 3.0/5

Yarok’s Wavecrasher is a hefty beater with an aggressive cost, but he’s also loaded with subtle synergy. He’s an elemental if your deck cares about that, and he can allow you to recast your ETB creatures for extra value. Curving Cloudkin Seer into this, then recasting the Seer the following turn is some insane value, and a line of play I can totally see casting. If your deck has several creatures with good ETB effects, I can see this one bumping up another half point. 3.0/5

Black

I’m really digging this. It’s like a hybrid between Soul Salvage & Rise from the Grave, and I think it has potential to be really strong. Sure, it requires sacrifice fodder, but trading in a token to get two real creatures back is big game. Also, due to the templating, you can fetch back the creature you sacrificed to it. If you have some good creatures with ETB effects, the potential value here is insane. 3.0/5

On its own, these are decent stats for a flier at this cost, but it doesn’t take much to make this a crazy threat. Even a few lifegain effects in your deck will easily get this to be a 3/4 or bigger, which is an awesome deal. I’d pick this up early and try to grab a few enablers when I get the chance. Also, I absolutely adore this art and would love to see more of this direction. 3.5/5

Gavedigger is basically always good, and given the ETB theme in these colors, there are even possibilities to reuse it multiple times throughout the game. There are some pretty complex interactions and loops possible with this card in the format, and that makes me really excited for this core set. I’m starting high on this card. 3.5/5

Typhoid Rats are always good, and this card has two bonuses over the standard 1/1 Deathtouch. First, Lifelink is great. It helps enable several of the lifegain payoffs, gives this creature added utility if you buff it up, and can give you some extra buffer in the early game. Second, lady is a Vampire, and there are some Vampire synergies in the set that can make this better. It’s gonna trade with a card and provides a little upside while doing it. Sign me up. 3.0/5

Red

Had to start with this one. First up, living for young Chandra realness. So great & fresh. (Quick note though, the Type bar makes it look like her legs are completely disconnected at the knee, but that can’t be helped.) If you can drop this on turn 4, you should be able to snipe a creature down then get continued value out of her for future turns. Obviously, she’s best with lots of Elementals, but you’re bound to have a few of those in your Red deck. I’m gonna start optimistic with her and see how it plays out. 3.5/5

Flame sweep seems pretty good. I like that it hits opposing fliers, but not your own, so in the right deck, it’s not even symmetric. I’d run this most of the time even if it were, but that just makes it better. Obviously, feel free to side this out if your opponent doesn’t have targets, but I’d start it most of the time. 3.0/5

This card is highly situational, and I’m fully prepared to downgrade my thoughts on it after checking out the format. However, making 3 Elementals with Haste is potentially really strong in the right deck. There are a bunch of cards in the format that synergize with this, most notably Creeping Trailblazer, Overgrowth Elemental, and Yarok’s Wavecrasher. If you happen to get Thunderkin Awakener or Omnath, this is the perfect card to complement them. If you don’t have many synergies in your deck, I’d consider cutting this. 3.0/5

Green

I love the look of this guy. He’s got reasonable stats on his own, and if you have another Elemental when this comes into play, the value’s already off the chart. In a deck full of Elementals, this gets even better. 3.5/5

I remember when Pulse of Murasa first came out in Oath of the Gatewatch. We all thought it was fine, but not exciting. Wizards seems to have realized how good it is, because they’ve upshifted the rarity to Uncommon, which is totally accurate. Pulse is always great. The Instant speed plus the lifegain makes this work more like a Time Walk than it really should. I’d basically always run it. 3.5/5

These Uncommon Creature-making Equpments are super cool designs, and I’m really excited for this design space, because it makes running Equipment a lot less of a liability. This one comes in a tiny bit under curve, but still not embarrassing, and leaves you with a permanent buff even if the creature is destroyed. It’s not crazy good, but it is solid. 3.0/5

Multicolored & Artifacts

Pretty much all the Uncommon Signpost cards are good, but this one is especially good. Worst case, it’s a bear with a pump ability, so the floor is decently high. Best case, this card powers up your entire deck and is a massive threat that can dominate the board. I’d take this fairly early, but be prepared to drop it if the colors aren’t open, since it’s not a great splash. 3.5/5

Blue/White fliers is one of my favorite draft archetypes, and these types of cards are the glue that hold it together. This card is the right stats at the right price, and it can power up your whole deck if you draft it right. 3.5/5

I love this. Coiling Oracle is always great, and this one can trigger multiple times with several Elementals in your deck. I love this as a payoff and look forward to drafting the U/G version of this deck with great glee. 3.5/5

It’s a little weaker than I’d like, but it’s a consistent stream of tokens for the go-wide deck. A couple of these and an Inspired Charge is a pretty solid plan. It’s not splashable, so leave it on the sidelines if you’re not solidly in R/W. 3.0/5

This guy does it all. Gains life, blocks effectively, and smooths your hand not only on ETB, but also when he hits. This is a perfect card for the colors, and I’d run multiple copies of Soul Salvage in tandem with this guy, so you can pitch late game threats early and buy them back later. 3.5/5

I don’t know if this is a Meteor Golem format, but I sure hope it is. This is the best ETB trigger, and the possibilities to use & reuse this make me very excited for the card in this set. There’s even a little ramp to help you get there. The format could be too fast, but if Meteor Golem is playable, it’s going to be great. 3.0/5

And with that, let’s run down the rest of the Uncommons & see where we’re at.

Ancestral Blade - It’s a bear that leaves behind a 1/1 equipment. I would basically always play it, but the effect is pretty minimal. 2.5

Apostle of Purifying Light - This is anemic on its own, but it’s brutal against a heavily Black deck. The ability is relevant there too, as Black decks will want to reanimate. I’d always pick one up for the sideboard. 2.5

Devout Decree - Same as above. About half the time, this card will hit around half of your opponent’s deck. But sometimes, it’ll be your best removal or a complete blank. Grab it for the sideboard. 2.0

Eternal Isolation - It’s hard to tell if this format will be good for this card, given the number of tokens running around. But if it’s good, it’s great. 2.5

Fencing Ace - This doesn’t really seem like a Fencing Ace format, since there aren’t many good buffs for it. But it does blank X/1s nicely, so maybe side it in against the token deck? 1.5

Gauntlets of Light - Honestly, this seems like a buildaround, not an auto-include. If you can get the Gauntlets/Daybreak Chaplain deck going, there’s something here. But in a normal deck, no. 2.0

Gods Willing - It’s more of a constructed plant than anything, but if you have bomb worth saving, or creatures that can win combat on their own without a buff, I’d consider it. 2.0

Loyal Pegasus - Unlike Fencing Ace, this does seem like a Loyal Pegasus format, so I’m in on this. 2.5

Rule of Law - NOPE. Don’t do it. 0.0

Aether Gust - I don’t like that your opponent gets to choose where they put the card. I’d rate it higher if you go to choose, but otherwise this is basically in-line with the rest of this color-hosing cycle. 1.5

Brineborn Cutthroat - As-is, I think a 2/1 with Flash for 2 is playable on its own. In a deck with a lot of Instants, this can be brutal. Tentative 3.0

Captivating Gyre - It’s costly, but there’s potential for a huge blowout here. Also, this isn’t limited to your opponent’s creatures, so you can bounce two of theirs & one of your own to reuse its ETB or remove a Pacifism. 3.0

Cerulean Drake - Most of the time, this isn’t going to be worth a spot. 1/1 is just not enough action to count. However, I could see it sided in against some Red decks, because it can block a dragon every turn without breaking a sweat. 1.5

Hard Cover - One mana to turn any creature into a looter is... new. Honestly, it’s hard to rate this effect, but my hunch is it’s...ok. 1.5

Portal of Sanctuary - My guess is this usually won’t be worth it, but in the dedicated ETB deck, this could be great. It’s a buildaround. 2.0

Renowned Weaponsmith - Baseline a 1/3 isn’t awful, and if you have some Vials of Dragonfire to tutor up, it could be better. But the problem is that nothing he gets is fantastic, and there aren’t amazing Artifacts to ramp into either (other than Meteor Golem, which does make this better). 2.0

Scholar of the Ages - Salvager of Secrets was good in M19, and this gets double the action for 2 more mana. But 7 is a lot, and could be too late to matter. I’d try this and be open to it being good or mediocre. 2.5

Warden of Evos Isle - For the most part, he’s a Wind Drake, so the floor is pretty high. In the fliers deck, it’s also ramp. 3.0

Blightbeetle - This seems so narrow and meh. It’s not even great against Green decks, because they’ll either go wide or have trample. 0.5

Bloodsoaked Altar - Six mana to 2-for-1 yourself seems like a good way to screw yourself. If you’re crazy far ahead, it’s playable, but then it’s a win-more. But the rest of the time, this will either languish in your hand or you won’t have targets worth sacrificing. 1.0

Disfigure - The first copy or two are always good. 3.0

Gruesome Scourger - This works at the nexus between the go-wide deck & the ETB deck. If you can get 4-5 damage out of this regularly, it seems pretty solid. Below that, and it’s kinda wimpy. 2.5

Noxious Grasp - Like all the color hosers, this is playable against the right deck. Take this for your sideboard. 2.0

Thought Distortion - This is awful. It doesn’t get rid of creatures, so unless you’re against the all-spell control deck, it does basically nothing for tons of mana. Don’t play this. It’s for Standard. 0.5

Vengeful Warchief - If you have several good lifegain enablers, this is a decent payoff. You only need one to be at the right stats. 2.5

Yarok’s Fenlurker - It’s kinda hard to cast, but it always trades for one card, and can potentially trade for a second later. If you have lots of ways to reuse its ETB, it gets better. 2.5

Chandra’s Spitfire - My fear is that most of the time, this is going to just be a 1/3, because there aren’t tons of great pingers in this set. If you have enablers, go for it. At least Flying is a theme. 2.0

Dragon Mage - 7 mana is a lot, but a 5/5 flying threat is big, if you can get to it. The ability is... not particularly grate for limited. 2.0

Ember Hauler - A bear you can trade in for a Shock later seems good. 3.0

Fry - See Noxious Grasp & Devout Decree. 2.0

Goblin Ringleader - This is for constructed. 1.5

Mask of Immolation - This is an interesting design. It’s clearly designed to be a payoff in the go-wide deck, but sacrificing creatures at a rate of one damage per creature is painful. My hunch is it won’t be great. 1.5

Rapacious Dragon - 5 mana for a 3/3 flier is about the right rate for Red. The treasure’s aren’t super relevant, because there’s not much to ramp into after 5 in this set, except for some of the big Rares. 2.5

Uncaged Fury - When this was in Shadows Over Innistrad, it was part of a nuts combo with Rush of Adrenaline, and it was great. Now, we have it in the same set as Infuriate, which threatens to be even more explosive. Upshifting this to Uncommon was wise. 2.5

Unchained Berserker - Against a White deck, this can be devastating, because a 3/1 Unblockable attacker is potent. Against other colors, it’s a Devilthorn Fox, which is better than some of the other cards in this cycle fared. 2.0

Barkhide Troll - This is a hard to cast bear. The ability will basically never come up and there aren’t enough ways to put counters on creatures in this format to matter. 1.5

Howling Giant - 7 mana gets you 9/9 of stats across 3 bodies, two of which have tribal synergies in the set. I’m liking it, but you definitely can’t afford to have too many 7 drops. 3.0

Loaming Shaman - If there’s a true control deck in the Sultai shard, this card will definitely play a role as a way to recycle your removal & key threats, and two of these can set up a sort of a loop the way that Clear the Mind did in Ravnica Allegiance. And it’s got solid stats to boot. 3.0

Might of the Masses - Most of the time, this is about a Giant Growth, which is totally playable. Once in a while, it’ll be insane, and that’s a good spot to be in, but don’t go overboard on tricks. 2.5

Overcome - This wasn’t great in Hour of Devastation, but this set has more support for go wide, so I’m going to be willing to try one. 2.5

Season of Growth - Scry 1 every creature isn’t nothing, and making sure all their spot removal leaves you up a card is totally reasonable for 2 mana. Cards like this look bad at first glance, but I think this is actually playable. 2.5

Thrashing Brontodon - These stats are always great. There aren’t many targets for its ability, but it will sometimes come up. 3.0

Veil of Summer - This card does a lot for 3 mana, and bringing it in against a Black/Blue deck will do work. Otherwise, it does a lot of nothing. 1.5

Woodland Champion - A bear that gets bigger is for sure playable, and in a tokens deck, this can be nuts. 2.5

Corpse Knight - This puts a clock on your opponent, and comes down early enough to peck through for a few damage to begin with. I’d mostly always run this. 3.0

Ironroot Warlord - Like most of the signpost uncommons, this is great. Hard to attack through and a great mana sink late. 3.0

Lightning Stormkin - Flying Elemental fits in nicely with both possible themes for this color combination. I’m suspecting it’ll be good. 3.0

Moldervine Reclamation - Cute buildaround idea, but it’s pretty expensive to get going. If you have a really solid curve from 2-4, I’d consider it. 2.0

Ogre Siegebreaker - Having the Vraska’s Finisher ability as an activation is interesting, and once you untap with this will make combat a nightmare for your opponent. Plays really well with tokens. 3.0

Colossus Hammer - Yes, it’s massive, but it’s a beast to equip. Maybe if you have two Renowned Weaponsmiths in your deck? But mostly, I’d leave this for the EDH crowd. 1.5

Diamond Knight - It’s anemic at first, but it doesn’t take long to get up to par, and once you get it to a 4/4, you’re in business. It definitely won’t save you if you’re behind though, so play it with caution. 2.5

Diviner’s Lockbox - 5 mana to maybe draw three cards is awful. Don’t run this, though it is cute if you have Scry going on. 0.5

Manifold Key - This design is interesting, because the mode Limited cares about is the exact mode that Constructed doesn’t care about. I’d rather just run fliers than have to pay 3 to give my stuff evasion. 1.0

Pattern Matcher - This is cute. If you have lots of duplicates of things, this can be excellent. 2.0

Retributive Wand - Nope, not gonna happen. If there were ways to sacrifice Artifacts in the set, I’d consider it, but not as is. 0.5

Salvager of Ruin - The effect is narrow, but it works great post-combat. I’d usually run this, and in some decks, it’ll be great. Plays well with Gravedigger and cards with good ETBs. 2.5

Scuttlemutt - 2/2 that also fixes your mana is solid. I’d always run this in a 3 color deck, and often in 2 color decks. This also incidentally can counter several of the color hosers. 3.0

Cryptic Caves - I like this a lot. If your mana base can handle a colorless land, this is great. 3.0

Alright, that’s it for the Uncommons. After looking through these and the Commons, my gut impulse is that the colors are all fairly balanced, but Green and Blue both stand out in regards to their creature quality, while Black stands out for the quality of its removal. It’ll take playing the set a little to know if that’s true, but those are my early thoughts.

Rares & Mythics are up next.

#MtG #core set 2020

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