Born of the Gods Limited Set Review - Multicolored and Colorless

The other color set reviews can be found at the following links:
Black
Red
Green
White
Blue


For me, one of the best ways to make a profit and still enjoy playing Magic is to win events. In Limited events that means knowing what is good in a format and being able to able to accurately assess the value of cards. Everyone puts their own value on certain types of cards. Some favor removal over any creatures, others take any decent creature over removal. Some like expensive or late game cards and others prefer value for early tempo. While I can't adjust for your play style I can tell you what I happen to think of certain cards.

Limited Rating System

Everyone who evaluates cards uses a different system. Mine is 1-10 because I feel like it creates the easiest and most recognizable system. Using grades tends to provide some false associations; B- is a pretty lame grade in school but a pretty good card in magic. I also don't like using the 1-5 system because I'd rather say something is a five than a two point five.

10 - First pick and must play even if you have to splash it.
9 - Game winning card every time it hits the table.
8 - Bombs, top tier removal, and otherwise game defining creatures.
7 - Powerful creatures or amazingly efficient creatures, conditional removal.
6 - Solid creatures, expensive or highly restrictive removal, big play enchantments and artifacts.
5 - Core cards in your deck, on curve creatures, decent cards.
4 - Fallback cards that you'd rather not have in your deck but can fill in if needed. Cards that are too situational to main deck.
3 - Bad cards, cards that have too much risk and little reward.
2 - Really bad cards that barely do anything at all and aren't likely to impact the game in a meaningful way.
1 - A card with zero meaningful impact on Limited games of Magic.
Add-on Ratings
S - Sideboard cards. These will often be brought out of your board and are worth picking up over other things of their level because of their impact against certain match-ups.
+ - Better than the average card in this category but still not worth the step up to the next level.

Multicolored Uncommons

It’s worth noting that Multicolored cards generally require you to be in the two colors to establish an accurate value. Splashing for them is frequently dangerous and not advised in most circumstances. Also pack 1 pick 1 is a rough time to grab a multi-colored card because it sticks you into a single color pair on your first pick.

Ephara’s Enlightenment – 5
Uncommon
I feel like this is a tricky way to trigger heroic several times, but definitely not a bad one. On the first shot you get heroic and a +1/+1 counter. When you cast another creature you get to put it back on the next turn. The added benefit of flying means that I think this card is playable and will pull its weight. I like that it gives counters because they stick around even if something happens to the enchantment. Plus gaining evasion on a heroic guy is a nice bonus.

Fanatic of Xenagos – 5+
Uncommon
As a 3/3 for three with additional damage the turn you play him or a 4/4 he’s a pretty swanky three drop. A 3/3 with haste would probably cost you more so you’re already getting a bonus. This is just a really solid creature regardless of how the tribute goes. Either way he’s still a guy you want in red green.

Kiora’s Follower – 6+
Uncommon
Already being a bear we know she’s playable. But this card is beyond all accounts amazing. While at first glance this looks like a ramp card, the fact that it stays relevant the entire game makes it incredibly strong. On turn three you’re untapping a land for a four drop, on turn eight you’re untapping your Kraken to block with, or gaining another trigger on your Retraction Helix. My god this does everything.

Ragemonger – 5+
Uncommon
Considering that minotaurs never really did it for me in Theros I’m reluctant to say this guy sounds good. Having more three drop minotaurs will probably help and making your others easier to cast seems pretty nice. If you already have one on the board your next is only a two drop and all further minotaurs only cost colorless mana. This makes for an interesting minotaur ramp. But I still don’t see this as the tribal that is going to carry you through. Most of the minotaurs in this set are either rare or not that impressive.

Reap What is Sown - 5
Uncommon
Hmm. With Travel Preparations I got to do two creatures for one less mana, then I got to do it again to two creatures which were possibly the same for one more mana. This means the creature that it matters for grew twice and maybe I can make an irrelevant card more relevant by putting two 1/1 counters on it. This doesn’t do that. At best it is a bad Glorious Anthem. Instant speed is nice but you’ve really got to line up your blocks perfectly to make it work. I guess it’s playable as a combat trick and heroic enabler.

Siren of the Silent Song – 6
Uncommon
Considering Liliana’s Spectre is a pauper staple I can see this card going far in limited. The repeated discard effect on a flier can decimate an opponent’s hand pretty quickly. Even if you only get two or three discards you’re gaining huge card advantage. Paying three for a 2/1 flier isn’t great but they tend to be able to get in when nothing else can.

Multicolored Rares

Chromanticore – 2
Mythic
Just no.

Ephara, God of the Polis – 6+
Mythic
Ephara is actually one of my favorite gods because her ability is just plain useful. She is one of the few gods that actually takes steps to help you reach devotion. If you’re in blue and white you could do far worse than an enchantment that lets you draw a card every time you play a creature. Eventually that leads to turning her back into a creature and that’s pretty nice.

Karametra, God of the Harvests – 5
Mythic
If I was in white green I’m sure I’d run her, but I can’t really be that happy about ramp starting at five mana. Plus I only get the ramp when I cast a creature after her. I think any god is probably a five regardless if you’re in the colors just because of the large possible upside, but really this one might only be a four.

Kiora, the Crashing Wave – 8
Mythic
Having had the chance to play with Kiora a bit in constructed I think this card is amazing. Being able to blank their biggest guy while ticking up or simply providing additional ramp is very sweet. If they can’t deal with you quickly you basically get a win the game emblem in a few turns. The fact that she protects herself means that you can blank their biggest threat for as long as she lives. Even when she ends up dying after two or three turns she still feels like she’s done her fair share of work. In order for her to be a blank you need to be getting hit by two creatures you can’t deal with. At that point you’re likely to need more than a planeswalker to save you.

Mogis, God of Slaughter – 5+
At least Mogis does something impactful when your board is empty. He’s a four mana clock that says you’re going to die in the next five to ten turns. That isn’t terrible. However, that isn’t really enough. If you have the creatures to get him turned on he’s fine, but he doesn’t do much work on his own. Better than Karametra but only by a hair.

Phenax, God of Deception – 6
Mythic
As an alternate win condition, Phenax is pretty impressive. With a 40 card deck he can mill through a library pretty quickly. This makes him the king of board stalls but not much else. Even if you get him turned on it’s still probably better to mill away than attack. I’d say this’ll frequently be a three to five turn clock assuming you have some sort of decent blocker on the board, which isn’t bad but it clearly isn’t a direct threat either.

Xenagos, God of Revels - 7
Mythic
Is Xenagos really that good? Yes, yes he is. Even at five mana doubling the power and toughness of a creature is massive. Your 3/1 becomes a 6/4 when it attacks. You play some big six drop and get to attack with him right away as a 8/6 or something ridiculous. This has an immediate board impact and can turn any race into your favor. If you’re deep in the hole it won’t do much but an otherwise unremarkable creature can quickly become a game ending threat with Xenagos.

Colorless Uncommon

Gorgon’s Head – 5
Uncommon
Repeatable deathtouch is a pretty powerful tool. Considering you can move it around from attackers to blockers it’ll be able to pull some weight. I’m pretty sure I don’t want two of these in any deck but I’m pretty happy with one. Sometimes you just won’t have the creatures to put it on but turning your otherwise unremarkable two drop in to a Sedge Scorpion can save the day.

Pillar of War – 4+
Uncommon
With all the work Returned Phalanx did in Theros I’d expect this to make it into a fair number of decks. A 3/3 wall for three can do some decent blocking and it makes for an automatic target for a bestow. I think I’d rather have a creature that can attack but I can see running a couple of these to shore up my ground game early on if I felt I was lacking in three drops.

Siren Song Lyre – 5+
Uncommon
Tapping down creatures is a really powerful effect. Paying six mana and tapping one of your creatures in order to tap down your first guy is a bit harsh. But there are times where your opponent has a card you just don’t have an answer for and this can be that answer. As an insurance policy it seems decent but I’m still worried about running it in my main deck. Without a creature to stick it on it is worthless and it basically ties up both a creature and two mana for the rest of the game when I could probably just play another creature.

Springleaf Drum – 5
Uncommon
I think this card goes in every deck. With inspired running around this gives the only free trigger for it every turn. Any creature with inspired will trigger whenever you want them to if you have this card. Plus it provides both fixing and ramp at a pretty affordable cost. I think I’d even happily run two because of how quickly it would let me start playing big creatures. As a Modern and Pauper staple card this is something that will do good work in any deck so long as you’re playing, you know, creatures.

Colorless Rare

Astral Cornucopia – 5
Rare
Considering that Darksteel Ingot saw play and this is a multicolored set I can’t imagine leaving this card out of a deck just for the ramp effect. It also allows for an additional splash which is nice. But overall it’s just mana fixing and ramp combo which doesn’t do much else. I also don’t ever see casting this for six unless I’m just plain out of things to do.

Hero’s Podium – 2
Rare
This is a constructed card and not a very good one at that. Considering this is one of the three rares you’re likely to open and Legendary creatures only come out at Rare or Mythic most of the time the chance you’ll ever be able to use this to positive effect is pretty low. If somehow you get two legendary creatures in your deck you still need to spend five mana to cast plus another five or so mana to dig for a creature. That’s ten mana to possibly get one of your legendary creatures into your hand. It doesn’t even cast it.

Temple of Enlightenment, Temple of Malice, Temple of Plenty – 5+
Rare
Considering that we’re seeing temples played in Standard even in mono-colored decks I think that using a temple to replace a Plains is just fine. If it matches your colors I’d definitely pick it up ahead of any generally playable card. Plus it’s sure to be worth between one and two tickets. Even it only matches one color I think it’s still a pretty easy pickup just for the free scry.

Born of the Gods Limited Set Review - Blue

For me, one of the best ways to make a profit and still enjoy playing Magic is to win events. In Limited events that means knowing what is good in a format and being able to able to accurately assess the value of cards. Everyone puts their own value on certain types of cards. Some favor removal over any creatures, others take any decent creature over removal. Some like expensive or late game cards and others prefer value for early tempo. While I can't adjust for your play style I can tell you what I happen to think of certain cards.

The other color set reviews can be found at the following links:
Black
Red
Green
White
Multicolored and Colorless

Limited Rating System

Everyone who evaluates cards uses a different system. Mine is 1-10 because I feel like it creates the easiest and most recognizable system. Using grades tends to provide some false associations; B- is a pretty lame grade in school but a pretty good card in magic. I also don't like using the 1-5 system because I'd rather say something is a five than a two point five.

10 - First pick and must play even if you have to splash it.
9 - Game winning card every time it hits the table.
8 - Bombs, top tier removal, and otherwise game defining creatures.
7 - Powerful creatures or amazingly efficient creatures, conditional removal.
6 - Solid creatures, expensive or highly restrictive removal, big play enchantments and artifacts.
5 - Core cards in your deck, on curve creatures, decent cards.
4 - Fallback cards that you'd rather not have in your deck but can fill in if needed. Cards that are too situational to main deck.
3 - Bad cards, cards that have too much risk and little reward.
2 - Really bad cards that barely do anything at all and aren't likely to impact the game in a meaningful way.
1 - A card with zero meaningful impact on Limited games of Magic.
Add-on Ratings
S - Sideboard cards. These will often be brought out of your board and are worth picking up over other things of their level because of their impact against certain match-ups.
+ - Better than the average card in this category but still not worth the step up to the next level.

Blue Common/Uncommon

Aerie Worshippers – 5+
Uncommon
While some of the pieces of inspired dude factory aren’t impressive, getting a 2/2 flying bird for 2U isn’t bad. At 2/4 I feel you’re much more likely to be able to make an attack than with lower power and toughness making untapping a worshiper far more likely. Plus getting a token with evasion is far more powerful than a couple of 1/1 mans. Inspired still seems more like a bonus than a reality though and this is a 2/4 for for.

Archetype of Imagination – 6+
Uncommon
Levitation is bad at 2UU. A 3/2 on top of Levitation for 1U more is better. But the fact that this almost makes all your creatures unblockble is huge. It does make Reach a more valuable ability in this set but suddenly picking up your entire board and being able to ship it over unhindered can easily win you board stalls. The only problem here is that if you drop him on a pretty empty board he is just a 3/2 flier. We happily paid 3UU for Messenger Drake it seems likely we’d pay one more to add the Trained Condor plus effect.

Chorus of the Tides – 5+
Common
Speaking of 3/2 fliers, here’s one that costs two less mana. This heroic ability is actually the worst heroic ability I’ve seen yet. I’d never burn the spell just to do it –but if I’m going to bestow onto my flier anyway, getting a free scry one isn’t bad. I think I’ll be happy to play chorus of the tides as blue fliers looks like it could have a solid impact.

Crypsis – 5
This still isn’t Gods Willing but it is blue and it does untap a creature and allow you to make a possible two for one. Seems legit so long as you have bigger creatures, which isn’t blue’s strength. I feel like this is card is a fine combat trick but doesn’t handle a threat unless you have something to block with that has deathtouch. With Baleful Eidolon or Dredge Scorpion this card goes up significantly. But on its own I’m not very impressed.

Deepwater Hypnotist – 5
Common
2/1s two drops are generally fine but unexciting. The bonus of giving a temporary Sensory Deprivation on untap may be significant if you get to attack with him once, you’re likely to be able to continue doing so. Again, inspired is more of a bonus in this case, but a 2/1 for two is still playable.

Divination – 5
Common
Drawing cards in Theros always felt like I was just fishing for more land to be able to cast some of my bigger creatures. With a decent number of two casting cost creatures I fear that Divination may be a dangerous play in a lot of games. If you do nothing on turn two and your opponent plays a creature, then you Divination on turn three and they play three drop, you’re in pretty bad shape. That said, gaining card advantage is still going to be important in the late game.

Eternity Snare – 6
Uncommon
Cantrip Claustrophobia probably sounds better than it is. At six mana plus failing to tap the creature you’ve enchanted I’m not convinced that this card is really going to save you. It’s also not like you’ll be able to turn around and cast the card you’ve drawn until the next turn. But cantrips are still pretty nice and removal (even bad expensive removal) is still removal.

Evanescent Intellect – 2
Common
It’s a mill enchantment aura. That is so bad. Millstone wasn’t terrible but it was a straight up artifact. I know this is intended to go on something with Inspired or heroic but it just looks terrible for either of those purposes. Maybe I’m wrong but this cycle looks like they’ll all be sitting in the sideboard and never seeing play.

Flitterstep Eidolon – 5+
Uncommon
1/1 unblockable for two is fine; it makes for a great bestow target to hand out some continual damage. Being able to pitch it onto your big beasty for 5U is also pretty good because you have an unstoppable threat. Overall this guy is fine but he doesn’t do much on his own. Unlike several of the better bestow cards in Theros giving a pretty weak bonus doesn’t turn your non threat into a big threat. If you have to drop this on a 2/3 for six mana you aren’t exactly thrilled with the results.

Floodtide Serpent – 5
Common
Vanilla test says fine. I honestly can’t tell if this is a drawback or an advantage. Fortunately, it’s a cost not a trigger so Missed Trigger penalties don’t apply. Technically I’d say it is a drawback but being able to pitch your unattached bestow creatures into your hand is pretty nice at the best times. At the worst times you’ve got a 4/4 blocker. Sea Serpent was frequently playable primarily as a strong defender and 4/4s will block a lot of incoming threats. I’m thinking he’ll see play and be an acceptable creature most of the time.

Kraken of the Straits -5
Uncommon
A big dumb creature that can’t be double-blocked for the kill seems pretty decent. 6/6 uncommon is fine, even for seven mana. There isn’t a lot of downside here except for the seven casting cost, but when a 6/6 with moderate evasion is your reward, you’re pretty happy. Do I want more than one? Probably not, but I’m fine with the first one at the top of my curve.

Meletis Astronomer - 5
Uncommon
1/3s for two often do much more work than we expect them to. There is a lot of 2/1s and 2/3s running around in the set which makes the 1/3 body  pretty important. Again, the mediocre heroic trigger means that I’m not thrilled with blowing a spell just to trigger heroic but if you’re already going to bestow or combat trick a guy, the upside is pretty decent. I think most of the time I’m playing a 1/3 for two more than I’m looking to rip enchantments out of my library.

Nullify – 5
Common
I’d generally run two Essence Scatters if I had them. I think nullify fits into that same mold. The UU instead of 1U is a bit of a downside because often times I’d end up using my Essence Scatter on turn three or four when I didn’t have a play. I can’t really guarantee that I have the mana at that point. With so many bestow creatures floating around I think Nullify is still decent, but not impressive.

Nyxborn Triton – 6
Common
When I look at bestow creatures the first thing I look at is what happens if I cast them as creatures. 2/3 for three is a perfectly fine minotaur that is fair but not exciting. The next thing I look at is how much longer do I need to wait to bestow it. In this case, I’m bestowing two mana later and getting 2/3 which bumps any card from just a card to a bomb. Even better, when they kill that guy I’m left with a 2/3 which isn’t insignificant. I think this Triton will see plenty of play and will always do good work on the field.

Oracle’s Insight - 7 
Uncommon
You know how I said that the tap ability enchantments were lame. I wasn’t talking about this card. As a note, this card almost says “Tap a creature, scry 1, draw a card” which almost feels acceptable for four mana. But instead it lets you do this every turn. This card is insane. On any target with Inspired it is just plain bonkers.  If this stays on the field for a few turns, you win. Occasionally you’ll get blown out but that’s a risk with any enchantment.  Don’t forget you can activate it the turn you play it unless the creature is summoning sick. Or wait until their turn. While this is a great card you need to make sure you have threats in your deck that are worth digging for. If you have the option, you may just have to take a strong creature to actually have threats instead of this card.

Retraction Helix – 6
Common
This almost says “tap a creature you control and Disperse” but not quite. For one mana I’m a big fan. Considering this can be done after blockers are declared to remove an aura the number of tricks this card can play is fantastic. It also triggers heroic and will trigger inspired.

Siren of the Fanged Coast – 6+
Uncommon
Nine out of ten times, this is a 4/4 flier for five, very Serra Angel. That one other time this card may be pretty bad. This is one of the few cards when the either/or from Tribute may not work out in your favor. If their board is weak, you get to steal their best creature, which may not be much. Then you’re stuck with a 1/1 flier and their mana dork for five. The backfire issue is there but this is still a pretty solid card.

Sphinx's Disciple – 5+ 
Common
When we played Messenger Drake we were at least guaranteed a replacement card when it died. This is more of a flying Scroll Thief which seems pretty good until you see you’re paying five mana for a 2/2. When the air is open this is a great card. But if there’s much of anything else up there it’s not going to do much for you. But once you pull ahead with card draw, you’re sitting pretty good.

Stratus Walk - 5
Common
This is several times better than Flight. You still get a card back which is pretty nice but I'm not thrilled with it overall. It's good for both Heroic and Inspired. But overall it is not fantastic. I'm curious if the card replacement gives it more valuable than I'm giving it but it is still just a not very good aura. I might find myself happy to throw this in to my deck as a 22nd and 23rd card simply to up my speed through my deck.

Sudden Storm - 4+
Common
Slow Frost Breath with scry. If you've got the solid aggressive deck or the big bestow creature it's pretty good as you can get in for two turns. But in most regular decks this is still just a bad card. I hate having to use cards like this to do nothing but punt for two turns.

Thassa's Rebuff - 4
Uncommon
This card has some really good possible upside in the right deck. If you're heavy blue it's fantastic. Lots of the time your opponent can't afford to pay three more mana to cast their big spells. Used on a card on curve it is pretty nice, once you're late in the game it can just get pretty bad. All in all it's really risky. It might find a home in some Mono-Blue.

Vortex Elemental – 5
Uncommon
This looks like a bad removal to me. So long as you’re able to block something you can basically throw it back into your deck and later end up drawing a creature that doesn’t really do anything on its own. It can deal with a big threat which may mean you need to side board it in against something you just don’t have an answer for, but you are just going to see it and whatever you send back into your opponent’s library again. The forced block cost is too high to expect to be able to hit two creatures and it doesn’t do anything against creatures with any form of evasion. Bad removal is still removal.

Blue Rare

Arbiter of the Ideal - 8
Rare
Rarely do you not attack with a 4/5 flier. That makes untapping it very likely though not a sure thing. At slightly weaker than a Mahamoti Djinn this card is a solid bomb. If it becomes the engine that keeps on giving you’ll just keep playing creatures and you’re unstoppable. It is a bit of a win more card since you already need to be in a position that you can attack with a 4/5 flier but the fact that it likely provides back end cover when you’re attacking makes it feel really solid.

Fated Infatuation – 5
Rare
While this card is great a triple blue casting cost is pretty scary to me. I’d expect to see it landing in mono-blue decks just fine but if you have to wait until 6 mana to get your third blue source, the three casting cost clone really groundbreaking. Being able to get a clone and scry two is pretty good, so is instant speed clone. I’m just not sure how many decks want to run a UUU anything.

Mindreaver – 4
Rare
While I think Mindreaver is a very interesting card, I think it falls drastically short in Limited. The fact that you don’t get to rip three off the top when you cast Mindreaver and start off with some valid targets is a really big downside, especially in limited. Plus, how many doubles do people end up with, even in draft decks. You might have a couple of two ofs in your deck, maybe you got lucky and pulled three of a common. But as it is this guy is really just a 2/1 for UU which isn’t great but works in a pinch.

Perplexing Chimera – 5+
Rare
The number of people that simply won’t be able to follow how this creature works will be huge. I think this card belongs in the Judgebringer deck because of all the problems it causes. That said, it basically shuts your opponent down until they cast something you want. Then it shuts you down. As the last card out of your hand it is the best insurance policy around. They can’t even really kill it. Though deciding when to use it will be a huge skill play. I want this to be an 8, but it's just not.

Tromokratis – 7+
Rare
The king of board stalls, Tromokratis is really an all or nothing card. It sits like a big wall and can prevent your opponent from trying to dink away at you with a flier. Remember, all creatures means All creatures so this goes horrible with any RTR block guys with Unleash. He’s a big dumb guy that can’t be chump blocked so he’ll make an impact on the field no matter what.

Whelming Wave – 6
Rare
An overloaded Cyclonic Rift with some possible advantages looks pretty cool. Sorcery speed is a bit of a bummer but at only four mana it can fix some overloaded board states and really take some action onto a Voltron your opponent has created. It seems like I’d want this in my deck even if I didn’t have any of the left behind creatures just to solve problems I have no other answer for.

Born of the Gods Limited Set Review - White

For me, one of the best ways to make a profit and still enjoy playing Magic is to win events. In Limited events that means knowing what is good in a format and being able to able to accurately assess the value of cards. Everyone puts their own value on certain types of cards. Some favor removal over any creatures, others take any decent creature over removal. Some like expensive or late game cards and others prefer value for early tempo. While I can't adjust for your play style I can tell you what I happen to think of certain cards.

The other color set reviews can be found at the following links:
Black
Red
Green
Blue
Multicolored and Colorless

Limited Rating System

Everyone who evaluates cards uses a different system. Mine is 1-10 because I feel like it creates the easiest and most recognizable system. Using grades tends to provide some false associations; B- is a pretty lame grade in school but a pretty good card in magic. I also don't like using the 1-5 system because I'd rather say something is a five than a two point five.
10 - First pick and must play even if you have to splash it.
9 - Game winning card every time it hits the table.
8 - Bombs, top tier removal, and otherwise game defining creatures.
7 - Powerful creatures or amazingly efficient creatures, conditional removal.
6 - Solid creatures, expensive or highly restrictive removal, big play enchantments and artifacts.
5 - Core cards in your deck, on curve creatures, decent cards.
4 - Fallback cards that you'd rather not have in your deck but can fill in if needed. Cards that are too situational to main deck.
3 - Bad cards, cards that have too much risk and little reward.
2 - Really bad cards that barely do anything at all and aren't likely to impact the game in a meaningful way.
1 - A card with zero meaningful impact on Limited games of Magic.
Add-on Ratings
S - Sideboard cards. These will often be brought out of your board and are worth picking up over other things of their level because of their impact against certain match-ups.
+ - Better than the average card in this category but still not worth the step up to the next level.

White Common/Uncommon

 Acolyte’s Reward - 6+
Uncommon
The ability to pull a two for one with this card seems really high. Even if you’re stuck blocking a bigger creature than you’re capable of killing initially it allows you remove up. This is a pretty good removal spell that could also lead to some end of game scenarios when you get hit with a big alpha strike. I think this is a solid card you’re going to want in your white decks. Removal and save your guy is pretty swanky.

Akroan Phalanx - 6
Uncommon
Vanilla test this guy comes back decent. Paying four for a 3/3 vigilance is pretty decent, the upside if you happen to be red is pretty significant. Obviously in the RW aggro deck this guy is a pretty sweet cleanup card. I’m sure he’ll do work in any deck and may cause me to splash a single mountain if the cards fall right.

Akroan Skyguard - 6+
Common
Everything that Wingsteed Rider did in Theros will probably be done by the Skyguard. Paying one less white for one less power and toughness feels significant because without any pants to put on the Skyguard he’s not really posing an air threat. But the ability to get him into play a turn earlier and find an enchantment to get on him makes him a very strong card. Generally when my Wingsteed Riders are doing work they’re 5/5s or more so being a point of power and toughness down won’t be an issue most of the time. Evasion and heroic is a great combo.

Archetype of Courage - 7
Uncommon
Giving all of your creatures first strike just seems insane. Doing so on a 2/2 for 3 is fantastic. There isn’t a huge number of other cards with first strike that you’ll be canceling out with this Archetype but giving two or three other creatures first strike can turn a bad board into a good one really quickly. This Archetype won’t bring you back from the brink though. Dropping a 2/2 first strike onto an empty board is going to leave you feeling pretty disappointed.

Dawn to Dusk - 5
Uncommon
With all the bestow creatures in this set I’m pretty sure you’re going to happily find a target for this card every time you cast it. If I’m going to run an enchantment removal anyway playing one that can get me a refund card as an added bonus is nice. I doubt I’m casting my enchantment removal on turn two anyway so waiting a little bit doesn’t hurt too much. It is sorcery speed but as a two for one it’s pretty decent.

Elite Skirmisher – 4
Common
I’m not very impressed with short term heroic abilities for the most part, especially not on a three drop. 3/1 for three is pretty bad already. Having to throw a spell on him to get him to tap someone down isn’t really a redeeming quality. He does trade nicely (though at three mana it’s not really trading up) and sometimes being able to tap someone down for that final swing is important, but I’m not seeking to put him in my deck.

Ephara’s Radiance – 3
Common
It’s an enchantment, that gives life gain. This has two things that are significant negatives. Where’s my draw a card here? I’m not saying that I’d play it with it, but I wouldn’t feel as insulted by the power. Three life per turn is insignificant, but neither is a card, two mana a turn, and tapping a creature. This card asks a lot and doesn’t give much back.

Excoriate – 6
Common
Good removal is fantastic. Exiling is better. Most creatures tap when they attack. I like removal. Removal feels awkward in this set much like it did in Theros making any source of removal very important. The more I read this card the less I like it. Sorcery speed removal of a tapped creature means that it has to hit you before you can kill it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m playing Excoriate in my deck, I just wish it was better.

Ghostblade Eidolon – 7
Uncommon
Wasn’t Two-Headed Cerberus 1RR? This guy is 2W and comes with bestow. Six is a lot to pay for bestow, but when you’re adding double strike you’re probably getting what you pay for. Unfortunately when he falls off you need to find something else to give him to really make him shine, but double strike is a super powerful mechanic that demands an answer.

Glimpse the Sun God – 4+
Uncommon
I think this card is playable but I have trouble seeing it as very good. Cards like Frost Breath don’t always get played because they really demand an aggressive deck in which the tapping card is a finisher. I haven’t seen that early aggressive deck out of Theros block like I did out of Innistrad or Zendikar. Most decks in Theros got really aggressive early with cards like Ordeal of Thassa on a weak creature outpacing the opponent. Tapping down their creatures doesn’t matter if yours is already bigger.

God-Favored General – 4
Uncommon
Without finding a good way to tap this guy I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with him. I don’t want to fall into the trap of playing him and Ephara’s Radiance to try to get off a combo that gives me two 1/1 soldiers and three life for five mana every turn. Even if I can attack with him the turn on turn three, I basically need to blow my entire turn four to get two 1/1 soldiers.  I want this guy to be good so bad but at 1/1 I don’t feel like I have enough ways to tap him to make do good work.

Great Hart – 4
Common
2/4 for four has never been good. But it is a creature that fits into the curve. Pillarfield Ox barely made it into decks in M14 which had very few good white creatures. I see some better white creatures in Born of the Gods so I assume that the elk-ox probably will see some play but never happily.

Griffin Dreamfinder – 4+
Common
There is so much to like about this card it’s a shame that he’s just not very good. Paying five mana for a 1/4 flier isn’t going to impress me, especially with double white. Getting an enchantment card back from your graveyard isn’t nothing though, especially when it comes with a fine beast to place it on. Turning the 1/4 into a 3/6 makes for a pretty serious air born threat. Considering that Auramancer can do some work maybe we’ll see this guy make a showing. But five mana is a lot more than three.

Hold at Bay – 3
Common
This is not Gods Willing. It never will be. It’ll save your creature or counter some damage to the face, but much like life gain you don’t win by preventing damage, you win by doing it.

Loyal Pegasus – 5+
Common
2/1 flying for one is pretty amazing really. Any aggro strategy is going to love this guy. But if he’s your only guy in the air he can’t actually block anything flying and can’t attack. I think you’d be happy to run 4 of these, but less happy to run one. You just really need to look at your overall strategy for attacking early to see where if the Pegasus fits in.

Mortal’s Ardor – 4+
Common
Combat tricks for one are pretty good. But I like them when they look more like Giant Growth. I also don’t feel that lifelink is great on a combat trick. You generally use tricks to squeak out a card. Rarely is it for big damage. So a +1/+1 for one just isn’t very impressive.

Nyxborn Shieldmate – 4
Common
It’s Holy Strength, only it’s not. Honestly I think Divine Favor is probably a better card. Being left with a 1/2 when someone drops your enchanted creature isn’t really a bonus. I actually think this card is pretty bad. As a three cost bestow I’m not impressed, as a creature I’m not impressed. I don’t really want him in my deck. Unless I've got my hoard of Skyguards to bestow upon.

Oreskos Sun Guide – 5
Common
Bears are bears. Bears that gain you life when they attack are better bears. Bears look like they’ll play a role in this set because there’s a number of low casting cost creatures. The only problem is, few of them are any good. If you get in with Sun Guide a couple of times it makes for a pretty good card. But most of the time he’s just going to be a bear.

Ornitharch – 6+
Uncommon
3/3 flier for five is decent. 5/5 is great. Getting two 1/1s isn’t bad either. This is one of the tribute cards that actually feels like a tossup. If your opponent has other fliers you’ may find yourself getting blocked out and having the extra two birdies won’t matter much. If your opponent has removal to get rid of you, you’ll be one big creature. But either way, they better have an answer because you’re getting five power in the sky.

Revoke Existence – 4S
Common
I’m debating if this card is worth trying to run main deck. There aren’t the artifacts to make it matter but there are lots of enchantment creatures. It looks like about half of the creatures are enchantment creatures. Running one enchantment removal in Theros was fine and I think that this is likely to be a good choice. But it is still slow and only kills enchantments. It’s no Doom Blade.

Sunbond – 4
Uncommon
Four mana enchantments ask a lot. This is Mark of the Vampire territory. Gaining life wasn’t super easy in Theros and I don’t expect it to be getting much easier. Without a lot of creatures with lifelink I’m not sold that I want Sunbond in my deck. Unless I have a handful of Hopeful Eidolons or a couple of Gray Merchant of Asphodel but even then, this is a four mana enchantment that doesn’t do anything. On the flip side I’m sure I’ll get blown out by this card more than once. When things come together on this card it is unstoppable.

Vanguard of Brimaz – 6
Uncommon
Everything I don’t like about Akroan Crusader seems to be fixed in his newest incarnation. A 2/2 for two is much better than a 1/1 for one. Crusader ended up decent because of the number of possible bestow targets, plus Dragon Mantle and Titan's Strength. I think Vanguard will do well also.

White Rares

Brimaz, King of Oreskos – 8+
Mythic
Brimaz is nuts. First off getting a 3/4 vigilance for three is the best deal in the set. We were excited to see Boon Satyr at 4/2 flash for three. Here we’ve got vigilance plus pumping out guys, guys with vigilance. When I compare this guy to Ajani, Caller of the Pride I see a lot more problems for an opponent from Brimaz. Three turns later you’ve done up to 15 damage and have a swarm of little catlings.

Eidolon of Countless Battles – 8
Rare
While the floor on Eidolon is pretty low, getting a 1/1 for three, if you have any kind of board presence this card gets dangerous quick. At only a four bestow cost (we’re talking Hopeful Eidolon speed here) you’re guaranteed a +2/+2 with a likelihood of seeing  +4 or +5 pretty easily. The best thing is that even if your opponent kills the creature, you get all of the bonus minus one in the creature when it falls off.  This is the closest we’ve seen bestow and casting cost on a card before. I don’t think we’ll see this being cast as a creature very often.

Fated Retribution – 4
Rare
Planar Cleansing was basically playable in M14 at six casting cost and triple white. This is instant speed but seven mana is a ton to ask in limited. The scry is a nice bonus but I don’t think this will be making it into most decks. Generally problem creatures come in the form of some guy Voltroned up with bestow creatures. This just kills all your creatures and gives them a swarm of guys that fall off. I don’t think it solves any real problems and I don’t expect it to find a home.

Hero of Iroas – 6+
Rare
As a 2/2 heroic for two I’m pretty happy with this hero. I see the decreased cost in auras as a bonus, possibly a significant one, but not an overpowered one. This card seems good, but not broken. It basically provides a little ramp into your bestows and is a solid early creature on top of that. I think it might be a toss up between this and Skyguard for the evasion.

Plea for Guidance – 4
Rare
Six mana tutors seem excessive. This card feels a lot like Opportunity without the instant speed. You can pull up your two best bestow creatures this way but you’re spending the entire turn to do it. You’ll probably spend your next turn casting one of them and the following turn casting the other. Of course, at that point you’re probably going to win the game. But you’ve had to tap out for three turns in a row to get there. Maybe the format will end up slow enough that this card will matter. We don’t get the big monstrosity creatures in Born of the Gods like we did in Theros so maybe you’ll get to the late game and not have anywhere to better to spend your mana.

Silent Sentinel – 6
Rare
Like many bombs, the cost is the primary consideration. Paying seven mana for anything is scary. Only getting a 4/6 is a little sad. But once the air is clear you’re likely to start causing some real damage. Well, kind of likely. You see you need enchantments in the graveyard, which by seven mana isn’t really hard to do. But enchantment creatures can’t come back bestowed, which is most of your enchantments. That doesn’t mean the card is bad but I think I’m likely to be underwhelmed whenever I finally get this card onto the field. It’s big, has evasion and a good ability, but there’s many other cards that I feel will help me win earlier on.

Spirit of the Labyrinth – 5+
Rare
This is clearly a constructed card. It is entirely possible you’ll be rare drafting it anyway as it can cause some significant problems for most of the big decks in standard and brings a pretty solid 3/1 body to the table. In limited the ability is basically useless. You may blank someone’s Divination but you aren’t going to do things like shut down a Sphinx’s Revelation. That said, a 3/1 for two is really solid and will make any deck happily.

Born of the Gods Limited Set Review - Green

For me, one of the best ways to make a profit and still enjoy playing Magic is to win events. In Limited events that means knowing what is good in a format and being able to able to accurately assess the value of cards. Everyone puts their own value on certain types of cards. Some favor removal over any creatures, others take any decent creature over removal. Some like expensive or late game cards and others prefer value for early tempo. While I can't adjust for your play style I can tell you what I happen to think of certain cards.

The other color set reviews can be found at the following links:
Black
Red
White
Blue
Multicolored and Colorless

Limited Rating System

Everyone who evaluates cards uses a different system. Mine is 1-10 because I feel like it creates the easiest and most recognizable system. Using grades tends to provide some false associations; B- is a pretty lame grade in school but a pretty good card in magic. I also don't like using the 1-5 system because I'd rather say something is a five than a two point five.
10 - First pick and must play even if you have to splash it.
9 - Game winning card every time it hits the table.
8 - Bombs, top tier removal, and otherwise game defining creatures.
7 - Powerful creatures or amazingly efficient creatures, conditional removal.
6 - Solid creatures, expensive or highly restrictive removal, big play enchantments and artifacts.
5 - Core cards in your deck, on curve creatures, decent cards.
4 - Fallback cards that you'd rather not have in your deck but can fill in if needed. Cards that are too situational to main deck.
3 - Bad cards, cards that have too much risk and little reward.
2 - Really bad cards that barely do anything at all and aren't likely to impact the game in a meaningful way.
1 - A card with zero meaningful impact on Limited games of Magic.
Add-on Ratings
S - Sideboard cards. These will often be brought out of your board and are worth picking up over other things of their level because of their impact against certain match-ups.
+ - Better than the average card in this category but still not worth the step up to the next level.

Green Common/Uncommon

Archetype of Endurance – 4+
Uncommon
Eight mana asks a lot. In a set without other hexproof it really asks too much. Generally the biggest issues with hexproof come from smaller creatures that have been bestowed up. Green doesn’t really have answers to these problems other than bigger creatures. Removing hexproof doesn’t really do anything. Giving all your creatures hexproof is kind of cool but not something that makes a creature with an additional two mana over a Craw Wurm.

Aspect of Hydra – 4+
Common
The biggest problem with this card is that it will occasionally do nothing. When all you have is your one or two drop on the board you’re not getting a very big bonus. However, it can also do amazing things on a developed board. Unfortunately, this means that it is no Giant Growth. Generally I want to use my giant growth on turn three or four for a decent trade up to clear out the biggest problem on their board. I can’t really gurantee that I’ll be able to make use of this that early in the game, especially if my two drop comes from a different color. It seems when I want to use this it doesn’t do much, though it still can neutralize a threat late game, if my board isn’t empty.

Charging Badger – 4
Common
Beware the 1/1 for one. Trample is a good ability but 1/1 just doesn’t cut it without some serious bestowing going on. Just because you can play him on turn one doesn’t really give you any advantage because you probably don’t have anything to bestow him with until turn three to five.

Culling Mark – 2
Removal requires a lot to make it bad. This requires that you have a bigger creature (or one with deathtouch), be attacking, and the target be untapped and not have a quick tap ability. That just feels like too many restrictions. I don’t think this card is terrible and it will solve some problems, but it won’t solve the problems you really want it to.

Graverobber Spider – 6
Uncommon
Oh, Giant Spider, what you been eating? Giant Spiders are fine limited cards. This has the ability of gaining a Rootwalla like bump which is just upside. Again, I think 2/4 is a pretty solid number in this set which may push the value up even higher.

Karametra’s Favor – 5
Common
Did I say I didn’t like this cycle. Well this one hardly counts since it’s a cantrip. It’s also color fixing, something that feels pretty sparse with the exception of Springleaf Drum. Having to have a creature you’re willing to tap for the mana is a little sad but it gives you your card back which is a big bonus. Considering you’re probably going to throw this onto your worst creature it won’t be terrible if your opponent burns removal to get rid of your one or two drop.

Mischief and Mayhem – 4+
Uncommon
Combat tricks are fantastic when they hit two creatures in heroic -- oh wait. This is not a combat trick. This is a heroic enabler at sorcery speed for five mana. So we’re looking back at overrun here. If you have the guys with evasion this could be a quick 10+ damage to your opponent’s face which can turn the game around. But if all it does is lead to chump blocking you haven’t done much. I might run one if I don’t have any real cards to play but the lack of surprise is disheartening.

Mortal's Resolve – 5
Common
This feels like a slightly more expensive Ranger’s Guile but indestructible does give additional upside. You can prevent a kill spell and still be a quality blocker. It feels like I’d have use for one or two in my deck just to guarantee my threats aren’t taken out but I definitely wouldn’t want more. It also doesn’t stop everything which is always concerning.

Nessian Demolok – 5+
Uncommon
The floor on this guy is still a 3/3 for five that destroys a meaningless land. The upside is taking an enchantment with you. This is one guy that I think frequently won’t see tribute.  Unless your opponent has a game winning enchantment on the board or some big bestow creature he’s going to just take out the biggest bestowed creature or a land. If your opponent has missed a land drop this creature becomes fantastic. They either need a way to deal with a 6/6 or they’re set back a land which will prevent them the chance of finding one. So a great creature on curve and not the worst draw late in the game makes it pretty good.

Noble Quarry – 5+
Uncommon
Lure bestow is pretty interesting. Considering that this ends up getting all of your creatures in to hit two turns in a row it seems like a pretty decent card. Drop it on your weakest creature and swing in full board. Then do it again next turn should end the game. However, lure cost four and had targets like Thicket Basilisk. Paying six is a lot more and I don’t feel like you have fantastic combo targets to throw this on.

Nyxborn Wolf – 5
Common
If Regathan Firecat was playable at 4/1 for three adding bestow and losing a power should also be fine. Giving a creature +3/+1 is pretty significant and still ending up with a decent sacrifice blocker afterwards is solid. Bestow costs are a little higher than ideal but we’ve seen that Boon Satyr is a big card, this is like his little cousin, who may be a little bit slow.

Peregrination – 4
Uncommon
I like ramp cards but by the time I’m playing a four drop I really want more than just ramping. Getting a land onto the battlefield, one in the hand, plus scry is a fair amount of ramp but spending turn 4 doing nothing other than playing lands is a bit concerning. I prefer to see cards that do less on turn one and two or have effects like this attached to a 2/2 creature so at the very least my board can develop while I’m digging for land. I’m also sad that this doesn’t turn creatures into birds.

Pheres-Band Raiders – 6
Uncommon
What I like about this card is that I’m going to be attacking with my 5/5. If they can’t stop it I get another 3/3. Paying six for the 5/5 is fine, the bonus if it just gets chumped is fantastic. I see this as a totally acceptable win condition if your opponent doesn’t have an answer. Sometimes he’ll just run into two creatures and kill them but then your other smaller guys can get in for attacks. The fact that he has to be blocked makes him pretty solid.

Pheres-Band Tromper – 6
Common
A Canyon Minotaur with upside is good by me. I figure he’ll frequently have some trouble growing but if he does he’s likely to continue growing. I’m pretty happy with this as a four drop. If my opponent hasn’t put anything significant down it’ll cause a problem. I’m also happy to bestow onto it because it’ll continue to grow when it is able to attack.

Raised by Wolves – 5
Uncommon
When this card lands, it’s big. Two creatures, heroic activation, +2/+2 on the target. However, if you get blown out by removal, it is a huge loss. Also that +2/+2 probably won’t stick around forever unless you protect mama and papa wolf. I do feel that as an awkward Moan of the Unhallowed on the battlefield it is playable. But the potential downside is so big I’m a little concerned.

Satyr Wayfinder – 4
Common
If I find a way that I want a bunch of cards in my graveyard I’m still not sure what I’d do with this guy. This is a replacement for Mulch, only it is not in a graveyard set. It’s not even ramp and is only sort of fixing. I just don’t see the combos with anything but Graverobber Spider being very good. Where’s my Spider Spawning? However, if it's my only option for mana fixing, it is a card. But I can't verify it's better than a land.

Setessan Oathsworn – 4+
Common
If you’ve got the deck this card is ok, but without significant heroic enablers a 1/1 just isn’t going to cut it. While the other multiple counter heroic cards in Theros could grow to become quite powerful they tended to start from a more significant initial point than 1/1. If you top deck this it doesn’t do anything, If you play it on turn three you need to wait another turn before it can really impact the board. It’s not terrible but you really need the right cards to make it work.

Setessan Starbreaker – 5
Common
Considering the power of bestow in the set this is the card you want to deal with it. If it destroyed an enchantment I’d by super excited but only being able to handle auras limits the uses significantly. But it does rip an arm or a leg off of Voltron and leaves behind a body to help out afterwards.

Skyreaping– 4S
Uncommon
Green needs ways to deal with flying. This deals with some fliers. I’d probably rather have Plummet which I still wouldn’t main deck.

Snake of the Golden Grove – 5
Common
4/4 for five that gives you four life upon entering the battlefield is pretty handy. You’re paying one more mana for the four life and otherwise getting a Rumbling Baloth. I can’t imagine that your opponent would ever pay tribute. If they do I’d be concerned because they’re probably going to kill you next turn.

Swordwise Centaur – 5
Common
This is not Kalonian Tusker, nor is it Garruk’s Companion, but what it is lacking from either of those two cards isn’t enough to make it a bad card. It’s be better at 3/3 or with trample but it is fine as it is. It will run into problems with 2/4s but for a two drop it’s better than bears.

Unravel the Aether – 4S
Uncommon
This solves bestow problems and god problems. As a simple solution to a god it is actually pretty good, but it doesn’t mean you won’t meet the same problem next turn. I don’t think I’d really run this unless I ran into a problem I just didn’t have an answer for. It seems too risky to main deck since I don’t feel like we have as many enchantments as we did in Theros but you're still probably safe with one.

Green Rare

Courser of Kruphix – 6
Rare
This is a surprisingly strong card. Getting a 2/4 for three is no small gain but being able to play your top deck lands is pretty awesome. The downside of your opponent seeing every card that goes into your hand is less significant when playing big creatures is your real goal. I like the body and cutting you land draws in more than half late game means you get to keep getting value when a 2/4 isn’t that powerful. He also comes down on turn three and stops all those pesky X/1 and X/2s.

Fated Intervention – 5+
Rare
Five mana for 6 total power and toughness is solid, especially if you’re getting it at instant speed. This is actually a lot like Briarpack Alpha with more green and a longer board presence.  The additional advantage of scrying if you just need to drop the card isn’t bad. Triple green scares me a bit in limited in a five drop because all too often I just won’t be able to cast it on turn five.

Hero of Leina Tower - 7
Rare
Heroic X is insane. I don't see how you can ever block this card or attack into it when your opponent has mana open. Just the threat of activation on this is insane. That doesn't even take into account what ever you might be pumping it with. Oddly this makes cheaper pump spells way better than expensive ones. But the ability to grow unstoppably makes this the best one drop in the set.

Hunter’s Prowess – 6+
Rare
Single target Overrun for five mana sounds bad, but considering that it almost guarantees card draw I’m willing to forgive it. This isn’t the cross the board sweep that Overrun is but it’s hard to imagine the downside of dealing a bunch of damage with your creature and getting some cards in return. You’re still looking at a card that does nothing on an open board which means this isn’t Opportunity, but occasionally it may be better.

Nessian Wilds Ravager – 7
Rare
6/6 for six is always ok. ETB that kills another creature always worked well for Shadowborn Demon. Ending up with a 12/12 if they don’t want to lose their best creature is also just fine. The only problem I see here is no evasion. With trample that 12/12 would be a brutal threat but if your opponent can just chump block with 2/1s until they find an answer it’s not as significant. Still, big creatures tend to do well in limited.

Scourge of Skola Vale – 6
Rare
2/2 trample for three is acceptable but unimpressive. The ability to eat other creatures is fantastic. Going to have to chump block anyway, go ahead and much up. They can’t really kill this through direct damage because you’ll probably just eat something else. As you munch up dinner you’ve got trample to move along with. Considering the threat the Blood Bairn ended up being in M14 I can’t imagine this being bad. The only difference is that you don’t have the threat of activation on attack since you have to tap to grow him. I think this is a card that will very quickly demand an answer and be a fantastic blocker until then.

Born of the Gods Limited Set Review - Red

The other color set reviews can be found at the following links:
Black
Green
White
Blue
Multicolored and Colorless

Limited Rating System

Everyone who evaluates cards uses a different system. Mine is 1-10 because I feel like it creates the easiest and most recognizable system. Using grades tends to provide some false associations; B- is a pretty lame grade in school but a pretty good card in magic. I also don't like using the 1-5 system because I'd rather say something is a five than a two point five.

10 - First pick and must play even if you have to splash it.
9 - Game winning card every time it hits the table.
8 - Bombs, top tier removal, and otherwise game defining creatures.
7 - Powerful creatures or amazingly efficient creatures, conditional removal.
6 - Solid creatures, expensive or highly restrictive removal, big play enchantments and artifacts.
5 - Core cards in your deck, on curve creatures, decent cards.
4 - Fallback cards that you'd rather not have in your deck but can fill in if needed. Cards that are too situational to main deck.
3 - Bad cards, cards that have too much risk and little reward.
2 - Really bad cards that barely do anything at all and aren't likely to impact the game in a meaningful way.
1 - A card with zero meaningful impact on Limited games of Magic.
Add-on Ratings
S - Sideboard cards. These will often be brought out of your board and are worth picking up over other things of their level because of their impact against certain match-ups.
+ - Better than the average card in this category but still not worth the step up to the next level.

Red Common/Uncommon

Akroan Conscriptor – 6
Uncommon
Act of Treason on heroic seems pretty nice. It can certainly turn your game around if you have a sac outlet. There doesn’t seem to be a ton of sac outlets though so it’s not going to make Red/Black the same kind of thing it was in M14. Still, a card like this being on the field will make them pretty concerned about playing some sort of big bad creature because you’re likely to just steal it and smack them in the face with it.

Archetype of Aggression - 5
Uncommon
Trample isn’t really the best skill. With the other Archetypes granting skills like flying and deathtouch, trample isn’t too impressive. This being a 3/2 for three helps that some. But with double red and not being a creature that can make very aggressive use of trample himself I’m forced to just feel like this one doesn’t meet the mark of several others. I’d rather see a bigger creature with trample because three power doesn’t feel very trample to me.

Bolt of Keranos – 6
Common
I dub thee Lightning Scry. However, I think Magma Jet was better; so was Lightning Strike. Conventional wisdom is that scry is worth 1/3 of a card. The question here is if it is worth one more colored mana. I don’t think it is worse than most other iterations of direct damage but this is limited and three damage is still pretty useful.

Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass - 5
Common
Is there a Cyclops of Two-Eye Pass? Just curious. Considering the vanilla nature of this creature, it’s a hard one to evaluate in many ways. Much like Regathan Firecat on its own all it can do is trade with some other big dumb creature. But with the right pairing it can pack a world of hurt. Sometimes you won’t be able to do anything with him because you’re staring down a 2/1 on the other side of the table but four mana for five power is never terrible.

Epiphany Storm – 3
Common
I love looting, I’m less fond of discard first looting. The idea of it being on an aura makes me want to cry. Along with the rest of this cycle, I think these cards are just plain bad. The effect here is good. But you’re basically paying two cards for the first one. Then one for each additional card you draw. Generally you’re seeking card advantage, not card disadvantage. Not to mention the likelihood of losing your target primarily out of spite.

Everflame Eidolon – 5+
Uncommon
Firebreathing is a pretty good ability in limited even though it’s a pretty bad card. Being able to stick it onto any guy is pretty nice. Being a bestow with a three mana cost is even cooler. The great thing about this card is you can put it on a random guy and pump it up to trade up; then you can pump it up to trade up a second time. Or you can put it on a flier or first strike guy and get in for solid damage repeatedly. The low bestow cost and the fact that even a 1/1 firebreathing is useful for trading makes this a solid card I want in my deck.

Fall of the Hammer – 6+
Common
Considering that Prey Upon was a solid card in Innistrad, I feel this can only be better. It’s a fight, without getting hit back.  Great quick kill spell to handle a creature or to finish off a creature you need to kill. Again, useless when you’re board is empty but assuming you aren’t losing by a ton this is a great card. It can also just be a big finisher with your Voltron up. I still think it should have been named Junk Shot since it's basically fight without your opponent fighting back.

Fearsome Temper – 4+
Common
+2/+2 and some sort of evasion for three is ok. Being able to shut down a blocker can be useful at times but I’d much rather be bestowing than putting this on a creature. It’s not terrible but it is pretty expensive to shut down a couple of creatures and get in for damage. With so many bestow options, a straight up enchantment just feels too risky.

Impetuous Sunchaser – 3+
This card is so close to being amazing, just one power off. 1/1s for one are generally bad. Adding flying doesn’t make it a win and neither does haste. The downside of a weak creature attacking each turn is pretty significant. This card is goes beyond undesirable cards into the unplayable realm. As a target for bestow it is acceptable since it has flying, but who cares if my 1/1 has haste.

Kragma Butcher – 5
Common
Considering that Felhide Minotaur was acceptable, if unexciting we can only see good things for his butcher brother. He feels like Minotaur Skullcleaver's slower and number cousin. But Skullcleaver  did great work in Theros, I think we’ll see the butcher hacking up his fair share of meat. I’m happy to put him in my deck.

Lightning Volley – 4+
Uncommon
This could be good card but I feel that it is asking a lot, too much in fact. I’d need three untapped creatures on and four mana at the end of my opponent’s turn to make this as useful as Flames of the Firebrand. I don’t see it likely that I’m going to get four mana worth of damage out of this card most times I cast it. I’ll probably end up using it as an expensive Shock. At one or two mana I’d really heavily consider this card, but at four I feel it is pretty high priced. I wouldn’t be thrilled with this unless I’ve got some deathtouch. It could be sided in against a deck with a ton of X/1 creatures but I'd still rather just play a something like a 2/4 at this point.

Nyxborn Rollicker – 4
Common
+1/+1 just isn’t very much. A 1/1 creature just isn’t very good. There may end up being some magic number that makes having a 1/3 creature become a 2/4 kills half the creatures in the format. But I don’t think that this is likely to make this card worth running. It’s not totally useless, but it’s not a card that will turn the tides of the game nine out of ten times. Maybe as a heroic trigger this will have a large enough impact to make a difference but I’m not seeing the red heroics I want to make this playable.

Pharagax Giant – 5+
Uncommon
While a 5/5 for five is a pretty good deal, I can see times where people take five damage to the face to avoid you throwing down a big creature. Either way this is a decent creature. Canyon Minotaur plus Lava Axe is great for one more mana. For a common, five mana 5/5 is pretty efficient. You probably won’t want to fill your deck with these guys but having two near the top of your curve seems like solid threats.

Pinnacle of Rage – 5
Uncommon
So far I haven’t been impressed with rage cards from Theros block. They tend to be expensive and not that great. This is two lightning strikes in one spell at sorcery speed for two more colorless mana. It’s not a great deal. Sometimes you just need some more removal to clean up smaller threats. It is important to remember that this card won’t kill a 6/6 and you need two targets for it. Sometimes it is just an expensive Bile Blight.

Reckless Reveler - 5
Common
While there aren’t a lot of artifacts in this set, a 2/1 for two has never been terrible. If you end up against  someone running a Gorgon's Head or Siren Song Lyre this will be a decent way to combat it. Plus 2/1 creatures frequently end up outclassed at the end of the game, burning it to get rid of a Springleaf Drum isn’t horrible if your opponent is getting his inspired on.

Rise to the Challenge – 4+
Common
What was it about Thunder Strike that wouldn’t fit into this set? I suppose in Standard you can now play eight of a card you’d never even consider putting in your deck.  While this isn’t a bad card in limited it is fairly risky. It’s less risky than it was in M14 because M14 had so much good removal. With less quality removal you’re more likely to get your kill. I’m ok playing these here but I’d rather have an actual threat.

Satyr Nyx-Smith – 6
Uncommon
I feel like haste is what really makes this card work. It basically gives you a 2/1 and a 3/1 for six mana, which isn’t terrible in limited. It also has the chance to produce more.  Because you can lay this down when you’re guaranteed to be able to safely attack it seems more valuable than several of the other token producing uncommon. Plus getting five power out of one card can cause some real problems for your opponent the following turn, even if this smith dies quickly.

Scouring Sands – 5
Common
Electrickery with scry attached is a pretty sweet deal though sorcery over instant is not. This card may make all X/1s far worse than they previously appeared. With so many decent creatures with one toughness this spell looks like a must play in many decks. I guess we now know that the magic number on toughness is specifically not one.

Searing Blood – 6+
Uncommon
Expensive Shock with a potential upside is an interesting card. Getting to kill a creature plus three damage to an opponent makes this a five damage spell for two mana. It seems pretty good. Double red will be a little annoying but I think there’s more than enough targets in the set to make it good. Don’t forget that if you have to block with a creature to use this you’re still getting upside with the damage.

Stormcaller of Keranos – 5+
Uncommon
While 2/2 haste for three has been acceptable, it has never been exciting. The problem with them is that they always get outclassed in the late game. However, unlimited scry without tapping is pretty amazing. Late game the scry is amazing, early game the haste is acceptable. I feel that makes this a pretty solid card that I want in my deck. I’ll probably even take two. Being able to spend extra mana to avoid unneeded land drops is pretty awesome. However, you need to be in color to make this work. There always is some downside.

Thunder Brute – 7
Uncommon
5/5 haste trample is pretty good. It can cause massive when it hits the board. 8/8 trample for six is also pretty fantastic. Assuming the game can frequently make it to the late game this guy is sure to make a bashing when he gets cast. Because of trample I expect to see this guy as a 5/5 haste pretty much all the time, because if you can’t deal with a 5/5 haste trample there is no way you’ll be able to deal with an 8/8 trample.

Thunderous Might – 4
Uncommon
Still no draw a card. That’s too bad. You are most likely to get +2/0 to +5/0. +5/0 is pretty good if you can drop it on something with evasion or flying, but this doesn’t grant any form of evasion.  I have a hard time seeing this be really useful. It’s also dangerous because it is an enchantment and it is based on your devotion. Too often someone can kill a creature that gives devotion they can end up with a three for one on a well timed block. It’s not a terrible card if you can stick it on something with first strike, but overall I’d rather have something less fragile in my deck.

Red Rare

Fated Conflagration – 5
Rare
Lava Axe a creature or planeswalker, but not a player doesn’t seem fantastic. I figure that two colored mana is worth a bit more than trading in a single mana in casting cost. The fact that this goes off on creatures of planeswalkers at instant speed is nice but you have to be really deep in red to play this card. Late game I don’t even expect five damage to solve every problem I’m likely to encounter. I feel like I’m going to play this card but never end up casting it.

Felhide Spiritbinder – 7
Rare
Unlike many creatures with Inspired this one passes the vanilla test. 3/4 for four is a perfectly acceptable creature in limited and one that is likely to get in to attack. The ability to make a copy of the best creature to send back in when he untaps makes this a really big threat. Even if you’re just copying him you’re getting in for six damage. I like this minotaur a lot. If you include some of the other minotaur buffing creatures he can become an even more formidable threat.

Flame-Wreathed Phoenix – 8
Mythic
This is just bad decisions all around. A 3/3 flier that goes back to your hand is just fine for four. A 5/5 flier for four is fantastic. This is a no lose card. There’s no good choice unless you’ve got the removal spell in your hand. Just a solid card and problematic for your opponent no matter which way you look at it.

Forgestoker Dragon – 7+
Uncommon
This is an interesting take on Flameblast Dragon. Rather than getting the Fireball effect you get to ping any creature for 1R when it attacks. Assuming you have the mana to cast him you basically can ping for three each turn. Flameblast was a powerhouse in the fairly aggressive M12 format and I think we’ll see Forgestoker do similar work here. I feel that the six casting cost for a 5/4 is a little higher than I’d like but it’s a pretty typical dragon.

Oracle of Bones – 4+
Rare
This is a really interesting card that is likely to be really to be mediocre in limited. With the unlikely chance that you’ll be sitting on a decent instant or sorcery you want to cast for free, I think that this card will pretty much always be a 3/1. Maybe you’ll get a free Searing Blood but this card is going to ask you to play expensive damage spells you probably don’t really want in your deck.  If you can pull in enough good sorcery and instant spells in something like a red/blue combo deck you could probably get significant use to make your opponent consider taking the tribute. But 3/1 for four is pretty bad. (It may be that the risk of tribute is so significant that people will always take the buffed creature and this will be a better card than it appears, but I think in limited I’ll always take the 3/1).

Satyr Firedancer – 4
Rare
This is sort of an inverse Guttersnipe but not one that I think will really do the trick. It allows you to get double value out of burn spells. There aren’t enough burn spells to make me want to play a 1/1 for two. Maybe someday I’ll draft five Searing Bloods, Pinnacle’s of Rage, and one of these guys… who am I kidding. If this was a build around it’d need to be uncommon. I think I’ll just pass over it every time I see it unless it becomes a valuable card in Burn.

Whims of the Fates – 2
Rare
Cards like this are for fun kitchen table games and making people cry in EDH. This is not a reliable or fun limited card. With huge risk no matter how you cut it you’re going to pay a bunch of mana for something that will either win you the game, lose you the game, or do nothing. But which of those it will do is entirely out of your control. It does bring up fantastic match discussions about how you should pile (odds say all in one pile) but beyond the philosophic discussion, this is just different version of Scrambleverse.

Born of the Gods Limited Set Review - Black

For me, one of the best ways to make a profit and still enjoy playing Magic is to win events. In Limited events that means knowing what is good in a format and being able to able to accurately assess the value of cards. Everyone puts their own value on certain types of cards. Some favor removal over any creatures, others take any decent creature over removal. Some like expensive or late game cards and others prefer value for early tempo. While I can't adjust for your play style I can tell you what I happen to think of certain cards.

The other color set reviews can be found at the following links:
Red
Green
White
Blue
Multicolored and Colorless

Limited Rating System

Everyone who evaluates cards uses a different system. Mine is 1-10 because I feel like it creates the easiest and most recognizable system. Using grades tends to provide some false associations; B- is a pretty lame grade in school but a pretty good card in magic. I also don't like using the 1-5 system because I'd rather say something is a five than a two point five.

10 - First pick and must play even if you have to splash it.

9 - Game winning card every time it hits the table.

8 - Bombs, top tier removal, and otherwise game defining creatures.

7 - Powerful creatures or amazingly efficient creatures, conditional removal.

6 - Solid creatures, expensive or highly restrictive removal, big play enchantments and artifacts.

5 - Core cards in your deck, on curve creatures, decent cards.

4 - Fallback cards that you'd rather not have in your deck but can fill in if needed. Cards that are too situational to main deck.

3 - Bad cards, cards that have too much risk and little reward.

2 - Really bad cards that barely do anything at all and aren't likely to impact the game in a meaningful way.

1 - A card with zero meaningful impact on Limited games of Magic.

Add-on Ratings

S - Sideboard cards. These will often be brought out of your board and are worth picking up over other things of their level because of their impact against certain match-ups.

+ - Better than the average card in this category but still not worth the step up to the next level.

Black Common/Uncommon

Archetype of Finality – 6
Uncommon
Deathtouch is a very powerful ability and giving it to your entire board can be pretty powerful. Doing so at six mana with a 2/3 makes me a little nervous but I still think that this is a good card. Suddenly your 1/1 tokens are killing machines. It makes you way more likely to get in with one or two little guys for damage on a stalled board while still keeping back your more powerful defenders. Without other creatures you’re getting a weak and expensive Basilisk but at least it makes a significant board presence on its own.

Ashiok’s Adept – 4
Uncommon
While a 1/3 for two mana will frequently find a home, a 1/3 for three is much worse. I have trouble finding ways to make this Heroic activation worth it. I suppose pumping your guy for extra damage and making an opponent discard a card is pretty good. Getting a free discard off a bestow is also fine. But I generally don’t want to be throwing my bestow cards on a 1/3 anyway.  Maybe I’m wrong and discard will be a thing, but I’d much rather have a Disciple of Phenax and I didn’t always play them.

Asphyxiate – 5+
Common
This is a very weird card. While Assassinate makes a certain amount of sense, everything about Asphyxiate feels unintuitive. I feel like there will be a number of times where this is cast on a creature, that simply taps itself in response. It is also basically countered by a Springleaf Drum. This makes it very conditional removal with some creatures it just can’t kill. Also that thing that is beating your face in every turn, it’ll never kill that because it’s always tapped when your turn comes around. I think I’d rather sit on the additional three mana and play Sip of Hemlock.

Bile Blight – 7
Uncommon
Instant -3/-3 for two black is pretty good. The chance to nail a second creature as well makes this fantastic. While doubles aren’t as common in limited as constructed, getting a two for one out of this card will occasionally be doable with tokens running around. Even at just one creature it is still better than Phareka’s Cure.

Black Oak of Odunos – 4+
Uncommon
When it comes to ways to activate Inspired I think this is one of my favorite. If you can pull in a bunch of good Inspired cards you can tap any number of them at the end of your turn to get activation off, one mana each. Suddenly a card like Icy Manipulator is looking really good but in the right deck you may still a lot of value off of this card. Other decks aren’t too likely to want it since a wall without power is just a brick dummy.

Claim of Erebos – 4
Common
This is still a bad cycle of enchantments. Ping for two isn’t terrible when it comes on a creature but when it is its own card I’m worried. This would probably be better if it was just an enchantment that did two damage per turn like Mogis.

Drown in Sorrow – 5+
Uncommon
Bigger Mutilate with scry allows you to play some bigger black creatures with ways to deal with all the one, two and several three drops. As a turn three board sweeper this is pretty strong. The scry as an additional bonus makes this a pretty solid card. Of course, it will kill your own creatures if you’re not careful but you’ll probably be able to get a two for one if not better.

Eye Gouge - 4
Common
-1/-1 is frequently enough to do the last shot on a creature making this card a usable combat trick. But I didn’t always want Weakness in my deck and this seems far worse than that. If you happen up against a couple of cyclops (cyclopi?) maybe you  side it in for the extra possible value. It’s not totally unplayable but I’m sure there’s something better you can put in your deck.

Felhide Brawler – 4+
Common
It’s a bear with an upsi… no wait. It’s a bear with a downside. At least it can still bash in for two. That’s a good thing. I feel like with this downside it should be a single black, or something. Not really the two drop I want but a two drop none the less.

Forlorn Pseudamma – 5+
Uncommon
It’s a 2/1 for four that’s lame. But it’s got intimidate which makes it less lame. Add on it makes guys when it untaps and it’s actually pretty good. I’m in favor of any inspired guys with evasion or a way to tap themselves. Intimidate is pretty good evasion. You’ll probably have to side him out against another black deck but he is a creature your opponent can’t really afford to just ignore on the board even in black matchups.

Forsaken Drifters – 4+
Common
It’s a mill card. No, it’s a self mill card. This really isn’t Armored Skaab in a graveyard centered set like Innistrad. So it just screws you when it leaves. Why isn’t this Vampire Warlord? That card had some practical uses for the same power and toughness at one more casting cost. After seeing Boon Satyr as a 4/2 flash for three it’s hard to be excited about paying four for one that mills you when it dies even at common.

Grisly Transformation – 5+
Common
Intimidate cantrip enchantment, interesting. Considering this set has heroic and inspired this seems pretty solid. If you drop it on either creature you’re getting your card back plus making your creature unblockable. Aqueous Form saw a lot of play even though it carried all the risk of this card. I think Grisly Transformation will be a decent play in most decks.

Marshmist Titan – 5+
Common
I have a difficult time placing this card exactly. The body is good and assuming you can have as little as two devotion on the board you’re still paying for something that is on curve. If you don’t have many other black permanents than you’ll want to leave this titan at home but if you’re already playing black you’ll probably be able to drum up at least a couple devotion. I’d love to see the game where this guy can come down on turn four and start beating.

Necrobite – 6
This is removal, plain and simple. All you need is a blocker, any blocker with power. It does run the risk of losing a two for one if someone hits your blocker with removal, but there isn’t that much great instant speed removal in this set that I’d be super worried about it. This card will deal with problems you otherwise can’t.

Nyxborn Eidolon – 4
Common
It’s Unholy Strength only much much worse. 2/1 for two is understandable but having to pay five to bestow in order to get two power feels pretty lame. Remember what we got for five in Theros? +1/+1 and deathtouch plus a deathtouch guy when that creature died. This just doesn’t compare.

Odunos River Trawler – 5+
Uncommon
How come black’s Auramancer is better than Auramancer? While Auramancer is playable in this set with the enchantment creatures and such, the chance of getting two auras back for one creature is pretty amazing. It’s also just one white so if you pick up a couple of trawlers you can just throw in a plains for possible additional value. At worst you get an Auramancer, at best you basically get two.

Sanguimancy – 4
Uncommon
Considering the difficulty of getting your devotion to black very high in a non mono black deck, this is clearly a much worse card than Gray Merchant. It also doesn’t add any devotion itself meaning you may find times you draw it late in the game where X may be zero. If this was 2B I’d be all over it but at a higher cost of five mana, I’m less enthused. If you’re heavy into black I’d probably look at it again but for one more mana we had Opportunity which guaranteed four cards and was at instant speed.

Servant of Tymaret – 4+
Common
Again, the 1/3 for three isn’t very good. Making it a 1/3 with a lifelink ping on untap and regeneration makes this guy a pretty good target for a tap aura. He can insure his own survival. Losing a Regeneration shield also taps him making him an acceptable chump blocker. Overall I’m still not sure I actually want this guy in my deck but I could see him ending up in there.

Shrike Harpy – 6
Uncommon
This will be a 4/4 flier for five unless your opponent has some mana dork to give up. Maybe your opponent has some creature that has passed usefulness that is worth pitching but either way, it’s a really solid card. Big air born creatures are always solid and this does well as a weak Sengir Vampire, which is always a decent card. Paying five for an Diabolic Edict and a 2/2 flier in one card is fine.

Spiteful Returned – 5+
Uncommon
I think this is a win more card. On its own you’ve got a 1/1 for two that hits like a 3/1. On another creature that’s going to get in for damage you’ve got a 3/1 bestow which is pretty okay but not fantastic. It also doesn’t allow you to suddenly trade up your creature to handle a big threat. I think this is fine but as far as bestow abilities it is not amazing.

Warchanter of Mogis – 5
Common
A little expensive for a 3/3 it cost is fine for a 3/3 intimidate which it can certainly become after surviving one round of combat.  This makes it a solid but overall not highly impressive card. Being able to give intimidate to another creature is a nice little trick, but not one that really gives much power. Plus, unlike most intimidate creatures, you still need to get it in without dying the first round and if you have to hold it back you’re stuck without intimidate for until you can get back in for an attack.

Weight of the Underworld – 5
Common
I guess this is okay. It’s a long term Weakness or a kill spell on a two toughness guy. My only dislike here is the cost. At four mana I’d expect something bigger. I suppose it’s nice that it’ll stick around on a big creature, but this clearly isn’t Dead Weight.

Black Rares

Champion of Stray Souls - 8
Mythic
This feels like the ETB engine that just won’t stop. Cycling your Gray Merchant for another one, or two for two is just plain mean. Also his return from the graveyard effect is going to make this 4/4 a real problem to deal with. I think he qualifies as a total bomb in limited since he will never go away and he lets you swap all your out of date creatures for the best creatures you’ve already lost.

Eater of Hope – 7
Rare
Big demons are rarely disappointing unless they make you sac your own guys. This one doesn’t make you, it lets you. Still, sacrificing two insignificant creatures to destroy any creature is an amazing bonus. The 6/4 flier isn’t bad either. This looks like a tough card to answer all the way around. Seven is a bit expensive but being able to off other creatures makes it feel worth it.

Fate Unraveler – 6
Rare
When I read the text on this card I assume that I’m not really going to like it. But paying four mana for a 3/4 is pretty decent. Black doesn’t normally get creatures this efficient without a drawback. And it’s not a drawback, it’s a significant upside. On a lesser creature I’d be significantly less impressed but on top of being a meaningful body on the field you’re going to be automatically pinging for at least one every turn. Plus it’ll punish people that like draw heavy decks.

Fated Return – 5
Rare
Wow, the effects of this card are awesome but seven mana is just plain brutal. Getting the best creature that’s died so far on your side with indestructible is really cool, assuming you have a way to get a good creature into the graveyard. Even by the time I hit seven mana I’m not guaranteed to have anything bigger than 3/3 in the yard. This feels like a really risky play that will occasionally pay off. It’s not terrible to have at the top of your curve but it doesn’t really solve any of your problems if the biggest threat in the game is still on the battlefield.

Gild – 8
Rare
Unconditional creature removal that exiles, not destroys is fantastic. It’s not Swords to Plowshares but it’s probably the closest black is ever going to get. I’m not sure what’s up with the extra mana token but if it lets me cast my six drop instead of a five drop I’m on board. I’m not even that broken up about the sorcery speed. This is a big black answer to any problem sitting pretty at four mana. I’m a big big fan.

Herald of Torment - 7+
Rare
Nimbus Naiad saw tons of play and this is much better. A 3/3 flier in black for three is already way ahead of curve. Having the bestow for five that gives +3/+3 and flying is fantastic. The downside is small enough that if you play it on a creature you’ll win so fast it just won’t matter. Getting another creature off the ground will guarantee you enough damage that you’ll always be happy to play this.

Pain Seer – 5+
Rare
Mini Bob, the lesser Dark Confidant is not really a limited card. Considering the danger of paying CMC for cards in limited I don’t feel like this card will be a massive advantage to a deck. I’m pretty sure I’d play him anyway. But I feel like he often times will be a bear with a dangerous upside.  I’m also not sure how often you’ll be able to tap your 2/2.