Hello there, and welcome to this review of the format that everyone's talking about right now, Core Set Limited. In this article, I will discuss some of the more important and controversial in the format. My comments should be considered to apply equally to both draft and sealed deck events, unless I say otherwise, which I probably won't. So, without further prevarication, I shall move on to the analysis.


Black

Hypnotic Specter - Ok, so it forces your opponent to discard. Not such a big deal. In case you hadn't noticed, it's the cards already in play you need to worry about, the ones that are already beating you down. Unless you want people to laugh at your pathetic draft skills, you should go with Giant Cockroach. 4/2 beats 2/2, any day.

Giant Cockroach - Who gives a shit about toughness? It might as well be a 4/4 for 4 with no drawback. Definite first pick, even if you're not running black.

Dark Banishing - A kill spell that doesn't deal with the biggest threat in the format? While you're gunning down elves and dragons, Giant Cockroach is BEATING YOUR FACE IN.

Grave Pact - This would be brilliant if it wasn't for the fact that your creatures have to die in order to kill their creatures. Hardly good card advantage, when you think about it. Still, at least you get your bitter revenge if they somehow kill your precious Cockroaches. If it hasn't been rare grabbed, seventh pick.

Phyrexian Arena - Which is more important, cards or life? Right. Trading something you can't afford to run out of for something which you obviously can seems pointless and self-defeating to me, because it is. If you're unlucky enough to have this as your last pick, punch the guy who passed it to you and storm out.

Red

Viashino Sandstalker - Its bounce ability helps it dodge sorcery speed kill, but means it's probably the worst blocker in the game. As it is, all it does is go in and out faster than Cade in a nunnery, but anything that can go like that is probably worth at least 3rd pick.

Shard Phoenix - Hah! Take that, shitty hammer. Creatures are what the core set is all about. Flying killy creatures are just broken.

Shock - Two damage? Like, to a creature? So in theory it could kill . . . no, this must be some sort of mistake. IT CANNOT BE STOPPED.

Furnace of Rath - How in the name of hell did this get in? It doubles all damage. ALL. Which means your opponent gets to lay the beats first. Along with this and the painlands, they may as well have reprinted Nefarious Lich and had done with it. How did this win a runoff against a strictly better card? Gratuitous Violence was cool. Furnace is a steering wheel of suck.

Lightning Blast - Well, at one point of damage per mana, it's only half as good as Shock, which I have just comprehensively proved is awful. Red sucks in core limited, and nothing will ever change that.

Blaze - You play this. Your opponent plays Stream of Life. You've just wasted everyone's time. You will lose the respect of your former peers, and fall gradually into a cycle of alcohol, drugs, and Yu-Gi-Oh. You will resort to a life of crime to feed your habits, and will be shot by a police marksman as you attempt to raid the local Toymaster. RED SUCKS.

Green

Maro - Wait, that's a real card name? Bit of a coincidence if it is. I mean, what are the odds of a card and a designer having the same name? Oh yeah, and it combos with Spellbook. Sweet.

Craw Wurm - While not quite the ultimate fatty, this is one big bastard, and there's not many ways to stop it. With the simple addition of Flight, not even Form of the Dragon can stand in its way. It even trades with Giant Cockroach. Awesome.

Naturalize - In normal circumstances, this is a good card. However, the fact that in this format every single potential target for it is a huge steaming pile of shit renders it utterly useless. If it's down to the last two picks and you can have either this or a suckland, take this. Otherwise, leave it well alone.

Llanowar Elf - Frankly I don't see why everyone is whining about Birds of Paradise not being reprinted. Llanowar Elf is just as good. The logic is simple. Birds of Paradise may provide multi-colored mana, but since it can only be played in green decks it doesn't need any other colors. Llanowar Elfprovides just as much in terms of useful mana production, but can also lay the beats. Even if you're not playing green, you should common-grab this.

Hunted Wumpus - If this was the biggest creature in the format it would be great. As it is, they'll just drop a ridiculously large fatty down, which is going to be swinging straight at you next turn. Err, 4th pick. Or 6th maybe. But not 5th.

White

Wrath of God - I never understood why this sees so much play. Are people reading it wrong? It kills all creatures. That includes yours, Einstein. When Slide was legal, there was maybe a reason to run this. Without Slide, you'll look like a bloody idiot.

Paladin en-Vec - Don't make me laugh.

Blinding Angel - Considering the only cards in 9th that can deal with this are Blaze and Lightning Blast, and they both suck, this is pretty much an auto-win. Of course, it takes a while, because the very idea of a white creature with a high power is stupid, but it'll get there in the end.

Ivory Mask - The way I see it, attacking is an ability right? And logically they're targeting you. So this should stop anything from attacking you. Sure, you might get a few rules lawyers claiming otherwise, but you can just smack them in the head when the judge isn't looking. No problem.

Spirit Link - I cannot believe they keep printing this absolutely ridiculous bomb. Life gain is great. Fact. A one mana enchantment that provides you with potentially unlimited life gain (at least until your cockroach has finished laying down the beats) is just ludicrous. An absolute first pick under any circumstances, and it should go well on eBay.

Blue

Clone - "Now I have a Giant Cockroach of my own! Bwahaha!". Sweet.

Battle of Wits - I don't think there's technically any limit to the size of a limited deck, considering you can add as many basic lands as you like. First pick this, a few counters, and then add about three hundred islands to be on the safe side, and bingo! Top 8 for sure.

Mana Leak - This is just an insult. I'm still emotional about losing Counterspell, and they throw this rubbish in my face. Imagine if they dropped Craw Wurm and left with you with just Norwood Ranger. How pissed off would you be? Exactly.

Boomerang - What is it that people just don't get about this card? It's pointless. If you return something to its owners hand, it's going to come back again next turn. This card is to removal what Luciano Pavarotti is to indoor hang-gliding. Don't bother.

Flight - This card is great, just because of the potential for laughs. I mean, we all know evasion is more or less useless in limited, but the sheer hilarity of a Verdant Force swooping about the sky cannot be denied. So pick up a few of these, make a fatty cannon deck, and laugh your way to a 0-2 drop.

Artifacts/Lands

Aladdin's Ring - This will see loads of play in limited and extended. Why? It's a way round Circle of Protection: Red, and is far more powerful than Cursed Scroll ever was. Nothing can stand before its might. And Robin Williams was well funny in that film.

Howling Mine - Basically, what Phyrexian Arena wishes it was. Sure, your opponent gets to draw cards too, but if you're a good player you should have better cards than them, so no problem. If you don't have better cards, you were probably going to lose anyway, you useless waste of life.

Bottle Gnomes - I just love the art. These little guys are cool. And anyway, you can't say no to a little life gain on the side.

Loxodon Warhammer - This may seem like a run-of-the-mill card, as it's slow and doesn't increase the survivability of the creature in question at all. However, you have an ace up your sleeve, in the form of the aforementioned Bottle Gnomes. Now you have a creature that gains life when it lives and when it dies, and who could ask for more than that?

Brushland - I thought Wizards had learnt their lesson when they removed this cycle from 8th edition. THE PAINLANDS ARE TOO DAMN COMPLICATED. They finally got something right, and they went and screwed it up again. How hard can it be? Plus, they suck. I mean, they damage you. You! Not your opponent, but you! Why the hell would you play a card that actually hurts you? I hope someone gets fired for this one.

Mox Diamond- As some of you probably realized, there was a mistake in the 9th edition spoiler, in that it neglected to include Mox Diamond, which was clearly visible in a 9th edition promotional poster which was leaked to a well-respected Magic website. However, it wouldn't matter if it had been included. In order to play it, you have to sacrifice a mana source. For that, you get . . . a mana source. Nice card interaction there, guys.


So there you have it. Black is clearly the most powerful color, and should therefore be the automatic choice in sealed. In draft, however, everyone will be in black, and you should seriously consider where to splash. White and blue both have something to recommend them, but looking at the power level of the cards the sensible option is to splash for artifacts. This is an often-underutilized approach, which should therefore pay dividends. But for the love of God don't pick red.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

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Hello there, and welcome to this review of the format that everyone's talking about right now, Core Set Limited. In this article, I will discuss some of the more important and controversial in the format. My comments should be considered to apply equally to both draft and sealed deck events, unless I say otherwise, which I probably won't. So, without further prevarication, I shall move on to the analysis.


Black

Hypnotic Specter - Ok, so it forces your opponent to discard. Not such a big deal. In case you hadn't noticed, it's the cards already in play you need to worry about, the ones that are already beating you down. Unless you want people to laugh at your pathetic draft skills, you should go with Giant Cockroach. 4/2 beats 2/2, any day.

Giant Cockroach - Who gives a shit about toughness? It might as well be a 4/4 for 4 with no drawback. Definite first pick, even if you're not running black.

Dark Banishing - A kill spell that doesn't deal with the biggest threat in the format? While you're gunning down elves and dragons, Giant Cockroach is BEATING YOUR FACE IN.

Grave Pact - This would be brilliant if it wasn't for the fact that your creatures have to die in order to kill their creatures. Hardly good card advantage, when you think about it. Still, at least you get your bitter revenge if they somehow kill your precious Cockroaches. If it hasn't been rare grabbed, seventh pick.

Phyrexian Arena - Which is more important, cards or life? Right. Trading something you can't afford to run out of for something which you obviously can seems pointless and self-defeating to me, because it is. If you're unlucky enough to have this as your last pick, punch the guy who passed it to you and storm out.

Red

Viashino Sandstalker - Its bounce ability helps it dodge sorcery speed kill, but means it's probably the worst blocker in the game. As it is, all it does is go in and out faster than Cade in a nunnery, but anything that can go like that is probably worth at least 3rd pick.

Shard Phoenix - Hah! Take that, shitty hammer. Creatures are what the core set is all about. Flying killy creatures are just broken.

Shock - Two damage? Like, to a creature? So in theory it could kill . . . no, this must be some sort of mistake. IT CANNOT BE STOPPED.

Furnace of Rath - How in the name of hell did this get in? It doubles all damage. ALL. Which means your opponent gets to lay the beats first. Along with this and the painlands, they may as well have reprinted Nefarious Lich and had done with it. How did this win a runoff against a strictly better card? Gratuitous Violence was cool. Furnace is a steering wheel of suck.

Lightning Blast - Well, at one point of damage per mana, it's only half as good as Shock, which I have just comprehensively proved is awful. Red sucks in core limited, and nothing will ever change that.

Blaze - You play this. Your opponent plays Stream of Life. You've just wasted everyone's time. You will lose the respect of your former peers, and fall gradually into a cycle of alcohol, drugs, and Yu-Gi-Oh. You will resort to a life of crime to feed your habits, and will be shot by a police marksman as you attempt to raid the local Toymaster. RED SUCKS.

Green

Maro - Wait, that's a real card name? Bit of a coincidence if it is. I mean, what are the odds of a card and a designer having the same name? Oh yeah, and it combos with Spellbook. Sweet.

Craw Wurm - While not quite the ultimate fatty, this is one big bastard, and there's not many ways to stop it. With the simple addition of Flight, not even Form of the Dragon can stand in its way. It even trades with Giant Cockroach. Awesome.

Naturalize - In normal circumstances, this is a good card. However, the fact that in this format every single potential target for it is a huge steaming pile of shit renders it utterly useless. If it's down to the last two picks and you can have either this or a suckland, take this. Otherwise, leave it well alone.

Llanowar Elf - Frankly I don't see why everyone is whining about Birds of Paradise not being reprinted. Llanowar Elf is just as good. The logic is simple. Birds of Paradise may provide multi-colored mana, but since it can only be played in green decks it doesn't need any other colors. Llanowar Elfprovides just as much in terms of useful mana production, but can also lay the beats. Even if you're not playing green, you should common-grab this.

Hunted Wumpus - If this was the biggest creature in the format it would be great. As it is, they'll just drop a ridiculously large fatty down, which is going to be swinging straight at you next turn. Err, 4th pick. Or 6th maybe. But not 5th.

White

Wrath of God - I never understood why this sees so much play. Are people reading it wrong? It kills all creatures. That includes yours, Einstein. When Slide was legal, there was maybe a reason to run this. Without Slide, you'll look like a bloody idiot.

Paladin en-Vec - Don't make me laugh.

Blinding Angel - Considering the only cards in 9th that can deal with this are Blaze and Lightning Blast, and they both suck, this is pretty much an auto-win. Of course, it takes a while, because the very idea of a white creature with a high power is stupid, but it'll get there in the end.

Ivory Mask - The way I see it, attacking is an ability right? And logically they're targeting you. So this should stop anything from attacking you. Sure, you might get a few rules lawyers claiming otherwise, but you can just smack them in the head when the judge isn't looking. No problem.

Spirit Link - I cannot believe they keep printing this absolutely ridiculous bomb. Life gain is great. Fact. A one mana enchantment that provides you with potentially unlimited life gain (at least until your cockroach has finished laying down the beats) is just ludicrous. An absolute first pick under any circumstances, and it should go well on eBay.

Blue

Clone - "Now I have a Giant Cockroach of my own! Bwahaha!". Sweet.

Battle of Wits - I don't think there's technically any limit to the size of a limited deck, considering you can add as many basic lands as you like. First pick this, a few counters, and then add about three hundred islands to be on the safe side, and bingo! Top 8 for sure.

Mana Leak - This is just an insult. I'm still emotional about losing Counterspell, and they throw this rubbish in my face. Imagine if they dropped Craw Wurm and left with you with just Norwood Ranger. How pissed off would you be? Exactly.

Boomerang - What is it that people just don't get about this card? It's pointless. If you return something to its owners hand, it's going to come back again next turn. This card is to removal what Luciano Pavarotti is to indoor hang-gliding. Don't bother.

Flight - This card is great, just because of the potential for laughs. I mean, we all know evasion is more or less useless in limited, but the sheer hilarity of a Verdant Force swooping about the sky cannot be denied. So pick up a few of these, make a fatty cannon deck, and laugh your way to a 0-2 drop.

Artifacts/Lands

Aladdin's Ring - This will see loads of play in limited and extended. Why? It's a way round Circle of Protection: Red, and is far more powerful than Cursed Scroll ever was. Nothing can stand before its might. And Robin Williams was well funny in that film.

Howling Mine - Basically, what Phyrexian Arena wishes it was. Sure, your opponent gets to draw cards too, but if you're a good player you should have better cards than them, so no problem. If you don't have better cards, you were probably going to lose anyway, you useless waste of life.

Bottle Gnomes - I just love the art. These little guys are cool. And anyway, you can't say no to a little life gain on the side.

Loxodon Warhammer - This may seem like a run-of-the-mill card, as it's slow and doesn't increase the survivability of the creature in question at all. However, you have an ace up your sleeve, in the form of the aforementioned Bottle Gnomes. Now you have a creature that gains life when it lives and when it dies, and who could ask for more than that?

Brushland - I thought Wizards had learnt their lesson when they removed this cycle from 8th edition. THE PAINLANDS ARE TOO DAMN COMPLICATED. They finally got something right, and they went and screwed it up again. How hard can it be? Plus, they suck. I mean, they damage you. You! Not your opponent, but you! Why the hell would you play a card that actually hurts you? I hope someone gets fired for this one.

Mox Diamond- As some of you probably realized, there was a mistake in the 9th edition spoiler, in that it neglected to include Mox Diamond, which was clearly visible in a 9th edition promotional poster which was leaked to a well-respected Magic website. However, it wouldn't matter if it had been included. In order to play it, you have to sacrifice a mana source. For that, you get . . . a mana source. Nice card interaction there, guys.


So there you have it. Black is clearly the most powerful color, and should therefore be the automatic choice in sealed. In draft, however, everyone will be in black, and you should seriously consider where to splash. White and blue both have something to recommend them, but looking at the power level of the cards the sensible option is to splash for artifacts. This is an often-underutilized approach, which should therefore pay dividends. But for the love of God don't pick red.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Related Stories

• Complete Champions of Kamigawa Spoiler - Part VI
• Complete Fifth Dawn spoiler - Part II
• Complete Darksteel Spoiler - Part 2
• Arabian Nights Limited Review: White