2021 has come to a close and with it so has my first calendar year as a writer for ChannelFireball.com. For my one of my final pieces of the year, I decided to take a trip down memory lane and look at the best and worst of Limited under the lens of ten different categories. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

In terms of cards that qualify for the “worst” categories, I won’t be talking about true F’s. Sure, Weathered Runestone from Kaldheim was probably the actual worst uncommon, but that’s not as interesting to talk about as cards that underperformed or disappointed. Alright, on with the list!

Best

Honorable Mention: Sarulf’s Packmate and Environmental Sciences

This year saw some of the most powerful Limited commons in my lifetime as a content creator, but none more powerful than Organ Hoarder. This common rivaled most uncommons and rares as P1P1 material (18th overall in terms of Game-In-Hand Win Rate for the entire set!). In a format with both flashback and disturb that utilized the graveyard as a resource, this four-drop could sometimes be an actual four-for-one: providing a body on the ground, a card in your hand, and two spells to cast from your graveyard. 

Sarulf’s Packmate is a close but clear second place in my mind. The warm and fuzzy feeling that this card provided in a hand of two lands and five spells was delightful. Coming off of Zendikar Rising where Joraga Visionary had underwhelmed as a cantripping four-drop in green, Packmate looked like it might similarly disappoint, but foretell on this card was no joke and it was a real groan test on turn three.

Lastly, I wanna point to Environmental Sciences as the glueyiest of glue cards and the clear winner of the Golden Egg Award for 2021. Every Lessonboard wanted access to a copy of this card as it ensured you hit land drops, enabled splashes, gained a bit of life, and was the only colorless 2 MV lesson.