Other Ravnica Allegiance Reviews

Limited:

White | Blue | Black | Red | Azorius | Gruul | Orzhov | Simic | Rakdos

Ratings Scale

Axebane Beast

Limited: 2.5

The stats here are good enough that I’d recommend playing Axebane Beast more often than not. It’s not the flashiest card, but it will fill out your curve like the best of them.

Biogenic Ooze

Limited: 4.5

I really like this card. Unless the opponent has instant-speed interaction, it immediately gives you a pair of 3/3s, and the turn after you likely can add another Ooze to the board. That leaves you with two 4/4s and a 3/3, and it just gets better from there. If this does get answered, you traded 1-for-1 and either have a 2/2 or 3/3 left over, depending on when the opponent killed it. A card that wins the game if it isn’t killed, trades advantageously against removal, and can help mount a comeback, all for 5 mana, gets a high grade in my book.

Biogenic Upgrade

Limited: 3.0

Biogenic Upgrade is quite the finisher. By itself, it gives you six +1/+1 counters, and each counter you already have gives you a bonus one. That’s a lot of stats to throw around, making this a very threatening card if you have any kind of board presence at all. This isn’t the best in a control deck, as it’s not great when you are behind, but in any midrange or aggressive deck it will do good work.

End-Raze Forerunners

Limited: 4.0

These herald the end of raze, I suppose, and the message gets across loud and clear. I’m not usually high on 8-drops, but when they win you the game almost every time, I am willing to change my tune. This easily hits for 11+ damage, and it can be much more than that if the board is stalled, which is worth the effort it takes to get to 8 mana. When you take this, focus on mana ramp and ways to survive until late, at which point the game goes from boring to boaring very quickly. They even give/have vigilance, so a non-lethal attack doesn’t leave you vulnerable.

Enraged Ceratok

Limited: 3.5

4/4 for 4 is above the curve enough to be appealing, and the fact that Enraged Ceratok gets around chump blocks or double-blocks by small creatures is relevant too. That makes this a premium uncommon, and a card any deck will be interested in.

Gatebreaker Ram

Limited: 1.0 // 3.0

I’m loving these Gate payoffs. Outside the dedicated Gate deck this is wildly unplayable, but once you hit 6-7+ Gates it gets pretty broken. All you need is a 4/4 and you’re in the money, with anything past that being awesome. The Gate deck doesn’t need finishers all that badly, but this is still a nice pickup once you’re doing the thing.

Gift of Strength

Limited: 2.0

I wouldn’t call this a gift—it’s a run-of-the-mill trick that you’ll play if you have a slot for it. Reach opens up ambushing possibilities, which does add a little more flying defense at no cost.

Growth-Chamber Guardian

Limited: 3.0

Set aside the dream of having multiples of these because it won’t happen enough to change the value of the card. This is still a 4/4 for 2+3 mana, at your leisure, which is a card I’ll always play.

Gruul Beastmaster

Limited: 3.0

Gruul Beastmaster puts a ton of power into play, especially if you have time to play it as a 3/3 and wait a turn. It works nicely with pump spells, even if you have to play them before attacking, and thrashes anyone who doesn’t have a solid defense set up. I’d mostly want to play this as a 3/3, but it’s pretty context-dependent—if you have the opportunity to get a nice shot in, then go for it.

Guardian Project

Limited: 3.5

I may just be projecting, but wow does this card look good. It’s like a Beast Whisperer that is almost unkillable, and all it asks is that you don’t run a bunch of duplicates. That’s not a big ask, and it doesn’t even stop working if you have a duplicate—you just miss out on one card. I like Guardian Project a lot, and think it’ll be a very powerful engine.

Incubation Druid

Limited: 3.5

I’m tempted to give Incubation Druid a 4.0, but drawing it late game isn’t quite impressive enough. This does do a ton if you draw it early, and once you adapt it, you have all the mana you could ever need. You also get a 3/5 body out of the deal, which is pretty great considering you already got value from the mana ramp.

Mammoth Spider

Limited: 3.0

After how good Mammoth Spider was in Dominaria, and seeing that both Orzhov and Azorious have a lot of flyers, I’m giving this a flat 3. You’ll play multiples of these, and be happy to do so.

Open the Gates

Limited: 1.5

The only time I’d recommend playing Open the Gates is when you are 3+ colors or if your deck wants 10+ Forests and has double-green cards. Playing a fixer that requires green to start only helps when you have a lot of green sources, a need to get Gates, or your 3rd/4th/5th color. The fail case I’m worried about is drawing this and two Mountains in your red-green decks, which is very bad.

Rampage of the Clans

Limited: 0.0

I don’t even like Rampage of the Clans as a sideboard card because giving them a 3/3 Centaur for each thing I blow up is a horrendous deal. Do not play this.

Rampaging Rendhorn

Limited: 3.0

This is a solid split card, and I suspect you’ll choose each mode pretty close to half the time. Either way you’re getting a good deal for 5 mana.

Regenesis

Limited: 1.0

Only picking up permanents really dampens my enthusiasm for Regenesis. It’s hard to set this up, and it basically ends up being an expensive Soul Salvage, which is not exciting.

Root Snare

Limited: 0.5

There’s a niche argument for this as a sideboard card against End-Raze Forerunners, but don’t get snared up in it. They would still have a 7/7 in play and all their creatures untapped, so you don’t even get ahead. Outside of that, this is pure unplayable nonsense.

Sagittar’s Volley

Limited: 1.0

I like Sagittar’s Volley as a sideboard card. It kills any flyer you need to kill, and cleans up afterlife tokens too. Note that killing an afterlife flyer with this will leave tokens behind, as they won’t show up until after the spell is done with its effects.

Saruli Caretaker

Limited: 0.0

Saruli Caretaker requires another creature to provide mana, making it an efficient and unreliable ramp option, and one I don’t care for at all.

Sauroform Hybrid

Limited: 3.0

I’m a big fan of flexibility, and you don’t get to be a Human Lizard Warrior without being flexible. Sauroform Hybrid fills out your curve early and becomes a real threat late, which is all you can ask for from a 2-drop.

Silhana Wayfinder

Limited: 3.0

Even though Silhana Wayfinder isn’t card advantage, it’s still a 2-drop that helps you hit your third land drop when you need to, and digs for quality creatures when you don’t. Note that you can elect not to reveal anything, making this ability strict upside.

Steeple Creeper

Limited: 1.5

If you’re in Simic, Steeple Creeper is passable filler. I don’t like that it trades for everything under the sun, and giving it flying is expensive, but it’s still a 3-drop that hits hard and is relevant in the late game.

Stony Strength

Limited: 1.5

This is a little stronger than it would normally be because Simic has a couple of cards that trigger on getting +1/+1 counters. On the other hand, if you use this as a trick on your adapt creature early, you can no longer adapt it. Overall Stony Strength is a fine playable if you need tricks, but it’s a little worse than the other tricks in the set. If you have a couple of Sharktocrabs, though, this becomes really sweet.

Sylvan Brushstrider

Limited: 1.5

2 life makes Sylvan Brushstrider passable filler. I’d be wary of playing this, but as long as you’re vigilant about your curve, fitting one in isn’t too bad.

Territorial Boar

Limited: 2.0

If you’ve got a Gruul deck with a lot of 4-power creatures, Territorial Boar is an exciting way to put pressure on the opponent. If you’ve only got 1-2 cards that trigger this, it gets very boaring very quickly. Note that riot creatures with 3 power won’t do the trick, as the timing isn’t right for the Boar.

Titanic Brawl

Limited: 3.0

I think Titanic Brawl will end up being good this time around. Fight effects vary wildly based on the stats in the format, and Simic and Gruul both have a lot of beaters. Plus, being cheaper matters, and a 1-mana spell of this power level is often going to be a huge blowout.

Tower Defense

Limited: 1.0

I don’t know what the tower is, but I don’t plan on defending it. The combo with High Alert is cute, though Bant Walls is not exactly a well-supported archetype.

Trollbred Guardian

Limited: 3.5

Trollbred Guardian is huge before it adapts, immense once it does, and can even give other creatures trample (while trampling itself). That’s a lot for 5 mana, and this is one of the better Simic monsters around, even if you discount my affinity for Trolls.

Wilderness Reclamation

Limited: 0.5

Constructed: I hope you like Nexus of Fate

The only way I could see Wilderness Reclamation making the cut is if you have 10+ instants/adapt creatures, and even then I’m suspicious. It’s just too hard to make use of the extra mana, and spending a card on this isn’t great.

Wrecking Beast

Limited: 2.0

This will really hit the opponent like a wrecking ball if they aren’t prepared, and I like having one to top off my curve. You’re going to pick haste almost all the time, and Wrecking Beast gives green a substantial haste threat at common to be worried about.

Top 3 Green Commons

3. Mammoth Spider
2. Sauroform Hybrid
1. Titanic Brawl

Green is going big this time around, and looks like it’ll have solid game at every point in the curve. It doesn’t have insane commons, but it has a lot of decent cards, and a good combo of mana sinks and combat tricks.