Other LSV Throne of Eldraine Set Reviews
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Ratings Scale
Retired and inducted into the Limited Hall of Fame: Pack Rat. Umezawa’s Jitte. The Scarab God.
5.0: The best of the best. (Niv-Mizzet, Parun. Skarrgan Hellkite. Ethereal Absolution.)
4.5: Incredible bomb, but not unbeatable. (Thief of Sanity. Judith, the Scourge Diva. Experimental Frenzy.)
4.0: Good rare or top-tier uncommon. (Gate Colossus. Mortify. Biomancer’s Familiar.)
3.5: Top-tier common or solid uncommon. (Blade Juggler. Skewer the Critics. Skyknight Legionnaire.)
3.0: Good playable that basically always makes the cut. (Sauroform Hybrid. Watcher in the Mist. Wojek Bodyguard.)
2.5: Solid playable that rarely gets cut. (Ornery Goblin. Syndicate Messenger. Plague Wight.)
2.0: Good filler, but sometimes gets cut. (Radical Idea. Noxious Groodion. Ghor-Clan Wrecker.)
1.5: Filler. Gets cut about half the time. (Wall of Mist. Axebane Beast.)
1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Feral Maaka. Knight of Sorrows. Prying Eyes.)
0.5: Very low-end playables and sideboard material. (Expose to Daylight. Persistent Petitioners.)
0.0: Completely unplayable. (Font of Agonies. One with Nothing.)
Acclaimed Contender
Limited: 3.5
Acclaimed Contender is an efficient creature even if you don’t get the trigger, and it’s not hard to construct a deck with plenty of support. Knights are the highest priority, but it’s a nice bonus that this can pick up a few other categories as well (including auras like Trapped in the Tower).
All That Glitters
Limited: 1.0
For this to truly be gold, it needs to reliably give +3/+3. That’s a tall ask, and often opens you up pretty badly to removal or bounce. This looks like fool’s gold to me, and I wouldn’t recommend trying to make it work.
Archon of Absolution
Limited: 3.5
This absolutely is maindeckable, as it’s a very annoying card to play against even without the protection. It swings for three in the air while hindering the opponent’s attacks, and if they do have Plains in their deck, sometimes it’s immune to removal and a great blocker as well.
Ardvenale Paladin
Limited: 1.5
Ardenvale Paladin is a serviceable blocker with or without adamant, and getting a 3/6 for four isn’t such a big payoff that this would push me towards mono-white. It’s a fine addition to any Knight deck, and if you do end up heavy white, it gets a bit of a bump.
Ardenvale Tactician
Limited: 3.0
Ardenvale Tactician is the perfect addition to any aggressive deck, as it both pressures the opponent as a 2/3 flier and can tap down some blockers on the way in. It’s a fine card for control decks too, though they will get a little less mileage out of either half. The creature here is good enough that you don’t need to cast the adventure to get full value, but having the option to do so adds a lot.
Bartered Cow
Limited: 1.5
I’d be eager to trade this cow for almost any other playable, though it is playable if you need a little more beef in your deck. Leaving behind a Food token is a nice perk, and if you do combo this with discard effects you will feel very clever.
Beloved Princess
Limited: 1.0
As beloved as she may be, this princess gets defeated in combat by any old dork, and this pseudo-evasion doesn’t make up for that. It is cute that if you give her +2/+2, she’s pretty hard to stop, so I’d want multiple good pieces of equipment before considering her.
Charming Prince
Limited: 3.5
I guess being charming is about the little details, as Charming Prince combines a lot of minor effects into a very impactful card. This helps you scry into action, gains life when you’re behind, and can flicker creatures with ETB effects if you have them. That’s a lot for two mana, and this is a card I’d always be thrilled to play.
The Circle of Loyalty
Limited: 4.5
With literal zero Knights or legendary spells in your deck, this card is a tad overcosted. It’s still powerful, and definitely something I’d play, so that shows how good this is once you do start to enable it. If you can get this down to four or five mana it’s a steal, and randomly triggering off legendary uncommon Knights just feels unfair. This isn’t quite Ethereal Absolution, but it’s a card that will swing almost any game in which it appears.
Deafening Silence
Limited: 0.0
As much as I expect to lose to this in Constructed, it’s not a card you should ever play in a Limited deck.
Faerie Guidemother
Limited: 2.5
The rating on this definitely goes up the more aggressive you are, as this is a nice combination of abilities. Gift of the Fae is the more powerful half, and represents 4-6 extra damage most games, which is perfect when combined with a small evasive threat. Both halves of this are pointed towards beatdown, so as long as you don’t jam this in a control deck it will lead you to where you want to go.
Flutterfox
Limited: 3.0
Flutterfox is likely to fly by the time you need it to, though in a deck that has zero ways to give it wings the rating drops. Two-mana 2/2’s are good on turn two at a base level, so any that also have utility later (like this one) tend to get pretty high ratings.
Fortifying Provisions
Limited: 1.5
The 1 toughness this provides is more impactful than you might think, though it still takes a specific reason to want this effect. This gives you and enchantment and an artifact in play for cards that care about those types, and enables the food-matters cards as well. I also like this for matchups where you and your opponent’s creatures are of a similar size, making it a solid sb option.
Giant Killer
Limited: 4.0
Both halves of this card are playable on their own, which is a recipe for a very powerful card indeed. My inclination is to wait and see if you can find something to chop down before playing this as a 1/2, since that effect is so good, but against blue/white decks you will often just want to run out the tapper. Either way, this is a fantastic card.
Glass Casket
Limited: 3.5
Efficient removal that leaves you with an artifact in play is worth its weight in gold, even if this misses against big creatures.
Happily Ever After
Limited: 0.0
Meme Potential: 4.0
This has a weak symmetrical effect to start, and an unobtainable alternate win condition. Let the memes flow.
Harmonious Archon
Limited: 4.5
If your opponent can’t kill Harmonious Archon, it completely takes over the game, as it will by definition be the biggest creature on the board and it comes with two 3/3’s. If they can kill it, you are left with two 1/1’s, which makes the exchange profitable. That meets the definition of a bomb for me, with the only drawback being that this is a dicey play if the opponent has too many small creatures in play.
Hushbringer
Limited: 2.5
A 1/2 flying lifelinker is actually pretty good in a set full of equipment, and if your deck is light on ETB/death abilities, then this will usually be annoying to the opponent at least once per game. That’s enough to maindeck this, even if the art looks like a 90’s album cover.
Knight of the Keep
Limited: 1.5
I’m going to do my best to keep this out of my deck, though with enough Knight-matters cards (say 3+), it’s a fine playable.
Linden, the Steadfast Queen
Limited: 3.0
This rating assumes you’re mono-white or nearly so, as Linden gets quite a bit weaker once you go more towards an even color split. She swings a race nicely, and can help enable aggressive strategies quite well, since she gains life on attacks and is available to block. I wouldn’t go mono-white for Linden but would prioritize her once I was already heading that direction.
Lonesome Unicorn
Limited: 3.0
Neither the Unicorn nor the Knight is a fantastic deal, but getting both in one card makes me very interested. Drawing this in your opening hand sets you up to have a fine curve, and getting two decently-sized vigilance creatures in one card is a good deal. I wouldn’t want too many of this card, as it is expensive, so perhaps it’s at its best when it is indeed lonesome.
Mysterious Pathlighter
Limited: 3.5
I’m optimistic about the adventure payoffs in this set. Maybe I just like action, but cards like this seem quite good to me. The pathlighter is a 3-mana 2/2 flier, which is fine on its own, and all the adventure cards are cards I already want to play. Buffing them makes the whole package look very good, and when a payoff is rewarding me for playing good cards, it tends to work out well.
Outflank
Limited: 2.0
I’m wary of removal that requires things to be going well to work. If you’re behind, this often does nothing, and it can easily get messed up by a timely bounce or removal spell in response. That said, this is very efficient when it does work, and I’d tend to play it in any deck with a good creature count (14+).
Prized Griffin
Limited: 2.0
Play mediocre games, win mediocre prizes. This is a fine playable, but nothing special, as the 5-drop slot tends to be one that has plenty of options.
Rally for the Throne
Limited: 2.5
If you can reliably gain the life here, this is a strong card. Getting two more blockers plus a bunch of life is a great defensive play, and it enables go-wide decks nicely. I’d either want to have 11+ white sources or a use for tokens before playing this, but it’s great if you meet either condition.
Realm-Cloaked Giant
Limited: 5.0
Realm-Cloaked Giant is fantastic. Not only is it a sweeper plus a huge finisher all in one card, but this being attached to a creature means you can reuse it so easily. Any bounce spell or way to get a creature back from the graveyard means more and more sweepers, so starting with this card in a draft leads to some really nice options.
Righteousness
Limited: 1.0
I’m not a big fan of defensive combat tricks, because too much needs to go right for them to work, and when they do, at best you got a mana-efficient 1-for-1. I’d look to sideboard this in against opponents with huge creatures, but not maindeck it (unless you’re really looking to get a Fling combo going).
Shepherd of the Flock
Limited: 3.5
This may look like a high rating for such a simple pair of cards, but I really like how these combine. Usher to Safety will often net you a card, whether it’s saving a creature from removal or a combat where they played a trick, or even just getting a second ETB trigger from one of our creatures (or letting you get back both halves of an adventure). Add to that a cheap creature with 3 power and you have a winner, making this a very solid card without much need for investment.
Shining Armor
Limited: 1.0 // 2.5
If you have enough Knights, this becomes an effective combat trick. All you need for this to be good is to win one combat with it, after which it’s just free value. It is expensive to move around, so the Knight part is critical, as it won’t shine unless you get the first bite for free.
Silverflame Ritual
Limited: 1.0
I’m not too impressed with Silverflame Ritual. One counter isn’t enough of a payoff to really go wide, and this being a sorcery limits the blowout potential. The adamant bonus is small enough that it doesn’t move the needle much either.
Silverflame Squire
Limited: 2.5
Adding a decent combat trick to that makes this a winner in my book. I would usually just play this on turn two if it’s in my opening hand, as waiting around to try and get full value isn’t necessary.
Syr Alin, the Lion’s Claw
Limited: 3.5
You don’t need to be Alin on cheap creatures to make this good enough, as a 4/4 first striker is a beater and pumping your team is good even with just 1-2 other threats. Granted, if you do go wide, Syr Alin does reward you, I’m just making sure you know it isn’t necessary.
Trapped in the Tower
Limited: 3.0
Not hitting fliers is a pretty big drawback, as part of the point of removal is dealing with evasive threats. That said, two mana to take anything out of commission is big, and shutting down activated abilities can come in handy. Look out though: if the opponent can give one of their creatures flying, even later, this will fall off (which makes sense since the creature is no longer trapped if it can fly).
True Love’s Kiss
Limited: 1.0
I’m going to start this as a sideboard-only card, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that changed once we see how many artifacts/enchantments make their way into maindecks. It’s also nice that this is a 2-for-1, as it rewards you when you do find a target.
Venerable Knight
Limited: 3.0
Venerable Knight is efficient enough that you will be happy with it in any aggressive deck, and giving a +1/+1 counter away on death makes it worth playing in any Knight deck. Those two things combined likely encompass most all white decks, making this a solid card.
Worthy Knight
Limited: 3.5
If you get even one token from this, it’s great, and at two or more it’s a real hero. That makes it a worthy early pick, and one worth drafting around.
Youthful Knight
Limited: 3.0
First strike lets this dominate early, and any pump spells make it a substantial threat later. That’s a lot for two mana, and having the creature type Knight is a bonus as well.
Top 5 White Commons
5. Faerie Guidemother
4. Flutterfox
3. Silverflame Squire
2. Ardenvale Tactician
1. Trapped in the Tower
The top two commons are way ahead of the rest, and I could see Faerie Guidemother making a sneaky appearance in the 3rd spot. If there is an all-in (or Alin) aggro deck, going to the skies with the Guidemother could be awesome. Overall, white skews aggressive, and has plenty of support for that.
