Hello and welcome to my New Capenna Limited Set Review! As always, I’ll be reviewing every card for Limited play, with both ratings and commentary. Because this is a three-color set with five factions, I’m going to go by faction + a two-color pair first, then do the monocolors afterwards. Make sure to read the commentary, since the rating isn’t the full story, though it ultimately does help you compare different cards. Let’s get to it, starting with the rating scale.
Brokers & UW / Obscura & UB / Maestros & RB / Riveteers & RG / Cabaretti & GW
White / Blue / Black / Red / Green & Other
Retired and inducted into the Limited Hall of Fame: Pack Rat, Umezawa’s Jitte, The Scarab God.
- 5.0: The best of the best. (Fable of the Mirror-Breaker. Jugan Defends the Temple. The Wandering Emperor.)
- 4.5: Incredible bomb, but not unbeatable. (Junji, the Midnight Sky. Ao, the Dawn Sky. Blade of the Oni.)
- 4.0: Good rare or top-tier uncommon. (Behold the Unspeakable. Life of Toshiro Umezawa. Imperial Oath.)
- 3.5: Top-tier common or solid uncommon. (Kami’s Flare. Network Disruptor. The Modern Age.)
- 3.0: Good playable that basically always makes the cut. (Fang of Shigeki. Sunblade Samurai. Moonfolk Puzzlemaker.)
- 2.5: Solid playable that rarely gets cut. (Tamiyo’s Compleation. Simian Sling.)
- 2.0: Good filler, but sometimes gets cut. (Historian’s Wisdom.)
- 1.5: Filler. Gets cut about half the time. (Clawing Torment. Bearer of Memory. Upriser Renegade.)
- 1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Moonsnare Prototype. Reckoner Shakedown. Futurist Sentinel.)
- 0.5: Very low-end playables and sideboard material. (Bronze Cudgels. Storyweave. Ambitious Assault.)
- 0.0: Completely unplayable. (Mirror Box. One with Nothing.)
First, let’s tackle the mechanics found in the set. This is a brief overview of each, so I don’t repeat myself whenever one of these cards pops up.
Shield Counters
Shield counters protect your creatures, as they prevent the first time the creature would take damage or be destroyed (and are then removed). There are a few notable implications: ping (one damage) effects become better, as they can strip shield counters nicely, and expensive destroy effects become a bit worse. If you have a bunch of ways to grant shield counters, you’re best off looking for evasive creatures or large threats. Overall this looks like a fun mechanic that will add some nice depth to gameplay.
Alliance
Alliance is an ability word that says “whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, do X.” What X is varies, but it’s usually a simple output like +1/+1 or the like. Some cards, like the one above, do different things if you trigger the ability multiple times, and all of the cards reward playing lots of creatures or creating tokens.
