GAMERS DECIDE - Best Cards

[Top 10] MTG Best Color Combinations That Are Great

atomocene — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 08:53:47 +0000

Mix and Match

The color pie is one of Magic: The Gathering’s most fundamental building blocks. Every one of Magic’s over 20,000 unique cards has a color identity, or a lack thereof. Mono-color decks can also be powerful, but some of the real magic in Magic comes from combining colors.

Magic has a total of 25 regular color combinations. 10 of them are two-color, 10 are three-color, and the remaining five are four-color. Of course, you can also count all five colors and colorless as well, giving you a total of 27.

While all color combinations are powerful, they each have various strengths and weaknesses. This list will explore the 10 two-color combinations and compare them. These color combinations will be referred to by their guild name, referencing the Ravnica: City of Guilds expansion that served to establish each color pair’s respective theme. While these color pairs aren’t limited to what each guild in this expansion focused on, players still often refer to the pairs by their respective guild names.

10. Boros

"Strike as one! For the Legion!"

Fueled by fire and industry, the red-white color pair Boros is all about attacking. It’s a creature-focused color pairing that wants to attack early and often. The featured card, Boros Guildmage, helps creatures do just that by allowing them to attack right away and with an advantage.

The Boros Legion is comprised of warriors and soldiers, Humans and Angels, specializing in powerful equipment and spells that grant extra combat steps. A personification of the theme “Strength in Numbers,” Boros often builds a big board and buffs them up for the final assault.

However, while Boros often claims board presence early, it is susceptible to removal. If this color pair can’t finish the job early, it often has a hard time rebuilding since it lacks powerful card draw effects. If you favor tempo over control and fancy yourself a master tactician, you might find your destiny at the helm of the Boros Legion.

Decklists:

Standard: Boros Aggro by Astralsflame
Pioneer: Boros Heroic by Aoki Manabu
Commander: Feather Combat Tricks by Colbunions

9. Selesnya

"From seedling to

Like Boros, Selesnya likes to go wide. The green-white color pair is heavily focused on playing lots of small creatures and buffing them up, usually with +1/+1 counters. But where Boros specializes in combat and warfare, Selesnya is themed around cultivation and growth. Selesnya represents the power possible when civilization works in harmony with nature.

The guild of Selesnya has many races from Humans and Elves to Saprolings and Treefolk. They cast enchantment spells to empower themselves and their allies. Where Boros may suffer heavy damage in combat, Selesnya tends to wounds, restoring and even exceeding one’s original vitality.

Selesnya and Boros share a weakness to removal, although green can offer more protection than red with its hexproof style effects. Green also grants the pair more card draw so it can rebuild later on. But, like the natural world, rebuilding can take time. Selesnya does have some massive creatures for the later game, but usually needs to focus its efforts on either small-and-wide or big-and-tall.

Decklists:

Standard: Verzaubernd by LordFaethor
Pioneer: Selesnya Angels by Jamalxvi
Commander: Selesnya Enchantments by Paulmfox11

8. Simic

"...Magnificent..."

Where others see boundaries, Simic sees potential. The Simic guild pushes nature’s limits, infusing biomass with magic to create brilliant, horrible experiments. Some say their pursuit of knowledge toes the ethical line. The Simic say that others are simply too small-minded, unwilling to tap into the possibilities.

Elves, Merfolk, and other hybrid humanoids abound within guild Simics’ walls. It echoes with the sounds of mutated creatures and bubbling oozelings. Like Selesnya, Simic also focuses on growing creatures with +1/+1 counters. But in addition to growing to vast sizes, their creatures also have unique morphogenic abilities.

Some Simic decks lean more heavily into creature themes while others focus more on control magic, while others still look to transform the very land into creatures. Blue and green are some of the more diverse colors in Magic and thus suggest myriad deckbuilding paths. If you love experimenting with the deckbuilding process, Simic may just be the guild for you.

Decklists:

Standard: Land Hoe 1.0 by Earp
Pioneer: UG Aggro by Hongou Yuuichirou
Commander: Ezuri, Claw of Progress by KYOTO

7. Gruul

"The very land quakes alongside us."

The clan of Gruul embodies the rage of the earth. It calls on forces deep, tribal, and ancient to destroy its enemies. Such power is often brief, chaotic, and overwhelming. Gruul revels in the throes of it.

Many outcasts and creatures of all shapes and sizes call Gruul their home. From Humans, Ogres, and deep wood Elves to Goblins, Treefolk, Elemental incarnations, and even Dragons. Gruul loves to unleash their power in battle, like a raging fire. But if their fire is unable to burn all who would oppose it, Gruul can find themselves at wit's end before too long.

Like Boros before them, Gruul decks focus heavily on attacking. However, unlike Boros, their creatures can often grow to even greater sizes. Gruul focuses less on power through unity and more on individual strength.

Decklists:

Standard: Gruul Midrange by Talisker
Pioneer: RG Aggro by Nakajima Masanori
Commander: Klothys by TheGameArmory

6. Azorius

"Cease such insolent behavior. You have no authority here."

Attuned to higher principles and devoted to justice, Azorious is law. Led by powerful minds that command powerful control magic, Azorius slows its opponent’s aggression to a halt.

Humans, Vedalken, and other law-abiding citizens comprise the Azorius senate. At its highest ranks, you’ll find powerful Sphinx tapping into the wisdom of the cosmos. Azorius weaves mysterious blue magic into writ. It also merges the power of sea and sky, with evasive flying and swimming creatures.

Azorius has some of the most powerful control magic in the game. But it is also one of the slowest color combinations and can be susceptible to losing in the early game. But if you can reach the late game, then your enemy’s board will be so locked down that they won’t be able to lay a finger on you.

Decklists:

Standard: DMU - UWx Control 1.0 by Hagera
Pioneer: Azorius Control by TeddyMemes
Commander: BW Ranar Exile by Korho

5. Izzet

"I can't believe that worked! Let's try again!"

Where Simic infuses natural material with magic, Izzet infuses magic with magic. Delving into the very threads that bind the arcane, Izzet tugs on the fabric of reality to various levels of success. They conduct epic experiments that could either shatter reality or fizzle in a puff of smoke.

Wizards and weirds of all kinds, Izzet attracts the most ambitious and untethered of minds. The deep and abounding mystery of blue mixed with the burning ambition of red combines to channel the power of pure magic.

If you like to sling spells, Izzet is the guild for you. Connoisseurs of spells both big and small, Izzet can flex to be an aggressive, control, or combo deck. Izzet decks often involve a unique mix of spells and spell-loving creatures.

Decklist:

Standard: Izzet Delver by Platinum-Mythic Rank Player
Pioneer: Izzet Phoenix by O_danielakos
Commander: Niv-Mizzet, Parun by Tucker.smith

4. Golgari

"I'll claim you just as the earth did."

Golgari is rot incarnate. They thrive where most dare not tread: in the festering, bubbling muck of the swamplands. Where there is death, there is potential for growth and rebirth.

The guild is populated by Elves, Shamans, Trolls, Skeletons, and Zombies. Gravediggers are excellent recruiters. Every soldier that falls in battle is a potential new recruit for Golgari.

Weaving together the death of black and the gift of new life in green, Golgari is a powerful color combination. Many decks make great use of dies triggers, both yours and your opponents. This color combination can make a fantastic mid-range deck, with powerful creatures and planeswalkers to carry it from start to finish. There is always a catch when playing against Golgari. You may remove their threats, but that just might mean a bigger one is coming back to get you.

Decklists:

Standard: GOLGARI MIDRANGE by Rapsolo
Pioneer: Golgari Midrange by qbturtle15
Commander: Elvish Death by Bacon86

3. Orzhov

"Pay up."

Orzhov is the embodiment of the two things you can never escape: death and taxes. Artistocrats and nobles of the highest order align themselves with Orzhov to slowly drain their adversaries for all their worth. Where Golgari embraces the cycle of life and death in its natural form, Orzhov capitalizes on the cycle of souls.

Specters, Clerics, Vampires, and fallen Knights make up the order of Orzhov. Grave, strict, and exacting, the members of the guild are gluttons for eternal gain. They will happily make short-term sacrifices for continued success in any arena, ultimately proving victorious in the end.

Like Golgari, many Orzhov decks make use of creatures dying to their benefit. But this color pair also excels at removing threats from the game entirely through exile. A powerful mix of midrange, combo, and control, Orzhov is a force to be reckoned with. Slow and exacting, you may not even realize you’re dead before it’s too late.

Decklists:

Standard: orzo by IronicVelvet
Pioneer: Orzhov Midrange by MaxDam
Commander: Teysa Karlov by Jloh95

2. Rakdos

"Let's put a smile on that face!"

Rakdos is destruction, chaos, and death in motion. Its solution to every problem is a sledgehammer. It will sacrifice any and everything for power, including its own members. Headed by the demon lord Rakdos the Defiler, this horrific cult finds twisted enjoyment in the chaos they inflict on the world.

Full of Demons, Vampires, Goblins, and Cultists, Rakdos is one of the most feared guilds on Ravnica. Nothing is off-limits. The greater the destruction and pain they conjure, the more powerful they become.

Rakdos decks, like Boros, often hit fast and hit hard. But where Boros wants to maintain their battlefield, Rakdos is happy to blow theirs up in order to win. Again, they make great use of dies triggers to ensure their success. The cult of Rakdos is unyielding, unrelenting, and thoroughly ruthless.

Decklists:

Standard: rb braids anvil (2) by Shieldmaiden
Pioneer: Rakdos Midrange by danitachi87
Commander: Planar Portal by Aizen291

1. Dimir

"It seems I'll have to remove you from the equation."

Dimir is silence, stealth, and expertise. It is the nightmare you awake from. It is the bump in the night. It is the haunting vision you can never forget, until they rend it from your mind.

The members of guild Dimir are calculating and cunning. They are agents of darkness, cloaked in shadow, veiled in whispers of secrecy. The guild is made of up dark Wizards, Rogues, and other Phantasms. Necromancers, Assassins, and other shady individuals make their home here. No job is too difficult to complete, as they have both the veil of night and the mystery of the arcane at the ready.

Dimir decks are often controlling. They focus on removing threats efficiently, either by returning them to their controller’s hand or outright. While there are some large powerful creatures in the late game, Dimir also has a unique win condition of draining an opponent’s resources. When a player has no cards left to draw in their deck, they lose automatically upon their next draw. This win condition is called “mill,” and it’s a Dimir specialty.

Decklists:

Standard: UB Draw by stevethemighty
Pioneer: Dimir Control by WaToO
Commander: Wilhelt Zombies by EEBIGAA

Choose Your Colors

While some color combinations tend to be more powerful in circumstances than others, there is no one-size-fits-all. That’s one of the beautiful things about Magic: The Gathering. But every Magic player has colors that they identify with more than others. Find a color combination that works for you and you’ll find yourself thriving in no time.

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"By our powers combined!"

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[Top 15] MTG Best Lands for EDH That Are Powerful

atomocene — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 08:17:07 +0000

Location, Location, Location

When you’re building a commander deck, it’s easy to get caught up in all the incredibly cool cards you could include. But as any seasoned EDH player knows, often it’s the lands that can make or break a game. This is increasingly true as the power of your playgroup increases. So here are 15 of the best lands for commander that will help you keep up with the Timmys and Spikes of the world.

15. Bojuka Bog

"Nooo! My precious zombies!" — Necromancer who just got Bojuka Bog'd

There are many must-have kinds of cards in every commander deck such as single-target removal, board wipes, protection, and card draw. One important but often overlooked element is graveyard hate. At least, it’s easy to overlook until the Meren of Clan Nel Toth or Syr Konrad deck across from you is going full-steam. Against reanimator decks, removal only adds fuel to their fire.

That’s where Bojuka Bog comes in. While most decks need to devote a non-land card to graveyard hate, black decks can take advantage of this format staple. The downside of it coming into play tapped is negligible compared to its utility. The ease of swapping out a Swamp for Bojuka Bog makes it an auto-include in any black deck.

Pros:

Shuts down reanimator decks
Utility on a land

Cons:

Comes into play tapped

14. The World Tree

"Hey, I can see my universe from here!"

Similar to Bojuka Bog, The World Tree enters the battlefield tapped and can add a green to your mana pool. However, the real power of this land comes online once you control six or more lands in total. Mana–fixing all of your lands is incredibly powerful, especially in five-color decks, which this is limited to.

Don’t worry if you don’t have any Gods in your deck. The World Tree’s power largely comes from the fact that it's a Chromatic Lantern stapled onto a land. Its final ability, if you can pull it off, is just gravy.

Pros:

Fixes your mana in a five-color deck, which needs fixing the most
Hard to remove, unlike Chromatic Lantern

Cons:

Comes into play tapped
Is a worse Forest if you don’t have five other lands
Limited to five-color decks

13. Maze of Ith

"Ith's inhabitants are cursed to wander for eternity."

Don’t be deceived by the fact that this card is a land, because it’s actually a removal spell on a stick. Maze of Ith, while it has fallen off in popularity in recent years, can repeatedly remove an attacking opponent’s biggest threat from combat.

You can also use this on your creatures thanks to how attacking rules work. After your Voltron commander has attacked and dealt damage, before combat ends, use Maze of Ith to untap it. This will allow your commander to swing in for damage and be ready to block on your opponents’ turns.

Effectively, Maze of Ith gives your best creature vigilance or can remove an opponent’s best attacking threat. Just make sure not to count this land as part of your mana base. In reality, it’s a repeatable removal spell.

Pros:

Flexible repeatable combat removal
Great in Voltron decks

Cons:

Doesn’t produce mana

12. Tri-Lands

Shard and Wedge decks, rejoice!

The first cycle on the list, the tri-lands, or specifically the triomes and New Capenna tri-lands, are very powerful. Where the old tri-lands simply tapped for three colors, these newer tri-lands can cycle away if you don’t need them and count as their respective land types. This makes them more easily fetchable from your deck, upping their power level significantly.

If you’re running three or more colors, don’t forget to throw the respective tri-land(s) in there. They’re some of the best color fixing out there.

Pros:

Can tap for one of three colors
Can be cycled to draw a card later in the game
Great typing, allowing them to be fetched from your deck

Cons:

Come into play tapped
Limited to decks with three or more colors

11. Battlebond Lands

"Commander anyone?"

The next land cycle gets its name from their debut set, Battlebond, and is perfect for commander. They enter tapped unless you have two or more opponents, which, in commander, you always will. At least until it’s down to the final two. The only real downside to these lands is that they’re not easily fetchable since they don’t have land types. However, that downside is easily outweighed by their consistency.

Pros:

Almost always comes into play untapped

Cons:

No relevant land types

10. Fetch Lands

"Fetch."

Fetch lands are one of the main reasons why land types are so important. They’re able to “fetch” not just basic lands, but also the relevant tri and dual lands from your library onto the battlefield. They also have the minor upside of thinning your deck ever so slightly, improving future draws. Befitting of the first entry in the top ten, the fetch lands will significantly up the power and consistency of your deck.

Pros:

Can get any land in your deck with the relevant type
Amazing in multicolor decks
Thins your deck slightly

Cons:

Costs one life to use

9. Shock Lands

"Ow."

So what are you going to fetch with your fetch lands? Shock lands are the perfect target. These lands derive their name from the red instant of the same name that deals two damage to any target. In this instance, that target is yourself, but it’s completely worth it to have these consistently fetchable lands in your deck.

Pros:

Taps for either of two colors as early as turn one
Easily fetchable land typing

Cons:

“Shocks” you for two damage when they enter the battlefield untapped

8. Urborg Coffers

"By our powers combined!"

This entry is a double whammy. While both of these lands can be good individually, their true power shines in conjunction with one another. Cabal Coffers is great in any mono-black deck, but Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth allows Coffers to shine even in muli-color decks. If you are playing Cabal Coffers on its own, just make sure you have at least three other Swamps on the battlefield before you activate it, otherwise you’ll be mana negative.

Pros:

Cabal Coffers can generate very high amounts of mana
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can enable your creatures with swampwalk

Cons:

Cabal Coffers is only truly powerful in mono-black or in conjunction with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Can be difficult to assemble both out of a 100-card deck

7. Ancient Tomb

"Ow."

Don’t let the repeated Shock to the face dissuade you from this one. It might seem like a lot of damage over the course of a game (and it is). But Ancient Tomb can do incredible work in any deck that doesn’t run too many colors. This is especially true of commanders that only cost three mana. With Ancient Tomb you can run them out as early as turn two!

Pros:

Great mana acceleration
Allows for crazy early game plays

Cons:

Two damage per use can really add up over the course of a game. With great power comes great responsibility

6. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

"By the gods!"

Virtually every mono-colored deck should be looking to slot in Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx. Just by having three of the correct mana symbols on the battlefield, you already break even on mana generation. While similar to Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Nykthos’ conditions are more easily met. This is due to the one land per turn restriction, whereas you can play as many permanents per turn as you have mana.

Pros:

Can generate incredible amounts of mana
Still adds colorless mana if its conditions aren’t met

Cons:

Power drops off significantly in multi-color decks

5. Dual Lands

It's hard to beat the classics.

A significant jump in power, the original dual lands start off the top 5. This cycle has all the upside of the shock lands with literally none of the downside. Well, except for the deep and searing hole they’ll burn into your wallet. A theme that will continue later on in this section.

Pros:

Excellent land typing
Come into play untapped at no extra cost

Cons:

4. Boseiju, Who Endures

"Wait, is that a land or a spell?" "Yes."

Lands are good in your deck. Removal is good in your deck. Why not combine the two? Boseiju, Who Endures does literally just that, and with no real downside. Sure, your opponent gets to search for a land, but you might have just removed their win-con in the process. Boseiju also enters the battlefield untapped, making it an easy replacement for a Forest in any deck with green. Play this card.

Pros:

Removal stapled onto a land
Boseiju’s ability is channeled, meaning it can’t even be traditionally countered
Comes into play untapped

Cons:

Allows your opponent to ramp slightly

3. Command Tower

A simple decision.

Coming in at the low, low price of roughly $0.35, Command Tower is just an auto-include in any multicolor deck. As represented by this list, usually when lands tap for multiple colors there is some downside. Command Tower, quite literally, has none. There’s not much of any reason to run one in a single-color deck, but any multi-color deck can make this the first land added to the list.

Pros:

Taps for any color
Enters the battlefield untapped

Cons:

2. Serra’s Sanctum

As peaceful as it is powerful.

Serra’s really done a great job with her Sanctum. Just look around — it’s prime real estate. Oh, and the fact that it generates ridiculous amounts of mana in an enchantment-themed deck is nice too.

Pros:

Generates incredible amounts of mana in the right deck

Cons:

Less powerful in decks not themed around enchantments
Expensive

1. Gaea’s Cradle

Life unbridled.

How could Gaea’s Cradle not be the most powerful land in commander? Nearly every deck, especially in green, runs creatures. Just control one creature, likely your commander, and you’ve already broken even. Add one more and you’re already doubling the amount of mana a land can normally generate. If you run green, just do yourself a favor and play this card. Wait, it costs how much??

Pros:

Can generate truly absurd amounts of mana, especially if you can untap it

Cons:

$$$$$

Build Your Base

Your land base in any EDH deck is incredibly important. Choosing the right ones can significantly increase the power level of your deck. Even mono-color decks have powerful options at their disposal. So when you’re building your next commander deck, keep these lands in mind. They just might swing the game in your favor.

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[Top 25] MTG Best Auras To Have In Your Deck

atomocene — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:46:45 +0000

Auras Reward the Wise

Auras occupy a strange design space in Magic: The Gathering. They can offer powerful ongoing buffs to your other permanents. But unlike other spells that do the same, auras are particularly vulnerable to removal. For example, if your creature gets removed, even with a simple bounce effect, the aura attached to it goes to the graveyard.

What this means is that your opponent effectively removes two of your cards with just one of theirs: what’s known as a two-for-one. In Magic, two-for-ones are almost always bad when you’re on the two end of the stick.

Any good card in Magic advances the state of the game towards your win condition. A two-for-one in your opponent’s favor, then, does double duty in moving you away from your win condition. Thus, auras must be particularly effective to be worth a slot in your deck. So here are 25 auras that just might be worth considering.

25. Kenrith’s Transformation

"Be at peace."

Speaking of removal, the first on the list is one of the best aura removal spells out there. It strips its target of all abilities and, when played on a large creature, shrinks its power. You could use this on a small creature of your own, but you’ll almost always want to nullify an opponent’s threat instead.

Now, there are other auras out there with similar effects. But Kenerith’s Transformation replaces itself by drawing you a card when it enters the battlefield (ETB). Doing so effectively balances the two-for-one downside that auras usually have. This makes it particularly good as removal in enchantress decks that want to play as many enchantments as possible.

Pros:

Functions as removal
Replaces itself on ETB
Strong in enchantress decks

Cons:

Still leaves your opponent with a creature

24. Quicksilver Dagger

"Think quick!"

Quicksilver Dagger is a card that isn’t tremendously powerful on its own. While it can replace itself, you’ll need to use it at least twice before it’s worth the cost.

Quicksilver Dagger’s home is in a deck that loves tapping and untapping. It’s a build-around card that skilled deck builders can make good use of. The first example of such a card, it can be paired well with other auras you’ll find later down the list.

Pros:

Can potentially draw lots of cards and deal decent damage in the right deck

Cons:

Needs to be built around and set up properly
Doesn’t protect itself or its target
Slow

23. Spirit Mantle

Pureness within, without.

Spirit Mantle is an aura that wants to be in an aggressive deck. The creature it enchants will be able to attack freely without concern for being blocked. Spirit Mantle enables on-damage combat triggers and can potentially net you a final blow. This aura can be also used on a friendly blocker in a pinch, allowing your small creature to block a bigger one. It can also nullify negative static abilities, like deathtouch.

However, Spirit Mantle doesn’t protect itself or its enchanted creature from other spells or abilities, like instants and sorceries. It also doesn’t replace itself, limiting it from being truly powerful.

Pros:

Enables safe attacks and blocks
Good in aggressive decks

Cons:

Doesn’t protect itself or its target beyond creature-based removal
Doesn’t replace itself

22. Ethereal Armor

Only as strong as its wielder's soul.

Great in enchantress decks, Etheral Armor has a high ceiling. +1/+1 for each enchantment you control can add up quickly in the right deck. Note that it counts itself, so it always gives at least +1/+1. Like Spirit Mantle, it enables safe attacks and, if need be, blocks.

However, Ethereal Armor has all of the classic aura weaknesses. It doesn’t replace itself, nor does it protect its target outside of combat. Only worth considering in very enchantment-heavy decks.

Pros:

Cheap, with a high damage potential
Great in enchantress decks

Cons:

Doesn’t protect itself or its target outside of attacking and blocking
Doesn’t replace itself

21. Indestructibility

"Hmph. No one could survive my full p—!"

Simple and effective, Indestructibility does exactly what you’d expect. The first aura on the list to really protect the permanent it enchants. Note that this isn’t limited to creatures. So if you have a key land, enchantment, artifact, or planeswalker on the battlefield you need to protect, this is a strong option.

Indestructibility is a bit slow at four mana, but not terribly so. Especially if it keeps your win condition around. Just anticipate that your opponent(s) will try to remove this as quickly as possible, and it can’t defend itself. If they do spend a card getting rid of Indestructibility, though, and another to remove the permanent it enchanted, that’s a two-for-one in your favor.

Pros:

Can protect any permanent from being destroyed
An unreliable two-for-one in your favor, in some scenarios

Cons:

Doesn’t protect itself and is a high-priority removal target
Doesn’t replace itself
Slightly slow

20. Spellweaver Volute

Weird in all the best ways.

Spellweaver Volute is a true oddball of a card, as many from the Future Sight expansion are. Its power does not come from sheer throughput. Rather, it’s powerful because its effect is completely unique in a game comprised of over 20,000 cards. A true gem for spellslingers and fringe deck builders out there.

Build your deck right, and Spellweaver Volute can potentially allow you to storm off using your graveyard as a second hand.

Pros:

Completely unique ability

Cons:

Requires a very particular kind of deck to have any meaningful effect whatsoever
Slow

19. Paradox Haze

"Wait, but didn't you just—?"

At first glance, Paradox Haze looks like the most do-nothing of all the do-nothing cards. However, some digging through Magic’s card pool will reveal many powerful effects that trigger on a player’s upkeep. There are positive upkeep triggers and effects, like on Oloro, Ageless Ascetic, and negative effects, like curse-type auras.

Paradox Haze is another enchantment for the master deckbuilders out there. It’s a bit less fringe than Spellweaver Volute and can do real work in the right list.

Pros:

Completely unique ability

Cons:

Requires a very particular kind of deck to have any meaningful effect whatsoever
Doesn’t protect itself
Doesn’t replace itself
A bit slow

18. Second Wind

Freedom in stillness. Stillness in freedom.

Another entry from Future Sight, Second Wind is a bit less fringe. Tapping and untapping is a fundamental and frequently occurring part of every game of Magic. Most creatures can attack and block, and many have powerful tap effects.

Sure, there are other auras that allow you to tap and untap your creatures. But most grant this to the creature they enchant as a new ability. Second Wind is entirely unique because you are actually tapping the enchantment itself to get its effect. Note that, as an enchantment, it can use its ability right away since it’s unaffected by summoning sickness.

This card can be played to buff one of your creatures, and you’ll likely use it this way. A creature already enchanted with Quicksilver Dagger would be a great target! But Second Wind can also be used to enchant and tap down one of your opponent’s creatures. A good card to consider in a deck that loves tapping and untapping.

Pros:

Completely unique style of this ability
Can enhance your creature or lock down an opponent’s

Cons:

Requires a particular kind of deck to unlock its true power
Doesn’t protect itself or its target
Doesn’t replace itself

17. Pariah

"Why me?"

Pariah is another aura that can be played on a creature you control or an opponent’s. But rather than protect any permanent on the battlefield, Pariah protects you.

It’s also a great combo piece in certain decks that include cards like Stuffy Doll and Brash Taunter. These decks run indestructible creatures who redirect damage they receive to other targets. Pariah is an interesting option to consider that can act as slight protection, pseudo-removal, and a combo enabler.

Pros:

Unique ability
Flexible

Cons:

Requires a particular kind of deck to unlock its true power
Doesn’t protect itself
Doesn’t replace itself

16. Treachery

"The best negotiations are the ones that I win."

Want your opponent’s strongest creature? Treachery lets you take it. The upside of untapping the same amount of lands as you used to cast it means Treachery is effectively mana-neutral (read: free) to cast. But wait, there’s more: Treachery still has some tricks up its sleeve.

Some lands in Magic tap for more than just one mana. So by targeting them with Treachery’s ETB trigger, you can go mana-positive. In fact, this aura has a great home in blink decks that can generate tons of mana by abusing its ETB. The good news for this enchantment is that the floor is relatively high and the ceiling is even higher.

Pros:

Not only removes but steals your opponent’s best creature
Anywhere from mana-neutral to mana-positive
Great in blink decks

Cons:

Doesn’t protect itself
Doesn’t replace itself
Still slow at five mana despite its mana-generation potential

15. Curse of Bounty

"Oh boy, dinner!"

Curse of Bounty can do a lot of work for only two mana. Designed for multiplayer, it could potentially let you untap all your nonland permanents up to four times in a commander game turn-cycle. Another aura that’s particularly good in decks that love tapping and untapping. Also good in decks without vigilance that love attacking, and want to be able to block on the crackback. The major downside, of course, is that it lets your opponents do the same, which could be disastrous.

Pros:

Enables more tapping and untapping
Enables safer non-vigilant attacks, since you can block after
Disincentivizes attacking you

Cons:

Enables your opponents to do the same, could be devastating

14. Curse of Opulence

Buyer beware.

Another curse from the same cycle as Bounty, Curse of Opulence is much safer to run out. Sure, everyone else gets to ramp too (except one unlucky soul), but it will be disproportionately in your favor. It again incentivizes attacking creatures to go elsewhere than at you. Cheap and efficient at just one mana, Curse of Opulence is a great fit in any multiplayer deck running red.

Pros:

Great ramp in red
Disincentivizes attacking you
Enables multi-color decks

Cons:

Also benefits your opponents

13. Hyena Umbra

Swiftness, ferocity, tenacity.

Back to more traditional auras, Hyena Umbra is efficient and effective. It’s a bit like Spirit Mantle and Ethereal Armor, but with the upside that it protects its target with pseudo-indestructibility. Hyena Umbra doesn’t protect itself, but it protects its target so well that it doesn’t really need to. This aura does so much for so little, it’s a great option in any aggro deck.

Pros:

Protects its target
Enables safer attacks and blocks
Efficient

Cons:

Doesn’t replace itself

12. Flickering Ward

"I've got just the thing for this."

Talk about efficient — Flickering Ward is an incredible one-mana aura. It protects its target from an entire fifth of the game. And if you ever need to change the chosen color, you can do so by returning it to your hand. You can use Flickering Ward’s ability at instant speed, so it can also protect itself as well as its target.

Put this in an enchantress deck that draws cards when you cast or play enchantments to unlock its true potential. Just be careful about what colors you choose. If you grant your creature protection from white, for example, you won’t be able to target it with any of your other white cards. And any other white cards currently attached to it (equipment, other auras) will fall right off.

Pros:

Very efficient
Protects itself and its target
Incredible in enchantress decks

Cons:

Doesn’t replace itself
Can disable color synergies in your own deck

11. Bear Umbra

Strength, power, resilience.

The second and final Umbra on the list, it’s Bear Umbra. +2/+2 is nice, but the real power of this card is its ability to untap all your lands whenever the creature it's enchanting attacks. And that creature will feel quite free to attack with the pseudo-indestructibility of totem armor. Keep in mind that this can go mana-positive like Treachery. An all-around strong aura.

Pros:

Protects its target
Enables safe attacks and blocks
Effectively generates mana

Cons:

Doesn’t replace itself

10. All That Glitters

"I think I'll have another."

At first glance, this looks a lot like Ethereal Armor without the first strike. And you’re right, it does. Then why is it so far up the list — in the top 10 even? That’s because it counts enchantments and artifacts towards the buff it grants.

It may seem like a small difference at first, but between artifact lands, 0-drop artifacts, and the prevalence of treasure tokens, that difference becomes massive. It can grant such a boost in power that the usual downside of auras becomes negligible since the game is over sooner. Also note that, like Ethereal Armor, All That Glitters will always give a creature +1/+1 since it counts itself. This can do absolute work in a ton of different decks, even being a win-con in its own right.

Pros:

Very mana efficient
Great in attacking decks, or even decks that have just a few evasive creatures
Its upsides shore up its downsides

Pros:

Doesn’t protect itself or its target
Doesn’t replace itself

9. Eldrazi Conscription

Its twisted body is a reflection of its mind.

Want to make your creature big? Like really really big? Well, now you can for the low, low price of eight mana and that creature’s soul.

It’s obvious that such a huge power and toughness boost along with trample is good. But what really pushes this card is the fact that it also gives its target annihilator 2. Forcing opponents to sacrifice is excellent because it gets around effects like hexproof, shroud, and indestructible.

Similar to All That Glitters, Eldrazi Conscription is, through and through, a finisher. This means that the normal downsides of auras aren’t as relevantly weighted against it, though they are still present. Granted, it’s not as good against token or weenie decks. Everyone else, though, will tremble in horror at the sight of your Eldrazi-fied monster.

Pros:

Incredible stat boost
Forces opponents to sac permanents

Cons:

Doesn’t protect itself or its target
Doesn’t replace itself
Very slow

8. Animate Dead

"Rise and serve your new master!"

Animate Dead truly is an oldy-but-a-goody. You can just read its long textbox as, “Reanimate target creature as long as this aura is attached to it. It gets -1/-0.”

It does have the usual shortcomings of auras. That is until you squint really hard and view it as a sorcery instead. The going rate for a reanimation sorcery is about four mana for something in your graveyard. So a card that reanimates a creature from any graveyard for only two mana is just incredible. The -1/-0 is so negligible it won’t even make the cons list.

Pros:

Incredibly efficient
Can target a creature in any graveyard
More like a sorcery than an aura

Cons:

The usual shortcomings of auras, unless you consider it as a sorcery

7. Angelic Destiny

At that moment she dedicated her life to one thing: Justice.

If you’re looking for a traditional style of aura to buff your creature, look no further. Angelic Destiny gives a significant stat boost with evasion and allows its target to trade when it does get blocked. Don’t overlook the Angel typing either — in the right deck it’s a real buff.

The icing on the cake is that when the creature it’s enchanting dies, Angelic Destiny replaces itself with, well, itself. The creature does explicitly have to die, not be exiled or bounced, so it’s not foolproof. But Angelic Destiny is so effective at what it’s doing that it’s hard to go wrong including this in your deck.

Pros:

Excellent buffs to the creature it enchants
Recursive
Strong for its mana value
One of the best all-around auras available

Cons:

Doesn’t truly protect its target
Need to pay the full mana cost for every recast

6. Gift of Immortality

"Fear not, for I shall return before long. Look for me in the glory of the rising sun."

Gift of Immortality is like Indestructibility but better in almost every way. Granted, there are some advantages to sticking on the field perpetually. But Gift of Immortality allows you to take advantage of ETBs and dies triggers. What makes this truly powerful is the fact that it also re-attaches itself to the creature that died.

Combine this with Angelic Destiny and your opponents will struggle to outlast your creature’s power, perpetuity, and recursion.

Pros:

Protects its target by taking advantage of the death mechanic rather than preventing it
Allows for dies triggers and ETB synergies
Well-costed at three mana

Cons:

There is a window before the next end step that an opponent can remove the creature again, nullifying Gift of Immortality’s effect, but this is still a one-for-one at the worst

5. Rancor

Hatred is a virus that always seeks a new host.

Take all the raving about Angelic Destiny and insert it here. Rancor is a similar, smaller version, but for only one mana. The last of the traditional buffs on the list, what pushes Rancor to the top-5 is its recursion and sheer efficiency. The creature it buffs can be destroyed, exiled, bounced — whatever. As long as Rancor hits the graveyard, it immediately goes back to your hand.

Pros:

Incredibly efficient
Powerful creature buff
Recursive

Cons:

Doesn’t protect its target

4. Pattern of Rebirth

Potential incarnate.

Unlike the auras we’ve seen before, this one wants the creature it enchants to die. Slap this on a 1/1 token, sacrifice it, and go get the biggest, baddest creature from your deck. Not only does this search for your most powerful threat, but Pattern of Rebirth puts that threat directly onto the battlefield. In longer formats like commander, you can do incredible work with this, especially if you can get it back from your graveyard.

Pros:

Turns the downside of auras into a positive
Tutors from your library
Puts your best creature directly on the battlefield

Cons:

Can make you the archenemy in commander

3. Splinter Twin

"If you like me, you're gonna love this."

To infinity, and beyond! While there are some infinite combos with Pattern of Rebirth, it’s what Splinter Twin is known for. Splinter Twin has been called “the best of the fair decks.” That was before it was banned in Modern, to the chagrin of many Modern players.

By enchanting a creature that untaps a permanent when it enters the battlefield, Splinter Twin’s owner can create a small but infinite army. It still finds a lot of love in formats like commander, where you can tap and untap it to victory.

Pros:

Can go infinite
Can also just copy your best creature
Doubles-up ETBs

Cons:

Prime removal target
Requires a particular kind of deck to truly be effective

2. Pemmin’s Aura

"Let's see here..."

Pemmin’s Aura may seem innocent at first, but just like Splinter Twin, it’s quite capable of going infinite. Just hook it up to any creature that produces more than a single blue mana. You can use Pemmin’s aura to repeatedly untap it for a blue and generate infinite mana. I bet there’s a lot you could do with infinite mana. Oh, it can also give the creature it enchants hexproof, because why not?

Pros:

Can go infinite
Protects the creature it enchants
Gives evasion
Can be used as removal in a pinch

Cons:

1. Power Artifact

A simple spell that unlocks an artifact's true power.

In theory, there are more possible targets that generate enough mana to make Pemmin’s Aura go infinite. But Power Artifact cuts straight to the point. Play Grim Monolith or Basalt Monolith, then just enchant either with Power Artifact and you’re infinite. Granted, this mana is generic. But with so many mana filtering cards these days it will be easy to change it into any color you want.

Pros:

Can go infinite

Cons:

Do you not like infinite mana?

The Thing About Auras

As you can see, auras bring a wide array of buffs and abilities to the table. Some eke out mild but consistent value over time, while others can generate infinite resources. The trick with auras is to make sure you deeply consider why you would want to include one in your deck. With most of them, there’s a real downside of potentially getting two-for-one’d. So build your deck right and you’ll be able to make use of some of the most unique abilities in the game.

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[Top 15] MTG Best Angel Commanders That Are Powerful

atomocene — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 23:31:58 +0000

On Angels' Wings

Glorious protectors that soar to victory on golden wings, Angels are one of Magic: The Gathering’s most iconic tribes. So you’ve decided you want to build a commander deck with one at the helm. But which of these righteous warriors is the right one for the job? Well, here are 15 of the most powerful Angel commanders ever printed.

15. Tariel, Reckoner of Souls

"Rise, and meet your new purpose."

Starting off the list is an Angel whose name and artwork are, unfortunately, a bit more inspired than his effect. Granted, Tariel’s ability to resurrect a creature from any opponent’s graveyard has incredible potential. Add on top that his Mardu color identity. You’ll have access to tons of premium removal to get those creatures into the graveyard in the first place.

However, Tariel costs a whole seven mana and can’t even use his ability right away since he doesn’t have haste. Not only that, but you don’t even get to choose the actual creature you resurrect. So forget the game-ending bomb that you want. Instead, you might just get the mana dork that died earlier on. Tariel might be incredibly powerful in the right circumstances, but those circumstances can take a lot of work to manufacture.

Pros:

Strong color identity for graveyard synergies
Great artwork

Cons:

Very slow at seven mana, especially without haste
Realistically, you won’t actually get to choose which creature he resurrects

14. Sigarda, Host of Herons

"Bastion for those who would seek it."

If you want to build a Voltron-style Angel deck, Sigarda is one of your better options. The fact that she has flying and hexproof and can’t be forced to be sacrificed makes her very resilient to removal. Only an overloaded Cyclonic Rift or some similar effect will do the trick.

Past her Voltron capabilities, however, her power starts to fall off. Preventing you from having to sacrifice your permanents is nice. But outside of that, she doesn’t provide anything in the way of synergies or advantages for the 99 in your deck. This holds her back from being a truly powerful Angel commander.

Pros:

A good option for a Voltron commander
Strong meta-pick if you know your pod likes sacrifice themes

Cons:

Little if any synergies to speak of

13. Morphon, the Boundless

Anything and everything.

Although he’s not explicitly an Angel, as a shapeshifter, Morphon does technically fit the bill. Choose Angels when he enters the battlefield, and Morphon will provide a nice little anthem effect for your graceful flyers. He also opens up the possibility of playing all five colors, though you’ll find most Angels in white, black, and red. But build your deck right and even a small mana discount might go a long way.

Pros:

Anthem effect on a commander
Minor mana discount

Cons:

Slow at seven mana
His upsides are more impactful for other tribes

12. Firja, Judge of Valor

"Your worth? I'll be the judge of that."

Firja is the first commander on the list to bump up the power level a bit. Angels are a well-supported tribe in her Orzhov color identity. Also, her ability lets you draw cards while also pitching reanimation targets into your graveyard. Playing two cards on your turn in commander is very realistic. And if you can play a couple cards on an opponent’s turn, she really comes online.

The only downside is that Firja costs just a mana too much. She doesn’t do anything the turn you play her. So you have to wait a whole turn cycle before you can start using her ability. At four mana, Firja would be a real powerhouse in graveyard decks. At five mana, she’s definitely strong, but a little too fair.

Pros:

Great graveyard enabler
Card draw on a commander
Good color identity

Cons:

Slightly slow
Vulnerable to removal

11. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight

"Fear not, for I am with you!"

Just reading Gisela’s textbox is exciting. At first glance, it sounds like everything you do will deal double damage to your opponents. And it will — but that’s not all. If any source deals damage to an opponent or one of their permanents, it will be doubled. That includes sources your opponents’ control too.

And if all that wasn’t good enough, she even halves all damage done to you and your permanents. And she has flying and first strike?? Wait, how much does she cost again? Oh. At least she has decent color typing.

Pros:

Incredible power swings
Can incentivize opponents to target other opponents
Flying and first strike let her attack and trade very safely and favorably

Cons:

Expensive and slow
Her abilities are so strong that opponents will likely remove her ASAP

10. Aurelia, the Warleader

Countless battles, and yet she remains.

The Boros Legion continues its march down the list with Aurelia, the Warleader at its helm. As her flavor text suggests, Aurelia wants to get on the battlefield and swing in right away. Provided she survives, she lets you attack not just once, but twice on each of your turns. What really pushes Aurelia is the fact that she has haste, so you can make use of her ability the turn she hits the battlefield.

Like Gisela before her, Aurelia is a big target. Your opponents already don’t like being hit in the face. They don’t want it to happen twice. You’ll likely need some protection like Lightning Greaves to keep her safe. But if you can connect, Aurelia can carry your team to victory

Pros:

Extra combats are always incredibly powerful, especially in Boros colors
Haste enables her to make use of her ability right away

Cons:

So powerful she immediately becomes a must-remove threat
Six mana is limiting considering she’s likely to get removed

9. Liesa, Forgotten Archangel

"Persist, for you have my favor."

Orzhov’s back with a vengeance, as Orzhov tends to do. At the same mana value as Freja before her, Liesa has the same keyword abilities but on a more relevant body. She also allows you to replay your creatures while exiling your opponents’ when they die. Both of these abilities are strong — and the second especially so with the amount of graveyard shenanigans in the format these days.

Unless you already control a sacrifice outlet that doesn’t cost mana to activate already, you won’t be able to make much use of her first ability right away. But if you have some blockers sitting around, they’ll be able to protect her and you can just play them again on your next turn. Deathtouchers will work especially well in conjunction with both of her abilities.

Pros:

Shuts down opponents’ graveyard synergies
Decent sized body for the mana cost
Allows you to get more value out of your creature’s enter and exit the battlefield effects

Cons:

Similar to Freja, she would be a real powerhouse at four mana
Needs some setup ahead of time

8. Liesa, Shroud of Dusk

From dusk to dawn and dawn to dusk.

Don’t worry, you’re not seeing double — this is also Liesa, but a bit more powerful. However, your opponents might do a double-take when they start losing two life every time they cast a spell. Granted, you will too, but lifelink on a 5/5 flyer can help you recoup that life quickly. So will Orzhov’s myriad lifegain synergies.

Now, the Shroud of Dusk does cost the same as her Forgotten Archangel incarnation. However, she lets you pay life in lieu of commander tax — a price you’ll happily pay in a format with 40 life. In theory, you’ll never have to pay extra mana to cast her, making her a solid, persistent threat.

Pros:

Chips away at opponents’ health consistently
Good stats and static abilities for the mana cost
Her abilities synergize well with each other

Cons:

You will need to include more lifegain effects than usual to offset her ability

7. Lyra Dawnbringer

"Our victory shall be as the glory of the rising sun!"

Lyra is strong. Like really strong. You can run her as your commander or even in the 99. She’s especially great when you already have some other Angels on the battlefield. That way you can maximize your use of her anthem effect and the lifelink she gives your Angels. Simply put, if you’re playing Angels, play her.

Pros:

Very strong tribal synergies
Trades well
Great lifegain potential

Cons:

Doesn’t provide protection for other Angels
Limited to Angel tribal decks

6. Shalai, Voice of Plenty

Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da

While she’s not in the top-5 proper, Shalai makes it in spirit. Giving hexproof to all your creatures and planewalkers and even you really elevates her power level. Her activated ability also sneaks her into a Selesnya color identity and wants you to build a go-wide theme.

Shalai doesn’t protect herself, but there are many ways in Selesnya to get that job done. And if she does get removed, it’s not too painful, as recasting her isn’t prohibitively expensive. If you want a solid, all-around Angel commander that won’t attract too much negative attention, look no further.

Pros:

Protects your board and YOU!
Nice casting cost
Can repeatably buff your board
Well-rounded

Cons:

Little, if any, to speak of
Quite fair

5. Sephara, Sky’s Blade

Wingtips as sharp as swords.

Once you see the keyword “indestructible” stapled on a legendary creature, you know you’re in top-5 territory. Don’t let Sephara’s high mana value deceive you. More often than not, you’ll be casting her for a single white mana by tapping four other flyers. Hey, speaking of flyers: Angels do that. But they’re not the only ones.

One of the usual downsides of a tribal deck is that you’re limited to playing creatures in that tribe. But Sephara really enables flying tribal, rather than strictly Angel tribal. This makes it easy to sneak in other powerful white flyers and still make use of her abilities.

Now, Sephara is going to be a lightning rod for removal. Granting indestructible tends to have that effect. And, unfortunately, her cost-reduction ability doesn’t allow you to circumvent paying commander tax. But paying three mana for a 7/7 with flying and lifelink that gives your other flyers indestructible doesn’t sound so bad.

Pros:

Incredible mana cheating
Good in Angel tribal decks and other flying-based decks
Gives indestructible to your other flyers

Cons:

Will be removed often and doesn’t protect herself

4. Avacyn, Angel of Hope

Radiance undeniable.

“Did someone say indestructible?” Avacyn laughed, as she burst through the sky in a golden blaze, blinding Sephara and pushing her aside. If you thought Sephara was powerful, Avacyn is all that and more.

No, she can’t cheat mana like Sephara can. But Avacyn does something that most other powerful Angels on this list don’t: she protects your other permanents and herself. That includes your lands too, by the way.

Besides the mana cost, Avacyn comes with one significant downside not printed on the card. She’ll draw the ire of your opponents and make you the archenemy before the game even begins. People know how strong she is, so when they see her in your command zone they may try to take you out before you even get the chance to cast her. That said, if you do cast her, it means that victory is imminent.

Pros:

Did you read the card???

Cons:

Expensive and a bit slow at eight mana
You’ll likely be the archenemy for the entire game

3. Giada, Font of Hope

Don't underestimate her.

A relatively new commander from Streets of New Capenna, Giada quickly made her mark as one of the stronger Angel commanders. She has something that many of the other Angels on this list don’t have: consistency. The fact that she only costs two mana means you know exactly what you’ll be doing on the second turn of every game.

Angels are quite powerful, but because of that are also usually quite expensive to cast. Giada is mana ramp for your Angels with a buff for them that can become substantial later in the game.

Contrasted with Avacyn and Sephara before her, Giada is rather subdued, as reflected in her artwork. She isn’t big or splashy, so she won’t draw too much unwanted attention to herself or you. This makes her a safer commander to run if you’re worried about the politics of your game. That is, until, you use her to cast Avacyn or Sephara.

Pros:

Ramps you into powerful Angels
Buffs your Angels
Consistent and cheap at only two mana

Cons:

A true enabler, she relies heavily on other Angels and doesn’t have much power on her own

2. Kaalia of the Vast

She chose a pathway that some consider to be unnatural.

Welcome to cEDH. Kaalia has the notorious ability to cheat incredibly powerful creatures into play far earlier than they’re supposed to appear. And her Mardu color identity is what makes this ability so strong. Red and white have some of the best attackers, while black is the best color to search them up. Put it all together and you have a commander that can wipe out opponents in a matter of a few turns.

Pros:

S-rank mana cheating ability
Perfect color identity to enable her ability
Can be played early in the game

Cons:

Similar to Avacyn, she is a known powerhouse and will likely get removed endlessly

1. Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice

An Angel? Or a nightmare?

It’s easy to forget that Atraxa is an Angel. Another cEDH powerhouse, Atraxa’s proliferate ability allows her to be played in a wide variety of decks. There are seemingly endless kinds of counters in Magic, whether they be poison, loyalty, or +1/+1, among others. Atraxa makes any counter-based deck she’s in exponentially better.

While she’s not usually run as an Angel tribal commander, she could be. As an Angel commander, she does lack red in her color identity, but makes up for it in every other way. If you’re ready to run the strongest commander in the format right now, or at least the most popular, look no further.

Pros:

Incredible synergies in a wide variety of decks
Powerful static abilities
Can be cast fairly early in the game

Cons:

You will likely be the archenemy of archenemies
Doesn’t protect herself
Can be tricky to cast as a four-color commander, but green shores up some of that weakness

On the Wings of Victory

Angels can be a difficult tribe to make work. Most of them are expensive to cast and lack a blue or green color identity, making card draw and mana acceleration a potential challenge to overcome. But if you can manage your resources well and reach the mid to late game, you can soar to victory on the wings of these glorious protectors.

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[Top 15] MTG Best Counterspells Every Player Should Use

atomocene — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 05:19:21 +0000

Essence of the Blue Mage

Nothing makes you feel more like a blue mage than the phrase, “in response.” And nothing lets you embody that phrase more than a sweet, sweet counterspell. So you’ve seen the light and understand that blue is the best color (because it is). You want to stop other players before they even have a chance to play the game. So here are 15 of the best counterspells that will help you do just that.

15. Rewind

"Let's try that again."

The first entry on the list also has the highest mana cost that you’ll actually have to pay. While four mana may seem like a lot for a counterspell (and it is), Rewind has the added benefit of untapping up to four lands upon a successful counter. This is great if you’re in a spellslinger or storm deck, or if you’re running lands that tap for more than just one mana each. While Rewind has its potential upsides, it’s simply not worth the cost if your deck doesn’t play into them.

Pros:

Great in storm decks
Potentially mana-positive

Cons:

Expensive
Slow

14. Dissipate

"Goodbye forever."

Dissipate lives up to its namesake by removing its target from the game entirely. In modern Magic, there are myriad ways to play from your graveyard. So if you find yourself encountering lots of reanimator mages, this Cancel-with-upside will help keep their nefarious schemes in check. Unfortunately, a casting cost of three mana stops this card from being truly great. To do that, it really has to cost two mana or less.

Pros:

Exiles countered spell

Cons:

Slightly inefficient
Slightly slow

13. Essence Scatter

"Like dust in the wind."

Speaking of two mana, here’s our first entry on the list. Although it only hits creatures, Essence Scatter pulls its weight by working in a variety of decks. Controlling decks can shut down more aggressive opponents. On the flip side, those with very aggressive decks can use this to stop control and midrange decks from playing a big blocker later on, allowing them to close out the game. However, as this only hits creatures, it’s more of a sideboard card for best-of-threes.

Pros:

Efficient

Cons

Only targets creature spells

12. Mana Leak

"Whoops."

It’s hard not to love Mana Leak. A two mana counterspell that can target a spell of any kind. Similar to Essence Scatter, Mana Leak is excellent in all sorts of different decks. The issue is that, as the game goes on, its power and relevance go down significantly since it functions as more of a mana tax than a “pure” counterspell. This almost makes it a stronger option to consider for aggressive decks who want to close the game out faster, rather than slow control decks.

Pros:

Efficient
Flexible

Cons:

Only good in early to mid-game

11. Negate

Anti-magic magic.

Essence Scatter’s big brother, Negate generally puts in more work by targeting noncreature spells instead. Noncreature spells tend to have bigger immediate effects than creature spells. Think spot removal, board wipes, planeswalkers, card draw, and extra turns. These kinds of spells are relevant throughout the whole game and can often end it. An auto-include in any Commander deck that runs blue, Negate will consistently surprise you with how much it can do.

Pros:

Targets noncreature spells instead of creature spells
Efficient

Cons:

Only targets noncreature spells

10. Saw It Coming

"Too easy."

The beauty of Saw It Coming is in the Foretell mechanic. Foretell allows you to tuck this card away in exile for later when you actually need it. And when you cast it later, it only costs two mana! While it can cost four mana in total, the ability to pay that mana in installations really elevates the power of this card. Not to mention the mind games that come with Fortell, as the foretold card goes to exile face down.

Pros:

Flexible
Information mind games

Cons:

Still costs three or four mana in total

9. Dovin’s Veto

All it takes is one veto from Dovin to shut everything down.

Nothing says “no” more than an uncounterable counterspell. For when you absolutely must stop your opponent from playing that game-ending spell. No questions asked. The only downsides here are the noncreature limitation and the requirement of including white in your deck. But if you find yourself running a list that includes Azorius colors, especially in Commander, this is an auto-include.

Pros:

Uncounterable
Efficient

Cons:

Only targets noncreature spells
Dual color

8. Remand

The manifestation of Azorius decree.

Another entry that, like Mana Leak, isn’t a “pure” counterspell. But instead of taxing mana, Remand returns the countered spell to its caster’s hand. There is the downside that your opponent can simply just cast that spell again when they have enough mana. However, depending on the spell, this might not be until their next turn, meaning you would have effectively skipped their turn for only two mana! Not to mention Remand replaces itself by drawing you a card.

Pros:

Efficient
Replaces itself by drawing a card (!)

Cons:

Your opponent could cast the countered spell again

7. Syncopate

"How bad do you really want to cast that?"

Sometimes all you need to make Syncopate exceptional is just two mana. In the case that your opponent taps out to cast a big spell, Syncopate is a Dissipate that costs 33% less. Especially in one-versus-one formats, this can be a blowout if you play your cards right. And you can always pump more mana into it if need be. Don’t underestimate this card — you’d be surprised how often the right situation comes around.

Pros:

Exiles countered spell
Highly flexible

Cons:

Can be expensive

6. Jwari Disruption

Even the land rose up in defiance.

Jwari Disruption is an easy one-of to include in almost any deck that runs blue, even if your deck isn’t dedicated to running counterspells. The fact that this card can be played as a counterspell or a land makes it incredibly flexible. Only the most aggressive of aggro decks will opt out of this one since the land side, Jwari Ruins, comes into play tapped.

Pros:

Highly flexible — a counterspell that can be played as a land!
Easy to include in any deck

Cons:

Comes into play tapped when played as a land

5. Counterspell

The classic.

What better card to start off the top five than the very card that gives this kind of spell its namesake? Tried and true, making mages everywhere both love and loathe the color blue, Counterspell has been causing opponents scoop since Alpha. It’s hard to get more efficient or purer counter than Counterspell itself. The only downside being the two blue pips in the casting cost makes this harder to splash in multicolor decks. But the sheer power of this card can make that downside totally worth it.

Pros:

Highly efficient
Flexible

Cons:

Hard to splash into decks of other colors, especially three or more

4. Mana Drain

Counterspell on steroids.

Move over, Counterspell, we hardly knew you. You’ve got absolutely nothing on Mana Drain. Someone at Wizards of the Coast decided that Counterspell had enough fun in the limelight, and it was time to crank blue to 11. Mana drain is literally just a Counterspell that adds the countered spell’s converted mana cost as colorless mana to your mana pool on your next main phase. Now you have a pure counterspell with ramp, which is honestly just disgusting.

Pros:

Everything that’s good about counterspell but better and with no added downside

Cons:

3. Pact of Negation

"I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

The best way to counter a blue player is to save your big, splashy, game-ending play for when they’re tapped out. Oops, never mind, this counterspell targets any kind of spell and costs zero mana. With this in your arsenal, your opponents will never be able to feel at ease as long as you still have cards in hand. Just make sure you have that five mana on your next upkeep.

Pros:

A counterspell that costs zero
Hyper efficient

Cons:

Actually a counterspell that costs five
Can lose you the game

2. Force of Negation

"A valiant effort, I suppose."

Force of Negation is an interesting one. If you pay its casting cost of three, it’s actually just a worse Negate. So you want to play it on your opponent’s turn, but if you do, you also need to exile a blue card from your hand. So effectively this is a two-for-one in favor of your opponent. All that said, this is also a zero mana noncreature counterspell, so.

Pros:

Flexible
Hyper mana efficient

Cons:

Resource intensive
Alternate casting cost only usable on an opponent’s turn

1. Force of Will

"No, no, no."

At first glance, the downsides of Force of Will are comparable to those of Force of Negation. You still exile another blue card from your hand and you also have to pay one life. But Force of Will counters any spell, not just noncreature spells. And paying one life is a measly tradeoff to cast a counterspell for free on any player’s turn. Force of Will is an absolute powerhouse of a card that will have your opponents scooping both their cards and their salt off the table.

Pros:

Like Force of Negation but stronger

Cons:

Resource intensive

The Power of "No"

When used properly, counterspells are one of the most powerful card types in the game. You can use them to get enormous value by anticipating your opponent's moves correctly ahead of time. As with many blue cards, counterspells take a good deal of game knowledge and preparation to get the most value out of them. But once you do, your opponents will be joining the ranks of other Magic players who just can't stand the controlling power of blue magic.

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"No."

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[Top 25] Legends of Runeterra Best Cards That Are Powerful

Maksym — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 20:02:35 +0000

We got a lot of cards to talk about here. Read on to find out what the best 25 cards in the game are at the time of Patch 3.11.0

Hello again, Legends of Runeterra enjoyers! As you all surely know, we got quite the expansion recently. With the addition of a whole lot of new and powerful cards and the advent of a whole new meta, it can be rather confusing to tell the overpowered cards from the meme-tier ones. That is why, after getting an impression of our new meta, I have decided to make a large ranking of the best 25 cards in the current patch.

I was considering to exclude champions from this list since I have made a top 10 champions list not too long ago, however that was before the expansion and I am happy to affirm that the meta has changed substantially since then. There will be some overlap with the top 10 champs list, simply because by design champions are more powerful cards than the rest. Well, at least that’s the theory. In reality we all know that Ebb and Flow is the best card ever.

Additionally, I want to mention that this list will mostly focus on the standalone value of cards. For example Windswept Hillock can be seen as a very good card because it enables the entire Yasuo archetype, however that deck is powerful as a whole and no one card in it is exceptional without the rest. Be that as it may, it is time to let the ranking commence!

25. Go Hard

Going hard.

Very strong on release, Go Hard remains a constant presence in spell-heavy decks.

These days it’s used more as a Spell Shield popper than removal proper, but it is still amazing against aggressive decks.

What is great about Go Hard:

Provides significant amount of healing.

Good against low-curve aggressive decks.
Great way to pop a Spell Shield.
Great card to set up Ravenous Flock and similar effects (Disintegrate).

24. Preservarium

Preserving your handsize

When it comes to efficient card draw, Preservarium is hard to beat. Two mana for two cards is excellent. The delayed second draw due to the countdown may appear like a downside, but when it comes to drawing cards, immediate effect is not too important. In particular, Preservarium sees great use in many Landmark decks where it is considered an auto-include.

What is great about Preservarium:

The most efficient card draw in the game when it comes to mana per card.
Great in Landmark decks.
Because it’s a Shurima card it is naturally paired with Predicts, giving great control over your draws for a consistent strategy.

23. Shen

may the force be with you

Shen Fiora used to be one of the most consistently top tier decks in the game. After the Fiora nerf, though, it fell off and Shen was faded out of the meta. Occasional attempts to revive the archetypes featured Jarvan IV but never really took off. Recently, however, the Ionia Barrier archetype received amazing new tools and Shen has resurfaced in style. A fantastic card to win over the board, Shen also has One-Turn-Kill potential with Sacred Protector giving your Barrier units Double Attack.

What is great about Shen:

Good, hard to trade, statline. Not much can contest a 3/5 by turn 4 or 5 and even if something can, you will have combat tricks at your disposal.
Strong level up that allows for explosive turns.
Good Champion Spell that works particularly well with lvl 2 Shen.
Sacred Protector (dubbed “Shen Boat” by the community) not only adds consistency but allows for OTKs.

22. Decimate

If this was a top 25 most tilting cards list this would be #1.

Do me trade? No! Me go face! Yes, Decimate is the ultimate SMOrc card of LoR. Scarcely any aggro deck does not include this card. When your deck consisting of 89 1-drops runs out of cards in hand on turn 2, you want to start drawing Decimates. The card may appear expensive but, as I said, aggro decks won’t have anything else to play very quickly and this is the best way to spend your mana at that point.

What is great about Decimate:

Good bang for your buck. It may cost a lot of mana but it is also the most damage you can do in one card.
Perfect top-end for any aggro deck.
Almost unstoppable damage from hand that does not require any board presence.

21. Noxian Fervor

this would be #2

Decimate’s younger and slightly better looking brother is Noxian Fervor. Nearly as much a staple of aggressive decks, Fervor provides some additional utility but also has an opportunity cost. Having a unit to cast this on is generally easy, but a smart opponent may try to empty your board by the time you are likely to play this. The real issue, however, is that this can be disrupted by killing the target unit at fast speed. On the flip side, Fervor can be used to kill enemy threats and it can be used to deny strike effects like Lifesteal.

What is great about Fervor:

Can be used to stop the opponent from healing with Lifesteal.
It can best be used “Glimpse-style” meaning that, just like Glimpse Beyond, this is best used on a unit that is already being killed. This way you won’t lose a unit and your opponent is less likely to disrupt the Fervor as they are already using a kill spell, making them less likely to have another one.
3 mana for 3 damage is very efficient.

20. Vile Feast

Are you afraid of spiders?

From the aggressive to the defensive, our rank 20 is Vile Feast. This card is a staple of control decks but also features in faster archetypes. The ability to get a unit at fast speed is valuable for punishing an opponent that takes too many actions before their attack. The healing can be relevant, and 1 damage finds way more use than one would think. In particular, aggressive decks often feature a lot of 2/1 statlines and Vile Feast is amazing against those, since the damage ping kills one and the spider trades the second 2/1.

What is great about Vile Feast:

Excellent against aggressive decks with many early units.
Cheap way to get rid of a Spell Shield.
Sets up further removal spells like Ravenous Flock.
Often does two things in one card: killing a unit and providing a blocker.

19. Glimpse Beyond

What she sees.

Like Vile Feast, this card has been around since the early beta of LoR and it is still one of the most played cards in the game. Nearly every Shadow Isles deck will include Glimpse. This card is best used on units that are already dying, be it to an opponent’s spell or to a very unfavorable trade – for the price of just two mana you can get a lot of value out of your soon-to-be-gone unit.

What is great about Glimpse Beyond:

Like Fervor, this can be used to great effect to deny strike effects or targeting effects.
At fast speed, this can be used to find an answer to an opponent’s development.
Good enabler of Slay synergy cards like Cursed Keeper, Thresh or Black Spear.

18. Durand Sculptor

Thats how you build a board

And here we have our first Demacia card, but by no means our last. Durand Sculptor was probably intended as a synergy point for the Formidable cards. Well, it is pretty good with Petricite Broadwing, but it is also pretty good with everything else. 2/2 is a decent enough statline for a 2-drop, but the snowball effect of buffing all your subsequent units with an extra point of health will make it nearly impossible for your opponent to keep up on board.

What is great about Durand Sculptor:

Particularly strong on Formidable units.
Powerful snowball potential if not removed early.
Drawing two of these early will make your board nearly unkillable.
Great for protecting cards with bad stats but powerful abilities like Poppy.

17. Petricite Broadwing

Why are half of Demecias cards birds?

Probably the best two-mana follower in the game now, Petricite Broadwing represents initially a 2 mana 3/3 Challenger. The Formidable makes this bird a bit more tolerable since after the first trade its power will be significantly reduced. Still this card, especially if paired with other strong Demacia early-game cards like Durand Sculptor, will allow you to dominate the game early.

What is great about Petricite Broadwing:

Almost no card played around turn 2 can survive a fight with this formidable combatant.
Gets great value out of health buffs and heals as they effectively buff its attack too.
Works very well with Durand Sculptor, making for an oppressive early game.

16. Concerted Strike

See? Another bird!

Demacia has great, strong board presence, efficient units and lots of combat tricks. But the straw that breaks the camel’s back is the fact that Demacia also has tons of removal. Granted, all of the removal demands for the Demacia player to have a board of units to cast the Strike Spells on, but if you don’t have a board as Demacia you lost anyways, so the requirement really isn’t steep at all. Concerted Strike allows two of your units to gang up on a much bigger threat and take it out, it lets you shut down opponents’ threats, and stops threats like Ezreal that would try to ignore the board and win through their innate abilities. This card is a great tool to force the opponent to play on your terms.

What is great about Concerted Strike:

Gives Demacia decks great interaction.
One of the few answers to really big units. Your guys may be big, but sometimes the opponent plays something reeeally big and that’s where this card comes in handy.
Great for triggering multiple Strike abilities.

15. Ravenous Flock

Yep Flock!

From Demacia to Demacia counters. Ravenous Flock is as efficient as removal can be. This card singlehandedly makes Noxus Control a thing. In particular, in combination with Arachnoid Sentry or the more recent Spell Slinger, this card can swing the early to mid game in your favour very easily.

What is great about Flock:

It is simply extremely efficient: 1 mana for 4 damage is fantastic, and the condition is easy to meet as you will be playing a deck that has either a lot of pings or a lot of stuns or both.
Yep Flock!

14. Ravenbloom Conservatory

Stay in school kids

While Flock put Noxus Control on the map, this card is what pushes it into the high tiers. Tybaulk (or as some call it, “Tabaluga”) is not only a sizeable mid game threat, but scaling all your damage spells up by 1 is incredibly powerful and allows slow control decks to become burn or even combo decks out of nowhere, by just throwing all your damage spells in the opponent’s face.

What is great about Ravenbloom Conservatory:

Rewards hands with a lot of removal, making the mulligans easier and more consistent.
Provides a win condition to otherwise mostly reactive decks.
Has great synergy with cards like Twisted Fate and Riptide Rex.

13. Gwen

Snip Snip Snip!

One of the three new champions, Gwen is already making a name for herself in Runeterra. In combination with Annie, she finds a home in a very powerful control deck that uses Catalogue of Regrets and Go Hard together with the usual Noxus control tools such as Ravenous Flock and Disintegrate, to stall the game out and finish with Tybaulk from Ravenbloom Conservatory. In that deck, Gwen is used to advance the Conservatory with her Snip skill and provide some healing and burn damage. Other decks utilize her Hallowed keyword to a greater extent, but so far Gwen has proved most useful as a standalone unit to apply some burn damage.

What is great about Gwen:

Good stats and quick attack make her a very solid tempo play.
The Hallowed cards are generally early game cards, and Gwen provides the win condition to that archetype with her lvl 2 ability.
Gwen and the Hallowed cards set up great Atrocity targets or allow for huge Overwhelm attacks to finish the game.

12. Ferros Financier

This guy could be in a Deodorant ad

Legends of Runeterra is a game all about flexibility and resource management (at least it used to be until a certain card started killing you on turn 5 every game, but we will get to that later), and Ferros Financier excels at providing both. A solid blocker in the early game, this card will give you much needed early stability and pay dividends in the lategame – provided, of course, that you picked the right card. This is what makes this card great: it will reward a player who understands the matchup they are in and can predict what tool they will need later down the line.

What is great about Ferros Financier:

Efficient early blocker that gives a lot of value.
Even low-curve tempo decks can use this guy and avoid running out of steam.
2 attack is just enough to trade most things in the first three turns, whereas the 1 hp rarely gets punished.

11. Flame Chompers!

Nom Nom Nom!

Now here is an unlikely hero! This card really doesn’t look like much, but a more experienced player will shudder at the sight of this little guy. It has to be said that on its own Flame Chompers! really doesn’t accomplish much. To start with, it requires a discard activator (you won’t be happy actually playing this out for two mana and an action), then it could use some buffs and ideally also a good target to chomp! However buffs exist plenty – in particular, when someone thinks Flame Chompers! they should also think Lulu because they go incredibly well together. Most commonly, Chompers gives discard tempo decks a way to line up favorable trades by pulling aside all these pesky units that have way too many stats.

What is great about Flame Chompers!:

If discarded with Poro Cannon, it gives you a burst speed 0 mana Challenger.
Can pull away big units or Lifesteal units, allowing your other attackers to do real damage.
Fantastic buff target. A buffed Chomper being played at burst speed can really catch your opponent off guard.
An absolute must in discard decks.

10. Vengeance

Back to serious captions

Probably the best single target removal in the game, Vengeance would rank higher on the list but the specifics of this meta are such that there is a lot of protection against big spells like this. Generally speaking, however, Vengeance is an auto-include in all Shadow Isles control decks and many midrange builds.

What is great about Vengeance:

It may seem expensive, but a lot of the cost is usually carried by spell mana, so Vengeance ends up being a rather efficient fast speed answer.
It meets certain synergies like Jayce and Lux.
Finds versatile application, seen in many decks.

9. Annie

One of the scariest cards in this game

From the top 10 champions list straight to the top 10 of best cards in the game, Annie spreads mischief wherever she goes. In this meta as in the last, she is a great proactive play in aggro and control decks alike. Her level-up ability gives you Tibbers, who is a strong threat in itself. She is best paired with Gwen in a Ravenbloom Conservatory deck, where their skills help advance the landmark and get you closer to your win conditions.

What is great about Annie:

Very difficult to block efficiently in the early turns.
Her Champion spell, Disintegrate, works very well in Noxus control decks.
Tibbers makes for a very powerful turn 6 play.
She is great to advance Ravenbloom Conservatory.

8. Single Combat

Ah yes, two mana Vengeance!

On rank 8 we have Vengeance but for two mana. Just kidding, but jokes aside, Single Combat is great for all the reasons that Concerted Strike is – except it’s just a lot cheaper. Sure, you do less damage and your unit also takes combat damage, but it is very cheap fast-speed interaction using your powerful units.

What is great about Single Combat:

Very cheap fast-speed interaction.
Lets you capitalize on board advantage by using it to remove opponents’ threats.
Can be used similarly to Glimpse and Fervor to get value out of a dying unit.

7. Golden Aegis

A glorious way to close out the game.

The ultimate busted Demacia card, Golden Aegis is used as a finisher in innumerable decks. But its game-ending ability is not all this card has going for it. Since it gives you a Barrier it can be used to punish opponents’ development, as they will skip their attack to not attack into a barrier, allowing you to swing back on your own terms, now with a Barrier unit too.

What is great about Golden Aegis:

Great finisher if you have a strong board.
Can be used defensively too, to protect an important unit.

6. Mystic Shot

The most staple card in the game.

I don’t think this card was ever bad. Mystic Shot saw play in every point in Runeterra history. It’s a very simple card, 2 mana for 2 damage at fast speed, and that just goes to show how important fast-speed interaction is in this game. This card is so common that having 2 HP is considered a downside on a unit specifically because it dies to Mystic Shot.

What is great about Mystic Shot:

There’s really not much to say. It does two damage to anything for two mana... that’s just really good.

5. Aphelios

CRAAAAWLING IN MY SKIIIIN

One of the best in the previous meta, Aphelios remains on top in this one as well. Primarily he is still used in the Targon PnZ Winding Light deck, but also sees experimentation with Gwen. This champion is simply very good for decks with very focused gameplans that need time to set said gameplan up. While you are assembling all the right pieces, Aphelios will provide you with Moon-Weapons to spend your mana on and keep in the game. Sometimes the Moon-Weapons and Aphelios can just win the game on their own. At his best, Aphelios feels less like a card and more like a whole deck.

What is great about Aphelios:

He provides lots of value in just one card.
The Crescendum → Calibrum → Gravitum cycle is very good for holding the board but also easily lets you branch into Infernum or Severum for an Overwhelm finish or much needed healing.
At 3/3 Aphelios has good stats on his own and can be used well to fight the early units of an aggro deck, for instance.

4. The Winding Light

Bad doggo! stop doing 30 damage to me on turn 6! BAD BOY!

As already mentioned, this card is often found in Aphelios decks. Or should I say Aphelios is often found in Winding Light decks, because this card is definitely the star of those decks.

Being basically a Darius that casts Pack Mentality on play, Winding Light is just way too many stats with Overwhelm for its mana cost. And the mana cost can be quite variable. The Nightfall tag of this card allows to cheat it on earlier turns using the token card Duskpetal Dust from the Lunari Duskbringer. Winding Light may not be the most powerful card in the game at the current time, but it is very close.

What is great about Winding Light:

Extremely strong impact upon play. Many games end after just one Winding Light, but the scary thing is that they could have another one.
Can be played early by using the Nightfall tag with the Duskpetal Dust token.

3. Quicksand

I have fallen and i can not get up.

Normally this card would never feature in a top 3, however, as we will shortly see, this meta is dominated by one specific card and Quicksand is one of the few ways to deal with it – kinda, sorta, maybe. Apart from THAT use, Quicksand is generally a great defensive tool – allowing you to stop, for example, two elusive units – but it is also a good combat trick with its -4 attack option.

What is great about Quicksand:

Great defense, allowing you to neutralize two threats for one attack.
Can tip a trade in your favour with the -4 attack option.
One of the rare ways to maybe deal with Kai’Sa (but probably not).

2. Ancient Hourglass

Time is running short, they are about to play Kai'sa.

This card is not very good… Ok, so, listen, hear me out, I know, I know but the thing is: it’s the best way to protect Kai’Sa. Hourglass is a good protection tool to save important units from cards like Vengeance, and sometimes there are cards that you really need to save or you will lose the game, but if you can save them then you will crush your opponent. Well, Kai’Sa is such a card – and Ancient Hourglass (paired with Rite of Negation, but that’s a much clunkier answer) is the reason why you can’t really stop her. If it was not for the current state of Legends of Kai’Sa, this card would be nowhere near a top 25 ranking. But, oh well, that’s where we’re at.

What is great about Ancient Hourglass:

Great counter to removal on your key units, such as Kai’Sa.
It’s really good in Kai’Sa decks.
Yup... sure is.

1. Kai’Sa

All hail queen Kai'sa, the sole regent of our meta!

And for the first place we have Ebb and Flow! Okay, so, yeah, Kai’Sa. Pretty good card huh? Well, in my opinion Kai’Sa is so good that the 3rd and 2nd spot are only here because of her. Basically the whole top 3 belongs to Kai’Sa. I don’t even know where to begin. She is easy to level; she can be tutored with Rite of Calling which is in her native region; in that same region we also have great protection cards as mentioned above; she can easily be given Scout, making her attack ability trigger twice, then they rally triggering it again and then they play Cataclysm just to rub it in. Oh and also her champ-spell is Supercharge, which gives a unit Overwhelm and Spell Shield, which she then can copy, all of that at focus speed. This means if you don’t kill Kai’Sa on sight you are most likely not having a good time. But of course you can’t kill Kai’Sa on sight because of Ancient Hourglass, so you just end up wasting all your removal for nothing. Did I mention that she is also actually bugged, receiving a level up progression from Sharpsight? Yeah, Sharpsight is my favorite keyword too. So let’s sum up: Kai’Sa is an overstatted, unremovable unit with tons of keywords, almost built-in Spell Shield, an ability that repeats with every time she attacks and damages your whole board, nexus included, and has bugged advantageous interactions with some of the best Demacia cards. Ok, did I forget something? Oh yeah: all of that happens on turn 5. Good one, Rito.

What is great about Kai’Sa:

Everything. Rito pls nerf.

This concludes my top 25 cards in Legends of Runeterra list.

Please keep in mind that this list pertains only to the current patch and some of the picks are heavily dependant on the current, shall we say, Kai’Sa situation. Nonetheless, I hope you found this list useful and until we meet again in the next article!

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My deck has no pathetic cards!

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