Hello again Krakeners !
Lost Caverns of Ixalan, or LCI for the more intimate friends, is the new MTG standard set. It brings us back to the land of pirates, vampires and dinos but this time around with a spelunking subtheme.
I have to say, comparing this set with the last Eldraine one, it seems like LCI is packing a bigger punch when it comes to interesting and playable cards for Leviathan. I am excited to share my thoughts on those cards as well as hearing from the rest of the players in the community.
I will also be including some of the new Jurassic Park cards in this Review, as this side-set release is closely tied to LCI.
Honorable Mentions
Keeping traditions, let’s talk a bit about the Planeswalker of this set. Unfortunately I don't think Quintorious deserves more than the Honorable Mention, and that's being generous. The static ability is not super relevant, unless it can be combo’d with some infinite cast from exile and the remaining abilities are medium at best. Being able to keep creating 3/2s is just fine, and the discovery can be very underwhelming and unreliable. A good thing about this one is that the ult can come quickly, but a lot of set-up in the graveyard is still needed so that it is even worth it.
Good Cards
A good 2 drop red creature that can grow itself or other creatures. and the discarding and playing of exile is not that big of a drawback in an aggressive shell, as the timing on this works fairly well. Play on turn 2, on turn 3 attack, discard and possibly play a land or off the top.
I expect this girl to show up on some Boros Yoshimaru and monored shells.
This guy triggers when pirates attack, Ragavan is a pirate. The combination of effects this card provides fits well with ragavan’s plan, and a 3/3 first strike for 3 that triggers on attack is also well fit for the monored red. Also, note that this triggers multiple times if you attack with multiple pirates. Pretty neat.
This card will be a nice tool to reanimation decks, with similar capabilities as Bone Shards. The one extra mana will give you the chance of casting without discarding anything (in emergency scenarios) and instant speed. Can see Aminatou, Grist, and other reanimation strategies using this new tool.
I’m very close to adding this card into the “Heavy Hitters” portion of the review. I truly think this card will be somewhat of a staple in white aggressive strategies. The Unearth comparison is obvious, but I think this effect is much more powerful in white than in black, due to such a great density of 2 and 3 drops of crazy good creatures.
This big dino is a pretty good natural order target. A 12/12 trample body needs to be answered by itself, and if it brings one of two friends together with its opponents better have a board wipe ready. Don't really see this one being used as a commander effectively.
Even though this is a legendary, I don’t see this card making a very powerful commander itself, but I do see a lot of value it can bring to some of the good midrange decks of the format. In the right deck this can produce fungus tokens every turn, while itself becomes a big trampler. These tokens can be put for good use on just attacking, getting used for sacrifice in Grist decks or as mana sources on Hoogak. Pretty neat card.
This reanimation spell might be more powerful than it looks. When using it to bring back a 2-3 cost card it compares with something like a Cosmic Rebirth, which is pretty medium. But similar to the Elder Fungus above, in the right shell this can be a pretty decent reanimation spell that can hit any types of nonland permanents. Again Grist, Hoogak and Slimefoot midrange shells are likely the ones that could use an effect like this as a necromancy type of effect.
It has been a while since Arahbo was given some new toys in the new sets.This Grand Abolisher-esc cat fits the deck like a glove. Besides being a great tool against counterspells, the second card draw ability is pretty much guaranteed with Arahbo’s +3+3 passive. This card might even be decent enough to see play in other selesnya hate-bears decks.
Is it finally time we get a good Dino deck? Pantlaza is not broken, but I think it can be a good top-end card for a Naya aggressive deck, with a spread of dinosaurs. There are some good new dinos in this set and as usual white aggressive decks bring some good tools to the table. I will probably try out this guy at some future Krakenfest.
Heavy Hitters
Spent a bit of time trying to decide if I think this is strictly better than Fateful Absence or not. In the end my opinion is that it is strictly better in most situations. Unless you are playing against some Galazeth type of effects, where artifacts are immediately lands, the two map tokens are going to be a less significant downside than drawing a card. On top of that this one can also target enchantments. Really nice, I will be swapping Fateful Absence for this in many of my decks.
This 2 mana Malcolm is the perfect example of what you want in a tempo focused 2 drop creature. It has flash for keeping up your mana, it hits for 2 damage (which is relevant) and more importantly it demands to be answered quickly. Even without counting its 4 counter ability (if that is resolving your opponent either did something really wrong, or you did something really right), the loot ability is already a nice filter advantage. Expect to see this card joining decks such as Raffine, Aragorn and maybe its own deck as a commander.
Similar to Malcolm we have another pretty pushed flash card. This one works like a Stifle, in that if targeting a creature, artifact or planeswalker it removes all abilities while it is on the field. This card has a high potential blowout, and it acts as a removal spell for planeswalkers, at least temporarily. Expect it to see play in the same decks as Malcolm.
One mana creatures that can easily grow into 3/3 and higher are usually good cards. For aggro, tempo and midrange decks that have black this guy will be a good addition. Expect Raffine, Grist, Rakdos decks to play this a nice one drop.
Straight upgrade for Dreadbore is nice. And even though it may not seem like it, the second side of this card can be fairly relevant. Just on top my my head I can think of several cards that it hit: Ozolith, Skullclamp, Exploration, Wild Growth, Mox Amber etc.
I’ve been enjoying that some of the new manlands had a higher power level. I think this time around the new mandlands are all pretty interesting, but the one that catches my eye the most is the Blue/White one. In a world of monarch and initiative, having access to a cheap to activate evasive manland is premium. I can’t wait to slot this one in my Aragorn deck !
Ok, I might be pushing a bit to include this guy in the heavy hitters, but I was honestly surprised at how good I think a deck based around this dino can be. It is nice that if you discard a creature with hexproof, there is no window for your op to use removal, and it seems very doable to discard 1-2 cards and draw about 3-4 cards pretty consistently. This can also enable a reanimation subtheme, and the colors are well supported for a good midrange grindy deck. The trick will probably be to have enough tools to ensure you are not getting Indominus Rex countered, other than that it should make a good splash.
Wrapping up
I really enjoyed this new set, I think the power level, theme, limited gameplay and addition to the format was really good. Having a cavern of souls reprint is a great bonus as well !
What do you think of the cards that caught my eye? Are there any others you would have included? Anything that you are sleeving in your own decks? Let me know your thoughts, it is always nice to see some healthy discussion on these.
See you all next time !