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Theros Beyond Death Standard Set Review: Green and Lands

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White | Blue | Black and Gold | Red and Artifacts


Today is the last day for my Theros Beyond Death set review and we'll be going over the Green and lands cards from the set! Before we start, lets quickly go over the grading scale.

I will not be going over cards that I believe will not see play in Standard and I will not be going over the Commander cards that will not see Standard play. For example, cards like Elspeth, Undaunted Hero (Planeswalker duel deck rare) and Archon of Falling Stars will be omitted since they are just Limited/Commander cards and saying, "This is just a Limited card" repeatedly gets old rather fast. Don't worry though, I will be covering all the rare and mythic cards in the actual Theros: Beyond Death set. So, if you like a certain rare or mythic, it will be mentioned in the review.

Keep in mind I'm rating all these cards for Standard playability. I will mention Modern applications if I believe the card has some.

Each card will be listed by color, then alphabetically by name.

Each card will be given a rating of 1-5. If a card would receive a 0, meaning it will see no play in that format ever, its rating is left off the list.

Rating | Explanation | Standard Examples

0 - Will never see play in this format (0 ratings are not listed).

1 - Unlikely to see play. (Light of the Legion)

2 - Could see fringe play, or occasional sideboard card. (Drowned Secrets)

3 - Commonly played, staple in a single deck, or frequent play in several decks. (Oath of Kaya, Thought Erasure, Lava Coil)

4 - Format staples. Sees play in multiple decks, one of the best cards in the format. (Hydroid Krasis, Risen Reef, Narset, Parter of Veils)

5 - Format warping. If you're in these colors, you play that card. (Teferi, Time Raveler, Nissa, Who Shakes the World)

Now that we have that out of the way, let's begin with the Green cards!

Arasta of the Endless Web
2 - Arasta reminds me of Ishkanah, Grafwidow, but I think it's weaker overall. It's still an okay card in midrange decks and isn't terrible against control. Only problem is Questing Beast is just way better and Arasta doesn't do well against Teferi.
Destiny Spinner
3 - At the very least a Sideboard card but thanks to her activated ability Destiny Spinner can and will see play in the main deck in best of one enchantment decks. She's also an enchantment herself so she fits perfectly into enchantment theme decks.
Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
2.5 - Much narrower than Courser of Kruphix, and overall worse. I understand he makes Nissa better since he turns all your lands into forests but Nissa is good enough with or without this Dryad. Better in older formats and commander/brawl decks where you can build around the card more.
The First Iroan Games
3 - A solid Saga for all kinds of Green decks. You don't even have to build around it to make it useful. It does play well with Incubation Druid!
Ilysian Caryatid
2.5 - A different Leafkin Druid with a smaller butt! It has a lot of competition though in Paradise Druid, Leafkin, and Incubation Druid. Having nice options for deck-building is nice though.
Mantle of the Wolf
1.5 - This is more for limited than anything. These enchantments just aren't reliable in Standard because of things like Teferi, Time Raveler and just good ole fashioned removal in response to your target.
Mystic Repeal
2 - Great sideboard card to deal with Indestructible gods!
Nessian Boar
2 - This thing is massive and hilarious. The dream is to soft lock your opponent out of playing creatures, but I really don't like giving my opponent the option to cash in their Arboreal Grazers or Llanowar Elves for new cards.
Nessian Wanderer
2.5 - A recurring way to play less lands in your enchantment deck but still hit them consistently. Having a relevant body is good against X/1 creatures doesn't hurt.
Nexus Wardens
2 - Could see this being in the sideboard for aggressive strategies or even annoying creatures with flying.
Nylea, Keen-Eyed
3 - Nylea, Keen-Eyed is not fancy but she doesn't need to be. Reducing the casting cost of all your creatures is pretty good and then giving you a mana sink for your Nyx Lotus mid to late game is good enough. You don't even need Nyx Lotus as Nissa, Who Shakes the World is good enough.
Nylea's Intervention
2 - Not a great intervention for Standard, especially since Field of the Dead is no longer legal. However, it seems solid in Commander / Brawl decks or a fringe deck with Dryad of the Ilysian Grove.
Nyxbloom Ancient
2.5 - I'm excited for this card! Just seems like a really fun card to build around. I want to play it alongside Fae of Wishes and just big silly spells. Maybe even Quasiduplicate it for ALL THE MANA!
Omen of the Hunt
2 - No Rampant Growth but again, it does stick around to give you devotion or for you to sacrifice to some other effect like Enigmatic Incarnation.
Relentless Pursuit
3 - Green Divination that fuels your graveyard? Sign me up! Just a solid card that helps you early game while also setting up your Escape cards.
Renata, Called to the Hunt
2.5 - Green has a lot of big creatures with better abilities than this card. Not sure why'd you play this over Questing Beast, even in your enchantment/devotion deck.
Setessan Champion
4 - Finally, a true build around me card that I hope creates a new deck in Standard. Setessan Champion is definitely strong enough, we just need to see if there is enough good enchantments to fuel her. My bet is yes!
Setessan Petitioner
2 - Another solid Sideboard card for Green Devotion decks. You have a choice between this or Nexus Wardens.
Wolfwillow Haven
3 - Finally, a two-mana ramp spell that's not a creature! Growth Spiral is great and all, but the ramp isn't guaranteed, and you need two colors early. I love ramp spells like these that aren't creatures because they allow you to also play board wipe cards like Realm-Cloaked Giant or Shatter the Sky.
Field of Ruin
3.5 - We've seen this before. Field of Ruin will be in plenty of decks for as long as it's legal in Standard, especially since this set pushes Mono-colored decks through Devotion. So, playing a couple Field of Ruins in your Mono-colored deck is easy.
Labyrinth of Skophos
3 - Mystifying Maze saw play in Standard and I expect this one to as well. It's nice for control decks or big mana decks to have a land that prevents combat damage. It's also happens to play really well with Fires of Invention since you'll have open mana.
Temple of Enlightenment
3.5 - These will all vary slightly from 2.5-3.5 but they will all see play depending on what combination of colors is currently the best. Dual lands are great for Standard and these temples are no exception.

Top 5 Green / Land Cards

  1. Setessan Champion
  2. Field of Ruin
  3. Labyrinth of Skophos
  4. Wolfwillow Haven
  5. Destiny Spinner

Excluding the Scry lands here as we all know they'll see play in various decks. Labyrinth of Skophos will see play in two control decks for sure as it's very good late game where control decks always try to go. Setessan Champion should spawn a new enchantment archetype. It's just too good not to.

Well, that's it for Theros Beyond Death. Overall I think the set is great and has powerful cards but nothing like Field of the Dead, Oko, or Once Upon a Time and that's a good thing!

Until next time,

Ali Aintrazi

Follow me @AliEldrazi

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