2023 has been a pretty crazy year for Magic: The Gathering.

We've seen the return of the Pro Tour, a Magic card sell for over 2 million dollars, big changes to many formats (as well as a few new formats), a new card type, many set releases, and more!

However, the core of Magic will always be the cards, so it's time to look at 2023 through the lens of the top 5 cards released this year!

5. Invasion of Zendikar

Coming in at number five is perhaps the most innocent looking card on this list, but an important one in the grand scheme of things nonetheless.

Invasion of Zendikar // Awakened Skyclave has been a key piece in the very powerful Domain Ramp decks that have been excellent in Standard since the printing of the card, putting Reid Duke in the top 8 of Worlds and may other players to big finishes, largely in part due to the amazing set up curve of turn three Topiary Stomper into turn four Battle for Zendikar and attack it immediately.

While Invasion of Zendikar has seen success, it's clear that Wizards of the Coast played it safe with battle as a new card type. For the most part it's only made a major impact in Limited, but there still have been a few nice other battles that have made Constructed like Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield Array, Invasion of Tarkir // Defiant Thundermaw, and Invasion of Amonkhet // Lazotep Convert. That being said, adding another interesting element to the board has been pretty sweet and the mechanic has a lot of room to grow.

Adding a new card type is a pretty big deal, so it's almost easy to forget because there weren't that many standout cards, but it's going to be interesting to see how they handle battles in the future.

4. Up the Beanstalk

Number four is a very sneaky one that flew under a lot of people's radar at first.

Up the Beanstalk looks like a lot of the "play big spells please" limited enablers that came before it, which were usually quite clunky and hard to actually get paid off on because putting a bunch of 5-drops in your deck wasn't a great idea.

Then two things happened.

One, they tacked "oh also draw when this enters the battlefield" onto Up the Beanstalk, meaning you get your card back immediately as well as a permanent on the battlefield that you can bargain or blink or what have you. This means that once you trigger it for the first time, you're already ahead rather than breaking even, and it also means that it's extremely hard to trade with on a one for one basis.

Two, there are a lot of Magic cards that "cost" five or more but actually get played for zero or 1 mana.

A one-mana Leyline Binding that also draws a card is a pretty wild card, and that's to say nothing of fueling the card disadvantage that pitch spells create by just drawing the card back immediately.

Up the Beanstalk has been playable in almost every format, and even got banned in Modern before The One Ring, which is incredible.

3. Atraxa, Grand Unifier

Our third card goes to show that tt's amazing what cards seemingly made for Commander have done to Constructed Magic. It's also amazing that they would print a creature that is better to cheat into play than Griselbrand. But it's 2023 and here we are...

Atraxa, Grand Unifier is one of the most powerful creatures ever printed.

The combination of a huge, essentially unbeatable body that plays offense and defense at the same time while pushing you out of reach of your opponent, with an ability that draws almost an entirely new hand, gives you all the best parts of Griselbrand without the threat of needing to pay life. Atraxa has been one of the go-to creatures to cheat into play in many formats, and is even many colors to pitch to Force of Will, Solitude, and more!

Furthermore, at only seven mana, Atraxa is just very castable too! This is especially prevalent in Standard, where there are a number of good ways to ramp, as well as Cavern of Souls to push through the one clean way to answer Atraxa which is by countering it and denying it's enters the battlefield trigger.

When it comes to the biggest and baddest creatures ever printed, Atraxa, Grand Unifier has changed the game.

2. Orcish Bowmasters

Speaking of one of the baddest creatures ever printed, Orcish Bowmasters has to be on the short list for "greatest creature of all time."

In any format that it is legal, mainly Modern, Legacy, and Timeless, Orcish Bowmasters is a format defining card. In Modern, it and Wrenn and Six have created almost a soft-ban on 1 toughness creatures, as it is so backbreaking to lose a card to Orcish Bowmasters straight up.

It's wild that a card that is essentially just a combination of Sparkmage Apprentice and Raise the Alarm is so impactful, but if that is where the story ended Orcish Bowmasters would just be a very solid card and not much more. However, the story goes on, and it's a nightmare for many.

For any deck looking to play card draw, one of the most fundamental elements of the game, Orcish Bowmasters creates a must-kill threat. However, very often if you use a real removal spell on Orcish Bowmasters, your opponent has gotten a token and a damage worth of value, making it extremely difficult to trade profitably. And if you can't kill Orcish Bowmasters? Nice Brainstorm or Treasure Cruise you've got there!

That is of course, unless you've got your own Orcish Bowmasters!

When it comes down to "the only way to stop a bad guy with Orcish Bowmasters is be a good guy with Orcish Bowmasters," you known you've got a powerful card on your hands.

1. The One Ring

However, when it comes to the story of 2023, you can't deny the power of The Ring.

You could make a strong argument that Orcish Bowmasters is a better card than The One Ring. However, when it comes to iconic moments as well as the monumental success that The Lord of The Rings: Tales of Middle-Earth was and how much that is going to impact the game in the future, you can't deny The One Ring the top spot. For better or worse, Universes Beyond is going to be a major part of Magic: The Gathering going forward, and we have The One Ring and Tales of Middle-Earth to thank for that.

Obviously, the key element in The Lord of the Rings, I don't envy the folks who had to design The One Ring. It almost had to be good, as having the key antagonist of the story as well as the title character being a dud mythic rare was clearly not an option.

Clearly, if anything, The One Ring came in high, as it has been a staple card in all formats where it is legal.

However, The One Ring also transcends playability and has become an icon of sorts.

The one of one promotion for the 1/1 serialized copy of The One Ring, essentially a lottery ticket a booster pack, was one of the most exciting and successful promotions that Wizards of the Coast has ever done. It brought an air of drama and excitement that had players talking at every event from the Tales of Middle-Earth prerelease all the way until the card was finally opened, and then sold for two million dollars to Magic mega-fan Post Malone. This was a huge news story and a blast to follow at basically all points, a home run on all fronts.

Power level plus drama makes The One Ring the number one card of 2023!

Looking to 2024

Wizards of the Coast has been printing more new Magic cards than ever, to the tune of something like a third of all the unique cards ever printed in the 30-year history of the game have been printed in the last five or so years.

It can be overwhelming at times, but the cream will always rise to the top.

2024 will see more sets, more cards, and more Universes Beyond products, so it will be exciting to see where the game goes next!