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Ikoria Limited Set Review: Green and Lands

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Welcome to day four of the Ikoria Limited Set Review. Today I will be talking about the Green and land cards. As always, I am only considering Limited when rating the cards the cards 1-5. Below is a key to explain the rating.

Rating - Explanation

1- Ideally not making the cut in any of my Limited decks.

2- Not good, but a necessity for curve filling and smoothing out draws.

3- Value cards I am happy to fill my deck with.

4- Cards to get excited about and Premium Removal.

5- Reserved for cards that will win the game if left unanswered.

Check out the other parts here:

White | Blue and Black | Red and Colorless | Multicolor

Green

Adventurous Impulse
1 - Not a fan of this card. If you have a deep splash it might be worth playing to smooth out your draws, but I doubt it will see much play.
Almighty Brushwagg
3 - Cheap creature to mutate onto and has a lot of late game power with the pump ability.
Auspicious Starrix
4 - Expensive, but well worth it. This card is a great way to gain card advantage late game. Excited to play this card.
Barrier Breach
1 - Sideboard card that will not see much play.
Bristling Boar
2 - Has a reasonable ability to mutate onto, but the higher mana cost makes it a bit wasteful considering the power and toughness will probably be comparable. Most likely just a filler body for decks that need it.
Charge of the Forever-Beast
3 - At first glance this card seems better than it is. Often it will be difficult to wait to draw a creature late game. It is also sorcery speed so it has no upside as a combat trick.
Colossification
1 - This card is not playable, but I fully intend to play it until it kills someone. *Achievement unlocked*
Essence Symbiote
3 - A bear with an upside that will impact the board in a meaningful way. I am glad to run this in all of my Green decks.
Excavation Mole
2.5 - Reasonable stats for the mana cost. Most of the graveyard synergies have not been worth running, so this is likely an "as is" card.
Exuberant Wolfbear
3 - A four mana 4/4 is worth playing. The ability does not always add value, but it works really well with Humble Naturalist.
Fertilid
3 - All three+ color decks will 100% want this card. I can also see playing it in decks where most of the power is in the late game.
Flycatcher Giraffid
2.5 - Spiders are always welcome in my decks (x/5 reach). The added flexibility to give it vigilance against a more aggressive or token deck is really helpful.
Fully Grown
2 - Similar to a Giant Growth. It's a bit harder to justify three-mana combat tricks, but the trample counter is worth it.
Gemrazer
4 - This card is great either mutated on turn three or cast on four. The stats and abilities are powerful for the mana cost. The added ability to potentially destroy enchantments and artifacts is just icing on a bomb cake.
Glowstone Recluse
3 - Have you ever seen the "Lucas the Spider" videos? Look them up and thank me in the comments. This is a very well rounded Limited card and I am glad to see it.
Greater Sandwurm
2.5 - Another "big dumb idiot". Having one of these for a top end is perfectly fine.
Honey Mammoth
2 - Six-mana 6/6 is nothing special and ideally I won't need to run it, but sometimes you just need a big butt.
Hornbash Mentor
3 - Best stats of all the mentors, and the ability only gets better with added +1/+1 counters - unlike deathtouch or lifelink where the payoff does not increase in the same way.
Humble Naturalist
3 - Though the mana produced by this creature can only be used to cast creatures, it will help us to splash 25+ multicolored creatures. Even without a splash the body and ramp it will provide is most welcome in all my Green decks.
Ivy Elemental
2.5 - Cards like these are great for smoothing out draws. Though it is not the strongest card on its own, it is flexible. Its power grows the later you draw it, but it is not stuck in your hand if drawn too early.
Kogla, the Titan Ape
5 - Triple Green can be hard to cast, but it will be well worth putting this in your deck anyway. Look out for Humble Naturalist after picking Kogla. It will help you cast him as well as protect him.
Lead the Stampede
2 - The higher the creature count is in a deck, the more it wants this card. Just an average card in the average deck.
Migration Path
2 - I probably don't run cards like this as often as I should. Without needing to find a splash source these cards are always too easy to cut. Cycling will make it easier to play this card because it is no longer a dead draw late game.
Migratory Greathorn
3.5 - If cast for the mutate cost this card will not only be a huge body on turn three, it will also ramp you into larger creatures and fix any potential splash you might have. I doubt I will ever cut this card from my original 40.
Monstrous Step
1 - I am sure this will end up in some of my sealed decks, but I am not happy about it. Extremely expensive and cast at sorcery speed makes this card too easy to deal with.
Mosscoat Goriak
2.5 - The format seems to have a lot more tokens and 3/3s than average. I think this generic 3-drop will outperform expectations by allowing time to find and play your big Green idiots.
Mythos of Brokkos
3.5 - Interesting to see that Green has two return from the graveyard spells that net card advantage. Excited to see how this will change Green.
Plummet
1 - Always looking for a few of these for the sideboard. I would avoid putting these in the original 40 - even in best of one.
Ram Through
4 - There has to be a downside right?! This is a one-sided fight spell with trample. It is instant speed and only costs 2 mana! Excited to use this as a combat trick.
Sudden Spinnerets
2.5 - Low cost untap combat tricks are underrated! Though maybe I am biased because trapping opponents with them feels so good... Not sure which is true.
Survivors' Bond
3 - Maybe the best Green return card we have seen in recent sets. This will provide a lot of value in the mid to late game.
Thwart the Enemy
2 - One-sided Fog?! Three mana for a one for one isn't great, but the upside on this card is HUGE. Just knowing this card exists will make every combat difficult to evaluate.
2.5 - It is reasonable to consider this card purely for the cycling ability. The slight upside is when you happen to draw it LATE and you just get a huge body on board. It is nice to be able to fill your deck with late game creatures without the punishment that comes with it when drawn too early.
Vivien, Monsters' Advocate
5 - So much card advantage! This Vivien does not immediately impact the board as much as many planeswalkers we've seen in the past. As long as you can keep her alive (she comes in with low loyalty) through the 1st turn she will create endless advantages.
Wilt
1 - Another great card to have in the sideboard. If you are short on playables you can consider adding this because of the cycling.

Top 5 Green cards

  1. Ram Through
  2. Migratory Greathorn
  3. Humble Naturalist
  4. Survivors' Bond
  5. Thwart the Enemy

Lands

Bloodfell Caves
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Blossoming Sands
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Dismal Backwater
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Jungle Hollow
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Rugged Highlands
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Scoured Barrens
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Swiftwater Cliffs
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Thornwood Falls
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Tranquil Cove
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Wind-Scarred Crag
2.5 - At common these lands should be easy to pick up and help you splash any bombs/removal you might open off color.
Indatha Triome
3 - The mana fixing is nice, but the cycling is where these cards will really shine. Being able to redraw a land mid to late game can be a really big deal. If the deck is not overly aggressive, consider running these even if they only share 2 colors with your deck - maybe even just one.
Ketria Triome
3 - The mana fixing is nice, but the cycling is where these cards will really shine. Being able to redraw a land mid to late game can be a really big deal. If the deck is not overly aggressive, consider running these even if they only share 2 colors with your deck - maybe even just one.
Raugrin Triome
3 - The mana fixing is nice, but the cycling is where these cards will really shine. Being able to redraw a land mid to late game can be a really big deal. If the deck is not overly aggressive, consider running these even if they only share 2 colors with your deck - maybe even just one.
Savai Triome
3 - The mana fixing is nice, but the cycling is where these cards will really shine. Being able to redraw a land mid to late game can be a really big deal. If the deck is not overly aggressive, consider running these even if they only share 2 colors with your deck - maybe even just one.
Zagoth Triome
3 - The mana fixing is nice, but the cycling is where these cards will really shine. Being able to redraw a land mid to late game can be a really big deal. If the deck is not overly aggressive, consider running these even if they only share 2 colors with your deck - maybe even just one.
Bonders' Enclave
3.5 - The cost and conditions to activate this card are very reasonable. The card advantage gained with this card will make all the difference in the endgame.
Evolving Wilds
2.5 - Mana fixing and deck thinning is a great addition to any Limited deck.

Thank you guys for checking out the fourth article in the Ikoria set review! Green seems like it's going to be really exciting to play. I don't think it is as strong as Blue, but it does have a lot of value cards in it - something we don't see in Green often. Tomorrow I will be taking a look at the multicolored cards for our last article.

Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know what you liked or what I missed! See you tomorrow - Only one article to go!

Twitter: @MTGNerdGirl

Twitch: twitch.tv/mtgnerdgirl

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