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Ikoria Limited Set Review: Multicolor

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Today is the last set review article! After today I will be ready to tackle this new set and get some hands on experience.

Before continuing onto the final set of cards, I would like to offer more context into my rating system. When looking at any particular card, I try not to consider how good it can be at the height of its potential. Unlike Standard where deck-building is only constrained by a player's imagination, Limited is entirely dependent on the cards opened. For this reason I try to rate cards based on how I believe they will perform in an average pool, rather than an ideal one.

That said, I am sure as we gain experience with the set cards will over or under perform my expectations. I am bound to be wrong on some of these! I only ask that you consider the average deck when reading these reviews, and not what a card can do in the right circumstance. Now, get in those comments and tell me WHY a card is better or worse than I think it is!

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 | Green and Lands

Multicolor

Back for More
3.5 - Very optimistic about this card. It feels a lot like a surprise birthday party, but instead of people jumping out and giving you cake, they are EoT killing your blocker and punching you in the face. "SURPRISE!!! LETHAL!!!"
Boneyard Lurker
4 - This should make it into any deck that is Green or Black. As long as you have a reasonable number of non-humans, you will always be casting it for the hybrid mutate cost anyway. Feels very strong.
Brokkos, Apex of Forever
5 - Consider picking this up even if you do not intend to splash the 3rd color. The mutate allows you to cast for Green and Blue OR Black. Being able to cast him over and over again seems worth the risk.
Channeled Force
2 - Not excited about this card. Horrible late game draw in most decks and only starts to see an upside after holding back 3 or 4 lands to redraw.
Chevill, Bane of Monsters
4 - Low immediate impact on the board, but extremely powerful if left unchecked. Solid body for the cost and it adds "Draw a card and gain 3 life" to all removal spells.
Death's Oasis
2 - Not really sure how to evaluate this card. The value seems to be there, but in order for the triggers to hit consistently it needs to be played later in the game. I worry most games will already be decided by the time this card really gets going.
Dire Tactics
4 - 2 mana to kill any creature with minimal to zero down side. Yes please!
Eerie Ultimatum
1 / 4 - The major consideration with these cards is not whether they are good enough, but rather can they be cast. The ones with Green in the cost will be easier to cast with the large amount of fixing it has access too.
Emergent Ultimatum
1 / 4 - The major consideration with these cards is not whether they are good enough, but rather can they be cast. The ones with Green in the cost will be easier to cast with the large amount of fixing it has access too.
Genesis Ultimatum
1 / 4 - The major consideration with these cards is not whether they are good enough, but rather can they be cast. The ones with Green in the cost will be easier to cast with the large amount of fixing it has access too.
Inspired Ultimatum
1 / 4 - The major consideration with these cards is not whether they are good enough, but rather can they be cast. The ones with Green in the cost will be easier to cast with the large amount of fixing it has access too.
Ruinous Ultimatum
1 / 4 - The major consideration with these cards is not whether they are good enough, but rather can they be cast. The ones with Green in the cost will be easier to cast with the large amount of fixing it has access too.
Frondland Felidar
4 - Even without other vigilance creatures Frondland Felidar is still an exceptionally good card. When playing Arena make sure to put on full control when attacking so you can attack and tap down a blocker at the same time.
General Kudro of Drannith
3.5 - As a three-mana 3/3, this card is fine on base stats alone. The human sub-theme in bw makes the Lord ability strong - it should have plenty of beneficiaries.
General's Enforcer
3.5 - Better than average stats for the mana cost, and I really like having a few late game mana sinks in my decks. This allows me to get a lot of extra value on the board without filling my deck with overly expensive cards.
Illuna, Apex of Wishes
5 - Strong creature if cast normally, but the value gained off the mutate is insane, and it only requires you to be in two of the three colors. I could see playing this card even if I was only in Blue with a Red or Green splash. The mutate costs on the Apex cycle are extremely forgiving.
Kinnan, Bonder Prodigy
3.5 - Bear with great late game upside. Cards that can be played early for board presence and are also valuable late game draws are hard to find. Cool and easy to find interaction: If you tap Humble Naturalist for mana, the 2nd mana produced would not have the "creature only" restriction. Might come in handy!
Labyrinth Raptor
3.5 - Really neat ability. Combat will be exceedingly tricky for an opponent with this card on the field. Bigger Green decks are going to hate this card.
Lore Drakkis
4 - The creature has a low and easy to cast mutate cost. Getting back 1 or 2 spells from the graveyard can be very powerful - especially removal spells. Consider running this even if you are only in one of the two colors. Ideally I would never be hard casting it.
Narset of the Ancient Way
4.5 - Not as strong as most planeswalkers because it does not heavily affect the board upon resolution. It MIGHT kill something when it enters, and the plus ability is not significant. Still a great card, but you have to work to get the value out of her - unlike other walkers that often just end the game. This is better for the game!
Necropanther
3.5 - Reasonable stats as a 3-mana 3/3. Also, given that the Black White theme involves smaller creatures, you should have no problem finding targets to hit with the mutate ability.
Nethroi, Apex of Death
5 - Another Apex creature that gives insane value to the board the moment it is cast for its mutate cost. Getting to trigger this ability multiple times with other mutate creatures will allow you to end games quickly.
Offspring's Revenge
2 - The value is largely dependent on the quality of the creatures you are bringing back. If you decide to play it, make sure to look for cards with EtB effects or static abilities.
Parcelbeast
4 - Extremely cheap mutate cost with a valuable ability. Ramp and card advantage all rolled into a nice little uncommon. I would even consider splashing this card.
Primal Empathy
3 - I actually like this card a fair amount. It's a really bad draw if you are behind in the mid and late game, but if played early or on an even board it will certainly snowball into a lead on the board and in card advantage.
Quartzwood Crasher
5 - Very powerful card that has to be dealt with right away. Each turn you get to untap with this creature only makes it more difficult to deal with.
Regal Leosaur
3 - A mutate ability that does not have a lasting effect on the board isn't as valuable as some of the mutates we have already seen. That said, this can still be a powerful ability when used in any token based deck. I would consider also running this in the bw humans deck. Being able to mutate for double White will work nicely in that deck.
Rielle, the Everwise
2 or 4 - The value of this card is totally dependent on how many cycling cards you have in your deck. I would guess at least 5 would be needed to make this card worth running.
Savai Thundermane
3.5 - Above average stats for the mana cost, and I think the ability is very good. Getting to add mini Lightning Helixes to all of your cycles adds a lot of value, especially at instant speed.
Skull Prophet
3 - Though this card doesn't help fix a mana base, it does help ramp into larger spells. Not sure how useful the second ability will be, but this card is worth playing regardless.
Skycat Sovereign
4.5 - Two-mana flier that seems to have limitless upside. The late game mana sink is extremely powerful and will have no trouble closing out games on its own.
Slitherwisp
2 - An extremely difficult to cast 3-mana 3/2. Flash synergies seem to be minimal in the set, so this is a rare I am not excited about opening.
Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt
5 - Each mutate comes with a built-in Warleader's Helix. Another Apex that has not let us down on the value scale. Remember, the hybrid mutate cost allows you to cast it even if you do not play all three colors.
Song of Creation
2 - Very mid to late game card. If you decide to play this card remember to avoid counter magic or combat tricks because you won't be able to hang onto any of them.
3 - 10/10 flavor text. This card is very reasonable to play. After casting 1 or 2 spells, its stats are well worth the cost. ur decks tend to cast a lot of spells.
Titans' Nest
1 - I am sure this card was created with some Standard synergies in mind, but I cannot think of any for Limited.
Trumpeting Gnarr
3.5 - The mutate cost on this card is actually a bit higher than we have been seeing. As a 3-mana 3/3 you could add a lot of value to the board really quickly by playing this on three, then mutating onto it with another creature. Still very happy to play this card.
Vadrok, Apex of Thunder
4.5 - Maybe the weakest of the Apex cycle, but still very valuable. The biggest issue I have is that you might often not have targets that match the restrictions, and that will limit its value a bit more than the other Apexes.
Whirlwind of Thought
2.5 - This card feels like it was made more for Constructed play than Limited. If it seems reasonable that you can draw 3+ cards then this might be worth playing. A lot of card draw in the deck helps to compensate for the lower creature count.
Winota, Joiner of Forces
5 - The part that interests me the most is that the humans gain indestructible for a turn, unlike Legion Warboss where the tokens often just die if you are not ahead on the board. This is basically a free card draw that helps you build a board.
Zenith Flare
1 or 5 - I am not sure the average deck will have enough cycling cards in it to make this worth running. However this is absolutely the best card in the cycling deck and can just flat out kill your opponents.
Alert Heedbonder
2.5 - Fine stats and abilities for the mana cost. You can't mutate onto it so the vigilance ability is a bit wasted, but still a solid card for any deck. The ideal pick up after drafting Keensight Mentor.
Cunning Nightbonder
2.5 - Another bear with upside. I doubt the flash cost reduction will do anything, but being able to flash in the card itself has a fair amount of value.
Fiend Artisan
5 - A card that can be played early if needed, but really gains value later in the game. Those cards are hard to find. When you draft this card make sure you look for any token generators to maximize value.
Gyruda, Doom of Depths
5 - At its worst it is a 6-mana 6/6, but I doubt it will miss often. The upside is very high. Keep in mind that the ability does NOT include all creatures in the graveyard, but only the 8 cards milled.
Jegantha, the Wellspring
4 - Five-mana 5/5 is nothing special in this set, but the mana ability does help with potential splashes. Also the companion ability is reasonably easy to hit and it makes this a free 8th card in your opening hand.
Jubilant Skybonder
3 - Fine stats for the cost, and it is easy to cast. The ability is good, but I just wish it wasn't a human. I want more cheap fliers to mutate onto. I am a greedy bastard.
Kaheera, the Orphanguard
3.5 - The companion ability is actually something I can see working if picked early enough. It's strong enough to consider if you are 1st picking this card, and even if it's not, the Lord ability will still have a lot of beneficiaries in the format.
Keruga, the Macrosage
4 - Five-mana 5/4 that will probably average 2 or 3 free draws if played around. The companion ability won't be easy to consider in Limited.
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
4 - The companion option is trash. That said, it is still worth playing without it. The bw theme does support a low to the ground wide strategy. There will be no shortage of targets to bring back. Look out for EtB and death triggers.
Lutri, the Spellchase
4.5 - Getting to copy a removal or draw spell with the added benefit of getting a body on board can be strong. There are cheap spells to help ensure you get value out of this card. The best cards for this would be Fire Prophecy, Flame Spill, and Of One Mind.
Obosh, the Preypiercer
4 - Satisfying its own requirement, this card functions as a 6/5 rather than a 3/5. Doubling the damage on roughly half the creatures and damage spells seems like a strong upside. Keep in mind that mutated creatures have the CMC of the card on top. Something to consider when playing this card.
Proud Wildbonder
3 - Giving all the trample creatures and tokens, including itself, the Thorn Elemental ability to deal damage directly to the opponent can win a game on a stalled board.
Sonorous Howlbonder
3 - On its own this is just a difficult to block three-mana 2/2, which is nothing exciting. However, there are a lot of menace creatures and counters in the set and making every menace creature you control require 3 blockers is powerful. Now that we have double strike and double menace can we have double deathtouch? "If a creature is dealt damage by this creature it dies and starts Game 2 in the graveyard".
Umori, the Collector
4.5 - All of the mutate effects in this set make playing an all creature deck a possibility, allowing Umori to be utilized as a companion that reduces the cost of every spell in your deck. In an average deck, the cost reduction ability is powerful and it comes on a four-mana, 4/5 body.
Yorion, Sky Nomad
4.5 - Always happy to play a 5 mana 4/5 flier in any deck. The flicker effect can generate value from ETB effects or by getting cards out from under lockdown enchantments. Blinking a mutated creature will cause all of the cards to come back as separate creatures widening your board.
Zirda, the Dawnwaker
3 - A reasonable body with a huge cost reduction ability attached to it. A deck with a lot of activated abilities is needed in order to take advantage but remember that Cycling counts as an activated ability so a deck full of cyclers can save a ton of mana with this on board.

Many of these multicolored cards are extremely powerful, but when comparing the ranking side by side with some of the Mono-colored spells, you might notice a rating drop. This is partly because they are often harder to cast or will involve a splash color, and partly because they are all so powerful in comparison that I had to space them out so we could see a difference between them.

That's it - We made it to the end!

What do you think of the new set - are you excited? What card do you hope to open in your first pack 1 pick 1?

Thanks for joining me for this set review. Now stop reading this and GO PLAY SOME IKORIA!

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