Fall sets bring fun in large doses. They have new themes, and we get to see what Magic will look like for the next year. Sometimes, the theme grows a little old by the time a year runs out, so we’ll see how Theros handles it. But everything is fresh and amazing for the fall set, and we love it. This is Magic horror-style . . . or return to Mirrodin- or Ravnica-style . . . and so forth. And now we see what Magic is like all Greeked up.

I spent some time pulling out the top ten cards for casual Magic from the set. What cards really intrigue me? What are my targets for trade? What are some undervalued cards right now? I also added three honorable mentions that just made the cut so you can get a feel for the next cards that would be on the list. Let’s take a look at these cards!

Honorable Mention #2 – Heliod, God of the Sun – Without devotion, he is still an indestructible way of granting your creatures vigilance while also being an outlet to make some of your own as needed. Just a 4-mana investment will create a 2/1 Cleric. Of course, Clerics don’t have synergy with a lot of recently-printed tribes, and you’d have to reach back to Onslaught block to find a lot of cleric enablers. Plus, there are better choices in white in this set to make dorks (check out #7 below). But, you still gain a great enabler for your deck. And when your devotion ticks up and Heliod fades into play, you have a major threat on the board.

Honorable Mention #3 – Spear of Heliod – Getting a decent Glorious Anthem effect is great, and it can immediately replace all of those if you don’t mind that it opens you up to being Shattered. There are a lot of decks that would love a Spear of Heliod because of the pump. From weenie and token decks to even midrange decks fighting other midrange decks, it has some sauce. Then remember that it threatens to tap and destroy an antagonistic attacker. Any creature that has dealt damage to you can be offed for 3 mana and a tap. That’s a nasty rattlesnake that can force someone to head elsewhere. Who wants to lose his or her big beater if you can destroy it after combat?

#9 – Bow of Nylea – In a multiplayer game, you have to have flexibility in order to win. You never know what sort of decks you will encounter. You could draw a card early or late, and people could be playing counters, discard, combos, midrange, tribal, or aggro. With the multiplicity of possible encounters you are considering, this card can help, because it does five different things, like a Swiss army knife of awesome. It will always make your attackers rock deathtouch—small creatures usually use this to snake through. No one wants to block the 1/1 Saproling token with deathtouch. Then, you can pay 2 mana and the Bow to activate one of four possibilities. You can add a +1/+1 counter to a creature, so it always threatens a miniature Giant Growth activation. That changes how people block and attack. Will someone attack with his orher 2/3 creature into your 2/2 if this is untapped (and you have the mana)? Probably not. Plus, you can use the counters on creatures that like counters, such as Fertilid, Spike Weaver, or Triskelion. You can also Shock a flyer, which can bring down smaller creatures or threaten more damage after a block from your reach guys. Is that 4/4 Serra Angel going to swing into your 2/7 Silklash Spider with this and 2 mana available? And if those are good enough, don’t forget that you can gain 3 life or restock four cards from that old graveyard. With all of these abilities, the Bow is quite powerful, simply because of the sheer flexibility the card offers.

#7 – Elspeth, Sun's Champion – A lot of planeswalkers churn out creature tokens; plus, we have cards like Throne of Empires and Squirrel Nest to assist as token-makers. From The Hive and Serpent Generator to Elspeth, Sun's Champion, making tokens is a part of the lay of the land. But very few have the ability to spit out three dorks a turn with no additional mana investment all while adding counters to the card and becoming a major threat. Thus, Elspeth can make an instant army virtually overnight. Just add water. When you also consider the Retribution of the Meek ability she rocks alongside the potential emblem ultimate, she is strong from ear to ear.

What are the top five cards from the set for your next kitchen table night?

#5 – Hero's Downfall – When Murder was printed, I called it the single best card in Magic 2013 for casual players, as an easily-obtainable common that was a cheap instant and killed any creature in play—without the typical restrictions of black. Today, we have a rare that will also kill a planeswalker, so it’s an improved Murder. That’s just crazy! It easily makes my list, and it even cracks the top five. However, it drops a bit from how high Murder hit for a few reasons. First of all, Murder now exists, and you have that fighting for space. Plus, this is going to be an expensive card for a while in Standard, so it’s not easily-obtainable in droves for your decks. So for now, I won’t move any I open, but I won’t be actively seeking them in trade or to purchase.

#3 – Purphoros, God of the Forge – There are a lot of reasons to like good ol’ red as the best God in town for multiplayer Magic. First of all, pumping your team’s front for 3 mana is a powerful threat. Opponents have to assume that your untapped mana will pump the team, and it’ll be as though you have pumped them without doing so. Now, let’s go into the good stuff: smashing all opponents for 2 damage every time a creature arrives on your battlefield. Note that this will trigger for a lot of things, including making token creatures. With a token-themed deck, Purphoros is downright insulting. A simple Elspeth, Sun's Champion activation will hit foes for 6 damage each. You can easily make it to lethal damage in a few steps. Even in a format with a non-20 starting life (read: Commander), it should carve life fast enough to be a serious threat. This God is serious.

#1 – Prophet of Kruphix – For 5 mana, you have a card that does two amazing things in one. It is a Seedborn Muse for your stuff while also being the positive half of Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir (without being mean to your opponents). Your creatures and lands untap every turn—so, you can block after a swing, gain another use from your mana, and reuse tap abilities, such as Arcanis the Omnipotent’s. Then, you can flash out your creatures, so you can go very quickly and drop a lot of stuff in just a turn or two. The deck concepts this card brings to mind are amazing. It can be the backbone for a lot of different strategies since it enables in two different ways that work well together.

I think that black has the best cards this run around. You have several potent black cards that didn’t even make the list: Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Nighthowler, Rescue from the Underworld, Whip of Erebos, Erebos, God of the Dead himself, and so forth.

This is a great set full of fun and flavor. So, go out there and slay your monster, fight for your God, and win esteem as a hero!

See you next week,

Abe Sargent