Hello everyone! Well, now we have the full spoiler of War of the Spark, and we've had some time to let it sink in. What are the best cards? What could play better than it looks? Or play worse than it appears? What strikes my Casual Radar of Awesome?

What would I consider the best cards for the kitchen table? Great question!

Let's get this started!

Honorable Mention #1 Deathsprout

In the midst of all of these big fancy effects, it can be easy to sleep on spells like Deathsprout. Don't. Sometimes some of the best utility cards are in these big event sets. Rise of the Eldrazi had great support cards like Wall of Omens that can get missed in all of the hoopla. In fact, all three of my Honorable Mentions today are going to be solid utilities. Killing any critter for four mana at instant speed and adding in a Rampant Growth effect is nice. You are saving a mana from the combination of Murder + Rampant Growth. It's a powerful bit of card advantage that's useful in lots of places, so enjoy it!

Honorable Mention #2 - Paradise Druid

I wish this card were indestructible rather than hexproof, but I'll take it! I'm sure this reminds you of Sylvan Caryatid, and they both have the same total power + toughness of 3 for two mana. But unlike the Plant, this can swing and punch people in the face, rather than just block quietly behind the scene. If it swings, (or taps for mana) it can be targeted, so I wish they had just done a full on hexproof like the Caryatid. If they had, this card would have shot up my charts and made top five. But here, let me give you the context of why this is such a good card.

Here are all of the creatures in Magic that cost two mana and tap for any color of mana.

And that's it! The rest of the options either make mana for a Limited purpose (Like Beastcaller Savant whose mana can only be used for creatures) or something like Servant of the Conduit that turns energy into any mana. Up until now, these were it! To this list, we are adding in a simple 2/1 Elf who has hexproof sometimes. Elves have a strong creature type you can build around, and a 2/1 that can punch someone in the face is awesome.

Paradise Druid ain't no joke. Don't ignore cards that can fix your mana problems for you. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. You can come in with decks and plans, but then, when executing comes around, you draw the wrong cards, or they have a counter-strategy, and more. So, if you don't need the mana, you can punch, instead of dropping a 0/3 wall. It's a better top-deck later if you need gas. And if you need that mana instead? Sure thing! We'll help!

Honorable Mention #3 - Nissa's Victory

It's very simple. A two-mana spell that searches your libraries for two lands and puts them into your hand has never existed before. Clearly two dials were put in place to ensure you aren't abusing it; the double Green cost and the requirement that the fetched lands are basic and Forests. That leaves you two options - Forest and Snow-Covered Forest. It works in a lot of places as cheap card advantage mana-searching. Like the two cards above, don't sleep on this!

10. Feather, the Redeemed

It's obvious; I have some serious Abe-Love for Feather. I wrote a Top Ten article around her last week, and then two of my three decks this week featured Feather builds. Feather is strong! Cheap, on curve, flying, and gives you powerful card advantage options if you can find instants and sorceries that can target your stuff. Enjoy finding your Feather!

9. Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Welcome to Four Ability Lili. She has card drawing fun times any time you lose a dork, even a token dork. Thus her +1 to make tokens will, put you on a path to card-drawing! Are you using her -4 to off 2 dorks per person? Not only are you pushing the board around, but you are also drawing cards in a big quantity. As a six-mana 'walker that can keep the cards flowing and has a nasty ultimate, she is pretty potent. I do think that there are some six-mana forces like Elspeth, Sun's Champion; or Garruk, Caller of Beasts that are better, but she'll always make a strong impact at the kitchen table.

8. God-Eternal Oketra

Just imagine for a moment how many creatures the typical White deck will cast over the course of a duel. Now what if it's a longer game such as a multiplayer one, Commander, or a similar one in length? Ten? Fifteen? What if they yielded sweet 4/4 Zombie tokens each time you cast one? Nasty, right? And netting a free 4/4 dork when the body you are dropping is already a 3/6 double strike with the normal God resistance? And it just cost you five initial mana? Welcome to the kitchen table, Oketra, My 'Ketra!

7. Gideon Blackblade

Gideon is fun! For three-mana, you get a 4/4 indestructible Soldier each of your turns, but which can be attacked and killed by attacking him on your turn. That's okay! Gideon understands. A three-mana 'walker can easily arrive at the battlefield before answers do (such as creatures). Gids has a long time to punch face, and you begin with 4 loyalty and then slide it to 5 immediately. Folks? That's not nothing! And neither is his +1 to pump something (which includes indestructible as an option) or exiling after the next turn. That ain't nothing!

Now I do think there is a big flavor foul here with Gideon. Do you see it?

Nope?

It's the Blackblade itself. Here's what it does:

Note that the Blackblade is attached to lands. You get better as you have more lands to draw power from. (As it sucks souls, this may represent your increased power as the game goes on.)

Here are some quick brainstorm ways (that may not work if play-tested, or at that three mana cost) that would have been Blackbladed.

+1 - Target other creature gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn for each Plains you control.

or

+1 - Gideon Blackblade gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn for each Plains you control.

Or instead, have this as his first ability:

"As long as it's your turn, Gideon Blackblade is an X/X Human Soldier creature with indestructible that's still a planeswalker, where X is equal to the number of Plains you control." Or whatever template you want. Put the Blackblade in Gideon Blackblade!

Next?

6. Ilharg, the Raze-Boar

Boar Gods are just so much fun, right? Right! He feels pushed like one of the Titan cycle. five mana for a 6/6 trample punch to the face. Did you kill or exile him? He's coming back! If he swings, you get a free creature drop and attacking that pops back to your hand. You can use those to cast it for another enters-the-battlefield trigger, like Murderous Redcap. You can also keep your secret beater in your hand to keep it safe from sorcery speed removal such as Kaya's Wrath. We now return you to the Era of the Boar God, already in progress.

5. Vivien's Arkbow

This is a very strong card! Drop it early. Spend some mana and dig in the hope that you can toss something nice and useful onto the battlefield. I think this is really strong as you can send out a card you no longer care about, (such as a land) or if you can recur it (such as said land when you control a Ramunap Excavator and you can just replay it). Green has loads of in-color synergies that work, and you don't even need to do this as a sorcery, so you can wait until the end of someone's turn, tap out and discard a card and dig up something nice and toss it onto the battlefield. Then untap and draw and keep moving. Arkbow for the Win-Bow!

(It's also a good madness enabler too, fyi.)

4. Evolution Sage

Landfall. Proliferate. Landfall. Proliferate. Landfall. Proliferate. Do I really need more than two words to express the wonder of Evolution Sage?

3. Niv-Mizzet Reborn

In addition to his sheer power at the kitchen table in other formats, he is arguably the best Commander ever printed for that format as well. I'll be writing an entire Niv-Mizzet Commander article for you, on next Tuesday, so check it out! No need to spend paragraphs here covering the same ground.

Speaking of which...

2. Karn's Bastion

I know that I spoiled this card, but this is one of my favorite cards in the set as well. This is like Reliquary Tower. Name me a Commander deck that doesn't want this. There aren't many. I can think of my own Mono-Red Diaochan, Artful Beauty and Fumiko the Lowblood as the only ones I run that wouldn't improve with this added to their deck. Everything from my Oros, the Avenger control to Vhati il-Dal's drop someone's toughness to one and then kill it with damage and -1/-1 counters would enjoy this.

And that's just Commander! Cube? Standard? Modern? Extended (that's no longer a supported tournament format, but you could still be playing it at the kitchen table, right?) Rainbow Stairwell? Free for All multiplayer? If it's legal, then it's powerful. Bastion on!

1. Ugin, the Ineffable

In a set with so many colored planeswalkers that can be difficult to cast, this isn't. Ugin is nice. It radiates perfection. +1 to exile a card from your library, make a dork, and when that dork dies, you get the card? Perfect! It forces your foe into an uncomfortable choice. Do I allow the 2/2 that is attacking me through to take two damage, or do I block and kill it but give you a card? If I control three of these 2/2 Spirits and then drop a mass removal spell like Cleansing Nova, then I draw three cards. Nasty. So good!

Do you see how much better this is than six-mana and one-color Liliana, Dreadhorde General?

And that's not the only ability our good Ugin is rocking, right? You also get a double cost reduction for colorless spells, like artifacts, Karns, Eldrazi, or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon.

And if there is something that is threatening you or your new Ugin pal? No worries buddy! We can just destroy it as long as it has color somewhere there. Shoot, we can even take out a land as long as it's been given a color.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to re-introduce you too

LACES!

I know! Thanks Ugin for making Deathlace good again! Well, that's not fully true, as it was always good with Reap + D'Lace in Vintage running around causing drama. Ugin can take out any colorless card as well as long as you just give it a little Lace Loving.

Sure, you could also tap Distorting Lens or activate Urza....er....Blind Seer. But those aren't Laces! Go away!

Enjoy the Ugin Makes Lace Good Again era! Put it on a Stick! (Isochron Scepter).

Super Special #4 Command the Dreadhorde

In Commander only, where you have 40 starting life? This is amazing. Outside of it, it's just a fun card to consider in the perfect build.

Oh, and I don't intend on doing a Top Ten War of the Spark for Type 4, I figured I would give you my list right now of the cards that I think are the best. As a reminder, this format has infinite mana, but you can only cast one spell per turn.

Honorable Mention #1 Parhelion II

This might be the first Vehicle to be good enough to run. If you crew it once, then you have 13 damage hitting you across three bodies, all with flying and vigilance that can block later. Even if your foe blocks and kills the Parhelion II then you are still looking at two Serra Angels that can punch later. Then the next turn you tap an Angel and punch for 17. That's probably game in two turns.

Honorable Mention #2 Despark

In Type Four, this normally reads, "Exile target non-land permanent"

Honorable Mention #3 - Finale of Promise

This is probably the only Finale that's not impossible in Type 4 to run as it's an immediate win (like Fireball would be or a firebreathing Shivan Dragon or a Braingeyser that can force your foe to draw their entire deck).

10. Emergence Zone

Getting one free spell in a turn without casting something to set it up is very good, as cards like Flash will attest. This is perfect. Welcome!

9. Ilharg, the Raze-Boar

You can get free creatures that are punching that are not being cast, and given the size of creatures in this format, that means you could win in one punch.

8. Casualties of War

Move over Decimate! This is infinitely flexible.

7. Niv-Mizzet Reborn

Potential card advantage on a 6/6 flying beater? Sign me up!

6. God-Eternal Rhonas

Doubling the power of your team and giving them vigilance to block after, will likely kill at least one player. It's a game-winning card.

5. Planewide Celebration

Holy crap! Four dorks? 16 life? Regrowth four things? The key here is its flexibility. What you need at the time? This will provide!

4. Blast Zone

As we mentioned above, finding an effect that will impact the board strongly and without using your card for the turn is wonderful. Enter Blast Zone. It can clean out anything like planeswalkers, enchantments, artifacts, and dorks with ease, just as long as they all have the same cost, and the XX will get you to the perfect number for blowing up. The only issue is that you cannot load counters and then sacrifice at the same time, as both require you to tap the land. You'll typically need to load up with counters at the end of someone's turn when you know what you are going to pop, and then untap and use it.

3. Vivien, Champion of the Wilds

Giving your dorks flash is amazingly good here. Her +1 is not that useful in T4, but her -2? Sure! It's also hidden, so your foes won't know what you chose, and you can bluff them and take something that's not a critter.

2. Commence the Endgame

Because you can only cast a single spell a turn, counters in Type 4 are very crucial. Thus, a card that cannot be countered is valued heavily. Sure, you only draw two cards, but the 6/6 or 7/7 you get with a mid-size hand prior to casting is going to be really strong.

1. Teferi, Time Raveler

Locking people from casting things on other turns means they cannot cast more than one spell every go around, while you can use flash, instants, and stuff. You can also +1 to make your sorceries, like Casualties of War, be nasty instants that'll blow out the game. The most important keywords in this format are flash, haste, indestructible, and then hexproof followed by some form of evasion. And bounce + drawing a card? That's nasty in a format where you can only drop one card a turn. Everything here works.

And there you are! TWO Top Tens for your consideration on War of the Spark. Anything in there that you are looking forward to unleashing at your kitchen table? Anything I missed? Let me know!