Hello everyone! It's time to turn my gaze to the (other) latest set from WOTC, Ikoria: Lair of the Behemoths! What cards really strike me as the best of the best for formats such as Commander, multiplayer, and other kitchen table brews? Here are my top ten cards!

Honorable Mention #1. Shark Typhoon

This feels like the Decree of Justice of this set. As someone who adores Decree of Justice let me give you an aside from Shark Typhoon. With Decree you cycle and spend X mana and net a number of 1/1s. You can do it at the end of a turn and then attack with a big fat army out of nowhere. You also get to draw a card and it is very difficult for a traditional counter to stop it when cycled. The only difference here is that Shark Typhoon goes up instead of going wide, and costs one fewer to cycle to begin with so you have more size in that flying Shark. Each has a normal version which you'll use maybe 10% of the time. That's not the real awesome tool-ness that the cycle army is. Get ready for a new era of Decree of Justice!

Honorable Mention #2. Colossification

This may prove to be one of the most played cards from Ikoria at kitchen tables coming in a distant third after the first two in my top ten list, and that would be deservedly so, as it's really, really good! They aren't wrong to covet this card as it'll kill in one hit if your foe began the game with 20 life. If your foes began with 40 in Commander, this will Commander kill in one hit instead if your Commander has at least 1 power. This is a great card for lovers of giant creatures.

Also quick rules note, you can put this on a tapped creature, so you can swing, place this on after combat.

10. Yidaro, Wandering Monster

I really enjoy this card in 60-card decks where you have a good shot of drawing Yidaro again as you keep restocking those goods. 2 mana draw a card, shuffle. 2 mana draw a card, shuffle. It's the sort of card value that gives you card quality over time! Also note that the more card drawing you are doing, the more likely you are to get free Yidaros.

9. The Ultimatum Cycle

Another slate of Ultimatums to pursue! And I am sure everyone has their favorite (mine is Emergent Ultimatum). Each of these proffers a back breaking effect perfectly in line with the first slate of Ultimatums such as Cruel Ultimatum. The reason they are back here at 9 is that their casting cost is a bit hard. We've all had games where we were sitting on an Ultimatum and never drew that one color we needed to finish it out! Luckily with cards like Command Tower, City of Brass, Reflecting Pool, #1 below and more, getting that mana is easier than ever! Ready to Ultimatum over the kitchen table?

Quick question on Ruinous Ultimatum... why isn't this Mono-White or just Orzhov? What part of this card is Red? With cards like Planar Cleansing in its oeuvre, White can already destroy all non-lands on its own. Black can destroy all creatures your foes control on its own with In Garruk's Wake. Give me an effect that feels like all three abilities here! I also feel that Genesis Ultimatum has no Red either, it draws and puts permanents into play so it's Blue and Green. Simic only! Again, give me something Red.

8. Vivien, Monsters' Advocate

Last year this card wouldn't exist. Now planeswalkers with static abilities are common. And she has two! Look at the top card of your library, and cast it if it's a creature. Those are both game-changingly awesome, right? We know how hard it can be to interact with 'walkers for some colors. Here she starts with a lower loyalty but she can +1 a fat 3/3 as soon as she arrives with a cool counter and she can -2 on arrival (or later) to net a free creature from your library each time you cast a creature. Which works well with her static abilities, and you can shuffle to get a new card on top of your library. What's not to love? She's good!

7. Brokkos, Apex of Forever

Wanna mutate with a big nasty over and over again from your graveyard? Okay! Here you go! For 5 mana each time you can get your mutate on and net a 6/6 trampler onto whatever junky dork you had out like Birds of Paradise or something similar. The grindability of this card is very compelling.

6. Lavabrink Venturer

Hello fans of counting! I hope your day is going well! Note the awesome potential of Lavabrink Venturer. Don't see it? Let me help!

I recently reviewed the top 100 most used instants and sorceries over the last two years. Most of them are removal. They fit into one of two categories:

1. Cheap removal that costs 1 mana - This includes your Lightning Bolt, and your Path to Exile.
2. Flexible removal that costs 3 mana - This includes your Chaos Warp and your Vindicate, your Beast Within and your Maelstrom Pulse.

Only a small amount of 2 mana or four-mana removal spells are being played. Most people aren't running a 4 mana Vindicate and 2 mana removal, such as Terror or Incinerate doesn't get played much. When is the last time you saw a two-mana burn spell that dealt three damage?

Thus, the card is maximally useful against removal with an odd casting cost.

Having protection from half is awesome. If your foe has a Maze of Ith or similar land you can choose even and then swing without worrying about those lands targeting this. There are randomly going to be clumps of one or the other and you can choose the one best for a given situation. Note that this is also a hoser for the very popular even-mana cost Standard brews right now. You can drop it early enough to matter. Enjoy it!

5. Sprite Dragon

Compare Sprite Dragon to something that often takes up this role in Izzet, like the prowess-laden Stormchaser Mage that is literally the same card save for the prowess. Netting that sweet counter rather than a temporary bump is nasty good. The haste helps you later. You can drop it turn five or 6 if you draw it, and then cast a couple of spells making it better and then swing with a 3/3. On the next turn you might cast Opt and then lead into another spell and now you have a 5/5 swinging. It's so strong!

Compare it to a typical Izzet ability like Spellheart Chimera:

See how they only pump up with instants and sorceries? They won't enjoy Omen of the Forge for example. They also only count cards in the graveyard.

Let me give you one example of a card that makes the Dragon better than its allies: Chemister's Insight. Cast it twice, your Chimera is not any better but you've drawn four cards and your Sprite Dragon is now a permanent 3/3. I love this Faerie Dragon!

4. Call of the Death-Dweller

Let's do some math! I know that you are reading a Magic column, not a "Maths R Us" column. That's all right. One spell. 3 mana. Up to two creatures from your graveyard, not to your hand, (like Death's Duet) but to the battlefield. With up to two counters! The only restriction is that they have to be cheap, but given how early this is set up, I think that's likely to be the case. You could easily trade your one- and two-drop in Limited and then win the game with this massive card advantage and tempo swing on turn three. I love this! Enjoy it! Note that this can also be used to bring back one three-cost creature. Also note that you cannot put the counters on other creatures, even if you get nothing back.

3. Voracious Greatshark

Are you a fan of countering spells? I've got the Shark for you! It's got flash, it counters a critter or artifact on arrival, and it's great. It reminds me of a modern take of Desertion from Visions. In that case you always countered a card, but could sometimes steal it. In this case you always get a 5/4 Shark with flash no matter what, and if there was an artifact or creature on the stack then you'll counter it. You may want to flash it out to surprise chump something or to swing on a tapped board by casting at the end of that players turn. Don't make the mistake of waiting to get the counter set up to cast it, it's already good!

2. Companions

This cycle of ten cards are crazy. I was really torn between which of the top two cycles should be #1 or #2. Both are crazy and will be ubiquitous at kitchen tables for years. These are going to make as many appearances as Akroma, Angel of Wrath or Kokusho, the Evening Star or Emrakul, the Aeons Torn did in their day. That's high praise from me. These are going to be as common as Gray Merchant of Asphodel or Cloudblazer. Shoot, one was already banned in Commander and Brawl and they're dominating Standard and older formats!

The idea behind why is obvious. They give you the ability to build a deck and get one free card. Here let me give you one example why. Take Lutri, the Spellchaser, probably the worst card for tournaments, right?

I doubt it; let's build a quick Izzet Standard deck.

Izzet Lutri | IKO Standard | Abe Sargent

• Companion (1)
• 1 Lutri, the Spellchaser

• Creatures (10)
• 1 Bonecrusher Giant
• 1 Brazen Borrower
• 1 Crackling Drake
• 1 Fae of Wishes
• 1 God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
• 1 Pteramander
• 1 Rielle, the Everwise
• 1 Sprite Dragon
• 1 Voracious Greatshark

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Chandra, Acolyte of Flame
• 1 Chandra, Awakened Inferno
• 1 Ral, Storm Conduit

• Instants (14)
• 1 Anticipate
• 1 Chemister's Insight
• 1 Expansion // Explosion
• 1 Fire Prophecy
• 1 Flame Spill
• 1 Ionize
• 1 Negate
• 1 Neutralize
• 1 Opt
• 1 Scorching Dragonfire
• 1 Shock
• 1 Sinister Sabotage
• 1 Tale's End
• 1 Thassa's Intervention

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Bond of Insight
• 1 Callous Dismissal
• 1 Invade the City
• 1 Light Up the Stage
• 1 Purphoros's Intervention

• Enchantments (2)
• 1 Omen of the Forge
• 1 Omen of the Sea

• Lands (26)
• 9 Island
• 9 Mountain
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Temple of Epiphany

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That's just one quick example of a way to build a Standard deck with one of the worst in the cycle in Standard. It's still really strong! It has tons of burn, counters, card drawing, and more. It's very synergetic! There is nothing stopping you from doing the same in countless formats and netting an extra guaranteed card for your trouble.

And frankly, this was very, very close to my number one cycle...

1. The Triome Lands

I still think that the Triomes are just a bit better than the Companions. This set of lands is downright amazing! They are, arguably, in the top ten cycle of mana-fixing lands of all time, and I'd put them in my top five in that list for doing three major and massive things!

1. Unlike most classic cycles, they tap for three colors of mana, not two!
2. You can cycle them if you don't need them. We all know what it's like to get mana flooded, or to get a land in the late game and you are topdecking and you need gas. Cycle away and get a chance at something better. Get one card closer to your game-winner!
3. They are all three land types! You can fetch them out and net three lands. While some land fetchers only grab basics, such as Solemn Simulacrum and Cultivate, there are enough Wood Elves and Polluted Delta and similar cards out there that will grab three colors in one land fetching ability!

They are awesome! Enjoy them! Grab them! Harness their power!

And there we are! As always thanks so much for taking time and reading my article! I hope you enjoyed my list! Anything in here that you think I was too high on or not high enough? Anything I missed? Just let me know, and have an awesome day.

P.S. - Have you ever wondered what it is like to work with a condition like Huntington's Disease? Watch this video of mine to find out!