Hello folks! I hope that you are staying safe in our modern COVID19 world today and moving forward!

Core Set 2021 didn't just have a lot of great new cards for us players to sink our teeth into. It also had a big number of impactful reprints as well. After comparing its reprints to previous Core Sets, they seem to have a lot more cachet beyond the normal. Some of these cards haven't been in a Core Set in more than a decade, some of them are clearly the new normal and some haven't been ever been reprinted.

Given the high quality of reprints in the set, I wanted to dedicate an article today for my pick for the best reprints in the set, particularly with an eye towards casual play such as in Commander or other casual formats.

Let's look!

Honorable Mention #1 - Rewind

Did you know that Wizards of the Coast used to let the public vote on which cards would make the core set? Yup it's true! And Rewind's first appearance in a core set back in Eighth Edition was earned after it defeated Dismiss in a very heated duel! (I voted for Dismiss, I prefer card advantage which is always useful to reactive untapping which is not). The last time Rewind was in a core set was 2012. I still wish you were Dismiss, (which has never been in a Core Set), but I'll take you!

Honorable Mention #2 - Fabled Passage

Whoa! When I saw that this powerful and expensive card was already getting another reprint while still legal in Standard, that told me this card is definitely going to be a player moving forward. If you missed out on the Throne of Eldraine version, you can grab them again. And I would expect that we are going to see it again moving forward, given how much it's been printed already. This is an improved Terramorphic Expanse or Evolving Wilds, which were already heavily played and printed. Whoa indeed!

Honorable Mention #3 - Scavenging Ooze

This awesome card in on curve, can grow as it exiles cards from graveyards, and can be strong at many places in the game. Late game draw? Dump mana into it and now you have a 6/6 and have gained four life. Midgame? The same. Early, it's a powerful bear that grows as the game goes on. It answers one of the most abused places at the casual metagame - the graveyard. There's nothing here not to love!

Honorable Mention #4 - Faith's Fetters

Faith's Fetters is great for two major reasons. First, it'll shutdown any permanent. It's amazing on a planeswalker because you can't activate its loyalty abilities. It'll stop a Maze of Ith protecting a player or a Volrath's Stronghold from returning a dead creature to a library. Creatures? Artifacts? All shut down! Secondly, it gains you a solid amount of life while it does so. Many times I have won a game after dropping a Fetters with 3 or less life. This life bump matters. The result is a powerful answer that fits many metagames and board states.

10. Cultivate

This famous card debuted in a core set: Magic 2011. It's coming back and that's big news for Cultivate fans! According to EDHREC.com, this is the third most-played card in Commander history! Only Sol Ring and Swords to Plowshares are played more. 50% of decks run it! That's more than Counterspell, Solemn Simulacrum (cough see below cough), Cyclonic Rift, Lightning Greaves, or any other mana rock. Wow. And it's coming back to Standard for another run around the bin, so welcome back Duke Cultivate, third in line to the EDH Throne which is ruled by King Sol Ring.

9. Massacre Wurm

Hello, one-sided removal monster! Oh, and one-sided player killer too. This is one of the best Infest variants with the ability to keep your stuff alive. It also provides a death trigger that will hurt others as they lose their dorks to its ability or later. It turns your foes chump blocks into a double loss of life - damned if they block and damned if they let it through. Its triple-black is normally one of its disappointing features, as it's harder to splash and run in a two-color deck. However, in the world of devotion after our return to Theros, it's not as bad as it once was. Three black devotion comes from it. Welcome back, killer of small stuff and their players.

8. Solemn Simulacrum

This happens every few years. We'll get another Solemn Simulacrum to add to Standard for a while. But it's still welcome! With only 20% of decks running it in Commander according to EDHREC.com, it's a bit underplayed in the format that it's a staple for. It's the 54th most-played card there, so at least it hits the Top 100, although pretty much any non-Green deck should run it and some Green decks should run this too (like a five-color build that wants a colorless way to ramp in case they didn't draw Green or a Bant Blink deck that wants to blink it over and over again). Anyways, this card is a welcome printing as you can run it in Standard now and acquire some more! Enjoy it!

7. Glorious Anthem

Welcome back, old friend! You haven't been in a core set since Tenth Edition of the Core Set a long time ago. Like Rewind above, this earned its initial spot after being voted in the public in an upset over Crusade. (I voted for Glorious Anthem as well) It's very Standard-able. I also love it with Jumpstart powerhouse Release the Dogs which makes four 1/1 Dogs for 4 mana and can be dropped the turn after this. That's a lot of Dogs! Enjoy its return!

6. Opt

This reprinting proves that Opt is the new normal. They have flirted with it in a few expansions, but this shows that Opt isn't going anywhere. It's the normal. Yes, it's heavily played in Standard and other formats. It's played in 9% of all Commander decks and makes a big splash there as well. Anywhere it's legal it sees play. It's even warped Core Set 2021 draft around it given the number of "second card drawn this turn" cards that are out there (like Jolreal, Mwonvuli Recluse) or cards like Burlfist Oak and Lorescale Coatl that turn Opt into a combat trick. We are living in an era of Opt and we should get used to that fact.

But it's not my top five!

What did make it?

5. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

From Limited to Modern, Ugin has found a place in several formats despite his cost. He'll continue to carve them out! That 8 mana might appear prohibitive at first. Ugin, Brother of Bolas is the most expensive planeswalker ever printed. But he can do a lot! He can +2 and Ghostfire something. (It's a better analogy than Lightning Bolt as Ghostfire is colorless as is good ol' Ugin). You can -X and exile every card with that mana cost or less if it's not colorless. This will hit any permanent type, from enchantments to creatures. Given his high starting loyalty, you can often drop this and sweep the board on arrival and then keep him around for Ghostfire fun. Oh, and his ultimate draws an epic number of cards and untaps lands. He'll go off just two turns after arrival if you +2 him each turn which is one turn more than normal and you'll keep him around as he'll be left with one loyalty barring any intervention from your foes. What can't Ugin do?

4. Heroic Intervention

Hello great answer! Welcome back. This is the best answer (or combat trick) in its color. Hexproof to keep something from being targeted. Indestructible to keep them from dying. Plus, it affects all of your stuff, not just creatures. You can drop it to keep your chump blockers alive for a round or to stop a Cyclonic Rift to bounce all your stuff as it's untargetable. You can keep your things alive through a Day of Judgment or a Planar Cleansing or a Fracturing Gust. Keep them from a damage-based sweeper like Earthquake. Keep them from being stolen via Control Magic. It's the best answer Green has to rely on. It's in 16% of Commander decks. It's heavily run, and another go around the block for Standard is cool!

3. Baneslayer Angel

Is Baneslayer Angel the best Angel ever printed? Maybe Avacyn, Angel of Hope or Akroma, Angel of Wrath would be better, but I'd consider Baneslayer as in the running for the best non-legendary Angel. I reviewed all the Angels over on Gatherer and here are the ones in the conversation other than Avacyn and both Akromas already mentioned.

• Angel of Despair
• Archangel Avacyn
• Atraxa, Praetors' Voice
• Exalted Angel
• Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
• Karmic Guide
• Lyra Dawnbringer
• Platinum Angel
• Restoration Angel

And that's it! Just nine are in the conversation. Let's remove the legendaries which are always pushed because of their weakness. That leaves Platinum Angel, Restoration Angel, Karmic Guide, Exalted Angel and Angel of Despair.

Time has passed Exalted Angel by, although dedicating your third and fourth turns to play and morph it to swing with a 4/5 lifelink flyer on turn four keep it in the conversation, but it's no longer as highly considered as before. Platinum is too specific and often is just an expensive 4/4 on the board as you aren't being threatened. Angel of Despair is great when you need a Vindicate but a bit expansive to really be the top. Exalted Angel is a powerful blink option that can do some damage and the Karmic Guide brings a dead dork to the battlefield when it arrives to party. In Commander I'd argue the Guide is better. Outside of that, the Baneslayer is probably better. Baneslayer appears to be the top contender for best non-legendary Angel ever printed. Welcome back oh powerhouse of yore!

2. Azusa, Lost but Seeking

This Commander stalwart was going for a lot of cash! Do you know how many times Azusa has been printed? Including Core Set 2021? Three times, her original and then Masters 25. Her price was north of $20.00. Now this copy has dropped to $8.00 as of one week after release and I suspect she'll keep falling and stabilize around $5 or $6. Despite the fact that she was printed a long time ago before the format was supported, she is one of the top ten Commanders in mono-Green. And it's not just as a beloved Commander either, a full 6% of decks run her as well. A double Exploration on a stick is pretty good as she can block, attack, grab a piece of equipment and otherwise join the party. She's a staple in her format and now you can acquire her for a lot fewer dollars. Get some!

1. Grim Tutor

Not only has Grim Tutor never been reprinted since its debut in Starter, it's never even been in black border before! I have to admit, this reprinting felt a bit outside of the box to my mind. It's arguably the second-best tutor in a 40-life format like Commander but it was pricey due to the lack of printing. It's also now legal in formats besides Legacy and Vintage and Commander. Both Standard and Modern may look at it. I suspect that its current $20+ price tag will remain, and this will be one of the most expensive cards in the set, but its price has still dropped a lot. This thing is worth $150.00 easily from Starter, and it feels like the sort of marquee card you'd normally expect in a Masters set rather than a Core Set. You cannot overestimate how cool this has been!

That finishes with a card never printed before in a black border leading my list. What did you think of my list? Anything that I missed or that you disagree with? What reprints are going to inspire your builds? Just let me know!

Thanks for reading and have an awesome day!