Hello happy people! I hope that you are having a magnificent day and week and month today! Yup yup! The latest set, Crimson Vow, is another classic deep cut into the awesomeness of a modern Standard set with printing a lot of great cards for casual play. We have great cards for Commander, Type Four, Five Color, Highlander, and other formats as well as multiplayer all stars.

For the last four weeks, I have done a deep dive into the set and looked at my Top Ten Cards each week plus an Honorable Mention for 11 cards in all. Today I want to finish my list.

To make my list, I copy images over of everything in the set that I think is worth the cost of entry for casual play. In this case I grabbed 59 images. Then I order those images in a master document and then wait a couple of days and then return to the document with fresh eyes. Then I look and move things around and I take another look at the spoiler and grab some more cards that I missed. When I say that a card is my eighth choice in the set, I genuinely think that's the case, I have spent time taking a deep dive into the set and casual play.

Here are my first four articles:

• Week 1 - This week we had ten cards and an honorable mention that was pretty nice, and we had some great cards including two in the mythic "Cemetery" cycle and a rare cycle at #3. We also had, for the first time, an uncommon hit the top spot of my list, and some buzzworthy cards crack other spaces. You can check it out here (Top Ten Cards from Crimson Vow | Article by Abe Sargent (coolstuffinc.com))
• Week 2 - This week I featured another 11 awesome cards, and we had an uncommon hit #2 so we almost had back-to-back weeks with uncommons in the top spot. Love it a lot! We had cards like Welcoming Vampire and Toxrill, the Corrosive hit, as well as two more cards in the "Cemetery" cycle. You can check it out here! (Top Ten Cards from Crimson Vow #2 | Article by Abe Sargent (coolstuffinc.com))
• Week 3 - This week I featured another 11 awesome cards and we finished the "Cemetery" cycle. This had a great common in Honored Heirloom and a powerful card like Hullbreaker Horror, but where did they hit? Great questions all! You can find out here! (Top Ten #3 from Crimson Vow | Article by Abe Sargent (coolstuffinc.com))
• Week 4 - When this week hit, I grabbed another ten cards, and this time we had a common hit my top spot, as well as another common in the same color at #5. We had cards hitting all over the box like Necroduality, but where? Let's find out here!

Ready for this week's Top Ten and Honorable Mention?

Honorable Mention (#55 Overall) - Cruel Witness

When looking at a set's spoiler, I always rate highly cards that have ongoing triggers for things that are either "noncreature" or "instant/spell" casting, because there is a deep pool of decks and Commanders for casting those that are looking for those triggers in a group of decks we refer to as "Spellslingers." They are one of the most common archetypes I run into, and this 3/3 flyer plays into that heavy line of play. But unlike cards like Guttersnipe or Young Pyromancer, this is a very different trigger, and it might be allowed to stay in play for a while as a result. This one will essentially surveil 1 your deck each time you cast a noncreature spell. As you can see, that is really going to matter in two sorts of builds - graveyard matters ones in spell heavy brews for someone like Dimir or top of the library builds in things like Azorius. Each has value here. Good card for the masses!

#10. (#54 Overall) - Hallowed Haunting

This is one weird card! This enchantment will give all of your dorks flying and vigilance, which is pretty good for the team! And four mana seems about right for that double Anthem. Vigilance is better in multiplayer as you can swing at opponents that are open without opening yourself up to a counterattack. Good stuff!

But...you have to control seven enchantments or more to get this bump....that's a lot of work. Although it's not as much work in an enchantment creature deck built around stuff from the plane of Theros sets. As you cast those enchantments, you'll create a Spirit Cleric token that has power and toughness equal to your Spirit count, which is a pretty cool way of mixing this stuff together in a normal enchantment matters brew and those dorks will get your vigilance and flying too. Very interesting way of interacting with enchantments in the color that we've not seen before.

#9. (#53 Overall) - Lantern Bearer // Lanterns' Lift

I really enjoy this disturb one-drop. Don't forget that disturb cards are always innate card advantage since you get both the front end and the back. It's like flashback that's innate card quality.

I love this in two shells. The first is mono-Blue aggro like the one I built for you here. I built around the powerhouse of Iymrith, Desert Doom, but I also like this archetype in the "you can't counter or be countered" concept of Lier, Disciple of the Drowned. A 1-drop 1/1 flyer is great there that can later be disturbed to give flying to another dork and pump it +1/+1, like your Commander. Also note that this is amazing as another 1-drop with evasion in the Simic aggro deck built around Edric, Spymaster of Trest which wants to drop a flyer or unblockable dork on turn one, two on turn two, and then itself on turn three and smash and draw three cards. Both of those shells work nicely with this brew, and in the Edric shell, you can disturb this after it dies to give flying to Edric to help make sure that he can net his own trigger. Nice!

#8. (#52 Overall) Henrika Domnathi // Henrika, Infernal Seer

Back to back transfrom cards! We only have one more on this list. Henrika is a fun build around card in Commander. She is a flying, small, 1/3 that can be cast in the first precombat main phase, and then you pass and draw a card so she replaces herself. Then you can Innocent Blood her on a future turn, and then flip her on the next turn into a powerful 3/4 flying, deathtouch and lifelinking powerhouse that can act as a Lord of Those Abilities as she can pump them up for +1 power each time you activate the Infernal Seer of your play. She's fun! And our own Jason Alt has a unique take on her here. She's pretty cool!

#7. (#51 Overall) Dreamshackle Geist

I've already seen this 3/1 flying Spirit in FNM Standard brews. You can see how much better WOTC makes their three mana 3/1 flyers since Cloud Spirit. As you can see, you get a combat trigger to tap or freeze a target dork. You can drop this out of nowhere and then freeze lock a powerful dork that attacked you and keep down a nasty card. I see this more aggressively as a way to stop a flying blocker so your team can get through, and I think it has enhanced value in flying builds and tap builds like the Azorius Tap Matters build that was just published in the Crimson Vow Commander set. Enjoy!

What card will hit #50 overall?

#6. (#50 Overall) Sigarda's Summons

This rare White enchantment is our 50th card! As you can see, it's a bit pricey at six mana (one of the reasons it's on my fifth list) and your dorks with +1/+1 counters are now with a base power and toughness of 4/4 and fly and are Angels. Pretty neat right? In a +1/+1 counter brew, this really is powerful, as many dorks that arrive with counters on them are 0/0 naturally like Fertilid and Spike Weaver. Others are pretty small, like Triskelion, which will appreciate the size upgrade.

Also note that the dorks will not only get a +4/+4 bump in size (usually) but rock flying, which is really strong. In those decks this could serve as an Overrun effect giving them a massive pump and an evasive ability. I love it a lot as a powerful new option for those decks!

#5. (#49 Overall) Ollenbock Escort

When I saw this was a 1-drop that self-sacrificed itself without requiring any mana, life, or other resource I was intrigued. It raised my "Aristocrats" flag for those style brews where you sacrifice a card over and over again for death triggers like Blood Artist, and enters the battlefield ones like Aura Shards. Here you have something that self-sacrifices and just costs one mana to be recast with something in color like Enduring Renewal. Pretty cool. It's a 1/1 with vigilance and it sacrifice to give a dork with a +1/+1 counter indestructible and lifelink. That's pretty weak in Aristcrats since it can only work on a encountered dork. According to Gatherer, how many legendary dorks that are White arrive with a +1/+1 counter all ready to go? Asmira, Holy Avenger will later, Drizzt Do'Urden can, Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker can easily collect them, and a few others like Ghave, Guru of Spores.

Then Elenda, the Dusk Rose. She can get +1/+1 counters as stuff dies, so she already has a death trigger built in you can self target, and then recur over and over again with Blood Artists since Elenda is in the Black and White color identities. You can also just win with a giant Elenda and a Rogue's Passage. But outside of Elenda combos, this works well as proactive support that can swing for any of the 50 white legendaries that have some version of, or can get, +1/+1 counters. Good card!

#4. (#48 Overall) Geralf, Visionary Stitcher

Geralf Part Three is very unique and brings a new mono-Blue toughness-matters build to Commander. I just published a Budget Commander version of this that came in a little over $30, which is pretty good from where I'm sitting. He is getting some play in Standard and more than 100 decks over at EDHREC.com, which seems pretty saucy from where I am sitting. But what I am missing is the "Stitcher" part. Geralf creates his undead by combining creatures, but here is just sacrificing a single dork like Gisa does to make a Zombie token. I don't see how that a flavorful set of mechanics. But I still enjoy Geralf a lot!

Three cards left, and then we are moving on!

#3. (#47 Overall) Ill-Tempered Loner // Howlpack Avenger

As you can see, this fun transform card is the final one we are looking at today and...ever...from this set. It's our only Werewolf on the list. As you can see, this is a 3/3 (on the day side) that turns damage dealt to it from anywhere into damage onto any target. Nice. Sometimes these sorts of abilities may only work on non-combat damage, but this is a nice slice of pie for combat damage as well. It works ably with sweepers like Blasphemous Act that deal big amount of damage, and that's a commonly played sweeper at the kitchen table. And it's from another Innistrad set as well, which is pretty nifty.

You can also pump this in the later game to punch a player around. Then if it's night you get a 4/4 and all permanents you control have the same damage redirector. You could win the game with the Act with a few dorks out, even with a 40-life starting format like Commander. It also keeps the firebreathing. I love its power here as it's very rough and tough and ready to rock and roll.

#2. (#46 Overall) - Falkenrath Forebear

Our next to last card is the Forebear! As you can see, this fun 3/1 cannot block flyer is pretty nice. As it smashes face, you'll create a Blood token which is nice card flow. It's likelier to do that in multiplayer where there are more avenues to attack. After it dies, you can self-recur. It's really strong in Blood-matters builds as well as self-recursive ones. Good card for the environment!

#1. (#45 Overall) Hiveheart Shaman

Hello happy basic land rampers! I have a land ramping engine for your Five (or maybe Four) color decks! As you can see, this fun Human Shaman is a nice 3/5 for four mana and when it swings you can Rampant Growth as long as it has a different type than one you already control. Also note that if you control a dual land or Triome tri-land then you cannot fetch that basic type (that's why it's back here on the fifth list). But you are pretty likely to get all five land types in a Five Color brew pretty quickly. And then you can spend 6 mana to make a 1/1 Insect dork with +1/+1 counters on it for each land type you control, which is powerful with 4 or 5 types. It can only be used as a sorcery, but that's still pretty tasty from where I am sitting. This card has a lot of great value over time and works nicely the Five Color format. It's a game winning ramper.

And there we go! So, what did you think of my final set of cards? Anything that I missed or got in the wrong order? Just let me know and have an amazing day!