Hello folks! I hope your day is going well!

Today's article is part of an annual series where I look at the best cards of the year for multiplayer. I do a Top Ten article for each series of new cards that is released each year that considers expansion sets, Core sets, Commander decks, and more. But that is usually my pre-release take on where I expect the cards to be. Now we have a lot of context for that to be true. We know the cards that already exist, so a new burn spell is clearly going to have a number of burn spells out that that can be used to accurately predict the performance of a new one. Similarly, I've played with an overwhelming majority of cards. I can compare the expected trajectory of a new card with that of older cards.

However, this is just a prediction, and there have been times when I've been wrong. Sometimes I slept on a card although and left it off my Top Ten when it would up playing very well. Sometimes cards play better or worse than I expected. It happens.

That's why today's article is so useful. This includes my thoughts after a release. You can see what the actual cards in multiplayer have done, and where they have scored as hits.

So let's take a look at the best ten cards for multiplayer that were printed this year!

10. Spire Garden Et All

We'll kick things off with mana lands. You aren't normally going to see mana lands like these as part of my Top Ten Multiplayer Cards From Year. So why are these here?

Because if you are playing multiplayer, then these are always going to arrive to the battlefield untapped. That makes these the second-best set of lands after the original duel lands (barring land type tricks with the other duel lands that have two types).

For example, here are some other lands that have more limited abilities.

Sea of Clouds is better than all of those, as well as being arguably better than CIP tapped lands like Temple of Enlightenment's scry:1 or something. In many builds, you'll even want this over Hallowed Fountain or Prairie Stream. Only Tundra will always arrive to the battlefield untapped and is arguably better. That's powerful. That's compelling.

It may not be sexy, but mana matters.

9. Xantcha, Sleeper Agent

Xantcha is awesome! Cast her. Give her big beefy 5/5 body to another player. Then they can't attack you or your friends, so you are safe. They have to swing each turn. And they have everyone else activating her for cards and a loss of life. She is so much fun! She arrives and then dominates a table. She also has some serious cachet as a Commander as well. I love Xantcha. And I am not the only one!

8. Karn, Scion of Urza

Karn brings useful card flow to any color for just four mana. Sure, your opponent will choose the worst option, but it's your deck. It's not like you didn't build it with cards that make sense. You can also -1 it to draw the card that they didn't give you later, so you are drawing a card every turn for four mana, no matter what! I have run, and abused, Karn in multiple decks since it saw the light in Dominaria. Karn is a solid adjunct to most decks just a card drawing force. And if you are running a deck with artifacts in it where his -2 is pertinent?

Have. Mercy.

7. Knight of Autumn

Our token Guilds of Ravnica card is Knight of Autumn. I had initially assigned it the top spot in my initial take of the set's review, and early reviews have not been wrong. To win in multiplayer you need flexibility. When you build a deck, you never know if you need to destroy an enchantment or an artifact. You don't know if you are going to need to gain some life. You don't know if you are going to need a beater for three mana. Not only are you unaware when you build your deck, but your need is also going to matter based on the game state and when you have it in hand! On turn three, a curved 4/3 is pretty potent. If your foe has an onerous artificial thing you want to pop, it's valuable, even turn 30. Or 300 for that matter. It's a great card due to its sheer flexibility.

6. Bramble Sovereign

Can you believe how stupid I was when I had this as my 10th best card from Battlebond? After playing with it for around a week, I quickly realized that it was actually the 3rd best card from that set instead. Stupid Abe!

This is my penance:

Bramble Sovereign is Awesome!

Bramble Sovereign Costs Just 4 mana!!

Bramble Sovereign Has a 4/4 Body!!!

Bramble Sovereign's Activation is Just 2 mana!!!!

Bramble Sovereign Triggers for Any Nontoken Creature, Not Just Your Own!!!!!

Bramble Sovereign's Token Making Doesn't Leave At the End of the Turn!!!!!!

Bramble Sovereign Works Very Well With Enters-The-Battlefield Creatures!!!!!!!

Bramble Sovereign is Awesome!!!!!!!!

And there you are...

5. Arena Rector

Planeswalker's may not end the game as quickly as enchantments, artifacts, or creatures. But they don't suck. Don't think that just because a Rector for the Arena is going to fetch out a planeswalker that it's fine. It's not fine. Planeswalkers don't suck. They have value, even on the first iteration. Do you really want to give your foe a free Karn Liberated or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon? Are you expecting to easily handle a Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker or Garruk, Apex Predator?

Planeswalkers don't suck!

4. The Immortal Sun

The Immortal Sun is amazing. In a single card you are getting all of the benefits of a Staff of Nin's card drawing, a Stone Calendar's cost reduction, and a Glorious Anthem's creature pumping, all in one card. Now if you are running a bunch of planeswalkers, the ability to shut them all down may seem problematic, and you'll likely look elsewhere. But otherwise, it's also a strong tool against a commonly seen card at the kitchen table. And this? It's colorless, so any deck that can use the card drawing, cost reduction, creature pumping, and/or planeswalker shut down are definitely going to want to run The Immortal Sun in their build.

Top Three Card Time!

3. Spellseeker

This is Spellseeker, a card that seems similar in cost and effect to cards like Imperial Recruiter and Recruiter of the Guard, both of whom get a small dork. Here we are getting a small spell, which will typically either be the key removal spell you need, or just some cards with Ancestral Vision. Whichever better suits. I like grabbing Terminate, Swords to Plowshares, and such pretty well. I've also grabbed Rampant Growth once as I needed a third color in one of my decks. You can grab Counterspell or Mana Drain to say "No" to something. But I find that Ancestral Vision is my go-to most of the time if I don't need anything right away. I'll just suspend it and then draw three cards later. I find that I do that about half the time I cast Spellseeker.

2. Angrath, the Flame-Chained

When I originally wrote my Top Ten cards from Rivals of Ixalan, I considered this the 4th best card from the set. I didn't even rate the Murder Minotaur as the best 'walker. Today, after playing with him, he is not only my choice for the best card from the set, but he's the best 'walker printed in 2018 for multiplayer as well as my choice for 2nd best planeswalker for multiplayer in the past four years. He's that good. The first ability plays nicely with a clock and discard for everyone combined. The -3 is very strong as well. Stealing and punching someone with their own dork always feels good. It's like me slapping you with your hand and then asking, "Why did you slap yourself?" The Murder Minotaur lives up to his nickname!

1. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager

The return of the Core Set doesn't have many cards on my list but it has notched the top spot! Good job Magic 2019! Nicol Bolas combines simple power with the potential for later nastiness. The ability to drop him on the 4th turn with a beefy 4/4 body and a discard to everyone is just 1 mana more than powerhouse and commonly played Liliana's Specter for +3/+2 body. But that's not all! Later on, you can spend some mana and flip Bolas into The Arisen, and then smash. You can draw two cards, shoot something for a decade o' damage, or reanimate a dork or 'walker. All of those can be activated immediately upon flipping our good Bolas. Plus, in multiplayer, you often have the time to get the mana for flip-page. The Ravager is very good early, but also stronger as the game progresses, and I've lived the dream and cast, flipped, and then used his ability to +2 immediately. He's a good boy! Good boy Bolas!

And there we are! Thanks for reading!! So what did you think of my list? Where did I go wrong? Anything I missed? Just let me know!