It feels like Midnight Hunt just came out yesterday and now we already have a new set for Standard! Crimson Vow is looking to finish the storyline for Midnight Hunt and it has brought a lot of vampires for this bloody wedding! Let's see how the White cards fair in Crimson Vow, but before we start, let us go over my grading scale!

I will not be going over cards that I believe will not see play in Standard and I will not be going over the Commander cards that will not see Standard play. For example, cards like Nebelgast Beguiler and Unholy Officiant will be omitted since they are just Limited cards and saying, "This is just a Limited card" repeatedly gets old rather fast. Do not worry though, I will be covering all the rare and mythic cards in the actual Innistrad: Crimson Vow set. So, if you like a certain rare or mythic, it will be mentioned in the review.

Keep in mind I'm rating all these cards for Standard playability. I will mention Modern applications if I believe the card has some.

Each card will be listed by color, then alphabetically by name.

Each card will be given a rating of 1-5. If a card would receive a 0, meaning it will see no play in that format ever, its rating is left off the list.

Rating | Explanation | Standard Examples

0 - Will never see play in this format (0 ratings are not listed).

1 - Unlikely to see play. (Divine Gambit)

2 - Could see fringe play, or occasional sideboard card. (Disdainful Stroke, Annul, Candletrap)

3 - Commonly played, staple in a single deck, or frequent play in several decks. (Righteous Valkyrie, Behold the Multiverse, Wash Away)

4 - Format staples. Sees play in multiple decks, one of the best cards in the format. (Werewolf Pack Leader, Elite Spellbinder, Ranger Class)

5 - Format warping. If you are in these colors, you play that card or keep that card in mind when building decks. (Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Alrund's Epiphany, Hullbreaker Horror)

Now that we have that out of the way, let's begin!

	By Invitation Only - 3 - This is not as good as Doomskar or Vanquish the Horde but it does sacrifice creatures which is an excellent way to get around Indestructible. Sadly, we are not dealing with indestructible creatures this go around, but rather ones that blink, like Fleeting Spirit.
	Cemetery Protector - 2 - Not a fan of this one. I would much rather play anything else in my Mono-White aggro deck, and in control I would rather play Skyclave Apparition or even Faithbound Judge // Sinner's Judgment.
	Circle of Confinement - 3 - Baffling End type cards all see some amount of play. This is just a solid removal spell, especially against Old-Growth Troll.
	Faithbound Judge // Sinner's Judgment - 3.5 - The zoomer Plumeveil! It doesn't have flash, but it has so much more in that it can eventually attack and is an alternate win condition from the graveyard.
	Fleeting Spirit - 4 - A new 3/1 White creature that is extremely hard to kill. I expect this one to see play for as long as it is legal in Standard.
	Hallowed Haunting - 1.5 - Just way too slow for Standard, especially since it doesn't do anything the turn it comes into play. Poor four-mana do nothing.
	Hopeful Initiate - 3.5 - An excellent 1-drop for White aggressive strategies. Easily becomes a 2/3 and eventually you have a 3/4 for 1 mana that can destroy artifacts or enchantments.
	Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr // Katilda's Rising Dawn - 2 - Katlida could see play in a spirits deck, but I do not think the spirits deck is good enough. I'd keep this one to Commander, personally.
	Lantern Flare - 2 - This is fine in a control shell, but I remember Aurelia's Fury and how much of a flop that one was. This reminds me of that, but the life gain is what makes me think this might be fringe playable.
	Savior of Ollenbock - 1 - The chakrams represent the hoops you must jump through to make this 1/2 do anything at all. I highly recommend just playing any other three-mana White creature, like Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield.
	Sigarda's Summons - 1 - Way too much mana for a crappy ability. Does nothing on its own unless you've already put counters on your creatures at which point that should be good enough.
	Thalia, Guardian of Thraben - 5 - Welp, you cannot build a deck without Thalia in mind anymore in Standard. Thalia warps the format by forcing you to play cheap removal spells like Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave and pushes non-creature cards with higher mana value out of the game. I really wish they did not print this one for Standard.
	Voice of the Blessed - 4 - MEGA AJANI's PRIDEMATE! People love their life gain creature decks and Voice of the Blessed is going to be no different, especially since it gains flying and vigilance eventually making it excellent on defense and offense.
	Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity - 3 - Are my eyes deceiving me? They finally gave White card draw?! I really love this design. Again, the 3-drop White slot is super full, but hopefully Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity can find a home somewhere, maybe a tokens deck?
	Welcoming Vampire - 2.5 - Mentor of the Meek got an overall upgrade if you ask me. The only problem is the 3-drop slot in White is already really tight and it is going to be hard to find room for Welcoming Vampire.

Top 5 White Cards

1. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2. Fleeting Spirit
3. Hopeful Initiate
4. Faithbound Judge // Sinner's Judgment
5. Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity

White had some polar scores. We had some low ones in Savior of Ollenbock and Sigarda's Summons but then we got Thalia and Fleeting Spirit. The top three cards are all aggressive White cards and are all highly rated. Mono-White aggressive strategies just got better and will threaten to be the best deck in the format. It already was tier one and picking up two or even three new White cards is a ton from one set. These cards just seem to help an already established archetype, so let's hope Blue bodes better for us tomorrow!

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As always, thanks for reading

Ali Aintrazi

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