Today I'll be taking a break from the Color Challenge to talk about the Historic cards that have been introduced to MTG Arena. When Wizards of the Coast announced they would be reprinting classic Magic card specifically for the Historic format on MTG Arena, they set the hype level to maximum by mentioning favorites like Dark Confidant, Wurmcoil Engine, and Brainstorm. I won't slow-roll my opinion, they failed miserably to deliver on that level of hype. Any of those iconic cards they mentioned could have given Historic a needed shot in the arm, much like the competitive events did for Pioneer. As it is, there is a Historic Ranked queue and a tournament coming before the next set releases, but the cards haven't really delivered.

Any time new cards enter a format, you should take some time to examine them. Not every card can be Brainstorm. I will give a quick look and passing grade to each individual card, and in some cases I will group cards together because they fit an obvious theme.

Serra Ascendant and Soul Warden are here to give the lifegain deck legs in the new format. Experience has taught me that there is a group of players, usually new players, who really enjoy lifegain triggers. Soul Warden is a huge upgrade for them and Serra Ascendant is a heavy hitter. The deck can do some crazy things with huge Ajani's Pridemates, and Ajani, Strength of the Pride serves as a Plague Wind and a Shatterstorm combined very quickly. The lifegain strategy is better and more fun than it would have been without these cards, and it can check the Red decks that are always present on MTG Arena. I consider Soul Warden a solid hit, as it can play in other strategies and sideboards. Serra Ascendant is a hit if you love lifegain, and a miss if you don't.

Kinsbaile Cavalier is an addition to aggressive Knight tribal strategies that have a lot of options across the Mardu (Black, Red, White) colors in Historic from Mono-White to full-on Mardu beatdown with good mana. If you like Knight strategies a lot, you may want to craft two. This card isn't a four-of to me, it is easily answered by all kinds of removal from Shock to sweepers. History of Benalia and Benalish Marshal are in Historic and they do a great job pumping the team. Embercleave is probably the best four-mana play you have. This card is a miss for most players.

Blue really got the worst of this release. Treasure Hunt can go in a meme deck with Jace, Wielder of Mysteries and 55 lands. It is good for a few laughs, but far from great. Playing this card in Field of the Dead decks is an option, but it isn't better than Once Upon a Time which holds its spot. Miss

Distant Melody would be playable at instant speed. At sorcery speed, it is clunky slow card draw for a tribal deck. I played this briefly in Merfolk and honestly didn't need it. Maybe we will have access to a lot more Fairies in the future, or you could try this with Zombies or Pirates, but I don't see a future for this card. Miss

Now we're talking. Zombies are far from broken in Historic even after adding this card, but Cryptbreaker makes the deck playable, and in my opinion that is exactly what these Historic-only mini-expansions should be doing. I found Mono-Black Zombies one dimensional and I have moved on to Dimir () and Rakdos () Zombie decks that have been very fun. Craft four, enjoy your undead self. Hit

Hypnotic Specter is a classic. Bringing back iconic cards that old-school players love is an acceptable use for these mini-expansions, but unlike Cryptbreaker this guy doesn't turn on any new decks. Discard Tribal, Mono-Black Aggro, and Black Midrange could run Hypnotic Specter, but the card doesn't make a dent in Historic. Is it better than Thief of Sanity? Does it die to Shock and get blocked by Arboreal Grazer? Yes and yes. I put an Embercleave on Hypnotic Specter and still lost. For nostalgia, the card is a hit, but for Ranked play the best it can hope for is a sideboard spot if the opponent lacks removal, fliers, and keyword Reach. Miss.

Phyrexian Arena and Tendrils of Corruption make Mono-Black Control a Historic possibility. Tendrils of Corruption has a real cost because you can't run as many copies of Cabal Stronghold and Castle Locthwain as you want to, and it requires a creature to target. Phyrexian Arena is the better of the two because it can go in all kinds of Black decks and sideboards. Hit and bigger HIT.

Kiln Fiend gives a Red spell-based deck some serious juice. I was skeptical at first that this card would matter, but then I brewed up a Jund deck with Kiln Fiend, Arclight Phoenix, Once Upon a Time, and Thud. When you hit your Field of the Dead or Nexus of Fate opponent for 20+ damage on turn three, you will fall in love. Hit

I have to believe that Goblin Matron will get better over time. Right now you fetch cards like Goblin Chainwhirler, Siege-Gang Commander, and Volley Veteran. Those plays are good, but they are very fair. Goblins needs some solid one and 2-drop killers to be a competitive tribe again, because the current Goblin builds feel like all-creature midrange. Miss, but you may want to pick it up for later on.

Hidetsugu's Second Rite is a perfect example of a card that when it works, it really works. When it doesn't, it does literally nothing. Playing burn I haven't struggled to get my opponent's life total to ten. The cards available have a variety of even and odd numbers of damage, which really helps. Still, if you get the opponent to nine and topdeck this the feels will be bad. I think the best role may be in a sideboard capacity against decks like Aggro that don't interact and have a quick clock themselves. I wouldn't craft more than two. Hit and Miss

It looks life Elf is back on the menu boys! With two cheap lords in Historic, Elf Tribal is a quick and brutal deck. Fauna Shaman and Elvish Visionary come down on the grindy side of things, but with enough lord effects anyone can get aggressive. Fauna Shaman enables some other fun creature-based combo decks as well. I would craft three copies of Fauna Shaman and four of the other two. Everyone should play Elves once in a while. Hit, Hit, Hit

Burning-Tree Emissary is an awesome shot in the arm to the Red and Green Aggro decks. It is unclear if this card goes right into Mono-Red or Stompy, but it could. The things I have done with this card in Aggro so far are absurd. I hit an opponent with a Ghalta, Primal Hunger holding an Embercleave on turn four. Burning-Tree Emissary makes dreams come true, craft four of them today. Hit

You don't need me to beat up Captain Sisay with the "dies to Shock" argument. Well, sorry, I guess I just did. I would craft one copy for Brawl and I would try a copy in Kethis Combo. Miss

Ornithopter and Mind Stone are solid throwbacks that also give artifact strategies a needed boost. Emry, Lurker of the Loch and Sai, Master Thopterist should be living their best lives in Historic, but they didn't have much help until now. Between these cards and Mox Amber, an artifact deck that is fun to play and between tiers one and three should pop up. Ornithopter is the more likely to succeed of the two. Craft your copies. Hit and bigger HIT

Some crazy mad-lads will make a deck with proliferate and Darksteel Reactor, and I will ask them how they did playing Simic Ascendancy. This artifact is at least indestructible, but that won't stop Teferi, Time Raveler from ruining your day in a whole new way. Miss

I am glad to see Historic getting some love, and I am very happy that Wizards is introducing some interesting cards to the format. I think they should push the power level harder. Throne of Eldraine and War of the Spark are crazy good, up there with some of the broken sets in Magic whose names don't start with "Urza". To make an impact in a format with Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Nexus of Fate, and the Kethis Combo deck, the power level needs to be higher.