Hello everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel Show, and today we are looking back at Dominaria United and some of the sweet cards this set produced. This article, in particular, focuses on the rares. Stay tuned later for a look at the Mythic Rares! But before we get into the top ten, we have an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention) Aether Channeler

This might be the pet card and hill I die on. If your deck has Blue and any type of blinking synergy, this is a slam-dunk card for its utility. In every game I play, I will probably want the option of bouncing a permanent, drawing a card, or making a 1/1 flying blocker.

10) Ertai Resurrected

Another one of my favorites. Having a legendary creature that can add extra synergy in decks like Sisay, Weatherlight Captain, Jodah, the Unifier, and Basim Ibn Ishaq is invaluable. The utility of having a counterspell for a spell or ability is awesome, and it can also be spot removal. It would be pretty difficult to find a game where this is a dead card.

9) Haughty Djinn

This card is seeing play in Standard, but it's also nice to have an evasive beater that can reduce the mana cost of your spells. It's a great utility piece in the 99 of decks that are going to be casting a lot of instants and sorceries.

8) Braids, Arisen Nightmare

This is a great card in the 99 or as the commander for those grindy games where every card counts. You can diversify your card types and only sacrifice things opponents won't have to guarantee some card draw, or you can pick something like a creature and force your opponents into hard choices. It's so strong, it can even see some play in the occasional cEDH deck.

7) Temporary Lockdown

White has become known for these arrest-style removal spells that return the removed targets when it's removed itself. Temporary Lockdown is especially good if you play in pods where cheap mana like Sol Ring and the Moxes are common, as it will swipe all of them right up.

6) Leaf-Crowned Visionary

And finally, it's not a typal synergy set on Dominaria without a little love for the elves. The +1/+1 is nice, but being able to add that additional card draw to a creature that will also work with your other synergies is absolutely amazing and a staple in most elf decks.

5) Jhoira, Ageless Innovator

As far as artifact decks go, I feel like this Jhoira flies under the radar. The fact that she can drop in these artifacts without having to cast them is really underrated since you can avoid the risk of counterspells.

4) The Cruelty of Gix

You get a discard effect while seeing someone's full hand, then you can tutor for an answer from that hand, and finally, you get to bring the creature you forced them to discard back to the field--or a better option. If this gets into a deck like Aminatou, the Fateshifter, it becomes even stronger. It's not flashy, but this is an extremely solid card.

3) Vodalian Hexcatcher

Merfolk players rejoice! You're getting support. This lord lets you convert extra merfolk into counterspells as well as giving a small buff. Since the casting cost of this merfolk only requires two total mana with just one Blue pip, it's an auto-include in every merfolk deck. The ceiling is pretty great, and the floor is honestly pretty high. These are the types of support pieces I would look for when building a typal deck.

2) Rundvelt Hordemaster

As if goblins needed any more support! This goblin lord buffs all your goblins by +1/+1. This is especially good with goblins since typal goblin decks can go about as wide as any creature type in all of Magic, so that extra point of damage really adds up. On top of that, as your goblins die, you can impulse draw for more goblins. Though the rest of the cards stay in exile, there's a good chance that with the right sac outlet, you could cast every goblin in your deck and win with a combo fairly easily. The impulse draw feels very Red, and only being able to cast goblins is very in flavor with the chaotic energy goblin decks bring.

1) Plaza of Heroes

This land is an absolute staple in decks that care about legends or might want an extra way to protect your commander. On top of that, it can tap for multiple colors and comes in untapped. I don't have many decks where I could argue against it, and that's why it is our number one rare from Dominaria United.

I hope you enjoyed our list of the top 10 rares from Dominaria. This is the plane where we have the most history and lore, and I always enjoy every opportunity to return whenever a set gives me the chance. From the elves of Llanowar to the Viashino on Shiv, this is a fascinating fantasy world with a ton of stories. Until next time, happy gaming!