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Welcome to day two of the Theros: Beyond Death Limited set review. Today we will be rating the Blue cards from 1 to 5 based on how I think they will perform in Sealed and Draft.
New sets are always difficult to figure out before getting any hands on experience, so make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments!
And be sure to check out the other entries:
White | Black and Gold | Red and Artifacts
Rating - Explanation
1- This card is not making it into any of my Limited decks.
2- Not good, but a necessity for filling your curve and smoothing out your draws.
3- Value cards you are happy filling your deck with.
4- Cards to get excited about and premium removal.
5- Reserved for cards that will win the game if left unanswered.
Blue
Even though both creatures are not fully active at the same time, this card is still a lot of value. The card itself and the token it makes both pass the vanilla test and you get them both for the price of one. Look for synergy bouncing or flickering this creature in and out of play.
Ashiok's Erasure - 2
4 CMC counters are always hard to justify in most Limited decks. What worries me the most is how much main deck enchantment removal will be used and how easily it will be to get their spell back. The "cards with same name" clause is going to have 0 value in Limited.
Brine Giant - 2.5
A bit expensive in a deck that's not built for it, but I think it will be easy to cast for 1-2 mana less based on how many enchantments are in the format. At 5-6 mana this is a perfectly reasonable top end filler card.
Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea - 3
Solid card that passes the vanilla test at its worst. It can easily become a beat down card that will also make your opponents' turns awkward. I love seeing this in my 3-drop slot.
Chain to Memory - 2
I like that this card works as a combat trick while also smoothing out draws. Sadly, if you are not killing a creature it isn't doing much. The scry 2 is too low impact to be worth a whole card. I would add this as a filler card if I thought my creatures were big enough to get in and battle.
Deny the Divine - 3
I don't mind the mana cost or the limitation on targets. The added bonus of exiling either the Escape card or the fuel for them is also really nice.
Being an enchantment adds value in this set. It has a reasonable late game ability while helping the curve early on. This might also be a nice addition for any deck with devotion cards you might want to play early.
Elite Instructor - 2.5
Does not have the stats I like to see for the mana cost, but the loot ability can be really nice to help fix draws. It can also toss lands mid-late game for card advantage.
Glimpse of Freedom - 1.5
I think this card needs to be put into a deck with a lot of "on opponents turn" effects. The escape cost seems too high without gaining some value somewhere else for casting this spell.
Ichthyomorphosis - 3.5
Removing the creatures abilities adds to the card's value. I do think it will be easy to remove the enchantment, but still necessary.
7 CMC is extremely high, but for sealed pools this is not as much of a problem as most people think. Limited decks will often play card like Thorn Elemental for top end. Each chapter on this Saga is game winning on its own. It will be incredibly hard to deal with this card once it is in play. Let's find some good Green ramp!
This card seems solid even though it is extremely slow. Its overall power is strong if you have the luxury of waiting. If you are behind it might be too slow, so if you are putting this in a control deck make sure it can handle the early game without getting run over.
Memory Drain - 2.5
Extremely flexible counterspell. Sometimes it can be hard to justify 4 mana counterspells, but if you have any other spells that allow you to have options on your opponent's turn, this can give you good value.
Nadir Kraken - 4.5
Play this card; It's insane. It has base stats and mana cost that help to create a smooth curve, but then it just turns into a bomb. Within a few turns it because impossible to deal with.
Easy 3-drop with upside. Typical stats for a 3-drop and its ability will come in handy often. Added bonus of being an enchantment for your constellation triggers.
Nyxborn Seaguard - 2.5
Good for both devotion and constellation. Fine stats for the CMC, but you need some fliers or something to close out while this durdle locks down the ground for you.
Omen of the Sea - 3
The average deck will need to play some number of these cards as filler, but I am happy to run this in most decks. Its value will go up if you have cards you can trigger with flash like Stinging Lionfish or Wavebreak Hippocamp.
One with the Stars - 2.5
Slightly more expensive and complicated Blue removal enchantment. I don't love having this in my decks, but some amount of these effects are typically needed in most Blue decks.
Protean Thaumaturge - 3.5
This card does not change back EoT and that makes it really interesting. I also like that flash Omens will be able to double as a combat trick with this card. It will not be hard to build around.
Riptide Turtle - 1
Only 1 pip for devotion and it isn't an enchantment. Sadly my sea turtle friend isn't going to be playable in most decks.
Most likely not going to be playable. I can see building a fun mill deck or escape heavy deck with this card. It has the ability to be a good staple in a lot of really fun to play decks, but not worth much in your average deck.
Sea God's Scorn - 1.5
This six-mana sorcery speed bounce does not feel good to me.
The stats are what we would expect to see for a four-mana flier. I would often consider this to be filler, but I believe we might be able to exploit the bounce ability for value on ETB effects. We will be able to upgrade our enchantment removal as well as trigger constellation multiple times with the same enchantment.
Shoal Kraken - 3
Good stats for the mana cost. This cards can also help smooth out draws late game. All decks will end up with some enchantments. I am happy to have this card in any Blue deck.
Sleep of the Dead - 2.5
Sorcery speed really kills this card for me. This card will help slower decks find their footing, and it can also help push for lethal late game.
Starlit Mantle - 3
The score of this card goes up with the value of your cards. Make sure you take a look at the rest of your deck when considering if you want to play this card. I think it has a lot of flexibility.
Stern Dismissal - 3
It only bouncing opponents creatures is very limiting. There is a fair amount of auras in the format, and I think that will make it worth playing even if you cannot use it to protect your own creatures - like Unsummon.
A filler card that I expect will get some value in the average Blue deck. I am not happy with the stats, but in the right deck it can go up to a 3 in value. There seems to be a lot of spells in the format so it shouldn't be hard to get value out of this beautiful fish.
Sweet Oblivion - 1.5
This card can possibly be great in decks with an escape or mill plan, but it won't add much value to the average deck.
The flicker effect that happens each turn is the thing I am most excited about. This will pair well with any ETB effect. Cards like Alirios, Enraptured will gain so much value. It also allows you to get out of any enchantment based removal that might be locking creatures down.
This card is flexible and will help smooth out your draws at instant speed. Having two options on your opponent's turn is always nice to have. This is probably better in Standard than it is in Limited, but still good here.
Thassa's Oracle - 2.5
Base stats are what we would expect for the mana cost and it adds to devotion nicely. The text box also allows you to dig for answers and possible even win long grindy games. 100% the new Twitch Chat meme win condition. I can't wait!
This card is an interesting take on cards like Divination. It seems better in the mid to late game and slightly worse in the early. Instant speed means you can hold open counters and still draw your cards, and it allows you to filter out an extra land late game for an draw. Interested to see how this card feels compared to other draw spells.
Threnody Singer - 3
Very similar to Faerie Duelist, but it has better stats and some upside on how much its ability can do. There is a chance it might lower the attack by one less, but that is minor compared to the upsides.
Thryx, the Sudden Storm - 4.5
Insanely great stats and abilities for the mana cost. This card demands an answer or it will win the game.
Poor stats with an inconsistent ability. Milling your opponent in the dark seems bad with the escape mechanic, and if you need it to mill you it seems too inconsistent.
Triton Waverider - 2.5
Finding triggers for this card won't be hard. With flash enchantments it can even block in a pinch.
Vexing Gull - 3
Playing cards on your opponent's turn seems to be an entire archetype, and that makes this card really good. I think it has fine stats on its own, but I can see a lot of synergy working with this card.
I want to rate this card a lot higher because of how much value it can potentially get. With the right deck this card can easily be a 4. Add the "Draw a card" clause to all of you combat tricks and counters is insane. We will just have to see how easy it is going to be to find these spells for your sealed pools.
Whirlwind Denial - 2.5
This is one of the most interesting counters I've ever seen and I'm looking forward to some really fun stack interactions! It will also counter things that can not normally be countered - like Hydroid Krasis's cast ability (I know it's not Limited, but it's the only one I could think of off the top of my head).
This card does all of the things I want it to do. It has good stats for the CMC and it has a late game mana skink that can help you pull ahead in card advantage.
Top 5 Common Blue Cards
That's it for the Blue cards! Let me know what you think in the comments, and be sure to come back tomorrow as I cover all the Black and Gold cards!
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