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Kaldheim Limited Set Review: Multicolored and Modal

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We made it to the last article. Today we will be looking at the most exciting cards of the set. Multicolored cards are often the most powerful and serve as signposts for the different themes in the set. Then we have modals, and unlike the last set, these modals are Godlike. Let's jump right in.

This article is the last of four, and in it I will be evaluating every Multicolored and Modal card and scoring them on a scale of 1-5. These ratings are purely based on Limited formats and have no bearing on Constructed play. I would also like to note these ratings are based on how I believe the card will perform in an AVERAGE Sealed or Draft deck. Often this means a lower score for cards with great potential in a highly synergistic deck.

Rating - Explanation

1 - Ideally not making the cut in any of my Limited decks.

2 - Not good, but a necessity for curve filling and smoothing out draws.

3 - Value cards I am happy to fill my deck with.

4 - Cards to get excited about and Premium Removal.

5 - Reserved for cards that will win the game if left

Multicolored

Aegar, the Freezing Flame
Aegar, the Freezing Flame - 3 - Aegar is an interesting card. The average deck does not have enough to fully take advantage of his ability. Many Giants are too expensive and many Wizards are too small. The key to making this card truly amazing is 2 or 3 Squash!
Arni Slays the Troll
Arni Slays the Troll - 3.5 - Unlike most Sagas, this one has most of its value in the 1st chapter, meaning you'll get the bulk of the value even if the opponent can remove it. This card provides a lot for the low cost of only 2-mana.
Ascent of the Worthy
Ascent of the Worthy - 2 - With good targets to get out of the graveyard, this is playable. The 1st two chapters are a bit tricky to play, but they too can get some good value by allowing you to attack aggressively or passively trade up if an opponent decides to attack.
Battle for Bretagard
Battle for Bretagard - 2.5 - This Saga gets a lot better with other tokens, but there just aren't that many different tokens in the format. Most likely this just reads "get four 1/1s over 3 turns. Not ideal, but playable.
Battle of Frost and Fire
Battle of Frost and Fire - 4 - Four damage will kill most creatures in the set, and it is likely that some of yours will be excluded from it. This is played in any Blue/Red deck and gets better if you can build around it a bit.
The Bears of Littjara
The Bears of Littjara - 4 - This Saga is better when the deck has a few other Shapeshifters. If the created Shapeshifter makes it to chapter three this card is great, but often it will be removed making the 2nd and 3rd chapters pointless (unless you have other large creatures).
Binding the Old Gods
Binding the Old Gods - 4 - This is another one of the Sagas that has most of its value in the 1st chapter. Most of the time the 2nd and 3rd chapters won't add a ton of extra value, but the important part has already happened.
The Bloodsky Massacre
The Bloodsky Massacre - 3.5 - The creature created by the Saga more than makes up for the cost of playing the card. All of the other chapters are just extra value. You might not always get value for them, but there is little risk considering it has already paid for itself.
Fall of the Impostor
Fall of the Impostor - 3.5 - Normally I am not a fan of the Sagas that add counters, but this one is a lot better than that. It has a built-in creature kill. This is absolutely devastating to an opponent is an aggressive creature heavy deck.
Firja, Judge of Valor
Firja, Judge of Valor - 3.5 - Even without building around it, it is likely this bonus second spell ability will get a decent amount of value. Overall, Firja is a solid creature that has a ton of solid abilities.
Firja's Retribution
Firja's Retribution - 4.5 - 4 mana for a 4/4 flier is already good stats. Unlike some other Sagas, this one continues to provide huge value in its other chapters. There are a fair amount of Angels in White/Black, so it is likely to still get some value if the larger flier is killed.
Forging the Tyrite Sword
Forging the Tyrite Sword - 1 - This is not something I want to be playing even if my deck has targets for it. It just does not do enough to justify playing.
Harald, King of Skemfar
Harald, King of Skemfar - 3 - Even if the deck is unlikely to hit the free card Harald is still worth playing. He is a decent size body for the cost and Menace is a great bonus ability.
Harald Unites the Elves
Harald Unites the Elves - 1 / 4 - This Saga is either terrible or amazing. In a deck with 8+ Elves or Shapeshifters I would play this. Anything Below 8 it is unlikely to be impactful enough on the board to warrant playing.
Immersturm Predator
Immersturm Predator - 4.5 - The format as a whole is very creature heavy, so this will not have trouble finding cards to exile. The more creatures in the deck the better.
Invasion of the Giants
Invasion of the Giants - 2 - It is a cheap Saga, so with enough Giants in the deck it is fine to play. It just doesn't do enough to make me happy to play it in any deck.
Kardur, Doomscourge
Kardur, Doomscourge - 3.5 - This creature does a lot. It drains any time ANY attacking creature dies - yours or theirs. I had to read that a few times before I believed it. It also makes opponents attack, allowing you to get the better end of all trades. The opponent's attack might even just remove blockers from the board so your more aggressive Rakdos deck can finish the job.
Kardur's Vicious Return
Kardur's Vicious Return - 3 - This Saga can play out a bit awkwardly if you are not careful. Often, the first two chapters might do nothing or hurt you just as much as it does an opponent. The final chapter is great. Just make sure you are cautious and set things up rather than just slamming it for minimal value on the 1st two chapters.
Kaya the Inexorable
Kaya the Inexorable - 5 - This is a Planeswalker that will end games much faster than the other ones in the format. These are seriously powerful abilities and I am already upset knowing how often I am going to lose to this.
King Narfi's Betrayal
King Narfi's Betrayal - 3.5 - This is great card advantage late in the game. It is not just a draw two type of advantage it actually gets the best two creatures to make it into the graveyard the whole game. Ideally, I am not casting this early, but later on, when I am sure to hit good creatures and have the mana to play them.
Koll, the Forgemaster
Koll, The Forgemaster - 2 - A slightly hard to cast bear with a fair amount of upside based on how many Equipments and Auras are in the deck. I can see this going up to a 3.5 with 5-ish auras. Careful not to run too many and have nothing to equip them too.
Koma, Cosmos Serpent
Koma, Cosmos Serpent - 5 - Getting two free 3/3 Serpents per round is a ton of value. It only needs to survive the turn it is cast before it can protect itself against most removal. Powerful cards that are hard to answer are worth playing and will win most games they are cast.
Maja, Bretagard Protector
Maja, Bretagard Protector - 4 - This is a lord for ALL creatures that also makes its own tokens. This is nuts for an uncommon and can win games if not dealt with quickly.
Moritte of the Frost
Moritte of the Frost - 3 - The value of this card is totally dependent on the quality of creatures in the deck. I am not excited to play this for a bunch of mediocre cards. It is a bit expensive and very color dependent to cast. I am always playing this card when in these colors, but I am far more excited to play it in a deck that is above average.
Narfi, Betrayer King
Narfi, Betrayer King - 1 / 4 - There are very few Zombies in the format. Without this being Green there are also fewer Shapeshifters to pad the deck with. The real value for this deck is when you can bring it back from the graveyard, but it needs 8+ snow lands to do that consistently. It is too expensive without the snow.
Niko Aris
Niko Aris - 4 - Planeswalkers are rarely not worth playing. This one is a bit less impactful than I would like when it is played, but it does produce a lot of value over several turns. This Planeswalker is a bit of a buildaround, but with a good payoff.
Niko Defies Destiny
Niko Defies Destiny - 1 - Without 2+ high profile Foretell cards this is not worth playing. It just doesn't do enough and is unlikely to find a powerful target in the third chapter. Starnheim Unleashed with a few others would make me consider adding this.
The Raven's Warning
The Raven's Warning - 2.5 - Most of the value on this Saga is in chapter 2. With other evasive creatures, this Saga will get you a fair amount of value. If you are unlikely to connect with the opponent on the turn that chapter 2 is active, I would hold off playing it.
Sarulf, Realm Eater
Sarulf, Realm Eater - 4 - This is an interesting card. It can be extremely powerful if left unanswered. He will grow really quickly and has a built-in board wipe. It is not rated higher because the counters can only be removed during upkeep. This leaves him open to being answered by just about any removal spell without leaving any lasting effect on the board.
Showdown of the Skalds
Showdown of the Skalds - 4 - This is a really nice way to refill your hand and get a ton of value. This is the perfect curve topper in an aggressive deck. It allows you to keep the pressure high and draw into more threats and removal.
Svella, Ice Shaper
Svella, Ice Shaper - 3.5 - This is an interesting card. His stats are fine for the mana cost, and he has some really nice abilities. Getting to create tokens that ramp and fix are always helpful even if you don't expect to activate its 8-mana ability. The creature does a lot of powerful things if left on the board.
The Three Seasons
The Three Seasons - 1 / 3 - This card is card advantage in the snow deck, though it is a bit awkward for the average snow decks with lower snow counts. The quality of snow cards also matters when considering this. I would not play it just to get back a mana dork and a land.
The Trickster-God's Heist
The Trickster-God's Heist - 2 - This is a very risky card to play. Often it will have poor targets or miss all together. This becomes playable when the deck is really bad - this way your trades are always good!
Vega, the Watcher
Vega, the Watcher - 3.5 - This card is fine on its own, but it becomes really good after only one draw trigger. Every deck will have some Foretell in it and that makes this worth running. If you get a chance to build around it a bit it becomes really strong.
Waking the Trolls
Waking the Trolls - 3.5 - This is a powerful card that can win games if not answered. Red/Green decks often have a lot more mana than most, so it is likely to get a fair amount of value when the Saga is finished. It is a bit uncontrollable and doesn't do much until the last chapter although there are a lot of utility lands in the format that are worth destroying.

Modal

Halvar, God of Battle
Halvar, God of Battle - 5 - This card is all about the Equipment side. Most of the Gods can be played on either side based on the situation, but this God has a lot more value on the back side. I would guess this will be played 80/20 in favor of Sword of the Realms.
Reidane, God of the Worthy
Reidane, God of the Worthy - 4 - Both sides of this card are extremely annoying to deal with from the other side of the table. It will not outright win games on its own, but it certainly helps create a situation where an opponent quickly falls behind and cannot recover. Excited to play this in any White deck.
Alrund, God of the Cosmos
Alrund, God of the Cosmos - 4 - Unlike the other modal Gods, Alrund allows you to play both sides over time and get a bit of value in the process. It might be a bit slower than the other Gods, but as long as you are not too far behind when you play it you are likely to get some good value from it.
Cosima, God of the Voyage
Cosima, God of the Voyage - 4 - This God is a bit slower than most of the other Gods, but it is going to draw a lot of cards if given enough time. It is a great blocker against aggressive decks and it is amazing against other decks with a longer game plan.
Egon, God of Death
Egon, God of Death - 3.5 - Egon is an interesting card. A 6/6 creature with deathtouch seems like overkill, but it also only costs 3 mana so I can't complain. This is a great late game play on either side for Limited. It does seem like it was created with Standard in mind, but it's still a great card for any Black deck.
Tergrid, God of Fright
Tergrid, God of Fright - 4 - In a build around situation the creature side is strong. If you are behind on board it is a great size body with some built in upside. Ideally this card will be played as Tegrid's Lantern. If you are ahead or even, this will crush an opponent. When you are ahead, they are unable to take damage so they will remove or discard their only chances of catching up. Once you are activating it 2 or 3 times a turn there is no coming back.
Valki, God of Lies
Valki, God of Lies - 5 - Both sides of Valki are powerful. I will often be greedy and try to wait until I hit 7-mana to cast Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor, but don't be afraid to play this early for value and information. Look for cards like Raise the Draugr to help get this card back if you need to cast it early, or if they somehow survive Tibalt the 1st time.
Birgi, God of Storytelling
Birgi, God of Storytelling - 4 - If drawn early in the game, the God side is extremely aggressive. A true Red card. If drawn later in the game, Harnfel, Horn of Bounty turns all draws into "draw two". Any lands are just 2 new cards, and even weaker creatures can be tossed because it is likely you will find better with two cards.
Toralf, God of Fury
Toralf, God of Fury - 4.5 - The God side of this card is very strong if the deck has a decent amount of burn or fight spells in it. Squash is the card that comes to mind. This single burn spell will now take out 2-3 creatures. Without triggers for the God, I would recommend casting this as Toralf's Hammer. The Hammer is also very powerful and can end games on its own. The Hammer is less likely to be removed, the casting and equip costs are reasonable, and the damage goes to any target. Nuts.
Esika, God of the Tree
Esika, God of the Tree - 3 - For the sake of Limited this is just a one sided card. It is a great mana dork that helps fix mana for splashed cards and ramps into larger creatures. As a 1/4, it is also a great way to stop a more aggressive deck in the early game.
Jorn, God of Winter
Jorn, God of Winter - 4 - Any Green deck is happy to play Jorn, he is a solid creature and has a lot of upside in snow decks. If given the choice I am far more interested in the Kaldring, the Rimestaff side of the card. It gets back any snow permanent - even lands. Looking forward to forcing trades with Avalanche Caller and just getting the lands back!
Kolvori, God of Kinship
Kolvori, God of Kinship - 2 - This is by far the worst God. She is a bit overpriced for her stats and is unlikely to get any value from her text box. With 3+ other Legendary creatures I might consider running this. Bad 3-drop used for curve filler in most decks.

That's it - We made it! Overall, the format seems to be more aggressive than we typically see. The thing I like most about the format is that all the bombs have multiple answers - even common answers. There are very few 5 rated cards that seem like they will just end games of Magic. Even the Gods are beatable and offer a new layer of skill needed to know what side to play them on. I am excited to jump into this set and share it with you guys in stream.

These articles are used for draft ratings on Untapped.gg, and because of this we will be updating them periodically with new information and insight. Comments and discussions help me improve the articles and provide the best information for both other readers and Untapped.gg. So please feel free to comment below and give me your thoughts.

Thank you for reading!

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