Crimson Vow Limited Set Review: Green, Colorless, and Lands

Posted on November 18, 2021

Welcome back to day three of the Crimson Vow Limited set review!

This article is the third of four, and in it I will be evaluating every Green, Colorless and Land card - 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 unanswered.

Green

	Apprentice Sharpshooter - 3 - Apprentice Sharpshooter checks all the boxes. This creature has a relevant creature type, blocks well, and fits the counters subtheme in the set. The format is a bit faster than we have seen in the past few sets and that makes this feel a bit underwhelming, but it is a decent creature for any Green deck.
	Ascendant Packleader - 3 - This aggressive wolf is everything we wanted to see in Midnight Hunt but didn't get. Getting to cast a creature early that scales with the game as it goes on is great. The flavor on this card is also really neat - the creature gets bigger and bigger as the pack grows. Love it.
	Avabruck Caretaker // Hollowhenge Huntmaster - 5 - This card confuses me... It's not strong enough for Constructed and it's far too insane in Limited. This is one of the biggest bombs in Limited and worth changing colors for.
	Bramble Armor - 1.5 - A 23rd playable card that is a reprint from Midnight Hunt. The only time this made it into one of my decks was in Sealed. Sealed pools are often light on playables, so if the deck has 15+ creatures, this is fine to throw in when needed.
	Bramble Wurm - 3 - Every deck needs a big dumb creature. Okay, that's not true, but most decks do. This wurm is huge, and it helps recover against more aggressive decks. Sometimes a small amount of lifegain can stop the more aggressive decks from being able to finish the job. Often by the time these taller decks land a solid creature it's too late, but this wurm fixes that.
	Cartographer's Survey - 2.5 - Getting two lands out of your deck is helpful - especially when playing three colors. Playing this to get early mana or to guarantee land drops in heavy top end decks is definitely worth doing.
	Cemetery Prowler - 4 - The cemetery cycle is really neat and they are all very playable. If played early, this wolf can help ramp out large creatures and keep mana open for combat tricks and removal spells. When played early this is one of the better creatures in the cemetery cycle, but later in the game its power level falls off a fair amount.
	Cloaked Cadet - 3 - It is really cool that Cadet has training and can enable its own card draw ability. Getting triggers off of other humans is great too. The ideal deck for this is White / Green where all of the humans and Training creatures live. A bit expensive in most other decks.
	Crawling Infestation - 2 - This enchantment is a huge enabler in the graveyard subtheme in the format. I don't think the deck is particularly well supported and the payoffs are generally weak. This is unlikely to see much play in Crimson Vow and would have been better suited to Midnight Hunt.
	Crushing Canopy - 1 - Green always has access to this premium sideboard card and it's worth picking up a few whenever given the chance at the end of the pack.
	Cultivator Colossus - 4 - There was one big idiot to rule them all! But in all seriousness this creature is huge. It is expensive, but there are enough mana dorks and ramp cards in the format it shouldn't be out of the question to play this. I love the idea of getting to draw off an extra land, but in Limited I doubt there will be any land left in hand after casting this.
	Dawnhart Disciple - 2 - Solid 2-drops are hard to find. This creature has a relevant creature type and has a fair amount of upside with synergy in an aggressive human deck. This is definitely unexciting but it will see a lot of play as filler.
	Dig Up - 1.5 - Tutor effects in Limited are always underwhelming. In Black/Green exactly this will see some play, but paying a tax on cards is never ideal.
	Dormant Grove // Gnarled Grovestrider - 3 - A 4-mana do nothing can be a bit tough when behind on the board, but if you happen to be ahead early this simple uncommon will landslide into some really quick wins. The enchantment makes all your creatures tough to deal with while also helping to win races once it transforms. The more aggressive the deck is, the better this card will be.
	Flourishing Hunter - 2.5 - Most sets have a huge green creature that gains life when it ETBs and this one fits right in. The life gain is a bit more varied, but it also has two relevant creature types. Decks can't afford too many 6-drops so this is an easy cut if you have something better, but it is fine to play
	Glorious Sunrise - 4 - Five-mana enchantments need to offer a lot to make them worth playing, and Glorious Sunrise does just that. This enchantment is flexible enough to be worth casting in just about any situation. This card offers card advantage, helps keep creatures aggressive, and combat pesky damage clocks. Any Green deck is happy to play this.
	Hamlet Vanguard - 3.5 - The power level of Hamlet Vanguard will depend a lot on the number of Humans in the deck. Likely this is worth casting off curve to try and hit two other humans on the field, but if you manage to get a 2-drop Human into this it's fine. This rare ranges from decent sized to huge.
	Hiveheart Shaman - 4 - This is a bomb. It might be slow but it offers a ton of value and can end a game on its own given enough time. It is even worth throwing in a random 3rd color land for this to fetch - getting 4/4s rather than 3/3s is a huge difference and it's free!
	Hookhand Mariner // Riphook Raider - 3 - This vanilla werewolf is great filler at 4-mana. You are getting an at rate creature that gets better during the night phase and is also a relevant creature type to help enable other synergies in the deck. Hookhand Mariner will see a fair amount of play.
	Howling Moon - 2.5 - Wolf-heavy decks are happy to run this, but the average deck isn't going to be looking for this light of an effect. With 8+ wolves this starts to become very interesting. It's odd that wolves are more supported here in Crimson Vow than they were in Midnight Hunt...
	Howlpack Piper // Wildsong Howler - 4 - Howlpack Piper is a rare that will give a ton of long term value. Getting to draw bonus creatures out of the deck is an amazing ability and that alone makes this creature worth playing.
	Infestation Expert // Infested Werewolf - 3.5 - This creature is amazing when ahead on board, and only decent when behind. Infestation Expert does not block well for the mana cost, so this is the type of card that wants to be in an aggressive deck. Worth playing in any Green deck but will have a wide range when it comes to power level.
	Laid to Rest - 1/ 2.5 - This enchantment is extremely situational. Sealed will almost never want to play this because there will rarely be enough humans to make it worth it. There is a good human draft deck that will love to run this. The average Green deck will likely avoid this.
	Massive Might - 2.5 - Cheap combat tricks are always fine to include when there is room in the deck. These spells are always best when the deck has a minimum of 15+ creatures. Having a hand full of combat tricks and no creatures to cast them on is the worst!
	Moldgraf Millipede - 2 - There is a self-mill sub theme in the format, but overall this card seems a little too risky to make it worth playing. The power level is a bit too varied to get excited about.
	Mulch - 2 - Getting to dig only 4 cards for lands is rough. The power level on this card is very random. With heavy mana dependent decks this is a fine inclusion, but the average deck will not be looking for this type of effect.
	Nature's Embrace - 2.5 - Ramp enchantments are always nice in top heavy decks. The downside is they are always such horrible draws later in the game. This downside is totally removed now that it doubles as a creature aura. This aura itself is not something I would play on its own, but it's a huge bonus for any deck looking to ramp into the late game.
	Oakshade Stalker // Moonlit Ambusher - 3 - 3-mana 3/3s are always worth playing - especially with no downside. Getting to flash this in makes it great with countermagic or combat tricks. The night side of the creature is great when ahead, but will likely still just trade evenly.
	Packsong Pup - 3 - There are so many wolves in the format that this insanely cute pup is likely to be quite the bargain. Not every deck will play Packsong Pup, the ones that do really do. My best deck in the format so far was two Snarling Wolves and two pups - Aggressive, consistent, and powerful.
	Reclusive Taxidermist - 3 - This creature is exactly what I am looking for in any Green deck. This mana dork fixes, ramps, and can grow into a threat later in the game. There is nothing I don't like about this card.
	Retrieve - 1.5 - The playability of this card is completely dependent on how likely the deck is to be getting back two permanents. There is also a spike in power level the better the cards in the deck are. If the deck has 4 game winning bombs then adding this is just like adding a 5th, but with all mediocre cards, this is just not worth considering.
	Rural Recruit - 2.5 - Getting two bodies is always helpful in Limited. This helps create a wider board and will enable exploit. This card also synergizes well with the +1/+1 counter sub theme in the format. This is an overall well-rounded 4-drop.
	Sawblade Slinger - 2.5 - I love this card for the sideboard. Getting to kill a zombie with this is going to be nuts in Limited. It is a slightly worse rate for a 4-drop than I would like, so it is likely to live in the sideboard for most games.
	Sheltering Boughs - 2 - This enchantment replaces itself. So even though it kinda sucks it will still see some play. Anytime the deck is short on playables or Green isn't quite deep enough in a Sealed pool this is fine to play as a cycler with some upside.
	Snarling Wolf - 2 - 1-drop creatures need to offer a lot to make them worth playing. They are typically too low impact to make the cut. This wolf is filler in most decks, but it will play very well with cards like Packsong Pup. The more wolf synergies the deck has the more interested I am in playing this card.
	Spiked Ripsaw - 2 - The equip cost is a bit too high to make this an auto-include in most decks, but it does offer a big stat increase for creature heavy decks. This is likely to see a decent amount of play in Sealed and will likely be cut in most Drafts.
	Splendid Reclamation - 1 - This was not created for Limited. There is a graveyard subtheme in the format, but land is not what I am looking to get back here.
	Spore Crawler - 3 - Spore Crawler is more impressive than it looks. This 3-drop trades well in the format and offers a decent card advantage. Having these in play makes combat tough for opponents because they often are not willing to trade away their creatures for something that provides you with so much value. This is also an ideal target for your shocks that exile the creature rather than killing them.
	Sporeback Wolf -2.5 - Sporeback Wolf is an aggressive 2-drop. Getting to attack into other 2 and 3-drops is a nice perk for any deck. This is also an easy wolf to pick up late in the draft to enable any of the werewolf synergies the deck has. Overall this is a solid 2-drop at common.
	Toxic Scorpion - 2.5 - Small deathtouch creatures are always great in Limited. There is also a punch spell in the format that makes this small scorpion take down anything in the format. It's ETB will also let another small creature attack for free because an opponent will likely not want to trade for something weaker, and if they have to... GREAT!
	Ulvenwald Oddity // Ulvenwald Behemoth - 4.5 - This creature is a bomb. Before transforming this is an aggressive creature that will catch the opponent off guard getting in a lot of early damage. After transformation, Ulvenwald Oddity becomes a massive threat that can end the game right then. This creature is definitely worth first picking.
	Weaver of Blossoms // Blossom-Clad Werewolf - 3 - This mana dork is great! This 3-drop is on rate as a 2/3 and will easily enable splash cards, and it does all of this during the day phase. At night, Weaver of Blossoms becomes an aggressive creature that can also ramp out any large creature in the deck.
	Witch's Web - 2.5 - This combat trick has a lot to offer. Getting to untap, give reach, and +3/+3 is a ton of stuff. Not all of it will be needed, but it does make this an extremely flexible combat trick worth playing.
	Wolf Strike - 3.5 - Punch spells are always worth playing, and they seem to keep getting better with each set. Casting this at instant speed means you are a lot less likely to get two-for-oned. Getting to pick the spot to cast this is super important.
	Wolfkin Outcast // Wedding Crasher - 2.5 - There are a lot of wolf / werewolf creatures in the format. The only deck willing to run this will have at least 7+ wolves to enable the cheaper casting cost, but once the deck has that this becomes a bargain to say the least.

Top 3 Green Commons

Wolf Strike

Weaver of Blossoms // Blossom-Clad Werewolf

Spore Crawler

Colorless

	Blood Servitor - 2 - This filler creature will enable exploit and any Blood token synergies in the deck. Leaving behind the token makes this an ideal creature to sacrifice. I would still be looking for cards like Doomed Dissenter, but this will work when needed.
	Boarded Window - 1.5 - I gave this a 1.5 because I think it will be a decent sideboard card. It is a bit too low impact against decks with medium to large creatures, but against a deck of tokens this might be worth bringing in for games 2 and 3.
	Ceremonial Knife - 2.5 - Blood tokens will perform better than most people think. Getting to smooth draws and dig for bombs is extremely helpful. If the deck happens to want Blood tokens for other synergies the power level of this will get a fair amount better.
	Dollhouse of Horrors - 3 - This is not the type of rare that will win the game quickly, but it will give some amazing value over time. Getting to add another creature to the board each turn will add up quickly and can easily turn a board stall into a win.
	Foreboding Statue // Forsaken Thresher - 3 - Early mana dorks that can turn into big creatures later in the game are always worth playing. Foreboding Statue is slow, so it might not be worth playing in two color decks. This is a great card to speculate on early in the draft to enable splash cards later.
	Honored Heirloom - 2 - When short on mana fixing this is a nice card to add. Getting to also remove relevant cards from an opponent's graveyard is a nice perk to add to any deck - although not worth a whole card on its own.
	Investigator's Journal - 2 - This card draw is slow but worth playing. Needing to spend 2 mana on this each turn is not a big deal late in the game once creatures have been added to the board.
	Lantern of the Lost - 1 - This is a card that will get buried in Sealed pools and overlooked in Drafts. This is a great card to have access to so keep an eye out for it. Getting to Bring this in for Game 2 against White / Blue disturb cards is going to feel amazing.
	Wedding Invitation - 1 - Getting to cycle is fine, but there is next to no upside on the card. If short on playable cards there is nothing wrong with running this, but I doubt I will play this card at all.

Land

	Deathcap Glade - 3 - Getting lands that help smooth out mana issues are always great. This is rated a three because they are good to have, but I would likely still take a solid creature over it unless it is of the splash color for a bomb I already had.
	Dreamroot Cascade - 3 - Getting lands that help smooth out mana issues are always great. This is rated a three because they are good to have, but I would likely still take a solid creature over it unless it is of the splash color for a bomb I already had.
	Evolving Wilds - 3 - Evolving Wilds is always great; that is why we see it every set! This card smooths land draws and allows us to play fun decks. Go forth and splash your bombs - BE FREE!
	Shattered Sanctum - 3 - Getting lands that help smooth out mana issues are always great. This is rated a three because they are good to have, but I would likely still take a solid creature over it unless it is of the splash color for a bomb I already had.
	Stormcarved Coast - 3 - Getting lands that help smooth out mana issues are always great. This is rated a three because they are good to have, but I would likely still take a solid creature over it unless it is of the splash color for a bomb I already had.
	Sundown Pass - 3 - Getting lands that help smooth out mana issues are always great. This is rated a three because they are good to have, but I would likely still take a solid creature over it unless it is of the splash color for a bomb I already had.
	Voldaren Estate - 2.5 - In a deck with Blood synergy this is great. I would even play this in a simple 2-color deck as a late game mana sink. Any three color deck will likely not want to risk being forced to run a colorless land.