Few sets have become as beloved as Khans of Tarkir. Even before the set was released, players were eager to get their hands on the allied fetch lands it contained. Once they did, players worldwide realized they were experiencing one of the best Limited environments of all time - a status it still holds strongly to this day. This legendary set had a tremendous impact on its era that we still feel today. As we approach its tenth anniversary later this year, it seems an excellent time to revisit it and rank the various mythics of the set!

Let's dive in and get ranking!

Number Fifteen

Of the five legendary creatures in this set, Zurgo is probably the most boring of the bunch. You play him, and he just beats face left and right. That would be exciting if it weren't for the fact that he's also extremely easy to chump block, as he lacks any kind of meaningful evasion. Couple that with the fact that he was the preview face card in Duel Decks: Speed vs. Cunning, and you have a card that was largely forgettable then and hasn't fared much better since.

Number Fourteen

You may remember how a couple of months ago I covered the mythics of Innistrad and noted how wildly popular Army of the Damned was. Players expected similar things from Empty the Pits, allowing you to delve deep and make a huge army. As it happens, though, delving with a double X and quad Black meant this was way harder to cast than it appeared at first blush. Players quickly discovered that it just couldn't live up to the hype and it fell to the wayside soon after.

Number Thirteen

Ashcloud Phoenix is notable for being both a wildly powerful card in Khans Limited and occasionally finding ways to do unique, quirky things. For example, as Murders at Karlov Manor was being released, players discovered new ways to utilize the card, driving demand for it until it was revealed to be in the set's Commander precons. The card never saw much competitive play and remains more a unique curiosity than a serious contender, so here on the lower end of this list it remains.

Number Twelve

Here was a card that left players pretty dumbfounded during preview season. Comparisons were immediately drawn to Tooth and Nail, and other players noted how easy it was in the current environment to reach 6 mana. The card ultimately didn't make the biggest splash, only seeing some modest Standard play and not being the most exciting Commander option when the dust settled. Still, it was a cool card that captured the attention of players and is fondly remembered by those of the era.

Number Eleven

Some might point to Ugin's Nexus as the worst mythic in the set. Often lambasted for its worthlessness, the card actually has uses - they're just very narrow. The card was designed in the early years of Commander's blossoming popularity as a way to deal with players taking constant extra turns. While the utility of the card varies from playgroup to playgroup, it's an extremely helpful tool for those who need it, and can even find some unusual power, like when players realized you could pair it effectively with Esoteric Duplicator and a repeatable sacrifice outlet.

Number Ten

Another set, another hydra that's as big as you're willing to put in the mana for it. Unlike most hydras, though, this one has some awesome versatility to it. If you don't want to pay the upfront cost, you can simply morph it and get a solid 5/5 out of the equation. What really sets it apart, however, is what happens when it dies. You'll end up with a huge army of 1/1 snakes, so even if your opponent can get it off the battlefield, they'll still have plenty to contend with. The card never saw much play outside of casual spaces, so its uses are limited, but it can be decently fun in the right scenario.

Number Nine

There's probably an argument to be made that Surrak is far more one-note and boring than Zurgo. To some degree, that's true, as there's really not much happening here. The power lies in how you can utilize him as a mighty surprise blocker that can't be countered and, in turn, makes all of your other creatures uncounterable and even gives them trample to push through damage. Zurgo wishes he could do that!

Number Eight

As time has gone on, Anafenza has had far less staying power than most of the tri-color mythic legends. Despite this, the card found homes in several formats, as she was not only a cheap beater but also provided an excellent way to prevent players from getting up to some nasty graveyard shenanigans. Oh, yeah, and she was great in one of Khans Standard's most powerful decks in Abzan Midrange, just like this next card...

Number Seven

Much like Anafenza, Sorin slotted excellently into Abzan Midrange as one of the deck's lynchpin cards. While far from the deck's centerpiece, he provided a strong top-end to help close out games when copies of Siege Rhino wouldn't quite get you there. He hasn't been all that relevant since those days, but in his prime, he was one of the best things you could be doing.

Number Six

We love a good control finisher here, and Pearl Lake Ancient was about as good of a finisher as they got! Not only was it a big creature you could flash in, but you could also easily make it dodge removal by simply picking up some lands. The card has fallen off greatly since, but it's still a great option for budget Cubes and was popular enough that it has some clear influence on the way control finishers can look even to this day.

Number Five

No one is playing Wingmate Roc anywhere in 2024, I promise you. So why is it so high, then? The answer is simply how good it was in its era. Not only was it a fairly potent Standard card in its time, but it was also one of the strongest cards you could play in its Limited setting. If you were one of the lucky folks who got to enjoy Khans of Tarkir on MTG Arena this past holiday season, you likely know exactly what I'm talking about. For as irrelevant as it is today, it was one of the best things you could do at the time, and as such deserves strong recognition for that.

Number Four

Sidisi formed the backbone of a popular Standard deck known as Sidisi Whip, allowing you to mill with Sidisi into powerful threats that you could then reanimate with Whip of Erebos. While she never saw much play in the likes of Pioneer or Modern, her reign has continued in the world of Commander. There she continues to enable powerful self-mill strategies of all kinds that you couldn't have hoped for in Standard, such as something like Dredge or Lands. Even now, she ranks extremely high among the various Sultai Commanders, showing that even a decade on, she continues to have tremendous staying power.

Number Three

Everyone loves a good Clone card, so why not one that turns into any permanent as opposed to just a creature? Clever Impersonator provided you an opportunity to do just that. The card proved instantly popular in Commander and Cube, though it took a bit longer to really take off in a more competitive space. Once you got cards like Gyruda, Doom of Depths and Quintorius Kand, the card got a lot stronger and sees play to this day. A great example of an already well-liked card that only continued to get better and better as years went by.

Number Two

No one has ever really played this version of Narset in a competitive setting, but if you know anyone who plays Commander, chances are they have a horror story or two involving this card. Narset, Enlightened Master often proves to be the bane of multiplayer tables, as you fill your deck with tons of non-creature spells and simply cast her repeatedly out of the command zone. When she connects, you can then try to find either a bunch of extra turn spells or extra combat spells, after which you can attack again and keep the chain going. If you ever see someone put this into their command zone: take them out fast.

Number One

By today's standards, Sarkhan doesn't look like much. You might see him in the occasional Planeswalker-heavy Commander deck, but not really anywhere else. Despite this, he was probably the best thing you could be doing in Standard for quite some time, and he held onto a strong $40 price tag during that whole period. Where most cards from the set crashed on the value front in the wake of fetch lands tanking prices, Sarkhan was the outlier, and it was solely on the back of just how powerful a card he was in his time.

Paige Smith

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