Green is well known as the color of growth, and that certainly translates to the excellent new cards it brings to the table. 2024 was yet another banger year for Green cards, providing powerful new options to players of several different formats. As with every color, though, there has to be some that are the best. As with each other color, I'm wrapping 2024 by recapping some of the best cards Green had to offer. Let's see what awesome cards this year brought to the table!

Number Five

You know what card players everywhere love? Cryptolith Rites. Now we have a creature that does this very thing while the core ability remains even when it dies. As a result, this has made Enduring Vitality an instant Commander staple for all creature-heavy decks. The card's utility doesn't end there, though, as it became a surprise hit in Standard thanks to Sanctum of All's breakout deck Temur Otter Combo at World Championship 30. An extremely fun card for players of all kinds to find ways to make use out of.

Number Four

This one was huge and wildly unexpected for Standard players the world over. For many years, there's been a firm line in the sand of mana dorks not being allowed to be printed barring some drawback like tapping an additional permanent to make that mana. But now with Foundations, Wizards of the Coast has decided to take a chance on them once again.

Enter Llanowar Elves, the classic mana dork from all the way back in Alpha returning to Standard after being away for the last few years. Now it's here to stay for five more years at least, and it's almost certain to be a major player going forward. Currently it's only really showing up in one deck - Golgari Midrange - but there's no doubt this inclusion here is going to have a massive impact on the Standard format for years to come.

Number Three

When the Overlord cycle was being previewed, players knew they'd be good, but they weren't sure exactly how good. Of the bunch, Overlord of the Hauntwoods provided the most obvious amount of playability, easily replacing the hole left by the loss of Topiary Stomper in Standard Domain post-rotation. Not only did it ramp, but it instantly provided access to full domain. Unfortunately, Domain has fallen substantially in play particularly in the wake of Red-based aggro decks being so prevalent.

This wouldn't be the only home for the Overlord, though. It also had a very noteworthy showing as a new inclusion in Enigmatic Overlords in Pioneer. This deck provided an upgrade to the fan-favorite Enigmatic Incarnation decks now taking advantage of the various Overlord cards to play for their cheap impending cost and tutor up even bigger creatures off the deck's namesake card. The deck proved to be a powerful option at Pioneer RCs this fall, and is sure to remain popular despite the format lacking in major events throughout 2025.

Number Two

For some people, this being up this high might come as a bit of a surprise. A random Modern Horizons 3 common in second place? What's the deal with that? The biggest reason is that this card single handedly created a new top deck in the Pauper format by combining it with Tempest aura Sadistic Glee. This has proven so powerful, many players have called for bans! Not only is this proving to be a big player in Pauper, but it's also started creeping into Modern as well with players utilizing Blade of the Bloodchief to combo with in place of Sadistic Glee. A huge combo enabler for multiple formats and well worth the inclusion here!

Number One

It's really hard to overstate how massive of an impact Aftermath Analyst had on Constructed Magic over the past year. In Standard, it enabled the powerful Temur Analyst deck that one with some out of this world ramping that finished off with massive finishing plays including Worldsoul's Rage and Doppelgang to close out games. It's also seen play in Pioneer Lumra Spelunking decks - effectively Analyst-style decks - and providing a new combo outlook with Amulet Titan in Modern. None of this is even touching on the various Commander uses as well, making it far and away the most impactful Green card of the year.

Paige Smith

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