I have returned, with the full spoiler in tow, to discuss my top picks from Rivals of Ixalan. For Ixalan some of my picks that ended up working out were Hostage Taker, Vraska, Relic Seeker, and Settle The Wreckage. They can't all be right, but I feel great picking two cards that weren't hailed as great from the get go. Let's see if I can do it again.

Azor, the Lawbringer

I'm starting off big. Azor, the Lawbringer has reasonably good stats being a six mana 6/6 with flying. It passes the Glorybringer test and also prevents death by sorceries, or in some cases instants, until your next turn which can give you the chance to protect it. Really, I'm excited by the prospect of being able to combat phase Sphinx's Revelation. Just using this ability once can be enough to end the game; and, if you're playing Approach of the Second Sun, it can draw you right to it again for the next turn. Lots of games were lost during the Sphinx's Revelation format by chaining them and I wouldn't be surprised if even at Sorcery speed that Revelation is incredibly strong.

Journey to Eternity

Despite the massive amount of removal in the format, I am quite excited about Journey to Eternity. It's fairly easy to get creatures into combat or dead to be able to trigger. Besides the obvious upside of being able to jump in land drops, the ability to revive a creature over and over again may prove difficult for some decks to deal with. While The Scarab God, exiles Atzal, Cave of Eternity doesn't. Providing a great way to be able to grind out or be able to potentially fight through a Scarab God sounds fantastic. I am worried about the lost potential when trying to hook up a creature in the face of removal, but I think the upside is high enough that I'd like to start with one or two copies in the 75.

Blood Sun

While this card is mostly ridiculed as being a worse Blood Moon, I see some potential use for it in Standard or Legacy. It is a way to shutdown the Deserts and the flip lands, which could be interesting for Standard. But for Modern or Legacy there is potential for some cool interactions. While it does shut off Fetchlands, it also makes Karoo bounce lands come into play untapped (and they still tap for 2 mana!) and in Legacy it's a way to shut down Wasteland and hurt Lands as well. There are several decks that can't play Blood Moon who wouldn't mind playing this card as a way to work through some decks. Of course Lands will still be able to fight through it a little bit easier than Blood Moon but shutting down Wasteland, Maze of Ith, and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale can give you the time needed to close out games against the deck.

Radiant Destiny

Radiant Destiny is a card that gets me excited for the reasonable buff and also the Ascend mechanic on it. At the Pro Tour, we saw a Mono-White Vampires deck with Oketra's Monument that would have loved a buff to the creatures to be able to win at board stalls. With some of the crazier turns, getting to ten permanents isn't difficult; and, if we're playing a Tokens strategy this is exactly the kind of card we're looking for.

With the Tokens strategy, Ascend is trivial to turn on and could help turn the corner so quick that an opponent might not be able to draw out of it or be able to race effectively. Either way I'm excited to see how Radiant Destiny plays out.

Angrath, the Flame-Chained

As per last week, I am still a huge fan of Angrath, the Flame-Chained. It's power level is subtle, as it looks like it works well with aggressive decks; but, I believe the card also provides value for the midrange decks. Eating away at a few cards while pressuring the opponent's life totals seems well positioned for a midrange format. With a reasonable loyalty, the card also might be hard to take down in combat, which primes it for a great way to pummel back into the game.

Expect to see this card in midrange decks, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see this tear apart control mirrors as well.

Dusk Legion Zealot

There's not too much to add to this except Elvish Visionary has always been a fantastic card, and a color shifted version is going to perform well. I expect this card to make a minor impact in the right decks, and thinking about The Scarab God pairing well here could lead us away from Rogue Refiner, or you could play both. I like value and this card screams it.

Ravenous Chupacabra

If you haven't watched Patrick Sullivan's commentary on this card and the design in general, I would highly recommend it. Outside of this, Ravenous Chupacabra will be fantastic at fighting through everything. Unconditional removal is always going to be prime for Standard, and one that pairs well with The Scarab Gob while being a great way to also fight it is going to be ideal. It does seem to push us toward playing Black in Standard as a main color; and, while that isn't a bad thing, it can make trying to branch out difficult and awkward. Even if Attune with Aether doesn't get banned, fitting this card into Temur Energy seems perfect. Being able to kill everything short of Bristling Hydra gives play to the card, deciding when to use it and setting up for a Scarab God revive to give us an instant speed Doom Blade. That will be hard to top in any deck.

Jadelight Ranger

This is a card that I expected to be fully explored in Standard as time goes on. A base 2/1 that can get out of control quickly. Being able to Explore twice gives you the option to fix the top of your deck and drawing out some lands is going to be fantastic value for any Green deck. If we have a Winding Constrictor, our Jadelight Ranger can be a huge menace while helping fix draws for a couple turns. If we lost Attune with Aether and ventured back into two color mana bases, this card seems like a great place to be for any non combination. With removal being so clean in Standard right now, extracting value out of our creatures becomes more and more relevant. When you're trying to just trade off and be the last one standing, being able to be deeper in your deck can help toward better draws. Jadelight Ranger is also the kind of card you're fine drawing on turn three or turn twelve. Filling our deck with cards that produce value on their own or have synergies with other cards is a recipe for success, and Jadelight Ranger fits that role perfectly for the kinds of decks we might want to build.

Which cards are you excited about? Think I'm wrong? Sound off below with your thoughts.