Collecting Jumpstart: Historic Horizons: MTG Arena Wildcard Tier List
We all know that Arena is expensive, and doubly so for sets like Jumpstart: Historic Horizons since Jumpstart doesn't have full duplicate protection, the EV of limited is much lower than that of a traditional format (it's impossible to go infinite), and you can't just mass-purchase packs from the store. Add in that Jumpstart: Historic Horizons has a ton of new and new-to-Arena cards, and accessing the cards you need is going to be costly. As a result, prioritizing where to spend your finite wildcards is going to be especially important for this set. Today, we're going to attempt to do just that by breaking the new and new-to-Arena cards from the set into tiers based on how important they will be to the Historic format and how much you'll need them in your collection if your goal is to play competitive Historic.
Here, it's important to mention briefly how Jumpstart: Historic Horizons limited works. You can join an event for 2,000 gold or the equivalent in gems. For this, you'll get to choose one out of three Jumpstart: Historic Horizons themed packs twice and then shuffle those two packs together and play, with a rare or mythic individual card reward being offered as a prize for your first two wins. Unlike normal limited, where you have no control over the cards that you'll open, you do have a little bit of control in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons limited (being able to pick which packs you want out of the three offered). If your main goal is to build a collection to play Historic, it will be wise to pick packs that offer the cards you want for constructed. Basically, while this tier list is focused on wildcard spending, it also applies to the limited event. If you really want Seasoned Pyromancer, you should choose packs that give you a chance to get it. The more cards you can get from the limited events, the less you'll need to buy with wildcards.
You can find a full list of packs and where you can find each card here.
So, here's the plan: we're going to start with the 31 brand-new cards and put them into tiers based on their relevance to the Historic format using the following criteria:
- S-Tier: Format staples. These are cards that are highly desirable for Historic play and likely will go into multiple decks.
- A-Tier: Archetype staples for potentially competitive archetypes. These are cards that are desirable for Historic play, but only go into specific archetypes and are unlikely to see play in multiple decks.
- B-Tier: Cards that are powerful enough to see play in the right deck. These cards have potential but either lack a clear home or have a clear home but may or may not be good enough for it.
- C-Tier: Cards that have some chance of seeing Historic play in the right deck or meta, but it's just as likely that these cards won't see competitive Historic play.
- D-Tier: Cards that are very unlikely to see competitive Historic play, but you never know!
- F-Tier: The weakest cards in the set for competitive Historic. It would take a miracle for them to see real play. In general, they are safe to ignore.
Two other quick notes. For archetype staples, the archetype's power is taken into account. A card like Chatterfang, Squirrel General clearly is going to be one of the most powerful cards in Squirrel Tribal. The problem is that Squirrel Tribal is unlikely to be a competitive archetype in Historic, which means Chatterfang, Squirrel General is more likely to show up at B- or C-tier. The Arena economy is so punishing that I just can't, in good conscience, recommend that you spend your mythic wildcards on Chatterfang, Squirrel General on the off-chance that Squirrels end up being somewhat playable. Along the same lines, this list is focused (out of necessity, because of the cost of buying cards and deck on Arena) on competitive play. If you really like Squirrels and you don't mind spending your resources on a fringe-playable deck, don't let this list discourage you from crafting Chatterfang, Squirrel General. Sure, it's not a wise financial decision, but when it comes down to it, Magic is a game we play for fun, and if "fun" to you means jamming a bunch of Squirrel Tribal in unranked games, you should 100% do it.
New Digital-Only Cards
F-Tier: Ignore
Cards: Boneyard Aberration, Baffling Defenses, Leonin Sanctifier, Lumbering Lightshield, Mentor of Evos Isle, Scion of Shiv, Veteran Charger, and Wingsteed Trainer
D-Tier: Unlikely, but You Never Know
Cards: Teyo, Aegis Adept, Reckless Ringleader, Davriel, Soul Broker, and Kiora, the Tide's Fury
As you can see, I'm not especially high on most of the planeswalkers from the set. While they all have unique abilities, when you consider that we have cards like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Chandra, Torch of Defiance in Historic, most of the new Jumpstart: Historic Horizons planeswalkers just do too little and cost too much to take them seriously as competitive cards (although I am excited to build a Davriel, Soul Broker deck, mostly because I'm still not exactly sure what the card does). Meanwhile, Reckless Ringleader does work well with Krenko, Mob Boss, which really likes having haste, but considering that Goblins already have Goblin Chieftain and Goblin Warchief, which perform the same role but in a much more powerful way, it's hard for me to imagine the Goblin tribe finding room for a one-mana 1/1 with fringe upside.
C-Tier: Could See Some Play
Cards: Static Discharge, Skyshroud Lookout, Tome of the Infinite, Sarkhan's Scorn, Pool of Vigorous Growth, Ethereal Grasp, Davriel's Withering, Bounty of the Deep, and Manor Guardian
C-Tier has some of the highest-variance cards in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. As a result, it's really hard to speculate about how good some of these cards could end up being in practice. They are just super weird and unique.
Static Discharge, Sarkhan's Scorn, Ethereal Grasp, and Davriel's Withering all are removal spells that are efficient and unique enough that it's possible to see them having a role in the format. Static Discharge could be very good in Burn as a bad Lightning Strike that upgrades to a Boros Charm. Sarkhan's Scorn should kill anything at instant speed in the late game, which could make it an option for mono-red decks that tend to struggle with removing big creatures. Before Turn 6, it is a below-the-curve removal option, making it unappealing for aggressive decks. Ethereal Grasp is an upgrade over other blue removal spells that tap down opposing creatures (like Charmed Sleep and Waterknot) since it's a spell rather than an enchantment and can't be removed. The problem is that cards like Charmed Sleep and Waterknot don't really see any Historic play. Upgrading to an instant might not be enough to change this. Finally, Davriel's Withering really needs "perpetually" to be relevant to be in the conversation since we have one-mana removal like Bloodchief's Thirst and Fatal Push in the format, but it's not impossible that we end up in a meta where giving a specific threat –1/–2 forever is important. (It seems good against Cauldron Familiar and Arclight Phoenix right now, but is that enough to play a more limited spell? I'm not convinced.)
Bounty of the Deep is a lot like Ethereal Grasp. It seems like an upgrade over Divination, but Divination isn't really a playable card in Historic, and I'm not sure a slightly upgrade is enough to overcome the fact that it's still a three-mana draw-two in a format with powerful card-advantage options like Expressive Iteration and Narset, Parter of Veils.
Skyshroud Lookout is an upgrade over Elvish Visionary, which means it could have potential in Elf tribal, although the most recent versions of Historic Elves don't play Elvish Visionary, which is a concern. There simply might not be enough room in the deck to fit in a value card like Skyshroud Lookout.
Manor Guardian was a card that I was excited for in Mono-Black Aggro when it was first spoiled, as an on-curve 4/3 for three that draws you a card when it dies. But as I thought more about it, I cooled on the idea of symmetrical seek. Sure, since you are the one playing the seek card, you can control it more than your opponent can, which should break the symmetry slightly. But when it comes down to it, you're still drawing both players a card, and it's hard for me to think of any examples of creatures that offer symmetrical draw seeing meaningful constructed play. I still think it's worth testing in black aggro, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being close to good enough but not quite there.
Last but not least, we have Pool of Vigorous Growth and Tome of the Infinite—two cards that look powerful but have an absurd amount of variance, which makes them really difficult to evaluate. On its face, Tome of the Infinite is a three-mana artifact that draws a card each turn for a single mana, which potentially sounds playable. The problem is that its spellbook contains a strange mixture of powerful one-mana spells from throughout Magic's history, and you have no control over what you'll get. Sometimes, you'll activate it and get something that isn't useful at all (like an Assault Strobe in a control deck without creatures or a Fog in an aggro deck that's looking to close out the game). If a card isn't helpful in advancing your gameplay, is it still a card? That's the question Tome of the Infinite asks. I expect that it's powerful enough players will try it, but whether Tome of the Infinite actually ends up being good enough to stick in decks remains to be seen.
As for Pool of Vigorous Growth—a Momir Vig Simic Visionary Avatar on an artifact—the card seems like it potentially could be a powerful late-game mana sink. Once you get to seven or eight mana, no matter what you draw, you'll be able to use all of your mana and make a powerful creature each turn. While you don't have control over what creature you'll get, there aren't too many truly bad seven- or eight-drops on Magic Arena since it doesn't have older cards like Phage the Untouchable or Scornful Egotist. On the other hand, Pool of Vigorous Growth reminds me a lot of Vivien's Arkbow, as a cheap artifact that can help fight through the counters that control decks have to offer and give you a huge mana sink for the late game. As much as I like Vivien's Arkbow, it has never broken out as a competitive card. Is Pool of Vigorous Growth better? Maybe. Is it enough better to see play? I'm not sure. Like Tome of the Infinite, I expect players will try it, if not in the main deck then in the sideboard, but I'm unsure if it will stick around.
B-Tier: Powerful Enough to See Play in the Right Deck
Cards: Skyshroud Ambush, Shoreline Scout, Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv, Plaguecrafter's Familiar, Benalish Partisan, and Subversive Acolyte
Skyshroud Ambush is interesting. Right now, the two most-played fight spells in Historic are Blizzard Brawl and Primal Might. Both have a lot of upside, with Blizzard Brawl working as a pump spell and giving indestructible and Primal Might offering a one-mana fight spell early and a massive pump spell later in the game. While I'm not sure that Skyshroud Ambush is better than either, I do think it's close enough to be in the conversation. Being two mana is a drawback compared to the other two, but being able to fight at instant speed opens up the possibility of some big blowouts (and reduces the chances of your creature getting killed in response to the fight spell since you have more control over the timing), and drawing a card if you win the fight is really powerful.
Shoreline Scout is to Merfolk what Skyshroud Lookout is to Elves—a card that seems good enough to see play but might not end up making the cut. So, why is Shoreline Scout ranked a tier higher than Skyshroud Lookout? The Merfolk one-drop slot is a lot worse than the Elves two-drop slot is. Skyshroud Lookout only needs to beat out Kumena's Speaker and Benthic Biomancer to see play, which seems possible. Skyshroud Lookout has to beat out Elvish Clancaller, Elvish Warmaster, and Dwynen's Elite—some of the strongest cards in Historic Elves—which doesn't seem likely.
Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv could have a home in five-color Dragons just because the +1 is an absurdly powerful source of ramp and color fixing, but Historic Dragons already have a lot of ramp, between Sarkhan, Fireblood, Dragon's Hoard, and now Orb of Dragonkind, all being cheaper than Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv and offering card advantage that doesn't involve you casting Shivan Dragons in Historic. I think the new Sarkhan could show up in Five-Color Dragons, although my guess is that it will be closer to a one-of than a four-of, if it makes it at all.
Plaguecrafter's Familiar is fairly high in our rankings for one reason: we've already seen that giving Goblin Chainwhirler deathtouch can be somewhere between good and game ending in the right matchup, and Plaguecrafter's Familiar offers an on-curve way to give Goblin Chainwhirler deathtouch while it is still in your hand, so you don't need to go through the janky process of playing it, needing it to die, and then trying to reanimate it with Call of the Death-Dweller. Outside of Goblin Chainwhirler synergies (or other similar "combos"), I don't think Plaguecrafter's Familiar is good enough, but it could be extremely strong in the right shell.
Subversive Acolyte is one of the most normal-looking cards of all the new digital exclusive cards in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons but perhaps one of the best. A two-mana 2/2 isn't exciting, but turning into a 3/4 lifelinker or a 5/5 Phyrexian Negator for just two mana offers a decent amount of flexibility. Against aggro, a Rhox War Monk is really hard to beat. Against decks like UW Control that are less likely to be able to damage a Phyrexian Negator, you can start hitting for five on Turn 2. Plus, losing two life to grow Subversive Acolyte can be an upside in decks playing Death's Shadow or Scourge of the Skyclaves. The big question is what a deck like Mono-Black Aggro cuts to make room for Subversive Acolyte. Is it better than Skyclave Shade? Spawn of Mayhem? Maybe not. It might take a Mono-Black Devotion–style shell that can take advantage of Subversive Acolyte's two black-mana symbols for it to see heavy play.
As for Benalish Partisan, if it is going to see play, it will be in the Cycling deck, although I'm not 100% sure it's worthwhile. Being two mana to cycle is a drawback (almost all of the cyclers that see play cost one to cycle). And while coming back from the graveyard is a powerful form of protection against wraths and removal, it's still just a Grizzly Bears the first time it returns. The other problem is that since cycling decks are built around Zenith Flare, people tend to bring in graveyard hate during sideboarding, and Benalish Partisan is really soft to things like Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void since it's a 1/2 for two if you have to cast it naturally, which is pretty far below the curve in Historic.
A-Tier: Archetype Staples
Cards: Longtusk Stalker, Faceless Agent, and Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan
Longtusk Stalker is an interesting card. Energy aggro has been a lower-tier deck in Historic ever since its addition to the format with Kaladesh Remastered, but the weakness of its one-drop slot one of the biggest reasons why energy has not been more successful. Longtusk Stalker arguably solves one of the deck's biggest problems, offering a very powerful Turn 1 play that also supports the "snowball energy" theme of the deck. If energy aggro becomes a real thing in Historic, Longtusk Stalker likely will be the reason why, and I don't think it's completely impossible that non-energy decks could play Longtusk Stalker. By Turn 2, it's a Savannah Lions that also perpetually pumps a creature in your hand, and it can continue to grow if it happens to survive for a couple more turns. A start of Turn 1 Longtusk Stalker, then Turn 2 attack, pump it with two energy, and grow a two-drop like Werewolf Pack Leader in your hand seems pretty scary.
Faceless Agent was a difficult card to rank, mostly because it's a card that has the potential to go in a lot of archetypes (basically any tribal deck that needs help) but isn't an obvious staple in any of them. A 2/1 for three that draws a creature when it enters the battlefield is fine, if unexciting, although the fact that it can benefit from tribal synergies regardless of what tribe you're playing is a huge deal. My guess is that Faceless Agent shows up in a ton of lower-tier tribal decks and might even break into some of the higher-tier tribes. Thankfully, it's a common that shows up in a lot of different Historic Horizons packs, so you should end up with a playset pretty easily if you play a bit of limited.
Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan is my pick for the most powerful new card in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, but it's only in the A-Tier because it fits in exactly one deck: Elves. The good news is that Freyalise is pretty insane in Elf Tribal. It will often come down on Turn 2 thanks to Llanowar Elves. The +1 can untap things like Elvish Archdruid to make absurd amounts of mana as early as Turn 3 (while also growing a threat in your hand, which you can save up to play post-wrath to rebuild, helping to solve one of Historic Elves' biggest issues). Finally, both the –1 and the –6 help Elves to fight through removal by offering card advantage, which is a huge, huge deal for Elves. Historic Elves is one of the most explosive decks in the format but typically has a difficult time rebuilding after a sweeper or fighting through decks that are overloaded on targeted removal. Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan mostly seems to fix that problem by herself. I wouldn't be surprised if the new planeswalker were an immediate four-of in the archetype, and it potentially pushes the tribe up a tier in the format.
S-Tier: Format Staples
Cards: Managorger Phoenix
We only have one S-Tier card, and in all honesty, I really struggled with whether Managorger Phoenix should be considered a format staple or an archetype staple. Either way, if there is one thing we've learned over the past few years, it's that anytime a card can return itself from the graveyard to the battlefield for free, there's a decent chance it will see play in constructed. Although the lack of haste is a downside compared to things like Arclight Phoenix or Phoenix of Ash, a two-mana 2/2 flier is a solid body, and then coming back from the graveyard as a 3/3 (and eventually a 4/4 or 5/5) is pretty huge. The main requirement for putting Managorger Phoenix in your deck is that you need a lot of red mana symbols, but plenty of decks in Historic meet this requirement. Plus, we have cards like Faithless Looting that easily can get Managorger Phoenix into your graveyard without having to cast it first, which is where it really sings. It's pretty possible to build a deck where you Faithless Looting a Managorger Phoenix into your graveyard on Turn 1 and then cast a couple of Burning-Tree Emissary into another red spell and return Managorger Phoenix to play as a 3/3 on Turn 2, which seems like an almost unbeatable start. Outside of Mono-Red Aggro, it's also possible that Managorger Phoenix could have a home alongside Arclight Phoenix in some sort of Mono-Red Phoenix shell or as a sideboard card for grindy, removal-heavy matchups in a bunch of different decks.
New Card Wrap-Up
While the bad news is that getting Jumpstart: Historic Horizons cards on Arena is going to be expensive, the good news is that, at least for the new cards, you won't really need a ton to play Historic competitively. Out of the 31 new cards, only four fall into the S- and A-Tiers, and of those, there's just one mythic (Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan) and one rare (Managorger Phoenix). As such, the new cards shouldn't actually end up being a huge drain on your wildcards, unless you're looking to collect janky, fun, but probably not super-competitive cards like the planeswalkers, Pool of Vigorous Growth, and Tome of the Infinite. However, the 31 new cards are just a small part of Historic Horizons. A much bigger chunk of the set is dedicated to new-to-Arena reprints from sets like Modern Horizons and Modern Horizons 2. Which of these cards do you need to play Historic? Let's break it down!
New-to-Arena Reprints
For the new-to-Arena reprints, we're going to be using the same criteria, although here we'll be focusing exclusively on rares and mythics, partly because there are simply too many commons and uncommons to rank them all and partly because commons and uncommons are the easiest cards to access on Arena. We'll be using the same criteria for our tier list. Just in case you are too lazy to scroll back up to the top of the page, here's a refresher:
- S-Tier: Format staples. These are cards that are highly desirable for Historic play and likely will go into multiple decks.
- A-Tier: Archetype staples for potentially competitive archetypes. These are cards that are desirable for Historic play but only go into specific archetypes and are unlikely to see play in multiple decks.
- B-Tier: Cards that are powerful enough to see play in the right deck. These cards have potential but either lack a clear home or have a clear home but may or may not be good enough for it.
- C-Tier: Cards that have some chance of seeing Historic play in the right deck or meta, but it's just as likely that these cards won't see competitive Historic play.
- D-Tier: Cards that are very unlikely to see competitive Historic play, but you never know!
- F-Tier: The weakest cards in the set for competitive Historic. It would take a miracle for them to see real play. In general, they are safe to ignore.
F-Tier: Ignore
Cards: Bloodbraid Marauder, Bazaar Trademage, Squirrel Tribal (Chitterspitter, Squirrel Mob, and Squirrel Wrangler), Endling, Marrow-Gnawer, Reap the Past, Necrogoyf, and Ayula, Queen Among Bears
Coming in at the bottom of our list are a bunch of cards that support underpowered tribes (Squirrels, Rats, and Bears) and a handful of standalone cards that just aren't especially powerful compared to what is going on in the Historic format. As I mentioned in the intro, if you really love Squirrels, Bears, or Rats, don't be afraid to draft their packs aggressively (or even spend your wildcards on the important pieces of the deck). Just know going into it that you're building a fun, janky tribal deck rather than a deck that is truly competitive.
Bloodbraid Marauder had a bit of hype when it was previewed for Modern Horizons 2, but it really hasn't seen any meaningful amount of play in Modern, and it should be even worse in Historic since we don't have things like fetch lands and Mishra's Bauble to quickly turn on delirium or powerful no-mana-cost spells like Glimpse of Tomorrow, Living End, or Restore Balance to cascade into. It's a card that should get better as more cards are added to the Historic format, but for now, it's pretty close to unplayable.
Bazaar Trademage and Necrogoyf could be interesting as madness enablers, but considering that there were zero madness cards legal in Historic before Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, the mechanic probably needs another set or two of support to really be competitive, and by the time that happens, we'll hopefully have better ways of discarding cards for value. Endling is just underpowered in an absolute sense. Having a ton of somewhat relevant abilities is sweet, but it's still just a Hill Giant on the turn it hits the battlefield, which likely isn't enough for Historic.
If there is any card that I'm afraid I'm underrating, it's Reap the Past. While I've never seen the sorcery cast in any format, it does have the potential to generate a lot of card advantage if you can fill your graveyard and cast it for a bunch of mana. The issue is that it's random, and we already have cards like Wildest Dreams, Long Rest, and Harness Infinity in the format, none of which see meaningful play. Is Reap the Past better than the other options? Maybe in the right deck. Is it enough better to be a competitive card in Historic? I have my doubts.
D-Tier: Unlikely, but You Never Know!
Cards: Slivers (Bonescythe Sliver, Sliver Hive, The First Sliver, Cloudshredder Sliver, and Spiteful Sliver), Wonder, Chainer, Nightmare Adept, and Parallel Lives
D-Tier is actually the smallest on our reprint list, featuring one tribe (Slivers) and two individual cards: Wonder and Chainer, Nightmare Adept. As for the Slivers, I don't think there are enough of the good ones to make a competitive deck featuring the tribe, at least not yet, especially considering the cost of being five-colors in a format like Historic with good but not great mana. What makes Slivers function in older formats (outside of Aether Vial) is the critical mass of lords, including Muscle Sliver, Predatory Sliver, and Sinew Sliver. In Historic, at least for the time being, all we'll have is Predatory Sliver, which just isn't enough. While I wouldn't be surprised to see Slivers get there in Historic eventually, we probably need another Sliver set or two to make it happen (although they do rank a tier above Squirrels because at least there are enough Slivers to make a functional deck).
Parallel Lives is one of the easier cards to rank because a color-shifted version of it already exists in Historic in Anointed Procession. While Anointed Procession has proven to be really good at breaking Arena in conjunction with copying effects like Mythos of Illuna, it hasn't found its way into any competitive decks. The same fate seems likely for Parallel Lives. It's a really fun card that can do really hilarious and powerful things, but it also costs four mana and doesn't do anything right away, which makes it a tough sell in competitive decks. Expect it to be an all-star in various token decks in Historic Brawl but a janky Against the Odds–style card for Historic itself.
C-Tier: Could See Some Play
Cards: Asylum Visitor, Breya's Apprentice, Mist-Syndicate Naga, Parallel Lives, Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp, Aeve, Progenitor Ooze, Hanweir Militia Captain, Cordial Vampire, Territorial Kavu, Nether Spirit, and Rise and Shine
Asylum Visitor likely is the most exciting madness creature from Jumpstart: Historic Horizons and ranks above a lot of the other madness cards because it potentially is playable in non-madness decks, as a weird twist on Dark Confidant that requires you to be hellbent to draw extra cards. In Historic, we don't have real Dark Confidant, and even our "bad Bobs" are limited to Glint-Sleeve Siphoner, which mostly is useful in an energy deck. While needing to be empty-handed is a big cost, Asylum Visitor plays well with Rankle, Master of Pranks, which already sees a reasonable amount of Historic play. I wouldn't be shocked to see it show up somewhere in the Historic format, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Breya's Apprentice is a powerful card for an artifact-based deck like Tempered Steel, putting two artifact bodies on the battlefield for just three mana. The only problem is that artifact-aggro decks in Historic tend to be mono-white or blue–white. Unlike Modern, where splashing into a third color is incredibly easy thanks to the combination of fetch lands and shock lands, in Historic, adding an extra color—especially to a very aggressive deck—does come with a cost. Plus, red just doesn't offer much artifact support in Historic at the moment, so apart from Breya's Apprentice and Goblin Engineer (also coming in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons), you're not really gaining that much from moving into red. Breya's Apprentice would move up a tier or two in our rankings if it were white or blue, but as a red artifact card, it's firmly in C-Tier.
Ninjas are on the shortlist of decks I want to build most in Historic once Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is released. Ninja of the Deep Hours and Ingenious Infiltrator are both really powerful cards. The bad news is that, along with Mist-Syndicate Naga, they are the only good Ninjas in the format. Will that be enough to make a truly competitive Historic deck? I'm not sure. I hope so because Ninjas are sweet. But until we actually see Ninjas succeed in Historic, we'll take the conservative approach and leave them in the speculative C-Tier
Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp and Aeve, Progenitor Ooze are two very different cards, so why are they sharing a heading? The answer is that while both have a chance of seeing play in Historic, the place where they might see play is probably not where you think. Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp mostly is a Hardened Scales card in Modern, but Historic is missing too many pieces (Walking Ballista, Hangarback Walker, and Arcbound Ravager) to make a Modern-style Hardened Scales deck work. On the other hand, Hope of Ghirapur has seen play in some The Blackstaff of Waterdeep and Tempered Steel decks as a legendary one-mana artifact creature. It seems possible that at least some builds of these decks will include some of the other modular creatures coming in Historic Horizons, like Arcbound Mouser and Arcbound Shikari, which could make Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp an ideal one-drop for the deck.
Meanwhile, Aeve, Progenitor Ooze looks a bit like Empty the Warrens, but it's really difficult to make a traditional Storm deck work in Historic due to the lack of rituals and free spells like Manamorphose, and it's doubly hard to make Aeve, Progenitor Ooze work as a payoff in the decks because of its triple-green-mana cost. On the other hand, Bard Class Legend Storm is in the early stages of development in Historic, but early results suggest the deck could be competitive. Aeve, Progenitor Ooze seems like a great finisher for the deck, considering the plan basically is to play your entire deck in one turn, with a fully leveled up Bard Class providing the mana and card draw, and then finish the game with mass haste from something like Samut, Voice of Dissent. A copy or two of Aeve, Progenitor Ooze would be an easy way to make sure that your board is big enough to close out the game, even through a bunch of blockers.
Human Tribal seems like it should improve in Historic thanks to Thalia's Lieutenant—one of the best Human payoffs in all of Magic. Even if Humans ends up as a legitimate tier deck, I'm not convinced Hanweir Militia Captain will make the cut. There's just too much competition in the Human two-drop slot, with Thalia's Lieutenant and Thalia, Guardian of Thraben being auto-includes and cards like General's Enforcer, Seasoned Hallowblade, Kitesail Freebooter, and Meddling Mage also being strong options, depending on the build. It potentially could be a one-of—it is powerful if it flips (although, as we've seen with the party mechanic, keeping four creatures on the battlefield for a turn isn't always that easy)—but the Grizzly Bears front side isn't all that appealing in a sea of solid options.
Vampires are a legitimate tribe in Historic, but the current builds don't really have much sacrifice synergy (outside of Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord) to trigger Cordial Vampire. Played fairly, the two-drop does offer some removal protection, but is that enough to beat out things like Dusk Legion Zealot and Gifted Aetherborn? I'm not sure. On the other hand, the pieces exist in Historic to build a Vampire deck that could maximize Cordial Vampire's power, with cards like Silversmote Ghoul, Yahenni, Undying Partisan, and Immersturm Predator. Plus, we know we're getting a Vampire set in a few months when we return to Innistrad. My guess is that Cordial Vampire won't be great in Historic immediately but that it could be eventually.
Territorial Kavu legitimately is a frightening card in Modern, but that's mostly because the combination of fetch lands, shock lands, and Triomes consistently allows it to be a 5/5 on Turn 2. Historic lacks the fetch lands, which makes powering up Territorial Kavu much less consistent. On the other hand, there's much less competition in Historic, which means we don't necessarily need Territorial Kavu to be a 5/5 to be good. A two-mana 3/3 with upside likely is enough. While I don't think there is a current deck (outside of maybe a rebuilt aggro version of Five-Color Niv) that can just toss in Kavu and make it good, it has enough upside that people will try. If someone can figure out how to make the mana work, Territorial Kavu could end up very good in the format.
At first, Rise and Shine seemed like an easy upgrade for the Ensoul Artifact–style The Blackstaff of Waterdeep deck in Historic that looks to play cheap artifacts and upgrade them into massive threats with Blackstaff and Animating Faerie. The problem is that Rise and Shine only animates noncreature artifacts, and in general, the Ensoul Artifact–style decks in Historic are looking to grow creatures like Ornithopter and Gingerbrute. While there could be a build that focuses more on noncreature artifacts, it's going to take a pretty major rebuild to make Rise and Shine consistent enough to be successful.
Most of the traditional Nether Spirit shells (things like Smallpox or 8 Rack) are missing from Historic. Maybe there's a chance that a creature-free control deck could take advantage of it as a one-of, but if you're not playing any creatures, you can play Kaheera, the Orphanguard as your companion, and a three-drop that starts in your hand each game (even with a three-mana tax) likely is better than one you have to draw.
B-Tier: Powerful Enough to See Play in the Right Deck
Cards: Dark Salvation, Diregraf Colossus, Goblin Engineer, Harmonic Prodigy, Lonis, Cryptozoologist, Pashalik Mons, Return to the Ranks, Serra the Benevolent, Chatterfang, Squirrel General, Verdant Command, and Goblin Dark-Dwellers
Dark Salvation and Diregraf Colossus join a fairly impressive and growing list of Zombies in the Historic format headlined by Cryptbreaker, Death Baron, and Lord of the Accursed. Toss in another new Historic Horizons addition in Undead Augur, and it seems like Zombies could be fairly competitive. So, why don't these cards rank in the archetype staple section? Two reasons. First, I'm less convinced that Zombies will be a tier deck than some of the other new decks we'll discuss later. Second, Dark Salvation and Diregraf Colossus might not be good enough for the deck, at least in large numbers. Diregraf Colossus joins a three-drop slot that is cluttered with lords and Murderous Rider, while Dark Salvation might just be a bit too slow and inconsistent for the format.
Goblin Engineer and Goblin Dark-Dwellers are clearly powerful cards—both see play back to Modern—but they don't have obvious homes in Historic. In theory, you could play Goblin Engineer as a value card in some sort of Affinity-style artifact aggro deck or maybe in some sort of artifact reanimator deck, as an Entomb alongside cards like Trash for Treasure and Refurbish. But in Modern, it's mostly used to assemble combos, and we don't have things like Thopter Sword combo in Historic. As for Goblin Dark-Dwellers, it will almost certainly show up in Historic Ponza as a way to recast Stone Rain, but Historic Ponza mostly is a meme deck. Could it see play in a generic midrange deck to flash back removal spells or card draw? Possibly. Being able to recast a [[Prismari Command] or Kolaghan's Command is a pretty powerful enters-the-battlefield trigger, although five mana buys a lot of power in Historic, with cards like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Glorybringer competing for the same slot. Basically, I want both cards in my collection because they are powerful and someone will probably figure out a way to use them. Just be warned that it might take a little while for them to find a home.
Harmonic Prodigy is high on our list for one big reason: it works incredibly well with Burning-Tree Emissary, and Burning-Tree Emissary is already a staple of the Historic format. With a Harmonic Prodigy on the battlefield, Burning-Tree Emissary makes four mana when it enters the battlefield while only costing two, turning it into a Dark Ritual that leaves behind a 2/2 body. That, by itself, is enough to make me excited about its potential. We're also getting Rage Forger in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, offering the perfect finisher for a Panharmonicon Shaman deck. Oh yeah, and Historic is a format where prowess-based Wizards decks have actually seen some success, with cards like Adeliz, the Cinder Wind and Soul-Scar Mage backed by Wizard's Lightning. Harmonic Prodigy is an easy inclusion there as well. The only thing that keeps Harmonic Prodigy from being a tier or two higher on our list is that neither of its potential homes is a top-tier deck in the format, so there is a risk that they could end up fizzling and taking Harmonic Prodigy down with them.
While Lonis, Cryptozoologist is missing its best friend from Modern, Academy Manufactor, which limits its potential somewhat, a two-drop that makes a Clue whenever a creature enters the battlefield can still be a very powerful card when played fairly. As a weird, smaller, Historic-legal twist on Tireless Tracker, I could see Lonis, Cryptozoologist show up in various Collected Company shells as a card-advantage engine to fight against removal-heavy control and midrange decks.
The current, all-in-on–Muxus, Goblin Grandee build of Goblins in Historic might not want or need Pashalik Mons, even though it is a Modern-playable Goblin, since it's so focused on resolving Muxus as quickly and consistently as possible. On the other hand, a lot of good Goblins in Historic currently aren't being used in the Muxus build, like Goblin Ringleader, which, combined with other new additions Sling-Gang Lieutenant and Munitions Expert, could make for a more Modern- or Legacy-style value Goblin shell in Historic, which likely would want at least some number of Pashalik Mons. While being legendary means it's more likely to be a one- or two-of than a four-of, having a copy or two in your collection probably is worthwhile.
Traditionally, Return to the Ranks is used in sacrifice-style Aristocrats decks, with the idea being to flood the board with cheap creatures, sacrifice them all to generate Blood Artist triggers, and then reanimate everything with Return to the Ranks to do it again, hopefully draining your opponent completely out of the game. While Historic has a lot of the pieces necessary to make a deck like this work—with multiple Blood Artists and things like Stitcher's Supplier and Mire Triton to fill the graveyard—it's currently missing a free sacrifice outlet that is cheap enough to be reanimated by Return to the Ranks. While things like Woe Strider can fill in for the time being, being able to reanimate your entire combo with one card is a hallmark of Return to the Ranks decks. The archetype could become very real if something like Viscera Seer is printed into the format. It's also possible that some creature-heavy Lurrus decks could take advantage of Return to the Ranks, if not in the main deck then at least in the sideboard. Getting back a board full of Dreadhorde Arcanists, Young Pyromancers, Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger, and friends in the mid- to late game seems pretty powerful.
While Serra the Benevolent hasn't really made it in Modern, I think it has a chance in Historic for a couple of reasons. For one, it seems easy enough to slot into a deck like Bant Angels, potentially over Ajani, Strength of the Pride. In Bant Angels, the +2 offers a lot of damage, while the –3 can trigger things like Righteous Valkyrie. Second, the Worship emblem ultimate is something new to Historic. Worship is an incredibly powerful card, and Serra the Benevolent can offer it in emblem form after just a single +2, making it fast and easy to achieve. Many decks in Historic basically draw dead to Worship along with a couple of reasonably-sized creatures. Bant Angels, various Collected Company builds, Gruul Aggro, Mono-Red, Mono-White—all of these decks lack the removal necessary to beat a Worship consistently, especially in emblem form. Protecting Serra the Benevolent long enough to make the emblem and then playing something like Carnage Tyrant could end up being a pretty legitimate plan in the format.
Why are Chatterfang and Verdant Command in B-Tier while the rest of the Squirrel tribe languishes in F-Tier? In Historic, both cards have potential in token decks. While tokens isn't a top-tier archetype at the moment, we have seen some token decks find success. Chatterfang, Squirrel General is pretty absurd in a deck built around flooding the board with 1/1 tokens, basically being a Parallel Lives / Anointed Procession that only costs three, has a reasonable body, and offers removal. Toss in Lonis, Cryptozoologist, Prosperous Innkeeper, and Gilded Goose, backed by Collected Company, and you basically have a deck. Meanwhile, Verdant Command offers a Raise the Alarm (a card that already sees some play in Historic, backed by Transmogrify and Intangible Virtue) with the additional upside of hating Cauldron Familiar or a Dreadhorde Arcanist target from the graveyard, gaining life against aggro, or possibly Stifleing a planeswalker activation against control. In general, if you take an already playable card and add multiple lines of text to it, the new version will be pretty good.
A-Tier: Archetype Staples
Cards: Blade Splicer, Restoration Angel, Hardened Scales, Master of the Pearl Trident, Svyelun of Sea and Sky, Nettlecyst, Thought Monitor, Priest of Fell Rites, Serra's Emissary, Sanctum Weaver, Sterling Grove, Sythis, Harvest's Hand, Thalia's Lieutenant, and Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
Archetype staples are cards that you'll need to have in your collection but only if you want to play the specific deck that the card supports. While some of these cards might have more fringe uses in other archetypes, in general, they are really, really good in a single deck. All in all, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons might power up eight archetypes enough to make them real, competitive decks in the format. Of course, there is some speculation here. Will decks like Merfolk, Affinity, and Enchantress develop into top-tier options? It's impossible to know for sure, but unlike some of the decks we discussed earlier (Squirrels, Slivers), there's a decent chance that they could be real.
While both Blade Splicer and Restoration Angel could show up in generic control or midrange decks, their main home is some sort of blink shell. Thanks to Ephemerate and Soulherder, there's actually a lot of support for some sort of UW (or UWx) Blink deck in the Historic format. Blade Splicer is a solid three-drop on its own, adding four power and toughness to the battlefield, which is especially impressive for a white card. It gets even better if you can reuse its "create a 3/3 Golem" enters-the-battlefield trigger by blinking it a few times. Restoration Angel immediately is one of the best blink creatures in the format. A 3/4 flash flier for four is a solid combination of stats and abilities, and its ability to blink a non-Angel when it comes into play can be used offensively (for example, blinking Blade Splicer to make another 3/3) or defensively, to save creatures from targeted removal. While Glorious Protector hasn't really caught on in Historic, Restoration Angel is a huge upgrade. The problem with Glorious Protector is that your creatures get trapped under it until it leaves the battlefield, while Restoration Angel gives you immediate value, which is exactly what you want in a blink deck.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure we have the pieces to build a Modern-style Hardened Scales deck in Historic, due to the lack of cards like Walking Ballista and Hangarback Walker. But thanks to Winding Constrictor and Conclave Mentor, there are still plenty of ways to take advantage of creatures getting additional +1/+1 counters. The downside is that we haven't really seen the +1/+1 counter deck develop into a top-tier option yet, although adding Hardened Scales is a big boost of power. Is it enough to make the deck real? We'll have to wait and see, but I think there's a chance.
Merfolk long has been a tier-two or -three deck in Historic, but it could jump up a tier thanks to Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. Master of the Pearl Trident and Svyelun of Sea and Sky are two of the best cards in Modern Merfolk, to the point that the archetype almost immediately dropped Lurrus of the Dream-Den as a companion, primarily so it could run four copies of Svyelun of Sea and Sky. The mythic Merfolk is that strong. The one thing Historic Merfolk is missing at this point is something like Spreading Seas to give the opponent an Island to power up Master of the Pearl Trident's islandwalk ability. But even if the islandwalk aspect of Master of the Pearl Trident is inconsistent in Historic, having another two-mana lord to join Merfolk Mistbinder is a huge deal. I have no doubt that both cards will be immediate four-ofs in Historic Merfolk. The only question is how good Merfolk will end up being in the Historic meta thanks to these new additions.
I wouldn't be surprised if Nettlecyst ends up being one of the most impactful cards from Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. Artifact-aggro decks like The Blackstaff of Waterdeep and Tempered Steel have already been seeing tournament play, and Nettlecyst immediately becomes the most powerful card in those decks, offering an All That Glitters that costs one more mana but comes with a body that can be moved around for just two mana if it dies—the same cost as All That Glitters. In various artifact-aggro decks that are overflowing with cheap artifacts like Ornithopter and Gingerbrute, it seems pretty likely that the Nettlecyst Germ token will be something like a 4/4 or 5/5 on Turn 3. Later, in the game, it easily can be an 8/8 or a 10/10, which is huge for Historic. While Nettlecyst might not be better than Cranial Plating in an absolute sense, it might be better than Cranial Plating in Historic. Meanwhile, Thought Monitor gives artifact-aggro decks the ability to play a longer game. We've seen it become an immediate four-of in Modern Affinity, which went from not really being a thing to a legitimate competitive deck as the result of these Modern Horizons 2 cards. My guess is we will see the same thing happen in Historic. Artifact Aggro was somewhere in the tier 2 range pre–Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, and it could end up being tier 1.5 or even tier-one thanks to Nettlecyst, Thought Monitor, and Myr Enforcer.
Reanimator has been a tier-three option in Historic ever since Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite entered the format in the last Historic Anthology, and it should be even better now, thanks to Jumpstart: Historic Horizons. Priest of Fell Rites offers a backup to Unburial Rites, as a reanimation spell that you can discard early in the game and then use from your graveyard later, thanks to its unearth ability. Serra's Emissary very likely is the new best (or second-best, behind Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger) reanimation target in the format. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is good at shutting down a board full of small creatures. Serra's Emissary shuts down a full board of any-sized creatures while also offering a bigger evasive body. Much like with Serra the Benevolent's Worship emblem, a bunch of popular decks in Historic are very close to drawing dead to a Serra's Emissary naming creatures. Toss in Bone Shards as an efficient removal spell that can also get a reanimation target in the graveyard, and the stage seems set for Historic Reanimator to be a real deck. My only real concern is that graveyard hate is fairly heavily played in our current Historic format since Jund Sacrifice is one of the best decks around, so Reanimator might pick up on some unintended hate. But the addition of a great new reanimation spell and a great new reanimation target means we should take the archetype seriously.
The bad news about Historic Enchantress is that it's starting from a pretty low base. While we've seen a few enchantment prison decks built around Solemnity and Nine Lives pop up from time to time, we've never really had a traditional Enchantress deck in the format. The good news is that Modern Enchantress was also starting from a low (tier-three or less) base, and the addition of Sythis, Harvest's Hand, Sanctum Weaver, and Sterling Grove in Modern Horizons 2 has turned the deck into a real, competitive option in the format that has consistently been putting up results on Magic Online. Can the same thing happen in Historic? I'm guessing yes. All of the pieces are there; it's just a matter of putting them together.
Historic Human Tribal is the definition of a third-tier deck. It occasionally shows up in tournaments but is far from a consistent presence. Is the addition of Thalia's Lieutenant enough to move it up a tier or two? Maybe. Thalia's Lieutenant immediately becomes the best Human Tribal card in the format, which is a big deal, although it is still missing some of its best friends from Modern (the biggest being Champion of the Parish). The good news is that Humans is one of the most supported tribes in all of Magic, so a ton of options are available for Historic Human Tribal. It's possible to build everything from Mono-White Humans to full-on Five-Color Humans. It might take a while for players to figure out the right built to harness the power of Thalia's Lieutenant, but it seems likely to happen eventually. Plus, more powerful Humans are added to Magic with almost every set, so even if Thalia's Lieutenant isn't enough to put the tribe over the top immediately, it seems likely to get there in Historic eventually.
Finally, we have Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, which is a card I really struggled to rate. I can see an argument for having it be S-Tier (the ability to sacrifice a creature for free to draw a card is super powerful, potentially enough for it to show up in multiple decks) or even B-Tier (while various Sacrifice decks seem like the most obvious home, it's possible that the lists are so tight that it will be hard to find room for Yawgmoth, Thran Physician). In the end, it showed up in A-Tier. At a minimum, I think that Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is a new staple in sacrifice decks. It plays well with Korvold, Fae-Cursed King and the rest of the deck. And while I'm not exactly sure what to cut from a deck like Jund Sac to add Yawgmoth, someone will figure it out. The card is simply too powerful to pass up. On the other hand, Yawgmoth, Thran Physician likely won't be as good in Historic as it is in Modern because we don't have undying creatures like Geralf's Messenger and Strangleroot Geist to combo with it. If those cards ever come to the format, look for Yawgmoth to jump up another tier.
S-Tier: Format Staples
Cards: Archmage's Charm, Esper Sentinel, Ranger-Captain of Eos, Seasoned Pyromancer, and Sylvan Anthem
We've finally reached the best of the best from Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, with an S-Tier that features five cards. While I think all of these cards are good, let's count them down from worst to best.
Sylvan Anthem is the most speculative S-Tier card. Since its release into Modern with Modern Horizons 2, it has seen a bit of play in green aggro decks like Elves, although it isn't really a format staple. However, there are some reasons to think that the card could be quite strong in Historic. First, Sylvan Anthem is more than just an anthem. Being able to scry when a green creature comes into play actually is very powerful in an aggressive deck, allowing you to push dead land cards to the bottom in search of more action. It also helps Sylvan Anthem play nice with a leveled-up Ranger Class because you can search for more creatures to play from the top of your deck. Second, several tier decks in Historic could easily run Sylvan Anthem. Unlike Modern, where Mono-Green Stompy is mostly a budget deck, it's a legitimate archetype in Historic. Plus, we also have Elves and Gruul Aggro. While playing Sylvan Library in a multicolor deck might sound strange because it only grows green creatures, if you look at a Gruul Aggro decklist, you'll see that outside of Bonecrusher Giant (which we can consider a removal spell), the list is almost exclusively green. Sylvan Anthem also seems like a very powerful ending to a chain of Burning-Tree Emissarys on Turn 2, which is the most powerful start Gruul Aggro can have. Out of all of our S-Tier cards, Sylvan Anthem is the one that has the highest chance of flopping—it's possible that lists just can't find the room for an anthem, even a powerful one like Sylvan Anthem—but it also has a chance to be a four-of in multiple decks, which is the very definition of S-Tier.
Esper Sentinel basically is guaranteed to be a four-of staple in artifact aggro decks like UW Blackstaff and Tempered Steel (archetypes on the rise thanks to other Jumpstart: Historic Horizons additions like Nettlecyst and Thought Monitor), but its power goes beyond being a one-mana artifact creature. It could show up in everything from Human Tribal to White Weenie to some Fighter Class Equipment decks. The Human Soldier has quickly proven itself to be more than good enough for Modern since its release in Modern Horizons 2. In some ways, it should be even better in Historic. In Modern, a lot of decks have cards like Fatal Push, Lava Dart, Path to Exile, or Lightning Bolt that can kill Esper Sentinel for just one mana. Removal is less efficient i Historic. If your opponent has to kill your Esper Sentinel with something like Declaration in Stone or Lightning Strike for two mana, you are already winning the exchange, with your opponent having to trade down mana-wise. Plus, your opponent will be less likely to afford to pay Esper Sentinel's tax, increasing the odds that you'll get to draw at least one card off of it. The floor for [Esper Sentinel]] is being a staple in artifact aggro decks. The ceiling is that it shows up across a bunch of archetypes and is one of the most powerful one-drops in the Historic format.
The only thing that might keep Archmage's Charm in check in Historic is its triple-blue-mana cost. Without fetch lands, hitting triple blue on Turn 3 can be a challenge for a three-color control deck. That said, Archmage's Charm is so powerful that control decks likely will find it worthwhile to rebuild their mana to fully power up the instant. Countering a spell for three mana is fine. Drawing two for three mana (at instant speed) is solid, and stealing a permanent with mana value 1 actually seems very powerful in a format where Witch's Oven and Llanowar Elves are staples. I expect Archmage's Charm to be a staple of various control builds, and it could lead to a resurgence of decks like Mono-Blue Curious Obsession and power up UB Rogues. While the restrictive mana cost might help to keep Archmage's Charm fair-ish in Historic, I'm still expecting to see a ton of it as soon as Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is released.
Ranger-Captain of Eos is a really powerful card. A 3/3 for three is solid for a white deck. Its enters-the-battlefield trigger generates card advantage, which is something white aggro tends to be starved for. It's a Human (a tribe on the rise in Historic thanks to Thalia's Lieutenant). And it's sacrifice ability can be game-winning against control, where you can delay a sweeper by a turn to get in one more attack to close out the game. It has potential across several archetypes, ranging from various Collected Company shells to Mono-White Aggro, where it can find a way to protect your creatures (Selfless Savior) or kill your opponent's creatures (Giant Killer); to WB Death's Shadow, where it can snag Death's Shadow itself; to Human Tribal, where it can tutor up Thraben Inspector or Mikaeus, the Lunarch; to GW Soul Sisters, where it gets Soul's Attendant and Serra's Emissary. With so many possible homes, it's almost impossible that Ranger-Captain of Eos won't be good enough for at least some of them, and it may end up seeing play as a four-of in several archetypes, making it one of the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons cards you will want most in your collection.
So, 10,000 words later, what is the single most important, most playable, most worthy-of-your-wildcards card in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons? I think the answer is clearly Seasoned Pyromancer. What makes Seasoned Pyromancer so powerful (and one of the most played creatures in Modern) is that it's almost never bad. In an aggro deck, it can refill your hand. In midrange and control, it can make blockers to keep your life total high while digging for removal or finishers. Basically, Seasoned Pyromancer asks very little during deck building, and it offers a lot. In Historic, it seems like an easy inclusion in Gruul Aggro, Mono-Red, Boros and Grixis Midrange, Rakdos Aggro, possibly some Collected Company decks, and more. Jund Sacrifice might want it as a card that can put multiple bodies on the battlefield and fill the graveyard. If not for Lurrus of the Dream-Den, it would be great in Rakdos Pyromancer (and perhaps it still will be in a go-big version). It's even a Human for Mardu Humans. The possibilities are almost endless. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if, when we look back on Historic in a few months, Seasoned Pyromancer were one of the most heavily played creatures in the entire format. It's that good, and that's why it not only comes in as an S-Tier card but at the very top of the S-Tier on our crafting list.
Where to Find the Good Cards
As I mentioned in the intro, the cheapest and best way to get the cards you need from Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is to open them in limited. Every staple you open during limited is one fewer staple you need to spend a wildcard on, which in turn frees up your wildcards to complete your deck or buy lower-tier Jumpstart: Historic Horizons cards you might want to play with for fun. As a refresher, Jumpstart: Historic Horizons limited is unique, in that you have some control over the cards that you'll open. When you join an event, you'll get to choose from three different themed packs twice, and you'll keep the cards you open in those packs. While I'm not going to list the packs for all of the cards we've talked about today (there are just too many; plus, we already have an article that goes over the packs for every card), I think it is worth going over the higher tiers.
One of the quirks of Jumpstart: Historic Horizons is that not every card shows up in every pack. Take Managorger Phoenix, for example. If you choose the Scavenger pack, you'll get a Managorger Phoenix 100% of the time, but if you choose Goblins, you'll get a Managorger Phoenix 25% of the time. The percentages listed with the cards below are your odds of getting the card in the pack. Obviously, if your main goal is to build a Historic collection, you'll want to focus on packs that offer the cards you want 100% of the time as often as possible.
S-Tier
- Managorger Phoenix: Scavenger 100%, Goblins 25%
- Sylvan Anthem: Energy 20%
- Esper Sentinel: In the Machine 40%
- Archmage's Charm: Undone 100%
- Ranger-Captain of Eos: Legion 100%
- Seasoned Pyromancer: On the Draw 100%, Spellcasting 20%
As you can see, the most valuable packs for collecting S-Tier cards are On the Draw, Legion, Undone, and Scavenger, all of which offer an S-Tier card 100% of the time. On the other hand, both Esper Sentinel and especially Sylvan Anthem are going to be difficult to collect through limited since, even if you open the correct pack, they will only show up 40% (or less) of the time, which means you might need to spend wildcards to get them, even if you play a reasonable amount of Jumpstart: Historic Horizons limited.
A-Tier
- Longtusk Stalker: Energy 100%
- Faceless Agent: (basically any tribal-themed pack)
- Freyalise, Skyshroud Partisan: Freyalise 100%
- Blade Splicer: Many Faces 100%
- Restoration Angel: Flickering 100%
- Hardened Scales: Scaled Up 100%
- Master of the Pearl Trident: Merfolk 25%
- Svyelun of Sea and Sky: Merfolk 100%
- Nettlecyst: In the Machine 60%
- Thought Monitor: In the Machine 30%
- Priest of Fell Rites: Reanimated 100%
- Serra's Emissary: Serra's Realm 30%
- Sanctum Weaver: Enchanted 30%
- Sterling Grove: Enchanted 10%
- Sythis, Harvest's Hand: Enchanted 60%
- Thalia's Lieutenant: Humans 100%
- Yawgmoth, Thran Physician: Plague 100%
As for the A-Tier cards, Enchantress is going to be the hardest deck to build since there is so much variance. The most common enchantress staple is Sythis, Harvest's Hand, but that shows up just 60% of the time. Meanwhile, Sanctum Weaver will appear 30% of the time, and Sterling Grove will appear just 10% of the time, which means you'd need to open the Enchantress pack 40 times to get a playset, on average. Basically, unless you are playing to do hundreds of Jumpstart: Historic Horizons events, you're probably better off just spending wildcards to get the Enchantress stuff. On the other hand, there are plenty of A-Tier staples that show up 100% of the time in their packs as well. The Merfolk pack is especially valuable because you always get a Svyelun of Sea and Sky, and you also have a 1-in-4 chance of getting a Master of the Pearl Trident too.
Conclusion
Anyway, that's all for today. Hopefully, this guide to collecting Jumpstart: Historic Horizons was helpful! What new Historic deck are you building first? What pack are you hoping to open most? Let me know in the comments! As always, leave your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and suggestions, and you can reach me on Twitter @SaffronOlive or at SaffronOlive@MTGGoldfish.com.
