Kaladesh Spoilers: Limited Review for September 7
Welcome to the third day of spoiler discussions for Kaladesh! The set's artifact theme is continuing to reveal itself, and we hopefully won't have to wait much longer to see the story's Planeswalker antagonist, Dovin Baan and whatever the conflict in this set is about. Let's get to the cards and see what they tell us about the Limited environment!
I'll be reviewing these cards from the standpoint of how well I expect them to perform in Limited. We can't rate the cards completely accurately without knowing the entire set, but we can evaluate the cards in an "average" limited format. You can find all the latest spoilers on the Kaladesh page. Please note that if I haven't yet reviewed a card, it's probably because the official spoiler for it has not been released yet.
Grading scale
A: This card will often be the best card in one's deck. I'd consider splashing it where possible. (Tireless Tracker, Gisela, the Broken Blade)
B: This card is rarely cut from a deck that can cast it. In draft, it signals that a color or archetype is open. (Forgotten Creation, Murder)
C: Cards like this make up the majority of limited decks. You're neither excited nor embarrassed to have them in your deck. (Moorland Drifter, Thraben Foulbloods)
D: I'm not putting this in my main deck unless I have a specific reason or I'm low on playables. (Merciless Resolve, Prophetic Ravings)
F: This card will have little or no impact on the game if I draw it or is strictly sideboard-material. If I cast this card, please stage an intervention for me. (Harness the Storm, Deploy the Gatewatch)
White
Master Trinketeer
B+
Master Trinketeer is a three mana win condition that makes all your fabricate creatures incredible. The only downside of Master Trinketeer is that sometimes your opponent will be the one casting it. Save your removal.
Blue
Paradoxical Outcome
D-
In Limited, Paradoxical Outcome will generally only be useful in response to a removal spell. You might also be able to sideboard it in once your opponent casts a board wipe, but that's a fairly specific scenario.
Shrewd Negotiation
B
Assuming you have the Servo token or Puzzleknot to donate, Shrewd Negotiation is pretty close to a Mind Control. I'd expect enablers for this sorcery to be quite common and for Shrewd Negotiation to be a high pick for most blue decks.
Black
Noxious Gearhulk
A
Noxious Gearhulk is my kind of card. It's a kill spell and life gain and a relevant creature body for just six mana, which is incredible. This Gearhulk is going to be my favorite card to first pick in the format as it goes into any black deck and can give you a huge advantage from any position.
Green
Bristling Hydra
A-
A four mana 5/4 is already good and combining Bristling Hydra with other energy sources for tons of free counters will sometimes transform it into an unstoppable attacking machine. On the occasion that you can get more for your energy elsewhere, this creature is fine as a four mana 4/3.
Colorless
Aetherflux Reservoir
F
Unless there's a life gain heavy draft archetype as pushed as Black-White was in Oath of the Gatewatch draft, this silly artifact will have no home in Limited. Which is unfortunate, because it looks quite hilarious to kill people with.
Puzzleknot Cycle
C-
The blue and white portion of the Puzzleknot cycle are likely the best, with red being dependent on creature sizes in the format, and the black one being rather expensive for the effect. The existence of this cycle at common gives great hope that there will be payoff for having them on the board in creatures such as Aeronaut Tinkerer and Scrapyard Mongrel.
Conclusion
Noxious Gearhulk is my new favorite card from recent sets, and I can't wait to see what other artifact goodies Kaladesh brings. Please join me for more spoilers tomorrow. Reach out to me on Twitter @JakeStilesMTG or in the comments below with your thoughts on the new cards.
