Not all Magic cards are created equal.
Some are designed for Commander. Some for Limited. Some are meant for older
formats like Modern or Legacy. Some are for dedicated sideboard cards for
Standard best-of-three matches.
Others are meant to be flexible and applicable for best-of-one play.
Magic Arena has become the go-to platform for best-of-one Standard play. Ravnica Allegiance adds to the card pool with a slew of flexible,
modal, and generally strong cards that are useful against a wide range of
strategies.
These are my favorite eight from Ravnica Allegiance.
8. Deputy of Detention
There’s not much better than a card that can remove any nonland permanent
when you’re in a wide-open gamescape like Arena best-of-one. Deputy of
Detention nabs any problematic nonland permanent until the Deputy is
removed. This is a huge effect for three mana with a 1/3 body attached.
In best-of-one, everyone hedges a little with creature removal so Deputy of
Detentions will be at risk of returning a key card at an inopportune
moment. Therefore, such an amazing card is low on my list. Until I can see
the removal suite people are playing, I want to hold off on this catch-all
that holds risk of untimely downside.
Deputy of Detention is poised to affect a lot of formats too. If Arena has
a long and fruitful existence we’ll likely eventually get a glimpse of
non-rotating formats on there too.
7. Gruul Spellbreaker
Creatures (28)
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Merfolk Branchwalker
- 4 Rekindling Phoenix
- 4 Jadelight Ranger
- 4 Gruul Spellbreaker
- 4 Skarrgan Hellkite
- 4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (24)
Three mana for a 4/4 trample or a 3/3 trample haste is already a good
start. It’s possible that Gruul Spellbreaker is just the rate for creatures
you want in these Gruul decks. Then again, something like Thrashing
Brontodon, Jadelight Ranger, or Rhythm of the Wilds might be the three-drop
of choice.
What has me digging Gruul Spellbreaker is the combination of great stats
along with shoring up a weakness in the strategy: Settle the Wreckage.
Gruul puts a lot of creatures on the battlefield and wants to attack with
them every turn if possible. No having to “soul read” the opponent for what
instant they have at what time is a great draw to Gruul Spellbreaker.
6. Rix Maadi Reveler
Creatures (25)
- 4 Fanatical Firebrand
- 1 Rakdos Firewheeler
- 4 Rix Maadi Reveler
- 4 Judith, the Scourge Diva
- 4 Gutterbones
- 4 Fireblade Artist
- 4 Orzhov Enforcer
Lands (16)
Spells (19)
Sideboard
Creatures (24)
- 4 Fanatical Firebrand
- 4 Ghitu Lavarunner
- 4 Goblin Chainwhirler
- 4 Viashino Pyromancer
- 4 Runaway Steam-Kin
- 4 Rix Maadi Reveler
Lands (21)
Spells (15)
The reason Rix Maadi Reveler is here isn’t because of its versatility; it’s
because it allows you to play high variance cards in your deck.
Risk Factor, Experimental Frenzy, and Lava Coil are played in current Guilds of Ravnica Standard Mono-Red Aggro. They’re all extremely
powerful when the conditions are right and nearly useless when the
conditions aren’t. Rix Maadi Reveler lets you play a mix of high-impact
cards and discard them when they aren’t good in a matchup.
In a more black-oriented Rakdos build with Gutterbones and Judith, you’re
happy to get them into the graveyard when it’s either past their time of
usefulness or you have too many copies. Rix Maadi Reveler is the glue that
will hold powerful, high-variance cards together in red-based decks for the
duration of Ravnica Allegiance Standard.
5. Bedevil
Bedevil is pretty self-explanatory. Hero’s Downfall was a universal card
among black decks of the time, and I expect Bedevil to be as popular among
Rakdos decks that can cast it. Currently there aren’t many artifacts to
bust up other than an occasional Treasure Map or The Immortal Sun, but
that’s okay. With the increased functionality of Bedevil, you’ll be ready
when that rainy day comes.
Still, even given the wide application of Bedevil I don’t see it as a
four-of. It’s a catch all that deals with what you need, but rarely needs
to do it a lot. It’s the kind of card that smooths out your games but can
be clunky in multiples.
4. Wilderness Reclamation
Wilderness Reclamation is on the list because of a wildly different reason
than the rest of these other cards. Wilderness Reclamation is hard to
interact with and the cards that do interact with enchantments are
typically found in sideboards.
There’s a lot of pressure to have instant-speed enchantment removal too, as
the Wilderness Reclamation player can simply untap on end step and
represent any number of good responses including countermagic.
The possibilities are scary on this one. If you want mana sinks, you don’t
have to look far:
A ton of mana on your end step asks a lot from the other spells you chose
to play in addition to Wilderness Reclamation. Still, a ton of mana is a
ton of mana no matter when you get it.
3. Ravager Wurm
I remember when History of Benalia was leaked without a rarity and everyone
assumed it was a common. Ravager Wurm is one of those cards that you look
at and think: “Mythic? Really?” Ravager Wurm does a whole lot (and the
Arena animation looks great too!)
Ravager Wurm is the heavy-hitting top end of Gruul that’s great against
creature decks as well as decks with mopey lands like Azcanta, the Sunken
Ruin or Adanto, the First Fort. Core Set 2019 Memorials come to
mind as well, as does Field of Ruin.
People were hooting and hollering about Ravenous Chupacabra, but Ravager
Wurm looks to be a lot of what Big Chups was and so much more.
2. Tithe Taker
Tithe Taker is a multiformat all-star that’s good every time you cast it.
The Mono-White Aggro decks are known to be one-dimensional. It’s great to
see a tool that interacts differently that just attacking or blocking,
while having a reasonable rate.
A two-power creature is a good baseline early attacker. Tithe Taker has
natural resilience to removal and trades in combat while leaving a 1/1
flyer behind. You’re never truly upset to get your Tithe Taker killed.
The static ability of Tithe Taker is annoying while it’s sitting around,
but it super annoying when you time it well. Control opponents will leave
up a single counterspell for your best spell, or a removal spell for your
best creature, or Settle the Wreckage. Tithe Taker forces your opponent to
act then and there, before combat, and before you cast anything else. You
take the initiative from them into your own hands.
1. Warrant // Warden
I don’t have any other split cards from Ravnica Allegiance and
that’s because I don’t think any of them will affect Standard as much as
Warrant // Warden will. Many of them are close, like Thrash // Threat and
Carnival // Carnage, but none are slam dunks. Warrant // Warden should go
into every Azorius deck because of how irreplaceable the effect of Warrant
is.
Azorius wants a way to deal with an attacking creature early and cheaply.
Azorius Charm and Seal Away are previous examples of ways to do this. You
just want to trade your card for their creature then move further into the
game and eventually win. The big difference between Seal Away and Azorius
Charm is that Azious Charm has two additional modes. You can’t afford to
get stuck with creature removal in a control mirror match. The Warden half
of Warrant // Warden ensures that your creature removal card still has a
use later in the game.
I envision Warrant // Warden fully replacing Seal Away and/or Revitalize in
any Azorius list. In the Jeskai lists I think Warrant // Warden is better
on average than a Lightning Strike too.
Those are my picks for biggest hitting cards in best of one Magic. Did I
miss something? What are you most excited to build from Ravnica Allegiance?