#I’ll reward you with really nice blowback

[xnotxyourxbabyx]

Someone roll me a joint please 🥹

[gear-project]

My response to the Closed Beta Survey:

People were asking me for more specifics on how I felt about the survey, so I guess I ought to outline in a larger broader sense what I think so far of Guilty Gear StrIVe.

Graphics: 

Outside of individual characters/animations, the stage graphics needed some better rendering for certain objects.  Things like grass and smaller objects looked “plastic” or “lego-like” in some areas, so that could be tweaked.

Lighting seemed okay, effects from various attacks also looked very good, and better than I was expecting at the time.  Clash/Offset graphics need improvement so that they appear more obvious to players (I still miss Danger Time however... that added an extra spice to the game that GG has missed since the original Instant Kill screen in the first game, perhaps it can be optional in certain modes?).

The beta was especially slow in terms of load times between matches though, and even the matching function for netplay was sluggish as well.

I would like to see actual dramatic clash intros instead of “talking head sequences” for rivalries in the future... the first trailer suggested that was possible, so I hope they can actually achieve this once more like Accent Core once had for Sol and Ky especially.

Animation-wise, nothing really outstanding to note other than the fact I still find Ky’s battle stance to be somewhat strange for him, given the screen-facing perspective... I just find it particularly odd to have his battle stance changed so much since the older games.  While Millia’s stance did change, it was more subtle, for example.

The Tension gauge didn’t seem to provide enough information to me, and was rather overly simplified, and I would like better notifications when my risc guard gauge is high.  Character select still looks dull, though I did like the post-match rating system.  I think players would benefit not just from ratings when they win, but tips and advice when they lose as well.

The lobby still needs a lot of work, but I did like the concept of only having access to certain “floors of the tower” depending on how strong you are as a player.  It makes things feel more like a dungeon exploration than just a netplay lobby.  Gatekeepers truly do exist... so such gameplay should reflect that.

I would like to see something closer to what Granblue Fantasy Versus has, times of day, weather, minigames to do while waiting between matches, or even just a place to mess around with stuff.

Sounds:

Everything sounded okay, albeit random.  Normally I have sound effects much louder than music, as certain sounds serve as important “tells” during a fight.  Voicework tends to come second to that, but I did note that in certain underground stage areas, character voices gained acoustics, which was an interesting change.

I also liked how the voices gained a dramatic echo like the Guilty Gear X era once had, particularly for Overdrive Attacks, which I hope they keep.

Controls:

I’m going to say this up front, but I never liked the concept of throw wiffs for Guilty Gear... while it might be more useful for games like BlazBlue, GG was more fast-paced, and generally geared more towards spacing and neutral attacks, giving throws an opportunity to neutralize an attack at close range.

This made throws safer, but also kept players in check who were always about close-range mixups.  Option selects were also important in older games too.

Add to this, and I dislike the idea of them being attached to the Dust button.  This makes it difficult to do things like run up and perform a Dust attack, or airdash in with a Dust without accidentally inputting a throw input.

Unless they came up with a way to better control throws as opposed to pressing Dust and a Direction (or give it a better input window), I’m not sure I like things how they are.

Another issue I have is the Roman Cancel Button... under most circumstances, the default Roman Cancel macro is P+K+S... this was always the default button in most games, but you couldn’t opt for other macros, like S+K+H, or P+K+H.  This is important for characters who negative edge inputs, like Johnny or Zato, as they might need a different macro input so they can better “hold certain buttons” without having to rely on the default Roman Cancel input.  This applies to other things like Slashback, Blitz, or Faultless Defense as well.  Limiting input macros just leads to more problems if you ask me.

Gatling Combo cancels seem “okay” for now... and I understand why they put limits on Punch and Kick buttons, simply because those kinds of moves have higher priority and are safer in most situations.  I think it makes sense to limit benefits when priority is on taking less risk in a fight.

In other words, using stronger attacks is more of a gamble, and therefore should get more natural benefits.  Bigger risk, better rewards.  This goes for guarding as well.  While blocking itself isn’t taking much risk (or rather, raising RISC), players who use technique like Instant Blocking or FD blocking should get benefits from using it.

I don’t know if Blitzshield will return, but I wouldn’t mind if it did, especially if it functioned the same as Slashbacks in older games, especially on block or wakeup.

Gameplay/Nuances:

Not enough special moves/tools for characters to my liking... though some felt overpowered.  Ky’s 6H acting like a Dust Launcher felt way too powerful for someone like him... though I can understand why such exists if it’s a slow attack.

Other characters felt “sluggish” at certain areas, like Chipp Zanuff and his combo routes (which would normally feel easy to chain together).  Even Alpha Blade felt a bit slow.

Airdash Speed/Height also felt slow and limited.  Also I don’t like the idea that forward Airdashes have the “Air Hike” glyph (DMC), but Air Backdashes do not as much.  If they’re going to have air dash “tells”, it should work for any form of airdash.  That’s especially needed for crossups and IAD situations.

Also it felt like Backdashes weren’t very safe, not to mention the damage output being too high.

I missed moves like Ky’s Grinders or Sol’s Riot Stamp... or even classic moves like Tyrant Rave Alpha, Sidewinder, or Crescent Slash.

Lots of characters felt lobotomized and overly simple to my liking, compared to their more developed older versions.  Even EX characters felt more developed in the older games.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Roman Cancels having a “hitbox” or “launch hit” when they go active, but I guess it takes getting used to.  It’s not a bad tool, but I’m not sure how effective such would be as a Dead Angle on defense.

I was also told that blocking reversal moves (DPs) in the air causes a large blowback... I find that interesting, but I don’t know if there’s pushback when blocking said moves on the ground.

It’s fine if you can FD moves to deal with reversals safely, but common blocking without Instant Blocks should at least have some knockback to put some value in reversal moves.

Other Stuff:

I liked the concept of getting to use normal attacks immediately after certain key special moves (like Sol’s Vortex), or the simplicity of the juggles.  Though I hope they improve things like Dust Air Combos... right now Dust only causes launch on counterhit, there are no more ground Dust combos like Xrd had.

It also felt like the window for an air combo was very small as you could only do 3 hits at most after a Dust Homing Jump.  I would like to see more uses of Jump Dust for characters, or even momentum-based combos.

Things like Impossible Dust (homing jump cancel) or even Jump Install would also be nice.

I would like to see more character-customization, like having different types of weapons/outfits, abilities, or stats, in an adventure-style game (like Granblue currently uses, but bigger in scale perhaps).

I would also like to see different modes of gameplay, like an Isuka Mode, or a 3-on-3 battle setup for team battles (not necessarily tag style, but KOF style teams as well).

I would also like to see GG Generations return... classic modes for every style of play:

GG1 Mode, GGX Mode, GGXXAC Mode, Xrd Mode, and maybe even a GG2 mode that makes special moves resource-heavy (like Granblue currently employs).  Having separate modes of play would satisfy everyone... EX fighting styles as well, to further expand character play.  Gold Bosses and Darkside enemies need to return as well.

I would also hope they explore the prospect of a GG animated film or movie, though that’s still wishful thinking.  Having English novels would also help move things along.

Roster-wise, I just want everyone to return at their best, along with really cool new faces.

Closing Notes:

Experiencing the beta first-hand, I can definitely say it has Guilty Gear aspects at its core, but I felt wanting more.  I know they can pull it off, and I gave them everything I could possibly want in the game.

There’s a possibility they might update the beta later on... so I hope I’ll get to participate in that as well.

[housebeleren]

War of the Spark Limited - Premium Uncommons

Alright, time for the Uncommons. I’m going to try to get through all the cards in the set this weekend, so I can see how my ratings compare to the professionals as they come out next week. All ratings out of 5. Let’s go!

White

Let’s start with a Planeswalker, shall we? After all, they’re the major theme of the set. Evaluating ‘Walkers at Uncommon will be a different experience, but I think it will be rewarding. 

When it comes to The Wanderer, I really like her, and I think she’ll be one of the most impactful Uncommon Planeswalkers in the set. Sure, Bring to Trial wasn’t exactly the best card ever, but that’s because it had to be cast exactly when the threat was present. With The Wanderer, you can drop her turn 4 whether or not there’s a target for her, and just leave her on board. If there are no targets for her ability, and you have a decent 2 or 3 drop out, she’s likely going to be hard to attack right away, and will deter your opponent from playing any big threats for fear of just losing them on your turn. Not only that, but her static ability completely nullifies Band Together, Sorin’s Thirst, and basically all of Red’s removal suite. That gives her enormous potential to blank an opponent’s hand and force them to devote all their resources to getting rid of her, while you can do other things. I can definitely see siding her out against something like a Blue/White deck full of small fliers, but I would start on the premise of running her first, because she seems sweet. 3.0

Effects like this are often hit or miss, but I anticipate War of the Spark being a set where board stalls are common. And if that ends up being the case, this card can be a completely serviceable win condition. The lifelink is especially relevant to making this card work, since it will buffer you from the blowback attack you might face after alpha striking. Again, I’m going to be optimistic on this card at first, and reassess after I see how the format shakes out. 3.0

This one feels like a lot more of a risk, and it definitely ranges from completely unplayable to linchpin of your deck, depending on how many Planeswalkers and +1/+1 counters you have. Generally speaking, any repeatable proliferate cards are worth looking into. I’m going to guess most decks that try will have enough targets to make this worth playing. If the opposing deck has lots of fliers to block with, consider siding it out. But if they don’t, this can run away with the game. 2.5

Saved the best for last, for this color at least. I don’t think there’s any doubt that this is the premium removal for White in this format. It hits basically everything you want, at a reasonable cost, and gives you the benefit of a free Scry 1 out of the deal. Plus, Enchantment removal is light in the set, so this is likely to stick around. All told, I’m expecting this to be a totally solid, first-pickable card. 4.0

Blue

Kasmina is interesting for sure. Her static ability bears some resemblance to The Wanderer’s, in that it’s a protection against removal. However, rather than blanking certain cards entirely, it just makes all spot removal more expensive (Note that it doesn’t affect Prison Realm, which I’m sure will cause some confusion during Prerelease). I think The Wanderer’s will generally be better, but Kasmina’s isn’t just decorative. It will slow things down. From there, she pumps out Wizards, and if you can get both activations out of her, she’s been worth the casting cost. If you can get a repeatable proliferate card of some sort, that will definitely serve you well here, and she can be one of the best engines in the game. I’ll usually run her, but she’s not a slam dunk. 2.5

Honestly, Blue feels more aggressive to me in this set than White. Just look at this beast. 5 mana for a 3/3 & a 2/2 flier is a great deal, but the real power will be if you already have an Army started, because then the flier has Haste. And that’s just rude. It shouldn’t be hard to have a 1/1 or 2/2 Army already going by the time you cast this, so dropping it an immediately swinging with a suddenly large flier is big game. Take this card early, and prioritize cheap Amass cards to curve into it. 3.5

This seems like a mini-bomb. A 3/2 flier for 4 is a card you’ll run anyway, but bouncing a cheaper creature to turn it into a 4/3 is big game. What’s even bigger game is if you can get extra value out of the thing you bounced, such as a creature with an ETB or a Planeswalker that’s almost out of loyalty. It won’t get there every time, but the floor is high enough that I’m picking this early and running with it. 3.5

Black

I expect this to be a controversial pick, but I’m going to stick with it. First, the card has half of Ill-Gotten Inheritance stapled to it, and we all underestimated that card. This makes Ob one of the few cards in the game that has a built-in clock for your opponent. If they don’t deal with it and you can stall, they will eventually lose. Given that I expect this format to be grindy, I honestly think this will be a totally viable way to close out games. 

As for his loyalty ability, people are quick to point out that it’s card disadvantage for you. Sure, you kill their creature, but then they are up 2 more cards! True enough, but sometimes, a bomb is worth killing that much. This is especially true in limited, where the card quality ranges from super mediocre filler to game-ending. In limited, would I give someone two cards off the top of their deck in exchange for their Bioessence Hydra? You bet your ass I would. Because what they’re going to draw is going to be worse. So yes, don’t just kill little vanilla Commons with this. Save it for their bombs. 

The secret additional power to Ob is that you can also use the ability as an Altar’s Reap. If you have an early curve creature that’s outlived it’s value, cash it in for two more cards for yourself. What makes this card good is it’s versatility, an always underappreciated asset at first glance. Will I play this in Commander or a 60 card format? Hell no. Will I run it in limited until proven wrong? Without a doubt. 3.0

This is a nice, clean 2 for 1 in a lot of cases, and there’s not much more you can ask for in a removal spell. Yes, it only kills small things, so I wouldn’t take it over a Prison Realm or something, but it’s still good. 3.0

This guy seems really good. His stats are good enough to play on his own, as you often get vanilla 2/3s for 3 mana at Common. But his attack ability is really strong as a way to ensure you get value out of him later on as well. Sure, he’s likely going to trade or even just killed on attack, but if he trades it’s a clean 2 for 1. I’ll take it. 3.0

This one is definitely more situational, but I think there are going to be enough Army tokens and Planeswalkers running around that most decks should have targets for this. In other words, evaluating this as “Destroy target Army creature or Planeswalker” as its floor still makes me think it’s possibly worthwhile. I may be totally wrong here, but I wanted to mention it, since I think it’ll work more often than not. 2.5

Red

5 mana isn’t a ton, but there’s a lot going on here. First, it’s an automatic +1/+0 to every Red creature you control, and a buff to every Red damage effect as well. That alone can make for a really big swing the turn she comes down. On top of that, she can Shock a couple of times, most likely taking out small creatures or putting Planeswalkers in the danger zone. I don’t think she’s the best Uncommon ‘Walker by far, but she’s a solid workhorse and will get the job done. 3.0

Lightning Strike continues to be good, and I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t stay good here. 3.0

It’s weird to me that if they’re “twins,” the original one doesn’t have Trample, but whatever. It’s two 2/2s for 4 mana, which is a fine rate, but what pushes this over the top is the fact that amassing a large Army token is great, but giving it Trample is better. This is one where you really want to go deep on Amass, and see if you can build the biggest, stompiest monster you can. It may end up playing worse than I expect, but I’ll start with this as a solid card in my mind. 3.0

Arlinn costs a bunch, but man, does she make an impact. On her own, she can pump out three 3/3s, and that is a fine deal for 6 mana, even spread out over 3 turns. If you happen to have any copies of Arlinn’s Wolf in your deck, those also get affected by her static ability, so keep that in mind. Like Kasmina, if you can find a reliable proliferate engine, this will run away with the game. 3.0

Speaking of proliferate engines! This is probably the best one in the set, and I’d run it in any deck that has counters. It turns all your lands into extra utility, so you don’t even have to go through any deckbuilding hurdles to make this good. Just play cards & profit. 3.0

Rubblebelt Recluse was already one of my favorite cards in Ravnica Allegiance, and this is all the stats with none of the drawbacks. In fact, it has an upside! This is going to make combat a nightmare for your opponent, even if the troll is your only 4+ power creature. I look forward to beating down with this guy, since very little in the set can trade with it. 3.0

Mowu is the clear Best Boy of the set, and a card that can singlehandedly run away with the game if you have any ways to put counters on him. Even without that, he’s 3/3 Vigilance Trample, which is totally playable. Once you can put counters on him, he becomes the biggest thing on the board, so definitely prioritize those. I love how well he combos with Yanggu, and at Uncommon, it’s not going to be that rare to get both of them. 3.0

Multicolor & Colorless

Kaya’s static ability is basically just flavor text in limited (unless you’re facing down a Wardscale Crocodile, I guess), but her loyalty ability is the real deal. Most of the time, you’re just going to activate it two turns in a row and remove your opponent’s biggest threats. Sometimes it’ll get taken out in-between, but either way, you’re almost always going to get a 2 for 1 from this somehow, and that’s worth it. If you get a chance to proliferate her enough to activate her three times, you just win. 3.5

Angrath isn’t a slam dunk, and I have no idea why he’s creating Eternals (I’ve heard the flavor is that he’s using his Threaten magic on them, but it still feels weird.) That said, he’s a pretty good deal for 4 mana. Menace matters in limited, and building up a big Army with menace is really sweet. He’ll help you push through damage and take out opposing Planeswalkers, and that’s good enough for me. 3.0

Kiora may seem like a weird pick, but I think people are underestimating just how good of an engine she can be. If you get her early, you can prioritize creatures that will make use of her triggered ability, and her loyalty ability will help you ramp into the mana you need to cast them. She’ll be highly situational, and you really don’t want to run her if you can’t make use of her first ability. But assuming you have a few sources, I think she’ll be good. 3.0

Saheeli is another one whose viability relies entirely on her first ability. You really want to churn out 2 servos to get close to your investment back, but as soon as you’ve gotten 3 or more, you’re in Value-town. Fortunately, Red/Blue spells is a theme in this set, so I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble. To top it off, once you have some servos out, along with some good creatures, you can make one servo a copy of your best creature, to push through some powerful attacks. She won’t belong in every deck, but she’ll be a powerhouse in the decks built to optimize her. 2.5

The last Planeswalker on my list is Vraska. She’s one of the few sources of Deathtouch in the set, which are great against opposing Planeswalkers, as well as excellent defenders for your own. If you happen to have an evasive creature that can slip in for damage, it’ll get bigger each time it hits as long as Vraska remains on the field. All told, I think Vraska will be very frustrating to play against, and a worth ally on your side of the board. 3.0

There’s no shortage of targets with CMC 4 or more, so I’m totally on board for good, clean, unconditional removal of those problems. If you’re in the colors, you’ll absolutely want to play this. 3.5

Domri gets one last blaze of glory, and it’s a suitably powerful removal spell. It’s cheap, effective, and leaves your creature powerful than it started, so you’re never going to want to pass this one. 3.5

The stats on this are pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. 2/3 Flying is almost worth 4 mana, but drawing a card and gaining life on ETB is just awesome. It’s a card worth splashing for, and definitely a good sign that the color combination is open. 3.5

Hexproof & Menace are two words I would very much like to see on my giant Zombie Army, and 2/5 worth of stats, split between two creatures, is a fabulous deal for 3 mana. Expect to hear exasperated groans from your opponent when you land this on the table, because it’s virtually impossible to remove and be anywhere close to even on mana or resources. That said, it’s more of a support card than a bomb unto itself, so there will be decks you don’t put this in. But that will be rare if you’re in the colors. 3.0

If you can cast this on turn two, it’s a 2/2 flier for 2, and that’s a fantastic start. If you get it later, you still get some value out of its ETB. And then, finally, it’s got the mana sink to end all mana sinks, assuming you’ve got the board presence to make use of it. I’m going to start high on this card, and assume it’s going to be great. 3.5

Apparently Prophetic Bolt was too powerful, which doesn’t surprise me one bit. I wish this checked the top 3 of the library, because then it would be more elegant symmetry with the damage, plus it would be literal Lightning Strike & Anticipate stapled together. (Yes, I know Anticipate puts it on bottom of library, but shush. Symmetry.) Anyhoo, I have no doubts this will be fantastic every time it’s cast. 3.5

Okay, I’m torn on this one, because the second part where it loses +1/+1 counters instead of damage is a real downside, because that means your opponent can chump it to death over multiple turns. That said, it does survive Deathtouch, which I suppose is a cute perk. No, the real reason I like it is that it is a literal curve-filler, wherever you need it. Draw it early, and you can always have a relevant card to cast. Draw it late, and you can sink all your mana into it and make a massive threat. If Proliferate weren’t in the set, I’d drop this down, but given that there’s chance for it to get bigger and recover the lost counters, I’m going to declare this tentatively very good. 3.0

Alright. That’s it for all the ones that get highlighted. Below, I’ll run through my thoughts on all the other cards really quickly:

Ajani’s Pridemade - I’ll mostly leave this for Arena Standard, but it’s not an awful card for limited. There are just enough lifegain effects in this set for it to gain a couple counters. One note I will make is that they intentionally made a lot of cards have “mini-quests” to place counters on themselves, so has not to make them too powerful with Proliferate. This fits the mold. 2.5

Gideon’s Triumph - With basically all of the Triumph cards, they need to be evaluated as if you’ll never have the relevant Planeswalker, which is why only Chandra’s got noted up above. This effect is good, and sometimes you’ll take out their best creature with it. I do like that it works on both offense & defense, which makes it better than some variants. 3.0

Rally of Wings - If you have no fliers, this isn’t worth playing at all. If you have fliers out, it’s a decent trick. That variance makes me skeptical that this will work out. If you have a deck with tons of fliers, knock yourself out. 2.0

Sunblade Angel - 6 mana is a lot, but you do get some pretty impressive keyword soup out of it. My only concern is that this will often trade down in mana to a cheap removal spell, so I’m not looking to slam these. 2.5

Teyo, the Shieldmage - Teyo is a precious little dove of a Babywalker, and we need to keep him safe. Fortunately, he’s pretty decent at keeping himself safe. Unfortunately, that’s about all he’s good at. If you really need to stall, I guess he’s fine. But I wouldn’t be happy first-picking him. 1.5

Augur of Bolas - If you’re in the spells deck, this goes up a notch, but mostly he’s a Constructed plant. For limited, his effectiveness is a little more, well.... limited. 2.0

Bond of Insight - Again, if you’re in the spells deck, this becomes playable, but if you’re not, it’s completely unplayable. For the most part, I’d skip it until I’m sure I’m in the right deck. 1.5

Flux Channeler - I’m really excited about the prospects of this for Commander, but in limited it’s fighting with itself a little bit. The more noncreature spells you have, the less stuff you have to proliferate. I can see it working once in a while, but I can see it whiffing more often. 2.0

Jace’s Triumph - Again, you’re never going to have Jace out when you cast this, so it’s Divination. This format seems like it will enjoy Divination, so there you go. 2.5

Lazotep Plating - The dream is to use this to counter a kill spell & be left with a 1/1 for your trouble. That’ll happen sometimes, but not as much as we’d like. 2.0

Narset, Parter of Veils - I expect Narset to make waves in eternal formats, including Commander, due to her Leovold, Emissary of Trest line of text and easier casting cost. In limited, she’s two Impulse that can only find certain card types, and I’m not quite sure that’s worth it. I’d kinda rather just run Divination, I mean... Jace’s Triumph. 2.0

Bond of Revival - Rise from the Grave has always been good, though this format doesn’t look like it’s going to be full of great reanimation targets. It exchanges the ability to loot your opponent’s graveyard for granting Haste, which honestly is better in a set with Planeswalkers abounding, so I’ll give this a tentative pass. 2.5

Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage - This could be a Mind Rot format. I’m not sure yet. But he is costed right, and his static ability is a surprising clock that’s going to force your opponent to play suboptimally once the game goes long. So all told, he could be worse. 2.5

Dreadmalkin - What the hell is a malkin? Either way, it’s unclear if the sacrifice deck will come together or not. Until then, I’m not totally convinced. But it’s worth trying. 2.5

Liliana’s Triumph - Edicts can be great or awful, depending on the format. There are enough tokens in this one that I’m not sure it’ll be great. 2.0

Vizier of the Scorpion - Unlike the other two in this mini-cycle, this guy isn’t impressively costed. 3 mana for a 1/1 and another 1/1 with Deathtouch is... eh? And given that you can only have one Army at a time, Deathtouch isn’t super relevant on it. It does protect well, so I’ll give it that, but Chandra’s Pyrohelix embarrasses this. 2.5

Bolt Bend - Redirecting a kill spell is a solid two-for-one, so that potential makes me optimistic, though beware this will sit dead in your hand sometimes. 2.5

Bond of Passion - OOF. What happened on the costing of this card? Nominally, it’s an Act of Treason stapled to a Shock. I get it, putting these two effects together is more powerful than they are separately, and can easily lead to blowouts. But this couldn’t have been 5 mana? 1.5

Cyclops Electromancer - The Flametongue Kavu impersonators persist. This one will often ping for 1 or 2, but I wouldn’t expect much more than that. In the spells deck, this goes up. 2.5

Devouring Hellion - This set needs a Dragon Fodder before I’d be really excited about this. He’ll probably be a 4/4 most of the time, and that’s only okay for something that requires a sacrifice. 2.0

Tibalt, Rakish Instigator - I’m seeing Tibalt being more relevant for Constructed sideboards than good for limited. The Devil tokens are better than they seem at first glance, since they’re effectively all 2/1s. He’ll do some good work. 2.5

Tibalt’s Rager - Pretty solid. I like his death trigger. 2.5

Bond of Flourishing - The three life is nice, but I’d rather have Shimmer of Possibility and get whatever I want, thanks. 1.5

Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter - I almost included Yanggu in my highlights. I think he’s pretty great as a way to just disperse buffs to your creatures. You really want a 2 drop before him, but I’ll take it either way. 3.0

Nissa’s Triumph - Hard pass. 0.0

Paradise Druid - This set has enough multicolor that I suspect the druid will be really good. Best fixing in the format, and if you can get counters on her, she can grow to be an unstoppable threat. 2.5

Storm the Citadel - I like Overrun effects, though it’s a shame this doesn’t grant Trample. That said, this will lead to some big swings, so I’m okay with it. 2.5

Dovin, Hand of Control - I’m not seeing it. Nobody wants to be this purely defensive in limited. 0.5

Dovin’s Veto - I’d go with one of the mono-Blue counters instead, and leave this one for Standard control mirrors. 1.5

Ashiok, Dream Render - Like Narset to some degree, Ashiok is clearly a plant for constructed formats. Unlike Narset, Ashiok doesn’t even do anything particularly useful while at it. 0.5

Tyrant’s Scorn - I almost included this one in my highlights. It kills any small creature or bounces a bigger one, and both of those are worth 2 mana. If you’re in the colors, play this. 3.0

Angrath’s Rampage - I like that you get to dictate what type of permanent you want them to sacrifice, and that makes this better than Liliana’s Triumph most of the time, if you can cast it. 2.5

Mayhem Devil - This is the buildaround card for the R/B sacrifice deck, and if the deck comes together, it’ll be great. If not, it’ll be a 3/3. 2.5

Rubblebelt Rioters - I don’t like that this requires other creatures in play to do anything. I do like that it has haste. Usually it’ll do something. 2.5

Samut, Tyrant Smasher - Most of the time, you’re not going to cast anything else the same turn you cast Samut, so you’ll often land her, then wait until your next turn to start doing anything useful. Once there, she lends some considerable power to the board, but I’m nervous about her impacting much right away. 2.5

Huatli’s Raptor - The unfortunate thing is that if you cast this turn 2, you’ll have nothing to proliferate. But it does give the card some benefit as a late draw, which adds to its flexibility. 2.5

Huatli, Sun’s Heart - There are a ton of White cards with big butts, so I can see her putting in some work. Combo with Teyo for maximum cuteness. That said, I don’t know that there’s really enough support to make the butts deck work this time around. 1.5

Pledge of Unity - This seems like a beating, though there aren’t as many go-wide cards in the set as I’d like before I really get excited. 2.0

Cruel Celebrant - While my Commander friends are rejoycing, and I’m sure this will have some relevance in Standard, I don’t see it being a huge player in limited. Death happens, but the creature is too flimsy to stick around long enough to enjoy it. 1.5

Invade the City - This is the Red/Blue buildaround for the spells deck. When it’s good, it’ll be great, but you really want this to reliably be X=3 or better. 2.0

Deathsprout - Make no mistake, this is a powerful card, but the mana cost on it is quite restrictive, and makes it pretty difficult to splash. In a dedicated Black/Green deck, you’ll always play this, but it can absolutely be correct to pass this and take more conditional removal in your colors rather than try to force this. 2.5

Leyline Prowler - Black/Green is clearly being pushed as the “Multicolor” combination, so hopefully that ends up panning out. This is a good enabler, as well as solid stats on its own, so I’d basically always run this if you can. 3.0

Heartwarming Redemption - So many feels. While this is likely to be immensely popular in Commander, I’m not totally sure it has much place in limited. 1.0

Nahiri, Storm of Stone - The equip clause is completely irrelevant, but giving all your creatures First Strike does complicate combat. And she can take out tapped creatures that attacked the turn before she came down, so that’s something. Overall, I have high hopes. 3.0

Tenth District Legionnaire - I’m skeptical of this Red/White Herioc archetype really panning out, but if it does, the Legionnaire will be a powerhouse. If not, she’s a hard to cast bear. 2.5

Neoform - Leave this card for constructed formats. Despite the counter, it’s just not worth it in limited. 0.5

Firemind Vessel - Honestly, the Common color fixing is just better. This comes down too late, and can’t even be used the turn it does. 1.0

God-Pharaoh’s Statue - Maybe this is a slow finisher in some kind of control deck? But honestly, I don’t see it. Davriel & Ob Nixilis do this job better. 1.0

Emergence Zone - Great utility land for Commander. Just not great for limited. 0.5

Interplanar Beacon - I’m skeptical this will be all that useful, but if you somehow manage to draft a bunch of Planeswalkers of different colors, I guess this works for fixing. But again, the Common fixing just seems better. 1.5

Whew. This is pretty tiring, but such a useful exercise to go through. Next up are the Rares & Mythics!