Welcome everyone to the start of Prerelease week here on the Daily Dose of Ravnica Allegiance!
I'll be posting articles to help you prepare for your local Prelease on every day this week. Today I’m talking about the top commons that you'll want to play this set. Tuesday, I'll switch my focus to the top uncommons to play this weekend. I've got a combat trick and removal guide in store for Wednesday. Then on Thursday I've got a special video episode where I'll be deckbuilding from a Prerelease Kit. That way you can see how to build your own 40-card deck. Finally, on Friday I'll wrap things up with a talk about the five guilds, and how to approach playing each of them.
Now that you know the game plan, let's jump in and tackle the top commons you'll want to keep an eye out for this Prerelease:
Bring to Trial – A great removal card against large threats, this is an anti-Gruul spell if I've seen one.
Impassioned Orator – This is one of those creatures that will have a target on its back even though it's just a 2/2 for two. Just having this out and gaining life throughout the game will give you more room to play around with your life total for the rest of the game.
Knight of Sorrows – Any creature that can block multiple creatures during combat is a strong defensive threat. Plus when it dies you're left with a 1/1 Flying creature to play with.
Summary Judgment – There are only seven creatures in the entire set that have a higher toughness than five, so this is almost a straight removal spell in my opinion. Being able to cast it as an instant for only three damage is still great value for two mana.
Chillbringer – I love creatures with a bit of extra value like this> This 3/3 Flying creature would be great value at common even without its enter the battlefield ability.
Faerie Duelist – This is great to have with all those pesky 1/1 Spirit tokens that will be flying around Prerelease. It negates the power of one while killing another.
Quench – One of the best counterspells in the set and currently in all of Standard. This will usually counter anything your opponent plays in the first four to five turns.
Thought Collapse – If you need to stop something later in the game, this hard counterspell will get the job done. With no pressing graveyard strategies in the set, milling your opponent for three is a nice bonus that could put one of their better threats out of the game.
Dead Revels – Any time you can find a card that gives you card advantage in Limited, you want to be playing it more often than not. Even at four mana, this card can help you bring some of your best creatures back from the graveyard. The chance to cast it for two mana just makes it even better.
Grotesque Demise – The opposite of Bring to Trial, this targets and exiles a small threat on the battlefield. You're sure to have far more targets for this spell than you will for Bring to Trial.
Undercity Scavenger – Here's a chance to have a 5/5 creature on the battlefield by sacrificing a creature, which is hard to deal with in Limited. It can become an even bigger advantage if you can sacrifice something with Afterlife giving you some 1/1 Spirit tokens as well.
Undercity’s Embrace – At instant speed, this is a great removal spell to cast when your opponent has one threat on the battlefield. You'll occasionally even gain four life from it as well.
Burning-Tree Vandal – This may not seem like a powerful card, but I enjoy repeatable sources of card selection. Sometimes it can force your opponent to make bad blocks just to keep you from cycling through your deck.
Rubblebelt Recluse – This is on the list simply because its a huge creature that's hard to deal with. A 6/5 creature that your opponent knows will attack every turn could force a change in their game plans just to deal with it.
Scorchmark – Two damage for two mana at instant speed seems great to me. Pretty much every time you cast Scorchmark your target will be exiled. After all, if the damage doesn’t kill the creature why would you cast it in the first place?
Skewer the Critics – Dealing damage with Rakdos should be simple in this set, so you should be able to cast this for one mana most of the time. Even if you don’t, three damage to any target just can’t be beat.
Gift of Strength – This gives green a great combat trick that deals with opposing flying creatures. There will also be times you'll want to use it to get more damage in and finish off an opponent, or save a creature during combat.
Open the Gates – Being able to guarantee a specific mana source for only one mana is so valuable. This could be a key to making a three or four-colour deck with a lot of Gates work.
Sagittar’s Volley – This sideboard-like card will be great as a main deck card in this Limited format thanks to the high number of flying creatures in the set, especially all those 1/1 Spirits.
Titanic Brawl – Most cards that allow you to fight against an opposing creature are Sorcery speed spells. This instant allows you to surprise your opponent, or use to kill a creature they just cast.
Applied Biomancy – One of the best combat tricks in the set, this could even be a two-for-one removal spell if played correctly.
Final Payment – We'll all see a lot of this common two mana removal spell during prerelease weekend. Even without a creature or enchantment to sacrifice, paying five life might be worth it depending on the threat.
Get the Point – A great Rakdos removal spell that gives you a little bonus of a Scry 1. Being at Instant speed is just an unexpected bonus.
Imperious Oligarch – This is a great valued two mana creature. You can get in for two damage attacking and still be able to block if needed. When it does trade during combat, you're still left with a 1/1 flying Spirit token.
Lawmage’s Binding – Another one of the best removal spells in the set. This eliminates 90% of the creatures in the set at instant speed.
Gateway Plaza – This is the land you hope you open in one of your six Prerelease packs. This will help you stabilize your mana base in two, three, or even four-colour decks.
And there you have it folks, the commons you'll want to watch out for in your Prerelease kits. Just remember when building your 40-card deck that you only get six to eight rares, and around 18 uncommons so choosing commons cards is key to finishing out the build of your deck.
Thanks again for joining me on the Daily Dose of Ravnica Allegiance. Join me again tomorrow as I check out the best uncommons for you to play during your prerelease.
