Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Ravnica Allegiance where Prerelease week is in full swing.
Yesterday I covered the top commons you should look out for in each pack. Today the power of the cards increases with a look at those three cards per pack called uncommons. I find that the uncommon card slot has some of the most powerful Limited cards when building your deck. Rares and mythics can sometimes be very powerful, but only incorporated within the right deck.
Now without further ado, here's a list of uncommons from Ravnica Allegiance you'll want in your Prerelease deck:
Forbidding Spirit – This is a great way to prevent your opponent from killing you with an all-out attack. You even get a strong 3/3 creature for only three mana.
Ministrant of Obligation – This might be the closest thing we have to Lingering Souls in the set. Some would say this is better off dead than alive, as you get more power and toughness on the back end. The spirits you get even have flying!
Sentinel’s Mark – Not only can this pump up a creature and give them lifelink for the turn, but it can also be used as a combat trick to surprise your opponent.
Code of Constraint – This is more like a modal spell where you either get to choose between giving a creature -4/-0 or keeping them tapped down for a turn. Either way, you get to draw a card, which is nice.
Essence Capture – There will be plenty of creatures floating around Prerelease, so this counterspell will never be dead in your hand. Most times you will get to pump up one of your creatures as well. Plus it works well with some of the new Simic creatures out there.
Pteramander – This little guy provides some small early damage thanks to its evasion, but its Adapt cost will go down throughout the course of the game. Once you can cast that, you're left with an almost unbeatable 5/5 Flying creature.
Skatewing Spy – This is like Abzan Falconer, a powerhouse in Limited formats. Anything that can give multiple creatures flying at once will usually help you win games.
Cry of the Carnarium – This is one of the few sweepers in the set and is a great way to clear out the battlefield. It can be used pre-combat to clear the way or post combat to finish off some blockers that survived combat.
Orzhov Enforcer – I’m a big fan of deathtouch creatures in Limited there's usually less removal than in a Standard deck. This provides the threat of removal against a large attacker and even when it dies you'll still get a 1/1 Flying Spirit token.
Orzhov Racketeers – Attacking with Orzhov Racketeers puts your opponent in a tough place. If they block they could lose a creature and give you two 1/1 Flying Spirit tokens. If they don’t block they have to discard a card.
Clamor Shaman – Having the ability to make a creature unable to block every attack could be a strong weapon for an aggressive Rakdos deck. I would usually make this a 2/2 instead of giving it haste so that it's slightly better in combat scenarios.
Dagger Caster – A great creature that can be used as a mini-sweeper as well. You can use it post-combat to finishing off some blockers or you can use it to clear out a battlefield full of pesky 1/1 Flying Spirit tokens.
Gates Ablaze – Here's another sweeper that can clear out the battlefield. Most decks will be playing between two to four Gates, and the more the merrier for this card. You can also hold off playing Gates sometimes to only do a certain amount of damage and keep your creatures alive.
Biogenic Upgrade – You get six +1/+1 counters with this spell no matter how you distribute them, but you can get even more out of it if you already have creatures with +1/+1 counters. This spell can turn the tables on a stalemate and hand you the combat advantage.
Silhana Wayfinder – This is a card that's almost guaranteed to get a hit from its enter the battlefield ability. Early on you can get another land or, if you have enough mana already, find a good creature to use.
Wilderness Reclamation – Here's a card with tons of upside and potential in Constructed formats that I believe is just as strong in Limited. It especially shines in a deck with Simic cards that need a lot of mana to adapt its creatures.
Gate Colossus – I tend to stay away from eight casting cost creatures in Limited, but since you will be playing a few Gates in your deck anyways, why not cast it for five to six mana instead? With Gate Colossus being the largest creature in the set, without artifact destruction your opponent could have a tough time dealing with this.
Sphinx of the Guildpact – This is a great creature to have as it can be played in any deck. Anytime you can get a 5/5 Flying creature in Limited, your chances of winning increase.
Azorius Skyguard – Being able to shrink all your opponents’ creatures would be strong enough on a card, but you also get a 3/3 Flying, first strike creature to defend the skies as well.
Clan Guildmage – These are two abilities that Gruul players will love to use. Each works well with a creature strategy and will help you defeat your opponent sooner rather than later.
Dovin’s Acuity – Like Disinformation Campaign this is a very grindy card that will take a while to gain card advantage from. Throughout the game though, when you start casting these instant spells to get back Dovin’s Acuity, both the card gain and life gain will start to add up.
Fireblade Artist – This creature not only fits into an aggressive Rakdos style but provides reach as well. Later in the game, if the board stalls out and you can’t attack in to finish off your opponent, you can start sacrificing your creatures each turn to deal two damage and get that last hit needed to win.
Frilled Mystic – If played successfully this can be a huge tempo swing in a game. It becomes a two-for-one as you counter an opponent's spell and put a 3/2 creature on the battlefield.
Gyre Engineer – With all those Simic adapt creatures going around, you'll need some extra mana to make sure you can both cast spells and adapt the creatures you’ve already played.
Mortify – Simply one of the best removal spells in the set. It will be used for creatures mostly, but occasionally you will use it against a pesky enchantment instead.
Pitiless Pontiff – This is probably the best sacrifice outlet in the set, so that you can start getting 1/1 Spirit tokens thanks to Afterlife. As a bonus you get a tremendous blocker which is hard to get through.
Rhythm of the Wild – Creatures with Riot are strong enough on their own, but giving all creatures Riot is game changing. You can even give some creatures two instances of Riot, giving them both haste and a +1/+1 counter.
Senate Guildmage – It is rare to see both abilities on a guildmage only cost one mana to use. Both abilities on Senate Guildmage are also relevant and will add up during a game.
Sphinx of New Prahv – This will be one of the most feared creatures in Limited play. It can finish off an opponent quickly while also being hard to kill in a Limited format with less than efficient removal cards.
Carnival // Carnage – A great split card in that I can see both halves of being used regularly. Early removal or late game damage and hand destruction.
Collision // Colossus – Another great split card that is half sideboard card and half pump spell. Gruul will be happy dealing with flying creatures while also making their large creatures even larger for only two mana.
Depose // Deploy – A great tempo card that can shut down a creature for a turn. Later in the game it can provide multiple blockers or attackers and gain some life to keep you above water.
Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Ravnica Allegiance. These articles should give you some insight on which cards to play, outside the flashy promo card and rares. The next step to prepard for your local Prerelease is to know what your opponent could cast. Join me again tomorrow as I provide a combat trick and removal guide for Ravnica Allegiance and help you prepare for what your opponent could cast based on what colours and lands they have available.
