Table of Contents – Ultimate Guide to AFR Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 1 - Top Commons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 2 - Top Uncommons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 3 - Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour
Chapter 4 - Guide to Dice Rolling
Chapter 5 - Guide to Dungeon Venturing
Welcome all to Chapter 2 of the Ultimate Guide to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Limited and Prerelease. In this guide, we're looking at the most powerful cards for a Limited deck, the uncommons. I’ve been finding that some of the best synergy cards for this set are at the uncommon rarity. This means they'll help tie together some of your decks. I believe that many Pack one, Pick one cards could be uncommon. Some of the rares are not always meant to be great in Limited play, so look just next to them in your pack and find three potential pieces of gold in the uncommon slot.
Here are some of the best uncommons for Prerelease and Limited play from AFR.
White
Cleric Class
Cleric Class – This is a powerful card, and each Level of the Class makes an impact. There are enough life gain cards in the set that this becomes even more valuable once you can get it to Level 2. Level 3 is just a nice bonus and gains you even more life.
Monk of the Open Hand
Monk of the Open Hand – This little one-drop can get big fast. Thanks to Treasures providing you extra mana on some turns, it won’t take long for this Monk to become a real threat.
Rally Maneuver
Rally Maneuver – This combat trick can help you save two creatures at once while also gaining you some life. A great combat trick to use in attacks with multiple creatures and complex combat scenarios.
White Dragon
White Dragon – The first of the uncommon Dragons, this 4/4 Flying creature allows you to tap down a creature for more than a turn. This is something usually left for Blue creatures so its nice to see this ability on a White creature.
Blue
Aberrant Mind Sorcerer
Aberrant Mind Sorcerer – This is a great ability on a creature with good stats at 3/4. Half the chance it will go directly into your hand, which is a nice way to get back your best instant or sorcery.
Blue Dragon
Blue Dragon – Even though this costs seven mana, it has an immediate impact on the game. Late in the game you can cast this, negate the power of three creatures and get in for a sweet attack. After that you have one of the larger Flying creatures in the game at 5/5.
Displacer Beast
Displacer Beast – This allows you get a creature with solid stats for three mana that could have a repeated way to venture into the Dungeon. You can also use its ability to protect itself against removal spells.
Eccentric Apprentice
Eccentric Apprentice – The two most important parts about this card is that it’s a Flying creature and that it ventures into the Dungeon when it enters the battlefield. Those two things are enough to make this a great card. Later in the game though you can also shut down your opponents’ top threat, turning it into a 1/1 Bird.
Fly
Fly – This simple one-mana Aura can turn any large ground creature into a double threat. It'll surprise your opponent and you’ll be able to get in for some damage in the air while also having a repeated way of venturing into the Dungeon.
Wizard Class
Wizard Class – Another solid Class you can cast for just one mana. It doesn’t do much for Level 1, but at Level 2 it draws two cards and at Level 3 it provides a creature pump each turn for the rest of the game.
Black
Black Dragon
Black Dragon – Another of the powerful uncommon Dragons, but this time it acts as a removal spell for something with toughness three or less. It can also be used to finish off a larger creature after combat. After its ability you're still left with a strong 4/4 Flying Dragon.
Drider
Drider – This is one of those creatures your opponent will have to target or else you’ll have an army of Spider tokens before long. On defense, it works just as well and can block Flying creatures thanks to Reach.
Grim Wanderer
Grim Wanderer – I had to put a 5/3 creature for two mana with Flash on this list. There's a slight restriction for casting it, but it doesn’t take too much to activate it. One of the key things to know is that it works if any creature died and not just your own.
Lightfoot Rogue
Lightfoot Rogue – I love creatures with Deathtouch and this one is made for attacking. Half the time you can attack in for three damage making it beneficial for your opponent to block so it doesn’t keep hitting them turn after turn.
Manitcore
Manticore – We've seen creatures like this before that Flash in and finish off a creature that’s already taken damage. They're always playable and this one gets the added value of having Flying.
Power Word Kill
Power Word Kill – One of the best removal spells in the format. It’s drawback of not being able to kill any Demons, Angels, Devils or Dragons isn’t much of a drawback and you can still kill most creatures.
Reaper's Talisman
Reaper’s Talisman – This artifact doesn’t pump any stats, but it does guarantee you two things. First off, you'll be draining your opponent for two life when you attack alone. Secondly, your attacking creature will have Deathtouch meaning you're either getting in more damage or killing one of their creature when it blocks.
Skullport Merchant
Skullport Merchant – In AFR, there isn’t much mana fixing in the set other than Treasure tokens. This provides you one when it enters the battlefield and if you don’t need it for mana, you can just sacrifice it to draw a card. This can be repeated throughout the game providing you some needed card advantage.
Warlock Class
Warlock Class – This card is made to help finish off your opponent. At Level 1 it punishes your opponent for trading during combat, replaces itself at Level 2 and doubles your damage dealt to your opponent at Level 3.
Red
Barbarian Class
Barbarian Class – This Class can be very impactful if you have a deck full of dice rolling cards. Each time you roll you have a better chance of hitting the high result, giving a creature +2/+0 and Menace. For six total mana, you can get it to Level 3, giving your creatures Haste, and it'll be hard for your opponent to know when they need to stay back to block.
Battle Cry Goblin
Battle Cry Goblin – There are seven Goblins in the set that can benefit from this pump ability, and that doesn’t even include the many different spells and creatures including itself that can make Goblin tokens.
Chaos Channeler
Chaos Channeler – Card advantage is so important, especially in Limited games. With each attack, this creature gives you at minimum one extra card per turn. This could be another creature, a removal spell, or that land you needed.
Goblin Morningstar
Goblin Morningstar – The Equipment by itself works well with some of the large ground creatures that Red has. Throw in a 1/1 Goblin that might be a 2/1 Goblin at the start and you’re laughing all the way to value town.
Magic Missle
Magic Missile – Not only can this not be countered, but you have a chance to kill multiple creatures with one spell. A great way to clear out the pesky blockers that are stopping your big creatures from getting through for damage.
Red Dragon
Red Dragon – The next in the uncommon Dragon cycle provides you some reach in finishing off your opponent. With this in your hand, you know you just need to get your opponent down to four life to finish them off.
You Find Some Prisoners
You Find some Prisoners – First off, there are a ton of Equipment and Treasures to go around that you can easily find an artifact to destroy. If you're looking for something to help you win the game though, you can go through the top of your opponents’ library and play something fun.
Green
Choose Your Weapon
Choose Your Weapon – Another one of the great choice cards from the set that has uses on both sides of the coin. Situational removal can be good to take out a Flying creature or you can ambush your opponent with a solid combat trick.
Green Dragon
Green Dragon – The last of the uncommon Dragon cycle allows you to give all your attackers for that turn Deathtouch, allowing you to either clear the battlefield or get in for some damage. Its ability also works if you have another non-combat way to deal damage as well.
Hunter's Mark
Hunter’s Mark – This is some nice instant speed removal that also pumps up your creature. This can lead to some nice two-for-one combat scenarios if played correctly.
Intrepid Outlander
Intrepid Outlander – The value of this creature starts with it being a 2/3 creature with Reach for only two mana. The fact that it might be able to venture into a Dungeon later in the game is a nice bonus.
Prosperous Innkeeper
Prosperous Innkeeper – This is one of my favourite creatures from the new set as it helps triggers so many synergies. Its life gain helps you over time while the Treasure it creates can help you ramp quicker or splash into another colour.
Wild Shape
Wild Shape – This is the Swiss army of combat trick cards. It can stop a removal spell by giving Hexproof, block a Flying creature with Reach, or Trampling over a small creature.
You Happen On a Glade
You Happen on a Glade – The one thing I didn’t notice when first reading this card is that it was an instant. This moves the value scale of this card up a notch in my books.
Multicoloured
Bruenor Battlehammer
Bruenor Battlehammer – I would play this card as a 5/3 creature for only four mana, but with a ton of Equipment running around, especially in Red and White it makes it just that much better. The key to this card is not the extra +2/+0, but the first Equip of the turn costing zero.
Gretchen Titchwillow
Gretchen Titchwillow – This starts off as a solid blocker in the early game. In the mid to late game, it starts to draw you cards while helping you ramp if you draw any additional lands.
Kalain, Reclusive Painter
Kalain, Reclusive Painter – This is one of the best two-drop creatures in the set. It provides you with a nice Treasure token when it enters the battlefield, then it helps your future creatures get +1/+1 counters on them.
Krydle of Baldur's Gate
Krydle of Baldur’s Gate – Some might think that the best ability on this two-drop is when you deal combat damage to your opponent, but it’s not. The key part about the second ability on this card is that it doesn’t need to attack itself to help something become unblocked.
Trelasarra, Moon Dancer
Trelasarra, Moon Dancer – Another strong multicoloured two-drop creature. With so many ways to gain life in the set, you’ll be scrying and adding counters in no time.
Colourless
Bag of Holding
Bag of Holding - This wonderful reprint that fits so well into the D&D theme allows you to improve your card selection in the early-to-mid game. In the late game you can sacrifice it to gain card advantage and get back all the cards you couldn’t cast earlier in the game.
You're now set up with guides for the best commons and uncommons for your AFR Limited and Prerelease play. Just remember that some of the most playable and powerful cards in the deck are uncommons, so choose wisely. Thanks again for reading Chapter 2 of the Ultimate Guide to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Limited and Prerelease. Click the link below for Chapter 3 and the AFR Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour. If you’ve missed any of the other chapters for this guide, click below to check them out.
Table of Contents – Ultimate Guide to AFR Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 1 - Top Commons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 2 - Top Uncommons for Limited and Prerelease
Chapter 3 - Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour
Chapter 4 - Guide to Dice Rolling
Chapter 5 - Guide to Dungeon Venturing
