Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. Today I continue Limited week with some guides to help you play some sweet draft and sealed when the set comes out. Today I’ll be talking about the three precious cards just before your mythic or rare, the uncommons. Ikoria has one of the biggest power levels for uncommons I’ve seen in a set for a long time, so I’m excited to open some in these packs and see what I can build. Uncommons are also the cards that most often help you build some sweet synergies in your decks as you will see as I go down the list.
Here are the some of the best uncommons for Limited play from Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
Fight as One
Fight as One – This is one of the best combat tricks in the set and is only 1 mana at instant speed. You have the chance to both pump up and save two creatures from destruction.
Flourishing Fox
Flourishing Fox – There are so many cards with Cycling in Ikoria, that this little Fox shouldn’t have any trouble becoming a 3/3 or 4/4 in no time.
Splendor Mare
Splendor Mare – You have the option of having a 3/3 Lifelink creature for only three mana, which is nice, or you can give an even larger creature lifelink and cycle it to draw a card. Great flexibility on this card.
Swallow Whole
Swallow Whole – Even though this is at Sorcery speed, this is another 1-mana removal spell that can both exile a creature and add a +1/+1 counter to your own creature. This is a very solid removal card.
Boon of the Wish-Giver
Boon of Wish-Giver – I love this card. During the early turns, you can easily cycle it for 1 mana to replace itself, but if you draw it late in the game, it’s a great way to win the card advantage battle. Being able to cycle this card is the key to its great value.
Mystic Subdual
Mystic Subdual – Great way to shut down all these mutated creatures that have multiple abilities stacked on them. This is also great against aggro decks in the early game to make sure you don’t get blown out.
Neautralize
Neutralize – This is one of the best counter anything spells they’ve made for three mana. This allows you to cycle it if you need to find a threat or you already have a counter heavy hand. Look out for this when playing against blue.
Reconnaissance Mission
Reconnaissance Mission – This allows you to gain some major card advantage as it is worded so you can gain multiple cards per turn if you are able to get in for damage with more than 1 creature. If you ever are stuck on the battlefield with no way to get a creature in for damage, it can be cycled to try and find a better card.
Bastion of Rememberance
Bastion of Remembrance – To start off, you get a 1/1 Human creature which can have synergies with a bunch of cards, but the key part of this card is the Blood Artist-like triggers each time a creature you control dies. One of the keys is that it is all creatures and not just nontoken creatures.
Easy Prey
Easy Prey – This is a no-brainer to put in your deck as it acts as an early removal spell or can be cycled for only 2 mana if you there are no targets for it to hit.
Grimdancer
Grimdancer – Having a creature with a combination of menace and deathtouch usually means that if it enters combat you have a good chance of either being unblocked or getting some 2-for-1 value out of this card.
Heartless Act
Heartless Act – This acts a removal against most creatures in the set and if you come up against a creature with some tokens, removing them could act as a removal spell during combat as well.
Flame Spill
Flame Spill – This red damage spell can deal damage to both a creature and your opponent. No more worrying about wasting a 4-damage spell on a 1-toughness creature. This will make sure you get some much-needed damage to the face.
Reptilian Reflection
Reptilian Reflection – We have seen similar enchantments to this that activate when you cast instants or sorceries, but this takes it to another level. For the cheap cost of cycling a card, you can animate this into a 5/4 Trample, Haste Creature without having to cast a spell. This makes it harder to remove as your opponent will need often need an instant removal spell to kill it.
Weaponize the Monsters
Weaponize the Monsters – This is a great enchantment to help with finishing off your opponent. Often in an aggro deck, you can’t deal those last points of damage. This will allow you to block and sacrifice a creature to damage your opponent. You can also sacrifice creatures to kill off an opposing threat as well.
Glowstone Recluse
Glowstone Recluse – This can mutate onto another creature and at worst be a 4/5 creature with reach and other abilities for only four mana, not too shabby. If you can mutate onto this creature multiple times, your overall monstrosity of a creature could get quite large.
Migration Path
Migration Path – With a ton of large creatures waiting to be cast and some of them needing three different colours of mana to cast them, Migration Path works as both a ramp and colour diversification spell. If you do end up having enough mana though, you can cycle it to get a better card.
Back for More
Back for More – Even though it’s a six-mana spell, you are able to cast it at instant speed, which is rare for a reanimation spell. This can be used as a 2-for-1 removal spell giving a blocker and a fighting ability to take a creature out.
Dire Tactics
Dire Tactics – Even without having a Human on the battlefield, this is an elite instant removal spell. You are stuck playing Orzhov colours, but that’s fine with a spell that can exile any creature.
General's Enforcer
General's Enforcer – Being able to get cards out of graveyards while making more Humans makes this 2/3 Human Soldier a threat!
Parcelbeast
Parcelbeast – This is my pick for the best uncommon in the set. It has a drastically under costed mutate cost and a ridiculously valued ability. At any time you can draw a card for 1 mana, and if it’s a land you can put it directly onto the battlefield. You don’t even have to tap the land either.
Savai Thundermane
Savai Thundermane – This is one of the best payoff cards for cycling. You can add 2 mana to any cycling cost to drain any target for 2 life. Even Savai Thundermane is a solid 3/2 for two mana.
Alert Heelbonder
Alert Heedbonder – You get a solid 2/4 creature with Vigilance and you can slowly gain life throughout the game with it. You gain even more value if you can flood your board with more Vigilance creatures.
Jubilant Skybonder
Jubilant Skybonder – There’s nothing like a flying creature that makes it harder for your opponent to target any of your flying creatures. Great for the Azorius flying deck.
Sonorous Howlbonder
Sonorous Howlbonder – Not one, not two, but three creatures are needed to block any creature you have with menace. In any sort of aggro deck, this will make it very hard for your opponent to defend in any way.
You are now set up with a guide for the best commons and uncommons for Ikoria Limited. Remember that these uncommons will help you synergize your decks and often provide some of the best value! Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Ikoria. Join me again tomorrow as I continue Limited week with the Ikoria Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour.
