Welcome all to the Daily Dose of War of the Spark and the beginning of prerelease week! This week I’ll be having five articles to help you prepare for the War of the Spark prerelease weekend! Today I’m going to be focusing on those 10 cards in your pack that most players overlook but could be the key to your success at prerelease. Remember that when you are building your deck, including your promos you will have between 7-9 rares/mythics to choose from, with most of them being in different color combinations. You’ll also have 18 uncommons to choose from as well. Unless you are playing 5-colors, you most likely will need some strong commons to help you to victory. Here are some of the best from War of the Spark that you want to be playing in your prerelease deck!
Divine Arrow – This removal spell will be able to hit all the important targets. Pretty cheap at two mana to surprise your opponent.
Gideon’s Sacrifice – You can use this in a few ways, like as a one-mana white Fog by throwing all your opponent’s combat damage onto one creature. You can also use it in combat to save all your creatures but one.
Rising Populace – Creatures like this have always done well in Limited. Through trading in combat, this creature will continue to grow until it’s the biggest creature on the battlefield.
Trusted Pegasus – Version 3 or 4 of this creatures comes in the form of Trusted Pegasus. Being able to give your larger ground creature flying will make it easier for you to get in some damage that might not have otherwise got through.
Callous Dismissal – This card is a little bit like Fungal Infection as it is almost two spells in one. You get to bounce a nonland permanent while also getting a 1/1 creature or adding a +1/+1 counter to your existing Army. Even at sorcery speed it will still provide good tempo.
Erratic Visionary – Repeatable card looting is always nice to have on a creature. Thanks to it being blue and not red, you also get to draw first before you must discard.
Kasmina's Transmutation - This is a great way for blue to shut down a creature. It will render almost a useless 1/1 without any abilities.
Teferi’s Time Twist – Acts almost like a counterspell to your opponent’s removal and will make it bigger when it comes back. You can also use it on a creature with a sweet enters the battlefield ability.
Aid the Fallen – Versatile cards like this that provide good value are cards you want to be looking for when playing Limited. You can use it early to get one back, or save it until later and maximize value by getting 2 cards back into your hand.
Kaya’s Ghostform – This is a great deterrent for your opponent to kill one of your uncommon planeswalkers, as they will just get it back with higher loyalty. Very good value for just one mana.
Ob Nixilis’s Cruelty – This is the three-mana Lava Coil of the set. It’s added a little extra value by being able to take out creature with 5 toughness as well.
Spark Harvest – At five mana, it is still a fine common slot removal card, but every once in awhile you will get to cast this for only one mana and surprise your opponent.
Burning Prophet – This has taken Fire Urchin and improved it on two levels. You get the bonus on all noncreature spells, not just instant and sorceries. When it’s triggered you also get to Scry 1 for each noncreature spell.
Chandra’s Pyrohelix – Great removal spell that the odd time will allow you to use it as two removal spells for the price of one.
Grim Initiate – Similar to a card like Hunted Witness but with the bonus of having first strike on a one mana creature. Will be important more times than you think in the course of a game.
Nahiri’s Stoneblades – Similar to Chandra’s Pyrohelix, this can be used to trade up on two different creatures during combat. It can also straight be used to add 4 damage to your attack to kill your opponent.
Bloom Hulk – Having a 4/4 body on a 4-mana creature at common is strong enough even if it didn’t have any abilities. Adding proliferate on it could allow you to add counters to planeswalkers or other creatures you already have on the battlefield.
Giant Growth – One of the best one-mana pump spells ever created is back. Otherwise known as the green Lightning Bolt, your opponent will not see it coming when you have one mana available and can pump a creature by +3/+3.
Pollenbright Druid – Another great creature with a versatile ability that can be changed based on the state of your battlefield. Great improvement to Ironshell Beetle.
Snarespinner – A baby version of Netcaster Spider this acts as a 3/3 when it comes to blocking flying creatures. At two mana it’s a great card to be playing on turn two.
Guild Globe – With only one guildgate in this set, mana fixing will come in the form of artifacts like Guild Globe. It’s great that it replaces itself as well.
Mana Geode – Another great artifact that allows you to play 3 or 4-color decks during the prerelease. It also gives a bonus of Scry 1 when it enters the battlefield.
Gateway Plaza – It’s great to have one gate back in the set, and this is the best one to have. Should help fix your mana to save yourself from all the basic lands you will be playing.
This should give you a little more knowledge into what to expect in the common slot when you open your 6 packs of War of the Spark. Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of War of the Spark. Join me again tomorrow as I continue prerelease week with a look at the best uncommons you want to be playing during prerelease.
