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 the Ultimate Guide to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms Limited and Prerelease. It’s time for the Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour. I find one of the hardest things to grasp at the start of playing with a new set is knowing what cards my opponent could use as either instant combat tricks or to remove my threats. You must ask yourself questions like, “My opponent has two mana up of these colours, what spells could they use against me if I make an all-out attack?”. This guide will help give you the knowledge to answer questions like that and be prepared for what cards your opponent might have in their hand.
To make it easier, I’ve broken the combat tricks and removal cards down by colour so you can have an easier reference to what you’re looking for.
White Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
The best removal card for White is without a doubt, Minimus Containment. It can hit any non-land permanent and turn it into a measly Treasure token. White is loaded with some situational removal cards that can a variety of things. Portable Hole helps you against early threats, Dawnbringer Cleric can take out an enchantment, while Divine Smite can phase something out and potentially exile it if it's Black. Speaking of phasing, Guardian of Faith can be flashed in to be either a surprise blocker or counter a removal spell by phasing out your own creatures. White has a couple of combat tricks to watch out for. Rally Maneuver can be a blowout in multi-creature combat. You Hear Something on Watch might be the best combat trick for White. It can pump up the entire team or be used as a removal spell against an attacker.
Blue Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Blue only has two counterspells in the set. It has the Dungeon venturing Bar the Gate and the modal card You Find the Villains’ Lair. If your creature didn’t get countered, you need to be aware of two enchantment lockdown auras. Charmed Sleep taps the creature and locks it down, while Ray of Frost will keep a tapped creature tapped (Unless it’s Red of course, then you get a few bonuses).
One thing that can ruin your day is some Blue Flash creatures. Dragon Turtle and Scion of Stygia can both tap your blockers to allow creatures to get through at instant speed. When it comes to combat tricks, Blue has a few instant speed ways to mess up combat. Mordenkainen’s Polymorph can turn any creature into a 4/4 threat while attacking or blocking. Shocking Grasp can mess up a combat trade while replacing itself at the same time. True Polymorph is an expensive combat trick but can end up being quite devastating. You Come to a River can be used to bounce a creature during a double block or allow a blocker through unblocked to deal some lethal damage. Finally, the last combat trick you must worry about is You See a Guard Approach. It can be used to counter a removal spell for only one mana.
Black Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
As usual, Black is loaded with tons of removal spells you need to worry about. To start off there are two creatures with removal abilities built into them when they enter the battlefield. Black Dragon can take out something with three toughness, while Gelatinous Cube can exile any non-Ooze creature in the format until you kill it.
Keeping up with the removal train, next up are the instant removal spells. An expensive but good one is Eye of the Beholder. On the cheaper side, for two mana, Power Word Kill can kill almost any creature in the format, while for one mana Ray of Enfeeblement will crush a White creature and/or finish off most other creatures. At sorcery speed, the best removal in the set at common is Grim Bounty at only four mana. The Aura Precipitous Drop most of the time can kill only a two-toughness creature. The last removal card is a delayed sweeper card in Sphere of Annihilation. You'll still have your creatures for one turn, but probably best not to play any more into its exiling path.
Black has very few combat tricks in this set that are non-removal. Grim Wanderer can Flash in to block, but only if another creature has died that turn and Feign Death will make it so a creature dying will return to the battlefield larger than before.
Red Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Red is loaded with ways to deal damage to your creatures and your face. The ones to worry about at instant speed for only two mana are Burning Hands and Dragon’s Fire. Both can take out an early threat and finish off a large one. At five mana, Farideh’s Fireball is the largest non-rare damage spell and can deal five damage to a creature. The largest overall is the sorcery speed Meteor Swarm that is the closest the format has to a sweeper. On the cheaper end of the sorcery damage spectrum, you have Improvised Weaponry and Magic Missile for three mana each.
There are only two Red spells that can affect a creature’s power at instant speed and that is the Flash Equipment Dueling Rapier and the Double Strike giving Critical Hit. Your opponent can also play two Goblins at instant speed with You See a Pair of Goblins. If you have a precious artifact you don’t want to die, beware of two artifact removals spells for Red in You Find Some Prisoners and Plundering Barbarian.
Green Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
Green is often low in cards that are either combat tricks and removal and AFR is no different. They have some instant speed removal in the form of creature biting spells like Hunter’s Mark and Spoils of the Hunt. Green does have some situational removal cards in Plummet and the all-around versatile card You Find a Cursed Idol. Green does have three combat tricks up its sleeve at varying casting costs. At one mana, Wild Shape can morph a creature into three different problems of varying degrees. At two mana, Bull’s Strength can untap a creature out of nowhere and provide a blocker for your opponent. Finally, at three mana, Choose Your Weapon can either take out a Flying creature or double the power and toughness of one creature, potentially leaving you dead in one fell swoop.
Multicolour Combat Tricks and Removal Cards
There's only one to worry about and that is the Rakdos sweeper Orcus, Prince of Undeath. In the late game, you can pump a ton of mana into it and wipe out all other creatures on the battlefield.
I hope that this AFR Guide to Combat Tricks and Removal Cards by Colour will provide some value and insight into what to expect at your first Prerelease or Draft. Thanks again for reading Chapter 3 of the Ultimate Guide to AFR Limited and Prerelease. Next up is Chapter 4 and the Guide to Dice Rolling. 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
