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Hey Magic players! Recently I started a series looking at Magic’s most powerful uncommons. I started with the 1990s, and last month followed up with part 2.
My choice for #1 most bonkers card 2000-05 is $50 or so at minimum these days! Check out the post to see what it is.
An OP uncommon is basically a design mistake. In the early days, design was sorting things out, but as things settled into the 2000s, they should have had a better understanding about what place uncommons had in the overall scheme, right? And how to power them?
Let’s pick up at the beginning of the 2006, and see Magic in a really good place? For real? Oh yeah, the good place is Ravnica, which just came out. What can Magic do for a sequel?
The Middle 2000s
It’s 2006. Movies are in full franchise mode, and this is a year of Cars and the continuing Pirates of the Caribbean saga. If you check out the classic ‘X Men 3: The Last Stand,’ you can see me hamming it up running from a fireball after the mutant clinic explodes.
The world in general is discovering smart devices, social media, and the potential of the internet. As we enter an era of 24-7 information and media, details of pop culture, news, personal lives, and even Magic cards are under constant scrutiny and debate.
It’s important to note that Mythic rarity appeared in this period, in 2008, when Magic turned 15 years old. We’ll see if that changes uncommons in any significant way. Planeswalkers also made their debut in this period, with 2007’s Lorwyn, though it would be a long time before we’d see one at uncommon.
One other note: I didn’t play during this period and will probably miss a notable card’s performance in a 60 card format. Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed something!
Guildpact – January 2006
The glow from Ravnica carried over into Guildpact, which has a surprising amount of playable uncommons.
There are a few fun cards to try in Commander, like Aetherplasm, Droning Bureaucrats, Feral Animist, Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind, Order of the Stars, and Skarrg, the Rage Pits. Goblin Flectomancer is interesting. Hissing Miasma and Vedalken Plotter are both cards I have in my current build of my Jon Irenicus, Shattered One Commander deck.
There are some truly awesome new attempts at words, like Schismotivate, Stratozeppelid and Vacuumelt.
As far as competitive success, there’s actually some pedigree. 3 cards have been legit format staples in at least one format. I’m talking about Electrolyze, Mortify, and Shattering Spree. All are flexible answers to problems. Electrolyze can be an instant-speed 3-for-1, and Shattering Spree could be even more. Mortify is iconic enough to have a full-art, textless printing.
I feel like I probably missed a Standard staple or two from this set. Savage Twister, a reprint from Mirage, seems like it would have seen play somewhere, but maybe the colour support wasn’t there.
It’s tough to see this set’s uncommons being competitive in future, and a few of them are outright stinky, like Frazzle, but Guildpact overall isn’t so bad. There definitely wasn’t an OP mistake here.
FYI: The Guildpact is a major spell cast by Azor the sphinx, setting out roles and rules for the 10 Ravnican guilds, and acting as a treaty between them. In later years, the planeswalker Jace became the ‘Living Guildpact’ as seen on the card Jace, the Living Guildpact. It was later transferred to Niv-Mizzet the dragon wizard, ie. Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact. Both beings function(ed) in the same way as the spell.
Dissension – April 2006
Dissension followed the first 2 Ravnica sets with another solid group of uncommons. There are plenty of Commander cards, like Crypt Champion, Novijen, Heart of Progress, Palliation Accord, Plaxcaster Frogling, and Prahv, Spires of Order.
Some cards, like Pain Magnification and Rix Maadi, Dungeon Palace can be very effective but hard on your friends. You can make it up by playing the extremely unique Skyscribing, one of the few and scarcely played Forecast cards out there.
Watch out for cards like Blessing of the Nephilim or Might of the Nephilim, which are suddenly intriguing due to turn 0 Leyline of the Guildpact and infect creatures.
I’m positive both Court Hussar and Hit//Run saw play in Standard or at least Block Constucted. Both are pretty solid cards.
The biggest hitters in the set for Commander are Magewright’s Stone and Trygon Predator. The Predator has seen play in other formats also, and is a major must-kill creature from the early days of the format. The Stone, on the other hand, is more niche, but the decks that want it really want it. Any Commander that taps to do something, really.
Even bigger hitters are a pair of multi-format all stars in Ghost Quarter and Spell Snare. Neither are broken by any means, but they’ve seen steady play since they were released. Neither are heavily played these days, but they weren’t in LOTR or a Modern Horizons Set, so that’s totally understandable.
Coldsnap – July 2006
As much as players loved Ravnica, that love did not extend to Coldsnap. Widely hailed as a tough draft format, an underpowered Standard pool, and not much else, Coldsnap did not bring warm, fuzzy memories of Ice Age and Alliances in the 90s.
Time has softened the stance a bit, and some cards have definitely broken out in a huge way. Commander is one big reason, as the cards got a re-evaluation in a totally different format.
When it comes to the set’s uncommons, Juniper Order Ranger and Wilderness Elemental both do okay in Commander, and Coldsteel Heart is a fairly good mana rock.
A few cards have done some serious work in 60-card constructed too. I have to mention Lightning Storm which seen some occasional modern play, comboing with Treasure Hunt and a deck full of lands.
The big 2, Counterbalance and Mishra’s Bauble, are head and shoulders above the rest of the uncommons in the set.
While Counterbalance itself wasn’t banned, it proved to be too powerful alongside Sensei’s Divining Top in Legacy, creating the ‘Counter-Top’ decks that eventually adopted cards like Terminus and became known as ‘Miracles’ decks. Any which way, the ability to stack the top two or three cards in your deck and then resolve Counterbalance‘s trigger was too game-breaking for Legacy. The deck stuck for a while, using cards like Predict, but it eventually faded away.
Like Counterbalance, Mishra’s Bauble‘s wide playability hinges on another card or two. In Vintage and Legacy, the Bauble is a usually a repeatable draw engine with Lurrus of the Dream-Den as your companion. Sometimes it is also combined with cards like Dragon’s Rage Channeler to have an easy way to trigger Delirium, which checks your graveyard for different card types. The Bauble sacrifices itself, so it’s easy to get in the bin.
Of the two, Mishra’s Bauble is played a lot more, including in current top-tier decks in Vintage and Legacy. More than anything, it shows how any free spell is a potential problem. However, Counterbalance, as a repeatable Counterspell effect that only costs 2 mana, and requires no more mana than that, is the much more broken card, and a design that is highly questionable at uncommon.
Time Spiral – September 2006
Coldsnap wasn’t the only throwback to the past that Magic got in 2006, as Time Spiral also reached back to the 90s for ideas. While Coldsnap’s focus was very much on updating Ice Age/Alliances, Time Spiral took a broader view, and covered much more ground.
Some card ideas, like the storage lands from Fallen Empires, were given new life in Time Spiral in the uncommon slot. The set included a cycle of 2-colour storage lands that also tapped for colourless, addressing several issues all at once. These lands, including Calciform Pools are not widely played anywhere anymore, but they represent Magic’s evolution/power creep in a way that was very welcome at the time.
The set also revisited some classics and provided a bit of a twist. In the uncommon slot, there’s Pendelhaven Elder as a twist on Legends’ Pendelhaven, Urza’s Factory as a new rival to Mishra’s Factory, and a whole bevy of new slivers. The best of those is the powerful Harmonic Sliver, which even saw play outside of Sliver decks because of its ability to destroy artifacts and enchantments on entry.
Some uncommons have fringe Commander application, like Fool’s Demise, Return to Dust, Sulfurous Blast, and Yavimaya Dryad, but newer, more efficient cards are pushing stuff like this to the side.
There are a pair of very unique, upkeep-focused uncommons in Paradox Haze and Thick-Skinned Goblin, who negates echo costs. The goblin is too specific, and would require a lot of modernized echo support to ever see play, but Paradox Haze has a lot of weird potential.
In some constructed formats, and the occasional morph-based Commander deck, Brine Elemental is the best thing going. ‘Pickles Lock,’ where a player is able to turn Brine Elemental up then back down down every turn to shut off the opponents’ untaps has won plenty of Magic games over the years. Well, stalled them until some other card could win.
Fun fact: there are 13 Magic cards with ‘Brine’ in the name, and only 4 with ‘Paradox.’
Time Spiral even brought us some new mechanics, including Split Second, which has popped up in most formats with a card or two. The best known uncommon card from this set with Split Second is definitely Krosan Grip, which sees almost entirely Commander play. Sudden Shock and Wipe Away have seen some 60-card constructed play, and Sudden Death probably sees the inside of a sleeve every blue moon or so.
On the competitive side, Conflagrate was a finisher for a while in early Dredge concepts, and Might of Old Krosa continues to see some play in Infect decks, where it has been a staple for ages.
One uncommon even has a deck built around it and named for it. That’s Smallpox, a deck that is built to come out ahead on nasty, symmetrical sacrifice cards, namely Smallpox. Combining discard, removal, land destruction and a little lifeloss on one card for 2 mana is insane. If you can break the symmetry, boy can you ever come out ahead. It’s been a long time since the deck made any waves anywhere, but it’s never completely dead.
And then, finally, we have Dread Return. This is a clear contender for most broken card of the era, and has the chops to prove it. It sees current play in several formats, including Pauper, as a result of a common printing in Commander Masters (wth?!), and both Legacy and Vintage.
The card is banned in Modern, because there are ways to get a few cheap or free creatures out early, get Dread Return in your graveyard, and then cast it for free using flashback. Sometimes, like with Oops All Spells decks, you can do this all in one big turn and use Dread Return to cast something that will win the game on the spot.
Dredge decks would employ this card as well, sometimes for value, and sometimes to execute a win condition like Flame-Kin Zealot, giving their army of recursive creatures haste for a lethal attack.
A card would be printed two sets down the line that would push Dread Return completely over the top: Narcomoeba. But even without it, this card is a big problem, and stands strong among the all-time broken uncommons.
Planar Chaos – January 2007
The follow-up to Time Spiral followed up with plenty of cool uncommons, but not so many really impactful ones. Cards like Big Game Hunter, Frozen Aether, Stonecloaker, and weird white counterspell Rebuff the Wicked are notable, but only played casually.
A few cards, like Kavu Predator, Rough//Tumble, and Phantasmagorian have enjoyed some competitive success, but only very briefly. Sulfur Elemental was a sideboard card against small white creature decks for ages, but not recently.
The most broken uncommon card in the set is possibly Pyrohemia, which as a colour-shifted version of OG enchantment Pestilence, is a repeatable boardwipe slash win condition. But it hasn’t ever found the right deck to get it to the top tiers of any format.
Three commander cards probably have the most impact overall. Harmonize, Hunting Wilds, and Pongify have all been legit staples of the Commander format. Harmonize still sees a ton of play, as a simple, elegant way to refill your hand in green. None are broken, though, and the set’s uncommons overall are quite low power, and have been outclassed by better cards.
Future Sight – April 2007
Speaking of outclassed by better cards, the power and impact of the uncommons of Future Sight stand out among the sets covered here. There are also some real icons, like Boldwyr Intimidator, who gave us the immortal phrase ‘Cowards can’t block Warriors.’
The set contains some wonderfully weird and very playable Commander cards, like Chronomantic Escape, Haze of Rage, and Mystic Speculation.
There’s also a cycle of mostly excellent uncommon lands like Dakmor Salvage, Llanowar Reborn, New Benalia, and the powerful Tolaria West, all of which have EDH potential and even some competitive history.
Speaking of competitive history, this set’s uncommons actually have some serious pedigree. Yixlid Jailer, an unassuming zombie, is still played in sideboards in Eternal formats today. Aven Mindcensor, a former Death & Taxes staple, sometimes appears as well.
But they’re the appetizers. This set has no fewer than 4 cards which could all contend for most broken uncommon of the era.
We can start with Street Wraith. It took a long time for this card to find footing, even as something that effectively reduces the size of your deck by however many copies you can jam in. Having 4 Street Wraiths in a 60 card deck means you’re effectively playing 56 cards. And you don’t mind the pain.
If you can stand the pain, or can use the body in the graveyard somehow, you really break this card. And plenty of decks have. Death’s Shadow decks, built around the namesake creature, can use the lifeloss as a plus, making the Shadow bigger. Decks built around Living End can discard the Wraith for free, digging deeper in their deck and getting another body when their namesake spell goes off.
Next up is Dryad Arbor, a land that’s also a green creature. While it has caused all sorts of issues through the years, and even prompted a rules change because it was too easily mistaken for a basic forest in one printing, this card has largely settled into a niche role in Legacy and Vintage. It is rarely found without Green Sun’s Zenith, because it can be… found by casting Green Sun’s Zenith.
The current value of the card is that it is a green creature with zero mana value, and GSZ gets it for 1 green. It can then be used for mana as an additional land, or a creature to do creature stuff with. But it’s something that is unique, and could create a problem interaction in future. Incidentally, Green Sun’s Zenith is banned in Modern, in some part because of Dryad Arbor.
The third card is another very unique value creature that has a powerful interaction requiring no mana. See a pattern here?
Enter Narcomoeba, one of the most heavily played cards in this article. It’s currently played in several decks, all looking to do the same thing: put a lot of cards into their graveyards and play those Narcomoebas for free.
Decks that do this can often dump their entire library into the graveyard in a single turn. From there, the current play is to sacrifice 3 Narcomoebas to flashback Dread Return to play Thassa’s Oracle and win the game on the spot. The card has also been a staple in some Dredge decks, and some other reanimator strategies as well.
Each individual Narcomoeba is barely anything, but in the right deck, with the right support, they are part of some powerful and hard-to-interact-with kills in the highest competitive circles of Magic. It’s tough to argue with that, and results in a very broken uncommon. It was reprinted in Guilds of Ravnica as a rare.
Finally there’s a piece of equipment a Narcomoeba could totally get on board with: Sword of the Meek. This is a card that is now printed at rare, and even spent a period of time on the banned list in Modern because of how it interacts with Thopter Foundry.
It interacts with other cards too, but with Thopter Foundry, a player could repeatedly sacrifice their Sword of the Meek for a single mana, creating a 1/1 thopter token and gaining 1 life each time. Each time the 1/1 was created, the Sword would return from the grave to equip it. As a 2 card wincon that could be executed with one piece in the graveyard, this was too powerful when surrounded by a control shell.
The Sword of the Meek has since been unbanned in Modern, as the strategy is too slow and not impactful enough for the modern game, but a future printing could break it again. Like Narcomoeba, Sword of the Meek has been reprinted as a rare.
10th Edition – July 2007
Even though the core sets tend to be all or mostly reprints, it’s interesting to check out what uncommons were printed in them, to get a sense of how WotC saw their power level. In previous core sets, we got stuff like Channel, so we know they make mistakes. What about 10th Edition?
There are some definite standout uncommons here. Aura of Silence, Chromatic Star, Creeping Mold, Diabolic Tutor, Mind Stone, Mogg Fanatic, Nantuko Husk, Nekrataal, Ornithopter, Pyroclasm, Shatterstorm, Soul Warden, and Sylvan Scrying are all cards with some pedigree. Most have seen 60-card constructed play, and most are also played in Commander and other casual formats.
One of the most bizarre card-draw spells, Goblin Lore, migrated into mainstream Magic in this set from Portal: Second Age and Starter 1999.
The set included the mon-coloured creatureland cycle, including Faerie Conclave and the heavily played Treetop Village, as well as notorious cards like Hunted Wumpus and Relentless Rats
Lots of the cards have had a lot of impact, but few are broken. Alongside Pyroclasm, Aura of Silence and Shatterstorm maybe, the most outright powerful uncommons in 10th edition are probably Megrim, Primal Rage, and Whispersilk Cloak, simply because of their playability in Commander.
Lorwyn – September 2007
Lorwyn block is impactful and nostalgic. We got Planeswalkers for the very first time, and stuff like hybrid mana, Changelings, the untap symbol, and type-based payoffs on a level never seen before.
But as far as uncommons go?
Spoiler alert: there’s minimal breakage here. Across all four sets. I’m going to try to keep it brief.
Lorwyn had some very cool uncommons, and many have seen some competitive play. Card like the Vivid land cycle, Burrenton Forge-Tender, Cloudgoat Ranger, Familiar’s Ruse, Flamekin Harbinger, Makeshift Mannequin, and Treefolk Harbinger.
Changelings have made a big impact overall, but the uncommon ones in this set are fairly forgettable, with removal spell Crib Swap being the standout.
Type-payoff cards Imperious Perfect, Merrow Reejerey, Merrow Commerce, and Silvergill Adept have all done well in 60 card constructed, but none are big players in top-tier decks at present.
The best uncommon in the set is possibly evoke elemental Shriekmaw, which is also a versatile removal option. Very playable, but not broken. Moving on to Morningtide.
Morningtide – January 2008
More cool uncommon cards, but again, nothing much broken. We have the always fun Boldwyr Intimidator as a reprint, and wacky stuff like Recross the Paths and Offalsnout that have niche appeal.
We have another round of strong type-payoffs, like Bramblewood Paragon, Oona’s Blackguard, Rage Forger and Wolf-Skull Shaman. There is also a cycle of type-based equipment, including Cloak and Dagger, Obsidian Battle-Axe, and Veteran’s Armaments.
One of those equipment pieces, Thornbite Staff, can be really potent on the right creature. Something like Prodigal Sorcerer which taps to do 1 damage to a target without any extra mana cost. This can wipe out all the 1 toughness creatures in play.
The best uncommon from the set is definitely Heritage Druid, which was later printed as a rare in Eternal Masters. It’s a key card in Legacy ‘Elfball’ decks, which look to play cheap elves that produce mana to play more cheap elves and snowball into some massive game-winner like Craterhoof Behemoth.
By itself, however, Heritage Druid is merely very good, and could hardly be called OP, even in the elfball shell. Let’s flip the horizon and head to Shadowmoor.
Shadowmoor – April 2008
Moor cool uncommon cards here. We’ve got the basic-typed land cycle including Leechridden Swamp, which are decent enough throw-ins in Commander. Shout out to a weird green spin on Propaganda, maybe, in Raking Canopy.
We’ve got stuff like Beseech the Queen, Guttural Response, Cursecatcher and Spectral Procession, which have seen some sporadic play through the years. Cursecatcher in Merfolk decks has probably seen the most play.
We’ve got neat -1/-1 counter cards, notably Blowfly Infestation, Flourishing Defenses and Kulrath Knight, which have new purpose in Commander, even if they didn’t do much in 60 card formats.
Do you like Massacre Girl, Known Killer? Did you know Corrosive Mentor exists? Now you do.
With an equip cost of 0, and the ability to untap the creature it equips, Umbral Mantle is a unique uncommon that can be a big deal for certain Commanders.
Two cards were a huge deal in Modern for a very long time: Kitchen Finks and Murderous Redcap. The Finks were the much bigger card, seeing play as a value card in all sorts of decks, and as a solid way to stop Burn decks.
Both cards leverage the Persist mechanic either to get double value out of the creature, or to form an infinite combo with a card like Melira, Sylvok Outcast, Ivy Lane Denizen or First Day of Class, and a free sacrifice outlet. They played especially well in sacrifice decks, notably those built around Birthing Pod in Modern, helping get the Pod banned.
It has been a long time since these cards were Modern playable, however, and even though they were a big deal, especially Kitchen Finks were never really OP. On to Eventide.
Eventide – July 2008
The leanest Lorwyn set on uncommons is definitely the final one. We have a handful of cool cards, like Gilder Bairn, Soul Snuffers, Spitemare, and Springjack Shepherd. Alongside the hedge-mage cycle, highlighted by Duergar Hedge-Mage, these cards have some niche Commander applications.
Two nifty little spells can be difference makers in Commander, and were frequently played by Sheldon Menery himself. These are Batwing Brume and Cauldron Haze, and you should definitely give them a look for your black/white Commander decks.
The big hitter from the set is Flickerwisp, still chugging along doing its thing in Modern, usually in Yorion, Sky Nomad decks. Great card. Terrific uncommon. Not really OP. Can Alara do better?
Shards of Alara – September 2008
The first set of Alara didn’t do better. We did see the first appearance of zombie stalwart Fleshbag Marauder, and smattering of other cool cards like Mighty Emergence and Necrogenesis.
60 card constructed enjoyed a new level of creature efficiency with cards Rhox War Monk Sprouting Thrinax and Woolly Thoctar, but we’ve since blown past cards like them with today’s designs. Tidehollow Sculler and Fatestitcher have also seen some competitive play, but that’s pretty much where it stops, outside of 2 cycles.
The true standouts are the tri-lands and the charm cycle. We got 5 lands that tap for 3 colours, with coming in tapped as the only drawback, and 5 modal instant spells in 3 colours. All of which have contributed to the history of Magic in small ways.
Mostly, these cards are played casually. The lands are a cheap option for budget Commander decks, and the charms are often a good consideration for decks in their colours, since they almost always have some use.
Nothing broken or OP here, but high usage and playability counts for something.
Conflux – January 2009
The pool of playable uncommons from Conflux is much smaller than Shards of Alara. Countersquall and Volcanic Fallout are quite playable, and have seen constructed play. Personally, I like Cumber Stone, and View from Above combines really well with Noyan Dar, Roil Shaper in Commander. And there’s some other cards, too, even less worth mentioning.
We do have Ancient Ziggurat, which was part of many Modern Humans decks not so long ago, but those decks fell off the map when Modern Horizons 1 & 2 flipped the format completely. Fury, now banned, was especially bad for those decks. Maybe they can come back, but with MoHo3 looming down from the immediate future, it’s not likely.
Conflux also has a legit Commander staple, in Reliquary Tower. This is a very simple and effective card, because discarding down to 7 cards after drawing 15 or so is stressful (groan). While it’s easy to scoff at people who can’t manage their hand after drawing too many cards, it’s not always their choice, and having a big hand has strategic implications, too.
And finally we have a dilemma. Where do we draw the line between very powerful and broken? Conflux’s real bright spot in the uncommon slot is Path to Exile, which is a good card to ask that question about. It sees loads of play, mainly in Commander. It has seen loads of constructed play also, but has been supplanted in recent years by cards like Leyline Binding and Prismatic Ending.
Exiling a creature for 1 white mana is a great deal. Giving the controller a basic land is often a good trade, and if they have no basics (or none left) it’s even better. You can also use it on your own creature as a wacky but very cheap ramp spell. Something white decks, which struggle to ramp, should consider more often.
The card is a legit Commander staple, and has been a legit staple in other formats too, but is it broken? Swords to Plowshares is arguably a better card, is also uncommon, and is also a multi-format staple. It is not considered broken or OP.
I think we have to consider Path to Exile the same way. It has a balancing mechanic built in, and while very powerful, isn’t broken to the level of some other cards on this list.
Alara Reborn – April 2009
The final stop on the plane of Alara brought us enough decent uncommons that we should breathe a sigh of relief or something. It was looking grim there.
To start, we have 4 fifths of a cycle of very good multi-coloured equipment. All of Behemoth Sledge, Demonspine Whip, Mage Slayer, and Mask of Riddles are very Commander playable.
Among the other playable uncommon options are Intimidation Bolt, Lorescale Coatl, Mind Funeral, Reborn Hope, Sigil Captain, and Tainted Sigil. Many of these are niche, but very good in those niches. Wall of Denial deserves special mention as one of the best defensive creatures ever, and possibly the best wall.
From the sideboards of a fair amount of decks across multiple formats is Zealous Persecution, a simple little spell that wins the go-wide war completely.
For the really heavy hitters, we have former Modern combo-esque card Thopter Foundry, which combined with Sword of the Meek, which is listed above in Future Sight. Maybe the Sword saw a future with Thopter Foundry, but Magic designers missed it, and the Sword was banned because of it.
The Foundry also had some traction with Urza, Lord High Artificer, as it also goes infinite. Sadly, these combos are simply too slow for Modern, Legacy or Vintage, and don’t see much play anywhere. Being multicoloured, Thopter Foundry can’t be played in Urza, Lord High Artificer Commander decks either.
But forget about combos! What really breaks Magic is free spells. Alara Reborn is the set that introduced the highly contentious Cascade mechanic. You might know one particular uncommon card that caused problems.
It’s Bloodbraid Elf! Scourge of Modern! Remorseless killer of many a Jace, the Mind Sculptor! Buddy buddy with Liliana of the Veil, and Lightning Bolt and Fulminator Mage and all sorts of Jund cards that want to attack your opponents’ resources. And you get one of those cards for free with your elf. Yikes!
The elf was banned in Modern in 2013, though unbanned in 2018 as the format shifted. It’s currently not really playable, but it was pretty broken in its day.
But lets talk about Cascade, which is still causing issues in Modern (and other formats too). Just this week, Violent Outburst, a common from Shards of Alara, was banned in Modern. The reason was because it was the last 3-mana instant-speed cascade spell available, and enabled decks that used Crashing Footfalls or Living End just a little too well.
These decks are built to only ever Cascade into free 4/4s, or a boardwipe plus reanimation of their dead cycle creatures, so doing that at the end of an opponent’s turn, then untapping with that stuff is pretty good. Too good for Modern.
The decks are far from dead, though, and there has been an immediate surge of interest for Ardent Plea, another of Alara Reborn’s uncommons, and another 3 mana Cascade card. The power of Cascade is so high, that the rest of the text on Ardent Plea hardly matters. Just on potential of Cascade alone, this card will probably be one of the more broken of the era.
Magic 2010 – July 2009
Magic 2010 was mostly a reprint set, and the uncommons are ok, but not inspiring. We have stuff like Diabolic Tutor, Megrim, Ornithopter, Pyroclasm, Relentless Rats, and Whispersilk Cloak. We’ve seen it before.
There are a few notable new uncommons from this set, highlighted by Acidic Slime, a utility creature that sees a solid amount of Commander play. There is also Alluring Siren, a callback to Nettling Imp and designs that force creatures to attack, Nature’s Spiral, a decent recursion spell, and Elite Vanguard, a callback to Savannah Lions but with a more synergistic pair of creature types.
The Lions were once considered the best 1 drop in the game as a 2/1 with no downside. It’s likely mana creatures like Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise were always better, but for a long time, 2/1 creatures with no downside for a single mana were considered big game.
Currently, Elite Vanguard has been so completely outclassed, it’s not funny. It has since been printed at common, and is likely to be phased out of print completely.
Zendikar – September 2009
Zendikar really resonated with Magic players. The idea of an adventure world (unlike Alara, a world of adventure) was the perfect tonic for players who were sick of whatever was wrong with the previous few sets.
I have a thought about that. I think the mana was terrible. The best available fixers were the tri-lands and City of Brass. Manalith was among the better mana rocks. Fetches weren’t widely available, and even Evolving Wilds wasn’t around, debuting later in 2009, in Worldwake.
We had a full block of experiments, followed by a full block of multicoloured cards, and playing anything cool and creative probably lost to solid mana bases that didn’t fool around. The 90s were like that, and it wasn’t great.
Zendikar didn’t have a lot of multicoloured nonsense, and even leaned into colourless. The mechanics are fairly straightforward, too, with Landfall leading the way as a perennial favourite. And doing full-art basics in a non-silver-bordered set for the first time really hit big.
There was a lot to like in the Zendikar uncommon slots. The lifegain lands, including Jwar Isle Refuge, are a good budget option for Commander, and some decks love the added lifegain.
The Ally mechanic has rarely yielded an OP strategy, but Zendikar’s Hagra Diabolist is potentially one of your finishers. The Quest enchantments are similar, with lots of utility but nothing too broken, though Quest for Pure Flame might get you a win or two.
Other cards like Brave the Elements and Marsh Casualties have seen constructed play, and Hedron Crab is both a great example of how effective Landfall can be, and a mainstay of some fringe decks across multiple formats. Even Vintage! Ravenous Trap always has some sideboard appeal.
The kitchen table has room for cards like Trailblazer’s Boots, and is the only place where Vampire Nighthawk still flaps around. Once a Standard all-star, the Nighthawk has been passed by in terms of power.
It’s a toss up which is the most broken uncommon in the set, however. There are 2 possibilities: Punishing Fire and Vampire Hexmage. It’s likely that Punishing Fire is more broken, and since it is banned in Modern, the evidence certainly would suggest it. However, Vampire Hexmage has had success in Legacy that Punishing Fire really hasn’t.
Both cards really depend on a specific land to make them broken. Vampire Hexmage is a cute way to kill Hydras and Planeswalkers and Battles (oh my!) but the interaction with Dark Depths is the Hexmage’s bread and butter. Similarly, Punishing Fire is best when paired with Grove of the Burnwillows to make it recur every turn, and ultimately burn out the opponent and all their small creatures.
There are a handful of decks, even recently, that play both cards. Neither is essential to the decks, which are Legacy and Vintage ‘Lands’ decks, but the lists and the colours vary greatly, and both are part of the mix. Between being able to kill Planeswalkers and flip Battles, Vampire Hexmage still has lots of untapped potential.
Worldwake – January 2010
Worldwake gave us a Mythic card. This was where Jace, the Mind Sculptor came from. For a while, it was the best Planeswalker in the game. It was banned in Modern, and still cost $150. It was the mainstay of a few Masters sets, selling premium packs with the dream scenario of opening a foil (gasp!).
Why does this matter? It doesn’t, but neither does most of Worldwake outside of JTMS. The uncommons are not an inspiring lot. We do have decent enough cards like Kor Firewalker, Quest for the Goblin Lord, Ruin Ghost, and Urge to Feed. The set has allies, but Hada Freeblade is the best of a forgettable lot of uncommons.
The most heavily played card is Everflowing Chalice, which sees Commander play, and sometimes plays in ‘Dice Factory’ decks in Legacy, leveraging the power of proliferate, charge counters and Doubling Cube to make gobs of mana.
Other than that, I’d like to highlight Quest for Renewal, which is actually pretty strong in Commander and very easy to get going.
That’s it. These cards were only ever going to be bit players in a set with a big star like JTMS. But Jace was about to share the big stage.
Rise of the Eldrazi – April 2010
Enter Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. All mythics, and three of the most powerful creatures Magic ever printed. Emrakul is still in the top tier, still appears in decks across multiple formats, and is banned in Commander.
Some of the lesser Eldrazi are also very strong, and that’s because they share two characteristics with the name titans: size and the Annihilator mechanic. Two uncommon cards meet that criteria, Artisan of Kozilek and Pathrazer of Ulamog. Both are huge, hard to cast, and somewhat clunky, but either could win you a game of Magic.
Like Cascade, Annihilator is a problematic mechanic that makes a lot of mediocre cards much better, and is hated by a lot of Magic players. Players tend to hate cards that destroy lands, and Annihilator often turns into one of those. An attack by any creature with the ability can decimate a board, even before blocking. Even if they hardly see play at all anywhere, Artisan of Kozilek and Pathrazer of Ulamog are definite considerations for most broken uncommons of the era.
There are plenty of less broken but still good uncommons in the set. The umbra cards are all solid, including Boar Umbra, and the level-up cards, like Joraga Treespeaker, are ok. There’s some Commander use for stuff like Gravity Well, Pelakka Wurm, and Dreamstone Hedron.
A trio of cards, Forked Bolt, Wall of Omens, and Not of this World all have some competitive history. They all could in future, as they either provide a flexible burn option, a cheap ETB card-draw trigger, or a free Counterspell to protect your Marit Lage token or Eldrazi Titan.
The best uncommon in the set, by a wide margin, is Inquisition of Kozilek, which has been a Modern staple for ages, and sees fringe play in Legacy as well. Since there are cards in those formats it can never answer, it’s never going to supplant Thoughtseize, but it’s a reasonable sidekick, and might leverage the meta to your advantage.
Magic 2011 – July 2010
Another core set, which means mostly reprints. The notables include Acidic Slime, Diabolic Tutor, Nature’s Spiral, Ornithopter Pyroclasm Relentless Rats Voltaic Key, and Whispersilk Cloak.
This set actually included some pretty intriguing new uncommons. Stuff like Autumn’s Veil, Back to Nature, Fire Servant, and Garruk’s Packleader.
Among those is the very very good Liliana’s Caress, which has not been printed since. As a cheaper Megrim, it has some demand in Constructed and Commander alike, and is not cheap.
Scars of Mirrodin – September 2010
We come to the end of 2010 with a return to Mirrodin. As a primarily artifact-focused set, it couldn’t help influence Magic on a very wide scale. Artifacts are often easy to cast, fit in most decks, and have all sorts of synergies, including with themselves.
This is a pretty great set for Commander, and there are lots of great uncommons. Stuff like Barbed Battlegear, Clone Shell, Infiltration Lens, Myr Galvanizer, Palladium Myr, and Thrummingbird. There’s even a sweet answer to treasure in Viridian Revel.
The set’s mechanics, like proliferate, can be found in repeatable fashion on Contagion Clasp. There’s a small but serviceable indestructible creature in Darksteel Myr. There’s a nasty piece of infect equipment in Grafted Exoskeleton.
There’s some competitive cards, like Liquimetal Coating in Karn, the Great Creator‘s sideboards, Memnite in some Affinity or Cheerios builds, Riddlesmith from a combo deck of the same name in Legacy, and Trinket Mage in occasional builds of artifact decks.
The most fun card history belongs to Throne of Geth, which was used to stop Chalice of the Void set to 1 or 0 by sacrificing itself to add a counter to it. Very cool.
But what cards are the best of the era?
The Top Ten Uncommons of 2005-2010
Dishonourable mention – Annihilator Eldrazi. They suck.
10 – Path to Exile – Not broken or even that OP, but a truly fantastic uncommon card, and fantastic card overall.
9 – Bloodbraid Elf (and now Ardent Plea) – Almost any card with Cascade is good, and the Elf was too efficient and well-supported for its day, and got banned for a while in Modern. Ardent Plea supports several top-tier Modern strategies in 2024 despite doing almost nothing besides costing 3 mana.
8 – Punishing Fire – Recursion is good, and a burn spell every turn is better. Grove of the Burnwillows is the real reason for this being banned in Modern, but it’s still a highly questionable design at uncommon.
7 – Vampire Hexmage – With applications regarding Planeswalkers, Battles, and anything with counters in future, the Hexmage can always help break something. Like Dark Depths, which is banned in Modern. The Hexmage is still doing work in Legacy.
6 – Dryad Arbor – Despite a simple design on the surface, this card is a rules nightmare. It’s never a completely safe property, and stands unique in Magic as a result.
5 – Street Wraith – Free stuff is good stuff. Free discard, free card draw, free body in the graveyard. Some decks even want the lifeloss more than the rest. Too much for nothing, and effectively shrinks your deck – reminiscent of Gitaxian Probe, honestly.
4 – Narcomoeba – Free stuff is good stuff. This is almost always a free creature, and enough decks want to self-mill that it’s in top decks in Legacy and Vintage. Having it come from your deck means it dodges a lot of answers in the form of countermagic. Enables wincons directly.
3 – Sword of the Meek – Free stuff is good stuff. This is often a free artifact, plus a free equip, and destroying it hardly matters. That means you can also sacrifice it repeatedly, like to Thopter Foundry. Banned briefly in Modern, and has a small chance to make a mess of things again if the right card comes along.
2 – Counterbalance – Costing the same as a basic Counterspell, once this counters two spells, it’s already super broken. Combined with Sensei’s Divining Top to wreck Legacy for a while, and Top was banned. Could be a problem in future, and still sees fringe Legacy play.
1 – Dread Return – Um…? Free stuff is good stuff? You’d think a highly restrictive flashback cost would hold this thing back, but highly restrictive kinda only applies to mana, and so this card is instrumental in wincons in Vintage, Legacy and even Pauper decks. It would play in Modern, but it’s banned. It can also be cast for mana from your hand, but dropping your whole deck in the graveyard or into exile with Doomsday, then using this and 3 Narcomoeba to flashback Thassa’s Oracle or something like it, and winning the game on the spot is just better.
Conclusion
This is a major downgrade in uncommon power from both of the previous eras. How many of these cards would even get close to those lists? Are we in a new era, or just in a dip? We’ll have to wait until the next installment to find out.
We’ll continue in future with 2011-2015!
Thanks for reading!
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