Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Limited Set Review – Green

Drifter

I’ve been enthralled by Limited ever since I began in New Phyrexia. With a particular fondness for flashback and cube drafts, I’ve drafted more sets than I can count on every platform through wildly different eras. On Arena I draft infinitely, having profited 30k or so gems from it at this point, and have made top 100 mythic several times. Self-reflection and critical analysis are paramount to Limited improvement, and that theme features in many of my articles on the subject. My profile picture is the promo art for Mulldrifter, my namesake!

Drifter: D

Adventurous Impulse is a lot less exciting in a Cycling set – they occupy the same sort of role, so there’s not really a need to dedicate a slot to this effect. I think you would rather just have cards that do things to cycle into.

Drifter: D

The problem with the Brushwagg is that it’s a 1/1; it doesn’t have meaningful impact until you’re able to use the ability. In most sets, this would be mostly garbage; it is helped a bit by Mutate this set but honestly I think that’s pretty overblown – Trample isn’t a great ability to grant, and i don’t think the Mutate decks lend themselves that well to wanting Brushwagg as a card in the first place. Other mutate fodder cards will actually do something beforehand: they’ll block for those decks, they’ll generate some kind of value even if it’s just in the form of making a 1/1, but this activated ability isn’t that useful when you’re trying to play a midrangey Mutate deck.

Drifter: A

This card is the actual nut. Being a 5 mana 6/6 is huge, and this will dominate the board if that’s all you do with it, but the Mutate ability is even better. You hit for 6 immediately, get a free permanent off the top – obviously that could be a land so it might not be fantastic but Green can use lands better than most – and then you have a huge threat that remains in play and threatens to fetch up two more permanent cards if they don’t kill it immediately. It competes with Boon of the Wish-Giver for best single colour uncommon, and I think even wins that exchange by a little. Also a decent splash, though slightly worse in that role!

Drifter: F

This is not Theros: Beyond Death, don’t maindeck this card. It’s a medium sideboard card, since there’s still not a lot it hits; look to pick this up on the wheel over total trash.

Drifter: C

Bristling Boar was a reasonable card in both M19 and M20, since this ability is often surprisingly relevant. I think it’s on about the same level here since Mutate doesn’t actually help it; it’s really bad Mutate fodder, as the ability isn’t worth putting yourself down a 4 drop.

Drifter: C+

This card will generally deal at least 3 damage, at which point it’s great. There are enough creatures in most Limited decks, especially in the Mutate format, that you’ll generally find a reasonable one even if you’re topdecking, especially since you’ll be playing more 6 and 7 drops in your decks that just cycle away. That being said, it is hurt by the fact that you might need to wait a while, and it sometimes won’t kill what you want/force you to sandbag creatures and such. I consider this a high C+, and could see moving it to the low B range.

Drifter: D

The best thing about this card is the art, continuing the trend of giant kitties. As a Limited card, this is a lot of stipulations for not that great an effect. You give them a free turn, you need a creature with some form of evasion or they can just chump, it opens you up to removal blowouts, and it’s 7 mana! This is a format where you’re playing extra 6 and 7 drops because they have cycling, so there’ll be less room for this. This is a low D, and I considered giving it an F, but that enormous tail moved my heart so I’ll show mercy…

Drifter: C

This adds up to a lot of value in your decks that have lots of mutates, and moves up to a C+ there – if you can ever get two triggers, you’re just getting a fantastic rate; 2 life really adds up over time too. Still, I’d just take it at high C for now, since this format has a lot of 2 drops that are decent early and late that compete with this.

Drifter: C

This is an effect that is strong in Golgari, or just if you’re splashing Golgari uncommons like Boneyard Lurker or Back for More. I’d be happy to play this in any deck though, since it has a solid statline, and a little upside when you mutate onto it and can deal a bunch of damage immediately with a big creature. It’s a high C, and a C+ in Golgari.

Drifter: B

4 mana 4/4 is above rate and this ability is great; it won’t be that hard to get Humans for this.

Drifter: C

Fertilid is slow but it represents a lot of value in fixing/decks that can make good use of the ramp. You can chump with the body and then remove the second counter, so it’ll often gain you a few life later on. Most decks will be on the slower side in this format and I think splashing is going to be great this set, so I’m usually happy to have it. If you mutate it, you keep the counters, which can lead to some great swings, and you can usually recoup the card disadvantage by removing counters. The curve of t3 Fertilid t4 double ramp is pretty strong; I consider it a high C because I think it meshes well with what green wants to be doing this format.

Drifter: C

Strictly better Mammoth Spider is a strong sideboard card against Blue, and will make your maindeck as filler much of the time also. You’ll mostly go for Reach, but I think Vigilance will actually come up a fair bit in topdeck mode, for when you want to pressure them and simultaneously stop their small creatures from attacking.

Drifter: D

A 3 mana +3/+3 trick is awful, but this card is saved a little by granting Trample permanently and immediately dealing a bunch of damage with it; it’s reasonable to set up two or three turn lethal with this in some spots. That being said, it doesn’t add enough to the mediocre base case for this to quite make the C range, though it is a high D.

Drifter: B

A 4 mana 4/4 is a solid rate, and this has some nice abilities to boot. Reach on this means it outsizes pretty much every flier, trample can be painful for them especially if you mutate it. Mutate is more of an afterthought on this card – if you have some good fodder, you can get it out early, or you can save it to trigger your other mutate effects. There aren’t tons of Artifacts and Enchantments to destroy, but if you ever nab something like a Capture Sphere or Pacifism, it’ll be absolutely disgusting, and a good reason to mutate it to ensure you get that. I like this at high B for now, since I don’t think it scales quite as well into the late game.

Drifter: C+

This is mostly a 3 mana 2/3 Reach, which has always been an okay card. Sometimes in desperate scenarios, you’ll mutate this for no value to stop a flier, but usually you want to wait and use it to get extra value from your Mutate cards that actually do things, like Dreamtail Heron or Chittering Harvester (or, god forbid, Auspicious Starrix). Still, it’s nice upside that you can enhance your other creatures that way, and two +1/+1 counters is good value.

Drifter: C

This is a huge creature that’s saved by the cycling; the cycling is fairly expensive at 2 rather than 1 but I don’t expect the format to be really all that fast (though the good red aggro decks will be great, especially at first). This form of evasion comes up a decent amount, since they’ll often be forced to chump block a 7/7 but this won’t let them and will force them to make riskier plays like double or triple blocking (at which point, your cards can really blow them out).

Drifter: D

4 life is a lot, but especially in Green, you’ll be running extra 6 and 7 drops with cycling so there won’t be room for this. In your average set, this would get a higher grade, but this is a bad format for it.

Drifter: B

Trample is a weaker ability to grant than the rest of the cycle, but there are several trample cards (or those that grant trample counters) at common across Red and Green, and as with the rest of the cycle, if you get two counters with one activation off this, it will just run away with the game and they better have removal quickly. This also just has a solid statline. Remember, you still don’t want to play mediocre cards like Brushwagg before you have like 3 of these, or other reasons to want them. This is a low B, since I think it is the worst of the cycle, but still good.

Drifter: C+

This blocks well and the things you’re ramping into will mostly be creatures anyway in Green – especially those 6 and 7 drops you’ll be running more of because they have cycling. Sadly, this does make it significantly worse for splashing purposes since you’re more likely to splash noncreatures than creatures, especially in Green which lacks removal, but this card is still really solid and a high C+.

Drifter: C

There is a massive difference between X and XG. Whatever you cast this for, it will be below rate on curve, at least in the early turns. That being said, I think this is an exceptionally good set for this sort of card. It benefits a lot from Ramp (which this set has more of), since at a certain point if creatures are big enough, it matters less and less precisely how big they are, and you just want ways to use your mana, and it’s decent with Mutate – remember your Mutated creature will keep all the counters so you might well just be able to one shot them in the late game using something as innocuous as a 4/4. This is a low C, but I think deserves that grade in this set, despite being mediocre in others.

Drifter: S

I don’t really think there is much to be said after you read that first line. The third ability is also really busted, if you get that far, but why even bother? Get a coffee or something instead.

Drifter: C-

This costs a lot of mana, and whether it’s worth running depends entirely on your creature count. With 15 creatures in your Draft deck, you’re only likely to hit 2 or more creatures 65% of the time (to calculate this stuff, check my article here – I used a 39/15/5/2 calculation on the StatTrek hypergeometric calculator), which is a really mediocre rate. At 18, this rises to 77.5%, which is a lot better, but still a pretty significant failcase. I think you need to be running minimum that for it to be reasonable, and more like 19-20 before I’m happy to run this card, and at that point it’s pretty good – with 20, it has a 52.5% chance to draw 3 even and 19 has 47.5%. Reaching creature counts that high is unfeasible for most Limited decks, so I’ve left it at merely C-, but if your deck looks set up for it then take it much higher, more at like C+ range.

Drifter: C-

Migration Path can be very decent in decks with lots of high end i.e. the ones with loads of really expensive cyclers this set, especially those that have high end in lots of different colours, and those should take it more like a C+. That being said, a lot of decks just won’t want it – you really need your Titanote Rexes and Void Beckoners, your

Drifter: C+

I’m pretty happy with this: it enables your splashes and gives you your card back (albeit maybe not in the form you necessarily wanted), and then later on may give you even more lands for your double spelling purposes. This is a card you’re even reasonably happy to sacrifice real cards like 2 drops to mutate, since the leap from 3 to 5 mana is big enough. In the late game, it falls off a lot, but you can still use it to get value with your cards with better mutate effects. This is worse in decks which can’t make good use of the mana; you really do want to be set up for it, but I think most green decks will be with the cycling 6/7 drops.

Drifter: C+

I’m kind of into this card – it’s the exact card that you really want cycling on, because it’ll be really awkward in a lot of spots, say when you don’t have a creature, when their untapped targets are low value/have deathtouch, or when you’re fearing their removal. That being said, often it’ll just kill a creature, it’s great with tramplers, and it can act as a finisher. This is still a pretty low C+ though and it gets far worse in multiples, but I suspect Green will need to run this kind of effect.

Drifter: D

Ordinarily, I would give this a C- since the statline is reasonable, but honestly I think you can do better with your 3 drops this format – you’d rather have those with Mutate or other synergies so you get value off your other cards , and this is a generally high power format so I’m moving this down to a very high D. This works reasonably with Keensight Mentor in Selesnya, but there aren’t really other Vigilance payoffs, so it is just that card.

Drifter: C

Regenesis at sorcery speed for 4 mana is better, but still not really exciting; it works well with cycling, since it mitigates a lot of the potential flooding downside and you can cast it earlier/have it rot in your hand less. This is another one of those Mythoses where you don’t really splash for it – you just play it for the base effect, and hey if it happens naturally while you’re splashing some other card, then great (though sadly Humble Naturalist doesn’t work for this). With Survival Trick at common, the need for this kind of effect is reduced. I consider this a high C and certainly the worst Mythos.

Drifter: F

I wouldn’t play this card maindeck in this format, but it’s a fine sideboard against Blue decks; you want to wait for it to wheel and take it over bad playables for the most part.

Drifter: B

Rabid Bite at instant speed is fantastic, and this even has some upside with tramplers, of which there are quite a few at common this set. As always, you do want to have good statlines on your creatures, so this won’t be amazing in every deck and I wouldn’t splash it all that often, but the base rate is superb.

Drifter: D

+1/+3 is not a good trick statline; it doesn’t ambush creatures well at all, and will be awkward and situational. A reach counter isn’t worth that much most of the time; you can sideboard this in against decks with lots of small fliers, but you’ll still get blown out by removal, bounce, and better tricks often that way.

Drifter: C

I like this card, since it benefits a lot from cycling and reduces the costs associated with it that I mention in the mechanics section. This strikes me as a cheap and solid 2 for 1 late game if you have some good cyclers. I would run the first copy of these in most of my decks with a reasonable split of humans and nonhumans, which won’t be that hard to get; I was going to give it C+ but have moved it to high C because it’s worse in multiples, and not all decks will have that split. I think at 2 mana, it’s much better than Mythos of Brokkos if you have a reasonable deck for it (and this card made me lower my Mythos grade, since there’s less need for Mythos’s effect with this at Common).

Drifter: D

When I’m evaluating cards for my deck, I look at average case not best case scenario. I think this is mostly a trap card at 3 mana; cards like this have always played out extremely clunky in my experience. It’s not that common for statlines to match up 1 to 1 perfectly (this is why I gave Clash of Titans a C+ also), and especially not with more than 1 creature, so usually you try to use this to multiblock one creature or ambush one of their blockers in combat, having waited potentially for a long time for the right opportunity, and then get blown out by instant speed removal/any disruption they have, or they just don’t play into your obvious open mana if you’re trying to use it on the defensive. The average case for this is unexciting payoff for a lot of setup. I also don’t think this is a particularly good format for it; Mutate means there are a bigger creatures earlier and more with weird statlines/evasion, so you’ll have to go for risky multiblocks more. This is far worse than Make a Stand from M19, because the power boost that card gives you allows to trade up/deal a bunch of extra damage for free, and that makes the card actually worth it. I think it’s a fine sideboard card against aggro especially go-wide, where stopping one turn of pressure is actually valuable, or for for Green decks against other Green decks with a lot of similar statlines, but consider it a low D that I’m never looking to maindeck.

Drifter: C-

9 mana is incredibly hard to reach for most decks, so you’ll end up cycling this card really a ton, and as I state in the mechanics section (I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but it’s important!), Cycling has some real costs, and trample is too weak an ability to really alleviate those. That being said, there’s a lot of ramp in Green, and that gives me higher hopes for this card, and I don’t think running 1 is unreasonable in many decks; it does get significantly better if you have Trample payoffs like Hornbash Mentor and Monstrous Step. I would caution against taking this card highly; your deck does need to have some synergy with it, and you’ll rarely want more than 1.

Drifter: S

Vivien generates free value with her static ability, protects herself in an absurd way even stopping fliers in their tracks, and has a powerful minus that can quickly overwhelm your opponent if she lives just one turn, and which the static helps enable. Make no mistake, she stands with the mythic planeswalkers of old on how absurd she is in Limited.

Drifter: D

There are few enough targets that I would never be happy to main this (playing cards to cycle them 90% of the time has downsides I’ve been over a lot, especially when they cost 2), but there are a couple of high value ones at common & uncommon, so I could see it as a 23rd card in some decks. I would take the first copy of this over most Ds in best-of-three, since it’s a good sideboard card.

Drifter

Green has a surprising number of good removal options this set, and it is clearly the flagship mutate colour; while other colours can have mutate-based decks, Green offers many of the best ones and good support for them. That being said, I don’t expect Green to be one of the best colours for a few reasons:
a) it has the Mutate creatures, but not good fodder. It will have to rely on colours like Red which have stuff like Forbidden Friendship or on picking up Farfinders a lot (and Farfinder is going to be drafted aggressively, because it’s great at everything it does). The set isn’t heavy on that in general, and every Mutate card is hurt by this; it’s an inherently risky strategy because there aren’t many cards that recoup the loss in card advantage.
b) The fixing is good enough that every colour can splash; there’s less reason to go into Green. Don’t prioritise fixing too much when you are in Green, it should mostly just come to you since there’s so much of it. That being said, always remember that you need it if you’re trying to splash, and in pack 3 if you don’t have it, you really need to rectify that.
c) The awkward slow value role which Green inhabits is better done by Blue and Black, which have overall much higher power level cards. The answer to this is to focus on your midrange pressure, attack well, and sneak through as much damage as you can.

That being said, I don’t think Green is a bad colour by any means either, and it may just overwhelm Blue and Black by having an endless stream of large creatures that it can cycle away early, or by sneaking through enough Trample damage on its solid midrange beatdown plan. I still recommend, especially with the advent of human drafts, that people just draft what’s open (I explain what that means in my first very article for the site which you can find here). It’s worth being cognisant of what the colours need to succeed, and hopefully I’ve made that clear, but really don’t worry about colour ranking too much!