We’ll be using the normal grading scale described below. The biggest difference from previous sets is that I am going to be lumping artifacts with a color identity in with their color. This is a combination of Wizards numbering system and not wanting to have one article be longer than War and Peace. All grades on them are assuming that you can easily pay the colored cost.
I’m really proud of myself for getting through that introduction without making a BRO joke. With that said, let’s get on to what’s going on literally back in the day.
Animating all of your powerstones or Energy Refractors into 4/4s can push a ton of damage or even threaten blocks while holding up mana to cast instants. It’s even easy to slide into your curve at one mana.
The big downside is that you have to spend all of that mana every turn for that effect. As a 1/1, it also does very little until that point in the game so your opponent can basically ignore it until it matters.
This might seem like a high grade to some of you. I’m telling you not to miss the opportunity to add to the board with a decent body while ramping up. If these are underdrafted early, take advantage of it.
A two drop with a form of evasion and upside later in the game. I think people are going to be surprised at how annoying unblockable by artifact creatures will end up being in BRO. Then when you need a mana sink, this can start pumping itself into a huge threat.
It also looks like the flavor text is subtle nod to Emperor Urza complaining about losing a Death Star.
Despite the comparisons, this is not Rancor and it’s not even close. It’s still a solid way to present a very quick clock and it mitigates the usual aura problem by drawing a card when it dies. It’s not even bad late in the game as giving one of your chonkers Trample and +2/+0 can cause some real problems.
This isn’t just a token maker, it’s also a mana producer because it makes a pile of Dryad Arbors. This is a good way to jump all the way up from five or six mana to the top of your curve. It’s also not a “do nothing” because you get a load of chump blockers.
This is going to be a very high variance card. Every once in a while, it just makes something huge and runs someone over before they have a chance to deal with it. Most of the time it’s just going to be paying three mana to get blown out. I’d recommend avoiding it.
It’s kind of a Bland-wood Prowler (fun fact: I get paid by the Dad joke…not actually true, but boomers gotta dream), but I like this a little more than the other ones in the cycle because I’m fine with either mode. You’re probably going to want to hit a land early, but even if you miss, that’s three non-lands out of the way. It’s also a may so that if you draw it late, you can at least make it a Grizzly Bears.
Way back in Apocalypse, Lay of the Land was a fine way to fix your mana while thinning your deck a bit. The big issue was when you drew it late and already had all your colors. Well worry no more because now you can Bushwhack one of your opponent’s creatures in the middle of nowhere with this instead. Great card, cheap and really versatile. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was too low of a grade.
Certainly not Jaspera Sentinel, but there are times it can do a passable impression. Outside of the obvious filtering powerstone mana into any color, there are some other cool interactions. Tapping Howling Mine or Key to the City can actually be looked at as a benefit so look out for other cool ways to make this a Birds of Paradise
Very similar to Mage Duel from Strixhaven with the +1/+2 usually being enough to kill something bigger. On the play this is cheap enough to let you continue to develop your board while clearing the way and pushing extra damage. On the draw it can swing the tempo war back in your favor when you use two mana to kill their four drop.
In most cases both you and your opponent are going to get a bear out of this. Since that’s parity, it doesn’t really factor into the equation here. That makes this an artifact and enchantment sweeper which seems really solid in this format since you’ll know to play less of them leading up to this.
A triple ramp spell on turn five can let you just destroy your opponent with a nine drop the next turn. The three life helps a little bit with the problem that you just spent turn five doing nothing.
Unfortunately, if you draw it late, it’s basically just gain three life. I think I would prefer my five drops to do a little more, but there are certainly situations that this is great. Maybe if you have ways to get value out of powerstones besides ramping.
This can come down on two, get some beats in, and then later on filter your bad creatures into the best ones in your deck. Really solid, but fragile and it has a target on it.
I’ve never been a fan of Fog in limited. This one could be a sideboard card against very low to the ground decks since you still get to kill everything you blocked with your chonkers.
This is just slightly below rate on the creature stats scale, but a 4/5 is still difficult to block with so many tricks floating around. It also only needs to attack, not actually hit to get the card draw. Getting three creatures into your graveyard will be a lot easier if you are playing some of the self-mill cards, but you can also do some early trades expecting to drop this later.
That sure is a whole bunch of words on one little trick. At one mana, this would be almost format defining. At two, it’s still pretty good because of how many different things it does. Having both hexproof and indestructible ensures your creature is surviving unless they respond with removal.
I might be a little high on this because of nostalgia, but as I’ve said one mana tricks are really good. This is also a lot of stats to add for one mana giving you options to win a combat or Lightning Bolt the face for lethal.
It’s a step below Colossal Dreadmaw on stats, but you can usually get a decently sized pump effect when these hit the battlefield. Preferably you pump an evasion creature or even a trample one such as using it on itself before Swiftfoot Boots sends a huge amount of damage straight to the face.
It might seem like I’m overrating this, but double ramping early is insane because you’re two full turns ahead. Consider something like playing this into Gnarlroot Pallbearer on turn four, untap this, and either play another two drop or swing in. It’s going to be hard to come back from that especially considering that you probably have even crazier top end to be dropping afterwards.
If your opponent plays this on three, kill it immediately.
I predict that this is going to be the card that I end up playing a lot more than most people think. Deathtouch is going to be key when facing down some of the huge critters floating around and reach makes sure they can’t just fly over top. I’d consider it a win if they have to use a removal spell on something you probably wheeled.
This is a great way to swing a race or stabilize as a decent body for the cost with four life thrown in. The comedy begins if you ever get to use the second part. Such as the opponent doesn’t read the card when they Gix's Caress you or they play Painful Quandary.
It’s Centaur Courser with very minimal upside. If this was +1+1, it would be a much different story. Just pumping power takes away the ability to do cool tricks with instant speed artifacts. Sometimes you need a curve filler and unfortunately sometimes it’s this.
Nice little two drop that lets you basically Surveil every time an artifact ETBs. There is no limit on triggers per turn and if two enter at the same time you get both triggers. It also has the sweet upside of letting you keep the card if it happens to be a land. Great engine to keep chugging down the tracks.
Four mana sorcery speed removal is usually playable, but you probably don’t want to start with more than one. I would guess this is hitting an artifact 90% of the time, but it’s nice to have the option for a flyer if you need it.
This is an amazing way to kick off the game and you’ll be surprised how big your wurmlet can get. A great comparison is Packsong Pup because it comes down early and grows off of what you were going to be doing anyway.
Exiling your opponent’s graveyard could be useful and I guess there are times you want to ramp from six to nine (NICE!). But lets all be honest here, this is almost always going to be put two 4/4s into play while pumping the hell out of the rest of your squad.
The problem with being a 3/1 isn’t being targeted, it’s being blocked by a 1/1. Ward two might as well be blank text here. Soooo…yeah, I’m going to go ahead and pass on this one.
If you happen to have this and Argoth, Sanctum of Nature, then bump this up and enjoy your meme. If not, then this is a 3/4 reach for three that might incidentally gain you some life. That’s the type of card that you will always be happy about playing, but not something to be ecstatic about.
You have to be DEEP into the filling your graveyard plan before even considering this. Would you ever play a three mana Impulse that can only get permanents? No? We’re done here then.
I’m never going to be happy playing this for its prototype cost, but sometimes you got to do, what you got to do. Pretty interchangeable with any of the other mediocre fatties running around.
This one is a clear cut above some of the other mid-tier chonkers because it can jump you right up to the top of the food chain. While paying three for a mana elf isn’t what you want to be doing, sometimes it’s the bridge you need to get to where you can start going off.
There are only so many of these slots available in your deck and plenty of things around to fill them with. Sure, this big wurm smashes in there while growing another attacker, but I don’t want to use premium picks on payoffs with a low delta between them and other expensive payoffs.
Will I be happy playing this card? Yes. Will I be disappointed if it’s some other seven drop? Not really.
Now getting two gigantic creatures out of one card is a different story. Even if it’s like an 8/8 and a 5/5, that’s a lot of stats out of one piece of cardboard.
Oh my god Becky, Look at her butt! While this does have a gigantic bottom, it really doesn’t have much else going on. Maybe if you’re going deep up in there on the self-mill, but this isn’t a payoff worth building around.
Now this is another one of those payoffs that set themselves apart from the rest. Turning this into a 15/15 haste is certainly a game changer especially if you can give it trample with Whirling Strike. You can also use tricks to pump it before using the ability if you, for some godforsaken reason, needed it to be even bigger.
Nothing like a 10/10 reach trample at common. Somewhere Leviathan is curled up in shame, crying itself to sleep.
If you have to prototype this it’s basically a Mammoth Spider with trample thrown in. Totally serviceable card, but again I must bring up that you can’t just shove 12 cards that cost 6 and up into a deck.
Brass Monkey, that funky monkey is about to get rowdy all over your opponent’s face. Just drop this on turn three to make your two-drop huge, then after trading off for something this comes right back to keep the jams coming. This one is going to get gobbled up by people not playing green, because it’s still good even without the Unearth.
Wrap Up
Green is all about having the biggest monsters on the battlefield and in the Brothers’ War that’s really saying something. There’s just so much beef running around here ready to crush. It also has the normal compliment of combat tricks and fight spells. Overall, it’s certainly going to be a fun color to play that doesn’t find itself short on ways to finish the game.
I’ll be back tomorrow with my The Brothers’ War Limited Review of Artifacts, Lands, and Muticolored cards. Until then, stay classy Magic people.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.
Josh is a member of the elite limited team The Draft Lab as well as the host of The Draft Lab Podcast. He was qualifying for Pro Tours, Nationals, and Worlds literally before some of you were born. After a Magic hiatus to play poker and go to medical school, he has been dominating Arena with over an 80% win percentage in Bo3 as well as making #1 rank in Mythic.
