Table of Contents
Hey everyone! Now that we’ve had some time to get into some trouble on the Streets of New Capenna, it’s time to let you in on some of the secrets we’ve heard going around. In other words, it’s time to talk about which cards are over and under performing compared to their initial expectations. That’s right, it’s time to see how wrong I was during preview season.
Ratings have also been updated on our Limited Tier List:
Underperformers
Angel of Suffering
4.0 to 3.0
The award for worst performing non-meme mythic of the set goes to Angel of Suffering. Having your five drop mythic angel get wrecked by a one mana Strangle is one of the biggest feel bad moments in the format.
The drawback of not being able to play this when you’re low on cards is exasperated by self-mill being one of the themes in this color. If you’re winning games with five cards left in your library, you’re dead to three random damage to the face. Not exactly what you’re expecting out of a mythic rare.
Light ‘Em Up
2.5 to 2.0
This is really challenging the saying that removal is still removal. It just lines up so poorly against turn two Civil Servant or lots of the other value-based cards in the set. It’s still playable, but it’s one of the few reasonably costed removal spells that ends up on the chopping block.
Jetmir’s Fixer
3.0 to 2.5
The only thing this guy is fixing is the game for your opponent. Horrible jokes aside, he’s a really solid card that just happens to be in the worst color pair. Sorry buddy, I have to drop your grade because of who you hang out with.
Nimble Larcenist
3.0 to 2.5
Even if your mana lines up perfectly, this isn’t guaranteed to hit something on turn three. I prefer to only have my third color be a splash and this gets less likely to find a good target as the game goes along.
If you’re in the market for a hard to cast flyer with a huge delta on its bonus ability then this is the card for you, just don’t take it too highly.
Sticky Fingers
2.5 to 2.0
When they dropped Goldvein Pick early on in Kaldheim, it felt like the game was already over. This is not that… Every time my opponent has played Sticky Fingers, I have just shrugged and moved on with my game plan.
It’s possible to run away with the game with this early, but it really doesn’t do much later in the game. On top of that the treasure archetype has been weighed, measured, and found wanting. Now if you have Jinnie Fay hanging around, maybe we can talk.
Topiary Stomper
3.0 to 2.5
It’s not that I don’t love the concept of a giant plant tyrannosaurus running roughshod all over the place. It’s that I don’t love the double green in the casting cost and by the time it comes online it’s merely an acceptable piece on the field.
It doesn’t really fit into the curve for citizen tribal and if you’re running bant, then the double pip is pretty prohibitive even if it fixes. I’m still playing Veggie Chomper, I’m just not taking them early.
Overperformers
Elegant Entourage
3.0 to 4.0
Entourage completely changes the landscape of the game by forcing your opponent to compensate for you dropping instant speed creatures with every block. Even with just playing out creatures normally, it’s going to force through a bunch of damage and invalidate chump blocking with the trample.
It’s even a relatively huge body compared to most of the creatures running around giving you an excellent target for Prizefight.
Fake Your Own Death
1.5 to 2.5
While this might sound like the only reasonable plan to get out of your student loans, this card has been playing way above the normal rate for this effect. Getting to trade up while retriggering an ETB effect is usually a pretty big swing on the board especially when combined with cards like Psychic Pickpocket.
One of the biggest differences between this and previous formats is that you don’t have to wait for your opponent to make a move to use it, you can just blitz out a creature and double up on that sweet value. Just combo this with Night Clubber and it’ll feel like you hit the jackpot (which is probably still not enough to handle those student loans).
For the Family
1.5 to 2.5
Tricks have been playing better in this set than any other in recent memory so it’s no surprise that For the Family has been wrecking dreams. Only costing one mana lets you easily slip this into your curve while still keeping the pressure on.
Aggressive green decks typically can apply a lot of early beats before stumbling on the way to the finish line as your opponent stabilizes. That’s where this this really shines by letting you toss an unexpected one mana Fireblast at the face to finish things off.
Girder Goons
2.5 to 3.5
I’m going to be honest with you all here, I have no idea why I rated this card this low. I thought it was a solid versatile card and just gave it too low of a grade. Problem solved.
A 2/2 that draws a card and either deals four damage or kills something is a bargain for only four mana. Even without the blitz, it’s a beefy body that leaves behind a 2/2 if they deal with it. Just a great power common that is still being underrated because of how much people love Bant right now.
Luxurious Libation
2.5 to 3.5
You can’t get your creatures smashed and send them out to do crazy things without including a 1/1 chaperone.
Seriously though, this is one of the most versatile tricks we’ve ever had. It can win most combats with a free citizen thrown into the mix, provide a surprise blocker, or just straight up kill your opponent out of nowhere. Green Fireball is a thing.
Sewer Crocodile
1.5 to 2.0
I thought this guy was a total crock of (Editor’s note: Josh, you know you can’t say that). I’m not saying it’s much better than that, but he is a massive monster that can play a solid role in some matchups. It mostly has a place in self-mill decks as either a finisher or a six-mana card to turn on threshold in the graveyard.
Once it’s on the battlefield, it’s a huge blocker that damage-based removal is going to have a hard time dealing with before it turns into a clock. Still not great, but it’s not awful.
Wrapping Up
Well that brings us to the end of our first update on Streets of New Capenna limited. I’ll be doing a full revision on the tier list next week along with a guide for the Arena Open. Maybe I’ll even get crazy and do a bonus article, who knows, sometimes I like to get nuts. Until next time, may the mana gods bless you with an abundance of riches. Trust me, you’ll need it here.
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below.
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