Welcome back to the storied plane of Ravnica, where the cityscape covers the entire plane, guilds clash for power, and many a Planeswalker finds their spark! With Guilds of Ravnica (abbreviated GRN), Wizards of the Coast has returned once again to one of the favorite settings of many Magic players around the world. This unprecedented third visit to a single plane brings with it many questions:

What reprints will we see?

What new cards will shake and warp the meta in my preferred format?

How does a plane-wide city deal with the maintenance costs of giant, indestructible wurms destroying entire city blocks when they come up for air?

Many of these questions begin to be answered during spoiler season. For example, it’s clear that the Azorius guild taxes the other guilds, particularly the Selesnya conclave with its many inhabitants, to come up with appropriate funds to repair…

Oh, right… you’re here for the strategy article. In that case, let’s dive right in!

Evaluating for Eternal Formats –

Whether it’s Vintage, Legacy, Modern, Commander, Two-Headed Giant Star-Crossed Tiny Leaders No Banned List Except for Rhystic Study Because George Hates That Card, each new set brings with it a new card or cards to try. If it’s a format like Vintage, there may only be a single card that gets tested for a one-of sideboard slot. In Modern, a new card or mechanic could translate into a new archetype. In Commander, every new legendary creature translates into a brand-new deck.

These eternal formats – so called because their cards do not rotate out – come with a high barrier to entry because they contain so many legal cards. Many cards have already claimed the title of “format staple,” and such staples are hard to dethrone. New cards typically find their place in eternal formats in one of three ways: 1) the card replaces an existing card, 2) the card fills a niche, or 3) the card creates or fits into a new archetype.

As of this writing, few cards from GRN have been spoiled so far, but there’s one card I’d like to examine: Legion Warboss. Legion Warboss already has a counterpart that sees play in some Modern and Legacy decks, Goblin Rabblemaster.

The question that must be asked: is Legion Warboss better than, or at least equivalent to, Goblin Rabblemaster? Simply put, the answer depends on the context of the format and the game you happen to be playing. Unopposed, Goblin Rabblemaster wins the damage race by producing a total of 25 damage in four turns compared to Legion Warboss’ 22 damage in the same four turns. However, in multiples, Legion Warbosses will not force you to suicide each other into opposing blockers.

In many ways, the two cards are equivalent, and no, I don’t believe Legion Warboss will outright replace Goblin Rabblemaster, but I do think it will see play alongside it. Players often want diversity in their decks to avoid blowouts from troublesome cards such as Reflector Mage or Cabal Therapy. Other players simply want as many of a card as they can get so Legion Warboss may become the 5-8th copies of Goblin Rabblemaster. Either way, Legion Warboss is a great card to consider picking up a few copies of, as it already fills a niche as a functionally similar card to Goblin Rabblemaster.

Evaluating for Standard – 

So, what do we already know about the cards from Guilds of Ravnica? First, we’ve already got some sweet reprints! Shocklands are back and have been staples in Modern for years due to their synergy with fetchlands like Scalding Tarn. Some shocklands, like Watery Grave, have even begun to see play in Legacy decks such as the Blue-Black Death’s Shadow Deck that premiered at Pro Tour 25th Anniversary. Narcomoeba, a staple of Modern and Legacy dredge decks, will re-enter Standard for the first time since its original printing in Future Sight in 2007.

Reprints are an easier class of card to evaluate for Standard because players who have been around for a few years have already played with them. This previous play experience is invaluable to card evaluation. We know that the shocklands will play well with the Ixalan checklands.

It’s important to note that due to the rotation of the Kaladesh and Amonkhet blocks, these will be the most important cycles of dual-colored lands in Standard for the next few months. Even without seeing the rest of the spoiler, the knowledge of the land base can give some helpful insights into the GRN Standard meta.

First, there are two 2-color combinations that will have two dual lands, Blue-Black and White-Green. These two combinations will have the most consistent 2-color manabases. With lands that can potentially come into play untapped consistently like shocklands and checklands, this encourages those decks to play with a lower, potentially aggressive, curve that can take advantage of other slower manabases.

Second, there are two 3-color combinations that will benefit from four dual lands, Blue-Black-Red (or “Grixis”) and Red-Green-White (or “Naya”). The Grixis colors have contributed to control decks in recent Standard times, and consistent control manabases are frequently helpful in keeping potentially meta-breaking decks in check. However, if control isn’t your style, the Grixis colors conveniently match the Pirate tribal colors from Ixalan block. Multi-colored pirates like Hostage Taker haven’t seen much Standard play lately, but perhaps this new set of lands is just what the tribe needed to come plunder Standard!

If control and pirates aren’t your calling, perhaps thundering herds of dinosaurs grab your attention! With the Naya colors, you can play many of the mighty dinosaurs of the Ixalan block. For several standard seasons, even some dinosaurs have been dwarfed by resilient or even indestructible gods from the Amonkhet block. With the gods gone, dinosaurs are free once more to roam the battlefield.

Frequently, cards are overlooked during spoiler season simply because players haven’t experienced their power firsthand, usually due to a new mechanic or another quirk of the card. A fairly recent example of this was Tireless Tracker and the Investigate mechanic. The card took quite some time after release to see play in Standard, and now is seeing playing in Modern decks as a source of green card advantage!

Take time to study cards, especially rares and mythics that sport brand new mechanics. Mechanics and abilities that provide card advantage or mana advantage should be given special attention. Most of all, consider the environment in which the card will be played. If it provides a unique effect or synergizes well with existing cards, keep that in mind when testing and building for the new meta. Standard changes regularly, and any small advantage that a card offers can often be exploited with creative deckbuilding. Even if you notice small advantages during spoiler season that aren’t immediately relevant, write them down! The more you know about the new set up front, the better prepared you will be to face the new Standard.

So, will Wizards of the Coast accidently break Convoke? Will one of the new mechanics, Surveil, Mentor, Undergrowth, or Jump-Start redefine Magic as we know it? Probably not, but there’s always a chance! If you haven’t read about the new mechanics, check them out below. I’ll also look at them in-depth next week when I discuss evaluating cards for Limited formats!

The shape of Standard is far from complete, but keep watching for new spoilers from Guilds of Ravnica starting on September 10th. On Monday, you can grab your nearest internet-enabled device and start evaluating. I look forward to seeing the new cards, and you, in stores for Prerelease Weekend, September 29-30!