Welcome back fellow planeswalkers. With the release of the latest Magic: The Gathering set, Ravnica Allegiance on the horizon and the pre-releases all said and done, join us as we share with you our favourite cards. Whether it be functionality, its potential, or even beautiful artwork, there are favourites that hit different boxes.

Casual Play

To start things off, let’s look at the common but really useful battle tricks and utilities. Cards such as Arrester’s Zeal and Storm Strike are great for that extra bit of damage contesting the board. By establishing a board early with easy one or two mana creatures with these cards in reserve can really assert your dominance early on. Rush decks will love these!

Other cards, such as Root Snare and Growth Spiral, favour a long game whilst you build you land presence. Surviving possible onslaughts to drop a massive creature or two is very rewarding. The best thing is, they can be cast on either players turn and they are cheap to cast. What is not to love? Also, all of aforementioned cards are common so newer and casual players can pick these up very easily.

Competitive Streak

When considering the competitive circuit, three cards jumped out immediately. First of all, Hero of Precinct One. Not only is it a standard stat-line for a 2 mana creature but, it works well with follow up Guild Mage plays and multicoloured spells from Azorius and Orzhov. Or, if you were playing Boros or Selesnya from Guilds of Ravnica, add this to those decks to generate an army of tokens.

Other than combining with the effects of Hero of Precinct One, if you want to go tri-colour, Judith, the Scourge Diva is cheap casting, hurt giving, fantastic card for Rakdos. Naturally going for the rush vibe and ending the game in a whirling spectacle, this legendary creature can really put the pressure on early to mid game. With the natural damage output of Red and threat elimination of Black, it is easy to see why Rakdos with Judith at the helm can be fun and scary at the same time.

Moving up to a planeswalker now with Domri, Chaos Bringer. Another hit hard and fast guild can always benefit from landing hits faster and harder! Giving you more mana to place threats down as well as giving it Rush or a +1/+1 counter is extremely powerful. Granted it will come into play on a natural turn 4 but, if accelerated out early it can really pile on the hurt on. Not only that but, the second ability will allow you to prevent running out of steam. If all else fails, using the -8 ability will allow you to generate mid-range tokens every turn too!

Unique and Fun

One of the cards that really screamed at us, pun intended, was the equipment card Screaming Shield. Not only is the artwork very charming and tells a story, the effect of the card is just as obnoxious!

For one mana you can put this on the field.You can then equip it for three mana to a creature and give it +0/+3 and an effect that will make the opponent go, “noo, stop that!”. The ability costs two colourless mana and taps the creature to make a target player put the top three cards of their deck into their graveyard. One hell of a way to get rid of your opponents cards. Especially brutal if you have four of them!

Wonderful Artwork

Lastly, we have the gorgeous cards that encaptivate you every time you glance at them. Granted, every MtG card, in my opinion, is a beautifully crafted masterpiece. But, there are those that appealed to the eyes even more. Cards such as Burn Bright, by Scott Murphy, has captured the Gruul rage in image. An inner fire burning with reflections in the characters eyes with impeccable shading. Sheer awesomeness. It kinda channels you inner riot when playing the card.

Scenic cards, such as my all time favourite Ravnica card Hallowed Fountain and the Simic Guildgate by Jedd Chevrier and Adam Paquette respectively, are remarkable pieces of landscape loveliness. It is the kind of work you wish you could own a print of to showcase on your walls at home. The angle of which the focus is made, the extreme amount of detail in light emission and water effects, as well as the presentation of the grand scale of what they represent. All these qualities shine through immensely and are oh so encaptivating and immersive.

And that is your lot! What are your favourite cards from Ravnica Allegiance and which ones would you like to hand on your wall? Let us know in the comments below. For more Magic: The Gathering articles please check the Magic section. And for more news, reviews, previews, and guides, stay tuned. Until next time, smile and game.