This is my first delve into Magic the Gathering content and I couldn’t be more excited to talk about it. Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is the latest MTG set which happens to be based around one of my favorite games of all time, Dungeons and Dragons. I can’t believe it has taken this long to get a fully dedicated DND Magic set but I am here for it. I mean there are hundreds of references in past sets but AFR is the first real dive into the game we all grew up playing. We’re getting the luxury treatment too with enchantment classes, halfling rogues, Vecna, and even Bahamut as a Planeswalker.

Full Disclosure: This piece started as a top five cards for Standard but with Throne of Eldraine still in rotation, it is extremely hard to speculate. I am certainly not the first to tell you how overpowered that set is but it has made theory crafting so difficult this rotation. Seven total cards were banned in one format or another so it is not a stretch to say that ELD was a total failure in terms of game design. But in the same notion AFR feels like a return to form in terms of overall theme and more importantly power level. I can’t wait to see how this set performs post-rotation. So without further ado, roll for initiative for the Top 5 cards I am most excited about from Adventures in the Forgotten Realms!

Honorable Mentions:

Number Five: Treasure Vault

Treasure Vault is a card that’s begging to break a legacy format. Artifact land that comes in untapped and can be sacked for treasure tokens? This is going to see play in Commander and in Modern. It also just seems fun to ramp up a ton of mana, dump it into Treasure Vault and use those treasures with Kuldrotha Forgemaster to tutor whatever you want. I like this card because I think it will be fun to use, it may also bring some life to Affinity in Modern.

Number Four: Circle of Dreams Druid

This is Gaea’s Cradle on a creature. Will it be good in Standard? Probably not. Will I try it anyway? Yes. I can see a home for this card in Yisan EDH decks and maybe even Elves in Modern. Outside of that, this is the only way I will be able to afford a Gaea’s Cradle.

Number Three (Actually three cards but whatever this is my article, give me a break): The Book of Vile Darkness, Hand of Vecna, and Eye of Vecna.

I don’t care how bad or how good this will be, I will be trying to build Vecna in every single format that I can. Vecna being one of the most notoriously evil legends of all DND, it feels wrong not to dedicate my life to the service of returning them to form.  WIth how restrictive the triple black casting cost on The Book of Vile Darkness, I can’t see Vecna having much viability in any format. I will jam the three pieces in my K’rrilk, Son of Yawgmoth deck for EDH but that’s about it. In terms of Standard, I think the Eye of Vecna could have legs in Mono-White. Recurrable card draw for a deck that gains life is absolutely worth experimenting on. But for now, the creation of Vecna will rest solely in the jank factory. 

Remember how epic that one ending of Critical Role was? Come on, it’s Vecna.

Number Two: The Book of Exalted Deeds

The Book of Exalted Deeds or as I like to call it, “Build your own Platinum Angel.” An enchantment that gives value for gaining life that can also give you a can’t lose condition? Sign me up. I imagine most Mono-White decks will sideboard two of these but I just really like the idea of this can’t lose, can’t win counter. There is no other card like this in Magic. 10/10 flavor and I can’t wait to play it. 

The full jank idea is to use The Book of Exalted Deeds counter on a Faceless Haven and lock my opponent out of the game. Land destruction is hard to come by and this combination may make waves in Standard.

Number One: Gelatinous Cube

This may not be the best card in the set, or the most fun, or the jankiest but I am absolutely in love with its design. From top to bottom, in terms of lore, flavor and ability, this card is perfect. Gelatinous Cube is a classic DND monster that has engulfed many of my characters over the years and will continue to ensnare and kill players until the end of time. A 4/3 for four that exiles a creature on ETB is great value. Is it as good as Ravenous Chupacabra, probably not, but I still think this will find its place in standard. Once you dissolve a creature you can blink this for further value, and with Yorion seemingly everywhere, that seems likely. A perfect encapsulation of what a DND inspired Magic card should be, well done Wizards, well done. 

Also I know a fair amount of players do not particularly like the way that flavor text was done in this set via ability names. I mention this now because the cube has two in “Engulf” and “Dissolve,” but I think it is a great way to blend all of the abilities of DND into the Magic world. I don’t expect to see these again, lest we return to another DND set, so i don’t mind their implementation.

Top Three Decks I can’t wait to build in Standard

I would love to be able to speculate on the impact of AFR on the Standard environment but at this point it feels moot. As I mentioned before, Throne of Eldraine looms over all of Standard like a Great Henge and will continue until rotation in September. You will find that most streamers, pro players, and magic personalities are counting down the days until then. That set was deemed pushed during spoiler season and it has absolutely shaped Standard to its will. But I am very excited about the potential that Forgotten Realms has. So here are three decks that I think will have legs upon release and up to rotation.

1. Creature Land Control

Hall of the Storm Giants, Hive of the Eye Tyrant, Cave of the Frost Dragon, and Nest of the Hydra. All lands with extra value stapled on in the form of becoming creatures. These particular lands are easily protected and can slot into control decks as powerful finishers. In Standard right now the top control deck is Sultai Ultimatum with Esper and Azorious variants sometimes making noise in tournaments. I am imagining a full bore control deck where your only win-cons are the above-mentioned creature lands. There is some land destruction in Standard right now with Field of Ruin and Cleansing Wildfire but I think that these lands will allow control decks to be greedier and run more counters/protection for their win-cons. The enters tapped drawback doesn’t hurt us as much as it would an agrro deck so I expect control shells to ditch some of the more popular finishers in favor of these lands. Hopefully it doesn’t get too popular as I imagine playing against oops all creature lands will be about as fun as playing against “I cast ultimatum, I win.”

2. Bard Class Legends (Midrange)

This will probably be the first deck that I build so let me waste my wildcards and save you some time. I want this to work, I really do. As a Bard player myself the idea that I could use my favorite DND class to power a Standard deck is just *chef’s kiss*. Just to save you some time, here is a link to every single legendary creature in Standard right now.  

The notables that I am focusing on (Green and Red) are Phylath, World Sculptor, Kolvori, God of Kinship, Klothys, God of Destiny, and Gallia of the Endless Dance. These particular creatures tend to lead towards a more aggro based strategy which is perfect for us as each legendary creature we cast will enter with an additional +1/+1 counter. Toss in Magda, Anax, Embercleave, and any plansewalker on color and you’ve got yourself a stew. As I am writing this I just realized the cost reduction is for any legendary spell, so add in a Chandra and a Chromatic Orrery if you want. Look out for Gruul Legends coming to a Standard queue near you. 

3. Mono-Green Adventures

This deck is also a bit of a pet project for me because of two cards; Ellywick Tumblestrum and Varis, Sulverymoon Ranger. The general idea is to be an aggro focused green deck that generates additional value through dungeons with on-curve tempo plays. No matter what dungeon you’re starting with, all your creatures and Ellywick herself will accrue additional value passively. If you want to be more aggro oriented I would start in the Tomb of Annihilation but I will probably start more conservatively with Lost Mine of Phandelver.

Mono Green in Standard is viable at the moment, but with addition of the two cards mentioned above and Ranger Class, I see some real value. You can also still support the snow archetype and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another color splashed here like black or blue. It’s the new set mechanic, I gotta try it. (My greedy ass wants to build it in Abzan colors to make use of Triumphant Adventurer but the mana base in Standard right now makes it difficult to assemble all three colors untapped on turn two and three.  

Take a Rest

All in all, I can’t wait for AFR to release this week on July 8th, on Magic the Gathering Arena. I love the feel of this set and it is just dripping with lore and flavor. SO many famous DND characters hitting the battlefield left and right will just push me back into my favorite campaigns. Can’t wait to pull out my character sheet as I lose my fifth straight ranked game to some Eldraine deck, but what can you do? Catch me over here building my Xanathar, Guild Kingpin EDH deck.   

Also can we talk about how one of my favorite bands, The Mountain Goats, got a spoiler card? Great job Wizards Marketing, great job. 

Last thought I swear… Shout out to Mythic Spoiler for doing a great job, as always, of compiling spoilers and images into one easy to use website.