Jacob Brown: Top 10 Standard Cards (#10-#6)
In my last article I covered Standard’s “best” deck, but what are Standard’s best cards? In order to get to the bottom of this question I selected a handful of the most played cards in Standard and scored them. I gave every card a rating based on its raw power level, its place in the metagame, and its role in the decks in which it’s played. I then totaled these scores, ranked the cards and then voilà! Today I’ll be covering cards ten through six. Expect to see the top five cards on Wednesday.
10. Jadelight Ranger (Total Points: 17)
Power: 7
Jadelight Ranger is a card that got a lot of talk in spoiler season but hasn’t lived up to the hype. The card is very efficient in what it does and the body is sizable, but I think the explore mechanic just isn’t as good as everyone thought it would be. The reality of Jadelight Ranger is that if you get to draw cards, then the creature is usually too small to be a real threat, and when Jadelight Ranger does get counters it means that you likely didn’t get to draw cards. Not only that, but revealing the cards when exploring does give away a decent amount of information, letting your opponent play around the card they now know about in addition to the Ranger itself.
Meta: 5
Jadelight Ranger is a tricky card in the meta, as it dies to just about every removal spell in the format but is also one of the few playable green three drops. Against decks like Mono Red and Mardu Vehicles, Ranger will usually get killed by a one mana removal spell on the spot. Jadelight Ranger comes down to being a draw spell or a weak creature, neither of which are particularly good in the matchup. Against control and midrange decks, Jadelight Ranger can give you slight card advantage in drawing lands, but the small body usually isn’t impactful enough to make a major difference in the game.
Role: 5
Jadelight Ranger is always okay, but never plays a huge role in the decks that it’s in. The card is usually pretty unimpactful and is usually only played because good three drops are hard to come by in green. With a Winding Constrictor in play, Ranger can be a big threat, but the same can be said about any creatures in the Winding Constrictor deck. Ranger isn’t bad in any of the decks it sees play in, but it isn’t particularly good in them, either.
9. Glorybringer (Total Points: 18)
Power: 8
Glorybringer is a great card on paper. A 5 mana, 4/4 hasty flier that kills creatures is an insane rate. When you add on the fact that Glorybringer can kill multiple creatures if not removed quickly, the card’s power level is obvious.
Meta: 4
Part of what makes Glorybringer so powerful is what it does when it attacks. The problem is that in Standard, it’s usually not going to get to attack. With Vraska’s Contempt, Cast Out, and Harnessed Lightning running around in the format, Glorybringer is rarely going to make it to the combat step. Even when it does, it will rarely get to attack and kill a creature twice, which is when the card truly shines.
Role: 6
Glorybringer isn’t great in the meta, but it is usually decent in the shells it’s in. Glorybringer’s ability to apply pressure while killing blockers is great for red beatdown decks. Some decks, like GR Monsters, are okay doing this at 5 mana, as they’re less aggressive and more about having large creatures. On the other hand, in aggressive red decks Glorybringer looks bad. As good as the card is, 5 mana is a lot and those decks are usually better off casting 2-3 spells in one turn rather than one big spell.
8. Legion Lieutenant (Total Points: 20)
Power: 7
If Modern Merfolk has taught me anything it’s that two mana lords are great. This holds true for Legion Lieutenant, who isn’t flashy, but is strong. A two mana anthem is a great rate, even if the body it’s on is vulnerable. My only issue with the card is that its low CMC makes it an easy target for Fatal Push.
Meta: 3
Legion Lieutenant doesn’t line up well against the Standard metagame. Fatal Push, Shock, Magma Spray, and Moment of Craving are all solid removal spells that make quick work of the lord. With so much removal in Standard it’s hard for Lieutenant to ever stay on the board long enough to have a profound effect.
Role: 10
Legion Lieutenant may not be the best card against the field, but it’s easily the best card in the BW Vampires deck. For starters, the lord makes many of the Vampire deck’s undersized creatures large enough to trade with the bigger creatures found in other decks. Furthermore, in a deck with numerous ways to make tokens and go wide with small creatures, Lieutenant allows the Vampire deck to kill out of nowhere, adding a bunch of power instantaneously.
7. Rekindling Phoenix (Total Points: 20)
Power: 7
A 4/3 flier that makes a guy when he dies? I’m in. Wait, the token it makes gets the 4/3 back? Put me down for 4. Rekindling Phoenix is insane. A 4 power attacker with flying is almost always going to win races. In addition, needing two removal spells or an exile spell makes the bird a resilient threat that is more than capable of taking over games on its own.
Meta: 8
Rekindling Phoenix looks really good right now. The bird and the elemental token it creates both demand removal spells immediately, getting a two-for-one and time walking the opponent. While exile spells, the natural enemy of Phoenixes, are common in the format, Hazoret and Chandra are very good at eating those removal spells. Playing a Phoenix the turn after one of those cards will usually allow the Phoenix to hang out for a while and win the game easily.
Role: 5
Rekindling Phoenix is similar to the other threats in this list in that it’s one of many threats to choose from when building a deck. The difference between Phoenix and the other cards on this list is that Phoenix is usually the worse than other threats in the same slot. For instance, Mono-Red would much rather slam a Hazoret or Chandra on turn 4 than a Phoenix. Grixis Energy is looking to slam a Scarab God rather than a 4/3 flier. Phoenix is a good card and has its place, it just doesn’t see as much play as some other cards do.
6. Chandra, Torch of Defiance (Total Points: 20)
Power: 8
There have been 3 Planeswalkers with 4 abilities in Magic’s history. One is a powerful card that is a little too expensive, one is the best card ever printed, and the other is Chandra, Torch of Defiance. Chandra packs a huge punch for such a low mana cost. All four of her abilities are great and accumulate some sort of advantage. The exile ability either provides card advantage or pressures the opponent. The mana ability can help you build to some of the other powerful spells in standard or help you accelerate into two spells in one turn. Her minus ability protects her so she can survive to uptick. Her ultimate ends the game in short order. The only thing keeping Chandra back is how expensive her minus is. Three loyalty is a lot, especially when she comes in with four and only ticks up by one. With such a low loyalty it’s hard to keep her on the board for more than a turn or two.
Meta: 6
Chandra is a valuable threat in the format, but the answers to her are numerous. All the exile effects that hit Hazoret and The Scarab God happen to be pretty good against Chandra as well. Not only can Chandra be hit by these exile spells, the small creatures in the format are pretty good at rapidly reducing her loyalty to 0. Nonetheless, Chandra is still a threat that can snowball if not immediately answered and threatens to take over in the midgame, a point that most games in Standard are likely to reach.
Role: 6
Chandra is another threat that is good but not vital. She’s really good at being a resilient threat in aggressive decks, but so are Scrapheap Scrounger and Hazoret. In midrange and control shells she’s a good finisher, but there are plenty of other options available. However, in decks that are able to use her as a card advantage engine or a win condition, she provides good value for a four drop.
That’s all for today. I’ll see you on Wednesday, where we see what cards are at the top of Standard right now.
Jacob Brown‘s Magic accomplishments include coming in second at the 2016 TCGPlayer States, winning a PPTQ, and winning infinite casual drafts. Contact him at nufan7@comcast.net.
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