Welcome back to some more great Eldritch Moon action! The past couple weeks have been great, talking about all the amazing new cards we get to cast this weekend. There are cards to enhance existing archetypes as well as cards that will spawn their own new archetypes.

I discussed both of these types of cards last week with my extended honorable mention section. Up first, I have a couple more cards that I wanted to touch on and then we’ll dive right into the top 10!

Honorable Mention

Ulrich of the Krallenhorde

Our new Wolfir Silverheart friend Ulrich of the Krallenhorde // Ulrich, Uncontested Alpha is a monster on the battlefield. He currently has no home, but a double dose of +4/+4 is some serious bonus damage. On the flip side he even gets to kill one of your opponent's creatures by fighting them with his new 6/6 (or 10/10) stats.

Ulrich may not be impactful enough for your five-drop, but his slim price tag makes him awfully attractive. As a mythic werewolf, I doubt he will drop much after his debut, but if so, I’d start picking up cheap copies.

Hanweir Garrison

Eldritch Moon has some powerful creatures, especially at the three slot and Hanweir Garrison is one great example. Just triggering the tokens once might be enough to propel you way ahead in the game. But as much as I love this mini-Hero of Bladehold, I’m not sure where a three like this will find a home.

Being under $3 is a great boon. There’s not much to lose on this one. I know I’ll be working to make sure it sees play, along with Hanweir Battlements. I’m all about upgrading my 1/1s to 3/2s when they meld.

Emrakul's Evangel

One more sweet three-drop is Emrakul's Evangel. It will probably be outclassed by Foul Emissary as long as the emerge creatures pan out, but don’t be surprised to see this be the bulk breakout of this set. I think it would fit nicely in the G/B Rites deck as an additional way to profit from a plethora of dudes.

Coax from the Blind Eternities

As our first wish since Glittering Wish, Coax from the Blind Eternities provides some interesting possibilities for deck building. Will there be a control deck that utilizes their sideboard to Eldrazi Wish from? Certainly Commander players will take advantage of this unique wish in order to have access to all Eldrazi.

The Eldrazi wish is under a dollar right now but this low price tag holds great long-term possibilities.

Selfless Spirit

Initially I was high on Selfless Spirit, but in Standard we don’t suffer from opponents killing our creatures in a way that this flyer can help with.

We have our creatures bounced from Reflector Mage, toughness reduced from Languish, or exiled with Declaration in Stone. Sure, there is combat damage to deal with, but that’s not the main method of killing creatures in Standard. Once we hit rotation, Selfless Spirit’s stock could go way up though to pay attention to the price growth on this one.

Spell Queller

The last cut from the Top 10 was Spell Queller. As a 2/3 flyer with flash we are already getting a great start. The real key to this spirit though is his ability to exile Collected Company or Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. There are lots of other targets as well because it can exile creatures and not just spells. Grabbing Languish sure does sound appealing.

My concern with this creature is that it gives the opponent a lot of flexibility to remove the creature to cast their spell whenever they decide it’s best. So, they can end up casting their planeswalker at the end of your turn as long as they have a removal spell for Spell Queller.

It’s definitely a great card, but I think it’s a bit overrated right now. Giving your opponent more control over when their spell gets cast is a serious drawback. I’d look for this price to fall quickly as well. Don’t get in unless you need them right away.

Top 10!

10. Grim Flayer

Coming in at number ten is Grim Flayer. We’ve had a number of surprising green and black two-drops over the years but we won’t be surprised this time like we were with Putrid Leech, Lotleth Troll, or Rakshasa Deathdealer. Grim Flayer is sitting as the seventh most expensive card in the set, but I think he could go even higher.

I think Flayer is the card we’ve needed to form a delirium-based deck in Standard. His built-in Sylvan Library that mills the bad cards out of the way is going to be great to set up your draws. With delirium as a goal, I think he could be a 4/4 a reasonable amount of the time.

Can delirium compete with the uber-efficient Collected Company though? That’s the main question. If yes, his price will go up, so watch the tournament results in the first couple weeks to determine his price trajectory.

9. Oath of Liliana

I think many readers will be surprised that Oath of Liliana is ninth in the Top 10, but this card is really underrated right now. Think about the decks in Standard right now. Most of them only play the most efficient creatures which makes a forced sacrifice great. No matter what they choose, you’re getting something great.

In addition, as long as you are playing any planeswalkers, you can trigger the zombie clause. Oath of Liliana has great synergy with many cards in Standard and will fit well alongside a variety of planeswalkers. This enchantment is a great removal spell and has the potential to generate some virtual card advantage in your games as well. This is another great bulk buy right now.

8. Gisela, the Broken Blade

Our new micro-Baneslayer Angel, Gisela, the Broken Blade, is already shifting the metagame. Not many creatures can attack through a four-power first striker and she can dig you out of a hole thanks to the life gain as well. She doesn’t match up well against the format’s removal, but just like Baneslayer, if she sticks, the game will swing your way.

I think she’s a little pricey at nearly $25 right now, but if she moves the format around her, then that price is completely justified.

7. Bruna, the Fading Light

As good as Gisela, the Broken Blade is, I think Bruna, the Fading Light is even better. Both are great but casting Bruna feels back-breaking for your opponent. Most of the time it doesn’t matter what you reanimate, but there’s no limit to the mana cost. You only have to target a human or angel, so things like Linvala, the Preserver are going to be targeted for sure. 5/7 flying vigilance is pretty amazing and you are getting every penny’s worth out of your seven-cost creature on this one.

She’s only a rare but if this U/W Angels deck that’s being worked on right now takes off, that price should swing up at least a couple bucks.

6. Elder Deep-Fiend

Last week, I spoke about our new emerge Eldrazi friends and I think Elder Deep-Fiend is the best of the bunch. Most of these giant monsters can be cast on turn four by sacrificing a three-drop. Talk about cheating your eight-cost spell into play! Elder has flash to ambush creatures, but most of the time making your opponent tap their lands is going to be the best way to play this octopus.

The $7 price seems just about right to me. It has the potential to grow, but I think it will stay right about where it is currently.

5. Liliana, the Last Hope

In the past, the planeswalkers have dominated the top of my lists and while Liliana, the Last Hope comes in at number five, she’s not the best the set has to offer.

What she does offer though is consistency. Lilly can switch between killing or shrinking creatures and getting back other ones for you to keep up the pressure with. Due to the mill attached to the Raise Dead ability, I think she will pair perfectly with some sort of delirium shenanigans.

All planeswalkers these days start out with enormous price tags and Lily was no different. She should drift down to about $15 though. I know I’m excited to play with her and so are a lot of other players too, but -2/-1 just isn’t as good as it used to be.

4. Tamiyo, Field Researcher

Why the best colors in Standard get a powerful card like Tamiyo, Field Researcher added to their inventory I’ll never know, but we will all be sick of seeing Tamiyo very soon. She complements the Collected Company tempo game plan perfectly and I think those decks will love multiple copies of this hot new ‘walker.

The +1 is great because it can target yours or your opponent's creatures and none of them even have to deal damage to an opponent. Any combat damage they deal draws you a card! That’s a huge deal because even if your board is empty, for them to kill her you still get to draw cards!

The -2 is better than my initial impression as well. Not only can you tap their creatures to buy you some time or swing for more damage, but you can also tap any nonland permanent! Tamiyo is great and her price tag is completely justified.

3. Thalia, Heretic Cathar

The rares of Eldritch Moon are about as good as they can get and Thalia, Heretic Cathar’s effect will be felt over multiple formats. She will fit right in with the other humans in Standard and be slotted into a variety of Death and Taxes-style decks in Modern and Legacy.

With other decent rares, $7 might be the best we can expect from new Thalia, especially with her as our Buy-a-Box promo. I’d collect those promos though as well as all the other foils because they’re good long-term.

2. Emrakul, the Promised End

Emrakul, the Promised End has brought her 3/2 Eldrazi army to Innistrad and the end is near. When striving for delirium, I assume reducing her more than four should be possible. The question is how much we can get the cost down. Creature, land, instant, sorcery, enchantment, planeswalker, and artifact makes seven and I think it’s reasonable to include all of those types in a Standard deck, so theoretically we could be casting her for six mana. Realistically I think she will hit later than that though.

No matter when she comes down though, her power will reverberate through the match and your opponent will quiver in fear. New Emrakul should be a great new option for Modern Tron too. I think she would have to see tons of competitive play for her price to drive up from $14 though.

1. Eldritch Evolution

Finally, we have the best of Eldritch Moon and this card even has part of the set as the title! Our number one for this set is none other than Eldritch Evolution! I’ve talked a lot about this card and it’s no secret how powerful it is. I fully expect this card to see tons of play in multiple formats. Compare it to whatever powerful green card you want and in the end you still end up with something that’s going to shake up formats.

I’m still surprised this card has dropped from its initial preorder price. I think $7 is a steal for another great green card. The question won’t be where it sees play but rather in how many decks.

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That’s all for me today. I hope you enjoyed another Top 10 article. I’ll have another one in August too once we have the set list for Conspiracy 2. What’s your Top 10 look like? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @MtgJedi.