Kaldheim: Top 10 Colorless/Land/Themed Booster Cards

Kaldheim has been one of the most exciting sets for me in quite a while, and I’m excited to dig into this set’s Top 10s for Oathbreaker. I’ve already done a Top 10 article for cards of each color, as well as one for multicolor cards. The last pair of Top 10s for this set will be one covering the colorless/land/themed booster exclusive cards and one covering all the new cards from the Commander precons (plus my overall Top 10 cards from Kaldheim, of course). My Top 10s are based on 1) how strong I think a card will be in Oathbreaker, and 2) how many different types of Oathbreaker decks I expect the card to see play in. While I do try to be as objective as I can, these are ultimately just my own thoughts/opinions.

In regards to Kaldheim, I’d also like to reiterate one important factor at the beginning of each of these articles: no, foretell does not work the way you want it to with Signature Spells. Your Signature Spell can only exist either 1) in the command zone, or 2) on the stack. It cannot go to exile—or anywhere else—for any reason, meaning you can not foretell a Signature Spell.

With all that out of the way, let’s keep things moving with my Top 10 Colorless/Land/Themed Booster cards from Kaldheim!

Honorable Mentions

I’m a little tired of including dual lands at the top of these lists, so instead I’ll simply be referring to them in the Honorable Mentions from now on. Obviously more mana-fixing options to choose from will always be a handy thing for the average MTG player, and both of the cycles included in Kaldheim are pretty sweet. The completion of the “pathway” cycle was already a given going into the set, but I was pretty surprised to see full-on snow dual lands—with basic land typings and everything! Yes, they’ll always be entering the battlefield, but being able to fetch/tutor up snow dual lands will be very strong in certain decks. The fact these snow-doals are all at common rarity will hopefully be enough to keep their prices in a reasonable range, and you all know how much I love to see new budget-friendly staples for Oathbreaker.

#10: Rampage of the Valkyries

It’s been fun to see angel tribal receive so much new support in Kaldheim, and Rampage of the Valkyries is one of my personal favorite “angels matter” cards from the set. Five mana for a “Serra Angel” isn’t too exciting on its own, but of course, there’s more. This enchantment is also essentially a Grave Pact for your angels, an effect that’s particularly impactful in a multiplayer format like Oathbreaker. Furthermore, the enter-the-battlefield trigger on this card makes it a fine fit in any deck capable of flickering enchantments—yes, I’m looking at you, Aminatou, the Fateshifter. I don’t expect Rampage of the Valkyries to see much widespread play in Oathbreaker, but I’m sure it’ll be a very solid inclusion in any list well-situated to take advantage of it.

#9: Bearded Axe

I suppose it was only a matter of time before we got an axe card that cares about dwarves. This piece of equipment acts as another fine piece of tribal support, but it’s certainly playable in other archetypes as well. Any red deck running an abundance of equipment and/or vehicles could easily put Bearded Axe to good use, especially if they’re aiming to cheat on equip costs. Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients definitely seems like the slam-dunk Oathbreaker pick for this particular card, but I could see it show up alongside other Oathbreakers as well. Artifact-centric strategies in Oathbreaker come in quite a variety of color combinations, several of which include red. I already have one or two Oathbreaker lists in mind for Bearded Axe, and I’ll be curious to see how other players choose to utilize this new piece of equipment.

#8: Thornmantle Striker

A lot of the cards on this specific list are clearly designed with tribal decks in mind, and Thornmantle Striker is no exception. Although a 4/3 for five mana is a pretty weak rate on its own, this card’s enter-the-battlefield trigger more than makes up for this shortcoming. Both of this creature’s modes can prove to be useful, though the first mode is particularly notable since it can be used against opposing Oathreakers. I also wouldn’t consider this card’s relatively low power/toughness as much of a downside as it may seem at first glance; after all, Thornmantle Striker is clearly built for elf tribal decks, which tend to pack plenty of lord/pump effects. The fact that Thornmantle Striker really is only playable in Golgari-colored elf tribal decks kept it this low on the list, but I’m sure it will prove to be quite the powerful addition to that archetype.

#7: Cycle of Uncommon Sacrifice Lands

I’m keeping to my promise of not putting dual land cycles on these lists anymore, but this land cycle isn’t technically a dual land cycle since they each only tap for one color of mana. Even still, the various activated abilities stapled to these lands are all very unique and interesting. The three shown above are definitely my personal favorites of the bunch for Oathbreaker specifically, but the rest of cycle is very playable as well. Even more importantly, these lands are all only uncommons, making them more easily accessible—both printing and price-wise—for players on each end of the casual/competitive spectrum. I don’t think I’d go quite as far as to say these lands are new format staples, but if nothing else, they’ll certainly be fun and powerful new options for budget Oathbreaker builds.

#6: Canopy Tactician

I’m sure we all know by now these anthem/lord effects are strong inclusions for tribal decks, and I’d say Canopy Tactician is no exception to this rule. As far as elf lords specifically go, I’d say this latest addition to the team is bit on the weaker side; however, this four-drop has its uses nonetheless. Elf decks will never say no to more ramp, and tapping for three mana is quite the bit of acceleration. As weird as is feels, I don’t really have much else to say about this card. Although there isn’t anything too notable of about Canopy Tactician, I’m sure it will still be a solid inclusion for elf tribal strategies both in Oathbreaker and elsewhere.

#5: Surtland Flinger

Ah, good old red and their using comrades as ammunition. Surtland Flinger is definitely geared a bit more towards giant tribal than anything else, but I believe they could be a solid inclusion in other types of lists. It’s never a bad idea to pack a little bit of reach in an aggro/stompy deck, and I would certainly count a “Thud” on a stick as reach. Although only triggering on attack—as opposed to when it enters the battlefield—is a bit of restriction, several red decks should be able to slightly circumvent this downside by giving the flinger haste. This ability can also be used as an odd way to get around opposing blockers, even if it will only work once per flung creature. Perhaps I’m slightly overestimating the strength of this card—then again, something tells me it usually isn’t a good idea to underestimate the strength of a giant that uses other people as fling fodder.

#4: Elven Ambush

Hey, I heard you live elves, so got I you this elf spell to make more elves to go with all your other elves. In all seriousness, instant-speed Elvish Promenade—tribal typing aside—seems like a pretty solid card, and it’s particularly exciting for a format with Signature Spells. Elf tribal decks are bound to become more popular than ever thanks to Tyvar Kell, and Elven Ambush is nice new card to pair with him. Instant-speed flexibility is always a welcome trait in any sort of strategy, and plain-old Elvish Promenade is already a fairly popular Signature Spell in its own right. That being said, I could also see Elven Ambush working well in the 58 of elf tribal decks looking to . . . well, ambush their opponents. Whether an elf tribal decks decides to play this card as a Signature Spell or in the 58, I’m sure it will prove its effectiveness on the battlefield. (Also, this card has some decent “famous last words” flavor text.)

#3: Armed and Armored

This next instant on the list is my next favorite new Signature Spell from Kaldheim right after Reckless Crew—which is pretty fitting since they seem like they’d work pretty well together in the same sort of deck. Armed and Armored is somewhat reminiscent of Start Your Engines, though this newer card comes in at two less mana and works at instant-speed. The little bit of “dwarf/equipment matters” support is interesting, but I suspect it will often be the less impactful side of this instant. Whether you’re casting Armed and Armored on your turn or an opponent’s turn, being able to animate all your vehicles out of nowhere is the sort of effect that can do enough damage to suddenly swing the game in your favor. I for one am looking forward to catching my opponents off guard with this card, whether it be as a Signature Spell or as an inclusion in the 58.

#2: Faceless Haven

Everyone, say hello to Mutavault‘s snowy sibling! Faceless Haven might be one of the best creature-lands we’ve seen in quite some time, and it’s tough to ignore the generically-solid value it provides. Snow mana-bases are going to be easier to build than ever after Kaldheim releases, and this creature-land can be animated using any type of snow mana. The actual body this ability provides is pretty efficiently-costed as well, especially since vigilance is largely considered to be one of the strongest keywords in Oathbreaker. Decks looking to capitalize on specific creature types will likely be the best home for Faceless Haven, but any Oathbreaker deck running enough snow lands could easily put this creature-land to good use.

#1: Valkyrie Harbinger

Lifegain is already known to be pretty powerful in Oathbreaker, and Valkyrie Harbinger is an exciting new card that can take full advantage of this fact. Although six mana for a 4/5 flyer isn’t a very good rate, I’d assume any deck running this card can consistently turn on its trigger the turn it comes down, making it more like six mana for an 8/9 flyer. This angel can also turn on its own trigger since it comes with lifelink, though its tokens come with vigilance instead—both of which are pretty strong keywords in Oathbreaker. If that weren’t enough, this angel’s ability triggers on each end step, which scales wonderfully in multiplayer formats. Dedicated lifegain strategies are the most obvious home for this card, but I could see popping it up in other types of lists that coincidentally run a lot of lifegain—Oathbreakers like Gideon Blackblade and Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord immediately come to find, but they’re far from the only options. I would definitely consider this card to be a must-kill threat in Oathbreaker, and I look forward to playing games with/hearing stories about this card wrecking tables.