This year has been a pretty nice one for battlebox in general. We've had some pretty readable new designs like Refute and decision-rich mechanics like Plot (Cunning Coyote). I have also enjoyed the return to classics like Investigate (Loxodon Eavesdropper) and Threshold (Dreadwing Scavenger). While the word count of magic cards continues to rise, we keep getting novel and fun designs scattered between the walls of text.

Here are my favorite new cards from 2025:

- Nurturing Pixie - For a one-drop, this remains relevant throughout the game. Picking up something that provides value just makes you feel so smart.
- Deduce - An instant-speed divination in two installments. Go ahead and get on the case!
- Accursed Marauder is a new toy that arrived with a retro border treatment. While edicts can be situational, this often hits the mark.
- Red Herring Is a card that I cut earlier this year, but I missed it so much that it returned. Valley Dasher lives on spiritually in One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Clue Fish.
- Aloe Alchemist - Plot has been my favorite new mechanic of 2025. I see my players both casting and plotting these cards; sometimes you need the stats, and sometimes you need a plan. The Cactus Warlock's buff followed up by a 3/2 next turn applies consistent pressure.
- Dreadwing Scavenger - Smuggler's Copter is quite powerful, but repeatable looting is so valuable in an environment where mulligans are illegal.

The texture of my battlebox has changed drastically over this year. Ever since I added Phyrexian Rager, I have turned up the dial on two-for-one effects present. A lot of classics like Gravedigger and Thraben Inspector give you more decisions for spending your mana while activating the good brain chemicals. These value cards have improved the variety in gameplay greatly. Sometimes, your opponent applies constant beatdown, and eventually you put a stop to the pressure. Two-for-ones are a great way to turn the corner on these types of games. Other times, you play guildgates turns 1-3 and settle in for an grindfest.

Additionally, I've been adding more bangers. I've found that it's fun to win with and lose against powerful and flashy old cards. Drawing a banger feels like cracking a chase rare from a pack. Did I mention that I added Booster Tutor? A lot of my favorite additions this year have been all-time favorites that create fun moments:

- Terminus - I've joked about needing to draw Terminus to save me from a board state so often. What if it was actually an out... ?
- Snapcaster Mage - I have died to Bolt, Snap, Bolt. Could I ask for anything more?
- Booster Tutor - This is my favorite addition from this year. It has given me an excuse to hoard prize packs from weekly events and creates truly unique moments and decisions. In the last few months, I have lost to a Fallen Empires and a Homelands Pack. I'll get over it eventually lol.
- Flametongue Kavu - Is there truly a greater feeling than slamming a big idiot, pointing at your opponent's big idiot, and watching it disappear in a burst of flame.
- Skinshifter is just so flavorful and cool. It can apply pressure or play defense on almost any board state, provided that your opponent lets it live.
- Ghor-Clan Rampager - Player 1: "Bloodrush Ghor-Clan Rampager" Player 2: "Guh"
- Snare Thopter - Hardcast Arclight Phoenix is a surprisingly great threat for limited games.

"If you see its teeth, it's too late"

• Sun-Blessed Healer - Cook up a value stew from your graveyard. Usually I'm not a fan of lifelink because I don't want games to drag out, but this guy shouldn't stick around very long.
• Canyon Crab - 0/5 is a pretty funny statline, and crabs are funny animals. I have enough instant speed effects in the box to easily trigger the loot.
• Refute - The 3MV Counterspell slot is pretty flexible. This one is a hard counter that turns your rootwalla into a Mystic Snake. I've also tried Complicate and Twist Reality recently. Getting someone with a Force Spike and drawing a card is always fun. Twist Reality is probably my favorite gameplay-wise because it can affect the board, but I don't like looking at face-down cards when my box is so pretty.
• Clockwork Percussionist is a limited and pauper all-star. I even have the art with the spooky shadow in the background.
• Irreverent Gremlin - This is definitely the strongest of the 2-drop red rummagers that I've playtested. I'm always a fan of proactive cards that sculpt the hand.
• Monstrous Emergence - Reveal Colossal Dreadmaw, deal 6.
• Stickytongue Sentinel - This frog flew under the radar in my Bloomburrow testing. Inching out ETB value is a way of life.

"Gonna tell my kids this was Splinter Twin"

• Waterfront Bouncer - I've had the pleasure of drafting Mystery Booster 2 a few times, and the spellshapers that cast iconic spells have captivated me. This one has a world championship deck pedigree and is the source of the term "Bounce"
• Asylum Visitor - There are only so many playable madness cards. I have seen the triggered ability work a few times, but this is mostly a 3/1 madness.
• Ichor Slick - This design is just a joy.
• Gurmag Angler - I have swapped the Juzam Djinn slot from Phyrexian Scuta to the big fish. Scuta just wasn't cool or iconic enough. A potential 1-mana 5/5 is very potent, and it makes the caster feel very smart. I saw a Savannah Lions junked in combat just to fill the bin for the fish.
• Kird Ape - I found a sweet beat-up Arabian Nights Kird Ape that has been a 2/3 longer than I have been alive.
• Wild Mongrel - At Eternal Weekend, I found a foil Wild Mongrel and Arrogant Wurm in a single vendor's display case. The mongrel even discarded a Basking Rootwalla when it was first played. Do you believe in fate?
• Arrogant Wurm - The other day, this was cast off a discard from a Refute as one of the chunkiest Mystic Snakes ever.
• Kolaghan's Command - I'm getting around to replacing some of the lame utility cards in my box with more versatile and beloved gold cards. K-Command is just way cooler than Goblin Cratermaker.
• Qasali Pridemage - Likewise, this is a classic that is more fun than Voracious Varmint
• Vhati il-Dal - Best friends with Prodigal Sorcerer, and a kill-on-sight threat if you want to profitably participate in the combat step. By the way, this Summon Legend is actually a Legendary Creature - Human Warrior, for Kargan Intimidator reasons.

"Enter and choose your favorite lands."

I'm not including as many critters from Bloomburrow as I initially thought. I'm a big fan of the simple designs present throughout the set.

Shrike Force has four words of rules text, and they're all straight to the point. A +1/+1 counter basically makes this thing as Serra Angel.

Bellowing Crier is a cute lil' frog that will help me cast my rootwallas for 0.

Ravenous Rats - This is an all-time classic and an honorary Bloomburrow critter.

Bark-Knuckle Boxer's expend ability rewards players for doing things that they already want to do. Instant speed interaction can make this card pretty tricky too.

Snapcaster Mage is here to power creep Flametongue Kavu as the strongest card in the box. My players and I just really want to bolt, snap, bolt more often. Slickshot Lockpicker is a suitable budget alternative.

Silent Departure - Another Innistrad classic. Bounce you opponent's creatures for tempo, and recur your Snapcaster Mage :)

Molten Gatekeeper is a card that I had trouble finding room for when MH3 released. It has performed very nicely so far as constant pressure and graveyard value. I cut Roil Eruption because people kept mistaking it for an instant.

Stromkirk Occultist returns as one of the few playable cards printed with madness in magic's 30 years. This card does snowball, but it requires some work to pop off.

Heart Warden - I'm not sure how I feel about two-mana dorks overall in this environment. There's lots of small removal, so it's difficult to see how impactful the acceleration is overall. Board presence is pretty valuable in the early game, and the dorks don't really add stats to the board. "Cycling" in the late game is a nice upside.

I'm very pleased with this box's gameplay at the moment. The past few iterations have combed out a lot of the dud cards and added lots of new exciting designs. Even though the word count of the box has likely increased, I think the extra reading has been worth it to add interesting decisions and interactions. I'm especially happy with plot on Beastbond Outcaster and friends. It's just a joy to lay your plans face up to prepare for an explosive future turn. Adding classic gold cards has been a massive hit with the local playgroup. There's just no feeling like bloodrushing a Ghor-Clan Rampager for lethal.

I don't expect to have another update as large as the gold card additions for a while. I'm mostly just picking and choosing new and old cards that fit the box's vibes.

Phantom Nomad has a gorgeous old-border foil, and it loves to make Travel Preparations with its buddy, Phantom Tiger.

Expel the Interlopers is Swords to Plowshares at home. I tried swords here for a bit, and it was broken (surprise!). Expel isn't not amazing in MH3 limited, but I like its modality as a reasonable answer to smol beaters and a clunky answer to the curve toppers.

Malcator's Watcher is a fun little aerial speed bump from ONE. Putting +1/+1 counters on this is a huge headache for the opponent.

Hope-Ender Coatl is likely a nightmare to play against, which is on-theme for an Eldrazi. This thing is going to siphon the good brain chemicals from the opponent and transfer them to its caster.

Accursed Marauder is a super clean and efficient Fleshbag Marauder. Wizards was courteous and printed it in old-border foil for me.

Wither and Bloom has gorgeous RKF art, but it was not given old border foil treatment :( I enjoy killing things and putting +1/+1 counters on my stuff, so I can forgive this.

Red Herring - One fish, two fish, red fish, clue fish makes its glorious return. Heartfire Immolator and Goblin Cratermaker were a little too similar, and only one of them nukes an Icy Manipulator.

Nightshade Dryad is an extremely pushed mana dork. It fixes mana, blocks late, and survives Prodigal Sorcerer. This is a slot that I could see cycled around if it's a little too bland.

Skinshifter has lots of words, and is extremely cool.

Giant Beaver is a latecomer from OTJ. I was slightly worried that mount would be too clunky, but its basically crewing a vehicle. I like Gila Courser too, but I'm apprehensive about adding cards that can snowball value.

Signature Slam has Savage Punch energy, and I like how it can scale up and insulate against removal with multiple buffed creatures.

Consecrate // Consume has been a solid role-player. I have cast Consecrate more than expected, but Consume is the real star here.

After lots of feedback from my friends (they want to cast Electrolyze again), I have decided to add a single gold card to represent each color pair. Following the design themes of my box, I want them to be nostalgic and exciting bangers that mechanically represent their color pair.

• Ojutai's Command is for all the "azorious guildgate, go" sickos out there. This is as close as I'll let them get to casting Cryptic Command in this environment.

• Agony Warp is a pretty brutal mid-combat blowout. This card is mostly a figurehead for Probe. At a con, I had a player say that if they were Probed in battlebox, they would probably throw up. This one is for you <3

• Terminate - Kill it dead for two mana. Don't even think about regenerating.

• Ghor-Clan Rampager - GRUUL SMASH!!!

• Captured By Lagacs - Fun Fact: The sound your opponent makes when this is cast against them will attract wild Lagacs. They'll be temped to scoop and run for their lives.

• Mortify has some sweet art and works as advertised. Another Orzhov card could will take its place once it passes into the afterlife.

• Electrolyze - You may not like it, but this is the ideal Izzet Magic Card. I have already seen it score three for ones.

• Dreg Mangler is a ruthless beater that feeds its friends after it hits the bin. Serves as a neutral party in the ongoing Plants vs Zombies conflict.

• Lightning Helix - OH MY GOD IT'S LIGHTNING HELIX!

• Sharktocrab: Part Fish, Part Octopus, Part Crab, 100% tricky beater

• Nurturing Pixie is a cute Faerie that can help you maximize value. (The value is represented by the baby cactus)
• Accorder Paladin - Battle Cry is a cheeky way to stick an anthem-like effect in the box.
• Shrouded Shepherd is a card that I thought was too strong when Wilds of Eldraine released. I think that the power level of this environment has increased enough to absorb this smol x/1 plague wind with a Grizzly Bears attached.
• Harm's Way is an efficient tool for white that makes the caster feel clever when they convert it into a two-for-one.

• Deduce - Two cards in two down payments!
• Exclude - After this concession from me, my local playgroup will continue to ask for Cryptic Command.
• Probe - This one goes out to all the IPA draft enthusiasts (you're welcome)
• Hieroglyphic Illumination - Is a draw two you can ditch for a blue.

• Gravedigger is a pickup from my friend's lot of cards that have been power crept out of his peasant cube. What a change of scenery, because it's back near the top of the food chain.
• Sengir Vampire Is a card that I've been reluctant to add because it's almost entirely worse than Serra Angel in my zoomer mind. Realistically, I should be comparing it to Indulgent Tormentor. I believe that four toughness is a significant upside compared to the punisher effect on tormentor. Papa Sengir takes to the skies again.

• Cunning Coyote has a plot to slingshot its friend into your face. I think plot is a really interesting mechanic in low-power context, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays.
• Discerning Peddler is a Grizzly Bears that rummages. The ETB smooths the hand immediately, and the vanilla body encourages trading afterwards, unlike Goblin Picker
• Fire Imp is a baby FTK. I have crossed out the "from your hand" text, so reading the card actually explains the card.
• Irascible Wolverine is a mediocre body early, and a two-for one later. How ferocious!
• Keldon Strike Team makes a surprise return after being banned from the battlebox (Twice!). It's still strong, but has not seemed oppressive like it has in previous box iterations.
• Skophos Reaver is like a Stromkirk Occultist that doesn't snowball card advantage.
• Flametongue Kavu is a true harbinger of battlebox power creep. It's likely too good, but it's a supreme banger.

• Aloe Alchemist is a prickly pump spell that doubles as a beatstick. It won't be as oppressive as the two mana 4/4 Saddled Rimestag.
• Raucous Entertainer appeals to my love of +1/+1 counters. I'm worried that it might snowball board advantage, but I'm always willing to test a card.
• Voracious Varmint is a Cankerbloom with less words and vigilance. I have never seen it proliferate.
• Werebear - I support its right to bear arms.
• Beastbond Outcaster - A "Two Mana" 3/3 is pretty interesting. I don't expect it to cantrip often, but I'm sure some of my players will sandbag it for maximum value.
• Loxodon Eavesdropper is a stowaway from MKM. I haven't found the body plus the card to be too powerful from testing.

• Cheeky House-Mouse - Did not manage to "Squeak By"
• Faerie Guidemother - Fairly lost mother?
• Backup Agent - Last seen saying words of affirmation.
• Cogwork Wrestler - Believed to be fighting dirty.
• Owl Familiar - Familiar? I don't remember it.
• Fissure Wizard - He fell in...
• Bronzeplate Boar - More like Gonesplate Boar
• Vithian Stinger - Will the real Tim Shady please stand up?
• Tail Swipe - Turned tail.
• Scavenging Ooze - A Marit-Lage sized ooze is suspected of devouring its opponent.
• Clockwork Hydra - Ran out of +1/+1 counters

I have some friends begging me to include Thraben Inspector because it's a banger. They are correct, and I will apologize for my oversight. If I'm adding clue tokens, I might as well test some other cards that produce these mysterious rectangles.

Deduce - This card is powerful and easy to read. It will appeal to the blue-blooded value freaks in my playgroup.

Byway Courier - Three mana 3/2 is an awkward stat line because so many two drops can trade up with it. A clue on death should encourage combat and make this mana exchange more interesting.

I'll probably experiment with more investigate cards in the future because it's such a great mechanic. Loxodon Eavesdropper is a huge role-player in MKM limited, but a very relevant body that replaces itself is pretty pushed for this environment. Auspicious Arrival is also a banger from the new set. I'm slightly worried about combat tricks in my box because I have so much efficient interaction, but the ability to turn a combat into a two-for-one is pretty appealing.

I'm counteracting this slight injection of clue value by adding a bunch of cards that are great on offense. Time is a resource, and you can't cast a full grip of cards if you're dead.

Neighborhood Guardian is adorable and quite potent on offense. I'm slightly worried about the memory issues from temporary buffs on different creatures, but I'll test how it plays.

Savannah Lions - I rarely cast Cheeky House-Mouse's adventure, so I always called it by the name of the OG 2/1 for one. Casting the real deal instead is a strict vibes upgrade.

Dauntless Bodyguard is here to immediately power creep Savannah Lions. It turns sideways in the early game, and protects your banger in the late game.

Reckless Detective is on the case to solve my addiction to madness casting rootwallas. An 0/3 is actually a massive blocker for two, but it won't be able to eat an attacker on defense. It's much better at turning sideways anyhow.

Red Herring is a funnier Valley Dasher with a bail-out mode. Haste is such a good keyword.

Breakneck Berserker - Did I mention that I love haste? The red ones go fasta!

Hard-Hitting Question adds an efficient bite effect back to the battlebox. It doesn't help the creature trade up, but bites are generally stronger than fights.

Snare Thopter is here to imitate a hardcast Arclight Phoenix.

Vithian Stinger is a scourge to all x/1s in the box. It isn't too strong, but it's more fun to cast an old-school banger like Prodigal Sorcerer. Tim doesn't respect the color-pie, but that's alright; x/1s will tremble in fear just the same.

The main purpose of this update is to reduce the amount of feel-bads when top-decking in the late game. Dinky one-drops like Flayer Husk and Enduring Bondwarden feel like less than a card in value when most battlebox games go long. In general, I would like most of the creatures in the box to trade with a Grizzly Bears or have a relevant ability.

I am rapidly turning into a old-border foil shooting star junkie.

Phyrexian Rager is simply a banger, and I found a minty foil at eternal weekend. Creatures with relevant stats that cantrip are quite strong, but I'll make an exception for this handsome Phyrexian.

Monastery Swiftspear always enters tapped and attacking. 1/2 prowess is an incredibly annoying statline in a format where 2 power is so common.

Seal of Fire has very fun gameplay patterns as an on-board trick. It's also nice to be mana efficient by banking a Shock for a rainy day.

Fiery Temper is basically a rootwalla that is a bolt. I love my wallas dearly.

Ironshell Beetle is replacing Scrounging Bandar because it has a shiny shooting star :) RIP cat monkey.

Scavenging Ooze is a recognizable and dangerous scaling threat. Scooze might be too efficient at gaining stats in this environment, but I expect the green pips to bottleneck its growth.

Elvish Visionary isn't as iconic as Llanowar Elves, but it is surely a better topdeck. Skyscanner is another limited champ that fills a similar role. Drawing a card is incredibly powerful when it comes with a shitter, so I'm interested to see how these play.

Westfold Rider is very similar to Cathar Commando, but I don't think that's a bad thing because disenchant effects that can attack and block are great tools to have.

Embereth Shieldbreaker really incentivizes you to sandbag it for two-for-one value. Reclamation Sage might have similar play patterns, but at least is has more targets as an actual Disenchant. Goblin Cratermaker can be played more effectively on curve, and it can still blow up an Icy Manipulator.

Thrashing Brontodon might be annoying to cast early for 1GG, and its 3/4 statline is quite impressive. At least Big Bronty can attack and block better than Caustic Caterpillar.

Dress Down has caused many scryfall searches during gamelplay (classic). It has many fun moments, but it's quite difficult to "get" someone with this trick. Cogwork Wrestler is an annoying ambusher in LCI limited, so I want to try it out.

I really enjoy how Zephyr Sentinel plays, but the silly soldier trinket text confuses people. It's also a blowout when it bricks a removal spell and leaves behind a threatening body. Owl Familiar is a cute little looter hooter, and I'm always looking to give my players more ways to smooth their hands.

Saddled Rimestag is being slotted into the rotating green two drop slot. (It's a snow creature for the winter season.)

Mistmeadow Vanisher has a cool Flickerwisp trigger on attack. I expect this to have some fun interactions.

Clockwork Hydra is a really sweet callback to the clockwork creatures from early magic. This should be pretty interesting as a Triskelion at home.

After over a year of playtesting and digging through Scryfall, I'm very happy with the gameplay of this box. As such, I don't anticipate making many changes outside of sweet cards from new sets. I made a high quality impulse buy to foil most of this battlebox, so now I can show people my passion for slamming Colossal Dreadmaw and friends.

I've wanted a Supreme Will that didn't interact with the bottom of the library for a while now, and this fits the role even better. Acquisition Octopus is fairly clunky when you play it on 3, but I'll miss the dinky subgames where you try to squeeze value out of it.

Rummaging is an effect that plays incredibly well in battlebox to let players smooth their hands by ditching cards that aren't useful at the moment. This is a really strong effect on a grizzly bear, and I look forward to casting a Basking Rootwalla off the glyph's trigger. Burning-Fist Minotaur is mostly a 2/1 first strike. The activated ability is rarely relevant when cards are so valuable and the risk of a 2 for 1 is enormous.

This card has a beautiful name and typeline. I also expect the ETB and a 4/3 menace to be annoyingly relevant. While I just mentioned how much I love rummaging, Hangar Scrounger is a little too clunky for the mana cost. I wouldn't be surprised to add it back later for the utility that it provides.

Check out this adorable little guy. It provides a powerful multicolor ramp effect and remains relevant in the late game by giving itself deathtouch. I'm still making a small effort to reduce the number of bite and fight effects in the box because the risk of blowout is very high. Bite Down is a very good instant speed bite effect, but I prefer how my current fight spells pump the creature to trade up on size and push damage. Ambuscade looks appealing for this reason, but I'm worried that 3 mana is too much for that effect in this environment.

I received a sweet foil of this from a friend, and I think a 2 mana 2/1 flyer is likely more appealing than Halo Hopper's 3/2 statline.

Totally Lost is a cute card that's fun as a bad Mind Control in shared deck context, but Mahamoti Djinn is an old banger that I want to try out in the blue "bomb" slot.

It has been brought to my attention that Tough Cookie one-for-one blocks Colossal Dreadmaw with the food it creates and animates. I'm going to give Brushstrider a shot in this constantly rotating green two-drop slot.

I'm deciding to include a limited amount of food tokens to include some sweet cards from Eldraine. I'm not the biggest fan of repeatable life gain, but making a single food should be fine.

I'm a sucker for Gingerbrute, and Tough Cookie is a joy to read as well. A grizzly bear that can conditionally gain life or make a temporary 4/4 is incredibly flexible and powerful. This card is insane in WOE limited, but I'm hoping that fewer noncreature artifacts in this environment make the cookie more reasonable here.

Intrepid Trufflesnout will help a creature "Go Hog Wild" in combat. It's difficult to include combat tricks in this environment when they're often dead draws, but the alternative case of playing a 3/1 that can gain life upon attack is not bad. I don't expect the lifegain to snowball too much because a 1 toughness creature is trivial to kill in combat.

I love how reconfigure plays. Unlike other equipment, reconfigure creatures can instantly attack and block, and they're easy to interact with through creature removal. Blade of the Oni is definitely one of the more powerful reconfigure options. I'm willing to test it out given the success of its relatives. A 5/5 is enormous in this environment, so I'm interested to see if this card feels reasonable to play against.

Witchstalker Frenzy is an easy card to read that rewards attacking. It can also help a player on the back foot. Soul Sear is the closest comparison, and the indestructible clause is mostly flavor text. I expect Witchstalker Frenzy to cost 2 or 3 most of the time. A one mana Frenzy is an absolute bargain.

Adventure is such a great mechanic, and I really love the addition of off color adventures to use as gold cards. I'm fairly happy with most of the cards in my monocolor sections, but there are a lot of underwhelming and unexciting colorless creatures that I'm chopping to make room for some new multicolor adventures. For these monocolor swaps, I'm cutting a mechanically similar card.

Cheeky House-Mouse is absolutely adorable. I have a really crusty Savannah Lions That I love, but I think this mouse will bring me just as much joy.

Faerie Guidemother is a really great way to sneak in some flying damage on a passable early game body. Kitesail Cleric was mostly played as a Flying Men. Its kicker happened rarely, and it doesn't guarantee that damage makes it through.

Foulmire Knight is a powerful two-for one if you can cast the adventure. I'm not the biggest fan of 1/1 deathtouchers as they can lead to a clogged board, but I'm willing to see how this plays because the adventure discourages my value-addicted players from casting it early.

Embereth Shieldbreaker is easier to read than Shrapnel Slinger, and it can trade up on cards if the opponent has a robot.

Somberwald Stag is a very powerful elk, but reads like a dream, and its fight can be prevented by instant-speed removal. Jukai Preserver's channel doesn't happen very often, and it is vulnerable to disenchants.

Frolicking Familiar

Callous Sell-Sword is a cool way to include a fling effect, and I really enjoy how the adventure leads into the ETB.

Picnic Ruiner is a little wordy for my taste, but I love +1/+1 counters and goblins. I'm also a fan about being able to choose multiple targets with the adventure to prevent fizzling.

Tempest Hart has awesome art, and "Carefelk Study" is a great nickname for the adventure side. I don't expect the 5+ mana cast ability to be very relevant, but a 3/4 for trample that threatens to grow is pretty sweet. I wish kicker would help to trigger this.

My playgroup is very fond of Blitz Leech and refer to him as "The Homie." Our homie should be a fun flash threat to ambush the opponent with a three-for-one. "The Homie" eats their smallest creature, kills their largest creature, and then the opponent concedes. Such value! Morgue Theft is also good value, but it can be a little slow.

Fight/punch spells are a little weird in this environment because I have so much cheap instant speed removal. I have a feeling that Ulvenwald Tracker might be too strong as a repeatable fight source, but you need to untap with him and have a chungus to control the board. He also dies to a stiff breeze.

Bubble Snare has been alright to keep a creature tapped down, but I want to try out Repulse. I like the other bounce spells a lot, so another at instant speed should play well.

As much as it pains me, I am testing my battlebox without Storm Crow. I enjoy meme cards like Grizzly Bears, Yargle, Glutton of Urborg, and Almighty Brushwagg because this is an environment where you have no choice other than to cast (or discard) them. From a player's perspective, I think it's fun to lose to and win with a buffed Storm Crow. However, it can be disappointing to draw and play an intentionally "bad" card. There is always going to be a power disparity between the best and worst cards in any environment, but for now I'll see if removing the worst draws leads to more player agency.

Soul Snare is interesting as an on board trick, but feels super dead as the beatdown. Reprieve is a Remand in white that should surprise a few people.

Plaxmanta feels incredibly strong every time it blanks a removal spell. I'm trying out Saiba Cryptomancer as a similar protection spell / combat trick. The 0/1 hexproof body is a little awkward, but this is almost a strict upgrade from Starlit Mantle, which I enjoyed in earlier versions of this box.

Dreadmalkin's sacrifice ability is rarely relevant in an environment where value and small creatures are so important. I'm going to try out Unwilling Ingredient as a speed bump that can chip in with menace and draw a card later. Hobblefiend suffers from the same problems as Dreadmalkin. Its replacement Fissure Wizard gives players a rummage.

Yargle, Glutton of Urborg occupies black's banger slot, so his replacement needs to be a heater. Indulgent Tormentor is a sick demon that plays an interesting subgame with your opponent. I think that the opponent will lose three life the most often, while allowing the draw in a pinch. Much of the same removal will hit both Indulgent Tormentor and Yargle, Glutton of Urborg, but our new demon friend will actually be able to connect with the opponent if it sticks around.

Mogg Fanatic is too low impact. I'm introducing some madness cards in Blazing Rootwalla, Basking Rootwalla, and Stromkirk Occultist for occasional card advantage and tricky moments. The wallas' pump ability gives them some relevance when participating in combat later in the game.

Wild Mongrel's ability isn't activated often because the cost of discarding a card is so steep. It is pretty much a Grizzly Bears. I'm adding back Jukai Trainee and Tomakul Honor Guard as simple and interesting beaters. The ward on the honor guard is extremely relevant if it's played early.

Funeral Longboat and other vehicles don't feel particularly useful. I still like High-Speed Hoverbike, but some of my players have a very low opinion of that card. Ornithopter of Paradise is a cool callback that will lead to some "bolt the bird" moments. It can unfortunately be a dead draw in the late game.

Sickleslicer is a cool living weapon, but the equip ability is too expensive for it to be relevant after the germ dies. Halo Hopper is a fun little froggy to try out, and casting it for 3 isn't terrible. Convoking it out for free is going to feel fantastic though.

Prismatic Ending has drawn several complaints from players because you always have access to five colors of mana. I think this spell is fine because it's always an even mana exchange, but I'll try Oblivion Ring as a recognizable catch-all that will fill a similar role.

Swords to Plowshares is iconic and far too efficient. Permanently answering all the heaters in the box for one mana is simply too strong. Prayer of binding will take its place. I think four mana might be to expensive for this effect, but flash is very relevant, and the life gain can help to stabilize.

Urborg Repossession is pretty insane in this environment. Regrowthing your best creature and permanent while gaining two life is just too much value. Ravenous Squirrel could be interesting in its gold slot. It enables itself and rewards sacrificing creatures with cards, life and +1/+1 counters. There's a chance that this could still be on the stronger side. Maybe there will be a sweet B/G off-color adventure card in the new Eldraine that will fit well here.

Briarpack Alpha is a pretty sweet combat trick stapled to a Hill Giant. It pushes damage, and it can enable a sweet ambush. Kenrith's Transformation is a funny card, but it never functions entirely well as a removal spell or buff.

Prohibit is a card that I want to try as another counterspell. Unfortunately, it can't trade up on mana except against kicker spells. I have a feeling that it might cause some feel bads when it can't counter a 5+ mana spell, but those aren't common. Strategic Planning is a card selection spell that I like, but it doesn't affect the game state in any meaningful way.

Bloodchief's Thirst checks all the boxes for an efficient and simple card that scales with the game. Cut Down doesn't have the same scaling and sometimes gets stuck in hand depending on the board state.

Bonecaller Cleric has a far more exciting mana sink ability than Stronghold Confessor. Today I saw it reanimate a Colossal Dreadmaw, so it's already right at home in the box.

Mire Triton is a phenomenal glue card. Plague Wight is an easy swap.

Inkrise Infiltrator's pump ability is very relevant in the late game, but it's mostly a black Storm Crow. Onyx Mage has a powerful threat of activation on offense and defense, and it can turn a Triskelion into a Plague Wind

Bitter Reunion has played extremely well in the box so far. It filters and can turn a game around with a big hasty attack. Reckless Impulse will be a very powerful card advantage spell in battlebox context. It also can be used to explain "impulse draw."

Bounding Wolf hasn't had many exciting moments as a flash creature. I'm going to swap it for Phantom Tiger, which leans into green's +1/+1 counter synergy. I have a soft spot for this card because it was in one of the Cardkingdom battle decks that I learned Magic from. It was very strong in that casual context, so I'm excited to lose to it some more.

I'm finally rounding out the gold cards with two for each pair. Carnival // Carnage is a Mind Rot that can still affect the board with an early ping. The double discard is pretty insane in battlebox, and I'm looking forward to playtesting it.

Pixie Illusionist has been pretty terrible in the simic gold slot. Plaxmanta should play well with the other tricky blue flash creatures. Even without green, it can protect an important creature in a pinch.

Urborg Repossession represents the Golgari color pair better than the unexciting Bog Badger. It should be quite strong as a flexible divination with lifegain.

I was correct the first time. Keldon Strike Team makes too many rectangles for one card. Cleaving Skyrider returns to the Boros slot.

Unholy Officiant costs a little too much to pump, but it has been a fine mana sink in drawn out games. Enduring Bondwarden will join the other backup creatures in the box. I've been pleased with how they have played so far.

Mogg Fanatic is iconic, and it deserves to replace its pirate homie, Fanatical Firebrand.

Bite Down is mechanically identical to Master's Rebuke, but it more clearly represents the "Bite" jargon (Rabid Bite).

Regrowth is a more flexible and iconic card than Grapple with the past, even though it doesn't fuel itself.

Mowu, Loyal Companion is the best boi, however his +1/+1 counter ability rarely matters. Kavu Titan is Untamed Kavu's grandpa and should play just as well while adding some old border charm.

Trusted Pegasus is a Wind Drake with offensive upside, and it has been rather unexciting. Attended Knight comes with first strike and a 1/1 soldier, so it should help stabilize the board or push the advantage. I'm worried that the rate on this one might be too good.