The gods of Theros, their legendary weapons, the greatest of the world's heroes, and its foulest monsters have come to the call your Commander deck. No goat sacrifice required.

I'll remind you that this is a review for Commander only. There are cards that from our command zone eye we won't look at twice which we'd draft in a heartbeat. I'm going to do a modified version of how I rate the cards. Instead of making you sort through two different lists of cards you're not likely to see, I'm going to combine "Probably Won't Get Played" and "Might Get Played" into one. Then we can hurry into the cards we can't wait to get our hands on with "Probably Will Get Played" and "Definitely Will Get Played."

No set, not even Innistrad, has dripped with as much flavor as Theros. Fortunately, it's not all just flavor. There are bunches of cool cards to go with it. We'll get to them shortly, but first I'd like to talk about the themes and mechanics that we see in the set.

Bestow: Good on flavor, iffy on implementation for Commander. I can see bestow cards being really good in Limited, but for the most part (there are definitely exceptions), we won't see them played. I like the resilience of the cards. It almost always seems worth casting them for their bestow cost so that you can get the benefit until the enchanted creature gets killed and then have a creature. Nice sweeper-proofing, like with and friends. Folks will have to learn a few rules that are unique to bestow cards, but I think they're up to it.

Bounce: There are some bounce cards in the set, and I think it's a good reminder that in the world where everyone can have , bounce and tuck are strong. is even stronger, and when Gods are around, is suddenly a rock star. And I don't mean Jacoby Shaddix; I mean Roger Freaking Daltrey.

Devotion: If there's a format where devotion will get out of hand, especially when something is equal to your devotion to a color, Commander is it. I love it thematically and am pretty sure there are cards that will be absurd.

Gods: The idea around which the set is framed, each of them is going to get played. Love them.

Heroic: Another mechanic where the flavor team has done its work, heroic looks kind of hit and miss in the set, even more so for us.

Monstrosity: More hit and less miss than heroic. I like that if the permanent stops being a creature (like with ), it will still be monstrous. Note that monstrous isn't an ability the creature has, so or won't take it away.

Ordeals: Awesome flavor, solid abilities. Seems pretty cool that the creature has to go through trials—meaning battle—to get cooler. I like that any time you sacrifice the Ordeal you get the affect. The native ability to sacrifice it only triggers on attacking, so if you want to pile a bunch of counters on it and keep it home for a while, go ahead.

Scry: Scry has returned, and I think players (at least the ones I've heard talking) are seriously undervaluing the mechanic. Having it on the dual lands is quite something (although in their particular case, they feel more like uncommons than rares). I'm a fan.

This set review is brought to you by my "Best of Rush" playlist:

"Subdivisions"

"The Spirit of Radio"

"Show Don't Tell"

"Nobody's Hero"

"Xanadu"

"Red Sector A"

"Witch Hunt"

"New World Man"

"Totem"

"Tom Sawyer"

"Red Barchetta"

"YYZ"

"Limelight"

"Closer to the Heart"

"Tai Shan"

Probably Won't & Might Get Played

This category is for cards that you're simply unlikely to see in the format. It could be because they're good only in Draft or are simply outclassed by other stuff and don't have any thematic or tribal tie-ins. Cards on this list might have a narrow use, like fitting into a tribal theme, or have some corner case interaction that might cause someone to try them out.

White

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blue

, , , , , , Lost in a Labyrinth, , , , , , , , ,

Black

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,; , , , , ,

Red

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Green

; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;

Multicolored

, , , , Sentry of the Underworld

Artifact

, , , , , , ,

Probably Will Get Played

Cards in this category have a strong chance of getting played with some regularity. While good, they might be narrow or limited in scope. They won't have the broad appeal of the best cards in the set. They're the kind of cards that get replaced down the road when something more interesting comes along.

White

: It will get strong consideration in mono-white decks and maybe a little in white-based token decks.

: I've seen a few tap-the-creatures-down decks, and might earn a home in them.

: Again, it's the exile that's the operative point here. There are plenty of low power, really useful creatures that keep coming back and doing bad things. Like Eternal Witness.

: The mana cost will at least make some people think about it.

: Remember that the counters stay even when the Ordeal goes away.

: Here's a heroic ability I can get behind since it does something that's permanent for the rest of your army.

: Talk around the dinner table with the Monday Night Gamers (which is supposed to avoid Magic) has been there's a B/W Clerics deck out there. The Scholar has a slot reserved in case that's true. There may well be enough Clerics to now build something wheeling around .

: This card actually won't get played, but I mention it so that I can mention Mel Brooks.

Blue

: I'm putting here despite the fact that I don't see it played that much in a format where artifacts and enchantments rule. Perhaps my mentioning it will bring some much-needed focus to a neglected gem. needs your help, so call now.

: Someone will give it a whirl because of the neat combination of abilities.

: Someone's going to try to break anything that has flash and untaps creatures. Seems pretty solid for combos, not to mention the gotcha moments.

: A straight upgrade for anyone playing .

: I continue to sing to you the gospel of bounce and tuck.

: All those Elemental tokens will look good with some kind of headgear—like .

: already sees play, and this is a nice companion. Being a Wizard won't hurt it at all.

: Maybe in the Edric decks or something wonky like my . It's the color of and , so it has a reasonable chance of making an appearance.

: Being a sorcery and the cost will keep it from the big boy list, although I think for the combination of abilities the cost isn't that bad.

: Slightly better than , the Bird token is a non-factor.

: There might be some room—again, despite the high cost and sorcery nature—for Lazav and Mimeoplasm decks.

: For drawing cards, people will try nearly anything. Imagine this on .

: This set's winner of the Leon Uris TL;DR Award, the single mana cost of this and lockdown capabilities will get someone to give it a whirl.

: Bounce and scry. Bounce and scry. Moose and squirrel.

Black

: Sacrifice-as-creature-removal will continue to get chances.

: First things first. I don't much care for s-apostrophe-s. That said, a nice discard-to-be-reanimated-later outlet is the kind of thing I can see folks trying.

: Lots of folks are indifferent to many planeswalkers because they think they can just battle them away. They're generally so good that you really need to pack something else for them in case you can't attack. This is nicely flexible.

: You probably need it only once.

: Okay, it's no , as you can't kill someone with it, but scrying and drawing seems like something you want to do.

: I'm not actually sure that it belongs here, but it's such a powerful and popular card in other formats it seems criminal to not mention it.

Red

: We don't see much (I'm going to have to think about why that is; seems like land destruction that's reasonable), but this is a creature that does almost as much.

: The weakest for this format of the Ordeals. Don't forget though that makes you sacrifice stuff.

: Dig out your ! It's happening!

Green

: Green is the only color to make it work, but it works.

: I think this seems better on the surface than it actually is. Unless you're well set up for it, whiffs could definitely happen.

: In the format where people are known to swing for a hundred, some effects are a good idea.

: Being a sorcery puts it here instead of the definitely played list. Maybe if it had split second . . .

: This is going to be one of those cards that gets tried out a little and then gets scrapped later on. Yes, it's possible that you can have a 10/10 for GGGG. It just seems unlikely.

: Another attractive distracter. By the time you've attacked enough to sacrifice it, your mana situation should be pretty good anyway. I suppose there's a scenario where you have out early, but that feels like too many gyrations to make it work.

: Probably goes in the "counters matter" deck because it can be rather large.

: I'm not sure why you wouldn't just play instead . . . unless you were playing with and targeted your own creature? Green cards that kill creatures are at a premium, so you might find yourself wanting to run this.

: I want this card to be better than it actually is.

: Anything that untaps lands tells me that a combo is not far behind. Obviously spicy with or .

: Anything that lets green draw cards is worth a look.

Multicolored

: This might find a home in the Boros decks that like to get into the red zone early and often. The art reminds me of some kind of Michael Jackson video.

: Trample is one of the things that Boros is weak on, so I can see this finding a home in the same decks that goes into.

: Simic knows how to cast creatures and draw cards. A 3/2 flier for four isn't bad anyway, but with flash and the neat ability, this one's pretty likely to find a home.

: What's it calling from? The !

: Another one that folks will try out then ditch once they've blanked once too often.

: At the very least, it's a way to keep the one-toughness creatures off your back. Sometimes, you just want a creature to attack, whether it's to get it out of the way for a counterattack or to hope it points at someone else. Sirens are cool. Too bad Ruhan can't play them.

: Maybe this can find a spot in Melek or other Izzet decks. The right deck can probably make the power jump up, but I wouldn't build a deck around it.

Triad of Fates: Neat flavor and clever design, but ultimately a little too clunky to be one of the set's great cards. I look forward to seeing what chicanery people dream up with this and .

: Is this the Rakdos commander you've been looking for? I wouldn't build a Zombie tribal deck around him because that would exclude all the fun blue ones, but he certainly has a home in any Zombie deck.

Artifact

: More likely helpful in decks like Grixis, Boros, and Izzet that don't have other good ways of ramping than in anything with green. It's nice to see something that helps nongreen catch up a little.

: Someone is going to try this plus . It will work one time in a hundred, but when it does it'll be a story for the ages.

: For one more mana, I prefer , but I suppose it's just a half price/half effect .

Definitely Will Get Played

White

: All three abilities are pretty spicy, but it's the middle one that is going to do a great deal of the heavy lifting. The Elspeth + token decks are getting pretty excited about having another arrow in their quiver.

: What makes this most attractive to me is the cost. It's not so prohibitive that you won't want to cast it again and again.

: Even as a sorcery and a one-for-one, as I've mentioned multiple times, exile is arguably the strongest mechanic in the format.

: I confess to being a flavor slave. Heliod will lead my mono-white deck, and it will likely be full of Clerics. is powerful in all multiplayer formats since you can be both aggressive and defensive at the same time. Since it's a God, you have to play with it.

: I can't wait for the day someone has this, it's monstrous, and they still can't block all the incomings.

: You'd pay 1WW just for the effect. Tack onto that a giant rattlesnake and you have chicken dinner.

Blue

: People will copy your stuff. Be prepared.

: It would get played—and not just by the Edric decks—for the first ability alone, which seems to already be a thread common to the Gods' weapons. The second ability setting up an is just sweet.

: Already with the best nickname of the set, "Makin' Bacon," the trick will be—just like when you have bacon in your fridge—how long you can hold out before having it.

: We've already talked about people liking to copy stuff. They'll happily copy their own stuff and occasionally even let you copy something of your own. A fine political tool.

: It's getting played already. No chance people stop.

: Oh yeah. It will be unleashed!

: At three mana, you start scrying right away. Later, you have in multiples available to you. You'd play this even if it couldn't eventually become a 5/5 beater than can help itself to a commander-damage kill. Super seriously good.

Black

: Anything that enters the battlefield and makes lots helpers will get played. It's a Demon, so Kaalia decks have another weapon. Why, back in my day, Demons were bad for you.

: Speaking of back in my day, one-mana black spells couldn't kill black creatures.

: I hoped that the black God would do some reanimating, but it wasn't to be. Keeping your opponents from gaining life is strong. What's the Trostani deck going to do? It might be the weakest of the Gods, but it's still a top-level card.

: Sweet, sweet Zombie-rific Exsanguinate.

: Hythonia is legendary, so there's a chance she (it?) might be leading her own pack. The siren's call of repeatable sweeping might be too enchanting to ignore.

: This is the bestow card that simply has me over the moon. The costs, both casting and bestow, are absurdly low for what it does. I'm not the Amazing Kreskin when I tell you that this card will murder people.

: I hereby declare the greatest flavor card ever. I turn into a twelve-year-old at a Bieber concert every time I think of this card. Even better is that it will return the sacrificed card from whichever zone it went to—specifically relevant to the command zone. Super insane. The only thing keeping it mildly in check is the fact that it gets exiled.

: Like its wielder, this is probably the weakest of the legendary enchantment artifacts, but it will still definitely get included in decks. If Sedris gets played, so will this.

Red

: Great googly-moogly! To each opponent. The "red doesn't get good cards" crowd might be a little quieter now.

: Okay, this is the weakest of the Gods' weapons. Nonetheless, you'll still see it. Haste, especially when a commander is involved, is that good.

: Borrow your awesome guy? Scry? Sign me up!

: This is the card that I am 1) looking forward to playing and 2) most scared of. Like , it's each opponent, so there are mass kills just waiting to happen. Being hexproof doesn't even help since it's not targeted. The saving grace might be that . . . no, there isn't one. This one will burn many faces.

: Red might not be getting the greatest number of playables in this set, but the ones it's getting are insane. Finally, here's a non-spell way to kill Greedy Card Draw Guy.

Green

: I like this one a great deal because of the flexibility. It helps out in many different situations and in the worst-case scenario helps you refill your library. That last ability isn't just a mana sink though. It'll help you keep your stuff from getting reanimated by other people's .

: Yes, this will get as insane as it seems it might. Last week, fellow Pro Tour Coverage Teamer Brian David-Marshall picked this as his top green card for the format, and I'm pretty sure he's right. And you, Rashad Miller! Nothing to see here! In other news, kill Rashad first.

: Can't be countered? Check. Can't be Treacheryed? Check check. A real thumb in the eye to the blue mage in the color that can best make it immense.

: Okay, she's not . Your creatures having trample is way better than it seems on the surface, and it's not like this can just get nuked by . I like that she's quite strong but not overpowered.

: It's not really so much world eater as creature eater but strong nonetheless. You have to be a little careful with it because the other creatures deal their whole power to it. Another in the now a long line of flavorful and playable cards in this set.

Multicolored

: Yes! Upgraded Angel of Despair! Not that Angel gets replaced—Ashen Rider just joins the team.

: Weaving nightmares is right. Dropping this early can get its ultimate going in short order. I think every time someone puts this on the table, you're going to get that sinking feeling in your stomach.

: This could be that Voltron commander you've been looking for. Once he gets equipped up, he can be a real terror.

: The insane minds at the shop have already figured out some convoluted way to take infinite turns. I stopped paying attention about four steps in, which I think was an actual goat sacrifice. Still, anything that nets you an extra turn is going to get run out there. Perhaps the fairest extra-turn card ever, although I suppose might have something to say about that.

: People will blow up your . Now you can make them stop. Well, you can't actually make them stop, but you get the picture.

: Narrow in scope and appeal, the reasonably low mana and monstrosity costs make kind of attractive.

: Just what Simic needs. Like Seedborn Muse, it effectively gives its controller a turn during everyone else's turn. I'd play this card for the cost with either ability. Giving it both makes it one of the best cards in the set. I predict many hijinks.

: For this format, I don't think the abilities you have to pay mana for matter all that much. I think the scry ability matters a great deal. When there's a board wipe, you basically get a mini .

: Reverse Fact or Fiction will certainly get played. This card will be worth it just for watching some of the mind games that go on, even more than with FoF.

: The creature version of will hold in check many recursion tricks. I know I won't be happy to see it if I'm playing Karador or Kresh. It doesn't help against unless you have a sacrifice outlet, in which case you could sacrifice it with on the stack, putting all the creatures back into hands before it resolves. Still, it's a 6/6 for five that's hard to chump block. It can go to work on life totals faster than a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.

: Party Time Planeswalker isn't going to get used for his middle ability much except in the case of emergencies. He's going to spend all his time being or mini for seven. It's one of those cards that people won't care much about the first time they see it. The second time, they'll kill it on sight.

Artifact

: You knew it had to be in this set. You couldn't have asked for a better design from a flavor standpoint. It'll take a long time to kill someone with this plus , but it might make you some friends.

: In what other format could you have indestructible 20/20s running around? Timmy is very happy right now.

Land

: Every color having access to something like is pretty good. I doubt that it's ever quite that abusable, but it'll definitely be a heavily played card from this set.

, , , , : As I mentioned at the top, I see these as currently undervalued (from a play standpoint). I think they're significant upgrades to the Zendikar life-gain duals.

Overall, the density of extremely good cards in this set seems a little lower than in the last few sets, and the gap between the best cards and the also-rans is wider. I'm fond of fact that as a whole the set another lateral power-level move. Our friends in R&D aren't engaging in an arms race with themselves, which would probably be to our detriment. It's clear to me that sets which strongly integrate flavor with interesting mechanics and cards you just want to play is a great formula for success.

There are a few cards that are super strong, but I'll point out there haven't been any calls to pre-ban anything. There are a few that stand a good chance of being game-ending cards, but we want a few of those in our sets, especially if we have to do other cool stuff to make that happen.

My Top 5:











I'm looking forward to playing them and more as soon as I get copies.

Next week, we'll talk about how I'm going to integrate Theros cards into the 23 decks I have, and I'll specifically find a home for each of the "Definitely Will Get Played" cards. Hope you had a great Prerelease and cracked all the cards you wanted.

Embracing the Chaos,

Sheldon

Facebook = Sheldon Menery

Twitter = @SheldonMenery

Food and Wine Blog = http://discoveriesinfoodandwine.com/

If you want to follow the adventures of my Monday Night RPG group (in a campaign that's been alive since 1987), ask for an invitation to the Facebook group "Sheldon Menery's Monday Night Gamers."