The big question for allies: "Are they viable at all in Zendkiar limited?"

The biggest concern with allies is that you'll probably need to play at least two colors to make them viable, although it'll be more realistically three. I wouldn't suggest going with them as a strategy unless you open a really good rare one or for some reason picked up an inordinate amount during your first pack. The only really strong ones on their own are Turntimber Ranger, Kazandu Blademaster, and Kazuul Warlord. The uncommons can be fairly hit or miss, with the aforementioned Blademaster being a solid card even without a single other ally in tow. The unmentioned uncommons and rares are weak on their own and only truly worth playing with lots of allied support.

However, it is the commons that really make up limited formats. To go ally heavy you'll need to pick up heavily on Oran-Rief Survivalist, Nimana Sell-Sword and/or Umara Raptors. All of these are decent picks anyway with the Survivalist being comparable to Grizzly Bears and Raptors being comparable to Wind Drakes. Green also offers a splashable Joraga Bard in the common slot, which can provide some offensive muster. Blue's uncommon slot, Seascape Aerialist, is very powerful as well -- giving all your allies evasion strikes.

White's allies, while generally not as strong as the other colors, can provide an early base of creatures and offer access to powerful White rares and removal spells. Red's allies are arguably strong, but definitely don't bring to mind mana efficiency. Black doesn't offer a lot, but its common slot and the sheer amount of removal in the color make it a strong color to consider as your second or third. Arguably, if you're going to go heavy allies, you need to snap up any rare allies immediately and as early as pick three or four start grabbing each and every ally you see. Stonework Pumas can usually be left for later picks though as there will probably be little interest in scooping them up until the last half of the pack. Word of caution: Go half-assed into allies and you'll get half-assed results, try not to dilute your ally pool with too many non-allies. Except for a few, allies are decent at best on their own.

Drafting and building, allies is a lot like certain limited deck builds from Alara. If you've ever successfully built an Esper or Bant deck you should find yourself capable of building allies as well. Focus heavily on your core cards, putting increased emphasis on cards "just because they are allies." Yes this means, sometimes you'll have to pass or not include a great card just because you need to make room for a Stonework Puma. To me though, the biggest downside of drafting allies is that for the most part they have the lowest card value of pretty much everything in the set and I honestly don't see them ever becoming much more than a kitchen table tribal deck.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

9. Lorthos, the Tidemaker
The big problem with Lorthos is getting him to land. However, with all Blue's stoppers - Kraken Hatchling, Gomazoa, Merfolk Seastalkers, et al - you should have little trouble stalling. If and when you get Lorthos to land expect to win if you can stall a single turn. You should be able to lock down almost all your opponent's creatures and a vast majority of their mana. Lord knows Sleep was a major game winner in Magic 2010, imagine paying it every turn.

8. Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Cards that can do direct damage are considered good in and out of drafts. Cards that can do direct damage just for dropping a land into play are even better. Add on that the creature grows every time it deals damage and you have a major player on your hands. Ob Nixilis is mythic and won't be seen in most drafts, but oh lord when you do see him, make sure you grab him. If you gear your deck to enable landfall even a little bit and he'll be a force to be reckoned with. A great card.

7. World Queller
While a 4/4 for five is nothing spectacular, the fact that it can slowly clear threats off the board is impressive. World Queller can take out any type of card enabling land destruction to opponents who are having problems, dominating any planeswalker lucky enough to get pulled, and even popping Journey to Nowhere off the field. Used properly, this will stress an opponent's resources while doing minimal damage to yourself. Innocent Blood, Fleshbag Marauder, and other "each of us sacrifice" cards have always been great cards.

6. Roil Elemental
Thieving creatures is great in any format, in limited though its catastrophic. Watching Roil Elemental die though and them all return is bad. Roil Elemental is a great card as long as it stays in play. There is a lot of removal in the set and Roil Elemental dies to almost every single one including Disfigure, Blazing Torch, and Burst Lightning. Probably a good thing Roil Elemental has so many answers, because it demands one almost immediately when it comes into play. Definitely requires a lot of investment into Blue to play.

5. Beastmaster Ascension
When you finally ascend to becoming a Beastmaster, every single creature you play will be a monstrosity. Triggering this card is like triggering an Overrun that stays in play. Sure, you don't get trample, but I'd be impressed to see the deck that withstand a +5/+5 to all creatures you can control in any format. If you manage to get this card and a couple Cobra Traps or a single Conqueror's Pledge, expect to laugh as your opponent struggles to bring down a myriad of tokens before you can ascend. Beastmaster is one of the truly splashable rares making it very, very juicy.

4. Day of Judgment
Its going to be a cold day in hell when I pass up a board wiper. With only a single regenerative creature in the set, I don't even care that Day of Judgment is a slightly inferior Wrath of God. Four mana to take out every single creature threat to me is a bargain. I'll deal with the occasional River Boa staying behind. There are very few reasons to not pick up this card - even if you're not going White (yet).

3. Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet
Very few creatures are safe from Kalitas' death invocations. The fact that it one by one takes from them and gives to you makes it even better. You'll probably only use his 5/5 body for blocking and the finishing blows when their hand is empty though. I know I wouldn't attack with him with things lurking out there like Arrow Volley Trap and Pit Fall Trap. There are very few creatures who are safe from his wanton destruction, and most of them aren't worth considering as targets anyway. He is late game though with a hefty seven mana cost, but the perfect tide breaker. Unlike Roil Elemental, his effects are more or less permanent.

2. Iona, Shield of Emeria
Iona should straight up end a game. Definitely up there with Blazing Archon and Platinum Angel in terms of impact on the game. It requires removal, and against most people, it locks out half their deck if not more. On top of that, you have an evasive 7/7 monstrosity. It isn't fool-proof, but casting this card alone should be more than enough to win a limited game. All you have to do is get enough mana, cast her, then wipe up anything left in play.

1. Sorin Markov
While Sorin does require an investment into Black, Sorin doesn't require the same amount of focus that Chandra to make his magic happen. The constant 2 for 2's should easily pick off weaker creatures and start a life gap race while his ultimate should end the game. The Mindslaver ultimate when done right should thoroughly break your opponent, allowing you to not only waste their turn, but probably cause a lot of combat based death and spell denial. The second ability is somewhat useful, although Black probably in limited should have little troubles diddling away a player's life total to ten before Sorin resolves.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

10. Baloth Cage Trap
Baloth Cage is Green's approach to control. Sure, Green has flying destruction and some artifact and enchantment hate, but if Green had a choice in the matter, it'd kill through creature combat. Baloth Cage Trap offers a relatively decent priced creature with some adequate size at instant speed. You're not always guaranteed to pay its trap cost, but in the games that you do, your opponent will have to deal with a 4/4 creature when they probably aren't very capable of doing so. The Cobra Trap can cost a little more to play, although it can make an impact as well.

9. Pitfall Trap
It shouldn't be hard to get this trap to trigger in the first couple of turns, nor is it difficult to hard cast either. It is decent removal, but its requirement to target attackers and only non-fliers can make it feel a little restricted. That being said, I've made fine use of Divine Verdict, and don't see Pitfall Trap being useless in any limited deck. I am concerned that it can't taking out Living Tsunamis or Vampire Nighthawks as those will be fairly common troublesome creatures to deal with. However, I would hardly ever pass it up, there's just far too many speedy creatures in this set that this can take out.

8. Blazing Torch
Against Black decks, this unique equipment offers up some almost guaranteed evasion for your creatures. Against all decks, it offers some minor direct damage capable of killing roughly half the creatures in Zendikar. It might not take out a lot of the key ones, but it can certainly knock out problem children such as Bladetusk Boar, Roil Elemental, Kazandu Blademaster, and Timbermaw Larva. This card should be as useful as Aeolipile was during Fallen Empires era and Master's Edition II drafting for our MTGO players. For those who didn't draft during MEDII, Aeolipile was a guaranteed early pick since it offered removal in any color.

7. Disfigure
Same deal as Blazing Torch, but with no evasion benefit against the undead. On the upside, it has instant speed and it can take out River Boas. Not that River Boas are major threats, but they can be a little annoying. It is slightly more playable than the Torch in my book since you don't need a creature in play. Although you will need at least a splash of Black to play it. The three two powered removal spells are the main reason that creatures with three toughness are far more viable in Zendikar than those with two.

6. Gatekeeper of Malakir
Granted, you have to play pretty heavily into Black to make use of Gatekeeper, but if you happen to pick up a whole bunch of Vampires, you'll do very well to make this fella one of your first picks. He should easily clear the away against slower colors and offers about the only removal there is for Green mages using Scythe Tigers to stave off your Vampire rushes. It is always a good thing when you can kill an opponent's creature and plop down one of your own. You can count on seeing very few of these passed in drafts.

5. Into the Roil
Bounce spells, when played properly, change the very outcome of battle and truly muck up an opponent's plans. Whether it is bouncing a creature so you can counter it, negating the Gigantiform that was thrown on top of something, or just simply delaying a creature's attack it is annoying and potentially game finishing. I'm a big fan of bounce cards in limited and constructed; I've never been unhappy to have a bounce card in hand and always wish I had more. Into the Roil is great because it operates much like Boomerang (except it can't hit lands) and when kicked gains a cantrip which is always nice.

4. Gomazoa
This is a tight card. For three mana you get a flying creature that can block most of the fliers and many of the groundlings without dieing. Most importantly though, Gomazoa provides a constant threat as it can take down any attacking creature by shuffling both the attacker and Gomazoa out of play. You're not going to make a powerful offense with this card, but most offenses will stutter until it is removed. Great card and cool new design.

3. Burst Lightning
Instant speed, just like Disfigure, but for a moderate amount of mana it kicks up to four damage; effectively jumping from a Shock to a Char. I really wish the kicker had cost one less or been five damage, but I'll take it as is for sure. This is a great card and can be splashed just like Disfigure. Its versatility ramps it up a little more than Disfigure, but it is not quite Lightning Bolt.

2. Hideous End
Doom Blade was arguably the top removal spell in Magic 2010. Hideous End seems ready to step into Doom Blade's seat, offering the same removal effect and a little jab to the face for a single mana more. The only problem is that Hideous End is less splashable with its double Black mana requirement. I don't see any problems with going heavy Black in drafts let alone minor to secondary splashes.

1. Journey to Nowhere
While Journey to Nowhere might be viewed immediately as an inferior Oblivion Ring, it is by no means not powerful -- especially in the creature dependent limited format. This is an easy number one or two pick for serious drafters and highly splashable. Relic Crush, Mold Shambler, and Kor Sanctifers are your only common threats in Zendikar against enchantments, so keeping it in play shouldn't be too much of a problem. If you're a smart player, you've probably picked up some Kor Skyfishers as well and can bounce it yourself to pick up better targets as they come into play. While Mold Shambler and Kor Sanctifers didn't make the list they are both great picks.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

The landfall creatures are definitely an interesting mix. However the color you definitely want to include is Green, without Green you just might not get the landfall power you're looking for. The uncommons and commons in Green include strong picks such as Baloth Woodcrasher, Territorial Baloth, and Turntimber Basilisk. The stronger aspect of Green lies in its ability to trigger landfall more often with its land searching. Khalni Heart Expedition and Harrow offer instant speed landfall resolution while Frontier Guide can trigger it every turn. All this mana ramping allows for play of additional colors as well as larger creatures. It should be no problem for landfall decks to get massive creatures into play. If you are lucky to get Rampaging Baloths you'll definitely have a solid reason to try landfall. A note on Khalni Heart Expedition - you can't play it until turn two and it takes three landfalls for it to be usable. This isn't a good card at all, I would never play it out of limited and only in limited would I play it if I was heavily invested into landfall; even then it is questionable.

Supplementing a strong Green landfall base take careful consideration for the support you need. White, Red, and Black offer some pivotal control, but picking them up will require careful drafting as the landfall creatures you're looking for and the control will probably disappear quickly. Blue offers some unique control as well, but will probably be more useful for its evasion. Generic support includes Adventuring Gear, Expedition Map, Khalni Gem, and Explorer's Scope. Gear obviously enables more landfall growth, but might end up feeling "dud-ish" at times. The Gem and Map offer some extra landfall opportunities, while Explorer's Scope brings on a quasi source of deck-filtering and surprise landfall triggers. I like scope's design a lot, I'm eager to see how it turn out in the long run. Hedron Scrabblers just aren't good and I wouldn't waste my time putting them into any deck - you don't need all landfall cards for landfall to work.

Blue and White as support play the same role: you have evasion, enablers, and stoppers. Living Tsunami is probably the most pro-landfall card in the set providing you a 4/4 flier as well as a landfall each and every turn. White offers a slightly more common creature with similar results in Kor Skyfishers. An added bonus are the Merfolk Wayfinders who have limited Island finding and Kor Cartographers who can plop a Plains into play. Blue also offers Windrider Eel in the common slot, while White's common offering is the Steppe Lynx which I probably wouldn't play. I don't particularly like either of these color's quest cards and might only play Ior Ruin Expedition if I had nothing else.

Opposite of White and Blue is Red and Black. They offer speed, removal, and brute force. There are no neat "oh this would work great with landfall" cards, but both colors offer a lot more actual landfall options. Plated Geopede unlike Steppe Lynx is a great early drop growing into a force and offering some decent first strike capabilities in its normal form. Red also has the Geyser Glider which is about half the creature that Air Elemental - which still leaves the Glider as a solid card in limited. Hagra Crocodile is your brute force landfall card coming into play a tad earlier than the even beefier Green creatures and easily overpowering things in its path. Surrakar Marauder also is lurking in Black, but a 2/1 body with occasionally intimidate doesn't have me won over. The two quest cards in Red and Black are both strong offering a "Ball Lightning" and a double Disentomb; both are solid picks and great early pick up's.

Unlike allies you can and will need to develop your non-landfall pool. Since landfall is an entirely offensive device you need to keep defense in mind. Good removal or disruption is always a smart choice and if need be you can drop down cards as pure stoppers. Then again some subscribe to the philosophy of a strong offense being the best defense. Whichever line you fall on you should find moderate to heavy success with landfall. If you happen to pull one of the landfall rares you'll find yourself with a very powerful pool of commons and uncommons to support it. There are no doubts landfall cards will be a big part of limited strategies.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

Let's face it, we're all human. Almost all of us realize that after the draft is over we get to keep the cards and sometimes the right pick is worth more than the entire prize purse (at local games). Rare drafting can be a fatal mistake in a serious draft, but sometimes it is worth it for the value outside of the draft. These are the cards that, if you're concerned about monetary value, you'll want to watch for. Three that didn't make the list are Goblin Guide, Bloodchief Ascension, and World Queller. I'd watch all of them though there is no telling where their value will end up.

10. Lumniarch Ascension
In my opinion a possible bomb in the draft. You'll definitely have to play defensively to get it to activate. Regardless, out of limited this is a card to watch for and judge its value as extended picks it up. "Leave me alone" decks always end up coming back to have their time in the sun and this is the ultimate way to make such a deck super offensive. Chronatog + Glacial Chasm is a classic combo that would prevent your opponents from ever touching you. Enduring Ideal decks are always a consideration as well and this card is the perfect fit for its Solitary Confinement maneuvers. Let's also not forget the force that is White-Blue Control that at any time can show back up and use Luminarch as a finisher.

9. Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
His Mythic rarity will definitely up his card value at first due to supply, but I see it lowering over time. Current pricing has him ranging from $7-15 and I expect him to settle closer to $5-6 range. He is a great pick in a draft anyway, since his landfall causes him to grow and causes direct damage. I would probably first pick him over any card. Also a great card to trade right now as people are heavily experimenting with him. I'm not sold on him taking off yet.

8. Bloodghast
If it looks and smells like Ichorid it might just be Ichorid. Well at least until people find out it isn't. Bloodghast is a highly aggressive, self-recurring, cheap Black card. That combination has never hurt and with all those other aggressive cheap Vampires expect to see players try to pull off the tribe in tournaments. If they succeed watch Bloodghast go up in value, if they fail watch it fall a little. Definitely not a bad a pick if you plan on going fastball Black.

7. Scute Mob
A card I would consider a near-bomb, Scute Mob is a living paradox. It is an early drop creature that is only good when you have a lot of lands in play. I pay close attention to cards like this because of their usefulness. He combos with Ranger of Eos, can be fetched in multiples by Protean Hulk, doesn't hurt that much to draw with Dark Confidant, and most importantly is a single mana creature capable of quickly ending a game. There aren't many of them like Scute Mob and that alone makes him a consideration long after Zendikar rotates.

6. Day of Judgment
While this is standard legal, expect to see it at and above Wrath of God prices. After it rotates from standard watch for its price to plummet as it gets more or less obsoleted by WoG. Day of Judgment should see heavy play over Planar Cleansing in standard unless artifacts and enchantments start to appear en masse in Worldwake and Rise of Eldrazi. Board wipe + great trade value = easy pick.

5. The Walkers
In order of Value: Chandra - Sorin - Nissa. That's my call. Nissa, while limited to Elves, has vast potential to become a powerhouse in constructed. Chandra seems somewhat limited, and Sorin -- like Nicol Bolas -- has minor tournament appeal, but heavy kitchen table appeal. It is hard to predict what their true value will be, but I don't see any raising to the levels of Elspeth. They will probably fluctuate between $10-15 for some time. Chandra, depending on how people find a use for her, may drop much lower or raise up above expectations. My bet to get broken though is Nissa. Lord knows how many times Elves have been broken already.

4. Warren Instigator
A card retailers were a little scared to sell at first due to the question of its value. If it turns out to be anything like Goblin Lackey, the value will be much higher than it already is. If it turns out to be the dud many claim he is... we'll see. My impressions are that any two drop double striker is a threat. Even before he brings in multiple friends and gets Goblin boosts. There's only one other two drop Goblin that I'd ever really play and that is Goblin Piledriver. So the real question is: which will win more games?

3. Mindbreak Trap
A lot of players look at this and say, "How will I ever pay that trap cost?" Those are the newer ones. This is a card that can be used by every single legacy deck, and will be super valued due to that reason. It finally puts a true stop on all the storm and combo decks, thus replacing the timely cast of Orim's Chant. Since most of those decks use Blue anyway, they can pay its hard casting cost, but you'll probably rarely use that. This card can and will be sideboarded into mono-Red decks to stop Dread Return/Dragonstorm/TEPS and other combo decks from being a major threat.

2. Lotus Cobra
It is almost a guarantee that anything with the word Lotus in it and involving mana will get a lot of hype and be generally overpriced. Lotus Cobra has yet to prove its true worth, but hypothetical situations have it generating a tremendous amount of mana regularly on turn three. I'm not fully sold on this being a true power house yet, but I'm sure many crack deck builders will be working to design winning decks around it. If there is even an ounce of legitimacy to its lotus legacy, expect its value to retain if not rise.

1. Enemy Fetchlands
Other than Power 9 and the original dual lands, no cards besides fetchlands have had the universal trade appeal and everlasting value of the original five allied fetchlands. Expect to see the new versions join their cousins as trade binder staples and tournament power houses. Other cards in Zendikar may end up worth more than them, but few will have the vast trade appeal as the enemy fetchlands. You'd be a fool to ever pass one of these in a draft -- unless of course you're playing for a large prize.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

Centaur Courser created a lot of interest in Magic 2010 with strategy and how to splash colors. It wasn't something I saw (or maybe noticed) a lot of before, but afterward have thought about a lot - what common/uncommon creatures in a set are worth picking up that additional color? These were the cards that I instantly honed in on as being usable in almost any deck or strategy. Some of them might be early picks, others might be mid or merely after thought picks. All of them are that cards should be considered as you're drafting and building your deck though.

10. Oran-Rief Survivalist
On its own the Survivalist is a functional Grizzly Bears, in multiples they grow nicely. This allows for a deck to ramping up from early drops into legitimate threats. If you happen to pick up three or more of these, you might find yourself with a highly speedy deck that forces removal on creatures your opponent normally might ignore. This should allow for your massive cards to drop later unscathed. As well, these are a key card for anyone trying to pick up ally cards. This strikes me as a card you should try to pick up multiple copies of, the more the merrier. I would recommend drafting these far more aggressively than you might normally consider for a "vanilla" 2/2.

9. Aether Figment
A 1/1 unblockable isn't that great. However, since any color deck can kick this little fellow into a 3/3, it is nothing to sneeze at. While it may not be the most mana efficient creature out there, it remains a great pick that can bypass any stalemate situation. Not reason enough on its own to delve into Blue, but a great consideration and probably a decent uncommon that will hang around until your second shot at a pack. Its non-kicker form is important if you happen against a heavy Vampire deck as you can plop it onto the field to trade for one of their weenies. A decent trade to buy you another turn or two before dipping below 10 life.

8. Windrider Eel
Great in just about any deck, Windrider Eel has natural evasion and a great landfall ability. As a 2/2 it is vulnerable to most removal, but when it goes to 4/4 it can overpower almost every single flier in the set. The only ones that stop it are Sky Ruin Drake, the Sphinxes, Iona, and Hellkite Charger. Considering that all but one of those are rare or mythic makes this a highly viable card. The evasion is what makes this guy key, and the reason I'd pick it over many other cards almost every time. If you're considering enabling landfall at all with cards like the Khanli quest or Harrow this is a strong card to be a part of your deck.

7. Umara Raptor
On its own Raptors are pretty much the same as Wind Drakes from Magic 2010. In multiples, they grow piece by piece creating a veritable air force. You can quickly stack these cards, giving Blue a standing chance with this set to be highly viable in limited. I'd treat these just like Wind and Snapping Drakes in Magic 2010 and pick them up at about the same time - the more the better. Get enough of them and you might surprise your opponent by growing your own Air Elementals.

6. Territorial Baloth
It shouldn't be a stretch to include some Green to pick up a couple of these bad boys in a draft. Their 4/4 bodies for five mana landfall quite nicely into 6/6 beasties. This allows for the Baloth to overpower almost every card in the set. There are a whopping three creatures in the set it can't take down. Two happen to be Mythic, and one rare so yes this card potentially dominates the board. A lot are going to be screaming about the Timbermaw Larva, but the Larva's non-attack size is highly exposed to removal. Baloth's four toughness keeps it alive much longer and presents defensive capabilities. Obviously this is a solid pick that can augment any deck's endgame for a minimal splash, and goes great with landfall enablers.

5. Bladetusk Boar
Bladetusk Boar seems set to be Zendikar's Snapping Drake. A 3/2 for four with plenty of evasion. There are only a couple artifact creatures and none will probably see that much play, so basically an opponent will need Red to keep this guy from constantly goring away their life totals. A great card that can be splashed into almost any deck for a minimal investment of Red. Plus, you may want to pick him up just so you can have a stop for your opponent's Bladetusk. Think of them like nuclear bombs; you definitely don't want to be the only one without one.

4. Sky Ruin Drake
Sky Ruin Drake can block roughly 85% of the creatures in the set and live another day. Some of the more evasive ones can elude the Drake's towering grasp, but for the most part this is a defensive powerhouse that can swing back. Certainly not a first or second pick, but definitely a card you want to pay attention to. Think of how many times you've been jammed up by Giant Spiders in the past and realize card is potentially even better than the fuzzy little web-spinners.

3. Vastwood Gorger
This white wurm is literally the toughest common in the set. As a 5/6 for six it can take down almost as many creatures as Territorial Baloth can, yet in many respects it is more versatile. The reason is because Baloth is only a true force when attacking with landfall, while the Gorger is at its peak form all the time. Might not make the impact of Centaur Courser, but I'd wager a few players will pick up a little Green just to make use of this big fella.

2. Shepherd of the Lost
While you might initially dismiss paying five mana for a 3/3, the fact that it only takes one White mana and has first strike, flying, and vigilance could possibly change your mind. Living Tsumani and Sky Ruin Drake are the most common stoppers to the Shepherd, but it can still kill almost any other flier. Vigiliance and first strike definitely offer it an offensive and defensive advantage that should make it highly desirable. Not quite Serra Angel, but definitely close.

1. Giant Scorpion
Deadly Recluse did a decent job in Magic 2010 of being a removal threat. You could read just how good the creatures in your opponent's hand were by how willing they were to swing into lurking death. Giant Scorpion has the potential to be even better. While the Scorpion can't reach up and strike down fliers, it can survive many attacks and a lot of removal unlike the Recluse could. This makes it a much different threat and very bothersome to deal with. Plopping one of these down in the early game can literally stall out decks as they try and figure out how to deal with el scorpion.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

Zendikar for sure is one strange land. These are the ten commons and uncommons that I'm looking at early on that are a little off the wall or just plain up devastating. I'm sure some of these after experience won't turn out to be as good as I thought, but others should prove to be vastly worthwhile. These are cards that comment on an overall deck strategy and some things your opponents just might not see coming.

10. Narrow Escape
Usually anti-removal tricks are ignored, but in a set with so many coming into play effects (landfall, kicker, Allies) this type of card seems like it might finally get some play. It can be used offensively to retrigger effects like those just mentioned or defensively to prevent death. The four life gain is just the gravy on top. In a set with tons of great control, maybe a little anti-control is just what the doctor ordered. Besides it combos well with Journey to Nowhere.

9. Carnage Altar
People may overlook this card, but it is pure card advantage. Since it is usable at instant speed, you can pretty much pick and choose when and where to use it. Allow your creature to attack or chump block, then sacrifice it off. If you're the kind of person that likes to overwhelm by picking creature heavy this is the perfect card for you to keep your creatures constantly recycled. Some people snarf at it, but I've definitely seen Fecundity have its moments in the sun.

8. Savage Silhouette
Enchantments are generally iffy choices. Sometimes they offer a little versatility, but often they end up causing card disadvantage. Occasionally its worth it and some enchantments have become very popular in limited such as Oakenform, Armored Ascension, Blanchwood Armor, and Moldervine Clerk. Savage Silhouette seems ready to join them with its ability to ramp up power and toughness and grant regeneration. Since the card offers increased survivability both in and out of combat, it is solid.

7. Vines of Vastwood
Giant Growth is strong in all formats, but the ability to kick it with shroud offers a great amount of protection akin to Stonewood Invocation. This is a card that can be used offensively and defensively. Either way when you play this card it should make a difference. A great card that has a lot to offer and should become a very versatile pick that turns a lot of games on their heads.

6. Kor Skyfisher
Kor Skyfisher comes with half the positive effects of Narrow Escape, but some decent offensive capabilities. In other sets, this creature might get somewhat dismissed as slowing, but in Zendikar it can bounce a land back to hand to retrigger landfall, etc. After it is in play the 2/3 body should keep it relatively safe from death while its flight offers some pivotal evasion. Definitely a great pick that is as relevant early on as it is later.

5. Explorer's Scope
Very cheap and with all the creatures and evasion in Zendikar, easy to use. Explorer's Scope also creates a pseudo card advantage by constantly ramping mana as well as triggering surprise landfalls. I might not choose to play more than one or two of these, but in limited, it definitely is worth a fairly early pick. Early on a lot of players might not consider using it, but I think it has the potential to really drive Zendikar decks.

4. Kazandu Blademaster
A 2/2 with first strike and vigilance for two. This is the perfect early game shut down card. The fact that it continues to grow if you have more allies makes it even more valued. This is by far my favorite ally and probably one of the most powerful ones. Heck, I'd play it even without the whole ally thing. The two toughness makes it vulnerable to a lot of removal, but any removal this guy draws early on will pave the way for your late game offense.

3. Living Tsunami
While this card potentially caps your land count, it also offers a 4/4 flier for four mana. It can take out a majority of the fliers and the fact that it can trigger landfall each and every turn can make it a cornerstone for Zendikar decks. I'd consider this is a definite second round pick if not a first one. Not quite a Serra Angel, but definitely on par if not better than an Air Elemental.

2. Quest for the Gravelord
Early on this card can create a nearly unstoppable offense. Considering the speedy resolve of Black creatures in Zendikar and the amount of removal in Black, an early drop of Quest for the Gravelord could easily make for a quick game. It also fundamentally changes an opponent's play style, making them face a choice between the lesser of two evils. Do you kill a Living Tsunami knowing its your last removal spell in hand or do you let it live because you'd rather face it than a 5/5 Zombie Giant. These are the kind of questions I definitely plan on making my opponent answer.

1. Vampire Nighthawk
This is a key Black aggro card for limited. It offers evasion, life gain, and removal. There is no downside to this monster. If you see it and you're considering going Black, then this is an easy first pick. There are very few cards that offer so many offensive capabilities with absolutely no hoops to jump through. The three toughness is very important as it evades key removal cards and defensive fliers. It is my opinion that creatures with three or more toughness are vastly more survivable in Zendikar.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]

First let's just assume you can go Vampires. The shown Vampires are by and large the strongest. They offer removal, speed, and life gain all for one to three mana. You need to be picking up every single Gatekeeper of Malakir and Vampire Nighthawk you see. You also need to get as many Guul Draz Vampires and Lacerators as possible. Your secondary picks will be the Hexmages, Blood Seekers, and Feasts of Blood. Since you'll be heavily Black you should also be focusing in on grabbing every Disfigure, Quest for the Gravelord, Soul Stair Expedition and Hideous End you can get your hands on. These are all easily first to third picks in a pack. They will go fast, you better hope people are scared to go Black in fear of others grabbing them.

Playing Vampires is easy. You drop fast creatures and try to speedball your opponent down to 10 life. Once he hits the magic number you should be able to burn him down and evade past him as your Vampires take on a second life. As such your non-Vampires should fit the motif - fast & evasive. You might consider the Surrakar Marauder as well. If you need a second color the obvious choice is Red. You get the speed Goblins as well as Bladetusk Boar which is evasive in its own rights. As well it contains a few burn spells that are great for knocking your opponent down to ten life if manages to drop an early stopper.

Early stoppers? Well each color has some key creatures that can tear Vampires up. Scythe Tigers and Oran-Rief Survivalists in Green drop at the same speed and can seriously eat Vampires alive. Kraken Hatchlings in Blue stop almost all the Vampires in their tracks as well as the dreaded Gomazoa which can block any of them and make Nighthawks disappear. Red rivals Black in terms of speed and a single Plated Geopede can kill a lot of your offensive muster, this match-up will probably go to the luckier (or better drafting) player. White has the roughest go with Vampires and even a decent deck might struggle against Vampires until turn four or five. Then again White also has access to Pitfall Trap which can easily kill off your first attack waves. If you're drafting focus on picking up Burst Lightnings, Disfigures, and Blazing Torches. You can use all three easily in and against Vampire decks.

I'd wager a Red/Black Goblin-Vampire deck is strong. I'd also wager that it may have issues come to fruition. Maybe if you have a strong sealed pool, but in a draft I'm worried that Black will be too popular. A case of carpe diem meets caveat emptor.

[Allies] [Splashables] [Control Cards] [Strong Non-Rares] [Rare Bombs] [$$$ Picks] [Landfall] [Vampires]