We have just experienced our first weekend playing Magic the Gathering: War of the Spark, and what can we say about it other than WOW?

This is one of the most powerful, most exciting limited formats that we have experienced since Fates Reforged was released over four years ago.

But what are our first impressions? What colors amazed us most and what “bombs” made this limited format the powerhouse that it is?

The God-Eternals

Although there are numerous, absolutely absurdly powerful cards contained within War of the Spark, four cards that immediately jump out and wave their arms in your face, shouting “pick me, pick me” are the God-Eternals:

• God-Eternal Kefnet
• God-Eternal Rhonas
• God-Eternal Oketra
• God-Eternal Bontu

 

Each and every single one of these cards should be at the very top of your pick list and you should be jumping with joy if you manage to pull one of these in your limited event.

All colors have their God-Eternal bravely representing them and each one has the ability to set the clock ticking against your opponents once they hit the battlefield.

God-Eternal Kefnet has flying, as well as a powerful card draw mechanic.

God-Eternal Rhonas has deathtouch and the ability to double the power of all your current creatures on the battlefield until the end of the turn, while at the same time giving them vigilance.

God-Eternal Oketra has double strike, meaning it has both first strike and normal strike, hitting for effectively 6 damage. Meanwhile, each time you cast another creature card, God-Eternal Oketra creates a 4/4 Zombie Warriors with vigilance. Stunning.

Last but not least, we have God-Eternal Bontu, a card that we personally had the luxury of pulling in our first of four sealed events that we played in over the weekend.

God-Eternal Bontu has menace, meaning that he can only be blocked by two or more creates, giving him great evasion. Additionally, you can sacrifice as many permanents as you want (ie lands, small creates, artifacts, etc) when he enters the battlefield, enabling massive card draw.

Insane as these cards are on their own, it doesn’t stop there, as each God-Eternal if killed, or even if exiled, can be placed back into its owner library third from the top.

Rinse and repeat your way to victory with the God-Eternals, you won’t be disappointed.

A Plethora of Planeswalkers

The War of the Spark set has Planeswalkers in spades and just about everyone of them is worth adding to your limited deck.

As we discussed in a recent article, the War of the Spark sets primary theme is Planeswalkers, but which ones should you be looking for most?

 

Liliana, Dreadhorde General, Gideon Blackblade, Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God, Teferi, Time Raveler, Ugin, the Ineffable and Nissa, Who Shakes the World are all amazing cards to pull in your upcoming sealed event, or just randomly in your next box opening.

The list of Planeswalkers is long and vast, as this set is overflowing with amazing Planeswalkers that make for interesting and dynamic gameplay given the fact that you can pull them at the Mythic, Rare and Uncommon slot.

Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God is quite a hard combination to pull off, however, we have seen it done more than once over the weekend, even used in combination with Ugin, the Ineffable that resulted in a quick spirit filled board state that overran us in rapid succession.

Meanwhile, Gideon and Nissa both are amazing cards to add to your aggressive aggro decks. Nissa, Who Shakes the World has been especially impressive, turning all your lands into attackers that have both haste and vigilance.

What we have noticed more than anything is how just about every Planeswalker can get results in the War of the Spark limited format, something that we definitely did not expect to see, but are overjoyed to witness.

 

War of the Spark Sealed, Best Color Combination?

The best color combination for you is always going to depend significantly on the cards that you pull, however, the most consistent color overall has been the black mana card pool.

Consistently we have seen insanely strong decks utilizing the “amass” mechanic. This is a mechanic that lets your create a zombie army and then continue to grow it stronger and stronger, the further it amasses.

This is most widely represented in the color black, however, is strongly represented in both blue and red as well.

This means that the black mana card pool is the most versatile and has the best ability to work with the most different colors in the War of the Spark limited environment.

The strongest of the strong is however the combination of the black and red mana pool.

These two colors can lean heavily on the amass mechanic, while at the same time offering you some of the best “removal” cards in the format.

Still, this set is so powerful, that ultimately there are no bad color combinations if you pull the right cards. Build what works best with the cards you are given.

One Insane Combo

Over the course of the weekend, in which we witnessed numerous card pools and combinations, one above all the others amazed us the most.

This involved a variety of removal cards, along with two other finishing pieces that made the combo come together in a spectacular finish.

This combo is easy to achieve if you happen to pull both Command the Dreadhorde and The Wanderer Planeswalker.

All you have to do is play out the match, removing creatures and attacking / blocking your opponents creatures with your own.

What you are hoping to achieve is mass death, up to the point in which you have six mana and the ability to cast Command the Dreadhorde.

With The Wanderer’s ability, which prevents all noncombat damage that would be dealt to you, you can cast Command the Dreadhorde with no fear, pulling all creatures and Planeswalkers from both your and your opponents graveyards, placing them back onto the battlefield under your command.

This results in instant victory and your opponents jaw dropping in shock at what just happened.

In Conclusion

Magic the Gathering: War of the Spark just had a weekend full of fun and excitement throughout its pre-release weekend, however the official release of the set happens this Friday on May 3rd.

Have you made your order yet? Orders are being taken now and shipped out, don’t miss out on one of the most insanely fun, powerfully broken limited formats in years!

But how about you, which color combinations have you had the most success with so far, and which combos do you hope to pull off in the coming weeks? Let us know, we’d love to hear!