The Top 10 Ikoria Cards for Standard

Hello all! We're back with another Top 10 Cards for Standard from Magic's newest upcoming set, Ikoria. This set does a lot of amazing and wacky things that Magic's never done before, and there are tons of cards in the set that aim to spawn new decks and pull the meta in interesting directions. Here's the ones we picked out to have the most impact in Standard!

(Note: These are the cards that we expect to have the most impact over the set's entire lifespan, not just immediately after the set's released!)

Ikoria goes live on MTG Arena on Thursday, April 16.

10. Heartless Act 

This is another in a somewhat long line of 2-cost black removal spells that go against the set's mechanic (e.g. Go for the Throat, Ultimate Price, Cast Down). These have all been very strong Standard cards in their respective days, and Heartless Act looks to continue that tradition. Although there are some strong heavily-played cards that dodge Heartless Act (Hydroid Krasis and the lands from Nissa, Who Shakes the World's +1), this will take out nearly any creature you want for just two mana. In addition, it even still has uses when the first mode isn't available, at least allowing you to shrink creatures with counters down to size at a critical moment.

9. Adventurous Impulse

A reprint from Dominaria, this simple card might fly under the radar, especially with all the new and exciting things going on in Ikoria, but don't underestimate the power of efficient card selection. Adventurous Impulse was a staple in creature-based green decks while Dominaria was in Standard, allowing green mages to pick out the creature they need to fill out their curve, or just dig for another land. Having 3-4 of these in your deck makes your deck much more consistent, and helps you curve out cleanly in a much higher percentage of your games.

8. Snapdax, Apex of the Hunt

This kitty isn't messing around! As all mutate creatures are essentially modal spells, let's take a look at each "mode" and see what we're getting compared to the mana investment. Just casting Snapdax as a creature, we're getting a fine deal, albeit one that likely doesn't make it into Standard on its own. A 3/5 double strike for 4 isn't a bad fail case. However, you're really looking to use Snapdax's Mutate mode- You can think of this as "Deal 4, gain 4, turn your worst creature into a 3/5 double strike," which is a very powerful play for a single 5-mana card. It even hits planeswalkers! Playing this on turn 5, killing your opponent's blocker, then smashing in for 6 with what was previously your worst creature makes this seem like a very attractive top-end for a WB or WR aggro deck. It's pretty risk-free to do this, too- if your opponent kills the creature you targeted with Mutate, you at least get Snapdax in play. Again, not a bad fail case. Finally, the cherry on top- the mutate trigger is reusable, either with other mutate creatures or additional copies of Snapdax!

7. Sea-Dasher Octopus

This little guy may be adorable, but don't be fooled- the Octopus is terrifying in the right strategy, providing a lot of card advantage for a tempo-based strategy at a very low cost. Slapping this onto a Spectral Sailor on turn 2 allows the Octopus to do its best Curious Obsession impression, providing you consistent cards every turn to help you control the pace of the game. Having flash also helps make sure this gets to connect at least once (just play it on your unblocked attacker after your opponent blocks). In the "fail" case, just being a creature, this is also decent if you don't happen to have a creature to mutate onto- just flashing this out on your opponent's end step and threatening to draw more cards if not dealt with is perfectly reasonable. Finally, there's a TON of added value in just being a 2-mana Mutate at instant speed- this lets you trigger any Mutate creature's ability that you've already got in play, whenever you want, for just 2 mana! This creature is just a sucker for value.

6. Regal Leosaur

Remember that potential R/W aggro deck we mentioned for Snapdax? Well here's another great incentive to run that kind of strategy! Leosaur's Mutate mode provides a massive swing for only 3 mana, especially if your deck has a bunch of 1/1s to Mutate onto. Giving the rest of your creatures +2/+1 can represent around 6-8 face damage for 3 mana in the right aggro deck, and just like Snapdax, that effect is reusable! This makes multiple copies of Leosaur stack exceptionally well- if you mutate a Leosaur that's already been mutated once, your whole board gets +4/+2, and Snapdax curves really well off of that as well. Expect to get blitzed by mana different Leosaur decks on the Standard ladder, whether they're WR, mono-white, or mono-red.

5. Neutralize

It's been a long time coming, but we finally have Cancel with Cycling! Most cycling counterspells are of the "taxing" type (Censor, Miscalculation), but this one is a hard counter. This is especially important due to the prevalence of ramp in the current metagame- being able to counter your opponent's topdecked Nissa no-questions-asked is really useful. On top of that, cycling for 2 means you're always going to have something to do with your mana. Normally, one of the weaknesses of counterspells is that you're taking a risk leaving up mana for them. If your opponent doesn't cast something worth countering, or even anything at all, you've effectively "wasted" that mana. However, this card has a built-in fallback- they didn't play something worth countering? No problem! Just cycle Neutralize and move on. This card should be a particularly helpful boon to control decks, helping them smooth out their early draws while also countering key threats.

4. Voracious Greatshark

Speaking of counterspells, this one's an absolute doozy. Reminiscent of Torrential Gearhulk, this fishy creature counters a spell while also leaving a strong body in its wake. The difference between this and Gearhulk thought, is that the Greatshark can go into all kinds of decks. It's great in aggressive Flash decks as a 2-of for the top of the curve. It's great in ramp decks to help protect your Nissa. It's great in control decks as well, acting as yet another defensive counterspell, but one that also closes out the game in four hits. Although this only counters artifacts and creatures, creatures are common enough in Standard that this should be a hit in most matchups, and even in control mirrors it's at least a big flash body. This is a very powerful and versatile card that should see extensive play in a variety of decks during its tenure.

3. Luminous Broodmoth

This card has the potential to be one of the best white creatures we've received in a long time. Luminous Broodmoth presents a solid 3/4 flying body for four mana, while also protecting the rest of your (non-flying) creatures from removal. It also lets you trade off your creatures for free and have them return with evasion, making it extremely difficult for your opponent to attack into you. Although the Broodmoth itself is vulnerable to removal, its four toughness makes it pretty hard to kill for every color besides black. Furthermore, if you build your deck to abuse it, the Broodmoth can double the effectiveness of sacrifice outlets and allow you additional triggers of your ETB abilities, making it easy to grind out opponents in midrange creature matchups. GW Midrange, Mardu Aristocrats, UW tempo- this card enables and slots well into all sorts of interesting white decks.

2. Vivien, Monsters' Advocate

Vivien's the face of the set, and as such she comes equipped with some abilities that pack serious firepower. The passive is perhaps the most powerful of the three, allowing you a constant source of free cards if you get to untap with her (Assuming your deck runs mostly creatures, of course). Her +1 allows her to protect herself- generating a 3/3 every turn on a 5-mana planeswalker is certainly quite powerful, and having some choices in the kind of creature you get is nice. Vigilance, trample, and reach are good options that are each useful in different situations. Finally, her -2 allows you to power out extra creatures for essentially free, provided you're casting big creatures to begin with. Her only weakness is her relatively weak starting loyalty- she's the kind of planeswalker that can absolutely take over the game if you play her while even or ahead, but may struggle to have relevance if cast when behind. Still, she remains a planeswalker that provides a lot of raw power and value if you build your deck right, and we expect to see her used quite effectively alongside Nissa, Who Shakes the World to cast huge Hydroid Krasises and other ridiculous fatties.

1. Dirge Bat

Dirge Bat at number one may be a bit of a controversial pick, especially given the current power and popularity of Murderous Rider. It's true that Murderous Rider and Dirge Bat share similar roles and may compete for deck slots, but there are many cases where Dirge Bat is superior. For starters, it has amazing flexibility, being able to slot into almost any black deck, even ones that are lighter on creatures. Even without Mutate, the Bat is quite serviceable- a 3/3 flash flyer for 4 can come down, eat a small attacking creature, then start pressuring your opponent. However, if you get the Mutate off, it's a ton of value- you can either turn one of your smaller creatures into a 3/3 flyer with haste or give one of your bigger creatures flying, all while killing off a creature or planeswalker at instant speed. And, as is the case with all these Mutate cards, the effect is reusable, meaning it stacks quite well with additional copies of Dirge Bat or other Mutate creatures. Dirge Bat fits into all different kinds of black decks- finishing off opponents and topping off the curve in aggro decks, winning combats and grinding opponents out in midrange decks, and acting as a removal spell + finisher in control decks. That flexibility and consistency has a lot of value in a format like Standard, which is what makes Dirge Bat our pick for #1 Ikoria card for Standard.