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The cycling and fetch lands will have more of an impact on constructed play than limited but are both good for thinning out your deck and should always be played in any draft/sealed deck.

I hope you have enjoyed the reviews over the last few weeks and I have already changed my mind on a lot of the cards (especially blue) as I have been drafting a lot more.

In the next State of Play, I will be analyzing the main tribal archetypes for Onslaught draft and identifying the key cards for each deck.

Until then.

Dan

Cryptic Gateway - 5
Artifact (rare)
Tap two untapped creatures you control: You may put a creature card from your hand into play that shares a creature type with each creature tapped this way.
Its lock changes to fit each key.

This looks like one of the weaker artifacts to me as it is only really good for combat tricks and even then you need to have the right creature in hand and the right creatures in play at the right time. A mid to late range pick, as I want cards that are not that narrow in my deck, 8th to 12th.

Doom Cannon - 6
Artifact (rare)
As Doom Cannon comes into play, choose a creature type.
3, T, Sacrifice a creature of the chosen type: Doom Cannon deals 3 damage to target creature or player.

Although the Doom Cannon is quite expensive it is well worth it especially if your deck is lacking removal. There is also a lot of potential for stack tricks with this as creatures can deal their damage then be sacrificed to deal 3 damage to another target.

It is the casting cost which prohibits this being a first rate pick but it is an early draft nonetheless, 3rd to 5th.

Dream Chisel - 2
Artifact (rare)
Face-down creature spells you play cost 1 less to play.
Itself a product of Ixidor's tortured psyche, the chisel brings his darkest dreams to life.

This really kicks in on the fourth turn when you can play 2 face down creatures at once. Later in the game it is not as important as mana is not that much of an issue making it very reliant on being drawn early. A late range pick as a result, 10th to 12th.

Will this replace the Phyrexian Processor?

Remember Phyrexian Processor from Urza's Saga? Well I think this is better as you don't lose any life when it comes into play and it interacts with the tribal themes that are so prevalent in Onslaught. Riptide Replicator can be a bit mana intensive but this is a slow format so it doesn't really matter if you cast this on the 7th or 8th turn.

A first pick, the replicator is possibly the best artifact in Onslaught as token generators are few and far between.

Slate of Ancestry - 4
Artifact (rare)
4, T, Discard your hand: Draw a card for each creature you control.
The pattern of life can be studied like a book, if you know how to read it.

The slate is very strong in any deck and works nicely with cycling and the words enchantments. It is ideally suited to a deck that can throw out cheap creatures quite quickly and not have too many overcosted bombs. Either way I still think you would want to play this card if you opened it making Slate of Ancestry an early pick in my opinion, 1st to 3rd.

Tribal Golem - 6
Artifact Creature - Golem (rare)
Tribal Golem has trample as long as you control a Beast, haste as long as you control a Goblin, first strike as long as you control a Soldier, flying as long as you control a Wizard, and "B: Regenerate Tribal Golem" as long as you control a Zombie.
4/4

The only artifact creature in the set, Tribal Golem takes advantage of the tribal themes and is very powerful in a deck that can change creature types. Flying and regeneration seem like the most useful abilities, making it ideally suited to a B/U deck. Remember that a lot of creatures count as 2 creature types, Ascending Aven for instance is a Bird Soldier so draft this with those creatures in mind. An early pick 3rd to 5th.

Lands

Barren Moor, Forgotten Cave, Lonely Sandbar, Secluded Steppe, Tranquil Thicket.

All of the cycling lands are quite good as they thin out your deck improving the chances of drawing your "business" cards. They will often come around late in the draft and that is exactly when you want them, 12th to 15th.

Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills.

Are the new fetch lands any good in limited? I would have to say yes. The life loss is negligible compared to the efficiency it provides, especially if you need that extra coloured mana to power up your Death Pulse or cast a second turn Elvish Warrior. Are the cycling lands better? Probably, as you do get to draw a card but the sac lands can pull you out of a colour screw (they are also good if you are splashing a colour too!), a late pick 12th to 15th.

Definitely not a fair fight

I don't know about you but this is a very good reason to start drafting R/G. The fact that the creatures don't tap is amazing as it can be done after combat and is useful for getting rid of annoying creatures like Wellwisher, Sparksmith and the like. This is without a doubt the most powerful land in Onslaught and a solid first pick for the R/G drafter.

Daru Encampment
Land (uncommon)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
W, T: Target Soldier gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

Most of these lands are annoying enough for your opponent to side in land destruction for them. Daru Encampment is good as there are a lot of dual creature types that are soldiers, making your Gustcloak Harriers and Ascending Avens that little bit better. A lot of these lands are midrange to late picks as they are often suited to a specific decktype. Daru Encampment is one of those lands, 9th to 12th.

Goblin Burrows
Land (uncommon)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
1R, T: Target Goblin gets +2/+0 until end of turn.

If this was target goblin gets +1/+1 it would be so much better. The good goblin decks are B/R that play with a lot of burn/removal and cheap, efficient creatures that peck away at your opponent's life total. The main problem with the burrows is that it can't deal with 4 toughness creatures and cards like Mistform Wall, Barkhide Mauler and Spitting Gourna can often blunt a goblin attack quite quickly. A mid to late range pick, 10th to 15th.

Grand Coliseum
Land (rare)
Grand Coliseum comes into play tapped.
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
T: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Grand Coliseum deals 1 damage to you.

Is this card any good in limited? I reviewed this a couple of weeks ago and I still think it is a bit slow. Some games you just need to draw a land off the top, play it and cast the bomb you have in your hand. Grand Coliseum won't let you do that and nine times out of ten you will be punished for it. A late pick, 12th to 15th.

Riptide Laboratory
Land (rare)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
U, T: Return target Wizard you control to its owner's hand.

I have actually played with this card and I have to say that I'm not a fan. Sure you can return your Sage Aven, recast it and then do it again a few turns later but you don't really need it. Like all of the other tribal lands it produces colourless mana, which at times can be a real disadvantage. You should only play with these lands if you think your deck will really benefit from it. Riptide Laboratory sucks. A late pick, 13th to 15th.

Seaside Haven
Land (uncommon)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
WU, T, Sacrifice a Bird: Draw a card.

I try to avoid U/W decks in draft as they are severely lacking in the removal department but if you do end up with the short end of the stick this land is actually quite good. I think this is better than Airborne Aid as you can put damage on the stack and then draw a card. This should be a late draft pick as this colour combination will be underdrafted, 12th to 15th.

Starlit Sanctum
Land (uncommon)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
W, T, Sacrifice a Cleric: You gain life equal to that Cleric's toughness.
B, T, Sacrifice a Cleric: Target player loses life equal to that Cleric's power.

B/W cleric decks are one of the strongest tribal archetypes in Onslaught. Both of Starlit Sanctum's abilities are very good and work well in defence/offence respectively. Imagine sacrificing a Doubtless One to the sanctum to finish your opponent off! A good tribal land that every B/W drafter should try and get. A mid to late range pick, 8th to 12th.

Unholy Grotto
Land (rare)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
B, T: Put target Zombie card from your graveyard on top of your library.

The grotto is good, very good indeed. There are many nasty zombies in this set that will give your opponent recurring nightmares, Soulless One for instance. It also stops you from being decked provided you have a way of getting a zombie to the graveyard (if there isn't one in there already) and that isn't too hard if you have a Nantuko Husk. Another good tribal land, the Unholy Grotto is a mid to late range pick, 8th to 12th.

Wirewood Lodge
Land (uncommon)
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.
G, T: Untap target Elf.

Green's tribal land is not too bad when you compare it to the others. Wirewood Lodge combos well nicely with Wellwisher, Courier and any of the larger elves in Onslaught. I am yet to play with this card so I rate it the same as Daru Encampment, an 8th to 12th pick.

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