Ravnica’s back with a new attitude in Magic: the Gathering’s newest block; this first set, called Return to Ravnica, features new mechanics (such as Overload), awesome creatures (like a one-drop Lifelink Cat and a creature-bouncing Bird), and plenty of spells to breathe new life into old decks.

This is only a small cross-section of what RtR has to offer, and all of these are cards I’d actually play–my personal focus is primarily on life-gain, creatures, and the colors of White and Green in general. But as with our first trip to Ravnica back in 2005, there’s something for everyone in this grand cityscape, and definitely something to please all MTG players!

Mono-Color Goodies

White

A one-drop Lifelink creature? AND it’s a Cat? AWESOME!	Two-drop double-striker…in white?! Can I have, like, 16 of these?
OK, now THIS is going in my White Enchantments deck.	Where have you been all my (gaming) life?!

Blue

The effect for 1 blue early-game is great–and the Overload cost gives you a late-game option, too!

This would be a hilarious card to Overload on late-game against a bunch of pumped-up tokens… xD

Black

For 4 mana, a great little creature that keeps you from decking out as well as keeping your life points safe while it’s on the field.

A cute little rat that can make a player ditch if you so choose–great for a Rat deck, or any Black deck that needs a little hand control.

Red

Imagine paying two mana to get rid of an army of 1/1 tokens…mwahaha.

Pay 1 mana to Oxidize, or pay 5 to get rid of my boyfriend’s entire Jinxed Choker deck. Sure, why not? (And the flavor text is LOL, too.)

Green

Fog the attack, AND have something to block with next turn, all for 2 mana. OKAY!	Good to play even for 2 mana early-game, when you just NEED mana that bad. Mid- to late-game, however…shenanigans. 😀
Awww yeah. Great for any deck that needs mana sources on other people’s turns…or if you just want to be free to Fog an attack.

Multi-Colored Awesomeness

All three options on this card are great for 2 mana. It’s like a Swiss Army knife for your deck.	Definitely getting this for my Green/White deck.
There’s a subtle option here–either place one counter each on two different creatures, or load one creature up with both counters. Nice!	While this is a little expensive, you do get a huge bonus for it–+3/+3 instead of the +1/+1 that Glorious Anthem and other such enchantments give.
So I get to bounce a creature back to my hand, saving it from lethal damage, AND I gain 2 life, all for 2 mana? WOOT!	7 life for 1 green and 1 white mana. I’ll take it. 😀
I like the first option best for 2 mana–a great way to pump up a little creature so it can punch through some defenses.	Creature control in the form of a 3/3 Bird, all for 4 mana. Not bad! Might need to add this to my Bird Soldier deck!
For 4 mana, a life-gain source AND a token source. AND it’s a Dryad. WANT. Want want want for my Green/White. 😀	This is absolutely hilarious. Just 3 mana gets you this stompy thing, and the populate ability is just thrown in there? AWESOME.
Great for building up token-heavy decks, or even just for generating creatures to block with if you have a token to start it off.	Combine Naturalize/Disenchant and a little populate action for the same cost, and it’s playable for White AND Green. A win-win!

Favorite New Basic-Land Art

Love the sunset-lit cityscape.	I like the hints of a misty rainbow on this Island.
Dank and dark, but with a few slivers and points of light scattered about.	Lots of emphasis on the skylines and steep mountainside cityscape.
Like a well-maintained tree garden, and yet…just a little wilder than that.

To view all the cards in this set, visit the Wizards.com RtR visual spoiler, where all these card images originally came from. Happy playing! 😀