For starters I’d like to thank all the people that gave feedback on my article, “A Magical Opportunity”. It humbles me to think that people all over the world read my articles and join me in discussion regardless of what side they are on.

Today’s article is less controversial. I’ll be reviewing the commons you will find in your modern Masters 2015 packs. many of these cards can be found as staples in Modern decks everywhere but there are several that can stand out in just about any deck, including the kitchen table. Let’s have a look…

Brute Force

What’s worse than a Giant Growth? A red Giant Growth. This card may not see much play at the tournament level but in the hands of a casual red player it can be highly destructive. In a goblin deck or with a Haste creature it’s just as destructive as a Lightning Bolt to the opponent, which leads us into….

Lightning Bolt

This card has been king since it was printed in Alpha. Three damage for one mana has been great for years now and Lighting Bolt gets yet another reprint in this set. Virtually every competitive deck in modern that plays red plays this card for good reason.

Mana Leak

Mana Leak has been one of the more used counter cards since Counterspell was considered “too good” by Wizards and never reprinted. When played early, it essentially counters any spell in the game when players are stuck with limited mana. Played late game, it eats up what mana is left to keep the spell from being countered. This is a great card that can be plugged into most every blue deck.

Mutagenic Growth

I’ve played with and against Mutagenic Growth in the past and this card can come out of nowhere. For a green mana, you can drop an additional two damage on a creature and give it two more defense to keep it alive. To make this one even better, you can lose two life to cast it just in case you are tapped out.

Telling Time

This one may be a shocker to many of you but let’s be fair, this card does quite a bit. Look at it this way, if this card was “Scry 3. Draw a card.” nobody would be upset that Serum Visions wasn’t in the set. That’s practically what this card does. On occasion you may regret tossing something to the bottom of your deck. Typically on a Scry 3 you will put something to the bottom anyway so no big loss there.

Vines of Vastwood

This is one sneaky card and I’ll tell you why. For one green mana you can make your creature untargetable till end of turn. Kick it for one additional mana and you now have a +4/+4 Shroud creature. The only down side to this is if your opponent knows you have this card, they will wait for you to boost it and then kill it off before it resolves. I’ve had this happen so play this boost at the last possible moment.

Never fear black players, next week we take a look at the best uncommons in the set. Till then, swing hard, swing last.

Aiokii has been playing Magic: The Gathering since 1995 and specializes in the Modern format. If you like this article you can contact Aiokii in the comments below, Twitter or Facebook. Also take the time to check out Reddit Budgetdecks for cheap Magic discussion and deck ideas.