Welcome back to the final installment of my Dominaria Power Rankings. To view the rare rankings, click here. To view the mythic rankings, click here.

Uncommons can be a good part of any portfolio, and are especially good for those new to speculating or with limited budgets. I view speculating as a way to help pay for drafting on MTGO, and investing $1.00 into something like Doomfall or Incendiary Flow can often pay for a few drafts. Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments down below!

A brief refresher on the categories:

Risk: Relative to its current price, how much room is there for this card to fall? How much concern should you have that you’ll be unloading this card at a loss in the future?

Relative to its current price, how much room is there for this card to fall? How much concern should you have that you’ll be unloading this card at a loss in the future? Potential: How much room does this card have to grow? Growth in an absolute sense (dollars and cents) and growth as a rate of return (percentage) are both important factors and I weight them equally.

How much room does this card have to grow? Growth in an absolute sense (dollars and cents) and growth as a rate of return (percentage) are both important factors and I weight them equally. Chance of Success: How likely will this card be a successful speculation? Is it a surefire bet or more of a dark horse?

8. Wizard’s Lightning

Open Fire has not seen a lick of play, so Wizard’s Lightning is only a playable card in decks that feature Wizards. As my longtime readers know, uncommons have a higher playability bar to clear to be profitable specs, and Wizard’s Lightning likely won’t have the breadth of use to rise above bulk.

Verdict: D-

7. Memorials to Unity and Folly

These are the only two memorials I don’t hate as speculation targets. Blighted Woodland, Blighted Cataract, heck, even Foundry of the Consuls, didn’t ever rise above bulk. Coming into play tapped kills the chances that the memorials will see significant levels of Standard play. Of all of them, these are the two that I could envision going into a variety of decks.

My recommendation is to keep a few of these to play with and sell the rest to bulk bots. If you want to speculate on them, though, look to sell in the 0.10 to 0.20 tix range.

Verdict: D-

6. Cast Down

Cast Down will likely be a Magic Online Rewards promo because it was announced as an FNM promo. I’m skeptical it can overcome the drubbing it’s likely going to receive. Abrade managed, but Cast Down is no Abrade.

Speaking of promos, I didn’t notice that Steel Leaf Champion was also announced as a promo with alternate art. That means it’s a shoe-in to be a Magic Online Rewards promo and you should avoid speculating on it. I had given it a C-, but in light of this news, it should receive a D- or F instead.

Verdict: D

5. Merfolk Trickster

Merfolk Trickster is just good enough to where I could see it having a significant amount of Standard play, if only for its creature type. It has a chance to spike only if Wizards or Merfolk become tier one. I won’t be a buyer, but I wouldn’t fault you if you wanted to pick up a few copies just in case.

Verdict: D

4. Dauntless Bodyguard

The last uncommon Savannah Lion to succeed as a speculation target was Dragon Hunter, which rose from bulk to 1.00 tix. Chainwhirler needs to be banned for Dauntless Bodyguard to have a chance. If I were in charge of Wizards of the Coast, I would unban Rampaging Ferocidon and ban Goblin Chainwhirler, but who knows what they’ll do?

Verdict: D+

3. Fight with Fire

A few things need to go right for Fight with Fire to succeed as a spec target. Five toughness needs to be important (cards like Lyra Dawnbringer need to be prevalent), and it would help if ramp decks with an interest in kicking this spell would make a comeback. Fight with Fire has a high chance than others on this list to get outclassed by future cards yet to see print.

This is a card that would have had a better shot if it were in a small set. Dominaria will be opened more than Shadows over Innistrad and Amonkhet and less than Ixalan or Kaladesh. I’m going to keep a playset and sell the rest.

Verdict: D+

2. Knights of Grace and Malice

The bench of uncommons in Dominaria is very shallow, but finally, we’ve reached two decent spec targets! These cards have proven to be effective sideboard cards against aggro, annoying threats for controlling decks to bring in post-board, and maindeckable threats in aggressive strategies.

That’s the sort of breadth we look for in our uncommons. I’ll be adding these to my portfolio over the next month.

Verdict: C+



1. Seal Away

Seal Away is a premium removal spell. It is merely reactive, which hurts its potential, but I think it can find a home in enough different decks to see time north of 0.33 tix.

We don’t have a lot of recent precedents to go by. Immolating Glare was a promo and thus was relegated to bulk (Cast Down beware!). Valorous Stance’s median price was 0.40 tix and could have been sold to bots for 0.60 tix at one point. For whatever reason, that doesn’t excite me all that much. That it works well with one of the best cards in Standard (Teferi, Hero of Dominaria) does give us reason to hope.

Verdict: B-

II. Signing Off

Let me know what you think in the comments down below. What Dominaria cards are you most excited about speculating on? I haven’t done much buying thus far, but I’ve already got a few copies of Jaya Ballard, Lyra, Naban, Jhoira, Dread Shade, Dauntless Bodyguard, Squee, Shalai, Benalish Marshal, Knight of Grace, and Knight of Malice, in addition to the five checklands.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see y’all next week!

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Kyle Rusciano Kyle started playing Magic with his little brother when they saw some other kids at a baseball camp playing. His grandma bought them some Portal: Second Age decks, and a hobby was born. Kyle played from Weatherlight through Invasion, then took a lengthy break until 2013. Now a PhD student in the humanities, the Greek mythology component of Theros compelled Kyle to return to the game. He enjoys playing Pauper and Limited as well as focusing on MTGO finance and card design. Follow him on Twitter at @KangaMage! More Posts

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