Sure, I’m a little late to the party, but I thought I would offer up my thoughts on some hidden gems that will really help to spice up your Casual games the next time you sit down around the kitchen table to jam a little Magic. Dragons of Tarkir has loads of awesome bombs for Constructed formats, but don’t forget that there is more to any set than just playing Constructed. Let’s take a peak.

10- Volcanic Vision- This one screams Casual card for a couple of reasons. First off, the casting cost is too high for Constructed, meaning that if you are going to run it you had better be assured that you will have enough time to cast it. Second, the wording of the card says “each opponent” meaning that it is ideal for multiplayer games. Lastly, the effect directly scales with the casting cost of the other spells in your deck. This almost assuredly means that it is Casual card and boy, this one seems to be a doozy! EDH and Casual players must be drooling to try and make this one work to burn out the whole table. Let the mass burninating begin!

9- Corpseweft- I feel like in this day and age that playing the tribal Zombie deck isn’t really a thing. Sure, I guess you could put one together and try and run it competitively, but there seems to be some pieces missing. With that said, I think that this card is an ideal card for a Casual game because the effect is just so hilarious. Who doesn’t want to make massive Zombies where some of your early fodder die to a board wipe/sac outlet/chump block? This one is hilarious and if you partner it up with some of the cards from Innistrad block you could be in for a good time.

8- Inspiring Call- This is a fun little addition for all those G/W Travel Preparation-esque decks. You know, the ones that multiply the number of +1/+1 counters on their creatures? Yeah…those decks. This card and Hardened Scales will now go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly and will grant all those decks the chance to draw a pile of extra cards. I know many a G/W mage that won’t be able to resist this little treat and will be keen to jam them in their deck and durdle along to some more cards.

7- Gleam of Authority- I should have done this one in conjunction with Inspiring Call because they all play in the same deck. This is the engine that Bolsters the counters on your cards, Hardened Scales doubles them up, and then Inspiring Call draws you cards to refill your grip of cards and makes them all indestructible. Or at least that’s the theory. Seems pretty good to me.

6- Enduring Scalelord- This goes right in along in with the deck I was describing above. It sounds kind of like a deck that wants to durdle around…but that makes it perfect for casual! I can already see myself brewing this Inspiring Call/Scalelord/Gleam deck and just going off. Yeah. This feels pretty casual to me.

5- Living Lore- This is one strange card. It was weird when it was spoiled, but it is weirder now that I’ve had a chance to really sit down and look at it. It’s 4 mana for a creature who’s power and toughness are equal to the instant or sorcery that I just exiled with it. I can imagine the best case scenario for this one and imagine it being HUGE. C’mon…who wouldn’t like to exile In Garruk’s Wake with this and rock a 9/9? Heck, even Treasure Cruise would be pretty awesome. However, typically those cards don’t see a ton of play. Except Treasure Cruise, it’ll see play everywhere. I can’t imagine too many Constructed decks looking to play this sort of creature because it just isn’t consistent enough. However, I can see this card sliding in some deck with a number of pricey spells and just being the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoy my Kitchen Table brewers! This guy will be hugely fun to play with.

4- Graceblade Artisan- The bonus on this thing is just nuts. This guy should have been in Theros Block because he just screams “Bestow things on ME!” I’m fairly certain I already have a spot for him in some deck and can hardly wait to rock this dude. Now, he almost feels good enough for some sort of Hexproof/Auras build in constructed, but the lack of evasion is holding him back. He’s 1 Aqueous Form away from being a crazy fast clock, but he’s hard to protect and is vulnerable to removal. The fact that he’s a fairly easy target for your opponent to pick off likely holds him back from seeing serious Constructed play, but he certainly has all the right tools to be a super spicy Casual card.

3- Sarkhan’s Triumph- Do you know what people LOVE to do at Casual Kitchen Table Magic? Tutor up their best dude. Sarkhan’s Triumph is just begging to be put in a dragon tribal deck or a Scion of Ur-Dragon deck and tutor up all that Dragon-y value. The extra goodness to this is that it is an Instant, so end of turn, tutor up your biggest, scariest, Dragon…and then take the skies next turn. I’m already envisioning this being a super sweet spell to resolve and I can hardly wait.

2- Dragon Whisperer- This one just sells itself. Read it. I don’t need to say any more. I think this pairs with Sarkhan’s Triumph super well. DAGRONS! EVERYWHERE!

1 – Hedonist’s Trove- Bulky 7 mana spells are sort of a casual specialty and this one looks brutal in Constructed…but BONKERS …in a janky sort of way. There are lots of fun and disgusting things you could find in your opponent’s graveyard and the chance just to fire this one off and find out what you can do is super enticing. Yes, it could be a terrible 7 mana dead weight in your hand…but if you play casually then you would rather think about the insane stuff you might be able to do. This is a card premised entirely on your outlook on life. If you are an optimist, you’ll love this card because your optimism will keep telling you that you’ll get a full pile of amazing things from your opponent. The realist in you is going to think this card stinks. I live firmly in the optimist camp.

Well, there we have some of my picks for best casual cards from Dragons of Tarkir. I will be sure to try and slide a bunch of these in a few of my new brews as we move forward because I think it will be funny…and I love the shock value to some of my opponents. When I’ve got something cooked up I will be sure to share it with all of you nice folks out there on the inter webs.

Thanks very much for stopping by and have yourself a great MTG day!

Bruce Gray

@bgray8791