Ravinca Remasteredis bringing back some of the best cards fromMagic: The Gathering’s most urban plane. The first Magic set of 2024, and the third of the Masters series, is bringing back some old favorites from the planet-spanning city.
When it comes to red cards, that means we’ll see the return of terrifying Hellkites, a goblin work boss, and a fiery board god, alongside a few spells that play to red’s hatred of artifacts and love of dishing out damage. Let’s take a look at the ten cards that rise above Ravinca’s clouds to showcase the true power of the mountains.
10Shattering Spree
Destroying Every Artifact Since 2006
Red has always hated artifacts, and while cards like Smash to Smithereens and Abrade showed how flexible red can be by combining it with some old-fashioned burn,nored cardever destroyed artifacts as efficiently as Shattering Spree. Pay as much red as you want, and destroy as many artifacts as you pay for.
In most games and formats, it costs less than an overloaded Vandalblast or a Fiery Confluence, so you’ll see Shattering Spree in most of Magic’s formats where it’s still legal to play, either as a sideboard artifact killer or as mainline artifact hate. And with so few reprintings, Shattering Spree is welcomed in Ravinca Remastered.
9Krenko’s Command
Sometimes You Just Need Some Bodies
Some might argue that Legion Warboss should be here as it creates a Goblin every turn, albeit one that is forced to attack and is therefore unlikely to survive. But sometimes, you don’t need the complexity of Legion Warboss and its mentorship, justas many Goblins as you can, as fast as you can.
Krenko’s Command provides two 1/1 Goblins for two mana, and it’s not flashy, butit gives you more Goblins on turn twothan you’d probably have by playing an actual Goblin creature card. And sometimes that canset up an explosive turn threethat proves once again just how terrifying an army of Goblins can be.
8Skullcrack
Say No To Life Gain
Way back when regeneration was still a keyword you’d see, Incinerate was a staple burn card. Not only could ithit creatures for three mana, but it could also stop them from regenerating back after they die.
Skullcrack is a lot like that but for players, since it deals three damage to players or planeswalkers,prevents that damage from being prevented, and most crucially, it alsoshuts down all life gain for the rest of that turn. It can keep players from running away with infinite life, and it can ensure players die when you aim a massive Fireball at their faces.
7Krenko, Mob Boss
The Guy To Call When You Want To Double Your Goblin Production
Krenko has been aCommander stapleever since he first appeared back in 2013, as his ability to simplydouble your total number of Goblinsevery turn made him the ideal Goblin to build a deck around. Yes, they’re just 1/1 Goblin tokens, but when you’ve got 417 of them, does it matter how small they are?
There will be several different versions of Krenko, including modern border, retro border, and anew full-art piece by Ai Nanahirawhere he looks just as threatening as his board presence. If you’re a Goblin fan, you’ll want this Krenko.
6Mizzix’s Mastery
Cast Every Spell All Over Again
Izzet spell-slinging is such an incredibly fun archetype, as it provides all the instant-speed damage of burn with the deck manipulation and card draw of blue control. Throw in somecards that let you replay instants and sorceries from the graveyard, and you’ve got a game-winning strategy.
Better yet,replay everyinstant and sorcery from your graveyard with Mizzix’s Mastery. For the low price of eight mana, you’re able to have a truly explosive finish to your next Commander game, and all you gotta do is fill your graveyard with spells and then live long enough to cast it, but it’s incredible fun whenever you manage to pull it off.
5Hellkite Tyrant
A Greedy Way To Win At Commander
Odds are thatmost Commander games will have at least a few artifactslying around, as the vast majority of decks are full of mana rocks just waiting to be taken by an overbearing Dragon. And on the off chance you’re playing against an artifact-themed Commander deck, then Hellkite Tyrant becomes a potential auto-win card.
you’re able to play Hellkite Tyrant in your red deck to justramp yourself with everyone else’s mana rocks, or you can play it in your artifact deck to havea potential win condition. Either way, Hellkite Tyrant is a great card for any red player.
4Arclight Phoenix
The Pioneer Of Izzet Phoenix
You wouldn’t immediately think of Arclight Phoenix as a win condition, because playing three instants or sorceries on a single turn is hard enough that you’re not likely to do it very often in most decks, which would limit Arclight Phoenix’s chances of return. But in the right deck,Arclight Phoenix can come back again and againtoput constant pressure on an opponent’s life total.
You’ll find Arclight Phoenixas the headliner of its archetype in Magic’s Pioneer format, and you’ll also find it Explorer, Legacy, and Commander. With that kind of popularity, it’s nice of Wizards of the Coast to reprint this Phoenix just to keep prices down.
3Ilharg, the Raze-Boar
Boar God Best God
You don’t see many pigs reach godhood, but Ilharg is a wildly powerful Boar God. Five mana for a 6/6 trampler is pretty efficient on its own, but throw in aSneak Attack whenever Ilharg swingsand you’ve got a very angry Boar thatfits well into most creature-heavy Commander decks.
If you’re not into reanimating your Board God, you won’t even have to wait long to see him again after he inevitably gets murdered.Just wait three turns and he’ll come back.
2Guttersnipe
Everybody Hates This Guy
If you want a table to hate you, just play Guttersnipe, since inflicting two damage to everyone at the table every time you cast a spell is incredibly efficient damage output. Just make a deck of cantrips and burn spells and Mr. Snipe will keep everyone’s life totals far lower than where they started.
The trick to Guttersnipe is not throwing out spells willy-nilly, lest you paint a target on your back.Bide your time, maybe throw out a spell or two just to keep people honest, and then when you’ve got a full hand of burn, let it all fly and let Guttersnipe push you to victory.
1Utvara Hellkite
Making Dragons, One Swing At A Time
Dragons remain one of Magic’s most beloved creature types. Even if you’re not necessarily playing a Dragon-themed deck, odds are you’ve got a Dragon somewhere that you just love, and what’s better than one Dragon? Two Dragons,or maybe many more Dragons.
The Utvara Hellkiteessentially replicates itself every time it attacks, so if it’s not immediately answered, you canwind up with an army of Dragons. That sort of escalating pressure makes Utvara Hellkite a popular choice even in decks that don’t necessarily care about the Dragon creature type, and with a price tag over $12, it’s nice to see it getting a reprint in Ravinca Remastered.
