A total of 64 Rare and 20 Mythic Rare Magic: The Gathering cards are within Innistrad: Crimson Vow, with a total of 13 standing out as the best within the Limited format.
The Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW) set contains 10 built-in archetypes, featuring some powerful cards that support those themes. There are also three new and three returning mechanics that support synergies within the 10 archetypes. Included in this best MTG list are three multicolored Limited bombs that should push you into those color archetypes. The other 10 are one Rare and one Mythic Rare from each Magic color, with the exception of the color Blue that has two Rare Limited bombs.
From human pumping out tokens with Training to an overcharged Flash zombie horror, here are the 13 best MTG Limited Rare and Mythic Rare cards within the VOW set.
Anje, Maid of Dishonor
Synergizing with VOW vampires via Blood tokens and with non-vampires within the colors of Black and Red, Anje, Maid of Dishonor is a powerful four-drop Rare. As an ETB, she creates a Blood Token and has 4/5 stats. And for only two mana, Anje can sacrifice a Blood token or another creature to steal two life from an opponent while gaining two life for yourself.
Lifegain is often underrated within the Limited format, and damage to the face is powerful in any format. Anje, Maid of Dishonor can swing the momentum of a match in a heartbeat or easily finish off an opponent without ever having to attack.
Halana and Alena, Partners
Halana and Alena, Partners is a sleeper Rare within the VOW Limited format. Their base stats are solid, having First Strike and Reach on a 2/3 body. What makes Halana and Alena, Partners stand out from the pack, however, is their ability.
There are multiple Green Common and Uncommon cards that are mana dorks within VOW, along with a number of powerful five mana and up creatures in both Red and Green. Halana and Alena, Partners pumps that creature with a minimum of two +1/+1 counters while also giving it Haste. A Falkenrath Celebrants on turn five or a Flourishing Hunter on turn six can end games. And smaller creatures work as well since the counters remain.
Torens, Fist of the Angels
Torens, Fist of the Angels is a three-drop in Green and White that uses Training to increase the power and toughness of the 1/1 tokens he creates whenever you cast a creature spell. Creatures with Training gain the counters upon attacking with a creature that has greater power—unlike the Mentor mechanic, which gave a counter to one target that had lower power than the creature with Mentor.
The tokens Torens, Fist of Angels produces have Training, meaning they can continue to scale in power with each attack phase if they attack and there’s a creature with a power greater than the tokens attacking as well. The Green and White Common and Uncommons heavily support the Training mechanic, allowing tokens created by Torens to spiral out of control and win a match.
Faithbound Judge//Sinner’s Judgment
The Mythic Rare White Faithbound Judge is a unique Double-Faced MTG card. It has Defender, Flying, and Vigilance with 4/4 stats. As a three-drop, Faithbound Judge is a solid blocker that gains a judgment counter on it at the beginning of your upkeep. Upon having three or more counters on the spirit soldier, it can attack.
Waiting for a total of three turns after casting to attack with Faithbound Judge in Limited isn’t good. But Faithbound Judge is a solid blocker upon ETB and when it dies transforms into Sinner’s Judgement, a bomb Aura curse. If an opponent can’t remove the Enchantment after three turns, they lose the game.
Welcoming Vampire
A sleeper Rare in White, Welcoming Vampire draws a card when a creature with a power of two or less enters the battlefield, though it only activates once per turn. The vampire synergizes with Training and provides essential card draw to prevent you from running out of gas or answers. Welcoming Vampire is also a 2/3 with Flying that can slot into any of the four VOW Limited archetypes with the color White.
Overcharged Amalgam
Overcharged Amalgam is a four-drop Rare in Blue with Flash, Flying, and Exploit. It’s in the “Mythic Rare” slot for Blue due to a lack of bomb Mythic Rares in the color. The zombie horror has base stats of 3/3 that easily block smaller creatures via Flash. Overcharged Amalgam also has an enter the battlefield ability that can counter a target spell, activated ability, or triggered ability when it exploits a creature. And in a worst-case situation, the zombie can Exploit itself to trigger its ETB ability.
Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
Zombies are well supported within VOW via the colors Blue and Black. Geralf, Visionary Stitcher is a three-drop Rare that gives all zombies Flying. The human wizard has an unimpressive baseline stat of 1/4 but stands out from other Rare cards in Blue due to its activated ability.
Able to slot into other VOW archetypes if zombies don’t come together, Geralf can sacrifice a nontoken creature to create a zombie token with the sacrificed creature’s toughness as its baseline stat. This ability works well within UW spirits, providing a creature for the Double-Faced cards with an Enchantment on the backside. It can also make a 4/4 zombie with Flying by sacrificing a card like Apprentice Sharpshooter in Green.
Sorin the Mirthless
It’s not often a planeswalker can have a major impact within Limited, but Sorin likes breaking rules. Sorin the Mirthless is a Mythic Rare four-drop planeswalker that can slot into any of the four Black archetypes in VOW. With a starting loyalty of four, Sorin’s plus-one allows a player to Scry and draw the card if they want it.
Sorin the Mirthless’ minus-two ability creates a 2/3 vampire token with Flying and Lifelink, a creature typically valued at four-mana in the Limited format. And should Sorin get seven or more loyalty counters, he can deal 13 damage to any target while also giving you 13 gained life points. It’s not often Sorin’s ultimate will go off, but his first two loyalties can easily provide a huge advantage in any build containing the color Black.
Dreadfeast Demon
Dreadfeast Demon is a seven-mana 6/6 creature with Flying. Despite costing seven to cast, the demon is a Rare bomb that can make a copy of itself upon sacrificing a non-demon creature at the beginning of your end step. One 6/6 flyer is hard enough to deal with, but two or more is game over.
Manaform Hellkite
Manaform Hellkite is a solid four-drop Mythic Rare 4/4 creature with Flying. It slots nicely into UR, BR, and RW by pumping out a dragon illusion token with Flying and Haste equal to a noncreature spell cast by you. The only downside to Manaform Hellkite is that the token created is exiled at the start of your end step, but the card is a solid creature that can easily end games with a decent size noncreature spell. And even smaller mana noncreature spells will still provide value beyond the dragon’s four mana cost.
Ill-Tempered Loner//Howlpack Avenger
Ill-Tempered Loner is a sleeper Rare in Red. The human werewolf has a baseline stat of 3/3 on its front side and 4/4 at Night. Ill-Tempered Loner isn’t a great card to attack with but is a bomb on defense.
Every time Ill-Tempered Loner takes damage, it deals that much damage to any target. And should you want to attack with the werewolf later in a game, its power can increase by two for only two mana, threatening six damage if unblocked and up to four damage to any target if blocked.
Avabruck Caretaker//Hollowhenge Huntmaster
Avabruck Caretaker is a 4/4 Mythic Rare that slots into any VOW archetype with the color Green. The human werewolf puts two +1/+1 counters on another target creature you control at the beginning of each of your combat stages.
At Night she transforms into Hollowhenge Huntmaster, a 6/6 with Hexproof that gives all other creatures you control Hexproof as well. And she still pumps another creature with two +1/+1 counters.
Glorious Sunrise
Glorious Sunrise is a five-mana Enchantment that provides its controller with one of four options at the start of combat on your turn.
- All creatures get +1/+1 and have Trample until the end of the turn.
- A target land can tap for three Green mana until the end of the turn.
- Draw a card if you control a creature with a power of three or greater.
- Gain three life.
The Enchantment is packed with value, from an anthem effect that can end a game to gaining three life in order to stay alive for another turn. Due to having four options to choose from on Glorious Sunrise, it’ll always do something upon entering the battlefield.
Digital Limited Draft and Sealed events begin on Nov. 11. Innistrad: Crimson Vow tabletop prerelease events will take place at local game stores on Nov. 12.
All images via WotC, Magic: The Gathering.
