Magic: The Gathering – The 10 Best Uncommons From The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan

Uncommon is truly the awkward middle child of Magic: The Gathering’s rarity system. Commons have the chance to shine in Pauper, Rares and Mythics tend to make up the bulk of playable cards in Standard and Commander, but Uncommons sit somewhere in between: solid, but generally unspectacular.

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For every rule there are exceptions, however, and while Uncommons in general aren’t fantastic, some specific Uncommons stand proudly as some of the best cards in their respective sets. The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has many such Uncommons tucked away inside its twisting tunnels, just waiting for wandering minds to stumble upon them. Let’s unearth them together.

10 Spelunking

If You Go Down To The Caves Today

One of the most exciting cards of any rarity in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, Spelunking is a cross between Amulet of Vigor and Explore that has a huge amount of multi-format potential. Letting your lands enter untapped is a game-changer by itself, but Spelunking also gives you card draw and a potential bonus land drop on top of that too.

Spelunking will likely act as a combo piece in many shells, but the fact that it also provides generic card advantage widens its net of applicability to cover many other decks as well. And of course, it goes without saying that it’s an auto-include in Caves decks if those take off.

9 Bartolomé Del Presidio

A Sublime Outlet For Sacrifice Shenanigans

Sacrifice outlets are constantly in demand in Magic, thanks to the endless parade of token generators and dies-trigger-wielding creatures that work so well with them, and Bartolomé del Presidio is one of the best we’ve ever seen. For just two mana, he lets you sacrifice both creatures and artifacts, at instant speed, at no additional cost.

Most sacrifice outlets either charge mana for the privilege of cashing in your creatures, or don’t work with artifacts, or only provide a temporary stat boost, but Bartolomé del Presidio has none of these problems. It’s so cheap and flexible it almost beggars belief, meaning it will likely be a Standard and Commander staple for the foreseeable future.

8 Chart A Course

Set Sail For Card Advantage

While blue is best known as the color of Control and disruption, it also gets a lot of tools that enable high-tempo aggressive decks too, Chart a Course being a prime example. Back in original Ixalan, it proved its worth in a range of powerful lists, and it’s back in Lost Caverns to introduce a new generation to the pleasure of drawing two for two.

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The benefits of doing so are so obvious, and the condition of attacking with a creature to enable it is so trivial, that Chart a Course will undoubtedly find its way into many decks this time around too, especially with all the cheap Merfolk and Pirates running around.

7 Bitter Triumph

Removal, But At What Cost?

Variants on Doom Blade, the long-established gold standard for black removal, have been printed in every Magic set for years now, and Bitter Triumph may just be the best one yet. Although it demands either three life or a card from your hand, it can deal with any creature or planeswalker at instant speed.

Three life may sound like a steep cost, but you only need to look at the usage rates of Shocklands in older formats to see that it’s actually negligible. Removing any threat for just two mana is incredible, and all but guarantees Bitter Triumph will enable many sweet victories in Standard and beyond.

6 Market Gnome

Lovable, Yet Highly Disposable

Market Gnome is the latest in a long line of creatures that do their best work once they leave the battlefield, but it’s more powerful and flexible than most of its peers. For just one mana, it gives you a solid early blocker, a great piece of sacrifice fodder, and an enabler for the somewhat-clunky craft mechanic all in one.

This range of options ensures that Market Gnome won’t just show up in Aristocrats decks, but in Control and Midrange decks too, as a key component for some of Lost Caverns’ excellent craft cards. And to top it off, it has what every good sacrifice fodder card needs: strangely adorable artwork.

5 Thrashing Brontodon

A Tried-And-Tested Dinosaur Staple

Original Ixalan brought a wide range of powerful cards to the table, one of which was the standout Stompy staple Thrashing Brontodon. It makes a triumphant return in Lost Caverns, ready to teach players how valuable incidental artifact and enchantment removal on a body can be all over again.

A three mana 3/4 with a relevant creature type is good enough for Standard on its own, but the addition of a cheap, instant-speed Naturalize effect really pushes it over the edge. Get ready to see an awful lot of this card in the coming months, particularly if green becomes a dominant force in the meta.

4 Spring-Loaded Sawblades//Bladewheel Chariot

You’ve Activated My Trap Card!

Craft is a Magic tale as old as time: a cool, flavorful new mechanic that will most likely see little play due to a conservative overall power level. There are happy exceptions, of course, and Spring-Loaded Sawblades is one of them: A reasonably-costed removal spell, with a reasonable craft cost, and a powerful back half.

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Five damage is enough to kill a huge portion of the playable creatures in Standard, including the notorious Sheoldred, making the Sawblades half of this card great early in the game. Later, it becomes a comically easy-to-animate 5/5 that can close out a long game, or apply pressure in a Midrange race.

3 Twists And Turns//Mycoid Maze

Early-Game Smoothing And Long-Term Value

Plot twist: cards that are good both early and late in a game tend to be pretty powerful cards overall. Twists and Turns may not be the best turn one play, but as soon as you have a creature out it becomes a very efficient little spell, letting you manipulate your topdecks before you explore to get your desired outcome.

Once it flips, which it can do fairly easily due to its passive ability, you get a land that can provide you with a constant stream of creatures for the rest of the game. It’s rare to see this kind of value engine at Uncommon, so be sure to pick it up while you can.

2 Dauntless Dismantler

A Surprise Multi-Format Tech Card

Dauntless Dismantler doesn’t look like much in Standard, but in older formats it’s an incredible new hate card that gives white decks a fighting chance against numerous artifact-centric strategies. Its passive ability shuts down artifact lands and mana rocks alike, greatly limiting the explosive potential of decks like Paradox Engine in Legacy.

Even more exciting is the Dismantler’s activated ability, which can sweep entire boards of artifact lands and tokens for very little mana, especially in older formats where they largely cost one or zero. It’s a surprise to see such archetype-melting power on an Uncommon, but a welcome one to be sure.

1 Belligerent Yearling

The Little Dinosaur That Could

Dinosaur decks have always straddled a fine line between Aggro and Midrange, but Belligerent Yearling makes a strong case for committing entirely to the former. A 3/2 trampler for two is borderline playable alone, but it can easily swing for much more than that in a dedicated Dino deck.

There’s no shortage of beefy creatures you can curve into on turn three that make the Yearling a terrifying threat, but Pugnacious Hammerskull is the best of them, letting you swing for six with trample while your opponent is still getting their bearings.

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Looking for a few good singles to pick up from MTG's Lost Cavern of Ixalan release? We've got some of the best right here.