Furthermore, these new time shifted cards feature different backgrounds, slightly different coloring and white text. It is worth noting that while Planar Chaos contains lots of cards that are virtual reprints of previous Magic cards, there are no cards in the set simply reprinted, name and all, from any previous set. This is unusual for a Magic expansion. Unusual is kind of what the Time Spiral block seems to be all about.

The first chance that we all get to sink our teeth into a new set is in the prerelease sealed deck tournaments held all over the nation last weekend. I was head judge at the Dallas area event last weekend. The next thing that we do to get acquainted with the cards is to start booster drafting them. I’ve been able to booster draft the new set five times since last Saturday. After this admittedly small number of drafts, I have gleaned a certain insight on the usefulness of the Planar Chaos cards for booster draft. This insight is colored by the insight of teammates and close friends that played in these drafts with me and who shared their own feelings and impressions about the new cards.

When assessing the value of a new set for booster drafting, I continually find that the commons are the most important cards in the set. In constructed, you can invest the time, energy and money into acquiring four copies of whatever card you want. In limited, you have to make the most out of the cards you get, and most of the cards you get are common. In a booster draft, you don’t have to be a genius to open up a pack and find an incredibly playable rare or uncommon that significantly upgrades your deck, but making the most of your commons is a far more important task.

This review of the commons includes the names and descriptions of the twelve commons from each color, ranked from best to worst. In addition, I have included commentary on the top five commons from each color. This is an early cut at these cards. I’m sure I will change my mind about some of these cards as time goes by, but here is what I think about them right now.

Blue Commons

Erratic Mutation is an instant for 2U. You choose a target creature, then reveal cards from the top of your library until you hit a non land card, the targeted creature gets +X/-X until end of turn where X is equal to the revealed card’s converted mana cost. Put all the cards revealed in this way on the bottom of your library in any order. This card is easily blue’s best creature defense in the common slot in either Time Spiral or Planar Chaos.

Blue was the best color in Time Spiral booster draft. A card like Erratic Mutation only makes blue more powerful for limited.

Shaper Parasite is a 2/3 Illusion for 1UU with a Morph cost of 2U. When Shaper Parasite is turned face up, target creature gets +2/-2 or -2/+2 until end of turn. Morph creatures were already good in Time Spiral draft, particularly in the color of trickery and illusion. This card provides very good creature elimination with a decent creature besides. A face down Shaper Parasite can block and destroy a 4/4 attacker. A face down Shaper Parasite with three mana open is also a virtual counter spell for any two point damage spell your opponent might conjure up.

Veiling Oddity is a 2/3 Illusion for 3U that suspends for 1U with four time counters on it. When Veiling Oddity comes into play from having its last time counter removed (from suspense) all creatures become unblockable until end of turn. Even though your opponent will know what you are up to when you suspend this card, there will be very little they can do about it. In four turns, your creatures (including the Veiling Oddity itself which will have haste the turn it comes into play from suspense) will be unstoppable. This is another fine suspend creature for blue.

Dreamscape Artist is a 1/1 Human Spellshaper for 1U. When you discard a card, sacrifice a land, pay 2U and tap the Dreamscape Artist you get to search your library for up to two basic lands and then shuffle your library.

I’ll admit the usefulness of this little guy went right over my head at first. Let’s run down some of the awesome things Dreamscape Artist can do for you. You can pull lands out of your deck making it easier to draw better cards later in the game. You can get access (without green) to lands for your deck’s second or third (or fourth or fifth!) color quickly and without pain. You can put two new lands into play each turn UNTAPPED. You can use the discard cost as a Madness outlet for your black cards with Madness. In constructed, it may even be useful to use the Artist’s shuffle effect to move around the cards in your deck for things like Sensei’s Divining Top.

The bottom line, right now, is that this card helps blue get access to mana in a way blue has rarely been able to do in limited decks. With this card in play, there really is no reason to play lands from your hand after a certain point in the game, like turn four. Handy.

Primal Plasma is an Elemental Shapeshifter for 3U that comes into play either as a 3/3 creature, a 2/2 creature with flying or a 1/6 creature with Defender. Old school wizards recognize this card as the Planar Chaos time shifted version of Primal Clay, a card that would be even better than Primal Plasma since it was colorless. That’s okay, we don’t at all mind playing blue. In the Time Spiral/Time Spiral/Planar Chaos booster draft environment, Primal Plasma is a very good (but not great) card that gives you tremendous flexibility in a four mana creature slot.

Aquamorph Entity is a Shapeshifter for 2UU with a Morph cost of 2U. As Aquamorph Entity comes into play or is turned face up, it becomes either 5/1 or 1/5. Completely playable in draft decks.

Wistful Thinking is a sorcery for 2U that causes a target player to draw two cards and then discard four cards.

Reality Acid is an aura that can enchant any permanent for 2U. Reality Acid has Vanishing 3. When Reality Acid leaves play, enchanted permanent’s controller must sacrifice the enchanted permanent.

Synchronous Sliver is a 3/3 Sliver for 4U that gives all slivers vigilance.

Piracy Charm is an instant for one blue mana that allows you to either give a target creature Islandwalk until end of turn, give a target creature +2/-1 until end of turn, or target player discards a card. This is a time shifted recreation of Funeral Charm, which happens to be reprinted as a time shifted card in Time Spiral. Very playable.

Gossamer Phantasm is a 2/1 flying Illusion for 1U that you must sacrifice if it becomes the target of a spell or ability.

Merfolk Thaumaturgist is a 1/2 Merfolk Wizard for 2U that taps to switch a target creature’s power and toughness until end of turn.

WHITE COMMONS

Shade of Trokair is a 1/2 Shade for 3W with a Suspend cost of one white mana to put three time counters on it. Shade of Trokair can be pumped +1/+1 for one white mana. The key to this card’s usefulness, of course, is suspend.

Can a 1/2 creature that costs four mana to hard cast REALLY be the best white common in the set? If the value of suspend creatures in the blue/white decks of Time Spiral are any indication, the answer is yes. It took months for the greater Magic world to see eye to eye on the real power of suspend creatures. Let’s try to be ahead of the curve for a change and recognize Shade of Trokair right away.

Sunlance is a sorcery for one white mana that deals three points of damage to a target nonwhite creature. This card is the time shifted recreation of the red sorcery called Strafe. Removal can be hard to come by in white. From Time Spiral you have Temporal Isolation and, if you are playing enough white creatures, Gaze of Justice. Sunlance is a welcome card indeed for white drafters.

Whitemane Lion is a 2/2 Cat for 1W that you can play anytime you could play an instant (he has Flash). When Whitemane Lion comes into play, you return a creature you control to its owner’s hand. Whitemane Lion is not a 2/2 bear to help your mono white deck lay the beatdown in the early game. What Whitemane Lion really is is a very blue-like combat trick. Your creature is blocked by another creature, with damage on the stack, you play Whitemane Lion and return the creature that you were about to lose in combat. In fact, Whitemane Lion is a lot like one of the best instant tricks from Time Spiral, Momentary Blink. With Momentary Blink, you can dodge a destructive spell or effect from your opponent keeping your creature completely intact.

With Whitemane Lion, you bounce your targeted creature but at least gain a

2/2 creature when the stack finally clears. Whitemane Lion will end up being a little more useful overall than Momentary Blink because it is never a dead card, you can always find a use for a 2/2 Cat for two mana that bounces one of your other creatures.

Sinew Sliver is a 1/1 Sliver for 1W that gives all Slivers +1/+1. This card is the time shifted recreation of the green Muscle Sliver. When I first saw this card, I was guilty of thinking a little too hard, I was thinking it was good, but I wondered how often I would really be playing a white Sliver deck. Then I realized that Sinew Sliver is, first and foremost, a 2/2 white creature for 1W. When you play Slivers that give your opponent’s Slivers good abilities you do have to be somewhat cautious, but the best limited players will tell you that you worry about building your own deck first and worry about the impact of your creatures on your opponent’s deck second.

Ghost Tactician is a 2/5 Spirit Spellshaper for 4W. You can tap the Tactician, discard a card and pay one white mana to give creatures you control +1/+0 until end of turn. White’s fifth best common is nowhere near as useful as the first four, but Ghost Tactician gives your aggressive white and blue/white decks a replacement (even if it’s kind of a bad replacement) for the Fortify you could have gotten if the third pack of the draft was Time Spiral instead of Planar Chaos. Along with a useful combat effect, Ghost Tactician also gives you a big blocker if you can afford to include it in your deck.

Pallid Mycoderm is a 2/4 Fungus for 3W. Like other Fungi in the current format, Pallid Mycoderm gets a spore counter at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. You can remove three spore counters to put a 1/1 green Saproling token into play, and you can sacrifice a Saproling to the Mycoderm to give each Fungas and each Saproling you control +1/+1 until end of turn.

A must play in green/white decks with other Fungus cards in them, this four drop could make the cut in many other white draft decks as well.

Poultice Sliver is a 2/2 Sliver for 2W that gives all Slivers the ability to tap and pay two colorless mana to regenerate a target Sliver. The problem with this card is the tap requirement. Though playable as it is, and a must-include for dedicated Sliver decks in draft, Poultice Sliver would be a much, much better card if it allowed Slivers to regenerate without tapping a Sliver to do it.

Revered Dead is a 1/1 Spirit Soldier for 1W that can be regenerated for one white mana. This card is the time shifted recreation of the black Drudge Skeleton. Playable but possibly too defensive for the best white draft decks in the current limited format.

Aven Riftwatcher is a 2/3 flying Bird Rebel Soldier for 2W with Vanishing 3.

When this creature comes into play or leaves play, you gain two life. The life gain is inconsequential when compared to the fact that you lose this creature after only having it available for attack twice. The fact that this card is a Rebel is only somewhat interesting.

Dawn Charm is an instant for 1W that can prevent all combat damage this turn, regenerate a target creature or counter a target spell that targets you. None of these abilities is amazing enough to automatically play this spell in limited, but each ability is interesting enough that this card could be the 23rd card of your deck sometimes, or be useful from the sideboard.

Saltfield Recluse is a 1/2 Human Rebel Cleric for 2W that can tap to give a target creature -2/-0 until end of turn. Another Rebel that just doesn’t have that much going for it. Combos well with the blue creature that switches power and toughness.

Mana Tithe is an instant for one white mana that counters a target spell unless its controller plays an additional one colorless mana. This card is the time shifted recreation of the blue card Force Spike. This card will become important right away in constructed, but in limited it is just the worst. Yup, you might surprise someone sometime and counter an important spell with Mana Tithe, but for every time that happens there will be nine other times when Mana Tithe just sits in your hand doing nothing.

BLACK COMMONS

Rathi Trapper is a 1/2 Human Rebel Rogue for 1B. If you spend one black mana and tap the Rathi Trapper you can tap a target creature. This card is the time shifted recreation of the white card Master Decoy. Rathi Trapper gives black a cheap creature tapper for the first time since…well, I guess the first time EVER! Still, it is very telling indeed that I believe this is the best black common in the set for limited play. Like the other black commons, Rathi Trapper’s best use is not necessarily straight forward. Black/white is not considered a particularly good combination in Time Spiral draft due to the opposite goals of many of the cards in such decks. Rathi Trapper might make this color combination better, with Rebel searchers able to pull a powerful card like Rathi Trapper out of your deck giving you card advantage and board advantage at the same time.

Spitting Sliver is a 3/3 Sliver for 4B that gives all Slivers first strike.

In Time Spiral booster draft, you draft black for a lot of reasons, but not because it features plenty of good creatures. Spitting Sliver is a good creature. Good enough for black decks, black/red decks and, of course, two or three color Sliver decks. I’m not thrilled, however, for the second best black common in Planar Chaos to be a five casting cost Sliver.

Vampiric Link is a creature enchantment (aura) costing one black mana that gains you life equal to the amount of damage dealt by the enchanted creature. This card is the time shifted recreation of the classic white creature enchantment Spirit Link. Black is generally the color of LOSING life, not gaining it. In most black limited decks, Vampiric Link will be used as pseudo-removal, played on opposing creatures to essentially nullify the damage they would do. In the past, Spirit Link has always been an uncommon. Since Vampiric Link is a common, it may not be too unusual to see multiple copies of it in a single deck.

Dash Hopes is an instant for two black mana that counters a target spell unless any player chooses to pay five life. Since Dash Hopes is not a hard counter, there will be many who say that all this spell does is cause an opponent to lose five life. First of all, black mages will tell you that there is nothing wrong with any spell that makes the opponent lose five life. This kind of spell is often relegated to whatever spot in the deck that a Lava Axe would go in. Dash Hopes is different in one important regard to Lava Axe in that it only costs two mana. So, on turn two going second, you might have two black mana available when your opponent is playing an early game creature you would prefer they not have. When you play Dash Hopes on turn two, there is a decent chance that you will successfully counter your opponent’s spell. On turn two, even if your opponent decides to lose five life, that may be okay with you too. On turn twelve, it’s more likely that your opponent will not allow Dash Hopes to counter their key spell, they will most likely agree to lose five life. In neither case is Dash Hopes the best card ever, but it certainly does have some kind of place in the black player’s strategy of crushing their opponent.

Cradle to Grave is an instant for 1B that destroys a target nonblack creature that came into play THIS TURN. At first glance, this looked better the Time Spiral sorcery Premature Burial. It is not. Although Cradle to Grave is an instant, the fact that it can only kill a creature that came into play the very same turn, you have to have this card and two mana ready so that you can kill the creature on your opponent’s turn more or less right after your opponent plays the creature. My seven year old son sounded a little like a tiny genius when he pointed out "that card is really a black counterspell for creatures". Remove Soul is playable in 9th Edition limited, so I suppose Cradle to Grave is a card you play, you just don’t feel great about it.

Midnight Charm is an instant for one black mana that can either deal one point of damage to a target creature and gain one life for you, or give a target creature first strike until end of turn, or tap a target creature.

Although far from a first pick, Midnight Charm gives black a very handy multipurpose tool that can fit into just about any black limited deck.

Blightspeaker is a 1/1 Human Rebel Cleric for 1B that can tap to make a target player lose one life. You can also spend four mana and tap Blightspeaker to search your deck for a Rebel that costs three mana or less and put him into play. This is the second cheap Rebel searcher that white has been waiting for since Time Spiral arrived. I think it will come as quite a surprise to white players that the card they have been waiting for is black. Another vote for black/white decks.

Melancholy is a creature enchantment (aura) for 2B. When you enchant a creature, you tap that creature and that creature remains tapped as long as it is enchanted by Melancholy. Unfortunately, you must pay a black mana during each of your upkeeps in order to keep Melancholy in play. This is a flawed time shifted recreation of the blue enchantment Dehydration. Creature control is so important in limited, however, that Melancholy may be played even though it severely limits the black mage’s mana.

Ridged Kusite is a 1/1 Horror Spellshaper for one black mana. When you pay 1B, discard a card and tap the Ridged Kusite, target creature gets +1/+0 and first strike until end of turn. Sometimes this card could help turn a combat in your favor.

Deadly Grub is a 3/1 Insect for 2B with Vanishing 3. When Deadly Grub goes to your graveyard because of Vanishing, you get a 6/1 green creature token that cannot be the target of spells or abilities. With this guy, you are better off focusing on the 3/1 creature for three mana. If he happens to live long enough to "vanish" from the board giving you a 6/1 untargetable creature, all the better. Most of the time, this is just a brittle creature with no special abilities.

Brain Gorgers is a 4/2 Zombie for 3B with a Madness cost of 1B. When you play Brain Gorgers, any player may sacrifice a creature to counter Brain Gorgers. There is just no reason to gamble with a card like this, the risks of your creature being countered are just too high to justify an unexciting

4/2 black creature.

Bog Serpent is a 5/5 Serpent for 5B that cannot attack if your opponent does not control a Swamp (they usually will not in Time Spiral/Planar Chaos

drafts) and must be sacrificed if you do not control a Swamp. This card is the time shifted recreation of the old blue standard Sea Serpent. A big expensive creature that will usually only be able to block is not exactly what black drafters have been waiting for.

RED COMMONS

Dead/Gone is an instant split card. Dead costs one red mana and deals two damage to a target creature. Gone costs 2R and returns a target creature you don’t control to its owner’s hand. Red and blue were a great combo in Time Spiral draft, now red has some of blue’s bounce capabilities with this common split card. The ability to kill a two toughness creature for only one red mana is also very big in Time Spiral/Planar Chaos draft.

Prodigal Pyromancer is a 1/1 Human Wizard for 2R that taps to deal one point to a target creature or player. This card is a red time shifted recreation of the classic blue card Prodigal Sorcerer, or, as many know him, "Tim."

Stingscourger is a 2/2 Goblin Warrior for 1R with an Echo cost of 3R.

Whenever Stingscourger comes into play, return target creature an opponent controls to its owner’s hand. Don’t let the Echo cost throw you. Think of this card as a red sorcery for two mana that lets you bounce an opposing creature and leaves behind a 2/2 creature. Combine this card with Momentary Blink and you can clear two potential blockers out of the way for just four mana.

Skirk Shaman is a 2/2 Goblin Shaman for 1RR that can only be blocked by red creatures and artifact creatures. This time shifted recreation gives red a powerful evasion creature for just three mana. Skirk Shaman is not an extremely high pick, but it provides the kind of creature that red booster draft decks can really make the most of.

Brute Force is an instant for one red that gives a target creature +3/+3 until end of turn. This card is the time shifted recreation of one of the original three-for-one spells from the beginning of Magic, Giant Growth.

This is a great ability for red to have in draft decks. A lot of top drafters don’t like to draft green, and Brute Force gives those players a Giant Growth effect without having to lower themselves to the color of chlorophyll.

Needlepeak Spider is a 4/2 Spider for 3R that can block as though it had flying. This card is another new red spell that does something usually reserved for green cards. Another two toughness creature for four mana would be no special treat, but adding the ability to block (and probably kill) flyers is very welcome indeed.

Firefright Mage is a 1/1 Goblin Spellshaper for one red mana. When you tap the Firefright Mage, discard a card and pay 1R, a target creature can’t be blocked this turn except by red and/or artifact creatures. Not particularly exciting, could be in red/black deck that needs Madness outlets I suppose.

Simian Spirit Guide is a 2/2 Ape Spirit for 2R that, when it is in your hand, can be removed from the game to give you one red mana. This card is the red time shifted recreation of the green Elvish Spirit Guide from many years ago. This would be an interesting card for constructed Goblin decks if it had been a Goblin instead of an Ape. As far as limited goes, you can play this card as an unexciting 2/2 for three mana and maybe every once in a while it will be unbelievably useful for its weird one red mana capability.

But it’s not too good.

Fury Charm is an instant for 1R that will let you either destroy a target artifact, give a target creature +1/+1 and trample until end of turn, or remove two time counters rom a target permanent or suspended card. I love all the charms because I love a simple card that can do so many different things. This one, however, is not particularly useful most of the time.

Might bring it in from the sideboard in some matches.

Battering Sliver is a 4/4 Sliver for 5R that gives all Slivers trample. As we learned from Fury Sliver in Time Spiral, Slivers that cost six mana are less useful than other Slivers, even when they provide a useful ability for all Slivers.

Keldon Marauders is a 3/3 Human Warrior for 1R that has Vanishing 2. When Keldon Marauders comes into play or leaves play, it deals one damage to target PLAYER. If this card had been able to target creatures, Keldon Marauders would have been very close to the top five commons in red. As it is, Marauders doesn’t even belong in your deck.

Dust Corona is a creature enchantment (aura) for one red mana that gives enchanted creature +2/+0 and the ability to not be blocked by creatures with flying. Not very good.

GREEN COMMONS

Utopia Vow is a creature enchantment (aura) for 1G. Enchanted creature cannot attack or block, but can tap for one of any color mana. This card is the green time shifted recreation of the white creature enchantment Pacifism. This is creature removal for green. Enough said.

Giant Dustwasp is a 3/3 Insect with flying for 3GG that has a Suspend cost of 1G that puts four time counters on it. Even without Suspend, this would be a great creature for green, the color that hardly ever gets a flyer. The ability to suspend this 3/3 flyer for two mana makes this a very special creature indeed.

Mire Boa is a 2/1 Snake with Swampwalk for 1G with the ability to regenerate for one green mana. This card is not considered a time shifted recreation of River Boa, probably because River Boa is green like Mire Boa. At any rate, this is an exceptional common creature.

Evolution Charm is an instant for 1G that allows you to either search your library for a basic land, return a target creature from your graveyard to your hand, or gives target creature flying until end of turn. The first ability will be great on turn two, helping to pull a needed land out of your deck. The second ability is generally considered out of color for green and is very useful in the late game, as is the third ability of Evolution Charm.

In one card, Evolution Charm provides mana fixing, threat recovery and attacking evasion. You don’t need to draft this card high, but you will be happy to have one in just about every green deck you draft.

Fa’adiyah Seer is a 1/1 Human Shaman for 1G that taps to draw a card and reveal it. If the revealed card is a land, put it into your hand, otherwise discard the card. This card is the green time shifted recreation of a classic blue Magic card that was reprinted as a time shifted card in Time Spiral, Sindbad. In Time Spiral, Sindbad is in blue, a color that often will not make room for Sindbad in draft decks. A green Sindbad that is also a common is a very good card indeed. Don’t worry about the Seer revealing a card that isn’t land, whatever card you lose to the graveyard will be made up for by the cards you reach in your deck that you would not have without using the Seer. It all comes out even in the end, except that you will be up a free land card about 40% of the time. (based on having 40% land in your deck)

Reflex Sliver is a 2/2 Sliver for 3G that gives all Slivers Haste.

Uktabi Drake is a 2/1 flying Drake with haste for one green mana. This card has an Echo cost of 1GG, making it generally imprudent to play on turns one or two. The upside of this card is in the middle of your game, when you will welcome a speedy green flyer and won’t mind paying Echo.

Citanul Woodreaders is a 1/4 Human Druid for 2G that has a kicker cost of 2G. When you play this card paying its regular and kicker combined cost of 4GG, you get to draw two cards when it comes into play. In the late game, I think it will always be worth six mana to dig two cards deeper into your library while gaining the significant blocking resource of a 1/4 creature.

Vitaspore Thallid is a 1/1 Fungus for 1G. Like other Fungi in the current block, Vitaspore Thallid gains a spore counter each turn, and you can remove three spore counters to put a 1/1 green Saproling token into play. You can sacrifice a Saproling to Vitaspore Thallid to give a target creature haste.

Essence Warden is a 1/1 Elf Shaman for one green mana that gains one life for you whenever another creature comes into play. This card is the green time shifted recreation of the white card Soul Warden. Good booster draft decks don’t waste precious creature slots for 1/1 creatures that allow them to gain a little life during the game.

Seal of Primordium is an enchantment for 1G that can be sacrificed to destroy an artifact or enchantment. This card is the green time shifted recreation of an older white seal enchantment that did exactly the same thing and cost 1W. This card, according to WOTC, is a Planar Chaos time shifted recreation that is actually properly on color. Seal of Primordium becomes the enchantment version of Naturalize. Good card, but strictly sideboard stuff in the current draft format.

Healing Leaves is an instant for one green mana that can gain a target player three life or can prevent the next three damage to a target creature.

This card is the green time shifted recreation of one of Magic’s famous three-for-one spells from the original set, in this case, the white instant Healing Salve.

THE COMMONS OF PLANAR CHAOS

The commons in the new set are really pretty amazing. After playing with them for only a week, I feel these cards are adequately powerful and match up well with the flavor of the current Time Spiral limited environment. Time Spiral shocked the world of Magic, and Planar Chaos only continues the fun and the insanity. I can hardly wait for Future Sight this spring.