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15, Mar, 21

5 Cards We Would Like to See in Historic on Magic: The Gathering Arena

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With the release of Historic Anthology IV, it's got us thinking on what we would like to see next.
Article at a Glance

With the release of Historic Anthology IV on Magic: The Gathering Arena last week, it’s got us thinking about what cards we would like to see enter the Historic format.

Historic was implemented for Magic: The Gathering Arena in November 2019 as a format that allows Arena players to make use of cards that are no longer legal in Standard after rotation. The format is exclusive to Arena and is intended to be a casual way for players to play with all the cards in their collection.

Read More: Historic Anthology IV Now Released on Magic: The Gathering Arena

Cards We Would Like to See in Historic

With that out of the way, let’s dig into some of the cards we would like to see introduced into the Historic format.

Siege Rhino

ktk-200-siege-rhino-1

From Khans of Tarkir, Siege Rhino saw extensive play in Standard as it was one of the best things you could play on turn three or four. A Lightning Helix attached to a 4/5 body became a staple of Khans of Tarkir Standard, which saw displeasure from players as it was hard to remove given the immediate impact the creature made on the battlefield.

Hindsight is a powerful thing, with how the power creep has changed over the last few years thanks to Omnath, Locus of Creation, and Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath. However, Siege Rhino could be a fun option in Historic for Abzan Midrange– or at least open the idea for Golgari Midrange to splash for the Rhino to offer diversity. Siege Rhino has fallen from grace since Standard, it doesn’t see much play in Pioneer, and Abzan Midrange in Modern is an old relic of the format. Siege Rhino deserves better and seeing it Historic could give it the life it truly deserves. On a side note, how good would a Khans of Tarkir Remastered be for Historic?

Read More: Seb McKinnon Reveals New Tokens For Magic: The Gathering

Stoneforge Mystic

2xm-31-stoneforge-mystic

It’s seeing heavy play in Modern thanks to the unbanning back in 2019, Stoneforge Mystic could present an interesting option for Historic. Historic Anthology IV introduced Sword of Body of Mind which could pair up nicely along with the Kor Artificer. Going further, Maul of the Skyclaves from Zendikar Rising is an excellent piece of equipment that is starting to crop in Historic Orzhov Death’s Shadow. Stoneforge Mystic could present a fun Death & Taxes-style strategy with the introduction of Thraben Inspector and with Thalia, Guardian of Thraben already legal, there is some potential for the archetype to exist in the Historic format.

You don’t have access to the silly powerful equipment such as Batterskull and Sword of Fire and Ice in Historic either, so it could present a fair option for the format. However, it could offer some tension with any other equipment introduced into Historic given how high the ceiling on Stoneforge Mystic can be.

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Skred

csp-97-skred

Kaldheim brought snow permanents back in a big way, and what better way to support Historic with the best snow payoff? Skred sees fringe play in Modern Mono-Red Skred, it’s a control strategy that uses Stormbreath Dragon, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and a bunch of Snow-Covered Mountains to win games. While you can’t use Stormbreath Dragon in Historic, you do have access to Goldspan Dragon and Terror of the Peaks instead that could offer a fun Mono-Red Control build.

Frostbite does exist as the ‘snow matters’ removal in Historic, but Skred would allow a better threat evaluation for creatures such as Death’s Shadow and Lovestruck Beast which are common within the format. Plus, it’s looking unlikely we’ll be getting Lightning Bolt in Historic, so a cleaner yet scalable answer for threats would be ideal.

Read More: Rakdos Arcanist Historic Deck Guide

Gurmag Angler

Another fun option from Fate Reforged is Gurmag Angler. The Zombie Fish sees play in Modern, Pioneer, and even in Pauper, it’s a huge threat that rewards you for filling up your graveyard. Although Thought Scour didn’t port into Historic with Jump Start‘s release, you do have cards such as Stitcher’s Supplier and even Fabled Passage to help play Gurmag Angler ahead of curve.

Again, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gurmag Angler crop up in Death’s Shadow lists if it ever did come to Historic. Did I mention how sweet a Khans of Tarkir Remastered would be for Historic and Magic: The Gathering Arena?

Read More:
Someone Opened A Beta Pack And Lucked Out With A Black Lotus

The Dragons of Tarkir Command Cycle

commands

Okay, I’m cheating with this last one but it’s too difficult to pick only one. As we are getting the other cycle of Commands in Strixhaven: School of Mages, wouldn’t it be great if the Dragons of Tarkir cycle came to Historic?

All of these Commands saw extensive Standard play but didn’t break the format in an unkind way. Kolaghan’s Command regularly sees Modern play in Jund, since you can cast it for free of a Bloodbraid Elf as the value is too good to pass up. It would be great to see the complete cycle available in Historic as symmetry is important to the overall health of the format.

Read More: Strixhaven Spoilers Will Apparently Be Starting Very Soon

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