The Best Commons and Uncommons By Color for Reality Fracture Draft

Andrew Quinn 1 minute ago Limited, MTG Cards, Strategy

Inspired Tethermage | Illustration by Cristi Balanescu

Jumping into a new Draft set can be daunting. What do you take for your first pick? You’re looking at 13-14 brand new cards with a lot of text to read through, and you know you’ll probably pick something that ends up being bad.

Here, I’ll go over my picks for the best commons and uncommons in Reality Fracture for each color to arm you with a bit of extra information as to what you should take in your drafts. As the format progresses and we learn more about it, these will absolutely change, so take these picks with a pinch of salt, but I hope that this can serve as a baseline for the set as we get started with it.

Table of Contents show

Commons

Heartstring Puller | Illustration by Jessica Liu

White

#3. Surgical Precision

You can’t argue with the efficiency of killing any big creature for just 2 mana. Then, if your opponent is low to the ground and only has creatures too small to target with Surgical Precision, you always have the option to cycle it, which gives it a flexibility you rarely see on removal spells like this.

#2. Memory Trap

Three mana to answer just about anything you need to is always a good deal. This list is going to be littered with the most premium removal spells in Reality Fracture, and Memory Trap is best common one in white.

#1. Hexhaven Battalion

Six mana doesn’t usually scream “best common”, but how many other commons do you know that can put four relevant permanents onto the battlefield at once? Hexhaven Battalion is a very impressive-looking card, and it even harkens back to Imperial Oath, a previous best white common from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

Blue

#3. Crytheory Adept

Cryotherapy Adept

Being both a cheap prowess creature and an interactive spell you can play from the graveyard makes Cryotheory Adept a simple common that you can use in several different decks. Even if it’s not the strongest blue common, it’s definitely one of the most versatile.

#2. Infinite Coursework

In the unexpected absence of a common 4-mana “spin” spell (we used to use the word “spin” to mean sending something to the top of the deck back when I played Yu-Gi-Oh!), Infinite Coursework is now the best blue common removal spell. As such, it easily deserves a spot on this list.

#1. Mindseeker Oculus

Any time there’s a creature that cantrips at the common level, it excels and usually ends up as the best common, or at least the best common in that color. Inspiring Overseer, Hero in Training, and Organ Hoarder just to name a few, and Mindseeker Oculus is just the next one in line.

Black

#3. Screeching Soulbreaker

Black’s commons aren’t anything special. Screeching Soulbreaker stands out as one of very few ways to inflict noncombat damage to your opponent without spending mana. Not only that, but it can trigger again and again, which is definitely something that a Stingerquill deck will be on the lookout for.

#2. Extended Absence

Four mana to answer any creature or planeswalker is a spell we see all the time in modern Limited sets. Extended Absence isn’t the best removal spell that black has access to (that’ll come next), but it’s still one that no black deck is ever likely to turn down.

#1. Last Gasp

Last Gasp, or some variation on it, appears in many Limited sets. It’s cheap, effective, and capable of killing just about any creature thanks to its utility as a combat trick. When it comes to the top removal spells in a set, you can’t beat efficiency.

Red

#3. Skilled Battlecarver

Premium aggressive 2-drops are often among some of the best commons in a set, especially when aggro decks are functional in it. With open mana, Skilled Battlecarver can attack into almost any blockers and can hit for a lot of damage, making it the perfect start to any aggressive curve.

#2. No Admittance

It takes a very weird set of circumstances for a Lightning Strike not to be particularly good in a set (like red being abysmal in Marvel Super Heroes, for example). Even at sorcery speed, No Admittance is highly effective and even gives you a little bonus on top of it.

#1. Wrath of the Bloodmane

While No Admittance is usually the cheaper spell, being instant speed is a big deal and is what makes Wrath of the Bloodmane my pick for this top spot. It’s a very simple burn spell, but a powerful one.

Green

#3. Arcane Amphisbaena

I always love to see the cheap deathtouch creatures, and Arcane Amphisbaena doubles up as an enabler for the empower archetype. It helps you by empowering a Jace token and also by defending that token, which is quite a lot for just 2 mana.

#2. Something Worth Saving

I’ve been very impressed with just how well supported the graveyard-based decks seem to be in Reality Fracture. Something Worth Saving is possibly the best common enabler for these strategies and is very reminiscent of previous cards like Cache Grab and Grapple with the Past.

#1. Compel Brutality

An instant Rabid Bite is often going to be one of the best green removal spells in a set. While it’s possible that a certain archetypal enabler will end up better than it, without knowing how good the respective archetypes actually are, I’d start with Compel Brutality.

Uncommons

Recursive Recruitment | Illustration by Dominik Mayer

Honorable Mention – Craftwork Crusher

I mostly talk about mono-colored cards in these articles, but I had to mention my pet card of the set, Craftwork Crusher. I’ve always loved big ramp payoffs such as Pelakka Wurm in Rise of the Eldrazi and Bookwurm in Strixhaven. Craftwork Crusher is an enormously powerful bomb in any ramp strategy, that much is certain. We simply need the format to be slow enough to allow this card to shine, and I sincerely hope it will.