MtG Kaldheim: 11 Best Cards for Standard

Kaldheim, a new Norse mythology-inspired Magic: The Gathering set, is heavily based on tribal interactions. That is the reason why Wizards of the Coast decided to bring back one of the most beloved creature types into Kaldheim - the Changelings, creatures that are all creature types.

The modal double-faced cards also return and continue the tradition of the previous Zendikar Rising set. However, there are also two brand-new mechanics: Foretell and Boast.

Foretell is the most interesting one as it allows players to play little mind games with their opponents, which is always welcome in such a highly competitive game like MtG.

Here you will find 11 best new cards from Kaldheim that many standard players will be on the lookout for this season.

Realmwalker

This amazing new creature is not only a Shapeshifter that can take on any other type of creatures, which is essential for any tribal deck in standard, but also a Changeling, which makes it possible to chain several copies of Realmwalker in the same turn, if they happen to be on top of your library.

The two most powerful tribal decks in standard right now are Giants and Elves. You could also throw in Cats and Goblins into the mix for good measure. But the first two archetypes will definitely need all four copies of Realmwalker in their main decks.

Another great possibility is the Party mechanic decks, which could definitely fit a copy or two of Realmwalker.

Skemfar Avenger

Here is another tribal highlight, but this time only for Elf decks. Since these types of decks always swarm the battlefield with multiple copies, Skemfar Avenger can generate a huge number of card draws.

Its cost is also unprecedented for such a unique effect at only 2 Mana. On top of that, it includes the Berserker creature type, which is another possibility for aggro decks in standard.

If you're deciding to play it in the Elves deck, then put it in the Golgari (green-black) list alongside new planeswalker Tyvar Kell. But if you want to try out the Berserker tribal, then go for Rakdos (red-black) list with Quakebringer.

Calamity Bearer

Obosh-based decks have been doing exceptionally well last year due to the double damage of their creatures. But Calamity Bearer is 1 Mana cheaper and basically works in the similar fashion as Obosh, the Preypiercer.

Kaldheim offers a huge support to the Giants tribal decks and players should exploit all of it. You will see all kinds of Giants decks this season, including Mono-Red Giants, Jeskai Giants, Temur Giants, Naya Giants, and all of them will play Calamity Bearer.

The card itself is actually a 6/4 Giant for 4 Mana and not a 3/4. Plus it has a huge upside, which definitely makes it a tribal winner of the Kaldheim set.

Harald Unites the Elves

The Saga enchantments are back in Kaldheim!

The first chapter on this card is quite unusual, as it not only returns Elf creatures from the graveyard, but also a planeswalker, a new Tyvar type. This is obviously very good on its own, but there are two more chapters.

The second one is especially strong, if you already have an established board, which shouldn't be a problem for an Elves tribal deck. The last one could be relevant as well, but you don't want to attack other creatures. You'd rather attack to win!

You still get two very relevant abilities and they're the ones that activate first, which is great. So be sure to keep an eye on this Saga, if you plan on running an all-Elves deck this season.

Cosmos Charger

Foretell is a new mechanic in Kaldheim that lets you put cards on the battlefield before actually playing them. This is clearly a control-themed mechanic, which gives players a lot of flexibility and new possibilities for reactive plays besides typical instant spells.

Cosmos Charger can easily become the axis of any Foretell deck in standard due to its cost reduction ability. You can also use this ability on your opponent's turn, which gives you even more flexibility.

This mechanic is excellent for hiding your intentions from your opponents, especially if they use hand-revealing spells. They won't have access to the Foretell cards in the exile, and thus will have no idea what is it that you're preparing to play.

The Bloodsky Massacre

This Saga is very similar in design to History of Benalia that saw a lot of play in past standard seasons. This one focuses on Berserker creatures that have a lot of support in Kaldheim.

Although it has the same little problem like History of Benalia had, when your third chapter doesn't matter much if you don't have an established board, the first two levels are still enough to make this a viable option.

The Berserker tribal players will want all four copies of The Bloodsky Massacre to be in their decks. Also, since most Berserker creatures are either in red or black colors, it means that this Saga will fit right in.

In Search of Greatness

This card is not exactly an infamous As Foretold from the Amonkhet set, but it has its moments that you can't ignore.

The enchantment restricts you to play cards of specific converted Mana cost, which does set certain limitations on the way you build your deck. However, the Superfriends archetype that plays planeswalkers of various costs, or decks that play expensive creatures can really benefit from In Search of Greatness.

This is clearly a very experimental card, but it has all the right to be one of the greatest new concepts in standard deck-building.

Quakebringer

Quakebringer does a lot and is not afraid of removal spells!

Each copy of Quakebringer will keep dealing 2 points of damage to your opponent each turn, which means 8 points of damage, if you have all four copies discarded.

Of course, you will need a strong base of Giant creatures to stay on board for this effect to work, which shouldn't be too hard in the Kaldheim meta, where Giants are favored not only in quantity, but also in quality.

Changelings could help a lot in this case, as they fit any tribal deck. So it looks like due to Quakebringer this season's Giants players will have a blast winning many games in the future.

Doomskar

Here is another example of an excellent Foretell mechanic implementation. This is the card that will go into almost all control lists that may benefit greatly from such a strong AoE effect.

The Foretell cost on Doomskar is also very generous and allows you to play another card on the turn you decide to swipe the board, which would be harder if you spent 5 Mana at once.

Aggro players should be twice as careful in this coming meta and not play too many creatures due to a higher chance of stumbling against Doomskar, which will be one of the main strategies of many Blue-White Control players.

The World Tree

The last ability on The World Tree looks very flavorful and definitely powerful in an the all-Gods decks. But you could easily play The World Tree in any multicolor deck for its second ability only and you would have a real winner on your hands.

Fixing Mana is not an easy task and The World Tree solves this problem as soon as you ramp up to six Mana, which isn't that hard in the current standard meta. Plus, it has no legendary rule, which is another little bonus to consider.

Decks that run Genesis Ultimatum would benefit greatly from this land and those are top-tier right now.

Narfi, Betrayer King

There aren't that many playable zombie creatures in standard, but this lord also buffs snow creatures. This closes the gap significantly, taking into account all the new snow creatures printed in Kaldheim.

Narfi can also be a great addition to any mill deck, as it can easily return from your graveyard to the battlefield for just three Mana.

These factors are more than enough to make Narfi, Betrayer King one of the more exciting new lords in the standard format.

That's all for the best 11 cards in MtG's Kaldheim set. In addition to this list of the best Kaldheim cards for standard, be sure to check out our other MtG guides and card lists here.