The Best Cards From MTG Reality Fracture

Now that spoiler season for the set is over, it’s safe to say that Reality Fracture is an absolute slam-dunk. Not only is it one of the best Magic sets in recent memory story-wise, but it’s also overflowing with powerful, playable cards for multiple formats. For that reason, narrowing down the best new MTG cards in Reality Fracture was particularly difficult, but we’ve done so all the same. No matter how you play Magic, these are the cards to keep an eye on in the weeks to come.

Honorable Mention | Roiling Canopy

Roiling Canopy, a color-shifted Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, is undeniably one of the most intriguing new cards in Reality Fracture. As with its red cousin, this isn’t a card that does much when played fair. Instead, you want to be abusing cards like Scapeshift to net a ton of triggers at once, or running it alongside infinite Landfall loops to buff one creature to the moon.

Notably, Canopy has a major edge over Valakut thanks to Yavimaya, Cradle of GrowthYavimaya, Cradle of GrowthEach land is a Forest in addition to its other land types. greatly upping the trigger potential from mass land dumps. That said, the fact that it doesn’t end the game on its own, requiring an unblocked attack or a FlingFlingAs an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature.
Fling deals damage equal to the sacrificed creature's power to any target. effect, does balance this out. Overall, it’s hard to say whether Roiling Canopy will see any constructed play or not, but it’s definitely one to watch.

Honorable Mention | Darklight Phoenix

From one potential color-shifted banger to another, Darklight Phoenix channels multi-format all-star Arclight PhoenixArclight PhoenixFlying, haste
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you've cast three or more instant and sorcery spells this turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. in its design. While two creature deaths is a bit of an awkward condition to meet, it notably counts the Phoenix itself, meaning sacrifice decks only need to find one more creature to loop Phoenix for value. It also counts opposing creatures, too, so it plays very nicely with board wipes in grindier brews.

Like Arclight PhoenixArclight PhoenixFlying, haste
At the beginning of combat on your turn, if you've cast three or more instant and sorcery spells this turn, return this card from your graveyard to the battlefield. before it, I don’t expect Darklight to see a ton of play in Commander. While it’s decent in Aristocrats lists, it doesn’t move the needle much for those decks given all the other recursive creatures available. Where it might do some real work is in Orzhov Sacrifice decks in Standard: these have plenty of fodder to fuel it, and already run self-mill like Snarling GorehoundSnarling GorehoundMenace
Whenever another creature you control with power 2 or less enters, surveil 1. (Look at the top card of your library. You may put it into your graveyard.) to power Raise the PastRaise the PastReturn all creature cards with mana value 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield..

Heck, this card is powerful enough to even have potential in older MTG formats if the right card combinations are found. This feels like one of those cards that will either be broken or unplayable competitively, so it has ended up as an honorable mention here.

6 | Hexhaven Invigorator

Following in the footsteps of Phyrexian ObliteratorPhyrexian ObliteratorTrample
Whenever a source deals damage to this creature, that source's controller sacrifices that many permanents of their choice. and Phyrexian VindicatorPhyrexian VindicatorFlying
If damage would be dealt to this creature, prevent that damage. When damage is prevented this way, this creature deals that much damage to any other target., Hexhaven Invigorator is a hard-to-cast threat with a phenomenal ‘Enrage’ trigger. In this case, you get to mimic Primeval TitanPrimeval TitanTrample
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, you may search your library for up to two land cards, put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. and tutor up any lands you want from your deck: a historically busted ability that feels just as good here.

In Commander, this card enables some truly absurd lines. With Blasphemous ActBlasphemous ActThis spell costs {1} less to cast for each creature on the battlefield.
Blasphemous Act deals 13 damage to each creature. or Star of ExtinctionStar of ExtinctionDestroy target land. Star of Extinction deals 20 damage to each creature and each planeswalker., you can put the majority of your lands into play right away. This ramps you into huge plays while thinning your deck to ensure you draw straight gas from now on. These lines are notably also great with Landfall effects like Rampaging Baloths, enabling truly massive value swings.

In constructed, Hexhaven Invigorator could actually have a real chance as an alternate win condition in Amulet Titan decks in Modern. If you cast Lightning BoltLightning BoltLightning Bolt deals 3 damage to any target. on Invigorator with four Mountains in play, you can tutor up two copies of Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and a Mountain. This will let you deal three more damage to Invigorator, nabbing three more Mountains to deal a total of 21 damage to your opponent. While the mana cost and land requirements here make things tricky, it’s hard to ignore a two-card combo like this.

5 | Cruel Calculations

Blue has been getting spoiled for good card draw options lately, with Stock Up and Flow StateFlow StateLook at the top three cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. If there is an instant card and a sorcery card in your graveyard, instead put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order. both being stellar. While Cruel Calculations is more specialized, it has the potential to match, and surpass, these cards in the right deck.

In Commander, the potential for shenanigans here is massive. Heck, just a simple Glimpse the UnthinkableGlimpse the UnthinkableTarget player mills ten cards. lets you draw a whopping 10 cards from this for five mana, while setting up your ‘yard as well. It’s particularly tasty with Doom WhispererDoom WhispererFlying, trample
Pay 2 life: Surveil 2. (Look at the top two cards of your library, then put any number of them into your graveyard and the rest on top of your library in any order.), which essentially makes this a pseudo-NecropotenceNecropotenceSkip your draw step.
Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard.
Pay 1 life: Exile the top card of your library face down. Put that card into your hand at the beginning of your next end step. without the downside.

Commander aside, Cruel Calculations has a very real shot at seeing play in some of Magic’s older formats. Vintage Dredge in particular can draw an ungodly number of cards with this, by using Bazaar of BaghdadBazaar of Baghdad{T}: Draw two cards, then discard three cards. alongside Dredgers like Stinkweed ImpStinkweed ImpFlying
Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature.
Dredge 5 (If you would draw a card, you may mill five cards instead. If you do, return this card from your graveyard to your hand.) for massive self-mill. It could slot into Dredge lists in Modern and Legacy, and potentially Modern Crabvine, too. Though it’s not for every deck due to its floor, the ceiling on Cruel Calculations is impossible to ignore.

4 | Karn, Argent Defender

While it’s very unexciting, Karn, Argent Defender looks like one of the best MTG cards in Reality Fracture for multi-format appeal. Shutting down creature and artifact enters triggers is an effect we’ve seen before on Doorkeeper Thrull, so we know how good it is. This has reactive applications, as a way to turn off opposing synergies, and proactive ones, such as turning Phyrexian DreadnoughtPhyrexian DreadnoughtTrample
When this creature enters, sacrifice it unless you sacrifice any number of creatures with total power 12 or greater. into a one-mana 12/12 with Trample.

Though it lacks Flash, Karn exceeds its winged predecessor in two ways. It gets an extra point of toughness, for one, letting it survive more removal and block better. More importantly, it can be cast for only colorless mana, making it much easier to run in formats like Legacy and Vintage. This lets it come down turn one off of a City of Traitors or Ancient Tomb, or via mana from an early Sol RingSol Ring{T}: Add {C}{C}. or Grim Monolith.

Speed is everything in formats like these, so the ability to drop Karn so early, and consistently, is a big deal. The same principle applies in Commander, too, where I expect Karn will see a lot of play at cEDH tables in particular. It’s not a particularly fun card, but Karn, Argent Defender is undeniably powerful.

3 | Seasoned Cryomancer

With its high power level and color-shifting shenanigans, many have called Reality Fracture a “Modern Horizons set in Standard.” Nowhere does this comparison hold more water than with Seasoned Cryomancer, which gives the classic Seasoned Pyromancer from Modern Horizons 1 a blue makeover. While this is a weaker card overall, it’s still more than good enough to see multi-format play.

Starting off with Standard, Cryomancer seems like an easy addition to decks like Izzet Spellementals and Dimir Excruciator. Both appreciate the looting, the stalling for time, and the ability to cash Cryomancer in for more cards if you mill it or trade with it later. There’s also a real chance that this is good enough on-rate to earn slots in Dimir Midrange and Four-Color Control, despite a lack of more direct synergy in those lists.

Beyond Standard, Cryomancer will likely put in a ton of work in Commander, too. Whether it’s setting up your graveyard in Reanimator decks like Muldrotha, the Gravetide, or enabling synergies in Discard lists like Green Goblin, it has a lot to offer. That Reality Fracture contains a card this close to Modern Horizons power level, and that it’s not the best card in the set, says a lot about its overall quality.

2 | The Theorist, Jace Beleren

Planeswalkers have historically been weak cards in Commander, since they’re easy to kill and often not impactful enough for multiple opponents. The Theorist, Jace Beleren blows this past weakness out of the water, presenting a ‘walker that scales with the table to devastating effect.

The passive alone makes The Theorist great in Commander, netting you three cards a turn cycle as long as it sticks around. Paired with its bounce ability, which can remove creatures and problem artifacts like The One Ring, this planeswalker can take over a game as soon as it drops.

While the other abilities here are solid, they’re essentially just gravy. With the passive and -2 abilities alone, The Theorist is an auto-include in pretty much every non-cEDH blue Commander deck from here on out.

While it’s not as much of a slam-dunk in other formats, The Theorist could easily have a shot at some Standard play. The combination of disruption and draw makes it great against creature-light decks like Izzet Spellementals, and it could even show up as a value engine for decks like Four-Color Control. As the flagship card of MTG Reality Fracture, The Theorist is, appropriately, one of the best cards in the set.

1 | Samut, Tyrant of Naktamun

Ever since its official designation as a Commander Bracket, Wizards has been printing more and more cards that seem to have cEDH in mind. From Hexing Squelcher to Gleaming Splendor, the format has seen a big influx of goodies recently. Samut, Tyrant of Naktamun is another card in this prestigious lineup, and it may be the most egregious yet design-wise.

Granting all of your instants and sorceries Split Second is a hugely powerful ability. This makes them uncounterable for a start, letting you deploy cards like Ad Nauseam or Demonic Consultation without fear. More crucially, it lets you mess with the stack on opponents’ turns, preventing the common cEDH scenario where opponents just win over the top of any interaction they face.

While it’ll almost definitely be most impactful in cEDH, Samut will likely become a staple in lower-bracket Commander as well. Spellslinger decks like Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier{0}: Add X mana in any combination of {U} and/or {R}, where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate only during your turn and only once each turn.
Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent. will love it in particular, but I can easily see this matching Hexing Squelcher‘s 218,000 deck play rate before long. Factor in some constructed potential, in decks like Modern Neoform, and Samut is the best card in Reality Fracture by a fair margin.

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