MtG: 15 Best Ikoria Lair of Behemoths Cards for Limited

Ikoria Lair of Behemoths, the latest Magic: The Gathering expansion, goes deep into the realm of monsters and introduces a fantastic new Mutate mechanic, which lets players combine various creatures into new breeds.

The set also provides you with some serious flexibility, especially when it comes to selecting various keyword counters for your creatures. This alone will make the next season of Limited tournaments incredibly fun and exciting.

The Cycling mechanic is back as well, which is great if you've drafted a lot of big creatures (which you just can't play early). But you can cycle them and replace with something more suitable for the early game.

Here you will find a list of the best MtG cards for Ikoria Limited in all categories.

Almighty Brushwagg

The additional activated ability is what makes this 1-drop a real winner in Limited. Though you may draw it much later in the game, and it's the perfect mana sink since there is no limit to how many times you can activate its ability.

Brushwagg is also an excellent target for the new Mutate mechanic, as long as it goes underneath the mutated creature.

Fire Prophecy

Rarely does Wizards of the Coast print really exciting removal spells, but Fire Prophecy looks to be one of the best in recent history.

Spells like this are viable not only in Limited but also in Constructed formats, which shows their potency.

Removing a creature and replacing an unwanted card in your hand for 2 mana is surely going to make this a staple card in Draft and Sealed.

Farfinder

There are two big reasons why Farfinder will be the first pick in Limited pools for many players.

First, it has Vigilance, which makes it a great card to Mutate. That ability is super useful in a format that strongly relies on effective attacks and blocks.

Second, it's a reliable mana fixer, which allows you to search your entire library for the exact type of basic land that you're looking for. This means that splashing will be done effectively this season.

Helica Glider

Once again, this is a fantastic candidate for the Mutate mechanic, with two of the most important abilities in the game: Flying and First Strike.

But even on its own, Helica glider is a solid pick for white decks. For those, Flying will obviously be the number one choice.

Thieving Otter

As an attacker, this little beast will draw you a lot of cards. If you Mutate this with Dreamtail Heron, it receives the evasive effect of the Flying mechanic.

Since both are in blue and common rarity, this is an easy pick, and it will probably make Limited formats insufferable for some players.

General's Enforcer

Token producers have always been some of the most valuable cards in Limited. Supplementing that, General's Enforcer only costs 2 mana for a 2/3 creature, which is simply great in its own right.

The activated ability will come in handy in the latter stages of the match-up when you have enough creatures in the graveyard and some mana to spend.

Then, tokens produced by General's Enforcer can either be time stretchers for blocking a big enemy or extra attackers.

Flame Spill

Flame Spill is another exciting removal spell for Limited that can help you win games by sending excess damage to your opponent's face.

Quite often you will find yourself in a situation where your opponent has one or two points of life left, and you just can't deal them because of the wall of blockers. This problem is now easily solved with the help of Flame Spill.

You can use it specifically to finish your opponent when you need that extra point or two of damage by attacking with all your creatures and being blocked. Identify a blocker that received the most damage, and then remove it using Flame Spill and sending that extra damage to an opponent's face.

That's not such a rare scenario, and any scenario that wins you games is a good one.

Grimdancer

This nightmarish creature offers two styles of play depending on your position. If you want to play offensively, choose Deathtouch and Menace; if you want to play defensively, choose Deathtouch and Lifelink.

This means that Grimdancer will do really well in both aggro and control archetypes. It may not be your very first pick due to its double black mana, but when the option is open to grab it, don't miss it.

Necropanther

This card is similar to Grimdancer in both mana cost and stats. But Necropanther can Mutate, and more than that, it can return your dead creatures straight to the battlefield (if they cost 3 mana or less).

Even if you get only one trigger from Necropanther, it will be well worth it. Although the mana cost is a bit complicated with two different colors at hand, but that is a small price for such a strong effect.

Parcelbeast

If you want to draw a lot of cards during your Draft or Sealed sessions, then Parcelbeast is your best friend. On its own, it's very resilient due to 4 points of toughness, but you could also Mutate it into something even bigger and exploit the tap ability ad nauseam.

Lastly, it puts land cards right onto the battlefield, which is a great way to ramp up. It's no surprise that it's been designed in the Simic color scheme.

Porcuparrot

Don't be intimidated by the strange artwork of this card. Its ability gives you repeatable creature removal and evasive damage in one package. All this costs only 3 mana to Mutate.

Even a single mutation will turn it into an annoying pinger that never stops. Now imagine that it mutates twice or more, and the full extent of this card's power starts to come into focus. 

Proud Wildbonder

The Trample mechanic is already a big threat to your opponents. Now imagine that Trample turns into an unstoppable force that can only be affected by removal spells. 

Proud Wildbonder does exactly that and more; since it influences all of your creatures with Trample. The hybrid mana base is also very convenient and can be used in both mono-color and two-color decks.

Hunted Nightmare

Looking at Hunted Nightmare's stats and mana cost alone will make you want to draft it immediately. Though Nightmare allows your opponents to put a deathtouch counter on one of its creatures, you can use this to your advantage. 

It is possible that your opponent won't have any creatures by turn three when you cast Hunted Nightmare. But if there is a creature, Hunted Nightmare has Menace, which protects it from being blocked by that creature.

This is undoubtedly one of the best rare choices for Limited.

Lurrus of the Dream-Den

Lurrus doesn't have enough toughness to survive blocks, but with its graveyard ability. it can return a 2-drop from the graveyard to your hand each turn.

It's a really simple and effective design that will force your opponent to spend a removal spell on it, and that's enough to consider it a job well done.

Frondland Felidar

Frondland Felidar is a card that can single-handedly dominate each and every game in Draft and Sealed.

You can swing with all your Vigilance creatures and tap down defenders, or you can block, then tap the rest of the enemy creatures at the end of the turn, swinging into an open field the next turn.

Both cases are incredibly effective and show just how big Frondland Felidar will be in this Limited season.

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In addition to this list of the best Ikoria Lair of Behemoths cards for Limited, be sure to check out our other MtG guides here. And be sure to check out the 15 best Ikoria Lair of Behemoths cards for Standard.