Hello again, rulers!  It’s Stephanie Shaw, back with Part II of my Top 50 Cards in Wanderer article!  I hope you enjoy, and know that I plan on continuing coverage of the Wanderer format as it begins to kick off this weekend with three worldwide events, so keep tuned for information on those as well.  I’m very excited for the kickoff of the format in Season 3, and I hope this article helps prepare all of you for the upcoming events. 

 

Without further ado, here are the top 25 cards in Wanderer! 

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#25: Horn of Sacred Beasts

We kick off the top 25 with a very nuanced card, Horn of Sacred Beasts.  The card, at first glance, does not seem incredibly strong.  It’s 0-cost, which is obviously great, but its first two abilities are not super-useful in Wanderer (though they come into play occasionally in New Frontiers), as Laevateinn’s ban lowered the predominance of damage-dealing J-ruler decks and Four Sacred Beasts are not really played in the format.

 

Its real strength, though, lies in the shuffle ability.  There are quite a few ways this ability becomes relevant in-game, and all of them together make this card worthwhile.  For example, if you are playing against a graveyard-recursion deck, you can shuffle in the player’s graveyard in response to your opponent attempting to put a resonator into play from it.  You can respond to Monkey Trapped in Life/Rasputin’s graveyard triggers by shuffling them into the deck, ensuring they don’t return to your opponent’s hand.  You can shuffle in your own deck (including the Horn you used to activate the ability!!) to recover your resources in a grindy control or midrange mirror or to avoid losing by decking out.  You can shuffle your opponent’s deck after a Hydromonica/Nostradamus search to essentially negate the search.  You can even use Horn in some odd corner cases, such as shuffling your opponent’s stone deck when you go first across from Liberator of Wind, as a means to completely negate her beginning-of-game stone-stacking ability.

 

In short, the card has quite a lot of play to it, and it requires constant attention from the opponent to avoid walking into a disastrous shuffle.

 

#24: Glinda, the Fairy

 

For newer players, this is one of four non-Ruler cards that have been a staple in the competitive environment since the game was brought to the US in 2015.  However, of those four (#24, #13, #3, and #2 on this list so as not to spoil the card names!), Glinda is easily the most-overlooked. While the 500/500 body is slightly low for your average 2-cost resonator, Glinda more than makes up for it with both of her abilities.  In Grimm, as a Fairy Tale, she singlehandedly makes Wendy & Rapunzel dominating in mid-game, helping them push damage through a field full of Gwibers, Chimeras, Cheshire Cats, or other opposing bulky or hard-to-deal-with J/resonators. 

However, she is also playable in other decks as well, considering Wind is a strong attribute and forcing damage over blockers is relevant in almost every deck.  Her secondary ability is additional icing on the cake, allowing her to absorb one Thunder from a burn opponent, one removal chant from a control opponent, etc.  In many cases, she ends up causing somewhat of a two-for-one where she acts as both a pseudo-damage-dealing spell and a mini-cancel or mini-discard effect, all while serving as a 500/500 body in between.

 

#23: Feethsing, the Holy Wind Stone

 

Finally, we finish the TAT true magic stone series with Feethsing, the best of the TAT true stones by far.  The card is splashable in any Wind deck, even some Fiethsing’s World lists, and it provides a strong way to fight back against basically any control variant.  The only spells it can’t protect against are Flame of Outer World and Black Moonbeam, but as J-ruler play isn’t as strong in Wanderer outside the indestructible Nine-Tailed Fox, Flame is really the only major concern.  In addition, you can use Feethsing to prevent your opponent from targeting their *own* J/resonators with beneficial chants such as Breath of the God or Rapid Growth or even non-Field additions with subtypes.

Years ago, this card was used to protect against Bind of Gravity or Stoning to Death.  While the removal spells have since changed, Feethsing has retained the same effectiveness.

 

#22: Stoning to Death // Endless Night

 

Stoning to Death remains the most efficient removal chant ever printed in the game, often still occupying a playset in control lists, years after it was first released in TAT.  Its Darkness attribute is highly-played in the format, being a strong or even 10-stone focus in Valentina LEL, Lilias Petal, and other control/midrange decks.

 

I kept Endless Night in the same ranking with Stoning to Death as it has sideboard usages over Stoning in the cases of Fiethsing’s World or Lilias Petal, as the -200/-200 continuous effect can literally steal a turn from your opponent while getting rid of their biggest threat.  However, usually the 3rd will cost is too prohibitive to maindeck the card in the Wanderer format when 2-cost removal is so strong.

 

#21: Cthugha, the Living Flame

 

Cthugha is the best aggro resonator in the game in my opinion, and its ranking reflects it.  Unfortunately, resonator-based burn has fallen off in favor of more chant-based burn, so Cthugha has slipped somewhat from its former top-10 position, but it remains a powerhouse of a card, especially when paired with Rukh Egg.  Even when banishing a non-replaceable Fire resonator, though, Cthugha is essentially a 0-cost Thunder, and chaining Cthughas early can put your opponent in such a poor position life total-wise that they have difficulty stabilizing before you can get their life all the way to zero.  It has little downside, as paying the full 3 cost can feasibly be done if necessary, and the odds of clogging your hand with multiple Cthughas and no banishable resonators are very low if you build your deck correctly.  If resonator-based burn picks up again, this card will go back in the top 15 cards, if not the top 10.

 

#20: Xeex, the Ancient Magic

 

Xeex was a 3-4 card staple in all control decks during Grimm Cluster play, though it’s fallen off a bit in play since then.  The card remains very strong, though, and I typically recommend at least 1-2 copies in any Wind-based deck for the modal options of the card.  While its “cancel target resonator spell” mode is easily the most-chosen option, Xeex can also protect your resonators, invalidate an opponent’s pump spell or non-Field addition with a subtype, provide a finisher if you have a wide board, or do everything that Horn can do, albeit for a cost.  In addition, the Crimson Girl swarm deck gets to have all 4 modes every time the spell is played, which is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

Overall, the card remains very strong, even though it is no longer the most-dominant cancel spell.

 

#19: Zero, the Magus of Null

 

Notice a pattern with the list?  The fourth card on this list to have a -X/-200 effect and the third to have it as a continuous effect on your opponent’s entire field, Zero shares many of the same strengths as those other cards (Grusbalesta, the Sealing Stone, Alice’s World of Madness, Endless Night) against Fiethsing’s World and Lilias Petal, preventing them from playing their small resonators for a turn.  However, Zero has a secondary effect, also removing [Flying] from all of your opponent’s resonators.  This means that you can essentially nullify half of Pumpkin Witch’s effect and significantly dull the finishing capability of the card, if you play Zero after Witch’s automatic ability has resolved.

Zero also has strong counter-play to Grimm, as you can Quickcast her in response to an attack by the opponent.  The -200/-200 effect will destroy all of your opponent’s Cheshire Cats, and you can sometimes create blowout turns, where you destroy Cheshires with her ability, block Wendy and deal lethal damage to Wendy, then destroy Tinker Bell, the Spirit if its the only remaining resonator on their field.

In addition to all of this, Zero is still a Quickcast 700 ATK body, meaning it trades well with other resonators (trading up to 900 DEF because of its ability) or deals strong back-swing damage if held on the field until your next turn.

 

#18: Seal of Wind and Light

 

A 2-4 card maindeck staple of Fiethsing’s World, Seal ranges from strong to absolutely dominating when paired with Interdimensional Vessel, Apollo.  Its versatility allows the card to be useful in virtually any matchup, as it can counter burn or removal spells or be held in hand to deal with your opponent’s biggest threats.  Its dual-attribute cost can make it tricky to play sometimes, but the main stone build of Fiethsing’s World is Wind-base with 4 Moon Shades and 2-3 Gusting Skies, so Seal is typically online by Turn 3 (96% for 2 Gusting Skies and 99% for 3).

 

#17: Susanowo, the Ten-Fist Sword

 

Almost an exclusively-sideboard card, Susanowo is a direct counter to Gwiber/Draig, as he gets reduced to (3) cost (as they are Dragons) and deals 1200 damage to them on entry, usually destroying them.  In addition, he provides a huge burst of damage, swinging in for another 1200 damage.  If Ame-no-Habakiri is run in the deck, you can potentially do 3200 damage to your opponent in this turn as well.

 

In fact, a combo deck also exists in Wanderer with Liberator of Wind, Moojdart, the Fantasy Stone, and Susanowo/Ame where you use Moojdart’s effect to turn an opponent’s resonator into a Dragon on your Turn 3 draw phase, then play Susanowo with Ame during your main phase to deal 3200 to your opponent and destroy their best resonator.  The deck is fairly janky, but it showcases the sheer power of Susanowo when it is able to be played for its reduced cost.  Even at six cost, the card is still well-costed for the strength of its impact when it enters the field.

 

#16: Magic Stone of Moon Shade

 

I didn’t want to include dual stones in this list, but I feel an obligation to include this stone due to its ubiquity in Fiethsing’s World lists.  Any list that previously ran Ruler’s Memoria in New Frontiers has had to choose whether to take a worse Burn matchup and stay five-attributes with Moon Shade, or trade off worse consistency instead, since Ruler’s Memoria is banned.  As Fiethsing’s World requires four-to-five attributes (Cheshire, Morgiana, Gwiber, Pumpkin Witch, and more-than-occasionally Guinevere), they have had to choose the worse Burn matchup. 

 

In most cases, restricting decks to their two to three most dominant colors has proven much more effective in the format than taking the huge hit to burn with a high Moon Shade count.  However, this stone remains the only consistent way to run a five-attribute deck, whether a 1-of in Liberator of Wind with four Moon Lights or as a 3-4-of inclusion in the stone base of other decks, and it is the best stone in the format that only has will abilities.

 

#15: Interdimensional Vessel, Apollo

 

Another playset in Fiethsing’s World, Apollo sees wide play in the format.  Any deck that relies heavily on certain resonators has a usage for this card, as its protection ability is a strong answer against any removal spell other than Flame of Outer World, especially uncancellable chants such as Alhama’at’s Black Lightning.  However, unlike Horn, its main usage is not its only usage.  Its moon-producing will ability makes Seal of Wind and Light absolutely incredible and can even be used with lesser-used cards like Tsukuyomi Noble, Angel of Wisdom, Cherudim (out of the sideboard), or Planting Beans to increase their efficiency.  Finally, it’s also used in decks that have J-ruler battle play, as the [Flying] ability is the second-best keyword a J-ruler can have.

 

#14: Little Red, the Pure Stone

 

Did you know this card used to be the second-most-expensive non-Ruler card in New Frontiers?  The best stone in the game in my opinion, Little Red’s biggest advantage comes with its ability to be used in literally any non-Gretel/Sol VIN deck.  It never messes up your attributes, in fact increasing your consistency as you can call whatever attribute you absolutely need at that time based on your hand, and you usually have the freedom to call the attribute of your most-aggressive resonator.  While the card is slightly low on the list due to most decks not utilizing it out of a lack of need, the card used to be in almost every deck in New Frontiers, and it’s still an auto-inclusion in mono-Fire resonator-based burn decks, despite running four maindecked Split Heaven and Earth, due to the increased damage output.

 

#13: Elvish Priest // Sacred Elf

 

These cards are the quintessential will dorks, helping Wind decks accelerate your will capability quickly past your opponent’s capability to effectively deal with your strategy.  A turn 1 Elf usually reads as “destroy your opponent’s Energize coin,” as Elf → Wall of Wind is the strongest Turn 1 play in the game and opponents need to respect it every time.  The cards can see play in any Wind-based deck, including Lilias Petal, the Wind-base variant of Fiethsing’s World, Crimson Girl, and even Wind-based Grimm, due to their strong early game play.  It is strongest, though, in decks like Fiethsing’s World that can easily remove it from hand late game with Cheshire Cat or Guinevere to avoid dead draws.

Personally, I prefer Elvish Priest because it doesn’t get destroyed by Familiar of Holy Wind, but some people swear by the extra 100 damage that Sacred Elf can do.  It’s up to user preference, though, as those are usually the only relevant differences between the two cards.

 

#12: Rukh Egg // Monkey Trapped in Life // Rasputin // Messenger Familiar

 

Although Rukh Egg has a much different function in New Frontiers than Monkey Trapped in Life, all four of these cards are used essentially the same way in Wanderer, so I paired them together.  Together, they form the “will” base of the Incarnation-based decks, allowing any of the good [Incarnation] resonators to be played for free while either recurring themselves or Adombrali (in Messenger’s case).  They also provide incredible value with Guinevere, as they become repeatable draw and filter engines with her.

 

Rukh Egg is likely the best resonator due to its ability to search out Hastur, Guinevere, or other Fire resonator, but it does not have the semi-infinite usage that Monkey or Rasputin do, since you’ll eventually run out of Eggs without Horn of Sacred Beasts.  A sideboard Messenger Familiar can pull out Adombrali against the Yggdrasil/The First Lie deck in order to win the game around the Excalibur X/Alice combo.

 

#11: Nyarlathotep, the Usurper

 

Yet another [Incarnation] resonator to grace this list, Nyarl is the strongest such card in the Incarnate decks, giving you an 8/8 body and stripping a card from your opponent.  Unless your opponent has Abdul on the field or Prison in their hand, she will always provide a 1-for-0 or 2-for-1, stripping the best card from their hand, even if they kill it in response.  This underscores the importance of Abdul/Prison in control decks, as Nyarl negates the card advantage they get from cards like Lapis’ Dark Storm.  She also provides you the opportunity to choose between stripping removal (if up on board) or threats/cancels (if down on board), gives you hand advantage on your opponent, and poses a significant battle threat, as she deals 20% of your opponent’s life total in damage. Nyarlathotep is the core of the deck and the main reason it functions.  Her value cannot be overstated, and she is, in my opinion, the most valuable card in the format relative to importance to her specific deck.

 

#10: Morgiana, the Wise Servant

 

I fully expect placing Morgiana at the very bottom of the top ten cards to be my most controversial placement, but to be honest, I actually contemplated dropped her below Nyarlathotep for a long time, ultimately choosing not to based on the relative usage of Fiethsing’s World vs. Incarnate in the current competitive environment.  Morgiana has always been much weaker than publicly-viewed (though the card is obviously powerful, just not ridiculous).  When the card sticks around for awhile, it can provide a huge consistency boost to the player of the card, but, after testing her extensively since MPR’s release, she is mostly underwhelming without Quickcast-speed draw.  She doesn’t replace herself when she comes in, she provides no battle value, she is bad in multiples, and she is easily destroyed in response to chant-speed draw, such as Cheshire Cat or Tama/Familiar.

 

The reason Morgiana was as ridiculous as she was during the R/R Alice’s World days was because R/R provided a way both to draw at Quickcast-speed consistently *and* to filter extra copies to the bottom of the deck.  Thus, you could play Morgiana, hold priority to play Cheshire Cat, then use R/R’s filter ability in response to any removal (unless Flame of Outer World) and still get her filter ability.  Her worst usage in R/R World was as a slightly worse Summon to Memoria that drew out a removal spell from your opponent, and her best usage was essentially picking your hand.

 

However, in the current Wanderer format, it is fairly rare that your opponent has zero ability to deal with your Morgiana at Quickcast-speed.  Familiar of Holy Wind, Ancient Heartfelt Fire, Unseen Pressure, Thunder/Lightning Strike, Space-Time Anomaly, Stoning to Death, and Flame of Outer World all kill her for one or two will, and Charlotte’s Water Transformation Magic is an acceptable desperation tactic if you really can’t get into a real answer.  In order to deal with plays like this as Fiethsing’s World, you usually need a very strong hand (for example, Cheshire, Morg, Adombrali, Apollo to bounce Morg, and another draw resonator) or multiple Morgs, which you can’t rely on.

 

That being said, I obviously have the card this high for a reason.  When Morgiana works, you basically pick up your deck and search what cards you want in your hand.  The consistency difference of having her vs. not having her in Fiethsing’s World is drastic, to the point that she is the 2nd-highest target for removal from your opponent after your 12/12 flier package.  She just isn’t broken, which is demonstrated by the fact that she struggles to find a home in any other Wanderer deck, including other decks that run high counts of some mix of Tama/Familiar/Guinevere/Cheshire.

 

#9. Sign to the Future

 

*The* answer to Fiethsing’s World, Sign to the Future single handedly prevents World from dominating the board with multiple fliers against almost any deck.  A resolved Sign can decimate a World player’s entire board, removing the 12/12 fliers and/or Morgiana from the game and preventing any possible recursion.  Apollo can help mitigate the damage to a degree, but the World player will still get 2-for-1’d and likely lose at least one of their best resonators.

 

Even the threat of a Sign to the Future can cause a World player to play hyper-conservatively, and bluffing other chants with [Trigger] or cards like Deathscythe or Charlotte’s Water Transformation Magic in the standby area is a strong way to buy time against the deck, even if you don’t run Sign yourself.  This showcases the sheer power of the card.

 

Ultimately, the card is very undercosted, removing two resonators from the game for two will.  For comparison, its effect is better than two Zero’s Magic Light cards *as* Zero, even if they were counted as the same card in your hand!  While its condition is only occasionally fulfilled against most decks, it hits the most-played deck in format easily, as they are forced to put out tokens and low-drops to get out their fliers.  Without Laevateinn, they can’t even play around the card very well, unless they play Cinderella, the Ashen Maiden, which is double attribute in the worst attribute for the deck (Darkness). 

 

In fact, World players often have to make sub-optimal plays like playing a regalia, a Cheshire Cat, producing an Elf token, banishing the Cheshire and token to Adombrali, playing Gwiber, then banishing the Adombrali to Guinevere, just to be safe and prevent your opponent from having priority to trigger Sign [static-based chants with [Trigger] require priority, per CR 1416.2b].  In fact, the only way to get double Gwiber out safely is to do this, play the second Gwiber before banishing Adombrali, then hold priority to banish Adombrali to Guinevere, then banish Apollo to return Guinevere to your hand while the second Gwiber is on the chase, so that the two Gwiber are the only two resonators on your field when it resolves.  Titania is impossible to play without walking into a Sign play, and Draig is less-played in Wanderer, making the card even stronger.

 

In short, this card is easily the best removal spell in the current competitive format, and it is the second-best removal card in the game, after the following card.

 

#8: Flame of Outer World

 

Flame of Outer World is an incredibly important card to Wanderer, and one that will always be relevant to the competitive format.  Not only is the card unchaseable, but it also hits J-rulers, allowing Thundering a J-ruler to be a legitimate bait for cancel spells if you can pay Fire/Darkness will on the same turn.  Plus, 800 damage is large enough to hit almost every relevant resonator in the format (Abdul, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Adombrali, Guinevere, Morgiana, Lancelot, Pumpkin Witch, etc.) except for Gwiber, Hook, and Chimeras, and hitting a Guinevere with Flame prevents them from gaining card advantage on you in response.  It also is lethal to Fiethsing’s J-ruler side.

 

This would already make Flame extremely-powerful, but when you combine it with Valentina LEL, the card becomes completely busted.  Because of the way automatic abilities work, Valentina’s -0/-200 trigger is *also* unchaseable on top of Flame, bringing the total combined “damage” up to 1000 for a resonator or a split of 800 and 200 to two different resonators or a J-ruler and resonator.  To give you some examples of what this kills *unchaseable,* consider:

 

u Guinevere + Tama/Familiar, and they can’t use either’s ability in response

u Gwiber, Draig, or Titania in combination with Alice’s World of Madness or a similar effect

u Captain Hook

u The Manticore

u Pumpkin Witch and another potential Adombrali banish option in response to Witch’s ability, drastically lowering your opponent’s capability to combo off that turn

 

Very few cards in the game have ever had the unchaseable ability, and for good reason.  The ability is very, very strong, rendering Flame unstoppable except by Wind-Secluded Refuge and preventative cards like The Queen’s Butler.

 

#7: Pumpkin Witch

 

Another card whose relatively-low placement I expect to be controversial, Pumpkin Witch is easily the best finisher in the game.  It can only be played in decks where resonators can be played without paying their will cost or for drastically reduced costs, as the initial 3-will investment is large for the format, but in the decks it is run in, it always poses a threat to close out the game by itself.  For example, Fiethsing’s World can play a regalia and Pumpkin Witch with four stones, make an Elf token, swing with Witch + Elf (400 combined damage), play Gwiber with the fourth stone, swing for 1200 damage, banish the Witch and Elf to Adombrali, producing a Light will and making your opponent lose 400 life, swing for 600 with Adombrali, then play Gwiber with the Light will and swing for another 1200.  All of this combines for 3800 life loss in one turn for your opponent, which is almost a one-turn-kill by itself.  Plus, if you have Apollo out, you can actually deal 4400 with this method without ever walking into a Sign to the Future play if you creatively play your resonators.

 

Its obvious power level, repeatable usage with Apollo, and inclusion in multiple Tier 1 decks (Fiethsing’s World + Incarnate decks) justify a Top-10 placement, but its hard to place Pumpkin Witch above the cards that make it as devastating as it is.  Witch was printed in Force of Will’s very first set, but she saw no competitive play until Adombrali was printed, which is why I placed Adombrali over her.

 

#6: Adombrali, the Unfathomable

 

Adombrali closes out the [Incarnation] resonators on this list, although it ironically sees little-to-no mainboard play in the actual Incarnate decks, as its main usage is as a key playset in all versions of Fiethsing’s World.  I decided to bullet this card as I did Flame of Outer World, as its usages are incredibly diverse.  Adombrali can do all of the following for the deck:

 

u If it banishes a Wind resonator, it provides a cost reduction for Gwiber, the White Dragon while also producing a will to help pay for him, often allowing you to play 1-2 Gwibers a turn in the early game.

u If it banishes a Water resonator, it replaces itself and can utilize Morgiana’s ability.

u If it banishes a Fire resonator, it can destroy a Turn 1 Elvish Priest or Sacred Elf unless your opponent has Rapid Growth in hand and always destroys a Turn 1 Morgiana.

u If it banishes a Darkness resonator, it can help accelerate life loss during a Pumpkin Witch combo to try to defeat your opponent in one turn.  The life loss also does not target your opponent and can win the game against Yggdrasil without its replacement effect ever happening.

u You can use Triton, Emperor of the Seven Seas to take control of one of your opponent’s resonators, then use it as Incarnation fodder for Adombrali so that they never get it back.

u Its [Incarnation] ability lowers Draig, the Red Dragon’s cost by (2) and can be used in combination with Rukh Egg to search out Draig, which is important in a format where Laevateinn is banned.

u It is the key core of the Pumpkin Witch combo in Fiethsing’s World, as it provides 600 damage in the air and can produce more will with which to play more resonators to continue swinging with the [Swiftness]/[Flying] continuous effect of Pumpkin Witch.

 

Adombrali also sees sideboard play in the Yggdrasil/The First Lie combo deck and occasionally sees sideboard play with Messenger Familiar in some Incarnate builds, but its dominance with the Fiethsing’s World list really contributes to its high ranking.

 

#5: Gwiber, the White Dragon

 

Compared to the past few cards, Gwiber needs much less explanation.  He is simply a 1-will 12/12 flier, the most efficient attacking resonator in the game along with Draig/Titania, depending on deck build.  However, compared to the other two, he is the fastest, coming out as early as Turn 2 on the play and Turn 1 on the draw.  There are even double Gwiber plays on the draw on Turn 1 with Fiethsing.  He can be played in literally any deck that has the ability to produce Light will and that has a high quantity of one-cost resonators.  The only reason more Gwiber decks don’t exist is because Fiethsing’s World has already been tested to be the most efficient Gwiber list.  However, lower-tier lists like Fairies or Elves also tend to run Gwiber for the quick threat, especially since Fiethsing’s ability still helps accelerate him out.

 

I debated for awhile whether to rank Gwiber or Adombrali higher, but ultimately, they’re both usable in multiple decks, so it came down to their importance to Fiethsing’s World.  Since the deck wouldn’t exist without Gwiber, whereas losing Adombrali would just lower the deck’s tier, not kill it off entirely, I ranked Gwiber in the #5 slot.

 

#4: Guinevere, the Jealous Queen

 

The best anti-control card in the game, Guinevere’s initial strength is her ability to 1-for-0 your opponent against any non-Flame of Outer World removal they play on any of your resonators if she sticks around until your opponent’s turn.  However, she also provides static card advantage on your opponent when combined with any resonator that does not use a card, such as Tama, Cheshire Cat, Rukh Egg, an Elf token, etc.  Letting your opponent have a Guinevere for several turns can lose the game for you by itself, based on the card disadvantage you get put at alone.  Not to mention, her 400 DEF means she escapes Tama, Familiar, and all of the aforementioned -200/-200 removal.

 

In addition, she has an oft-overlooked ability to give a resonator +400/+400, which allows them to either escape single-turn -X/-X effects (since those effects don’t count as damage) or push through extra damage to close out a game.  This especially becomes relevant if you use her ability both before and after recovering, which would make a single Gwiber a 2000/2000, to give an example.

 

#3: Gretel

 

Each of the three cards on this list has drastically altered the competitive environment in the form of stone attribute bases, directly carving decks around their existence, and they stand in a tier of their own as a result.  Starting us off at 3rd, Gretel was used during her entire existence in the New Frontiers format, even leading some R/R World lists to play Wind dual stones over Ruler’s Memoria (!) for the will acceleration she provides. 

 

By providing her controller with a recovered Wind magic stone, Gretel effectively only costs one void will, rapidly increases your magic stone advantage on your opponent, and singlehandedly powered several lists, including the Fire/Wind/Darkness control lists (Liberator of Wind, Abdul, and Pandora of Dark) big during the Grimm Cluster era, all of which ran nine Wind dual stones + a 1-of Feethsing (Liberator) or Grusbalesta (Pandora/Abdul).

 

Even further, she now provides additional [Resonance] triggers with the introduction of the mechanic in VIN003 and RDE, she triggers Wendy’s recovery ability as a Fairy Tale, she speeds up Lilias Petal and Pricia RDE’s searches for their specific stones and keeps them relevant in the Wanderer format, etc.  So she continues to get even better the more sets that are released.

 

In addition to all of this, she also provides a 200/200 body, either eating a Tama/Familiar/Adombrali trigger/Grusbalesta usage or providing additional damage prevention as a blocker.  She is an incredible card.

 

#2: Cheshire Cat, the Grinning Remnant

 

At the time of Cheshire Cat’s release in the United States, the card was $40/copy (USD), easily the most expensive card in the first two sets.  Cheshire Cat is the core engine for Grimm decks, constantly being searchable and filtering your hand, but any deck that could splash Water for her did during the Grimm Cluster era.  There were literally Fire/Wind/Darkness Liberator of Wind or Abdul lists that splashed two Deep Woods just so they could play a playset of Cheshire Cat (for example, Brandon Noland’s 1st place WGP Chicago Liberator of Wind list).

 

This card has been in a Tier 1 deck during every format of its existence, ranging from every Grimm variant (Bloody Grimm, Oddgro, Rapunzel Combo, etc.), some Abdul/Liberator lists, every variant of Alice’s World (Liberator of Wind, R/R, Shion, Yggdrasil, Fiethsing), BlazBlue (Water Blazer), etc.  It replaces itself, filters your hand, provides an almost unremovable blocker, then shuffles away the worst card in your hand that you previously placed on top, all for one Water will.  Even if Cheshire doesn’t get destroyed, you can combine her with Hydromonica to place the card on the bottom of your deck.  In addition, it contributes to multiple combo strategies that place cards into play from the top of your main deck, whether from Pricia RDE, Humpty Dumpty, Shion, etc.

 

I can’t imagine Cheshire Cat ever not being relevant in the Wanderer format, considering how desperate some lists work their stone decks to be able to squeeze her in.  She and Guinevere provide the only legal hand-filter in the game for 1 will or less, and, unlike Guinevere, Cheshire does not need to survive for the hand-filter ability to be online.  For most of the time working on this article, I had Cheshire at the very top of this list for this reason.  However, I had to give that spot to the most format-warping card in Wanderer:

 

#1: Split Heaven and Earth

 

As I said in the Gretel description, all three cards at the top of this list drastically altered stone bases.  However, unlike the previous two, Split Heaven and Earth alters the stone bases of *all* decks, not just its own player.  Split singlehandedly makes Burn decks relevant, as Fire would be very weak without the card in format, and it punishes greedy stone bases.  Every deck in format must consider whether they want to play a low count of duals, be playable on a low curve to avoid having to call many magic stones against Burn, play Wind for cancels, or accept a Burn loss to take better matchups elsewhere.

 

Because of this, Split actually makes other non-Burn decks that run no special magic stones more playable, pushing Wendy decks significantly up the tier list, for example.  This is because other decks often choose to sacrifice consistency to not lose to Burn, allowing mono-attribute decks to thrive as they do not need to do the same.  With Ruler’s Memoria banned, decks would have to run Moon Shade to be able to splash the Wind for cancels, harming their Burn matchup in a different way.  With the exception of Fiethsing’s World, which runs four Moon Shade for the five attributes the deck needs to operate and has a high Wind base anyway, most decks wouldn’t dare to run enough Moon Shades where they would risk paying 1,000 life or more in some games just producing their colored attributes.

 

While the card on the surface seems unfair, it actually makes the format more fair as a whole, driving the speed of the format down, punishing greed, and keeping Burn relevant in a format where anti-Fire strategies and sideboard cards are very easy-to-run, such as The Last Drop, Gathering of Fairies, Excalibur X, Sha Wujing, Barrier Field, Ancient Barrier, etc.

 

Whether you think Split is fair or unfair, I don’t think it can be argued that it is the most format-defining card in Wanderer, and thus it is my #1 card on the list! 

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That’s it for my top 50, rulers!  Do you agree or disagree with my list?  If you disagree, please comment and let me know what rankings you feel you would change!

 

Until next time, rulers, and good luck to all those playing in the big events this weekend!

 

~ Stephanie