Modern Horizons 3 is gearing up to be one of the most impactfulMagic: The Gatheringsets in recent memory, as it delivered a plethora of incredibly high-powered cards for use in multiple formats. Beyond those scintillating new cards, as well as the first Commander decks in a “horizons” set, Retro Reprints are also making a return in MH3.
Originally featured in the Time Spiral Remastered set as “Timeshifted” cards, these cards feature the “retro-style” card frame that MTG cards had until Mirrodin released in 2003. While only 16 Retro Reprints are featured in this set, they are all incredibly powerful and popular cards. Let’s take a look at the ten best Retro Reprints.
10Unholy Heat
Six Damage For One Mana? In This Economy?
Of the 16 Retro Reprints in Modern Horizons 3, a whopping six of them feature the color red. Our first card is a staple of multiple Modern-format deck archetypes, such as Izzet (red/blue) Spells and Izzet Phoenix.
A weakened Shock on its face, where this card really shines is with its delirium ability, which ups this card’s damage output from a measly two to an absolutely curve-shattering six if you have four or more card types among cards in your graveyard – which is eminently easy to do in decks that include this powerful spell.
9Dragon’s Rage Channeler
The Engine That Powers Izzet Decks
Another Izzet deck all-star, Dragon’s Rage Channeler is the engine that gets Izzet Phoenix decks churning through their library at a rapid pace. Surveilling whenever you cast a noncreature spell is huge for these decks, and it also makes gaining this card’s delirium boost quite trivial.
This card is so powerful, in fact, that it got nerfed on MTG Arena with a version that lacks the toughness boost via its delirium ability. Even with that nerf, this card is still massively powerful and will surely be a hit in its retro frame.
8Subtlety
Nothing Subtle About A Free Counterspell
The weakest of the Modern Horizons 2 Elemental Incarnations is still a banger of a card. One of the strongest cycles of cards in recent MTG memory, all five of these monocolored Incarnation creatures are getting the Retro Reprint treatment in Modern Horizons 3.
Despite only targeting creature or planeswalker spells and only putting that spell on the top or bottom of your foe’s library, free counterspells are eminently valuable – whetherthey’re of common rarityoreven non-blue– and tacking that sort of spell onto a 3/3 body with flying is even better.
7Dress Down
Uber-Impactful Multi-Format Utility Spell
A powerhouse utility spell in a variety of formats, this two-mana blue enchantment nets you a card upon casting, so it already replaces itself, but it’s the card’s ability that makes it mega-impactful.
While you have to sacrifice it at end of turn, removing all abilities from all creatures can be utterly game-breaking if timed right. Erase 0/0 construct tokens, stop Murktide Regent from entering with +1/+1 counters, and pretty much counter any triggered effect from a creature card with this enchantment – for a turn, at least.
6Endurance
Free Green Graveyard Hate
One of only two green cards on the Retro Reprint bonus sheet, this Elemental Incarnation thoroughly hoses reanimation strategies – which always seem to be eminently popular across a wide variety of formats.
There’s something about paying a paltry amount of mana to put a monster threat onto the battlefield, which is hugely attractive to mages, but Endurance counters that play style outright for free at the measly cost of exiling a green card from your hand. Hugely powerful, but somehow only the fourth-strongest Incarnation from Retro Reprints.
5Grief
Runs An Incredibly Potent “Scam”
The major combo piece of the popular and powerful “scam” deck archetype, Grief is a Thoughtseize grafted onto a 3/2 menace creature that can be evoked for free by exiling a black card from your hand.
The “scam” in question occurs when this card is evoked on turn one, but then you cast a card that allows it to return to the battlefield for one mana in response, such as Feign Death, Undying Malice or Not Dead After All – giving you two selected discard triggers and a 3/2 menace creature for one black mana and one black card exiled. Not a bad deal!
4Esper Sentinel
Death And Taxes, Indeed
If there’s one thing that MTG players love, it’s drawing cards. This pesky little one-drop will aid you monumentally on your quest to draw as many cards as possible, especially if your opponent doesn’t “pay the one.”
An underrated aspect of this card is that it scales with Esper Sentinel’s power, which means that any power-boosting effects will help you draw a plethora of cards off the back of this white artifact creature.
3Solitude
Swords To Plowshares On A 3/2 Lifelinker
Swords to Plowshares is one of the best removal spells of all time (especially in Commander), and this Retro Reprint tacked that card onto a 3/2 creature with lifelink. With a free evoke cost (exiling a white card from your hand), this card is eminently strong in any situation.
The Elemental Incarnations are among the strongest cards printed in MTG history, so it’s no surprise that all five of them are among the best Retro Reprints from Modern Horizons 3.
2Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
As Peter Gabriel Said: “Shock The Monkey!”
Perhaps the most powerful red creature card in MTG history is back again as part of the Retro Reprints. Ragavan is absolutely busted for one mana, especially since an ability this strong would’ve likely cost four-to-five mana in Magic’s early days.
The ability to dash this card out for two mana and give the monkey haste is the real icing on top of this simian cake, and there’s no question the Retro Reprint version of this card will be a major pull when cracking open packs of Modern Horizons 3.
1Fury
Too Fast, Too Furious… Even For Modern
While the “scam” deck does still exist in Modern, its heyday was late 2022 into mid-2023, before this Elemental Incarnation was banned. Being able to deal 4 damage “divided among any number of target creatures and/or planeswalkers” for free was absolutely broken, and Fury pretty much wiped the board no matter what your opponent did in the early game.
Combine that with the fact that this card is also a 3/3 creature with double strike, and it’s easy to see why this Elemental Incarnation was hit with the banhammer – and why it will be a highly sought-after Retro Reprint.
