The most recent set in MTG is Zendikar and it is a great set… kind of. There aren’t as many cards in it as in most large sets (it’s about 50 cards short, as was Shards Of Alara). However, the worst part of this set is that there are some utterly terrible rares. There are more than ten (and more than twenty if you’re as picky as me). However, I will only talk about 13 of the worst in this article. So, here they are: the worst rares of Zendikar.

Grappling Hook

Here’s a fairly expensive equipment card. Usually equipment cards have an equip cost that’s low and a casting cost that’s high (or vice versa). This card is just expensive all around. I wonder what decks this card is for? I could see it in a kor deck perhaps, but for the most part this card just seems like something you’d throw in when you’ve got nothing else. Double strike is nice, and provoke is cool too, but at a cost of eight it’s good not enough. This card is a disappoinment…

Cosi’s Trickster

Merfolk with legs… eh, not that big a deal. They had them in the old days so it’s nothing I can’t deal with flavor-wise. However, what a weird ability. When will you need a one drop that gets bigger when an opponent shuffles their deck? Of course, with all the land fetching in Zendikar, you could see why this may be ok for right now, but it really feels like a waste of a rare. After Zendikar this card will be utterly forgotten.

I’d also like to mention now something I’ve discussed in my other Zendikar articles: blue sucks in Zendikar. Since the next two sets aren’t out, maybe it will get better. However, right now it’s hardly even worth splashing. Not enough good cards. Moving on…

Gigantiform

This card is not too good… This card makes you turn a creature into an 8/8 with trample and potentially get another one if you spend an additional four mana. Another issue of power of the card not worth the cost of the mana. I can see this card rarely (if ever) being kicked. It works better for just five mana. Why not just use Terra Stomper for one more mana? It’s essentially the same thing and doesn’t require there to be a creature in play for you to enchant. This card… bad news.

Hellkite Charger

I really like this card. Honestly, I do. However, this card is six mana for a 5/5 flying creature with haste. That’s expensive. You can pay seven mana to get an additional combat phase when this card attacks. You won’t be able to use this ability as soon as you play this card (unless you play it without paying its mana cost or somehow have 13 mana). This card has great flavor and at first glance seems cool, but it just doesn’t work out. I like the guy, but I wouldn’t put him in a deck unless I was playing some serious casual MTG.

Archmage Ascension

Unacceptable. The other ascension cards are all great. They’re fun and have amazing power (one has a little too much power…). This card has nothing. You can play it on your third turn. If you’re lucky, somehow you’ll draw two cards that turn as well (though that isn’t likey, let’s assume that you do). You’ll need to wait six turns before you can use this cards power, assuming you only draw two cards on your turn.

Seriously? That’s terrible! That means you’ll get to use this card on turn nine. By the time it’s turn nine you should be about to win if you’re running an effective deck and you won’t need this card’s ability. I realize you can draw cards on your opponent’s turn to get this card to work faster, but that won’t always happen. This card will just take up space in a deck. Get rid of it!

Devout Lightcaster

This is a borderline card. It’s not really that bad. The problem is that it isn’t that good either. Maybe if it was a 3/3 instead. I feel like I’d rather use a White Knight even though it isn’t a kor. This card just doesn’t do it for me, but maybe you like it, so I’ll just leave this one alone now.

Electopotence

To play any card with power worth shooting at something you need way too much mana. The only good cards to use with this are Zektar Shrine Expedition and Elemental Appeal. Other than that, this card is useless.

Felidar Sovereign

This card is actually good. It’s really good. So why is it on this list? Because it isn’t any fun at all. It doesn’t really deserve to be here, but I just hate cards that make you win. Not only that, getting 40 life is quite easy with the cards in this set. No fun.

Predatory Urge

This card turns a creature into an mini-Arena. Not very exciting, though not terrible. I just feel like this card seems to come up an awful lot in the packs I’ve bought. I personally don’t like it and feel it takes up space, though could be a good card.

Sea Gate Loremaster

Too much mana for a weak creature that depends on other creatures to do anything. I feel my blood boil when I see this card and think of all the rare slots it wastes.Possibly the worst ally and probably the worst card in Zendikar, though there is another on this list that may be worse…

Spinx Of Lost Truths

Actually a decent card… but I feel that it’s not worth the kicker cost. If you want to draw cards in standard use Mind Spring and if you aren’t playing standard there are way better options. I’m hard on this card because I can’t use it. It’s not that bad, but not that great.

Lorthos, The Tidemaker

I may have mentioned this before, but my friend elpfan18 said, “It’s good that this card is mythic because that means there’s less a chance you’ll end up having to open the thing!” I can’t agree more (though unfortunately I’ve got one…). This card had the potential to be a modern day Polar Kraken or Leviathan. Instead, it became a pitiful attempt at a mythic rare. It’s not even a leviathan/leviathan, ruining any nostalgia value.

One of my readers once mentioned that this card could be good if it was “pay X” to “tap X permanents”. That would be good! But instead we have a restricted number that ties up our mana and makes this card just a waste.

Lavaball Trap

The destroying two lands is cool. The dealing four to everything is cool. The mana cost… not cool. Nor is the flavor for that matter. You get more land so fireballs start shooting everywhere. What? Maybe the new land causes a fault and magma comes up… whatever! When you have to think about why a card makes sense then it’s just not flavorful enough.

Moving on, this card is horrid. It could be worse than Sea Gate Loremaster. In Zendikar you could possibly come across someone get two lands in one turn. However, some of the time that won’t happen. That means this card will sit in your hand and be useless until you have eight mana. It’s not worth it because it doesn’t do enough! Maybe the worst rare card, but definetly the worst trap card of Zendikar.

Now, these cards have been picked because of their relatively low playability as well as effectiveness. However, some are good and were placed here purely on my personal opinion. Please feel free to leave some comments discussion these cards and how you’ve been able to use them (or how you’ve shredded them into tiny pieces). Either way, thanks for reading!