Some of the most powerful cards in Magic: The Gathering have come from the plane of Innistrad. Players have visited the plane three times over the years though only once since the introduction of MTG Arena. And with this set, a selection of cards from both the Innistrad and Shadows over Innistrad Block are in Arena.

Related: MTG Arena: The Best Cards From Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered For Explorer

Among the extremely powerful cards that have come from Innistrad is a package of instants and sorceries that quickly became staples in multiple formats. Whether you’re looking for a great reanimation spell or a way to discard cards for cheap, Shadows over Innistrad Remastered has just the spells for you.

10 Traverse The Ulvenwald

Image of the Traverse the Ulvenwald card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Vincent Proce

If you’re looking for a versatile, if not a little narrow, tutor spell, you can’t go wrong with Traverse the Ulvenwald. Early in the game, Traverse the Ulvenwald is a way to smooth out your land drops, ensuring you’ll curve out to the midgame.

Once you trigger its delirium ability by having four or more card types in your graveyard, you can search for a creature or land instead. Since Traverse the Ulvenwald is just one mana, casting it with delirium makes it an extremely efficient tutor spell.

9 Seasons Past

Image of the Seasons Past card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Christine Choi

An extremely powerful sorcery, Seasons Past helps you keep all your best spells by bringing them back to your hand once they are in your graveyard. While it sits at a hefty six mana, you can bring back any number of spells to your hand so long as they each have a different mana value.

The great thing about Seasons Past is that even if you empty your hand relatively early in the game, you can turn your graveyard into a secondary hand once it resolves. You might not be able to get back everything you’ve cast so far; plenty of two and three-mana removal spells that overlap, so you still get plenty of good cards back.

8 Summary Dismissal

Image of the Summary Dismissal card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Igor Kieryluk

If you’ve ever watched an opponent combo off on Arena with no way to stop it and just waited for them to either finish or you lose the game, then Summary Dismissal is the card for you. It’s a little above the curve for other blue counterspell effects at four mana but certainly worth it for the stopping power.

Related: MTG Arena – Every Planeswalker From Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered, Ranked

It is important to note that Summary Dismissal is not a counterspell. It exiles all other spells on the stack and then counters all abilities before they can resolve. If your opponent has 51 copies of Grapeshot on the stack, thanks to storm shenanigans, Summary Dismissal sends them straight to exile.

7 Unburial Rites

unburial rites

There are tons of ways to accelerate out a massive creature earlier in the game, but one of the most efficient and reliable ways is with Unburial Rites. There are so many great targets for Unburial Rites, with anything from Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobyte to Atraxa, and Grand Unifier sitting among some of the best targets.

With flashback at three generic and a white mana, you can discard it and some bomb creature on turn two or three, and then with a little mana fixing, you can bring it back on turn four, shifting the game in your favor.

6 Forbidden Alchemy

Image of the Forbidden Alchemy card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by David Rapoza

If your deck has any sort of graveyard synergy, then Forbidden Alchemy can slot right into your deck. For three mana, you can cast this instant to take a peek at the top four cards of your deck. You get to keep one of those cards, adding it to your hand and pitching the rest to your graveyard.

The flashback cost is a little pricier, but if you’re in a control deck, you can sit back and cast it on your opponent’s end set, letting you pick whatever card you need to help you win the game right before your next turn.

5 Anguished Unmaking

Image of the Anguished Unmaking card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Wesly Burt

As far as removal spells go, Anguished Unmaking is one of the most versatile in the game. For just three mana, you can exile practically any card on the field, aside from lands, in exchange for three life.

Related: MTG Arena - The Best Creatures From Shadows Over Innistrad Remastered

Anguished Unmaking was downshifted in rarity for Shadows over Innistrad Remasted, making it easier than ever for players to craft it using wildcards. It is also important to note that being an uncommon, you will be able to use it in Artisan format matches, where you can only use common and uncommon cards in your deck.

4 Past In Flames

Image of the Past in Flames card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Anthony Jones

When your instants and sorceries are so good you want to cast them again, there are few better ways to go about it than Past in Flames. You can give all your instants and sorceries flashback equal to their mana value, letting you cast them all over again.

You do need a fair amount of mana available to capitalize on Past in Flames, especially if you’re flashing it back. But if you’re playing with a bunch of low-cost spells or have ways to generate tons of mana, you’ll be in a good place.

3 Eldritch Evolution

Image of the Eldritch Evolution card in Magic: The Gathering, with art Jason Rainville

Pod decks are almost always incredibly good and certainly have seen huge impacts on multiple formats in Magic’s history, and Eldritch Evolution fits in a very specific place in the archetype.

Eldritch Evolution lets you sacrifice a creature to find another that costs exactly two more mana. One of the most promising ways to use Eldritch Evolution might be in Azban Greasefang decks, where you can sacrifice a one-mana creature to go get your Greasefang, Okiba Boss and start swinging in with your Parhelion II vehicle for an extremely powerful turn.

2 Lingering Souls

Image of the Lingering Souls  card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by John Stanko

One of the most efficient ways to gum up the board while giving you an army of flying creatures is Lingering Souls. Used to great efficiency in Esper Control decks for years, Lingering Souls gives you two 1/1 tokens for three mana, and then another two tokens on a cheaper flashback cost.

Don’t be surprised if Lingering Souls starts creeping back into Esper Control decks since it lets you stall the game a bit with cheap blockers, wipe the board on your next turn, and then bring back two more tokens after that to start attacking.

1 Faithless Looting

Image of the Faithless Looting card in Magic: The Gathering, with art by Gabor Szikszai

As the premiere discard spell in Magic, Faithless Looting fills up your graveyard with either cards you don’t want or helps to set you up for a powerful play in the future. For just one mana, you get to draw two cards and then discard two cards.

Even with everything you can do with Faithless Looting, it's important to understand that it is negative card advantage. Every time you cast it, you’re putting yourself down a card since you’re drawing two but still spending one card when you cast it.

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