What are the top ten most powerful or influential cards from Homelands?
Homelands is widely regarded as one of the weakest sets in Magic: The Gathering history, but it still introduced several notable cards that have had an impact on the game. Below is a carefully curated list of the top ten most powerful or influential cards from Homelands, along with explanations of their importance, deck usage, and influence on Magic.
10. Joven’s Ferrets
Why It’s on the List: Joven’s Ferrets was a quirky yet influential creature that demonstrated early attempts at unique combat mechanics. Its ability to reduce attacking creatures' effectiveness made it a defensive tool in green decks. While not powerful by today’s standards, it represented an interesting approach to early creature design.
Decks It’s Used In: The card found its place in casual Mono-Green decks that wanted to discourage aggression. It could act as a deterrent against small attackers, helping slower green decks stabilize. Although it never saw competitive play, it was a flavorful and situationally useful card.
Impact on Magic: Joven’s Ferrets influenced Magic by inspiring later creatures with combat-manipulating effects. It showed how green could have defensive tools outside of just large creatures, paving the way for later defensive creatures like Hornet Nest. While forgotten by many, it represents a unique moment in early Magic design.
9. An-Zerrin Ruins
Why It’s on the List: An-Zerrin Ruins provided a unique way to shut down entire creature types, making it a strong meta-dependent control piece. By preventing all creatures of a chosen type from untapping, it could single-handedly stall tribal decks. In an era where tribal strategies were growing, this card had the potential to be a devastating lock piece.
Decks It’s Used In: This enchantment saw use in control decks that wanted to punish tribal-heavy metagames. It was particularly effective against Goblins, Elves, and Slivers, forcing them into a near-unplayable state. While it wasn’t a widely adopted strategy, it was a powerful tool in the right matchups.
Impact on Magic: An-Zerrin Ruins influenced later Magic designs by reinforcing the concept of tribal hate cards. It paved the way for later hate pieces like Engineered Plague and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. Although its high cost made it less efficient over time, it was an early example of how Magic could introduce specific counterplay against dominant archetypes.
8. Torture
Why It’s on the List: Torture was one of the earliest black enchantments that provided a way to repeatedly weaken creatures over time. While it required multiple mana investments to function effectively, it gave black decks a slow but flexible removal option. In limited environments, it was a strong way to gradually dismantle an opponent’s board.
Decks It’s Used In: Torture found its place in Mono-Black control decks that relied on attrition and resource denial. It paired well with other black enchantments and removal to create a steady lock on an opponent’s creatures. Though inefficient by modern standards, it was a useful card in slower, grindy matchups.
Impact on Magic: This card influenced Magic by showcasing black’s ability to deal incremental damage through enchantments. It set the stage for later black aura-based removal, such as Dead Weight and Sinister Concoction. While Torture is rarely played today, it demonstrated how black could control the battlefield in a slow but methodical manner.
7. Koskun Falls
Why It’s on the List: Koskun Falls was a unique black control card that functioned similarly to Propaganda, taxing opponents' attacks. It provided black decks with a way to slow down aggressive strategies, which was unusual for the color at the time. The requirement to tap a creature made it somewhat restrictive, but in grindy matchups, it could buy crucial turns.
Decks It’s Used In: This card saw play in control decks that wanted to stall until they could establish a stronger position. It was especially effective in Mono-Black decks that used creatures like Hypnotic Specter, where tapping one attacker to slow down multiple enemy creatures was worthwhile. In Commander, it remains a useful tool in pillow-fort strategies.
Impact on Magic: Koskun Falls influenced Magic by expanding black’s role in taxing effects, an ability more commonly associated with white and blue. It foreshadowed later cards like No Mercy and The Meathook Massacre, which gave black more defensive tools. While rarely seen in competitive formats, it demonstrated how different colors could share certain mechanics in unique ways.
6. Eron the Relentless
Why It’s on the List: Eron the Relentless was one of the most aggressive red creatures of his time, featuring haste and the ability to regenerate. A 5/2 body with haste allowed him to apply immediate pressure, while regeneration ensured he could survive combat and removal attempts. He was a rare example of a red creature that combined aggression with staying power, making him a valuable midrange threat.
Decks It’s Used In: Eron was a solid inclusion in red midrange decks that wanted a resilient attacker. While his high mana cost made him less appealing in faster aggressive decks, he fit well into Mono-Red control or big-mana strategies. His combination of haste and regeneration made him particularly useful in grindy matchups.
Impact on Magic: His design influenced later red creatures that prioritized both speed and resilience, such as Blistering Firecat and Rekindling Phoenix. Eron was also part of the early push to give legendary creatures strong identities, reinforcing the idea that mono-red could have durable threats. Though largely outclassed today, he remains a memorable part of Magic’s history.
5. Autumn Willow
Why It’s on the List: Autumn Willow was the first creature in Magic to have what would later be known as hexproof, making her an incredibly difficult-to-remove threat. Her 4/4 body for six mana wasn’t efficient, but the ability to avoid targeted spells was rare at the time. She was a frustrating card for control decks that relied on spot removal.
Decks It’s Used In: Autumn Willow saw play in Mono-Green midrange decks that sought to grind out control decks by presenting an untouchable threat. She was also used in casual play and early Magic formats where her resilience could outlast opposing threats. Over time, she has been overshadowed by more efficient hexproof creatures.
Impact on Magic: This card influenced Magic by introducing the concept of hexproof before it was officially named. It demonstrated the value of creatures that could bypass traditional removal, leading to later designs like Thrun, the Last Troll and Troll Ascetic. Autumn Willow remains an important piece of Magic’s history as the progenitor of the hexproof mechanic.
4. Baron Sengir
Why It’s on the List: Baron Sengir is an iconic vampire that helped define the tribe’s identity before Vampires became a major supported archetype. With regenerating abilities and a strong 5/5 body, he was a resilient, flavor-heavy creature. While not competitive by today’s standards, he was a favorite in casual and kitchen-table play.
Decks It’s Used In: He was primarily used in Mono-Black midrange or control decks that sought to take advantage of his resilience and synergy with sacrifice effects. Baron Sengir also saw play in early Vampire tribal decks, though his high mana cost limited his competitive viability. Today, he is more of a Commander card used for nostalgia and theme-driven decks.
Impact on Magic: Baron Sengir helped lay the groundwork for later Vampire tribal cards, such as the Sengir line of creatures and future lords like Captivating Vampire. He also showed how legendary creatures could embody flavorful world-building. Although outclassed, his legacy in Magic’s design and lore is undeniable.
3. Ihsan’s Shade
Why It’s on the List: Ihsan’s Shade was one of the strongest creatures in Homelands, boasting a large 5/5 body with protection from white, making it nearly impossible for white decks to remove. In a time when creatures were generally weaker, its resilience and offensive power made it a force to be reckoned with. It was particularly effective in formats where white control decks like The Deck were dominant.
Decks It’s Used In: It found a home in Mono-Black decks that aimed to control the board before dropping an unanswerable threat. Decks built around Dark Ritual could deploy Ihsan’s Shade early, creating a fast clock against slower opponents. Although it became outclassed by later creatures, it was an early example of an efficient, hard-to-kill finisher.
Impact on Magic: The card influenced Magic by showing the importance of protection as a mechanic in making creatures resilient. It also reinforced black’s identity as a color that could summon powerful, independent threats. While it has faded from competitive play, Ihsan’s Shade remains a nostalgic favorite from early Magic.
2. Serrated Arrows
Why It’s on the List: Serrated Arrows is one of the best removal artifacts printed in early Magic, offering repeatable -1/-1 counters that can weaken or eliminate creatures over multiple turns. It was an effective tool in controlling aggressive decks, providing versatility without requiring additional mana investments each turn. Because it was colorless, any deck could run it, making it widely used in Pauper and older formats.
Decks It’s Used In: This card was especially useful in Pauper, where it helped midrange and control decks handle small creatures like Delver of Secrets and Spellstutter Sprite. It also saw play in older Standard and Extended formats as a sideboard option against aggressive decks. The ability to spread damage over multiple turns made it valuable in attrition-based strategies.
Impact on Magic: Serrated Arrows influenced Magic by demonstrating the effectiveness of non-mana-intensive removal over time. It also inspired later designs of modular counter-based removal like Trigon of Corruption. The card remains a classic example of efficient colorless removal that can fit into many archetypes.
1. Merchant Scroll
Why It’s on the List: Merchant Scroll is one of the most powerful tutors ever printed for blue decks, allowing players to search for an instant blue spell and put it directly into their hand. It has been a staple in various formats, particularly in combo and control decks, where finding the right spell at the right time is crucial. Its ability to fetch cards like Ancestral Recall and Force of Will in Vintage makes it exceptionally strong.
Decks It’s Used In: Merchant Scroll is a core component of blue control decks, combo decks, and decks that rely on key instants like High Tide in Legacy. It can find answers such as counterspells or win conditions like Brain Freeze in Storm decks. While not as widely played as in its heyday, it remains a powerful tool in formats that allow it.
Impact on Magic: The card influenced Magic by showcasing the power of efficient tutors, setting the stage for later blue search effects. It also reinforced the concept of card advantage and consistency in deckbuilding. Over time, Merchant Scroll has been restricted or banned in some formats due to its ability to enable degenerate strategies.
Despite Homelands being one of the weakest sets in Magic’s history, it still introduced some interesting and influential cards. Merchant Scroll remains a key piece of blue’s tutor identity, while cards like Serrated Arrows and Koskun Falls showed unique approaches to control strategies. Many of these cards paved the way for future mechanics and archetypes, demonstrating that even a weak set can leave a lasting impact.
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