We’ve officially crossed into the 2nd half of 2022, and we’ve already seen a lot of great Magic sets released. From the return to Kamigawa to the new, glitzy Streets of New Capenna, there’s been a lot to be excited about, from new mechanics to powerful new cards that have inserted themselves into multiple formats?

Which are the best Magic cards so far in 2022? We picked out 6 brand new cards (no reprints), including easy picks like The Wandering Emperor and Boseiju, Who Endures. Read on to find out the rest!

Archivist of Oghma – Commander Powerhouse

Although we’ve already featured Archivist of Oghma as one of the top card-draw outlets in white, it deserves another mention here as it’s a great card that lifts white a little more off the ground in the Commander scene. 

Archivist fits in nicely for both casual and competitive Commander, but is increasingly effective in the latter when opponents are almost certainly using Fetch Lands such as Polluted Delta or Tutor spells (i.e. Imperial Seal etc.). 

His other stats are just right too. Costing 2 Mana and being able to come in at an instant (as it has Flash) means you can catch an opponent off-guard and draw when they least expect it.  

White has historically struggled to keep up with card advantage, so to have Archivist of Oghma arrive like a holy beacon of light and become an auto-include in many decks, it deserves its spot as one of the best cards of 2022. 

Fable of the Mirror-Breaker – Best Enchantment

A week after Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty was released, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker was still idling in the bargain bin because no one saw any value in it. 

In truth, Fable of the Mirror-Breaker provides so much value that it has become indispensable in many decks. Just costing 3 Mana, you first get a 2/2 token that creates a Treasure every time it attacks. Left alone, you can be ramping faster than even green decks could. 

Its 2nd ability is a great filtering effect, essentially a Faithless Looting that lets you change out unwanted cards in your hand and draw 2 off your Library so that you can get the cards you need. 

The last ability is potentially the most powerful, with Reflection of Kiki-Jiki able to create copies of any of your other Creatures. While you could use these token copies as a free attacker on your turn, that leaves you defenseless on the opponent’s turn, since you have to tap Kiki-Jiki as well. 

The smart play is to create the copy only at the end of the opponent’s turn, as your copy will be able to attack while leaving Kiki-Jiki untapped. 

Ledger Shredder – Best Cutting-Edge Looter

This unassuming little bird actually provides immense value and can grow to a big, flying monstrosity that is tough to get rid off. 

Ledger Shredder costs only 2 Mana, and is a 1/3 Flying Creature that Connives (draw a card, and discard a card. Add a +1/+1 counter if it’s not a Land) when any player casts their 2nd spell each turn. 

It not only holds back your opponent from doing too much, you can also take advantage of the ability by using multiple 1-Mana cantrips or spells such as Brainstorm, Play with Fire or Consider. It works extremely well with Reckless Rage since its 3 Toughness is enough to withstand 2 damage. 

Left alone, Ledger Shredder also grows into an attacking threat. 1/3 may be weak, but a 3/5 or 4/6 in the air is really difficult to deal with unless you are playing black or white with direct removal. 

The Shredder is becoming a common sight in multiple formats, making it one of the top cards in 2022. 

The Wandering Emperor – Best Planeswalker in an Instant

As the first ever Planeswalker with Flash, it’s no surprise that The Wandering Emperor is extremely powerful and one of the best new cards of the year. 

The formerly face-less Planeswalker can also activate her abilities at an instant on the turn she enters the Battlefield. That means she can either create a 2/2 blocker, give another of Creatures +1/+1 and First Strike to fend off enemies, or outright Exile a tapped Creature while gaining 2 life.

The Wandering Emperor is thus a perfect fit for control decks that have board wipes to clear the field of Creatures while using Planeswalkers to generate value. The presence of Flash makes it incredibly tricky for opponents to navigate since you can easily respond to whatever they are doing. 

Boseiju, Who Endures – Flexible, Surprise Removal

Lands have been gaining a lot of traction in recent times, and last year’s new Creature Lands like Hive of the Eye Tyrant and Den of the Bugbear are so good as backup attackers and blockers that you see them in Standard decks everywhere. 

But then comes Lands with the Channel ability that lets you discard it to activate an ability. For Boseiju, Who Endures, you can destroy an Artifact, Enchantment, or non-basic Land, even those that we just mentioned.

As it is an ability and not a spell, a Counterspell doesn’t work on it, and its broad application of being able to target 3 card types makes it very flexible. At the very least, you can play it as an untapped Forest. 

Farewell – Best Board Wipe

This might be the most contentious as one of the top cards for 2022, but we feel it has earned its place thanks to devastating effect.

For 6 Mana, Farewell Exile all Creatures, Artifacts, Enchantments, or Graveyards, or any combination that you please. For that cost, no other spell has been so all-encompassing in terms of resetting the game. 

If the opponent is playing a deck built around Artifacts, just Exile all of them. The same goes for Enchantments and Graveyard recursion decks. Because it Exiles and not destroys, it also sidesteps all “dying” triggers that the opponent might have. 

Notice that Farewell cannot remove Planeswalkers, which makes control or Planeswalker-themed decks a natural fit, just like a hand into a glove.  

End Step

What did you think of our list? No doubt there’ll be more new and powerful cards that will be released in the rest of 2022 for the Dominaria United and The Brothers War sets. We’ll be sure to add on to the list as the year progresses!