The higher your deck's average cmc and the more turns required to win the game, the more lands you'll want to run
While a number of the cards from this set have aged poorly (looking at you, Skyshroud Behemoth), a number were notable threats at that time but dont quite make the cut on this modern value-based list: Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero was the engine for Rebel decks from this era, Saproling Burst slotted perfectly into Fires of Yavimaya decks (and also formed an instant-win combo with Pandemonium), and Rising Waters fueled a brutal control deck alongside the various Stax pieces and counterspells from sets of this era
Standard hasnt been given much of a spotlight lately
It also works well in the 99 of commanders like Kalamax, the Stormsire and Niv-Mizzet, Parun, that focus on spells
Zack Fair Rarity: Uncommon TYPE: Legendary Creature SUBTYPE: Human Soldier CMC: 1 Mana cost: USD: $0.25 EUR: 0.15 TIX: 0.03 EDHREC RANK: 2874 Zack Fair enters with a +1/+1 counter on it
That means in one round of turns, he'll be at 7 loyalty in your second turn and by your next turn you'll be at 11 enough to ultimate and keep him around
