Aetherdrift (DFT) Limited Introduction — White

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Aetherdrift (DFT) will hold its prerelease events on February 7, 2025, and be officially released a week later on February 14, 2025. Want to know more about how individual cards rate in Limited, with recommendations? Then check out this series of DFT Limited introductions!

• For a mechanics breakdown, see this article: Aetherdrift Mechanics Breakdown

Rating Scale

5.0: Unconditional must-pick, brings a near-winning advantage
4.5: Unconditional must-pick if in the right colors, brings a huge advantage
4.0: First-pick value, extremely synergistic with the color pair’s theme, can be the deciding card for splashing/switching colors or entering a color pair
3.5: Top uncommons and commons of the set and other cards of sufficient power, synergize well with the color pair’s theme, can be a key card for entering a color pair
3.0: Important cards for the color pair’s theme and other above-average cards, you’d want them in your final deck
2.5: Average level, usually a decent curve filler
2.01.0: Below average, basically leaning toward not playing; can be used as filler if necessary, but not too many
0.50.0: Unplayable, basically don’t play it, playing it will only help you lose

Ratings

Score: 2.5
Comment: Easy to crew, and flying plus vigilance let it attack and still block. A decent Vehicle creature.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Vigilance for the whole team, and once per turn you get a free crew or saddle. Having one in the deck is quite good.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Basri is back, this time as a cat lover protecting the kitties, but unfortunately he only protects cats and his body is a bit weak. One key point to share with everyone: exert can be activated repeatedly, but it’s checked all at once during the untap step. If you can untap Basri, you can keep exerting him; after the next untap-step check passes, he can stand up again the turn after that.

Score: 2.0
Comment: The saddle cost is a bit high, and becoming a 2/3 flyer is only so-so in the midgame. Treat it as an early small creature that pokes at the opponent.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A 4-mana creature that, when saddled and attacking on turn 5, becomes a 4/4 and may keep growing. A decent filler creature.

Score: 2.0
Comment: A Vehicle that brings its own Pilot, with a middling body, but you might win with the little planes it makes.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Easy to saddle, it can keep growing your teammates or itself, and it can protect creatures too. The earlier you play it, the stronger it is, a quality two-drop. Remember the sacrifice ability only protects creatures with counters.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Its good body lets nearly all Vehicles and Mounts get moving and bring positive abilities, and since it’s tapped and doesn’t need to attack, it’s safe from being traded off. A very nice creature.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A quality Pilot. Grab more of them in decks with lots of Vehicles or Mounts.

Score: 2.5
Comment: As removal it sometimes needs a favorable board, and as artifact removal it’s relatively important in a Vehicle set. Having one or two in the deck is decent in this Vehicle-heavy format.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A 3-mana 3/3, a middling body. It’s a pity the ability can’t be put on a plain creature.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Six mana to suppress a creature or Vehicle, while also being a big creature that can cycle early. But in the mid-to-late game, whether it can attack as an attacker is hard to say.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Because of the large number of Vehicles in this set, the creatures taking part in combat tend to have bodies a size bigger than before, so as instant-speed removal this is a great card.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A 2-mana 2/3 with lifelink and a good body, with saddle that reliably gets you a land. A very nice creature.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A quality creature with built-in ward 2. Although the saddle cost is high, if it can find removal from the library and bring it into play, it’s well worth it.

Score: 2.5
Comment: If your deck is full of artifacts, this card’s lethality is very strong; otherwise, just treat it as a 1/4 flying blocker.

Score: 2.5
Comment: It can crew twice, or crew and then keep blocking, so there are many ways to use it.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A quality creature that speeds you up early and can draw cards late. A great filler creature.

Score: 2.0
Comment: After the combat rules change, combat tricks are relatively weak, not to mention it only pumps with no other upside, but since it can cycle, it can go into the deck as filler.

Score: 2.0
Comment: Although as an aura it’s a bit ordinary, if you speed up smoothly, late in the game you can use it over and over to attack with an advantage, and that kind of trading situation is decent.

Score: 3.0
Comment: It gives lifelink on top of the usual, which sometimes makes a big difference in racing.

Score: 2.0
Comment: It needs to be paired with blue-white or black-white to bring out its value; otherwise even the Max speed ability is relatively ordinary.

Score: 3.5
Comment: An Oblivion Ring effect, with an extra ability that keeps growing things at Max speed. It deserves a high score, but note that it’s an artifact, which is relatively easy to remove in this set.

Score: 2.5
Comment: It can serve as a blocker itself, and at Max speed it makes teammates’ attacks more threatening.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Duskmourn’s Seized from Slumber only destroyed; in this set it becomes exile outright. The best representative of power creep, you have to play it.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A three-mana aura that also brings a Pilot, and the lifelink gives an edge in trades of life.

Score: 3.0
Comment: The crew cost is a bit high, but this set has quite a few cheating ways to get it moving, and just standing there gives an aura-like effect. It’s very suitable as a finisher in a white-based Vehicle midrange deck.

Score: 3.0
Comment: Basically used to block the opponent’s Vehicles from activating, a Vehicle with an excellent body.

Score: 4.0
Comment: A sweeper whose value is guaranteed not to be disrupted by tricks, and it comes with a cycling ability.

Score: 2.5
Comment: Scry on entering helps you move forward, but a Vehicle that isn’t necessarily great in trades.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A 2-mana 3/3, a great-value vanilla, very good as an early creature or a Pilot.

Score: 2.5
Comment: A middling body, and at Max speed it can double as a blocker, which is nice.

Score: 2.0
Comment: If you dig a Vehicle back, it can become a permanent artifact creature that beats people up. This would be an alternate extra cheating method for white-based Vehicle decks, but without the right pieces it scores relatively low.

Paired with Valor’s Flagship, cycling it early and then digging it back basically means you’re about to win!

Score: 3.5
Comment: Saddling it yourself guarantees it won’t be traded off, and you can also untap the creature used to saddle it for defense. A very excellent creature in combat.

Score: 3.0
Comment: A super powerful finisher that can also cycle early to call a Pilot. Crewing it isn’t hard by itself, so if you open it, it should go in your deck.

Score: 3.5
Comment: A great-value 1-mana 2/3 Vehicle, with an ability that keeps growing it and gives it evasion. It’s well suited to white-based aggressive decks.

Score: 3.0
Comment: It isn’t limited to Vehicles but works with all artifacts, which makes this card very effective in this set.

Conclusion

White has quite a lot of Vehicles with excellent bodies, and even ways to cheat them into motion. But I’d remind everyone that you can’t take too many Vehicles; you also need a certain number of crew creatures to get the Vehicles moving.