Goblin Bazaar is a nice bonus when you aren’t under too much pressure. Phandelver would’ve had you making a 1/1 goblin or a Treasure by now, which demonstrates why the Lost Mine is better if you aren’t planning on venturing much. This is a very minor bonus otherwise, but it’s better than nothing. The most interesting thing about Yawning Portal is pairing it with lifegain payoffs like Celestial Unicorn and Lurking Roper, although Selesnya decks without a heavy venture theme still might prefer Phandelver. The dungeon’s early modes are admittedly underpowered compared to Lost Mine of Phandelver, which makes this a poor choice in decks without a critical density of venture cards. Its finale of “draw three and cast one for free” is just plain seductive, particularly with scry 3 above it. As you might expect, this means that it carries the greatest rewards. Dungeon of the Mad Mageĭungeon of the Mad Mage is the slowest dungeon to complete, requiring seven ventures to get to the Mad Wizard’s Lair. “Draw a card” is a simple but nice payoff for completing Phandelver, and you can basically view the Lost Mine as worth about 1.3ish cards in total when you consider all of its effects. The exception of course is if one damage from Dark Pool is lethal. This is almost never a better choice than Storeroom, but it can be better than Fungi Cavern when you’re ahead on board and have no use for a temporary -4/-0.

As with Storeroom, you shouldn’t expect to use this as a combat trick since no venture cards have the right timing to do that. This is particularly appreciated as Mine Tunnels doesn’t affect the board. This is a decent “lifegain” effect since -4/0 basically negates an attack on its own, especially early in the game. Using Storeroom as a surprise combat trick is basically impossible since the only way to venture at instant speed is Bar the Gate. This can let you outsize a blocker or pump a small evasive creature like Ranger's Hawk. This is a small but useful bonus, particularly if you’re pressuring your opponent. You should consider this choice carefully as it affects both this venture and the next. The same goes for Mine Tunnels and Storeroom.

Keep in mind that if you choose Goblin Lair, you can’t go into Fungi Cavern. Mine Tunnels is better when you’re land light, trying to ramp into a big spell, or need color fixing. Goblin Lair is a superior choice when you’re flooded, need a chump blocker, need to trade with an x/1, or want something to wear equipment.

Early game you can find extra lands or try to mitigate a flood, and later on you’ll almost always be bottoming lands. Scry 1 is always going to be nice, early or late. It’s also the most impactful dungeon if you can’t finish it, making the Lost Mine a popular choice for decks with only a few incidental venture cards.

The rest of Phandelver’s modes are decently useful and the entire dungeon can be completed in just four ventures. In a vacuum, scry 1 is better than gaining one life or having each player lose one life. This is largely because Phandelver has the best Level 1 mode. While I said there’s no true “best dungeon,” there’s certainly a most commonly picked one which would be none other than Lost Mine of Phandelver. Let’s take a look at each of them individually, shall we? Lost Mine of Phandelver There’s no universal “best” dungeon as each excels in different situations. Black ventures the most and also has the best venture common in Precipitous Drop.Īs you likely know, there are three dungeons in the set: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Lost Mine of Phandelver, and Tomb of Annihilation. Venture appears in every color, though red barely has any and green’s venture is mostly tied to its higher rarity cards. You descend into dungeons with the venture mechanic, which appears on lots of cards in various different ways (i.e., venture when ETB, venture on attack, pay (3) and tap to venture, etc.). Dungeons/Ventureĭungeons are the most unique mechanic in the set and greatly affect card evaluations, gameplay, deckbuilding, and drafting. Rather than rehashing the same info, I’ll expand on these segments and cover things I think WotC missed. Wizards already covered the basics of Forgotten Realms ’ mechanics. Fifty Feet of Rope | Illustration by Andrew Mar

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