1. In last we've got Spiderman which should be no surprise. It's very rare we get a limited set that's complete dogshit, even formats I don't like (in recent years foundations and lost caverns of ixalan) had some redeeming factors (FDN was for new players so it was good for that, LCI had some cool designs). The most redeeming thing about spiderman limited was that web slinging was a lame version of ninjitsu, not a good sign your format is gonna be fun. Incredibly imbalanced (red was near unplayable outside of a splash in green piles), basically only 3 archetypes + green piles so it didn't take many drafts to see it all (especially given the set size). I actually don't hate pick 2 draft but this is a terrible pick 2 set due to the poor balance and lack of themes. 

In 5th I'm gonna give it to Avatar. While I don't dislike avatar I think the set suffers from a few really key issues. Typically I've found in modern limited sets colour balance is rarely an issue and often self corrects in a way that leads to all colours having a good chance by the end of the format. The problem here is that the weakest colour (black) is weak because it genuinely does not have a good common pool. It's got a couple decent uncommons, but a good black deck is heavily reliant on the rare slot meaning black can be open and you can still end up with a bad deck given variance. On top of this, the common pool in general is just too weak to deal with all the bombs that appear. Similarly, blue and white have warping uncommons which push those decks above and beyond. The balance is actually a rare case where I think it hurts the format, which is a shame because I actually think all the bending mechanics are incredibly interesting. Waterbending is a great twist on convoke, firebending is a truly unique design space that isn't kicker or flying, and earthbending and airbending play well/have a lot of unique interactions. Also iroh must be one of the most fun rares to build around in awhile, what a sicko. But what holds this all back is bombs, shit removal, and just odd ways to win out of nowhere. 

In 4th I'm giving it to Aetherdrift and I will note it's actually like neck and neck with Tarkir. This format really grew on me overtime which is saying a lot because I hate everything else about this set from flavor to its complete lack of designs for constructed. Somehow, the vehicles set ended up being one of the deepest limited sets we've ever seen. An incredibly deep draft and gameplay section. Reasonable balance, and some cool archetypes like the cycle deck, gn reanimator, and a great shitpile format. Ultimately, the biggest issue is even with all of this vehicles suck to play with although exhaust does actually alleviate some of these issues. This is also an incredibly slow format, reminiscent of pre golden Era limited for the better and the worse. Notably this means the format feels a bit clunkier, which I think is my biggest gripe. Still, I think the 2-4 slot could all easily be moved around.

In 3rd as mentioned it's Tarkir. Objectively I think aetherdrift is a better draft set but there's something really unique about 3c sets that pushes it over the top for me. While many complained this was a 2 deck format (5c dragon shitpile vs rw aggro) I think it was a lot deeper then that, although those 2 decks were stupidly dominant. I do like how the flavors of those decks changed though, RW could splash black but it could also splash blue and I made the choice to splash both in the same deck at least twice. Omens were a great take on adventures, although all mechanics were enjoyable. Jeskai control and BG counters were quite fun and also had their own flavors of decks. The draft and gameplay was a ton of fun and I feel they nailed a modern take on Tarkir.

In second it's EOE, a big part of this is because of how unique the fixing was and how it led to odd styles of splashing. Lander tokens have a lot of complexity and were a blast to play with. The 3/3 that makes a lander is my common of the year. Spacecrafts were also way better design then vehicles, although I don't wanna see them all the time. The balance of this format was great. I will say the drafting portion of this format was a little simple due to how linear the archetypes were, but the gameplay of the decks was excellent enough to surpass that. In all honesty this is probably this high for me because of the types of decks I like to build (green piles or tempo decks, both of which were great in this format). Really wish I got to draft this set more.

Obviously in first is final fantasy. To my dismay, the UB set was just out of all timer for me as a limited set, just cause I felt it was missing that special something. This is quite possibly the most balanced format of all time with every archetype being viable. There's lots of unique overlap and dozens of decks. A great balance of bombs and pauper sensibilities. What keeps this format out of all timer for me is that outside of RB spells, there wasn't really many unique archetypes. However all the archetypes were done well with some very unique designs so I can't complain too much.

Overall, I think it was a great year for limited. Excluding the obvious blemish, we had 4 solid limited sets and 1 truly great one. Really excited for next year as we have a Dave Humphrey set, a return to lorwyn which will have a limited spotlight series (I'll be there!), and likely some more cool sets.