Category: Theros

Bident of Thassa from Theros - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/22/2018

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Theros is full of great artifacts and enchantments. While Burnished Hart and Whip of Erebos are more popular, Bident of Thassa is definitely a good card. It is the weapon of Thassa, one of the best Gods featured in the set. The Bident does something similar to a card from way back in Mercadian Masques called Coastal Piracy. As long as the Bident is on the field, every time a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you have a chance to draw a card.

The additional effect of the Bident costs one colorless and one blue mana and requires you to tap it. This tap effect makes it so that all creatures that your opponents control must attack during that turn if able. This can be a fantastic way to really mess up an opponent's strategy. At 4 mana, the Bident is towards the top of the mana curve in Constructed decks. But that didn't stop it from having 2 to 3 copies in a number of highly competitive Mono Blue Devotion decklists.

While Bident of Thassa isn't really playable in Modern or other 60-card Constructed format, it's an extremely good EDH/Commander card. That tap ability can badly screw up your other opponents' attack phases. Also, the card advantage that the Bident provides you is extremely important with 99-card decks. While it's not played as much as some of the other artifacts from Theros, it actually sees more play than the more expensive Bow of Nylea and popular Spear of Heliod.

The price of Bident of Thassa is actually quite low considering its playability in EDH. However, this is because of two reprints in a Commander 2015 pre-constructed deck and in Masters 25. Even foils from Theros and Masters 25 are about $1 as of March 2018, and that's just too low for a card that's this useful in so many decks. If you're looking to pick up this card, grabbing a foil copy from either of its foil printings is probably your best bet for the best long-term value. Bident of Thassa is a great card that can give you value in a couple of ways and is worth considering in a wide variety of decks.

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Digging for Bulk - Theros Block (Theros, Born of the Gods & Journey into Nyx) Commons and Uncommons

5/28/2017

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Have a pile or two of cards from Theros block laying around? Theros had some cool stuff, as did Journey into Nyx. Born of the Gods also had very interesting cards. But are there any commons and uncommons still worth anything? Turns out that there are.

Archetype of Courage

There are a lot of popular EDH (Commander) cards in the Theros sets, and Archetype of Courage is one of them. Giving all of your creatures first strike is cool, but denying your opponents’ creatures from having it is even better.

Archetype of Courage has become a very popular card in aggressive Commander decks such as Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit, Odric, Master Tactician, and Kytheon, Hero of Akros, among others. They buylist for about a nickel (0.05 USD) and foils tend to list much higher, around a quarter (0.25 USD). So there is a little cash to be had digging up extra copies of this Archetype.

Archetype of Imagination (FOIL)

Like, Archetype of Courage, Archetype of Imagination is a popular Commander card. It’s for a much different reason, however. The regular non-foil printings are about 0.05 - 0.10 USD on buylists, rivalling Courage. But foils buylist for as much as 1.25 USD. It turns out making your creatures gain flying and make all others lose it is a lot better. The Commanders who take advantage of this Archetype most include Aboshan, Cephalid Emperor, Tibor and Lumia, and Tromokratis, among many others.

Banishing Light

This functional reprint of Oblivion Ring is, guess what, popular in Commander. Overall, it’s just a good card, though. Casual players run it, too. The non-foil versions will probably never be worth a ton of money, especially as there was a reprint in Commander 2015. They can buylist for only a nickel (0.05 USD).

However, the foils are where the money is for this card, much like the Archetypes. Foil copies buylist for about 0.75 USD, but can be found on some lists for as high as 1.50 USD or more!

Dissolve

Like Bile Blight, Dissolve was a pretty good card during its time in Standard. The Scry 1 made it strictly better than most 3 mana counterspell. Now, it mostly just sees Commander play. You can still get a dime for these, and a quarter for foils - including the FNM promo. So if you have a bunch of these around, be sure not to just throw them in a bulk box.

Gnarled Scarhide

Minotaurs were made very popular by a number of cards from Theros. What the deck really needed to be good, though, was a consistent turn-one play. The deck got this with Gnarled Scarhide, a 2 / 1 that can’t block. What’s especially good about this card, though, is its Bestow ability. This allows it to enchant a creature, giving it +2/+1, although it also takes away that creature’s ability to block. If the Enchanted creature dies, you still get to keep Scarhide on the battlefield as a creature again.

With Ragemonger on the board, you could actually play this guy for free. He’s a Minotaur that reduces Minotaur casting costs by RB. In casual play, Minotaurs are actually quite playable. As far as buylists are concerned, this is the only piece you will find that’s not bulk. You’re talking only a nickel (0.05 USD) for these guys in non-foil. For foils, though, you’re looking at $0.50 cash.

As someone who built a casual Minotaur deck for fun (they’re extremely cheap), I can say they are actually reasonably powerful. This is a must-have for that deck. With more Minotaurs being printed in Amonkhet, Minotaurs will probably become an even more popular deck to build.

Nyx-Fleece Ram

One of my favorite cards from Journey into Nyx, the 0/5 Ram was actually quite popular in Standard for a time. Not only could he block well for just 1W, but he is an Enchantment creature, which made him very good in Constellation decks. He also gains you 1 life at the beginning of each of your upkeeps. He’s a lot of value on one card.

Outside of the occasional copies included in Modern Doran the Siege Tower/Assault Formation lists, you don’t see the Ram played much anymore. In those decks, though, the Ram can attack for 5. That’s pretty powerful. Assault Formation decks aside, this is a card casual players eat up. Considering the Ram’s competitive pedigree, that’s not at all surprising. While most buylists only pay about 0.10 USD for this uncommon, some buylists will pay more. It’s one of the more valuable cards on this list. Foils are especially valuable, buylisting for $2 or more!

Searing Blood

Another Theros block card that was good in Standard, Searing Blood was pretty good in Burn decks in Modern for a time, too. Buylists used to pay as much as $0.25 for this card, but it's more like a nickel now for non-foil copies. But because it sees play in Modern, people have hoarded foil copies. Buylists will often pay $1 for this card in foil, and sometimes considerably more if Burn is doing well in Modern at that time.

Searing Blaze, an older card that’s similar, does more work in Modern than this does, however. It’s probably best to just hold onto 4 copies of this card and see if it ever gets played again - or reprinted in a Standard-legal set.

Springleaf Drum

Originally printed as a common in Lorwyn, Springleaf Drum is a powerhouse in Pauper on Magic Online. It’s also pretty good in Affinity in Modern, one of the top decks in the format. While the Lorwyn foils buylist for twice as much as Born of the Gods versions ($6 to $3), the non-foils each buylist for about 0.25 - 0.50 USD. This is probably the most valuable card on this list, as it will always see play somewhere. Casual and Commander players both like this card, too.

Sunbond

This enchantment is super popular among casual players, as lifegain is an extremely popular mechanic on kitchen tables. Turning that lifegain directly into +1/+1 counters on your best creature is very powerful. There’s even been a Modern combo deck with Spike Feeder, which can remove a +1/+1 counter from itself to gain 2 life. This means that Sunbond will give it 2 +1/+1 counters from the lifegain. So not only is it infinite lifegain, but it also gives you an infinitely big creature to swing with. Sunbond has also gained in popular in Karlov of the Ghost Council EDH decks, a very lifegain happy Commander.

Sunbond can net you a quarter (0.25 USD) on some buylists. Foils can even net you as much as $1 or more.

Titan's Strength

Later reprinted in Magic Origins, Titan's Strength is perhaps one of the best Red creature pump spells ever printed. Not only does it give a creature +3/+1 for only a single Red mana, but you also get to Scry 1. Being able to manipulate the top of your deck is like drawing half of a card, as experts say - since you can send an undesirable draw to the bottom of the deck. In aggro decks where you need to keep drawing gas, this is a very desirable attribute for a card.

Copies of Titan's Strength used to buylist for about 0.10. Were it not for the reprint, it would be more. This is the only common on the list, but it’s that good and was legal in Standard through October 2016. After leaving Standard, there hasn't been much buylist demand, but it's still worth picking these out. There are occasionally decks in Modern that will play it.

(While not worth much to most buylists anymore, you should also pull out any copies you find of Bile Blight and Drown in Sorrow, as these Black removal cards still see Modern play from time to time.)

If you were to buylist just 4 copies - a playset - of each of these cards, you’d probably net a few bucks. That’s not including foils or additional copies of each card. On top of the 0.08 - 0.10 USD you could net from any bulk rares you have from the sets, you could find yourself a decent amount of pocket money.

Magic the Gathering (MTG) - Anthousa, Setessan Hero - Heroic Landfall in EDH (Commander)

5/28/2016

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by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

For quite some time, Anthousa, Setessan Hero was a Commander who just didn’t seem to have enough tools at her disposal to be good. But with Battle for Zendikar and Oath of the Gatewatch came some cards that really help her strategy out. Anthousa is a Heroic creature, meaning that you have to target her with spells to activate her ability. Making some easy creatures out of your lands seems good enough. There were cards to support this theme before, but there were not quite enough.

Now, you have Embodiment of Insight that gives your land creatures vigilance. The Enchantment also has a Landfall ability to make 3/3 lands until end of turn. Sylvan Advocate gives all your land creatures and himself +2/+2 once you have six or more lands. There are a couple other spells such as Earthen Arms and Swell of Growth that continue the Heroic theme while giving you more added benefits.

This deck can do a lot of damage in a hurry and there are plenty of ways to protect Anthousa and her growing Land creature army. Here’s a sample deck list you can start from.

Commander

Anthousa, Setessan Hero

Creatures (15)

1     Sylvan Advocate
1     Courser of Kruphix
1     Dungrove Elder
1     Omnath, Locus of Mana
1     Yavimaya Elder
1     Oracle of Mul Daya
1     Sosuke, Son of Seshiro
1     Embodiment of Insight
1     Seedguide Ash
1     Timber Protector
1     Kamahl, Fist of Krosa
1     Rampaging Baloths
1     Steel Hellkite
1     Vigor
1     Avenger of Zendikar

Spells (47)

1     Mutagenic Growth
1     Prey Upon
1     Prey's Vengeance
1     Primal Bellow
1     Rancor
1     Sol Ring
1     Vines of Vastwood
1     Viridescent Wisps
1     Warriors' Lesson
1     Withstand Death
1     Aggressive Urge
1     Canopy Cover
1     Earthen Arms
1     Emerald Medallion
1     Gaea's Touch
1     Livewire Lash
1     Mortal's Resolve
1     Naturalize
1     Runechanter's Pike
1     Skyshroud Blessing
1     Swell of Growth
1     Alpha Status
1     Beast Within
1     Beastmaster Ascension
1     Cultivate
1     Hunter's Insight
1     Kodama's Reach
1     Krosan Grip
1     Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
1     Strata Scythe
1     Wild Defiance
1     Wildsize
1     Bear Umbra
1     Earth Surge
1     Harmonize
1     Monstrify
1     Nature's Will
1     Nevinyrral's Disk
1     Skyshroud Claim
1     Hunter's Prowess
1     Relic Crush
1     Rude Awakening
1     Soul's Majesty
1     Nissa's Renewal
1     Primeval Bounty
1     Boundless Realms
1     Zendikar Resurgent

Lands (37)

33     Forest
1     Mosswort Bridge
1     Rogue's Passage
1     Treetop Village
1     Yavimaya Hollow

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Bident of Thassa from Theros - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

Digging for Bulk - Theros Block (Theros, Born of the Gods & Journey into Nyx) Commons and Uncommons

Magic the Gathering (MTG) - Anthousa, Setessan Hero - Heroic Landfall in EDH (Commander)

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