Dawnbringer Charioteers - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

With the introduction of the Heroic mechanic in Theros, many players were hopeful that Wizards had introduced a truly competitive archetype. Although Heroic has never done what Wizards R&D hoped that it would in the competitive game, it's had its moments winning minor tournaments here and there and placing well in Magic Online daily competitions.

Though the Heroic mechanic was printed on plenty of decent cards, Dawnbringer Charioteers from Journey into Nyx was never going to be another stalwart card in the archetype. It’s a 2/4 with Flying and Lifelink for 2WW, which isn't incredibly exciting. Its Heroic ability is that each time that it’s targeted, you put a +1/+1 counter on it. This is an ability that's appeared on a good number of Heroic creatures, and it's not bad for an uncommon.

Unfortunately, this isn't an uncommon. That's a gold symbol there for the rarity - it's a rare. It was even a featured card in a Journey into Nyx Intro Pack. In Limited, this card was always a decent pick, though. A flier with lifelink for 4 mana is a strong play, especially with how easy Heroic was to build around in the Theros block Limited environment. Having this at uncommon would've made it a format All-Star rather than just an okay rare-draft.

However, a 2/4 for 4 mana simply isn't too fantastic in Constructed, as it doesn't do anything outside of get a bit bigger. Competitive Heroic decks need to conserve their mana and a 4 drop Heroic creature just isn't going to cut it with such underwhelming stats.

From a casual perspective, the Charioteers are a Human Soldier, so it’s playable in a Heroic Soldier deck in Commander if you desperately need one more Heroic creature. But besides that, it's just a bulk rare with no long-term value.

---