by Richard Rowell, Gaming Successfully Staff
Fathom Feeder is an interesting rare Eldrazi Drone from Battle for Zendikar. It has a bunch of abilities on it worth looking into. First of all, it obviously has Devoid, making it essentially colorless despite its colored mana cost of UB (Blue/Black). The Feeder also has Deathtouch and Ingest. This is a pretty good combination since opponents will have to decide whether to block and lose a creature or lose a card from the top of their library to exile. It also has an ability for 3UB to draw card, then exile the top card of each opponent’s library.
While the ability seems a bit overcosted at five mana, Azure Mage was pretty good at drawing cards at 3U, only one mana less. The Feeder is basically an upgraded Azure Mage and as the ability is repeatable and able to be played at instant speed, control decks are often leaving up plenty of mana for counter magic as it is. A free card that also denies your opponent one of their cards seems worth that price.
While I think this is definitely Constructed-playable, and most certainly good in Limited where the Ingest and extra ability to exile are even more relevant, I think a lot of Blue/Black Commanders will like this guy. 5 mana for draw a card and exile a card from each opponent’s library is perfectly fine in that often grindy format. Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker, and Phenax, God of Deception are a few Commanders that would probably welcome the Feeder into their forces. These sorts of blue/black Commanders often can produce tons of black mana, so only requiring a single blue mana for each activation of that ability is a big deal.
How much play the Feeder sees will depend on just how much you can do with your opponents’ exiled cards in the long run. Oblivion Sower will help you grab tons of lands, certainly, but what other crazy effects are on the horizon? If Ingest becomes a viable Constructed strategy, expect to see playsets of this guy going like crazy.
(9/9/15 - English name confirmed to be Fathom Feeder)
While the ability seems a bit overcosted at five mana, Azure Mage was pretty good at drawing cards at 3U, only one mana less. The Feeder is basically an upgraded Azure Mage and as the ability is repeatable and able to be played at instant speed, control decks are often leaving up plenty of mana for counter magic as it is. A free card that also denies your opponent one of their cards seems worth that price.
While I think this is definitely Constructed-playable, and most certainly good in Limited where the Ingest and extra ability to exile are even more relevant, I think a lot of Blue/Black Commanders will like this guy. 5 mana for draw a card and exile a card from each opponent’s library is perfectly fine in that often grindy format. Circu, Dimir Lobotomist, Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker, and Phenax, God of Deception are a few Commanders that would probably welcome the Feeder into their forces. These sorts of blue/black Commanders often can produce tons of black mana, so only requiring a single blue mana for each activation of that ability is a big deal.
How much play the Feeder sees will depend on just how much you can do with your opponents’ exiled cards in the long run. Oblivion Sower will help you grab tons of lands, certainly, but what other crazy effects are on the horizon? If Ingest becomes a viable Constructed strategy, expect to see playsets of this guy going like crazy.
(9/9/15 - English name confirmed to be Fathom Feeder)
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