Planar Outburst - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

With the spoiling of the enemy-colored “man lands,” getting a board wipe like Planar Outburst makes a ton of sense. Similar to End Hostilities, this board-wipe costs 5 mana (3WW) but instead of destroying all creatures and any permanents attached to them, this destroys all non-land creatures. Not only that, Outburst has an alternate casting cost for Awaken. It’s hefty at 5WWW for Awaken 4, but depending on what man-lands you end up playing alongside this, a +4/+4 boost is quite welcome.

Unless Equipment becomes a big deal in the near future in Standard, Planar Outburst could well become the best non-Crux of Fate board-wipe in the format. The Awaken ability is expensive, yes, but well worth it, especially given the presence of the man lands which benefit from the +1/+1 counters. It’s even better to have man lands you don’t have to pay to animate every single turn. With the “lands matter” theme certainly very present in this return to Zendikar, it makes more and more sense why the instant speed removal has been toned down in this set; who wants to animate a land and have it fall victim to Hero’s Downfall?

In what may prove to be a very grindy format in which man-lands or Eldrazi fatties will ultimately land the crippling blows, Planar Outburst could be the board-wipe of choice for White mages. It certainly paves the way for creature-less control decks to become a thing again, relying on the man-lands to bash in for lethal damage. Or at least, that’s what Wizards R&D seems to be thinking.

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