Undergrowth Champion - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Managorger Hydra and the Hardened Scales crew has a new friend, Undergrowth Champion, a mythic rare from Battle for Zendikar. A 2/2 for 1GG seems uninspiring, but he gains a +1/+1 counter each time you drop a land thanks to his Landfall ability. Not only that, but if he’s dealt damage in any way while he has a +1/+1 counter on him, you remove a counter and prevent that damage. This guy can shrug off Exquisite Firecraft and combat damage all day.

If there was any card out there that could make Retreat to Kazandu playable in a Hardened Scales deck, it would be this guy. With Hardened Scales already giving you an extra +1/+1 counter, Return to Kazandu then allows you to get yet another +1/+1 counter for each land drop. It’s not unrealistic to have Undergrowth Champion become a 4/4, then a 6/6, then an 8/8 very quickly, and damage based removal doesn’t do much to this guy - hence his mythic rare status.

This guy is a four-of staple in Hardened Scales decks. Even if Constructed doesn’t really find room for Retreat to Kazandu (a 3-drop enchantment ends up cutting down on the creatures you could be playing instead), Hardened Scales alone will make Undergrowth Champion quite a force to be reckoned with. Do keep in mind that any time he’s blocked, and combat damage is dealt, he’ll lose a +1/+1 counter. He may not be quite as busted as he at first looks, but he’s definitely a constructed playable card that will make a super good friend to Servant of the Scale, Avatar of the Resolute, and other +1/+1 counter happy creatures.

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