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Sapling of Colfenor from Eventide - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/31/2015

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & theBrand Shamans network

Sapling of Colfenor is a fascinating Legendary Creature from Eventide. For the most part, she's seen play in Commander alongside Doran, the Siege Tower. As that Commander lets creatures assign their combat damage by their toughness instead of their power, pretty much every creature in that deck has very high toughness..

This makes the Sapling a great way to get creatures into your hand easily while gaining more life than you'll likely ever lose by doing so. Also, because the Sapling is indestructible, you can swing away with her without many worries. (only effects that can exile it when it's attacking are a problem). Therefore, the Sapling's effect should activate fairly often.

With the introduction of Assault Formation in Dragons of Tarkir, copies of Doran the Siege Tower more than doubled in price. That Enchantment essentially doubles as a second copy of Doran. Forgotten Ancient, another popular creature in that deck, also saw a great uptivk in interest. The Sapling would soon follow, due to her utility in that sort of deck.

Also, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, also introduced in Dragons of Tarkir, is a 4/6 with deathtouch that both works well with Doran and Assault Formation's effect and also serves as a sort of Demonic Tutor. This Sidisi works well with both Doran and Sapling of Colfenor.

But, there's more to this card than simply her strong interaction with Doran & Friends. Being a Legendary Creature of her own, the Sapling can support a similar kind of deck of its own with the addition of Assault Formation. The Sapling has long been used as a Treefolk Tribal Commander. Now, she's better than ever.

Also, the Sapling of Colfenor has quite a backstory that you can read about here.

Piracy from Portal Second Age - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/29/2015

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Years ago, Wizards of the Coast released "starter" sets to try and get more players into Magic: the Gathering. These sets include Starter 1999, Portal, Portal Second Age, and the extremely rare and valuable Portal Three Kingdoms. While most cards in these Starter sets are fairly basic, with rares such as Phantom Warrior, which has been since reprinted at uncommon in other sets, there are some unique cards.

Piracy is a card never reprinted outside of Portal Second Age and Starter 1999. It actually does something really cool. For only UU (2 blue mana) during that turn you may tap your opponents' lands to help pay for your spells.

As cool as Piracy's effect is, however, it's a card you rarely ever see played due to how strange its effect really is. It's hard to build a deck around a card like this due to the fact you don't know what lands your opponent may be playing. It's a fun little card in Commander, played at the correct time. If you're able to reuse it later in the game, it gets even better. Piracy is more of a cool curiosity at this point. Still, I would've loved to have pulled one of these had I been playing those starter sets.

Magic the Gathering - Soraya the Falconer Tiny Leaders Deck

3/28/2015

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & theBrand Shamans network

The Tiny Leaders format once took the Magic the Gathering world by storm. It's a variant of the Commander format in which you can only play 50 cards, one of which is your Commander. All of your cards must have a converted mana cost 3 or less. As a result, your choices of Commander are greatly limited.

Today, we'll take a look at one of the more unusual Tiny Leaders, Soraya the Falconer.

As a regular Commander, Soraya doesn't really have the support to be a viable leader in EDH. The good news is that she doesn't just help Falcons, as Falcons were retyped to include all Birds. The only part of her abilities that we will focus on is the fact that she gives all Birds +1/+1. Her banding part is something we can happily ignore for the most part – although it's there for kicks. Banding was one of the early rules in Magic that simply confused people, and for the purposes of this deck, ordinarily it will so rarely come into play.

Since we're only playing 49 cards besides Soraya, it's fairly easy to find 20 Birds to give the deck plenty of firepower in the air.

Here's the list:

Tiny Leader

1x Soraya the Falconer

Creature (20)

1x Adaptive Automaton
1x Apex Hawks
1x Aven Mindcensor
1x Aven Riftwatcher
1x Aven Sunstriker
1x Beacon Hawk
1x Cloudreach Cavalry
1x Courier Hawk
1x Defiant Falcon
1x Duskrider Falcon
1x Eagle of the Watch
1x Freewind Falcon
1x Gustcloak Harrier
1x Lieutenant Kirtar
1x Mystic Familiar
1x Soulcatcher
1x Skyshroud Falcon
1x Suntail Hawk
1x Wild Aesthir

Instant (6)

1x Condemn
1x Disenchant
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Path to Exile
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Tithe

Enchantment (4)

1x Crusade
1x Honor of the Pure
1x Land Tax
1x Soulcatchers' Aerie

Artifact (4)

1x Aether Vial
1x Glint Hawk Idol
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Sword of Feast and Famine

Land (16)

16x Plains

There aren't an incredible number of choices for Birds that cost 3 mana or less, 35 to be exact (As of March 2015).

Some people may play Roc Egg, but it seems a bit too defensive for this deck. The Seller makes a 1/1 bird token, but it's attached to a pretty vanilla 1/2 Human body. Cloudchaser Kestrel seems like a great card to take out Enchantments, but in fact many times you'd hit your own Enchantments. One Bird that was on the bubble for me was Aven Riftwatcher. While he does leave the board after 3 turns, he gains you 2 life on the way in and 2 on the way out. Having a 2/3 body while he's on the board is good, too. While he's a one-drop Glint Hawk was too situational for me to include, especially as there are so few artifacts in the deck.

On the non-creature spell side, Glint Hawk Idol pretty much gives you a Glint Hawk every turn.. Sword of Feast and Famine is a Tiny Leaders staple, and it's going to connect with playing often with all of your flyers. Aether Vial speeds up the attack of your birds by giving you a free one, two, or three drop each turn depending on how many counters you decide to tick it up to. It's a pricey card but is so good in the creature-happy Tiny Leaders format that it fits in a lot of lists. The deck also has mana acceleration with Land Tax and Tithe.

What really helps this deck win, however, is that it has plenty of ways to pump your creatures: Crusade (which affects all White creatures), Honor of the Pure, and Spear of Heliod. Soulcatcher's Aerie can also become a huge boost to your Birds, too, as each one that dies gives the Aerie another feather counter. Each feather counter gives each of your Birds +1/+1. It can get pretty out of control.

While this probably isn't the best Tiny Leaders deck out there, with all of the flyers and pump spells in this deck, it functions much like a White Weenie deck. Soraya is basically another Honor of the Pure, but she does the job. I think this list could be a lot of fun and steal quite a few wins on its aggressive curve alone., I would recommend giving it a try!

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Choke from 8th Edition - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/28/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Ever wish you could shut down those pesky Blue players? Well, players of the popular "Rock" deck in Modern have found one: Choke from 8th Edition. It's actually a card originally from Tempest, but was reprinted in the 8th edition Core Set, making it available to Modern players.

Choke is an Enchantment that costs 2G (2 colorless, 1 Green) to cast. It prevents Islands from untapping during their controllers' untap steps. Not only does Choke shut down basic Islands, but also any of the Ravnica shock lands that count as Islands (Breeding Pool, Hallowed Fountain, Steam Vents, and Watery Grave). In Legacy, it also includes the original dual lands: Tropical Island, Tundra, Underground Sea, and Volcanic Island.

Starting in December 2014, Choke shot up in price from about $1.50 a copy on average to nearly $6 in March 2015. With many Modern Green decks sideboarding at least 2 copies, Choke's value has skyrocketed. With how well the Abzan (Green/White/Black) version of the Rock has done in Modern, Choke has been the perfect way to deal with control players. Essentially, Choke will paralyze opponents in those matchups. It's also seeing some play in Legacy, as Islands rule that format.

If you happen to find copies of Choke sitting around in old uncommons boxes at your local game shop or in your bulk boxes at home, keep in mind that it's roughly a $5 card nowadays. It's definitely one for the trade binder.

(UPDATE JULY 2015: Choke is now over $8 a copy. WOW! Definitely still a card to find!)

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Magic the Gathering - Abzan Beastmaster May 2015 Friday Night Magic Promo Card Review

3/27/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Abzan Beastmaster is an interesting creature card from Fate Reforged that helps you fuel your hand. The Beastmaster allows you to draw an extra card at the beginning of your turn if you control the creature with the greatest toughness or tied for the greatest toughness.

Wizards of the Coast seems to love this card a lot because they decided to commission alternate artwork for a Friday Night Magic promo card, which will be handed out as part of the prize packages for May 2015 FNM events. So far it hasn't seen much play outside of sideboards, but it's a card with some potential.

With high-toughness creatures such as Siege Rhino (5) and Wingmate Roc (4) seeing considerable play, it's not hard to see the Beastmaster consistently drawing you a card or two in the course of a game.. It does have a rather fragile body at 2/1, and currently creatures like Courser of Kruphix take up the 3-mana slot in many Standard decks. But at the September 2015 rotation, there will be room for this card to see play.

In Commander, there are plenty of options in Green for card draw.. Garruk's Packleader, which lets you draw a card anytime you play a creature with power 4 or greater, is a bit more consistent at the creature level. If you can pump out a ton of creatures quickly, though, the Beastmaster should be able to draw you at least a couple of cards, but there are better things to put out in Commander on turn 3. Plus, you have Harmonize, which draws you 3 cards for 4 mana (2GG). Beastmaster is a bit slow for that format.

While Abzan Beastmaster isn't the strongest Friday Night Magic promo ever, it's one that should be played a bit at some point, so it's a good one to have around for when it does end up in some top lists.

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Congregation at Dawn from Ravnica - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/27/2015

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Congregation at Dawn is like a Worldly Tutor on steroids. Whereas Worldly Tutor can get you one of any creature from your deck and put it on top, Congregation can get you up to three. The Tutor costs a single Green mana and Congregation costs GGW, but that’s well worth the cost considering how much you can set up.

What's limited a card like Congregation at Dawn is that, unlike Worldly Tutor, it's split between two colors. That being said some Commander decks have been using it to set up things like Descendant’s Path and Garruk's Horde, as well as other cards that care about creatures being on top of your deck.

Mayael the Anima, for example, is a Commander that very much cares about the creatures on top of your deck. While she can only play one of those creatures with her ability, you can play Congregation at Dawn on the end of your previous opponent's turn to draw a creature that you would want in your hand instead such as Eternal Witness or some other utility creature. You can also use it to guarantee up to three targets for an endgame card like Genesis Wave.

If you're running a creature heavy Commander deck in green and white, this is a great complement to Worldly Tutor.

Magic the Gathering - Skullbriar, the Walking Grave Now A Top Commander for Good?

3/27/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Skullbriar, the Walking Grave has always been one of the most unique Legendary Creatures in Magic: the Gathering. Originally released in the Commander 2011 Counterpunch pre-constructed deck alongside Ghave, Guru of Spores. Skullbriar has had his fans for a very long time. Not only does he gain +1/+1 counters very quickly, but he keeps them as long as he is not sent back to the hand or graveyard.

For some time, Skullbriar has been about a $6-7 card who sees a ton of play in the Commander format. However, in late March 2015, an announcement was made that will change the Commander format forever: Commanders originally could only return to the Command Zone whenever they were destroyed or exiled. They could still be sent back to the library or to their owners' hands. Due to a new rule change, players can choose to have their Commander return to the Command Zone instead no matter how the Commander is removed from the field.

"Tucking" Commanders has long been a part of the Commander format. Many players aren't happy about this change, since some Commanders are best dealt with by returning them to the deck. Now this isn't going to be possible. Returning to the hand isn't too big a deal for most Commanders, and some players prefer this, since you can recast the Commander for its original cost from the hand, However, in the case of Skullbriar, the only way to reset his +1/+1 counters was to send him to the library or the hand. Now, the Skullbriar player can elect to simply return him to the Command Zone. Sure, you'll pay an additional 2 colorless mana for each time he's been cast, but you get to keep his counters. Plus, he has Haste to begin with, so you don't even lose a turn of attacking with him.

Now that Skullbriar can go back to the Command Zone any time he would leave the field, his greatest weakness no longer exists. It makes him a lot, lot scarier, and players who felt his weakness was too great a drawback before suddenly want to play him. Since Skullbriar was only available in a pre-constructed product, and an older one at this point, his price has spiked ridiculously. The beauty of Skullbriar is that really all you need for him is ways to protect him and get him through unblocked (or give him trample), while supplementing him with Zombie tribal support (as he is a Zombie Elemental). You have all of the green mana ramp you could dream of, and the black removal to make sure Skullbriar and his Zombie hordes have plenty of room to deal massive damage.. Cards like Doubling Season are also quite beneficial to stacking up his counters more quickly.

While many Commanders will benefit from the Command Zone rule changes, none benefits nearly as much as does Skullbriar. If you still have a copy of him hanging around, you may want to give him a shot as your next Commander. If you've already been playing Skullbriar, congratulations: things have just gotten a lot more fun for you! Skullbriar, the Walking Grave is now one of the top Commanders in the format.

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Savor the Moment from Shadowmoor - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/26/2015

by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network

Shadowmoor is a set full of interesting cards, many of which have been growing in value in recent years. One of these cards is Savor the Moment, a three-drop extra turn spell. For only 1UU (1 colorless, 2 Blue), you get to take an extra turn, but you skip your untap step.

You may ask, what's the point of taking an extra turn if you can't untap? It would seem that the most you can do is activate planeswalker abilities an extra time. But, if you have Green mana, you could play cards like Awakening and Bear Umbra to get around that drawback.

Awakening is an Enchantment for 2GG which untaps all lands and creatures each turn. Bear Umbra is an Aura (Enchant Creature) that also costs 2GG and whenever the enchanted creature deals combat damage, you get to untap all lands you control. The most obvious solution in any case is to equip a creature with Sword of Feast and Famine, which does essentially the same thing as Bear Umbra but also makes your opponent discard a card – plus it's a colorless Equipment.

Planeswalker-based decks have become particularly popular in Commander and "Super Friends" decks have been around for quite awhile as casual favorites. As such, Savor the Moment has seen play here and there. But, considering how many extra turn spells exist in the Commander format, Savor the Moment is usually the forgotten one.

The Tiny Leaders variant of Commander, however, is unable to use any of these other extra turn spells, as all cards must be converted mana cost 3 or less in order to be played. This makes Lighthouse Chronologist, Sage of Hours, and Savor the Moment the only ways to take extra turns in that format.

That being said, there are fewer planeswalkers in the format for Savor the Moment to take advantage of, but there are some powerful ones: Ajani, Caller of the Pride, Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver, Dack Fayden, Domri Rade, Jace Beleren, and Liliana of the Veil. Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded is available, too. Getting additional effects from Ashiok, Jace, and Liliana seems worth playing Savor the Moment.

Unless you have an easy way to untap enough mana to be able to make that extra turn useful, Savor the Moment is one of those very niche cards mostly only useful to enable extra activations of planeswalker abilities. That being said, it's still a cool card. It's one to watch for, especially if you happen to be playing against a deck that's built around taking extra turns.

Magic the Gathering - Dragons of Tarkir Relentless Rush Intro Pack Review

3/25/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Relentless Rush, the red/black Intro Pack for Dragons of Tarkir, features an alternate art foil version of Boltwing Marauder and a whole suite of creatures featuring the Dash mechanic. Using Dash lets you cast a creature, sometimes even for cheaper than its original casting cost, and giving it haste at the cost. That haste comes with a cost, however: having to return it to your hand at the end of the turn.

This deck focuses on hitting hard and fast with the Marauder being a potential finisher. It also features a decent uncommon in Lightning Berserker and an interesting rare card in Foul Renewal.

Here's the deck list:

Creatures (20)
2 Lightning Berserker
2 Kolaghan Aspirant
3 Kolaghan Skirmisher
2 Kolaghan Forerunners
2 Screamreach Brawler
2 Ambuscade Shaman
2 Warbringer
2 Sprinting Warbrute
1 Boltwing Marauder
2 Swift Warkite

Sorceries (4)
1 Duress
2 Tormenting Voice
1 Defeat

Instants (7)
1 Foul-Tongue Shriek
2 Twin Bolt
1 Foul-Tongue Invocation
2 Flatten
1 Foul Renewal

Artifacts (2)
1 Vial of Dragonfire
1 Kolaghan Monument

Enchantments (2)
2 Impact Tremors

Land (25)
1 Evolving Wilds
13 Mountain
11 Swamp

Creature Spells

Let's take a look at the heart of this deck, which is the cover card, Boltwing Marauder. He costs 3BR (3 colorless, 1 Black, 1 Red) to cast and is a 5/4 flyer. Whenever another creature enters the field under your control, you can give a target creature +2/+0 until end of turn. With the amount of creatures in this deck, especially with them often returning to your hand if you use their Dash abilities, you're often going to use this ability on the Marauder itself to swing for a lot of damage in the air.

Swift Warkite is an interesting Dragon that is a whopping 6 mana (4BR) to cast, but can bring back a creature with a converted mana cost of 3 or less from the graveyard. That creature gains haste and returns to your hand at the end of the turn.

The main issue with Swift Warkite is that you're going to want to play this before combat for that haste to be relevant. It has an okay synergy with the Ambuscade Shaman or Boltwing Marauder, but 6 mana is a lot to invest to get essentially one free Dash.

Overall, the synergy of the creatures in this deck is pretty good. The Dash mechanic is well-represented, and there are enough other creatures with Dash in the Tarkir block that could easily supplement this deck: Mardu Shadowspear and Mardu Strike Leader in Black and Mardu Scout and Goblin Heelcutter in Red are excellent candidates to upgrade the creature lineup.

The Warkites are probably best replaced by a couple copies of one of those other Dash creatures. Flamerush Rider is another creature you could consider, as it can make a token of your best attacking creature. That token entering the battlefield also has great synergy with the Marauder and Shamans, as well. Another card to consider would be Brutal Warchief, which fits well in this attack-happy deck, and has the added benefit of paying 3RR to choose how your opponent's creatures block.

Lightning Berserker is probably the best creature in the deck outside of Marauder itself. Being a 1-drop that can pump itself +1/+0 for any number of Red mana is pretty solid. It also has a Dash cost of only a single Red. Of all the cards in the deck, it has the best synergy with the Marauder, as it's cheap enough to recast every turn.

Kolaghan Skirmisher is a fairly vanilla 2/2 for 1B, but it does have a Dash cost of 2B. They're not too exciting. Kolaghan Aspirant is a worse version of an older card called Ashmouth Hound; whenever it becomes blocked, it deals 1 damage to that creature. The Hound could deal 1 damage if it were to block itself, as well. It's not terrible, though.

Kolaghan Forerunners is actually a pretty decent Dash creature. It costs 2R to cast and also has a 2R Dash cost. The Forerunners always have 3 toughness and Trample, but its power is decided by how many creatures you control, making it much better as the game goes along. It also has solid synergy with the Marauder, as its damage is a lot harder to block due to the trample.

Screamreach Brawler is pretty unexciting as a 2/3 for 2R, but it also has a Dash cost of 1R, which makes it okay for purposes of this Intro Pack.

Ambuscade Shaman is a nice compliment to Boltwing Marauder. Whenever he or another creature enters the battlefield, that creature gains +2/+2 until end of turn. A 2/2 for 2B doesn't seem all that great, but if you cast him for 3B - his Dash cost - he's essentially a 4/4 with Haste when he's cast. When paired with the other Dash creatures in this deck, this Shaman actually can do a good deal of work for you over the course of a game. Lightning Berserker becomes a 3/3 with his effect alone. Plus, if you manage to have both copies of this deck on the field at once, you get the effect twice.

Warbringer is extremely effective in a deck like this, as it reduces Dash casting costs by 2 colorless mana. A 3/3 for 3R isn't too exciting, but it also has a 2R Dash cost. However, it's worth playing it for its regular cost just to keep it on board to get the Skirmishers, Forerunners, and Brawlers on the board with dash for only a single colored mana.

Sprinting Warbrute is a 5/4 for 4R that has to attack every turn if able, but has a Dash cost of 3R. With Warbringer, that Dash cost is only 1R.

Foul-Tongue Shriek is probably the most interesting non-creature spell in the deck. For only a single Black mana, target opponent loses 1 life for each attacking creature you control. You then gain that much life. This is an interesting tempo play. While this particular deck may or may not take full advantage of it, there's the potential to create some serious life point swings. You only need 3 creatures attacking to create a 6 point life swing, which for a single mana is really solid. It's a common with some potential.

The non-creature spells are rounded out with the obligatory Monument and Vial of Dragonfire. In this case, the monument is of Kolaghan, which serves as both a mana rock for Red and Black mana and providing an opportunity to create a 4/4 flying Dragon. The Vial of Dragonfire is an expensive Shock. You'd be better off replacing both with copies of Wild Slash or Lightning Strike.

Also, as is usually the case with Intro Packs, the mana base has 25 land in order to guarantee hitting your land drops. A full playset of Bloodstained Mire - the red/black fetchland - would allow you to drop this land count to 23 or 24 to make the deck a bit more consistent.

All told, there's a decent basis for a very playable Dash-centered deck. As the creatures that would complement and improve this deck aren't incredibly expensive, this Intro Pack looks to be a pretty good buy. Keep in mind that while there are synergies that are fairly effective in the deck, it probably won't be the shell of a future tier-one deck. It will be at the very least fairly fun and consistent, however.

Non-Creature Spells

As usual, Intro Packs tend to have rather strange combinations of non-creature spells. In this case, this non-creature lineup is headlined by Foul Renewal. It serves as both a way to return a creature to your hand and also a sort of removal. It gives a target creature -X/-X where X is the toughness of the creature you got back from the graveyard. Whether or not that's worth 4 mana is hard to say, but as removal in an Intro Pack. it's not too bad.

Twin Bolt is decent enough removal for the early game. Tormenting Voice gives you two cards at the cost of 1R and having to discard a card. Impact Tremors is an interesting enchantment that deals 1 damage to each opponent whenever a creature enters the field under your control. Flatten is a bit costly at 3B, but gives a target creature -4/-4. Defeat only destroys a creature with power 2 or less. Foul-Tongue Invocation forces your opponent to sacrifice a creature, and if you reveal a Dragon from your hand as you cast it or control a Dragon already, you get to gain 4 life out of it. There's also a random copy of Duress thrown in.

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Hidden Dragonslayer - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

3/25/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Hidden Dragonslayer is a 2/1 Human Warrior with Lifelink. It was a creature in a cycle that produced other good creatures like Den Protector and to a lesser extent Stratus Dancer. The Megamorph ability costs 2W and allows you to destroy a target creature with power 4 or more than an opponent controls. It also gives the creature a +1/+1 counter.

While that Megamorph ability sounds a bit costly, it's an ability best used later in the game. Hidden Dragonslayer can deal with a lot of threats that many aggressive decks would face. Anytime that you can get a two-drop that adds value later in the game, that's something that will probably see at least some Constructed play.

Hidden Dragonslayer saw a lot of competitive Standard play, starting with Selesnya Aggro as a two-of alongside Den Protector. It also saw play in Megamorph decks with Mastery of the Unseen. This Enchantment not only could gain you a significant amount of life when cards were flipped face-up, but it could also "manifest" cards from the top of your deck. It would make that card a face-down 2/2 creature that could be flipped face-up for its regular mana cost. Hidden Dragonslayer was useful in this deck because not only could its ability essentially be used for one fewer mana, but you could easily manifest it without having to actually cast it.

By far, the deck that made the best use of Hidden Dragonslayer were Collected Company decks as a one-of in the sideboard. As a two-mana creature, it was a hit off of Collected Company. While a lot of its value comes from its flip ability, a 2/1 with lifelink is not bad at all to hit.

Outside of Standard, Hidden Dragonslayer hasn't seen much play in EDH or anywhere else for that matter. However, Hidden Dragonslayer has seen some play in Cube as an efficient creature that can also serve as creature removal. While it's not a top pick in most Cubes, there is interest in it. Also, Najeela, the Blade-Blossom has occasionally included the Dragonslayer in EDH, but with so many strong Warriors to choose from, Hidden Dragonslayer is hardly an auto-include in the popular Commander deck.

Overall, Hidden Dragonslayer was a very good card in Standard. While it's still a decent card on paper, the Dragonslayer simply hasn't found another consistent home.

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Ire Shaman from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/25/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

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Of the five two-drop Morph creatures in Dragons of Tarkir, Ire Shaman is the easiest to flip. Of those that should see Constructed play, this is probably the most likely candidate. First of all, he's a 2/1 for 1R that can only be blocked by two or more creatures. While this isn't the greatest form of evasion, who will usually want to block with two creatures to kill a 2/1? It takes even two 1/1 Monk tokens from Monastery Master to kill him, and a face-down 2/2 Morph can't even trade with him.

He gets a lot better with his Megamorph ability, though. For a total cost of 3R you end up with a 3/2 that also exiles the top card of your library and allows you to play it until end of turn. We've seen with Chandra, Pyromaster how powerful that effect can be. That's a good amount of value for a Morph creature.

While Megamorph hasn't exactly been a well-received mechanic, this is probably going to long-term be the best of the five due to his usability in aggressive decks. There is also the synergy with +1/+1 counters that could become more relevant as the metagame shifts due to the two Standard rotations that will occur while Dragons of Tarkir is still in the format. Mono-red aggro and Red/White decks should find a home for this guy at some point. At the very least, he's going to be very strong in Limited, but he should be a decent Constructed player, too.

Stratus Dancer from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/24/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

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Stratus Dancer is an interesting Morph creature, but she's no Voidmage Apprentice or even Kheru Spellsnatcher. A 2/1 flyer for 1U that can become a 3/2 flyer after flipping face-up (due to Megamorph) is decent. The flip cost is reasonable at 1U. On top of that, upon flipping, the Dancer can counter a target instant or sorcery spell.

Voidmage Apprentice is a common creature from Legions that also cost 1U to cast, but also was only a 1/1. However, for 2UU (2 colorless, 2 Blue), he could morph to counter any target spell. That's a total investment of 5UU to target a spell, which is pretty good in Limited (especially at common). Stratus Dancer is more like a limited Negate, but with only a 2UU investment.

Kheru Spellsnatcher is an interesting card, but its Morph cost is 4UU. Then again, you can steal the spell you counter with the Spellsnatcher's ability. It's been fun to play in Khans Limited, but Stratus Dancer is a lot cheaper.

Being a flyer is already a plus for the Dancer in Limited. Also, the Megamorph ability is a fine way to counter removal. Since removal is at such a premium in Limited, the value of having a 3/2 flyer that can counter many kinds of said removal is huge. While I don't see her as much of a Constructed card, Stratus Dancer is pretty solid for Limited. Were that Megamorph ability expanded to include all non-creature spells, even if it cost another mana, then I would see it being played in some sideboards.

Magic the Gathering - Dragons of Tarkir Landslide Charge Event Deck Review

3/23/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Many players weren't a fan of the Khans of Tarkir Event Deck. The Fate Reforged Clash Pack was full of value, however. Now that Wizards is only making Event Decks every other set, it's once again time for a new Event Deck with Dragons of Tarkir. Landslide Charge isn't perhaps the huge value that the Clash Packs have been, but it is a playable Constructed deck.

The cover card of this deck is Thunderbreak Regent, a Dragon from Dragons of Tarkir that has attracted a great deal of hype. First of all, being a Red Dragon has driven up his price due to casual appeal. But he's a pretty solid creature for Standard, as well. The Regent is a 4/4 flyer for 2RR (2 colorless, 2 Red) that deals 3 damage to any player that targets it or another Dragon with a spell or ability an opponent controls.

The Regent is therefore a bit tricky to remove. It's obviously best used in a Dragon-centered deck. With the various Dragonlords from Dragons of Tarkir seeing play, it's not hard to see Regent seeing a good amount of play for the foreseeable future.

Let's take a look at the deck list:

Creatures (23)
4    Elvish Mystic
4    Heir of the Wilds
4    Fanatic of Xenagos
2    Golden Hind
2    Mogis's Warhound
1    Yasova Dragonclaw
1    Boon Satyr
1    Savage Knuckleblade
1    Polis Crusher
1    Mistcutter Hydra
1    Surrak, the Hunt Caller
1     Thunderbreak Regent

Non-Creature Spells (12)
2    Wild Slash
2    Lightning Strike
2    Temur Charm
2    Roast
1    Arc Lightning
1    Crater's Claws
1    Stubborn Denial
1    Outpost Siege

Lands (25)
10    Forest
5    Mountain
4    Evolving Wilds
4    Frontier Bivouac
1    Temple of Abandon
1    Island

Sideboard (15)
2    Arc Lightning
2    Rending Volley
2    Disdainful Stroke
2    Encase in Ice
2    Abzan Beastmaster
2    Reclamation Sage
2    Act of Treason
1    Stubborn Denial

Chase Rares & Creature Spells

The two "chase" rares in the deck are the aforementioned Thunderbreak Regent and Outpost Siege, the latter of which has seen tons of Standard play. Most of the time you'd use the Khans ability for some pseudo-card draw. But the Dragons ability is pretty good if you're playing a more creature-based deck. It's a strong card that many Red Deck Wins variants have used.

While many of the other rares in the deck aren't currently worth a ton of money, there are tons of playable cards. Boon Satyr, Mistcutter Hydra, and Polis Crusher are all from Theros and rotated out of the Standard format in October 2015. The Hydra continues to see play in sideboards in Modern and Legacy, due to its protection from blue. The Satyr has seen plenty of play in the past, mostly in mono-Green Devotion, but other cards have pushed it out of those decks. Polis Crusher is really only useful against Enchantments, but is excellent in the right match-up (for example, taking out an opposing Courser of Kruphix.)

The other rares in the deck are more recent and all fairly useful. Yasova Dragonclaw has become quite popular in Commander, and is pretty useful in other Constructed decks, as well. Her ability to steal opposing creatures for only 3 mana is extremely powerful. Even though the power of the opposing creature must be less than Yasova's (usually 4), that's most of the time going to be useful enough. A repeatable Act of Treason effect is pretty strong.

Crater's Claws is a X burn spell that has being seeing a lot of Constructed play. With the amount of mana ramp available in this deck, between the 4 Elvish Mystics and 2 Golden Hinds, it's possible to burn a player for a great amount of damage. There are also a ton of creatures with power 4 or more in the deck, so the additional 2 damage that the card's Ferocious effect provides should happen more often than not.

Besides the Temple of Abandon, the last two rares in the deck are Savage Knuckleblade and Surrak, the Hunt Caller. Knuckleblade is a 4/4 creature for only 3 mana and has 3 abilities, one of which is its ability to gain haste for a single Red mana. It can also dodge removal for 2U (2 colorless, 1 Blue) by returning to your hand. Also, for 2G (2 colorless, 1 Green) Knuckleblade can gain +2/+2 until end of turn. It's a powerful creature that activates Ferocious and go head to head with most creatures.

Surrak, the Hunt Caller is a 5/4 Human Warrior for 2GG (2 colorless, 2 Green) with a Formidable ability that gives a creature Haste during each combat phase on your turn. Gathering the 8 necessary power to activate this ability is fairly easy with this deck, especially with his own 5 power, so he can often give himself haste. Another cool thing about his ability is that you can play your "mana dorks" such as the Mystic and Golden Hind in your first main phase, give them haste during combat, and tap them for mana during your second main phase. He's solid as a one-of, especially in this deck.

The rest of the creature line-up is rounded out by Fanatic of Xenagos, Heir of the Wilds, and Mogis's Warhound. The Fanatic is a strong creature that has not seen as much play as some expected. The Fanatic is a strong creature that has not seen as much play as some expected. It's always going to be a 4/4 when it hits the field, whether its tribute is paid or not. In this deck, he's very powerful and will often have haste.

Heir of the Wilds is very often going to be a 3/3 when it attacks due to all of the creatures in this deck that are either power 4 on their own or can be with their effects (like the Fanatic.) Also, having Deathtouch means that larger creatures may not want to block it. The Heirs and the Fanatics work well together as a team.

The 2 copies of Mogis's Warhound are basically in the deck to help guarantee Ferocious by giving another creature +2/+2 when it's Bestowed. You'll rarely play him as a 2/2 for 1R who must attack every turn if able. When you go about improving the deck, these are probably the first two creatures to go, probably in place of 2 more copies of Savage Knuckleblade.

Non-Creature Spells and Mana Base

Besides Craters' Claws and Outpost Siege, the non-creature spell lineup is headlined by Wild Slash from Fate Reforged and Roast from Dragons of Tarkir. While Wild Slash doesn't look exciting, it's a Shock that can stop damage from being prevented; it has been seeing plenty of Standard play. Roast can deal with big creatures such as Siege Rhino, which is one of this deck's worst nightmares as a 4/5 wall. It's even become quite a popular removal card in Modern.

The other non-creature spells are 2 Lightning Strike, 2 Temur Charm, 1 Stubborn Denial, and 1 Arc Lightning. It's just enough burn to deal with most chump blockers and the last points of damage. If you find you need more, there's plenty to turn to in the sideboard. There are 2 more Arc Lightnings and 2 Disdainful Stroke for additional counter-magic. Also, you have 2 Rending Volleys to deal with specifically white and blue creatures and 2 Encase in Ice to deal with red and green creatures.

Two copies of Reclamation Sage help with artifact and enchantment removal if you need it. Two of Act of Treason help you deal with stealing big creatures from your opponent to guarantee swinging in for major damage. Lastly, there are 2 copies of Abzan Beastmaster if you feel you need extra draw power.

The mana base is fairly solid, as well, with 4 copies of Frontier Bivouac to provide all three colors of mana for the deck. It would be better with 4 copies of a fetchland like Wooded Foothills instead of the much slower Evolving Wilds.

Improving the Deck & Conclusions

Landslide Charge is a pretty decent start to a Temur (red/green/blue) deck, although it does have a lot of Theros block cards like Fanatic of Xenagos in it. But this deck could be improved fairly quickly. My first inclination would be to remove the 2 Mogis's Warhound for 2 more Savage Knuckleblade (as mentioned early), and moving the Polis Crusher to the sideboard for a 4th copy of the Knuckleblade. The Mistcutter Hydra is probably better off in the sideboard, as well. Ashcloud Phoenix would be a better option for this deck. Another creature to consider would be Rattleclaw Mystics in place of the Golden Hinds for more consistent mana ramp.

Overall, Landslide Charge is a pretty good Event Deck, and as it's one that is typically selling for under retail, not a bad investment if you plan to play in your local Friday Night Magic and need a deck that just needs a few tune-ups to be fun to play while also being reasonably competitive.

Order of Whiteclay - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/23/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Shadowmoor is a set full of very good cards, many of them having been played in Modern, Legacy, and Commander for quite some time. Order of Whiteclay is a very interesting card, but has never seen much play at all. Yet, at the beginning of March in 2015, his price shot from about a dollar to over 5 dollars in the course of a few days. Was it a buyout driven by speculators or is this curious creature actually the engine of a brand new winning deck?

Unlike Ghostway, which saw a price spike due to actually becoming the centerpiece of a viable Modern deck, there were no top decks using Order of Whiteclay. But his effect is actually quite good. With it, you can return a target creature with converted mana cost 3 or less from your graveyard to play. The trick about his ability: you have to untap him.

There's a clever interaction here with Springleaf Drum. You can use the Drum to tap any creature down for one of any colored mana. Then it's easy enough to untap Order of Whiteclay to use his ability. The question then remains, what creatures will you want to bring back, and how will you facilitate them getting there?

One list that I found online,By the Order of Whiteclay on MTG Vault, has some good ideas. It's a white/black deck that is focused around hand control. Not only does it use the traditional discard spells such as Inquisition of Kozilek and Thoughtseize, but it also uses creatures like Tidehollow Sculler and Brain Maggot to deprive your opponent some more. It also plays Kitchen Finks for lifegain and the Persist ability and Phyrexian Rager for card advantage. It also plays one Banisher Priest to deal with big creatures. To get those creatures in the graveyard are 2 Viscera Seer, which allow you to sacrifice a creature to Scry 1, and a full playset of Bloodthrone Vampire. The Vampires allow you to sacrifice a creature to gain +2/+2 until end of turn.

It's an interesting list to be sure, and I'd like to see this sort of deck in action. I'm not sure what the endgame would look like, though. Since you have the Springleaf Drums, you could run more colors. If you have the budget for it, a card like Fulminator Mage could help the deck by holding opponents back by destroying non-basic lands. Tarmogoyf would give the deck a more potent threat, as well.

While the hand control idea seems cute (there are 4 Sin Collectors in that MTG Vault deck's sideboard), Tidehollow Sculler and Brain Maggot have temporary effects. If this type of deck is going to succeed, it's going to need a consistent way to win. 3 mana to reanimate isn't terrible, but it's still a bit slow for competitive Constructed environments, especially Modern.

There's another explanation for the sudden speculation: a very popular Commander by the name of Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. Her ability can bring back a creature with power 2 or less from the graveyard into play tapped and attacking. Being only a 1/4, it's likely it will survive combat. Plus, it reanimates a lot of things in the deck. While it can't use the untap ability immediately after Alesha brings him back (unless he otherwise gains haste), he's bound to be able to attack at other points and bring back a useful creature from the grave. Alesha plays a lot of CMC 3 or lower creatures with useful effects, so it's not hard to see this not included in a lot of Alesha lists. There's a great article about Alesha on Hipsters of the Coast.

The other explanation for the speculation is the rapidly growing Tiny Leaders variant of Commander, where you can only play cards with CMC 3 or less. Order of Whiteclay most definitely fits that mold, and since Alesha is a fine Commander in that format, as well, is doubly a good reason to have this card have a sudden jump in popularity.

If you can find Order of Whiteclay in a bargain bin somewhere, go ahead and pick them up. Shadowmoor is a set with fairly low supply at this point, so once the market settles, it's probably not a bad card to have around regardless.

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Risen Executioner from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/19/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Do we really need another Zombie lord? Magic the Gathering already has plenty of Zombie boosts on creatures: Cemetery Reaper, Death Baron, Diregraf Captain, Lord of the Undead, Undead Warchief, and Zombie Master. All but Zombie Master give your other Zombies at least +1/+1 and Undead Warchief gives +2/+1. Zombie Master allows your Zombies to regenerate for a single Black mana and gives them all swampwalk (can attack players without being able to be blocked if they control a Swamp).

Risen Executioner is a 4/3 Zombie Warrior for 2BB (2 colorless, 2 Black) that can't block. He gives other Zombie creatures you control +1/+1. What makes him different from the other Zombie lords is that you can cast him from your graveyard. The drawback is that you have to pay 1 colorless mana more to cast him for each other creature card in your graveyard. If he's the only creature in your graveyard, though, you're in luck. Basically, he's a more expensive Gravecrawler that pumps other Zombies.

Since even before the set released, Risen Executioner has been a bulk mythic rare. There was some early interest in him for inclusion in Zombie Commander decks such as Ghoulcaller Gisa and Grimgrin, Corpse-Born. He's a bit redundant even in those decks. The Executioner isn't a bad card. It's just one of those mythic rares that is just a bit too good to be a rare, but not really strong enough to hold much value as a mythic. In Limited, I can see why this was a bit too strong to be a rare. It could do some serious damage.

Zombies aren't really big in Constructed right now. Even then, there are just better Zombie lords than he, Risen Executioner is a nice Zombie to have that can recast himself. The boost effect is only going to be relevant in Zombie Tribal decks. Even still, there are better choices like Death Baron and Cemetery Reaper that do the job at 3 mana, anyway. Recasting the Executioner in the later game simply doesn't seem worth the mana, not in a deck archetype that depends on having creatures in the graveyard. He's basically a Commander-only playable.

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Surrak, the Hunt Caller from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/17/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Surrak, the Hunt Caller is the Surrak of the Dragons of Tarkir timeline, and he's no Surrak Dragonclaw. Not only is he mono-green rather than three colors, but he has an ability only good if you control creatures with a total power of 8 or more.

The good thing about the Hunt Caller is that he's a 5/4 for 2GG (2 colorless, 2 Green). Four mana for a 5/4 is solid enough, and his Formidable ability that gives haste can work on himself. Consistently being able to give a creature haste during each of your combats is fairly good. The caveat of total power 8 or more could be a relevant drawback, however. Still, he would be Constructed-playable.

At the time, Red/Green Devotion was the deck in which this Surrak made the most sense. The deck had strong enough creatures that playing a copy or two of this guy wasn't out of the question. The ability to give himself and the deck's other creatures haste is pretty strong. Once Devotion was no longer a thing after the Standard rotation of Theros block, he was still strong enough to see some play because of the Formidable ability in aggro Temur decks in which amassing 8 total power was rarely a problem. Abzan Midrange, Bant Aggro, and Temur Aggro were happy to have him around.

Although he's a Legendary Creature, he never really made it as a Commander. On the other hand, he does see some play in other Commander decks. It really isn't hard to get 8 total power on the board in Commander, however. His high initial power and ability to gain haste for himself and other creatures have helped him become useful as a member of the 99 in Commander decks.

All in all, Surrak, the Hunt Caller was a bit underrated during his time in Standard, but lives on as part of some Commander decks today.

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Dromoka's Command from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/17/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Dromoka's Command is so much more than a less expensive version of Hunt the Weak. Not only do two of its modes do something for two mana that another card did for four mana, but it has two other options, as well, which could serve quite useful. Whereas Hunt the Weak was at Sorcery speed, Dromoka's Command, like all of the other Commands, is at Instant speed. Let's take a look at this card's four modes, of which you can choose two:

Prevent all damage target instant or sorcery spell would deal this turn.
Target player sacrifices an enchantment.
Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.
Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control.

The final two are the combined effects of Hunt the Weak, a Sorcery spell card that has been printed in the Magic 2014 & Magic 2015 Core Sets, as well as Fate Reforged. Hunt the Weak has seen some limited sideboard play. But having that effect for only two mana at instant speed is even better.

Having the white mana requirement does restrict what decks can use it, but this card has even more uses than just the Hunt the Weak abilities. The other two modes could also prove useful. The first lets your prevent all damage a target instant or sorcery spell would deal that turn. That effect is a solid sideboard option against burn-type decks or damage based removal spells. The other forces an opponent to sacrifice an enchantment. There are plenty of popular enchantments that this would be good against, especially Enchantment Creatures like Courser of Kruphix.

At two mana, the final two modes in the right deck might make this very main-board playable in an Abzan (Green/White/Black) or Selesnya (Green/White) aggro deck as it can serve as removal that has additional upside. While it may be best suited as a sideboard card, it's well-designed for the colors that it's in.

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Kolaghan's Command from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/14/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

When I first looked at the red/black Command, I was mostly underwhelmed. But after doing some research and discussing it with a couple of players, I can see why people might like this card. Let's see what are the four modes for this card, of which you can choose two from:

Return target creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
Target player discards a card.
Destroy target artifact.
Kolaghan's Command deals 2 damage to target creature or player.

Getting a creature back to your hand is nice but rarely used outside of limited and commander. Forced discard is fine, but as half this card it doesn't feel like a strong option. Destroy target artifact is fine, but more of a sideboard card ability. And 2 damage to creature or player is OK.

I think one non-traditional place this card could work well is in the newest Commander variant, Tiny Leaders. Getting a creature back in a format where you run so few creatures already in a 50-card deck is good. Discard is good with Blightning and other great discard spells CMC 3 or less making that strategy work. There are enough artifact effects, too. Plus many Tiny Leaders have 2 or less toughness, so it's an easy Commander kill, plus value most of the time. Of course, there are currently only a few niche decks in Tiny Leaders that could play it.

Kolaghan's Command has great value in Limited for pretty much the same reasons that it's good in Tiny Leaders: it’s really never going to be a bad draw. Artifacts are more prevalent in Limited due to the fact that they work in any color. Discard is especially far more valuable, as is getting back a creature from the graveyard. Adding a Shock effect to that is quite good. So it’s a very strong Limited card.

In Constructed, I see it as a useful sideboard play in Grixis (Red/Black/Blue) control decks, especially in Modern where getting back certain creatures is even more valuable. The artifact destruction is very relevant in Modern, as well, and 2 damage kills Noble Hierarch and Snapcaster Mages.

As far as Standard play is concerned, how much mainboard play this card will see depends on how the meta shapes up. The Shock effect kills Morph creatures and Elvish Mythics and adds a bit extra value on top of that. In a Control type deck, three mana seems worth it for what the card can do and it’s a card that is still useful later in the game. It’s not my favorite of the Command cards, but it’s solid.

Ojutai's Command from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

3/12/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

While it's no Cryptic Command, Ojutai's Command is an interesting card. It has four modes of which you can choose two:

Return target creature card with converted mana cost 2 or less from your graveyard to the battlefield.

You gain 4 life.
Counter target creature spell.
Draw a card.

The first is especially interesting. The second feels too incidental. The third would be better if the word creature wasn't in it. The fourth makes this card a 4 mana cantrip. So what combinations of these effects will make this card Constructed playable?

The unearth effect is cute. In this case I mean the Urza's Legacy card for one black mana. Actually, this effect is worse as its only converted mana cost 2 instead of 3. So this feels like a bit of a jip. However, there are some creatures in Modern that would make this relevant, Snapcaster Mage, especially. Reanimation isn’t something you would typically find in U/W (Blue/White) Control, and having the ability to reanimate the Mage to be able for it to flashback another spell and draw a card is probably worth 2 mana. Some other good targets in the format could include Dark Confidant, Tarmogoyf, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and any other one or two-drop staple creature in the format. It’s hard to say what it will bring back in Standard, but we shall see.

Gaining 4 life is okay and can keep you alive in the right spot. It could be the difference between hanging on for another turn and the end game. It's not a terrible tempo play, either, against burn strategies. Drawing a card most of the time would seem a better option, but this option could be useful in the right situation when combined with another effect.

Counter target creature spell is fine, but that plus a card draw is a card that's been done before that never saw much play outside Limited: Exclude from Invasion. With the big “bomb” type creatures being released in present day sets, however, countering a target creature spell is perhaps more relevant than ever, especially by the point in the game that a card like this would be cast.

This card is very good in Limited and is a great tempo play. As far as in Constructed, there are mixed opinions. Most players agree that it’s a useful card, but some feel that it just feels a bit under powered at four mana. Three mana would seem a bit inexpensive, however. Considering what it can bring back to the board in Modern and net you a card, it seems it will be played in that format. It’s not quite clear how solid it will be in Standard and other formats. Some people think this is an awesome Command, and while it's not format-changing, it has its usefulness.

Myth Realized from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering (MTG) Card Review

3/12/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Myth Realized is far more than just an Enchantment version of the creature Chimeric Mass. Whereas the Mass was an artifact that needed to have lots of mana invested in it for charge counters, Myth Realized gains lore counters whenever you cast a non-creature spell. Not only that, but it can even give itself counters for 2W. It also only costs a single white mana to cast.

Like Chimeric Mass, it takes only a single mana for Myth Realized to become a creature with power and toughness equal to the amount of counters on it. Unlike the Mass, however, Myth Realized only gets better with each noncreature spell you play and leftover mana spent to give it more counters (the counters can be placed at instant speed, too.)

When Myth Realized becomes a creature, any +1/+1 counters placed on it remain on it as long as it remains on the field. (This is the same ruling that makes Steel Overseer and Inkmoth Nexus best friends.) While it's not an artifact like Chimeric Mass, which has its advantages, this card can be just as powerful and amass even more power more quickly in some cases.

While it wasn't the easiest card to build around in Standard, people did try. What about in EDH? It would seem that Myth Realized would be at home in decks that manipulate counters. Sadly, it doesn't fit into a deck like Vorel of the Hull-Clade, which is blue/green, and abuses counters like crazy. It doesn't really fit into decks that would take advantage of the counters.

However, Myth Realized is at home in decks like Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest, which plays an enormous amount of noncreature spells. Daxos the Returned, an Enchantment-happy deck, is also a great home for this Enchantment. Narset, Enlightened Master also can find a home for it on occasion.

Conceptually, this card is awesome. Play-ability wise it's okay, as anything that gets better as the game goes along is pretty awesome. To be fair, the earlier this card hits the board, the better it will be. You don't want to draw Myth Realized in the end game, which is why it's not that Constructed playable. The fun factor here is definitely great enough, however, for casual and EDH play.

Icefall Regent from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/12/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Icefall Regent is essentially the Dragon version of Frost Titan. It wouldn't be surprising to see some Control or Tempo players brew with this card, but many of the aspects that made the Titan good years ago in Standard are missing from this card.

First of all, Frost Titan tapped down permanents, not just creatures, and could do so upon entering the battlefield and while attacking. You also had a big 6/6 body that cost 4UU to cast, only one mana more than Icefall Regent. Plus, while the Regent is tricky to target with opponent's spells by requiring an extra cost of 2 colorless mana, the Titan could stifle abilities, too.

So how much does being a 4/3 flying Dragon make up for these deficiencies? The Regent is only a rare, first of all, so we can't expect the power level to be the same here. But a Frost Titan Dragon would have been pretty awesome.

Icefall Regent should be very good in Limited and could see some Standard play during its time, as well. It does die to Anger of the Gods, which doesn't target. To its credit, other removal becomes expensive when trying to take it down. Being a 4/3 in the air in a Control build is very good, but restricting its tap ability to only creatures, especially as it can only use that ability upon entering, limits this card's overall value.

At the very least, the Regent will help your tempo a bit, especially if it can help force some damage through and force your opponent to spend a bit extra to remove it from the board. It's decent enough to be considered for Constructed play, but I think even in Commander, it will only be played where a Blue Dragon might be needed, like in Intet, the Dreamer or Ojutai, Soul of Winter/Dragonlord Ojutai led builds. It's just hard to get excited about this card, but some tempo players might play it.

Damnable Pact from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/12/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Who doesn't like drawing cards? Damnable Pact is a decent way to draw cards in Black. It has the typically Black caveat of trading life for cards, and in some ways is a scale-able Sign in Blood or Skeletal Scrying. It has the Sorcery speed of Sign in Blood and the scale-ability of Skeletal Scrying without the additional cost of exiling cards from your graveyard as an additional cost.

Like Sign in Blood, Damnable Pact allows you to target a player, unlike Skeletal Scrying. There have been times where playing a Sign in Blood on an opponent has actually been a good thing to do. Given enough mana late game, you could actually draw an opponent to death with Damnable Pact.

The major issue with this particular Black draw spell is that it costs you 1BB and a life to draw just one card, and 2BB and 2 life to draw 2 cards. Sign in Blood allows you to draw 2 and lose 2 for only BB. Both of these cards are sorcery speed, as well. Skeletal Scrying is instant speed, but it hasn't seen Constructed play in ages because Sign in Blood is so much more consistent and efficient. That being said, any card that can actually kill an opponent late game is pretty good, so I find that Damnable Pact is a good blend of Sign and Scrying.

This isn't a card that you would depend on in any competitive Constructed format. Indeed, it saw little to no Standard play. It's just not a very good card in the early game. Even with Black's ability to produce a ton of mana quickly with cards like Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, this simply wasn't efficient enough to make it.

In Commander, however, life total really is the only limit to how good this card can be. Black decks in that format have ways to gain life back very quickly. Mono-Black decks also run Gray Merchant of Asphodel, which gains you life and makes your opponent lose life; that makes casting this seem a lot less deadly. But the deck that likes this card the most is Nekusar, the Mindrazer. That is a deck already focused on making people draw lots of cards and lose lots of life. So, not only can this Pact draw you cards, but it can deal double damage to an opponent. Edgar Markov is also a fan of this card.

Overall, Damnable Pact is a decent Black draw card, and one that can actually win you a game by draining your opponent of their final few life points for the cost of some worthless cards.

Updated 3/25/2018

Avatar of the Resolute from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/11/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Avatar of the Resolute is much more than just a better version of Garruk's Companion. Not only is a 3/2 for GG (2 Green) with trample, but he also has reach. On top of that, he gains a +1/+1 counter for each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it. This makes the Avatar better as the game goes along, which is always a good thing for a 2-drop creature.

Green "stompy" players obviously love this. It's overall much better for Constructed than the Dragon-happy Scaleguard Sentinels. It's especially good with the enchantment Hardened Scales. It can be even better in Modern, as its two green mana symbols are excellent for Green devotion deck. There are creatures like Experiment One and Scavenging Ooze that can gain counters like crazy. It's aggressive enough to be part of a Mono-Green Aggro strategy.

Whatever the case, Avatar of the Resolute is a very strong creature that is extremely Constructed-playable. With its ability to gain tons of counters, Commander decks led by Daghatar the Adamant and Dromoka the Eternal are happy to play it.. It's good in any Green/White deck that runs cards like Cathars' Crusade and/or Doubling Season. Having trample, the Avatar becomes a mighty finisher that can also block flyers with Reach. This is definitely one of the better cards even in a strong set as Dragons of Tarkir.

Assault Formation from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/11/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Assault Formation is one of the most brew-able cards we've seen in awhile. Doran the Siege Tower is super popular in Commander for a reason: it makes your creatures deal combat damage according to their toughness rather than their power. Now you have that ability on an enchantment that costs only 1G.

Not only that, but Assault Formation has two other things that it can do, too: allow a creature to lose defender for a turn for G, or have creatures you control gain +0/+1 (essentially +1/+1) until end of turn for 2G.

Right away, this card instantly makes popular creatures like Hornet Nest, Sylvan Caryatid, Courser of Kruphix, and Siege Rhino better. Hornet Nest essentially becomes a 2/2, Caryatid a 3/3, Courser a 4/4 and Rhino a 5/5. It also makes Nyx-Fleece Ram, a 0/5 Enchantment creature from Journey into Nyx, into essentially a 5/5 beater. It also makes a Limited favorite like Jeskai Barricade, a 0/4 defender with Flash that can save one of your creatures from removal, into a 4/4 that has the ability to lose that defender thanks to Assault Formation.

There are plenty of other creatures that benefit from this effect, as well. Crater Elemental from Dragons of Tarkir is a 0/6 for 2R that may have trouble seeing Constructed play, until you consider this card. That card has the ability to become an 8/6 beater for 2R, but only if you control creatures with power 8 or greater combined already. With Assault Formation, you could potentially have a 6/6 for 2R on turn 3 in a Red/Green deck, due to Elvish Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid providing mana ramp. Obviously, the set design team had this in mind when that Elemental was created.

There are countless other creatures even in recent sets that work well with this card. The one that should definitely be mentioned, however, is Ornithopter. Being a 0/2 flyer for 0 mana is already good, but to have a free 2/2 flyer is sort of silly. Then when you consider you can pump your whole team with Assault Formation, too, having some free flyers that can suddenly deal 3 a piece is quite scary.

As with many Enchantments, though, in Constructed you may end up with dead copies in hand. Still, the effect on Assault Formation is powerful enough to warrant trying to build around it. Whether this card will help create a stable archetype good enough to compete is another question. Considering there are cards in Modern that make this card even better, such as Wall of Omens which draws you a card, it's possible that this card could become more than simply a Standard-playable curiosity.

Of course, Doran the Siege Tower decks will be happy to include Assault Formation as a duplication of Doran's effect, but also enjoy the benefits of the other two activated abilities. Now Wakestone Gargoyle and Rolling Stones dsn't have to be the only ways to shut off Defender in that deck. Even better, Assault Formation allows the Doran ability to spread into different color combinations, allowing for big red and blue creatures to enjoy the benefits, although it's hard to say which Commander decks would benefit from this card. At the very least, it will at least make Doran decks even more consistent.

It's always fun to see a Constructed-playable Enchantment that could do real work in competitive play. Players are quite excited about this one, competitive and casual alike, and so am I.

Dragon Whisperer from Dragons of Tarkir - A Magic the Gathering Card Review

3/10/2015

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

A 2/2 for RR (2 Red) that can gain flying for R and fire breathing for 1R (1 colorless, 1 Red) is already a pretty good creature. But for the mythic rare Dragon Whisperer, the real power is in the Formidable ability to make 4/4 Dragons for 4RR. In a dragon based deck 8 power to activate Formidable is not hard at all to achieve. You get 2 of that power from the Whisperer himself and the fire breathing can help that cause.

Here's a super useful creature that can make Dragons, but most of the time, you'll probably just use him to swing.for 2 or maybe 3 or 4 damage in the air. 6 mana is a big investment in a red deck, although a RG Devotion deck dedicated to Dragons may be able to pull it off.

In Commander, Zirilian of the Claw decks may find room for the Whisperer, as well as some of the other Dragon Commanders, especially the Red/Green/X Legendary Dragons. Just to have a creature that can make Dragons, while providing some early damage, is useful for those decks, as Dragon decks typically take some time to get rolling.

The Whisperer is a nice complement to Dragonmaster Outcast, a mythic rare from Worldwake that’s already popular in Commander. The Outcast creates a 5/5 flying Dragon at the beginning of your upkeep if you control 6 or more lands, and it’s only a 1-drop (R) creature. The Whisperer is better than Kargan Dragonlord, though, another two-drop creature mythic rare (from Rise of the Eldrazi) that requires quite a mana investment to level up into a trampling flyer. Truthfully, the Whisperer has more in common with the Dragonlord, except that it actually creates Dragons, whereas the Dragonlord mimics becoming one.

While the Whisperer may see some play in Standard, it's one of those flavorful cards that may take time to see how it fits into the current metagame. Despite the high raw power of the card, its more like its inferior cousin Kargan Dragonlord than a Dragonmaster Outcast. It may just prove to be too slow for competitive play. In any case, it will be a fun card in Limited, Commander, and casual play.