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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Rancor

G, Enchant Creature, Urza’s Legacy Common
Enchanted creature gains +2/+0 and trample.
When Rancor is put into a graveyard from play, return Rancor to owner’s hand.

Pojo's Average Rating -
Constructed: 4.82
Limited: 4.23
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2001

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating.

 


DeQuan
Watson

This is one of my favorite cards of all time.  This thing is amazing in EVERY format it is playable in.  Even in a draft, you don't mind taking this.  It's a creature enchantment that helps speed up the progress of the game, enhance your board position, AND it keeps coming back.  Hard to top that for one green mana.  It helps trample over little guys, or it can be used as a finisher to help break a stalemate and force some damage through.  The fact that it returns to your hand is huge because you can use it on a small creature early just to force damage through, then when you get something bigger and the little guy dies, just pass to the big man.  

Constructed: 4.5
Limited: 4.4


Fletcher
Peatross

Rancor is a five out of five. It is easily one of the most overpowered commons ever created. If I could give this card a six I would. It qualified me for the pro tour in limited as I dropped turn one Pouncing Jaguar, turn 2 Rancor send for 4. Its like a 2/0 haste creature for green that can not be stopped. This card is a first pick in draft, something that every beat-down oriented green deck can use four of. I love Rancor.


Aaron
Teare

Limited Rating *****
Constructed Rating ****

Of all the Creature Enchantments ever printed, Rancor is easily in the top 3.  Constructed decks actually splash green for this card... that's not often said about Green!  =)

Aaron


John
Hornberg

I'm finally realizing why Andy Van Zandt complained so much about the loss of Rancor! (* FYI - Andy Van Zandt was the writer of the "Argothian Treehouse for Pojo).

A modern stompy deck needs something like this to be complete. It's good, but not good enough, and to add this card in would complete it. This card helped to make stompy back then, and was a main stay in any deck that even considered running green. A great card, and I wish it was reprinted. So, it gets a 5.

In limited, it's a great card, but it's definitely not a first pick. It has the potential to do mean things, but is still kind of blah for any deck. So, it limited, I give it a 3. Good, but by no means a game changer.


John B
Turpish

This is one of the few creature enchantments that doesn't have inherent card disadvantage. Now, obviously it will only go in a deck with green and a significant number of creatures, but those things seem to go together anyway. Now green creature decks tend to want to win quickly with a low mana curve. This costs G only, so you can't get much better than that for mana. This boosts a weenie's power, often doubling it. It also gives it trample, which means its reduction of the opponent's life is going to be much harder to stop. There really isn't much of a downside to this card, other than a very slight reduction in consistency due to the fact that you must have a targetable creature in play to enchant. That's minor to say the least. I have no problem putting 4 in any aggressive green creature deck where Rancor is legal.

constructed - 5

Robby
Hinton

Limited: **** (4 Stars)
Constructed: ****^ (4 1/2 Stars)

Well, I really like Rancor. Thus, it gets good marks from me. In Limited, it's one of those cards that just breaks creature stalls. And, if things to go sour, you can always get the Rancor back. In Constructed, it is a great card in 12-Land Stompy, 3-Deuce, and others. The card is just too hard to deal with since getting rid of the creature doesn't stop the beatings. Although Phyrexian Furnace is starting to show up more often, this card is still a keeper.


Scott
Gerhardt

Rancor is the backbone of a few decks in extended.  Both Three Deuce and Stompy rely heavily on this card to take creatures that might otherwize be somewhat lackluster, and turn them into larger threats that have to be dealt with.  This card is one of the focuses of the Auratog/Enchantress deck as well, using it in combo with the 'tog to deal 10-20 points of trample in a single shot.  I have used this card many times, and watching both control and removal decks alike jump through hoops to try to stop it proves it's power.  I can't say any extended deck running green should have Rancor, but I'll say just just about any extended deck with green in it would benefit from it.
 
In limited, it is the sickest card on the planet.  It turns everything quite mean, quite fast.  A definite first pick.
 
New Constructed: n/a
Old Constructed: 4.5
Constructed Potential: 5.0
 
Overall Constructed Rating: 4.75
 
Limited Rating: 5.0
 

 

 

 

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Copyright 2001 Pojo.com



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