I'll keep this short and sweet. WotC once again
proved they are brewing home grown crack. This
card is stupid good in almost any environment.
There is no way I would not play this card in
type 2 or block if I was playing white, and I
wonder if it's not Extended amazingness as well.
Redirecting damage from anywhere, to anywhere,
while tapped out is SOOOOOOOO sick.
In limited, it might be evern better if you can
imagine that. A game swinger all the way!
Constructed: 5 (can I give it higher?)
Limited: 5 (can I give it higher?)
Card advantage is king in the current limited
environment, and Shining Shoal gives you two
different ways to achieve it. Whether you pay
this card's casting cost of XWW or whether you
sneakily throw away a white card to pay its
alternate casting cost, Shining Shoal gives you
the upper hand. He attacks, you block his 4/2
with your 2/2 and allow his 3/3 to come through
unblocked. Before damage is dealt, you cast
Shining Shoal to redirect the four damage that
would be dealt to your creature to his unblocked
3/3. When the smoke clears, your creature is
still alive and two of his have been destroyed.
Without the alternate casting cost, this card
would probably not be worth the time in the
constructed realm. With the ability to play it
when tapped out, Shining Shoal will more than
likely pop up in some good constructed decks
centered on a creature strategy.
The Shining Shoal is by far the trickiest shoal,
and can be the most beneficial, acting not only
as a damage prevention spell, but a redirect
that can be used to kill another creature or
even your opponent in the right situation. The
cost is fine for it, and the ability to use it
at an alternate casting cost is even better, but
still, the card is unlikely to be used in
anything other than limited play.
Constructed: 1
Casual: 2
Limited: 4
DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The
Game Closet - Waco,TX)
Shining
Shoal - Wednesday
I'm split on this one, but I'd give it the nod
toward the good category. The main reason is
that it fits in several different decks. Even
weenie decks can take advantage of this card.
Many times you only need to prevent one or two
damage to make a difference. Casual decks should
be able to make plenty use of this card. I'd
expect this to be a playable card in limited
play as well.
Wow - a VERY powerful card for white! Shining
Shoal is limited only by your opponent's
firepower and your cards in hand. But think of
it this way. Your opponent thinks he is getting
in the final blow against you, and you instead
turn it on him and get the final blow in. The
life swing could be major, or even final. It
also has the ability to whack a creature
instead. Shining is a nice, versatile card that
fills in what white often lacks, some firepower.
In limited, also a very strong card for white.
