I remember not that long ago when this card was
actually finding its way into tournament decks.
The card isn't super, but it's just good enough.
Truth be told, 4/4 isn't a bad size at all. And
on top of all that, it flies. It has to though,
it's an Air Elemental. It wouldn't make much
sense otherwise. This card is a good start to
our week.
I have absolutely no clue what to say about this
card. It really is the height of mediocre. You
are getting a 4/4 with evasion for five mana, so
I guess it can't be too bad, but because it
lacks any other ability, it really doesn't come
off as anything special. If anything, I suppose
this card should be the standard by which other
big blue fliers are judged. If Air Elemental is
a better option that Card X, then Card X is just
plain bad.
For limited purposes, Air Elemental will usually
make the cut, since you are typically forced to
play with sub-par creatures. A large creature
with some sort of evasion for a relatively small
amount of mana is nothing to ignore.
A staple for many years back in the core sets,
Air Elemental is an okay dude. While not
something you'll see in tournament constructed
play, he's a decent costed Blue flyer for the
Advanced player (see Core Set boosters for the
meaning of that). An excellent pick for Blue in
limited play.
Constructed - 2
Casual - 3
Limited - 4
Jordan
Kronick
Air Elemental
It's so
nice when there's an old card from Alpha that
still kicks it up and remains playable. This
card is the standard by which all big flying
blue creatures are judged. Blue doesn't get big
creatures as a general rule, so when there's a
4/4 with an evasion ability, no drawback and a
reasonable cost - well, that's something
special. Air Elemental has been a top pick in
draft in every format it's been in. It's a
finisher. It's a blocker.
It's everything you need when you're playing a
slowish blue deck. If there's one complaint I
have about it, it's that it's dull. I would
probably never throw it into any constructed
decks (barring an Elemental tribal deck) just
because it doesn't do anything special. But if
it's pure effective beatdown you're looking for,
this is as good as blue uncommons get.
