I'm not a huge fan of this card. This is simply
gets bigger for the number of creatures in play.
It's not something that you can plan on. And
when you lose any creature to damage or negative
points, it's likely you are going to lost the
BoB was all. I wouldn't recommend using this
card in any circumstances.
At one point, early on in my Magic-playin'
career, I thought this card was good. Then, I
saw the light. Yes, it can be huge, especially
if you plan your deck around it; however, it has
several inherent weaknesses. The first is the
additional math you have to do in combat. You
need to know exactly how many creatures are
about to die during combat and what creature
will likely be blocking your Beast of Burden.
You also have to deal with the fact that your
opponent has some say in how big Beast of Burden
will get. Finally, it is an artifact, making it
more susceptible to the removal that is
typically in your opponent's deck. Overall, not
so hot, and I wouldn't recommend playing Beast
of Burden in any format.
More worth it's salt when you and your opponent
are playing heavy creature feature decks, of
course. Again, a bit slow for tournament play,
but still a lot of fun for Casual, and worth
considering for limited, especially since it
will fit in any color deck.
Constructed - 2
Casual - 3.5
Limited - 4
Jordan
Kronick
Beast of Burden
When I
came back from a couple years away from Magic,
this was one of the first new cards I saw. I was
struck both by how powerful it can be and by how
elegant and simple it is. Of course, it's a
limited powerhouse.
It's never seen much tournament play, but the
casual arena is where it really shines. When
you're playing a big group game, Beast of Burden
is one of the best things running. All it needs
is a little help. Flying, trample, fear..
something. Might I recommend Fists of Ironwood
from Ravnica? Trample and two more creatures to
pump him up. Beast of Burden will be a casual
favorite for a long time, I'm sure. And I love
the more recent art, too.
