Luminarch Ascension

If you were around at all for the Mirage or Time Spiral blocks, you probably saw Sacred Mesa take over games. Ever imagined what it would look like if you made the same number of Angels instead of humble Pegasus? Imagine no more. Don't fall into the trap of looking at cards like Lightning Bolt and dismissing the lead-up as unviable - white has always been good at staying alive, and still is.

Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5

Today's card of the day is Luminarch Ascension, a White enchantment that
offers an effect both beneficial for and against stall based deck
designs. This can function well as a finisher in Turbo Fog or less
likely sidedecked against a non-aggressive build.

In Constructed and Casual this is a potentially strong card, but only in
decks that really focus on avoiding damage. Any kind of burn or fast
offense can either derail or at least delay the effect long enough to
make the card almost worthless. Four turns can be a long time
especially with this as a second or third turn drop instead of a
creature and having an effect based entirely on what your opponent does
or doesn't do is quite the gamble.

For Limited the tokens are of course very tempting, but avoiding damage
in this format can be easier said than done. In Sealed this is worth
playing if you are already running White, but should not be the kind of
card that tips the balance on your color choices. In Booster it depends
on whether you are leaning towards a more offensive build as this card
doesn't add to the field control until later on. Once it does, however,
it is pretty impressive and hard to handle. Passing it is hard with the
threat of tokens, but keep in mind the difficulty in running four turns
in a creature dominated format without taking damage.

With Multiplayer counting each opponent causes this quest to activate
very quickly and allows for an army of 4/4 Flying to be amassed very
early on. Just watch for the inevitable attacks from all quarters to
prevent the effect and this card can win games for you. Also, I suggest
supporting it with some Fog effects and possible Crusade enchantments
(and by then Mesa Enchantress) or Coat of Arms style artifacts to boost
the power of the angels.

Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 3.0
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 4.5

Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is Luminarch Ascension a powerful white enchantment that is seeing a bit of competitive play as well as being a popular casual card. Luminarch Ascension requires that at the beginning of each opponents end step if you were not dealt damage this turn put a quest counter on ascension. When you hit four counters you will be able to pump out 4/4 flying angels for only two mana, a powerful way to invest mana. Currently in standard this card has seen some play in monowhite builds and I suspect fog style decks as a powerful win condition, the ability to use a majority of your mana to spawn a flying army of angels is something to be feared and respected. In standard it fits a wide variety of competitive white decks and is a deal with me now card. In extended its powerful and may make an appearance in a variety of decks. In eternal formats possibly but its way to slow I doubt its effectiveness. In casual and multiplayer this card is great combine with cards like Propoganda and Ghost prison and Holy Day type effects and watch the tokens and angels pile up, more powerful as most casual players don’t maindeck enchantment removal. In limited a powerhouse if you can slow down and control the speed of the game.

Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.0
Multiplayer: 3.0