Knowing that green is supposed to have better
creatures than blue, looking at Giant Spider
next to Azure Drake seems strange. But of
course, opponent's fliers have always been
green's biggest weakness, and Giant Spider can
hold off both Azure Drake and Assault Griffin
like a champ. And if you need an attacker, well,
Giant Spider may not be the best, but it'll
handle that job a lot better than Sporecap
Spider or Traproot Kami.
We began this week with Azure Drake, and it's
fitting that we end it with Giant Spider, a
green creature that does much the same thing.
It's also one of the last two "survivors," cards
that have been printed in every core set since
Limited Edition Alpha. These days it doesn't get
much table time in high-level constructed play,
but it's still pretty good at blocking things.
Creatures like this have often been part of
green decks' defense against flying creatures,
and may become more important in Standard since
Windstorm has not appeared in M11.
Today's card of the day is Giant Spider one of
the last cards to be in ever core set and a 2/4
with Reach for four mana. Nothing
spectacular, but the basis for pretty much every
other spider card to come along since. The
cost isn't the best for what you get, but Green
can be a little vulnerable to Flying and this
offers some protection. Sporecap Spider is
a three mana 1/5 with less offense and a better
defense which may suit your needs better
depending on what you are looking for, but
costing only three mana is certainly an
advantage. Both work well with Swarmyard
in older formats as they have colorless in the
casting cost and being able to regenerate them
for the block can stall out even larger
attackers. Aside from keeping a three
power or lower Flying creature from dealing
damage there isn't much else going for this in
constructed, so it shouldn't see much play.
In Limited there are plenty of Flying threats in
Blue, White, and even Black so having something
to defend against them is important. Giant
Spider may not seem like much, but it can be a
big help against a middle game threat and should
be drafted after a few key cards in Booster as
insurance against the aerial common and
uncommons. The bigger rares and mythics
can then receive the attention of any removal
you may have. For Sealed the choices may
force you to run a Spider or two anyway, but it
isn't a horrible card in the format and the
toughness makes it difficult for Red and most
creatures to get past. If the casting cost
was a bit lower it'd be ideal, but as it stands
it remains playable and one of the better
responses to cheap Flying opposition.
