The extra tax on nonartifact spells is going to
make this guy awesome in any deck that expects
to go up against Storm decks or other
combo-style decks, or any deck that is designed
to maximize its mana every turn (which a good
deck should be). The 5/3 body for 4 mana? Very
nice, but almost feels... extra. Like the
ability is what you're really here for, the
swinging for 5 a mere lagniappe. And when
attacking for 5 feels like an added little
bonus, you know you're looking at a keeper.
Esper decks may be on the comeback.
I wonder how, since lodestone is naturally
magnetized, a golem made of it manages to drive
away other spells. Must be added during
manufacturing. I think much of the attraction of
this card lies not with the fact that it's
essentially an upgrade of Juggernaut (when did
you ever want to block with a 5/3 artifact
creature, anyway?) but with the fact that on the
shard of Esper, he doesn't prevent you from
playing many colored cards.
Magic The Gathering Card of the Day: Lodestone
Golem
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
Lodestone Golem a powerful artifact creature
from Worldwake for four mana you get a 5/3 body
that makes nonartifact spells cost 1 more to
cast. Dies to removal isn’t an argument but
Lighting Bolt has once again reeled its ugly
head. In standard right now there are few decks
that utilize a fair amount of artifacts, there
are emerging deck types in standard that utilize
a fair amount of artifacts that look to be
powerful. With Rise of The Eldrazi we may also
see some powerful new artifacts as of now this
card could be a solid card in standard but not a
powerhouse yet. In extended and eternal this
card seems to slow for affinity although it
could see it panning out interestingly, in
eternal almost no chance in hell I believe. In
casual and multiplayer if you’re making an
artifact deck less powerful then Affinity it
could be a solid addition as it punishes
everyone around the table and can slow the game
down to your advantage. In limited if you
draft heavy artifacts this could be an
additional pick, drafting a lot of solid
artifacts may pose a problem though.
Today's card of the day is Lodestone Golem
which seems like it would be right at home with
the Affinity or Esper decks of previous sets.
A 5/3 for four mana isn't bad and when played
alongside Etherium Sculptor you gain the
advantage of lowered cost for your spells while
your opponent is paying more. While
vulnerable to a decent number of removal spells,
including Lightning Bolt, the effect and
popularity of artifact decks will maintain
Lodestone Golem's presence in constructed
formats for a long time.
In Constructed, Casual, and Multiplayer this is
a good support card to an artifact deck that is
also attached to a fairly solid creature-based
threat. In Extended this is excellent with
Affinity and even works with Thorn of Amethyst
to really make your opponent pay for their
spells.
Playing Master of Etherium can shore up the
slightly underwhelming toughness and would
likely be played in an artifact based deck
anyway.
For Limited the lower number of available
artifacts puts you in the same position as your
opponent, but with a 5/3 creature in play.
Certainly playable by the middle stages of the
game and any negative impact should be
relatively minimal, but it may stall your
opponent an additional turn before playing their
higher casting cost spells. Unfortunately
this format encourages a heavier than average
number of lands, so the effect may not be much
of a factor. As a colorless card it can be
played in any deck which gives it value in
Sealed and makes for a cautious first pick in
Booster that can be used regardless of future
color choices.
