Did anyone else notice that Bloodrush is
functionally the same as Channel, from Saviors
or Kamigawa? I know, most of us tried to forget,
but bear with me. I'm glad they brought back
Channel-- I thought it was a useful ability that
wasn't too flavor-tied to its block. What I
didn't like about it was that once I played the
creature, I kept mistaking the Channel ability
for an activated ability I could use while it
was in play. Whenever I had a Ghost-Lit
Nourisher on the battlefield, I'd always
mistakenly think that if necessary I could pay
3G for +4/+4, and so I'd do the combat math
wrong and occasionally I'd lose because of
it. On other occasions I'd play Ghost-Lit
Nourisher and my opponent would see the
italicized word and hyphen and start asking me
about my graveyard, having mistook the Channel
ability for a Threshold ability.
I'm a bit worried that Bloodrush is going to
cost some folks games for the same reason. I can
totally imagine someone playing the Rampager
here, then making a mistake because he thinks he
can give it an additional +4/+4 by paying RG.
Since they changed the name, and thus made it a
"new" ability, I wish they'd've changed it to
"discard OR SACRIFICE this card" so as to add
functionality and prevent those kinds of
mistakes.
If you're reasonably confident that you can
avoid that mistake, then Ghor-Clan Rampager is a
pretty nice card. It can be a Titanic Growth
that grants trample, or a 4/4 trampler for four.
Neither one is terribly powerful, but the fact
that it's your choice all in one card is nice.
It's versatility, and unlike certain Charms or
other "versatility" cards, neither option is
made weaker due to the existence of the other--
each one is cost just as you'd expect if the
other weren't there.
There's also the matter that your opponent can
make mistakes too, and is more likely to if you
play with the card more often that he does.
You're not allowed to lie or mislead him about
what your card does, of course, but if he makes
the mistake in his own head, there's nothing you
can do about it. ;-)
I'll admit, I was a little concerned about how
the Gruul might fare in this set. They were my
favorite guild from the original Ravnica, and
sharing the stage with four guilds in their own
set and a total of nine in this cycle's releases
can make it hard to find a niche. Plus, red and
green are traditionally among the more
straightforward colors in terms of strategy, and
you'd hope designers would take care to add
layers to them in new sets. Fortunately, they
seem to have done so with Gatecrash's Gruul, as
the bloodrush mechanic adds subtlety, surprise,
and options to the beatdown without hindering it
or slowing it down. As perhaps the most powerful
card with bloodrush, able to crush things
regardless of which mode you're using, Ghor-Clan
Rampager is perhaps my favorite card in
Gatecrash. Whether you love the beatdown or fear
it, you'll be seeing this card in decks.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Ghor-Clan
Rampager
Welcome back readers and todays card of the day
is one of my favorite creatures from Gatecrash.
A 4/4 with trample is highly aggressive and
example of a reasonable creature body. The
upside of being able to discard it and give an
attacking creature +4/+4 and trample as an
uncounterable combat trick is gravy. In standard
I can see this card being played in aggressive
red and green decks but also making a splash in
Naya colored decks as it is an effective
creature by itself, but the pump can become
tremendously relevant when pushing through
damage and insane when combined with Boros Charm
or Silverblade Paladin. In modern some
aggressive deck may want this but its competing
with lots of powerful four drop creatures, it
could be used in infect decks as a nice pump and
trample. However its less likely to see play
here rather than standard. In legacy and vintage
not a chance this will see play. In casual and
multiplayer this card has versatility which is
key, a pump spell early or late and a very solid
aggressive body when you need one. The fact it
is a beast opens it up to powerful tribal
interactions and support as well. In limited its
not a bomb but its insanely powerful and is a
high priority due to being a solid evasive
creature and combat trick. Overall a very solid
card that should see play in a few places.
Today's card of the day is Ghor-Clan Rampager
which is a four mana Red and Green 4/4 with
Trample and Bloodrush which for a Red and Green
and discarding it from hand gives target
attacking creature +4/+4 and Trample until the
end of the turn. This is a decent creature
for the cost when needed, but an uncounterable
+4/+4 with Trample boost to an an unblocked or
chump blocked attacker for two mana can easily
be a deciding factor in many games. The
only drawback is being multicolored and for that
it is still viable in many decks which assures
it will see competitive play.
In Limited almost every Bloodrush creature is
playable for the effect in combat and this one
is also solid by itself with a high toughness
and reasonable casting cost. A great
second or third pick in Booster for a Gruul
guild and great support in a Sealed deck.
Splashing is also possible when one of the two
colors can be supported by Gates or other mana
fixing.
A 4/4 trample for 4 is nothing to really write
home about. Not bad, but not amazing.
The bloodrush ability is good, and it a nice
surprise. It would make any limited deck I
had running R/G, but wouldn't help me really
define my colors. I suspect it might see
some block play, but probably nothing much past
that. It's a solid card.
