Have I fully established how much I like scry
cards? I've said it multiple times over the
course of Theros's cards of the day, and I want
to make sure you know so that you'll understand
how serious I am when I say this: the scry
effect is the least interesting thing about this
card.
This is a 4/5 for four mana, that doesn't even
have particularly rough mana requirements, and
it can give itself hexproof. As I said earlier
regarding Prognostic Sphinx, five toughness and
a hexproof-gaining ability are about as
hard-to-kill as it gets. Your opponent either
has to wait until you're tapped out (IF he has a
kill spell that can deal with the Reaper, since
neither Ultimate Price nor Doom Blade will work
and most burn spells out there don't deal five
damage) or block with five power worth of
creatures. And since most five-power-creatures
don't get left back to block, that's probably
going to mean group-blocking, and that's where
the Reaper's deathtouch ability comes in handy.
Reaper's most interesting ability, I'd say, is
her ability to warp the focus of the game. Her
combination of resilience and relevance forces
all eyes on her... and you know how dangerous it
is to look directly at a gorgon, right?
I've always been a fan of Magic's gorgons,
and the number of them available to play with
has exploded in the last month. And while they
don't have an official "lord," I'm tempted to
crown Reaper of the Wilds as an unofficial one.
When they're around, a lot of things are going
to be dying, whether you're combining them with
the fight keyword in an unconventional control
deck (seriously, try it. It works) or you were
just lucky enough to get Hythonia the Cruel in a
fat pack. The Reaper's also harder to kill than
a lot of recent creatures, which we should all
take advantage of. I'd make a joke about "don't
fear the reaper," but I don't think that would
be good advice in this case.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
Reaper of the Wilds a powerful green and black
card not only can it grant itself deathtouch for
profitable combat trades but can also gain
hexproof to protect itself, this along with the
ability to scry makes it a great package. In
standard I foresee this card seeing a decent
amount of play having to leave up mana to
activate its abilities isn’t amazing but it can
single handedly dominate ground based combat and
provide advantage through its scrying. In modern
and eternal I don’t think tying your mana up in
this creature is the way to go possibly in a
deck looking to survive into mid game and later
and provide tons of incremental advantage it
could be a contender. In casual and multiplayer
this card is also an all-star hexproof and
deathtouch are powerful abilities and in
multiplayer tons of creatures will die over time
allowing you to scry through your deck. In
limited it’s a bomb card and almost unbeatable
when you have enough mana to fuel it. Overall a
powerful card guaranteed to see play in the
majority of formats casual and constructed.
Today's card of the day is Reaper of the Wilds
which is a four mana Black and Green 4/5 with
Scry 1 whenever another creature dies,
Deathtouch until end of turn for one Black mana,
and Hexproof until end of turn for two mana
including one Green mana. A four mana 4/5
is slightly ahead of the curve and all three
effects on this are very useful as they help
maintain tempo by controlling your draw,
Deathtouch for a better battlefield presence,
and Hexproof to reduce removal options.
Blocking or removing Reaper is difficult and
Scry triggers add to the overall value, making
it a noticeable threat and key to strategic and
tactical play. This is a card that will be
a major force in Golgari or Jund colored builds
and should break into the higher levels of play.
In Limited there are a few other cards featuring
both Green and Black aspects, but a build using
this should just focus on the best of both
colors which can make for a powerful design with
the right pool. The benefits are similar
to Constructed and this is a strong first pick
in Booster in any pack, particularly if Black or
Green were the focus earlier, and is powerful in
Sealed as well if the pool supports it.
Reaper of the Wilds might be the best Gorgon
created so far! This creature has the ability to
Scry 1 whenever another creature dies. That
ability by itself is very good. Would it be
overpowered to give this creature Death Touch
and Hexproof? I would have to say YES! The only
thing that might slow Reaper of the Wilds down
is the mana costs and colors. Let’s think about
where this card could fit in. I think that
Cartel Aristocrat and Xathrid Necromancer are
going to meet up with Reaper of the Wilds for a
picnic in Standard! Casual players might be
thinking of the Greater Good when they use
Reaper of the Wilds. In Sealed or Draft, Reaper
of the Wilds will need help to get the job done.
Multiplayer is where this Gorgon could become
Legendary! Reaper of the Wilds has all of the
flavor and potential that players like, but it
could also hold itself back due to the need to
have open mana for Hexproof and Deathtouch.
