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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Chariot of Victory
Image from Wizards.com

Chariot of Victory
- Journey into Nyx

Reviewed June 23, 2014

Constructed: 3.00
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.25

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Chariot of Victory which is a three mana equipment with an equip cost of one that gives First Strike, Trample, and Haste. The three mana cost is a little more than most aggressive decks want to use for something without an attack boost, but this works very well for creatures with damage triggered effects. For the effects and low equip cost to switch for maximizing Haste this will see play in a variety of builds, most likely Casual in nature.

In Limited this is a serious advantage to have in any deck by adding very useful combat effects for a low and colorless cost. A strong early pick in Booster and automatic inclusion for any Sealed build.

Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.0
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.5


Michael Sokolowski

Well it looks like we all enjoyed Weapons Week so much that we're following it up with a look at armour and other pieces of equipment.

Chariot of Victory is an interesting card, and one I was hoping we'd get a chance to review. The abilities it can give to your creatures are very relevant, and the cost - especially the equip cost - are definitely reasonable.

Readers with strong minds and sharp memories might see this card and be reminded of things like Helm of Kaldra, or maybe even Sword of Vengeance. There are two main ways Chariot of Victory can help you out: speeding up your attacks and aggression with Haste, and improving the quality of your hits with First Strike and Trample.

Granting a creature haste cheaply and repeatably will always have a place in aggro decks. Many times when you cast a really awesome or powerful guy, you're hoping in your head 'please don't have removal, please don't have removal.' Because you know that if they don't, then you can really go to town and have some fun. Once Chariot of Victory is out, you can almost look at all of your creature cards and imagine they have haste if you spend 1 extra mana on them. The 3 mana to cast the Chariot in the first place hurts here the most, as aggro would really like to keep up the pressure with more guys or damage. But this is a reasonable investment in the future if you expect the game to last into or past the midgame.

First strike is probably my absolute favourite combat ability, and trample is a close second. Combining both of them is often a devastating combination. This works really well on literally anything with a lot of power, as their toughness almost becomes meaningless (except against burn) and they can't really be chump blocked anymore. If you've ever wondered "How can I make Scoria Elemental not terrible?" then you've found your answer. Something that can normally be stopped by a measly 1/1 now takes something with 7 toughness just to survive long enough to strike back. Everything else just dies, even if its got deathtouch. It's really quite powerful to be able to take out opponent's creatures easily in combat, or hit them in the face if they don't want to lose their guy, or do a little bit of both if they block with something weak.

The only real downsides to this card are the 3 mana casting cost, which is low enough to ensure that casual and limited players can still put this card to good use, but high enough to keep it out of very competitive constructed decks, and also the fact that Chariot of Victory gives no boost to the equipped creature's power. If it did, the 3 mana casting cost would probably be a little more acceptable, plus the card overall would be even more awesome.

If you play this, and you have big guys, there's a good chance that one of them can ride in this to the win.

...Now I'm just imagining a hydra or dragon or something riding around in a chariot. There's your fun mental image of the day.

Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Chariot of Victory
 
For some reason, fantasy properties tend to have fewer chariots than other kinds of conveyances. They seem to have decided that horseback riding is more badass or something, and that carriages and wagons are more the "right" period. While the latter is a matter solely of author choice, I think anyone who thinks charioteers aren't cool is not familiar with Hector, Thor, or the Egyptians from Age of Empires! 
 
As it happens, though, Theros has quite a few chariots and charioteers, including what is actually one of the more powerful recent equipment cards, at least by the numbers. Many people are uncertain about creatures, especially those that cost four or greater, that lack at least one of the abilities this card grants; giving something all three for an equip cost of just one (assuming you had the chariot in play before the creature) is a dangerous play that deprives your opponent of the time they're probably accustomed to having when dealing with creatures. For example, this solves the strategic problems or tension associated with a lot of Theros' otherwise-very-cool hydras. 
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
 

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