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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Sire of Stagnation
Image from Wizards.com

 Sire of Stagnation
- Battle for Zendikar

Reviewed October 26, 2015

Constructed: 2.17
Casual: 2.67
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 3.50
Commander [EDH]: 3.33

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 Sire of Stagnation which is a six mana 5/7 Blue and Black to cast with Devoid that draws two cards and mills two from an opponent when they play a land.  The high mana cost may be justified for the 5/7 body and draw effect, but the reliance on an opponent triggering it is a huge weakness later in the game.  Barring quite a bit of acceleration, cheating it into play, or removing all lands from play this enters too late to have enough impact on an opponent's decisions.  Enough mana should be available and not playing a land should have little or no drawback. As is this is very situational and does not apply enough pressure to be worth much in most formats.
 
In Limited the effect has some impact on an opponent, particularly with the high mana curve the set promotes, but the six mana 5/7 stands as the more reliable benefit.  In general this is a somewhat mediocre first pick in Booster as a large body with two colors to cast it.  For Sealed it can be played in a higher curve Blue/Black build if the pool already leans that way, but it doesn't add enough to force more than a splash of one if it fits into the curve well.
 
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 3.0
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.5
EDH/Commander: 3.5


Armuun

This card, at its very core is one of the very best examples of why Battle for Zendikar is such a dud in my eyes. It's such a great effect. mill 2 and draw 2 on a opponent landfall trigger? Oh man, why isn't this a 4 drop? as a 6 drop, It's not mythic, especially in colors that don't ramp. It boggles my mind when you take such an amazing tempo/control card, and neuter it by overcosting it by at least 1. It doesn't have evasion, which is why it wouldn't be completely broken. If the opponent stops dropping lands, it's vanilla. it dies to everything that kills creatures. As it stands, unless your opponent is playing higher cost or X spells, it's okay. I'm not okay with the neutering though
 
Constructed: 1.5
Casual: 2
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 3
EDH: 2.5


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Sire of Stagnation
 
It seems a little harsh for this card to hose landfall so effectively, considering how popular the ability has been and how iconic it is of Zendikar. On the other hand, it does hit the table rather late, by which time it may be less relevant and you may sometimes need a more immediate answer. If your opponent has a low curve, it can also be effectively turned off by their choosing to stop playing lands and running on what they have. Against decks that want to keep playing until very late in the game, it might be effective in getting you an advantage, but it is not as versatile or universally effective as some Eldrazi are.
 
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

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