Between this and Endless One, Battle for
Zendikar seems to have a theme of surprisingly
efficient creatures with X in their cost.
Skyrider Elf is a cost-effective threat at any
number of colors, although the need to have
different colors may limit its usefulness in
certain casual formats like Commander: it's at
its most effective in four- or five-color decks,
but will it be better than the general itself?
It's tempting for a constructed setting where
power to cost ratios are valued more, though it
will still struggle against Eldrazi and the
like.
Today's card of the day is Skyrider Elf which
is a Green and Blue with X
0/0 Flying that enters play with +1/+1 counters
equal to the colors of mana used to cast it.
This is at worst a 2/2 for two mana that uses
counters, making it a solid addition to Simic
builds with no special support required.
It follows up Cloudfin Raptor nicely and helps
maintain an evasive sub-theme to Simic's primary
mechanics.
In Limited the Blue and Green combination is not
ideal, so it takes a very specific pool in
Sealed to make including this worthwhile. It
does better in three color or higher decks where
even a splash can make this a 3/3 for three or
better. For Booster this is not an early
pick and is very likely to circle the table, but
after some Green or Blue picks it is worth
getting and keeping your options open for later
packs. Either color can be added as a
secondary or splash color and a 2/2 evasive is
much better than a card that just sits in the
sidedeck.
