Figure of Destiny – Eventide
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.00
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4.38
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Figure of Destiny is a card that was ahead of its time in so many ways. Back in the 2000s, you would not be surprised to see a 1/1 for one mana with at most a minor combat ability. The most notable (and perhaps only) prior creature that started at those stats and became a significant threat over time was Nimble Mongoose, but Figure of Destiny offered something that seems obvious in hindsight. Being able to spend mana to upgrade your first-turn play was a big deal because not every deck can fill its graveyard rapidly, but every deck plays lands (and if it doesn’t, it also doesn’t need a Sligh curve of attackers). It’s good against control decks because if you land one on the first turn, you can keep upgrading it until they have to deal with it and likely give you an opportunity to punish them, and it’s good against creature decks because it can activate mid-combat. It changed things behind the scenes, too: not only did it directly inspire the level up mechanic from Rise of the Eldrazi, it led to a clear design reconsideration of just how threatening early creatures could be, and led to a lot of now-favorite tools for aggressive decks. Even if you think Ragavan is a bridge too far, the concept is sound, and Figure of Destiny proved that to the world.
Constructed: 3 (in current Modern/Legacy; in Shadowmoor Standard this was at least a 4)
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Figure of Destiny is a card with a pretty impressive lineage of sorts, inspiring a lot of cards and mechanics in the years since to capture the feeling of “leveling up” something. Figure of Destiny starts out small, as a mere 1/1, but starts powering up as you put more mana into it. While it’s not incredibly efficient, remember that Figure of Destiny can level up at instant speed, and it can make for a good way to spend mana on a turn you don’t need to use it elsewhere, and splitting the 11 mana into several installments makes it more palatable. The final form is threatening, to be sure, though it’s more of a “win more” option; still, as far as ramping threats go, this still has some intrigue, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that giving this more creature types can make this a bit faster…
Constructed: 3 (hasn’t kept up especially well, and X/1 bodies have a hard time)
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3
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