Behold the Unspeakable – Kamigawa: Neon Destiny
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.58
Casual: 3.17
Limited: 3.67
Multiplayer: 3.42
Commander [EDH]: 2.67
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
I quite liked the “puzzle” on the Champions of Kamigawa cards that let you pull The Unspeakable directly out of your library, but there’s something to be said for this approach. Sometimes the most unsettling thing is something you don’t actually see – or at least don’t see fully, and thus fear because it’s unknown.
I actually quite like how this card plays. The first part of the Saga helps you stabilize in the mid-to-late game when you’re being attacked, possibly buying you another whole turn against small-creature decks. It also works hilariously well in multiplayer, messing up your opponents’ ability to attack each other (though I’d be careful if they end up judging you as the one who messed up their best-laid plans!). Both possibilities for the second chapter are good card advantage, and then the creature it transforms into can end games in a hurry. It may not be the absolute optimal control win condition in the sense of stats, but it works perfectly well. And as always with planeswalkers and Sagas, a big part of this card’s strength is its versatility – getting different abilities and options in just one card.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Commander [EDH]: 3/5
Behold the Unspeakable is a fairly interesting member of the Saga grouping of the set, a bit of an homage to a creature of unspeakable horror from the original block. Five mana for a decent bit of a defensive buff is nice when that defensive buff turns into card advantage a turn later, and that card advantage helps feed into a rather big, displeased spirit that threatens to plow through defenses rather nicely. I do think Behold the Unspeakable is a bit on the slow side, but given that blue decks tended to play things out slowly to begin with, there might be room for this to do its thing if you can get it out on-curve. And, if nothing else, buying yourself a turn and drawing two or more cards is a fine deal for five mana, making this a surprisingly decent top deck in a stalled state.
Note that the way Sagas work means you’re only going to probably get the “draw four” if you started the turn with no cards in hand, since they tick up after you’ve drawn a card for the turn. This doesn’t make the card worse, but it is worth note.
Constructed: 3.25
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
I’m not a fan of this saga compared to the other sagas of the set. For five mana (too expensive in my opinion) you get a pretty decent first ability but at the end of the day it is only a stall ability that will prevent your opponent’s creatures from (possibly) doing lethal damage. Personally I’m not a fan of creatures who’s P/T are dependent on the number of cards in your hand. I think that these are more harmful than helpful because card advantage is key but if you’re hoarding them and not using them then are you really playing the game and are you really at the advantage? The second ability is fine, at best you’re getting two cards (and likely the most often scenario) but even if you get four cards, are you going to keep them so on your next turn you draw and flip this card for a 5/5? Or are you going to use the cards and end up with a 3/3? I just think this is a bad card that won’t see much play outside of limited.
Constructed: 1.5/5
Casual: 2/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 2.5/5
Commander [EDH]: 1.5/5 (there could be decks built around cards in hand but those are few and far between)
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