Bishop of Binding – MTG Card of the Day

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Bishop of Binding certainly has an interesting take on white’s standard semi-permanent exile mechanic, and it’s still in the company of a surprisingly small number of cards that interact with exile. As an answer for more competitive settings, it leaves something to be desired. One toughness is pretty fragile compared to the likes of Fiend Hunter, and the bonus is highly dependent on your opponent’s game plan and mana curve, and not always relevant for control decks. In other settings, though, it’s an effect that is definitely fun to build around. Vampires have a new lease on (un)life in Commander after the release of the recent tribal preconstructed deck, and this card offers an interesting and proactive way to turn the average-power advantage held by tribes like dragons in your favor.

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

Banisher Priest, only with a bit more to offer. For one more mana, you get a smaller body…and the ability to buff a Vampire during each combat step. You can, of course, buff Bishop of Binding to get it past combat (a 1/1 ain’t surviving much), but other and more evasive Vampires will demand more answers to it. Even if he never attacks, Bishop of Binding is apt to always be a serviceable creature for his ability to tuck away troublesome creatures, but he’ll shine brightest when you’re attacking with a lot of bloodsuckers.

Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 3.75