Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage – Tarkin: Dragonstorm
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.63
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
When I started playing, you expected legendary creatures to offer a little extra because of their status, but Anafenza breaks that curve right in half. There are decks that might play her just for her combat stats – maybe not so much in recent trigger happy Standard formats, but if all you want to do is attack, she does it very well. And considering one of Magic’s dirty open secrets is that first strike is better on defense than offense, she can also be a really powerful removal spell. A really, really powerful one. Consider that if you cast her during a blocking scenario that you would otherwise have lost, you’ll often break even, and if you were going to break even you might come out ahead. And that’s before you get into how she lets you survive both conventional Wrath of God effects by replacing everything that dies, and survive damage-based sweepers by becoming too big for any conventional burn deck to get off the table. Caller of the Claw was already good enough for constructed at various times, and Anafenza is probably even better, which is a downright scary thought.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Turns out that Anafenza figured out a way to persist even in death, which feels in flavor for the Abzan. Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage is an interesting creature; a 2/2 with first strike is pretty formidable, and her reflexive trigger lets you profit off of your fallen comrades by making Anafenza bigger or broadening your reach. Either is certainly a tempting avenue for attack, and flash lets you bring this in to respond to a kill spell, making for a potential 4/4 with first strike (or two bodies). She’s a solid value creature that can help you grind out a game, though she can be a bit flimsy until you get to start triggering her endure ability, and she makes for a fun “kill on sight” creature that can punish board wipes.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.75 (both sides of this are vicious in a Limited format)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4
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