Archangel of Tithes – Origins
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.25
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
One of Magic’s dirty little secrets was long that defense wins games, except maybe in draft – and some draft formats have powerful control decks, too. The corollary was that offense doesn’t win games; and with outliers like Invasion-era Machine Head and Amonkhet‘s Hazoret Red Deck Wins, the tournament tables have often been dominated by defensive decks. That is less true now than it was fifteen years ago, but it’s not because defensive strategies don’t get new tools, and this card is a good example. It originally appeared in Magic Origins, which was a core set intended to be evolutionary and a sort of reboot, much like M10 had been a few years earlier, and could thus be seen as a signpost that this kind of strategy would still exist in the Gatewatch era.
If you compare Archangel of Tithes to some similar older cards, you’ll see that it works quite differently: it will rarely lock an opponent out of an option entirely, unless they’re the kind of deck that generates arbitrary numbers of tokens. It would have been a hilarious option against Splinter Twin, if Twin decks hadn’t been so fast, and so disruptive, and so resilient. Instead, it tends more to complicate decisions about how to use mana and what spells to cast in what order. This not only gives you time to do your things, but also gives your opponent a chance to make more mistakes. That kind of thing trips up everyone at times, from the kitchen table to the Pro Tour, and it’s a somewhat hidden advantage of cards that set rules about things like that.
And while the card is often seen as a throwback to defensive eras of Magic, when attacking was gauche and it seemed like every white creature had toughness greater than its power, it is actually an offensive tool as well – and that side works great with arbitrary token decks!
Constructed: 3
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Archangel of Tithes is an interesting sort of defensive creature; it’s a resilient body with good toughness that dissuades attackers…or blockers, if you take it for a more aggressive avenue. The second ability is arguably the more interesting one, as Archangel of Tithes can lead your entire army past a tapped-out opponent. That makes for a pretty unique angle for this angel, though the caveat (of sorts) is that she only has evasion and lacks vigilance, which would really tie the package together. And I suppose a white-heavy casting cost does not help matters, either.
I do like Archangel of Tithes more as an offensive tool than as a deterrent; a 3/5 isn’t great, but you’ll make opponents play more cautiously in her face, lest they open themselves up to an alpha strike. She’s back in Standard with the newest set, and I’m not sure how she’ll fare; the heavy white casting cost is definitely an issue, but for decks that like turning their things sideways, she offers a unique angle of attack.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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