Betor, Kin to All – Tarkin: Dragonstorm
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.13
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.13
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Betor is one of those cards that drives you to seek very specific achievements or milestones during a game, and these are ones that don’t come up during almost any regular game. I suspect many of us have never come close to controlling 20 toughness of creatures, outside of some kind of infinite combo. 10 is more achievable, and fortunately that is the one that has the most straightforward and commonplace payoff, a payoff which people sometimes gravitate towards above all others. Backhanded remarks aside, it’s worth noting that he himself gets you 70% of the way there, and you’ll often need to control as few as two creatures to get it.
The other triggers are in the territory where you’ll be warping your whole deck around them, and thus raise some questions about what you need to be doing that doesn’t involve just attacking with such big creatures. The wall-based big mana decks come to mind, of course, and they’re not the only archetype that would like the ability. I think some constructed decks might pick him up just for his stats, and the casual tables will separately do some pretty bizarre stuff with him.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
A payoff of sorts if you like your creatures thick and substantial, Betor, Kin to All pays off pretty quickly if you have plenty of toughness. The card draw is comically easy to hit the threshold on with little extra effort, and the pseudo-vigilance is nicely attainable and a good way of leveraging Betor’s high toughness while keeping pressure. That third ability is more aspirational, but it’s definitely within the realm of possibility if you need to push a game to its conclusion.
That said, I feel like Betor is best as an evasive flier who can draw you cards steadily. A 5/7 for 5 mana is a great deal, and while the color demands are a touch demanding, it’s hardly insurmountable, and you can ensure your opposition learns how swooping is bad. It can help grind out a game in a long affair, but it also can punch holes quickly.
Constructed: 4.25
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.25
Commander [EDH]: 4.5
We would love more volunteers to help us with our Magic the Gathering Card of the Day reviews. If you want to share your ideas on cards with other fans, feel free to drop us an email. We would be happy to link back to your blog / YouTube Channel / etc. 😉