Birgi, God of Storytelling – Kaldheim
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2021
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.38
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 4.13
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.67
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
David
Fanany
Player
since
1995
Although Birgi’s game text mentions one of Kaldheim‘s signature mechanics by name, she’s far from being a one-story skald. For one thing, she has efficient stats, but more importantly, her repeatable ritual ability has a tantalizing suggestion of endless chains of spells (rather like yesterday’s Card of the Day). For another thing, if you think a creature is not going to get the job done at the moment, you can always call on Harnfel. The Horn of Plenty’s other end may as well be drawing from the ocean, considering how much it provides you – and it’s even at your demand, meaning that even though many will rate the the analogous black blood-bargains as more purely powerful, you have a novel option of digging for instants during your opponents’ turns.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5
Birgi is pretty interesting as both a god and an artifact. The creature side allows you to “storm” with cheap spells; while things like Kobolds and cheap mana rocks come to mind to enable things like Grapeshot finishers, you needn’t think exclusively along those lines, as Birgi works well to chain spells into more spells. Of course, it pairs well with boast abilities; while no boast creature is insurmountably busted on its own…to use an example, Dragonkin Berserker is a bit more intriguing if you can make two Dragons in one turn instead of one dragon. So she’s a decent value engine on her own, with upside in a deck that makes use of boasting creatures.
Harnfel is also quite good, though five mana makes this a harder sell. But an effective +1 in card advantage in red is a big deal, particularly since this isn’t a tap ability or a “once per turn” clause. I feel like Commander tables will like Harnfel a bit more for how it greases the wheels, but Birgi is still good on her own.
Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.25 (the right boast cards could make this insane)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 4.25
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’d be happy to link back to your blog / YouTube Channel / etc. 😉
Click here to read over 4,000 more MTG Cards of the Day! Daily Since 2001.