Bootleggers’ Stash – Streets of New Capenna
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.42
Casual: 3.00
Limited: 2.67
Multiplayer: 2.83
Commander [EDH]: 3.92
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
This is another kind of card you see now and then: a card expensive enough that you’d have to ramp into it, which ramps you even more. It always feels a little odd; I suppose the effect is powerful enough that it has to cost a lot, but it doesn’t really do too much by itself. For six mana in constructed play, you’re probably going to be looking at cards that have a more immediate impact and don’t need anything else, but in casual settings, there are decks that can use a six-mana infinite Treasure generator. And then there are others that literally can’t have enough mana ramping. With that much mana, you could chain Craterhoof Behemoths into each other, bounce and re-cast them multiple times, or activate certain abilities a hundred times in a turn!
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander [EDH]: 4/5
In effect, Bootlegger’s Stash is a slightly updated version of Upwelling: bank mana for future turns, though the banking comes in the form of Treasure tokens, which has its pros and its cons. The mana stays banked without need to worry about the spell getting removed, but it’s all in the form of artifacts, so there’s generally more removal for it and ways to make your opponent go “ouphe”, so to speak. It’s also six mana, which is not insignificant, and you need to protect it for a turn to come online; it’s also a non-starter with mana doubling, though things that double token generation do play well with it. This is certainly powerful along with the right pieces (like Chatterfang, to name one), but Bootlegger’s Stash is not a generically powerful card even if it looks the part. If you have specific uses for it, it’ll shine there, but this doesn’t strike me as being too powerful in spite of its initially eye-catching text.
Constructed: 2.25 (there might be a deck where this shines, but you’re still needing to get to six mana, let this live, and then start powering out things with it)
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 2
Multiplayer: 2.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.75 (caveat here is that there are specific combo pieces for this, and I do not think this is a generically powerful artifact to throw into every green deck)
WOTC is really pushing the treasure token mechanic in this set, I don’t blame them because it is a widely loves (and hated) tool that players build decks around. I think the issue with this card is that it’s a little too expensive but I understand the concern for making it so. When you have “dead lands” that won’t do anything you can use them at the end of your opponent’s turn to create a treasure token. Slowly but surely you’re going to have a substantial mana base to be able to cast the big win spell for essentially nothing. This pairs well with red for some big damage spells. I like it but I’m wondering the level of use outside of commander it will receive because of the high casting cost.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander [EDH]: 4/5
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