Bristly Bill, Spine Sower – Outlaws of Thunder Junction
Date Reviewed: May 7, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.0
Casual: 4.6
Limited: 4.0
Multiplayer: 4.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.0
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
I will never get used to seeing landfall used as a deciduous mechanic. To be fair, it would fit pretty well in a Wild West set regardless, and Bristly Bill is a very exciting example of the mechanic. Small, incremental effects add up fast, even on comparatively fragile creatures like 2/2s for 1G, and he can make combat very difficult for opponents even if you never get to his activated ability. But let’s talk about that activated ability for a moment: it’s crazy that it affects every creature you control, because that takes it beyond the standard pseudo-proliferate ability to a possible multi-turn Overrun. I doubt that will make the diehards who only use combo finishes in Commander change their behavior, but it will contribute to making them respect the attack step.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4.5
Doubling is always something that draws attention, and repeated doubling also does the job. Bristly Bill, Spine Sower is a pretty simple creature: play lands, embiggen things, and really embiggen those things later. Notably, his ability hits all creatures you control at once and is agnostic as to where they got their counters from. And while a dearth of keywords may be irksome, Bristly Bill can bring the pain himself by granting himself the boosts on landfall, which snowballs when it’s doubling season.
Bristly Bill feels like he’s going to be a massive pain in a fair few situations; if he gets entrenched, killing him via burn spells becomes incredibly tricky, and he’ll just keep spreading counters as the game gets played. He is fragile early, but Bristly Bill is the kind of looming threat that can help you take over a game if left unchecked. That said, h’s a dicier late-game creature without things like hydras, since he needs time to get going with counters.
Constructed: 4 (obviously better when played with lands that sacrifice to tutor other lands, but may be usable in Standard as a sort of looming value threat)
Casual: 4.75
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
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. 😉
