Cuombajj Witches – MTG Throwback Thursday (1993)

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

Cuombajj Witches has a lot of built-in upside for a card that, on paper, lets your opponent kill your creatures. The witches themselves have three toughness, meaning that your opponent can’t kill them with their own ability and will need to put a little more thought into it, before they lose all of their one-toughness creatures. Technically, they’ve always been around if you could source an Arabian Nights version, but their new version in Commander Legends will be welcomed by anyone who wasn’t able to and wanted to see how they run. There have also been lots of cards that care about you losing life or things of yours being dealt damage, and the reprint might be a good reminder to check them out. Not like Death’s Shadow needs much help anyway, but it couldn’t hurt!

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5

Cuombajj Witches has long been a staple card in Pauper, thanks to its efficiency at killing weak creatures for a reasonable price. While it does come with the price of 1 damage to something chosen by an opponent, it’s oft a fair price to pay for guaranteeing 1 damage. It’s definitely a bit of an effect black hasn’t historically had readily available, so Cuombajj Witches’ uniqueness definitely plays in its favor. It’s even a serviceable enough blocker, thanks to decent toughness, and it’s a solid enough creature with a couple of tricks to offer to a black deck.

Constructed: 1.25 (in Legacy); 3.5 (in Pauper)
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.25 (most creatures are a bit big, but politics can be rather fun)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 3.25