Dead Man’s Chest – MTG Card of the Day

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

“You can mistrust me less than you can mistrust him. Trust me.”
— Captain Jack Sparrow

I guess this card delivers what it promises, doesn’t it? It will sometimes raise some odd flavor questions about when a Saproling token had time to amass so much swag, but the times it works, it will be pretty spectacular. Note that that’s an ongoing effect – you gain those cards as permanently as if they were secured in your own flagship’s hold, and can cast them any time before the game ends. It requires quite a bit of building around, since it doesn’t contribute to weakening or destroying the enchanted creature itself, so that might make it more suitable for the casual and Commander tables than the tournament environment.

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

King Of
Hearts

Does he got da booty? Dead Man’s Chest is about on the nose as a card can get. The two noticeable draw backs of this card are that on its own it does nothing and you will have to have a kill spell on hand. The fun thing about Dead Man’s Chest is the variance it creates. Do you want to play this card early or do you want to save it and hit the jackpot? The riches are even more bountiful in multiplayer when you mark a Commander for death. I don’t see this card making waves is most formats but it is still lots of fun to ask “What’s in the box?” 

Constructed: 2
Limited: 2
Casual: 3
Multiplayer: 4
Commander (EDH): 4

Yo-ho-ho, and stuff. Dead Man’s Chest certainly fits flavor-wise into what Pirates like above all else (treasure). It’s a cool concept, even if the execution is…maybe a bit more questionable.

It’s a two mana enchantment that sits on-board and does nothing on its own until the creature dies, and it then cracks open to let you wreak havoc on your opponent’s deck. Early-game, you’re likely only marking for death a creature with three or less power, which means you’ll average two hits out of those three cards. If you hit well, this can pay off in spades; taking away the ability of your opponent to cast, say, Zacama or Angrath is pretty nice, and being able to cast them for yourself is pretty awesome.

That this is in black helps, since you can ideally follow this up with a kill spell to crack the chest wide open immediately. It’s still a weird, fiddly card that is more a curiosity than a likely constructed powerhouse, though.

Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.25
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander: 3.5