Today, review the ever-popular card, Obsidian Scarab, right out of survivors. This card has been picking up some steam in the meta game and people are beginning to recognize its potential.

Obsidian Scarab

Civilization: Nature

Type: Giant Insect

Mana: 6

Power: 5000+

Ability:- Power Attacker (+3000)

-          Double Breaker

-          When destroyed, you can play an O.S from your mana zone to the field.

Now, the survivor set really proved to be strong for the Nature Civ. The last couple sets, nature really haven’t had playable supers or verys. This set however, both super and very rare cards are exceptionally playable, for a change. Avalanche Giant is nothing to overlook and this card…

The Plus Side

First of all, this card is not that bad for its mana cost. 6 for 5000 power and 8000 when attacks is not bad at all. Sure beats the hell out of Tri-Horned Shepard.

Second, the fact it’s a double breaker is amazing. A 6-mana double breaker also isn’t that bad.

But, thirdly, and probably the coolest of all 3 is the final ability. You get to summon another from the mana zone when the one on the field dies. Now, I spent a while thinking up a deck with this card, and it can base itself around its own deck.

How? Easy. Look through your box of rares and commons, find all the dimension gates, Mana nexus, Enchanted Soil, and Psyshroom you can, and throw in 4 obsidians, some shield triggers, Naturals, Brutal Charge perhaps, maybe a couple terror pits and holy awes, and beast folks and there you go, a new, fresh Obsidian Scarab Knuckle Sammich…

The purpose is to always have one Obsidian in your hand and one in the mana zone. With Dimension gates and brutal charge, you should get the Scarab easy, maybe even the second. It should function well. Get a few in the mana zone, bust one out, and watch the magic happen. If something happens, use a Roar of the earth or sniper Mosquito to get them back. You have the Psyshroom and the Enchanted Soil to save yourself if something were to happen. Worse comes to worse, you always have the Beast Folks and the Mana Nexuses to get them back if they’re all dead. I tell you all something, this card has a LOT of potential. Try it out for yourself.

The Negative Side

There aren’t really many problems with this card. 6-mana for a monster with only 8000 attacking potential is, average, according to today’s standards. Aeris and Photocide have a field day with this card. 

Also, it only power attacks. It’s not permanent. This is probably the best thing since you really want it to die to get out the next one, but still. This is what turns people off on Nocturnal Giant. Sure 14000 attack power, that’s amaz…..oh wait, it’s a power attacker. It goes to 7000 again. Holy crap, even Explosive Fighter Ucarn kills it….damn.

Personally, I think this should have been the super rare. Avalanche giant is great, but the fact it can’t hit monsters really hurts it in the long run. Obsidian Scarab has more potential. Any card that can have a deck based around them deserves a super rare spot, but they did give it a very rare rarity, so that’s not that bad.

The next problem, the deck may be too complicated. The deck needs to always have an OS in the mana zone, and with only a handful of cards that help it, each with it’s own area where it helps, it can be very trying on how it performs smoothly.

The final problem, and once again, we play “what else could you use?”

-          A terror pit, Natural, Holy Awe?

-          Fighter Dual fang, with Beast Folk already on the field?

-          Beast Folk, then a Barkwhip?

-          Avalanche Giant?

-          Uh…Moon Horn?

Yea, Obsidian is probably worth playing in comparison to other green stuff you can use, but timing is everything.

The Limited Side

Well, here, the return effect is basically useless, so your taking an 8000 attacker double breaker. You see more Double breakers in limited than usual with incoming sets, so I don’t know how this really compares to stuff like Nocturnal Giant and Bolgash Dragon. It’s still worth taking though, 8000 power is nothing to really argue with and there’s nothing else really better to play with 6 mana in limited, so go for it.

The Recap

The + and – again

Pluses

- 8000 power for 6 mana isn’t that bad.

- Has his own deck. That tells you the card has potential

- Amazing effects

- Double Breaker- not that impressive anymore, but still not bad

- Passed the “what else could you use” test. Not much can anymore

Minuses

- The deck can be very trying

- Maintaining a scarab in your mana zone and on the field can be difficult

- should be a super rare, IMO
- Power is dwarfed to new powers (aeris, photocide, nocturnal, bolgash, ucarn, alcadeias, etc…)

Constructed- 4/5- I see this card with a lot of potential, especially if you base your deck around them, just use some of the stuff I listed above and your fine.

Limited- 3.5/5 – Not as good as Bolgash or Nocturnal Giant, but still is a double breaker and 8000 power. That can bust up some fatties for ya…

Art- 4.5/5- It looks really cool. Come on, a giant Cockroach gone haywire with the voltage gauge makes one cool ass picture.

That it for the amazing Obsidian Scarab. If anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, or complains, e-mail me at

pt_1bc_2@yahoo.com

Later Days…