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Today, we review La Byle, Seeker of the Winds: the
light very rare card out of Survivors.
La Byle, Seeker of the Winds
Civilization: Light
Type: Mecha Thunder
Cost: 7
Power: 5000
Ability: Blocker
If this monster blocks, untap it.
Ah, I was wondering when we’d review this card…Meet
La Byle, the creature from the seventh circle of
hell. Oh, holy crap how I hate this card. I swear,
if I could hire a hitman to take out this guy, there
is no amount of money keepin’ me away. Look at my
tourny report decks and you’ll see that…rush
monsters barely lick this guy’s boot. *sigh*…
The Positive Side
Here, we have the juiced-up version of the more
unplayable Spiral Grass. If you’re a fan of that
card, then this one will only be better for you.
Just listen to the effect. “When this monster
blocks, untap it after it battles…”
It sends chills down my spine. Those cards forced to
attack fall down, so say so long to Braid Claws and
Titans. Small attackers have no chance against it.
Think of it like this, this thing is the Great Wall
of China, and Braid claws and titans and brawlers
and stuff like that are a bunch of ants. Now, I’m no
scientologist or anything, but I’m pretty sure that
ants can’t take down a wall, even in a group.
I’ve run into this thing way too much. Most of the
time, they have this on the field in conjunction
with the ever popular Alcadeias, Lord of Spirits. So
not only will it block the hell out of you, you
really can’t kill it…One of the main reasons why I
splashed the Holy Awes in my deck since it’s really
the only card that will take care of them.
And on top of that, it can attack! Holy high
hell…just what yellow needs, another potential
attacker. It’s really the perfect card to finish off
the job, since you really want to make sure that the
attack is the best time for it, cause if you miss,
then it’s not blockin’ next turn now is it?
So, the card is amazing against the rush decks, and
it’s pretty good against other things.
The Negative Side
Now I get to say whatever the hell I can about this
card. It must be my birthday…
Seriously, though, I’ll try to remain unbiased. The
card does have its negative points. In comparison to
the other blockers of the entire light family, it
doesn’t have an amazing attack power. The average
power for the light blocker is its mana cost times
1000 and add 1000 more. So a 4 cost blocker has 5000
power, (Dia Nork). So 7 for 5000 does not sound that
appetizing when you get a Gran Gure for 6 for 9000,
which is amazing in itself.
Another problem, obviously, would be its mana cost.
We all know that any mana over 6 will encounter
problems with the 3 staples (Pit, Snare, Awe), so
that always is a negative. The thing costs more than
Alcadeias, which is really hard to believe as
Alcadeias is crazy and, in comparison, La Byle is
just small potatoes.
I’m not gonna talk about how it ownz red rush decks.
That’s not how I roll, man. I will talk about how it
falls to the new survivors and many of the blue
cards in the game. One word…Unblockability. Yes,
this one small trait can mean hell for a blocker
deck. A well played survivor deck can get out the
Spikestrike Ichthys Q, a Gigaling Q, a Ballus Q and
a Gallia Zohl Q, which means complete control over
your opponent. Blocking, destruction, untapability
and unblockability makes one hella strong combo. La
Byle, Gran Gure, Szubs Kin, Dia Nork, and all those
got nothing on them.
Personally, the fear with this card is the thought
of a slayer or something coming at you at full
speed. That’d be nice to stop your opponent, if your
using red. Play a bunch of small monsters then go
Creeping Plague so this thing can’t happen, assuming
that there is no Alcadeias out there, which there
will probably be since it’s first priority in an
Alcadeias-Abuse Deck.
Finally, let’s go with “What else can you use”
- Alcadeias?
- Gran Gure?
- One of the 3 staples?
- Lots of smaller blockers?
Well, in comparison, there aren’t not much that can
be better played than this card, but, of course, it
all depends on timing of the move, so what can you
do?...
The Limited Side
Holy Crap, would this be crazy in limited. In
limited, the threat of a critical blade, death
smoke, terror pit, or something like that goes six
feet under, so the thing will probably last longer.
This also will take out those cheap attackers that
you see a lot in limited, so bust this thing out and
you basically got the game in the bag. Now lasting
until turn 7 is the other problem…
The Recap
Here’s the + and – list
Pluses
+ Crazy against rush decks late in the game
+ Untaps for surviving the battle
+ 5000 isn’t that horrible…
Minuses
- The mana-to-power ratio is off in comparison to
light decks
- The cost is fairly high…7 isn’t bad, but isn’t
really that low
- 5000 isn’t that good…
- Weak to slayers. (But really what isn’t)
- It sucks when you see it on the opposite side.
Constructed- 3/5-
If you use Alcadeias, then this guy will take care
of the rest of the late game attackers. However,
that’s why you loaded you’re A-A Decks with blockers
already, right?
Limited- 4/5-
If you can get it out, it’s amazing. Just try to
last to turn 7, which you probably will and don’t
forget to load up on the small attackers and
blockers for early support.
Art- 3/5-
Should I stay inside, or bring a wind breaker or
2…or 8…
Ok, that’s it for the satanic La Byle, Seeker of the
Winds. If anyone has any questions, comments,
complaints, or concerns, E-Mail me at:
pt_1bc_2@yahoo.com
Later Days…
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