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Introduction:
Quick review of NATURE today because I’m a bit short
on time...Back in the day green was known for its
powerful tandem with blue, aka Barkwhip and Lancer
beatdown. In the modern era most duelists tend to
depend on Nature more as a support civilization. It
does fit perfectly into three and four-color control
decks, supplying speed and some fancy tricks, but
more on that later.
There are 106 total cards in the
civilization and a few additional promos. That
breaks down to 77 creatures, 7 evolutions, and 22
spells cards for your reference. Nature is fairly
quiet in the Duel Masters war. They are mainly
involved in defending their homeland from the
invasion of Darkness while lending help to Light. As
far as gameplay is concerned though, Nature really
works well with just about anything.
Top Cards:
This is the part where I break down strengths,
weaknesses, and themes of the Nature civilization.
The following cards are ones that I view as the top
tier. The rankings (1-5) are from past CotD reviews
or my opinion if that card was never analyzed
before.
- Crow
Winger (3.60)
- Bronze-Arm
Tribe (3.75)
- Charmilia, then
Enticer (3.25)
- Rumbling
Terahorn (3.85)
- Cryptic
Totem (4.33)
- Fighter Dual Fang
(4.43)
- Faerie
Life (3.90)
- Dimension Gate
(3.00)
- Mana
Nexus (4.83)
- Natural
Snare (4.75)
Overall these cards have an average
score of 3.97. That ranks 2nd between the
five civilizations, but its just ahead of Fire and
Darkness. The creatures come in at 3.87 and the top
spells were rated 4.12. Here is the abbreviated
breakdown since I need to finish this:
The most known theme of Nature is of
course mana acceleration. Bronze-Arm Tribe is one
example of taking cards from one resource (in this
case the deck) to add to another zone (mana). The
advantage of doing this is that you gain ground
early one, being able to play higher-costing cards
before you opponent. Mana generation is known to
work well with Water’s drawing. With those two
together you can have a large hand and plenty of
mana to play it with. Deadly combo.
Another strength of green includes
the ability to search your deck for creatures.
Though I personally think this effect is often
overcosted, it can be effective nonetheless. Take
that chump blocker to live another turn, a
game-winning speed attacker, or whatever fits the
situation. The final asset of Nature that pops out
at me is a certain anti-black and blue theme.
Evident in Crow Winger and several others, this can
be a gamble but chances are your opponent will have
black/blue as they are the most powerful colors.
Underrated Picks:
Three fun Nature cards that deserve a moment in the
spotlight are Essence Elf, Bliss Totem, and Freezing
Icehammer. Not surprisingly all three deal with the
mana zone in one way or another. Try them out in a
casual build. You might be surprised.
Overall:
Nature falls almost on par with Fire in my
civilization rankings. It is best utilized as a
support with maybe 8-12 cards alongside any other
color(s). I personally love the cool stuff green has
to offer in BUG and other control decks. Some people
have also used Nature in aggro builds, which can
work but may be more difficult to attain success on
a regular basis. Here are the final standings one
more time:
1. Water (blue)
2. Darkness (black)
3. Fire (red)
4. Nature (green)
5. Light (yellow)
I
have enjoyed getting to see how each civilization
compares with the others over the past two weeks.
Overall each one brings something different to the
table, so whoever wins Continentals in L.A. will
most likely be someone who can master them all.
Check back Friday as we close out the week with
favorite RACE. I’m really hoping nobody sinks low
enough to pick the Cyberlords...Well, that’s all for
now.
Steven Cantrell
Smcman7@aol.com
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