Today we look at a card that is somewhat
typical of the Darkness civilization.
Darkness is all about destruction, whether
it’s happening on your opponent’s side of
the field or yours. This card does a little
of both.
Baira, the Hidden Lunatic
Cost:
3
Race:
Pandora’s Box
Civilization:
Darkness
Type:
Creature
Rules Text:
·
Blocker (Whenever an opponent's creature
attacks, you may tap this creature to stop
the attack. Then the 2 creatures battle.)
·
This creature can't attack.
·
When this creature battles, destroy it after
the battle.
Power:
5000
The first card we think of when we look at
Baira, the Hidden Lunatic is Bloody Squito.
Of course Baira is 3 mana for a 5000 power
blocker, which is just as incredible as
Bloody Squito’s 2 mana for 4000 power.
Nevertheless Baira definitely serves a
special purpose. The problem with Bloody
Squito is that even though it can take out
most low level creatures, it still struggles
against low-cost evolutions. Most of these
evolutions (i.e. Barkwhip, Crystal
Spinslicer, Diamondia, Larba Geer, etc.)
come equipped with 5000 power and they
really give blockers a hard time. However,
now that darkness comes out with its own
decent 5000 power blocker, it pretty much
evens the field.
So let’s talk about the effects. First we
see that it can’t attack. Ok, so that’s
really nothing new for blockers. However,
just like Bloody Squito it dies after it
battles. I can’t say that this effect is
particularly great but let’s just look at
the creature’s overall purpose... We’re
pretty much going for creature kill. The
fact that this creature dies after a battle
pretty much defines its purpose of
protecting a shield and killing anything
that is 5000 power or less.
Still think this is a bad card? Well then
let’s compare it to destruction spells that
are around 3 mana and target anything that
is 5000 or less. Why a spell? Because once
you use this creature’s effect the creature
goes away (just like a spell). As far as
spells the only card that comes close is
Spastic Missile, which costs 3 mana and
kills anything 3000 or less (so weak!).
Volcanic Arrows does a decent job at 2 mana
but we need to lose a shield in the
process. Again, the BIGGEST advantage that
you have with Baira is that you can use its
effect when it matters most (during your
opponent’s turn before he/she breaks a
shield). Think of it as casting a spell and
saving its effect for when it matters most.
Want to make your opponent suffer even
more? Then combine Baira, Bloody Squito,
and Morbid Medicine (you know where I’m
going with this). Heck, let’s just add
Slime Veil as well and completely lock the
field while you set up a fun little combo.
Mongrel Man compliments this card very well.
The Good:
Protect a shield and wipe out anything with
power 5000 or more!
The Bad:
It dies.
The Ugly:
A lot of people underestimate this type of
card and become reckless. Cast a Morbid
medicine and your opponents will pretty much
soil themselves.
Constructed Rating:
4.5/5 – This creature so deserves a 5 but
it’s still not as good a Messa Bahna. The
reason why it’s rated so high is because
people still underestimate it and end up
making mistakes.
Limited Rating:
4/5 – Blockers are always welcome in
limited.
Please feel free to post your comments,
questions, and/or objections on the Message
Board and I’ll be more than happy to
respond. Happy dueling!
Blocker