Today we continue the silent skill review chain with a promising silent skill creature.  Milporo’s effect is fairly straightforward but oftentimes neglected.  Of course the silent skill is a major drawback but there’s just something subtle about this creature that can help to secure a victory.

 

Milporo

 

Cost: 4

 

Race: Cyber Lord

 

Civilization: Water
 

Type: Creature

 

Rules Text:

• Silent skill (At the start of each of your turns, if this creature is tapped, you may keep it tapped and use its ability.)
  Draw a card.
   

Power: 3000

 

As I’ve mentioned before, the Water Civilization has a wide assortment of creatures that are underpowered.  Milporo is no exception.  Yes, paying 4 mana for a creature with 3000 power is a bad investment, but a small deficit is pretty common nonetheless.  Fortunately it’s above the 2000 mark, which means that it can potentially hold its own against weenies and it can stay clear of weak creature kill spells like Crimson Hammer.

 

If you’ve read my reviews before then you probably understand that I’m not a big fan of the silent skill mechanic.  However, in Milporo’s case it’s a bit different.  For one thing, Milporo’s effect is fairly subtle so your opponent will not be bothered too much.  It’s not like Mist Rias, where you can draw cards at ease.  Your opponent will hardly be inconvenienced because all you’re getting is one extra card- i.e. no creature kill, no extra shields, no power-up, and no overwhelming advantage.  Milporo doesn’t stand out, which is a good thing because your opponent could let you get away with drawing a few free cards.

 

Unfortunately the biggest problem is the fact that the silent skill mechanic requires that you wait 2 turns before you can activate it (1- summon, 2- tap, 3- use the effect).  This makes Milporo looks even worse because the effect will not trigger until the beginning of turn 6.  However, is this really a bad thing?  After all, turn 6 is when we get stuck between having to decide whether we should bring out our best cards or maintain a proper hand size.  In my opinion, Milporo can be perfectly timed so you can manage both at the same time.  You’ll get to draw twice during the beginning of your turn and send out your trump cards to finish the job.

 

The Good:  You get an extra draw at the beginning of your turn for a total of 2 cards!

 

The Bad:  It’s a silent skill effect.

 

The Ugly:  If your opponent sees that you’re using Milporo as evo bait then you’ll be less likely to have it out long enough to use its effect.

 

Constructed Rating: 3.5/5 – It’s not exactly the most incredible card, but it can make a difference.  You’ll be able to comfortably play fatties after turn 5 and not have to worry about resources.

 

Limited Rating: 3/5 – There aren’t too many blockers in limited so it will be harder to keep it in the battle zone.  Nevertheless summoning it still gives you an extra creature to attack with.

 

 

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