Brain Jackers are entertaining little critters.  They seem harmless when you first summon them but it’s only a matter of time until your opponent becomes gradually inconvenienced.  Let’s see how venom capsule compares.

 

Venom Capsule

 

Cost: 2

 

Race: Brain Jacker

 

Civilization: Darkness

 

Type: Creature
 

Rules Text:

• Each Silent skill (At the start of each of your turns, if this creature is tapped, you may keep it tapped and use its ability.)
  This creature breaks one of your opponent's shields.
  
   

Power: 1000

 

Despite Venom Capsule’s potential, I find myself oftentimes considering its flaws.  Sure it comes out fast but the first problem is the fact that it’s a silent skill creature.  The problem with silent skill creatures is that their effects do not trigger right away, which gives your opponent enough time to develop a counter.  In Venom Capsule’s case, it comes out on turn 2, then attacks/taps on turn 3 and the effect doesn’t start until the beginning of turn 4.  This gives your opponent 2 full turns (from turn 2 to the beginning of turn 4) to deal with this pesky little critter.  To make matters worse, Venom Capule is very weak, making it susceptible to an early death.  In order to use the effect, you’ll need to leave it tapped in the battle zone, which means that it can be destroyed by almost any attack and it can fall victim to all sorts of weenie kill. 

 

Despite these concerns, there are a few good aspects.  For one thing, Venom Capsule comes out early enough so you can start hammering away at shields on turn 4.  Yes, this is still pretty slow but the nice thing is that you’ll have time to set up a proper defense.  In other words, when it’s time to attack/tap, you’ll be able to have at least 1 blocker in position.  The 1 blocker could either be huge, or it could be something like Pala Olesis, which powers up Venom Capsule while it is tapped. 

 

Obviously the other great thig about Venom Capsule is its effect.  At the beginning of each of your turns, while you have Venom Capsule tapped, it breaks a shield.  This effect is HIGHLY underrated.  What’s the advantage of breaking a shield when starting your starting your turn?  Strategy…  Depending on what you trigger or what your opponent does with the shield, you’ll be able to stay a step ahead of them.  You can usually judge by their reaction to the shield...  If it’s a good card, then do some hand destruction but if they have a bad reaction to that shield then continue bolstering your strategy.  What if it’s a Terror Pit?  Terror Pits are excellent!  Your opponent might want to waste it on this creature or eliminate another key threat.  The difference is that it’s done at the beginning of your turn so you’ll be able to draw your next card then summon/recover.  Holy Awe is even funnier.  If you trigger a Holy Awe and your opponent casts it then, tap all of your creatures.  After you tap them, you’ll get to continue with the beginning of your turn, so just untap them and draw your card.

 

Yes the drawbacks suck but the benefits are glorious!  If you’re able to plan ahead and build around this creature then you will not be disappointed. 

 

The Good:  You get to nail your opponent’s shields without breaking a sweat.

 

The Bad:  Silent skill creatures take a while before their abilities can manifest.

 

The Ugly:  If you’re not going to protect this creature then don’t bother playing it.  It’ll just die.

 

Constructed Rating: 3/5 – It seems like Venom Capsule’s benefits and setbacks cancel each other out.  As long as you’re able to keep it in the battle zone, victory couldn’t be simpler.

 

Limited Rating: 3.5/5 – It’s always good to have an attacker out on turn 2 in limited.  No strategy will be needed for Venom Capsule, although you’ll most likely leave it tapped for as long as possible.  I would recommend getting blockers along with this creature.

 

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