Greater Auramancy – Shadowmoor
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.50
Casual: 3.25
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Shroud is a very good protective ability, and while it can sometimes backfire, blocking targeting from all of the things is very useful. For two mana, Greater Auramancy offers just that to the rest of your enchantments, with a bonus shield to any of the creatures that may be enchanted. The trade-off is that you can’t target them, but you’re probably already playing with that in mind, and this isn’t even symmetrical! You can use this to keep disabling spells safe or just protect your creatures; this has to go first in order for anything to happen. Sterling Grove is a spell that’s in a similar boat, though its protection isn’t as complete, and it also has the issue of being two colors.
The cheapness and flexibility of Greater Auramancy has given it a spot in some “enchantress” decks over the years, usually alongside Sterling Grove, though this card only being printed in Shadowmoor (before now) made it a harder sell. That said, this is back in the Wilds of Eldraine bonus sheet, Enchanting Tales, and so it’s finally available (and back in Limited).
Constructed: 3.5 (it’s really only good in Enchantress decks, but it is powerful in them)
Casual: 3.25 (shroud can backfire, so play carefully)
Limited: 4.25 (I think this can be very nasty in this Limited if you play around t)
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4
This is the classic card that does nothing but does everything; or perhaps does only one thing, but that one thing prevents everyone else from doing everything. I’m starting to confuse myself by talking like that, so instead I’ll just point out that Greater Auramancy is shockingly cost-effective for what it does. You can compare with creature type lords: there are so few that cost around two mana, and those are disproportionately the ones that show up in competitive formats (cf. Goblin Piledriver, Master of the Pearl Trident). In four-of formats you can even control two copies of Greater Auramancy so that they protect each other; in our big thing of Commander, that’s a little harder to do, but you can always combine it with something like Copy Enchantment or Privileged Position. So it might only do one thing, but it does it very well indeed.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.5 (note the “enchanted creatures” clause – Shadowmoor and Wilds of Eldraine both have auras you’ll want to play)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
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