Kalain, Reclusive Painter
– D&D: ADVENTURES IN THE FORGOTTEN REALMS
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2021
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.00
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 3.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
David
Fanany
Player
since
1995
It wouldn’t be a Forgotten Realms set without maddeningly attractive half-elves and unique magical abilities, sometimes in the one place at the one time. Kalain’s floor is, unfortunately, somewhat low: if you just cast her, get the single Treasure token, and nothing else happens, you’ll probably feel a little disappointed. But of course, you presumably know she’s in your deck, and thus dug out a bunch of other Treasure-related cards from your collection or picked a bunch more in the draft. A lot of those cards don’t actually need much help to begin with, and a big power/toughness boost from the usual uses of cards like Trove of Temptation puts them some way over the top.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander: 3/5
One of the subthemes of Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is caring about Treasure more often than not, and Kalain offers a permanent buff to any creatures paid for with Treasure tokens. To his advantage, red is a color that likes playing with Treasure tokens, and you can parley an early investment into a potentially large windfall down the line. He’s not a great creature on his own, but he can be a nice supportive card in a deck built to take advantage of his particular talents, and sometimes a small buff can be enough to get you over the line.
Constructed: 3 (I suspect he’s a touch too weak to leave much impact)
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5 (Limited is often a game of small increments, and +1/+1 can be just what you need to tip the scales)
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.5
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