Karn’s Bastion – MTG War of the Spark Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

On Instagram the other day, I was trying to make a conversation about how best to use cards like Magus of the Moon in casual play. I would argue that he’s not at all as unfair as he first sounds: he can be interacted with like a creature, deals damage to players and thus advances the game state, and gives some decks their best chance to beat cards like Karn’s Bastion. And yes, that is pretty much how strong I think Karn’s Bastion is. It strengthens planeswalkers turn after turn, makes tables full of +1/+1 counters grow inexorably, and provides a major boost to instant-win strategies built around Darksteel Reactor or As Luck Would Have It. Ironically, it also works well with Karn’s nemesis, New Phyrexia: they can use Wrath of God against your Glistener Elf, but as long as they have even one poison counter, the clock is ticking. Suddenly Magus of the Moon sounds like kind of a good bet, doesn’t he?

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

Proliferate on a stick is pretty nice, especially when that stick also provides you mana in most cases. Karn’s Bastion isn’t the flashiest card, but it’s a rock-solid contributor in all sorts of decks: super-friends, charge counters, Energy, +1/+1-based decks, and even maybe Infect decks. It’s not cheap, but it does a good job at providing a bit of late-game reach in decks able to support it. And in a set of planeswalkers, giving them more longevity is always legit.

Constructed: 3.25
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander: 4.25