Kellan, Planar Trailblazer – Foundations
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 3.88
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 3.37
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
I’d love to imagine that someone put Kellan in Foundations because they heard my calls for American mythology to be given more credit, but it’s probably more because they still like to draw him in a cowboy hat. I can practically hear this illustration and his calling to saddle up, and I can also practically hear the Sligh decks pondering where best to use him. Any self-upgrading one-drop invites comparisons to Figure of Destiny, which was long a major threat even in big formats, and although that card has fallen off somewhat, Kellan’s specific upgrades are tantalizingly reminiscent of the most interesting monkey in Avishkar. It’s also tempting to underestimate his late-game stats, because Magic cards sometimes seem to be written to be intentionally confusing: that’s basically Clint Eastwood mode that can’t be blocked safely by most dragons. If it wasn’t entirely clear by now, I am a fan.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3
Kellan feels a lot like a sort of “new mascot” character, doesn’t he? Kellan, Planar Trailblazer is an interesting sort of take on things like Figure of Destiny, building into a bigger threat with time to time.
A 1-mana 2/1 makes for an interesting clock, and late-game turns him into quite a threat, a 3/2 with double strike. It takes six mana to get there, but it’s split over three installments, and (in theory) you can ramp all the way there over three turns. Drawing a lot of cards through his impulse draw is always a big boon, and the double strike means you can get a lot of cards. The only real issue here is his fragility; he lacks keywords until you get to the six mana stage, and his toughness is always low. Still, there’s some promise to him, and not being overtly threatening can sometimes mean that he can create plenty of chaos in short order.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.75
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
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