Linden, the Steadfast Queen
– Throne of Eldraine
Date Reviewed:
November 18, 2019
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.38
Casual: 3.33
Limited: 2.92
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 3.00
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’s very fitting for the card depicting the High Queen to show her in her court; though I think it could have been kind of cool for her to be in the court’s garden, so we could bring her name full circle all under the linden so green. Aside from things like that, though, she has some eye-catching game text which we haven’t seen so much recently. I’m not sure why; Patron of the Kitsune never destroyed a format (unlike certain Faerie planeswalkers we could all name), and white can always use any card that gives bonuses related to the cheap creatures it’s so good at, as it helps white decks keep up with the others and their card advantage-generating abilities. In Linden’s case, the extra life points will throw off another creature-based opponent’s calculations on how they should try to race you, not to mention certain kinds of spell-related combos like damage-based Thousand-Year Storm interactions. Constructed: 3/5 |
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James H.
Linden is probably the most underwhelming of the cycle of Nobles: a color-intensive mana cost gives way to a fairly mediocre effect. While gaining life for a creature attacking is by no means a poor investment, dedicating a card to the effect is a bit dodgy, particularly one with three white mana pips. A 3/3 with vigilance isn’t bad, but the major issue is that this card is too restrictive for an underwhelming overall gain. It can work a bit better in Limited, given that Throne of Eldraine is a bit heavier in monocolor support than other recent sets (and incidental life gain really shines when threats are weaker), but I still have a hard time recommending this card. Constructed: 1.75 |
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Hello Card of the Day fans! This is Phat Pack Magic here doing my first ever card of the day review for Pojo.Com! A little bit about myself I play Standard, Modern, (some) Legacy, and delving into Pioneer. I also run my own Non-Proxy Powered Vintage Cube events on my YouTube Channel if you’re into that sort of thing. I love drafting and I love strong cards, so Oko is totally my jam… or at least it was at the time of writing this. So with that out of the way lets get to the review and I get to start off with an awesome cycle in Throne of Eldraine. So let’s take a look at Linden, the Steadfast Queen. At first look she’s going to be like your usual fare for a legendary rare. She has the same P/T and Mana Cost as Benalish Marshal but her upside isn’t an anthem but a life-pump. The standard dies to removal asks what you’ll be getting out of her when she hits the board and unfortunately her ability and the deck she wants to be put in are at odds with each other. After losing the Marshal White Weenie has had a hard time keeping up against Oko and unfortunately she doesn’t eat Elk Tokens for breakfast rather just trades with them. Where she could see play is in the White-Weenie Sideboard where a well-timed Linden against a tuckered out Red Deck that’s used all it’s burn will allow your team to take a swing and not die to the crackback. As far as Cube is concerned there are way too many good 3-drops for White in that spot between Thalia, Heretic Cathar and Brimaz, that you’ll want to play before her. An easy question to ask yourself before putting her in the White Weenie section of your cube would be “Do I want a life-gain theme or do I want a pump theme?” and select her or Benalish Marshal instead. You can get a lot more mileage out of her at the multiplayer kitchen table where you can go wide and swing around, life gain is important because it keeps the game going! As far as regular limited goes? She’s a really sharp pick, grabbing her and making her work is going to really make you commit to white and the payoff isn’t even that good for a base 3/3 on Turn 3 with all your colors right. Unless you’re already in white, I’d suggest passing her to try and hook someone else into white and grabbing that Bake into a Pie instead!
Phat Pack Magic is a channel dedicated to Magic: the Gathering and creating awesome coverage of local events for formats like Cube, rare pack drafts, and coming soon, Pioneer! Check it out at YouTube.com/PhatPackMagic |
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