Lost Jitte – Outlaws of Thunder Junction
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Cards from The Big Score are legal in Standard and Limited, so keep that in mind.
Everything about Lost Jitte is a very deliberate, evocative reference to Umezawa’s Jitte from Betrayers of Kamigawa, even down to its art. Umezawa’s Jitte might be one of the two most-powerful equipment cards to ever see the light of day, and so Lost Jitte being a little brother of the sordid sword is an interesting angle. I definitely will say Lost Jitte isn’t as strong as its forebear, but it’s not unplayably so, and it can carve out a niche for itself as a strong little stabulous card.
One mana to cast and equip is a good start, as is the fact that it shares the wording that helped make Umezawa’s Jitte an unholy terror: combat damage, agnostic of who takes it, gives it counters. You only get one counter at a time, and the modes are arguably lower impact…but they’re not a bad suite of abilities. Untapping lands in a pinch can make for a lot of shenanigans, as can tying up blockers and the permanent buff. The abilities are definitely impactful, though not in a “every creature with 2 or less toughness is dead to me” way.
In sum, Lost Jitte isn’t as strong as Umezawa’s Jitte, but it’s not meant to be; it’s a different take, a more subtle sword with a suite of strengths all its own. Notably, costing 1 mana means Urza’s Saga can dig this out of your deck, which isn’t a terrible place to be for an artifact. It won’t run away with games, but it can help you win them all the same.
Constructed: 4 (maybe optimistic, but it’s cheap enough to generate intrigue)
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5 (maybe not an auto-win, but this makes math really ugly if it has time to sit)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Guys, don’t panic. No, really, don’t panic. “Lost” doesn’t mean it was the super-Jitte buried for fear of what it would destroy. And there’s actually a strong argument that fantasy settings have it backwards on whether the ancient weapon or a new one would be strongest. Note that Anduril, in Tolkien’s writings, was technically new. Still . . . it is a reusable removal spell (of a sort), and a reusable combat trick (permanent this time around!), and a generally useful effect, one which is actually more universal than gaining two life. It’s still a good card; maybe if the original Jitte had been like this, people would have been less angry about it. And though it’s not really a callback to my Kung Fu jokes, because it’s inspired by a Japanese weapon, it’s still fun to see here!
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
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