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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day
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Image from Wizards.com |
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Shard
Phoenix
Stronghold
Reviewed August 2, 2004
Constructed: 3.07
Casual: 3.14
Limited: 3.57
Ratings are
based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ...
average.
5 is the highest rating
Click here to see all
our
Card of the Day Reviews
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Chris
Gerhardt
*
game store owner in CA,
ShuffleAndCut |
An interesting card if
it cost 1 or 2 less. But at 7 mana per cycle
(and 4 of them color intensive), it's a bit out of
reach. And by the time you get to 7 mana,
there will be some creatures on the board that
pooey at 2 damage. Meh.
In casual, the ability
is almost interesting enough to make the grade,
but again, for 7 mana, casual players can do SO
many much more interesting things than this. Once
again, meh.
In limited, a late add
into a heavy Red deck...and I do mean heavy.
It might come in handy situationally, and at least
if flies, if nothing else.
Constructed:
2
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 2.5
Current Price:
Shard
Phoenix -
Stronghold - $2.37 |
Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Shard Phoenix
Once upon a time,
this was the pinnacle of power for cards that
would return to your hand from the
graveyard…then they made Squee, and this guy
just went downhill from there. Regardless, for
some time this guy made U/R constructed playable
by acting as reusable fodder for Forbid,
clearing the board of smaller creatures, or,
eventually, acting as two points of beatdown
through the air. All of these would give it
high marks by themselves, but combined they made
for a powerhouse; the rating will be lower
simply because of the improvements over time.
All of the above
positive benefits apply to this card as well,
with the exception of Forbid bait (because
counters suck in casual play). Guys that never
really permanently die and can clear the board
of critters make for a big wad of laughs for
you; of course, it takes quite the hit in
Mental, but don’t forget about it when there’s a
4R in your yard.
This is definitely a
powerhouse in limited; it combines every aspect
of a card that you would want in draft, with the
exception of efficiency (which it obviously
makes up for in card advantage). Considering
what this was once worth, it was a pretty
certain first pick, most of the time.
Constructed: 3.0
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4.0
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Jeff Zandi
5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
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Shard Phoenix
This one was a hit right away, mostly in
constructed, since you just don’t see bomb rares
like this one very often in limited games. In
constructed, the Phoenix was a very good part of
a blue/red control deck that used the Phoenix to
sweep the board of ground-bound creatures. This
deck also used Shard Phoenix as a win condition
at the end of the game.
Creatures that come back from the graveyard are
almost always good in constructed.
CONSTRUCTED: 4.0
CASUAL: 4.0
LIMITED: 4.0 |
Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer |
Shard Phoenix
I’ve always been
pretty concerned about recurring cards. When
Hammer of Bogarden came out, I was always
worried that it was too broken, and Shard
Phoenix felt the same way for me. When U/B
Control hit the board, and Forbid and Shard
Phoenix had a sort of unholy matrimony, I
thought the card was a mistake. Since then
Wizards has gone on to continue to make cards
that recur themselves, often even cheaper than
Shard Phoenix, and still manage to maintain a
balance environment with them, so I guess I was
wrong. Regardless, the card is fantastically
fun, and even good in multiplayer where it can
change games completely, but is not powerful
enough to make you a target.
Constructed:
4
Casual:
5
Limited:
5
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The
Game Closet - Waco,TX) |
Week of 8/2
Shard Phoenix - Monday
I liked this card a lot. If I'm not mistaken, it
was in quite a few top decks in its day. Any
recursive creature is going to have a use. But
getting a free Earthquake for 2 never hurts.
For some reason, this card hasn't ever really
caught on with casual crowds. I guess it's not a
favored creature among red mages. In limited
play though, I would definitely take this card.
It's a recurring flier AND it can wipe out a few
extra creature son the way to the graveyard.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 3 |
Paul
Hagan |
Shard Phoenix --
This card makes me smile, but I'm not sure that
it is all that good. You are spending four
colorless and four red mana just to get a 2/2
into play from the graveyard, and in the end,
even when it dies, you are only dealing two
damage. For that type of mana, I really expect
to see a lot more bang for my buck. In limited,
this card might be worth piloting if you have
really amazing red, but dependant on what is in
your card pool, the Phoenix might get
cheerleader status. For casual, I would suggest
playing the Phoenix only in a very
control-oriented deck or in a large group game
that involved lots of Wrath of God effects.
Constructed Rating: 2.0
Casual Rating: 2.5
Limited Rating: 2.0 |
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Andy
Van Zandt |
8/2
Shard Phoenix
I've played with shard phoenix a LOT... self-recursing
creatures are solid,
and ones that can control the board and fly in
for the win are even better. It may be a bit
slow for a lot of decks at the moment, but that
doesn't make it a strong card.
constructed 3.5
casual 4
limited 4.5 |
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