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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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Emperor Crocodile
9th Edition
Reviewed July 27, 2004
Constructed: 2.3
Casual: 2.3
Limited: 3.1
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 |
Crocodile Rockin'! Oh no, your feet just
can't keep still...uh...nm.
So the Emperor is
back. He was battling in the swamp with a
Jade Leech, the masses spoke, and the Croc chomped
the now jaded Jade Leech. I started playing
Magic when Invasion came out, so Jade Leech was
one of the first well costed big guys I met up
with. He was a solid runner in block, and
popped up in a few decks. Neither Croc nor
Leech would/do make the current cut, though.
The Emperor is a nice
low cost fattie for casual, though. If
you're just going for fast beef, this may be your
man. Start off with a
Birds of Paradise or
Llanowar Elves (hint: Elves are cheaper), and
then this guy makes his debut turn 3. Just
be sure to keep your elves alive in the meantime.
In limited, a solid
pick for green. Beef always ranks highly in
limited, especially in Core drafting. Pick
him early.
Constructed:
2
Casual: 3
Limited: 3.5
Current Price:
Emperor
Crocodile -
8th Edition currently - $1.25
Combos
Well With:
Llanowar
Elves -
7th Edition - $0.80
Birds of
Paradise -
8th Edition - $15.52
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Judge
Bill
*Level 2
MTG Judge
*game store employee
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Both creatures cost
4 mana. So which drawback would you rather have,
controlling another creature, or paying more for
other green spells? I would rather have to
control another creature, by far. Yet neither of
them are really competitive in constructed,
because they cost 4 mana. Even with a Bird or
Elf, it only comes down on the third turn. By
that time, most decks should have an answer for
it, from Mana Leak/Rewind, to Shrapnel Blast, to
Wrath or Wing Shards, to Dark Banishing/Terror.
(If you're playing green too, your creatures are
just as fat, so this is fine.)
In casual, I might
rather have the Jade Leech. Spectral
Shift/Donate, anyone?
In limited, the
Crocodile again wins, but barely. You'll have
another creature out when you cast this.
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 2
Limited: 3
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Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Emperor Crocodile
This is the second
reason for why Magic players should never be
allowed to choose cards that will be in print (the
first comes later in the week). Whereas we could
have had a potentially usable and stable creature
in Jade Leech, a creature proven as viable in
constructed in the past, instead we get this
Croc. Way to go guys; let’s keep those unplayable
cards rolling in.
This is marginally
more fun in random games where you are less likely
to have the rest of your creatures removed;
however, that still doesn’t make this better (or
more fun) than the many alternatives presented to
you. Bleh in decks, bleh in Mental.
I don’t recall this
ever being particularly good in draft back when it
was in Destiny; the rest of the creatures on the
board had a nasty tendency to die in very short
order when it came into play. It’s card
disadvantage just waiting to happen; don’t rely on
it.
Constructed: 1.5
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 2.0
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Jeff Zandi
5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
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Emperor Crocodile
Originally produced in Urza's Destiny, Emperor
Crocodile has been filling in
for Ernham Djinn for some time now as the giant
green monster that only
requires one green mana in its casting cost. The
mana cost distinction was
very important for Ernham Djinn. In its day, Ernie
was splashed into many
constructed decks, usually without the use of
Forests at all, thus getting
past Ernham Djinn's downside. (each upkeep, when
Ernham Djinn is in play on
your side of the board, he gives one of your
opponent's creatures Forestwalk
until end of turn) Emperor Crocodile's downside is
MUCH more pronounced,
requiring you to ALWAYS have another creature in
play. (online, in the not
too distant past, this card did not function
correctly, and you were NOT
required to sacrifice, in fact you were not able
to, the Crocodile when it
was the only creature on your side) Anyhoo,
Emperor Crocodile comes up a
little short for constructed because he's a fat
creature that really has to
be in a deck with lots of creatures, probably a
lot of LITTLE creatures.
This is why the Emperor's downside is such a big
deal. In limited play, a
5/5 creature that is splashable is worth the
requirement of keeping another
creature in play. As always, its hardly worth
discussing rare cards in
limited formats because you just will not see them
very often.
CONSTRUCTED: 3.0
CASUAL: 3.0
LIMITED: 4.0 |
Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer |
Emperor Crocodile (vs.
Jade Leech)
This was a very
interesting vote. The Jade Leech has seen more
play in its history, but it was during a time that
Red Green was a big archetype, and since then
better and better creatures have come out to push
the envelope. While this argument makes both of
these creatures look worse nowadays, the
disadvantage of the Leech seems to be worse than
the disadvantage of the Crocodile. Also, the
Crocodile is easier to splash into multi-color
decks. For these reasons, I think the Croc is the
way to go.
Constructed:
3
Casual:
3
Limited:
3
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX) |
I think that this vote
went down the same as yesterday's did. This
however actually had potential to be a tighter
race. These cards are very similar when you first
look at them. This basically made this vote about
which drawback you were willing to work around.
Truthfully, my vote was on the Jade Leech. I like
the fact that I can play it alone and there is
nothing wrong. Later in the game, having to pay
one more mana for stuff doesn't really matter to
me.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 1.5
Limited: 3.5 |
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Chase
Secret Squirrel
on the
Pojo.com
Message
Boards |
Emperor Crocodile
Another card that
has been reprinted in 8th. This won over Jade
Leech, not surprisingly. Similar to what
Thursday’s cards will be, this card is nice but
hasn’t seen that much play and might not when
reprinted. Still 5/5 for 4 is nice, although,
it doesn’t have any evasion (this card is
screaming “I want trample”), and it can’t be the
only creature on your side of the field (though
if you’re playing green, you’re bound to have a
birds/elves or something with this). I’m a
little hesitant to rate this highly in
constructed, mainly because there is a
possibility that he won’t do any damage when
he’s out, because of a bunch of
Beacon of Creation tokens. Still I will be
open minded when this card is reprinted, and
we’ll see if he gets any better.
In limited,
regardless of the fact that he has no evasion,
they’re using a resource each turn on this guy,
and if you’re attacking with him, you probably
have a bunch of other creatures to deal damage
also. I’d probably take him simply because of
the nice body.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 3
Limited: 3.5
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Paul
Hagan |
Emperor Crocodile --
I haven't ever really played Emperor Crocodile,
which is unfortunate, but there is a good reason
behind it. Every time Emperor Crocodile might be
good, there seems to be a better creature that
could go in its place. Ravenous Baloth definitely
overshadows the Croc now, and Blastoderm
overshadowed it earlier in its life. I'm not sure
that the drawback fits the extra power, and that
may be the biggest issue.
I'm not sure I would bother playing the Croc in
limited, it would really depend on my pool of
cards. I need a strong pool of green that could
easily drop a creature every turn.
As far as the vote went, I really didn't care
either way. We could have had Jade Leech, which
almost never saw play. Why do you want to play a
creature that requires two green, but then makes
all of your green spells cost more? Likewise, why
do you want a giant creature that your opponent
doesn't need to touch to destroy?
Constructed Rating: 2.0
Casual Rating: 2.0
Limited Rating: 2.5 |
w00t |
Emperor Crocodile -
I voted for this
card. Neither card (Other being Jade Leech)
could I see in serious constructed decks, but
Emp. Crocodile seemed much well suited for
casual.
Constructed - As I
said, I really don't think such a vulnerable
creature is suited for Serious Constructed. It
might find its way into a Big Green deck, but
you really need to make sure there isn't any way
that it will be killed because of 0 other
creatures.
Casual - Turn 4 5/5
baby. Combine this with Llanowar elf, and
preferably a >2 toughness 3 mana critter
(Perhaps Trained Armoddon, or even CotH) and you
have a turn 3 5/5. Again, it only belongs in a
deck with lots of <4 costing critters,
preferably ones that are >2 toughness (This
makes them a lot harder to mass kill with spells
like pyroclasm, which you don't want being used
to eliminate your 5/5.)
Limited - Not a
bomb, but it certainly is powerful. Definitely
more useful than Jade Leech, which would pretty
much set back 60% of your spells back a turn+.
You just need to make sure that it isn't
vulnerable to a 2 for 1 spell like dark
banishing, because you only had one other
creature out.
Constructed - 1.5
Casual - 2.5
Limited - 3.0
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