My nickname for this card is “chubby chaser”
because when you play it, you are sort of
chasing the dream of hitting your opponent with
a serious fattie. I think Nova Chaser, while
cool, lets you down a lot of the time. First,
you can’t play it unless you have an Elemental
in play to Champion. All of the rare Lorwyn
cards that Champion a particular type of
creature, and all are problematic for this same
reason, while several of them are so powerful
you play it anyway. If you DO get Nova Chaser in
play safely, now you have a new problem, how do
you keep a two toughness creature alive? I
generally avoid this card in limited play as
simply to risky to fool around with. I can’t
imagine this card getting really popular in
constructed. Sounds like a big casual fun card
to me. Go Elementals! (oh snap, I just
remembered, there IS a constructed Elemental
deck, still doesn’t make ME personally like this
card for constructed). By the way, happy
anniversary to the mighty Pojo crew for today’s
SIXTH ANNIVERSARY FOR CARD OF THE DAY!
That two toughness may be a problem, but with
cards like Fatal Frenzy and Heat Shimmer around,
you won't care. It only needs to survive one
turn to be incredibly punishing, and in two
turns it can kill an opponent (20 damage). In
concert with Incandescent Soulstoke, it becomes
even more insane.
Constructed- 3.5
Casual- 3.5
Limited- 4
David Fanany
Player since
1995
Nova Chaser
This card is probably one of the best
"champions," as it's already in the right color
for Pandemonium and Incandescent Soulstoke.
Combined with those cards (and Flamekin
Harbinger to get more Nova Chasers), it randomly
wins games. Without them, it's still okay, but a
lot less consistent; if it resolves and sticks
to the table, it demands an answer, but there
are too many of those in every format to make
Nova Chaser a truly first-tier creature.
Constructed: 2/5 (having said that, you probably
will lose games to it)
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 3/5
PsychoAnime
#1
Magic Noob in Canada since 2002
Nova Chaser
10 power for 4 mana is certainly worth another
look. I don't think this is very playable in
constructed though because even with
Smokebraider, this comes out on turn 3 which
mean an aggro deck can kill it with removal and
control can just counter or kill it. It would be
much more powerful with haste, which sadly it
does not. That makes a big difference.
I think this has a place in casual though,
combining Simian Spirit Guide and Smokebraider
to bring this out a turn earlier which easily
means an extra 10 damage.
In casual, this swings for a lot, and pretty
much guarantees at least a 1 for 1 trade.
