The appeal here is that it's an instant. At end
of turn, mannequin a 6/6 and then swing with it.
The fact that it gives it the "Skulking" ability
rarely matters-- you're swinging the turn you
get it, so they have no opportunity to draw into
a targeted spell. And if they had one in hand,
it was probably a removal spell that could've
killed whatever you threw down anyway.
Constructed- 4
Casual- 4
Limited- 3
Aethereal
Friday -
Makeshift Mannequin
Another archetype was built around this card
back at States 2007, and the deck has become
fairly popular in Standard. This is the same as
Zombify, but with the added bonus of being an
instant, and the drawback of losing the creature
if it's targeted. The drawback isn't a big deal
for the Mannequin deck, because it wants to keep
reanimating creatures (specifically Shriekmaw
and Mulldrifter) to reap the rewards of their
come-into-play abilities. All in all, a very
important card in Standard due to the synergy it
has with the Evoke mechanic.
In limited, if you have a few good 187
creatures, then this is great. Otherwise,
probably not worthwhile due to the drawback.
An instant-speed Zombify with a moderate-sized
drawback? Sign me up! It does allow Desert to
kill Akroma, though, so I wouldn't use it for
true reanimator decks. The common (and probably
best) use is to abuse comes-into-play abilities
like those of Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw.
Surprise blockers are also very strong. All in
all, it allows (in the right deck) for massive
swings in tempo and card advantage. Play it
early, play it often.
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 4/5
Arcane
Makeshift
Mannequin
Constructed: Any card that can spawn its own
deck is definitely worth a second glance. MM
earns its stand out place in the set as the
plethora of 187 abilities are always something
that players want to abuse (Shriekmaw and
Mulldrifter being the obvious targets from
Lorwyn). The drawback of having the creature run
to the bin when targeted can make it a bit
fragile, but odds are you got all the advantage
you wanted when you first got the creature back.
Casual. The best use of this card I’ve found so
far is the Kamigawa Dragons. Not only does it
bring back a 5/5 flier at instant speed but
they’re all creatures that you want to hit the
bin so you can get to the delicious meaty
effects that they carry inside them. Reanimator
decks main weakness has been a slow to react
gameplan that can be spotted and possibly
stopped fairly easily, but the possibilities of
instant speed recursion can open that up a lot
more and make players who are trying to get
those early hits in before you cast an Animate
dead or a Beacon really regret the decision.
Limited: Recurring your best creature,
especially at instant speed, is going to wreak
havoc all over your opponent’s face; so at the
very least MM becomes a second copy of your
favorite/strongest card. I’ve even used this as
a sort of counterspell in conjunction with the
champion creatures like Changeling Hero or Titan
to bring the champion back from the grave and
save a creature that would otherwise be on its
way to the bin. And as mentioned above already
cards lke Shriekmaw, Mournwhelk or Mulldrifter
and all ready to be exploited for fun and
profit!
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4
The Missing
Linc
-Balding
for just over 5 years
-Playing MTG for just over 10
Makeshift
Mannequin
I would say this card was not great, but then it
keeps turning up in decks. In a aggro deck, this
may be worth it. The fact that the creature can
come out as an instant makes it good for a block
or a surprise attacker. This makes it better
than your typical reanimate spell. However, with
so many targeting cards out there, this is far
from great. I was definately wrong in my
original assessment of this as being junk but I
would not expect it to be around for that long.
I could be wrong.
Constructed: 3
Limited: 3
Casual: 3
The Missing Linc
PsychoAnime
#1
Magic Noob in Canada since 2002
Makeshift
Mannequin
Instant speed Zombify for a negligible drawback
is good. When was the last time a creature of
yours was a target and survived?
In limited, there's much less good stuff to
revive and a lot more bad targeting effects to
actually make the drawback significant.
Constructed: 3.5/5
Casual: 3.5/5
Limited: 2.5/5
Swordmaster13
Friday's card
is Makeshift Mannequin from Lorwyn. A deck
built around this uses the Evoke
creatures(namely Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw),
using their abilities twice. Makeshift
Mannequin is a great card to use for a deck that
wants to reanimate a creature like Mulldrifter
or a creature protected from magic like Simic
Sky Swallower when the drawback of having to
kill it when it is targeted by a spell or
ability isn't important. It is a weaker Zombify
basically with the same casting cost, but it
does have the bonus of being an Instant and
usable at the end of your opponent's turn. It
can be powerful when used right.
