Though it's not as strong on paper as the likes
of Troll Ascetic or Ravenous Baloth, Cudgel
Troll may yet find a place in the pantheon of
legendary green creatures for Standard. His
strength: being in the right place at the right
time. Chameleon Colossus is leaving that format
soon, and if the rumors of a world where even
the harsh judgment of the skies can't overcome
trolls' innate healing power are true, this card
could end up being the big man on campus.
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
Cudgel Troll, sorry I don’t have a snappy
introduction today. For four mana you get a 4/3
green creature that can regenerate for a single
mana. Regeneration is a powerful ability and
white this card is no Troll Ascetic; Cudgel
Troll has the power to take out a wide variety
of played creatures. In standard I don’t see
this card getting much play; currently there are
more powerful threats for four mana in green
such as Chameleon Colossus. Post rotation
depending on the atmosphere of Zendikar green
may need a powerful creature to be able to trade
shots. In extended and eternal formats this card
is surpassed by a wide variety of better
creatures. In casual and multiplayer it’s a
decent threat, the regeneration ability allows
it to swing away with disregard or sit back and
play defensively. There are better options for
casual players but this card is uncommon and a
decent addition to green oriented aggro decks.
In limited it’s a powerhouse regenerate allows
it to dodge a wide variety of removal and
dominate combat situations a great pick if
you’re heavy in green.
Today's card of the day is Cudgel Troll, a solid
4/3 for four mana that regenerates for one. The
biggest thing to keep in mind for this card is
that in standard and limited Doom Blade and
Lightning Bolt in 2010 replaced Terror and
Incinerate from tenth. Both cards lack the
anti-regeneration clause, giving those creatures
a big boost in these formats.
In Constructed and Casual this is a well priced
and difficult to destroy creature to play in a
heavy green deck. Just be sure to keep a mana
available whenever possible and not to tap out
when playing it and the troll can be around for
a while. Blue and White do both have some
options that don't involve destruction, but
against other colors it is difficult to handle.
With Limited the same as above applies with the
added note of my considering this a moderate to
high draft choice. It doesn't win games by
itself, but it is very solid and worth playing
in any deck that can handle that double green
mana cost on top of holding a green mana
available to pay for regeneration. Any deck
running this card should have over half of the
mana sources producing green mana or it is not
likely to be as effective.
To Multiplayer a card like this loses a bit of
steam as multiple opponents can deal lethal
damage and regeneration does cause it to tap.
Both problems leave it less viable, but by no
means worthless.
