It's a little funny that this card came into
existence purely because WOTC decided Faeries
was too strong. But this is still a strong card.
Faeries isn't the only deck in the format that
plays blue or black, you know.
I remember way back when the Seventh Edition was
current, it had a player's guide on Wizards of
the Coast's website with comments on all the
cards. Things like Compost got a comment at the
end along the lines of "Color hosers are
basically useless if your opponent isn't playing
that color." Great Sable Stag makes a liar of
whoever wrote that, although that was eight
years ago and things change pretty fast around
in this game. Play him early, play him often.
Today's card of the day is the latest in a line of
cards designed to punish Blue/Black fairy decks,
Great Sable Stag. In a primarily Green build
this is a serious threat to a Fairy player or
other Blue or Black based themes. The power of
it is pretty obvious, but even a three mana 3/3
isn't too bad in a pinch.
Constructed is where you'll run into this most
often as the fae have been such a popular
decktype. As a sidedeck tool it works very well,
but the deck has to support a decent level of
Green mana of course.
Casual may seem some fae, but not to the degree
that Constructed deals with. Worth playing if
you regularly face someone that runs Blue or
Black to encourage some variety.
Limited this is a tricky card to look at. The
double Green in the cost is a weakness, but it
is immune to many forms of kill available in the
format. Red and White of course offer answers to
the Stag, but often you'll see it last a while.
Multiplayer is also a good home for the Stag as
someone will likely play the colors it has
Protection from and it isn't a big enough threat
on the field to anyone else to warrant
destroying. It is the type of card that can
cause others to form a temporary alliance over,
but otherwise can buy some time for your deck to
develop.
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
one that has had a profound impact on the
standard metagame, Great Stable Stag. For three
mana you get an uncounterable 3/3 creature that
has protection from both blue and black. Stable
Stag laughs in the face of black spot removal,
scoffs at Cryptic Command, and runs over
Bitterblossom tokens. A proven competitor in the
standard tournament scene, its performance at
worlds highlighted its ability to take on
control oriented decks and still leave through
typical sweeper cards such as Infest, Volcanic
Fallout, and Firespout. In extended there’s a
wide variety of control decks and an
uncounterable creature is a valuable commodity
to have. In casual and multiplayer
uncounterability and protection from two of five
colors could be fantastic depending on your play
groups. In limited it’s a guaranteed threat
hitting the board that is resistant to most
removal spells and cards that are pseudo-removal
in blue. A great card that is showing its impact
on Magic. Overall one the final creatures to
help curb the fairy menace before standard
rotation.
