Many an aggro deck has been frustrated by this
little 1/1 hitting the table on turn one. Many a
combo deck has hit seven-digit life totals or
more with her in play. And many a game of M10
draft have been swayed by the incremental
advantage this gal generates, turn after turn.
It may seem small, but Soul Warden is a reminder
to us all that small things add up over time.
A classic favorite from the days of Exodus, and
still a favorite to this very day. Soul Warden
is at her best as part of a combo - with tokens,
Whitemane Lion, Crypt Champion, Equilibrium, or
others - but is far from disappointing even when
facing one or more opponents' worth of "regular"
creatures.
In fact, the only problem I can think of with
this card is that Essence Warden is equally
cool, and they can't both be in the same core
set!
Constructed:
I have not heard or seen any infinite combo for
Standard.
Casual & Multiplayer:
It is a common now. Pair it up with it's green
counterpart and start dropping them in a big
multiplayer game to start gaining life. Of
course they will be kill as soon as possible.
They never stay out very long.
Limited:
The make for longer games. With some of the good
control in M10 the little extra life could win
you the game. Sometimes, it is true.
Overall a good reprint again sort of like
yesterday's.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Limited: 3
Later
Miguel
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno
Today's card of the day is the one mana 1/1 life
gaining Soul Warden from M10. A possibly easy to
overlook card that is useful in a support role
and often left alive by opponents long enough to
equal a noticeable increase in life points for
the controller.
In Constructed and Casual the Soul Warden is a
good drop at one mana if life gain is your
primary or secondary goal. Otherwise a more
aggressive or directly defensive option can help
you win the game. Life Gain does not win games
by itself, but it can be useful when it is
attached to other effects and cards.
With Limited if playing White you have no reason
not to play every copy of this card that you
see. It increases your life total and is a 1/1
for one, which is always useful in this format.
While the life gain doesn't help you win it can
certainly make losing more difficult as most
aggressive decks will rely on creatures to win.
Effects that return creatures to hand or deck
are especially useful as it forces a second
casting of the target for added life gain. In
Sealed this should be in every White build you
have as this is the only common one mana
creature available to you. In Booster Draft I'd
consider this a relatively high choice after
removal as it is useful with no particular
downside. I do not consider it the type of card
one should hate draft though which makes the
high rating seem a bit strange. This is the kind
of card that is good without being truly
powerful causing it to have a fairly unique
interpretation during drafts.
For Multiplayer it is not surprising that this
card gains usefulness as the number of opponents
increases. If defended in some way your life can
quickly grow to levels that may cause some
opponents to decide attacking other players
first is more efficient. This strategy coupled
with cards that win based on your life total can
be a viable style of play until your gaming
group realizes what is going on.
