An extra point of toughness may not seems all
that significant, but in a format where Volcanic
Fallout runs wild, I feel much safer having this
pumping up my Swordsmiths out of Fallout range.
Granted, the Armorsmiths are still in Lightning
Bolt range, but there's no Soldier in Standard
short of Guardians of Akrasa that isn't. And
besides, a 2/3 for two mana was playable in
green when it was vanilla, so why not in white
with a bonus?
Soldiers have historically been one of the most
popular tribes in Magic, from the days of
Kjeldoran Outpost to the Onslaught era and then
Lorwyn's Goldmeadow Stalwart/Militia's
Pride-driven decks. But they've gotten a new
lease on life with M10 - Honor of the Pure,
Harm's Way, and not one but three new "lords,"
including Veteran Armorsmith, will make sure
we're talking about Soldiers for a long time to
come.
Today's card of the day is Veteran Armorsmith one
of six new addition to the soldier class from
2010. A 2/3 for two is a decent bargain by
itself and giving a plus one to toughness is
quite nice especially when other effects
available include Vigilance and the ability to
block multiple creatures.
In Constructed, Casual, and Multiplayer this can
be a useful if not exactly aggressive addition
to a soldier deck.
For Limited this is a very good choice if your
pool includes several other soldier cards which
is quite possible with this set. Two other
soldiers are at the common level and two are
uncommon with one of the commons being a one
mana 2/1 making for a possible 2/2 and 2/3 in
play on turn two. A very solid beginning for any
format, but doubly so in Limited. If you happen
to draft Captain of the Watch every other
soldier should be a pretty high priority, but
otherwise this is a decent creature and should
be drafted after removal in Booster. In sealed
the power is somewhat dependent on how many
other soldiers you have, but if playing mostly
white it is still worth running. The double
White mana cost will prevent it from being as
effective in many multicolor decks, but the ease
of drafting several soldiers should outweigh the
penalty more often than not.
