A 2/1 for two isn't very exciting. Neither is
gaining 4 life. But having them both on one card
is pretty nice. The best use for Lone Missionary
is in a control deck, to stave off aggro. The
life gain can buy you time, and the 2/1 can
block incoming aggro beaters and is even big
enough to maybe take one of them down. And
against a burn deck? You've basically countered
one of their burn spells pre-emptively, plus
they're likely not playing many creatures and
leaving even fewer back to block, so you could
maybe swing in with a 2/1 and hit for a few
points.
Some Magic theorists like to talk about
"defensive speed," the turn on which you are
able to start using your countermeasures to
creatures and other threats. Lone Missionary is
the epitome of defensive speed - in other sets
you would have had to wait at least two turns
longer to get the kind of life increase he
offers. Considering he's also a 2/1 creature, he
is also the epitome of offensive speed. I expect
to see him in various decks for a good few
years.
Today's card of the day is Lone Missionary
which is a 2/1 for two mana that also gives four
life when it comes into play. A 2/1 for
two is fairly weak, but it is a decent gain of
life especially when compared to the three mana
Venerable Monk. The Kor type has some
support, but this would have been much better
with a Soldier, Ally, or other more prominent
designation. As it stands it is a nice
addition to any pure life gain deck, but not
really worth running elsewhere.
For Limited a 2/1 for two is playable and the
life gain is hardly a negative, but the real
benefit is the common rarity. Running
several of these doesn't slow down your game at
all, but makes victory a longer road for any
opponent. A few of these can be present in
a Sealed pool and drafting some in Booster to
support a White build is a solid strategy.
