Nine mana is a lot, no question. And in today's
Standard, nine mana is frequently just too slow
to make a difference. But if you can get there,
a 10/9 with annihilator 2 plus the best creature
out of your graveyard is quite a reward! And
remember, the reanimation ability takes place
when you cast the Artisan, not when it resolves.
Even if your opponent has a counterspell at the
ready, you get your dead creature back.
What exactly is defined as a "fair" deal for
creatures that cost nine mana? I honestly don't
know, as you often get creatures that are rather
narrow or have flavorful drawbacks like
Leviathan. If I had to guess, I would say that
Artisan of Kozilek is at least fair, and
probably better than fair, considering that one
of the traditional downfalls of
grave-to-battlefield strategies is spells that
do nothing without a graveyard to interact with.
Tormod's Crypt is good at what it does, but what
it does does not involve dealing with a 10/9
creature that destroys everything when it
attacks.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Artisan of
Kozilek
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is
an interesting reanimating colorless Eldrazi.
For a mere 9 mana you get a 10/9 Annihilator 2
creature which allows you to return a creature
card from your graveyard to play. In standard
the only Eldrazi I see getting play are the main
three legendary ones, this card is nice for
uncommon and it says something about power creep
when a card likes this is considered OK or meh.
In extended and eternal this card wont see play
baring some sort of shenanigans. In casual and
multiplayer this card is an interesting addition
to Eldrazi or decks utilizing mana ramp, a free
resurrection is nothing to sneeze at and the
body can hold back some players. In limited if
you can get enough mana its a decent card.
Overall a good Eldrazi card overshadowed by its
more powerful brethren.
Today's card of the day is Artisan of Kozilek
which is a 10/9 for nine mana with Annihilator 2
and when cast returns a creature from the
graveyard back to the battlefield. The
mana cost is a bit high, but the overall benefit
can be pretty impressive with the right target
in the graveyard. Because the effect is
specific to being cast and the lack of innate
evasion or Trample this won't see too much play
in the constructed formats, but a fast mana
acceleration deck may try using this as part of
a finishing combo.
For Limited this is a truly impressive Eldrazi
that can quickly change the shape of the
battlefield and makes an excellent topdeck card.
The cost is lower than some of the other Eldrazi
and getting the creature of your choice back
nets a solid card advantage. Absolutely a
first pick in draft and can be played in nearly
any Sealed build thanks to the colorless nature.
Just be sure to read the text on other Eldrazi
closely as some are shuffled into the library
instead of remaining in the graveyard.
