I can still remember when a 4/4 for 2GG was
considered just about as good as you were going
to get. Brooding Saurian was the closest we got
to a "baseline" 4/4 for 2GG, but the ability on
that is so narrow that it obviously didn't
increase the cost of the card in any way.
Obstinate Baloth says that for 2GG, a 4/4 isn't
good enough unless it has extra abilities. This
Baloth gives you 4 life when it hits play, to
slow down burn and aggro decks. And if your
opponent makes you discard it, you get it for
free. You could argue that both those abilities
are mainly to counter specific strategies an
opponent may employ, but Obstinate Baloth is
still surprisingly above the curve.
For a color known for its creatures, green gets
surprisingly potent defensive abilities in
recent sets. This particular Baloth goes one
better than its ancestors, defending you against
red and black's signature abilities equally
easily. It's not like direct damage and forced
discard appear in every set . . . oh, right.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Obstinate
Baloth
Welcome back readers today's card of the day
is a certain beast an improved/upgraded Ravenous
Baloth meant to hose Blighting players. In
standard this card has seen a fair bit of action
against Jund as a sideboard card. Its an
efficient green creature that can gain life and
be played for its mana cost if need be. In
extended Jund variants may make a splash but
discard as a whole has been weakened by Wizards
making this an unnecessary card. In eternal
powerful discard like Hymn To Tourach and other
various nasty's mean this card could be used to
combat it but unlikely. In casual and
multiplayer newer players hate discard so this
card should see some play, also beasts can be a
successful tribal deck and this card then
provides duel benefits. In limited its a solid
creature even if you don't plan on going against
discard worth drafting if your in green. Overall
a card made to specifically to improve on
Ravenous Baloth and hose Jund decks, an
interesting card with a definite niche in Magic.
Today's card of the day is Obstinate Baloth
which is a four mana 4/4 that gives four life
when it enters the battlefield and instead of
hitting the graveyard by an opponent's discard
effect is sent to the battlefield. There is
nothing bad to say about this card, while is is
lacking a Trample effect often seen on Green's
larger creatures, the cost to benefit ratio is
excellent and it is the last thing many Black
mages want to see in an opponent's hand. The
option of returning it to your hand for extra
life gain exists, but keep in mind that the
discard effect only works when it is an effect
controlled by the opponent and not your own
card. Even if not perfectly suited to your Green
deck this can easily find a home as a sidedeck
against cards that force you to discard as few
options punish them like both a creature and
life gain in one.
For Limited the double Green in the cost
hinders this slightly and there are only three
cards that can discard this all in Black. If the
opponent is running Liliana Vess, Liliana's
Specter, or Mind Rot and this happens to be in
your hand this is a major bomb, otherwise is
still an efficient 4/4 that gains your four
life. A strong card that can be a risky first
pick in Booster if several other players are
also choosing Green as their primary color, but
not the kind of card you should be passing
either. With a primarily Green deck this is a
great turn four play and can work just as well
in Sealed depending on the pool.
