I know it's intended as a homage, but Etched
Champion's art looks an awful lot like its
ancestor Etched Oracle's. I guess as long as you
don't play both of them in the same deck, it
won't be a problem. Where the Oracle acted as a
card advantage engine for slower,
artifact-heavy, multicolored decks, the Champion
is an unkillable threat/defender for faster
decks. Like Glint Hawk yesterday, the Champion
needs a linear deck to be at its most powerful,
but can also be played in decks with slightly
lower density of artifacts as a cheap late-game
card: who doesn't like a three-cost creature
that's better on turn six than on turn three?
Today's card of the day is Etched Champion
which is a three mana 2/2 with a Metalcraft
effect that grants it protection from all colors
while you control three or more artifacts.
Having two other artifacts is a reasonable
request for the protection it gains,
particularly if equipment cards are used to
increase the offensive threat of the Champion.
In a primarily artifact deck or White/Artifact
deck, possibly with a soldier theme, this is a
very strong choice and competitive enough for
any level of play.
For Limited the high number of artifacts
available actually weaken the value of Etched
Champion somewhat as it becomes more of a
defensive card when an opponent has options to
deal with it. It can still be a first pick in
Booster as a colorless creature with a
reasonable cost and useful effect, it just isn't
likely to win games by itself like other rare or
mythic level cards. For Sealed including this is
an easy choice as it helps balance out
multicolor decks and has no real drawback to
speak of.
Welcome to the card of the day section here at
Pojo.com! Today we are looking at Etched
Champion from Scars of Mirrodin. Etched Champion
is a rare artifact creature that costs three
generic mana, is a 2/2, and as long as you have
Metalcraft (control three or more artifacts)
Etched Champion has protection from all colors.
Etched Champion is a great card, hands down. The
fact that you need just two other artifacts
(since he himself is an artifact) means gaining
Metalcraft and giving him protection from all
colors should be a breeze. Then, he cannot be
targeted by colored abilities, dealt damage by
colored spells, or be blocked by colored
creatures. And should you be using him
defensively, he can block a huge creature, and
survive!
The best part is, you can still target him with
artifacts, so equipping him to astonishing
proportions should be a breeze! One Trepanation
Blade is all it will take to start laying down
some serious damage. And throw in a Darksteel
Plate to ensure he cannot be destroyed by the
pesky world effects of cards like Day of
Judgment. And while you are pumping him up,
remember that each pump ensures his Metalcraft
hangs around even longer.
