Haste and Battle cry are a potent combo. Haste
is always good for surprising an opponent who
thought he knew how much you could attack him
for next turn, but battle cry means your foe
just found out he was also wrong about which
creatures he could safely block without losing
the blocker, and which creatures he could afford
not to block. And of course, the Hero's third
ability means your opponent was also wrong about
which of his creature were even capable of
blocking. Wall of Omens and those Myr tokens
will be of no help now.
I can definitely see a Red and possibly White
Battle Cry aggro deck arising with the Hero at
the top of the mana curve. This much extra
damage, and the sudden limitation on which
creatures can block, will make for a very potent
alpha strike. And the best part is, all this
happens every time the Hero attacks, so you can
keep the pressure on turn after turn, unlike
most Overrun effects that come in sorcery form.
Normally, we'd think of abilities like these as
being good against other creature decks, letting
you win combat or alpha strike. Nowadays, with
high-power low-cost white creatures and
fourth-turn Titans running around, this may not
be where Hero of Oxid Ridge shines. I'd be
trying him out against the omnipresent control
decks - haste lets him come out after Day of
Judgment and do some real damage, and he also
allows an entire swarm to get past Wall of Omens
and Wall of Frost. I can't remember a red
creature I was more eager to put into a red burn
deck since Stigma Lasher. My only question is,
what sort of animal is he riding?
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Hero of
Oxide Ridge
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is
Hero of Oxide Ridge a powerful Battle Cry card
from Mirrodin Besieged. For Four mana we get a
4/2 Haste creature with Battle Cry and the
ability to turn your army into a huge threat.
The second ability makes it so opponents cannot
block with creatures with power one or less,
besides being a obscure combo with Arrogant
Bloodlord this can stop token decks from
defending allowing you to alpha strike as you
please. The fact it prevents small creatures
from blocking, has haste, and Battle cry makes
Hero of Oxide Ridge a powerful aggressive red
card. In standard this card could see play along
goblins as well as the token generating power of
Kuldortha Rebirth, its a highly aggressive red
card that will see play to combat token
strategies. In extended and eternal this card
could put a dent in tokens and provide a
powerful accessory to aggressive red decks
particularly goblins. In casual and multiplayer
often times defense is the best offense even
without attacking with this card the potential
swing back if an opponent attack you is scary,
it takes care of goblins, elves, saprolings and
a plethora of other token strategies. In limited
its a fine aggressive body with Battle Cry
although the second ability may not always come
in handy. Overall a powerful and aggressive red
card to supplement the other powerful aggressive
red cards available to players.
Today's card of the day is Hero of Oxid Ridge
which is a four mana 4/2 with Haste and the new
Battle Cry mechanic. The Human and Knight
types don't currently add a great deal in Red
and two on defense doesn't interact overly well
with the last effect, so it isn't as impressive
as it may first seem. If your opponent is
stopping your attacks with small creatures, in
particular ones that can be replenished through
effects, this can be a very useful card to have.
Outside of that scenario it is a bit costly for
the lack of Trample, doesn't make an ideal
topdeck despite the Haste outside of a
stalemate, and Red generally has better options.
For Limited this is a decent first pick as a
four mana 4/2 with Haste that can increase the
power of your other creatures and helps end the
far more common to the format stalemates.
In Sealed anything that
lowers the power of creatures becomes a bit more
useful in combination with the effect, so they
can help determine whether building a deck
around it is viable.
Today’s Card of the Day is Hero of Oxid Ridge from Mirrodin
Besieged. What all of you out there may not know
is that Red is my piece of Magic’s color pie. I
was severly disappointed by red’s performance in
Scars of Mirrodin, but am relieved to see that
red explodes back on the scene, led by this guy.
Hero of Oxid Ridge is a 4/3 for two red and two
generic. He has haste, and has Battle Cry,
whenever he attacks, other attacking creatures
get +1/+0. But his last ability is what truly
makes him shine. His last ability is that when
he attacks, creatures with power one or less
cannot block.
Now while that ability may not seem that great, it really is,
or at least, has the potential to be tremendous.
Thinking in standard, you easily could run a
massive combo that could be equally devastating.
Run a Red, white, and blue deck (kinda corny I
know) and have this guy, with Victory’s Herald,
and Gravitational Shift. Now, attack, and sit
back and see the havoc caused by your Battle
Cry.
In Vintage formats, he gets even better. For example, just
imagine this guy in combination with Godhead of
Awe. I know I am excited to see how that would
work. Especially since the Battle Cry would pump
them since it is the layering rule. And in the
meantime, all of your opponents creatures are
helpless. And with Eldrazi spawn floating around
as both sources of mana, and blockers, he makes
them useless for the latter.
All in all, one of the better red cards I have seen in
awhile. I hope that there will be more like this
guy coming out in the next few sets.
Be sure to get to your local prerelease this weekend, and represent
your side, after all, it is this weekend that
leads to the determination of which side shall
win this war.
