Giving a player a 1/1 in exchange for one damage
is a little underwhelming, especially in
Commander where everybody starts with 40 life.
But Acorn Catapult is a fine option for creature
removal. Since the token they're getting is a
vanilla 1/1, it's a pretty safe bet that you're
giving them a less impressive creature than the
Ball Lightning, Dross Crocodile, or Toxic Nim,
or whatever else you managed to kill with it.
Using it in combat is also pretty sweet, either
by combining its ping with combat damage to take
out big creatures, comboing it with Witch's Mist
or other such shenanigans, or-- most
hilariously-- using it to ping yourself to
generate a 1/1 blocker for a non-trampling big
beater.
It's hard to see using Acorn Catapult to
actually kill things; replacing whatever you
wanted to get off the table with a similar-sized
creature isn't the greatest deal, unless it was
something with a nasty ability like Dark
Confidant or Grim Lavamancer (stay tuned for
M12, by the way). I'd rather use this as a sort
of colorless Bitterblossom, especially in
Commander. Shooting yourself in the face once a
turn cycle doesn't seem so crazy when you have
forty life, one of your opponents might be
playing Phelddagrif, and you can easily fit
Intruder Alarm or Essence Warden alongside it.
For that reason, I kind of wish it were legal in
a set you could do draft or sealed with - it's a
lot more interesting than the traditional Rod of
Ruin-style card.
I'm also happy it uses Squirrel tokens - one of
my favorite things about the Odyssey block was
the non-traditional tribes (stay tuned for M12,
by the way).
This card is nuts, see what I did there? Nuts
and Acorn Catapult? Moving on this card is
illegal in standard and extended so no love for
it there. In legacy its too slow and expensive
to see any competitive play moving on, in casual
this card is good you can take out opponents 5/5
creatures that were blocked by 4/4
and give them a squirrel token to make up for
their loss. Squirrels are a particularly popular
casual tribe and this card as a token producer
can be utilized for political purposes when
players need chump blockers or can just be
utilized for your own benefits in a token deck
and is sure to be popular among casual players
who love squirrels for a long time. In limited
it would be hard to draft with obviously since
its a commander card but it would provide
a constant stream of dudes which is good.
Overall a card sure to be popular with squirrel
loving players but no competitive impact.
Today's card of the day is Acorn Catapult which
is a four mana artifact that can be tapped for
one mana to deal one damage to target creature
or player, that player then gets a 1/1 squirrel
token. This card is only legal in
Commander, Legacy, and Vintage and squirrel
decks were once quite popular, so it seems
likely this will see at least some play at least
in the Casual scene. Cards that have a
benefit from taking damage work quite well with
this and there already exists quite a bit of
squirrel support. It can be used against an
opponent to deal with low toughness creatures
and as a final point of a damage to a creature
or player which adds some versatility even
though it gives them a new 1/1.
Overall this is a fun design that can be added
to some existing damage your own creature builds
or have the squirrel theme modified in new ways,
but isn't likely to get played much elsewhere.
Welcome to a new week of
card of the days here at Pojo.com! Let’s kick
the week off with another preview from
Commander. Acorn Catapult is an artifact that
costs four generic mana. It has an ability that
says pay one generic mana, tap, Acorn Catapult
deals one damage to target creature or player.
That creatures controller or that player puts a
1/1 green squirrel creature token onto the
battlefield.
Not some crazy overpowered card, just a really fun one!
Even if you decide to target something of your
own, it could be really beneficial. For
instance, target a Nested Ghoul. The damage from
Acorn Catapult triggers Nested Ghouls ability,
putting a 2/2 Zombie into play, plus because the
damage came from the Acorn Catapult, you also
get a 1/1 Squirrel. Not bad for one mana. The
fun factor behind this card could just get
ridiculously out of hand.
Again, not going to be the soul reason why you win a game,
but may involve everyone having some fun while
the game resolves itself.
