It seems like a lot of sets in the past few
years have had a one-mana black instant that
gives -1/-1. This one has two good things going
for it-- its -1/-1 is permanent, and it can
deliver a poison counter if its victim dies that
turn. Well, for one thing, most -X/-X spells are
usually calculated to kill their target, so
usually this will indeed poison an opponent. But
if the spell somehow fails to kill its target,
the -1/-1 will stay. And in a set full of
proliferate, that means that the creature just
might die after all. But ideally you'll want to
kill a creature and inject its controller with a
poison for one card, and one mana, if you at all
can.
Today's card of the day is Virulent Wound which
is a one mana Black spell that can be used as
removal or support removal and Infect decks.
It isn't overly powerful at either, but doing
both for a single mana at instant speed is quite
efficient and it should see a decent level of
play in Infect builds. As Black has many
other stronger removal options for just one mana
more other decks are unlikely to run this card
as the main appeal is the effective two for one
of removal and the extra poison counter.
For Limited almost any removal is useful and if
your pool includes any Infect or Proliferate
then having another and early source of a poison
counter is always welcome. This is a nice
common to see in multiples when opening your
Sealed packs and can be drafted after the bigger
threats in Booster as a solid support threat.
Welcome to another week of
card of the day here on Pojo.com. I am excited
to say that Virulent Wound is what we are
reviewing for you today. Virulent Wound is a
black instant that costs only one black mana.
Virulent Wound gives target creature -1/-1 and
if it is put into a graveyard from play this
turn, it’s controller gets a poison counter.
I personally love this card, and honestly do not know how it is
only a common. Pretty much for four mana you can
clear an opponent’s board while hitting them
with some early poison. This also means there is
an increased chance of getting your early infect
creatures a clear path through. And that can
mean early game domination with infect, and then
late game clinch with proliferate. Oh, and don’t
forget that the abilities would stack. Meaning
you target a 2/2 with two wounds, and the
controller would get two poison counters. And in
standard it can only get better. Run a black and
blue infect/proliferate deck, and just use Echo
Mage for some real fun. At level four, you would
get three copies for one black and two blue
mana. Multiple Echo Mages could only lead to
more copies, more dead creatures, and more
poison. And of course Twincasts would work the
same way.
No need to get into vintage combos, I think that the standard
combos are quite enough.
Like I said, I love this card, and cannot believe that
it is so often overlooked, and not anything more
than a common. Easily the Lightning Bolt for
infect decks.
