The Humans of Innistrad are starting to take a
beating reminiscent of the beating the Mirrans
took from the Phyrexians. Sure I've had less
time to get attached to the... Innistradians...
than the Mirrans, but I'm definitely seeing a
similar theme of "Card X corrupted and turned
into Card Y". Though the fact that the third set
in the block has already been announced as
Avacyn Restored, I have a better feeling about
this one.
That's too little too late for Mikaeus, I'm
afraid. But his horrific gruesome loss is our
gain! Mikaeus the Unhallowed makes a great
flagship legend for any deck. First off, he's a
5/5 with an evasion ability for six. Like Geth
before him, he can hit pretty hard, and a mere
Lightning Bolt isn't enough to take him out.
Outside of combat, he can kill Human creatures
if they dare to damage you (and note the lack of
the word "combat"- Prodigal Pyromancer isn't
safe). He also makes for a new kind of Tribal
lord. His own creature types are Zombie and
Cleric, allowing him to slot comfortably into a
variety of pre-existing Tribal decks that have
been amassing members since Onslaught block. The
oddity here is that the Tribe he spearheads is
"anything but Humans". Most Zombies aren't
Humans, but most Clerics are. More
entertainingly, you could use him as the
headliner in a monoblack deck and call it Tribal
as long as none of your creatures are Human.
Black has plenty of solid non-Human creatures
that would love +1/+1 and undying.
But I think Mikaeus's most powerful (and most
entertaining) role is to ally with creatures
with persist. Because no creature with persist
is a Human (barring Cauldron of Souls,
Conspiracy, etc.), Mikaeus allows any of them to
have both undying and persist. If it had a -1/-1
counter when it dies, it'll come back with a
+1/+1 counter, and vice versa. The potential for
abuse is staggering.
I like this card probably more than some would
say is warranted. I've always had a soft spot
for expensive, spectacular creatures, and a
similar interest in a lot of the "evil"
creatures you aren't really supposed to like. I
like how it's a Loyal Cathar or Chosen of
Markov-style story in and of itself that
shows the very head of human society on
Innistrad becoming the very monster he tried to
fight against. I like how it's basically a
one-card synergy with literally thousands of
Magic cards, that laughs off most of the
efficient removal spells people (and
monsters) fear. I like how its second ability is
sometimes strong enough to scare away entire
decks but not dominant enough to change any way
of playing permanently. I like this card,
period.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
the zombie version of our favorite cleric, in
standard I feel this is too expensive outside of
maybe a single copy or two in a zombie style
deck or even some sort of undying combo deck as
undying allows for some advantages. In extended
and modern this card is way too expensive but
once again can combo with persist and sacrifice
engines and could see play as a one of in a
Melira Birthing Pod deck as the undying combined
with persist and sacrifice effects adds some
redundancy to the deck. In legacy and vintage
this card is way too black and way too expensive
to see much play it also doesn’t fit into any
existing archetypes and I feel wont spawn new
ones. In casual and multiplayer this is the
basis for one of my favorite decks, combine with
and evoke and you get discounted beefy creatures
it also finds a nice home in zombie decks and is
a beefy creature able to beat down players,
let’s not forget the fact it is legendary so
this is a solid option for commander players. In
limited its black intensive but a bomb none the
less. Overall a powerful casual card with some
fringe constructed value.
Today's card of the day is Mikaeus, the
Unhallowed which is a six mana Black 5/5
Legendary with Intimidate that destroys humans
that deal damage to you plus gives all of your
other non-humans +1/+1 and Undying.
Despite being a bit high in cost this is an
excellent card if it can be protected. An
evasive 5/5 that makes removing any of your
other creatures likely inefficient for an
opponent is a threat in nearly any scenario.
Having zombie support available is a plus and
the mana cost can certainly be bypassed through
a variety of effects in the mono-Black style of
deck this would usually be found in.
For Limited this requires at least half of your
mana sources to be Black, but it is worth it to
not only provide the evasive 5/5 as a major
threat, but also makes many other creatures far
better. The destroying of one of the more
common types in the format if they deal damage
is a major bonus and can be augmented with life
gain to make not blocking humans easier.
The variety of powers make this a great first
pick in Booster and if the Black pool in Sealed
can support it one of the stronger choices
possible to work with.
Welcome to
the Pojo.com card of the day section. Today we
are taking a look at Mikaeus the Unhallowed from
Dark Ascension. Mikaeus is a mythic rare
legendary black creature zombie cleric that
costs three generic and three black mana for a
5/5. Mikaeus’ abilities are that he has
Intimidate; whenever a human deals damage to
you, it is destroyed; and other non-human
creatures you control get +1/+1 and have
Undying.
Mikaeus is simply one of the top cards to come
out of Dark Ascension. His abilities are
ridiculously awesome, and definitely make the
living version of himself look pathetic in
comparison. The fact that he has so many ways of
making your other creature so much more powerful
means he is not likely to be involved in many
combat scenarios to ensure he does not fall
victim to some trick. Instead he will stand
back, waiting, leading your army into battle,
and boost them. He will defend you from human
threats, and ensure that any successful damage
from humans is returned with swift vengeance!
