Usually, noncreature permanents that turn into
creatures are valuable because they're only
creatures on YOUR turn, therefore your
opponents' sorceries can't target or destroy it.
Warden of the Wall turns that on its head-- it's
only a creature on everyone else's turn. Which
means you can never attack with it, only block.
And your opponents' sorceries will be able to
deal with it no problem, but your own won't.
Warden of the Wall is therefore safe from your
own Day of Judgment, but still can't attack your
now-creatureless opponent after you play it.
It's still good in a deck that plays Day of
Judgment, because now your opponent has to play
two creatures post-Day as you already have a
blocker for the first one. The fact that it taps
for one mana is a handy thing as well, and it
can do that on anyone's turn. Basically, it's a
simple, defensive card that you add to your deck
to give it a little more support. It helps you
cast your big guns a little faster, and can
block to ensure you live long enough to draw
them.
Warden of the Wall's abilities caught my
interest the moment I read them. Not only are
they partly something that's never been done
before design-wise, it's a versatile card that
provides two things a deck could want - a solid
defender and extra mana - and does either when
you want it. In a way, it reminds me of Guardian
Idol from Fifth Dawn, but with less versatility
and the inability to finish the game after
everything else gets hit by Memoricide. There's
a lot of early creatures (and accelerated late
creatures) in Standard that aren't really slowed
down by a 2/3 flying gargoyle, but if that ever
changes, this card might well get a look in that
setting. Otherwise, it's a reasonable if
somewhat unspectacular performer, not to mention
a flavorful addition to the Gargoyle tribal
deck.
Today's card of the day is Warden of the Wall
which is a three mana artifact that enters the
battlefield tapped, can tap for one mana, and is
a 2/3 with Flying when it isn't your turn. While
this can't attack for you, the mana acceleration
and blocking aspects are decent and can be an
efficient addition for decks that are weak
against Flying attacks. Other artifacts can tap
for mana and this turning into a creature can be
more of a drawback as it allows your opponent a
wide variety of removal options if needed.
Overall this is an interesting card that might
see some play in specific decks, but isn't
flexible enough for the more aggressive builds.
For Limited just about any acceleration is
good and having this work as a blocker later in
the game makes it a better topdeck than many
similar cards. As a artifact there is no reason
not to include it in any Sealed build and it is
a solid choice in Booster after the initial bomb
and removal picks.
Welcome to Pojo.com’s card of the day.
Today we are looking at Warden of the Wall from
Dark Ascension. Warden of the Wall is an
uncommon artifact that costs three generic mana.
Warden of the Wall enters the battlefield
tapped, and taps to add one generic mana to your
mana pool. While it is not your turn, Warden of
the Wall becomes a 2/3 artifact creature
gargoyle with flying.
Warden of the Wall is one of the cooler
uncommons I have seen in Dark Ascension. The
fact you have a mana producer that becomes a
defender is very nice indeed. Throw down a block
and then use him to get some mana for a spell
all at once. Very very effective.
