A lot of people have been riled up about this
card because it doesn't fit thematically with
the set. Mark Rosewater's official response was
that Tamiyo was intended to not fit
thematically-- she's a planeswalker, and that
means she's from another plane. That's what
makes planeswalkers special, and Magic: the
Gathering is all about planeswalkers-- they're
the main characters of all of Magic's stories. I
feel like building the entire Magic mythos
around something whose defining characteristic
is that it doesn't fit into its surroundings was
probably a mistake and we just never noticed it
before Tamiyo. Or maybe people were just upset
because Kamigawa as a set had so many problems
and Tamiyo is a reminder. I didn't mind Kamigawa,
but I didn't want to be reminded of it during a
set dedicated to classic horror movies. Let's
see if the card itself is worth the genre
blending.
Tamiyo's +1 can keep a creature, land, or
artifact locked down if you're willing to spam
it, which goes a long way towards Tamiyo's
longevity. Use it on a creature and it syncs up
well with her -2 to help keep your hand full.
Most planeswalkers that cost five or more don't
catch on, but I think Tamiyo might just have a
shot at it, since she comes out with enough
loyalty to use her second ability twice and
potentially draw a massive number of cards,
effectively making her a Tidings analogue. But
of course, the real dream here is the -8
ability, the emblem. No maximum hand size is
nice, but really it's just an accessory to the
"your hand is the new graveyard" ability. You
don't ever have to put anything in the graveyard
again! Every instant and sorcery spell (save the
Zeniths or Temporal Mastery) goes right back to
your hand for recasting. Any permanent that gets
destroyed goes back to your hand. Any attempt to
mill you effectively just draws you cards.
You'll never run out of gas again! And with
proliferate being a largely blue mechanic, and
still around in Standard, it's an Ultimate you
might actually get to see go off one day.
It's interesting that Kamigawa supposedly didn't
test well among the audience, and yet here is
Tamiyo. Is this the plane's last (second to
last, assuming that Planechase 2's "Night of the
Ninja" really is what it sounds like) outing, or
a sign of things to come? Regardless of which it
is, I think Tamiyo's game text predicts a few
things of its own. Remember the last time blue
got a planeswalker that could draw lots of cards
on its own? What ever happened to that guy? For
a really nasty combo (and example of
cross-planar understanding), try her with Gideon
Jura!
Today's card of the day is Tamiyo, the Moon
Sage which is a five mana Blue planeswalker with
four loyalty counters and three abilities.
The
+1 is incredibly effective as it taps a target
permanent and prevents it
from untapping during the controller's next
untap step. This can effectively lock down
two creatures or lands and put a major dent in
just about any strategy. The -2 can feed
your hand very well after an attack, whether it
be your attack or an opponent's, and generally
won't put Tamiyo at risk of being destroyed.
The -8 may or may not get activated often, but
if it is there are many different ways to win
the game with an unlimited hand size and every
card sent to the graveyard being returned.
The mana cost is reasonable for a control theme
and this is a card that will see a lots of play
and be a serious threat in both Standard and
Extended formats.
For Limited a planeswalker is often one of the
strongest cards available and this is no
exception. Lockdown and multiple card
advantage possibilities make this an extremely
effective card in nearly any situation.
This is a definite reason to play Blue in Sealed
and should be drafted first in Booster without a
second thought. The odds of an opponent
having enough heavy hitters to work around the
+1 is unlikely which is one path to victory.
An opponent using a multicolor deck may not have
more than one or two sources of a color
available, which can leave them with a dead
hand. Combine options like those with card
draw and you have a game-winning card that can
easily dominate a tournament.
Welcome to the Pojo.com card of the day
section! Today we are reviewing Tamiyo, the Moon
Sage from Avacyn Restored. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
is a mythic rare blue planeswalker-Tamiyo that
costs three generic and two blue mana. Tamiyo
enters the battlefield with four loyalty
counters. Tamiyo has three abilities. Her first
ability is a plus one loyalty: Tap target
permanent. It does not untap during it’s
controller’s next untap step. Her second ability
is a minus two: Draw a card for each tapped
creature target player controls. Her final
ability is a minus eight: You get an emblem with
“You have no maximum hand size.” And “Whenever a
card is put into your graveyard from anywhere,
you may return it to your hand.”
Tamiyo, the Moon Sage is amazing. Perhaps
one of the best planeswalkers since Jace, the
Mind Sculptor himself. The one main difference
between the two, which I feel affects Tamiyo’s
tournament influence, is mana cost. Five mana is
a lot when playing non-casual style games. And
all the work that would then have to go into
trying to get her final ability off seems like a
lot more work than necessary. However, there are
ways of exploiting that too. Green mana ramp is
a great way that you could get her out faster.
But white and red decks are the ones that would
greatly benefit from her ability of returning
cards to your hand once cast. Imagine being able
to Holy Day every turn. Or with red, how many
times you can pay to Lightning Bolt in a turn
you can! Her final is ridiculous, and so well
worth it in the end. Using mana ramping cards
from that are artifacts in any deck help get
Tamiyo out faster, and she is definitely worth
the effort to try and use.
