Note: despite how I originally read it, this
guy's third ability never reads "Sacrifice
Overgrown Tomb: ..." My first instinct is to
combine him with Grave Pact - not only because
that card has a history with Golgari-themed
decks, but because most of the repeatable
sacrifice effects you usually put with Grave
Pact don't hit players - but even if you use him
as "just" a 7/7 or so for four mana, that's
pretty worthwhile.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Jarad
Golgari Lich Lord
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
Jarad the leader of the golgari. In standard he
is mana intensive for his ability and his mana
resurrection ability is pricey. Having to hold
back mana to activate this ability makes it more
of a seven drop instead of a four but late game
he could do some damage but doesn’t seem worth
most of the set up. In modern Life From the Loam
and Crucible of Worlds exists making his
resurrection ability more appealing and there
exists some combinations that could make this an
interesting combo or finisher in decks running
some loam engine perhaps. In casual and
multiplayer this guy is a thing, hurting each
opponent and coming back over and over again and
making this guy an ideal commander or player in
your main deck. In limited its got a ability
that can grind out a win late game making it a
decent creature. Overall a powerful casual and
especially multiplayer card that can dominate
kitchen tables and may see some competitive play
as some time.
Today's card of the day is Jarad, Golgari Lich
Lord which is a two Black and two Green 2/2
Legendary zombie elf with three effects. The
+1/+1 for each creature in the graveyard is
okay, but not likely to be a major threat
outside of self-milling and there are popular
graveyard removing sidedeck cards to watch out
for. The second effect is a potential
game-winner, devastatingly so in Multiplayer or
Commander, and can fuel a deck theme on that
alone. The final effect is costly, both in
loss of land and in needing to recast him,
though it does offer some protection against
removal when setting up a win condition.
Overall this may see play in some Black/Green
builds in competitive formats, yet is far more
likely to be seen in Casual and Multiplayer
where it has the time and environment to do
maximum damage.
In Limited this would be a bomb, but the very
specific casting cost combined with the
sacrifice of lands effect forces the deck to
avoid splashing and can hinder the tempo in
anything other than an ideal to excessive land
position. The sacrifice effect is a solid
finisher or response to a creature being
targeted with removal or lockdown, though is
likely to be situational as viable targets may
not be available.
Outside of those scenarios the other creature
should be better as an attacker or blocker that
can be utilized in multiple rounds. The
+1/+1 effect is not supported well with Golgari
featuring the Scavenge mechanic and Jarad has no
evasion or Trample if he did reach a larger
size. Even with these flaws it is a viable
first pick in Booster that can be supported,
just stick with two colors or he's very
inefficient.
In Sealed the requirements keep him to Golgari
only decks, but the variety of effects should
secure a spot as he will often be 4/4 or larger
and can use the second effect during stalemates
where you have a slight creature advantage.
Welcome to the Pojo.com card of the day
section. We are closing out our week by looking
at the Guild Leader for the Golgari, Jarad,
Golgari Lich Lord. Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord is a
mythic rare legendary creature zombie elf that
costs two black and two green mana and is a 2/2.
Jarad gets +1/+1 for each creature in your
graveyard. Jarad has an ability of pay one
generic, one black, and one green mana,
sacrifice another creature: Each opponent loses
life equal to the sacrificed creatures power.
Jarad also has another ability that says
sacrifice a Swamp and a
Forest: Return Jarad from your
graveyard to your hand.
Each of the Guild leaders are powerful in
their own ways. Jarad is a straight up
powerhouse who combos with cards from his own
Guild so ridiculously. The more things die, the
stronger Jarad becomes. And then when the time
is right, you Scavenge them onto a single
creature, and use Jarad to land a critical blow
against all of your opponents.
There is just so much great about Jarad
that I could fill an entire column. Any creature
that should it be in your graveyard can easily
come back out, that gets bigger based on other
things in your graveyard,
AND can end a game against
multiple opponents while losing only one
yourself is just amazing!
