Eight mana for a 5/5 flyer and two of your
opponents' permanents exiled. Not killed,
exiled. And they don't have to be creatures;
they can be whatever you want, even
planeswalkers. Of course, you only get one when
you first play the Rider, and you only get the
second one when the Rider dies, so if the Rider
herself gets exiled, or bounced, she can't exile
a second permanent. Most removal, however, just
destroys, so it's unlikely that your opponent
has a way to defuse the Rider's "dies" ability,
or is willing to wait to draw it since you're
swinging for 5 in the air.
The biggest downside? It's not Blood Baron of
Vizkopa, who costs less and hits just as hard,
and is almost impossible to kill effectively.
I'm not sure exactly which Greek myth this
card is a reference to. I don't remember ever
reading a story about huge white tigers, winged
or otherwise. Then again, I almost didn't
recognize the reference on Vulpine Goliath at
first, so you never know. Game-wise, this card
is actually very good - pretty crazy, almost.
The effect rewards you for ramping into it,
albeit in a way that's almost becoming boring in
the post-Titan era (I'm pretty sure someone
warned us that would happen, people). Of course,
a card like this is very often going to cost
four mana (as in Unburial Rites or
Resurrection), which just makes it even more
insane. As if Angel of Despair wasn't dominant
enough.
Today's card of the day is Ashen Rider which is
an eight mana Black and White 5/5 with Flying
and when it enters the battlefield or dies exile
a target permanent. The mana cost is both high
and requires four specific mana symbols from two
colors, which puts this as part of stalling
Black/White control or alongside effects to play
it directly at best.
The effect is fantastic, but dealing with the
cost is far too much of a drawback for any
competitive formats and overall it will likely
only see play in Multiplayer or Commander.
In Limited the mana cost is actually high
enough to be a drawback which is compounded
somewhat by the two Black and two White needed.
Other than that it is an excellent card that
will dominate the battlefield in almost any
situation and quickly win games as an evasive
threat after removing the fiercest opposition. A
solid first pick in Booster, even with the mana
cost to work around, though it does lock you
into two colors or burning first pick as a hate
draft. In Sealed the color requirements allow it
to be splashed, but barely and it is far better
if both colors are well represented which
requires quite a bit of luck. It is more likely
to sit in the sidedeck, though if reasonable it
is a card worth considering.
Ashen Rider is one of those creatures that WOTC
likes to build that has a drawback built into
the mana cost. I am actually glad that WOTC
makes some of the powerful cards with difficult
mana costs. If Ashen Rider was let’s say… 6 mana
then it would have a $40-50 price tag. What is
keeping Ashen Rider from becoming trade binder
candy? The mana cost and the fact that
Reanimation decks are down in Standard right
now. Casual players should be going bonkers over
this card. There are so many older cards that
can take full advantage of Ashen Rider. This
card has the power to easily change a game in
your favor! So, go out and get some Ashen Riders
and start experimenting!
