Having answers for artifacts and enchantments is
helpful. Having them lie dead in your hand
because your opponent hasn't shown you one yet
isn't. This is a nice compromise, and it's a
2-for-1 when you can get it. Not worth playing
when you can't hit an artifact or enchantment,
but at least you CAN cast it if you need a body
on the field.
If nobody else has mentioned Viridian Shaman, I
will do so briefly. This is basically the exact
same card as that staple of the ought decade,
minus one toughness and plus the ability to hit
enchantments. That's probably an upgrade
overall, since there are a lot of times you'll
be either using it as a silver bullet with
something like Chord of Calling or using it as a
weapon against a combo or control deck where the
disadvantage is less relevant.
And as an aside, I rather like that we're seeing
the effect from the point of view of the golem
or whatever it is the shaman is destroying.
Unusual perspectives of that type make the art
seem more fantastic and exciting.
Today's card of the day is Reclamation Sage
which is a three mana Green
2/1 with an optional enters the battlefield
effect of destroying target artifact or
enchantment. Not being forced to use the
effect is a notable benefit as it allows more
freedom in timing and deck design.
Overall this should be a popular sidedeck choice
for Green, particularly elf tribal builds, as it
adds a 2/1 creature to a Naturalize effect for
just one additional mana.
In Limited this is a major bargain that is an
easy second or third pick in Booster, or even
first in a weak pack, and in Sealed should
always be played when running Green. It is
one of the few removal options available, plus
the two for one aspect of including a creature
only adds to the value.
For Multiplayer at least one opponent will have
something to target with the effect and a 2/1 at
the cost of instant speed is well worth it for
the efficiency in improving your own relative
board position.
Green has never been short of ways to deal with
artifacts and enchantments. The standard
Naturalize costs 2 mana, and there have been all
kinds of variants over the years that give an
added benefit for an added cost. The extra cost
of getting a 2/1 creature for one more mana is
one of the better ones.
While a 2/1 creature isn't going to win many
games on its own, it can provide another blocker
against an aggressive deck or a slow clock
against a deck with few creatures. Another
benefit of this being a creature is that you
have the potential of it entering the
battlefield multiple times if you can blink it
or bring it back from the grave.
In limited, there aren't a whole lot of
enchantments and artifacts to be concerned
about, but since's he's a 2/1 creature, it's
probably worth playing at least one of these
guys anyway, in case they do have one.
