A solid body that comes down early (if you can
manage the color requirements), helps bolster
the rest of your team, and... nerfs your
opponents' reanimator strategy? Why? I mean,
it's not a drawback, but it seems awfully random
and doesn't mesh with anything else the card is
trying to do. Does this have some reference to
the storyline? Are we even still doing
storylines for non-planeswalkers? If so, where
do we read them?
There are a number of mechanical reasons to put
Anafenza in a deck. Her power and toughness
compare favorably to basically any creature of
any color, with only things like Doran (who
specializes in combat and has no other
abilities) and Tarmogoyf (who's widely
considered to be a literal design mistake)
coming close. Her ability that triggers on
attack provides a boost to other attackers
that's difficult to address, short of removing
both the other creature and her. In some
settings, her second ability that exiles dying
creatures can shut down entire decks, making her
an analogue of Samurai of the Pale Curtain with
a much faster beatdown clock (and not that much
harder to cast in the modern era). It's hard to
make a deck that takes advantage of both at
once. But either one by itself is powerful
enough that you'll be glad she's around when you
need it.
Also, is it just me, or is her chariot being
pulled by one of the goats from Nobilis of War's
art? It's a little distracting.
Today's card of the day is Anafenza, the
Foremost which is a three mana White, Black, and
Green 4/4 Legendary that when it attacks puts a
+1/+1 counter on another tapped creature and
exiles creature cards if they would be placed in
an opposing graveyard. This is a solid
card for a very specific deck design that also
has two supported types in human and soldier.
The color requirement will keep this out of most
decks and the effects aren't enough to really
design around, but if playing a deck with the
colors anyway it is a strong addition as a three
mana 4/4 and both effects can be quite
beneficial.
In Limited the color requirement is a notable
drawback, but the three mana 4/4 body and +1/+1
counters it produces make it quite viable in the
format. The second effect has some uses,
though it is very situational and unlikely to
make an impact in most games. In Booster
this is a risky and somewhat weak first pick as
it demands three colors to draft while not
offering equally valuable field presence.
For Sealed it is definitely worth including if
two of the colors are strong and the third is a
compelling splash, though by itself it is not
enough to force the design around.
A 3/3 for 4 already gets some high marks. The
color requirement is a bit strict, and even in
decks with all the fancy new lands, there are
going ot be times when you can't get the colors
quick enough, so that is a real concern. But
once you do get him out, he gives an improved
battle cry to your team. And since Abzan is the
clan of +1/+1 counters on creatures that give
benefits to all other +1/+1 creatures, you can
give your team first strike or flying or
deathtouch pretty quickly without having to
waste time using the outlast ability. Anafenza's
the kind of creature that your opponent must
deal with quickly or things will get out of
hand!
