There's a lot of things to like about Scuttling
Doom Engine. They managed to find a way to give
a six-mana creature an evasive ability without
making it either entirely dominating or mostly
irrelevant (like if it had deathtouch). A death
trigger is an interesting incentive for its
being more fragile than many six-mana creatures,
though I'd argue that almost every creature with
six power is at least a little good, no matter
what its game text reads.
The number nine card of the year is Scuttling Doom
Engine which is a six mana 6/6 artifact that
can't be blocked by creatures with power two or
less and when it dies it deals six damage to
target opponent. This is a very solid
aggressive threat that can work for any color
deck and has a combat effect that is often
superior to Trample as it prevents multiple
smaller creatures from teaming up to destroy it.
Another concern for an opponent looking to
respond to it is the six damage dealt when it
dies which can be avoided with an exile, bounce,
or return to library effect if your own
sacrifice option isn't available. Overall
this is a very strong card for the cost that can
fit into many different designs including burn,
artifact, or mono-Black sacrifice which should
have it see play across a variety of formats and
settings.
In Limited this is a very strong first pick in
Booster that fits into any build and has no real
drawback as even if it is destroyed it deals
considerable damage to your opponent. The
prevention of lower power creatures from
blocking it is a huge benefit as well and it
should always be included in the typically
multicolor Sealed decks when in the pool.
Aside from having a very cool name, Scuttling
Doom Engine is a very powerful card. First off,
he's a 6/6 for 6. Magic has a big history of 6/6
for six, so this puts him in good company, and
as an artifact, he can be cast in any deck -
sounds a little like a certain Wurmcoil Engine
that was pretty popular back in Scars of
Mirrodin. Like Wurmcoil, he even does something
useful when he dies.
While I still think I'd rather have Mr. Wurmcoil,
the Doom Engine has something Wurmcoil doesn't:
He laughs at players that want to stall the game
with chump blockers and walls. While I've yet to
pull it off, I think it would be great fun to
attack with the Doom Engine, hit for six, then
sacrifice him to a Shrapnel Blast, dealing five
from the blast and six more when the Engine hits
the graveyard. Seventeen damage in a turn? Not
too shabby. Surely you've got a way to deal
three more, if they haven't already done it to
themselves with lands.
