I think this is my favorite card from Born of
the Gods. I think that might have a lot to do
with the fact that it's fun to say "Chromanticore".
Try it! That text box is pretty enticing, too.
(It's kind of funny that Akroma is rapidly
becoming one of the most imitated cards in
Magic, but when you've found something people
like, it's good to give it to them.) The mana
cost sort of encourages you to cheat him into
play (note: Replenish works on him), and
although he doesn't have quite the impact of the
standard reanimation targets, he's very strong
by the standards of a lot of groups while not
being overpowering. Deck diversity in casual
settings thanks him for that.
Today's card of the day is Chromanticore which
is a five total, one of each mana 4/4 with
Bestow for seven and Flying, First Strike,
Vigilance, Trample, and Lifelink. While
the effects are a nice package the 4/4 body is a
bit underwhelming for requiring every color to
cast and the more common tricks to summon it
without paying the cost won't work for Bestow.
Seven mana with five different colors included
is not going to happen in most decks and it is
not strong enough to warrant designing around.
Even with the multiple combat effects the end
result is not going to make an impression in any
format and will only see play in Casual five
color gimmick decks.
In Limited this is one of the last things you
want to open in Sealed as it is a nearly
unplayable mythic rare and absolutely not worth
trying to force into a deck. Unlike some
sets this is not a five or even three color
oriented block and trying to run this is a
terrible idea as outside of Springleaf Drum with
three creatures in play or a lucky Arbiter of
the Ideal trigger the level of color fixing
required is far too great. In Booster this
isn't even worth a rare draft and should always
be passed in favor of an uncommon or decent
common until there is nothing on color or worth
hate drafting.
Chromanticore is just another card that makes
drafting Born of Gods feel like a trip to the
dentist. I actually have a Casual 5 color deck
that now has 2 Chromaticores in it. This
creature/aura is very strong in a casual
setting, but in all other formats it is
terrible. Think about Standard play right now.
How many cards can work with Chromanticore? If
your answer was Zero, then you are correct. No,
Chromantic Lantern does not count! I understand
that we all have access to many dual lands, but
a 5 color deck in Standard is just silly. Maybe
Wizards made this card for casual players and
nobody else. I just wished that they made some
complimentary cards, so Chromanticore isn’t
sitting in the corner all by himself. Overall, I
like this card in my casual deck and that is it.
Happy Friday night Magic!
