Snakeform

This is a pretty excellent example of the kind of removal green and blue should get. They can't outright kill a creature, but Snakeform makes a creature much easier to kill. Green is all about killing creatures by having bigger creatures, and this makes that happen even when your mana ramp isn't getting you a turn four 10/10. Blue is all about waiting for the right window of opportunity and disabling your offenses by causing the magic behind them to fail, and this can rob a creature of the toughness and abilities that you need it not to have for a turn. Of course, you still need to combo it with something for it to end a creature permanently-- be it a pinger, or a strong block, or even some sort of Night of Souls' Betrayal situation, but the fact that it's a cantrip means you're not actually spending an extra card to do so. There's a reason Snakeform saw so much more play than Diminish did despite the lower mana cost making it easier to hold open mana for Diminish.

Constructed- 4
Casual- 4.5
Limited- 4.5
Multiplayer- 4.5

Snakeform
I've never been one who gets overly excited about "this block's straight Lightning Bolt variant"; fortunately, Shadowmoor and Eventide had a lot of cards that didn't really fit into any such box. For example, Snakeform added a new dimension to both green and blue decks, one which is often as effective as Terror when combined with other, widely used cards in each color. It's not even really easy to say that you'd never want it even if you are in a color combination that allows Path to Exile or Lightning Bolt, but they do different things - for example, Snakeform is effective in multiplayer settings where you want to mess with two opponents who are fighting each other. Plus that snake is just adorable.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5

Today's card of the day is Snakeform which is a three mana Green or Blue instant that turns target creature into a 1/1 Green snake with no abilities and you draw a card. Even though this requires the target to be in combat or another effect to finish the job it is a solid removal option, particularly for Green which has fewer choices. Overall the removal of abilities, types, and natural colors with the added bonus of replacing itself in hand will keep this a popular sight in Modern, Casual, and Commander for a long time.

In Limited this is a great early pick in Booster as most worthwhile targets will be involved in combat regularly, though it does necessitate having a creature of your own as well. For Sealed this easily fits into any Blue or Green deck and is enough to consider splashing in if other removal options are lacking.

Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4.0
Multiplayer: 3.5

Some of the common themes you'll hear in these Card of the Day reviews is that versatility wins games. Card advantage wins games. Efficiency wins games.

Well, Snakeform has all of the above in spades. And it's my favourite card in the game.

It took a while of thinking, when I sat down and really considered it. There are a lot of cards I like just for how good they are in my decks (Brave the Elements, Wilt-Leaf Liege, Primalcrux), a lot of cards I like purely for their amazing art (Reya Dawnbringer, Tormented Angel, Mox Sapphire), a lot of cards I like for their awesome flavour text (Razorfoot Griffin, Sea Monster, Pearled Unicorn), and even cards I like for their major roles in the Magic storylines and novels of old (Golgothian Sylex, Legacy Weapon, Mirari).

But out of all the cards I've ever played, Snakeform has always been the most *fun* to cast. It's just so good! It's basically a form of removal - super removal, I'd even say - that also draws you a card. Does Lightning Bolt draw you a card? Does Doom Blade? The other wow factor is the surprise value. Nobody ever sees Snakeform coming! Not the first time, anyway. Since when does mono-green have removal? Since when can blue/red get rid of something strong without lots of burn or bounce? The flexibility in Snakeform's mana cost doesn't just mean you can play it in green/blue, or just green or just blue. You can play it in anything with even the slightest HINT of green or blue in it.

For 3 mana, this lets you deal with things that are hard for even regular removal to kill. Snakeform can get rid of Darksteel Colossus. It can rid of those pesky indestructible Gods in creature form. It can get rid of Wurmcoil Engine without giving the opponent the two 3/3s. It can get rid of Avacyn, Angel of Hope AND turn off her "everything's indestructible" shield so you can take out other stuff as well. It can turn the strongest swing from a Demon of Death's Gate or Ludevic's Abomination or Withengar Unbound into a light gentle tap. It can turn off Sliver interactions. It can prevent tribal bonuses. It stops abilities that trigger when the creature dies. And it does it all in colours that don't have access to things like Path to Exile, or Day of Judgment, or Unmake, or Doom Blade, or Sever the Bloodline.

And on top of all that, it draws you a card. Green removal, green card draw.

Yeah.

I have literally cast Snakeform on one of my own creatures before, just to draw the card. And sometimes that card was just what I needed to help stabilize or even win the game. There's also something very flavourful about turning a once mighty creature into a powerless ability-less snake, seems like a very green/blue thing to do. And again, simply put it's removal that generates card advantage. Played correctly, they lose something and Snakeform replaces itself, leaving you at +1.

Give it a try. Throw 4 in your deck. See what a well-timed polymorph can do for you.

This is one combat trick that will make you smile.

Constructed: 4
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4