Today's card of the day is Leonin Scimitar which is a one mana equipment with an equip cost of one that gives +1/+1. This is an unimpressive, yet not terrible card that could be used to supplement an equipment theme by having low mana costs. There are drastically better cards, such as Flayer Husk, but if necessary this can be used alongside that or in Commander.

In a Limited that includes this it is a playable card in any deck and there is no reason not to include it in any Sealed build as a low cost and reusable enhancement. For Booster this is a reasonable pick if there are no efficient creatures or removal options and there are few situations where this wouldn't have some value.

Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 2.5
Limited: 3.0
Multiplayer: 2.5

Leonin Scimitar

When evaluating a card, one of the tools many people use is something called the "vanilla test". With creatures, this means to look at the power and toughness compared to the casting cost. If there were no abilities, would this creature be worth playing? Generally, the standard is a 1/1 for 1 mana, 2/2 for 2 mana, 3/3 for 3 mana and so forth. This is the baseline to measure creature against.

Well, the vanilla test is harder with other types of cards, but I think Leonin Scimitar sets the baseline standard for what a playable equipment is. It's not exciting, but it does what it does fairly efficiently. Any equipment that does less for the same cost would be almost worthless. Any equipment that costs more to do the same thing is overpriced.

In constructed formats, a card right at this vanilla threshold will not make the cut. There are enough cards that are "above the curve" that people will use them before something like this scimitar. It's not very exciting, so casual players are not likely to want to play this. In limited is where cards meeting the vanilla test are played the most. An additional 1/1 to a creature can make a real difference in a limited environment.

Constructed: 2
Casual: 2
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 2

Welcome back to Weapons Week!

Today's weapon: Scimitar
Trivia: Scimitars originated from Central Asia, but were popularized by the Persians. The curved blade made it ideal as a slashing weapon instead of for thrusting or stabbing, and so it excelled while being used from horseback.

Ah, Leonin Scimitar.

Leonin Scimitar is a marked drop in power from the last two cards we looked at. It doesn't do anything over the top or dramatic. It doesn't single-swordedly win games. But I don't care. It's awesome and beautiful and I love it.

Leonin Scimitar was the first piece of equipment I ever saw. Heck it was one of the first pieces of equipment there ever was! It was amazing, back then, to see it and realize the implications of this new type of card. An Enchant Creature spell (the term "Aura" hadn't been invented yet)... but I can move it wherever I want? And it doesn't disappear when the creature it's on dies? What power! What versatility! This +1/+1 bonus will be around for the entire game, and I can just throw it onto whichever creature I want to have it for a mere 1 mana!

Such were the times, back then. Leonin Scimitar never really made a big splash though. A +1/+1 bonus was nice, but just not strong enough. People would rather pay slightly more mana for a much greater effect. Heck for 1 more mana you could just play Glorious Anthem and give ALL of your guys +1/+1. But Leonin Scimitar wasn't really just about the +1/+1, it was more about helping out cards that cared if they were equipped with something or not.

Lots of cards back then - like Loxodon Punisher, Auriok Steelshaper, and Auriok Glaivemaster - gave big bonuses for being equipped with something. Even more recent stuff like Kor Duelist and Kitesail Apprentice have kept the trend alive. And there are very few cards that will help you trigger their bonuses so cheaply. 1 to cast and 1 to equip is some of the least expensive you'll find, but the problem is that even THESE cards didn't care that much about Leonin Scimitar. Some decks did, but they'd usually rather have something a bit stronger, or if they wanted something cheap more likely it would be Lightning Greaves.

Leonin Scimitar is still one of my favourite cards, but not for its raw power. For its art. Look at that sword! Imagine holding something that looked like that in real life! It's probably one of the nicest looking blades I've ever seen. Look at the detail, the lines, the craftsmanship that would have had to go into a weapon like that. It's honestly a shame that a weapon which looks that nice, that stunning, was given the Magic stats of merely +1/+1. And there are so few scimitars in Magic, too. Only 3, and the other two are also underwhelming. Magic DESERVES a powerful scimitar card, especially with how popular curved blades are in fantasy fiction and literature.

C'est la vie.

Join us tomorrow for yet even more Weapons Week!

Constructed: 2
Casual: 2.5
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 2