I wish more cards with Kicker worked like this--
paying the kicker cost doesn't add an extra
bonus, it removes a drawback. This makes the
unkicked version very efficient when you need to
curve out, and the kicked version a late-game
backbreaker. For five mana, getting a 3/5 flier
will secure the board pretty solidly in most
cases, and filtering three cards is a very nice
benefit-- remember, you get to choose the three
worst cards in your hand to discard, so you
pretty much always end up with a better hand
than you had (and at worst, got rid of three
dead cards on top of your library). But for two
more mana, if you can wait, you get to DRAW
three instead of just filtering three. That's a
huge advantage, and Zendikar-era control decks
LOVED running this guy.
I was a little surprised we didn't review this
guy back when we did a lot of other cards from
Zendikar. I think some people saw him as being
overshadowed, by Jace the Mind Sculptor in terms
of drawing cards or by Sphinx of Jwar Isle as a
control finisher. Neither is entirely fair, in
my opinion. Jace is rightly banned from polite
Magic, and Sphinx of Lost Truths can block just
as effectively as almost any other of his
species and end games almost as well. Even if
you can't afford or choose not to pay the kicker
cost, a deck that plays a five-mana Sphinx
probably has dead cards to spare, and digging
deeper into your deck is never a bad thing. The
ability to have a finisher or a card-drawing
engine or both, at will, is one that I'm
genuinely surprised has been underestimated in
his case.
Today's card of the day is Sphinx of Lost
Truths which is a five mana
3/5 with Flying, Kicker for two, and has you
draw three cards when it comes into play then
discard three cards if the Kicker was not paid.
Seven mana for a 3/5 with evasion and a built in
Concentrate is quite efficient, if a bit costly
outside of control or Multiplayer. If needed it
can be played for five, though having dead
weight in hand makes that a much better option.
Overall this is a decent card with some draw
power, even with the discard, though the higher
mana cost to maximize the effect and lower
offensive power makes it an unlikely choice for
most decks.
In Limited this is a bomb and amazing topdeck
later in the game that can turn almost any
situation where you have a decent supply of
available mana to your advantage. The evasive
body and card draw, even if not Kicked, are
major benefits and it is an easy first pick in
Booster. In Sealed it is best to have about half
the deck or more in Blue to improve the chances
of casting, with or without the Kicker, as early
as possible.
