A 3/3 with vigilance is a decent way to hold
down the board. There's a lot of 2/3's in Theros
block, it seems. If I were running white but not
red, I'd add this in if I needed another
creature and never regret it. If I did have red,
however, I'd be more likely to run it if I had a
lot of creatures, to best exploit that
board-wide pump. It's not the best ability--
Inner-Flame Igniter already showed us all how
gamebreaking it really isn't. But then, Lorwyn
block didn't have quite so many combat tricks in
the format-- leaving 4RR up now might just mean
all your guys get +2/+0 (which is nothing to
laugh off) or it might mean a Lightning Strike,
a Gods Willing, and all your guys get +1/+0.
Also Inner-Flame Igniter had to deal with the
fact that a balls-to-the-wall Elves deck existed
and he wasn't in it. Akroan Phalanx here slots
nicely into the WR Heroic deck that everybody
seems to want to build.
The obvious use for creatures that look and
carry numbers like Akroan Phalanx is in limited,
and it's undeniably strong there. Anything that
makes your vast herd of creatures better than
your opponent's vast herd is worth playing. But
that almost feels like thinking too small: the
old fogey in me sees an ability with a mana cost
but no tap ability and thinks "Mana Flare". You
might use Nykthos or Bloom Tender or such, but
the principle is the same. Bonus points for
following up with Aggravated Assault (note the
vigilance on Akroan Phalanx!).
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
a solid limited card but pretty underwhelming
elsewhere. In all constructed formats don’t play
it. With that out of the way in casual boros
decks this creature is decent, a 3/3 vigilant
body is solid and has a pump ability that could
be relevant. In limited this creature is pretty
solid, it provides a decent body for the cost
and it provides a nice combat trick and and way
to push through damage. Overall this card has a
little casual power but is mostly suited for
limited. A short review, sweet and to the point.
Today's card of the day is Akroan Phalanx which
is a four mana 3/3 White with Vigilance and for
three (including one Red) grants all creatures
you control +1/+0 until end of turn. A
four mana 3/3 with Vigilance isn't overly
impressive, though it is helped by the human and
soldier types fitting many support cards.
The effect isn't new, seen in Red and Boros
before, and is decent to support a Red/White
swarm design for a final push in the middle to
late stages of a game. Overall this is a
playable if not overly impressive card for decks
with White and Red mana and may see slots in
some human or soldier builds with a Boros
aspect.
In Limited this is a strong early pick for White
in Booster that gets a bit better when played
with Red, but isn't a requirement as a four mana
3/3 with Vigilance is solid in the format.
There is no reason for a deck using White in
Sealed to sideboard this as it delivers value
for the mana cost and with any source of Red
mana it adds even more.
Akroan Phalanx is a creature with a simple
body, but it has strong abilities. Vigilance is
really good in Limited formats. Akroan Phalanx’s
second ability mixes well with Vigilance and
could be even better with First Strike. There
are obviously better options out there than
Akroan Phalanx, but that doesn’t mean that this
card is not playable. In a Draft, Akroan Phalanx
can be a game starter and a game finisher!
