This makes me kind of nostalgic for my own "good
old days" when I played Green/Blue Threshold and
had a singleton of Yavimaya's Embrace. I hardly
ever got to cast it, what with it costing eight
mana, but stealing a creature AND making it more
powerful than it was when the opponent had it?
That's a Timmy's dream! And now the dream lives
again-- Hypnotic Siren here can not only steal a
creature, but grant it flying and +1/+1. That
is, if you're willing to wait until you've got
seven mana. Luckily, it need not sit dead in
your hand until then. It's ready to go as an
evasive 1/1 as early as turn one. And if you do
make it to seven mana, well, you're in blue. You
could always bounce it to your hand, then
re-cast it with Bestow.
I like both halves or "modes" of this card. I
really, really do, but I also fear that they
actually go into very different types of decks,
at least in constructed. It's hard to think of a
deck in a constructed setting that needs a 1/1
flying creature but also reliably reaches seven
mana. Still, it's hard to complain too much
about versatile cards. And in limited, of
course, it's very strong. It can attack on curve
if it needs to, and there are few more
demoralizing responses to activating a
monstrosity ability.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
an unimpressive one drop that gets much better
as a seven drop. In standard hypnotic siren is
quite expensive and doesn’t really do much, a
lot of games your dead before you can use this
card. In slower more controlling match ups it
can be used to steal bombs making it moderately
useful and a very niche card. In other
competitive formats too expensive for a mind
control effect. In casual and multiplayer this
card is pretty good, it can be used early to get
some damage in or most likely block. It can
steal and pump up the most powerful creature on
the board, and afterwards your left with a
little 1/1 flyer a good deal. In limited its
pretty much a bomb, seven drops are expensinsive
but being able to wreck combat and steal their
best creature is worth the cost. Overall a card
with some potential tournament applications and
will definitely be seen around kitchen tables
and a solid limited card.
Today's card of the day is Hypnotic Siren which
is a one mana Blue 1/1 with Flying and a Bestow
cost of seven that also gives you control of the
enchanted creature. As an early game evasive
threat this is viable for a variety of decks and
in a longer game setting it is a late game
changing play that takes and enhances an
opposing creature. An excellent card that will
see play across current formats and likely
widespread usage as other one mana Flying cards
rotate out of Standard.
In Limited this is a great card to have in
Sealed as a one mana 1/1 with evasive and a
potential game-ending shift to the board state.
Beneficial at any stage of the game and easily
managed in a multicolor deck there's no drawback
to having this in your deck. In Booster it is a
solid first pick, but more for the Bestow than
the 1/1 which is more of a backup should it be
in your opening hand with nothing else to play.
I must confess that I'm a little biased
towards this card. I enjoy making tribal decks
of obscure types. Right before Journey Into Nyx
was spoiled, I decided I wanted to make a Siren
tribal deck. I was struggling with it, then this
card was spoiled. Just what I needed!
Trying to be objective now...How good is this
card really?
At worst, this is a 1/1 flying creature for 1
mana. That's certainly not exciting, but is far
from useless. If you're playing a deck with lots
of ways to pump things up, playing this on the
first turn and making it big is a good way to
get some early damage through.
At best, this can steal your opponent's best
creature and make it better by +1/+1 and flying.
In a long game where you get up to 7 mana, this
has the potential to steal the game for you.
Just watch out for instant speed enchantment
removal - they will get their creature back and
leave you with a 1/1 flier!
I'd take this pretty early in limited, though
it's not a guaranteed first pick. Most decks can
use it for one of its two forms.
Versatility is the name of the game, and
that's where this card gets its value.
I really like the design of this card. Bestow
is an interesting mechanic because it provides
an alternate use for your creature cards,
however most of the time it's still for the same
purpose, namely pumping out strong creatures and
attacking. But really I've been finding that
some of the most interesting uses are when you
bestow something onto your opponent's creatures,
usually as a combat trick or, in the case of
this card, something even better.
The great thing about Hypnotic Siren is that
both of its modes are super playable. A 1/1 with
flying for 1 blue mana would see play just for
that alone. It provides a very nice solid
aggressive start in a blue attacking deck, one
that can't be chump blocked or become useless
very easily as soon as the opponent casts a
creature with 2 toughness due to the Siren's
flying. So that alone is pretty nice. Normally,
as we've talked about before, the problem would
then be that such a creature isn't so useful
later in the game when much stronger stuff is
already out. Not so with bestow creatures of
course, and especially not true for the Hypnotic
Siren!
7 mana should do something pretty spectacular
and powerful. It should majorly change the state
of the board in some way, doing something like
wiping out your opponent's stuff or giving you
an extremely powerful attacking creature. Well,
Hypnotic Siren does BOTH of those things, at the
same time!
You get to select the biggest, strongest,
most dangerous creature on your opponent's side
of the field. And then take it. But what if it's
just a vanilla creature, you might ask? Should
you really spend 7 mana just to steal a Cyclops
of One-Eyed Pass that they can block and kill
with a Swordwise Centaur? Absolutely you should.
Because Hypnotic Siren doesn't just lure the
creature to your side, oh no. It also powers up
what you steal, giving it +1/+1 and flying. Now
all the sudden whatever they had is even more
dangerous, and coming right at them. And they
might not have an easy answer for their own best
creature now that it's even bigger and has
evasion.
You'll always find a use for Hypnotic Siren,
be it early game or late game. It'll never be a
dead card in your hand. Expect to see this in
limited, expect to see this in standard, expect
to see this in casual, and maybe even other
formats too. If you play blue and you want to
experience what it's like to go on the offensive
starting right from turn 1, pick up this card.
If it alone doesn't help put you on the path to
winning the game, then it knows where to find a
new creature for you that just might.
