Bloodsoaked Champion has a name and concept that
could almost have been in Theros, and ability
text that is attractive for many aggressive
black decks. It's neither as universal or as
versatile as some of the legends of black's
aggressive cards, and really needs to be cast
early in the game to do much at all, but in the
right decks it will do a ton of damage and
require specific cards to be dealt with for
good. Mardu's higher-than-expected (well, for me
anyway) number of cards involving tokens also
give you a way to ensure that its raid ability
is "on" more frequently than it might look at
first glance.
Today's card of the day is Bloodsoaked Champion
which is a one mana Black 2/1 that can't block
and has Raid for two mana that returns it from
the graveyard to the battlefield if you attacked
with a creature that turn. This is very
much like Bloodghast and will definitely be a
popular addition to Black decks going forward.
A one mana 2/1, even with the drawback, is
useful in Black and the easily triggered return
to play effect is well worth the two mana cost
each activation. This will see a great
deal of play across formats, including the
competitive levels.
In Limited nearly any one mana creature is
useful and a 2/1 for that cost that can return
from the grave is an automatic inclusion
whenever using the color in Sealed. For
Booster it is a strong and efficient first pick,
even with the drawback and trigger condition.
This latest version of the black creature that
comes back from the graveyard over and over
again. Usually, these have been pretty popular,
most recently with Gravecrawler. As a 2/1 for 1,
he fits in aggressive decks very well. The 1
toughness means he will die easily, but if he
dies in combat, you can bring him back second
main phase for 2 mana.
I played a game just the other day that showed
the strength and weakness of the Champion. My
opponent played a Bloodsoaked Champion on turn
1. Turn 2, he attacked with it, (I had no
blockers yet) then second main phase, he played
2 more Champions! I was able to get a couple
small blockers, but he was able to keep getting
his creatures back turn after turn. He had me
all the way down to 4 life before I was able to
get enough creatures big enough to hold off his
attacks. At that point, he was unable to find
any larger creatures, and my creatures quickly
overran him. The point to the story is that
Bloodsoaked Champion is a great early game
creature, but its inability to block and its
small size means it will get quickly
outclassed.
I like this card! Stats of 2/1 is a great value
for a 1-drop. It's self-revival ability makes up
for the blocking restriction. Of course it costs
mana, but it gives you something to do in turns
which you play conservatively.
