I like the new formatting on modal spells. I
also like the versatility of Charms. And I
really like answers to artifacts and
enchantments that aren't "dead cards" if you're
opponent doesn't have any. No matter when you
draw Sultai Charm, you'll find a use for it. You
may be tempted to hold onto it if you know that
your opponent has an enchantment or multicolored
bomb card, or you might cash it in now for some
extra draw. If your opponent is currently
threatening you with a monocolored monster, you
may be forced to draw two and discard just to
hope for an answer. And that's the way Charms
should be-- versatile, but not able to answer
absolutely everything.
Multicolored charms are interesting. The
benefits they offer you have little cost in most
environments, as stable three-color decks have
become more and more common over time. Sultai
Charm is the sort of versatile answer that makes
or breaks control decks: the ability to remove
three different types of permanents, basically
universally, or draw extra cards at will is a
level of versatility that most decks never know.
If the question about multicolored decks has
moved away from "which combinations can I play?"
and towards "what does each combination offer
me?", Sultai Charm is the strongest argument
possible for its colors.
Today's card of the day is Sultai Charm which
is a three mana Black, Green, and Blue instant
with three choices of effect. The first
destroys a target mono-colored creature, which
is nice and comparable to Black removal cards.
The second destroys a target artifact or
enchantment which shores up the first effect by
adding artifact creatures and other targets of
note. The third effect allows you to draw
two cards and then discard a card which is
situational, though both the draw and discard
can be useful to arrange the hand or graveyard.
Overall this is similar to many of the charms
that have come before by being flexible and
offering something for nearly any scenario,
though the very specific mana cost keeps this to
being a part of a small selection of decks.
In Limited the three colors required is the
biggest drawback, but if using two the third is
probably worth splashing for the versatile
removal this offers. A possible first pick
in Booster with a weak rare and an easy second
or third choice if matched to a multicolor rare
first pick. In Sealed the value is
dependent on the pool as at least two of the
colors need to be viable, though forcing this
into the deck is tempting for the removal it
still needs to be reliably cast to be of any
use.
As has become the trend in multicolor sets, we
have a cycle of charms in Khans of Tarkir. All
of them cost three mana - one of each of the
colors the clan represents. The good thing about
these charms is the versatility they provide. If
only one of the options is useful, you can
usually find a more efficient way to achieve
that effect, but the flexibility to use
whichever of the three is more relevant at the
time is why these charms are so good.
The Sultai charm presents three useful
abilities. Most games are going to have
momocolored creatures, though less so now in
Khans. Cards that destroy artifacts or
enchantments are usually relegated to the
sideboard, but since we have other options on
the charm, it provides a reasonable way to deal
with them main board. Finally, if neither of the
other is relevant at the time, you can cycle
through a couple cards and get rid of something
less important in your hand, or even put
something in the graveyard that you want there.
None of these effects are amazing in their own
right, but the draw two discard one - at instant
speed - is never useless, so that adds a lot of
value to this card.
