I do have a soft spot for creatures that start
off cheap and get insanely large. You wouldn't
necessarily guess it because I use Tarmogoyf
quite infrequently, but that's more because he
got rather overexposed in the late 2000s! Since
Avatar of the Resolute is at its most effective
in a deck that makes heavy use of outlast and
similar abilities, it won't always feel as
necessary, since it's not out of the question
that every creature in your deck might also grow
to be an insane threat. On the other hand, it's
an ideal candidate to receive bonuses from
things like Abzan Falconer, and since outlast
abilities need to be used in lieu of attacking,
it could be wise to include a creature that's
free to attack whenever it can.
Welcome back readers today's card of the day is
a +1/+1 counter based powerhouse. For the low
price of two green mana you receive a 3/2
creature with Reach and Trample two solid
abilities on an aggressive two drop. This
creature has the opportunity to be larger if you
have a bunch of creatures with counters on them.
This card I feel is a solid early drop with some
relevant abilities but can scale quite well into
the later game. In order to make the most of it
you need a way to spread counter son creatures
meaning its a very niche card in order to make
it really worth it you need at least one or two
creatures with counters which can be easily
achievable, the question is it worth it? In
standard I see this as a very niche card the
drawback or potential upside not quite being
worth it to try and go all in on the
counter gimmick. In modern the same concept
applies and this card is serious underpowered
compared to other cheap creatures being
outclassed outside of niche decks. In eternal
formats same concept this card is just too slow
and reliant on other conditions to even come
close to powerful. In casual and
multiplayer this card is fantastic for decks
that rely on putting counters on multiple
creatures and synergizes nicely with the Abzan
counter lord cards. In limited its a solid
aggressive option with a possibility to build
around it to increase the power a solid
creature. Overall a very niche card with some
potential upsides.
Today's card of the day is Avatar of the
Resolute which is a two mana
3/2 Green with Reach, Trample, and it enters the
battlefield with a
+1/+1 counter for each other creature you
control with a +1/+1 counter.
This is a strictly better Garruk's Companion and
blows away Swordwise Centaur. The addition
of Reach gives it some defensive value to
supplement the offensive threat, but the
potential value in a deck using Bolster or +1/+1
counters in general really boost the appeal of
the Avatar. This will be a popular choice
for mono-Green and may break into Green/White
themes to be a low cost potential finisher.
In Limited this is a solid first pick in Booster
even with the double Green as it can be
supported with Bolster or other cards to reach
the levels of bomb rares at a fraction of the
mana cost. The variety of effects adds
value in nearly any situation and aside from not
being easily splashable it should fit in well
with any Sealed deck using a reasonable number
of Green mana sources.
