There's a broad archetype of deck that the
former Pojo writer Abe Sargent used to refer to
as "Sweep and Keep". When playing this strategy,
you generally look for combinations of
damage-based sweepers and creatures with
protection from the relevant color, like
Firespout plus Soltari Priest. Of course, it can
run into problems when opposing creatures are
bigger than your damage cards can handle alone
and/or are the wrong color for protection. I've
always thought that Vigor was a good alternative
and a fresh take on the "Sweep and Keep" style
of deck. Think about it: he protects any of your
creatures from your sweeper, regardless of their
own abilities or color, and makes them even
stronger in the process. He protects any of your
creatures from opposing creatures which may be
bigger, and makes them even stronger in the
process. He requires a lot of green mana, which
gives you an excuse to use powerful creatures
like Troll Ascetic, Ohran Viper, and Obstinate
Baloth. He's a 6/6 who tramples over people,
killing them much faster than Soltari Priest and
more safely than Earthquake. I can't think of
anything not to like about those things.
Today's card of the day is Vigor which is a six
mana Green 6/6 with Trample that prevents damage
to your other creatures and turns it into
+1/+1 counters and Vigor gets shuffled into the
library if sent to the
graveyard. Supported with effects to
protect Vigor itself this can offer a huge
advantage in a game and it works very well in
Commander,
Multiplayer, or an acceleration build.
Even if the effect only kicks
in once on a mass damage spell cast yourself it
is well worth it and can power up a force into a
game winning alpha strike.
In Limited a 6/6 with Trample for six is a first
pick in many packs, but with the added effects
it is an automatic first pick in Booster that
can easily win games. In Booster the three
Green can be a little more difficult to manage
and the pool may not be strong enough, but if
necessary it can carry a fairly weak pool.
