This guy didn't really look like what I would
have guessed someone with the name "Ojutai"
would. Then again, I'm not a dragon, so what do
I know? When you consider what sorts of decks
commonly play dragons in constructed, and which
colors are in Ojutai's mana cost, he may be the
best positioned of all his Fate Reforged
brethren for that setting. Five power ends games
much faster than either Jace or Elspeth, and his
Frost Titan-esque ability is absolutely brutal
on anybody who's trying to mount a comeback. And
as with Dromoka and Silumgar, the hint of more
dragons to come in his colors is tantalizing for
about a dozen reasons.
Today's card of the day is Ojutai, Soul of
Winter which is a seven mana
5/6 with Flying, Vigilance, and whenever a
dragon you control attacks tap target non-land
permanent of an opponent's and it doesn't untap
in their next untap step. This is a high
cost, but powerful card if supported with other
dragons that can lock down an opposing field.
However, outside of changelings there are very
few dragons in Blue or White with few of them
being playable and none below four mana.
It is a decent creature by itself, but overall
it is unlikely to see much play outside of
Commander with the drawbacks minimizing the
situational advantages.
In Limited this is a 5/6 with evasion and
Vigilance that can just dominate a game
offensively and defensively once it enters play.
Then adding in frost to lock down opposing
threats or potential blockers and you have one
of the strongest cards in the format even with
the slightly higher mana cost and Blue/White
color requirement. An easy first pick in
Booster and very much worth forcing into Sealed
if either White or Blue can support a deck with
the other splashed.
Ojutai is probably my least favorite of the five
multicolored dragons in Fate Reforged. At seven
mana, it's very expensive, and blue and white
are not good at accelerating mana. Plus, there
are so many good strategies in Jeskai colors
right now, I just don't see many reasons for
playing something that costs seven man.
Don't get me wrong, if you do get Ojutai out,
it's going to be a big problem that your
opponent must deal with in a hurry, because
tapping down something every time it attacks is
going to make it very hard to block effectively.
Vigilance is also really big, as you can be
behind in the game, yet still attack and not
leave yourself open.
If I see this in limited, you'd better believe
I'm going to pick it, though it's not a definite
first pick.
