Double strike and trample is an absolutely
devastating combination - technically, this card
kills in two uninterrupted attacks, just like a
Darksteel Colossus. That alone would make Atarka
worthy of deck space . . . well, basically
anywhere, but like the other legendary dragons
in Fate Reforged, she hints at more frightening
things to come. Her colors make her the most
immediately applicable, as things like Chameleon
Colossus and Dragonshift become absolutely
ridiculous with her around. And, as with the
legendary dragons we looked at the other week, I
strongly recommend searching the next set for
the dragons in their colors that are no doubt
coming. I have a feeling there's going to be a
firestorm - and we won't have to wait six
seasons or a thousand pages!
Today's card of the day is Atarka, World Render
which is a Legendary seven mana Red and Green
6/4 with Flying, Trample, and whenever a dragon
under your control attacks it gains Double
Strike until end of turn.
This is a little high in mana cost, but is
devastating offensively with Double Strike and
Trample ensuring that damage will hit the
opponent.
The lack of Haste is the biggest issue, so a
deck that offers support of external Haste,
power increasing effects, and preferably some
additional dragons can be quite viable in
Casual, Multiplayer, or even Commander with this
as a finisher. The mana cost and lack of Haste
makes it a bit too slow for Competitive, even
with the raw power it can generate and it is
likely only going to see play in other settings.
In Limited this is a clear first pick in
Booster that should dominate any game it which
it sees play. Twelve damage attached to combat
priority, evasion, and Trample is as good as it
gets and this can not be reasonably passed. If
this is in the Sealed pool it forces the colors,
even if splashed, as it is just top of the line
power that has no real drawback. As in
Constructed formats the same support is
beneficial, but is not necessary if unavailable
as it should win or be close enough without any
additional help.
This is a flippin' 6/4 double striking, flying,
trampling dragon! If you happen to have any
other dragons, they get double strike, too!
What's not to like?
Oh, yeah - the seven casting cost. Seven is the
line where a card better be pretty
groundbreaking to justify playing it. But, the
World Render is a 6/4 DOUBLE STRIKING, FLYING,
TRAMPLING DRAGON! Isn't that good enough?
Possibly. If your opponent doesn't have a quick
way to deal with this, it's at least 12 points
of damage coming to them through the air, and
that's a pretty quick clock. It's also green
which is the color of mana acceleration.
Beyond having enough mana to cast a seven drop,
the second concern with costing so much is how
devastating it can be when someone destroys it
before you can use it. With double strike, it's
not going to be easy to kill in combat, so it
has that going for it, and the four toughness
keeps it away from Lighting Strike and Bile
Blight, but lots of other kill spells can take
it out for much less than 7 mana.
I can see some potential for this being good,
but it's far from a sure thing. I'm considering
throwing one in my Green devotion deck that
splashes red. It's going to be fun to play
Xenagos, the Reveler one turn, then Atarka the
next and attack with a 12/10 HASTY, double
striking, flying, trampler! How's that for a
surprise?
In casual, it's a dragon. It's going to be
popular. In draft, it's a bomb. In multiplayer,
it's going to have a huge target on its back, so
it probably won't last long.
