I have always liked this card, ever since Theros
came out. It reminds me a little of Atlas in
the garden of the Hesperides, which was a fun
side-quest in Hercules' labors. And it's not too
bad in gameplay, either. While there are
situations where it will be a vanilla creature,
there are few cards in recent sets as good at
holding off the dangerous flying creatures that
green has trouble with, and it even gives you a
countermeasure against late-game fliers that
might outclass it or provide dangerous static
abilities. It requires a pretty heavy
investment, but you almost can't consider that a
disadvantage with green cards.
Today's card of the day is Arbor Colossus which
is a five mana Green 6/6 with Reach and
Monstrosity 3 for six mana that also destroys
target opposing creature with Flying. This
is a solid defensive card for Green with high
power and toughness for the cost along with
Reach. Overall the lack of other abilities
holds this back compared to other Green options,
particularly Trample or Hexproof, which prevents
it from replacing more aggressive choices in
existing decks.
In Limited five mana for a 6/6 with no drawback
is a bargain and being able to follow up the
next turn with it being a 9/9 and potentially
destroying a big threat makes this a solid first
pick in Booster even with the triple Green in
the mana cost. Focusing on Green in the
build as half or more of the deck is manageable,
even in Sealed with the right pool, and the
relative ease of having a 9/9 makes it worth the
effort.
Arbor Colossus has turned into one of my sleeper
favorites from Theros. I've had a fair amount of
success with green devotion these past several
months, and he's a key reason why.
A 6/6 for 5 mana is almost always going to be a
good deal. The closest thing he has to a
drawback is the three green in his mana cost,
meaning he's tough to play in the current
environment of Khans wedges, but in a deck that
is mono-green or mostly green, it's no problem,
and can often be a huge benefit when using
Nykthos or one of the gods that needs green to
turn on devotion.
But wait, he's more than just a 6/6 for 5 that
almost single-handedly turns on devotion! He has
reach! And what is one of green's biggest
weaknesses? Dealing with flying creatures! Not
many can withstand the big reaching body of the
colossus, whether he stays a 6/6 blocker or uses
his monstrous ability to knock one directly out
of the sky.
He's seen his share of play, but I'm surprised
we haven't seen him more.
