The first time I read this card, I was so busy
reading its text that I almost didn't notice
that it has the same cost and power/toughness
stats as Alpha Tyrranax. Such cards are
sometimes seen more in limited than constructed,
but of course most of them don't have so much
game text. It may seem superfluous to get a
cheap creature when you already have a 6/5, but
some three-mana creatures have pretty crazy
stats, and you get pure card advantage when you
search for something like Reclamation Sage. (I
promised I'd try not to mention Eternal Witness,
but I think I just failed.)
Today's card of the day is Woodland Bellower
which is a six mana Green
6/5 that allows you to put a three mana cost or
lower non-Legendary Green creature from your
deck into play. This is a very powerful
effect on an otherwise vanilla big creature with
a high mana cost, so it is unlikely to see play
outside of Commander or some Multiplayer builds.
There are many other Green creatures at six mana
in Standard alone that can offer more impact
when they hit play which doesn't leave much room
for the Bellower.
In Limited this is a very effective threat both
as a big creature and for searching out an
additional threat with Managorger Hydra and
Orchard Spirit being just two of the stronger
options available in format. A solid first
pick in Booster or starting point for a Green
deck in Sealed that does require drafting some
Green creatures at three mana or lower.
Today's pick is a 6/5 for 6 which fetches a
3-drop or less (non-legendary) green creature. I
hate that clause, because it comes in the same
set as the dual-faced planeswalkers, and it's
hard enough to get nissa to flip, so this
would've made her much more of a... i'm getting
off topic here. Anyway. 3-drops. There's plenty
of good green non-legend 3-drops. Tarmogoyf
comes to mind if you're thinking of power, any
number of mana dorks, fixers or fetchers for
ramp, and well, that's more or less it when it
comes to 3-drop green. I'm sure one of my
collegues will point out something I missed that
might break the card, but so it goes. It's a
nice card.
