When a card displaces an Elf lord from an Elf
deck, you know something scary is going on.
Bitterblossom is like Phyrexian Arena for tempo
decks, and may in fact be even stronger in the
abstract, since the Arena is so much slower,
requires you to spend mana to cast the cards you
draw, and gives you a random card instead of a
reliable 1/1 Faerie. Since none of those points
I just said are actually disadvantages in the
kinds of decks that want Phyrexian Arena, you
can imagine just how crazy Bitterblossom
actually gets. Don't forget, either, that Scion
of Oona doesn't specify that only "Faerie
creatures" gain shroud . . .
Today's card of the day is Bitterblossom which
is a Black two mana Tribal Faerie enchantment
that at the beginning of your upkeep puts a
1/1 Black token with Flying into play and you
lose one life. This was an extremely
popular card when it was in Standard and remains
a fairly common sight in other formats.
Supported with cards like Bad Moon or Scion of
Oona this is a huge advantage in battlefield
presence and maintains a constant evasive threat
or defense if needed. The loss of life can
be mitigated with Lifelink, life drain effects,
or preferably the concept of the best defense
being a stronger offense. This shines
brightest in a Blue/Black tribal build, but many
Black decks can and do take advantage of a
steady supply of tokens.
One of the best enchantments of the game, at
least in my opinion. pinging yourself for mini
fliers is great for building a small army of
chump blockers or even just for flying damage.
need to sac a creature for an effect? well, play
this card. Just want a way to constantly
maintain board presence? play this. It's one of
those cards that doesn't need to be read more
than once to see just how good it really is.
