David Fanany
Player since
1995 |
Hymn to Tourach
There are very few cards that have been imitated
more than Hymn to Tourach; Lightning Bolt and
the original dual lands spring to mind, but
there aren't many at all. With good reason - it
is one of the most iconic cards from Fallen
Empires and certainly the most enduring. Like
almost every black card, it becomes much better
when Dark Ritual is also available, but in this
case it's not by quite as much as with some.
Even the second turn is pretty early to face the
threat of losing two cards with no answer, and
there's always that fear that it's going to
remove all the lands from your hand and
basically end the game on the spot.
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5
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James H. |
Hymn to Tourach (8/29)
Out of the fairly poor
Fallen Empires, there are maybe
three cards that stand out: High Tide, Goblin
Grenade, and Hymn to Tourach. The last of these
is notorious for being a back-breaking card
early game in any format it’s a part of, and it
had the good fortune to exist alongside Dark
Ritual, to enable a turn 1 Hymn.
For those who aren't familiar, random discard is
probably the most powerful form of discard you
have access to in the early game. What it lacks
in surgical precision, it more than makes up for
by being able to take someone's lands, keeping
them from being able to get going. The caveat is
that Hymn to Tourach has decks where it's a
liability (anything with triggers on discard,
like Loxodon Smiter, Wilt-Leaf Liege, Guerilla
Tactics, and madness cards), and it's pretty
weak later in the game when you need to
precisely pick off a dangerous card. 2 mana for
2 cards is a fair rate of return, though.
Hymn to Tourach remains one of black's most
notorious spells, a lethal discard spell that
can take someone out of the game before they get
a chance to play. It took us almost 20 years to
see a retooled version of it (Whispers of
Emrakul), but the consistency of the original is
still remarkable.
(For those who desire to get their hands on it,
Hymn to Tourach is an uncommon in
Eternal Masters.)
Constructed: 4.25
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3
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