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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Saskia the Unyielding
Image from Wizards.com

Top 10 New MTG Cards of 2016

#1 - Saskia the Unyielding
- Commander 2016

Reviewed Dec. 30, 2016

Ratings:  See Below

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Saskia the Unyielding
 
Saskia, and the rest of the four-color legends from the Commander 2016 supplement, represent a major evolution of that format. In a certain sense they are redundant - you could always use a five-color legend and just omit one color from the rest of your deck. But were you to do so, the chances were that the legend in question wouldn't fit the theme of your deck very well, and you'd always be tempted to include things that worked with it rather than the rest of your deck. Now, it is finally possible to find a commander for literally every color combination, and one that provides a theme or motivation for the deck.
 
I must admit I didn't realize that the idea with these legends was that they are about the exclusion of the fifth color until it was specifically pointed out to me. Kynaios and Tiro, for example, have no black mana in their casting cost, so their game effect is the most unselfish one possible. Saskia has no blue mana in her casting cost, and since blue is the least aggressive color, she is one of the most aggressive creatures ever printed, not so much in the sense of pure efficiency but in the sense of being able to win a multiplayer game by attacking in the conventional manner for creature decks. That aura of uniqueness alone would have put her and the other four-color legends high in the top ten list, and combined with the historical milestone, it puts them deservedly on top.
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Multiplayer: 5/5
EDH/Commander: 5/5
James H.

Saskia, the Unyielding (12/30)

 

Overall rank: 1

My rank: unranked

 

Yes, I left the card that took top honors off my list. I don't regret it.

 

The issue with Saskia is, while she allows you to split your attention between two opponents (or go for the kill on one), she's trying to be a combat-oriented commander for a format where stops to combat are common. She's not great at bailing you out of a bad position, serving better as a "win more". And she's not great outside of Commander, thanks to her awkward color demands and not being blue, the best color in Legacy and Vintage.

 

Saskia is competent in Commander, and she's scary to face off against (especially if they picked you). As far as "best card of the year", though, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.

 

Constructed: 2.25

Casual: 4

Multiplayer: 4.25

Commander: 4.5


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