We haven't seen Nekrataal for a while, other
than in the Jace vs. Vraska duel decks. I know
he's always been a very strong and even feared
creature, but in certain ways I find Bearer of
Silence even more potentially disruptive. There
are decks that can't ever beat a re-used
Nekrataal (I like to pair him with Stonecloaker),
but Bearer of Silence has a more relevant
creature type (where "relevant" means
"bestriding Modern like a colossus"), and
getting the effect when you cast it means that
even Remove Soul won't save the opponent's
creature. I'd been wondering where the Zendikari
auramancers and their Totem Armor went for the
Gatewatch war, but of course those would have
struggled against this guy too. He's just one of
the strongest aggressive black creatures I've
seen in a while, Eldrazi or otherwise.
This little guy comes with a "not quite kicker"
effect that lets you optionally make your
opponent sack a creature in addition to your
cheap, aggressively-priced flying beatstick. If
you don't pay it, it's still an efficient and
on-curve creature to throw out. Later in the
game, the extra rider lets it retain its
relevance. I've said time and time again how I
love cheap creatures that are still relevant in
the late game, so this gets my stamp of
approval.
...I really hope this is the last Eldrazi we
review. For at least two years. The novelty has
just about run its course. This card isn't
terrible, though it doesn't target (both a
positive and a negative) mid/late-game, it's
bad. Early, it's okay.
