This style of destruction is perhaps not as
blatantly strong as we're used to from
old-school staples like Wrath of God and
Obliterate, but it has a place and its own uses.
How many decks do you really know that will
consistently have the full four permanents in
play after you cast Cataclysmic Gearhulk? Since
you'll presumably be playing white, it's also
scarily easy to break the symmetry and/or defend
yourself against what your opponent does keep -
think Tamiyo, Ghostly Prison, and Mystifying
Maze.
As the name might suggest, Cataclysmic Gearhulk
is...well, a Cataclysm. It's pretty much a shot
of the infamous Exodus board wipe, minus the
ability to hit lands, which is probably "better"
in that regard. In exchange for that (and the
ability to let you keep planeswalkers), you get
a 4/5 with vigilance, which is not too bad a
deal.
I think Cataclysmic Gearhulk might be the
Gearhulk with the hardest time finding a home,
though. It's pretty much a board wipe, but white
likes to try and go "wide" in building up a
massive army to throw at them. If you are
behind, though, it'll get you back into the game
in a hurry, as you'd expect from clearing out
their board. And it can then proceed to smash
their face in (and ward off attempts by them to
do the same, thanks to vigilance).
