David Fanany
Player since
1995 |
Vampire Nighthawk
It's interesting that black has a miniature
version of the "keyword soup" that Akroma and
Baneslayer Angel made famous. I'm tempted to
recall my favorite flavor text from Alara, which
was Double Negative's "they feared each other
for their differences but were absolutely
terrified by their similarities". Of course, the
lower toughness and lack of explicit protection
abilities make the Nighthawk quite a bit easier
to answer, but conversely, his lower mana cost
mean that he can easily take over a game early
if those answers are not forthcoming. He'd
already be one of the most dangerous black
creatures ever even if there weren't such a
thing as vampire tribal abilities - as it is,
he's one of the most dangerous creatures ever,
of any color.
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5
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James H. |
Vampire Nighthawk
Back when initially printed
in
Zendikar, Vampire Nighthawk was
notorious for being a very efficiently-costed
creature. For three mana, you get a 2/3 with
deathtouch, flying,
and lifelink. It’s a superlative
blocker, it does a lot of damage on offense
(being hard to block), and it’s pretty legit
otherwise. Three mana is in that Dark Ritual
sweet spot, and it is fringe-playable in Legacy
for its raw efficiency; the format tends to be
light on creatures, and it’s not too
unreasonable for the Nighthawk to swoop to
victory.
That said, it’s not a
perfect creature, thanks to the three toughness
leaving it vulnerable to Lightning Bolt and
Lightning Strike. But without those answers, the
Nighthawk is pretty effective at making your
opponents have a rough go of it, and it can
swoop its way to victory against the
unsuspecting.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.5
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