Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes – Baldur’s Gate
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.13
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 5.00
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 4.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
If you’d come up to me when I was a depressed high school student trying to get through Baldur’s Gate by clicking random stuff on the screen, and told me that in 20 years Minsc and Boo would have crossover appeal to the point that they found a way to keep them active in Faerun centuries after the games, plus had them on two different Magic cards, I’m not sure I would have believed it. And yet, we perhaps should have known all along, because half of the game’s companions weren’t remembered within a couple of years of Throne of Bhaal. (Seriously, I’ve played the games a hundred times, and I’m not sure I can name all of them!)
The really great thing about this card is that it works really well as a flavor-centric representation of Minsc and Boo, and it works equally well as a strategy-driving Magic card. Even if it’s the only card on your side of the table, it enables you to put a lot of pressure on opponents, and digs you into more stuff while doing so. My first attempt at a Commander deck was “trample tribal” with Stonebrow, and those remain useful abilities in Commander; Minsc and Boo are actually much better leading that sort of deck, because of their cost, resilience, and the permanency of their bonus.
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 5/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander [EDH]: 4/5
Given how popular Minsc and Boo are, them getting another card isn’t surprising. And it being a planeswalker also isn’t surprising. It’s actually a pretty clever take on the gameplan of having everyone’s favorite miniature giant space hamster going for the eyes: Boo pops out as a 1/1 creature when you cast them, and you can immediately turn them into a 4/4 to go straight for the eyes with that +1. You needn’t buff Boo alone, but seeing as how Boo is a valid target, it writes itself. The -2 is actually pretty potent as a repeatable Fling effect, with a nice bonus if you throw a hamster (Boo) at them; “any target” makes this a legit win con.
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes is actually a pretty sleek and elegant design in terms of both playing well a a self-sufficient engine or a part of another strategy. It’s not likely to do a ton in Legacy (though you might be able to trip someone up with a timely death hamster), but I’d be surprised to not see them at plenty of tables as either a Commander or part of the 99.
Constructed: 2.25 (might be fun as rogue tech)
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 5 (you’re not going to kill them through commander damage, but this is a surprisingly hard card to contain)
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 4 (as card draw or as a simple threat, this can carry a game without tons of support)
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