Shark Typhoon – Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2020
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.25
Casual: 5.00
Limited: 4.00
Multiplayer: 3.67
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale: 1 is bad; 3 is average; 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
This card was 5th on my top 10 list.
Shark Typhoon looks like it shouldn’t be as good as it is. It’s an expensive enchantment that needs time and space to fire. And, yet, it’s seen play in every format it’s legal in, Vintage included! The main attraction is that it’s very efficient at generating a horde of cuddly Sharks, and it has a powerful cycling ability that can be used in a pinch to make an efficient, cantripping flier. Both of these effects have proven to be useful, and while each deck has a different overall preference for which mode it’s inclined towards, it’s a spell that does a lot to help creature-light builds patch up a hole. It’s even nice with pitch spells, since those oft have a high converted mana cost; turning Force of Will into a counterspell and a 5/5 flier is pretty neat, not gonna lie. It’s amusingly Ikoria‘s most valuable card at the time of this writing, which isn’t half bad for a meme that became a dream.
Constructed: 4.5 (it’s not the cheapest spell, but it pays for itself well, and it can even be pressed into service ahead of schedule)
Casual: 5
Limited: 4 (even if it’s just a cantripping flier, that’s a good place to be in a set with plenty of cycling payoffs)
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander: 4.25 (it helps shore up a weakness of Spellslinger decks)
David
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This card was not on my Top Ten list.
As I get older, I find myself gradually moving the Rule of Cool closer and closer to the center of everything I do. It’ll only take you about two minutes to find the Lego photos on my Instagram, where Batgirl is trying to catch the Penguin with a butterfly net. And for many of you, a typhoon that throws gigantic sharks at you is undoubtedly the epitome of cool. I see why, to be honest.
Apart from the obvious reasons why Shark Typhoon is cool, it is pretty cool to get a flying shark token for any reason, but much less when you are doing something your deck would do anyway. Spells that draw lots of cards, well-timed counterspells, and planeswalkers are devastating enough on their own, but even more so when they create instant board presence which can’t be countered. And if Force of Will weren’t so hard to find, I’d recommend everyone try casting it for its alternate cost while Shark Typhoon is in play. It feels so good it should be illegal.
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 5/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Commander: 4/5
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