Sorin of House Markov – Modern Horizons III
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.13
Casual: 5.00
Limited: 4.63
Multiplayer: 4.13
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
They haven’t used extort too much since the second Ravnica block, but we learned back then that it feels very fitting on vampires – and I will give this card a lot of credit for feeling like a vampire planeswalker should, all up and down both text boxes on both sides of the card. Two mana for Sorin’s creature side should attract attention, even if he’s not as efficient at attacking as some cards, because it implies a strategy where you pile all your auras and equipment on him and go nuts. But if you’re looking to flip him as fast as possible, the extort ability may actually be the better way to do that. Once you do, it poses a lot of problems for your opponents, especially since he has two inbuilt ways to make his -1 deadly – and it’s -1 for potentially a whole lot of damage. I would think that there are matchups where Sorin probably won’t stand out, because I feel like he can be a little slow to get going sometimes, but other times he’ll just take over the whole game starting on turn 2.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
Sorin has long been the vampire planeswalker, here to succ his way across the multiverse, but Sorin of House Markov actually starts before he was gifted with vampirism. Out of the five flip planeswalkers of Modern Horizons III, Sorin of House Markov is one that has the most…promise, owing to its relative ease to flip and power as son as it flips.
On base, Sorin’s a two-mana 1/4 with lifelink and extort, and both of these are quite valuable in getting him to flip. In particular, the extort makes him flip very quickly in multiplayer, as he’ll gain enough life with one or two triggers. 3 life is also the same amount Food grants you, which is hardly coincidence, and Sorin, Ravenous Neonate is…vicious.
On flipping, Sorin keeps the extort, but he also offers a very potent -1 that can hit anything for at least 3 damage. He also can make food to ready another bleed down the road, and the fact that this is a -1 that has a scalable power level is dangerous. His +2 is also useful for pushing him out of ready burn range, so there’s that. His ultimate is doable and quite a good way to “remove” a threat and make it a threat of your own, so there’s fun to be had with or without the lifelink counter.
Sorin of House Markov feels like the kind of card that’ll prove threatening in all sorts of decks, thanks to its ability to flip without a lot of extraneous effort and its immediate impact on flip. You do need to try and flip it quickly, since it’s merely okay prior to that, but it’s vicious once it gets there, and it’s not hard to do so.
Constructed: 4.25
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 4.25
Commander [EDH]: 4.5
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