Walking Ballista – Top 10 MTG Cards of 2017 #7

This card was ranked 2nd on my Top 10 list.

Walking Ballista is basically Hangarback Walker v.2.0. Only different. Where the original artifact rewarded you when it died, Walking Ballista more directly punishes your opponent, thanks to it being able to shoot things on its way out. It scales very neatly into the late game (and can serve as a mana sink), it synergizes well with effect-granting attachments (such as Basilisk Collar, which makes Walking Ballista into a walking death contraption), and it can just run over opponents. Answers that don’t result in you taking a massive shot to the dome on its way out are in short supply, and the flexibility and ruthlessness of Walking Ballista led it to score very well in my book, proving to be a threat in Modern and Standard.

Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander: 4.25

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

This card was unranked in my Top Ten list.

I really could have sworn that we’d already had a card named Walking Ballista before Aether Revolt. I must have confused it with something else, but I can’t quite figure out what. Either way, we have a card with that name now, and it’s actually very strong. It reminds me a lot of Triskelion, which first appeared all the way back in Antiquities and is still a force to be reckoned with in 93/94 and similar formats. Versatile, multiple-target damage is good even at a relatively high cost, especially when its source is colorless and difficult to avoid. Walking Ballista is especially notable as a potential high-end card for decks that generate obscene amounts of mana, like Tron and Scapeshift. With enough investment, it can take down Emrakul or Kozilek, and there are very few cards you can say that about.

Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5

King Of
Hearts

This card was unranked in my Top Ten list.

Flexibility is the name of the game with Walking Ballista. This card’s cost allows it to played in any deck on just about every turn. 4 mana seems a bit steep for a +1 counter but in formats where Urzatron and Everflowing Chalice are allowed you can make this construct very big. A huge colorless creature isn’t the main draw though, if you want that you can play Endless One. Being able to continuously ping your opponents creatures can be devastating with the right set up. If your opponent tries to destroy Walking Ballista just fire everything into their life points. You can even use the ability as a one-time Double Strike. Winding Constrictor and Verdurous Gearhulk are this card’s best friends in standard but in Commander the format is drowning in +1 counter and artifact support. 

Constructed: 4
Limited: 4
Casual: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Commander: 4