Vault 21: House Gambit – Fallout
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.63
Casual: 3.50
Limited: N/A
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.63
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
In my mind, you can’t have an Old West-inspired setting without gambling. In both Red Dead Redemption games, I spent much more time playing poker than doing the actual stories. This card will no doubt play fine with Outlaws of Thunder Junction, but I do hope we’ll get similar references in that set.
Both of the game actions in Vault 21: House Gambit reference similar actions in poker and other casino card games; and as it happens, both are reasonably useful in Magic. We all know how good red’s discard-then-draw can be for setting up other things, and I like how it’s feasible to build a deck that has lots of overlap in mana value. Think of all the blue one-mana cantrips; or all the red two-mana burn spells, for that matter. This leads to an interesting trade-off when you need to include your main win condition, though I also think it’s generally better to have lots of Treasure tokens than not to.
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: N/A
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
A reference to the gaming vault in New Vegas, Vault 21 is part of a cycle of sagas that cover the quirks and aspects of different vaults across the series. This leas a bit into the gambling aspect: you can generate up to five Treasure tokens in two turns, which can be a massive jump in mana, and you can loot your way into a better hand when the time comes. Notably, the wording here means that you get Treasure with two pairs, a full house (of sorts), or anything of that nature. It’s a potentially interesting approach, and while it’s not a star, I do think it has enough interesting things going on that it might show up in Legacy.
Constructed: 2.75
Casual: 3.5
Limited: N/A
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
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