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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day


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Yavimaya Elder 
Urza's Destiny


Reviewed November xx, 2004

Constructed: 3.90
Casual: 3.60
Limited:

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

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Card of the Day Reviews 


Judge Bill

*Level 2
MTG Judge

*game store employee

Friday - Yavimaya Elder
 
This was a key card in one of my multiplayer decks. I used Foster to replace this guy, so it was actually 4 cards for me for free. It's great to be able to use this guy as a chump blocker if you have to, and then be able to get 2 lands and a card to replace this guy. For this reason, if you're playing green, and you can play this card in the format, you'd have to give strong consideration to playing this card. He even fixes your mana, allowing you to play multiple colors.
 
Constructed - 5
Casual - 5
Limited - 5


Jeff Zandi

5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran

Yavimaya Elder

This card is more BROKEN than usual for a green card. Like Wall of Blossoms, reviewed a few days ago, one reason that Yavimaya Elder is so good is because its a green spell that provides card advantage. Green does not usually equal extra cards. Yavimaya Elder is a green card that you need to have a good reason NOT to have in your deck. The Elder flat-out solves your problems for multi-colored mana in your deck. The most important thing to remember about playing the Elder's ability is that even though you put the Elder in the graveyard by activating his secondary ability, his primary ability resolves first (but only if you tell your opponent that you are using it) and allows you to go find up to two basic land cards, reveal them and put them into your hand. THEN AND ONLY THEN, you draw your card. Of course, this is exactly how you would want this card to work. You want to get the basic lands out of the deck using the first ability AND THEN draw a card from a freshly shuffled library that now has two fewer basic lands in it.

CONSTRUCTED: 3.5
CASUAL: 3.5
LIMITED: 3.5


DeQuan
Watson

* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX)

Yavimaya Elder - Friday

This guy is downright obnoxious. I mean that in a totally good way. The Yavimaya Elder draws cards. The Yavimaya Elder searches for land. The Yavimaya Elder attacks. It blocks. It sweeps your floor and then goes back to recharge itself. No, wait, I think that's that little robot thing. OK, so the Yavimaya Elder doesn't clean your floor. That's probably all it DOESN'T do :)

Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3
Limited: 4
Paul
Hagan
Yavimaya Elder --

Whenever I build a deck with green in it that is Extended or Type 1.5, Yavimaya Elder is always a consideration. He has a decent body for his cost, and he comes with two great abilities. Card draw isn't easy to come by in green, and Yavimaya Elder provides it for fairly cheap. The fact that he thins your deck of land whenever he goes to the graveyard makes him that much more valuable.

In casual play, I don't see Yavimaya Elder as being quite as useful, but I also wouldn't say he is completely worthless.

In limited, Yavimaya Elder is probably between my third and fifth pick, just on general usefulness. If you get him out early enough, thin your deck of a couple of land ,and draw a card, then you are in a vastly greater position than your opponent (usually), especially since you are only running a 40 card deck.

Constructed Rating: 3.5
Casual Rating: 2.5
Limited Rating: 3.5


Andy
 Van Zandt

Yavimaya Elder
Green's Ancestral Recall. Well, kinda. You're almost guaranteed two
cards out of the deal, with an extra one if you use the activated ability, and a potential 4th one if you put some lethal damage on the stack to another creature. Oh, and he attacks sometimes too. Rock is a high card-quality deck, and this is yet another shining example of some of its illustrious past members. Yes, 2 of the cards are land, but not only does this fix mana problems, ensure higher end drops, and fill your hand, but also thins your deck. Not to mention recursion.
constructed 3.5
casual 4
limited 4
 

 

 

 

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