|
Chris
Gerhardt
*
game store owner (Shuffle and Cut Games,CA) |
Another card that
exudes card economy. This one destroys a land and
sends 2 damage screaming in some direction. A nice
add to a land destruction deck. You can pay the
echo if you have nothing better to do with your
mana the next turn, or if you do have something
better to do, you just let it go...it's already
done its dirty deeds =).
Not too bad in
limited either. As most limited decks play 2 to 3
land colors, this is really nice against the 3
color decks. At the least it sets your opponent
back a turn on mana. Nice add.
Constructed:
3.25
Limited: 3.25
Current Price:
$2
|
|
Judge
Bill
*Level 2
MTG Judge
*game store employee
|
Thursday -
Avalanche Riders
Ah yes, the first invitational card. It was
one heck of a card too in its day, as you
both got to destroy a land and attack for 2
before you had to pay the echo. Throw in
some creature recursion, and this becomes
downright deadly. Not for multiplayer use
though, as there are too many people to
worry about blowing up only one land.
In limited, all I have to say is: this is in
the same set as a cycle of man-lands.
Constructed: 2.5
Limited: 4.25
|
|
DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX)
* pro tour player
* Scrye writer since 2002 |
Thursday - Avalanche
Riders
This card has
all kinds of neat constructed uses. You can
play it in a landkill deck to simply kill
land. You can use it's haste and landkill
ability to supplement an aggressive and
efficient red deck strategy. You can let it
come into play, kill a land and not pay the
echo, so that you can bring it back out of
the graveyard and reuse its effect.
It doesn't offer
nears as much strategy in limited play
unfortunately. It's an overcosted 2/2
creature for the most part. The fact that
it has echo doesn't make it a big star
either.
Constructed: 4.2
Limited: 2
|
|
Andy
Van Zandt |
Avalanche Riders
Card advantage in limited, and a big threat
against 3+ color decks. In constructed, it's
often a shock+stone rain, because 4 mana twice
usually wrecks your own tempo too much, except
in land destruction decks.
constructed 3
limited 3.1 |
Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*Game Store Owner (Gamer's Edge) |
January 8 -
Avalanche Riders
Ah the days of
recurring Avalanche Riders infinitely with Oath
of Ghouls. I miss those days. I mean what could
be better than shocking your opponent and
destroying their mana base? Doing it every turn
of course! In limited even, this card was
ridiculously powerful in tempo advantage. Its
not like you HAD to pay the echo after all, and
in many cases it was better not to. Did I
mention I love recurring this card with Oath of
Ghouls? Ok, just checking.
Constructed:
5
Limited:
4
|
Jason
Matthews
* Level 1 DCI
Judge
*game store employee
* gaming for over 15 years |
Thursday - Avalanche
RidersIf you like land destruction decks this
your man. When this card was legal all the decks
running land destruction played it. Yes the echo
made him expensive but heck most of the time
people just don’t pay it. In constructed he is a
no brainer. In limited he’s great also. He slows
your opponent down and give you a great card
advantage. This is my card of the week.
Constructed 4.5
Limited 4
|
Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Avalanche Riders
This guy managed to see play in a whole slew of
different decks: Survival/Oath decks recurred
him in order to lock down your lands, Ponza
played him as an additional LD spell/man, and
Angry No-Hermit (or Son of Hermit, depending on
who you talked to) used him with Plow Under to
maintain control of the game. Any way you look
at it, Darwin Kastle’s Invitational card was
definitely one that helped create and strengthen
numerous archetypes while it was
tournament-legal.
In limited, this was just another reasonably
solid guy that helped stunt your opponent’s mana
and kept him off balance. Not too flashy, but in
multiples it could end up being crippling. If
you drafted him, you probably played him.
Constructed: 4.0
Limited: 3.0 |
Jeff Zandi
4 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
Level 2 Judge |
Avalanche Riders
It was tremendously exciting to see the first
card commemorating a Duelist Invitational
champion and Darwin Kastle was large and in
charge in this card’s artwork. What’s more,
however, this card was very good. In constructed
or limited, this card always felt like a bargain
for 3R, in part because it also had Haste. In
limited you would sometimes pay the Echo cost
(same as original casting cost) the next turn,
in constructed land destruction decks, you more
often did not.
CONSTRUCTED: 4.0
LIMITED: 3.5 |
|
Chase |
Avalanche Riders
If he
was a beast or goblin, he could be decent but
alas, he has to carry on white’s creature type.
8 mana for a 2/2, hasty, stone rain. Not
exactly the greatest. I think he might have
seen some play to get rid of Rishadan Ports but
otherwise he seems out of flavor.
In
Limited, haste is good and LD slows them down.
It looks better here.
Constructed: 1.5
Limited: 3 |
|
Jason Chapman |
Avalanche Riders rock
and will always rock. In any type of land
destruction deck, even if LD is used as a
sub-theme, the Riders are as well costed as many
of the current Land Destruction spells running
around. The additional 2/2 hasted effect is just
an added bonus. All around the card is solid in
respect to cost as well as effect.
Constructed - LD and
Ponza will almost always find slots for these bad
boys - 4.25
Limited - LD isn't
as good here but it can deny a color and these
guys are always there as an extra body - 4.20
PEZ - The cost is a
little high for most PEZ decks and the effect is
weak for the Uncommon slot - 2.50 |
|
Danny Tatro |
Avalanche Riders
A player made card. Very good in general, but it
hasn't seen play in a long time. Recently some
"Red Deck Wins" builds have featured this guy,
but not much more can be said about him.
In limited hes ok, but a 2/2 haster for 4 with
echo isn't a bargain, and the LD isn't all that
amazing unless you go first and you play it turn
4. Which even then its just 4 mana LD. The echo
just doesn't cut it.
Constructed: 2
Limited: 1.5 |
