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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day
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Image from Wizards.com |
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Cosmic
Larva
Fifth Dawn Rare
Reviewed May 28, 2004
Constructed: 3.2
Casual: 2.6
Limited: 2.9
Ratings are
based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ...
average.
5 is the highest rating
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our
Card of the Day Reviews
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Chris
Gerhardt
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game store owner in CA,
ShuffleAndCut |
This...thing...wow.
This could be huge if you can play it out early.
It's drawback is pretty big, but not necessarily
impervious.
Crucible of Worlds (which lets you play lands
from your graveyard) is a nice match with this. In
casual, consider adding
Exploration or
Fastbond to that equation. Remember, because
it has trample, you only need 3 or 4 good hits
from this thing to take the game.
In casual, with the
cards above to help you out, this is a really fun
card. Big is good in Casual play, and this
guy is definitely big early.
In limited, I'd be
really scared to play this guy. Losing two lands
per turn is really a nasty proposition in limited.
But so is getting hit in the head with a 7/6.
If you feel you can support it with your deck,
then play it. It isn't so bad late game
anyhow, when you can afford to dump extraneous
lands for a giant trampler.
Constructed:
4
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3
Current Price:
Cosmic
Larva -
Fifth Dawn - $3.99
Combos
Well With:
Crucible of
Worlds -
Fifth Dawn - $9.99
Exploration -
Urza's Saga - $16.66
Fastbond -
Revised - $3.81
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Judge
Bill
*Level 2
MTG Judge
*game store employee
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Cosmic Larva
Why does this guy not have haste?
As it is, you have to lose two lands, and worry
about your opponent removing this before he even
hits. Yes, it is an undercosted body. However,
the drawback is just too great to overcome. I
wouldn't consider playing with this guy in any
format.
Constructed: 1
Casual: 1
Limited: 1
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Ray
"Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer
*Game Store Owner (Gamer's Edge) |
Cosmic Larva
Twice during the
prerelease, this guy just dominated the board.
This format is really short on things big enough
to kill this guy, and the fact that he has trample
helps him immensely. His cost is rather negligent,
and you will need to wait until at least turn four
to play him if you want him to swing all the way,
and in reality want to play him turn six or so,
but the cheaper cost is handy in that you can
normally cast him AND something else on turn six,
making the loss of land a bit less painful over
the next couple of turns. I can definitely see
this guy getting play in limited, and maybe even
in constructed. He lacks and flavor for being a
fun casual card, though.
Constructed:
3
Casual:
1
Limited:
3
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Jonathan
Pechon
2 Grand
Prix Top 8's
Multiple Pro Tour
appearances |
Cosmic Larva
Sporting what is
possibly the ugliest artwork in the entire set,
the Larva certainly brings the beating upon your
opponent’s fragile little noggin’. Unfortunately,
aside from Lightning Greaves, there’s not much of
an incentive to play this guy on turn three; you
really need to wait a bit before trying to get him
out there. Of course, once you do there’s very
little that can be done to take this guy off the
board. He’s a candidate for the red control decks
in block, and might even creep into standard as
well.
Who doesn’t like the
7/6 for three? Throw a little Anger in the yard,
and he’s got some real power right off the bat.
If you’re looking for a solid late-game beater in
Mental Magic, this guy should be a candidate for
RR1. Throwing land into your yard isn’t really a
bad thing, as long as you’re aware of good
flashback cards.
Since the sacrifice
isn’t mandatory (i.e. you can let him go at any
time), he’s definitely got game in limited.
Arrest kills him, but doesn’t completely rail you;
same goes for Blinding Beam. You definitely need
to put this guy at the top of your curve,
near the five and six-drops; as in constructed,
turn three is not this man’s friend. Once in
play, he’ll either kill your opponent or cause
them to suffer horrific losses in an effort to
trade with him in combat; either way, you’re
coming out ahead.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.0
Limited: 3.0
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner (The Game Closet - Waco,TX)
* pro tour player
* Scrye writer since 2002 |
Cosmic Larva
This obviously
wasn't meant to be played earlier, even though
the casting cost makes you think otherwise.
Casual players don't like killing their own
land, so they'll stay away from this.
Constructed players might find a few slots for
it in their decks though. Also, I wonder what
the synergy is like between this card and
Crucible of Worlds. Limited players will most
likely end up using this for a stalemate
situation.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 2
Limited: 3
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Jeff Zandi
5 Time Pro Tour
Veteran
Level 2 Judge |
Cosmic Larva
Ever since I first saw this card a few days ago,
I've been trying to think
of ways to make it good. I think this card can be
good, but only in decks
designed to take advantage of it. This card is WAY
TOO BIG and powerful for
WAY TOO LITTLE mana to be ignored. I don't really
have a way to make it good
to play this guy on turn three and JUST WIN, but
I'm working on it. Seems
good in the mid to late game in mono red
constructed decks.
CONSTRUCTED: 4.0
CASUAL: 4.5
LIMITED: 4.0
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Jason
Chapman |
Cosmic Larva is big.
Really, really big. Any 7/6 Trample creature has
to get respect, when you can drop it early game it
gets big time respect. Even though the upkeep is
rough, to say the least, adding Haste abilities or
bounce can get around the upkeep at least to give
you the extra turn you need to win. A top creature
who will make it into a lot of builds because he
is big enoug that he has to be respected.
Constructed - Fast fat is good, period - 3.5
Casual - Beatingdown multiple opponents makes the
Larva less good because a win takes a lot longer -
3.0
Limited - Even for 2 colored mana and an extra
turn or two of chump blockers this card may be
worth it - 3.0
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