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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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Sakura-Tribe Elder
Champions of Kamigawa
Reviewed January 10, 2004
Constructed: 3.67
Casual: 3.33
Limited: 3.90
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
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Jeff Zandi
5
Time Pro Tour
Veteran
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Sakura-Tribe
Elder
This is one of my favorite commons in Champions
of Kamigawa, certainly my favorite green common.
A year ago, the best turn two play in Mirrodin
limited formats was to play a Myr (a 1/1
artifact creature that taps for mana). Last
year, no matter what colors you were playing,
turn two was all about making a Myr. This year,
mana acceleration is only for green mages.
The Sakura-Tribe Elder is much better than the
Myrs were, however, because he can be sacrificed
to bring a basic land from your library directly
into play tapped. The mistake a lot of people
make is to play the Elder on turn two and then
keep him around for a turn or two. Since the
land he brings into play comes in tapped, you
optimally want to sacrifice the Elder at the end
of your opponent's turn right after you have
played him. This is an obvious play when you
have land number three in your hand as well as a
four casting cost creature. However, even if you
don't have the third land or a four casting cost
spell, you want to use the Elder to get a third
land in play on your side as quickly as
possible. If your deck is splashing a third
color, make sure to use the Elder to go after
that third color, even if you don't have any
spells that need that third color in your hand
yet.
CONSTRUCTED: 2.5
CASUAL: 3.0
LIMITED: 3.5 |
Ray "Monk"
Powers
* Level 3 DCI Judge
*DCI Tournament Organizer |
Sakura-Tribe
Elder
This guy is possibly one of my favorite
creatures Wizards has created in a long time.
While sometimes he is nothing more than a
Rampant Growth, he often also doubles as a chump
blocker for an opponent's aggressive attack, or
in a best case scenario, kills a creature by
blocking it then fetches you a land. He's also a
snake, helping the continuing tribe theme
Wizards seems to love, and often times the guy
even swings for a couple of points of damage.
Even in limited, he's a great pick for mana
acceleration or smoothing.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 4
Limited: 4 |
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DeQuan
Watson
* game store owner |
Sakura-Tribe
Elder - Monday
There just isn't enough room for me to write
about this guy. Rampant Growth was already a
great card. And this guys let's you Rampant
Growth at your leisure. And you can do it at
instant speed even. And to top it off, you get
a 1/1 creature to boot. And the best part, is
that it's still only 1G to cast.
Constructed: 4.5
Casual:3.5
Limited: 4 |
Paul
Hagan |
Sakura-Tribe
Elder --
This card is so good, I know several people who
have trouble finding them -- even though they
are commons. At one point not too long before
the Elder hit the scene, Rampant Growth was
beginning to see some play again. It was
considered a decent card that fit well into any
green deck that needed a small mana jump. Once
the Elder debuted, Rampant Growth all but
vanished. Why pay 1G for a sorcery when you can
get the same effect at instant speed attached to
a 1/1 body? I would play this card in
constructed, casual, and limited. I will give it
a slightly lower rating in casual, just because
of the wide variety of land-search cards
available, some of which make Sakura-Tribe Elder
look bad (see: Land Tax).
Constructed Rating: 3.5
Casual Rating: 3.0
Limited Rating: 3.5 |
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Andy
Van Zandt |
Sakura-Tribe
Elder
Certainly a step up from rampant growth, and
quite the control card when you cast it turn 2,
block, put combat damage on the stack if
appropriate, and then sac for your mana
fix/acceleration. Sometimes attacks, too. One of
those cards it's hard not to include in every
deck that's not all-out-aggro green.
constructed 4
casual 3.5
limited 4 |
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Chris
Gerhardt
*
game store owner
(Shuffle and Cut) |
Sakura-Tribe Elder
One of the keys
to distinguishing a card as playable from
being mediocre is it's ability to serve
multiple purposes. Elder meets that
requirement. It's main usefulness is
getting you mana, and as such can work as a
mana color smoother. But it's other uses
also add to its charm. Sakura-Tribe Elder
can often be seen taking a block for the
team before it sacs to grab the basic land
of your choice. A fairly quick play at 2
mana, it can smack your opponent up side the
head for a while until it is needed for
other purposes (its land grabbing is a
non-tap ability - good times). Add to that
the fact that it's a common, and you have a
good bye to top it all off. All in all, a
very decent card.
Constructed -
3.5
Casual - 3
Limited - 4
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