Repeatable creature kill. Doesn't that say
enough? I mean, sure, it can't kill creatures
with vigilance, and it can sort of be gamed
around, if your opponent is willing to stop
tapping creatures. But if your opponent has to
do that, aren't you in a good position anyway?
Another classic cool card - so cool, in fact,
that it inspired a specific reference in Time
Spiral in the form of Assassinate, which then
made it to M10 along with the original. The
circle is complete. He'll never be one of the
most powerful cards for constructed, but he was
part of one of the first two-card strategies
along with Icy Manipulator, and can still
threaten away an entire army in drafts.
Constructed:
He been around for quite some time now and has
never really been in any top decks lately.
Casual &
Multiplayer:
With so many ways to tap creatures, if can kill
them. Always a pop it with the casual crowd.
Limited:
He looks to be a good pick for creature control.
With the reprint of Whispersilk Cloak you can
keep him alive, or if your opponent has it in
play than he is screwed. Not this best pick but
if he hits and stays for awhile than you can
kill alot of creatures.
Overall a good card that is good to see
reprinted again.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 4
Multiplayer: 3
Limited: 4
Later
Miguel
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno
Today's card of the day is Royal Assassin which
has been in the core set since eighth edition
and before that had an early run in the Alpha
through Fourth editions. This has always been a
very solid card and fun to use in combination
with other cards. Repeatable destruction at a
fairly low cost can be brutal, but the low
toughness creature attached to it is the
balancing point.
Constructed should still find this a bit slow,
due to summoning sickness, but it often finds a
home in specialized decks. I haven't seen it in
anything recently, but it is the same cost as
many removal spells and can be repeated with
support.
Casual enjoys tricks to keep the effect going
and it is a good control/defense tool for black.
Limited is a great place for this card as the
options for removal are reduced and less in
number for each deck and is itself removal. The
double black hurts it quite a bit though as it
limits the deck design to being heavily into
that color, making your other picks critical. In
sealed playing it depends entirely on what is in
your packs as it needs support and a focus on
the color. In booster draft it is the kind of
pick that locks you into a color and may limit
your sight on future selections.
Multiplayer games can be slowed down by a single
Royal Assassin threatening anything that tries
to tap. Quite a bit of fun to be had there, but
still very vulnerable to removal.
Welcome back readers today we have yet another
iconic black card, Royal Assassin. For three
mana you get a 1/1 that can tap and destroy
target tapped creature. A creature that can
destroy opponent’s creatures as they attack is
nice and it may discourage an opponent from
attacking with a valuable creature. The major
downside is if they don’t attack with it they
can still block and you have an annoying
creature staring you down. In current standard
there’s a wealth of more efficient cards I doubt
Royal Assassin will see play outside a dedicated
black deck that could use repeatable removal in
extended and the eternal formats Royal Assassin
won’t be seen nearly ever. In casual and
multiplayer politics plays an interesting
factor, your friend wants to attack Mr. Howling
Mine who keeps feeding you cards, will they
risked getting there creatures killed by the
assassin? In limited its repeatable removal,
take it. Royal Assassin is an iconic black card
that flavorfully and eloquently represents black
in the core set. A Royal Assassin standoff is
also a ridiculous occurrence.
