Before I begin, does anyone else suspect that
this card came into being because there was an
extra piece of Sphinx art from Alara block, or
because some artists accidentally drew an Alaran
sphinx on Zendikar? This looks a lot like an
Alara sphinx, and being the only sphinx in
Mirrodin doesn't assuage my suspicion either.
Another thing I wonder about Argent Sphinx is
why is hasn't shown up in more decks. A 4-power
flyer for four mana, in blue (which doesn't
usually get such efficient beaters) isn't good
enough? I wonder the same thing about Conundrum
Sphinx. I know that blue artifact control decks
are emerging, courtesy of Grand Architect, but
none of them seem to want a 4/3 flyer that can
dodge removal? I wonder why not?
Argent Sphinx follows in the footsteps of such
beloved creatures as Blinking Spirit and
Ephemeron; the fact that it waives the need for
you to re-cast it means things are even easier
for you now than with its predecessors. The
requirement to commit to artifacts is also
deceptively easy, given blue's fondness for
using artifacts (try it with Trinket Mage!). I'd
be surprised if Argent Sphinx doesn't catch on
in at least one format at some point, as there
are only getting to be more ways to remove
creatures.
Magic The Gathering Card of The Day: Ardent
Sphinx
Welcome back readers today’s card of the day is
Ardent Sphinx a powerful tool for blue decks
chock full of artifacts. A 4/3 flyer for four
mana is an all right deal by itself but the
additional ability to exile the sphinx as long
as you have metalcraft is a powerful ability.
The ability to fizzle removal spells and survive
mass board wipe is great. In standard I can see
a mono blue or blue/white deck utilizing this
card as well as Trinket Mage and the numerous
powerful artifacts available in standard. In
extended the loss of artifact lands hurts this
cards playability but the number of cards is
increased and there is a wide variety of
artifacts available to the sphinx. In eternal I
doubt this will see play, a possible finisher in
mono blue builds as the number of broken
artifacts available to the player increases the
power of the sphinx. In casual and multiplayer
being able to survive Wrath of God is a powerful
ability. Blinking in and out at instant speed is
a nifty combat trick as well. In limited scars
is centered on artifacts so this is a
certifiable bomb semi large and highly evasive a
powerful flyer you should grab if you’re in blue
and have the necessary artifacts.
Today's card of the day is Argent Sphinx which
is a four mana 4/3 with Flying and a Metalcraft
enabled blink ability that can be activated for
one Blue mana. This is a decent card for a
control deck with a stall theme as it can fly in
for damage, but works great for staying back and
preventing attackers from dealing any damage or
gaining an advantage.
The problem is having the above concept in a
deck that is also running enough artifacts to
allow Metalcraft to be available whenever it is
in play. Without that you have a Flying
creature that is quite difficult to kill in an
artifact deck or at worst a four mana 4/3 Flying
in Blue which is still a bit above average card
and worth playing in the right deck.
For Limited this is an excellent card where
Metalcraft is easy to obtain, but the double
Blue in the cost and one to activate requires a
fairly dedicated deck to play comfortably.
Whenever possible you want to play the Sphinx
with the extra mana untapped as a safety net
which means three Blue mana sources. In a
two or three color deck that can be relatively
late in the game, so design accordingly.
This should be a first choice in Booster draft
and never passed to an opponent in later packs
and played in Sealed if possible barring a very
poor Blue pool due to the color dedication.
