What's all this faffery and poppycock about
Green not being able to kill creatures? This
Wurm will best any creature in combat regardless
of power or toughness before the combat damage
is even dealt, and gain you life in the process.
True, indestructibility and regeneration will
thwart the engulfing, but regeneration removes a
creature from combat, and an indestructible
creature may yet shrug off the seven damage that
the Wurm will deal, but will still have to deal
a full seven damage in kind to slay this Wurm.
If this is untapped on the other side of the
board, sending any non-evasive creature to
attack is tantamount to throwing fuel on your
opponent's fire-- a fool's errand indeed. And if
you're lucky enough to have it on your side? You
need fear no blockers, no deathtouch, no pump
spell. Condemn could kill it, but in 99 games
out of 100, no creature will.
Some cards become famous because of their power.
Some cards become famous because of their
popularity. Still others, like Engulfing
Slagwurm, become famous for being different. I
for one have never known why green didn't get
more effects that kill creatures; animals fight
all the time, and have you ever had a tree fall
on you? It hurts. Even if Wizards of the Coast
ends up seeing things the same way I do and
makes more cards like this in the future,
Engulfing Slagwurm will always be famous - for
eating Titans in one bite, for working on
creatures with protection from green, and most
of all, for being here first.
Welcome back readers as we continue to count
down our top cards of 2010, today we review
Engulfing Slagwurm. In standard there is a
plethora of more powerful creatures readily
available if you can get the mana for the wurm
you are better off playing a titan or eldrazi,
Engulfing Slagwurm is a decent budget option for
players who don't want to break the bank to play
standard. In extended and eternal the
availability of even more powerful cards means
this card wont and should not see play. In
casual and multiplayer this card is a lot
better, being able to gain life and have a huge
board presence and a creature that's powerful on
offense and defense is a great thing for players
staring down multiple opponents. In limited its
a commitment to green but a big creature that
can help end the game quickly, just watch out
for the removal. Overall a casual and
multiplayer oriented card that just doesn't cut
it for competitive decks.
Today's is card number eight of 2010 is Engulfing
Slagwurm which is a seven mana 7/7 with effects
similar to First Strike, Deathtouch, and
Lifelink that all trigger when it blocks or is
blocked before damage is actually dealt. This is
a fairly impressive set of effects, but requires
Green's mana acceleration to see play in a
reasonable period of time.
Without Trample an opponent can use tokens or
other small creatures to stall, so support
effects can help. Overall this is a
powerful card that can be used as a threat in a
deck that can afford it, but the high cost will
limit it from being played anywhere else.
For Limited this is a bomb card that is very
difficult for an opponent to deal with outside
of Indestructible creatures. It gets
around Infect and is a huge problem if left
unblocked which makes an obvious first choice in
Booster and worth playing whenever possible in
Sealed. Echo Circlet is a nice card to
have with this defensively, but preferably you'd
be on the attack whenever possible.
Today’s Card of the Day Top
10 of 2010 is Engulfing Slagwurm. This card is
one of personal favorites. Seven mana, two
green, five generic, gets you a 7/7. Back in the
early days, that made for a decent trade off.
But this guy takes getting what you pay for to
the next level. Not only do you get a 7/7 for
seven, but whenever this guy blocks a creature,
or becomes blocked by a creature, destroy it.
Seems like a great deal, huh? Sounds like the
Sylvan Basilisk of old. But it STILL gets
better. It gets better because you also gain
life equal to the toughness of the creature you
destroy. I honestly cannot say enough good stuff
about this card, except I wish it had placed
higher on the list.
In standard and limited formats, this guy is definitely held
back. While there are certain cards that can
exploit forced blocks, Irresistible Prey, one
mana to force it to be blocked, or Feral
Contest, four mana for a counter and a forced
block. Perhaps it thrives best as that hold off
card. No one would dare send a large creature to
attack you, knowing that in the end it only
benefits you.
However, in casual or multiplayer, or vintage formats, this
guy gets
ridiculous. A simple Lure, or Bloodscent, or
channeled Shinen of Life’s Roar, and he wipes
the field, ala the aforementioned Sylvan
Basilisk, except with the perk of life gain.
Exterminate your opponents defenses and gain
tons of life AND waltz threw with everything
else you have, yes please! Vintage decks
certainly gained one major trump card here.
