Magic has long struggled to make a card that
grants haste to creatures that don't already
have it. Concordant Crossroads was probably the
last successful one-- even its colorshifted
version never really proved itself. Surge of
Zeal was a flop-- you rarely had more than one
creature enter the battlefield in one turn-- not
often enough to justify giving the Surge a slot.
Emblem of the Warmind was a cute idea, but it
suffered from all of Auras' typical drawbacks.
Battle Rampart wasn't good enough as a Wall to
justify running, and it didn't have haste
itself, which meant the surprise was gone.
Madrush Cyclops was probably the best in recent
memory, but it shared a block with Bloodbraid
Elf, so it was overshadowed.
Urabrask here might be the answer. As a 4/4 for
five, he's not a bad body himself, and his
ability grants himself haste as well. Plus, he
also makes all your opponents' creatures enter
the battlefield tapped, thus denying your
opponent the ability to make surprise blockers
as it grants you the ability to make surprise
attackers. But what really makes me hopeful for
Urabrask is that he hits play one turn before
the Titans. Valakut Ramp could use him to give
Primeval Titan haste, thus getting you FOUR
lands the turn you drop a Titan instead of two.
Every Titan benefits immensely from being
granted haste, and in a Standard format ruled by
them, Urabrask may find himself friends in high
places.
I was a little sceptical about the idea of red
Phyrexians, but after seeing Urabrask (and
reading Wizards' recent flavor article about his
people), I can definitely say I'm sold. He's a
fantastic answer to the walls and defensive
white creatures that decks of his color hate to
play against, up to and including the Squadron
Hawk spam that has appeared in various Standard
decks of late. And that's before you get into
the craziness that happens when you hit him with
Warp World or cast Grizzly Fate while he's in
play.
Today's card of the day is Urabrask the Hidden
which is a five mana 4/4 legendary that gives
creatures you control Haste and causes creatures
your opponents control to enter the battlefield
tapped. This isn't overly impressive as by
the time it enters play neither player will be
likely to have much entering play after it, but
a five mana 4/4 with Haste by itself isn't bad.
Certainly playable, but Red has other options at
the same or similar mana costs that can be more
of a direct threat without relying on other
creatures.
In Limited a five mana 4/4 with Haste is a very
solid creature and the legendary status is
unlikely to be a drawback. Two red out of
five mana isn't bad either and in the format
both effects are likely to benefit you which
make it more appealing. Overall a first
pick in Booster and with a solid pool should
always be played when running Red in Sealed.
Welcome to another
week of previews here at Pojo.com. Today we are
taking a look at the red Praetor, Urabrask the
Hidden. Urabrask the Hidden costs three generic
and two red mana. Urabrask is a 4/4 that gives
all creatures you control haste, and says that
creatures your opponents control enter the
battlefield tapped.
While hosting the prerelease event this weekend, one
individual pulled Urabrask. He goes “Ooh, a
Praetor.” The rest of the room asked which one,
when he responded, the room just said, “Oh, that
one,” and “The worst one.” I immediately went on
a rave about how I felt that he is definitely
one of the better ones. Sure, he’s not going to
wipe the field, as Elesh Norn did time and again
at the prerelease. But he is instead the set up
guy, the combo guy. He is by far my favorite
Praetor for those reasons.
Let’s evaluate some things and discuss the advantages he
grants. Normally, if you drop your ‘big threat,’
your opponent has a turn to deal with it in most
scenarios. With Urabrask out, it becomes an
immediate threat that they may not be able to
handle. Not to mention that all of their
creatures enter tapped, which gives you a clear
path on your way to the player.
And that’s not to mention how easily combined he is with
other cards. The advantage to having things
enter the battlefield tapped, is that the game
has designed a lot of cards to handle just those
issues. From Royal Assassin to Assassinate and
even Gideon Jura himself, the game has several
ways to destroy tapped creatures.
Like I said, he may not have as much of an impact as Elesh
Norn can, but he certainly gives the game some
great combos, and makes for some interesting
play scenarios.
