Why is Verdant Force in the Graveborn set? Probably because it's
such a ripe target for Animate Dead-- the -1/-0
don't matter much to a 7/7, the Saproling
production ensures that you get something for
your trouble even after your opponent
Disenchants the Animate Dead, and with a casting
cost of 5GGG, reanimating Verdant Force is a
much better choice than hardcasting it. The
Force's lack of trample or any other
combat-relevant ability hurt it, as do its lack
of any ability that might grant its controller
some semblance of security against kill spells.
Verdant Force's ability shines the longer you
can keep it on the table and churning out
Saprolings, but its lack of resistance to kill
spells make that unlikely, as does its high
casting cost. The game will likely be over
before you've had a chance to keep Verdant Force
on the table for more than a few turns.
Regardless, Verdant Force is a classic example
of Big Green Meat-- a huge creature that players
love to play with. It's a nostalgic favorite and
a modern jewel, and I don't think anyone's sad
or disappointed to see it back for another
round.
Constructed- 2
Casual- 3.5
Limited- 3.5
Multiplayer- 4
David Fanany
Player since
1995
Verdant Force
Here's the thing about the Graveborn premium
deck: when it was first announced, I thought the
term "Graveborn" was going to be something to do
with zombies, rather than reanimation. I really
wasn't expecting to see cards like Verdant Force
in the deck. For all the problems and issues
we've heard in recent years about lands and what
they did for color differentiation, we've heard
very little about black's ability to access any
awesome creature it wants via strategies like
the Graveborn deck. I'm not complaining, though.
The more people who get a chance to see
creatures like Verdant Force in action, and
realize that, regardless of which creatures have
been getting the recent publicity, it's just as
elegant and capable of taking over games as it
ever was, the better.
Today's card of the day is Verdant Force which
is an eight mana Green
7/7 that produces a 1/1 saproling during each
upkeep. Being each upkeep and not just
your own is nice for token production, but
Verdant Force itself lacks Trample or any other
effect to really stand out. For the cost
Green has more impressive options that can
provide a bigger immediate threat instead of
just playing some blockers or supporting a
generally earlier in the game token rush.
For a Limited format where this is legal it is a
huge benefit to Green deck as both a large
creature and for the card advantage of producing
tokens. The regular increase in creatures
on your side of the field should be difficult
for most builds to handle and it is an excellent
way to break out of stalemate situations.
In Sealed at least half the deck should be Green
when playing this card, but otherwise there is
no reason to not include it whenever possible.
Verdant Force also makes an easy first pick in
Booster to be followed by any acceleration
available.
