If you have the mana to pull off Day of Judgment
and this in the same turn, that is a
backbreaking blow. Even if you don't, you can
"counter" just about any destroy effect your
opponent hits you with, turn the other guy's
board wipe into a blunder, and even set up some
pretty gruesome combat phases knowing that your
guys aren't staying down for long. And with
White being the color of lots of creatures, you
can surprise your opponent by gangblocking a big
beast or two and then dropping this. Or if you
want to get fancy, combo it with something like
Claws of Gix or any other sacrifice ability to
get double duty.
At four mana, it's fairly likely that your
opponent will guess you have a combat trick, but
the question is, will he guess the right one?
That can make it tricky to set up the kinds of
combat scenarios that this thrives on. But you
can just as easily "undo" your opponents' combat
tricks as well, so you shouldn't have any
trouble finding a turn on which you want to play
Faith's Reward... but can you leave the mana up
for it?
Any card that involves taking things out of your
graveyard (or someone else's, for that matter)
shouldn't be underestimated - things getting
killed and staying in the graveyard is
essentially one of the fundamental processes in
Magic, and cards like Faith's Reward break it
clean in half. The fact that it works on any
kind of permanent makes it particularly
desirable. Ever wanted to sacrifice four
creatures to a Bloodthrone Vampire twice each,
killing sixteen creatures with Grave Pact in the
process, then attacking for seventeen damage?
Now you can. Ever wanted to float four mana,
sacrifice all your lands to put Greater Gargadon
into play, then bring them all back and use
Molten Disaster to kill everything except the
Gargadon and one-shot your opponent? Go nuts. I
can't even begin to imagine the kinds of
craziness you can do with planeswalkers; I doubt
many of them were designed with the ability to
activate their ultimate and their +1 in the same
turn in mind.
Today's card of the day is Faith's Reward which
is a four mana White instant that returns to
battlefield all permanent cards in your
graveyard that were put there from the
battlefield that turn. This is obviously
meant to be used after mass removal, which
conveniently is often the same color as Faith's
Reward, or less likely against an opponent's
board clearing effect. The single White
mana in the cost opens up the opportunity for
another color's effects and overall this is a
card with a great deal of potential in the right
design. The only downside is managing casting
both the sweeper and this in the same turn while
having enough in play worth returning, though
creatures with Haste are a solid starting point.
In Limited this is more than likely going to be
used after single target removal or a combat
step where multiple or valuable creatures are
lost.
This is not a bad thing as the advantage could
easily be enough to turn a close game into a
victory. The usage in the format is all
about taking as many of the opponent's resources
away as possible by making them think the trade
off will be equal or even in their favor.
The games in a match after this is played will
have a psychological impact whenever a card is
in hand as the opponent will likely wonder if
Faith's Reward is available. The single
White makes this splashable or easily used in a
two color deck and barring a terrible White pool
is an automatic include in Sealed and easy first
pick in Booster.
In Multiplayer it is likely you have global
removal, but even if you don't odds are at least
one other player will. Casting this after
an effect like that will likely spell the end
for at least one and probably several players
which makes this an excellent choice in the
format. The main issue here is keeping
four mana untapped to have it available after
your turn, though the possibility of opponents
planning a countermeasure for later games is a
slight concern as well.
Welcome back to the Pojo.com
card of the day section. We wrap up this week
looking at Faith's Reward from M13. Faith's
Reward is a rare white instant that costs three
generic and one white mana. Faith's Reward says
return to the battlefield all permanents that
were put into your graveyard from the
battlefield this turn.
Want to talk about a crazy good card? This is it.
Your opponent swings, thinking they are backing
you into a wall, taking out all of your
creatures, maybe even your planeswalker, and
some good artifacts and enchantments. Or worse,
someone just cast Day of Judgment, or Akroma's
Vengeance. Board is clear, things look bleak.
And then, you cast the Faith's Reward. Your
permanents come roaring back onto the
battlefield. Primed and ready to go on your
turn. They will be able to attack since they
will be in play at the beginning of your upkeep.
And worst, your opponent(s) will not be so
lucky. If it was a board wipe scenario, then you
have stuff, they don't. Simple response, game
over. If it was an all out attack, meant to put
your back up against the wall, it failed, and
now you are primed with a counter attack that
could end the game in your favor. Best part is
as your old enchantments return to the
battlefield, you get to choose new targets for
them, but only if something survived. Otherwise
you lose your Aura's for good. But that could be
a small price to pay for victory!
