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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Devour Flesh
Image from Wizards.com

 Devour Flesh
- Gatecrash

Reviewed April 2, 2013

Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 3.17
Limited: 3.67
Multiplayer: 2.87

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

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Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Devour Flesh

Cards like these are powerful because they can kill creatures that Black usually can't. Creatures with protection from black, or hexproof, or that can regenerate. The life gain that the victim gets in return barely matters, since he's now a blocker down and you're going to beat it back out of him anyway.
But what do you do when your opponent has multiple creatures? Now they get to choose which creature to sacrifice! Has this cunning plan been foiled? I think not. If your opponent has multiple creatures, you're still trading a card for a card. You're still denying them a creature, and in a parity situation or a deadlocked board, it may not matter which one you kill because you just need them to have one fewer blocker.  Even if you're backpedaling and your opponent is pressing the advantage, this is still a good way to even the odds. Now they have less pressure to apply to you, after all.

But there's another dimension here, and it's one Black cards like to explore-- the Forced Bad Decision. Cards like Choice of Damnations, Smallpox, and even Mind Rot force your opponent to look at what he's got and determine what he needs most. This is often a serious blow to his internal game plan-- he expected he'd get to keep those cards. And even if it doesn't set an opponent back, it gives you an important clue as to what your opponent thinks is important. He sacrificed this creature instead of that one? That one must be important to him-- I guess I know what I have to kill next. If you're willing to pay attention, then you can learn a lot.

Constructed- 3.75
Casual- 3
Limited- 4
Multiplayer- 3

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Devour Flesh
 
I'm ashamed of my fellow veteran players who said that this card is "just Diabolic Edict but worse." It has the same drawback as Swords to Plowshares? Gee, I'm so scared. If you're playing this card, that means that you're going to be attacking for a ton of damage the turn after you cast it, or you're playing for the long game and the opponent's life total doesn't matter to you. In other words, you're playing Magic: the Gathering.
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 2/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Devour Flesh which is a two mana Black instant that has target player sacrifice a creature and gain life equal to that creature's toughness.  While it doesn't require the creature to be targeted which gets around Hexproof or Indestructible, allowing the opponent to choose and gain life are notable drawbacks.  A non-damage based deck, such as mill, might be more likely to include it and it can work well alongside other removal options.  Overall this is a playable option for Black that gains value against Polymorph style builds that may see some competitive slots, but the two penalties will keep it from appearing in much outside of Standard.
 
In Limited the life gain can slow your offensive down a turn, or be used to stall an opponent's by sacrificing a creature of your own, but two mana to remove a solitary threat or almost anything an opponent might topdeck is a bargain when keeping the field clear. Even though it is very situational it should be included in Black builds in Sealed and drafted fairly early in Booster, just not given quite as much priority as some other forms of removal when looking over the rest of the pack.
 
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 4.0
Multiplayer: 3.5


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