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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Protector of the Crown
Image from Wizards.com

Protector of the Crown
- Conspiracy: Take the Crown

Reviewed Sept. 23, 2016

Constructed: 1.75
Casual: 3.50
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 4.25
Commander [EDH]: 4.13

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 - Horrible  3 - Average.  5 - Awesome

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Card of the Day Reviews 


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Protector of the Crown
 
Much like Marchesa from yesterday, Protector of the Crown is devoted to making and keeping you the monarch, but from a defensive perspective rather than an offensive one. Its ability has a long lineage in Magic, going all the way back to Veteran Bodyguard, but five toughness isn't always as much of a wall in multiplayer as it used to be (or in other settings). It also does surprisingly little against other cards that make you the monarch as a comes-into-play ability, other than setting up an amusing stalemate when you and an opponent each have one (much less against Marchesa and her assassin tokens). In the worst case, the Protector will just buy you a turn or two to do other things, but there's also a deck out there that enchants it with Heart of Light and locks out half the table.
 
Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
EDH/Commander: 4/5
James H. Protector of the Crown (9/23)
 
It makes you monarch and tries to make it harder to get the crown off your head. Cute trick, in all.
 
Protector of the Crown is a combination of Pariah (redirecting damage to a specific creature) and giving you the crown, so a card-draw engine. Note that Protector will protect you even if you are not the monarch, and it also protects from burn spells and other sources of damage. Add to that a fairly hefty body (2/5 isn't small, to be sure), and you have a creature that does a decent job of protecting you, even if it's just for one round of attacks. (If you have a massive horde swinging in, you can let all the damage go to Protector of the Crown, even if it’s arbitrarily large, such as from a horde of squirrel tokens.)
 
Six mana is awkwardly high for a small creature, though, and the only protection the Protector has itself is its large backside. A black kill spell or massive burn source will dispose of him, and it’ll leave you exposed and ripe to have the crown taken. Still good, but definitely not constructed playable in the formats it is legal in.
 
Constructed: 1.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4.5
Commander: 4.25

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