Nikya of the Old Ways – MTG Card Review

Talk about an archetypal Gruul card, if nothing else. Nikya of the Old Ways offers a simple deal: forego non-creature spells to get more mana. A lot more mana, at that. While there are decks that might balk at this, Gruul is uniquely positioned to benefit from Nikya’s skillset, as they tend to run more creatures than other colors and rely more on just smashing as many faces as they can. There also are combos with making the mana, removing Nikya, and getting to spend it all for a massive non-creature spell (like a Banefire to the face). A 5/5 body does mean Nikya does a bit more than just generate mana, too.

Nikya is the kind of card that will shine in Commander and casual decks. Constructed may want to steer clear, though, as there’s more reliance on spells that Nikya locks you out of, and a 5/5 with no combat abilities may not win games on their own.

Constructed: 2.25
Casual: 4
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 4