Fangkeeper’s Familiar – Tarkin: Dragonstorm
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed:
Casual:
Limited:
Multiplayer:
Commander [EDH]:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
This card seems pretty basic compared to the sorts of value creatures that make it into current tournament decks. But we should all know by now that basic cards can still be effective, and Fangkeeper’s Familiar should pretty much always have something to do. There are decks that would be happy to run it out for three life and the surveil effect most of the time, and use the rest as a bonus. The wrinkle, of course, is that its mana cost is even more specific than Mystic Snake, which is its obvious inspiration. You’re not going to see it so much outside of decks that are exactly its colors, but within that category, I’m sure there will be some demand for what it does.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
Fangkeeper’s Familiar is a pretty interesting homage of sorts to Mystic Snake, a four-mana Snake that can counter a spell on entry. That said, this is still valuable even if you don’t have a spell worth countering, and it’s limited to countering a creature spell. Destroying an enchantment on a card that has the ability to do other things is surprisingly valuable, and if you have nothing else to use it on, being able to surveil on top of the body is a decent value. This is never a dead spell, and while the mana cost is a bit fiddly, it’s also able to get value whenever you’re able to cast it, and it’s a 3/3 that can create a bit of chaos out of nowhere.
Constructed: 3.75 (I do worry that the mana cost might be a bit tricky to negotiate)
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4 (flexibility is always valuable)
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