Fateful Handoff– The Brother’s War
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.13
Casual: 3.25
Limited: 3.13
Multiplayer: 3.50
Commander [EDH]: 3.63
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
It’s funny to remember that Ashnod handed the Magic multiverse’s greatest weapon of mass destruction to Tawnos so he could carry it to Urza in a sack. Well, if Sam could just pocket the One Ring for an hour or so, the concept works here too! Gameplay-wise, Fateful Handoff follows in the footsteps of Donate and Harmless Offering, both of which are staple casual cards. There are plenty of gimmick decks – or, in some cases, meme decks – based around giving your opponent something that will hurt them, and a few that work with cards that care about people controlling other people’s cards (Zedruu the Greathearted being the most obvious). This card differs in that it gives you one last advantage before you lose the permanent, a typically black twist on the concept. I don’t think that’s enough for it to see general use as a card-drawing spell, but a deck that wants to donate things now has a reason to try black – this may open up avenues in Commander, where most such strategies are Zedruu-colored.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
An interesting, albeit limited, twist on Donate, Fateful Handoff is a way to eke out a bit more advantage by swapping control of something for a bunch of cards. The obvious play is to pair this with something that has a symmetrical effect or a purely detrimental effect, but in a pinch, you may still be able to play this “fairly” enough to put yourself in a better position…like handing off a freshly Unearthed permanent that’s going away at turn’s end. I’d say this one is a weird card with a lot of wiggle room for intrigue, and if you play carefully, you may well find this does things that are hard to replicate.
Constructed: 3.25 (probably pairs best with Unearth)
Casual: 3
Limited: 3.25
Multiplayer: 3.5 (of note, this doesn’t target a player, so you might be able to do things that are harder to do with Donate and Harmless Offering)
Commander [EDH]: 3.75
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