Jugan Defends the Temple – Kamigawa: Neon Destiny
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2022
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.38
Casual: 3.67
Limited: 4.38
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 3.50
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Jugan Defends the Temple is one of those cards where you look at the things you get for it, and you’re reminded of similar cards, some of which are cheaper. We’re used to paying one or two mana for a 1/1 creature that taps for mana, so paying three may not seem too appealing. There are so many cards that distribute +1/+1 counters that searching for them on MTG Assist almost creates more confusion, not less. But this is one of those cards where the real strength lies in the fact that you can get them all in one place, without devoting a lot of space in your deck to them. And its effects all play well together: if you can keep the mana creature around, it’ll help you use the Remnant to get more modified creatures. More broadly, the concept of a cheap card that becomes a game-ending threat later on is always appealing – your opponent may feel bad about devoting resources to getting rid of the Saga face or a just-flipped Remnant, but they may regret not doing so later on.
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Commander [EDH]: 3/5
A nice reference to Jugan himself, this saga is certainly fitting of its mythic status once it has time to work. A 2/2 with flying is not so bad as a threat, but a 7/7 with flying and trample is even more so. And it even helps itself get to that upper threshold, thanks to providing a creature to be buffed early and enabling buffs on creatures as they come in. It’s a subtle bit of power, but it adds up viciously in short order. This definitely plays better than it looks, thanks to bringing bodies and threats in equal measure, and you’ll certainly regret letting this live for long.
Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 4.25
Limited: 4.75
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 4
A bit too slow for my blood, a 1/1 Llanowar elf for three doesn’t do anything to add to the game, my guess it is so you have a creature to modify with the second ability so it doesn’t get wasted. When it flips we get a nice 2/2 flyer that lets you modify creatures as they come on to the battlefield, that ability alone is great but to add you can get a 7/7 flying trample if you have five modified creatures. That shouldn’t be too difficult but it certainly won’t be easy. All in all I don’t think this is a great mythic, it would be a much better rare. Waste of a mythic slot in my opinion.
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 3
Limited: 3
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3
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