This card was an instant hit in limited play and
quickly made the leap to aggro/control decks in
constructed as well. The funny thing about
Plaxmanta and the other cards from Ravnica block
that have similar casting cost restrictions, the
ability that you receive from Plaxmanta when you
only pay a blue (pretty much have to, the
casting cost is 1U) is really hardly ever good
enough to include this card in your deck. The
simple fact of the matter is this card’s
effective casting cost is UG. I love this card,
though, because it is a great trick to be able
to play a 2/2 creature at instant speed for two
mana and it’s an equally great trick to be able
to instantly protect your creatures (including
Plaxmanta) from being targeting NOT ONLY by the
spell or effect that might already be on the
stack targeting one of your guys, but from any
further spells or effects for the rest of the
current turn. The only downside of this card is
that it requires you play it in a blue and green
deck. This fact narrows the usefulness of this
card slightly in both limited and constructed
play, since this card is not likely to be
effective in decks splashing a little blue or a
little green.
This card has all the characteristics of a good
card. It's cheap. It's got a good power to cost
ratio. It's has a useful ability. Other than the
fact that blue doesn't really need something
like this, the card is pretty solid. It's
unfortunate that it doesn't see more play.
I've had a lot of luck with this thing in my
Simic deck. For 1U, it's like Avoid Fate that
covers all your creatures and lasts all turn.
Or, for GU, it's like an Avoid Fate and an
Ashcoat Bear. What can you do with this thing?
You can counter a removal spell, you can make a
surprise blocker, you can play it at EOT for a
surprise offensive, and in a Graft deck you can
respond to a grafter's demise by moving one last
counter. All for two mana, which is a reasonable
price to leave open. Give this guy a spin in
your G/U decks and see if it doesn't come
through for you.
Constructed- 3
Casual- 4.5
Limited- 3
Aethereal
Plaxmanta
A good card in blue/green decks right now. At
worst, it's a limited counterspell for 2, and at
best, it's a counterspell and a 2/2 for 3. You
do have to pay the extra color, but that's so
easy right now. The body is cheap for what you
get, and it slows aggro burn decks down a lot.
It's not a staple, but it's worth considering.
In casual, this is essentially a counterspell
with a body attached like yesterday's card.
In limited, this is a good pick if you're
drafting the Simic guild, provided you play it
as a creature. There are very few situations in
which I would play this without paying the
green.
Constructed - 3
Casual - 2
Limited - 3.5
Cyrus Huang
Plaxmanta, a
card that is good on paper but sees very narrow
play. Like the rest of the "I'll die if you
actually don't have the color to keep alive"
creatures in that cycle, they are completely
worthless if you aren't playing those colors but
pretty damn good if you got it. At best a two
for one, "countering" one of your opponents
targeted spells and being a creature itself, at
worst a flash bear, not that terrible.
Constructed: Sees play in various U/G decks that
don't make much of an impact. Play him in Simic
Aggro decks or perhaps even the new Scryb and
Force decks.
2.5/5
Limited: Not worth it unless you have the
colors. If you do though, he's an excellent card
for your deck. Never play him just in blue
though.
2.5/5
