Today we have
Faith's Fetters, and I have to say I love this
card! The only real drawback is the casting
cost, but that's hardly a reason not to use it.
If it's a creature it can't attack/defend and no
matter what permanent it is, its activated
ability is moot. Plus add in the fact that you
gain 4 life that's just icing on the proverbial
cake! In any deck that plays white/control you
should have 4 of these.
One of the most effective spot removal spells in
White Standard, Faith's Fetters is enjoying
great popularity for several reasons. One, it
can stop artifacts and enchantments as easily as
it can creatures, and can even stop nonmana
abilities of lands like Vitu-Ghazi. Two, you
gain 4 life when you play it. And three, there
are still quite a few legendary creatures worth
stopping out there, and Fetters leaves the
offending permanent in play so that a second
Legendary spell will merely kill the both of
them. It's also finding comboes with Mark of
Eviction and Flickerform, which allow its
comes-into-play trigger to go off repeatedly.
The one flaw-- it leaves the thing it's
Fettering in play, so if the enchantment is
destroyed, the opponent gets their permanent
back.
White has a history of producing very annoying
cards. The kind of cards that become staples in
an environment and everyone is glad to see them
go. Faith's Fetters may be ubiquitous in most
white decks, but it remains fresh and enjoyable.
It's a perfect answer to so many other annoying
cards that it is well loved by all. Whether
you're shutting down a Jitte or a Kiki-Jiki or a
Darksteel Colossus, Fetters is a perfect answer
with four life attached to it. Great wherever
you can use it.
This card has proven to be quite useful. Ever
since its printing in Ravnica at common, it has
been used to stop a variety of nasty threats.
For four mana, this aura will stop quite a few
problem creatures, and even some artifacts and
enchantments with troublesome activated
abilities. For example, it proved to be a rather
handy way of stopping Umezawa's Jitte, and it
still works wonders on Glare of Subdual. It will
also neutralize the Huge Flying Fatties that
people like to play; not even Akroma can attack
when enchanted by this.
As an additional bonus, you gain four life,
which is quite nasty when you consider also that
when you play this, your opponent just lost
their most powerful attacker. Aggro cries when
you luck into four of these over the course of a
single game.
Be careful, because Faith's Fetters can be
stopped by a Naturalize, and it does not
actually remove the creature from play, which
definitely means something when your opponent
has just casted a Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir.
Constructed 3/5. Some constructed decks run
this, but there is cheaper removal out there.
Decent against aggro like Boros Deck Wins, but
watch out for Lightning Emissary from the
Sideboard.
Limited 5/5. Top-notch removal. Useful in any
limited deck running white.
Casual 3/5. Not all that fun to play against,
but its cheapness allows you to get as many as
you want for your budget decks. Good alternative
to Pacifism.
