You could call it a kill spell, but if you're
opponent doesn't have any untapped creatures (or
all its creatures can tap for an ability and
therefore not block) it doesn't kill anything.
Really the strength in the Beetle lies in that
it can be a targeted kill spell, but it also
leaves a creature behind. In that sense, it's
card advantage.
You'd think it'd be hard to get ambushed by a
beetle that large - but it has haste, so I guess
it must be pretty fast! Gameplay-wise, the
Beetle is best in crowded creature standoffs, to
keep a scary opposition creature from blocking
something else. We're seeing walls again in
constructed like it's 1995 or something, so
don't underestimate this guy.
Constructed:
I have not given much though on how to use this
card. If it had first strike or deathtouch, now
that would be awesome.
Casual &
Multiplayer:
This will be a fun card to pick on the small
guys at the table.
Limited:
I will have to actually draft this card to see
how it will play out. Did not see any in the
last draft we did with Shard, Conflux and
Reborn. I think it can be a good pick. With they
change of rules with combat damage not using the
stack, this card could be good.
Overall a interesting card that we have not
explored yet.
Constructed: 2
Casual: 3
Multiplayer: 2
Limited: 3
Later
Miguel
Paul
Magic The Gathering COTD: Sages Of The Anima
Welcome back today we have an interesting U/G
Elf Wizard from Alara Reborn. Sages Of The Anima
is a creature card that helps to promote heavy
creature builds. The problem with this lies in
the fact of the abundance of creatures more
playable then Sages. Any deck focused on
intensive creature interactions has less
expensive creatures it would more than likely
rather play. Sages ability to net you insane
card advantage however can not be ignored,
getting up to two additional cards a turn
especially creature threats you can rush the
board with or hold onto is a truly advantageous
ability that rewards packing your deck with
creatures. In current Standard I don’t see this
card making to big of an impact on the metagame
not only is it expensive it requires a
combination of colors only Bant could truly
exploit, yet Bant decks have an alarming amount
of quality cards available to them that this
card I feel may not see any play in Standard
until after rotation. In Extended, Legacy, and
Vintage the creature nabbing advantages of this
card are not needed and are superfluous. In
casual and multiplayer the ability for a
green/blue mage to manipulate his or her library
and draw into an excessive amount of creatures
to keep a presence on the board should not be
undervalued. A respectable body attached to a
killer effect and Elf and Wizard creature types
could propel this card into certain casual decks
that could realistically run a high creature
count and overwhelm opponents with advantage. In
limited the ability to reliably get your hands
on more creatures could provide an asset and a
liability as it may push your other powerful
cards to the bottom of your library. Limited
this card is a gamble if you have enough solid
and bomb creatures to justify running it, it
could be a powerful card.
