Newer players may not realize this, but Tel-Jilad
Fallen is actually a throwback to a creature
from original Mirrodin; Tel-Jilad Outrider.
Looking at the two of them together, it's clear
that the main difference between them is that
the Fallen has infect and the Outrider doesn't.
Presumably the Fallen IS the Outrider, after
contracting the Phyrexian contamination. A 3/1
with protection from artifacts is a decent
creature-- it can swing through artifact
blockers and block and kill most artifacts.
Indeed, infect makes the Fallen stronger in
combat, as it can even block a Darksteel
Colossus and shrink it with -1/-1 counters,
eventually killing it (though you'll take an
awful lot of trample damage in the process). The
only real downside is that the Fallen doesn't
deal normal damage, so you only really want it
in a deck built around poison, unless you plan
to use it like a green Oona's Gatewarden.
The first Mirrodin block had three cards
representing defenders of Tel-Jilad who were so
well-versed in the art of fighting artificial
creatures that they took no damage from them.
Despite the additional mana in its cost over
Tel-Jilad Outrider, this creature may well
be the next step in that cycle, an upgrade that
fits into infect decks and cruises
past all manner of defenders to deal damage that
can never be undone. Green has an awful lot of
options for Standard, but I hope this creature
gets some consideration - in a world of Argentum Armor
and Platinum Angels, it stands very tall indeed.
Today's card of the day is Tel-Jilad Fallen is
a four mana 3/1 with Infect and Protection from
Artifacts which makes it fairly unique, but also
quite narrow in usage. Being quite
vulnerable to damage and with many other Infect
options to choose from in most formats this card
is at best a sidedeck option against an artifact
heavy design. Otherwise it is a bit too
expensive and frail to really to really make an
impact when Cystbearer can come into play
earlier and survive in many scenarios the elf
can't.
In Limited this is one of the cards that is made
by the set as unlike a Constructed format it is
quite a bit more powerful here. With less
removal overall, a large number of the cards
being artifacts, and Infect readily supported it
is a strong common worth drafting early on in
Booster. The double Green in the cost is a
bit of a drawback, but some color fixing exists
and the Protection and Infect are both worth
having. In Sealed if your pool can work
with Green/Black or Green/Blue this is even
better and should be included without
hesitation.
