Pojo's Magic The Gathering news, tips, strategies and more!

Pojo's MTG
MTG Home
Message Board
News & Archives
Deck Garage
BMoor Dolf BeJoSe

Columnists
Paul's Perspective
Jeff Zandi
DeQuan Watson
Jordon Kronick
IQ
Aburame Shino
Rare Hunter
Tim Stoltzfus
WiCkEd
Judge Bill's Corner


Trading Card
Game

Card of the Day
Guide for Newbies
Decks to Beat
Featured Articles
Peasant Magic
Fan Tips
Tourney Reports


Other
Color Chart
Book Reviews
Online Play
MTG Links
Staff



This Space
For Rent

Pojo's Magic The Gathering Card of the Day
Daily Since November 2001!

Koth of the Hammer
Image from Wizards.com

Koth of the Hammer
Scars of Mirrodin

Reviewed September 28, 2010

Constructed: 3.83
Casual: 4.17
Limited: 4.17
Multiplayer: 3.83

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst.  3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating

Click here to see all of our 
Card of the Day Reviews 

BMoor

Koth of the Hammer

The big reason Chandra Nalaar never caught on is that she came down a turn too late, and her abilities just didn't do enough. Her +1 was nice, and could keep other planeswalkers from achieving their ultimates, but while you're using your 'walker to undo an opposing 'walker's progress, they're doing things that have more impact on the board. Chandra's -X was nice, but frequently it just made her little more than a 5-mana sorcery that killed a creature. Koth of the Hammer, meanwhile, seems to have solved each and every one of Chandra's problems. He comes online a turn earlier than Chandra, his +1 swings for 4 instead of directly zapping for 1 (though this does put your Mountains at risk of instant kill spells), and his ultimate is easier to build up to and is pretty much guaranteed to finish off any opponent (remember, you can ping with your Mountains for the rest of the game) whereas Chandra's ultimate is backbreaking, but survivable in some circumstances and even possible to be built back from.

Constructed- 4
Casual- 4
Limited- 4.5
Multiplayer- 4


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Koth of the Hammer

Planeswalkers are the driving force in modern Magic, both in the backstory and in the deckbuilding. Koth, like the other characters we've seen, has the potential to affect both in profound ways. Don't think of what his particular talents prevent you from putting in your deck, like other colors or land types. Think instead of what they enable a red deck to do - things like get more mana than even Garruk can give, or have free sources of extra damage for ever. I'm sure you can think of things to do with those, right?
 
Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Koth of the Hammer which is a very impressive Red planeswalker at four mana starting at three loyalty.  The first ability is a +1 that can be used to simply untap a Mountain for a little acceleration or as a 4/4 attacker, more with Elemental support.  This is reminiscent of Garruk's first two abilities and a very welcome addition to Red's arsenal.  The second ability is a -2 which can be used as soon as Koth enters play leaving him at just one loyalty, but with a little patience can set up an impressive Fireball or power out almost anything very early in the game.  Both the first and second ability offer the kind of acceleration Pyretic Ritual missed out at being which make Koth very appealing for that alone.  It is the ultimate ability that should really catch a Red player's attention though.  For only two additional loyalty counters, easy to get with Proliferate in the game now, any Mountain turns into a damage dealer that is almost impossible for most opponents to remove.  Koth is overall a solid threat and can leave an impact on the game even if destroyed thanks to the emblem mechanic.  Most creatures, planeswalkers, or a player can be swiftly dealt with via a combination of land damage and standard burn spells available to a Red player.

For Limited the option of acceleration may exist, but often the ultimate should prove more useful to clear the board or finishing the opponent directly.  This is absolutely a first pick in Booster despite the double Red cost and unless the Red pool in Sealed is completely unplayable should be seriously considered as part of the deck there as well.  At worst a 4/4 attacker with Haste and a target for your opponent instead of your own life points and at best a card that can win the game, Koth is great in the format for such a low cost.

Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 5.0
Multiplayer: 4.5


Copyright© 1998-2010 pojo.com
This site is not sponsored, endorsed, or otherwise affiliated with any of the companies or products featured on this site. This is not an Official Site.