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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Acorn Catapult
Image from Wizards.com

Acorn Catapult
Commander

Reviewed June 27, 2011

Constructed: 3.10
Casual: 3.50
Limited: 3.00
Multiplayer: 3.70

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

Acorn Catapult

Giving a player a 1/1 in exchange for one damage is a little underwhelming, especially in Commander where everybody starts with 40 life. But Acorn Catapult is a fine option for creature removal. Since the token they're getting is a vanilla 1/1, it's a pretty safe bet that you're giving them a less impressive creature than the Ball Lightning, Dross Crocodile, or Toxic Nim,  or whatever else you managed to kill with it. Using it in combat is also pretty sweet, either by combining its ping with combat damage to take out big creatures, comboing it with Witch's Mist or other such shenanigans, or-- most hilariously-- using it to ping yourself to generate a 1/1 blocker for a non-trampling big beater.

Constructed- 3
Casual- 3.5
Limited- 4
Multiplayer- 4


David Fanany

Player since 1995

Acorn Catapult

It's hard to see using Acorn Catapult to actually kill things; replacing whatever you wanted to get off the table with a similar-sized creature isn't the greatest deal, unless it was something with a nasty ability like Dark Confidant or Grim Lavamancer (stay tuned for M12, by the way). I'd rather use this as a sort of colorless Bitterblossom, especially in Commander. Shooting yourself in the face once a turn cycle doesn't seem so crazy when you have forty life, one of your opponents might be playing Phelddagrif, and you can easily fit Intruder Alarm or Essence Warden alongside it. For that reason, I kind of wish it were legal in a set you could do draft or sealed with - it's a lot more interesting than the traditional Rod of Ruin-style card.

I'm also happy it uses Squirrel tokens - one of my favorite things about the Odyssey block was the non-traditional tribes (stay tuned for M12, by the way).

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: N/A
Multiplayer: 4/5


Paul

This card is nuts, see what I did there? Nuts and Acorn Catapult? Moving on this card is illegal in standard and extended so no love for it there. In legacy its too slow and expensive to see any competitive play moving on, in casual this card is good you can take out opponents 5/5 creatures that were blocked  by 4/4  and give them a squirrel token to make up for their loss. Squirrels are a particularly popular casual tribe and this card as a token producer can be utilized for political purposes when players need chump blockers or can just be utilized for your own benefits in a token deck and is sure to be popular among casual players who love squirrels for a long time. In limited it would be hard to draft with obviously since its  a commander card but it would provide a constant stream of dudes which is good. Overall a card sure to be popular with squirrel loving players but no competitive impact.
 
Constructed: 1.0
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 2.5
Multiplayer: 4.0

Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Acorn Catapult which is a four mana artifact that can be tapped for one mana to deal one damage to target creature or player, that player then gets a 1/1 squirrel token.  This card is only legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage and squirrel decks were once quite popular, so it seems likely this will see at least some play at least in the Casual scene.  Cards that have a benefit from taking damage work quite well with this and there already exists quite a bit of squirrel support.  It can be used against an opponent to deal with low toughness creatures and as a final point of a damage to a creature or player which adds some versatility even though it gives them a new 1/1. 

Overall this is a fun design that can be added to some existing damage your own creature builds or have the squirrel theme modified in new ways, but isn't likely to get played much elsewhere.
 
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3.5

John
Shultis
Phoenix
Gaming

    Welcome to a new week of card of the days here at Pojo.com! Let’s kick the week off with another preview from Commander. Acorn Catapult is an artifact that costs four generic mana. It has an ability that says pay one generic mana, tap, Acorn Catapult deals one damage to target creature or player. That creatures controller or that player puts a 1/1 green squirrel creature token onto the battlefield.

     Not some crazy overpowered card, just a really fun one! Even if you decide to target something of your own, it could be really beneficial. For instance, target a Nested Ghoul. The damage from Acorn Catapult triggers Nested Ghouls ability, putting a 2/2 Zombie into play, plus because the damage came from the Acorn Catapult, you also get a 1/1 Squirrel. Not bad for one mana. The fun factor behind this card could just get ridiculously out of hand.

    Again, not going to be the soul reason why you win a game, but may involve everyone having some fun while the game resolves itself.
 
Limited: 2/5
Casual: 3/5
Constructed: 2/5
Multiplayer: 3/5


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