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Pojo's Magic The Gathering
Card of the Day

Daily Since November 2001!

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Image from Wizards.com

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
Avacyn Restored

Reviewed May 15, 2012

Constructed: 4.10
Casual: 4.50
Limited: 4.10
Multiplayer: 4.10

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

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

A lot of people have been riled up about this card because it doesn't fit thematically with the set. Mark Rosewater's official response was that Tamiyo was intended to not fit thematically-- she's a planeswalker, and that means she's from another plane. That's what makes planeswalkers special, and Magic: the Gathering is all about planeswalkers-- they're the main characters of all of Magic's stories. I feel like building the entire Magic mythos around something whose defining characteristic is that it doesn't fit into its surroundings was probably a mistake and we just never noticed it before Tamiyo. Or maybe people were just upset because Kamigawa as a set had so many problems and Tamiyo is a reminder. I didn't mind Kamigawa, but I didn't want to be reminded of it during a set dedicated to classic horror movies. Let's see if the card itself is worth the genre blending.

Tamiyo's +1 can keep a creature, land, or artifact locked down if you're willing to spam it, which goes a long way towards Tamiyo's longevity. Use it on a creature and it syncs up well with her -2 to help keep your hand full. Most planeswalkers that cost five or more don't catch on, but I think Tamiyo might just have a shot at it, since she comes out with enough loyalty to use her second ability twice and potentially draw a massive number of cards, effectively making her a Tidings analogue. But of course, the real dream here is the -8 ability, the emblem. No maximum hand size is nice, but really it's just an accessory to the "your hand is the new graveyard" ability. You don't ever have to put anything in the graveyard again! Every instant and sorcery spell (save the Zeniths or Temporal Mastery) goes right back to your hand for recasting. Any permanent that gets destroyed goes back to your hand. Any attempt to mill you effectively just draws you cards. You'll never run out of gas again! And with proliferate being a largely blue mechanic, and still around in Standard, it's an Ultimate you might actually get to see go off one day.

Constructed- 3.75
Casual- 4.5
Limited- 4.25
Multiplayer- 3.75

David Fanany

Player since 1995

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
 
It's interesting that Kamigawa supposedly didn't test well among the audience, and yet here is Tamiyo. Is this the plane's last (second to last, assuming that Planechase 2's "Night of the Ninja" really is what it sounds like) outing, or a sign of things to come? Regardless of which it is, I think Tamiyo's game text predicts a few things of its own. Remember the last time blue got a planeswalker that could draw lots of cards on its own? What ever happened to that guy? For a really nasty combo (and example of cross-planar understanding), try her with Gideon Jura!
 
Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Michael "Maikeruu" Pierno

Today's card of the day is Tamiyo, the Moon Sage which is a five mana Blue planeswalker with four loyalty counters and three abilities.  The
+1 is incredibly effective as it taps a target permanent and prevents it
from untapping during the controller's next untap step.  This can effectively lock down two creatures or lands and put a major dent in just about any strategy.  The -2 can feed your hand very well after an attack, whether it be your attack or an opponent's, and generally won't put Tamiyo at risk of being destroyed.  The -8 may or may not get activated often, but if it is there are many different ways to win the game with an unlimited hand size and every card sent to the graveyard being returned.  The mana cost is reasonable for a control theme and this is a card that will see a lots of play and be a serious threat in both Standard and Extended formats.
 
For Limited a planeswalker is often one of the strongest cards available and this is no exception.  Lockdown and multiple card advantage possibilities make this an extremely effective card in nearly any situation.  This is a definite reason to play Blue in Sealed and should be drafted first in Booster without a second thought.  The odds of an opponent having enough heavy hitters to work around the +1 is unlikely which is one path to victory.  An opponent using a multicolor deck may not have more than one or two sources of a color available, which can leave them with a dead hand.  Combine options like those with card draw and you have a game-winning card that can easily dominate a tournament.
 
Constructed: 4.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 5.0
Multiplayer: 4.5

John
Shultis
Phoenix
Gaming

       Welcome to the Pojo.com card of the day section! Today we are reviewing Tamiyo, the Moon Sage from Avacyn Restored. Tamiyo, the Moon Sage is a mythic rare blue planeswalker-Tamiyo that costs three generic and two blue mana. Tamiyo enters the battlefield with four loyalty counters. Tamiyo has three abilities. Her first ability is a plus one loyalty: Tap target permanent. It does not untap during it’s controller’s next untap step. Her second ability is a minus two: Draw a card for each tapped creature target player controls. Her final ability is a minus eight: You get an emblem with “You have no maximum hand size.” And “Whenever a card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you may return it to your hand.”

       Tamiyo, the Moon Sage is amazing. Perhaps one of the best planeswalkers since Jace, the Mind Sculptor himself. The one main difference between the two, which I feel affects Tamiyo’s tournament influence, is mana cost. Five mana is a lot when playing non-casual style games. And all the work that would then have to go into trying to get her final ability off seems like a lot more work than necessary. However, there are ways of exploiting that too. Green mana ramp is a great way that you could get her out faster. But white and red decks are the ones that would greatly benefit from her ability of returning cards to your hand once cast. Imagine being able to Holy Day every turn. Or with red, how many times you can pay to Lightning Bolt in a turn you can! Her final is ridiculous, and so well worth it in the end. Using mana ramping cards from that are artifacts in any deck help get Tamiyo out faster, and she is definitely worth the effort to try and use.

Limited: 4/5
Constructed: 5/5
Casual: 5/5
Multiplayer: 4/5


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