Skylasher

I remember Standard and Extended seasons where we needed this guy, even though we didn't realize it. If he'd been in the first Ravnica block, a lot of things might have been different - I wonder if Magic would have grown even faster because fewer people would have been utterly locked by Counterbalance or Spell Burst. There's no way to be sure, but I can't help but wonder.

Reaching the scene as part of Dragon's Maze, though, means that Skylasher is part of a very different Standard world. There are no decks like Winterbalance or Dralnu du Louvre, and that means some of his abilities are going to look weird and irrelevant. This would be a mistake. Counterspells aren't dominant in the current environment, but they're still powerful - Skylasher beats an opposing second-turn Syncopate when you're going second, and he helps you rebuild without fear when they hit you with Supreme Verdict with mana up. More importantly, he has protection from blue - that may be 20% or so of Magic, but in Ravnica, that percentage is much higher. I would even like to try him as a sideboard/meta option in larger card pools, as his immunity to both counterspells and bounce spells is far from universal among blue hosers and his low cost gives you much-needed flexibility.

Constructed: 3/5
Casual: 3/5
Limited: 3/5
Multiplayer: 3/5

Today's card of the day is Skylasher which is a two mana Green 2/2 with Flash, Reach, Protection from Blue and can't be countered. For the cost this is an absolutely amazing sidedeck choice against decks with a Blue presence. Protection from Blue and countermagic avoidance are both obvious color hosing, while Reach helps against the fairly common Flying threats in Blue or other colors. Flash adds the surprise and bluffing factors that are more often seen in Blue's bag of tricks. Even as loaded with useful abilities as this is, it is just a 2/2 with Flash that can block Flying in many situations. Still a good card, but in a deck that is more thematic there is no shortage of options for the two mana slots and this may not see much play outside of sidedecks.

In Limited this is nice for the Reach, Flash, and when drawn early and naturally against any Blue threats. For the cost there is no reason not to include this is any Sealed deck using Green and despite just being a 2/2 is probably going to be the best card in a Booster pack. Passing this and drafting a Blue card in that pack instead is just asking for it to be used against you later.

Constructed: 4.0
Casual: 4.0
Limited: 4.0
Multiplayer: 4.0