For five mana, a 4/4 flyer is about average.
With haste, it becomes seriously solid, as
that's a hefty chunk of hard-to-block damage
that the opponent wasn't counting on when he
made his blocking decisions last turn.
Protection from white pushes it even further up,
as most removal spells in Standard right now
(that actually see play) are white. The only one
I can think of that I'd expect to see in action
is Ultimate Price.
Monstrosity is icing on the cake, as the game
likely won't last that much longer. Even against
a control deck, since they're mostly white--
they either already lost to this thing or found
an answer. If, somehow, they haven't-- the extra
chunk of damage to all opponents followed by a
7/7 flier should end it right then and there by
all rights.
I heard a story that this card's playtest
name was "Typhon, Father of All Monsters." Look
him up, he's awesome. It's unfortunate that the
name (or at least the title part of it) didn't
make it through to the final set, but the card
certainly reflects that imposing backstory. It
punishes opponents who think that their plethora
of enchantments and Divine Verdict-type effects
will protect them against anything (you know the
people I mean). While 4/4 is arguably small for
a dragon, his monstrosity ability ensures that
you will almost never be outclassed on the field
late-game, and the trigger is great value too.
Maybe that's just someone who's seen too many of
his Storm Seekers countered talking, but you'd
be surprised how many people lean on Phyrexian
Arena-style effects in all sorts of settings.
Today's card of the day is Stormbreath Dragon
which is a five mana Red
4/4 with Flying, Haste, Protection from White,
and Monstrosity 3 that also deals one damage to
each opponent equal to the number of cards in
their hand. This may not have the same initial
impact as some other dragons, such as Thundermaw
Hellkite, but the Protection adds a huge
competitive edge and serious threat to many
popular decks. The Monstrosity may or may not be
a factor depending on the match, but for just
two additional mana in play it can speed up the
clock and make use of an excess of mana with a
weak topdeck. Overall this is likely to be the
top of the curve choice for multiple deck styles
using Red mana, or at least be a sidedeck option
to swap with a similar evasive threat, and will
see serious play during the current rotation.
In Limited this is a major bomb as an evasive
threat with Haste that heavily benefits from the
Protection plus the self boosting aspect of
Monstrosity, even if the burn may not deal much
damage the +1/+1 counters will more than make up
for it. There's no real drawback and it is a
great first pick in Booster and automatic
inclusion for Sealed with Red as one of the
primary colors.
Stormbreath Dragon is one of my new favorite
cards. Partially because it is a strong dragon
and the fact that I pulled a foil yesterday!
(Looks Cool) Now, let us talk about this dragon
that burps storms. Stormbreath Dragon is a 4/4
with haste, protection from white and monstrous
3. When this dragon becomes monstrous it deals
damage EACH opponent equal to the amount of
cards in their hands. As you can see,
Stormbreath Dragon is great in Casual, Limited,
Multiplayer and Standard. The only gripe that I
have with this card is that Wizards just made a
Mythic dragon for 5 mana in M14. Other than
that, Stormbreath Dragon is an amazing card that
players will have fun with.
