Much like yesterday's discussion of fetchlands,
Courser of Kruphix falls very much into the
category of enabler, rather than the card that
"actually does things". Of course, enabling is
actually a "thing" too, and I have seen few
cards better at it than Courser of Kruphix. His
addition improves basically every strategy from
aggressive midrange decks to the slowest and
most grinding control decks since Stasis. The
fact that there are no traditional aggro
creatures really capable of beating him in the
Theros block has enhanced his impact, but make
no mistake: this card would be a monster
anywhere, any time, and deserves to be at the
top of our list.
The number one card of the year is Courser of
Kruphix which is a three mana Green 2/4
enchantment creature that has you play with the
top card of your library revealed, allows you to
play the top card if it is a land, and whenever
a land enters the battlefield under your control
you gain one life. The final effect is
pretty trivial outside of a combination with
effects that trigger from gaining life and the
first clause is often as much a benefit to your
opponent as it is to you. The ability to
play a land when it is on top of your library is
beneficial even if you have a land in hand and
at the cost of three mana for a solid 2/4 it is
a strong addition to a Green acceleration build.
Overall it isn't a great deal of raw power, but
adds some library management to Green attached
to a fairly durable body which should make it
relatively popular for certain builds.
In Limited the double Green is a drawback, but
the added benefit of some library control
alongside the four toughness body overcomes that
enough to make it a valuable addition. A
reasonable if unremarkable first pick in Booster
that works well enough in Sealed when playing
predominantly Green.
At the Born of the Gods pre-release, I was
fortunate enough to get two of these guys - one
of them foil. I traded for a second foil after
the tournament, and pulled a fourth one next
week in a prize. Since then, they've been in
nearly every deck I run that has green. But
what's so good about him?
Card advantage. Green doesn't draw cards very
well, and an extra card off the top of your
library gets you one card closer to the power
cards in your deck.
Blocking. A four toughness creature for three
mana is pretty strong. Combined with the 2
power, it gives a headache to fast aggressive
creature strategies.
Land drops. With the courser out, you are much
less likely to miss a land drop. Green likes to
win with big creatures, and you need your land
to come out dependably to get your fatties on
the table.
Life gain. It's a small thing, but it changes
fetch lands from -1 life to +1 life. Even a
couple life can be a big hurdle for some
aggressive opponents to overcome. Get multiple
coursers on the field to rack up the life in a
hurry.
Devotion. Green devotion is a pretty strong
strategy, and the courser has two of the right
mana symbol.
Courser doesn't win you games on his own back
very often, but he's about the best support card
you can ask for. Win conditions change with the
latest fad, but all the things courser does to
help you get there makes him the #1 card for
2014. Expect to see him for years to come.
