Mowu, Loyal Companion – MTG Card Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

I’m not sure what’s more exciting: the fact that Yanggu and Mowu are now part of the mainline Magic story, or the prospect of Doubling Season tribal. Mowu’s ability doesn’t literally double, of course, but the concept is very similar, and any strategy that revolves around such counters has a far more dangerous growth curve when he’s on the table. Fittingly for War of the Spark, he interacts very well with planeswalkers like Ajani’s various incarnations. My main concern about his constructed prospects is that he needs other cards to become a truly game-ending threat. His toughness starts low enough to be hit by common red damage spells, and he doesn’t have abilities with the immediacy of some other green cards with similar costs. In casual settings, though, he can single-handedly win a game in the right deck – he’s a casual deck’s more interesting and, yes, cuter equivalent of Tarmogoyf. 

Constructed: 2/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 3/5
EDH/Commander: 3/5

Hardened Scales in canine form? Sounds about right. Jiang Yanggu brought his trusted companion, Mowu, with him to Ravnica, and he is one bad dog. Or something. A 3/3 with trample and vigilance is pretty legit, and that passive makes any counter pump even more impactful…which pairs well with Jiang Yanggu’s card from the set, which can put a +1/+1 counter on a creature. I think Mowu is good if you build around him, and he has the potential to be a Limited bomb, though a flexible mana cost means he’ll slot well into most decks all the same.

Constructed: 2.75
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.75
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3.5