Ojer Pakpatiq, Deepest Epoch – The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 4.00
Casual: 5.00
Limited: 5.00
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4.13
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Not all that long ago, it would have been hard to predict that God would be one of Magic’s regularly-used creature types. But we’re seeing more and more of them, not just in places where you might expect to, and Lost Caverns of Ixalan has some very intriguing and powerful ones – not just because they almost can’t die, but because the way they almost can’t die is so different from those in Theros sets. The lands they turn into usually have an activated ability to transform them back, but Ojer Pakpatiq’s Temple of Cyclical Time has an extra condition attached to it, probably because the card’s front face is powerful. There’s a lot of instants that change games when you cast them, and most of them are designed with the assumption that you don’t get to do it twice. This is the sort of card that sends you diving into the archives to figure out what was least intended for you to do it twice in a row, and I like cards like that.
Note that the Doctor Who keyword time travel looks for time counters on your cards – it doesn’t care what exact ability put them there!
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
there is no god
Entering the fray in Lost Cavens of Ixalan is a new and exciting tranche of divinities, these being Gods that turn into lands once they die and have the ability to revert back to their full majesty when a specific condition is met. Ojer Pakpatiq is a pretty interesting sort of enabler for spellslingers, so let’s talk about it.
Rebound is an ability that’s subtly powerful: two shots of a spell can add up if impactful enough, and even just getting two Lightning Bolts is solid. Rebound also helps decks like storm go absolutely insane in a long game, so there’s that. This isn’t to say Ojer Pakpatiq is just the ability: it’s also an evasive body, and while that 3 toughness isn’t ideal at times, it’s still a fast clock that demands removal.
Speaking of removal, when Ojer Pakpatiq meets with an unfortunate death experience, it reverts to the Temple of Cyclical Time, which will allow you to return it to play in three turns and allows you to tap for blue mana in the meantime. If it gets killed immediately, think of this as jumping from four mana to potentially six, which is an interesting sort of jump point; it’s probably better to off it than let it stick around, of course, but it does come with its risks if the removal doesn’t exile.
I do think all five of the gods here have some intrigue, and while Ojer Pakpatiq wants a certain shell to shine brightest, incremental value will still get you there soon enough, and it is a threat that promises to swoop early and often. I’d be surprised f it’s a star, but this is the kind of card that can blow a game open surprisingly fast.
Constructed: 4 (it’s a resilient sort of threat that demands exile or specific answers to not come back, and rebound makes this potentially scary with stronger spells)
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
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