Sword of Hearth and Home – Modern Horizons 2
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.38
Multiplayer: 4.0
Commander [EDH]: 4.0
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Yes, that’s Kaldheim’s World Tree in the background of the art – it makes you wonder if the mythic swords from this mega-cycle are echoes of some kind of Platonic ideal, like Pathfinder did with vorpal swords. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Anyway, this particular sword has the same powerful baseline they all do, with protection from white making it good in environments that play cards like Path to Exile, and protection from green helping you out against decks that like to win through combat. Its damage triggers are also strong in the abstract, although they depend more on what else is in your deck than some of the swords do. This is good in one sense – we need things like that so that everyone doesn’t just end up playing the same pile of good cards – but it does make it a little harder for it to get a look in bigger tournament formats. It’s hard to go wrong with it in casual Magic of any stripe, though.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
It’s not much of a throwback, but Sword of Hearth and Home is actually the only member of the Swords Giga-Mega-Ultra Cycle to not get a review on Pojo to date, so I figured it was a worthwhile inclusion. It was the sole Sword in Modern Horizons 2, and while the ally swords are maybe a step down from the enemy swords, this one still has a bit to offer.
As always, the swords offer protection and a color-tied effect. The one that might be the most immediately interesting is the mana ramp, as green is the best color at it with the other colors a bit behind; while you’re probably only getting this online on turn 4 (play on turn 3, equip and swing on turn 4), pairing a blink effect with the mana ramp is a pretty potent place to be. In particular, the land comes into play untapped (which is notable enough and pretty rare), and the iconic Stonefrge Mystic would certainly not mind a chance to dig out another horrifying artifact. Green and white are also decent colors to be protected from, as those are the primary creature colors, and not caring about how big their friends are is always nice.
That being said, Sword of Hearth and Home has never been one of the top-tier swords out of the cycle. It’s still plenty powerful, though, and it may have the right mix of tricks to get a deck going.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4.5
Limited: 4.25 (as long as you have a good carrier, this will do damage)
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4 (every deck loves ramp, and this gives any color the ability to do it)
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