CardName – Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.25
Casual: 3.75
Limited: 3.75
Multiplayer: 3.25
Commander [EDH]: 3.37
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
“The Ancient One” is another name that I might not have guessed hadn’t been used before. I suppose it is fairly generic, the kind of thing that’s been used as a name or title in a thousand fantasy stories, likely including other Journey to the Center of the Earth-inspired tales. You might well want to save it for the right place, to make it stand out.
This place they’ve selected is certainly unique. Once upon a time, everyone would have been saying that you use a card like this as a way to get eight power into play or your graveyard comparatively easily, and then exploit that number with something that looks for it (even something as simple as Fling). But I look at The Ancient One’s activated ability, and see something that can consistenly make it able to attack, given a carefully-constructed deck. I look at the rest of Lost Caverns of Ixalan, and I see a lot of cards that support the descend theme and graveyard stuff in general. Cardmarket just did a really interesting video where they played with only cards from that set, and nonetheless made a really nasty descend/craft deck. This card wasn’t in it, but the fact that it worked so well suggests that there’s a lot of support for the set’s themes. As such, I think The Ancient One has to be considered a card with high potential; if nothing else, Dredge is going to be taking a look at it!
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
A two-mana 8/8 is certainly intriguing, though The Ancient One isn’t a simple body. It requires 8 permanents in your graveyard to be able to attack, so it’s a daunting prospect to get this online immediately. It does offer a way to load up your graveyard through a simple loot effect that also can mill further, and it also has the ability to be spun into a mill engine against your opponent.
Honestly, this feels like a strange card to evaluate. It’s not a simple body to get the most out of, but it is an oversized body that can be used and abused rather cleanly. But between its interesting talents and its cheap stats, this seems like a Phyrexian Dreadnought case where it’s a body that can be abused. Simple things include loading up vehicles with a cheap body, but there are plenty of other ways to make The Ancient One pop off.
Constructed: 3 (I’m probably very conservative, but it’s a strange piece)
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5 (takes a bit to get attacking, but it’s big and blunt)
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3.25
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