Yeah, these guys can be a bit nutty with the right kind of deck. If you're running a casual deck that is +1/+1 focused, it's not difficult to get these guys insanely huge.
It's supposed to seem like a better Phyrexian Arena on a stick, but any token madness or lifegain decks won't care. Also, 3 life to a 20 life start is more meaningful than 3 life to a 40 starting point in EDH where it could potentially fill a niche.
Biggest downside of this guy is that he only has 3 toughness, which means he dies to bolt and a number of basic red sweepers. Surprisingly fragile.
Counterspell's original art just screams old-school Dungeons and Dragons to me. It's very much the style of illustrations you see in the old Mystara campaign setting manuals.
Yeah, I agree. I miss the old styling of MTG cards. It's not that I dislike the digital photorealistic style that has been dominating MTG since Alara, but there's been a lack of that high fantasy feeling.
Especially when they had D&D artists working on the card arts, like DiTerlizzi and Ron Spencer.
I could see throwing this guy into a Sisay Legends Matter EDH deck. Not super strong, but getting that additional card draw with the maverick style tutoring would be really good card advantage.
Even now it's not that bad, though back in those days I preferred running Immolation because of it's flexibility. Drop it on your own Shivan Dragon for the win, or use it as a kill spell early.
First strike and deathtouch together are a brutal combo. I used to use Voracious Cobra a lot because of it (it's pseudo-deathtouch, but basically works the same).
Best with trampling creatures, but not quite good on defense. Then again, blocking is for chumps. 2/2 body for 5 mana can be underwhelming.
I remember this getting a lot of attention early on because a counter with replacement effecs are great. I'd love one or two for commander decks, because despite the opponent drawing 2, it's still a hard counter to anything for just 1U.
Biggest downside of this guy is that he only has 3 toughness, which means he dies to bolt and a number of basic red sweepers. Surprisingly fragile.
Yeah, I agree. I miss the old styling of MTG cards. It's not that I dislike the digital photorealistic style that has been dominating MTG since Alara, but there's been a lack of that high fantasy feeling.
Especially when they had D&D artists working on the card arts, like DiTerlizzi and Ron Spencer.
Best with trampling creatures, but not quite good on defense. Then again, blocking is for chumps. 2/2 body for 5 mana can be underwhelming.