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A Complete Review of Legions (red)88. Blade Sliver 2R UncommonCreature - Sliver 2/2 All Slivers get +1/+0. ==> FUN: 5 Blade Sliver is no Muscle Sliver, but the good news is that you can have four of each in your deck. -- 89. Bloodstoke Howler 5R Common Creature - Beast 3/4 Morph 6R (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) When Bloodstoke Howler is turned face up, Beasts you control get +3/+0 until end of turn. ==> FUN: 3 A very strong effect, but also very expensive at seven mana. Even Overrun is only five mana and in a beast deck you'll want to go heavy on the green anyway, because green has a lot of good beasts. Use Bloodstoke Howler only if you're a purist when it comes to sticking to your deck's theme. -- 90. Clickslither 1RRR Rare Creature - Insect 3/3 Haste Sacrifice a Goblin: Clickslither gets +2/+2 and gains trample until end of turn. The least popular goblins get the outer caves. ==> FUN: 3 A 3/3 with haste for four mana is decent enough. Sacrificing a Goblin to pump it is a surprisingly strong ability in practice. As long as you have a Goblin or two available, it's almost impossible for your opponent to safely block Clickslither or destroy it with burn. Still, it's a bit bland for a rare. Sacrificing a creature for +2/+2 is an ability also seen on Phyrexian Ghoul, which is only a common. -- 91. Crested Craghorn 4R Common Creature - Beast 4/1 Haste Provoke (When this attacks, you may have target creature defending player controls untap and block it if able.) ==> FUN: 3 The haste means you can catch your opponent off-guard with a juicy creature ready to be provoked. The problem with Crested Craghorn is its single point of toughness. It's not going to survive getting blocked, not even by a weenie. -- 92. Flamewave Invoker 2R Common Creature - Goblin Mutant 2/2 7R: Flamewave Invoker deals five damage to target player. ==> FUN: 2 Most Goblin decks run out of steam well before they reach 8 mana. If you do get there, the ability is pretty good, but your opponent will likely find a way to get rid of Flamewave Invoker long before you get a chance to use it. On top of that, effects that just damage players are pretty boring, because they end the game too quickly. -- 93. Frenetic Raptor 5R Uncommon Creature - Beast 6/6 Beasts can't block. ==> FUN: 3 A big creature for a reasonable price. The drawback can even turn out to be a plus if you're playing against a beast deck. Most beasts are too big to burn through, but making them unable to block could allow you to eek out the win. -- 94. Gempalm Incinerator 2R Uncommon Creature - Goblin 2/1 Cycling 1R (1R, Discard this card from your hand: Draw a card.) When you cycle Gempalm Incinerator, you may have it deal X damage to target creature, where X is the number of Goblins in play. ==> FUN: 4 It's cheap, it's a cantrip, it can't be countered and it's removal. What more do you want? Ok, it only works in one specific type of deck, but you can't have everything. -- 95. Goblin Assassin 3RR Uncommon Creature - Goblin Assassin 2/2 Whenever Goblin Assassin or another goblin comes into play, each player flips a coin. Each player whose coin comes up tails sacrifices a creature. ==> FUN: 3 At first sight, Goblin Assassin looks like a typical coinflip card: both players run the same risk of losing a creature, so you have to use a double-headed coin or Goblin Bookies to nullify the risk. But Goblins are small and plentiful. If you use cards like Goblin Matron and Goblin Recruiter and burn away your opponent's weenies, you should be able to reduce your opponent to zero creatures while you still have a few. That doesn't mean I like Goblin Assassin, though. At five mana it's still Shockbait. -- 96. Goblin Clearcutter 3R Uncommon Creature - Goblin 3/3 T, sacrifice a forest: Add three mana in any combination of red and/or green to your mana pool. "Did you know that wood burns even better than rocks?" - Totto, goblin weaponsmith ==> FUN: 4 Orcish Lumberjack's big brother. The Lumberjack was feared because it could help get a five mana threat into play on turn two. Not even Dark Ritual can do that by itself. Goblin Clearcutter lacks that potential, but that's probably just as well. It's best to look at the Clearcutter as a Hill Giant with the potential of getting an endgame creature like a Shivan Dragon into play during the midgame. -- 97. Goblin Dynamo 5RR Uncommon Creature - Goblin 4/4 T: Goblin Dynamo deals one point of damage to target creature or player. XR, Sacrifice Goblin Dynamo: Goblin Dynamo deals X damage to target creature or player. ==> FUN: 4 Something tells me that a Tim ability on a 4/4 isn't going to be used a lot, but it could be useful if you're blocking. Block one creature, ping a one toughness weenie and sacrifice Goblin Dynamo to fireball a third creature. Costly but versatile. -- 98. Goblin Firebug 1R Common Creature - Goblin 2/2 When Goblin Firebug leaves play, sacrifice a land. Most goblins leave behind a wake of destruction. A few goblins take one with them. ==> FUN: 2 Short of giving your opponent control of Goblin Firebug and putting Vanishing on it so you can force it to leave play repeatedly, it doesn't look like much. For an aggressive weenie deck, I much prefer Goblin Raider. Not being able to block isn't a big problem, but losing the land you needed to cast Skizzik is. -- 99. Goblin Goon 3R Rare Creature - Goblin Mutant 6/6 Goblin Goon can't attack unless you control more creatures than defending player. Goblin Goon can't block unless you control more creatures than attacking player. Giant-sized body. Goblin-sized brain. ==> FUN: 3 Goblin Goon is the latest in a long tradition of big, cheap red creatures with crippling drawbacks. But is Goblin Goon's drawback all that crippling? Goblin decks usually don't have too much trouble getting a lot of creatures into play and reducing the number of creatures the opponent has. It's still a big risk, but a 6/6 on turn four is worth it. -- 100. Goblin Grappler R Common Creature - Goblin 1/1 Provoke (When this attacks, you may have target creature defending player controls untap and block it if able.) "Daru soldiers learned it's better to have a clean death from a sharp blade than to tangle with a goblin's rusted chains." ==> FUN: 3 Goblin Grappler is a copy of Deftblade Elite, but without the second ability. -- 101. Goblin Lookout 1R Common Creature - Goblin 1/2 T, Sacrifice a Goblin: All Goblins get +2/+0 until end of turn. ==> FUN: 4 If you attack with a lot of Goblins and keep Goblin Lookout untapped, your opponent will be forced to make some tough decisions when blocking. A Goblin is about to be killed in combat, you can basically use the Lookout's ability for free, hopefully allowing your Goblins to kill any blockers and the unblocked ones to do some serious damage to your opponent. Also, note that Goblin Lookout can be sacrificed to itself in a pinch. -- 102. Hunter Sliver 1R Common Creature - Sliver 1/1 All Sliver have Provoke. Once they get the scent, there is no escape. ==> FUN: 4 Obviously, Hunter Sliver is very good in combination with Toxin Sliver, but even without that, if you have as many slivers as your opponent has creatures, you get to decide who blocks what. Not that it makes a lot of difference, considering all slivers have the same abilities while they're in play, but it allows you to save the ones that grant a key ability by sacrificing the ones that have a duplicate or less important one. I'm not completely sure, but it looks like having two Hunter Slivers in play gives you even more choice, because it allows your slivers to provoke two creatures. -- 103. Imperial Hellkite 5RR Rare Creature - Dragon 6/6 Flying Morph 6RR (You may play this face down as a 2/2 creature for 3. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.) When Imperial Hellkite is turned face up, you may search your library for a Dragon card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. If you do, shuffle your library. ==> FUN: 5 Sure, Imperial Hellkite is expensive and even more expensive if you're paying the morph cost, but there's something to be said for revealing your 2/2 to be a dragon and at the same time searching your library for another dragon. With enough mana and time, you can get four Imperial Hellkites and a random other dragon into play at the cost of only one card. -- 104. Kilnmouth Dragon 5RR Rare Creature - Dragon 5/5 Amplify 3 (As this card comes into play, put three +1/+1 counters on it for each Dragon card you reveal in your hand.) Flying T: Kilnmouth Dragon deals damage equal to the number of +1/+1 counters on it to target creature or player. ==> FUN: 4 Although I like the idea of a dragon deck, I can't really see it working, because dragons are so expensive and once you get one into play, your opponent has to deal with it or die. But you don't need a dedicated dragon deck. Even if you can reveal just one dragon when playing Kilnmouth Dragon, you get an 8/8 flier for seven mana, a good deal. I doubt the tap ability will get used much, but it's a nice extra in case your opponent tries to use Pacifism to control your dragon. -- 105. Lavaborn Muse 3R Rare Creature - Spirit 3/3 At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has two or fewer cards in hand, Lavaborn Muse deals 3 damage to him or her. ==> FUN: 3 A variation on the Rackling theme. Lavaborn Muse can be played as a Hill Giant with a potentially useful ability, or as a backup to a discard deck. -- 106. Macetail Hystrodon 6R Common Creature - Beast 4/4 First Strike, Haste, Cycling: 3 ==> FUN: 3 Macetail Hystrodon is on the expensive side and its abilities don't make up for that completely. It's nice to be able to cycle an expensive creature early on, but by the time I get to seven mana, I'd probably cycle Macetail Hystrodon, hoping to find a dragon that can put more pressure on my opponent. -- 107. Magma Sliver 3R Rare Creature - Sliver 3/3 All Slivers have "T: Target Sliver gets +X/+0 until end of turn, where X is the number of Slivers in play." "As malleable as molten steel, but as dangerous as the finished blade." ==> FUN: 3 Like I said before, I don't like tap abilities on slivers. It's just not the sliver way! Magma Sliver's ability can be tactically strong in the right circumstances, though. With enough slivers in play and one or two held back, you can force your opponent to block all your slivers or face a lot of damage from the unblocked one. -- 108. Ridgetop Raptor 3R Uncommon Creature - Beast 2/1 Double strike (This creature deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) "The Skirk Ridge has many wonderful things to discover - like escape routes." - Foothill Guide ==> FUN: 2 Finally, the first creature with double strike in the set. I was beginning to think that double strike was just a rumor! It's important to realize that double strike makes it effectively a 4/1, which explains the high mana cost. The double strike gives Ridgetop Raptor some protection against small blockers, but that single point of toughness means that almost any removal can get rid of it. At four mana, that just isn't good enough. -- 109. Rockshard Elemental 5RR Rare Creature - Elemental 4/3 Double strike (This creature deals both first-strike and regular combat damage.) Morph 4RR ==> FUN: 3 Double strike means that Rockshard Elemental is basically an 8/3 and if you play it with morph, you only need six lands to get it into play. Not bad, although in that price range I'd rather have a dragon for the flying. I'm not really sure yet what happens if a creature with double strike, like Rockshard Elemental, kills its blocker with first-strike damage. Is it still considered blocked by the time the normal damage step happens? Probably, but it could also be that that damage is dealt to the opponent, giving double strike some sort of trample-like side-effect. -- 110. Shaleskin Plower 3R Common Creature - Beast 3/2 Morph 4R When Shaleskin Plower is turned faced up, destroy target land. ==> FUN: 4 Shaleskin Plower is no Avalanche Riders, but the potential for card advantage is still good. Unlike most of these morph abilities, you'll want to play Shaleskin Plower's as soon as possible, instead of waiting for a good strategic moment. -- 111. Skirk Alarmist 1R Rare Creature - Wizard 1/2 Haste T: Turn target face-down creature you control face up. At end of turn, sacrifice it. ==> FUN: 4 Fun with Imperial Hellkite. For three mana, you get a 6/6 dragon for one turn and you get to search your library for another one. You can also use Skirk Alarmist with off-color morph creatures, but that's risky, because as soon as your opponent catches on, your Skirk Alarmist will be history. -- 112. Skirk Drill Sergeant 1R Uncommon Creature - Goblin 2/1 Whenever Skirk Drill Sergeant or another Goblin is put into a graveyard from play, you may pay 2R. If you do, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a Goblin card, put it into play. Otherwise, put it into your graveyard. ==> FUN: 5 If you're playing a 20 Goblin deck, Skirk Drill Sergeant will get you a replacement Goblin for about 30% of your Goblins that die. Unless you're also playing with Goblin Recruiter or have several Drill Sergeants in play. In those cases you'll get good use out of your Goblin Grenades! There's even a three card kill possible: Have a Goblin Bombardment and Skirk Drill Sergeant in play. Cast a Goblin Recruiter, putting all your Goblins on top of your library. Sacrifice the Recruiter for one damage against your opponent. Then sacrifice your new Goblin until your opponent is dead. Not a bad combo, it's all red, cheap and the Recruiter can help you find a Drill Sergeant. If there are any goblins that read something like: "Sacrifice a Goblin: do one damage to target player", it'd be even better. -- 113. Skirk Marauder 1R Common Creature - Goblin 2/1 Morph 2R When Skirk Marauder is turned face up, it deals 2 damage to target creature or player. ==> FUN: 4 A watered-down Ghitu Slinger. On the up side, Skirk Marauder can be played without morph if you need a two-drop. -- 114. Skirk Outrider 3R Common Creature - Goblin 2/2 Skirk Outrider gets +2/+2 and has trample as long as you control a Beast. Once the goblins thought about it, they preferred being atop a slateback to being in front of, behind, or underneath one. ==> FUN: 3 Skirk Outrider can be pretty good in the right deck, but the right deck would have to be a diluted beast deck. It's probably a better idea not to dilute such a deck with some random goblin. -- 115. Unstable Hulk 1RR Rare Creature - Goblin Mutant 2/2 Morph 3RR When Unstable Hulk is turned face up, it gets +6/+6 and trample until end of turn. Skip your next turn. ==> FUN: 4 Of course you shouldn't morph Unstable Hulk unless you expect to win that turn. But with an 8/8 trampler that should be no problem. It's a risky tactic in case your opponent has an Unsummon or Terror ready, but with all the good Goblins in this set, I think red weenie decks could make a comeback. -- 116. Warbreak Trumpeter R Uncommon Creature - Goblin 1/1 Morph XXR When Warbreak Trumpeter is turned face up, put X 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens into play. ==> FUN: 4 Warbreak Trumpeter works well with all that goblin sacrificing that's going on in Legions. The double X in the morph cost makes it not as practical as some previous Goblin token creators, but the possibilities for a large number of Goblin tokens are endless. |
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