Welcome to the Daily Dose of Core 2019, where today I’m talking big creatures. Some start big, while others become big.
A key theme in Core 2019 is big creatures, like the Elder Dragons that you'll soon see on the battlefield. So of course one of today's cards wants you to play as many big creatures as you can. Wizards of the Coast has taken the magic number of four power, and created some cards that give you some extra value for playing creatures with four or more power. Plus, we're going to throw a little cherry on top of this big, stompy sundae with two enchantments and a sorcery spell in today's Daily Dose.
So, I’m going to start off with a sorcery that rewards you for playing as many large creatures as you can. Here is Vivien’s Invocation:
This is an expensive card, but look at it like two separate cards. One is a spell that searches your library for a creature and puts it directly onto the battlefield. The other is a removal spell. It just happens that you have to play them both at the same time.
If you're worried about whiffing with Vivien's Invocation, there's a very small chance of that. Let's say that you have a normal creature spread of 20 creatures in a 60-card deck. That leaves a 5.7% chance of not hitting a creature in your top seven cards. Obviously, some choice would be nice. That way you could choose both a strong creature to put on the battlefield and one that will be able to take out an opponents’ creature.
I do think this card will see some Limited play, but that its high casting cost will keep it out of Standard.
You won’t always be able to have a large creature on the battlefield, but luckily there's a new card that can make creatures large. Let's take a look at Prodigious Growth:
Now this is a rare that I want in my Prerelease packs.
There's nothing more satisfying than taking that innocent 2/2 that's been sitting there all game and turning it into an unstoppable offensive juggernaut. No matter what you put this on, it's likely to turn into the largest creature on the battlefield. There will be times where this is dead in your hand, staring at an empty battlefield. However, more often than not you'll have a target for it.
This is another card whose expensive cost makes it tough to use in Standard, but will be an all-star in Limited formats.
Finally, I want to talk about an enchantment with a delayed payoff. It won't do anything the turn you cast it, but the upside for future turns is huge. Here's Sarkhan’s Unsealing:
If you build your deck to only have creatures with power four or greater, every creature you cast after Sarkhan's Unsealing will have a removal spell attached to it.
A couple key notes about this card. First, you can hit any target for four damage, not just creatures. This means that if your opponent has a clear battlefield, you can always target them. Second, it looks for power, not casting cost.
There are some cheap creatures with four or more power that will still trigger this card. Cards like Bloodrage Brawler, Combat Celebrant, Exemplar of Strength, Prowling Serpopard, Steel Leaf Champion, and Wayward Swordtooth all apply here. However, if you really want to clear the way, cast a creature with power seven or greater.
There are some nice creatures that you can use to trigger the second ability on Sarkhan’s Unsealing. Carnage Tyrant is a particularly good candidate to help clear the way. Then, once you’ve got some power on the battlefield, you can cast a real big creature like Ghalta, Primal Hunger, or some nice Dragons likeDarigaaz Reincarnated that will also set off the trigger.
If these cards don’t make you want to play with big creatures on the battlefield, I don’t know what will. Brews will be coming for this coming Standard season, with Dragons at the forefront.
Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Core 2019. Join me again tomorrow as I review a few more cards from the new set before Prerelease week starts on Monday.
