Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt. Today I’m going to be talking about the sweet new Mythic creature cycle. Spells with X in their casting cost have always been great in Magic as they allow for more versatility. This is true for spells with Kicker that give you bonuses for spending more mana. This cycle of creatures has a Multikicker-like addition to their casting cost that gives them each a bonus. The main difference is that it can be paid each time it enters the battlefield and not just when it’s cast. This allows you to activate these triggers upon reanimation or if you flicker the creature.
Let’s start off by looking at the White Adversary creature. Here is Intrepid Adversary.
Intrepid Adversary
I want to start off by looking at each creature if you cast it only for its base mana value. At its base mana value, you get a 3/1 Lifelink creature for two mana. It’s a great attacker with three power, and having Lifelink is a nice added bonus against aggro decks. Now I want to look at how this creature and its enter the battlefield triggers would look at the next two casting costs for this card.
Four total mana spent: This would give you a 4/2 Lifelink creature that also pumps up the rest of your team by +1/+1. This can instantly help you with an alpha strike if you already have a reasonable army of creatures on the battlefield. Its two toughness still leaves it vulnerable during combat and often you won’t be able to attack with it if you want to keep your team bonus.
Six total mana spent: This would give you a 5/3 Lifelink creature that also pumps up the rest of your team by +2/+2. There aren’t many permanents that pump up your team by +2/+2. We’ve seen this ability on the five mana Dictate of Heliod or as an ability of Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. This will allow you to outclass your opponents’ creatures and trade up during combat or make it so your opponent must make unfavorable blocks.
Next up is the Blue Adversary creature. Here is Spectral Adversary.
Spectral Adversary
At its base mana value, you get a 2/1 Flying creature with Flash. This can be used to surprise an opponent or give it pseudo-haste by playing it on your opponents’ turn. It also has some potential synergies being a Spirit. Now let’s have a look at how this creature and its enter the battlefield triggers would look at the next two casting costs for this card.
Four total mana spent: This would give you a 3/2 Flash Flying creature that also is able to phase out one permanent. This can help you counter a removal spell or protect a creature from lethal combat damage.
Six total mana spent: This would give you a strong 4/3 Flash Flying creature that could potentially surprise an opponent with a block. This can help you phase out two permanents, which could either help you protect your own permanents or remove some blockers from combat temporarily to push through an attack.
Third on the list is the Black Adversary creature. Here is Tainted Adversary.
Tainted Adversary
At its base mana value, you get a 2/3 Deathtouch creature. It might not seem like much but having a Deathtouch creature with a third point of toughness goes a long way in adding value to the creature. Like the blue Adversary, Tainted Adversary plays well with other cards in the set being a Zombie. Next, let’s have a look at how this creature and its enter the battlefield triggers would look at the next two casting costs for this card.
Five total mana cost – This would give you a 3/4 Deathtouch creature and two 2/2 Zombies with decayed. This adds seven power of attackers to the battlefield for only five mana. It also adds three Zombies onto the battlefield at once, which could help with some synergistic triggers as well.
Eight total mana cost – This would give you a massive 4/5 Deathtouch creature that would be hard to deal with during combat scenarios. On top of that, you get an additional eight power of Zombies with decayed. Although they can’t block, they can help you with an all-out attack to push through some damage on your opponent.
Onwards we go to talk about the Red Adversary creature. Here is Bloodthirsty Adversary.
Bloodthirsty Adversary
At its base mana value, you get a 2/2 creature with Haste. This is a little weaker than some of the other creatures at their base mana value but getting in for two damage could be good depending on how aggressive you are trying to be. Now let’s have a look at how this creature and its enter the battlefield triggers would look at the next two casting costs for this card.
Five total mana cost: This will give you a 3/3 creature with Haste for five mana that allows you to cast a free spell with mana value three or less from your graveyard. For five mana this reminds me of Goblin Dark-Dwellers.
Eight total mana cost: This will give you a 4/4 creature with Haste that will allow you to cast two spells from your graveyard. This is of course much better value, but its value will depend on what spells you have in your graveyard to cast. It’s a lot of mana for a double trigger, but three spells for the price of one is hard to ignore.
Finally, we have the Green Adversary creature. Here is Primal Adversary.
Primal Adversary
This is the only one of the Adversary creatures that costs three mana, which is why for its base value you get a stronger 4/3 Trample creature. This has the best stats of the five, and being a Wolf adds a lot of synergy with other cards in the set. Let’s have a look at how this creature and its enter the battlefield triggers would look at the next two casting costs.
Five total mana cost: This will give you a 5/4 Trample creature for only five mana which is decent enough on its own, but you'll also turn one of your lands into a 3/3 Wolf with Haste. This could potentially get in for three immediate damage or just leave you with a nice eight power on the battlefield.
Seven total mana cost: This will give you a 6/5 Trample creature that adds an additional six power on the battlefield in the form of two 3/3 Wolf creatures. This adds an amazing twelve total power to the battlefield and potentially the best value out of the bunch.
As you can see this Mythic cycle of creatures will have a huge impact on Standard providing an early, mid, and late game creature to your deck. Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Innistrad Midnight Hunt. Join me again next week as it’s time for The Ultimate Guide to Innistrad Midnight Hunt Limited and Prerelease.
