Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Kaldheim. We're in our third week of previews and there is still so much left to unravel from the new set. Today I’ll be talking for the first time about the new mechanic from Kaldheim, Boast. Boast is an ability that you can activate if that creature attacked this turn. It can be right as you attack, or later in the turn if you think your creature will survive combat. We have seen a similar mechanic recently in Raid which was on all types of spells like Instants, Sorceries and Creatures. Boast though is a creature only mechanic that can be used once a turn if you attack with the creature that has it. Unlike Raid, there is always an additional cost to it to activate, but often the rewards are much more than that seen with Raid.
First off, I want to talk about a Berserker that can change its power. Here is Arni Brokenbrow.
Arni Brokenbrow
I’m a fan of this card even without the Boast ability on it. If I have an aggressive deck, what I’m looking for is a way to get in lots of unexpected damage. A 3/3 creature with Haste for only three mana will accomplish that. Where Boast comes into play is that if you have four mana on the turn you cast it, you'll be attacking with a four-power creature at the least. Later in the game whenever you attack you can increase this if you have bigger creatures. Where it becomes interesting is if you can add some +1/+1 counters on it. Let’s just say you have an Arni Brokenbrow with two +1/+1 counters on it, that makes it a 5/5. Once you attack and activate its ability, it looks for the highest power plus one, which makes it six. Since it has two +1/+1 counters on it, it now becomes an eight-power creature.
Next up is a Legendary Demon looking to help your search for the answers you need. Here is Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire.
Varragoth, Bloodsky Sire
To start off you get a 2/3 Deathtouch creature that can trade in combat with anything on the ground. The Deathtouch keyword will allow you to more easily attack and activate its Boast ability multiple times. Every time you search for a card and place it on top of your deck you are setting up your next draw. This means you can get a land if you're short, or a removal spell to kill your opponent’s biggest threats. If you are ahead, you can set up the top of your library with another threat. There are cards that give you advantages for the top of your library like the new Realmwalker which allows you to cast creatures off the top of your library for instant value. The same can be said for Vivien, Monsters' Advocate, allowing you stack the top of your deck with your best creatures. With Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast you can put your best creature on top of your library, then exile a creature to put that creature directly on the battlefield.
Finally, I have an Angel that is looking to wipe out your opponent’s battlefield of creatures. Here is Eradiactor Valkyrie.
Eradicator Valkyrie
What is not to love about this card? You get a 4/3 Flying, Lifelink creature, which alone can make short work of a game. It helps you regain some life and makes sure that the life total is swinging in your favour. Most of the Planeswalkers currently used in Standard aren’t focused on creature removal. Ashiok, Nightmare Muse can bounce a permanent. Chandra, Heart of Fire’s two damage ability can’t deal enough to kill Eradiactor Valkyrie. It will stop Teferi, Master of Time from phasing it out. Overall though, there isn’t much in Standard that you’ll need to worry about when it comes to Planeswalkers. As for its Boast ability, with enough creatures on your side, you can start to slowly take out your opponents’ creatures one at a time. This could possibly include their only blocker allowing you to get in some damage. If you have one more creature than your opponent, you could lock them down by never letting them have more than one creature on the battlefield. After that, four damage a turn will finish the game in short time.
Boast looks like it’s going to be one of those mechanics best suited for aggressive decks looking to attack and put pressure on your opponent. It could force them to make combat trades they don’t want to in attempts to get the creatures with Boast off the battlefield. Thanks again for joining me on the Daily Dose of Kaldheim. Join me again tomorrow as it’s time to go berserk with a pile of new Berserker spells from Kaldheim.
