Welcome back for some Daily Dose of Shadows Over Innistrad, where we are seeing more of the puzzle that is the story behind what is happening on Innistrad. We are less than a month away from experiencing what seems to be one of the most powerful sets we have seen in the past few years as more and more powerhouse previews come to the forefront, with more still to come. One of the great parts of the original Innistrad block is that it introduced us to a number of great characters that we are seeing again in new forms in Shadows Over Innistrad. Today I’m going to talk about some of the returning characters.
Back in Innistrad we were introduced to Olivia Voldaren, a Legendary Vampire which dominated Standard with her ability to damage opponent’s creatures while getting stronger. Olivia is back, and ready to go on the offensive. Here is Olivia, Mobilized for War:
Just by the name alone, Olivia, Mobilized for War, you can tell that is definitely is meant to be an offensive and aggressive card. First off, you get a 3/3 Flying Creature for only three mana. Olivia, Mobilized for War is only the third creature in the history of Magic to be a 3/3 Flying creature for three mana with no drawbacks whatsoever, and the first that doesn’t take three different colours of mana to cost. The other two were pretty powerful in their own rights, Jenara, Asura of War and Mantis Rider. So right away you can see that is card that pushed on the power spectrum. I haven’t even talked about her ability yet!
Her ability allows you to give any of your creatures, including tokens, haste and get a +1/+1 counter when it enters the battlefield. This can lead to same major damage in a short period of time. Imagine playing Olivia on turn three, followed by some of these creatures on turn 4:
[one_fifth responsive="stack"]
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"]
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"]
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"]
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth_last responsive="stack"]
[/one_fifth_last]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"](5/5 Flying, Haste, you need to take 3 damage to kill it)
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"](7/7 Flying, Haste, quick clock to end the game)
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"](6/6 Haste)
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth responsive="stack"](3/3 Haste, plus two 1/1 Flying creatures)
[/one_fifth]
[one_fifth_last responsive="stack"](5/5 Haste, allows you to remove removal cards from opponent’s hand)
[/one_fifth_last]
Being able to get that much damage so early in the game will help you win the aggressive battle against your opponent.
Next is a character from Innistrad that was on the side of good and now continues to be on the side of good. Here is Sigarda, Heron’s Grace.
One of the first things you notice is that unlike the original Sigarda, Host of Herons, this iteration doesn’t have hexproof herself. This fits well into the storyline of Shadows Over Innistrad as unlike before she is not just protecting herself, but instead looking to protect all of the Humans.
The fact that she gives you hexproof will definitely turn off a lot of your opponent’s spells including and discard or sacrificing creature spells. Giving Humans hexproof will be nice if you build your deck around it, but isn’t as important as giving you hexproof.
Late in the game you will be able to go wide with this card by producing multiple 1/1 Human soldiers at a fast rate. It’s great that you are able to exile any card from your graveyard to get a 1/1, and not just a creature card like other creature makers before her.
Being that Sigarda herself doesn’t have Hexproof will make her a target for any removal, but if you can avoid that, you will be able to take over the game quite quickly.
Thanks once again for reading more of the Daily Dose of Shadows Over Innistrad! There is still more of the puzzle to put together as we piece together what the new Innistrad looks like. I look forward to writing about more previews and seeing you back again tomorrow!
