Thursday, April 28, 2011

Mean Green: The Beast Within

What happens when you cross Pongify with Vindicate?

Apparently mono-green universal permanent destruction:


People are already talking about this card because it represents the exotic animal known as creature destruction in green. The last time we had this kind of all-inclusive smashitude, it was with the awesomely potent Desert Twister. A card I have always tried to play in my green decks every since I opened my first and only one out of a pack of Revised. 6 mana was competitive for getting rid of just about anything back then and it still is now…provided you're playing EDH green.

Pongify has already shown to me how inconsequential a 3/3 Ape is in most circumstances, so the idea of a 3/3 Beast is small beans. Well-known territory, folks. A lot of times people forget about the token, knock it on the floor, or eat it. (Pro-tip: always give your opponent delicious chocolates to use as counters.)

The planeswalker hate is really solid in this set, and really good to see. Creating a brand new card type unfortunately created a bit of a vacuum…few cards affected "permanents" up to that point, instead choosing the much more restrictive "artifacts, creatures, or enchantments."



I can imagine the R&D crew sitting around their tiny, communal 3-legged work table hammering away at cards with those little golden hammers.

Designer 1: Lets make a sweeper!
Designer 2: that blows up all permanents!
Designer 3: WAIT WAIT WAIT
Designer 1: What?
Designer 3: We should make sure to restrict it to artifacts, creatures and enchantments.
Designer 2: Good call…that would really frustrate people if all their land was destroyed.
Designer 1: What if we said non-land permanents?
Designer 3: SHUT UP!

I'm sure standard players are already drooling at the idea of turning Jace, the Mind Sculptor into a 3/3 beast. But the beauty of Beast Within is its versatility. You can take care of any problem. No worries, no hassles.

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