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Editor: Rebecca Mitchell. Friday 28 February 2003.
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Legions Limited Review - Green
By Dan Turner The first 3 installments in this series can be found here: White, Blue and Black.
Green shapes up quite well in Legions and still provides strong support to both of the removal colours. There are plenty of decent elves which give green a significant tempo advantage in this set in addition to some powerful game breakers like Seedborn Muse and Tribal Forcemage. Overall Green is up there with Black as the best colour in Legions and so it should be, it is the colour of creatures after all. Sadly, Nik Smith has gone back to New Zealand so you will have to put up with my snide comments, sarcastic undertones and brief, yet insightful strategic moments. I will be delving into Red next week for the final installment in this series. Until then Berserk Murlodont Murlodont, Hundroog? Yes people we truly have entered the realm of nonsensical creatures that exist only in the minds of Wizards R & D. Can you imagine these guys playing Scrabble? Randy: 'Zuaqix?' Mark: 'Yeah it is an underwater mammal that can turn itself invisible when predators are nearby. Oh look, triple word score too'. Seriously the Murlodont is a little overcosted for it’s P/T but can be a real pain for your opponent if you already have some beasts on the board. Remember this guy works for your opponent too, so be careful with your blocks. A mid range pick, the Murlodont should see play, 6th to 8th. Branchsnap Lorian This is more like it, pronounceable card names again! The Branchsnap is the most efficient morph creature for green (both in terms of its morph cost and power) and the fact it has trample is an added bonus. The low toughness makes it quite fragile but this guy will often be taking down other beasts so it doesn’t really matter. A solid morph creature, but watch out for cycled Solar Blasts, Death Pulses etc before damage is on the stack. A good early to midrange pick, 4th to 6th. Brontotherium Picture this, a late night R&D session with the card designers stumped on a card name. 'Hey, I’ve got it guys, lets throw a made up dinosaur name into the mix and just stick beast on as the creature type and there shouldn’t be any problems.' Well the Brontotherium is quite a beating if you can cast it as Provoke and Trample can only spell bad times for your opponent. The problem is, you don’t want many six casting cost creatures and if you do they have to be really good. If you are thinking of running this, make sure you have some sort of mana acceleration otherwise it will be gumming up your hand. Still, provoke is a good ability making Brontotherium a mid range pick, 5th to 7th. Brood Sliver The jury is still out on which rare sliver is the best but the Brood is a serious contender. Mistform creatures spring to mind with the brood but that means going U/G so make sure you stock up on Choking Tethers, Mistform Seaswifts and maybe even the odd Crown of Ascension. This looks like first pick material to me but I could be (and often am) wrong. Caller of the Claw This is my favourite card in the set. Forget about the muses, Akroma, Bane of the Living and Seedborn Muse, Caller of the Claw wins out in my opinion. The caller has great constructed potential too, but I won’t digress as this is meant to be a limited review. He is a good surprise blocker and the best answer for a mass creature sweeper such as Infest, Starstorm or a Slice and Dice. The Caller also combos nicely with Nantuko Husk. A first pick which works well in any archetype, Caller of the Claw is the new Grizzly Fate. Canopy Crawler Anything that gives a P/T boost to another creature is always good. Amplify ensures that the crawler will receive at least 1 counter (possibly more if you have a few high end fatties) making it quite efficient for it’s casting cost. I’m not convinced this is a first pick though but definitely an early pick, 3rd to 5th. Defiant Elf So you thought Fugitive Wizard was good? Well ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to introduce to you 'Defiant Elf'. Not only is it a 1/1 for the measly cost of 1 mana but it also has trample, yes you heard me right trample, can you believe it? Frankly, no. Elvish Soultiller A 5/4 for 5 mana is not too shabby but it's the Soultiller's ability which really seals the deal. The fact he can single-handedly take down nearly all of the common beasts and then shuffle your beasts/elves back in makes him a high draft pick. If you are going B/G be careful not to stump yourself with Aphetto Dredging. An early pick, 1st or 2nd. Enormous Baloth I have heard of Giant Baloths, Big Baloths and the less heard of Rather Large Baloth but never the Enormous Baloth. Crikey! This thing is huge! Why don’t these creatures ever have trample?? I suppose if the Krosan Colossus and the Krosan Cloudscraper didn’t get trample then it’s lowly cousin shouldn’t have it either. Oh well, just another high end creature that probably wont see play (I mean it doesn’t even have morph!). A late pick, 9th to 12th. Feral Throwback Any creature that has Amplify 2 is definitely worth taking a close look at, especially if beasts are involved. The Throwback also has Provoke; in fact it is the biggest provoker in the set so it is well worth the six-mana investment. If you want decent high-end fatties, it doesn’t get much better than this. He wont get around the table so is a solid first pick. Gempalm Strider Since writing the White review, I believe the Gempalm Strider is better than the Gempalm Avenger purely because it is a 2/2 for 2 mana. If you are drawing it is often important to get a jump on your opponent by having a good 2-drop. I still think the Gempalm Incinerator is the best Gempalm creature but I would always run the Strider, 4th to 6th. Glowering Rogon Glowering Rogon joins the ever-increasing list of creatures with stupid card names and the other slightly longer list of crappy overcosted fatties with next to useless abilities. These big creatures really need to have morph to make them barely playable, so please leave this beast well alone, a late pick, 12th to 15th. Hundroog Well I don’t know about you but this has to be the most crack brained, ‘airy-fairy', off the top of my head name given to a Magical card ever. I think it is the double 'o' which pushes this beast into the previously unchartered territory of pathetic card names and to make things even worse it is barely playable. So fellow gamers be prepared for utterances such as 'at the end of your turn cycle Hundroog' or 'block with my Hundroog' over the next seven months. A late pick, 10th to 12th. Krosan Cloudscraper Remember back in the old days when really big creatures had abilities that lived up to their names. Like Leviathan from the Dark, Force of Nature, or what about Polar Kraken? Krosan Cloudscraper should have trample, no doubt about it or at least be able to block creatures with flying as it’s name suggests. Morph is a saving grace but a first pick it isn’t. An early to mid range pick, 3rd to 5th. Krosan Vorine This is a decent 4-drop for green and is good for luring creatures with faced up triggered abilities to their doom. Krosan Vorine is by no means spectacular but a welcome addition to the 4 casting cost slot. A mid range pick, 5th to 7th. Nantuko Vigilante The Vigilante makes Naturalize redundant so you don’t need to worry about drafting any in the Onslaught packs. One should always be able to pick up these in Legions as they come around quite late in draft and there are enough annoying enchantments out there to warrant playing him maindeck. A late pick, 8th to 10th. Needleshot Gourna I’ve played the Needleshot a few times and found him better on the bench so he can be subbed in when he is really needed. The 5 or 6 mana slot is a coveted one, especially if you have no mana acceleration. If you really need creatures (which you shouldn’t with Legions) maindeck him otherwise leave the Gourna in the sideboard. A mid to late range pick, 7th to 9th. Patron of the Wild Green has a few really good elves in Legions and the Patron of the Wild is no exception. Always good for a combat trick the patron serves double duty for the Timberwatch Elf after he has been turned face up. Like a lot of the creatures with triggered face up abilities the patron can tie up your mana early but this should not put you off drafting him. A mid range pick, 5th to 7th. Primal Whisperer Do you want to know a secret? Come closer... that’s better. Primal Whisperer is crap. It relies totally on the amount of face down creatures in play and if they belong to your opponent then... you get the idea. A late pick, 12th to 15th. Quick Sliver This would have been so much better in Tempest block. Imagine casting a Crystalline Sliver at instant speed? Ouch. Enough nostalgia, Quick Sliver is in Legions making it pretty damn useless as there is no Muscle Sliver to boost it up. Most of the common Slivers are unplayable in limited so there had better be some decent ones in Scourge otherwise these guys will be collecting dust. Root Sliver I can see this being used in Extended if Sliver decks are to make a comeback, but sadly in limited it is a piece of junk. Next! Seedborn Muse The most obvious use of the Seedborn Muse is with the Invokers, the Flamewave Invoker in particular. At the beginning of your opponent's turn put the Muse’s ability on the stack, tap eight mana, blast them with the Invoker then do it again in their end step (or any other step for that matter!). Pretty crazy stuff! The Invokers really shake up limited play and the Seedborn just adds insult to the injury. It is also good for morphing creatures with triggered face up abilities (and other morphs too) and makes attacking/blocking decisions easier. A quality first pick. Stonewood Invoker The Stonewood is a real gem as it is both a solid 2-drop and a nightmare in the late game if you reach 8 mana. It is not as good as the black or red invokers but wins out in pure efficiency as one of the better green commons in the set. An early pick, 3rd to 5th. Timberwatch Elf It may come as no surprise that this is the best green common in Legions. The Timberwatch can cause early headaches for your opponent, especially if you already have another elf on the table by the third turn, and if you have multiple copies then I pity the poor soul sitting opposite you. Black removal is the only way to get rid of these elves effectively and most of them are expensive. A solid first pick that is on par with some of the good rares in the set. Totem Speaker Totem Speaker and Wirewood Savage make a powerful tag team if your deck happens to be laden with beasts. The Speaker is not too bad by himself and is certainly better than Berserk Murlodont in the 5 casting cost slot. Still it's his casting cost that stops him being picked early so he warrants a mid range pick, 4th to 6th. Tribal Forcemage This is greens best morph creature in Legions as it is cheap to turn face up and has a powerful triggered ability that has 'I win' written all over it. Obviously this works best with beasts and I personally recommend using Berserk Murlodonts and Hundroogs. A first pick if ever there was one. Vexing Beetle When was the last time your opponent had no creatures in limited? Like that ever happens. The only person that will be vexed if you play this is your opponent. A late pick, 12th to 15th. Wirewood Channeler At first glance the Channeler looks decidedly average but if you happen to be splashing a third colour or have cards that have multiple mana commitments (i.e. Visara and Phage) then this little guy covers a few bases. Four mana for a 2/2 is not that good but it may be well worth it so you can play that off colour removal spell or bomb which would otherwise be languishing in your sideboard. A mid to late pick, 8th to 10th. Wirewood Hivemaster Wirewood Savage the Hivemaster is not. Neither is he a Berserk Murlodont for that matter. This elf is pretty crummy as 1/1 insects are really not that exciting. I can safely say that this card will not see much play in Onslaught block limited. A late pick, 12th to 15th.
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