Through the Breach Once More!

It's time to get fired up

A moment of silence please for the Unblockable keyword please... ahem, anyway today I'm discussing Break Through the Line, a powerful enchantment for pushing through power on tiny creatures. Honestly, it took a while for me to realize BttL would fit neatly into both Goblin Piledriver-Driven decks, Jeskai Aggro, or any deck that wants a hasted, can't be blocked, two drop turn three. It essentially pushes up a curve by a bit for added utility with an easy toll on your mana base. It is a simple card, but it has far-reaching consequences at all points of the game.

I do have two criticisms for it though. One, drawing more than one is bad. You may as well hope to play it to trigger prowess, or be redundant to power through Dromaka's Command, but other than that... well, it's one devotion >.> 

My second critique is a little more related to the type of deck it wants to be in I.E. it wants a ton of creatures so it's always relevant. Every turn it isn't activated is another turn where you could've burned your opponents face with Strikes or Stokes. However, it's a mana sink and continues to provide value even after the initial target enters play.

As a side note: If you're looking for a card to slide into you 99 in Commander, BttL is a fabulous addition to decks with lots of utility creatures. It can also help a temporary ally push through some damage because it can give anything haste.

Torch it

Touch it: This card is very narrow, but powerful in the right place.

Try it

Own it

Next week I'll discuss a limited bomb and possible standard powerhouse Call of the Full Moon.

Your Proper Place is Beneath My Boot Heel: Enthralling Victor

He's... beautiful.

In a field of dragons, walking hangars, and annoying Rhinos, there's one 4 drop that is being overlooked despite the huge returns he can bring. Enthralling Victor (i.e. Vic for my sake) exists in this weird limbo of costing to much for an ability that would be much better, if not busted on a three drop, but not able to compete with similar cards set at rares, Zealous Conscripts and Sower of Temptation, due to his built in limits. However, I believe he is quite capable in the right setting.

Standard as of now is not very friendly to our four drop Adonis. Other four drops are just better. Siege Rhino steps all over him. Thunderbreak Regent is very difficult to deal with.  Vic here just can't hack it in this super mid-rangey world full of bigger fish. What he wants are aggro decks, where he can steal guys consistently and be a tempo breaking finisher high on his deck's curve. Against an unknown metagame, I'd sideboard him, but if your store is littered with Rabblemasters and Piledrivers, here's an example list to put the fear of four drops into your opponent :

4 Enthralling Victor

4 Nantuko Husk

4 Dragon Fodder

4 Hordeling Outburst

4 Collateral Damage

2 Tyramet, the Murder King

4 Lightning Strike

4 Stoke the Flames

3 Kolaghan's Command

3 Zurgo, Bellstriker

2 Mardu Shadowspear

22 Lands

The deck lacks outs vs more grindy decks, but  vs another opposing aggro deck I believe the Combination of Vic and the two other outs Collateral Damage and Nantuko Husk can be a massive swing in tempo, completely swinging the matchup from close to destroyed.

Torch it

Touch it

Try it: Enthralling Victor is very specific in what he wants to do, but he's a great at turning a game around. Give him a chance and I'm certain he'll prove himself.

Own it

Next time we dive through the breach and push through damage with Break through the Line! With a week under my belt I'd love to hear from my readers: are these articles helpful? What can I do to improve? Is there any uncommons you'd like to see here on Uncommon Thoughts? (and yes I'm saving my Force of Will article for a special day.)

Why is this not a thing? Valor in Akros

Phalanx? More like... Play-lynx

Here's the card that single handily inspired Uncommon Thoughts. Its combination of simple power, cost, and splash-ibility makes Valor In Akros an awesome addition to any collection on the cheap. This is a budget deckbuilders wet dream, except made of cardboard and may be more liable for cuts. (Note: Uncommon Thoughts and its author do not condone Magic-related self-gratification.) Let's break down exactly why ViA is a powerhouse in Standard and maybe more.

To start, the premise for ViA is pretty standard for anthem effects, but it takes that premise and breaks it over its knee. Anthem effects prefer the wide angle of attack with lots of cheap creatures or tokens and overwhelm the opponent with  tough 3/3's and 4/4's.  ViA is much more explosive than say, Glorious Anthem, because it counts each creature coming into play and promptly pumps your side by +3/+3 or more. Of course, being until the end of turn means this is more offensively oriented, but that doesn't mean I won't try and make a combo with it.

The deck I first thought of was a white token deck for standard with evasive 3 drops that play into ViA that then get huge with a follow up spell like Take Up Arms, Triplicate Spirits, or Secure the Wastes. Aven Sunstriker and Aven Skirmisher make for wonderful warriors to carry the following bomb via ViA. In testing it worked really well, with ViA becoming a way to seal games turn five or six.

Then it hit me. ViA can combo with anything that can benefit from not dying and pumping out dudes at the same time I.E. Hornet's Nest. While it doesn't make your Nest immortal, if you can find some way to say, sac bees to do a damage back to the Nest with some other creature in play, it goes infinite, uh, doing nothing except making nest huge. Goblin Bombardment is the only one that comes to mind immediately, but I'm certain there are other interactions having come into play effects interact with the pump of ViA.

My conclusion:

Torch it

Touch it

Try it

Own it: Valor In Akros is a Johnny Combo Player piece definitely worth trying to bust both in standard and other formats.

Next week, we're going to tackle a triad of powerful red uncommons in Standard: Call of the Full Moon, Break Through the Line, and Enthralling Victor.

Since it's the end of the week, I'd like to share what I am playing this FNM. It's big, it's dumb, it's U/G Monsters!

3 Foe Razer Regents

3 Sagu Maulers

4 Hooded Hydras

4 Wildcall

3 Pearl Lake Ancients

1 Disdainful Stroke

1 Return to the Earth

4 Rattleclaw Mystic

4 Kiora's Follower

3 Explosive Vegetation (2 of which are Onslaught Uncommons and 1 a foil from Dragons)

1 Frontier Siege

2 Dragonlord's Prerogative

2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave

25 Lands (4 Yavimaya Coast, 4 Temple of Mystery, then basics...)

Tempo Bird: Icefeather Aven

I play a lot of standard at my local card shop. I try to make it every Friday and Saturday afternoon. Lately I've been playing U/G monsters with Hooded Hydras and Sagu Maulers to get around the mass removal that has become so relevant lately. I want to drop something big and dumb and turn sideways. It has been not going well. The biggest problem I have is this guy.

I'm quite torn between playing a bunch of aggressive two drops or the beef that the deck really wants me to slap down. I love both, but they are two completely different decks as evidenced to me by my horrible record.

I love Icefeather Aven which is why it has been in most of my lists of U/G Monsters prior to last week's disastrous FNM. Not only did I lose to Ornithorpter with Ensoul Artifact, I got roller by Hangarback Walkers pre 5-6. Needless to say I made a poor call on siding out my pseudo-removal bird in this new era of flying machines with souls. It's great against control because it both covers for my other morph guys when face down, and generates a healthy amount of threat when it's going into the red zone. Against aggro it comes down vs Rabblemasters and can trade into it or it's tokens. It's flip effect is also good for stuff loaded down with enchantments in heroic. Why then am I ready to cut it completely and radically alter my deck?

I want this card to be good, but I think I am crippling my deck, U/G Monsters, a deck that wants to dump big and dumb and resilient creatures as fast as possible, by including a Birdman who does not help that goal in any way. I do however, believe that there is a home out there for this little bird which is why it is the first creature feature here at Uncommon Thoughts.

That's why my rating for Icefeather Aven is 

Torch it

Touch it

Try it- If you're looking for a two drop with utility, I think Icefeather Aven is your guy. Bird. Whatever.

Own it

Friday I'll talk about a card from Magic Origins that just begs to be busted: Valor in Akros!