Pointed Discussion

when i saw this i got excited, the reason is it has reach, white/green is always trying to protect from the air while killing with mass hordes, this guy will make sure to guard your back while you doing your stuff.

I really like this one, yeah it's not unblockable or gets counters etc etc., but it's 99% garaunteed to be able to block whatever creature is swinging at you with it's reach ability, the only other one coming close is celestial colonnade.

I like how UW got Celestial Colonnade, which turns into a Serra Angel and is awesome for control; UB got Creeping Tar Pit, a solid control/midrange-y battler; BR got Lavaclaw Reaches, which can swing for a ton after clearing the opponent's board, something BR is good at doing anyway; and RG got Raging Ravine, which grows every time it attacks. Meanwhile, GW got this, which can't even deal with bomby control finishers like Baneslayer Angel and Sphinx of Jwar Isle that GW needs to deal with. It's not horrible, it's just one of the worse cards in the cycle.

XDaragoX:
You forget that he is the only one of the tree manlands usable turn 4 that can't be simply bolted. With its P/T and Reach, he is an excellent attacker and blocker. Sure, Celestial Colonade is more powerfull, but it also comes out two turns later.

won alot of games with this because my opponent forgot it had reach lol.

In order to attack with lands you need to activate the ability before the untap phase right?
Or does it not matter.
Blocking part is easy to understand though.

When looking at the cycle, you have to observe this thing's use when comparing it to Celestial Colonnade. It doesn't have evasion, meaning it's going to often times be used more defensively with the body it has.

1GW is perfectly acceptable for 3/4, IMO; you get a two-turn jump on the Colonnade if you're trying to intercept fliers.

The thing I don't think people get is that you should never animate lands excessively. Yes, they're creatures and you have the option, but keep in mind - they're still lands. That thing you really need to keep tempo in your favor? That thing you can only play once a turn (usually)? You don't want to animate this thing just to have it die. Yeah, you might have got rid of your opponent's removal spell/creature/combat trick, but you just set yourself back one turn, and that can change the entire course of a game when that means you can't drop your bomb and beat your opponent that much sooner, without fear of their own finisher looming about.

This is the defensive manland. Is it the best? No, it's probably second-worst next to Lavaclaw Reaches, but all of them have great use when you need manafixing and can deal with running a couple of EBT lands, and they have the added bonus of becoming creatures.

I have always considered manlands as a better defensive technique than an offensive one. They tend to cause your opponent to miscalculate how many creatures you have, and then when they attack suddenly a creature that they didn't count on dying dies. That is, as long as you haven't attacked with it yet, you can have nearly as much of a surprise as a flash creature.

This guy is (imo) a manland that works to fit that technique well, as a more defensive combat trick than a creature. That, and it's a dual manland, which is more than anyone can really ask for.

@steelpommel

Turning this into a creature works just like all other animation effects.

The rules are:

A creature (weather animated or just a creature) cannot attack or {tap} unless it has been continuously under your control since the beginning of your most recent/current turn.

In most cases the first time you could attack with these animate lands is the turn after you played them. Both because they come into play tapped, and they do not have haste.

If you could untap it (amulet of vigor) AND give it haste (burst of speed)you could attack with it the turn you played it.

I can understand how can be Cavaclaw Reaches rated as worst and this one as best...

Ya you guys are right that say this is good, I run two in my GW deck and they can block a almost anything turn three. And to the guy xDaragox, not every card is meant to be a blocker for a big game finisher, this card comes through in the clutch mid game, for sure.

Someone help me out. I want to run this in a Vigor based deck...If I blocked with this, would it keep it's +1/+1 counters when it turns back into a land? Is there a rule that says a land can't have +1/+1 counters?

@Telltalereaper: It will keep its counters.


Also, as many others have said, this is great at defense

Honestly, this card is a lot better than people give it credit for.
It's the most efficient manland of the cycle.
It's great for taking down cheap fliers.
It's really meant to be a defensive land.
It doesn't die to lightning bolt.
What more could you ask for?

Kind of annoying my favorite color combination got such an underwhelming dual manland. Yes, it's not bad, it's just not nearly as interesting as all the others. It could have had higher toughness to compensate for its lack of offensive capability and only mediocre defensive capability.

Definitely the best animating land. As with all of the animated lands, great combo with Terra Eternal which otherwise is more of a situational card. I run four of these in my G/W deck.

Oh cruel fate, that this card would be perfectly positioned to block a Squadron Hawk
equipped with a Sword of Feast and Famine or a Sword of Body and Mind. (For those of us who don't know, it's quite a popular tactic.) Yet when it animates, it becomes green, and therefore unable to block said equipped bird. Being white, it couldn't even stop Sword of War and Peace, the one to complete the cycle, being released in New Phyrexia. Oh how I wish it was a colorless creature. Still none too bad a card, but it would've been much better without the color.

when is see this art, i imagine the woods swatting squadron hawks out of the sky.

Sure, it's not completely insane *cough* Creeping Tar Pit *cough* but it's decent, and it's pretty safe from removal. Plus, you can use it as a flashable high-toughnes reach creature on your opponent's turn during their combat step.

I love how this is often a surprise blocker. I really need one for my Ghave EDH; that deck suffers against flyers sometimes. Plus, it's a dual land!

When I play this guy my friends allays forget that he's a manland and will try to flyover only to be smacked down, this card has saved me so many times.

Selesnya's very open about what it does, creatures, lifegain, helpful enchantments and just generally seeming really nice. Stirring Wildwood adds a bit of trickery to the colour combo that's really fun to work with:

Selesnya: "So... Gonna attack me with your little flier?"
Dimir: "You and I both know you're wanting to catch me out with the Mutagenic Growth I saw when I duressed you earlier which you'll combine with your wildwood to stop my ciphers. I'll pass, I can wait."
Selesnya: "You sure?"
Dimir: "Yes. I'll just put Circu on the field now and you'll soon beg for mercy."
Selesnya: "Huh." *Checks watch*
Dimir: "Your 'ingenious' plan failed, take your turn already elf."
Selesnya: "Have you noticed the date?"
Dimir: "What're you... Oh no..."
Selesnya: "It's the ADVENT OF THE WURM!"