It's quite well balanced, but I don't like the "new way" of making instants useless by printing creatures with flash and CIP effects instead. A vanilla 2/2 is often just a short-time annoyance... not a real threat nbut a blocker. This is clearly in favor of limited drafts but feels so ugly during the normal constructed play.
Creatures with flash have some serious problems. Usually, you won't have the mana free if you need the effect and if you leave 3 mana unused to be prepared, you might lose a lot of speed. It won't protect your Esper creatures from cards like Firespout, because your deck is already quite slow and you either focus on flash + instants or you should focus on normal creatures instead
For me, it's a waste of a free card-slot I might have.... I wouldn't use it in any deck.
I would have preferred a sacrifice effect instead.
Godaime
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think a few of these guys would be good side boarded in the case that you face burn damage or to push through for one turn.
silentbobus
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I really think this card should have said 'Makes artifact creatures indestructible this turn' As it stands, its use is very limited.
Sholux
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
This must be seen in the proper context: opponent: ha! I attack with my wooly thoctar and you can't do anything exept chump block witn that one little court humunculus you have left! me: *taps for three, plays shieldmage and kills thoctar* opponent:...
Iiory
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
in esper this guy can make your air assault unbreakable if you have esperzoa ...esperzoa just rules
Rafiqofthemany
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
if you attack with all your artifact creatures, and play this card, then no damage would be done to your creatures, but they would still deal damage. great card for an offensive esper deck.
Lestat13
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Shieldmage punishes aggro decks whist playing Esper Beatdown. It really gets the value out of Sculler, Cannonist if you run it main, or SB, and even Court Homunculus as bears you don't want to march straight into 3/3 haste witherers, and 4/4 pay two life beat sticks - Once played creates a deadly weenie wall that they didn't know was there.
Also because of Sculler you can spot a Volcanic Fallout, or just prepare for one, and make it a one sided sweep instead.
Shieldmage might not be for your deck, or that aggro artifact deck, or SB in Affinity, but it defiantly is a very important spell in Esper Beatdown.
Sidek
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
I can't believe how underrated this is.
It protects your creatures from Lightning Bolt and combat damage at instant speed. It works as a removal spell by simply blocking with all your creatures - they take no damage. It can simply block by itself at instant speed.
And at the end of the day, it's a 2/2 body.
niallcmurray86
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Great card. I run 4 in my Esper deck, it is so versatile. Not to mention that its always a nice card to juggle back and forth with a Filligree Angel using a Master Transmuter.
Zulp
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Female vedalken look so weird to me. All vedalken look the same, and the only way you can tell the difference between genders is their figures and sometimes the clothes they wear. Just the fact that she's wearing a pink dress is so odd.
Anyway, the card. I think it's a fair asking price for its effect, but the fact remains that its effect is limited. Your deck would have to be composed of artifacts, basically. Outside of that, sort of a waste.
JFM2796
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This really seems like an uncommon effect to me. It can also pump your Glaze Fiend and/or Master of Etherium during your opponents turn. 4*
TheLionsMane
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
My opponent used the Dark Depths/Vampire Hexmage combo on turn 4. The next turn, he swung. I used this and View From Above. Next turn I used Path to Exile.
Comments (16)
It's quite well balanced, but I don't like the "new way" of making instants useless by printing creatures with flash and CIP effects instead. A vanilla 2/2 is often just a short-time annoyance... not a real threat nbut a blocker. This is clearly in favor of limited drafts but feels so ugly during the normal constructed play.
Creatures with flash have some serious problems. Usually, you won't have the mana free if you need the effect and if you leave 3 mana unused to be prepared, you might lose a lot of speed. It won't protect your Esper creatures from cards like Firespout, because your deck is already quite slow and you either focus on flash + instants or you should focus on normal creatures instead
For me, it's a waste of a free card-slot I might have.... I wouldn't use it in any deck.
I would have preferred a sacrifice effect instead.
opponent: ha! I attack with my wooly thoctar and you can't do anything exept chump block witn that one little court humunculus you have left!
me: *taps for three, plays shieldmage and kills thoctar*
opponent:...
Also because of Sculler you can spot a Volcanic Fallout, or just prepare for one, and make it a one sided sweep instead.
Shieldmage might not be for your deck, or that aggro artifact deck, or SB in Affinity, but it defiantly is a very important spell in Esper Beatdown.
It protects your creatures from Lightning Bolt and combat damage at instant speed.
It works as a removal spell by simply blocking with all your creatures - they take no damage.
It can simply block by itself at instant speed.
And at the end of the day, it's a 2/2 body.
Anyway, the card. I think it's a fair asking price for its effect, but the fact remains that its effect is limited. Your deck would have to be composed of artifacts, basically. Outside of that, sort of a waste.
He was understandably ***ed.