I remember getting one of these in a Fallen Empires booster and staring at it for 15 minutes trying to figure out exactly what I was looking at...that was 15 years ago and I still have no freakin' clue. Quite possibly the worst artwork in magic's history.
The card sucks, too.
Digit
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(11 votes)
It's actually pretty obvious what the art is representing. The giant bunny is a creature from the good heaven-like city on the left and the green imp is a creature from the hell-like city on the right. The blue creature in the middle is the one whose fate is being decided by the praetor(judge) at the altar. Both the bunny and imp want the creature. Where he goes is entirely up to the praetor.
I don't think he is that bad. 5/5 first strike and trample is very solid (and both abilities don't show up that often on mono black creatures). His power can grow in the right deck, and when he attacks as 6/5 first strike trample the first time, your opponent will have a hard time to block him. He'll either get smacked for 6 or more, his small creatures will get trampled over and the larger ones first striked apart. The art is nice too. No interchangeable generic art like on most modern cards, which are just "draw a vampire in a cool post" or "draw a generic demon", but actually has a meaning and fits to exactly this card.
You can also use him in decks with power conduit, and there exchange his -2/-2 counters for +1/+1 ones if you want to.
Stray_Dog
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Regarding the narrative between the little (big) creatures, there are ways to hide that sort of thing in the artwork for people to find, whilst still clearly displaying why this creature is a 5/5 first strike trampler. The cool thing about doing it that way is that some players get to be the first to figure out what is really going on in the piece (I wouldn't have known what was going on if Digit hadn't explained it so precisely), whilst the other more mechanically-minded players get a clear visual example of the mechanics at work. I say keep the bunny and the merfolk and the imp, but reduce them in size and increase the size of the Praetor, and possibly get him out of his desk job too, cos he isn't going to be doing much trampling or fighting of any sort from behind a desk (though I would still want to find a way to preserve that judicial flavour somehow).
Kirbster
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
5/5 trample, first strike? Yowsers!
All right, get a hold of yourself. Are you ready to sacrifice a creature every turn just to keep it status quo? Sure, it's great if you have a Breeding Pit and all, and no one loves demonic bunnies more than yours truly, but is this six-mana creature really worth all the trouble? Answer: Not really.
Polychromatic
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
This card has such weird art...
scumbling1
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
He's a praetor, so he's settling a dispute between an imp and a giant bunny. Appearantly, they both lay claim to a little blue guy.
ROBRAM89
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(3 votes)
I've been struggling to think of a joke but there's nothing I can add to the art. It's like a costume party in Hell.
Kryptnyt
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Should have recieved a cool new creature type Praetor, maybe it will soon.
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Kryptnyt
He now has the Praetor type. But he's lost his printed creature type, which is a little odd considering the Avatar type is still in the game.
Edit: With the June 2011 Oracle Update (which will go live on the 15th), Mr. Ebon is getting his Avatar type back. And he's keeping the Praetor type.
Studoku
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I don't know what's more ridiculous- the -2/-2 counters, the +1/+0 counters or the giant rabbit in the artwork.
Manspider
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
"The world is coming to an end, Donnie."
Zan-zan-zawa-veia
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Breathtaking art. A card with which I've won a few hilarious multiplayer games! They made it to be used with Breeding Pit, of course.
Shadoflaam
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
The art may make sense, but that doesn't stop it from being retarded.
Toan133
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
-2/-2 and +1/+0 counters make my brain hurt. Seriously, WHO THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA?
konokono
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Too bad the card text is so long. No room for a Lewis Carroll quote
SirZapdos
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Kills Urabrask and Jin-Gitaxias in one-on-one combat. If you sacrifice a thrull, it can kill Sheoldred and Vorinclex. Sadly you need four thrulls in total to kill Elesh Norn.
Ferlord
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
There's only 1.5 other creatures with natural First Strike and Trample (i.e., starts with it and doesn't need to activate an ability):
Despite the crude ability, that's its true defining moment. It also doesn't make too much sense (You strike faster... but then, farther? I guess that makes sense...)
Do also note that Melira, Sylvok Outcast doesn't stop these counters from coming (they're -2/-2 counters, not -1/-1's)
gman92
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Dammit black, always being so unfair. Black gets three Praetors when the other colors only get one apiece!
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I wish he had a FTV (as he won't be reprinted normally due to his counters.) They could make him a crazy looking Praetor like the phyrexian ones. Given that he's so powerful I imagine something like the recent horrors.
I like that Black used to have massive First Strikers; hopefully they'll bring that back at some point.
wideyes
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
May take the cake for being the weirdest magic card ever printed. Names like 'Ebon Praetor' are the essence of mtg for me: multifarious mythological and historical concepts plucked from the ether, mashed together and contextualized just enough to leave the player wondering what the hell is going on in Dominaria. Flavorwise, this is like bacon blueberry tapioca pudding. With chocolate sauce. 5/5 (first strike, trample)
Rabbit: "Trespassing! You were walking in my forest!"
Monkey: "No, you were walking in my forest!"
Ebon P: "I can't believe I have to sit here and listen to this."
Rabbit: "Liar!"
Monkey: "Liar!"
Ebon P: "What time is it? I'm getting hungry."
Rabbit: "You're a no-good top-heavy one-toughness freak!"
Monkey: "Oh yeah? Your mother was a 0/1 with slowtrip!"
Ebon P: "Say... You both look like food to me."
Rabbit, Monkey: "...OH SHI@%*&."
Ebon P: "How am I so hungry again. I just ate last turn! Guess that's the problem with Chinese food."
Herald: "Your Honorable Praetorship! Barbary Apes and a Jackalope Herd beseech you to resolve their dispute."
Ebon P: *grins* "... Send them on in."
--
This card gets credit for being the original Praetor, and the specific inspiration for some of the most awesome cards in the New Phyrexia set, which were given the creature type "Praetor" specifically as a homage.
Artist's comment- Many years ago I painted a picture for the game MAGIC: The Gathering, and it was originally given the working title "The Dark Judge." But the company released it with a card named "Ebon Praetor." The painting generated quite a buzz with people frequently asking me why there was a white bunny rabbit in the painting. My answer was that it was not a bunny rabbit at all, but a Pookah, a Celtic spirit/demon. You may have encountered such a creature in the movie Harvey, starring Jimmy Stewart.
Comments (27)
The card sucks, too.
The art is nice too. No interchangeable generic art like on most modern cards, which are just "draw a vampire in a cool post" or "draw a generic demon", but actually has a meaning and fits to exactly this card.
You can also use him in decks with power conduit, and there exchange his -2/-2 counters for +1/+1 ones if you want to.
All right, get a hold of yourself. Are you ready to sacrifice a creature every turn just to keep it status quo? Sure, it's great if you have a Breeding Pit and all, and no one loves demonic bunnies more than yours truly, but is this six-mana creature really worth all the trouble? Answer: Not really.
He now has the Praetor type. But he's lost his printed creature type, which is a little odd considering the Avatar type is still in the game.
Edit: With the June 2011 Oracle Update (which will go live on the 15th), Mr. Ebon is getting his Avatar type back. And he's keeping the Praetor type.
Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Dragon Tyrant (because it has Double Strike, this only counts for half a point).
Despite the crude ability, that's its true defining moment. It also doesn't make too much sense (You strike faster... but then, farther? I guess that makes sense...)
Do also note that Melira, Sylvok Outcast doesn't stop these counters from coming (they're -2/-2 counters, not -1/-1's)
I like that Black used to have massive First Strikers; hopefully they'll bring that back at some point.
Rabbit: "Trespassing! You were walking in my forest!"
Monkey: "No, you were walking in my forest!"
Ebon P: "I can't believe I have to sit here and listen to this."
Rabbit: "Liar!"
Monkey: "Liar!"
Ebon P: "What time is it? I'm getting hungry."
Rabbit: "You're a no-good top-heavy one-toughness freak!"
Monkey: "Oh yeah? Your mother was a 0/1 with slowtrip!"
Ebon P: "Say... You both look like food to me."
Rabbit, Monkey: "...OH SHI@%*&."
Ebon P: "How am I so hungry again. I just ate last turn! Guess that's the problem with Chinese food."
Herald: "Your Honorable Praetorship! Barbary Apes and a Jackalope Herd beseech you to resolve their dispute."
Ebon P: *grins* "... Send them on in."
--
This card gets credit for being the original Praetor, and the specific inspiration for some of the most awesome cards in the New Phyrexia set, which were given the creature type "Praetor" specifically as a homage.
Elesh - Jin - Sheoldred - Urabrask - Vorinclex