Pointed Discussion

better than the survivalist in combat, but tough to play on turn 2

Has anyone else noticed that he looks like the singer from Powerman 5000? Just sayin.
Other than that, freaking awesome in green/white allies.

One of few reasons why Soldiers has a shot at being competitive. 2/2 for 2 First Strike to make creatures get out of the way, and holds down the fort perfectly early game.

Even without that Ally clause, 2 for a 2/2 first strike vigilance solider is quite solid. These guys did wonders for me at the pre release when I had 2 of them and some other weak allies...

all i have to say say about this card is wow. I played against it in sealed draft, and it was simply amazing. Do not forget, while first strike is important, that it also has vigilance. It can truly be a trouble for any other aggro deck without another creature with first strike. the fact that it can both attack and block makes the difference from making it a good card to an awesome one. Most of the time, you would have to attack with it, the opponent wouldn't block cause their creature would die, and then you could attack them and make it even. not with this guy. he is well worth the 2 white mana.

A 2/2, first striker, vigilance, soldier, and ally that can keep pumping up for 2 white is more than I can expect without any additional drawbacks. 5/5 for the art as well. He will be seeing a lot of play.

if ally ever makes a standard deck, this will be an auto 4of, not sure if it will be as good in soldier, FS and vigilance is great early, but late game it gets less useful when on a 2/2, and if this is the only ally in the deck, (4of) then the best it gets is 5/5

but in an ally deck, it is great, can get huge and and it is a devistating attacker and blocker

what more can you ask? for 2 mana a 2/2 first strike vigilance and he will grow insanly in an ally deck. Even in a non ally deck, where he's the only ally, if you drop a second one of him, he become a 3/3 so that is really good. best 2 drop in white in standard, one of the top 5 2 drop on all color in standard for sure.

and to make him even better HE'S AN UNCOMMON meaning you can get a play set easy and he will be in all white budget deck that use non tribal only creature (and even there he's a soldier /human, 2 pretty common "tribes" in whites

Solid even outside an Ally deck.

Great in an Ally deck or White Soldier Weenie. Such a strong card, possibly the best Ally out right now.

this card is key an any ally or soldier deck... hell, anything that's white can use this. Does and SHOULD see a lot of play.

How I wish there were a goblin equivalent :P.

Great card even fro it being double White. Pump him up and he will really casue damage.
4.0

probably one of the best 2 drops of all time. Up there with White knight for sure. He's good to have in any white weenie deck. I've won a lot of games on the back of this guy with an Armored Ascension on him.

Bit of a power creep in my opinion. That's why I have 4 in my ally deck :)

First strike, vigilance, ally pump, goggles, five-o-clock shadow AND Final Fantasy-esque chain-sword weaponry for two plains? Timmy like.

I gotta say
FNM
dont underestimate ally's, they like a not so broken sliver deck

Bant allies can be insane with Hada Freeblade and this guy. Even one unanswered of these on ally decks can become a serious threat 2 turns later.

@sorxores
Not only is this guy an uncommon, but allies like Kabira Evangel are underplayed right now, so even the white ally rares would be easy to grab.

A 2/2 first striker with vigilance for cmc 2? Awesome. Soldier? Really awesome. And an ally to boot. Very really awesome.

This guy softened the blow of having Knight of the Meadowgrain rotate out.

I think he looks like Ichigo from Bleach. "卍解!"
Extremely useful, like a White Knight that can get stronger, except he's a soldier! 5/5

WOW. Three great abilities, all of which compliment eachother, on a card that is effectively already a 2/2 for 2 and thus mana efficient. This is a nasty little swordy for sure. Can't imagine not wanting him around, even if you don't have any of his BFF club in your deck. And the fact that he looks like he came straight out of a Final Fantasy lead role is the icing on the deathcake.

great card, it is worth having even if your not running allies, a 2/2 first strike vigilant for 2 plains is great( and yes it is a 2/2 it comes out with a counter on it

The goggles, they do nothing.

The goggles don't do nothing, I imagine that there are plenty of times where eye protection would come in handy on Zendikar.

Such a beautiful card

2/2, first strike, vigilance

This thing costs 2, man. Incredible. It also has two extremely useful subtypes.

Honestly my favourite card, first strike with vigilance is just godly for the CMC, best ally out there.

Too powerful for its cost. Another example of power creep. As good as this card is, I find it distasteful.

funny how he becomes a better serra angel on turn three with griffin guide! bwahaha

Looks like Baird from GoW. I call him Kazandu Bairdmaster.

Naaah...I'd have to agree that the goggles do nothing. There's not really dust storms on Zendikar, there's, y'know, BOULDER storms.

I expect to see a Core Set cousin to this guy someday: WW 2/2 first strike + vigilance Knight
...first strike for the lance, vigilance for the horse; it's perfect.

This guy is my two drop in my White Weenie and he really is good.

As good as can get you.

Anyone notice that this guy is just Greil(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2311/2076861579_060b19005a.jpg) from fire Emblem with Recolored hair, wielding Alondite(http://images.cosplay.com/photos/16/1643679.jpg)

Goodbye white knight hello 4x Kazandu Blademaster. They're really quite comparable and if you're not going up against black this guy has the edge.

Soldier? You sure its not a Knight?

Born of humans. Trained by elves. Armed by kor.

Komarck is a fantastic artist, this one is one of his best

Great with auras, fantastic with enchantments. 99.9% better than Ardent Soldier, and don't forget, he buffs himself...

My soldier deck has this, Hada Freeblade, and Cenn's Tactician. Hada and Kazandu can automatically block 2 creatures each with her on the field. Get multiples and pump your Kazandu up and he can block entire armies without a scratch.

This is great, even without other allies.

This guy is probably the best "fighter" Ally. Sadly, the double colored mana cost makes him hard to cast early in my Rainbow Ally Deck. I might cut Blue and Black, actually.

This guy is a superstar in my vigilance deck. Dolmen Gate gives all my vigilance creatures "free swings" and when you tack on first strike, it is a force not to be reckoned with.

Definitely good without other allies...and with allies he's awesome!

If I get one out. so now he's 2/2. and I get another out while he's still on field.
will the first get an additional +1/+1, i.e: A +1/+1 for a copy of himself entering, then another for the ally thing?

so will the first be now a 4/4?

@ BlandBoy

When a card names itself like this card and Nemesis of Reason, it can translate to "this card"

When this card comes into play, or another ally, it gets +1/+1 counter.

A card always refers to itself, if it doesn't it says, "named 'this card'" like Squadron Hawk


(One would be a 3/3 and the other a 2/2)

Agree with Kryptnyt, Komark has one of the the best styles in MTG art. Just do an advanced search with his name and you'll see what I mean.

I just can't get rid of this guy in my soldier deck. Elite Inquisitor is good against most standard decks, but I don't play standard. I did SB the Elites, but for now, the blademaster is still king of the ring in my deck. First strike, Vigilance, and gets bigger from his brothers. Even taking the Freeblades out to make room for other cards, the Blademaster still shines.

Without other allies, just run Elite Inquisitor. With them of course...

Probably the most aggressive of Zendikar allies.
More than this, it is a great defender too!

I'd still take this over Elite Inquisitor because Inquisitor's protections typically won't be relevant, unless you're playing Innistrad block. Blademasters pump each other, and the use of +1/+1 counters enables various tricks.

This is why allies are ridiculous.
Many of them are well-above the curve even if they are the only ally you play, and if they're just one of many...
It's just a kick in the face for every other aggro deck.

I think I wouldn't mind seeing a straight up 2/2 first strike/vigilance for nearly as much as this guy.

Too powerful, methinks.

I keep seeing Baird from Gears of War

I think that this guy is the best 2CMC creature for white. Even outside the ally synergy, he is essentially a 2/2 with first strike and vigilance. A great base to enchant/equip. Slap on a Bonesplitter (or a Trusty Machete) and you've got a 4/2 (or 4/3) first-striker who can attack and block every turn, possibly even as early as turn 3!. Then, if you draw two of them, the first one gets +1/+1! *AND* hes a soldier, hail for soldier decks!

I think that vigilance is the most powerful combat ability, being able to attack and then block the next turn. The first strike just makes it worse, since your opponent usually won't want to block unless he can kill your blademaster. Most creatures with vigilance have low power, but not him! Likewise, most creatures with first strike have high power but low toughness, again, not him! He is powerful AND tough! A nasty combination since blockers will need to survive the first strike and deal enough damage to kill him. I would take 4 1/1 creatures to kill a blademaster. It is very frustrating to play against one (or three) since they essentially stop you from attacking early unless you have evasion, and since they can attack without leaving your opponent open, you had better stop them fast. I think his abilities and P/T are above the curve for only . Even if he was 1/1 or cost extra he would still be great, especially with the +1/+1 allies ability.

Inside ally synergy, he is a beast. The blademaster is the backbone of my mono-white allies deck, winning me games. Run with Kabira Evangel and other allies for a potentially unblockable attack each turn that just gets bigger (unless your opponent has multiple colored creatures). It is very common for me to have 2 of them with my other allies with one being 4/4 and the other 5/5, each getting +1/+1 for each ally that I play (+2/+2 mind you if you run a Join the Ranks). Typically, If they don't get burned, They wind up being a 6/6-8/8 by the end of the game, assuming i played one on turn 2, usually after my Hada Freeblade. And the Talus Paladin Just makes it worse, so then they have lifelink! Mind you I'm citing all white allies here, which clearly are the best ones aside from Makindi Shieldmate. But the blademaster will do great in any color ally deck.

And yes, My white allies deck is the most powerful deck in my entire group, rivaling the evil elf-tribal decks reliably game for game (I hate Wellwishers!!!!). However, I'm rating this one card, not the entire Zendikar allies mechanic. I'm simply stating how he contributes to it.

I would also like to note (if it hasn't already been said) that he *DOES NOT* enter the battlefield with the +1/+1 counter, so it *IS* possible to whack him with a Prodigal Pyromancer or similar card in response to him when he enters the battlefield before he gets the counter from his triggered ability (which goes on the stack). I see a lot of people confuse this (especially the infamous "can I lightning bolt your Kazuul Warlord" debate).

This guy *WILL* win you games, under the right conditions. And if you don't attack with him, he is a formidable blocker, discouraging opponent attacks. And yes, he is my favorite white creature in the game!

I also love the art, he looks serious, calm, and confident, exactly how I feel when I'm behind him. The flavor text says it all!

I hate this because of powercreep.
There are a lot of 2cmc white drops that are great, this one puts most of them to shame even without building around it.
When you build around it it's even more ridiculous.
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I still rated it high because it is indeed powerful, but yeah, it's just pure power, not too much "balancing" whatsoever.

I love this. I don't even have it yet and I love it. :)

I'm finishing a white/green ally deck, which all my friends say will suck, especially graypelt hunter, but I've killed them with just three of those and four hada freeblades....lol

My favourite card of all time. The art, the flavour, the power, the scaling. Okay, it's over the curve even in a non-tribal deck, but there's far more OP out there. I love it like my first child.

Probably my favorite 2-drop white creature ever.

2/2 for 2 first strike vigilance is already very strong.

Now lets give him a grow ability? Your nuts wizards, nuts!

No, no.... messir opponent no have life left.