Beautifully designed, aggressively costed, and a perfect turn 2 play to turn 3 Leatherback Baloth.
Just a great card in general. :)
U-caster
★★☆☆☆ (2.7/5.0)(5 votes)
...green weenie?wut?
Thomasbchillin
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(13 votes)
It's hard to argue against the existence of power creep when you look at this card.
Wraique
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(4 votes)
There will be 15 mono green creatures with trample in standard when SOM is released. Many of them are very very good. Khalni Hydra, Pelakka Wurm, Primeval Titan and of course this thing. That's all you get you silly greenies ^.^
To those accusing the game of power creep because of cards like this: it's not. Creatures used to be too weak, leading to countless decks running only a handful of creatures or even none at all. Because Wizards didn't want an entire card type to be considered useless in competitive Magic, they reevaluated the power level of certain types of spells. This is the same reason why Counterspell is no longer around. That's the exact opposite of power creep. So when they make some kinds of cards better and others worse, that's not power creep; that's not hating blue; that's balancing. It's what makes the game fun.
That said, this is a great creature. It's very fair for its cost, but still very aggressive. They may not be Elite Vanguard -> Watchwolf -> Woolly Thoctar, but there are still plenty of great early series of creatures that can be played with this guy.
Temple_Garden
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Comparing this card to things like Grizzly Bears is simply unfair. This card requires 2 green mana on turn two, that generally requires a heavy investment in a green deck. He won't often be seen next to a White Knight or even a Qasali Pridemage with a mana cost like that.
He's a great card but he's a green card. He is designed to reward players who play green decks - not a splash card for dual colour decks. Part of his balance is he is restricted to decks with a heavy investment in green.
These days most colours either have boat loads of removal or enough efficient creatures that this guy will rarely do more than trade with another creature if he's lucky (Vampire Hexmage, Black Knight, White Knight, "insert generic 2 power white weenie here with first strike here") and possibly do 2 damage.
He's a powerful card and I definitely want to play him but if anything he shows green creatures trying to catch up with the uber efficient creatures other colours have been playing with lately.
Green players play elves because the alternatives are either too slow or simply get annihilated by removal. Giving alternatives for early game plays to keep up the pressure/defence will create more variety in green decks.
Somebody asked what I was talking about when I said 'Powercreep'. He had never heard the phrase before. I tossed him this card and his response was, "Ah, so that's powercreep huh?"
Donovan_Fabian
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(7 votes)
To start off, this is not power creep, watchwolf was a 2 mana 3/3 already and this one is just as color intensive, and just trades 1 toughness for trample. Similiarly the blade series of alara had 3/2's with special abilities, this is nothing new. Even way back when in the first so many sets there was a 3/3 1 mana elephant, and then you have wild nacatl, and kird ape.
I really like this card, it combos with basilisk collar, and virulent swipe, and oran rief, and it convienently costs the same amount of mana that you can untap with garruk. Garruk's packleader is also really good so it all fits together for a green deck.
achilleselbow
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
I complain about power creep a lot, but this is not what I have a problem with. Efficient vanilla creatures are useful, but they don't win games, provide extra card/board advantage, or have crazy synergies and effects. I have more of a problem with cards like Noble Hierarch, which would have already been overpowered without slapping Exalted on it, or Rampaging Baloths. Before, high casting cost creatures either had some drawback that had to be creatively worked around, or abilities that became great with the right combo. Now, they are just creatures with more and more insanely powerful effects or multiple abilities that synergize with each other, where the only strategy is to get enough mana to cast them, and maybe keep them from getting Path to Exiled.
watchwolf was a harder to find uncommon, that was much more color intensive than two green mana. plus, not every creature back in the day was a 3/3 for 3 with two or more abilities, as it is today. I understand they want to buff monogreen, but hell, overwhelming stampede is all monogreen will ever need.
3/5, because new kids who play dont have fun without powercreep
Mindbend
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
wow powercreep. but glad green is finding its place as the nobrainer creature colour. I don't play green but back in the day it and white were by far the weakest colours.
theis999
★☆☆☆☆ (1.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Why do people call this power creep... it is nothing like Tarmogoyf.
remember that this card needs you to play mono green, as it isn't good enough for you really want to splash it in somewhere... sure you can do it, but it will cost a lot of it's power just splashing in another color.
tarmogoyf however is easy to splash and gets much stronger lategame, so even if you miss you forest you can still get a strong creature and turn 4 or 5. even with mana open for counterspells.
It is not powercreep when they simpli adjust the power from one card type to another... so it is only the eternal formats that get hit. standard and extended is just adjusted.
hugemanatee
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(11 votes)
Oh Deer!..Boar...Bison...Thing
klauth
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(4 votes)
@theis99: wow great job proving your point, comparing a common card to an extremely coveted card. Can you imagine buying a booster box and getting 20 goyfs?
@achilleselbow: Noble Heirarch had exalted because if not, it was strictly worse than Birds of Paradise
that aside, it IS powercreep considering not too long ago Grizzly Bears was the average joe for 2cmc green creatures
M@tttyZ
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(12 votes)
As noted by others this must have been made to fit Garruk's +1 ability. E.g. in the following sequence:
Still it might have been more flavorful to make it a vanilla 3/3 for , to fit Garruk's -1 ability, especially since it will logically gain trample from Garruk himself. Note that would still have been more restrictive than for Watchwolf, essentially forcing you into monogreen.
Nagoragama
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(3 votes)
Wall of Omens kind of puts a damper on his early game aggro capabilities, but he's still pretty good for his cost.
LimePeel
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Very nice, powerful 2-drop for green. He comes in handy because your not always going to hit a turn 2 Leatherback Baloth or Cultivate. He fills in the 2 mana slot nicely.
5.0/5
made4ipod
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I used to think this card was so overpowered. It probably is. I didnt think so any more when I got myself 4 of these
MasterOfEtherium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(5 votes)
So Beasty Like A Mini Leatherback. Love It That A New Card Like This Shows Up In A Core Set! Plus The Art Is Outstanding And Powercreep Is Tha Best. 5/5
boneclub
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Stompy? In T2? Maybe?
dberry02
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(7 votes)
Powercreep? Why are so many people talking about that for this card?
Other cards, you could argue that there is a powercreep, but this one? Nah man... 1G gives you a 2/3 Elvish Warrior. This cost GG which means it should logically be slightly better.
It doesn't fit into the usual standard mono green curve, but it can come out turn one with Mox Opal and some ornithopters.
Kryptnyt
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(5 votes)
Garruk is not your average joe. Women do not suit his needs; he turns to beasts instead.
Laguz
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Who would have thought that we'd ever see 3 trample power for 2 with no drawback?
Unfortunately, it doesn't fit green's curve. With three mana practically always available on turn 2, leatherback baloth or cultivate is the better play. In my experience, i have found that their best use is to drop them the turn before you play overwhelming stampede or activate garruk.
Comments (33)
Just a great card in general. :)
That said, this is a great creature. It's very fair for its cost, but still very aggressive. They may not be Elite Vanguard -> Watchwolf -> Woolly Thoctar, but there are still plenty of great early series of creatures that can be played with this guy.
He's a great card but he's a green card. He is designed to reward players who play green decks - not a splash card for dual colour decks. Part of his balance is he is restricted to decks with a heavy investment in green.
These days most colours either have boat loads of removal or enough efficient creatures that this guy will rarely do more than trade with another creature if he's lucky (Vampire Hexmage, Black Knight, White Knight, "insert generic 2 power white weenie here with first strike here") and possibly do 2 damage.
He's a powerful card and I definitely want to play him but if anything he shows green creatures trying to catch up with the uber efficient creatures other colours have been playing with lately.
Green players play elves because the alternatives are either too slow or simply get annihilated by removal. Giving alternatives for early game plays to keep up the pressure/defence will create more variety in green decks.
Power creep.... so enjoyable...
if i may quote someone else's statement from another card:
"power creep no longer creeps. it gallops." \m/
turn 1- llanowar elves
turn 2- leatherback baloth
I really like this card, it combos with basilisk collar, and virulent swipe, and oran rief, and it convienently costs the same amount of mana that you can untap with garruk. Garruk's packleader is also really good so it all fits together for a green deck.
watchwolf was a harder to find uncommon, that was much more color intensive than two green mana. plus, not every creature back in the day was a 3/3 for 3 with two or more abilities, as it is today. I understand they want to buff monogreen, but hell, overwhelming stampede is all monogreen will ever need.
3/5, because new kids who play dont have fun without powercreep
remember that this card needs you to play mono green, as it isn't good enough for you really want to splash it in somewhere... sure you can do it, but it will cost a lot of it's power just splashing in another color.
tarmogoyf however is easy to splash and gets much stronger lategame, so even if you miss you forest you can still get a strong creature and turn 4 or 5. even with mana open for counterspells.
It is not powercreep when they simpli adjust the power from one card type to another... so it is only the eternal formats that get hit. standard and extended is just adjusted.
@achilleselbow: Noble Heirarch had exalted because if not, it was strictly worse than Birds of Paradise
that aside, it IS powercreep considering not too long ago Grizzly Bears was the average joe for 2cmc green creatures
T1: Forest, Llanowar Elves
T2: Forest, Leatherback Baloth
T3: Forest, Garruk Wildspeaker, untap Forests, Garruk's Companion. 4 damage with Baloth.
T4: Garruk overrun ability. 17 damage from three creatures.
21 damage total. In a vacuum, obviously.
Still it might have been more flavorful to make it a vanilla 3/3 for
5.0/5
Other cards, you could argue that there is a powercreep, but this one? Nah man... 1G gives you a 2/3 Elvish Warrior. This cost GG which means it should logically be slightly better.
Ironically, this still loses to White Knight. (Oh god, wasn't this printed in... Alpha!?)
And what about Wizened Cenn or Knight of Meadowgrain??
Logically Green creatures should be slightly better than white creatures if not the same power level, so I see nothing wrong with this card.
Turn 1: Forest, Joraga Treespeaker
Turn 2: Forest, Level-up the treespeaker, tap, Garruk's Companion.
Unfortunately, it doesn't fit green's curve. With three mana practically always available on turn 2, leatherback baloth or cultivate is the better play. In my experience, i have found that their best use is to drop them the turn before you play overwhelming stampede or activate garruk.
-Swag_Crow