Shes awesome. A Day ofJudgement style effect that leaves her alive with a loyalty counter is great. If her cost was 4, she'd be as broken as Garruk.
Frozenwings
★★★☆☆ (3.1/5.0)(4 votes)
Broken. Again. She is blasting everyone in 2 turn and still has a counter. And her ultimate isn't day of judgment, it is token protecting planar cleansing.
Wraique
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Indeed. Day of Judgement has nothing on her third ability.
CeremonialBathory
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Letting her live with one token seems like a mistake. :\ She starts out of bolt range (Unlike Jace and Garruk), and can unleash her ultimate in one turn which is a feat only matched by Garruk - but it kills him and isn't nearly as powerful...
lorendorky
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(6 votes)
Her ultimate is based on planar cleansing. I think her ability is more flavorful for white though, letting tokens survive.
Alceron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
i hope this is the first mythic i get. i havent bought boosters in a long while. :)
Chrome_Coyote
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(10 votes)
Hopefully they'll reprint this in a $20 duel deck pack someday so I can get one for under $40.
SorianSadaskan
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(14 votes)
Obviously someone with a low IQ can't stand others emphasize the devastating power Elspeth has.
Consider you can have Venser and her dish out a '3 soldier tokens generation per turn'. To the degenerates who can't apprecite people's good comments, ready? Alright, here it is:
T1: Elspeth Tirel generate 3 soldiers, Venser phase her out, she comes back with 4 counters at end of turn. Then you repeat the process in the next few turns.
And to your surpirse, she continue to bring more reinforcements while Venser's loyalty grows. Ultimately this may give you the option to swarm your enemy with Venser's Unblockable power and Elspeth's soldiers. Or shift Venser himself out with his first ability and let Elspeth release her wrath, unaffecting her soldiers (any creature tokens) and with Venser comeback at EOT safe and sound.
And of course, you may whine as usual as they may get bolted before they can attempt to do this, if so, you're pretty pathetic for a blue player who can't counter, or even anticipate this.
How much more do you want? Little ingrates...... -_-''''
BadProgram
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
That token protection is going to be game-breaking mid-game. Mix that with some of the equipment in this deck (Darksteel Axe) on a token and now you've instantly turned the tides.
MasterOfEtherium
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
@ Silver'F U CK Boy" Skyz STFU New Elspeth Is Amazing Just Like The Last One Shes Perfect For A Constructed Deck Captain Of The Watch And Spectral Procession + Pledge Honor Of The Pure
Arachibutyrophobia
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Elspeth looks all grown-up now...lol, I used her in the prerelease, just alternating between her first two abilities.
TheSwarm
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
this is THE perfect card for any token deck ever made.
BlackAlbino
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
better than the original.
MTGGameHero
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Wondering if this card is gonna improve my knight deck, with knight exemplar's indestructibility. However, bunch of good knights are leaving standard while only kemba skyguard which isn't too great gets added in addition. It's gonna solve some matchup problems involving opponent's planeswalkers with ultimate. Minor setback is that it's gonna destroy honor of the pure and contests 5 cmc spot with baneslayer angel because there isn't a solid flying knight with alternatives being cloud crusader and kemba skyguard.
Amazing card with any token deck especially green-white token deck possibly with Garruk although her ultimate will kill it. But if you can get Garruk overrun or overwhelming stampede and elspeth ulti on same turn, there isn't much that's gonna keep opposing player alive unless they have stuff like safe passage or they're also running token deck and such. With green's mana acceleration there shouldn't be much trouble getting elspeth out rather early.
Could be good in UW control also, I could imagine using her with Venser or after her ultimate, get Jace, the Mind Sculptor out and take total control of the field.
kittyspit
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
well said SorianSadaskan, damn well said :
Richard_Hawk
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
She's better than Koth and Venser, not sure why she's rated lower than the other two fellows. She's the most versatile and just overpowers many types of decks.
SolidSoldier
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
No more nice Elspeth. Meet the new and improved wrathful Elspeth. Don't want to get in her way of killing Phyrexians.
Diachronos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can think of another useful combo.
Run her alongside permanents that would buff your Soldier tokes/White creatures (True Conviction, Captain of the Watch, Honor of the Pure, etc.), and remove them with Oblivion Ring and Journey to Nowhere. Elspeth nukes the field, the enchantments go poof, now you have an even nastier army of soldier tokens for your opponent to deal with!
TheGodOfWar91
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She's awesome in multiples. As Mike Flores pointed out:
Drop her, use her ability twice to kill her. Then drop another one, gain up to 12 life, and let the hilarity ensue.
i got her in ther first SOM booster pack i opened :)
I like this version of Elspeth better since her ultimatum will win games.
her -2 for three 1/1 tokens is very good too.
i like playing her with Conqueror's Pledge and Nomad's Assembly for an army of tokens.
but i can splash green for Bestial Menace and Garruk, also Ajani Goldmane wiil be good too.
i can go blue/white to protect my tokens with counter spell :) and instead of playing Jace TMS i can play Jace Beleren since he will die anyways with Elspeth Tirel ultimatum. i can also use Venser, the Sojourner in two different ways. the unblockable ability for my army, or the exile and bring back ability for Elspeth to restore her loyalty counters :)
slaveofbolas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
so since its every other non token permanent, that means she still stays right? just wanna clarify.
bijart_dauth
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like her, but i don't like her ultimatum, most good token decks (in my opinion) are not just based around getting huge supplies of tokens, its about using other permanents to take advantage of the huge supplies of tokens. admittedly if you have more tokens than there life total + there tokens, its an instant win, but i prefer to just use her first 2 over and over again.
@ gongshowninja, true conviction is a permanent, thus if you use her ultimate (witch i presume you are intending to, for other wise you could just use another token generating efect) you would loose it, then again, it also keeps land, so you could nuke it and then drop the enchantment
@ slaveofbolas, yes, it says other to specify that she lives as well
Oleander
★★★☆☆ (3.4/5.0)(9 votes)
So much for Wizards' outlandish claims that Mythic rares wouldn't be game ending cards that would become staples in every deck of their color. First Baneslayer, and now Elspeth. The game is very quickly turning into "My money is better than your deck," especially with cards like this being printed every new set.
sarroth
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Some say broken, some say the power level that a mythic should be. Every game she hit the battlefield, she won me by herself, so perhaps that fits the latter. Especially since I only used her final ability once or twice; the first two were usually enough to get me a win. I do feel if it wasn't so one-sided she'd be a bit more balanced. Nonetheless, I loved playing with her, and will miss her now that I traded her away.
gongshowninja
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
With True Conviction, she brings her own double striking, lifelink soldier army to bear on the bad guys.
@ bijart_dauth Name one other half decent token producer in standard.
Troutz
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(20 votes)
This was the planeswalker I was least excited about for Scars. She just didn't look that fun or fantastic to me.
Then she ended up in my pre-release Sealed pool. It was very awkward, like when in high school you would get paired up for a group project with someone you talk a lot of crap about behind their back. But turns out this card is phenomenal, and then I got a 2nd one in one of my prize packs at the end. Like, you know, when you're done with the group project and find out that person is actually pretty cool, and you share a lot of common interests.
Pretty sure her -2 slows games down faster than any activated ability in the history of Magic.
Weary_PSI
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Odd that the other card is her "Knight Errant" identity, since she looks much more the capable, steadfast soldier and leader here than there.
Yeah, anyway, this card is insane. These Planeswalkers are starting to get a little out of hand. With Proliferate, you can even use her nuke effect on her first turn.
Sironos
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
No planeswalker should have ulti ready the turn after you play them, buh!
JanusAurelius
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(11 votes)
Why don't they make a Planeswalker you don't have to sacrifice your first born to get?
KyoDarkFire
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Elspeth is my favorite planeswalker character (in the story at least) and this card has a great sinergy with each of her abilities, I love it :) too bad this mythic card stuff is a market failure... the 3 planeswalkers in this set are so expensive already
oj48
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(4 votes)
@Richard_Hawk, the reason she's rated lower than koth and venser, is because she's nowhere near as good, she's overpriced, and overhyped, the original elspeth was infinitely better, but in all honesty planeswalkers were the worst idea since greedo shooting first, they're completely ruined the game, and i totally agree with oleander guy, mythic's have also completely ruined the game, and this doesn't help one bit, its cards like this that make me want to quit, because while i like her, she's too expensive, and not worth it, and now, casual players like myself, can no longer afford to play the game, well done wizards, you've screwed us all.
taake
★☆☆☆☆ (1.1/5.0)(8 votes)
this card is soooo low. worst plaineswaler ever printed. not much of a combo card. destroy all permanents like honor of the pure, and what do you have??? some 1/1 tokens. not a very interesting card
SIlverSkyz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is almost as bad. if not worse than the original. Did i say bad? I meant broken.
yesnomu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Not as good as her Alara version, but still pretty sweet. I pulled her in my Sealed pool, and didn't lose a game I drew her. I think I ended the one with 50-odd life, and a giant army of tokens, after wiping the board several times over. Good times!
Like some of the other commenters here, I was initially unimpressed. And I still wish her +2 had an immediate effect on the board. But she's better balanced than EK-E, and still packs a wallop.
Sironos: Not a fan of Garruk, are we? Considering Day of Judgment costs 4, I think it's ok.
Teakon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
5/5. I love this card soooo much. I have had 6 people drop from the game as soon as I use her best.
Bandswithother
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(12 votes)
I don't think there's been a all-but-token nuke since Hour of Reckoning
And Jesus *** Christ people. Elspeth is not broken. The game is not ending. The world is still turning just fine.
Nearly every single gatherer discussion degrades into how this is so broken or how that sucks because it dies to removal.
Well guess what: Elspeth, and every other planeswalker, can do some pretty broken things. AND, and, they are also vulnerable to removal! IMAGINE THAT! That Wizards makes janky cards with answers to them. Mind has been blown.
Is she too expensive for cardboard? Obviously not if she sells at that price.
Can't afford her for your casual deck? Then quit trying to make decks around cards you can't get! Its a casual deck to begin with, use proxies.
The R/G Splintered Galvanizer deck is far more broken, can win on turn four, and can be made effectively for about 30 to 40 bucks. With most of its cost coming from dual lands. It also doesn't need any planeswalkers in it and is certainly vulnerable to removal.
And for those of you who don't know; the various forms of removal for a 'walker in standard is:
Anihilator from any casted eldrazi.
Admonition Angel
Æther Tradewinds
All is Dust
Argentum Armor
Devout Lightcaster (sorin)
Disperse
Elspeth Tirel (!)
Into the Roil
Liquimetal Coating (combined with artifact removal)
Lux Cannon
Mold Shambler
Ratchet Bomb
Regress
Steel Hellkite
Terastodon (albeit at the cost of giving the opponent a 3/3)
Vampire Hexmage
Venser, the Sojourner
Volition Reins
World Queller
20 ways to deal with a walker, and thats without even touching burn.
evilcheeser
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I hate how well Elspeth works with... well, uh... Elspeth. I want both in play at once, and that's just not working. Maybe there's some kind of strat with grabbing the Emblem for all her counters, killing her, playing Tirel version, and getting a pretty sweet wrath, but this seems horribly slow and insanely easy to stop. Ah well.
Also: I'm loving some Elspeth, but somewhat confused how exactly she's fitting into Scars. Does anything actually have synergy with her? I guess some kind of Myrsmith/Myr Battlesphere deck? Just seems odd in a set with only a dozen cards that make tokens, and half that many soldiers (and none of both). Maybe should be making Myr, or Myr Soldier tokens? That would make a lot more sense given what cards seem to work with her. Perhaps a minor complaint, but the synergy change is huge, and flavor certainly should matter in Magic.
PhyrexianAdvocate
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(11 votes)
She's not overpriced. I got mine today for 3.99 + sales tax. You know...the old fashioned way. So you can't find it on eBay for less than an arm and a leg? I fail to see how WotC is responsible. Blame the secondary market if you want to blame something.
On to the card itself, I was absolutely thrilled when I cracked it open only to later realize that she really wouldn't be that much help in my casual circle against my friend's Dragon deck since all of Sarkhan's thugs are...in fact...tokens. Crap. Oh well. At least I get to nuke Sarkhan himself.
In limited the life gain sort of fizzles against infect, and the tokens are likely to get run over fairly quickly by the same ability. While her ultimate is wiping out everything that could potentially pump them (unless you have each of them equipped with Darksteel Axe). I'm thinking about just relying on the first two abilities to clog up the board (using the first one primarily just to put more loyalty counters on her) and the final as a last resort-boom. In this format, Koth and Venser are definitely better.
Khanbg
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
* As Elspeth Tirel's last ability resolves, each permanent that isn't a token, a land, or Elspeth Tirel herself is destroyed.
I managed to pull this card out of the second scars pack I opened, having pulled Venser out of the first. This set is awesome!
lordof1000mimes
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(8 votes)
Part of me really likes the design of this card and the rest of me is too consumed with hate at even the idea of having to play against her to give a damn about design.
While I lean towards saying Elspeth, Knight-Errant is better, she's still plenty amazing. Even outside of a token deck, this is an absolute powerhouse. I generally at least try to avoid labeling cards as broken, but a reusable nuke that hits enchantments, artifacts, non-token creatures, and all other plainswalkers more than pushes the limit for me.
SunshineTheBlond
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
This card made me quite happy for my WGR Saproling's deck, seeing as my only other option is good 'ol reliable Hour of Reckoning.
By turn five my Selesnya Evangel's have already begun producing, as with my Jund Battlemage's, Life and Limb was played turn four and she's ready to gain me around 6-8 life~ Very nice indeed~!
And I'm getting rather annoyed reading through comments on Planeswalkers, trying to find tips or other help, and hearing over and over how, "Mythic rares ruined magic" from people like oj48 or Oleander. My best, and by far favorite, deck in casual is my straight up red burn. Mythics? Nope. I have two rares, one copy of each. Pyromancer Ascension and Furnace of Rath. Mythics? No, my deck works fine without. Uncommon's and Common's are the bulk of my deck, and guess what? My deck works just fine. It's the most powerful one, in my friends opinions.
I've got a blue control deck based around Jace the Mind Sculptor. Guess how often that deck wins? Fairly consistently, but not every single time. Magic isn't "My money is better than your deck." Magic is being clever and thinking about your deck before you start complaining. My near-pauper red deck beats my blue Jace deck nine times out of ten, because it's just faster. Oh, and Volcanic Fallout but that's an uncommon.
Maybe rather than complaining about how expensive Planeswalkers are and how much mythics ruined Magic, you should be better thinking of ways to improve your own deckbuilding, eh?
Kitty_the_Kat
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
I pulled one, and traded it for a few more expensive cards to add to my RDW (Kuldotha), although I did go 3 - 0 in a draft thanks to this card, only owning 1 does me no good and its was too expensive for me to buy another one. =/ Overall its a great card that can win games, but you need to build a deck around it.
5/5 - Its just a good card; although it costs a good chunk of cash, its still great if you can protect it.
God_Of_The_Smurfs
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Edit: After playing with and against this card, i've realized that with her on the field, and no removal for her in sight, the game usually goes one way. You blow her up, then slowely gain life and swing with tokens. The game drags on forever, and nothing interesting happens. Powerful, but boring.
roguepariah
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I have a feeling she will find a friend in hero of bladehold once besieged is released.
bagilis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Goregeous art.
And with Mirrodin Besieged coming up, and its token generating knights (check out hero of bladehold), this is going to rock serious.
NeoSin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I think that people oj on and olender need a serious reality check.Bitterblossom wasn't a mythic, still isn't, and is currently worth MORE than Elspeth. as for the mythic thing you realize that planeswalkers are flavorful and fit into the mythic slot nicely. some cards like Baneslayer, I agree, don't fit. But overall I think people get to angry about things as such. Seriously, cards that are good have always been on the higher side of money, don't like it? Deal with it or quit
divine_exodus
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Before Elspeth came onto the battlefield, I had 3 life, my opponent had 20. At the end of the game, I had 37 life and my opponent was dead. And Elepeth was still alive, with 5 loyalty left.
If that isn't power I don't know what is.
zetzubosensei
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
mirrodin besiged battle cry knights and dual knight exemplars on field.... get her last ability out and laugh as everything else vanishes as ur knights slap ur opponent in the face for being silly enough not to side in those exile stacks
BrokenBoySoldier
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Not a fan, WOTC have gone on record numerous times that they try to make walkers game winners, something which Elspeth is not, pulled her a couple of times in drafts and prereleases and am always dissappointed in how weak she is.
Tharikifa
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Not quite as powerful as her original version, but I find it very interesting that she is so far the only planeswalker that combos with herself. If you manage to pull of Elspeth, Knight-Errant's final ability and then play this card, everything you own is now Indestructible so... time to kill everything on your opponent's side of the field. Granted, that would in no way be easy to do.
littlebeast
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Huh, yeah, Elspeth + Koth + Venser actually does work pretty well! You can obviously use Venser's ability to use their small - abilities, but that works with every planeswalker. However... Use Koth's ultimate + Venser's flicker on himself + Elspeth's ultimate, you now have Venser and Elspeth and however many tokens and some mountains to ping with, and your opponent has only land. Have fun. Well, it would work well in 2-headed giant, one person with Koth, the other with Elspeth and Venser. Koth really only works well in mono.
jemas42
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She goes in my White Myr deck. In casual, Myr decks tend to get targeted pretty fast, especially when you run 4 Myr Battlespheres and 2 Myr Turbines. So she or True Conviction let me hold on to life. And if I manage to drop Darksteel Forge I can pop her -5 to break everything. It's not like my Myr can get destroyed.
My friend gave me this card when I bought my first deck, he got it in a booster and didn't use white so I scored big time. When I went to a tournament a guy begged me for it and said he would give me 50 uncommons or 30 rares and R200(about 28 dollars US) for it, which I denied. He still phones me every other week to ask again
penguinmage25
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
>_< the card is not that great the other elespeth is better
I'm very surprised this isn't used more in standard. Expensive yes, but a 5th turn drop that if left almost always wins the game next turn?
SoulShatterer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of the most useable planeswalkers, since her final is effective and can be dropped on the second turn she's out.
Grimnbo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I enjoy the way the -2 ability instantly powers a Teysa blast.
auriscope
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Yeah, going to second the ridiculously busted things she does with Teysa, Orzhov Scion.
Darkwing1232
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Im curious how Elspeth's final ability works with protection cards i.e. Sword of War and Peace. Since the equipped creature is protected from white cards, would the creature and/or sword not get destroyed? Also for equipment cards in general, if they are equipped to a token creature, is the equipment card still destroyed?
Xilinoc
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(7 votes)
And here I thought nuclear weaponry was banned in the United States.
Cheza
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(5 votes)
I'm sorry R&D, but Nissa Revane is the MUCH, MUCH better Elspeth!!!
Nissa's Chosen should have been a white Soldier or Knight and I would have liked this MUCH better than 3 tokens. 2 lifepoints per soldier and/or knights would have been much more flavorful than just 1 life for every creature.
Even the last ability would have been much cooler on Elspeth, if you can search for any number of soldiers and/or warriors instead.
But I believe WotC will go on and print stupid white token generation cards.
B00oo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Right about now I am feeling very very disapointed in the magic community, the biggset nuke combo since darksteel forge and worldslayer, however no-one sees it? It is a simple two card combo with infinte possibilities. Simple: Elspeth Tirel and Mirrorworks.
Elspeth's nuke effect states that it destroyes everything except her, lands, and tokens. Mirrorworks states that when you play a non-token artifact you may pay 2 extra mana to summon a token that is an exact copy of the original.
Any-one get it yet?????
simple...
I myself run this combo in a myr swarm deck with the palladium, galvanizer, propagator, and battlesphere. And throwing in semblance anvil allowes you to get this out on turn 4 easilly if you know what your doing, as well as speeding up the infinite combo. Can't get much faster when you only have to play one galvanizer and copy him.
P.S.
Both cards only cost 5 mana, wtf??!!!
OmegaSerris
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Bets that Innistrad is her home plane? Both have strong references to darkness and/or black mana (Elspeth own purity is rebellion against some horrors she faced as a child).
TheManakinTransfer
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Oh wow. Im sure you're lovely and all (and i would love to do disturbing things with you) but my heart has already gone out to this hunk
PwNaGe712
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ajani's final ability is a token creature....elspeth's doesnt nuke tokens. hmmmmm.... 1 shot anyone?
gtamaster503
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great for White Green.
Jalyfein
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hi all,
I had a question. I haven't played mtg in a long time. But I would like to know exactly what does the +2 ,-2,-5 abilities actually mean. I mean I know that some other cards say tap 1 extra mana for this ability or pay 1 life for this other ability ,but I dont understand on this specific card.
Mirran_Savior
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
This was in my first booster ever when I first started playing Magic (Yeah, im a bi new, but I know my stuff now) and back then I had NO idea what it all meant, and now EVERY time I have her enter the battlefield I smile and remember the times I had with this card in the past. Good times...good times... :D
@Jalyfein: Those numbers are the cost (in loyalty counters) to activate those abilities. And you can only do so at sorcery speed once per turn (on your turn, 'cuz sorcery speed). the addition/removal of loyalty counters occurs as a cost to pay the ability, as well.
FierceDeityLink
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
out her in a Knight's deck and use her last ability after you put 2 Exemplars on the field and you can just keep bombing your opponents creatures when they put something half decent on the field.
Igooog
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just pulled a foil one of these as my second planeswalker, and this think is awesome. Being able to clear the board a turn after she comes in, and still be alive? I don't think it's possible to top that. Plus, the -2 +2 always works to get you a ton of life, just by spamming the board with tokens.
DarthParallax
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
compared to other cards, all Planeswalkers should get 4.5/5. the remaining .5 goes to cards from ye-olde-stupide--broekn-commbo-dayes with Black Lotus & Co.
But even among Planeswalkers, Elspeth is kind of a Viking Goddess. No reason not to rate for 5, really, except out of deference to history.
Personally, I want to see a Duel Decks: Elspeth Tirel VS Sorin Markov.
I feel they would not get along, Elspeth would get all self-righteous Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Sorin's undead butt. They both have giant swords, and we'd love to see them hack at each other :)
Of course, I'd root for Sorin, but I'd enjoy another Elspeth Duel Decks product as well. The last Elspeth deck felt a bit...lacking, somehow.
I was playing a Scars of Mirrodin draft with my friends. I was building a black/blue deck, and then I opened this up on my last booster. I took it immediately.
On a more serious note though, I'm really digging the 2nd ability, so much utility! It can be used as chump blockers to defend Elspeth or if you have enough creature buffs (which is very common in soldiers/white), they're potential threats your opponents just can't ignore.
The most charming aspect about her ultimate is how EASY you can get there, it's just nuts, I love it!
PS : Oh, and not that anyone cares, but she is my very first planeswalker :D (I'm a magic veteran but has stopped for a while, haven't got that much mythics...let alone planeswalkers)
My good friend gave me one of these for free. I have now have 2 of them, and she'll be my favorite Planeswalker forever, both in card and character.
To be honest, I've never really used her -2. Running a token deck, I usually feel like I have enough creatures by the time she comes out, generally about 6-8, and her bomb only takes 2 turns to get out WHILE still keeping her around. I just use her +2 to brace for the "Oh shit, I need to do something big" attack that's coming from the opponent, and when they fail to deliver, -5.
And that's usually game. I just don't have time to ever use her -2, oh well. Still handy to have, I suppose. Just in case.
holloweencandies
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
A broken to hell planeswalker, allthe planeswalkers are to powerful, but this one can wipe the field the next turn. Bad card making at its best and an absolute reason the game as a whole will be better once the block is out.
MANABURNWASGOOD
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Picked up a foil one, i waste money what can I say?!
Going right into my EDH token deck along with the original incarnation of her...could've gotten a foil one for $30, i saw it ballooned to $50-$60!
Nikeyeia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@holloweencandies: Because so many top tier decks is running Tirel.
HedronMyr
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@holloweencandies Planewalkers are powerful and game changing, but they're also easy to get rid of. Pretty much every blue counter spell can keep it from hitting the field. Burn spells from red can shoot down Elspeth. White has O Ring, and even green has an out with beast within. Black probably has the hardest time with planeswalker hunting, but can still hunt one out of the hand, and with blue, can counter/surgical extraction any planeswalker.
And of course, you can always attack the planeswalker, though evasion is really important against someone like Eslpeth. As a rule, planeswalkers are as fragile as they are powerful.
Aperture123
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Elspeth tirel goes very well in the Path to victory intro pack in the m13 core set expansion.
Aburaishi
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@SorianSadaskan: Your comment actually would've been pretty impressive, if A. you hadn't sounded like an arrogant prick, and B. you hadn't, in a hilariously ironic twist, misspelled 3 words in your rebuttal to all the low-IQ degenerates posting comments.
BobbertZhubert
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@Stall3, please tell me your a troll. I cannot be serious. Read what the card says!
-5: Destroy all other permanents except for lands and tokens.
IT SAYS OTHER AND EXCEPT! The Wizards ruling is right. Please actually read the card (if you can) before you speak.
Stall3
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@BobbertZhubert, I DID read the card exactly as it is written and in plain English OTHER and EXCEPT completely NEGATE each other and therefore the wording on the card is NOT clear!!
and FYI I am not a Troll as I do not bleed green, and I have one of these that I use myself and I still do not agree with the ruling as it is written.
MagicCritic
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Beautiful. 5/5. Comes in T5 but ultimate takes 1 turn to achieve. Really good if you're about to lose or you're facing big creature decks. Very good in life gain, +2 can easily ramp up 4-5 to 8-10 life every use. -2 is easily abused and achieved rather quickly which can then be followde up by a +2 which will gain even more life. Ult will see play a lot and is very good as well. Very good when you have a lot of soldier tokens and you want to go in for the kill but he/she has a lot of creatures blocking you
LordRandomness
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
The combination of very powerful ultimate and being able to activate that ultimate after just one other ability AND survive is quite potent.
psychichobo
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
She's alright, bit nasty if you can't deal with her right away though.
I think she'd be less offensive if she started off at 3 loyalty. That way you could bolt & co. her upon arrival, and she'd kill herself after activating her ultimate the following turn.
Seriously though, the fact is she'll generate a substantial bit of life as well as wreck the board. Even if there's not many tokens a bit of lifegain is still nice.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Psychichobo: You can't bolt her before they get to activate an ability. If you don't counter her, they get priority as she enters the battlefield so they'll always have a chance to use an ability. You can only respond to that ability.
Upon close examination (on a high res version), she looks like captain Janeway from Voyager.
Continue
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Stall3: In what world do "other" and "except" negate each other? In what fucked-up universe is this card's wording not clear?
"Destroy all other permanents..." Okay, destroy everything except for Elspeth. "...except for lands and tokens." Alright, so lands and tokens are also not destroyed. Unless you have the reading comprehension of a seven-year-old, that phrasing is quite unambiguous.
ThatChrisFella
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Seems kind of OP to me, though I haven't played her yet. If she's used in any self respecting populate deck you'll be gaining 20+ life each turn she's out. If you're frequently pumping out Angels with Growing Ranks and Parallel lives, then you only need to use them for one turn to defend her. The next turn, activate the -5 and attack with all of your tokens.
Lazrbeams
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
If you +2 her the turn you drop her with protection, and your opponent isn't playing red (bolts and hasty creatures) it's pretty much GG, just keep +2ing and pooping soldiers, then suddenly win.
Comments (99)
Consider you can have Venser and her dish out a '3 soldier tokens generation per turn'. To the degenerates who can't apprecite people's good comments, ready? Alright, here it is:
T1: Elspeth Tirel generate 3 soldiers, Venser phase her out, she comes back with 4 counters at end of turn. Then you repeat the process in the next few turns.
And to your surpirse, she continue to bring more reinforcements while Venser's loyalty grows. Ultimately this may give you the option to swarm your enemy with Venser's Unblockable power and Elspeth's soldiers. Or shift Venser himself out with his first ability and let Elspeth release her wrath, unaffecting her soldiers (any creature tokens) and with Venser comeback at EOT safe and sound.
And of course, you may whine as usual as they may get bolted before they can attempt to do this, if so, you're pretty pathetic for a blue player who can't counter, or even anticipate this.
How much more do you want? Little ingrates...... -_-''''
Amazing card with any token deck especially green-white token deck possibly with Garruk although her ultimate will kill it. But if you can get Garruk overrun or overwhelming stampede and elspeth ulti on same turn, there isn't much that's gonna keep opposing player alive unless they have stuff like safe passage or they're also running token deck and such. With green's mana acceleration there shouldn't be much trouble getting elspeth out rather early.
Could be good in UW control also, I could imagine using her with Venser or after her ultimate, get Jace, the Mind Sculptor out and take total control of the field.
Run her alongside permanents that would buff your Soldier tokes/White creatures (True Conviction, Captain of the Watch, Honor of the Pure, etc.), and remove them with Oblivion Ring and Journey to Nowhere. Elspeth nukes the field, the enchantments go poof, now you have an even nastier army of soldier tokens for your opponent to deal with!
Drop her, use her ability twice to kill her.
Then drop another one, gain up to 12 life, and let the hilarity ensue.
Did anyone also forget Conqueror's Pledge? Yeah, didn't think so.
I like this version of Elspeth better since her ultimatum will win games.
her -2 for three 1/1 tokens is very good too.
i like playing her with Conqueror's Pledge and Nomad's Assembly for an army of tokens.
but i can splash green for Bestial Menace and Garruk, also Ajani Goldmane wiil be good too.
i can go blue/white to protect my tokens with counter spell :) and instead of playing Jace TMS i can play Jace Beleren since he will die anyways with Elspeth Tirel ultimatum. i can also use Venser, the Sojourner in two different ways. the unblockable ability for my army, or the exile and bring back ability for Elspeth to restore her loyalty counters :)
@ gongshowninja, true conviction is a permanent, thus if you use her ultimate (witch i presume you are intending to, for other wise you could just use another token generating efect) you would loose it, then again, it also keeps land, so you could nuke it and then drop the enchantment
@ slaveofbolas, yes, it says other to specify that she lives as well
@ bijart_dauth Name one other half decent token producer in standard.
Then she ended up in my pre-release Sealed pool. It was very awkward, like when in high school you would get paired up for a group project with someone you talk a lot of crap about behind their back. But turns out this card is phenomenal, and then I got a 2nd one in one of my prize packs at the end. Like, you know, when you're done with the group project and find out that person is actually pretty cool, and you share a lot of common interests.
Pretty sure her -2 slows games down faster than any activated ability in the history of Magic.
Odd that the other card is her "Knight Errant" identity, since she looks much more the capable, steadfast soldier and leader here than there.
Yeah, anyway, this card is insane. These Planeswalkers are starting to get a little out of hand. With Proliferate, you can even use her nuke effect on her first turn.
destroy all permanents like honor of the pure, and what do you have??? some 1/1 tokens. not a very interesting card
Did i say bad? I meant broken.
Like some of the other commenters here, I was initially unimpressed. And I still wish her +2 had an immediate effect on the board. But she's better balanced than EK-E, and still packs a wallop.
Sironos: Not a fan of Garruk, are we? Considering Day of Judgment costs 4, I think it's ok.
And Jesus *** Christ people. Elspeth is not broken. The game is not ending. The world is still turning just fine.
Nearly every single gatherer discussion degrades into how this is so broken or how that sucks because it dies to removal.
Well guess what: Elspeth, and every other planeswalker, can do some pretty broken things. AND, and, they are also vulnerable to removal! IMAGINE THAT! That Wizards makes janky cards with answers to them. Mind has been blown.
Is she too expensive for cardboard? Obviously not if she sells at that price.
Can't afford her for your casual deck? Then quit trying to make decks around cards you can't get! Its a casual deck to begin with, use proxies.
The R/G Splintered Galvanizer deck is far more broken, can win on turn four, and can be made effectively for about 30 to 40 bucks. With most of its cost coming from dual lands. It also doesn't need any planeswalkers in it and is certainly vulnerable to removal.
And for those of you who don't know; the various forms of removal for a 'walker in standard is:
Anihilator from any casted eldrazi.
Admonition Angel
Æther Tradewinds
All is Dust
Argentum Armor
Devout Lightcaster (sorin)
Disperse
Elspeth Tirel (!)
Into the Roil
Liquimetal Coating (combined with artifact removal)
Lux Cannon
Mold Shambler
Ratchet Bomb
Regress
Steel Hellkite
Terastodon (albeit at the cost of giving the opponent a 3/3)
Vampire Hexmage
Venser, the Sojourner
Volition Reins
World Queller
20 ways to deal with a walker, and thats without even touching burn.
Also: I'm loving some Elspeth, but somewhat confused how exactly she's fitting into Scars. Does anything actually have synergy with her? I guess some kind of Myrsmith/Myr Battlesphere deck? Just seems odd in a set with only a dozen cards that make tokens, and half that many soldiers (and none of both). Maybe should be making Myr, or Myr Soldier tokens? That would make a lot more sense given what cards seem to work with her. Perhaps a minor complaint, but the synergy change is huge, and flavor certainly should matter in Magic.
On to the card itself, I was absolutely thrilled when I cracked it open only to later realize that she really wouldn't be that much help in my casual circle against my friend's Dragon deck since all of Sarkhan's thugs are...in fact...tokens. Crap. Oh well. At least I get to nuke Sarkhan himself.
In limited the life gain sort of fizzles against infect, and the tokens are likely to get run over fairly quickly by the same ability. While her ultimate is wiping out everything that could potentially pump them (unless you have each of them equipped with Darksteel Axe). I'm thinking about just relying on the first two abilities to clog up the board (using the first one primarily just to put more loyalty counters on her) and the final as a last resort-boom. In this format, Koth and Venser are definitely better.
quoted from: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=270929&highlight=Elspeth+Tirel
While I lean towards saying Elspeth, Knight-Errant is better, she's still plenty amazing. Even outside of a token deck, this is an absolute powerhouse. I generally at least try to avoid labeling cards as broken, but a reusable nuke that hits enchantments, artifacts, non-token creatures, and all other plainswalkers more than pushes the limit for me.
By turn five my Selesnya Evangel's have already begun producing, as with my Jund Battlemage's, Life and Limb was played turn four and she's ready to gain me around 6-8 life~ Very nice indeed~!
And I'm getting rather annoyed reading through comments on Planeswalkers, trying to find tips or other help, and hearing over and over how, "Mythic rares ruined magic" from people like oj48 or Oleander. My best, and by far favorite, deck in casual is my straight up red burn. Mythics? Nope. I have two rares, one copy of each. Pyromancer Ascension and Furnace of Rath. Mythics? No, my deck works fine without. Uncommon's and Common's are the bulk of my deck, and guess what? My deck works just fine. It's the most powerful one, in my friends opinions.
I've got a blue control deck based around Jace the Mind Sculptor. Guess how often that deck wins? Fairly consistently, but not every single time. Magic isn't "My money is better than your deck." Magic is being clever and thinking about your deck before you start complaining. My near-pauper red deck beats my blue Jace deck nine times out of ten, because it's just faster. Oh, and Volcanic Fallout but that's an uncommon.
Maybe rather than complaining about how expensive Planeswalkers are and how much mythics ruined Magic, you should be better thinking of ways to improve your own deckbuilding, eh?
5/5 - Its just a good card; although it costs a good chunk of cash, its still great if you can protect it.
Edit: After playing with and against this card, i've realized that with her on the field, and no removal for her in sight, the game usually goes one way. You blow her up, then slowely gain life and swing with tokens. The game drags on forever, and nothing interesting happens. Powerful, but boring.
And with Mirrodin Besieged coming up, and its token generating knights (check out hero of bladehold), this is going to rock serious.
If that isn't power I don't know what is.
You can obviously use Venser's ability to use their small - abilities, but that works with every planeswalker.
However...
Use Koth's ultimate + Venser's flicker on himself + Elspeth's ultimate, you now have Venser and Elspeth and however many tokens and some mountains to ping with, and your opponent has only land. Have fun.
Well, it would work well in 2-headed giant, one person with Koth, the other with Elspeth and Venser. Koth really only works well in mono.
Nissa's Chosen should have been a white Soldier or Knight and I would have liked this MUCH better than 3 tokens. 2 lifepoints per soldier and/or knights would have been much more flavorful than just 1 life for every creature.
Even the last ability would have been much cooler on Elspeth, if you can search for any number of soldiers and/or warriors instead.
But I believe WotC will go on and print stupid white token generation cards.
Elspeth's nuke effect states that it destroyes everything except her, lands, and tokens. Mirrorworks states that when you play a non-token artifact you may pay 2 extra mana to summon a token that is an exact copy of the original.
Any-one get it yet?????
simple...
I myself run this combo in a myr swarm deck with the palladium, galvanizer, propagator, and battlesphere. And throwing in semblance anvil allowes you to get this out on turn 4 easilly if you know what your doing, as well as speeding up the infinite combo. Can't get much faster when you only have to play one galvanizer and copy him.
P.S.
Both cards only cost 5 mana, wtf??!!!
I had a question. I haven't played mtg in a long time. But I would like to know exactly what does the +2 ,-2,-5 abilities actually mean. I mean I know that some other cards say tap 1 extra mana for this ability or pay 1 life for this other ability ,but I dont understand on this specific card.
But even among Planeswalkers, Elspeth is kind of a Viking Goddess. No reason not to rate for 5, really, except out of deference to history.
Personally, I want to see a Duel Decks: Elspeth Tirel VS Sorin Markov.
I feel they would not get along, Elspeth would get all self-righteous Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Sorin's undead butt. They both have giant swords, and we'd love to see them hack at each other :)
Of course, I'd root for Sorin, but I'd enjoy another Elspeth Duel Decks product as well. The last Elspeth deck felt a bit...lacking, somehow.
I took it immediately.
On a more serious note though, I'm really digging the 2nd ability, so much utility! It can be used as chump blockers to defend Elspeth or if you have enough creature buffs (which is very common in soldiers/white), they're potential threats your opponents just can't ignore.
The most charming aspect about her ultimate is how EASY you can get there, it's just nuts, I love it!
PS : Oh, and not that anyone cares, but she is my very first planeswalker :D (I'm a magic veteran but has stopped for a while, haven't got that much mythics...let alone planeswalkers)
former ultimate.
Elspeth, Knight-Errant
To be honest, I've never really used her -2. Running a token deck, I usually feel like I have enough creatures by the time she comes out, generally about 6-8, and her bomb only takes 2 turns to get out WHILE still keeping her around. I just use her +2 to brace for the "Oh shit, I need to do something big" attack that's coming from the opponent, and when they fail to deliver, -5.
And that's usually game. I just don't have time to ever use her -2, oh well. Still handy to have, I suppose. Just in case.
Going right into my EDH token deck along with the original incarnation of her...could've gotten a foil one for $30, i saw it ballooned to $50-$60!
And of course, you can always attack the planeswalker, though evasion is really important against someone like Eslpeth. As a rule, planeswalkers are as fragile as they are powerful.
-5: Destroy all other permanents except for lands and tokens.
IT SAYS OTHER AND EXCEPT! The Wizards ruling is right. Please actually read the card (if you can) before you speak.
and FYI I am not a Troll as I do not bleed green, and I have one of these that I use myself and I still do not agree with the ruling as it is written.
Comes in T5 but ultimate takes 1 turn to achieve. Really good if you're about to lose or you're facing big creature decks.
Very good in life gain, +2 can easily ramp up 4-5 to 8-10 life every use. -2 is easily abused and achieved rather quickly which can then be followde up by a +2 which will gain even more life.
Ult will see play a lot and is very good as well. Very good when you have a lot of soldier tokens and you want to go in for the kill but he/she has a lot of creatures blocking you
I think she'd be less offensive if she started off at 3 loyalty. That way you could bolt & co. her upon arrival, and she'd kill herself after activating her ultimate the following turn.
Seriously though, the fact is she'll generate a substantial bit of life as well as wreck the board. Even if there's not many tokens a bit of lifegain is still nice.
"Destroy all other permanents..." Okay, destroy everything except for Elspeth. "...except for lands and tokens." Alright, so lands and tokens are also not destroyed. Unless you have the reading comprehension of a seven-year-old, that phrasing is quite unambiguous.
If you're frequently pumping out Angels with Growing Ranks and Parallel lives, then you only need to use them for one turn to defend her.
The next turn, activate the -5 and attack with all of your tokens.