I remember the days back when double strike used to be expensive.
divine_exodus
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(7 votes)
Remember when everything other than flying and haste tacked on an extra 2 mana cost?
Zenzei
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(6 votes)
Only thing I remember is I wanted red to have 3 drop like this in MBS.
faisjdas
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(5 votes)
T3 this, turn 4 Elspeth: take 10 in the air.
Seems pretty brutal, and it's not even a god-draw.
FragNutMK1
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(8 votes)
No! Bad Wizards!
ivorythunder
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(7 votes)
I'm so happy that this doesn't have protection from red.
Vividice
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
One of my favorite cards in MBS. Could be nice in Midrange Aggro Decks with any kind of pump. I mean just give this guy a Bonesplitter and see your enemy cower in fear. Resolve a Quest for the Holy Relic with Argentum Armor equipping the Crusader and perform some evil laughter.
Power Creep. Plain and Simple. Compare to Hearthfire Hobgoblin and Paladin en-Vec(both playable cards in certain decks).
Although this new guy isn't strictly better than either(Pro Red>Pro Green, and Hobgoblin is R/W synergizing with Balefire Liege), he is nevertheless better in most situations. Wizards is really letting down their fans when they print stuff like this that basically obsoletes older cards.
iraah9
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(5 votes)
Pulled one of these at prerelease sealed draft. Easily the MVP of the deck; whenever he came out, I won
Only problem is that he's not Lightning Bolt-proof so kinda hard to use in constructed. I feel like Phyrexian Crusader will be more used in constructed for that reason
hail_the_mill_crab
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
My second favorite moment of the Prereleases I did was putting Barbed Battlegear on this guy against a b/g infect deck.
My favorite was using Corrupted Conscience on a Masticore. *evil laugh*
PrimeSonic
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(1 vote)
How the hell this thing only costs 3 is beyond me. This is what happens when rarity determines power level. Have fun trying to track down 4 copies of this one.
Danveldo
★★☆☆☆ (2.3/5.0)(5 votes)
Now, Does this card single-handedly Pubstomp the entire game of magic as we know it !
Quite simply, no. No it doesn't.
The only decks this stops in standard are Poison decks, Mono-Black Control, Vampires and the potential Mono Green Thrun Aggro.
Their are enough ways to deal with this card. I don't wanna be that guy who is just like 'Dies to removal' But their are still a lot of ways to deal with this. White has answers. Slap on a Journey to Nowhere, Red can smile when it casts Lightning Bolt Blue can bounce or, god forbid, Break standard and throw in the ever unused Mana leak.
Now to sign off my point. This is not a badly disigned card. It doesn't warrant a "No, Bad Wizards!". It is strong, especially in Draft format. But it has a hell of a lot of answers.
Power creep ? maybe. But having no differentiation between cards power level would be tedius. Would you like to be playing Mahamoti Djinn now ?
suggest you hunt down the interview on Youtube with MaRo. Which explains 'Power creep'
dragonking987
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
divine_exodus when was that? archiphers you cant point at some of the worst cards from sets and point at the best white card from a new set and say there is a power creep the Hearthfire Hobgoblin is from lorwyn which is still considered by many one of the best blocks of all time have you forgotten the power that tribes like elves gained? Yes this card is broken but believe it or not they have been printing broken card since day one and the Scars of Mirrodin block is not especially broken the original mirrodin block was and there where more powerful ones then it like the urza block so please stop complaining about the new sets.
Gabriel422
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Which is better: Protection from red, or double strike plus pro green?
I'm not sure. Although 4 power is better than 2, Paladin en-Vec plus the Jitte spelt game-over against way too many decks, while this plus say Elspeth would only eat a Lightning Bolt. I honestly doubt this is any more overpowered than Stillmoon Cavalier, mostly because it doesn't dodge the fastest removal color.
SolidSoldier
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Absolute HOTTEST target for a Lightning Bolt.
But really, in limited, this card is pretty pwnage.
Yoshimara
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Is he black?
KnightLord77
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This is an awesome card! Nice low cost, given its abilities, and very fitting of its rarity. This is what a Rare card is supposed to be about. Sure, it's susceptible to Lightning Bolt, but you can't have everything. :)
Kidromeo
★☆☆☆☆ (1.5/5.0)(1 vote)
I don't think this card is bad or any of the sort, I think it's nice. Draft-Wise is really nice! I got this & Venser, the Sojourner kicked a lot of butt in a White-Blue Promo Pre-Release, I could see it in constructed. Does anybody know if the promo is foil?
Richard_Hawk
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This doesn't die to Go for the Throat in limited, or any other popular black -1 counter spells. Now in standard I can see why people would play the other Crusader over this, but I still like him better.
Lord_FarkwadtehThird
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I like this guy, white has plenty of ways to protect him from red (brave the elements, Knight Examplar), and the double strike is pretty nasty, drop after a turn two crusade/honor of the pure, this guy is pretty grizzly at only three cost, never mind having him on the field with Knight Exemplar and having +1/+1 and having indestructible.
Again the only real knock is he can be killed with Lightning bolt or pyroclasm, but at this point I would hardly call that a serious drawback, so do most other creatures.
shinhawk
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(4 votes)
My meta is just full of swarming elf decks, so this having pro-green is definitely awesome for me.
AppleButter
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(1 vote)
this card is awesome and wen i mean awesome like it took down my entire deck at the prerelese and at FNM i saw a guy beat the best player there (or so we thot) with this card now i mean come on that is just flat out awesome i love koth of the hammer:)
ratchet1215
★★☆☆☆ (2.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Options for when this guy hits the table vs. your limited Infect deck:
Poor Hearthfire Gobin...well at least his still fits in Goblin decks and {R} decks...
D_MaULeR
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This is what happens when you equip Blades of Azzinoth to a human knight.
Azrael1911
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
This is power-creep almost on the level of Vampire Nighthawk, and that's saying ALOT.
Artscrafter
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"The only decks this stops in standard are Poison decks, Mono-Black Control..."
Not even those if they're built right. Infect has plenty of artifact creatures (speed bump him with one Necropede and he's a lot less threatening, then proliferate or toss another 'pede at him and he's dead) and black control only has a problem with him if its only creature removal is targeted. Gatekeeper of Malakir and Consuming Vapors don't care about pro black, and if they have too many other creatures for those to work then you're in a good spot to play Black Sun's Zenith.
Mono-green probably has the biggest problem with this guy, but fun fact for any deck: He trades with Perilous Myr.
I will be putting this in my UW Knight deck (Exemplar, Clone, Day of Judgment) as a way to test the waters. Best case, he swings for 6 on turn 4. Worst case, he eats a counter or a bolt that doesn't hit my exemplar.
desolation_masticore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
He wants the next sword, and he wants it so very, very badly.
Demonic_Math_Tutor
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I got this in a booster pack after desperately wanting it since the set came out. My friend now hates me cause I easily win every game against his Infect deck (after getting 2 more).
cloneffect
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Absolutely the stone-cold nuts when sworded up. Mill twenty, make 2 wolves? Make you discard 2, untap all my lands? While bashing for 8? Thank you very much. Nice game.
Ohms89
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ratchet1215
You seem to forget that BSZ can hit Crusader. If you're on the play, you can actually kill him the moment the turn is passed to you.
bigdeezy88
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
knight exemplar helps him kill any titan unscathed. powerful for three mana
@Archiphres those are terrible examples you realize?
Drewid
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(24 votes)
so yesterday i equipped this guy with sword of feast and famine and my opponent said " that was a waste he already has protection from all my creatures..." and then i hit him in the face for 8.
scorpiolegend
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(11 votes)
The double strike is so good that I didn't even notice the pro black and green until I played against an infect deck. 5/5
Artan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love this guy.
TheSwarm
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Let us examine what this card does. A threedrop card is supposed to provide pressure, essentially put you on the offense in order to progress hard enough into the late game. This card does exactly that and more. Not only does he provide excellent pressure in the early and midgame, but he can be brought back late game with sun titan and emeria. Great, lovely card.
ChaosK
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Great Card. I have the feeling Knights could actually become the new main Tribe of white, seeing all this good cards in recent Sets, like this, Knight Exemplar,Accorder Paladin, Hero of Bladehold or the reprint of Leonin Skyhunter. On the other Hand the leaks for M12 already had shown some great Soldiers. So what do you think? Soldiers or Knights? ^^
Don't forget- Sword of War and Peace? Puresteel Paladin knows what card type it is. Knight Exemplar knows what creature type the Paladin is. Wizards knows what players want. Your opponent won't know what the hell hit them in the face like a semi-truck XD
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Jund-who?
Wormfang
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
sword of body and mill.....sorry, but I'm gonna get rid of half your remaining deck now
Equip with Body and Mind to mill 20 and get a pair of wolves due to double strike.
Diab0l0
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guys works perfectly with Angelic Destiny. You play him turn 3, turn 4 he is ready to attack, you play Angelic Destiny on him, he turns into a 6/6 Flying Double Strike. It adds a pretty fast clock on the game. It's over turn 5 if your opponent has no answer to this flying with some protections.
Why is everyone saying it can be removed by this and this, except for black and green? 90% of creatures can be removed by removal spells. We all know what removes it. And if it wasn't removable then it would be a ridiculously over powered card.
Besides that this card is awesome. It is the best to add to a White Weenie deck. And my favourite dream is that I will one day equip all three swords to him in a game. (8.
Another good combo with him is Victory's Herold. Flying and Lifelink. Killer combo with Double Strike.
Combolulz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So there was this one time where if you gave it to the artist , he would repaint it for you to look like iron man , it was pretty cool.
My friend's sort of an "Artist" too , i gave it to him to make it look like an NBA player holding a basketball XD
NoobOfLore
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lightning bolt please.
gman92
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(7 votes)
A symbol for what Mirrodin once was and hope for HOLY CRAP WHY IS THIS A THREE DROP?!?!?!?!
Exelia
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Here's a funny thing to do flavor-wise: attach Nim Deathmantle.
You now have a double-striking 4/4 black zombie with intimidate and protection from black!
Not that there's any lack of artifact creatures in the Scars block...
DritzD27
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@ j_mindfingerpainter Eh, you mean except for Primeval Titan and Grave Titan right? Mr. Crusader has protection from both of their colors. :P
FierceDeityLink
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
this card is scary in a white equipment deck. just the swords make him a 12/12 protection from all colors and double strike its the reason i built my white equipment de k in the first place :D
Mike-C
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
What happens if this guy gets soulbonded with Silverblade Paladin, would he have quadlestrike?? Or is that ability unstackable?
atemu1234
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(2 votes)
It's right it represents Mirrodin. It's broken as hell.
TheWrathofShane
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
Seriously threaten to win the game, while hosing a plethora of decks.
rollinsclone
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The pro black and green makes this unbelievably powerful. There's a good chance at least half of your opponent's deck would be able to do anything except watch him smash them in the face over and over.
ToAsTy42o
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Still legal in standard. It says so. UPDATE GATHERER, ITS OCTOBER 5TH. I CANT GO THROUGH MY OLD CARDS YET BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS AND ISN'T LEGAL TO PLAY WITH.
Question: If I have a Beastmaster Ascension with 7 quest counters on it, and my Mirran Crusader is out on the battlefield under my control, does it gain the +5/+5 even though it's a green enchantment?
Great card btw. My friend runs a pure black deck, and when he sees this bad boy out, it doesn't take long for him to GG.
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@starbind69: Yes. Beastmaster Ascension does not target, and protection only prevents a creature from being Damaged, Equipped/Enchanted, Blocked, or Targeted (DEBT) by that color. As Beastmaster Ascension does none of those, Mirran Crusader will get the boost from it.
@Mike-C: From the comprehensive rules, "Multiple instances of double strike on the same creature are redundant."
Anzu-chan
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
"A symbol of what Mirrodin once was and hope for what it will be again."
True, it's so good it blows my mind.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
For 3 mana you screw over quite a few decks and put a serious threat on the board that's really tough to deal with... Sure why not.
The Crusader gets along really well with Champion of the Parish, Mother of Runes, and a whole host of other humans. I'm willing to bet he sees a reprint some day, although with his power level it might not happen. I pulled mine at my very first booster draft. When he hit the table, it was usually GG.
Whoa. How did the Mirrans lose with this on their side?
Goatllama
★★★★☆ (5.0/5.0)(11 votes)
@ Continue
Because the Phyrexians have this. And this. And this.
collintendo
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
@Goatllama
I lol'ed so hard at that comment when I opened the last one
Gcrudaplaneswalker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It has no protection from red because the Mirrans shared Boros colors. Likewise, Phyrexian Crusader has no protection from green because the Phyrexians share Golgari colors (for the most part).
CFLuke
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This...is absurdly good.
Singlehandedly saves and wins games.
EdgarPoeAllen
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When Mirrodin Besieged came out, between this and Phyrexian Crusader, mono-blue just laughed at protection.
The_Perfect_Storm117
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
stick all 5 swords on this guy? ive seen it. it is not fun. at all. no sir. 12/12 pro all colors with a buttload of effects activating twice? game. over.
Vastator
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
No knight deck is complete unless it has the minimum amount of 4 Knight Exemplars
other than that, this is one of the best knight cards out there for the cost.
4.5/5
weasel_fierce
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I love when people come by to rate this as a terrible card, despite being absurdly better than most creatures that also die to lightning bolts.
Comments (82)
Seems pretty brutal, and it's not even a god-draw.
Could be nice in Midrange Aggro Decks with any kind of pump.
I mean just give this guy a Bonesplitter and see your enemy cower in fear.
Resolve a Quest for the Holy Relic with Argentum Armor equipping the Crusader and perform some evil laughter.
Although this new guy isn't strictly better than either(Pro Red>Pro Green, and Hobgoblin is R/W synergizing with Balefire Liege), he is nevertheless better in most situations. Wizards is really letting down their fans when they print stuff like this that basically obsoletes older cards.
Only problem is that he's not Lightning Bolt-proof so kinda hard to use in constructed. I feel like Phyrexian Crusader will be more used in constructed for that reason
My favorite was using Corrupted Conscience on a Masticore. *evil laugh*
Have fun trying to track down 4 copies of this one.
Quite simply, no. No it doesn't.
The only decks this stops in standard are Poison decks, Mono-Black Control, Vampires and the potential Mono Green Thrun Aggro.
Their are enough ways to deal with this card. I don't wanna be that guy who is just like 'Dies to removal' But their are still a lot of ways to deal with this. White has answers. Slap on a Journey to Nowhere, Red can smile when it casts Lightning Bolt Blue can bounce or, god forbid, Break standard and throw in the ever unused Mana leak.
Now to sign off my point. This is not a badly disigned card. It doesn't warrant a "No, Bad Wizards!". It is strong, especially in Draft format. But it has a hell of a lot of answers.
Power creep ? maybe. But having no differentiation between cards power level would be tedius. Would you like to be playing Mahamoti Djinn now ?
suggest you hunt down the interview on Youtube with MaRo. Which explains 'Power creep'
archiphers you cant point at some of the worst cards from sets and point at the best white card from a new set and say there is a power creep the Hearthfire Hobgoblin is from lorwyn which is still considered by many one of the best blocks of all time have you forgotten the power that tribes like elves gained? Yes this card is broken but believe it or not they have been printing broken card since day one and the Scars of Mirrodin block is not especially broken the original mirrodin block was and there where more powerful ones then it like the urza block so please stop complaining about the new sets.
I'm not sure. Although 4 power is better than 2, Paladin en-Vec plus the Jitte spelt game-over against way too many decks, while this plus say Elspeth would only eat a Lightning Bolt. I honestly doubt this is any more overpowered than Stillmoon Cavalier, mostly because it doesn't dodge the fastest removal color.
But really, in limited, this card is pretty pwnage.
Again the only real knock is he can be killed with Lightning bolt or pyroclasm, but at this point I would hardly call that a serious drawback, so do most other creatures.
i love koth of the hammer:)
a) Use one of those Burn the Impures or Galvanic Blasts you're splashing
b) Rip your one copy of Black Sun's Zenith
c) Sob, go to game 2
(It's usually going to be C)
Not even those if they're built right. Infect has plenty of artifact creatures (speed bump him with one Necropede and he's a lot less threatening, then proliferate or toss another 'pede at him and he's dead) and black control only has a problem with him if its only creature removal is targeted. Gatekeeper of Malakir and Consuming Vapors don't care about pro black, and if they have too many other creatures for those to work then you're in a good spot to play Black Sun's Zenith.
Mono-green probably has the biggest problem with this guy, but fun fact for any deck: He trades with Perilous Myr.
I will be putting this in my UW Knight deck (Exemplar, Clone, Day of Judgment) as a way to test the waters. Best case, he swings for 6 on turn 4. Worst case, he eats a counter or a bolt that doesn't hit my exemplar.
You seem to forget that BSZ can hit Crusader. If you're on the play, you can actually kill him the moment the turn is passed to you.
-attaches Ogre's Cleaver on this-
P.S. Barbed Battlegear is a better choice :)
those are terrible examples you realize?
On the other Hand the leaks for M12 already had shown some great Soldiers.
So what do you think? Soldiers or Knights? ^^
A Silver-Inlaid Dagger or a Butcher's Cleaver sound also pretty solid equipment on him and Inquisitor's Flail takes it to the next level. You can attack for 20 with a flail and one of those! :p
Besides that this card is awesome. It is the best to add to a White Weenie deck. And my favourite dream is that I will one day equip all three swords to him in a game. (8.
Another good combo with him is Victory's Herold. Flying and Lifelink. Killer combo with Double Strike.
My friend's sort of an "Artist" too , i gave it to him to make it look like an NBA player holding a basketball XD
You now have a double-striking 4/4 black zombie with intimidate and protection from black!
Not that there's any lack of artifact creatures in the Scars block...
Eh, you mean except for Primeval Titan and Grave Titan right? Mr. Crusader has protection from both of their colors. :P
just the swords make him a 12/12 protection from all colors and double strike
its the reason i built my white equipment de k in the first place :D
Seriously threaten to win the game, while hosing a plethora of decks.
Not.
Great card btw. My friend runs a pure black deck, and when he sees this bad boy out, it doesn't take long for him to GG.
@Mike-C: From the comprehensive rules, "Multiple instances of double strike on the same creature are redundant."
True, it's so good it blows my mind.
I pulled mine at my very first booster draft. When he hit the table, it was usually GG.
Turn 3: This
Turn 4: Grafted Exoskeleton
Turn 5: Equip, swing and win
Because the Phyrexians have this. And this. And this.
I lol'ed so hard at that comment when I opened the last one
Singlehandedly saves and wins games.
other than that, this is one of the best knight cards out there for the cost.
4.5/5