Pointed Discussion

First strike, Vigilance, higher power than toughness and a pump ability. Definitely worthwhile to throw some Flames of the Firebrand, Dragon Mantle, Martial Glory, or Cooperative Assault at this one and a few of the other more noteworthy Heroic creatures.

Things like Phalanx Leader, Favored Hoplite and Fabled Hero come to mind. Believe me, you get a pretty mean field remarkably fast. Token generators like Precinct Captain certainly don't hurt either.

I like how this card has first strike so you can let him hit and then throw a removal spell at him to pump your team (and hopefully win the game that way).

In the vein of Tibor and Lumia, we present Gerald and Lena! :D

Easily the best Heroic creature in Theros, in my opinion. 3/2 first strike and vigilance is already very very good for an attacking creature and the anthem pump upon activating its ability is even better. I said elsewhere that Heroic needs to appear on a creature that's good enough on its own without having its ability activate reliably, and this dangerous couple is a perfect example of that. I look forward to leading the charge with them over the course of their tenure in standard.

I love two legends in one.

Heroic is pretty clunky, but this is probably one of the more useful heroic abilities in the set. It actually works pretty nicely with Frontline Medic - attack, everything's indestructible, hit this with a Shock, everything's got +1/+1 and trample now.

I remember when they first printed this back in Heroes Vs Monsters. Man those were good times...

This is the card that Tajic, Blade of the Legion should have been. An interesting combat trick ability with a wide range of uses and applications.

Daxos: I see I was wrong to expect Akros's commitment to at least match our own.
Anax: Doesn't it?
(points to Meletian soldier behind Daxos)
Anax: You there, what is your profession?
Harry Potter: I am a potter... sir.
Anax: (points to another soldier) And you, Setessan, what is your profession?
Jace: Sculptor, sir.
Anax: Sculptor.

Anax: You?
Purphoros: Blacksmith.
Anax: :turns back shouting: AKROANS! What is your profession?
Spartans: WAR! WAR! WAR!


Anax: You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did

The first and most iconic hero of Theros. Communal trample is great for finishing the deal with a heroic deck.

Yet another card that flickering ward breaks in half.

An interesting Commander for sure. I guess what you need is:
- lots of creatures, ideally double strikers
- buyback spells or cantrips
- lots of mana

I'm pretty sure that without Heroic on here, the card would still be obscenely good.

You have a body with:
-on curve offense
-whilst on top of that being first strike
-with on top of that defending you with superior defense

If Reckoner wasn't a thing this would be the obvious 3-drop in boros IMO. Instead I imagine you'll just be forced to do a 3/1 or a 3/2 split :D

You know, for all the Heroic cards in the set, there aren't a lot of cards that can actually target creatures without merking them. Well besides all of those terrible, terrible, bestow cards.

No mention of Boros Charm yet? Seriously?

The ironic thing about First Strike and Vigilance is that unless you actually play with them a lot, your "Flavor Guess" when you read spoiled creatures with them is that

You expect First Strike to be good at Attacking.

You expect Vigilance to be good at Defending.


In ACTUAL PRACTICE,

First Strike gives it 'a spear on the defense', so you will hold it back as a blocker because it's an aggressive, proactive, tactical blocker.

Vigilance gives it 'a shield on the attack', so you will be ''swinging'' with it a lot, because you DON'T have to swing (Tap!) at all to make an attack and deal more points of damage.


A creature with one ability and not the other is usually going to ultimately leave me wanting, because even after *knowing* my expectations won't match what it actually does. A creature with BOTH abilities is actually way more fantastic than my imagination even thought either ability was worth when I was assuming they worked the other way around.

A First Strike PLUS Vigilance creature is essentially Captain America: It brawls right into the fray of things, where you would think it would take a bunch of damage and go down hard, but it soaks up damage nicely too because it REALLY gets to use "its SHIELD on Offense", just like you wanted in the first place from either mechanic on its own.

The BEST part though, is that the True Super Soldier:
A Flying, First Strike, Haste, Vigilance, Lifelink, Trample creature (like Akroma, Angel of Kick you in the Dick)

is easiest to make when you begin with a base natural of First Strike and Vigilance,

because Flying, Haste, Trample, Lifelink, and even Deathtouch are easy to find on spells, enchantments, and artifacts for aggressive mana costs, but Vigilance and First Strike are harder to come by, because they are really what actually pushes Combat overboard.

:D 5/5 for Leonidas!

I love the idea that one of them is the 2/1 hero with first strike and the other is a 1/1 constantly serving as the vigilant backseat fighter. "Did you check your left?" "Yes, dear." "Blocked right?" "Yes, dear." "Curb-stomping that Thragtusk?" "*sigh*...Give me a minute."

@Kurraga
Doesn't watching your king and queen get dismembered inspire you to fight harder?

Oh cool, you can see the Colossus of Akros in the background.

Overloaded Dynacharge = Overrun with these folks on the board.

@Wolftree - Overloaded Dynacharge does not target, so it wouldn't trigger Heroic.

This compares quite favourably with fan-favourite Mirri, Cat Warrior.

Mirri is a 2/3 First Striker with Vigilance for .

This is a 3/2 First Striker with Vigilance for .

Both are legendary, the CMC is the same, the combined power / toughness is the same, and the specialized cost requires two coloured mana for both, though Mirri is mono-coloured and naturally easier to cast.

The Power / Toughness swap actually improves the creature for aggro and combat (who needs toughness on a first striking vigilante), though making it slightly easier to kill.

In casual constructed (which is where both these cards find a home) the difference may be Pyroclasm or X-spells. There will be times when it dies and Mirri wouldn't, but there will also be times when it wins you the game and Mirri wouldn't.

This leaves the 3rd ability. Mirri has Forestwalk, which is incredibly useful if you find yourself against ramp or other green builds (in particular if you are carrying Rancors, Bonesplitters and Giant Growths) but useless otherwise.

Anax and Cymede have an Heroic 1/3 Overrun ability when you cast a spell that targets them, which requires a specific build to be useful (pump, auras and aggro), but it's not mandatory to build around it. Like Mirri's Forestwalk, if Anax and Cymede's Heroic sits out of the match entirely, you will still have a 3/2 first striking vigilante for CMC .

That's not bad value at all, especially in multi-player, where defensive abilities are of paramount importance.

Hmmmmmmm... It seems you did pretty good work on this one Wizards. I thought at first that this was pushing the power creep envelope and I might have put the casting cost at instead, but the fact that they are Legendary makes it a pretty fair card.

I think this card sets the border for the absolute maximum power bang you should get for your mana buck.
This also is what the mythic rares SHOULD be.
If this were mythic and only cost , a ton of players including myself would be outraged.

@SiamKor I think you pointed out things pretty well with Mirri, Cat Warrior. The newer rares and mythic rares should keep pace with the good older cards, not constantly strive to obsolete them.

4.5/5 for being ever so slightly overpowered. A step in the right direction though.

Pictured in background: Colossus of Akros.

Solid card. low drop. good abilities :D

My new general. Run a few equips and auras and youll see the amount of abilities stack really quick and effectively. They also really love deathtouch