Green's Comeback

Zendikar: Where the bears are Eldrazi, and they can pump to become 3/4's.

Battle for Zendikar, as a draft format, was known for one nefarious fact: Green was an unplayable color. Good rares, like Oran-Reif Hydra, got passed often, and were not happy first picks. It was said that Unnatural Aggression was the worst of the green "fight" cards, and that even the green Eldrazi were expensive and not very impactful. Over the course of the format, that estimation did not change very heavily, and one of the questions for Oath of the Gatewatch was, simply, "Will Green Make a Comeback?"

Now we find that, indeed, it has. Several green cards have come down that have shifted the landscape back towards relative balance. While we still await the official statistics from Magic Online, we can see the effects of Green's resurgence.

Green has gone from having next to no removal to having a very effective removal spell in Nissa's Judgement. Using the support ability and dealing 5-9 damage to a creature can end up being a 2-for-1 in your favor. This isn't a "fight" card, its a "gang attack" card. Even Unnatural Aggression itself, previously unplayable, can receive new consideration in a deck with support abilities.

White has great removal and also has support cards, making White and Green a natural match in this format. With this pairing, a deck with green can have access to some of the best removal available, such as Isolation Zone and Stasis Snare, as well as Gideon's Reproach come pack three. This association inherently raises the value of Green in general, and, as it happens, Green/White IS one of the top tier draft archetypes, second only to Black/White (which often has two or three drafters at the table). Green also pairs well with Black and Red, where the other good removal is.

The mascot of the Green Machine this time around is Saddleback Lagac, the supporting four-drop that makes your smaller creatures into medium sized creatures. A "Lagac Attack" forces your opponent to use removal early, make less fortunate trades, or take damage you otherwise would not have been able to squeeze through.

Having access to these cards in the first couple packs means the big green bombs you always seem to open in pack three, such as Undergrowth Champion or Greenwarden of Murasa, they will find a much happier home and be allowed to earn the bomb status they were designed for.

Suffice to say, Green is no longer the least desirable drafting color. It presents power and punch, just like Green should.