Eldritch Moon has waxed over us. Amid price spikes and and pro tours, the booster draft format for EMN is young, impressionable and complex as the common spell slinger continues to explore.
One shadow is being cast long over the format, one looming figure instilling fear in drafters.
I like to refer to him as The Saint of Killers.
Lone Rider // It That Rides As One
The fact that this card is found at uncommon rarity shakes me to my bones. Without the ability to flip, this card is still an interesting, pesky creature likely to draw your opponents removal. The flip side is a veritable win condition. Life gain is a trivial matter for Lone Rider, as it will be diving into enemy ranks before any board state is truly established. Spells like Blessed Alliance and simple battle tricks like Shadow's Over Innistrad's
Strength of Arms and
Aim High can be found easily late. If not dealt with on turn three, maybe four, Lone Rider is very likely to become It That Rides As One, a concession is likely to follow (unless playing a Black deck -- this player may try to draw Murder before conceding).
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| "Aha! A reason to play me!" |
With an equipment or Aura attached, a la Lunarch Mantle (or
Senseless Rage or
True Faith Censor), It That Rides As One will be a titan on the battlefield, representing a game winning threat as well as a lifelinking wall, something no one wants to attack into.
Lone Rider is held back by its one toughness, whereas First Strike will allow it to attack into plenty of early board states, this is a format with plenty of one damage spells. There are few 1/1 creatures in Eldritch Moon, and with the emergence of spells like Make Mischief,
Galvanic Bombardment, the pinging ability of
Weaver of Lightning, and
Borrowed Malevolence all seemingly designed to stop the Saint of Killers in mid-gallop.
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| The Natural Enemy of the Saint |
Blue/Red is shaping up to be the most sought after deck in the format, but this dark horse easily fits the saddle of an underdog. White/Green Humans had a presence in the previous SOI format, and the synergies to be found there are only deeper, keeping the archetype pinned to #3, if not #2. B/R is likely to have multiple drafters at a table, so never fear to take this card very early in the draft, and start looking for incidental lifegain. It is also a great signal card, so if you see this passed to you beyond the third pick, you can assume either your opponent opened
Thalia (if its
Bruna or
Gisela, you'll be able to see) or, much more likely, white is a wide open plain awaiting the hooves of righteous horror.
