"Returning to the Big City"

"Returning to the Big City"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

     One of the most exciting things about Returning to Ravnica is the fact that I can play with my favorite guild , The Golgari , otherwise known as the Swarm , every one knows that I am a necromancer at heart and as a Biologist I believe in the cycle of life that the Golgari espouse. Well , most of it anyway. With the guilds returning there are new mechanics that are being introduced and since the Golgari is my chosen guild I would like to focus on the neat things that Magic has done to make them more awesome.

    In the wake of the Innistrad block that also has a vast array of Graveyard loving shenanigans the Golgari is all set to reap the benefits. The new Legendary Creature who stands as the leader is Jarad who made his debut in the Izzet vs. Golgari deck and is currently making the rounds in several EDH tables all around the world and who wouldn't like what this guy offers on the table:

1) The ability to sacrifice a creature and deal damage to all the players in the game. All of them in one sweep! Killing several critically wounded opponents is one of the most satisfying experiences in a multiplayer game.

2) When he dies and you choose to put him in your graveyard you can literally get him back in your hands by sacrificing a forest and swamp land. Resilient is he not?

3) The more you sacrifice creatures to him or basically fill your graveyard with critters ( in a Golgari deck that is not much of a problem anyway) the more powerful he gets with the number of +1/+1 counters on him increasing exponentially. Literally reaping the benefits of the grave!

     In EDH its not so hard to imagine that he can smash face after a board sweep with all those creatures going to the graveyard. Then you have creatures like Splinter fright  , Boneyard Wurm and Lhurgoyf enjoying your rich graveyard as well. Not to mention that 10/10 Ghoul tree that you can cast for a measly 1 green mana as long as you have 7 creatures in your grave yard. Except for the Lhurgoyf Standard will also have access to these creaturesas well alongside the new Golgari Scavenge mechanic which allows you to pay mana to put +1/+1 counters on a creature in play.

     At first glance the mechanic looks a bit weak because there are still spot removals available to deal with enormous creatures in standard like Barter in blood and Murder or even Tragic slip. Howeever the ability to make enormous creatures from a card that has probably dealt 5 to 10 points of damage already means that the lack of removal in ones hand may mean the end of the game.  Since the Golgari has access to green creatures the World Spine Wurm at 15/15 plus any other scavenge effects in the late game can spell the end.  Oh and this is the new Wurmcoil of standard , giving you 3 5/5 Wurms in the wake of its death.

      The awesomeness of the Golgari doesn't end there though  , There is a new Planeswalker in town and her/its name is Vraska the Unseen. As of this writing no back story has been provided by magicthegathering.com but it/she looks like a female plant.  At 3 Generic  , Black and Green Mana , this planeswalker has the ability to end the game with its ultimate ability. It/She produces 3 1/1 Assasin tokens that has the ability : When this assasin token deals combat damage to a player that player loses the game.

     Loses the game! Its like having Phage the Untouchable reaching out to your foe and making him rot before yours eyes.  Assuming of course that the tokens can break through. The best approach might be to sweep the board first and then go in for the kill. So far Black only has Mutilate and Killing Wave in that department.  Mutilate isn't really a fine choice for a Golgari deck as there are less swamps to power it. The killing wave might be a more perfect fit , just be careful that you cast it before going Ultimate with Vreska otherwise her Assasins will need to be sacrificed for the damage.  Many players are drooling at the prospect of playing with her  , Meta players might not want her but hey there are a lot more of us casual and weekend magic player types who would want her. Its the loss of the meta gamers out there.

     The world is all but ready to welcome the Return to Ravnica , where the guilds are somewhat different but wonderfully the same.

Writers Note:
A blog that was buried in a lot of work but should have been uploaded months ago before the big block came out. Since I reasoned that my love for the Golgari is eternal this blog will appear by hook or by crook. It is still cool to talk about them after all and they will always be relevant in standard and EDH decks.