"Swan Song: Keeping the Balance"

"Swan Song: Keeping the Balance"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

My first reaction when I saw this card was not really a good one.I was still in the euphoric high from knowing that Magic will support a strong enchantment themed block in Theros , the way that they did for Artifacts in Mirrodin. I was envisioning enchantments left and right. Heck there was a ton of them in this set.

The Artifacts were enchantments , some of the creatures were enchantments and the gods themselves were enchantments. It was a great way to build around that theme. Of course magic had to balance this strong potential. In Mirrodin there was a lot of Artifact hate from all colors and they also reprinted Annul. Now they made this card, Swan Song. 

At a mere 1 blue mana to cast it can hose any enchantment from legacy to standard to EDH.In a world where some of the strongest strategies revolve around enchantments this 1 particular card can make all these strategies moot. It could also take care of any sorcery spell(Mass Removal , Discard spells ,Ramp spells , Reanimator spells) or in matches with other blue mages counter any instant! How is that for a strong card? The 2/2 Flying Bird token it gives is not actually a drawback. Countering a Mass Removal Spell or a god before it hits the battlefield gives a far better advantage to you. People with enchantment heavy themes would always be on the look out for that 1 untapped blue mana producing land. Blue mages will always be bluffing. I expect this card to rise in value.I expect a lot of frustrating games in standard. It is not really my kind of card but there will always be a place for some control mage deck for this one.