"Arzakon: Chaos, Black Lotus, and Big Questions"

 "Arzakon: Chaos, Black Lotus, and Big Questions"

by: 

Virgilio F. De Leon Jr.MD

Arzakon was a powerful planeswalker from an unknown plane who once sought to conquer Shandalar, only to be defeated before disappearing into Magic's history.

As the main villain of an old MicroProse game, I had absolutely no idea who he was. After finally seeing his card, though, I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed. Between the demanding WUBRG mana cost and what he actually brings to the table, he seems... kind of tame.

To be fair, any deck capable of casting Arzakon probably has plenty of powerful things it can already be doing before he ever enters the battlefield. You'll need serious mana ramp just to get him into play, so that part is practically mandatory.

His first ability, a +2, lets you throw what is essentially a Lightning Bolt at any target. Sometimes that's enough to kill a creature, sometimes it just chips away at an opponent's life total. More often than not, though, it's simply an invitation for someone across the table to decide that you are now the biggest threat. It's a perfectly serviceable ability, but not exactly the kind of effect that makes you excited to spend five different colors of mana.

Then there's the controversial -3 ability, which creates a Black Lotus token.

There has already been plenty of discussion about Wizards of the Coast tiptoeing around the Reserved List, and this feels like another example of them finding a creative way to reference one of Magic's most iconic cards without actually reprinting it.

After all the work it takes to cast Arzakon, your reward is a one-shot three-mana boost. It's undeniably powerful, but I also couldn't help wondering how Arzakon himself managed to get hold of a Black Lotus in the first place. Then again, suspending disbelief is part of being a Magic player.

So... yay. Black Lotus token.

Finally, we get to his -7 ultimate.

Each player shuffles their hand and graveyard into their library and then draws seven cards.

Personally, this feels far too chaotic for my tastes. Imagine you've carefully built an advantage, your opponents are running low on resources, and you decide to fire off the ultimate. Congratulations—you've just handed everyone else seven fresh cards that could easily include the answers they need to destroy your planeswalker, dismantle your board, or simply win the game outright.

Sure, you also get seven new cards, but there's no guarantee they'll be any better than what your opponents draw. Sometimes you'll hit the jackpot. Other times you'll wonder why you helped everyone else refill their hands.

In the end, I think Arzakon is a commander looking for a very specific kind of player—the one who embraces unpredictability, thrives on chaos, and enjoys letting the game go completely off the rails.

If that's you, then congratulations.

You've found your planeswalker.

Good luck.