"Darksteel Angel: The Platinum Angel That Finally Learned to Survive"

"Darksteel Angel: The Platinum Angel That Finally Learned to Survive"

by: 

Virgilio F. De Leon Jr., MD

Though I have always been surrounded by Magic players, it was only around 8th Edition that my brother and I really started getting serious about the game.

I have often joked that if 8th Edition was my handshake with Magic, then the following set, Mirrodin, was when I started French-kissing the game!

Mirrodin introduced so many things to Magic, including one of the mechanics that would eventually become a staple of the game: Equipment.

And then there was that one Angel that kept appearing from time to time.

An Angel that, on more than one occasion, was able to save me.

The card was, of course, Platinum Angel.

Platinum Angel was always a headache for opponents when it landed on the battlefield. As long as it remained in play, your opponents couldn't win and you couldn't lose. It was the kind of card that immediately demanded an answer.

Unfortunately, it had one little problem.

It was surprisingly easy to squish.

Spot removal? Straight to the graveyard.

Mass removal? Also straight to the graveyard.

For all the protection Platinum Angel gave you from losing the game, it wasn't particularly good at protecting itself.

But now, in Reality Fracture, a new and improved version of the Platinum Angel has appeared.

Behold...

Darksteel Angel!

Many older players may recognize this card as something that was teased back when the Phyrexians finally besieged Mirrodin. It was one of those great cliffhangers in Magic history.

Would the Mirrans prevail?

Would the Phyrexians win?

And as a teaser for what was coming, the image of the Darksteel Angel was released.

Well, we eventually found out how that story ended.

The Phyrexians won that round.

But now, all these years later, the Darksteel Angel is finally coming to reality in Reality Fracture—and this version is a considerably tougher evolution of the beloved Platinum Angel.

While it doesn't have Hexproof, Ward, or Shroud, this Angel has something arguably just as important:

Indestructible.

So go ahead. Target it with your spot removal.

Darksteel Angel will still be there.

Throw a normal board wipe at it?

It just shrugs it off.

And what about things like Wither, Infect, or even Black Sun's Zenith?

Well, Darksteel Angel has an answer for those too.

Creatures you control can't get -1/-1 counters.

So not only is this Angel difficult to destroy, it also protects your creatures from one of the nastier ways of getting around Indestructible.

Of course, there is a price to pay.

Darksteel Angel costs nine mana, two more than the original Platinum Angel's seven.

But honestly?

If you're spending nine mana on an Angel, you'd probably like it to stick around.

And with Darksteel Angel on the battlefield, you can finally breathe a little easier while your opponents desperately scramble to figure out how they're supposed to get rid of it.

After all, Platinum Angel taught me how to survive.

Darksteel Angel just made sure nobody could squish her quite so easily.