Do Your Worst - Colorless Tokens

Nearly Identical – Delina or Jaxis?

<h6 style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama of the East Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama of the East Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.daarken.com/">Daarken</a>)</span></h6>
<p><span style="font-size: 24pt;">All the Single Ladies</span></p>
<p>Hello, and welcome to <em>Power Sink</em>, the article series where we take the commanders with abilities and strategies that tend to get singled out and we show everyone they aren't so one-dimensional. This time we're discussing a spicy number from <em>Commander Legends</em>: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kodama of the East Tree" href="#" target="_blank">Kodama of the East Tree</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kodama of the East Tree"></div></div>
<p>Kodama boasts the powerful ability to put permanents into play from your hand whenever another permanent of equal or greater value enters your battlefield. Cheating mana costs is a powerful ability, but the way Kodama does it is on a whole other level. Because it cares about permanents entering the battlefield, you get the effect if you blink or reanimate something in addition to casting. Lands and tokens will also set off Kodama's ability, and while those tend to have zero mana value, you can still put lands into play, making Kodama a powerful ramp engine. Since the card you're cheating in isn't cast, it makes half the permanents you play uncounterable and they can respond to the ability, they won't even know what you're putting down until it's too late. Really, the only thing holding this ability back is your capacity to get mana and cards in hand, but green is well-suited to solve those problems.</p>
<p>Kodama is already a strong card on its own, but you can add whatever color you like to supplement that incredibly powerful ability thanks to it having <em>Partner</em>. It shows up as the co-chair of 4,601 decks on EDHREC. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sakashima of a Thousand Faces" href="#" target="_blank">Sakashima of a Thousand Faces</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the most popular pairing, at 856 decks. Simic is already a famously powerful color identity, and this <em>Partner</em> combination creates a powerful synergy. Once you have a clone of Kodama, the permanent entering from one Kodama will trigger the other, creating a feedback loop and likely empty your hand. This can generate infinite mana with a bounce land, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Simic Growth Chamber" href="#" target="_blank">Simic Growth Chamber</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or draw through your deck with something that draws cards when it enters the battlefield, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Keruga, the Macrosage" href="#" target="_blank">Keruga, the Macrosage</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sakashima of a Thousand Faces"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Tymna the Weaver"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith" href="#" target="_blank">Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is another common <em>Partner</em> for Kodama, at 748 decks. This pairing makes an explosive <em>Landfall</em> deck. The Rock token that Toggo makes will trigger Kodama, allowing you to put out another land, making another Rock. This lets you put out every land in your hand, or if you have <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Gruul Turf" href="#" target="_blank">Gruul Turf</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> you can get infinite <em>Landfall</em> triggers for cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tunneling Geopede" href="#" target="_blank">Tunneling Geopede</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tireless Provisioner" href="#" target="_blank">Tireless Provisioner</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>Kodama's third most popular <em>Partner</em> is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tymna the Weaver" href="#" target="_blank">Tymna the Weaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which tends to be a hate bears deck where Kodama's ability to cheat in permanents is excellent for breaking parity with cards like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Rule of Law" href="#" target="_blank">Rule of Law</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Archon of Emeria" href="#" target="_blank">Archon of Emeria</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>With so many <em>Partner</em> options, what are we doing to tone down this singularly strong legend? We're going to ask the same question Ann Wilson of the band <em>Heart </em>has been asking since 1987 and that I ask when I feel compelled to belt out the greatest hits of the 1980s in the shower: How do I get you alone?</p>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">How Do I Get You Alone?</span></p>
<p>Though in this case it's more like how do I get you a clone? We're going to eschew giving Kodama a <em>Partner</em> while trying to recreate the effects we can get from having Sakashima with a bunch of clones. Of course, this is less powerful and consistent than having the effect in the command zone and adding a second color, but that's what we do here on <em>Power Sink</em>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="How Do I Get You a Clone" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Kodama of the East Tree
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Blade of Selves
*1 Dollhouse of Horrors
*1 Echo Chamber
*1 Esika&#039;s Chariot
*1 God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift
*1 Helm of the Host
*1 Lithoform Engine
*1 Mimic Vat
*1 Minion Reflector
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Mirror Box
*1 Mirror Gallery
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Soul Foundry
[/Artifacts]
[Sorceries]
*1 Bala Ged Recovery
*1 Collective Unconscious
*1 Cultivate
*1 Full Flowering
*1 Harmonize
*1 Kodama&#039;s Reach
*1 Nissa&#039;s Pilgrimage
*1 Rishkar&#039;s Expertise
*1 Skyshroud Claim
*1 Three Visits
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*1 Bonders&#039; Enclave
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Command Beacon
*1 Cryptic Caves
*1 Crystal Vein
*1 Field of Ruin
*25 Forest
*1 Guildless Commons
*1 High Market
*1 Mirrorpool
*1 Myriad Landscape
*1 Scavenger Grounds
*1 Tectonic Edge
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
*1 Acidic Slime
*1 Aeve, Progenitor Ooze
*1 Beast Whisperer
*1 Biogenic Ooze
*1 Biowaste Blob
*1 Bramble Sovereign
*1 Diligent Farmhand
*1 Garruk&#039;s Packleader
*1 Greenwarden of Murasa
*1 Llanowar Visionary
*1 Mitotic Slime
*1 Pathbreaker Ibex
*1 Psychosis Crawler
*1 Reclamation Sage
*1 Regal Behemoth
*1 Regal Force
*1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
*1 Selesnya Eulogist
*1 Splitting Slime
*1 Temur Sabertooth
*1 Timeless Witness
*1 Wild Beastmaster
*1 Wood Elves
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Beast Within
*1 Deglamer
*1 Heroic Intervention
*1 Ram Through
*1 Return of the Wildspeaker
*1 Second Harvest
*1 Unravel the Aether
[/Instants]
[Enchantments]
*1 Dual Nature
*1 Elemental Bond
*1 Evolutionary Leap
*1 Garruk&#039;s Uprising
*1 Greater Good
*1 Vernal Bloom
*1 Wild Growth
*1 Wolfwillow Haven
[/Enchantments]"></span></div>

<hr />
<p>While we won't have Sakashima in the command zone, we still have a few ways to ignore the legend rule. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror Gallery" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror Gallery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has no extra frills, but it'll get the job done. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirror Box" href="#" target="_blank">Mirror Box</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has the added benefit of providing an anthem for some of our creatures. Finally, we can attach <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Helm of the Host" href="#" target="_blank">Helm of the Host</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to Kodama to start making nonlegendary copies of it, or we can make copies of any other creature we want to attach it to.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror Gallery"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirror Box"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Helm of the Host"></div></div>
<p>Speaking of making copies, it turns out there are a fair number of ways in green and artifacts to copy creatures, though they aren't as flexible or efficient as the effects in blue. Keep in mind our token copies will have a mana value and will let us drop a similarly costed permanent with our commander's ability. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dual Nature" href="#" target="_blank">Dual Nature</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> creates a token copy of any creature that enters the battlefield, though that will also work for our opponents. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Minion Reflector" href="#" target="_blank">Minion Reflector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can make us temporary hasty copies of a creature entering the battlefield, which can be good for attacks or getting more out of an ETB effect, while <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Bramble Sovereign" href="#" target="_blank">Bramble Sovereign</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> makes us a permanent token. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blade of Selves" href="#" target="_blank">Blade of Selves</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mirrorpool" href="#" target="_blank">Mirrorpool</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> allow us to make copies of a creature already on the battlefield, while we can copy something on the stack with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lithoform Engine" href="#" target="_blank">Lithoform Engine</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or from our hand with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul Foundry" href="#" target="_blank">Soul Foundry</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dual Nature"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mirrorpool"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lithoform Engine"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mimic Vat" href="#" target="_blank">Mimic Vat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Echo Chamber" href="#" target="_blank">Echo Chamber</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> give us some ability to copy our opponents' creatures, though we won't have an easy time getting exactly what we want from them. We can make also make token copies of creatures in our graveyard by exiling them with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dollhouse of Horrors" href="#" target="_blank">Dollhouse of Horrors</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This serves as a way to circumvent commander tax if Kodama happens to die and is the simplest way for us to clone Kodama if we've managed to negate the legend rule. Once we've managed to make a few creature token copies, we can use <em>Populate</em> effects, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Selesnya Eulogist" href="#" target="_blank">Selesnya Eulogist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Harvest" href="#" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Esika&#039;s Chariot" href="#" target="_blank">Esika&#039;s Chariot</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to add to our clone army.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Echo Chamber"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="God-Pharaoh&#039;s Gift"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Second Harvest"></div></div>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">One Way or Another</span></p>
<p>Making multiple Kodama's in mono-green is quite an achievement, but it's to likely to win the game. To that end we have some other cards to help us take down the pod. It turns out Oozes are pretty good at making copies of themselves, and quite a few are self-contained tribal engines, which not only fits our theme, but it's extremely helpful when we're dedicating so many slots to clone effects. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biowaste Blob" href="#" target="_blank">Biowaste Blob</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a powerful self-cloning engine in this deck. Not only does it generate a lot of power over time, but we're looking at getting multiple free four-drops off of our commander's ability every turn. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Splitting Slime" href="#" target="_blank">Splitting Slime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> works along similar lines, though it's mana-intensive. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mitotic Slime" href="#" target="_blank">Mitotic Slime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> along with the sacrifice outlets in the deck can flood the board with Ooze tokens, and if we do that, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Biogenic Ooze" href="#" target="_blank">Biogenic Ooze</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will make them giant. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Acidic Slime" href="#" target="_blank">Acidic Slime</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is past its prime as a format staple, but works wonderfully with our cloning apparatus.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biowaste Blob"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mitotic Slime"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Biogenic Ooze"></div></div>
<p>Big stompy creatures are is what green does best and there's no reason for us not to make use of that somewhat. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pathbreaker Ibex" href="#" target="_blank">Pathbreaker Ibex</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a prolific card in the format, showing up in 10,926 decks on EDHREC. Normally I like to use something more obscure, but this can get out of hand if we can make multiple copies. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Wild Beastmaster" href="#" target="_blank">Wild Beastmaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is similar although we may have to get trample from other sources like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Garruk&#039;s Uprising" href="#" target="_blank">Garruk&#039;s Uprising</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. If combat isn't an option, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Psychosis Crawler" href="#" target="_blank">Psychosis Crawler</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> lets us leverage the powerful card draw effects, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Collective Unconscious" href="#" target="_blank">Collective Unconscious</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Regal Force" href="#" target="_blank">Regal Force</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, into life loss.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pathbreaker Ibex"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wild Beastmaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Psychosis Crawler"></div></div>
<hr />
<h1><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Another One Bites the Dust</span></h1>
<p>If I'm being honest, this is far from my favorite brew I've put forth for this series. It's a lot of work to make even the limited clones than you can in mono-green, and I could have a decent <em>Power Sink</em> deck with adding any other blue <em>Partner</em> commander, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Esior, Wardwing Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Esior, Wardwing Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but I was stubborn and wanted to stick with a mono-green deck. That said, I think even a brew that I might consider a failure has value. Sometimes a theory craft can help you with other decks, you might consider cards and ideas you wouldn't. Even if I don't build this deck, I think the exploration of how to make copies of creatures outside blue and possibly red decks is useful in future deckbuilding. Maybe I might want to try monowhite clones someday, or maybe the cards I found might be perfect for a commander that is yet to be released.</p>
<p>TL:DR, it's okay to fail and I would love to hear about your deck ideas that didn't quite make it in the comments, especially if it contributed to a brew later down the line.</p>


Power Sink- Kodama, The Loneliest Number

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voldaren Estate" href="#" target="_blank">Voldaren Estate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/richardwright">Richard Wright</a>)</h6>
<h1>The Midnight Hour is Close at Hand</h1>
<p>Hello everyone! Welcome to the almost-end of EDHREC's <em>Crimson Vow</em> set review! We're continuing on here with a brief stop at the colorless cards (artifacts and lands) in the set. There're some wacky cards here that kind of fall on the <em>Modern Horizons 2 </em>side of the EDH-playability spectrum, which is a very good sign, so let's dive in!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Artifacts</h2>
<hr />
<h3>Boarded Window</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Boarded Window"></div></div>
<p>This is a pretty fun card, and it'll do decent work for anyone who opens it during the Prerelease. It's also the kind of effect that stacks really nicely, either with similar abilities or with copies of itself, if you happen to target it with an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Echo Storm" href="#" target="_blank">Echo Storm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. It's not going to show up just as a value piece in non-pillow fort decks, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Propaganda" href="#" target="_blank">Propaganda</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does, but it could do a little work. If <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thunderstaff" href="#" target="_blank">Thunderstaff</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is any sign, though, this card isn't fated for the EDH decks of the world; the Staff appears in fewer than 500 decks. It's just too bad <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Boarded Window" href="#" target="_blank">Boarded Window</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> isn't recurrable, thanks to the self-exile clause when the boards finally crack and splinter.</p>
<h3 class="page-heading">Dollhouse of Horrors</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dollhouse of Horrors"></div></div>
<p>The flavor is on point here for sure, and non-optimized <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or similar decks that like making "Karnstructs" might enjoy this new toy. All in all, though, it sort of feels like a bad <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mimic Vat" href="#" target="_blank">Mimic Vat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Maybe that's fine; <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mimic Vat" href="#" target="_blank">Mimic Vat</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is in 20,000 decks on EDHREC, so a worse version isn't necessarily unplayable. That's especially true in decks filled with a high density of ETB bodies, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Roon of the Hidden Realm" href="#" target="_blank">Roon of the Hidden Realm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or decks with a lot of death-trigger-doublers, like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Teysa Karlov" href="#" target="_blank">Teysa Karlov</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. A more direct analogy is probably <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="God-Pharoah&#039;s Gift" href="#" target="_blank">God-Pharoah&#039;s Gift</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which shows up in fewer than 3,000 decks, but has fun applications in <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun" href="#" target="_blank">Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ghired, Conclave Exile" href="#" target="_blank">Ghired, Conclave Exile</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>More than likely, this is a card you'll encounter at some point in 2023 and say "Oh wow, I forgot that existed!"</p>
<h3>Honored Heirloom</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Honored Heirloom"></div></div>
<p>Three-mana rocks are playable, despite the insistence of many folks out there. Two-mana rocks are excellent, but sometimes that extra cost is more than offset by extra value. I wouldn't want to <em>exclusively</em> run three-mana rocks, but there's nothing wrong with finding a home for a couple of the more effective ones. Is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Honored Heirloom" href="#" target="_blank">Honored Heirloom</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> one of the more effective ones?</p>
<p>The answer is... maybe?</p>
<p>The beauty of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scavenger Grounds" href="#" target="_blank">Scavenger Grounds</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is the almost nonexistent opportunity cost. You just play it and use it if you need it. A land tapping for colorless that enters untapped is almost no downside at all. Here, you're functionally paying three mana (two plus the rock itself) to banish a card from a 'yard. It is at instant speed, which is nice, but I'm not sure I want to devote a slot to it outside a specific meta where graveyard decks warp the environment. Three-mana rocks are playable, but these days, that also includes the likes of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Cursed Mirror" href="#" target="_blank">Cursed Mirror</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s, not just <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Manalith" href="#" target="_blank">Manalith</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>s.</p>
<h3>Foreboding Statue</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Foreboding Statue"></div></div>
<p>I may have futzed with the alphabetical order so I could discuss the three-mana rock stuff above first to help us compare to this card more easily. I want to like it, but I don't. If it wasn't a creature on the front side, I'd be interested, but somehow the Statue depicted in that art is actually already fully ambulatory. I guess <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Alloy Myr" href="#" target="_blank">Alloy Myr</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> still shows up in like 2,000 decks, so this card won't drop to absolutely zero play, but it's slow to transform, and as a general rule, three-mana rocks that would keel over against a rogue <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pyroclasm" href="#" target="_blank">Pyroclasm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> are more of a liability than a boon.</p>
<h3>Investigator's Journal</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Investigator&#039;s Journal"></div></div>
<p>This is <em>really</em> close. It'll usually enter with a couple of counters on it, then can be used to draw a card for two mana a couple of times, before you finally crack it to its final ability to draw one final time. Mono-white and maybe Boros are conceivably down to clown here. Being able to use both effects for four total mana on its final turn is quite solid in draw-starved colors, and it doesn't exile or anything, so it is recurrable.</p>
<p>Still, it's fighting for slots with things like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Tome of Legends" href="#" target="_blank">Tome of Legends</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endless Atlas" href="#" target="_blank">Endless Atlas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I'm not sure it's better than either of those, and I'm also not sure I want a third option in that kind of deck, especially because this Journal is much less good in the developing stages of the game, when players may not have a bunch of creatures out just yet. Oh, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Eloise, Nepahlia Sleuth" href="#" target="_blank">Eloise, Nepahlia Sleuth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is probably happy with a new Clue.</p>
<h3>Lantern of the Lost</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Lantern of the Lost"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lantern of the Lost" href="#" target="_blank">Lantern of the Lost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is great. Is it better than <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul-Guide Lantern" href="#" target="_blank">Soul-Guide Lantern</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, which shows up in over 12,000 decks? Eh, that depends entirely upon you. I still haven't decided if I like it more. I like it, for sure, I just don't know which I like <em>more. </em>It probably depends on whether or not you mind losing your own bin. You do get to draw card every time, rather than having to choose between the exile and the draw, as is the case with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul-Guide Lantern" href="#" target="_blank">Soul-Guide Lantern</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and that feels really nice, not to mention very <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Relic of Progenitus" href="#" target="_blank">Relic of Progenitus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-y.</p>
<p>Long term, I think <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lantern of the Lost" href="#" target="_blank">Lantern of the Lost</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> will eventually nudge out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Soul-Guide Lantern" href="#" target="_blank">Soul-Guide Lantern</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a couple of decks that have minimal graveyard recursion themselves. You have a lot of options for one-mana graveyard hate, so you can customize your anti-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muldrotha, the Gravetide" href="#" target="_blank">Muldrotha, the Gravetide</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and anti-<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Meren of Clan Nel Toth" href="#" target="_blank">Meren of Clan Nel Toth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> tech to whichever happens to suit your style best. It's great to see a card like this, one that might or might not be better than other similar staples, depending on situation and personal playstyle.</p>
<h3>Blood Servitor</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Blood Servitor"></div></div>
<p>Oh yeah, almost forgot this guy. I don't know why, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Odric, Blood-Cursed" href="#" target="_blank">Odric, Blood-Cursed</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has been glaring at this thing all evening and grumbling about how it doesn't even need another creature's help to make Blood tokens. Pretty odd behavior, Odric.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Lands</h2>
<hr />
<h3>Enemy Slow Lands</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Deathcap Glade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dreamroot Cascade"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Stormcarved Coast"></div></div>
<p>This land cycle is my favorite since probably the <em>Battlebond</em> land cycle (<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Luxury Suite" href="#" target="_blank">Luxury Suite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> &amp; co.), or perhaps the <em>Modern Horizons</em> cycle that mimicked <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Horizon Canopy" href="#" target="_blank">Horizon Canopy</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. I'm jamming these into literally every two-color deck, full stop.</p>
<p>Now, the reality is, the field for dual lands has gotten a little crowded, and something has to give. For me, that probably means they replace any of the MDFC lands we picked up 15 sets or so ago in <em>Zendikar Rising </em>&amp; <em>Kaldheim</em>. I'm probably not keeping two-landers very often, and turn-one plays are somewhat rare in my games, so these lands are just going to come into play untapped 95% of the time, and a dual that comes into play untapped that often, well, that's just more useful to me than a land that comes into play untapped all the time but which forces me to lock into a single color of mana. <em>Midnight Hunt </em>has already proven that these lands are great in EDH, I'm happy to see the cycle completed so quickly.</p>
<h3>Voldaren Estate</h3>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Voldaren Estate"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Voldaren Estate" href="#" target="_blank">Voldaren Estate</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is probably the best version of this style of land we've ever gotten. Tribe-specific utility lands have been very spotty in the past; I was expecting another <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ally Encampment" href="#" target="_blank">Ally Encampment</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but for bloodsuckers. This is definitely <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sliver Hive" href="#" target="_blank">Sliver Hive</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>-y, just with the ability to make Blood tokens. There are quite a few decks that will find that ability useful, whether they're desperate for any form of card selection, discard help, or are just looking for a way to stack artifact tokens. Unfortunately, those latter abilities really require Vampires in the 99 to make this card efficient enough, but there's still a nonzero amount of overlap there. It's going to see play, it's just not the kind of card that's going to show up in your mono-white Soldier deck, or that new lands matter list you've been brewing. It's narrow, but playable.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Creatures Crawl in Search of Blood (Tokens)</h2>
<p>That's gonna wrap up our coverage of lands and colorless artifacts in this <em>Crimson Vow</em> set review! Given the set's focus on Vampires and wedding tropes, I'm surprised there are this many interesting entries in the list. None are outright bombs, but there are more than a few playable choices here, and the land cycle feels like it's going to be in demand for years to come.</p>
<p>Enjoy the wedding!</p>


dollhouse of horrors

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Innistrad: Crimson Vow Set Review - Colorless & Lands