IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

So I've come to a decision. Instead of uselessly attempting to give myself deadlines, I'll do an extra post for each week I missed. So I've been gone for three weeks, that means three posts. Enjoy!

Griselbrand

    This week's card is Griselbrand, a legendary creature from Innistrad.

    Griselbrand is an okay card. 7/7 with flying and lifelink is great, but for eight mana you'd expect a more substantial ability.

    Griselbrand does work great with cards like Jace's Erasure and Aeon Chronicler, though. You could use his ability to be more aggressive with your other cards, and once you've paid seven life, you can get it back with lifelink.

    So Griselbrand isn't an amazing card. It's certainly one of Innistrad's more powerful demons, but it's a bit unsatisfactory for eight mana.

Genju of the Realm

   So sorry for not posting! Life has gotten in the way!

   That aside, this week's card is Genju of the Realm, a legendary enchantment from Kamigawa.

    Genju of the Realm is quite astounding (as five-colored cards usually are). For five mana, you can get a land that, for another two mana, becomes an 8/12 with trample. And if by some miracle your opponent manages to destroy said creature (or land), then the enchantment returns to your hand so it can be used again!

     There's a negative side to all this, though: it's a five-colored card. And since five colors can be extremely difficult to play, Genju of the Realm is nearly useless. If you can successfully wield a five-color deck, then congrats, but otherwise, this card is just another overpowered legend that no one can use.

Jenara, Asura of War

    This week's card is Jenara, Asura of War; a legendary creature from Bant.

    Jenara is a decent card. It doesn't strike me as something I wouldn't leap at the chance to put it in a deck, but I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to easily acquire one either.

    That said, Jenara isn't a bad creature for three mana. 3/3 with flying is usually enough to hold off your opponents' attacks until you can cast your more powerful spells. Jenara's ability to place +1/+1 counters upon itself is what makes it a mythic rare, among other things.

     To conclude, Jenara, Asura of War isn't a card you'd want to build a deck around, but it's helpful as a defender for early on.

Dromar, the Banisher

    First off, I apologize for forgetting to post the last day or two.

    This week's card is Dromar, the Banisher, a legendary dragon from the Invasion set.

    Dromar is part of a group of three-colored legendary 6/6 dragons who, upon dealing combat damage to a player, activate an ability if their controller pays 3 mana (2 colorless, 1 colored). Dromar is not the best of them.

    Dromar's effect does not exclude it, so it's really only helpful if your opponent is playing red or green, so as not to have to recast Dromar. However, 6/6 with flying for 6 mana is not that bad.

    At the very least, you get a pretty strong flyer, and at the best you can deal serious damage to a Gruul-colored deck.

Boseiju, Who Shelters All

    This week's card is Boseiju, Who Shelters All, a legendary land from Kamigawa.

    Boseiju is not that impressive a card. It costs you life to get mana, and only one mana anyways. But it's helpful in an Izzet-themed deck (instants and sorceries) since you'll be able to do far more damage once your spells can't be countered.

    However, since Boseiju is a land, you can't untap it, so you'll need to make a choice about which card you don't want to have countered. It can be helpful when used with a counter spell, but in the end, the life you'll have paid will add up.

   To conclude, Boseiju, Who Shelters All is hardly an impressive card, but it can be a useful last resort.

Sharuum the Hegemon

    This week's card is Sharuum the Hegemon, the leader of Esper.

    Sharuum the Hegemon is more of an Esper support card than anything else. Although it's a 5/5 with flying, its effect is designed mostly to bring back an artifact that's been destroyed.

    This card would work much better with flash, since then you'd be able to bring back artifacts as soon as they're destroyed. Also, the fact that it only revives one artifact makes choosing which one difficult.

     To conclude, Sharuum the Hegemon leaves something to be desired, but it can be quite helpful for bringing back your artifacts if necessary.

Niv-Mizzet: New and Old

    This week I'll be doing a comparison of the two different versions of Niv-Mizzet, the Izzet guild leader.

    Niv-Mizzet has shown little change in the time between Guildpact and Return to Ravnica: he still makes you draw cards while dealing damage to your opponent, and he's still a decently powerful creature with flying.

     But the new version is (arguably) better. For one thing, he's slightly more powerful than the old one for the same mana cost. Additionally, Niv-Mizzet's effect is a mana ability, so it can be repeated and still remain untapped.

      To conclude, Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius is, all in all, a much better card than its predecessor.

Bosh, Iron Golem

    This week's card is Bosh, Iron Golem, a legendary artifact creature from the original Mirrodin block.

 

    Bosh is basically a more powerful Brion Stoutarm. You pay mana, sacrifice a card, and your opponent loses life. The main difference is that while Brion Stoutarm revolves around creatures, Bosh revolves around artifacts.

      Bosh's effect isn't astounding, but it works well with both Esper's artifact theme and Selesnya's populate ability. But the thing is, Bosh works best with ridiculously high mana creatures like Draco. But even if you aren't going to use its effect, Bosh being a 6/7 with trample is helpful.

      In conclusion, Bosh, Iron Golem is a good creature, but its effect leaves something to be desired. But if in a pinch, you can sack Bosh with its own effect to deal 8 damage to your opponent.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind

    This week's card is Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, the leader of Dimir in the Return to Ravnica block.

    Lazav is, like most Dimir legendaries, an astounding card. It seems that this is to make up for the lower quality in the majority of Dimir cards (hidden strings, midnight recovery). But the thing about Lazav is that you need to be able to send your opponents' creatures to the graveyard. Enter the classic Dimir theme of depletion. 

    Dimir's main theme is to send your opponents' cards straight from the library to the grave, something which is crucial to Lazav. The only alternative is to destroy your opponents' creatures when they're already on the battlefield. Counter spells work too.

     But if your opponent is playing an instant and sorcery deck, Lazav is pretty much useless. Hexproof is nie against that, but 3/3 is weak in comparison to pretty much everything that's 4 or more mana.

     In conclusion, Lazav is a great creature, but it's best if you know what you're opponent's going to do.

Intro and Thraximundar

    Welcome to MTG reviews, where I will review every Magic Card EVER. I'll be posting weekly, and my posts will be moderately long. If there is a card you would like me to review, just let me know in the comments section.

    This week's card is Thraximundar, a legendary creature from Grixis. 

   Thraximundar is a great creature (6/6 with haste is relatively impressive on its own), but its ability makes it all the more impressive. The only obvious downside to this card is its mana cost, which is pretty easy to get around. But it's a pain in the ass if used against you, and it's pretty easy for that to happen- Thraximundar has no defense against enemy control whatsoever. So you'd better be prepared to have some hexproof or shroud spells in handy. To conclude, Thraximundar is an awesome card, hands down. But it helps to be wary if your opponent's playing blue.