 |
| Saddy McSadpants |
Stealing creatures (and other permanents) has been a blue thing from way back. There are quite a few cards that will let you snag whatever tickles your fancy at the table. And unlike simply killing creatures, stealing creatures is a knife that cuts both ways. Your opponent is now down one creature, but you are up one creature.
For 5 mana, Mind Control gets the job done. But every slot in your deck must do a lot. I'm not a big fan of one-time spells in the Commander format. If it's going to happen once during the game, it better be big, big, big!
For 6 mana, Confiscate will the job done on any permanent (not only creatures). If you are willing to commit more to blue, you can use Volition Reins to get the job done and even untap the permanent for your trouble.
Want to spend even less mana to get the job done? Reach way back to Control Magic to steal a creature for only 4 mana. At 2 mana, use Gilded Drake. Sure, it's a trade, but you set the terms. Oh, and if the Drake gets killed (or bounced!), you get to keep the creature. Isn't that nice?
Which brings me to Vedalken Shackles. Unlike these other options, the handcuffs are repeatable. If the creature you steal gets dead, as creatures tend to get in this format, your handcuffs are still around to grab the next best creature that shows up.
Oh, but it gets better.
Let's say you slap down the Shackles and leave two mana up instead of snagging a creature right away. If you are running blue, you probably have counterspells. Now, you can still counter something terrible if you need to, but you also have the option of waiting until just before your own turn to steal the best thing at the table before your next untap.
Options are good.
Another fun use for the Shackles is this. Wait until attackers are declared. Is a beating coming your way? Great! Now, activate your handcuffs and grab a blocker from someone else. Block with that dude's creature instead of your own. Thankyouverymuch. Oh, he's open now? I sure hope no one takes advantage of that.
The handcuffs are also a political tool. Has someone at the table created an unassailable wall of creatures? Grab one and let one of your other opponents attack you instead of that guy. When you block with his creature, it gets dead. Rinse and repeat. It's like horrible, repeatable creature killing.
You want more horrible, repeatable creature killing?
(Who wouldn't?)
If you have a way to sacrifice creatures, the handcuffs get even better. For 2 mana, you can grab and sacrifice creatures away from your opponents for fun and profit, turn after turn after turn. This works even better if you can untap your Shackles several times per turn with cards like Tezzeret the Seeker, Voltaic Key, and others.
But it's not all roses.
Unlike the one-shot cards listed above, the Shackles have a restriction on what you can grab. You are limited to grabbing creatures that have a power equal to the number of Islands you control. In a mono-blue deck, that's not a huge restriction really. In two-color and three-color decks, it's probably going to be severely limiting.
The good news is that lots of utility creatures have a relatively low power and a ripe for the taking. Prophet of Kruphix and Seedborn Muse both clock in at a power of 2. These creatures create so much swing that it's downright scary. Of course, in the case of Seedborn Muse, you'll have to re-steal it every turn, but everything untaps so you should have the mana to spare.
Vedalken Shackles isn't going to work in every deck. But, if you are running any sort of creature stealing, it's worth comparing it to what have in those slots right now. The handcuffs have interesting (and interactive) uses that keep the game interesting for everyone. And being able to use them more than once is golden.
No comments:
Post a Comment