Alara Reborn – Sages of the Anima

Will Alara Reborn rare Sages of the Anima spice up many decks?

Aesthetics:
Aesthetically, the card was drawn by Kev Walker. This should clue us in that it is going to be better than it looks. Need a little backup on that? How about…

• Arashi, the Sky Asunder
• Chandra Nalaar
• Damnation
• Hand of Cruelty
• Hand of Honor
• Jace Beleren
• Kitchen Finks
• Llanowar Elves
• Roar of the Wurm
• Wrath of God

So basically if it’s simply flavorful and awesome, like Llanowar Elves or Hand of Cruelty, they give it to Kev; and if it’s one of the absolute best cards like Kitchen Finks, Wrath of God and other equivalently awesome Wrath of God… they give it to Kev.

Now he has also illustrated less than the best cards, such as Void, Visara the Dreadful, and Watchwolf (as well as others that are not in the last twenty or so cards alphabetically that I can see out of the corner of my eye while I type in real time)… But I still tip the hat to Walker for awesome points ahead of time.

So how about that ability?

It is kind of reminiscent of a Countryside Crusher… You will not be pulling a lot of lands once Sages of the Anima is in play. The upshot is very high (provided you have a greater than 33% count of creatures), but only over time; that is, it takes a while to enjoy the additional flavor afforded by your Sages. Will Price suggested I make a deck based on Congregation at Dawn, but I don’t really see myself doing that (but for that discussion, see Twitter and/or Sages of the Anima at Top8Magic).

So where do I see this fitting in?
The ability is powerful, but tacked on kind of an expensive card. Five is not the most expensive of all cards you would be willing to play by any stretch, but it is still pricier than most cards that are supposed to be able to win the game all by themselves. That means that you have to be playing Sages of the Anima in a deck that can get to five… and also wants to play a long enough game to enjoy the rewards well after the five.

The tricky part is that when you are picking up lots of extra cards (as this card might help you to do), you actually want lands to play! Minor drawback as well as a cool special ability.

So when?

I think there are two cases where you might want to play Sages of the Anima, both out of the sideboard in all likelihood. The better is in a heads up creature fight. You plan for fighting and an eventual attrition victory… a 3/4 isn’t the worst size in these kinds of fights; an endless army is basically the opposive of the worst thing. A similar principle can be applied to fighting decks with some of those other Kev Walker cards; Wrath of God doesn’t stink so bad when you can afford to spread the table and have gas in reserve post-Damnation.

I don’t know a deck at present that would want to play this main deck.

Snap Judgment Rating: Role Player

LOVE
MIKE

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