What Makes Bestial Menace the Coolest?

January 24th, 2010 | Games, Magic, Reviews, Worldwake

Concerning:

Bestial Menace (Worldwake uncommon)… and that’s pretty much it, actually.

Bestial Menace

Aesthetics:
Five mana, six power (but no evasion or anything… trample… nothing like that). That puts Bestial Menace slightly above expectation RE: mana v. power and toughness. For example Kodama of the North Tree (five mana for six power) was two toughness shy of this spell; and Bestial Menace also has three bodies to distribute more / better blocking possibilities. In a word, good.

I think it was Evan Erwin who first called Bestial Menace the Green Cloudgoat Ranger… This card might be slightly less powerful than Cloudgoat Ranger for the “same” mana (Cloudgoat Ranger was six power over five bodies, or potentially five on a flying body, but it also had additional utility, such as using the tokens from a fresh Cloudgoat Ranger to pump up one already ready to brawl). That said, Oran-Rief, the Vastwood makes for something else alongside these tokens.

And to go the full-on aesthetics, Bestial Menace is quite flavorful. I love anything with a Snake, but I think a Bear might have been a more iconic 2/2; that said, the presence of cards like Master of the Wild Hunt actually increases the value of Wolves, so we can’t complain on that front.

… But how did this card not include a Beast? It’s in the g-d name!

Where Can I See This Fitting In?
In short, lots of places.

If there is an equivalent of last years’ G/W tokens deck (Standard), Bestial Menace would be a fitting fit in the Cloudgoat Ranger spot (and Cloudgoat Ranger was probably the strongest [non-Planeswalker] spell in the mix.

The modern inheritor to those decks, Mono-Green Eldrazi / Nissa Revane decks can LEGO Monument to Menace in two ways (the latter with the poor 1/1 Snake token likely giving its life for the good of the team and the bad of the bad guy’s life total).

As for boogeyman Jund? Not at this juncture… But I have been wrong before.

Snap Judgment Rating: Staple

LOVE
MIKE

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9 comments ↓

#1 ReeceP on 01.24.10 at 9:56 pm

And nary a Becker mention to be found 🙁

#2 CMH2003 on 01.24.10 at 11:49 pm

Where is the 1/3 Spider token w/ reach……. CATAPULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#3 Slov01 on 01.25.10 at 4:48 am

Conqueror’s Pledge:

Same power/mana
Has better “pseudo-trample” (6 dudes not 3)
Better with blocking
Better with Eldrazi Monument
Honor of the Pure (or the expensive Captain of the Watch) is far better than Oran-Rief, the Vastwood.
Better vs. spot removal
Only worse against pyroclasm and the like