Canticle's Notebooks: Phyrexian Walker
Canticle
'The 26th Day of Edensom, 10 leagues North of Hagga'
'A brief and strange experience marked this day, the event still
leaving questions in my mind.'
'After my rather wretched experience with the small band of orcs the
previous day, I was on my guard…I had no wish, no desire, to spend the
rest of my journey engaging in ridiculous displays of magical prowess
against those deficient in common sense.'
'It was with a profound sense of relief that I made camp that night,
for I had encountered nothing beyond the stunning scenery of the
mountains, and the wildlife one typically associates with a journey of
this nature. Simply ending things there would not make for an
interesting tale, however, and interesting is exactly what next took
place.'
'I was brought out of my slumber by a flash of brilliant light. Rising
slowly, bringing all manner of offensive magicks to mind, I rose slowly
from the ground. For the rest of my days, I will remain unsure of what
exactly is was that I was witness to. An immense mechanical spider of
some sort was making a circuit of my crude encampment, bulbous
appendages shining beams of light at whatever seemed to catch its
fancy. It seemed a harmless enough automaton, though the stench of
grease and the whirs and buzzing sounds it emitted reminded me all too
much of Phyrexia.'
PHYREXIAN WALKER
(Visions)
0/3 Artifact Creature
0 Generic Mana
Rulings: -
Standard Environments (**): The Phyrexian Walker is in most situations,
a cheap blocker with very little in the way of assault capabilities. In
standard environments, Enchantment and Artifact destruction is cheap
and plentiful, making the augmentation of a creature like the Walker
with Unholy Strength or similar such magicks an expensive proposition
which will more than likely result in the loss of two of your resources
at the cost of one of your opponents. The Walker does benefit from its
cheap casting cost, nonetheless. A 1st Turn Walker/Unholy Strength
provides you with a 2/4 attacker which will force your opponent to deal
with it as soon as he or she is capable of doing so, putting them on
the defensive. Better still are permanent artifacts and effects which
enhance the natural capabilities of the Walker. Dragon Mask for
example, is an artifact which can be used to create an effective 2/5
attacker. The drawback of having to return the Walker to your hand is
negligible, due to its 0 casting cost.
Sealed Deck (****): In an Environment where Creature Enchantments see
more effective use, and where cheap, useful attackers and blockers are
sought after commodities, Phyrexian Walker should be given serious
consideration. 0 Casting cost for a 0/3 gives you an early blocker at
the very least, and with a wide variety of Creature Enhancements
available, from Armor of Thorns to Unholy Strength, a fair sized,
difficult to remove creature can result. While artifact removal is
always a threat, they will usually be reserved for something more
threatening or dangerous than a Walker. The combination of Dragon Mask
and the Walker, effective in Standard, is particularly potent in
Sealed Deck, should you happen across. Other particularly useful card
combinations in Sealed Deck include the Walker with the aforementioned
Armor of Thorns, Dark Privilege (giving you a cheap blocker which can
Regenerate if necessary), Unholy Strength (a 2/4 attacker on the first
turn), or other power enhancing enchantments. Keep an eye out for
complementary creatures, like Infantry Veteran, which can be used to
augment the Walker during an attack.
Mirage/Visions (***): In an environment where Flanking creatures play a
rather dominating role, having a cheap blocker available can be an
incredibly useful investment. The Walker is somewhat limited, however,
due to the relatively high incidence of mass destruction anti-artifact
magic, as well as cheap standbys like Disenchant, making the use of
enchantments on the Walker a risky proposition at best. However, the
ever popular Dragon Mask, one shot spells like Feral Instinct, standbys
like Armor of Thorns, or specialty spells like Wicked Reward can all be
used to enhance the utility of the Walker in this particular
environment.
~~
© 1997 Jeff Franzmann /Canticle's Notebooks is a ™ of Canticle
Publishing Inc.
Reproduction without the express consent of the author is forbidden
--
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Jeff Franzmann * ...pulled through the earth,
Campaign Outfitters Internet Rep * to meet the king of worms
Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA * to steal away his wisdom,
Cant...@aratar.mb.ca * and learn to decompose...
Cant...@ebytes.com * -'Stalker', Covenant
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