#arbitrary token

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Bird Soldier (ARB)

This week’s arbitrary token is Matt Cavotta’s 1/1 white Bird Soldier creature token, created by Flurry of Wings from Alara Reborn. Bant-aligned avens are similar to those found in Otaria, Dominaria—humanoid birds of prey with a proud culture and deep insights into the world provided by their lofty perspective. Some members of the Mortar caste of Bant (the one that makes up a bulk of its population) believe that aven are related to the angels, though most stop short of actually worshiping them. Below is an early design sketch of a Bant aven. [Source]

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Construct (KLD)

This week’s arbitrary token is Magali Villeneuve’s */* colorless Construct artifact creature token, created by Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter from Kaladesh. Oviya believes beauty should be at the heart of every invention, which can be very well said for the Construct she has, er, constructed. An acclaimed lifecrafter, she created magnificent artifacts and breathed life into theme with aether, passing down her knowledge and wisdom by mentoring young artificers for many years, until she lost her wife. She began working on her own designs in secret and hired smugglers, including the Chandra’s parents Pia and Kiran Nalaar, to supply her with aether for her ingenious creations.

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Dragon (10E)

This week’s arbitrary token is Jim Pavelec’s 5/5 red Dragon creature token with flying, created by Dragon Roost from Tenth Edition. There are six other cards that create this type of Dragon token, but Dragon Roost provides us a vivid look into how dragons come into being in the first place, likening them to volcanic lava. While a great mana sink and possible Limited bomb, Dragon Roost seems just too slow for the likes of other Casual formats. If you’ve seen someone drop this card at the Commander table, let me know. Bonus points to them if they had the accompanying token to follow it up.

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Vampire Knight (SOI)

This week’s arbitrary token is Lake Hurwitz’s 1/1 black Vampire Knight creature token with lifelink, created by Call the Bloodline from Shadows Over Innistrad. Everyone’s been up and about with the Vampire tribal deck from Commander 2017, as well as the new black and white Vampire cards from Ixalan, so I wanted bring back these loyal 1/1 lifelinkers before they rotate out of Standard. I’m not too sure if I would include Call the Bloodline in an Edgar Markov EDH deck, mostly because it doesn’t synergize with his Eminence ability, but turning all your dead cards into creatures with a relevant subtype might be worth testing out. Somebody let me know their experience if they choose to do so.

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Elemental (BFZ)

This week’s arbitrary token is Brad Rigney’s 5/5 red and green Elemental creature token, created by Omnath, Locus of Rage from Battle for Zendikar. With Standard rotation heralded by the release of Ixalan coming soon, I wanted to take a look back at the Elementals angry Omnath creates. Coming in as 5/5s, these Elementals will stomp over your opponents in Commander, especially when your deck is filled with fetches and ramp spells, designed to completely take advantage of Omnath’s Landfall trigger. Omnath, Locus of Rage is perhaps my favorite RG commander, and I would build a deck with it at the helm if it wasn’t for the fact my old college roommate Michael did so first.

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Earthshaker Khenra (HOU)

This week’s arbitrary token is Jason A. Engle’s 4/4 black Zombie Jackal Warrior named Earthshaker Khenra with haste and “When Earthshaker Khenra enters the battlefield, target creature with power less than or equal to Earthshaker Khenra’s power can’t block this turn”, created by the card with the same name from Hour of Devastation. HOU introduces us to the Eternalize mechanic, which is identical to Embalm in function, with the exception of these Zombie tokens being black and having 4 power and 4 toughness. My brother will be looking to obtain a copy of Earthshaker Khenra for his mono-red Zurgo Bellstriker 1v1 Commander deck, since it prevents Baral, Chief of Compliance from blocking.

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Wall (EMA)

This week’s arbitrary token is Brian Snoddy’s 5/5 blue Wall creature token with defender, created by Tidal Wave from Eternal Masters. Originally printed in Mirage, Tidal Wave effectively acts as a removal spell for medium- to small-sized creatures that dare to attack you. While the EMA reprint retains the original art, the flavor text has been changed to a quote from Thassa, god of the sea, from the plane of Theros.

I love how they were able to get Snoddy back to illustrate the token for EMA. While the “shattered remnants” of an unwelcomed vessel rests in the foreground, our eyes are drawn to the massive tidal wave in the back... wait a minute...

Arbitrary Token of the Week: Zombie Horror (DTK)

This week’s arbitrary token is Nils Hamm’s X/X black Zombie Horror creature token, created by Corpseweft from Dragons of Tarkir. I never got the chance to play with Corpseweft or its token in DTK Limited, but it does appear to be a nice mana sink in the late game. I also wonder how Sidisi’s creations compare to that of Geralf...