Posted in: Card Games, eSports, Games, Magic: The Gathering, Review, Tabletop, Video Games, Wizards of the Coast | Tagged: Magic: The Gathering

Review: "Theros" PW Deck Gameplay – "Magic: The Gathering"

Hello, loyal readers and fans of the Planeswalker Decks for Magic: The Gathering! Today, I wanted to go over some notes I had about the Planeswalker Decks from Magic's newest set, Theros: Beyond Death. I had gotten a game in with both of them pitted against each other and I'm a bit baffled.

You see, these decks are not exactly balanced well against each other. It's clear to me that the Elspeth, Undaunted Hero Planeswalker Deck is not nearly as strong as the Ashiok, Sculptor of Fears deck.

In the game in which these decks' mettle was tested, Ashiok had a clear advantage out of the gate, with a Turn Two Devourer of Memory, followed closely by a Mindwrack Harpy. Granted, the trouble wasn't exactly with the existence of these cards in the deck or anything like that, but in the first four turns of the game, Elspeth had… Well, nothing of note.

My opponent and I did play this game in an Oathbreaker style so as to see how strong the Planeswalkers in the decks truly could be, and once Elspeth hit the table I did have a bit more of a hassle whittling down my opponent as I had to deal with this new threat as well. However, Ashiok proved remarkably more useful to me than Elspeth did for my opponent, as without any creatures on board at some point (and no point in bringing out a Sunlit Hoplite to save themselves from an unblockable Devourer), Elspeth was quite literally a sitting duck, which of course meant that my opponent was next.

I think my major issue with splashy cards like the Planeswalker Deck Elspeth is mostly that without usable targets, the card does nothing on its own. Why would I use her +2 without a creature on board? Why would I use her -2 for such a subpar creature, at that? Meanwhile, in every way, Ashiok outclassed Elspeth spectacularly. Card draw and mill are definitely more powerful tools than support pieces that need things to support, it seems to me, and that just lends itself to furthering the notion that white is a bad color at what it does.

What do you think, though? Both are valuable tools to teach newer players with, mind you. But do they play fair against each other? Let us know what your thoughts are!

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!