Invasion Card Spotlight: Samite Archer

Gary Wise

Samite Archer Creature - Cleric Uncommon : Prevent the next 1 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn. : Samite Archer deals 1 damage to target creature or player. 1/1 Illus. Scott M. Fischer 269/350

There are two major ways in which the control player can win in Limited: either through creature control or board control. Now, finally, with Invasion's Samite Archer, there is a creature that aids in both causes.

Reviewing Masques Block, the best Limited common in the format for two-thirds of the year was Stinging Barrier, a wall with the ability to deal a point of damage. Troubled Healer, a creature who could prevent damage to creatures and players, ended the Barrier's reign. The Archer does both of these things.

Once again, the major dilemma drafters will face with the Archer is the two-tiered casting cost, but unlike Sleeper's Robe, the Archer falls into a color combination that may well be the most popular of the last two years. Ever since Brian Weissman popularized the UW control archetype, this color combination has been at the forefront of Magic strategy, with Limited play taking over when Standard nullified its advantages.

Think about how this card would have affected Masques Block. Not only would such cards as Waterfront Bouncer, Kris Mage and Rathi Intimidator be nullified either through their demise or the utter uselessness of trying to cast them, but the mere threat of the Archer's ability to prevent damage would tip the advantage during combat towards your favor.

That's the most important aspect of this card in Limited play. No, you aren't going to automatically use its damage prevention ability every turn. No, you aren't forced to shoot a particular creature if its dealt enough damage that the extra point would kill it. The point here is that the Archer will control the table thanks to the mere threat of its doing so. Once summoning sickness has worn off, it will be really difficult for opposing creatures to attack into your blockers because of the threat of either ability being used. The result of this will be that the creatures will probably not bother attacking, resulting in your opponent taking a point of damage at the end of their turn.

Another way to look at the power of this card is versatility. Looking at what may be the best Limited card of the last two years, Morphling, we see that it is versatility that makes it so strong. Normally, when faced with the idea of paying five mana for a 3/3 creature, one doesn't become enthused, but when that 3/3 has numerous abilities that change the face of creature combat, we find its power. Again, Morphling won't automatically become an untapped 5/1 flying untargettable, but the threat is there and opponents have to play accordingly, usually allowing your mana to be used elsewhere at the end of their turn.

While one would assume this card wouldn't have much use in Constructed, this may not actually be the case. Again taking from Masques Block, Stinging Barrier is a card that helped popularize the Rising Waters deck, and while the Archer doesn't serve as a blocker the way the Wall did, it will help maintain control in a very similar fashion if the rest of the set lends itself to the UW-Control concept. This could be a viable Block card, but probably not a Standard one.

So, focusing then on Limited, the question becomes how high does one pick this card? The aforementioned problem of the two-color casting cost not withstanding, it is conceivable that you'll be taking this card first overall as often as you'll pass it. A lot of those decisions will come down to the other cards in Invasion. If, like Masques, Invasion is full of one-toughness powerhouses, then this is your card. If we find ourselves looking at a repeat of Urza's Block, it may be smarter to pass it along, taking something that's easier to cast.

In all, what we're looking at is, for all intents and purposes, a very strong card. A test in color allocation, you're going to find that the Archer will challenge your skills not so much in knowing if its good, but knowing when you can afford to take it.

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Monday: Mike Flores gets tangled up in Tsabo's Web.