I had the best loss I have ever had to this card. I was playing Gruul and my opponent managed to get this guy out with a Gift of Orzhova and attack me for turn 5 with a 7/7 lifelinker. Suficive to say, I was very dead.
Posted By:
HappyJackington
(1/27/2013 9:24:32 PM)
I could actually see this having good use in constructed if you have ways of giving it first strike,
since this will prevent the lifegain in most cases.
Posted By:
Mode
(1/28/2013 10:39:36 AM)
Shadow lance, and Kavu Predator
Posted By:
Eldrazi-Worshiper
(1/28/2013 5:12:07 PM)
This isn't only good in Standard, I can see this in a BW commander deck and it doing damage. Just make it unblockable or something and it will kick ass. 6/6 for four mana is good.
Posted By:
wholelottalove
(1/29/2013 7:04:33 AM)
Aggrooo
I like the idea of it, though I play so much multiplayer this poor fellow won't be seeing my B/W deck. Still, I really like the idea - and in B/W it wouldn't be hard to give it flying. Am grateful for tricky little rares like this.
Posted By:
psychichobo
(1/29/2013 1:08:55 PM)
4/5
Everyone I have spoken to about this card says less than enthusiastic things about it until they play against it. Then suddenly they are wide eyed fans.
All you need to make the Alms Beast drawback go away is to give it any of the following abilities (unblockable, first strike, or trample). If that does not open the eyes then use a little bit of creature removal to pave the way for the big body.
Posted By:
vorvrinick
(2/1/2013 10:24:32 PM)
People really underestimate this card. It is an absolute beast. Yeah, it gets chump blocked by tokens. Well guess what, this is in the same set as Illness in the Ranks AND Gift of Orzhova!!!! I'm not saying this is going to win any tournaments, it's far too fair and balanced to do so.
I think people are so used to playing overly powerful cards like Thragtusk and Thudermaw Hellkite to see how good this card is, and how much it makes you work to use it properly. It has a visible disadvantage, but it also comes with great power. 6/6 for 4? Incredible! It is also super useful in multi. I often use it to "help someone out" Orzhov style by letting them chump block and get rid of their big creatures while giving them life. They lose creatures, and gain life, so they are less likely to come at me than the aggro player who chipped them down so much in the first place. I really recommend holding off on playing e... (see all)
Posted By:
Specter_Fanatic13
(2/3/2013 7:29:45 PM)
Straight BRUTAL. Against Lifelink decks. Well.. At least i'm not wrong to say that.. Haha
Posted By:
Mike-C
(2/4/2013 5:15:51 AM)
If Orzhov had gotten the removal it rightfully deserves by being 
, this would've been really boss. But since Orzhov didn't get a massive amount of removal like it should have in my opinion, this guy will probably end up being situational at best this block.
What sucks is most of the time I'd rather run Abyssal Persecutor who demands running removal a little more, but has a much bigger payoff.
EDIT: Orzhov being my favorite guild, I decided to draft an Orzhov deck last week at FNM. And while I didn't manage to pull this guy, I do now realize Orzhov DOES have enough removal to back this guy up. I drafted around 10 removal spells, and because of it my opponents rarely had much of a board presence, if any at all. So while before I though this cat was iffy at best, now that I'm familiar with Orzhov's play style, I wish I drafted an Alms Beast.
Posted By:
BongRipper420
(2/5/2013 7:42:06 AM)
This card is terrible. One or two chumps and this guy is doing more harm than good. "Just give him evasion and he's awesome!" No, he's not. More mana and cards? For what? To turn him into a vanilla 6/6, completely negating any reason this card's only upside which is its low cost. Pass.
In limited, he's still bad, though a bit better since he can stomp pretty much anything out of the way and swing for the win. But he gets owned by combat tricks. Gruul laughs and attacks into this, uses bloodrush if you block to both kill it and gain a bunch of life. A Furious Resistance does the same on defense. The Beast probably loves Gift of Orzhova though.
Might work in decks that mainboard lifegain canceling affects, but still needs 2 cards to get going. 2/5
Posted By:
RedAtrocitus
(2/5/2013 2:40:05 PM)