Who's the Bestest of them All? - Ranking Beseech the Mirror Targets
Wilds of Eldraine releases in a little over a week, and I think few people are as excited as me for this card to enter the card pool:
If any of you know me, seeing more than two colored pips in a card's mana cost gets me all warm and fuzzy for the days when "Gary" was name whispered respectfully across the FNM tables. It signals power, focus, and a true home in mono-black.
Beseech the Mirror also signals another bit of interesting play: toolbox gaming. While it's much clunkier and single-use than something like Birthing Pod, the ability to search and instantly cast the best high powered spell for the situation can be the difference between close loss and overwhelming victory. But there's a lot of cardboard out there--what are our best options? Today, I'd like to review a collection of 4 mana targets for Beseech that exist in the current Standard format. While not comprehensive (I don't think any of us are really considering Bat Whisperer), I hope to provide a useful suite of options to consider when brewing in WoE format.
The Scale
5/7 - Outstanding. Mandatory single copy, would heavily consider multiples mainboard.
4/7 - Excellent. Highly recommended single copy, could possibly consider multiples if the format calls for it.
3/7 - Solid but situational. Recommended single copy, but not really useful enough to consider multiples.
2/7 - Weak, but possibly situational. Could consider a single copy in the sideboard to bring in for the right matchup.
1/7 - Not playable. Weak even in specific situations where it excels. Do not consider.
Let's start with the obvious:
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Not sure I need to say much, to be honest. In essentially every situation, Sheoldred gets the job done. Offense, defense, board stalls, lone wolves, the praetor does and has done it all. I think it's fair to say that this is the #1, no-questions-asked best target for Beseech the Mirror.
Score: 7/7
With that out of the way, let's consider everyone else!
Archfiend of the Dross
If you've read my previous post, you'd know I'm surprisingly high on this card, and I still think that's true. The damage output often is on par with ol' Shelly up there, and paired with a few other cards like Gix's Command can often exceed Sheoldred. The dual downsides of virtually no defensive presence and an oily time bomb mean this gets knocked down a few points. Couple that with the fact that Archfiend really excels in multiples and we can no longer really be happy to search this out with Beseech every time. Still, its overall power makes it at least a consideration.
Score: 3/7
Bloodvial Purveyor is really Archfiend's much, much worse cousin. Trample is nice, but instead of punishing your opponent further for letting things die, this actually rewards them for casting their spells. The extra attack is nice, but is outclassed by Archfiend's damage and can often not matter if the opponent just sacrifices the blood. Not worth the slot.
Score: 1/7
Body Launderer
A forgotten choice from Streets of New Capenna, we unfortunately must conclude that it was forgotten for a reason. Deathtouch may be nice on a smaller body, but that means this dies to a lot more things than previous entries on this list--though dying can be just fine in a deck that looks to sacrifice it's own things. However, since it requires you to have already played powerful cards for it to be useful (and need its connive to trigger once or twice to be able to target those powerful cards), it seems reasonable to keep this one on the shelf unless some sort of synergy appears that warrants its inclusion.
Score: 2/7
Defiler of Flesh
Phyrexian mana will always be powerful, but asking your specially tutored four drop to both have no immediate impact and need to survive to get the mana discount is a little too much. Strong, but not necessarily something you want to special order.
Score: 1/7
Devouring Sugarmaw
This guy is HUGE, but unfortunately that's all it is. Without being able to take advantage of the adventure side, I don't really see a reason to tutor out this pile of stats when we have better piles out there.
Score: 1/7
Drag to the Bottom
This one is super interesting. A tutored sweeper can be devastating, no doubt about it, but there doesn't exist a deck right now that really wants this. Domain isn't a control deck at the moment, it's a ramp deck, and while three colors could be good enough, a three color deck likely doesn't Beseech in the first place. Still, this is our best sweeper target for Beseech, so we always need to keep it in the back of our mind.
Score: 3/7, but only if the right deck appears
Gisa, Glorious Resurrector
There are going to be a lot of powerful cards on this list that, unfortunately, don't have enough immediate impact or ease of use to really consider them as options. Gisa is strong, sure, but really requires removal spells already to get full value off of her, and that's just too much investment.
Score: 1/7
Gixian Puppeteer
Similar boat as Gisa, but at least a little interesting because of the death trigger.
Score: 1/7
Henrika Domnathi
Now here's an interesting one. Henrika does have immediate impact, and can instantly replace the Beseech you spent with another card, leading to a solid plus in card advantage. She can also be removal (and with all the tokens you're going to be running with Beseech, sacrificing your own creature is no big deal), and then turns into a solid evasive attacker with both a clock and defensive capability. The biggest point against Henrika is that the front side dies to Cut Down, which is unacceptable for a four drop. Still, as a one-of in the right matchup, Henrika can put in a lot of work.
Score: 3/7
Invasion of Innistrad
An excellent choice. IoI really embodies what we're looking for in a toolbox card--strong on its own, but even stronger in the right situation. If we ever find ourselves with a board against few blockers, tutoring this out and immediately flipping it can be back breaking. Absolutely a contender for the toolbox slots, and well worth the card.
Score: 4/7
Phyrexian Obliterator
The big daddy himself. In the right matchup, this card is an absolute unstoppable force on offense and an immovable object on defense. The only reason this doesn't score higher is that, currently, its best matchup (mono-red) is virtually non-existent, pushed out of the meta. If it ever returns, however, you can happily slot this in and laugh all the way to the bank.
Score: 3/7
Rankle's Prank
While the symmetrical nature of the card can seem like a large downside, what it really does is make this card situational--the perfect inclusion in our toolbox. Down on cards? Force your opponent to dump a few as well. Have a bunch of tokens sitting around? Sac 'em to clear the way for your good creatures. Have life to spare? Tighten the screws on the opponent and punch their face in. Individually these effects can be pretty good, but since we can do any number of them if the situation arises, this card is a particularly flexible and powerful option in our arsenal. Don't skimp out on it!
Score: 4/7
Our best (and only) 4 mana planeswalker in mono-Black, Sorin is a must have in the toolbox when the game gets grindy. Bodies, card advantage, and a solid ultimate. Add the fact that the Vampires are okay on defense and we've got ourselves a well-rounded threat. Absolutely at least one copy, and probably more!
Score: 5/7
The End
An excellent removal spell on its own, The End really shines when your opponent has a linchpin creature or planeswalker (*cough* Sheoldred *cough*) that you want to completely get rid of forever. With the ability to tutor this out, this is exactly the kind of toolbox card I want.
Score: 4/7
Hey, wait a minute, that's not a 4 drop! Gix is powerful but sometimes situational--that makes him perfect to consider for our toolbox. While you may be overpaying a mana to get this out with Beseech, guaranteeing you can grab him when the coast is clear can put you so far ahead on card advantage that it's worth the extra cost. Couple that with a solid late-game mana sink and he's exactly what I want, 3 mana and all.
Score: 5/7
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