menu

Spoiler Spotlight: Godsend

Are you a Quiet Speculation member?

If not, now is a perfect time to join up! Our powerful tools, breaking-news analysis, and exclusive Discord channel will make sure you stay up to date and ahead of the curve.

Check out the Journey Into Nyx Spoilers on our official [JOU] Mini-Site!


I've also heard this called "Godsbane" instead...
I've also heard this called "Godsbane" instead...

What do you think?

Is this really a godsend to Standard or just another big, useless equipment?

It's certainly a cool effect. Elspeth's Sword is flashy, that's for sure. The fact you can get rid of any creature and then get additional value out of that is pretty cool. But is it good enough to see play?

Let's start with Standard. Basically it's never going to be in your opponents' interest to block your creature, so I think it's fair to say this is a Whispersilk Cloak with upside. So let's operate on the assumption it basically makes your creature Unblockable.

So we're paying three mana (which does help with Devotion), and then another three to Giant Growth a creature and make sure it gets in there every turn. That's certainly powerful, but I'm not sure it solves any of the problems the aggressive creature decks had. Namely, the fact that removal is so prevalent in Standard right now means there's a lot more killing of creatures than there is attacking and blocking.

That hurts the card. It's certainly no godsend to try and equip this to a creature just to have it pay the Ultimate Price or become blighted with bile. I can see this being a cool one or maybe two-of in the aggressive decks, but I don't think it really makes those decks any better in the current metagame than they already are.

It also could see some Legacy play, since it does present a pretty unique answer to True-Name Nemesis, since the ability doesn't have to target a creature to get rid of it. I think that's probably a fair use for the card, but it also likely limits it to one-of sideboard status for the Stoneforge Mystic decks. It could certainly excel there, so maybe foils are a better bet financially than regular copies.

Conclusion

With all of that in mind, I can't give this a ringing endorsement for Constructed play. It will find its way into decks in small numbers, but I don't think we're looking at a new pillar of the metagame here.

 

What do you think? Am I in the ballpark or totally off-base?

Let us know what you think!

 

 

Avatar photo

Corbin Hosler

Corbin Hosler is a journalist living in Norman, Oklahoma (also known as the hotbed of Magic). He started playing in Shadowmoor and chased the Pro Tour dream for a few years, culminating in a Star City Games Legacy Open finals appearance in 2011 before deciding to turn to trading and speculation full-time. He writes weekly at QuietSpeculation.com and biweekly for LegitMTG. He also cohosts Brainstorm Brewery, the only financial podcast on the net. He can best be reached @Chosler88 on Twitter.

View More By Corbin Hosler

Posted in Free, Journey Into Nyx PreviewTagged , , , , , , , , ,

Have you joined the Quiet Speculation Discord?

If you haven't, you're leaving value on the table! Join our community of experts, enthusiasts, entertainers, and educators and enjoy exclusive podcasts, questions asked and answered, trades, sales, and everything else Discord has to offer.

Want to create content with Quiet Speculation?

All you need to succeed is a passion for Magic: The Gathering, and the ability to write coherently. Share your knowledge of MTG and how you leverage it to win games, get value from your cards – or even turn a profit.

23 thoughts on “Spoiler Spotlight: Godsend

  1. It is cool. Note that cool is not equal to good. The evasion it grants is worse than Whispersilk’s (they have a choice; thus unblockable… until they want to block). I’m not too keen on the Standard metagame, but if removal is as rampant as you say, then it doesn’t look good. In Modern, I already think Swords are expensive to use, and this is MORE expensive, and doesn’t grant protection, nor on-hit effects. In Legacy, there’s Jitte. While it has the potential to hit TNN on paper, they’re never, ever going to block your Godsend with it, unless they would die otherwise.

    Packed to the gills with flavor though. Casual fodder?

  2. I’ll agree with you in the short term but i think this this card’s stock goes up once RTR rotates. RtR block’s removal is amongst the best of any block in MtG… Theros block’s revomal however is terrible. I’d recommend doing a quick Gatherer search to compare what we will be losing to what we’re going to be stuck with. I foresee a lot more battlecruiser-esque Magic come rotation and this sword is as good as any other acutrement for your creatures in Theros block

  3. I’m not sure we want this for Legacy as an answer to TNN. The TNN has to block our equipped creature for the exiling to happen. If the TNN does not block, you get in an extra 3 damage. Conversely, with Sword of Fire and Ice, the TNN doesn’t get a choice to block, you get to draw a card, and you get an extra 4 damage in, 2 of which you can send somewhere other than their dome, if you so choose. Oh, sword also has a cheaper equip.

  4. Obesity causes many diseases including diabetes, metabolic disorders, corojary artery disease,
    heart disease, high blood pressure and in some cases,
    cancer. It seems that yyou aare able to drop pounds without cchanging your diet or exercising.
    The current lifeestyle is negatively affecting the health
    and wellbeing of some people.

  5. Having read this I thought it was really enlightening. I appreciate you finding the time
    and effort to put this information together.

    I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and posting
    comments. But so what, it was still worth it!

  6. Tax regulators and State legislators have started eyeing digital downloads as potential sources of revenue.
    On the other hand, if you are interested in fishing and forest hiking, the
    low water season would be the ideal choice. The Amazon Restricted Categories are available to Amazon FBA sellers if you
    apply and follow the directions for getting approved.

  7. It is appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy.
    I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things
    or advice. Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article.
    I wish to read even more things about it!

    Also visit my web site; Salomon Skates, Twyla,

  8. While small, these add as much as actual prices for everyday travellers
    and the travel trade itself – costs that bitcoin could help alleviate.

    decades prematurely because knowledge about it was gathered through
    DARPA’s secret time travel program unlocks a number of of the more
    enigmatic facts in the Some praiseworthy exceptions to this rule are the Dan Rodabaugh designed Earthbound and Evergreen Ingredient
    travel trailers, the retro styled models produced
    by famend industry veteran Airstream Inc.

  9. confirm the home is truly looking its best, maybe shopping for some nice flowers to decorate the place up.
    Being financing broker is about networks, along with order to
    get a good network of clients you have to have a great marketing strategy.

    Broker companies and international freight forwarders are often considered probably the most employers of professional customs brokers.

  10. When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now
    each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment.
    Is there any way you can remove me from that service?

    Thanks!

Join the conversation

Want Prices?

Browse thousands of prices with the first and most comprehensive MTG Finance tool around.


Trader Tools lists both buylist and retail prices for every MTG card, going back a decade.

Quiet Speculation