Aquablad's Card Review - Mistral Guide

This week I will review the six new cards that were added to the game following the Adventure Pouch announcement. Throughout the week I will give you guys my opinion on each card. Every article will have a list of decks which give these new cards a home.

The fourth card is Mistral Guide.

Mistral Guide is the most interesting card in the set. He’s a 4/4 flier at the cost of four deserts with a very unique ability. Any creature summoned adjacent to him gains Dash 2 and Flying. One thing to take into consideration is you don’t gain Flying until after the creature is summoned. This means you will still have to summon a creature on a land tile first and then the ability triggers. Once that creature hits the land it will be able to Dash with Flying. This gives your creatures incredible mobility options and they will retain Flying until they are destroyed.

Now we know how it works let us look at some cool combos with his card. Wind Soldier already has excellent reach with its Charge 3. When summoned next to a Guide it gains Flying, Dashes two tiles and can then charge across three tiles! Wind Soldier can travel across an entire board providing unlimited options for removal.

Oradrim Monk is a dangerous creature and terrifying in Yellow Rush. When playing Mistral Guide it’s unlikely you will be developing aggressive lands quickly. Guide gives Monk a lot of reach allowing it to Dash and the move again with Haste covering three tiles. This could be a great option for getting card draw and applying pressure to your opponent.

Mistral Guide will be a hard fit outside of mono Yellow and will be limited to mid-range and control archetypes thanks to the four desert cost. However I feel control is perfect archetype for this card.

Yellow Control

Yellow Control is known for its deep puzzle-solving style of playing using mobility tricks. Flashwind, Oradrim Monk and Windbourne Champion play a key role in board control and catching your opponent off-guard.

Mistral Guide adds a whole new level to this strategy by extending the reach of your creatures. With this deck you want to control the wells until you are certain your opponent can’t regain board control. You should give up Orb damage in favour of board control and only push that damage when the board is clear of threats. The list below is classic Yellow Control with a Mistral Guide twist.

Yellow Flyers

Cappuccino developed a new way to play Flyers based around Celestial Tower. This deck is played very differently to Yellow Control because you build to the side of your well and hold that position. Celestial Tower pushes your flyers into enemy territory to control the board.

Mistral Guide adds another level of mobility to this deck. Being a Flying creature allows Drakkar Skycaptain opportunities to power up the card. Be warned: this deck is very difficult to pilot and will take some practice. Build Deserts to your wells from the side of your Orb but don’t extend your land until you get a flyer in enemy territory.

You will want to get as much value as possible with Drakkar Skycaptain. Once you’ve set up a couple of lands and have a Skycaptain down start drawing cards to power up your flyers.

Conclusion

I’m a big fan of this card but I understand it’s quite limited in this meta-game. Yellow Control has fallen to the power of Yellow Rush and Yellow Tempo. I have high hopes for this card in the future and perhaps the Adventure Pouch will bring my toys for Yellow Control. Mistral Guide’s ability is fantastic and would welcome more cards of this style.

My rating for this card is…

Mistral Guide dashes into mist as we take a look at our final card. Last but not least is Faeria’s first tutor, Time of Legends!