Card Spotlight - Court Jester

The Card Spotlight series reviews cards that we don’t typically see in competitive play. In the spotlight I'll talk about each card’s strengths and what decks could use them.

Court Jester

Court Jester is a neutral creature that powers up a card in hand when he comes into play. His stats are quite weak with no attack at all. Having two life makes him vulnerable to common removal but he does have Taunt.

This card’s primary use is to empower a creature in hand and then harvest Faeria or lock an enemy down with taunt. Court Jester has mainly found a home in One Turn Kill decks but is often overshadowed by Oakling. Unlike Oakling, the Jester offers an immediate power up instead of relying on being destroyed for a Last Words.

One of Court Jester’s other advantages is Taunt. A cheap Taunt could allow you that extra time you needed to set up a lethal. Taunts are good defensive cards but they can also stall your opponent’s defenders when you are trying to finish the game.

Why play Court Jester?

The +2/+2 power up is great because it extends the stats of any creature in your hand. For colours that don’t have access to power up cards this could be a good inclusion.

• Green already has access to Elderwood Embrace and a ton of other buff cards so it’s unlikely you’ll want this card there. Green also have better early harvesters like Bone Collector.

• Red isn’t a bad option and could be a fun way to further power up Combat creatures. I’d even run Court Jester over Herald of War. Red Combat Control could make use of Court Jester because he also offers a turn one early harvester.

• Blue is another colour that could use Court Jester. We’ve already seen how powerful Triton Trainer can be when powering up fellow Jumpers. Court Jester offers further power-ups and could make your Blue Jump even more frustrating for your opponent.

• Yellow would welcome this card if Outland Ranger didn’t already fill the slot. The Campfire from Ranger offers event synergy which is very important to Yellow’s game play right now.

Court Jester is a decent pick in Pandora. The power up is usually relevant and he will stick to the board more easily because of the unreliability of removal in Pandora. I’d consider picking him in the early draft if you don’t want to commit to a colour or the other options are poor.

Potential Decks

I like Court Jester in Red Combat Control. Giving additional power to your creatures will help them stick to the board. The more power you give to Underground Brigand and Boss can result in more combat triggers giving you additional Faeria.

Another deck I’ve re-visited with Court Jester is my Neutral Warlord Rush. Kobold Warlord’s combat ability and Steam Forge both give Court Jester attack so he can deal damage.

On top of that, Court Jester’s ability is quite strong when used with Divine Guardian or Freedom Fighter. Divine Guardian is a durable Faeria harvester and with Jester and Steam Forge she can gain attack. Jester on Freedom Fighter gives you a 5/5 Haste creature which is very powerful. This list is still in it’s testing phase so feel free to make adjustments.

Conclusion

Court Jester is often overlooked because of other powerful neutrals. Outland Ranger and Syland Horsemaster often take his slot in a deck. I like the card and hope we see more of him in the future. If you’re looking to spice up your deck then Court Jester might be the card you’re looking for.