Victory at Sea – The Letter
A Boston band after my own heart. This is what I wish the Dresden Dolls sounded like, as Victory has a theatrical element but less over-the-top craziness. The lyrics are quite good too.
At least I can say I help up my part of the bargain the last time I went through this. Unfortunately, the other Ben resorted to babbling buffoonery bereft of brainpower and proved that he was the weaker half of the Ben squad. No more, I say. From here on out, I will only follow in the footsteps of Papa Knut, patron saint of correct choices and dashing good looks. And Papa Knut spoke unto me and said:
“You are doing Nantuko Husk. That is all.”
And the heavens shook with his words.
Just to cover Bleiweiss once more, his collaboration article with me was, well, disappointing. I spent over one thousand (1,000) words talking about how awesome Crucible is, and all he does is make a silly pun. A silly pun! You don’t want to listen to a silly punster. For all you know, he could electrify your doorknob or squirt you in the face with seltzer water from a flower. That kind of joke will not be tolerated, as Magic is a very serious game.
Let’s look at the choices this week. First, we have Fallen Angel, who isn’t a very impressive Angel – Angel of Despair is in Standard right now, and it is enormous. It’s a 5/5 that’s so impressive and powerful that it as soon as it comes in, it says “get out!” to something. And you know what that something does? It gets the hell out. Fallen Angel, on the other hand, has stats equivalent to Hyaloptherous Lemure and Bellowing Fiend. Those are some strange bedfellows indeed, and I don’t think most Angels would want to be caught slumming around with them. I mean, this Angel has really fallen.
Nantuko Husk, on the other hand, is both a Zombie and an Insect. There are no other Zombie Insects in the entire game. You don’t want to miss the chance to let a unique creature type back in the core set, do you? It’s also strictly better than Scathe Zombies, a base set feature that’s been around for a long time. It shares stats with Doomed Necromancer (who saw play), Plague Spitter (who saw play), Rotlung Reanimator (who saw play), and Thief of Hope (who is totally awesome). With a pedigree like that, he’s bound to see play. And what a coincidence – it has!
I’ll go for the obvious point now – it’s playable. Isn’t that exciting? Because I’m excited! If you really need more convincing, let’s go look at the U.S. Nationals Top 8. Oh look! A Mr. Alex Kudlick Top 8’ed with a deck containing 4 Nantuko Husk. You may also notice that there are no Fallen Angels in the Top 8, because not only is it not good – it’s not legal. Playing Fallen Angel will get you disqualified. Do you really want to have that burden on your conscience?
Creatures (25)
- 3 Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
- 4 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
- 4 Nantuko Husk
- 4 Dark Confidant
- 3 Ghost Council of Orzhova
- 3 Orzhov Pontiff
- 4 Plagued Rusalka
Lands (17)
Spells (18)
This is a finely tuned machine of a decklist, with Husk being the star of the show, enabling Pontiff trickery and keeping Bunrei’s promise. Only the Zombie Insect can make these scattered cards conform to the shape of success. Undoubtedly, Fallen Angel would not have performed the same service, as having the immense cost of five mana keeps the creature (with a worse sacrifice ability!) from ever seeing play in the big leagues. If you need a visual, let’s take a look at the costs:
1
2
3
4
5
3 is higher than 5, and higher is better. 3 is also less than 5, and in Magic, less is better. This evidence is irrefutable.
Many high-level pros have also recommended this deck as a very powerful contender—
“I honestly believe BW Husk is the best deck in the format. I didn’t come close to losing a match the entire day, and I played against everything…”
Osyp Lebedowicz
“He quickly fell to a Nantuko Husk… leaving me with 4 tokens that, aided by a Husk and an Orzhov Pontiff, quickly killed him…”
Steve Sadin
What else is there to say? Well, I don’t think there really is anything – the card speaks for itself. That’s how confident I am in Husk’s superiority over Fallen Angel. This decision is an easy one to make, and I feel confident that you will make the right choice, my dear readers. I have faith in you. Do not let the great Knut down, as his benevolence is great but his wrath is terrifying in scope.
Don’t let me down. I’ll be back soon enough.
Ben Goodman
RidiculousHat just about everywhere