Courtesy of Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and DeQuan “powrdragn” Watson, check out this intimidating modal DFC from Strixhaven: School of Mages — Extus, Oriq Overlord // Awaken the Blood Avatar!
Double strike
Magecraft – Whenever you cast or copy an instant or sorcery spell, return target nonlegendary creature card from your graveyard to your hand.
Putting the new Magecraft mechanic to good use, Extus tacks on a Wildwood Rebirth-esque effect onto all your instants and sorceries for free! Decks like Rakdos Arcanist that make use of smaller creatures and low-cost instants and sorceries seem like a good starting place for a copy or two of Extus. Cards like Stitcher’s Supplier fill the graveyard, and then Extus followed by a cheap spell can return copies of your key creatures like Dreadhorde Arcanist or Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger to your hand. It’s also worth mentioning that Magecraft triggers for copies of spells too, meaning any instant or sorcery you cast with Dreadhorde Arcanist can net you a creature.
As an additional cost to cast this spell, you may sacrifice any number of creatures. This spell costs 2 less to cast for each creature sacrificed this way.
Each opponent sacrifices a creature. Create a 3/6 black and red Avatar creature token with haste and “Whenever this creature attacks, it deals 3 damage to each opponent.”
Continuing what seems to be a trend in Strixhaven, Awaken the Blood Avatar has a ton of text. While eight mana may seem like a hefty casting cost, sacrificing creatures reduces the cost significantly, and in decks that produce a ton of tokens with cards like Young Pyromancer, casting this card for two mana won’t be an uncommon feat.
So what do you think of Extus, Oriq Overlord // Awaken the Blood Avatar? Do you think it has a home in Historic or beyond? Let us know in the comments below!
Strixhaven: School of Mages releases April 23. Check out our official preview gallery.