Elspeth Resplendent - Borderless (SNC)

Elspeth Resplendent
Casting Cost: {3}{W}{W}
Card Type: Legendary Planeswalker - Elspeth
Loyalty: 5
Card Text:
+1: Choose up to one target creature. Put a +1/+1 counter and a counter from among flying, first strike, lifelink, or vigilance on it.
-3: Look at the top seven cards of your library. You may put a permanent card with mana value 3 or less from among them onto the battlefield with a shield counter on it. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
-7: Create five 3/3 white Angel creature tokens with flying.
Artist: Tom Roberts

Strengths:

• Versatility: The +1 ability allows for a wide range of strategic choices, including enhancing your creatures with different abilities.
• Card Advantage: The -3 ability offers potential card advantage by bringing a permanent onto the battlefield for free while sorting your library.
• Win Condition: The ultimate ability provides a massive board presence with five 3/3 Angel tokens, often enough to close out a game.
• High Starting Loyalty: Starts with 5 loyalty, making it reasonably durable from the get-go.

Weaknesses:

• Cost: At 5 mana, this planeswalker is more geared for mid-to-late game scenarios.
• Color Restrictions: Double white in the casting cost makes it difficult to slot into multi-color decks without good mana fixing.

Deck Considerations:

• Creature-Heavy Decks: Synergizes well with decks that use a variety of creatures that can benefit from additional counters and abilities.
• Control Decks: Can serve as a win condition in control decks, providing board control and eventually a way to finish the game.

Flavor and Art:

• Art: Tom Roberts’ artwork encapsulates the grace and majesty of Elspeth, one of Magic’s iconic characters.
• Lore: Elspeth is a character deeply tied to white mana's philosophy, embodying themes of nobility, courage, and community.

Overall Impression:

Elspeth Resplendent is a strong and versatile planeswalker. Whether you’re enhancing your creatures, gaining card advantage, or preparing for an endgame onslaught of Angels, she provides multiple avenues towards victory. Her high initial loyalty also makes her resilient to threats, making her a valuable addition to a wide variety of white-based decks.