Maestros Initiate (SNC)

Maestros Initiate
Casting Cost: {2}{B}
Card Type: Creature - Human Citizen
Power/Toughness: 3/1
Card Text:
4{U/R}, Exile Maestros Initiate from your graveyard: Draw two cards, then discard a card.
Flavour Text:
"How far are you willing to go for your family, cleanblade?"
-Lord Xander
Artist: Irina Nordsol

Strengths and Weaknesses:

• Strengths:
  • Efficient cost for a 3/1 creature.
  • Offers graveyard utility, providing card selection in the later game.
• Weaknesses:
  • Fragile with only 1 toughness.
  • Requires a specific mana color to activate its ability, which may not be readily available in a mono-black deck.

Deck Utility:

• Aggro Decks: As a 3/1 for 3, it offers a good attack value.

• Graveyard Matters Decks: Useful in decks that can take advantage of cards in the graveyard.

• Grixis or Izzet Decks: In a deck that can easily produce blue or red mana, the card's graveyard ability becomes a valuable asset.

Interactions and Combos:

• Looting Effects: Cards like Faithless Looting or Thrill of Possibility can help put Maestros Initiate in the graveyard to use its ability.

• Graveyard Recursion: While it exiles itself for its effect, any prior recursion can maximize its utility.

Flavor and Lore:

• The card tells a story of initiation and the questionable morality involved in joining the Maestros. This blends well with the flavor of the set it could belong to.

Overall Impression:

Maestros Initiate is a versatile card with applications in multiple strategies. It can fit as an early game attacker or as a late-game source of card advantage, especially in decks that can make use of its blue/red activation cost. The flavor adds a nice touch, making it a well-rounded card.