Shadow of Mortality - Borderless (Foil) (SNC)

Shadow of Mortality
Casting Cost: {13}{B}{B}
Card Type: Creature - Avatar
Power/Toughness: 7/7
Card Text:

• If your life total is less than your starting life total, this spell costs {X} less to cast, where X is the difference.
  Artist: Anato Finnstark

Strengths:

• Cost Reduction: The card's casting cost can be substantially reduced, potentially allowing for early game deployment if you've lost enough life.
• Large Body: A 7/7 creature is a significant threat on the board, demanding an answer from your opponent.
• Flexibility: Can be a late-game bomb or an earlier play if you have paid life for other effects or taken damage.

Weaknesses:

• No Evasion or Built-in Protection: Despite its large body, it lacks trample, flying, or any form of protection, making it susceptible to chump blocking and removal.
• High Base Cost: If you are at or near your starting life total, this creature is prohibitively expensive.
• No Immediate Impact: The card does nothing when it enters the battlefield, so your opponent has a full turn to answer it before it becomes a problem.

Deck Considerations:

• Life Loss Synergies: This card slots well into a deck with other cards that cost you life, as they'll make it cheaper to cast.
• Reanimation: In some situations, it might be easier to put this creature into the graveyard and then reanimate it rather than casting it.
• Control or Midrange: Seems more at home in a control or midrange deck that can afford to play a long game or has ways to lose life safely.

Flavor and Art:

• Art: Anato Finnstark likely brings an otherworldly, eerie depiction to this avatar, fitting for a creature tied to mortality.
• Lore: Presumably an embodiment of death or a similarly dark concept, given its name and cost reduction tied to life loss.

Overall Impression:

Shadow of Mortality is a high-risk, high-reward card. While it can be a significant threat when cast for a reduced cost, its lack of immediate board impact and evasion or protection makes it somewhat vulnerable. Nonetheless, in the right deck that can manipulate life totals, this could be a potent and surprising threat.