We’re into week two of Tarkir: Dragonstorm previews now, and this set just keeps on giving. Between the sheer card quality and the fact that it feels like a return to classic Magic: The Gathering values and aesthetics, I foresee this set being very popular indeed. Adding another string to that argument’s bow, a spicy new MTG tutor card known as Nature’s Rhythm was revealed for the set over the weekend.
This wasn’t an official reveal, instead being yet another leak from this preview season. While this is unfortunate, the card itself is anything but. Combining a classic effect with a new mechanic, this card lets you tutor not one but two creatures into play. In Standard, and particularly in Commander, Nature’s Rhythm looks to be a serious staple in the making.
Nature’s Rhythm MTG
- Mana Value: XGG
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Sorcery
- Card Text: Search your library for a creature card with mana value X, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle.
Harmonize XGGGG (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its Harmonize cost. You may tap a creature you control to reduce that cost by an amount of generic mana equal to its power. Then exile this spell.)
Nature’s Rhythm sits in an interesting spot as far as MTG tutors are concerned. Judged purely on its ‘front side,’ the card is middling at best. X and two green is essentially the going rate for green creature tutors like this, if we use Invasion of Ikoria and Finale of Devastation as the baseline. Both of these cards have significant additional upsides on top of their tutoring, however, so Rhythm starts at a disadvantage.
To make up for this, Rhythm packs the new Harmonize mechanic. This is a funky combination of Flashback and Convoke. Basically, you can recast the spell from your graveyard and discount it by tapping a single powerful creature. This means Nature’s Rhythm is actually two tutor spells in one. This is a big deal for combo decks that need to find multiple pieces.
Before you start frantically pre-ordering your copies, it’s worth pointing out that it costs a whopping four green mana to cast Rhythm from the graveyard. Tapping a creature for Harmonize doesn’t discount colored mana costs, either, so you’ll always have to pay this at a minimum. That’s a pretty prohibitive cost, and will make it difficult to recast this in anything other than Mono-Green.
On the flip side, the internal synergy here is fantastic. If you grab a decently-sized creature with your first cast of Rhythm, you’ll be able to tap it to help bring out a second. You can even do this in the same turn if you’re stacked with green mana. The potential here is high in the right deck, in other words.
Getting The Elfball Rolling
“At least there isn’t anything like Elves, or Craterhoof Behemoth in Standard currently.”
magikarp2122, via r/MagicTCG
“The right deck” for Nature’s Rhythm is, so far, looking like an MTG classic. Over the past few Standard sets, Elves as an archetype has received a ton of support. We currently have the classic Llanowar Elves as turn one ramp, Leaf-Crowned Visionary for draw, and Elvish Archdruid as a lord/huge mana boost effect. The result is a deck that can go wide and produce an awful lot of green mana.
Elves hasn’t exactly taken off in Standard yet, but Tarkir: Dragonstorm could change that. The addition of Craterhoof Behemoth as a finisher is a massive deal for the deck. This is the card Elves decks in Legacy use as their finisher of choice. For this reason, seeing it in Standard is wild. The fact that you can now tutor it directly into play thanks to Nature’s Rhythm is a big consistency boost, too.
The fact that Rhythm tutors twice enables some truly disgusting lines of play in a deck like this. You can use the first one to grab Elvish Archdruid, five mana being trivial for an Elves deck to reach. Next turn, you can use the mana boost Archdruid offers to cast it again from the ‘yard, possibly nabbing Craterhoof this time.
Elves decks love creature tutors, basically, and Nature’s Rhythm is a great one. Invasion of Ikoria is still in Standard, too, so the power and consistency of the deck will be through the roof once Rhythm hits. Throw in the likes of Fauna Shaman, Fierce Empath and Growing Rites of Itlimoc, and it shouldn’t be hard at all for this list to pull off an early win in current Standard. As the new Craterhoof flavor text notes, your opponents will wish they were fighting a Dragon when you rock up with this deck.
Legendary Lineage
Standard aside, Nature’s Rhythm looks to be a card with potential in multiple older MTG formats too. Pretty much every comparable green tutor sees play in a competitive deck somewhere, be it Modern, Legacy, or Commander. Given how useful Rhythm’s second cast can be, I’d expect it to be at least trialed in some lists.
Green Sun’s Zenith, for example, sees a lot of play in Modern and Legacy Combo decks. I’m talking Amulet Titan, Yawgmoth, Selesnya Depths, etc. While Rhythm is one mana more expensive, it’s also not restricted to just green creatures. This means it can grab harder-to-reach pieces, like Yawgmoth itself or Cauldron Familiar. The second use can come in clutch too, since fixing is great in older formats and you’ll typically be looking for a cheap creature anyway.
This may specifically see play in Amulet Titan thanks to the power of math. Whether or not the upfront cost of finding Primeval Titan at eight is worth it or not is a big question mark. The secondary tutor from Harmonize can easily generate mana with a Titan and an Amulet of Vigor in play, however.
While Rhythm for Zenith is a fairly easy switch to make, other tutors offer tougher competition. Finale of Devastation, for example, offers the exact same rate but also hits graveyards. It even has a finisher mode if you have a lot of spare mana. This currently sees play in Legacy Elves, and Rhythm is unlikely to edge it out since it’s essentially an extra Craterhoof there. It could take the place of Chord of Calling in some lists, but the combination of Convoke and instant speed is tough to beat. Players will certainly experiment with Rhythm instead of these two cards. That said, I don’t think the swap will stick in the end.
No matter how that all works out, Nature’s Rhythm is a guaranteed Commander staple. Pretty much every Mono-Green deck will at least consider it, and many self-mill decks will too. Tutors are fantastic in the format, and getting two on one card is a very nice deal indeed.
