When putting together a Magic: The Gathering deck, you generally want to fill the slots with cards that can serve multiple roles. This is especially true in Commander, but it also applies to regular 60-card formats. Having your cards fulfill different functions in different situations is the key to staying adaptable and competitive as games progress. Today, a powerful new multi-tool from Tarkir: Dragonstorm was revealed. That card is Star of the Arena, and it’ll likely be coming to MTG decks near you soon.
While it looks like just another aggressive one-drop Goblin, Star of the Arena actually has a lot going on. With its token production ability and removal effect, there are countless strategies that can benefit from its inclusion. It’s rare to see so much utility on a one-drop, especially in red, and it makes the Star an exciting new card even among Tarkir: Dragonstorm’s other high-power offerings.
Star Of The Arena
- Mana Value: R
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Creature – Goblin
- Stats: 1/1
- Card Text: Mobilize 1.
1R, Sacrifice this creature: This creature deals damage to target creature equal to the number of creatures you control.
Star of the Arena was revealed by Japanese MTG YouTube channel BIG MAGIC LIVE. While an official translation is yet to be released, the above should be accurate ability-wise. The English card name, however, may differ a bit.
First things first, Star of the Arena is a new red one drop that can swing for two damage on turn two. This puts it in the same camp as Hired Claw, which is a staple in Mono-Red Aggro lists in both Standard and Pioneer. Star lacks Claw’s scalability, but it makes up for it with its own activated ability.
For now, it’s worth noting that the way Star gets in for two on turn two is fairly novel. Rather than boost its own stats, it generates an attacking 1/1 token via Mobilize. We’ve seen a lot of this ability from Mardu in this set, but this is the first time it’s shown up on a one-drop. Getting the token train going as early as turn two is fantastic, even if you only get to keep it for one turn. There’s a lot you can do with enters and dies triggers, after all.
Star’s activated ability is the big draw here. You can pay two red to cash it in for a creature-only burn spell that scales based on the number of creatures you have in play. To get it out of the way quickly: no, Star won’t count itself for this. It will count the Mobilize token, however, which is a nice bit of internal synergy. In a go-wide Aggro deck, this is like a cheaper, more consistent version of Stalactite Stalker, which is a card that sees occasional Modern play.
A Starring Role In Standard
Star of the Arena is a powerful MTG card, then, and I think it has a real shot at seeing Standard play. Both Gruul Aggro and Mono-Red Prowess are still top meta contenders, and there’s a good case to be made for this card in either one. It’s worth noting that Monstrous Rage looks set to catch a ban next week, which may push these decks more towards a go-wide playstyle where Star will (appropriately enough) shine. The removal ability should do work too, helping remove blockers during an alpha strike.
The big two aside, there are many other potential homes for this gung-ho Goblin in Standard. Convoke decks are still part of the meta, albeit a very small one. Both Boros and Jeskai versions exist, relying on the classic Knight-Errant of Eos plan to win their games. While Star doesn’t contribute much to the Convoke plan itself, it can leverage the wide boards the deck creates with its removal ability.
There’s also the potential for the card to boost a straight-up Goblin Typal list. We saw such a deck do well just after Aetherdrift dropped, and Star makes an excellent addition. It completely replaces Cacophony Scamp for my money, giving the deck the extra bite it needs in the crucial one-drop slot. It may not be enough to push Goblins into the top tiers, but it’ll certainly help the deck’s case.
Finally, the card has potential in the kind of Mardu Aggro deck that Tarkir: Dragonstorm is clearly pushing for. With both Shocking Sharpshooter and Thunder of Unity for burn and Hardened Tactician for card draw, a token strategy could be genuinely viable. Making Mardu mana will be tricky for now, but the Verge lands should go a long way towards helping in that regard.
Fighting Through The Formats
Outside of Standard, Star of the Arena has potential in multiple other MTG formats. Pioneer, in particular, has a few maybe-homes for this card. Gruul and Mono-Red Aggro are doing just as well there currently as they are in Standard. The same arguments I gave for Star’s inclusion in those lists above apply to Pioneer. It may be less reliable than something like Soul-Scar Mage, but being able to clear a big blocker is a huge deal in these decks.
Aggro aside, I think the card has a real shot in Jund Sacrifice lists. The Mobilize token it creates gives you great fodder for Witch’s Oven and Deadly Dispute. Additionally, the fact that Star sacrifices itself for its ability plays great with Ygra and Mayhem Devil. It’s unclear what the deck would cut for Star, but Bloodtithe Harvester fills a similar role, so that could be a solid swap. Harvester is a Pioneer favorite, mind you, so I expect Star to be a sideboard addition at best to start with.
I’m not as confident of Star’s abilities in formats like Modern and Legacy, but I’m very confident it’ll find its way into a lot of Commander decks. Commander is all about maximizing the utility of your card slots, and Star does a lot for a little. The Mobilize token serves as fodder for all manner of sacrifice outlets, from Skullclamp to Ashnod’s Altar.
Having instant-speed targeted removal on the side is great, letting you snipe mana dorks or even create combo kills with the likes of Brash Taunter. It may look like an Aggro-only card, but I expect plenty of different red Commander decks to try Star out in the weeks to come.
