Thanks to Magic’s incredibly long 32-year history, it’s fairly common that older forgotten cards get a second lease of life. When the right new mechanic comes along, weird once-unplayable tech pieces can gain centerpiece potential. The only struggle is finding these cards, as players don’t tend to remember the unplayable cards from multiple decades ago.
Heat Stroke MTG
For three mana, Heat Stroke puts a really awkward restriction on the board, as it strongly discourages players from attacking and blocking. This can either turn the game into a standstill or an aggro-players paradise, depending on your opponent’s interests. On its own, while this card changes the game’s dynamic, working around it is entirely possible, so it’s largely not that useful.
Even if it just ends up making creatures difficult to block, Heat Stroke is extremely strong in Goad strategies.By forcing high-value creatures to attack, your opponents are presented with an easy opportunity to turn a chump blocker into removal. This makes Heat Stroke an extremely strong inclusion in all kinds of Goad Commander decks like Baeloth Barrityl, Entertainer.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to go down the Goad route, there are also ways to force your opponent to block one of your creatures. Equipment like The Masamune, for instance, can ensure your opponent has to block your weakest threat, turning it into removal. Maarika, Brutal Gladiator will do the same thing, while also having Indestructible to keep her safe, making her the perfect Commander for this side of Heat Stroke.
While Commanders like Baeloth Barrityl and Marrika are both great with Heat Stroke, Grand Melee is the perfect MTG card for it. By forcing everything to both attack and block, this two-card combo basically becomes a weird board wipe. Since only creatures with Indestructible will be left standing, it’s very possible to build around this, ensuring you come out on top.
Making Small Creatures Deadly
As if Heat Stroke didn’t already have enough use cases, it’s also fantastic within go-wide decks like Hazezon, Shaper of the Sand or Krenko, Mob Boss. An army of 1/1s might not seem threatening, but removing these tiny creatures can make for some truly terrible trades. Thanks to this, Heat Stroke can allow you to sneak a lot of damage through, which can quickly tick up with enough creatures.
For even more variety, there are even Commanders that can get around Heat Stroke’s downsides. Marchesa, the Black Rose, for example, can use her reanimation ability to recur your creatures that die to Heat Stroke. Similarly, Norin, Swift Survivalist allows you to easily flicker your creatures, protecting them while killing off your opponents. Realistically, with either of these cards in play, your opponents are likely to forgo blocking entirely.
Thanks to disincentivising attacking, Heat Stroke is also perfect alongside the recently released Kratos, God of War. Either your opponents have to risk their creatures by attacking, or they’ll steadily be burned out by Kratos. If you can get around this yourself by protecting your creatures, this aggressive game plan can be surprisingly punishing.
A Game-Changing Enchantment
Whether you’re using Goad, going wide, or just have a Commander with Indestructible, Heat Stroke is an interesting addition to all kinds of Commander decks. The card sees extremely small amounts of play, too, which means that opponents will seldom be prepared for the chaos that your enchantment will create.
Considering that this card is on the Reserved List, it’s not too expensive, either. Moderately played copies tend to start at around $2.50, while near mint variants hover around the $3 to $4 mark. For that price, adding Heat Stroke to Goad decks, in particular, seems like an absolute no-brainer.
If you’re looking for a unique card that will change how the table interacts with combat, Heat Stroke won’t let you down.
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