Lorwyn Eclipsed prerelease weekend has come and gone, and players will soon be able to play the set’s new cards online. Typal fans, in particular, are in for a real treat with this set, as tons of new powerhouses are on their way.
As strong as these typal cards are, they are a little selective. The new Champion cycle is the harshest example of this, offering incredibly pushed effects behind debilitating restrictions. This has created a bizarre opportunity for players to pick up cards with extremely powerful effects at a low cost. If you can unlock the power of Champion of the Weird, this $0.50 Lorwyn Eclipsed rare can win tons of games.
MTG Champion of the Weird
Champion of the Weird offers a bizarre symmetrical ability that, at first glance, hurts you more than it hurts your opponent. Thanks to Champion of the Weird’s stats, however, you’re often able to two-for-one your opponents, if they have enough small creatures. While this isn’t always guaranteed, Standard is currently ruled by the likes of Gran-Gran and Badgermole Cub, so there are plenty of targets.
Sadly, due to only affecting one opponent, Champion of the Weird isn’t quite as good in MTG Commander. That being said, it does work well within the Blight Curse precon, provided you add some extra Goblins to manage the Behold cost. While this is quite a steep requirement, the synergy it offers is very much worth that cost.
Alongside Auntie Ool, Cursewretch and The Reaper, King No More, Champion of the Weird can create absurd amounts of value. Capable of drawing tons of cards with both Commanders, you can easily refill your hand while you pick off crucial creatures. If Flourishing Defenses is in play, Champion of the Weird can even go infinite with Auntie Ool.
Thanks to providing 1/1 Elves whenever a creature gets a -1/-1 counter, Champion of the Weird can continually Blight on the generated tokens, allowing Auntie Ool to draw your entire deck. On top of this, the opposing creatures that the Champion kills will keep your life total healthy thanks to Auntie Ool’s other ability. Even if you don’t have your Commander in play, Flourishing Defenses or Nest of Scarabs with Champion of the Weird is still enough to wipe the board.
A Disturbing Number of Two-Card Combos
As strong as Champion of the Weird is with -1/-1 counters, it can go infinite with some other strategies, as well. Thanks to Blight 2 cancelling out the +1/+1 counter that Undying grants, this mechanic will, essentially, grant infinite bodies for you to Blight onto. This allows Young Wolf and Champion of the Weird can cause a one-sided board wipe for your opponents. Add in Blood Artist, and you’ll win the game with Champion of the Weird by draining the table. You can similarly throw in Pitiless Plunderer to both generate infinite mana and open up some other combos that don’t use Persist.
If you’re willing to spend some more mana and add a color, Champion of the Weird and Flayer of the Hatebound can end the game outright. The Undying mechanic gives Champion of the Weird 20 different two-card combos to exploit, some being more deadly than others.
Looking at more recent mechanics, Champion of the Weird can also act as a sacrifice outlet for Earthbending combos utilizing Beifong’s Bounty Hunters. So long as you have the Hunters and a Bloodghast, your Goblin will have an infinite number of bodies to Blight on, deleting your opponent’s board. Throw in a damage land like the Festuring Gulch, and you can ping your opponent to death.
Selective, But Powerful
Despite Champion of the Weird’s insane combo potential, the card didn’t see a ton of hype in Lorwyn Eclipsed spoiler season. The Behold cost the card demands is certainly part of the reason, since it makes the Goblin difficult to play outside decks with a typal package. You can cheat Champion of the Weird into play to ignore the Behold cost via reanimation effects, but that still requires building around the Goblin.
Thanks in part to its restrictive Behold cost, this combo powerhouse has a secondary market value of about $0.50 at the time of writing, making it extremely accessible for curious players who can use it. That said, if Champion of the Weird begins to climb in popularity, this may not last long.
Stick with us at mtgrocks.com: the best place for Magic: The Gathering coverage!