Bloomburrow is here, and we’re starting to get a glimpse at what cards in the set are most impactful for Constructed formats. Even though the set appeared to be a bit weak overall during spoiler season, that hasn’t stopped a variety of different cards from making their presence felt. One card in particular that has been exceeding expectations is Beza, the Bounding Spring.
On the surface, Beza may seem a bit unreliable. After all, you won’t always receive the benefits you want from your four-drop. Beza’s ability to help you claw back from behind is absolutely incredible, however. As we will see, the strategies that best utilize Beza typically get a ton of mileage out of the card. The powerful Elk is showing up in Standard, Pioneer, and even Modern!
The Ultimate Stabilizer
- Mana Value: 2WW
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Stats: 4/5
- Text: When Beza, the Bounding Spring enters, create a Treasure token if an opponent controls more lands than you. You gain 4 life if an opponent has more life than you. Create two 1/1 blue Fish creature tokens if an opponent controls more creatures than you. Draw a card if an opponent has more cards in hand than you.
Beza has four relevant abilities that trigger if you have less of a specific resource than the opponent. In many cases, you’re bound to get at least some value off of Beza when you cast it. That being said, the competition for four-drops in Constructed is very high.
For example, sometimes, Beza pops up in Orzhov midrange in Standard, but it often falls by the wayside in favor of powerhouses like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. This isn’t to say that Beza isn’t a strong card, but rather there are other potent alternatives. In order to truly maximize Beza, you need to get a lot of value out of its abilities.
This brings us to the primary shell where Beza flourishes: Azorius control. The goal behind Azorius control decks, especially in Pioneer, is to use interaction to drag the game out. Cheap removal and Counterspells help you keep your head above water. Meanwhile, cards like Supreme Verdict act as catch-up mechanisms against creature decks that go wide. From there, Planeswalkers like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria can give you an insurmountable advantage.
Azorius control players are typically very good at using their life as a resource. Even if you fall behind early, board wipes can help you stabilize at a low life total. Well, Beza can fill a similar purpose. Chances are, when you play Beza against any creature deck, you will at minimum get to make two Fish token blockers and gain four life. This alone provides a huge life cushion, while simultaneously making it easier to stick a Planeswalker.
Beza is especially strong out of the sideboard of Azorius control decks since most opponents are bound to take out many of their removal spells. We’ve seen beefy creatures like Regal Caracal show up in Azorius control shells in Pioneer fill this role before. Regal Caracal is excellent against aggro decks, solid against midrange shells, can act as an alternate win condition, and is immune to cards like Spell Pierce. Beza works the same way but is more efficient and more versatile.
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Other Shells for Beza
- Mana Value: 2B
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/3
- Text: Offspring B (You may pay an additional B as you cast this spell. If you do, when this creature enters, create a 1/1 token copy of it. Flying. At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its mana value.
Beyond control decks, Beza is still a solid consideration for black midrange shells in Standard. As we mentioned, there are other elite four-drops to choose from. However, depending on how you build your deck, Beza may be the best option.
Given how popular midrange decks are in Standard, there’s an incentive for players to add extra grindy elements to their decks. With this in mind, one card that has recently grown in popularity in Orzhov decks in Standard is Darkstar Augur. Darkstar Augur is awesome in midrange battles as a card advantage engine. That being said, the life loss can add up quickly, especially if you pair into an aggro deck. Luckily, Beza can come to the rescue and help alleviate the life loss.
If mono-red aggro or Boros Convoke becomes more dominant in the coming weeks, Beza’s position in the metagame only gets better. Gaining life and getting a slew of blockers is nice, and the five-toughness body lines up perfectly against Knight-Errant of Eos. The amount of breathing room Beza provides for four mana is truly astonishing. If you’re tired of getting run over by assertive strategies, Beza is the perfect answer.
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