The new Gift mechanic is a rather interesting one. Capable of giving an opponent a small advantage in exchange for a more powerful mode to your spell, the intent behind your goodwill is definitely dubious.
It was made clear during the Bloomburrow Debut that the most generous Gift you can give is an entire card to an opponent. For your opponent, this is a pretty major upside, considering the importance of card advantage in MTG. Due to this, you may be wondering what effects are so powerful that they’re locked behind giving your opponent a free card?
Thankfully, Wizards of the Coast hasn’t kept us in the dark regarding this burning question. Recently, a number of new Bloomburrow cards have been spoiled which each Gift a card. As expected, some of these spells are seriously strong to justify their substantial extra cost.
Kitnap
The first of our card drawing Gifts is Kitnap. Kitnap is a Mind Control effect, which is already incredibly powerful. Not only do you get to remove an opposing threat, but they become your own through mind control. These cards can easily flip a Limited game on their head. For four mana, Kitnap could even see constructed play.
Kitnap will successfully steal a creature regardless of whether you give your opponent a card or not. What matters is how quickly you can use it. If you Gift your opponent the card, you can untap and use your creature next turn. Otherwise, three stun counters will force a three turn wait.
Unless you really do not want your opponent to have a card, Kitnap is likely better used paying the Gift cost. That is provided your opponent doesn’t have enchantment removal, at least. While normal removal breaks even, enchantment removal means you’ve basically just given your opponent a card.
Alternatively, in Commander, Kitnap could be stealing a Commander that you’re really not interested in using. If you just want to keep it off your opponent’s board and Command Zone, Kitnap works wonders. In that case, the Stun Counters aren’t a big deal either.
Consumed by Greed
Consumed by Greed is a powerful spell whether you give a Gift or not. The card will always end up being a decent removal piece, but you can recur a creature from your graveyard to your hand if you allow your opponent to draw a card.
Basically, both variations of this card are great. If you need to get rid of an opposing creature, Consumed by Greed does just that. If you think you can recur a creature that’s worth more than a card for your opponent, Consumed by Greed becomes even better.
Commander may be the format where this card truly shines. Gift is a great mechanic for political situations where you may need to get something back and target a player who’s ahead. You don’t necessarily need to Gift the targeted opponent with your card. You can instead Gift another player a card to draw their attention to the real problem at the table: your target.
A Fantastic Mechanic
Gift offers a ton of flexibility, even though it is, once again, just another version of Kicker. Commander is indeed the true format for the mechanic to shine, but there is a lot of play to the mechanic. Notably, having the Gift countered alongside the card, even if promised one on cast, helps cure a lot of the ‘feelsbad’ situations that could arise.
I’m excited to see what other Gift cards appear in Bloomburrow.
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