Up to this point, the vast majority of the cards in Bloomburrow that allow you to promise a gift to an opponent haven’t made much noise in Constructed. Typically, these cards are a bit on the weaker end unless you give the gift to the opponent. However, providing the opponent with an extra card or other resource is a pretty hefty cost. In order for the exchange to be worth it, you need to be getting a pretty big bonus in return.
This brings us to one card in particular that does, in fact, fit the bill. The card in question is none other than Coiling Rebirth. A five-mana sorcery that reanimates a creature from your graveyard is nothing special nowadays. That being said, the upside of being able to get a 1/1 copy of that creature is huge, even if your opponent gets an extra card out of the deal. So long as that 1/1 copy has a potent ability attached to it, there are some cool shenanigans that can be done with Coiling Rebirth
Coiling Rebirth in Pioneer
- Mana Value: 3BB
- Rarity: Rare
- Text: Gift a card (You may promise an opponent a gift as you cast this spell. If you do, the dray a card before its other effects). Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Then if the gift was promised and that creature isn’t legendary, create a token that’s a copy of that creature, except it’s 1/1.
So far, Coiling Rebirth’s most notable breakout performance came in a Pioneer Vampires shell of all places. This may seem a bit strange, but when you factor in the presence of Bloodtithe Harvester and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker as reliable discard outlets and Vein Ripper as an elite threat to bring back to play, this decision makes some sense.
Vein Ripper is an example of a card that is perfect to target with Coiling Rebirth. Because of the Ward ability, even killing the small 1/1 copy of Vein Ripper won’t be easy for the opponent. On top of that, any creature that dies will now result in your opponent getting drained for four life, not just two. The 1/1 copy even helps protect you from hate cards like Blot Out that would otherwise cleanly answer your big Vein Ripper. All of this upside is certainly worth gifting your opponent a card.
Notably, this decklist takes things a step further. Many traditional flex slots have been removed to accommodate playsets of Bitter Reunion and Massacre Wurm. Bitter Reunion adds some redundancy in the discard outlet department. Massacre Wurm is an amazing card to discard and return to play with Coiling Rebirth.
By gifting the opponent a card, you’ll get two Massacre Wurm enters-the-battlefield triggers. Opposing creatures will get -4/-4, and any of their creatures dying will cause them to lose four life. Against most creature decks, this will spell game over.
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Coiling Rebirth in Standard
- Mana Value: 4RR
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 7/6
- Text: Trample. When Trumpeting Carnosaur enters the battlefield, discover 5. 2R, Discard Trumpeting Carnosaur: It deals 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker.
Coiling Rebirth hasn’t had quite the same effect in Standard thus far. Nonetheless, it’s a decent option for the Rakdos Cruelclaw deck. This archetype utilizes a multitude of top-end threats that are worthwhile to copy.
At the top of that list is Trumpeting Carnosaur. Trumpeting Carnosaur works perfectly with Coiling Rebirth because you can discard it on command to kill an opposing creature. Then, when you return it and gift the opponent a card, you’ll get to Discover 5 twice!
The competition is certainly high for five drop spells in Standard, though. There are plenty of games where Gix’s Command or The Cruelty of Gix will end up being more impactful. Regardless, if your deck is built in a way to maximize Coiling Rebirth, the card has immense potential. It’s still very early on in Bloomburrow Standard, so make sure to keep an eye out for any sweet Coiling Rebirth synergies that arise.
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