One of the first things we learned about Edge of Eternities, way back in March, is that it would be bringing some retro Magic: The Gathering creature types back into the fray. Both Baloths and Kavu were confirmed via early artwork, much to the delight of long-time fans. We’ve talked about a couple of great Baloths so far, in Frenzied Baloth and Baloth Prime. Today, it’s the turn of Edge of Eternities’ Kavu to shine.
These new Kavu are all about the Warp and Lander mechanics. They’ll boost your artifact and land plans, while also offering some tasty mana cheat in the process. While this is a relatively small pool of new support, it’s still more than the type has received in years. Those longing to build a Kavu Typal deck: your time has come.
Tannuk, Steadfast Second
- Mana Value: 2RR
- Type: Legendary Creature – Kavu Pilot
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Text: Other creatures you control have Haste.
Artifact cards and red creature cards in your hand have Warp 2R. (You may cast a card from your hand for its Warp cost. Exile that permanent at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)- Stats: 3/5
We saw an uncommon version of Tannuk early on in preview season, but today we saw the real deal. Tannuk, Steadfast Second does a lot of different things, and all of them are potentially very powerful.
Obviously the ability to cheat out big artifacts and red creatures for cheap is the headline here. It’s not quite Sneak Attack efficiency-wise, but Sneak Attack doesn’t come with a 3/5 body. Sneak Attack doesn’t serve as a Fires of Yavimaya effect either, or work with artifacts.
There are a ton of great artifact targets for this ability. Portal to Phyrexia springs to mind as the obvious power play. You can also leverage pricey Spacecraft and Vehicles, like Extinguisher Battleship and Parhelion II, since they don’t count as creatures in your hand. Of course, big red and artifact creatures are fair game too. A Hasty Blightsteel Colossus for three should end most games in short order.
As a package deal, Tannuk feels very competitively-costed. The fact that it Warps your creatures into exile to be recast later also has synergy with a number of cast-from-exile cards. With Passionate Archaeologist out, you can deal a bunch of extra burn damage to support your Hasty beatdown. Depending on your colors, you could also use Tlincalli Hunter or Doc Aurlock for more discounts.
Overall, I expect Tannuk to see most of its play in Commander. Having access to these effects in the command zone is great, and it’ll make a solid support piece in the 99 too. That said, it is well-costed enough that I wouldn’t count it out of Standard.
Possibility Technician
- Mana Value: 2R
- Type: Creature – Kavu Artificer
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Text: Whenever this creature or another Kavu you control enters, exile the top card of your library. For as long as that card remains exiled, you may play it if you control a Kavu.
Warp 1R (You may cast this card from your hand for its Warp cost. Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.)- Stats: 3/3
Tannuk is a great Edge of Eternities card on its own, but it doesn’t do much for Kavu as an archetype. For that kind of support, Possibility Technician is the way to go.
This card offers one of the more unique takes on red’s Impulse draw that we’ve seen so far. Each Kavu you play gets you an exile-draw, which is solid in its own right. What makes it really good is that said draws aren’t limited by the usual ‘play until end of turn’ restriction. As long as you control a Kavu, be it Possibility Technician or a classic like Flametongue Kavu, you can play the exiled card. This condition is set when the exile happens, too, so removing Technician itself doesn’t cut off your cards.
Honestly, the fact that Technician ‘draws’ cards by itself could be enough for it to see play in a vacuum. Two is a pretty cheap Warp cost, and you’ll be able to play the first card when you recast it from exile later. Even with just a couple of other Kavu in the deck, like Tannuk above, Technician could be worth running in red as a card advantage piece.
Of course, where the card will really shine is in Kavu Typal in Commander. There are now 53 total Kavu in Magic, most of which fall under Gruul colors. That’s more than enough to build a functional deck, with Technician as the lynchpin draw engine. In terms of Commander, either Tannuk, Memorial Ensign or Jared Carthalion would be good choices. Such a deck is very likely to lean towards bracket 1-2 in terms of power level, but you’ll get a lot of style points for even attempting it.
Other Edge Of Eternities Kavu
Supporting the two big hitters above, Edge of Eternities also adds a number of new Kavu at lower rarities. These are, naturally, much less exciting, but some could be role players in the right deck.
In an aggressive Kavu list with Technician, Memorial Team Leader seems like a solid pick. You can Warp it in for two to get the draw, and also gain an anthem effect for the turn. If you’re playing a red Aggro deck with a Kavu sub-theme, this could be a nice finisher. The flexibility to come down alongside a Haste creature like Screaming Nemesis, or to be played alone for four, gives this one some depth.
Terrapact Intimidator could be a good fit for such a deck, too. Giving your opponent options is rarely a good thing. The key here, then, will be to build the deck in such a way that both options are beneficial. Aggro decks aren’t typically interested in Lander tokens, but cards like Gleeful Demolition and Midgar can let you make great use of them. A 4/3 for two is obviously pretty solid for Aggro too, but I’d expect most opponents to avoid that mode generally.
Finally, Kav Landseeker is, unfortunately, a bit of a dud. Four mana for a 4/3 Menace and a temporary Lander token just screams ‘Limited fodder.’ Even if you just got a regular Lander token, this would be unexciting. Factor in the downside, however, and this feels like a 23rd card at best. Hilariously, it might actually still see use in Kavu Typal decks, since there aren’t a ton of options there.
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