Removing threats from the board immediately helps high-value questers like Anna, True-Hearted and Philoctetes survive, while Bodyguard heroes like Kida, Royal Warrior and The Prince, Never Gives Up provide an extra layer of defense on the board
Usually you wouldn't bother with these cause we all like to pretend lifegain decks just don't exist, but now you can actually do something about it
Slots right into most Thraximundar decks
We measure our progress in heartbeats. Prime Speaker Zegana Watermark: Simic Illustrated by Zoltan Boros Standard Not Legal Alchemy Not Legal Pioneer Legal Historic Legal Modern Legal Brawl Legal Legacy Legal Comp
Some Modern and Legacy decks can cast Ethersworn Sphinx in the 3- to 4-mana range, where it would be a very strong creature
Outside of a few very specific cards (which will be mentioned first) that require deck sizes above the minimum, all the other reasons you might want to are more fitting to casual magic: Battle of Wits - A win condition that specifically requires you to have more than 3 times the minimum deck size left in your deck to win means starting with about 4 times that minimum, if not more
