Cardsplain
All cards

Crude Bent Blade

common Artifact — Equipment

When this enters, target opponent a creature of their choice.

Equipped creature gets +2/+1.

Equip ( : Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a .)

A- Grade from the win rate

Win rate when drawn 60.4% +4.2 vs average 60,413 games

Win rates and picks

57.7% 114,246 games
Average pick ()
3.5

By deck

  • Goblin Army 61.5% 30,010 games
  • Ferocious Wolves 60.3% 17,583 games
  • Removal Control 57.3% 5,364 games
  • Removal Midrange 60.5% 1,958 games
  • Dwarves & Equipment 56.4% 894 games

Win rates from , 323,114 games. This card is compared with the set average (56.2%).

Reviews

Now this is a nice design. spells are always nice to see, as they give you a way to put an equipment in your deck that actually does something before you equip them to a creature. That said, Crude Bent Blade being an edict effect is one of the worst kinds of removal you can get, and also not in the colors that care the most about equipment. This feels like a bit of a miss, but certainly not an unplayable one, and you might need this in BG if you fall short of 4+ power creatures.

Everything else is quite good, and it also gets to play one of the most disgusting commons in years: (Crude Bent Blade.

Crude Bent Blade puts immense pressure on green fatties in the format, to the point that cards like Beorn, Reluctant Host and Wilderland Scrounger feel nearly unplayable.

Black has one of the better weapons against Crude Bent Blade in the format (Stony-Voiced Goblins).

I tend to discard spells early to play around Crude Bent Blade, then lands later on.

If you've ever seen Beorn, Reluctant Host die to a Crude Bent Blade, you know what I mean.

These will mostly come up to punish you for playing colors other than black.Good cards like Attercop, The Queen of Dale, and Long-lake Nuisance will randomly find themselves dying en masse, which of course frees up the rest of your board to die to Crude Bent Blade. Ouch!

* This nauseating common gets its own section.I always try to include disposable creatures like Wood Elves and Stony-Voiced Goblins in my decks. fills this role in white decks; I haven't found Lake-town Lookout to be necessary for Blade protection (as it's otherwise a which stinks). * Just having fodder creatures in your deck isn't enough; you'll actively need to work to keep them alive, too. * I'll also decline to trade if I have a strong 3-drop, because that would at least force my opponent to have a hard spellover this edict. * Playing around Blade too much can expose you to stuff like Down, Down to Goblin-town and the X/1 hate cards, but oh well, that's black in this format. * And as a bonus, the Blade is barely over-costed as an equipment anyways; I've seen the card still be good even when it only takes out Stony-Voiced Goblins!

How to draft it

One of the 20 cards to memorize. Best common in the set. The opponent a creature of their choice, and the Blade stays as a +2/+1 .

Roles in each deck

  • Goblin Army Removal

    A pre-release review called this kind of one of the worst, because the opponent chooses what to . Goblin Army kills blockers and attacks early, so when the Blade enters the opponent often has only one or two creatures and loses one that matters. The stays behind (+2/+1, equip ), and casting it triggers Bothersome Noisemaker.

    How to play it

    Cast it when they have exactly one creature, or right after Pinecone Strike or Bilbo's Deadly Slice took the other. Against and 1/1s, use your damage spells first and hold the Blade. Afterwards, equip it to something hard to block, such as a or Gollum, Silent Slinker, or let Thorin, Mountain-king move it for free.

    Learn the Goblin Army deck

  • Ferocious Wolves Removal

    The opponent a creature of their choice when the Blade enters. The +2/+1 that stays behind turns Desolation Prowler or Ravening Warg into a 4-power creature for as long as it is attached.

    How to play it

    Cast it while they have one creature, or only creatures you want gone, because they will give up a 1/1 before a 4/4. Equip costs and works only in your main phase, so moving it to the next creature waits for your own turn.

    Learn the Ferocious Wolves deck

  • Removal Control Removal

    Before release a reviewer called a forced like this one (an "edict") one of the worst kinds of . A deck that trades its early creatures and kills the next ones leaves the opponent with one or two creatures, and then the edict takes one that matters.

    How to play it

    Wait until they have one creature, or until your trades have cleared away the small ones. Against a 1/1 next to a big creature, the Blade only takes the token, so use targeted on the big one.

    Learn the Removal Control deck

  • Removal Midrange Removal

    Draftsim's pre-release review ranked edicts ( where the opponent picks what to ) among the worst kinds of removal. The Blade turned out to be one of the set's best commons, because the kill comes with a +2/+1 you keep all game. On Iron Hills Blacksmith it makes a 3/2 double striker, and on Gollum, Silent Slinker a 6/4 that still needs two blockers.

    How to play it

    A 1/1 next to their 5/5 protects the 5/5, since they give up the token. Kill the big one with Bilbo's Deadly Slice and hold the Blade for a board where every creature is worth killing. When the creature carrying it , pay in your main phase to move it to the next one.

    Learn the Removal Midrange deck