Hidden Gems for Hashaton, Scarab's Fist
Imagine,
There are many cards vying for inclusion in the 99. EDHREC offers a wonderful list of popular cards, but here at Hidden Gems, we like to dig a little deeper. Here are five picks that you might overlook, under-appreciate, or want to take for a test drive.
#1. Shadowgrange Archfiend
He’s big. He’s bad. He’s got claws that are twice as big as his booty. Hello 8/4! This seven cost Demon likes to chew up the biggest creature of each opponent and gains life in the process. To top off the card advantage, it’s got Madness for a mere three mana and a not-so-mere eight life.
With six mana open, you can discard it, make a token copy with Hashaton and cast this Demon for its Madness cost. You’ll get rid of lots of threats, create some creatures of your own, and hopefully gain that life back. If not, that’s what you get for meddling with Demons and Zombies.
| Shadowgrange Archfiend | ||
| Shadowgrange Archfiend (Extended Art) |
#2. Marneus Calgar
I’ll admit, I don’t know the Warhammer lore behind Marneus Calgar. But I’m going to assume that he goes by Marny and his dream has always been to become a 4/4 Zombie token. After all, he likes tokens. If your commander turns him into one, he’ll even draw a card with himself. Good for you, Marny!
In the early game, a 4/4 with double strike can do a lot of damage. In the late game, you can always sink six mana into creating more tokens and drawing more cards. He does it all. That’s why he earned a Nobel prize in Warhammer science (I assume).
| Marneus Calgar | ||
| Marneus Calgar (Surge Foil) |
#3. Spymaster's Vault
Unlike Marny, Hashaton doesn’t do it all. He doesn’t have his own discard outlet, but we love him anyway. To compensate, you’ll want to play lots of them, and if they don’t cost much mana to activate, even better.
Spymaster’s Vault is an easy inclusion since creatures die regularly, its activation cost is low, it piggybacks on a land slot, and the Connive ability includes discarding. It’s a dream land, and in this case, dreams come true.
| Spymaster's Vault | ||
| Spymaster's Vault (Borderless) |
#4. The Celestus
Esper isn’t exactly known for its mana ramping abilities. Sure, you’ll want to play some mana rocks, but had Hashaton been green, paying for his ability multiple times in a turn would be a lot less difficult. Enter: The Celestus. Three-cost mana rocks are a dime a dozen and don’t sit on a very competitive spot in the mana curve. But with this little gem, we get so much more.
Whenever day becomes night or vice versa, we get to draw and discard. If you’re spending your turn discarding a card and paying for a token, it’s easy to be active while also changing the game to night. Your opponents will probably be casting spells and switching it back to day. Add in some incidental life gain and tapping for mana to pay for Hashaton’s cost, and The Celestus puts in an inordinate amount of work.
| The Celestus | ||
| The Celestus (Extended Art) | ||
| The Celestus |
#5. Anvil of Bogardan
Here’s a great example of a cheap card that gives you a discard every turn without asking for any mana to activate. Sure, it might look a little weird seeing that it gives everyone no maximum hand size and thus eliminates your discard phase, but we don’t want to rely on that phase to get use out of Hashaton.
This artifact comes down early, gives free discard, filters through your deck so you don’t get too clogged up with noncreatures, and potentially creates some good will with the other players so they don’t want to target you.
| Anvil of Bogardan |
That’s all for this week on Hidden Gems. Don’t forget to check out our Premium membership for more entertainment and Magic market insights! Until next time, happy brewing!
Further Reading:
Adam Berg
Adam started playing Magic on his 14th birthday, when Judgment just released and the game's first Gorgon was born (It's a girl!). Since then, he's delved deep into Commander, written for television and film, and learned how to drive. He's published two YA Fantasy novels, Rainbringer and The Broken Pantheon. His favorite card is Repay In Kind, which is really all you need to know.