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More Beasts! Welcome back!
Today we're going over the remainder of the Beasts that I found memorable or iconic. I picked out 16 in total, and you can find the first half in the previous article. (Just click on the URL in my little name at the top, and you can easily find it.) Today we're going over the remaining eight!
Let's begin!
Lovestruck Beast
Man, we were so close to getting another Cat Beast, but no, despite looking like a big cat, the Lovestruck Beast is just a Beast Noble. And that's okay. With his huge Beauty and the Beast vibes, Lovestruck Beast was a huge part of the Standard format he was legal in, occupying one of the most popular decks in the format: Temur Adventures! He also sees a good deal of play in Pioneer, so he hasn't rested on those Fairy Tale laurels after rotating out of Standard.
Phantom Nishoba
OH SNAP, ANOTHER CAT BEAST!
I knew we'd get there. It's unlikely you'll see a ton of Phantom Nishobas being played nowadays, but this Cat Spirit was a huge part of reanimating decks back in the day. In fact it's also a great target in current Premodern decks that are looking to reanimate some of the big fatties of old. Getting a 7/7 with pseudo lifelink that's basically immune to damage is a great deal.
Protean Hulk
Protean Hulk is another Beast that isn't super common currently (at least outside of Commander), but it was the centerpiece of a dominant Legacy combo deck that single handedly caused the card Flash to be banned. In fact the combo was notoriously convoluted and was a testament to the ingenuity of Magic players. To summarize the combo from Wizards.com:
The combo was tricky: You Flash in Protean Hulk , which dies. You fetch up Carrion Feeder and Karmic Guide. The Guide returns Protean Hulk , which you sacrifice to Carrion Feeder. That allows you to search up Kiki-Jiki. Copy Karmic Guide with your legendary Goblin, then while the ability is on the stack you sacrifice the Kiki-Jiki to your Carrion Feeder . When Kiki-Jiki's ability resolves, you get a copy of Karmic Guide , which conveniently returns your Kiki-Jiki from the graveyard. You repeat that process over and over again until you have sufficient Karmic Guide s to attack your opponent for the entirety of their life total.
This was a deck that could win on turn two, or even turn one with something like a Chrome Mox or a Gemstone Caverns. So yeah. Flash became busted all thanks to Protean Hulk. Kind of wild.
Questing Beast
Questing Beast is another 4/4 for four, which seems to be a popular template for beasts. It also has beast in its name, so you know exactly what you're getting. Questing Beast is a creature that can just seem too big for its britches sometimes, as it has become an actual meme for how many words and abilities are in its text box. That being said, it's a fantastic creature, and has shown in nearly every format that it's been legal in.
Ravenous Baloth
Remember that thing I was saying about 4/4s for four mana? Ravenous Baloth is an older gent that basically redefined the value a 4/4 for four mana could present.
I have an Iconic Deck Project that I've been putting together. The goal is to reassemble a ton of iconic decks from Magic's history, including the original printings of the cards that were legal in the decks. From the decks I have selected, there are 18 copies of Ravenous Baloth in them, to give you an idea of how commonly played it was.
One thing that was huge for the Baloth was that his golden age consisted of a time when damage still used the stack. This meant that Ravenous Baloth could attack or block, put its four damage on the stack, then, if it was going to die from combat damage, still sacrifice itself to gain the four life. This was a huge advantage.
Ravenous Chupacabra
Another ravenous Beast, this one also redefined something: how 187 creatures work. Before the Chupacabra, you had creatures like Shriekmaw, Nekrataal, or Bone Shredder, that couldn't hit artifact or Black creatures. Chupacabra just didn't care. He could kill anything! While it didn't have any of the combat abilities the others did, like flying, first strike, or fear, the ability to kill anything without restriction really put it head and shoulder above any other previous option.
Spiritmonger
Oh, Spiritmonger. This guy used to be the gold standard of top tier threats. It never even saw that much play, but its stature was legendary. A five-mana 6/6 put Spiritmonger head and shoulders above most creatures back in those days (those days being around 2001). Usually for that rate you'd have some drawbacks, but instead, Spiritmonger had three beneficial abilities, including regenerating and growing itself! This was, if not unprecedented at the time, extremely uncommon to see. The only thing it was really missing was trample.
Thragtusk
Thragtusk is not only my wife Katie's absolute favorite creature, but it's also a creature that has seen immeasurable play in multiple formats, at multiple levels of competition. This Beast, or pair of Beasts, has won Grand Prix and seen play in multiple Pro Tour Top 8 decks. You can blink it to great effect and Commander players love it. Thragtusk is such a perfect Green creature. Sure, it's simple and it doesn't draw you cards, but it gains you life and brings a little friend, and sometimes that's all you need.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
