I think Embercleave is starting to catch on now. I didn’t see many copies of it when Throne of Eldraine first came out, but I’ve really started to see them pop up more recently. I’m running multiple copies in several decks, RW Knights, BR Agro/Destruction & GR Agro. At first glance, the 6-casting cost can give you hesitation, but really, you won’t ever cast it for more than 5. Andin most cases, I’m throwing it out for 2RR or 1RR, depending on what its attacking. It’s usually going on a creature that’s already a 3/3 or a 4/4. (It’s a 4th turn ball buster in my red-green deck when I’m attacking with a 3/3 Pelt Collector, a 3/3 Zhur-Taa Goblin and a 4/4 Gruul Spellbreaker.) On top of that, you get the surprise factor of casting it as an instant during the attack phase when your opponent has already declared blockers and is assuming that they are going to kill one of your attacking creatures. Surprise!! First strike…and then we’ll go ahead and deal a second blow too! (On Gruul Spellbreaker, you even get trample damage through the blocker on the first strike damage.) Or, you can just throw it on the unblocked creature to deal the final damage needed to win the game. Don’t think my 2/2 can kill your 6 power Oko…surprise!! I really have not seen a lot of effective responses to Embercleave. This card is awesome!
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