(Viewpoint Synchronization| art by Matt Cavotta)

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Shoot the Flying Demon!

Hello, everyone! It’s your friendly neighborhood Jesguy here, and welcome to the Assassin's Creed green Set Review!

Now I won't lie to you all, I don't know much, if anything about Assassin's Creed. But what I have learned is that everyone in this set looks edgy and cool, and I really respect that. With that said, I won't know any of the flavor hits of this set, so I'll be judging cards solely on playability.

With that out of the way, let's jump into the goodies that green has to offer!

Rare

Aveline de Grandpré

Look, I know Aveline de Grandpré is a Golgari card, but please throw me a bone. I only have four other cards to talk about, and they are at uncommon. Kind reader, just let me have this one. Throw me a bone.

That said, despite a bone being thrown, I am relatively unimpressed with Aveline de Grandpré. Caring about deathtouchers is really neat, but the reward being +1/+1 counters? I'm a bit dubious on that. If my creatures can already tussle in combat with whoever they come up against, why do they need to get bigger? What is that actually accomplishing?

The Disguise aspect of of it is also cool...But unless you are playing Aveline de Grandpré in the 99 of a deck with other Disguise cards, everyone is going to know that it is always Aveline.

If you want to combine a bunch of high-powered deathtouchers with things like Overrun or Triumph of the Hordes. be my guest. I don't think it is particularly interesting, but it will be strong. Overall though, if I wanted a better payoff for a Deathtouch deck, I would simply use Fynn, the Fangbearer or a commander that rewards you for dealing combat damage to a player, like Gonti, Canny Acquisitor.

Uncommons

Hunter's Bow

Hunter's Bow is a nice bite spell for two mana.

Being able to remove a creature is nice, and having reach and ward 2 stick around afterwards it pretty valuable. It's also a permanent card, for what its worth, meaning green has an easier time recurring it as well! Modified-based decks like Chishiro, the Shattered Blade, Kosei, Penitent Warlord, or Dogmeat, Ever Loyal could make good use of Hunter's Bow, adding a bit of removal to their suite of equipment!

Overall I think Hunter's Bow is a fine piece of removal is you don't need something at instant speed, and has a handful of synergies in plenty of different decks.

Palazzo Archers 

Palazzo Archers is unimpressive to me.

You need creatures to attack you in order for it to do anything, and on top of that, it's only dealing two damage to each creature with flying that does so. That ain't gunna stop a Dragon or Angel, I'll tell you that. Sure you can try to use equipment and pump spells to help it out, but it seems like a lot of work to me.

If I need a card to deal with fliers, I'd rather just use something like Whiptongue Hydra.

The Aesir Escape Valhalla 

The Aesir Escape Valhalla is a very slow Eternal Witness.

The trade off for being such a slow card though, it that it helps you stay in the game longer thanks to the life gain and creature pump. Due to its looping nature, it seems great in Enchantress and Saga decks that can take advantage of its self recursion.

While I don't think this is the best version of this effect we've seen by far, I do think it can be pretty fun!

Viewpoint Synchronization 

Viewpoint Synchronization is a bit of an odd one.

Personally, for expensive commanders, like The Ur-Dragon, Gishath, Sun's Avatar or anything else 7+ mana, I really like playing expensive ramp spells. Nissa's Renewal, Verdant Mastery, and Boundless Realms are my go-tos in lists like these since they ensure I'll be able to cast my commander on curve, and (hopefully) more than just once. Viewpoint Synchronization joins these expensive ramp spells at a respectable five mana, doing a nice mix of Cultivate and the aforementioned Nissa's Renewal, a combination which I like a bunch.

For pricier commanders, having another option for this style of ramp is quite welcome. The Freerunning cost to me is either just a bonus, or completely negligible. Outside of dedicated Assassin decks, the only time you will be able to take advantage of this reduced casting cost is when your commander is already on the field. In those situations, a ramp package for a commander like that probably doesn't need to include a piece of acceleration at five mana. You won't need another version of Cultivate or Kodama's Reach in my opinion.

If you want a solid piece of ramp for you expensive commanders, or decks that are 4+ colors, Viewpoint Synchronization is that. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

Where did all the Green Cards go...?

And there we have it...The shortest set review of all time!

While I know this set is not meant for drafting, I was not expecting such a large color imbalance. Whether that is a feature of a bug it to be determined I suppose.

Despite the lack of green cards though, there are some good cards. Aveline de Grandpré can helm a deathtouch deck, Hunter's Bow is grean for Equipment lists, Viewpoint Synchronization is another nice, big ramp spell. Overall, despite the lack of quantity, at least there is a good variety of effects.

What are your thoughts though? Any green cards from this set that you enjoy? What are your thoughts on the the massive color imbalances in this Universes Beyond product? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Until next time, stay sharp and stick to the shadows!

You can reach me on Twitter (@thejesguy), where you can always hit me up for Magic- or Jeskai-related shenanigans 24/7. Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Please don’t hesitate to leave them below or get in touch! Stay safe, wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep fighting the good fight. I support you. No justice, no peace.

Angelo Guerrera

Angelo is a New England resident who started playing Magic during Return to Ravnica, and has made it his mission to play Jeskai in every format possible. Along with Commander, he loves Limited, Cube, and Modern, and will always put his trust in counterspells over creatures. He is still hurt by Sphinx's Revelation's rotation out of Standard.