Jedit Ojanen: The Importance of Art and flavortext

Mightiest of the cat warriors, Jedit Ojanen forsook the forests of his tribe and took service with the Robaran Mercenaries, rising through their ranks to lead them in the battle for Efrava.

 

ROAR!!!

 

 

It's hard to imagine, how a simple 5/5 for 7 could be as popular as Jedit, but it's here. Sure, he's not much in the days of power creep, but market research at the time must have concluded his popularity. He got a mini-comic from Armada, a short story, and a cycle of three books about him (which was largely a more detailed re-telling of the comic). He was even 'planar shifted' in Planeshift as a mono-white legendary creature. So why? Why so much fair for a 5/5 vanilla from Legends? Well, he's more memorable then most.

 

 

 

Proof of Comic

 

Playability: Easily the worst aspect of him, is well his playability. He's a 5/5 vanilla for 7, and while he's in white, and thus can synergize with Karakas, that's a minor advantage. Him being white, also gives you access to crusade/jihad/Call to Arms, but again, that's a minor advantage. Sadly, he's getting a 2/5 in this department.

 

 

Art: Jedit, in my opinion, is Poole's best art piece (which isn't an easy hill to climb). It's a deceptively complicated piece. First you have Jedit himself, with his most distinct feature being his face. Small details like the eyes and fur around the face is barely visible on the art, but is there, while the flowing mane and fangs make a distinct impression. The body is done well, with the shading technique replicating fur really well, while the bare chest makes it appear to be a alien humanoid figure that wouldn't exist on earth. The gear, a simple loin cloth, some hot topic bracelets, a belt, and a sword, shows him, while clearly skilled, he's still a savage, no needing for clothing due to his fur. Finally, there is the background a simple prairie and sky, which shows movement of wind through Jedit's hair, and the grass below. It's also light and simple, contrasting with the character, and making him front and center of the art. It makes for a powerful piece that is recognizable even on the other side of a table. His art is 5/5.

 

Flavor: A 5/5 who is basically naked, isn't some hero carrying divine magic, or ancient weapons. He's a bad ass. It also makes sense that a cat warrior who abandoned his forest home wouldn't be white, so him being blue (thus worldly, or traveled) would make some sense.

 

However, his real draw is his flavor text, which is descript enough to make him seem like a deep seated character, with enough cryptic background references to make him seem mysterious. He becomes a character you WANT to learn about. You want to include in your deck outside his stats because of that. This is how he got to be written hanging out with Hazezon Tamar! His popularity, came from these facts. Modern Magic could use a little bit of wisdom from this guy when designing legends, because it's legends like this that people remember.

 

Flavor 4/5.

 

11/15= round up 4/5. Sure, in the game he's not the best card, not even the best legend. However, he's a hero, a distinct hero at that, and that makes him a good card in many other aspects.