Elvish Archers

"Remember when this guy was a great two drop?"-Saikuba, Gatherer Comment.

Designed back when off-color abilities got bumped up in rarity, Elvish Archers was for a while considered a great two drop. After all, First Strike is a great ability, and in the color of combat tricks can help take out Juzam's, Erhnams, and even a blocking Shivan. 

I recently built a deck experimenting on first strike and combat tricks, and the archer was front and center of it. After all, in it's time, it was considered a green staple, able to take on many other two and three drops people were realistically dropping in 93-94. 

So how does it fair to the high tuned decks people are running in 2020? Why don't we find out.

Twang

Playability: A 2/1 for two is considered mana efficient since it's power is equal to its mana cost. First Strike is a good ability, and allows it to trade with the likes of knights. It can even kill a Hippy, if it encounters the flying bastard. Its converted CMC is two, but it's a 1G, which unlike the knights, is splash able. This gives it an amazing ability to be built into a multicolored deck. Numerous combat tricks, and several aura's can be used to help it. These include Giant Growth, Bloodlust, Rightousness, and Unholy Strength to name a few. Unlike the knight, it can be pinged, which might not seem like a big deal, but in a format with Pestilence, Icatian Javeliner, and the might Tim, that's a huge liability. Finally, in green, is no lords or crusade style effects. I feel if Elvish Champion or even Kaysa had existed in the format, I could justify giving it a 4, but as it is, its playability is 3/5.

(This rating also applied for A40, where it is a 1/2).

We wouldn't get a proper elf lord until 1999

Art: Anson Maddocks never fails in his art. His art always had a very dark and gritty feel, and the Archers is easily one of his best. The slim muscles, the pale skin, the tattoo, the bow, his depictions of elves are different from the high polished looking elves that were popular in fantasy at the time. The background elements of green and yellows functions very well. There vague enough to capture the imagination, while functioning as a good setting for the Elf. Normally I reduce a point when a plural creature depict a single creature, but Maddocks piece is just to perfect to do that to. 5/5

Flavor: The First Strike actually comes from the fact that it's an archer. Although very quickly the flavor mechanic of being an archer became pinging attacking or blocking creatures or as well as creatures that block flying creatures. However in the context of of what a bow does, it works. Sure, it doesn't work on Knights, wolves, or people with lances, but the flavor in Magic is never perfect. The two power also comes into the context of better weapons. The real icing though, is the amazing flavor text, which features a reference to the Battle of Thermopylae, where the line "we will fight in the shade" is attributed to King Leonidas of Sparta, when the Persian arrows blackened the sky. This bumps the flavor to 4/5.

12/15=4/5. Sure, there's certainly better creatures to throw into your deck. Without tribal support, it's just a 2/1 with a combat ability. The knights outclass it, across the board, as does Kird Ape, and arguable Drudge Skeletons. However, it's a solid creature, and an icon for a reason. Next time you throw together a green deck, try it out. It'll earn it's spot.