The Banned 7: Crusade

 

There is something to be said about consistency. When I saw Jihad banned, I immediately looked for Crusade, and to my surprise (and my disgust) Crusade was next to it. I did congratulate Wizards of the Coast for being consistent, banning both cards equally. 

I always said both of these cards being in white was probably the greatest unintentional political statement Magic ever did, showing both sides were "good", from a certain perspective. It's one of those early things, that more then likely unintentional by Garfield, showed just how mature of a game Magic actually was. Honestly, Jihad could have easily been printed in Red (desert people), or Black, to show as a contrast or an enemy to Crusade and it wasn't. 

So back to Crusade, its actually ironic, and in a way perplexing, that this card was banned. While the argument could be made it's a real world reference. The Crusades were a holy war fought in the Middle Ages against various groups, most infamously the lands of the Middle East, but a Crusade against the Byzantine Empire (with the sacking of Constantinople), and a Northern Crusades/Baltic Crusades, also had happened (not to mention the Children's Crusade). The Mark Poole art depicts one of these, complete with knights bearing crosses, but it's location is intentionally vague. However, like a jihad, a crusade has a second meaning: "to lead or take part in an energetic and organized campaign concerning a social, political, or religious issue." 

In this sense, Crusade like Jihad has an entire definition removing it from the violence of the Middle Ages. This makes the argument of it's banning even weaker then it was. 

The funny thing is this, Crusade has been reprinted numerous times, and was Standard legal for the entirety of the 90's. In fact, it even got the new border treatment, depicting story line favorite Elspeth Tirel. In fact, it's the only card of the banned 7 to get additional art, as well as the only one to see major tournament play. 

This is why so many people campaigned against this banning. It's iconic of it's era, a common sight in the first decade of the game. It isn't a trivia piece like Invoke Prejudice, or an obscure oddity like Pradesh Gypsies or Stone-Throwing Devils. This is the Ur-Example of an entire archetype that has continued as part of Whites color pie to this day, the global buff. 

The most hypocritical thing about it is, 20 other cards currently exist in the game, with the word Crusade or Crusader in their title. Will these cards also get the axe? Only time will tell (though I doubt it).

Including one that promotes Genocide.

Playability: What can be said about Crusade that hasn't been said in the past by more qualified people. Pumping up all your white creatures can be an amazing boon in the right deck. It can make a White Knight trade point for point with a Serendib Efreet, Tundra Wolves take out most two drops, and allows Serra to trade with a Shivan Dragon. The best part is it stacks. While many designers complained that they hated it pumping opponents creatures, which was an intended drawback, in my experience it never came up to devastating. As a bonus, it's always fun getting a pump off an opponents Crusade. 5/5

Dues Vult!

Art: The Old School legal art (outside CFB) is like most of Poole's early work simple. Showing several knights standing triumphant over the victorious battlefield. In the back, a pyre burns in the background. The devil with this small piece is in the details, small things like the knights in formation in the back, the standards, and the fact the 'leader' is the only knight in a red tunic all sell this piece effectively. A neutral color of blue and green behind them compliments the figures well. All and all, the art is effective leaving a mark in small details while effectively showing what it is. 5/5

Flavor: A Crusade is called, which pumps up your creatures, as well as your opponents creatures. Those white aligned fill with fervor, and fight more effectively. Sure flavor in Magic isn't perfect. I'm not sure why a crusade suddenly makes my Camel desire blood, or my Mesa Falcon turn into a god damn bear, yet my Elder Land Wurm still is busy sleeping in. Alas, thing's aren't perfect in M:tG when translating to flavor. 4/5.

Final score 14/15= 4/5. It's honestly an almost perfect card, and I'm glad it exists. It's inclusion in the base set shows that is probably one of the most influential in the game. While blacks identity of global buffs have fallen to the wayside, Crusades legacy stands strong even today, despite the arguably racist and cowardly actions by WotC.

Finally it's impact if it was banned in the format: I honestly don't believe White Weenie could survive. Army of Allah can only get you so far, and the buff this card provides is needed for a deck that still struggles (even more so without the inclusion of Fallen Empires). With this and Jihad theoretically banned, that would leave White Weenie with Angelic Voices as it's only global buff. Yeah, that ones not as good at all.