At the moment, the Type Two metagame is almost single-handedly defined by the dreaded Call of the Herd. If you play this card, you are likely to win. It increases your chances of winning vastly, for a number of reasons:
- It forces controlling decks to deal with two threats for the price of one card to you, which is blind extortion. As a result, it is what is known as"harsh beatings" against controlling decks, as it forces a rough two-for-one card exchange.
- It also forces tough exchanges upon aggressive decks, being a green card which dispenses card advantage at a reasonable price (thus being entirely out of flavour for green).
"Ah, but what about Syncopate?" I hear you say.
Syncopate is a brilliant card, and the true answer (in blue, anyway) to Call of the Herd. Many people don't play it simply because it isn't Power Sink. It doesn't force your opponent to pay what he or she can, meaning that countering multiple spells in a turn is apparently tougher, since your opponent can ignore it and go"sure," as opposed to the cataclysmic effect Power Sink had on your opponents.
But what is the point of comparisons? Power Sink isn't around nowadays, so take what counters you can get! It might not be a hard counter, but Syncopate certainly isn't a soft or middling counter... At worst, it is useless, but at best it totally eliminates the card that defines the format, which is enough to warrant it being played in my books. Disappointingly, Jon Sonne's infamous SnakeTongue deck (the deck that is currently defining the format) that won the New Jersey State Championships only ran two maindeck, and most updated builds of SnakeTongue (Fernando Munafo's, for example) refuse to run it whatsoever, cutting it for experimental space.
What you must realise about Syncopate is that it eliminates Call of the Herd entirely, at very little price to the user. It isn't a particularly inefficient card the rest of the time - it's still a functional counterspell - but for that reason alone, you must strongly consider Syncopate if you are in blue.
Which brings me to my next point - the fact that many players simply contest the Call of the Herd problem with the argument of"If you can't beat them, join them!" and run four Calls themselves. Due to this, Call of the Herd is one of the priciest cards in current Type Two legal cardsets. The same syndrome occurred with Urza's Rage and Fact or Fiction - they simply couldn't be dealt with, so everyone ended up playing them, and they ended up very expensive cards. As if life wasn't tough enough, the odds of you pulling a Call of the Herd in a booster are slim at best.
And thus, the cycle indefinitely continues, until the metagame turns into a topdecking bonanza. But today, we aren't going to settle for that. There are answers to Call of the Herd in front of our very eyes that we are not using. They might not be perfect (or particularly good at all, for that matter), but anything is better than forever opening boosters or paying high prices to online card vendors just to make your deck Tier 1. Here's a number of different angles you can take:
Steamclaw
2, Artifact, Odyssey Uncommon
3, T: Remove target card in a graveyard from the game.
1, Sacrifice Steamclaw: Remove target card in a graveyard from the game.
Steamclaw, being an artifact, can be thrown into any deck wanting to deal with Call of the Herd. Disappointingly, it only removes the potential of the second token, instead of dealing with the first token itself. As a result of this, it isn't a particularly great card, but does deal with the problem of the second, card-advantage-yielding token quite nicely - at two differing prices depending on your situation. It is worth taking into account, though, that against decks without Call of the Herd, Steamclaw is almost entirely worthless.
Coffin Purge
B, Instant, Odyssey Common
Remove target card in a graveyard from the game. Flashback B (You may play this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then remove it from the game.)
Another card that is entirely useless against anything but Call of the Herd - Coffin Purge. It is worth noting that against decks with four Call of the Herd, Coffin Purge can eliminate two Calls at the cost of one card, which is a nice bonus. However, like Steamclaw, it does very little about the tokens in play, which is what makes it almost entirely unplayable - it is too situational to be of use.
Halberdier
3R, Creature - Barbarian 3/1, Odyssey Common
First strike
This much-overlooked Odyssey Common takes out Call of the Herd tokens without breaking into a sweat. However, he is extremely vulnerable to the popular Fire/Ice, and costs more than Call of the Herd, making him a bit of a liability, and quite unreliable.
Æther Burst
1U, Instant, Odyssey Common
Return up to X target creatures to their owners' hands, where X is one plus the number of Æther Burst cards in all graveyards as you play Æther Burst.
This card has been made infamous by Jon Sonne's 1st place New Jersey State Championships build of SnakeTongue. Jon played this card on the basis that, at worst, it removed a token from the game. At best, it could remove several tokens, or remove a token and return a Flametongue Kavu/Mystic Snake to his hand, giving him the means to deal with another token (or another card altogether). This well-thought-out strategy helped Jon make the most of the"comes into play" abilities on his creatures, creating virtual card advantage, and helped his deck become a success. As proven by Jon, in the right deck this is an extremely potent card, as it has a variety of uses regardless of matchups and regardless of whether your opponent is running Call of the Herd or not.
Extract
U, Sorcery, Odyssey Rare
Search target player's library for a card, and remove that card from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
Useful in almost every matchup, Extract can pick off a Call of the Herd in the early or late game (hopefully) and has a variety of uses in a variety of different matchups. It messes around with the math a lot (on the basis that by removing a key card you are making the chances of him or her drawing the other key cards in his or her deck much better) but is valuable on the basis that it allows you to entirely remove one Call of the Herd, and sneaks you a quick peek at their deck as well. This is worth your attention - and although it doesn't seem to have a massive impact on your game, every little bit helps!
Angelic Wall
1W, Creature - Wall 0/4, Odyssey Common
(Walls can't attack.) Flying
This is reasonably priced, and as a bonus it comes out before Call of the Herd tokens begin being produced. Unfortunately, against anything but Call tokens it is useless, and even then it just waits for a removal spell to put it out of its misery, opening the floodgates for the tokens.
Dogged Hunter
2W, Creature - Nomad 1/1, Odyssey Rare
T: Destroy target creature token.
Clearly built to take out Call of the Herd tokens, this card is often overlooked, and many players are outright unaware of it. Although it may be fantastic at what it does, it has to get around summoning sickness, and it is vulnerable to the aforementioned Fire/Ice, as well as every other removal spell in Type Two. So if you can protect him, he has the potential to be an excellent card... But you can't just randomly throw it into your deck and expect miraculous results against Call of the Herd. One interesting way you could play him is to only put him on the table once Call of the Herd has been cast, meaning that although you will take damage, your opponent is forced to deal with him instead of playing around him.
Jade Leech
2GG, Creature - Leech 5/5, Invasion Rare
Green spells you play cost G more to play.
Many people, when faced with Call of the Herd, simply think that they can put a bigger creature in front of it. This is the biggest guy anywhere near him on the mana curve, and takes care of the little tokens quite nicely, as well as serving as a 5/5 beatings-stick against any deck, whatever shape or size. It also takes a sizeable amount of burn to kill (being well out of Flametongue range), making it a card that ought to be a staple... But has been forgotten for some reason or another. This is the best example of a bigger guy to put in front of Call tokens, and is worth your time and effort.
Wash Out
3U, Sorcery, Invasion Uncommon
Return all permanents of the color of your choice to their owners' hands.
A card with very broad uses, Wash Out is only particularly good against Call of the Herd if your opponent overextends with their Call tokens, and you can nip in for a cheap two-for-one.
Recoil
1UB, Instant, Invasion Common
Return target permanent to its owner's hand. Then that player discards a card from his or her hand.
This is also a card with very broad uses, but is useful against Call of the Herd tokens on the basis that it negates the card disadvantage instilled by the fact that you are trading a card for"half a card" (one token) by forcing a discard upon your opponent, thus making it reasonable. It is also useful in almost any matchup, and worth looking at if you are in black and blue.
Vodalian Zombie
UB, Creature - Merfolk Zombie 2/2, Invasion Common
Protection from green
Although he might be protection from green, and have the bonus of coming into play before Call of the Herd (discounting Elves and Birds) Vodalian Zombie is more than likely to be the target of a random Rage, Fire, or Volcanic Hammer, making him quite unreliable and likely to be picked off. However, if your opponent is burning your Vodalian Zombies, that leaves less removal for your Finkel, since you are in U/B, and you could always protect your Zombie with counters. Worth taking a look at, since there is very little in the two-slot for UB.
Barrin's Spite
2UB, Sorcery, Invasion Rare
Choose two target creatures controlled by one player. That player chooses and sacrifices one of them. Return the other to its owner's hand.
Similar to Wash Out, this destroys two tokens if your opponent is overextending aggressively. However, it is extremely situational and without the general usefulness Wash Out provides, and is decidedly inferior to it in almost every respect (rarity, mana cost) although it provides permanent removal in non-Call situations where Wash Out doesn't (but this is offset by the fact your opponent chooses).
Noble Panther
1GW, Creature - Cat 3/3, Invasion Rare
1: Noble Panther gains first strike until end of turn.
This is one of the better answers to Call of the Herd - not susceptible to Fire, Assault, or Shock, with a mana cost on par with Call of the Herd, Noble Panther can fight Call tokens all day long and still come out on top. It is worth getting some insurance in case of Rage, Volcanic Hammer, and Flametongue Kavu (Wax/Wane would be fine), and then you are off, killing tokens left, right and centre whilst providing a serving-for-three threat at the same time. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to ever be played, now that G/W is an unpopular colour combination - which is a crying shame, given its good synergy with other cards in the former archetype and perfect metagame placing.
Lobotomy
2UB, Sorcery, Invasion Uncommon
Look at target player's hand and choose a card other than a basic land card from it. Search that player's graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with the same name as the chosen card and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.
If, somehow, you can resolve this and your opponent is holding and hasn't played Call of the Herd, it takes care of all of your problems entirely. Unfortunately, it is very situational and unreliable, especially given the mana cost, which is higher than the card it is looking to remove.
Voracious Cobra
2RG, Creature - Snake 2/2, Invasion Uncommon
First strike
Whenever Voracious Cobra deals combat damage to a creature, destroy that creature.
At four mana, it is unlikely you can get this off before Call of the Herd, but you don't have to - you simply need him to block, which he can do before the token gets off summoning sickness. Unfortunately, with a toughness of two, the Cobra is subject to all kinds of Fire shenanigans, and is thus extremely unstable and unreliable.
Slay, 2B, Instant, Planeshift Uncommon
Destroy target green creature. It can't be regenerated. Draw a card.
Similar to Recoil, this card can be twinned with Repulse in that it offsets the card disadvantage presented by only removing 'half a card' by drawing a card. Repulse is the better of the two, being more useful in more situations, but Slay is showcased here since it has broad use specifically in the G/R Blitz matchup - and with that being the most popular deck in Type Two more attention ought to be drawn to this card.
Flametongue Kavu
3R, Creature - Kavu 4/2, Planeshift Uncommon
When Flametongue Kavu comes into play, it deals 4 damage to target creature.
As if anyone needed any more reasons to play this card? The theory here is that if you shoot one token with his"comes into play" ability, you can (in theory) trade for the other. However, this isn't a great strategy given that his toughness of two makes him prone to Fire and similar effects, although trading one card for a token and a Fire isn't that bad. Although it doesn't always entirely solve the Call of the Herd dilemma, it has the potential to trade equally for it.
Horned Kavu
RG, Creature - Kavu 3/4, Planeshift Common
When Horned Kavu comes into play, return a red or green creature you control to its owner's hand.
This is probably the best answer to Call of the Herd available, or at least one of them. It can come into play on turn two with a Bird, Elf or other small guy (the same rough time as Call of the Herd) but it has a superior toughness to the Call token, and defeats it in combat easily. In addition to it's token-defeating powers, Horned Kavu can potentially serve for three, isn't scared of Volcanic Hammer or Urza's Rage, and in the late game can be used simply as a vehicle for re-use of your Flametongue Kavus. This card has a lot of potential, and deserves your attention!
Fleetfoot Panther
1GW, Creature - Cat 3/4, Planeshift Uncommon
You may play Fleetfoot Panther any time you could play an instant. When Fleetfoot Panther comes into play, return a green or white creature you control to its owner's hand.
As mentioned before, G/W is no longer popular, but this card is instant-speed Call-token destruction. It has massive surprise value, and even hangs around after defeating the attacking token in combat to fight the second one. It also has a hide big enough to withstand Volcanic Hammer, Fire, or Urza's Rage... But has the drawback of gating, which can easily be taken into account when building your deck. Similar to Horned Kavu, it is efficient given its cost, except this time it has surprise value in its favour. Fleetfoot Panther is an efficient threat, and has a wide variety of uses, but is also unlikely to be played given the unpopularity of G/W.
Meekstone
1, Artifact, 7th Edition Rare
Creatures with power 3 or greater don't untap during their controllers' untap steps.
The oft-forgotten Meekstone works as a quasi-No Mercy against little Elephants - and against G/R Blitz builds on the whole, for that matter. It allows them to hit once, but then shuts them down for good, making the little Call tokens no more than overpriced Flame Jets in a deck with no way of removing the one-cost Meekstone (even against Call-toting SnakeTongue, their counters won't be active on turn one) and certainly no way to untap their guys. However, Meekstone makes deckbuilding a challenge, and requires you to use an alternate win condition: A small but protectable flying creature, or something similar. But it is worth looking at, since it single-handedly makes the once-efficient Call of the Herd an average card at best.
Temporal Adept
1UU, Creature - Wizard 1/1, 7th Edition Rare
UUU, T: Return target permanent to its owner's hand.
This guy comes out on the same turn as Call tokens (without Elves etc) and activates the same turn tokens begin attacking. The Adept can single-handedly deal with Call of the Herd, but has two huge drawbacks - vulnerability to any removal spell (although it could potentially bounce itself, or you might have clever protection for it) and the huge blue requirement. You would need to be extremely heavily in blue to even activate it, and almost mono-blue to activate it and protect it. But if you can make it work, it combats the Call of the Herd problem head-on, and as many times as required.
Spectral Lynx
1W, Creature - Cat 2/1, Apocalypse Rare
Protection from green
B: Regenerate Spectral Lynx.
With built-in protection from green, the Lynx is a powerful anti-Call of the Herd tool. It is also immune to effects such as Fire/Ice and Volcanic Hammer (if you have the mana to regenerate it) and fights off a number of other green creatures as well in a broad variety of matchups. As an added bonus to all this versatility, it even comes into play potentially a turn earlier than the dreaded Call of the Herd. It has one near-fatal drawback, however - the simple fact that it doesn't have enough power to eliminate the Call tokens for good. This makes it no more than an elaborate Wall (albeit one with a threatening two power). So although it has a lot of potential, a lot of versatility, and can stall against Call tokens forever, it cannot work alone, and requires a clock to help it out.
Ebony Treefolk
1BG, Creature - Treefolk 3/3, Apocalypse Uncommon
BG: Ebony Treefolk gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
Finally, Ebony Treefolk. At a 3/3 for the same amount of mana as Call of the Herd, it has the potential to kill off Herd tokens for good by simply bolstering itself. This ability can only be used when you have free mana, however, so it isn't of use when it comes into play (unless you are desperate to trade one card for 'half a card') meaning that it is a bit slower than other answers offered in this article. However, once the Treefolk begin working, they can outright kill Call of the Herd tokens with ease, whilst simultaneously posing a potentially sizeable threat to your opponent's life total, as well as having the potential to jump out of Rage, Volcanic Hammer, and even Flametongue Kavu range. That simple pumping ability makes Ebony Treefolk an extremely potent card against G/R decks that needs to be eliminated the turn it enters play otherwise it causes huge disruption.
There are many other cards that can deal with Call of the Herd, but most of them follow one of the concepts outlined in this article - returning to hand, removing from your opponent's graveyard or library, self-boosting low-costed creatures, early blockers, early-game sizeable threats, two-for-one removal, or protection. If you have read this far, well done to you, as you have just sifted through twenty-five concepts which help you get around Call of the Herd. It is a difficult card to get your hands on - but there are ways in which it can be beaten, and I hope that this article has shed some light on some unique ways to deal with Type Two's biggest threat at the moment. Feel free to send comments etc to me at house_ordos@yahoo.co.uk - I received a number of interesting comments in response to my previous article, and I will make the time to respond to each and every idea or criticism levelled at me.
I hope that this article taught you something that you didn't already know, or showed you new uses for old cards. Thanks again for reading, and happy holidays,
Matthew Tucker
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