Iroas's Champion MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Iroas’s Champion may not directly enable drawing cards, its presence on the battlefield can often pressure opponents into unfavorable trades or using up removal spells, ultimately working towards tipping card advantage in your favor.

Resource Acceleration: Iroas’s Champion is a creature that demands an immediate answer. With its double strike ability, it has the potential to generate tremendous damage output, accelerating the pace at which you deplete your opponent’s resources and move towards victory.

Instant Speed: Although Iroas’s Champion itself is not an instant, it synergizes well with other instant-speed tricks and buffs in the MTG arsenal. Casting buffs or combat tricks at instant speed to support this creature can turn combat phases heavily in your favor, often catching opponents off guard.

Card Cons

Specific Mana Cost: Iroas’s Champion requires both red and white mana to be cast, obligating players to commit to a Boros (red and white) color scheme within their decks. This can restrict deck-building options and make the Champion less versatile overall.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost of three mana, Iroas’s Champion may compete with other three-mana creatures in terms of board impact. In a game where tempo can be vital, it might not always be the most mana-efficient choice for aggressive strategies.

Discard Requirement: While the Champion does not have a discard requirement, it is worth noting that its double strike ability often demands additional cards, like combat tricks or auras, to be truly effective. This additional requirement can indirectly lead to card disadvantage if not managed carefully.

Reasons to Include Iroas’s Champion in Your Collection

Versatility: Iroas’s Champion fits comfortably within aggressive or midrange decks, capitalizing on its double strike ability to deal damage efficiently. It operates well in multiple color strategies, particularly those looking to utilize red and white synergies.

Combo Potential: The double strike feature of this creature can combine seamlessly with auras, equipment, or buffs that increase its attack power, turning it into a formidable threat that can take opponents by surprise and deliver impactful hits early in the game.

Meta-Relevance: With a steady presence of control decks that aim to stabilize in the mid-game, Iroas’s Champion provides a robust option for applying persistent pressure. It challenges opponents to have an immediate answer, and its double strike can quickly deplete life totals before defenses are fully set up.

How to beat

Iroas’s Champion is a notable creature card for its double strike ability, allowing it to deal both first-strike and regular combat damage. To gain an upper hand against this card in a game of MTG, it’s crucial to have strategies in place. Control decks that can manage the board with removal spells are particularly effective. For example, instant-speed removal like Path to Exile or Fatal Push can disrupt your opponent’s momentum by taking out the Champion before it has a chance to swing for damage.

Playing creatures with deathtouch is also a solid tactic, as just one point of damage from a deathtouch creature is enough to destroy Iroas’s Champion, irrespective of its power. Additionally, using board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation can reset the playing field, leaving your opponent without their key creature. Preventative measures such as counterspells or hand disruption to remove the Champion from play before it hits the table are equally effective. Overall, the key is to either deal with Iroas’s Champion before it becomes active or to mitigate its impact through smart removal and defensive plays.