Orcish Oriflamme MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: One of the key benefits of the Orcish Oriflamme is its ability to alter the course of the battlefield without the need for multiple cards. By boosting the attack power of all your creatures, it effectively amplifies the value of each creature card you have in play, offering a form of card advantage through quality of your forces rather than sheer quantity.

Resource Acceleration: Orcish Oriflamme can be seen as a form of resource acceleration. Although it doesn’t directly produce mana, by increasing the damage output of your creatures, it enables a faster pathway to victory. Speeding up the game in your favor is a form of indirect resource acceleration, since you’re getting more from the resources you’ve already invested in your creatures.

Instant Speed: While Orcish Oriflamme itself is not an instant, its enduring effect on the battlefield creates a situation where each creature you play afterwards can be seen as having instant impact. Creatures that would otherwise be unthreatening can suddenly become serious threats the moment they hit the board, catching opponents unprepared and offering tactical advantages similar to casting spells at instant speed.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Orcish Oriflamme doesn’t have this particular downside, however, cards with a discard requirement can strain your hand, especially if you’re already dealing with a limited number of cards.

Specific Mana Cost: While Orcish Oriflamme requires one generic and one red mana, its specific need for red mana may not fit all deck types, making it less versatile than colorless options or those with hybrid mana costs. This can be problematic in multicolored decks that are not heavily red.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that amounts to two mana, Orcish Oriflamme could be considered reasonable. However, in today’s fast-paced games, players may opt for cheaper alternatives that provide similar or greater immediate impact on the battlefield.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Orcish Oriflamme is a card that can easily find a home in red aggressive decks or those looking to amplify their attack phase. It’s a classic card that can bolster the damage output of your creatures, making even your smallest tokens potential threats.

Combo Potential: When combined with cards that generate numerous creatures, Orcish Oriflamme can significantly increase the pressure you put on your opponents. It’s great for strategies that swarm the board, turning quantity into quality with its power-boosting ability.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta that favors creature-based strategies, Orcish Oriflamme shines by tipping combat math in your favor. This historic card still holds relevance in various formats where aggressive tactics are employed, proving that sometimes the old ways still have a bite.

How to Beat Orcish Oriflamme

Orcish Oriflamme is a classic aura from the realm of Magic the Gathering that can tip the scales by enhancing your creatures’ attack power. With a modest mana investment, this enchantment can make an army of smaller creatures more formidable. However, it’s not without its vulnerabilities. Its power lies in its ability to remain on the battlefield, so direct removal spells or enchantment destruction are effective ways to dismantle the strategy that Orcish Oriflamme encourages.

One effective strategy against Orcish Oriflamme is prioritizing the removal of the aura itself. Naturalize and Disenchant are both efficient answers, clearing the way without losing card advantage. It’s also a nonbo with mass bounce effects like Cyclonic Rift that can reset the board, rendering Orcish Oriflamme useless without creatures to enhance. It’s always wise to manage the board presence of smaller creatures to lessen its impact. Finally, don’t underestimate the value of counterspells to prevent Orcish Oriflamme from ever hitting the board. Control the flow of the game, and this enchantment’s flame will flicker out.