Legends Legends: Dakkon Blackblade part four: Finishing Moves

 Richard Kane-Ferguson

    Richard Kane-Ferguson is the artist behind the truly villaionous artwork for Dakkon Blackblade. He's captured the classic "evil swordsman" trope beautifully; everything from the glowing eyes set in the skull on his shoulder, or the spikes on his gauntlet and weapon, or his nasty snarl, RKF brought this character to life instantly.

     His style is unique and essential to early MTG. The dreamy, ethereal environments and gloomy portraits feature as some of my favorite cards in the game. His work is peppered throughout the original class of Legends Legendaries. I’ve included some RKF-art versions of staples, as well as a few flavor picks to round out the deck. 

-Dakkon, Shadow Slayer

    His new incarnation, granted a Planeswalker card type at long last. He’s a fairly simple gimmick; cast him whenever you can, generate value by digging through the deck or removing (Exiling!) a creature here or there, then grab whatever equipment you banked in your graveyard earlier with his final loyalty ability. Flames have been added for dramatic effect, and a pedestal with an orb sits within pondering distance of Dakkon. The card was also printed with a more "updated" variant, with artwork by Jake Murray, and a "sketch" variant of RKF's art. 

-Arcane Denial

When it comes to RKF, you’re spoiled for Counterspell alternatives. And by that I mean you have a single spell with two different printings in the same set (sound familiar?) Arcane Denial’s first appearance all the way back in Alliances had two separate versions, Axe (22a) and Sword (22b). Arcane Denial is a Counterspell for one and a blue instead a true Counterspell's two blue, an advantage in a deck running two other colors. The drawback is your opponent may draw up to two cards on the next upkeep. I prefer this over other disruption;  it replaces that spell you just countered (and then some), but it doesn’t do so until the following turn. In a multiplayer pod, that next turn isn’t necessarily that opponent’s turn, and board states can change drastically by the time the round actually comes back to you. 

-Korlash, Heir to Blackblade

    Ok, I’ll admit it. In this deck, Korlash is bad. He’s here for looks alone. Grandeur does basically nothing in this format (with the exception of one insane combo involving Words of Wind, Chromatic Sphere, and the timing on when you “pay” the cost of abilities). He’s only great when I can get all 7 or 8 of my Swamp type lands into play. It’s a careful balancing act when I need him as a threat but also need to continue casting nonblack spells. He also regenerates, which is just a favorite mechanic of mine, it’s not great or cost-effective, but it’s neat to have the option. 

-Profane Tutor

    You’ve got to have some tutors. Why not run the one with Dakkon in the art? At ~$3 (at the time of writing), this card is cheap alternative to Demonic Tutor. In an opening hand, this card shines. Cast as early as turn two, and resolve it when the board has developed a bit more and you’ll know better what you need. Sure, you’re broadcasting the spell for two whole turns to a board of blue commanders sometimes, that shouldn’t stop you from saving ~$40 on a card that has a retro frame printing. An interesting note: Profane Tutor spiked in price in the weeks following it's release, which I find odd considering it's always going to be a functionaly worse version of Demonic Tutor, and maybe about even with a Diabolic Tutor. 

-Blackblade Reforged (Signature Spellbook)

    Of course you must include THE Blackblade. I shouldn’t have to explain why; just know that at two mana it’s an amazing tutor target for Tribute Mage. RKF’s version, from Signature Spellbook: Gideon, rules. 

    Finally, I made the choice to not include any of the mentions of Gideon and the Blackblade, even though there are a few more cards featuring them. Most aren’t particularly exciting for this deck, and Gideon hardly deserves the Blackblade, incapable of even killing Bolas with it. (Bolas did enchant it years prior to their fight to make the blade harmless to Elder Dragons… but that’s not important). 

    That wraps up the Dakkon Blackblade primer for the Legends Legends series. Next week I'll be building a new deck instead of one I've owned and played for years. Should be fun!

view the decklist here

read part one here

read part two here

read part three here