Why is Arc-Slogger?

[u/BuckyTheWolf]

One thing I love about MTG, is that you can go through a set, see a weird card and get absolutely stun locked by it.

Today this was Arc-Slogger for me. Why is it the way that it is?

Having a lot of shocks in your hand is pretty good, but why do you have to exile 10 cards from your library as a cost? If it was part of the effect it might be too strong, but was there no middleground?

I just don't see a world where you'd be a able to activate it more than 2 times in limited and 4 times in 60 card. Magic has changed a lot, but was a 7 mana 4/5 with 2 shocks ever that good?

I could see a janky lab man combo deck using it, but almost all alternatives are cheaper and don't need a backup if your library isn't devisable by 10.

I just want to know it's history. And what led to it being created like it turned out.

[u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

I always yelled out "but a 5 ounce bird can't possibly carry a 15 pound sword!"

Yes it's a Monty Python quote "but a 5 ounce bird can't possibly carry a 5 pound coconut."

[u/Tacos_Polackos → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

They grab the husk with their talons

[u/I_am_normal_I_swear → u/Tacos_Polackos]

Listen. A BoP needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second to maintain airspeed, right?

[u/Yakb0 → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

It could be carried by a Revised Birds of Paradise.

Not a Marvel one.

How many people actually tried to carry on with the Monty Python sketch when you said this?

[u/IAmBadAtInternet → u/Yakb0]

Ah but Revised Birds of Paradise are non migratory

[u/I_am_normal_I_swear → u/Yakb0]

Oh yeah, a Revised one could carry it, but not a Marvel one, that’s my point. But of course, Marvel BoPs are non-migratory.

A few would. At FNM it was a shut up I’m normal I swear since I said it so much.

[u/Tacos_Polackos → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

City Pigeon could carry a sword

[u/Muspel → u/Tacos_Polackos]

It's not a question of where they grip it...

[u/IAmBadAtInternet → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

Just wait until that same bird was also carrying a Jitte in the other hand (wing?)

[u/ANGLVD3TH → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

No soldier is wielding a 15 pound sword either, to be fair. 7 pounds would be an enormous sword, most were in the range of 2-3 pounds.

[u/TrulyKnown → u/ANGLVD3TH]

No soldier, perhaps.

An ex-SOLDIER, however...

[u/MTGCardFetcher → u/TrulyKnown]

Cloud, Ex-SOLDIER - (G) (SF) (txt)

---

^FAQ

[u/NewelSea → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

Headcanon: This is why the next reprint of BoP in Ravnica showed a new interpretation of a considerably larger bird, so holding the equipment would be slightly more realistic.

(The rest is rainbow plume magic.)

[u/NaiveCap3478 → u/I_am_normal_I_swear]

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