The Phyrexians are on Dominaria and a war has broken out in Magic: The Gathering’s next set, Dominaria United.
All hands are on deck to repel the Phyrexians from establishing total control over the plane. To reflect this, Dominaria United is introducing a new mechanic called Enlist. It’s a combat mechanic that buffs an attacking creature by tapping another creature that isn’t attacking.
The official reminder text for Enlist is found on Guardian of New Benalia. It reads, “As this Creature attacks, you may tap a nonattacking Creature you control without summoning sickness. When you do, add its power to this Creature’s until end of turn.”
Guardian of New Benalia is a Rare that looks like it’ll be a great creature in Limited and slot nicely into aggressive White decks in Standard.
Guardian of New Benalia
- Mana value: 1W
- Type: Creature Human Soldier
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 2/2
- Keyword: Enlist
- First ability: Whenever Guardian of New Benalia enlists a Creature, scry 2.
- Second ability: Discard a card: Guardian of New Benalia gains indestructible until the end of turn. Tap it.
Guardian of New Benalia will fit right into Mono-White lists looking for a replacement for Luminarch Aspirant in the two-mana slot next to Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Intrepid Adversary.
This will act similar to Adonto Vanguard during the previous Dominaria’s Standard format as a formidable early-game threat that will be hard to remove. Being able to discard a card to give Guardian of New Benalia indestructible will force the opponent to spend multiple removal spells to get rid of it.
The balance is not wanting to overcommit to protecting Guardian of New Benalia to the point where you’re left with no cards in hand. Mono-White Aggro wants to end the game fast but should be able to still put up a fight in the mid-game. For that, you’ll need cards in hand so as to not be outpaced by Black or Blue decks and their card draw.
Getting to scry every time Guardian of New Benalia enlists is a solid source of card selection. Enlist also doubles as a way to tap creature cards without having to put them into combat. This can become relevant when used with cards like Magda, Brazen Outlaw that have an effect whenever it becomes tapped.
Dominaria United releases on Magic Arena and Magic Online on Sept. 1, with a worldwide tabletop release scheduled for Sept. 9.
