"Dread" is a 6/6 black elemental incarnation printed as a rare for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Lorwyn." From the looks of Dread, you may want to put this in a control deck with black cards. So far, it is the type of card that makes opponents think twice before attacking you. With the right cards on the battlefield, Dread gets a lot of interaction via its abilities.
The converted mana cost for Dread is six. You will need three black mana and three colorless mana to bring Dread from your hand and onto the battlefield. For what Dread can do, the converted mana cost is well worth it. You can use artifacts and enchantments to accelerate your mana pool. You can even use "Dark Ritual" to as a means to help get Dread onto the battlefield early in the game.
What does Dread do in the first place?
Dread is a creature with three very interesting abilities. The first ability is Fear. Fear means that whenever Dread attacks, it cannot be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures. This works against decks that neither have black creatures nor artifact creatures. In this respect, you can swing at opponents for up to six points of damage.
The second ability allows Dread to destroy creatures that deal damage to you. In this respect, Dread does not target any creature. It automatically destroys creatures that deal damage to you. In this respect, you have found a loophole against Shroud and Protection from Black.
The third ability allows you to shuffle Dread back into your library when it gets sent to the graveyard. In this respect, you may be able to bring Dread back onto the battlefield. With the right cards, you can search the library for Dread.
The card has three great abilities. However, you can very much abuse the second ability to make things back for your opponent.
If combined with "Vicious Shadows," an opponent will receive more punishment for messing with you. Whenever a creature gets sent to the graveyard, you can target a player and Vicious Shadows will deal X points of damage to him/her equal to the number of cards in his/her hand.
If combined with "Extractor Demon," you can pick a player and have him/her mill the top two cards of his/her library into the graveyard whenever a creature is sent to the graveyard from the battlefield.
With "Prince of Thralls," the controllers of those creatures sent to the graveyard either pay three points of life or allow them to come back onto the battlefield under your control.
When Dread is combined with such cards, it becomes a very vital card. The second ability has great interaction with other card abilities. In a red and black deck, you can combine Dread with "Rage Reflection." Rage Reflection gives all your creatures Double Strike. A 6/6 creature with Double Strike is always good.
Overall, Dread is a pretty good card. If you are playing any deck with black cards, Dread is something that is worth looking into for the most part. With certain cards, Dread becomes devastating.
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