by Can Tran

Created on: November 06, 2009

"Linessa, Zephyr Mage" is a 3/3 legendary blue human wizard printed as a rare for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Future Sight." This is perhaps one of the cards in a sense that could pretty much save your creatures. At the same time, this is one of the cards that can throw off an opponent. In a control deck with blue cards, Linessa, Zephyr Mage is a card worth looking into.

The converted mana for Linessa, Zephyr Mage is four. You will need one blue mana and three colorless mana to play Linessa, Zephyr Mage from your hand onto the battlefield. For what Linessa, Zephyr Mage can do, the casting cost seems to be reasonable enough for the most part. Keep in mind that Linessa, Zephyr Mage is a legendary creature and is subject to the "legendary rule." It means that if there are two cards on the battlefield named Linessa, Zephyr Mage, both of them get sent to the graveyard.

What does Linessa, Zephyr Mage do in the first place?

Linessa, Zephyr Mage has two interesting abilities for the most part. The first ability allows you to pay two blue mana and X colorless mana. By doing this, you tap Linessa, Zephyr Mage. Doing so allows you to return a target creature with converted mana cost of X to its owner's hand.

Say that your opponent has an annoying and bothersome creature that costs six mana, you pay two blue mana and six colorless mana to use Linessa, Zephyr Mage back to its owner's hand. That slows down your opponent's momentum for the most part. You can even do this yourself. If someone is about to destroy Linessa, Zephyr Mage, you can use the ability and send that card back to your hand.

It has this other ability called Grandeur. This only works if you have at least two Linessa, Zephyr Mage cards in your deck. If there is one on the battlefield and one in your hand, discard the one in your hand. Doing so makes a target player return a target creature s/he controls back to the owner's hand. The process is repeated for an artifact, an enchantment, and a land. This ability comes in very handy in regards to messing up an opponent's momentum.

For these reasons, Linessa, Zephyr Mage should be used in a blue control deck. Due to the mana cost, it would seem that it is a good general for a blue EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) deck.

Overall, Linessa, Zephyr Mage seems to be interesting for the most part. In order to get the most out of Linessa, Zephyr Mage, you want to build a control deck. This is a card that is meant for controlling the momentum of the game.

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