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Magic the Gathering card analysis: Akroma, Angel of Fury

by Can Tran

"Akroma, Angel of Fury" is a 6/6 legendary red angel printed as a rare for the Magic the Gathering expansion set known as "Planar Chaos." It is the alternate version of the legendary white angel known as "Akroma, Angel of Wrath." So far, Akroma Angel of Fury looks to be a great card to have if you are playing an aggressive red deck. This is somewhat feasible in a five-color angel deck provided that you have the necessary mana fixing and mana acceleration.


The converted mana cost for Akroma, Angel of Fury is eight. You are going to need three red mana and five colorless mana to play Akroma, Angel of Fury from your hand onto the battlefield. For what Akroma, Angel of Fury can do, the mana cost may seem to be worth it. However, it would take some time to play without the right mana acceleration. You will need mana fixing in a five color deck. However, there are alternative means to play Akroma, Angel of Fury. Keep in mind that Akroma, Angel of Fury is a legendary creature and that it is subject to the "legendary rule." Should there be two cards on the battlefield named Akroma, Angel of Fury, on the battlefield, they both get sent to the graveyard.


What does Akroma, Angel of Fury do in the first place?


Akroma, Angel of Fury comes with a smorgasbord of abilities. This is one reason that Akroma, Angel of Fury is good for a mono red deck. In multicolored deck, mana acceleration and mana fixing are necessary if one wants to actually be able to bring out Akroma, Angel of Fury.


The first ability of Akroma, Angel of Fury is that it cannot be countered. As soon as you play Akroma, Angel of Fury, no opponent can play spells such as "Counterspell," "Cancel," "Induce Paranoia," "Perplex," and so forth. Any creature you can bring onto the battlefield that does not have to deal with the risk of being countered is always a good one.


The second ability is Flying. Should you attack with Akroma, Angel of Fury and your opponent has creatures with neither Flying nor Reach, then s/he is taking six points of combat damage.


The third ability is Trample. Should your opponent manage to block, then s/he is still taking combat damage. Trample is always a good ability to have if and when you are attacking let alone aggressively.


It has Protection from White and Protection from Blue. It means that spells and abilities coming from blue sources will not work on Akroma, Angel of Fury. It can block blue and white creatures without receiving combat damage. If your opponent has nothing but blue and/or white creatures, Akroma, Angel of Fury cannot be blocked. This makes a good sideboard against white and blue decks.


For each red mana spent, you can temporarily give Akroma, Angel of Fury +1/+0 until the end of the turn. This can be combined with Flying and Trample. In this respect, you could really mess up an opponent.


The final ability gives an alternate means of playing Akroma, Angel of Fury. You can pay three colorless mana to play it face down as a 2/2 morph creature. Just make sure an opponent does not pop it off before you manage to get three red mana and three colorless mana. Once you get that mana, you can pay it and turn it face up.


A good method would be to use "Jhoira of the Ghitu." You can use its ability to Exile Akroma, Angel of Fury from your hand for four turns. It would give Akroma, Angel of Fury Suspend 4. After all the time counters are removed, you can play it without paying the mana cost. Plus, it has Haste. Being able to give Akroma, Angel of Fury the ability of Haste is a good thing.


In a pure red deck, you can use enchantments such as "Fervor" and "Rage Reflection." Fervor gives all of your creatures Haste. Rage Reflection gives all of your creatures Double Strike. With certain cards on the battlefield, you can definitely get a lot out of Akroma, Angel of Fury. Overall, Akroma, Angel of Fury is a pretty impressive card for the most part. If you are playing aggressively with red, this is a card worth looking into. In a multicolored angel deck, this is a potential card to have.



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