Pattern Recognition #240 - Ajani, Planeswalker

Features Opinion Pattern Recognition

berryjon

19 May 2022

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Hello everyone! This is Pattern Recognition, TappedOut.Net's longest running article series as written by myself, berryjon. I am something of an Old Fogey who has been around the block quite a few times where Magic is concerned, as as such, I use this series to talk about the various aspects of this game, be it deck design, card construction, mechanics chat, in-universe characters and history. Or whatever happens to cross my mind this week. Please, feel free to dissent in the comments below the article, add suggestions or just plain correct me! I am a Smart Ass, so I can take it.

Sorry for the short-ish article last week, but honestly, it was basically a summary. Each of these cards could use a full article in of themselves, and me just skimming over them is intended to demonstrate trends and general 'This is what Ajani is' things.

So let's jump right back into it, shall we?

Core Magic 2019 saw another pair of Ajani's, much like Kaladesh had. This time, Ajani, Wise Counselor was the one in the Planeswalker preconstructed kit. Now, longtime readers of this series may recognize that I have a few personal biases with regards to card design, and that I find simple effects, even if they have complicated or deep interactions, to be better. And this Ajani is actually very simple, and an excellent way to introduce players to the concept of the Planeswalker. First, his +2 is simple, representative of one of 's core abilities, and also makes sure that you have creatures in play to help defend this version of Ajani.

Secondly, his -3 is curiously costed as equal effects are hard to come by. Other Planeswalkers, like Basri, Devoted Paladin give the same thing as well as Flying for an additional 3 loyalty, or Gideon, Martial Paragon, which as a colossal cost of -10, but also taps down all opponents creatures to ensure the attacks go through. Instead, Flower / Flourish costs more than Ajani does, and requires a second color as well, and Guardians' Pledge only affects White creature, not everything you control. The nearest equal is Makindi Stampede  ^Flip or Stir the Pride or Swell of Courage, while Righteous Charge is much cheaper. What I'm saying is that this is an expensive effect, and Ajani here is actually one of the cheaper and more reliable ways to pull it off.

Lastly, his -9 is something we've seen before, but as it's on a mono- card, and doesn't include , it doesn't also grant Trample. Honestly, I think that this version of Ajani shouldn't need to hit this point as putting all your +1/+1 counters onto one basket is either because the target isn't going to be removed at instant speed and you're going to win that turn. It's situational, but not great.

The non-preconstructed Ajani from M19, Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants should be a little bit better than his Precon counterpart, and while better is definitely there, it's also a little more complicated in nature. First, his +1 is yet another target creature(s) get bigger effect, and one that we've seen before and will see again. Just remember that this version of Ajani can also target creatures your opponents control, if you want to Collar the Culprit or deliver a Sungold Barrage on something. It's an option!

His second ability is actually pretty new. For -2, Ajani can bring a creature with a mana value of 2 or less from your graveyard back to the battlefield. This is an effect that has been getting more often in recent years, and putting it onto a Planeswalker like this gives you a reliable and even repeatable source of this effect. In addition, if the returned creature survives until your next turn, you can then uptick Ajani with a creature on the board to act as a target.

Lastly, his final effect, for -7, you can create three Cats on your end step, from now until eternity. On the surface, this is middling, especially as you're looking at this being turn 7 if you're on Curve and not cheating loyalty or casting cost. But the longer a game goes on, the more tokens you make, the better position you are in. Jetmir, Nexus of Revels doesn't need a new toy to play with, but this Ajani is well set up to go into that sort of deck, and Anointed Procession turns those 3 into 6 Cats. Which is quite a lot, and can quickly outvalue pretty much everything that isn't Scute Swarm. It's great setup, but in a vacuum, it's only a middling payoff.

Our next Ajani is not Ajani at all, but really is. So, short story here, but in the leadup to the release of Rivals of Ixaland, the second set in that mini-block, the packages for the booster packs were leaked, as was seen here, on the Magic Spoiler website from back in 2017. At that point in time, Ixaland was known as Atlazan, and Rivals was named Conquest of Power. Well, because of this accidental release, there was still some time to change some things in the set, including re-naming the sets from what you saw there to what we got, and most importantly...

Changing the Ajani that was slated to be in that set to post-character development, no longer Huatli.

I'm serious, look at that card, and with just the abilities, tell me that isn't Ajani. Even the art is unique, never been used for another version of Ajani, ever!

So, with that honorary mention out of the way, let's go to the next actual Ajani card printed. Ajani, the Greathearted shows Ajani as he was busy saving lives during the War of the Spark, and it shows. It's also, in my opinion, his best version.

First, he has a Static Ability. Like many others form this set, Wizards experimented with Planeswalkers having such a thing, and honestly, this was something the players wanted, and when it was delivered, everyone was happy. To whit, Ajani hands out Vigilance to all your creatures. All the time. No ability activation required. He just does, because he's awesome like that.

Now, his first activated ability is nothing to write home about. For +1, Ajani can give you three life. This isn't much, but it was around this time that really started to pick up Lifegain (ugh), and started to really use it as a trigger condition for other cards.

But the real power of the card was his last ability. For -2, you put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control and a loyalty counter on each other planeswalker you control. And I've mentioned before that putting counters onto walkers is one of the most powerful effects you can get, but this Ajani does it for cheap, both in terms of initial mana investment, as well as Loyalty cost. He can do this twice without needing to uptick his own loyalty, meaning that you're probably getting the full effect here. That's a lot of counters and loyalty.

But what really made him amazing was that he was in a set where Proliferate made a comeback. Now, for those who don't know what that mechanic does, it allows the player to resolve a spell or ability that tells you to proliferate, to choose any number of players or permanents with counters on them, and then they may add an additional counter of each type to that permanent.

Ajani could down-tick, give out lots of love to everyone else, then that player could then cast Courage in Crisis and double the gifts Ajani handed out, partially recouping the cost of the ability in the process.

What I'm saying is that this Ajani is the Best Ajani, hands down. No arguing. Just nod and agree.

Magic Core M20 had another pair of Ajani Planeswalkers in it, for now that Gideon was dead, and with Basri and Teyo nowhere to be seen, he was the last mono- Planeswalker standing. However, his pre-constructed deck version, Ajani, Inspiring Leader, well, really isn't all the inspiring. With a Mana Value of , he comes down relatively late, and at that point, you only have a couple viable options. First, with +2, Ajani splits his focus and both gives you life, as well as putting +1/+1 counters onto a single target creature (that could even be not-yours!).

Secondly, he again dips into 's single-target removal, for with a cost of -3, he can exile some poor creature, and pay a small fee of giving that creature's controller 2 life for the loss. A great exchange! Really!

Lastly, for an extreme cost of -10, your creatures get Flying and Double Strike until the end of the turn. Look, if you've managed to cast this guy, and uptick him three times, and then have a viable boardstate to go all out with this last ability? You deserve the win.

Ajani, Strength of the Pride is one of those few Planeswalkers with no 'Ultimate' Loyalty ability outside of War of the Spark, and he is designed from first ability to last as an internally cohesive whole, rather than the often-times slap-dash integration of other Planeswalkers.

At +1, Ajani give you Life equal to the number of creatures and Planeswalkers you control. For once, he can now count himself when giving you life! Of course, this is just part of a larger combo-piece.

The second part of the piece is his -2. This card creates a token copy of a pre-existing card, Ajani's Pridemate, which has been printed several times since Core 2011, including Core 2015, Core 2019, War of the Spark and... Time Spiral Remastered?!??!

What the hell? That card wasn't in that set....! Wait. Nevermind. Time Shifted sheet. Sorry. I was worried over nothing. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Right, where was I? Oh yeah. You see, Ajani can make a creature, then on the next turn, uptick himself, gaining you at least two life. This triggers the Pridemate's ability, making the token bigger! And more creatures and Planeswalkers means that you gain more life when you +1!

Which leads into his final ability. For a neutral loyalty cost of 0... well, I'll let him speak for himself: If you have at least 15 life more than your starting life total, exile Ajani, Strength of the Pride and each artifact and creature your opponents control.

That's right, in a Standard/Modern format game, if you make it to 35 life with Ajani - usually by having creatures out and about, you can effectively pull a Magus of the Disk on your opponents, but not you. Meaning you now have a clear board with all those creatures you've made and pumped up to swing for the win.

Behold! An example of a well-designed Planeswalker!

But, you may have noticed that I skipped one. Well, this next Ajani was actually the second one, from Shards of Alara, and represented Ajani when he was in a darker, more rage-filled place. This Ajani is different from all the others, and because of that, I have to separate him from the rest.

And honestly, if Wizards ever does a Planar Chaos 2, and really shows us alternate realities, a full-bore Angry Ajani is pretty high on the list of what I would like to see.

Anyway, Angry Ajani - sorry, Ajani Vengeant - starts out with a very ability. For +1, you can tap down a creature not only for your turn, but it won't untap as normal during its controller's next untap step. While you mostly see this in nowadays, because can't have nice things, and can only tap down until the next turn, such as with Giant Killer. So this is a nice effect as Ajani can pick something that could be a danger to himself and temporarily keep it cowed and huddled in a corner somewhere. Becuase he's Angry.

Ajani can also cast Lightning Helix. Which is pretty amazing considering how powerful that card was in Ravnica Standard, which was still living memory, having just rotated out of the format. Sure, you have to pay -2, but that's a small price to pay for Ajani to just kill something, and give you life in the process. Of course, using this right off the bat can be bad for Ajani's lifespan, given that it places him in the position of only having one Loyalty. If only there were more ways to put Loyalty Counters on Planeswalkers in either of those colours...?

And should you somehow push him up to being able to turn on his -7? Well, that's game right there. You effectively remove a player from the game, and you do so by removing all their lands. I hope there's no Dingus Egg in play to add insult to injury. Not that I have ever done that.

I haven't. My Land Destruction is based on Zo-Zu the Punisher.

But that's all for the Ajani-as-card. But who is he, really?

Well, Ajani is a solved character. No, not like that. I mean, it's true, but that's a poor way to describe it. Ajani as a character has had his development. His path from Ajani Goldmane to Ajani Vengeant to Ajani, Mentor of Heroes is a known quality, done and the better for it. He has had his time in the narrative spotlight, and on some level, he is done. There's nothing left for him.

It's just sad that his story, from Shard of Alara, is so far in the past that his journey has been forgotten. He's seen for himself what happens when you let anger and rage rule your heart, and has learned from what he knows now was the error of his ways. On Ravnica, he didn't sally forth to try and kill Bolas. No, he spent his time helping the innocent and Planeswalkers alike to survive the invasion.

Because that's who he is. He knows that anger and vengeance are hollow things. That they will leave more holes and emptiness than they fill. He has seen for himself the depredations of those who are, in the words of Minsc, true monsters. He cares, for monsters do not care.

Ajani is now a solid and dependable character in the story, who may see some more advancement in the near future as the sordid story of New Phyrexia comes back to haunt us. He will certainly want to account for what happened to Tamiyo, who is a friend of his.

But really, Ajani is loyal, dependable, and he has your back. What more can you ask for? He's not going to solve all your problems for you, but he will give you the strength to solve them for yourself.

What a bro.

We need more Ajani.

Join me next week when I talk about something else. I think I'm going to rehash one of my older articles, and see how things have changed with regards to its subject matter over the years.

Until then please consider donating to my Pattern Recognition Patreon. Yeah, I have a job, but more income is always better. I still have plans to do a audio Pattern Recognition at some point, or perhaps a Twitch stream. And you can bribe your way to the front of the line to have your questions, comments and observations answered!