MTG Top 10: Four Mana 5/5s | Magic: the Gathering | Episode 384

[@johngleeman8347]

For the longest time I thought Juzam Djinn was a 2 mana 5/5 because the 2 colorless mana bubble is so darn faint in the mana cost part of the card. XD

[@TheSlinja]

glad I wasnt the only one LOL, the symbols in that set are rough in general shoutout to aladdins lamp

[@Alpha_November]

0000

[@Son_of_Pandora]

Yeah, I thought like that too at the beginig. But it would make it way too busted

[@Thiseffinguyhere]

I hope that "for the longest time" means "until the first time I played against someone who knew what they were doing."

[@letsmakeit110]

@@Thiseffinguyhere back to reddit with you

[@basoon87]

One thing you didn't mention about Rumbling Slum was that the one damage could also trigger Bloodthirst without an attack, which was sometimes relevant for the Gruul aggro decks of the time.

[@MrJZ367]

"A four mana 5/5 needs serious drawbacks to be balanced" Throne of Eldraine: "how about a three mana 5/5 that can always block and only needs a 1/1 to attack?" ELD was so fucking busted lol

[@zachary7573]

It can even make the token for just 1 additional mana 🤯

[@ryanhamlin8759]

Well there is also Nullhide Ferox in Guilds of Ravnica too. 4 mana 6/6

[@NicerDicerSmart]

@@ryanhamlin8759 that thing had a hefty downside though

[@ryanhamlin8759]

@@NicerDicerSmart I mean if you are a mostly creature based deck(mono green typically is), that downside is almost none existent. You can pretty often play him turn 3, provided you played a mana dork turn 1 or 2. And he makes any removal cost 2 more to cast effectively, so at best they are looking at turn 5-6 to deal with him. By then he has already put it work. And in mono green, having the mana to cast something with the tax he makes you pay isn't that big a deal. I have never had an issue running him. People usually concede with a turn three Ferox, followed by a turn 4 Ferox. Not to mention he plays so we'll into ghalta

[@ryanhamlin8759]

It's hilarious when someone turn one Thought Seizes you, makes you discard the Ferox, cause they didn't read all the text, and it goes straight to the battle field lol

[@Aggrobuns]

Glad to see Blastoderm in these lists. A playset included in a Nemesis precon deck and it rocked my playgroup in my high school. Loved playing that guy.

[@michasmolen8311]

Same! One of the strongest cards I owned in my first phase of MtG. I played it in otherwise trashy, slow mono green deck.

I'm sad that Obliterator doesn't see play in black devotion or anything.

[@TheMCGamer2012]

I remember shipping out nearly a hundred cards back in the days of Pucatrade ~2016 for my first playset of Obliterators which I planned to cast off Lake of the Dead... unfortunately I no longer have either...

[@chrisiver8506]

Too bad its not legal in pioneer.

[@edtorgerson1009]

I know, right? such a loss in standard, definitely makes mono-black commander or modern devotion BS more viable by a long shot

Big sad all around. It's really easy to remove, so I guess that's the reason why it's not played. I suppose the gap between "meta" and "casual" black devotion is too wide.

[@baileynicholson251]

It does. Black devotion just doesn't see play...

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

I must admit I'm quite surprised by how little the points on here are, I expected Juzam Djinn to have a lot more points than that. Maybe I can get it to #1 by running it in every Vintage deck. And perhaps, one day, it will make it into "Top 10 Vintage Cards (Minus Power 9)"!

[@SirCorn]

Godspeed!

[@sxztube]

I love and appreciate the content, Nizzahon, thank you! I’d be very interested to see one on the top ranked deck types at Magic’s highest level of competition!

[@SisypheanSeas13]

Phyrexian Obliterator is one of my top 10 favorite cards ever.

[@crooker23]

for some reason really happy to see advent wurm here, one of my favorite cards from when I started playing again

[@AidanWR]

I'm curious if there's enough creatures with points to make a top 10 10/10 list. I think it's just short, but I don't know how many have 1 point

[@copperfield42]

there are 20 creatures that are 10/10, but 4 of those are from commander set so I doubt those have any point, and I guess the winner would be Ulamog

[@murpl1462]

i only count 8 or 9 that might be playable during their times in standard

[@nicolasramirez5540]

Is it weird that I enjoy these videos so much even though I haven't played MTG in over 15 years?

[@ahabsbane]

Time to break out some of those sweet sweet vintage cards!

[@GellyVelly]

Heck yeah! It's cool seeing some love for Advent Of The Wurm. I only know found out it ever say tournament play cause NO ONE but me played it in my area when it was in standard. But yeah, flashing in a 5/5 to block their guy and then attacking next turn for game was totally fun.

[@joncarroll2040]

This list brings me back to high school when a first turn Juzam was pretty much game over.

[@MINERVAtheDREAMEATER]

Love watching these vids when i get home from a long shift at the bar

[@es-iic2897]

One of the reasons why I subscribed and like the videos. Adding Polukranos to my monogreen EDH deck. Never knew of him and wowzer!

[@User-jo7jp]

that thumbnail... its been my favorite art on my favorite card for 27 years now. i never get tired of just how slick it looks.

[@danielfcastro]

I love the flavour text on that one.

[@alaraplatt8104]

i love the old art on blastoderm!

[@frankvandorp9732]

Juzam Djinn was colorshifted to red and reprinted in Modern Horizons 1, as Ravenous Giant. No one even noticed that card, that's what 25 years of power creep does. Same thing more or less happened with Blastoderm and Calciderm.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Calciderm has one GP top 8, so it was more noticed, but yeah, you aren't wrong.

[@StormDragonZ]

I look forward to my favorite type one day, the 5 mana 4/3.

[@Ceracio]

Drider gang, UNITE

[@Vinterloft]

Jade Leech was in Fires of Yavimaya, one of the most successful Invasion block decks

[@efrenurbina1654]

Polukranos was my first hydra card and a staple in all my hydra decks for a long time

[@PokeBattlerJaze]

The only one I can even think of is Polkunkranos or however you spell that legendary hydra from Theros block Edit: Well shit, just a lucky guess with that one

[@yoav.kats6328]

Polukranos ,world eater

[@edtorgerson1009]

Honestly it's all about the other black green Polukranos, between it's fight ability and the easy leeway for +1 counter shenanigans possible it's super busted

[@Xoulrath_]

@@edtorgerson1009 you're not wrong. I use it in my current Historic deck, and it wreaks havoc on my opponent's board state if they don't remove it immediately. It also just gets to come back later. I find it to be much better than World Eater.

[@alaraplatt8104]

@@edtorgerson1009 the incredible shrinking hydra

[@herbbranan78]

It's interesting how only the Pack Master has points outside of Block or Standard, and only 2 points at that. It shows what kind of creature power is really needed at 4 CMC to break that barrier. Once you get past 3 CMC, usually the critter is being cheated into play anyways, so it might as well cost 8+ and have insane stats.

[@WhatRyansReading]

I was sure that price on Juzam Djinn must be a typo...WOW.

[@Fresh_Pants]

Reserved list is OP. Wizards plz nerf

[@BCWasbrough]

The sad part is, he's never been cheap to buy.

[@User-jo7jp]

@@BCWasbrough i bought mine a decade ago for $200... and i had to talk myself into THAT! looks like I'll never get my playset lol

[@strawhataddison]

@@User-jo7jp Nice! Seems like a smart investment now!

[@scottcowgill3839]

My favorite 4 mana 5/5. Was the Phrexian Scuta. Was sad it wasn't on the list.

[@Angel-lc2le]

Well... I think the phyrexian obliterator is the best 5/5 for 4.

[@dreadmawgaming]

Yupp

[@sombat2788]

I suppose one downside to "Advent..." is it could get hit by "Negate", which was almost certainly everywhere Blue was in its time in standard block. Of course, that's why we ran Loxodon Smiter instead and/or also ran a playset of Voice of Resurgence. There was a considerable amount of Blue hate in that standard environment, which is why I only suppose it could've been a downside. I mean, four other cards from that time immediately come to mind: Skylasher, Mistcutter Hydra, Witchstalker, & Gainsay. There must be even more that I'm forgetting.

[@theroadtooldschoolmtg7269]

I'm surprised Balduvian Horde isn't on the list. That was one of the premiere cards in Alliances. Many red decks used it.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I was surprised too, but it has very few points.

[@andrewbunner3591]

The second I saw this video I KNEW Phyrexian Obliterator would be in it. Hands down of my favorite creatures in the game. I love the ones I have.

[@mattblom3990]

Phyrexian Obliterator is my favourite card. It's one of the only cards when playing casual the opponent usually just concedes to.

[@SisypheanSeas13]

*Behold blessed perfection*

[@mattblom3990]

@@SisypheanSeas13 With those stats, yes :)

[@hiimemily]

I knew the Leech was gonna be on here, but seeing it take the bronze took me completely off guard.

[@superbaas8822]

The bigger downside that came up a lot with advent of the wurm is that it can be abrupt decayed, a problem not many 5/5's tend to suffer

[@TempestDacine]

Its really interesting how these kinds of cards are often more defined by their formats since their stats keep them from having huge etb effects. Alot of the stronger ones fell behind older, weaker 5/5s cuz the format was more hospitable to it. Nowadays we get 3 mana 5/5s with upside so who knows what the next 4 mana 5/5 will bring.

[@Xoulrath_]

We've already moved well past 4 mana 5/5's. MH2 introduced Territorial Kavu, whose only "drawback" to be a 5/5 is having all 5 land types which is pathetically easy in the format. Scion of Draco isn't a 5/5, but the Flying makes up for the 4/4 body, and it's the same 2 mana thanks to Domain. Lovestruck Beast, even with the drawback of needing a 1/1 to attack, pushed 3 mana 5/5's as the new value beatstick. Heck, if we're being honest, Tarmogoyf is often a 4/5 or 5/6 and he is only 2 mana as well. If we're paying 4 for a 5/5 nowadays, it better have a lot more than just the body and a drawback. Ebondeath from AFR comes to mind. He is only a 5/2 body, but because of Flash and his recursion, he may as well be a 5/5 because he's actually harder to kill.

[@reviebarr8577]

Phyrexian obliterator is probably my favorite card in the game hands down

[@JohnDoe-xk2sj]

Any relation between Juzam Djinn and the pro MTG Player Martin Juza who has the Juzam MTG Arena ID ?

[@NizzahonMagic]

Only that he is referencing the card with his username

[@User-jo7jp]

next list should be top one, one mana 12/12's

[@pentatronic]

That was the first single card I ever bought, just because I wanted to own what was then the biggest creature in the game (and because I thought bigger was always better). I was 11.

[@YTzinkk]

Great list!

[@NizzahonMagic]

Thanks!

[@losthalo428]

What about 3 mana 5/5 with an upside of making a 1/1 token for {g}

[@jredmc1234]

I love your vids, i even rang the bell for all videos. Where have they been bro?

[@NizzahonMagic]

I don't know. KZbin doesn't always do a good job with notifications. There are lots of videos that have come out!

[@nitfylen]

Could you do a top 10 banned? As in which cards performed best before they were banned?

[@rashakor]

I’m surprised not to see Phyrexian Scuta in this list. At the time of the Blastoderm, that guys was also everywhere, maybe just not winning tournament. It may not have been flagged as a 4CMC 5/5 by Nizzahon.

[@NizzahonMagic]

He's only got two points.

[@sagecolvard9644]

Wow, a card from the same cycle as Andrasite Leech at number 3 on the GOOD list.

[@jasonrustmann9876]

At a glance from the thumbnail, i thought this was going to have something to do with pot of greed and was confused for a moment there lol

[@Swiftkitten88]

i was shocked at first to see obliterator so early on the list, but its still the best card on the list by far and easilly best 4 mana 5/5 in the game, the other cars were just prtined in a time where it meant a lot more.. kinda sad how bad power creep has gotten

[@NizzahonMagic]

I mean, you do have to take the mana cost into a count. In a vacuum it is the best, no question. But quad black is a serious requirement that scares off most decks.

[@vidarthorsby2052]

I was for sure thinking it was Blastoderm. But then it lost out to that many headed parrot. Oh well, you can't winn them all. Unless you have Fires of Yavimaya out.

[@RenrenYGO]

great vids as always!

[@mark6302]

damn, rathi dragon used to sell for a lot back in the day

[@Calintares]

Which 0/0s have performed the best over the years?

[@josemiguelgomesteixeira9274]

The fact that Advent of the Wurm can be countered by Negate and the kind is a huge downside to that particular 4 mana 5/5.

[@jamesalvarez607]

What about 3 mana 4/4’s???

[@edtorgerson1009]

limited as it is being four black, Phyrexian Obliterator is probably one of the best cards in the color. Give it protection or indestructible and it's quite serious.

[@schylerreis5227]

Cool shirt.

[@strawhataddison]

Most of these cards you can get for 25c, except for the djinn which is $2500!

[@Xoulrath_]

They reprinted the Juzam Djinn in MH1. It's just Red now. Not even playable for serious tournament competition. I remember when I started Magic and the Juzam Djinn was still a powerhouse of a beater and worth the cost.

[@ericwollam5532]

You guys remember when wotc printed a 3 mana 7/6 with upside and it didn't see much play at all? Haha. I remember that.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Are you talking about the dinosaur? It had a downside AND saw significant play.

[@ericwollam5532]

@@NizzahonMagic idk discarding a card every turn felt more like an upside with it. I just never remember seeing anyone play it on arena when i would play standard

[@NizzahonMagic]

@@ericwollam5532 Go watch the dinosaur video. Discarding definitely a downside in that Standard. Wasn't like there was madness or a graveyard deck really

[@TransformersBoss]

“Today, in keeping with the pattern, we’re going to look at the top 10 8-mana 9/9’s”

[@urias134]

Wouldn't the Lovestruck Beast be considered a 4-mana 5/5? What do you think?

[@NizzahonMagic]

No. It is significantly more complex than that.

[@m.morath1190]

I really like your channel, dude.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I appreciate that!

[@ptodd5373]

Wow Juzam Djinn is a 2 mana 5/5 now thats a great card.

[@evang7954]

No. Its 4 mana. Look again. The two colorless mana cost is very dark. But it is there.

[@Bigwave3K]

Phyrexian obliterator is my favorite card of all time

[@Infernoblade1010]

I'm still shocked Obliterator never hit big in modern.

[@flaviocbrangel]

The true downside of Phyrexian Obliterator are cards that make it damage itself. I mean that as a joke, of course. That’s not the real reason why it doesn’t see much competitive play. However, effects like Justice Strike in Historic or (actual good card) Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar in Modern and Legacy do make for some hilarious interactions.

[@careyosoup274]

top ten power 9 next plis

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

*Yes!*

[@blightedadmiral7006]

h u h

[@chrisiver8506]

lol

[@User-jo7jp]

prediction: #10 is sol ring and #1 is lotus

[@chrisiver8506]

@@User-jo7jp The twist is Lurrus without errata is #1

[@BuriedFlame]

Annd missed Balduvian Horde.

[@Jaryism]

I had a roommate back in the day who was a history major... I always wondered what would a phD in history do? Apparently make magic videos and history videos on youtube lol

[@NizzahonMagic]

You do historical research and teach college-level history courses! Those are things I do in addition tot he Magic stuff haha (I even have a history KZbin channel called Nizzahon History!)

[@dragomanpl1109]

3 mana 5/5s next!

[@avatar2xl]

I feel like Phyrexian Scuta would have made this list for how it was actually played

[@NizzahonMagic]

2 points

[@ericharden4914]

I seem to see that you have wingspan on your shelf. Can you make a video about other board games? I'm sure a bunch of people enjoy other games in addition to MTG

[@NizzahonMagic]

I might do it at some point. I am admittedly not the biggest board game person -- apart from Wingspan. But I could do one on it at some point.

[@werbearjack]

4 MV creatures - yeah, they don't get many points outside of Block, Standard and maybe Extended. That one elf making it into legacy was a nice surprise, though. Just goes to show you that despite decades of power creep midrange creatures are still insanely weak. With Counter Spell and most removal being 2 MV running any 4 MV creature is just asking to lose outside of very weak formats, sadly.

[@flaviocbrangel]

This exactly. Creatures that expensive that don’t impact the game the very turn they come into play simply don’t make the cut in most competitive formats anymore. The tempo loss of “dying to removal” sets whoever plays them too far back. It’s somewhat of a sad truth, but that’s kind of the reason why you get cards like Questing Beast and Glorybringer.

[@ThePainWhale]

Top ten monstrous creatures?

[@alps3DV]

Polukranos & bow of nylea BFF

[@TimmytheSorcerer]

Juzam has to deal with City in a Bottle 😭

[@makotoxchihiroyaoifangirl8409]

How about the top 10 Two Mana 5/5s?

[@Stayner]

Tbh this was always a subject I have always had interest on. Not kidding m

[@jajahatman8842]

F in the chat for ma boi Territorial Allosaurus

[@hugeheadliang]

I saw Juzam Djinn played in legacy... Probably for memes tho

[@Xoulrath_]

Literally no reason to play him now. Hell, by the early 2000's, players were already using Grinning Demon in the Type 1 amd Type 1.5 decks in my area over the Djinn.

[@DMofDMs]

Phyrexian Negator: 3 for a 5/5 trample with horrendous downside. Verdict: really good card. Phyrexian Obliterator: 4 for a 5/5 trample with awesome upside. Verdict: mediocre card at best. Oh times, they are a-changin'.

[@NizzahonMagic]

To be fair, the quad black is the big problem, so mana value alone doesn't explain the situation! Power creep is real, but the creep isn't quite as extreme as just talking about mana values does. If the Oblierator were 3B instead of BBBB it would be very different!

[@williammoody4950]

Top ten wheels? To honor hullbreacher

[@keenanberg6169]

10-4-55 sounds like a code of some sort

[@nicholasmays4257]

Or a birth date

[@kingginger3335]

Juzam Djinn cost 2 mana not 4

[@NizzahonMagic]

Look closer

[@kingginger3335]

@@NizzahonMagic in my defense, you can literally barely see the 2 lol I mean I really had to get close to my screen and turn the brightness up just to see it

[@NizzahonMagic]

@@kingginger3335 In my defense, why would it be on this list if it was a two mana 5/5? Haha

[@kingginger3335]

@@NizzahonMagic that's what I was thinking lol

[@monogreen]

interesting to have a list like this where none of the 10 cards are currently seeing play.

[@amtracktrack4963]

Legendary is a downside.

[@blightedadmiral7006]

Besides legendary upside from the kawigama block, being a commander and the cards that interact with legendaries

[@clrl936]

These days we get 3 mana 5/5 with upside lol

[@moriashall1947]

Cough lovestruck beast cough

[@xxANBUxx]

Wow its pronounced Jew-Zam Djinn? Me and everyone I knew always said Wa-zam Djinn lol.

[@NizzahonMagic]

It definitely isn't Wazam, makes no linguistic sense

[@xChikyx]

Where are the top ten 0 mana 1/1s? 😂😂

[@sshim950]

: )

[@ROYBGP]

Advent of the wurm is one of my favorite cards in all of magic. That being said, it definitely did not belong on this list.

[@CanadianBaconPwnage]

I get where you're going with Advent of the Wurm, but I must disagree with it being put on the list. It's an Instant by strict definition, so it should not count based on the criteria set for this top 10. In the past, you've made strict definitions for things like "one drops", even though there is some variance on how people define a "one drop" (some say all permanents for 1 mana, while others say 1 mana creatures only). Advent of the Wurm, while for all intents and purposes creates a 5/5 cast for 4 mana when it resolves, isn't a creature by your own definition when it's cast, so I don't believe it should be on the list. I could also argue that there are 3 transformation cards that can become 5/5's and each have a Mana Value of 4, but they aren't originally cast as 5/5's (Bloodline Keeper//Lord of Lineage, Mondronen Shaman//Tovolar's Magehunter, and Ulvenwald Mystics//Ulvenwald Primordials). But it seems you didn't include them as a part of your list of 39 cards at the start of the video (the search I did included these 3 and had 42 total results), but that 39 count also doesn't include Advent of the Wurm when I did a search for 4 Mana 5/5's. I admit I'm being nitpicky, but I felt I should give you some feedback regardless. Maybe you should have added "or cards that create 5/5 creatures for 4 mana" as part of your definition, as you've done for creature type Top 10's in the past. Great video otherwise! With that said, what was the 11th runner up by curiosity?

[@chalthepredcps3094]

When the thumbnail is sus

[@sirmoth3955]

Prediction: Phyrexian Obliterator Edit: Only #8. Huh. That's pretty surprising.

[@matthewcormier7214]

Yo, you looking good. Lose weight? Btw. Hiya from Calgary Canada :D