Hate towards planeswalkers dropped in today’s Theros: Beyond Death spoilers with Eidolon of Obstruction taxing all opposing planeswalkers one mana to activate.
Planeswalkers have been a dominant force in MTG Standard since the release of War of the Spark. And since then, Wizards of the Coast has been using design space to hate on planeswalkers. The Throne of Eldraine set had Questing Beast, and now Theros: Beyond Death has Eidolon of Obstruction.
Eidolon of Obstruction is a two-drop White enchantment creature who’s a 2/1 with first strike. It also taxes an opponent’s planeswalkers, forcing them to pay one additional mana to activate a planeswalker’s loyalty counter.
Popular planeswalkers like Teferi, Time Raveler, and Chandra, Acolyte of Flame, rely on tempo. But Eidolon of Obstruction disrupts that tempo with its one mana tax.
It’s not enough to render planeswalkers totally useless, but it’s an advantage that’s been needed in the MTG Standard format. If Eidolon of Obstruction had taxed two mana, as opposed to just one, it may have been enough to truly shut down most planeswalker strategies.
But for now, Magic players have another tool to thwart those pesky planeswalkers. Test out the effectiveness of Eidolon of Obstruction when Theros: Beyond Death releases digitally on Jan. 16 and officially on Jan. 24.
