The man versus machine-theme continues with the Planeswalker Decks from Aether Revolt. Planeswalker Deck “Chandra, Pyrogenius” went into the world of vehicles, while “Nissa, Nature’s Artisan” focused on the idea of energy counters. Well, Aether Revolt brings another pair of planeswalkers fighting against one another, with the first deck of this clash being headed by “Ajani, Valiant Protector”. This makes the Planeswalker Deck “Ajani, Valiant Protector” a White-Green one, which works with losing cards via Revolt to gain additional effects; a weird concept for sure, but actually a surprisingly solid deck as a whole. Let’s see what’s in store for us: Here is the decklist for the Planeswalker Deck featuring “Ajani, Valiant Protector”: Creatures (21): 2x Narnam Renegade (G) 2x Verdant Automaton (2) 3x Audacious Infiltrator (1W) 3x Ajani’s Comrade (1G) 1x Deadeye Harpooner (2W) 1x Ghirapur Guide (2G) 2x Silkweaver Elite (2G) 1x Solemn Recruit (1WW) 2x Armorcraft Judge (3G) 2x Lifecraft Cavalry (4G) 1x Airdrop Aeronauts (3WW) 1x Ridgescale Tusker (3GG) Spells (17): 3x Renegade Map (1) 1x Prey Upon (G) 2x Unbridled Growth (G) 1x Natural Obsolescence (1G) 1x Daredevil Dragster (3) 4x Inspiring Roar (3W) 2x Ajani’s Aid (2WG) 1x Engineered Might (3WG) 1x Aid from the Cowl (3GG) 1x Ajani, Valiant Protector (4WG) Lands (22): 9x Plains 9x Forest 4x Tranquil Expanse Like I said, this Planeswalker Deck seems to have the Revolt keyword as its main focus, which as far as I know has been featured in Aether Revolt and then … well, nowhere else. But that does not necessarily mean that the deck in question has to be bad; in fact, the start is promising enough to suggest that Planeswalker Deck “Ajani, Valiant Protector” is anything but. As the one mana-drop, we have “Narnam Renegade“, which is a 1/2 with Deathtouch that even gains a +1/+1 counter when entering the battlefield should one of your permanents have left the battlefield. This means that this creature wins against 1/1 in the early game, while taking down something bigger than itself during pretty much any stage of the game, which is a level of quality I am not used to seeing in Planeswalker Decks. “Verdant Automaton” is a colorless creature for two mana, which pays for the fact that you can play it with mana of any color with being kinda bad, providing a 1/2 body that can also gain a +1/+1 counter at the alarmingly high rate of four mana per counter. Thankfully, the other two mana options in the creature line-up can make up for it. “Audacious Infiltrator” is a 3/1 for two mana that cannot be blocked by artifact creatures, which might not come in handy that often but at least provides a straight upgrade to the 3/1 stuff they could have dropped like “Blade of the Sixth Pride” or something similar. “Ajani’s Comrade” is similarly aggro, just in a different way: A 2/2 creature with Trample that also gains a +1/+1 counter at the beginning of the combat if you control an Ajani planeswalker. Now, having a 2/2 with Trample seems weird at first, but I can tell you that there are plenty of ways to pump creatures in this deck which makes Trample a very nice thing to have in general. For three mana, you have all sorts of tools to work with: “Deadeye Harpooner” is a 2/2 that actually provides removal against tapped creatures by destroying one when the Revolt keyword is live, while “Ghirapur Guide” is a 3/2 with an effect that prohibits the opponent to block one target creature with creatures that have power 2 or less; the latter one certainly being situational, but having the potential to get around most nasty creatures with Defender. “Silkweaver Elite” is rather interesting, being a 2/2 for three mana that has Reach and even draws you a card if one of your permanents left the battlefield during the turn it is played, while “Solemn Recruit” is the first Rare of the deck being a 2/2 with Double Strike that gains a +1/+1 counter during the end step if Revolt was triggered. Now, you might notice that lots of creatures gain +1/+1 counters, but all of those counters really do not do much more than adding stats. Well, this changes with “Armorcraft Judge” which introduces synergy with all those creatures with +1/+1 counters on them since you are allowed to draw a card for each of those when this 3/3 creature enters the battlefield. “Lifecraft Cavalry” is a pretty solid option for a mid-game Common card, being a 4/4 for five mana that has Trample and gains two +1/+1 counters when entering the battlefield in the same turn as one of your permanents has left the battlefield, a.k.a. Revolt. I have seen a few bad big creatures with Flying in Planeswalker Decks so far, so I am happy to announce that “Airdrop Aeronauts“, a 4/3 Flying creature that gives you five life points when Revolt is live, is not one of them. And then there is “Ridgescale Tusker“, a 5/5 creature for five mana that simply gives each other creature you control a +1/+1 counter, which is solid synergy both on the offense with cards like “Ajani’s Comrade” appreciating the gesture while “Armorcraft Judge” provides utility with the much needed card draw in a color combination that normally lacks such effects. The creature line-up is surprisingly solid, so let us see if their boss is worth his salt. “Ajani, Valiant Protector” is a planeswalker for six mana – again -, that enters the battlefield with four loyalty counters. Now, unlike most other planeswalkers I have look at so far when reviewing Planeswalker Decks, this version of Ajani has two effect that give him loyalty counters, with the first effect adding two and allowing you to place two +1/+1 counters on one target creature, and the second effect adding one loyalty to reveal cards from the top of your deck until you reveal a creature, add it to your hand, and then place the rest of the cards at the bottom of your library; which basically means that “Ajani, Valiant Protector” has a draw effect for creature cards specifically. His ultimate effect costs eleven loyalty, which is going to take ages, but then adds +1/+1 counter to one target creature equal to your life total; and with what the deck has on offer in terms of evasion and/or Trample, you should be able to finish the game from there with one successful attack. Now, “Ajani, Valiant Protector” is expensive at six mana and even with the cards searching him you will not always have access to the card, but at least it is thematically appropriate while the deck looks like it can work without having access to the card. Planeswalker Deck “Ajani, Valiant Protector” does something else that I am not used to: It adds consistency. There are three copies of “Renegade Map” here that will help solidify your mana base in the early game to both have enough mana in the first place as well as keep the struggle of missing the right color at bay. “Unbridled Growth” simply enchants a land for one mana to allow it to produce any color of mana and can be cracked to draw a card, which is a pretty powerful combination in my opinion. There is only one copy of “Prey Upon” which allows one of your creatures to fight an opposing creature, but while I would have wished to see more copies of the card it definitely is the right choice to include it in the mix. “Natural Obsolescence” is a bit whack, removing an artifact card by placing it at the bottom of the opposing library. Now, that really does get the card out of the way, but I would rather stick to the tried and tested and have something like “Naturalize” in its place. A single copy of “Daredevil Dragster” also seems weird, seeing as there is nothing to work with vehicles and crewing in the first place; although I have to admit that the drawing effect is nice once you get it. I promised some stat boosting though, so let’s get to making those creatures buff. “Inspiring Roar” costs four mana and places a +1/+1 counter on every creature you control, which gives more room for the aforementioned synergy with “Armorcraft Judge” while creatures on the offense will thank the added boost in power and toughness. “Engineered Might” seems a little expensive for five mana, but I cannot deny that the choice between +5/+5 for one creature to swing for game with or +2/+2 and Vigilance for the entire board for a safe attack with plenty of blockers left over is not all that bad. This brings us to the last cards of the deck, which are both Rares; for better and for worse. “Ajani’s Aid” might just be the weakest card in the deck in my opinion, being a four mana-enchantment that searches “Ajani, Valiant Protector” from your library or graveyard while being able to be sacrificed to prevent all damage from one target creature for the turn. Now, being able to sacrifice the enchantment at will means that it also supports Revolt, but the mini-“Fog” effect is really not worth all that mana, even with a search added to it. And then there is “Aid from the Cowl“, another enchantment, this one for five mana, which only triggers during the end step if Revolt is live and allows you to reveal the top card of your library and play it if it is a permanent, while placing it at the bottom of the library if that is not the case. Free cards is nice; having to wait until the end step while being limited by the Revolt keyword as a trigger condition, whilst also potentially gaining nothing out of the deal is not. I’ll tell you something: This deck is alright. There are plenty of complicated strategies in Magic the Gathering that can work and be a lot of fun to play, but sometimes simple is best. Now, the thing with Planeswalker Deck “Ajani, Valiant Protector” is that the Rare slots are really kinda bad, with the big man himself being solid “Ajani, Valiant Protector” and “Solemn Recruit” being a decent addition for the mention of Double Strike alone. What carries this deck, at least in my opinion, is a solid core of Commons and Uncommons which receive +1/+1 counters and make the opponent bleed for making the player lose cards. The deck is severely lacking in removal, and to be entirely honest that would probably the first thing that I would fix given the chance; but the core is alright in my book. And to add to my surprise, there is even one more piece of good news: This deck is cheap. Whether this comes down to not having chase cards in the Rare slots or just not being that interesting for players overall, you can get a box of Planeswalker Deck “Ajani, Valiant Protector” for 14€; and that is a price I would actually pay if I was interested in the deck, which makes this one of the rare “Thumbs Up” moments for a Preconstructed Deck on Cubic Creativity.