How much is a card worth? It all depends on how you’re trying to win the game. Pollenbright Druid begs the question: can this 1/1 be worth more than a card?
A 1/1 Elf is sometimes a card, but this suite of abilities doesn’t lend Pollenbright Druid to Elves. A 2/2 is sometimes a card, but Pollenbright Druid doesn’t rise to the occasion for Stompy. Can a 1/1 that Proliferates be worth a card?
Maybe.
There are a ton of cards that incidentally use +1/+1 counters in Pauper. Going back to Stompy, Skarrgan Pit-Skulk and Hunger of the Howlpack both use these counters. There aren’t enough other creatures in traditional Stompy to make use of Pollenbright Druid, but perhaps there are enough options in Pauper to make this 1/1 worth more than a card. Here’s a short list that comes to mind:
- Simic Initiate
- Servant of the Scale
- Sparring Construct
- Arcbound Worker
- Aquastrand Spider
- Scrounging Bandar
- Pridemalkin
And this isn’t even getting into River Heralds Boon if we touch a Merfolk subtheme. But the real card of note here is Pridemalkin. Before, putting counters on creatures was fine but now those creatures can get trample. There might be enough here for an approximation of a Hardened Scales deck, especially if you’re looking to load up a Vault Skirge.
So why do this instead of Stompy? Stompy leans hard on Rancor to punch through extra damage but a deck with Pollenbright Druid and Pridemalkin can go over the top with multiple threats. And if you’re willing to dip into white, Travel Preparations is a heck of a Magic card.
So how many cards is Pollenbright Druid worth? In the right context, it’s worth well more than one would think.
