Don't be an Arrogant Bloodlord

See the original Arrogant Bloodlord with art by Mike Bierek here.

Arrogant Bloodlord's flavor has amused me, in that "equip Reinforced Bulwark with Warmonger's Chariot" sort of way. So, it's a 4/4 badass knight that dies to a plant token, with the silly flavor text: "I would rather take my own head than be thwarted by a presumptuous wretch with a shield and a dream." He rides around on a big ant. Is "arrogant" the right word for this? Maybe it should be Ludicrous Bloodlord? It's vexing.

Yet ... this odd mish-mash of flavor did remind me of someone. Who, who, who ... and then it hit me: this same guy rage-quitted on me last night in MTGO! So, bravo, Wizards! You've perfectly captured the demented persona of the card-slinging crybaby who believes himself to be superior to all yet constantly loses to perceived bad beats. I love this card.

Heartbreaker of Bala Ged

Beastbreaker of Bala Ged

"Helloooo, ladies. Uh huh. Yeah, that's right, these aren't gym muscles. Maybe you've noticed all the broken beasts around here, in Bala Ged? I did that. But I can also be oh-so-gentle."

See Karl Kopinski's original card art here.

Oops, you fizzled.

Counterspell. See Mark Poole's original art here.

The original Counterspell art always cracks me up. Not only is this wizard failing to pull a rabbit out of a hat, but he is an absolute fashion emergency. Between the mullet, triple-prong goatee, garish Marvel comics ensemble and egregious over-accesorizing, the statement this art makes is cautionary: "Don't be this schmuck mage who gets his crap countered!"

And I thought of Counterspell because I've been playing a bit of my favorite eternal format, pauper. Here's the list:

4 Mulldrifter
4 Aven Riftwatcher
4 Calcite Snapper
4 Counterspell
3 Mystical Teachings
2 Soul Manipulation
2 Force Spike
2 Doom Blade
2 Agony Warp
2 Remove Soul
1 Wail of the Nim
1 Into the Roil
1 Grim Harvest
1 Echoing Decay
1 Disfigure
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Capsize
4 Terramorphic Expanse
2 Bojuka Bog
2 Esper Panorama
1 Dimir Aqueduct
10 Island
4 Swamp
1 Plains
SIDEBOARD:
3 Duress
3 Vedalken Outlander
2 Benevolent Unicorn
2 Prismatic Strands
2 Echoing Decay
1 Coffin Purge
1 Serrated Arrows
1 Negate

It works well but I'm thinking about an aggro alternative for when I'm not in the mood for an hour-long match.

Pimp My Brood

I love 0/1 token creatures. Plants. Goats. Even a homunculus, sometimes. So you know I'm all over these Eldrazi spawn. I decided to make myself a new, custom token:

Yup, this Eldrazi rolls deep:

UPDATE - Here's a high-resolution PDF to download if you want to print and use these tokens:
4 Spawn token PDF
Print 'em up on some nice paper, cut 'em out and game!