Magic the Gathering: Elbrus, the Binding Blade

This is not what you'd expect an equipment to transform into, really, at all. You get a 13/13 flying demon with both intimidate and trample. Even better, whenever a player loses the game, you put 13 +1/+1 counters on him! Obviously, this card immediately screams Commander must-have, as who doesn't want, just for eliminating a player, a 26/26 flyer that's unblockable by anything but black and artifact creatures and has trample? In Limited, barring something like a Tragic Slip with its Morbid ability, (which would immediately kill it with it's -13/-13 ability) this is a game-ender. It's not going to see much play in Standard, though, because of it's 7-drop cost, and while the Swords are still in play from the Scars block, you're just not going to see much of this guy in Type 2.

We all remember that Stoneforge Mystic was one of two cards banned in Standard while the Zendikar block was still in play. Why was this? It was because of Batterskull being ridiculously abuse-able, as well as being able to tutor the Swords right out of your deck into your hand. Then, being able to play any equipment from your hand by tapping her and paying just 1W caused her to become ridiculously broken. When she was first released in Worldwake, though, no one really saw this coming (albeit she was far from useless in equipment-based EDH decks even then because of the Mirrodin block equipments).

But now, as the Stoneforge decks have gotten fewer and farther between on the Legacy scene, you get Elbrus. Yes, it costs seven to play, but not with Stoneforge! It's obviously not as ridiculous as Batterskull right as it hits the board, but if you attach it to a Squadron Hawk or anything else that flies, your opponent is going to have some serious problems. You'll never need to hard-cast it anyway, so it's just as good as one of the Swords, really. So if anything, this is going to be the best use for Elbrus.

The other obvious use is using Stoneforge Mystic along with Elbrus in a Kemba-based Commander deck. It's not going to be quite as abuse-able, since you only have one copy of each, but if you get the Mystic early enough in the game, you can potentially wreck the whole table. I'm curious as to see if Elbrus will end up on the Commander ban-list.

Because the casting cost for Elbrus is so high without Stoneforge Mystic available, it's unlikely that this equipment will see much play in Standard, barring a new equipment tutor entering the format. It really has to be played early enough in the game that your opponent will have little or nothing to stop its being played, and a simple Mana Leak or Dissipate can neutralize it, anyhow, so Mystic being able to play it no the board without casting it is somewhat necessary.for it to consistently hit the board. Also, with all of the artifact hate being played (Ancient Grudge, et al) it's just not really a good idea to invest 7 mana in something that won't last the turn that it needs to for it to transform.

I would say that Elbrus' and its flip-side is definitely worth more than the $5 USD you can have him for right now. He probably will be broken at some point, and he's already set for wreaking havoc on the Commander circuit. Therefore, I would definitely recommend picking up a play-set on the cheap just to hold onto for trading purposes later.