Intro
Wurms are
the subject of the fourth column in this series, which explores unusual
creature types. A scaled race of serpentine creatures, Wurms derive
their name from both real life 'worms', and 'wyrms'. The latter being synonym
for dragons in many fantasy works. The most notable thing about Wurms is
their colossal size. They are possibly the physically largest creatures in
the game. The flavour text of Autochthon Wurm conveys just how vast these
creatures truly are, 'the trainer awoke to begin the journey from the Wurm's
tail to its head. The sun was setting when she arrived.' Assuming the Wurm's
trainer awoke in the morning, it is clear that the size of Wurms should be measured not in inches or yards, but
in miles.Wurms have been with Magic since the beginning. Craw Wurm was introduced in Alpha. Currently 89 black bordered Wurms have been printed, making them by far the most populous tribe which this series has assessed thus far. Vedalken occupy a distant second with 60 cards. This isn't even counting the handful of cards which generate Wurm tokens, such as Sandwurm Convergence and Advent of the Wurm.
Just over 82% of Magic's Wurms are green, 73 out of 89. Of these 73, 60 are monogreen, 4 are white/green, 6 are red/green, 1 is green/blue, 1 is green/black and 1 is green/red/black. Of the 16 non-green Wurms: 7 are monoblack, 4 are monored, 2 are monowhite, 2 are colourless and 1 is monoblue.
Representing
Wurmhood
The
physical size of Wurms is represented in gameplay by giving them
expensive casting costs and high stats. They are often given Trample as a means
of reflecting how they flatten everything in their path. Many Wurms
interact with the graveyard, especially those on Innistrad or aligned with the
Golgari Swarm, for example, Boneyard Wurm and Soul Swallower. This reflects how Wurms, much
like maggots and real life worms, feast upon the deceased. Certain
Wurms, including Pelakka Wurm and Engulfing Slagwurm, heal their controller. Though
it may seem unusual to associate giant monstrous serpents with lifegain, their
healing effects demonstrate them consuming everything before them. Just
as food tokens in Throne of Eldraine, associate eating with
recovering life.
There are
Wurms affiliated with each of Ravnica's
green aligned guilds, except for the Simic Combine. Although,
just how colossal serpentine monsters attain guild membership is unclear. Golgari Wurms, such as Vigorspore Wurm and Golgari Rotwurm, are depicted menacingly
slithering through the catacombs beneath the city amongst the dead. The Wurms
of the Gruul Clans serve the anarchic objectives of their guild by literally
smashing apart Ravnican civilisation. A
fact elegantly evidenced by Streetbreaker Wurm which, as its name would
imply, shows a Wurm reducing a Ravnican road to rubble.[1] The
Wurms of Selesnya are the largest of the plane's denizens, including the
aforementioned miles long Autochthon Wurm. This demonstrates the
Conclave's reverence for the might and majesty of nature.
It is unfortunate that there are currently no Simic aligned Wurms. Splicing a Wurm together with a smaller creature such as a toad, or making a winged Wurm, would undoubtedly result in some fascinating cards. The Combine's engineers will surely have to try their hand at this in the event we return to Ravnica for a fourth time.
The
Glorious Greatwurm
At the
time of writing the strongest card currently in the game, at least in
terms of pure stats, is a Wurm. Impervious Greatwurm, the buy-a-box promo
from Guilds of Ravnica, towers above most other creatures,
with a colossal 16/16 statline. The Greatwurm is twice as strong as the
8/8 Force of Nature (the most powerful card
printed in Alpha) and mightier than Emrakul, the Aeons Torn (a
15/15 Eldrazi Titan). By the math of Magic the Gathering, Impervious Greatwurm is exactly 8 times as
powerful as the average bear and 16 times as powerful as most squirrels.
Despite
its prodigious strength the Greatwurm, as a buy-a-box promo, was not designed
to dominate standard but rather 'to give something cool to casual and Commander
players'.[2] In other words the Wurm, and other
buy-a-box cards, are intended be exciting but ultimately impractical outside of
EDH. Unlike Nexus of Fate ,which was made a little too
competitive, this is a goal which was definitely met in the design of the
Greatwurm. Spending 10 mana for a creature with no form of evasion and no
immediate board impact, even considering this cost can be reduced via Convoke,
is rarely a winning move. The Greatwurm has currently made no impact
on Standard, where it is still legal for another 10 months. Ghalta, Primal Hunger is often considered a
more usable counterpart to the Selesnya Conclave's largest member. Despite
being noticeably weaker, and not being Indestructable, Ghalta is significantly
easier to bring onto the battlefield early and possesses Trample.
Despite
its relative impracticality, or perhaps because of it, Impervious Greatwurm continues to inspire
determined brewers to build decks around it. Token decks are able to Convoke
the Wurm out as a win condition, typically then granting it some form of
unblockability. Red/Green decks sometimes make use of effects such as Thud and Fling to hurl the game's biggest boi at
their opponent's face for massive damage. Whilst Black/Green decks can
reanimate it.
Other
Notable Wurms
Craw Wurm is possibly Magic the Gathering's most famous Wurm.
Printed in each Core Set from Alpha to Magic 2010, Magic's
premier Wurm grew gradually less and less relevant with each reprint. The power
level of other creatures gradually rose over time, making Craw Wurm's 6 power
and 4 toughness for 6 mana incrementally less impressive. In the
set Dominaria, Mark Rosewater attests that Magic's
designers 'thought it would be fun to make a statement about how far
creatures have come since the early days of Magic'.[3] To attain this
goal, they printed a successor to Craw Wurm. Primordial Wurm is a 7/6 for 6 mana, making
it notably superior to its predecessor, having +1/+2 for no additional
cost. Despite its increased strength, Primordial Wurm never made impact on any
format beyond Limited. Even in drafts Primordial Wurm has, at best,
lower-mid tier viability. It is not a good choice for a first pick
in Dominaria or War of the Spark, where it
was printed for a second time. Perhaps in years to come Primordial Wurm will be replaced in turn by
a newer, better Wurm to fill slots in the sealed decks of the future.
There is
a single Silver-bordered Wurm, though how it operates requires some
explanation. Unstable featured a selection of what are called
'Host' and 'Augment' cards. Host cards are creatures with an enter the
battlefield ability. Augments combine with their hosts granting them new creature
types, a statistical bonus and allowing their ability to be triggered again in
new circumstances. For example, the Host card Adorable Kitten can be combined with the
Augment Rhino- to create a Rhino-Kitten.
One of these Augments, Serpentine, transforms its Host into a Wurm. It also provides the Host with a +3/+3 bonus to its stats and causes their ability to trigger each time a land enters their controller's side of the battlefield (Landfall). In some ways this is very flavourful. The +3/+3 bonus provided by the augmentation matches the +3/+3 bonus provided by the card Giant Growth. This demonstrates how, by becoming part Wurm, the host creature is growing to an incredible size. Granting the host Landfall has little to do with being a Wurm, however. Only a single Wurm, Belligerent Whiptail, possesses Landfall, so this is hardly a key part of the tribe's identity. Then again, this may all be over-analysis of a humorous mechanic from a supplemental set. The Host/Augment system is definitely exciting, and something similar may return in the upcoming set, Ikoria: Land of Behemoths, in which players will be 'building their own monsters'. [4]
Magic the
Gathering's two blue Wurms are both 1/1s and are both incredibly peculiar. The
artwork of Water Wurm appears to depict a 'worm' rather
than a 'wurm'. Its 1/1 stats also gives this impression. Warping Wurm, another 1/1, does depict a 'wurm',
rather than a 'worm'. Its 1/1 stats are clarified by its flavour text, which
states 'even wurms start out small'. The card phases in and out of play,
accumulating +1/+1 counters as it does so. Warping Wurm uses the Phasing mechanic in a
novel and unique manner, even if it is almost unplayably weak as a result.
Deckbuilding
with Wurms
As a
tribe, Wurms are unified by their their high power. Wurms can be combined
effectively with many 'power-matters' cards, such as Colossal Majesty and Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma for good
results. In a manner equal and opposite to crabs and toughness last
week, the resulting deck would be more of a 'power-matters' deck than a Wurm
tribal deck.
Symbiotic Wurm, Wurmcoil Engine, Worldspine Wurm and Penumbra Wurm have powerful abilities
triggered by their deaths. If a means can be found of repeating these
effects, for example using Strionic Resonator or Teysa Karlov, then their owner's board can
quickly grow out of control.
For
Commander players looking to build a tribal deck, a legendary Wurm is
available to lead the charge, inasmuch as Wurms are capable of charging. Grothama, All-Devouring certainly
lives up to its tribe's reputation for size, being an imposing 10/8.
Although, in many ways, Grothama is more of a pinata than a Wurm.
Attacking creatures, whoever they belong to, can choose to fight Grothama. When Grothama dies, the player whose creatures
killed the legendary Wurm then draw cards equal to the damage dealt to
it. This ability, although incredibly unique, does not really
synergise with other Wurms. Additionally Grothama's monogreen nature excludes several
powerful Wurms of other colours, such as Ravager Wurm and Massacre Wurm.
Arbitrary
Grades
Flavour:
B
Most of
this grade is based upon the fact that so many Wurms have excellent
flavour text. The flavour text on many Wurm cards serves the simple purpose of
conveying their enormous size, yet each does so in a unique manner. Autochthon Wurm has been mentioned
already, Endless Wurm finds a humorous means of
conveying the same idea, 'Ages ago, a party of elves took cover to let one
pass. They're still waiting'. Similarly, the description of Impervious Greatwurm boasts of its status as
the game's strongest and largest creature by employing a single imposing
sentence, 'The ultimate answer to intrigue
and subtlety'.
Beyond flavour text, as has been mentioned above, Wurms convey their enormous size through having enormous stats. Life gain effects are used to show their voracious appetites and certain Wurms interact with the graveyard to demonstrate how they eat corpses. The only gripe which can be raised against the presentation of Wurms is that many of the Wurms who logically should possess Trample do not. Craw Wurm's flavour text mentions 'the horrible crashing sound it makes as it speeds through the forest.' In other words the creature literally crushes all of the trees in its path, yet for some reason it cannot do the same to enemy creatures. This is a minor gripe, however, and Wurms are overall accurately portrayed as the imposing serpentine giants that they are.
Viability:
D
Some
Wurms have graveyard synergies, but not really enough to construct a
Wurm/graveyard deck. Some Wurms help you gain life, but not really enough for a
Wurm/Lifelink deck. Ultimatley the biggest draw of Wurms is their power, so a
'power-matters' deck may fit them well. Though there are a few truly excellent
Wurms, who will receive their dues below, many members of the tribe are
unremarkable beyond their high stats, which are often accompanied by a high
mana cost.
Best and
Worst Wurms:
Most of
you probably knew from the moment that you opened this article that Wurmcoil Engine would be
deemed the best Wurm. Able to slip easily into decks of any
colour, due to being colourless, Wurmcoil Engine brings an incredible amount
of value to the board. A 6/6 with Lifelink and Deathtouch, which then splits
into two tokens upon its death, the Engine is hard to remove and is almost
certain to impact any game it's played in. Massacre Wurm deserves
mention as well, as an EDH staple that sweeps opponents boards clean of
weaker creatures, whilst also being a threat in its own right. If Worldspine Wurm can be
cheated out, to circumvent its prohibitive mana cost, it is sure to give
headaches to opponents with no way of removing it without placing it in
the graveyard
At the
other end of the spectrum, Argothian Wurm and Tempting Wurm are not
only the weakest Wurms, but are amongst the weakest cards in the game. As a 5/5
for only 2 mana, Tempting Wurm may
indeed appear tempting at first, however, its charm quickly dissipates as it
allows each of your opponents to play the majority of their hand cost free. Argothian Wurm also
appears powerful at first glance, being a 4 mana 6/6 with Trample.
Unfortunatley, the Wurm can immediately be sent to the top of your library if
any player sacrifices a land. This effectively ensures that you will have dead
draws for the rest of the game, as you will just be drawing and redrawing the
Wurm continuously as it enters and exits play.
[1] The flavour text of Streetbreaker Wurm offers a fascinating
insight into Ravnican society and the interplay between the guilds. 'The Orzhov
run a construction unit whose only business is rebuilding the wreckage left in
the wake of wurms. When business is slow, they pay Golgari carnomancers to lure
the wurms to the surface'. This demonstrates how the Orzhov and Golgari
profit from the destruction wrought by the Gruul.
[2] https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/dominaria-buy-box-pre-order-promotion-2018-03-21
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