Bastion Mastodon - Magic the Gathering

Robo-elephants on parade!

I love the concept of this card: a robotic elephant. There are very few creatures that I don't find cool when turned into a robot, so I do enjoy how there's a ton of different species on Kaladesh. The name isn't that interesting, but the repetition of the "ast" in the first and second word strikes my lyrical cord.

The ability is part of another cycle of cards, each one an artifact creature with a colored activated ability that gives it a keyword until end of turn. The idea is you can play them as vanilla creatures (creatures without effects) in any deck, but if you have the right mana you can activate a little bonus. It's much more interesting from a mechanical standpoint than a flavorful one.

I definitely love the art for this card, and how the piece is structured. You first have the contrast between the subject and the background, with the background being whites and lighter colors, while the elephant itself is darker colors. There's also just the contrast of this tranquil palace setting with the mechanical behemoth standing in the middle of it. We also have scaling people to give us a sense of size, and a richly detailed background. While most of the elephant seems to be standing still, the head takes on a bit more of a dramatic pose, with the mouth open and the trunk whipping around.

VS Aether Tradewinds: Name +, Text -, Art +