Toshiro Umezawa

Legendary Creature — Human Samurai

Bushido 1 (When this blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)

Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies (is put into the graveyard from the battlefield, tokens are put into the graveyard before they cease to exist), you may cast target instant card from your graveyard. If that card would be put into a graveyard this turn, exile it instead.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
DanDan	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Judge Tower	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (51)

legendofa on Should Color Pie Breaks Be …

1 month ago

TypicalTimmy Why is Toshiro Umezawa a color pie break, just because he's a good guy? {B} can be supportive, helpful, and even generous, as long as they stand to benefit from it somehow. The "good" side of {B} will encourage others to improve--after all, there's no point in demonstrating your value, power, and general amazingness to people who don't represent any sort of challenge or threat, and having a good rival to push you even harder is a good thing. The philosophy of {B} isn't just cynical selfishness, or pointless death and torture, or making one-sided contracts with demons. {B} can absolutely believe that the world can be improved, and that they have (or can get) the skill and knowledge to improve it. If they gain everyone's adoration in the process of becoming more capable and powerful, that's just one of the perks.

Also, I don't think new players will encounter severe breaks in high enough volume to become convinced that they are normal. If for some reason they're learning the game by themselves without someone helping them, the non-breaks hugely outnumber the fuzzy breaks, which hugely outnumber the obvious breaks. So they might get the wrong idea for a few days, or weeks if they're especially isolated, but the truth should become clear over time. It's theoretically possible that someone's first exposure to the game is Control Gruul with Lifeforce, Glacial Crevasses, AEther Membrane, and Windreaper Falcon, but I don't think that's especially likely in practice.

As a separate thought on color breaks, and related to the point about {W} Amonkhet Zombies, it's currently possible to make a functional Boros Vampire decks, and a Jeskai Zombie deck, and Dimir Elves. None of the individual cards are breaks, but in a carefully curated aggregate, it's possible to reinterpret almost any color mechanically and thematically.

I'm not a hardliner on breaks. I believe that the limitations and weaknesses of colors should be closer to "the color can do this rarely and inefficiently" instead of "the color can never do this." Anyone can get rid of anything at instant speed for {7}-{8} or draw a card and gain life for {3}. While these cards wouldn't make sense being printed directly into {G} or {R}, respectively, they do allow those colors access to those effects at common.

TypicalTimmy on Should Color Pie Breaks Be …

1 month ago

I think pie breaks should absolutely be allowed, if the setting calls for it thematically. For example, what if there is a plane where the leylines are heavily corrupted, and mana has frayed apart and blurred?

That could be the basis for a fun precon set, which would give new utilities to colors in a very thematic albeit flavorful way. For example, nobody cried over the white zombies of Amonkhet, despite white being the anthesis of necromancy. Fact is, that was a plane-wide color break and nobody was upset about it because it made sense for that world.

We tend to think about breaks in terms of mechanical aptitude, but there is far more nuance to it. Toshiro Umezawa was also a good guy. That's another pie break.

Now to your question, will blatant breaks be reprinted? Maybe, if it serves the setting. Perhaps in some sort of Anthology set, perhaps as a Secret Lair, perhaps as a Future Sight prequel.

Not like in a Modern Horizons, although some of the lesser egregious ones could possibly be done for Draft purposes.

So theoretically yes they absolutely could, if a set was catered toward it. Now designing a carefully catered set would be a wholly different topic. The reason that would be considerably unlikely is because you need to understand Magics audience:

Veteran players and new players.

Veteran players won't appreciate a sudden upheaval of core concepts. Some, like myself, would find a once-and-done deal, such as a precon set, to be refreshing. White gets some draw, blue gets some land destruction, green gets a plethora of strong flyers and enchantment boons, etc. They don't even need to be so obvious. It could be small things, like red being able to target enchantments. Or black calling for specific land tutors.

Red is already good at destroying anything, enchantments included. It just doesn't SPECIFICALLY call for them. And black ABSOLUTELY can tutor you lands, but why would you waste a Diabolic Tutor on a land in the first place?

Anyway, so veteran players would likely argue with the majority against it and few in favor. It would be a more mechanical means, if nothing else.

But that's not the problem. The problem is the NEW players, who are actively trying to learn the game, who suddenly are thrust into a set that upheavals their expectations. What's worse isn't the new players who are several sets in that can reasonably understand it's a gimmick or mechanic and is a once-and-done sort of thing.

No.

It's the BRAND NEW players, who have never opened a pack before in their life, who are now effectively learning the game wrong.

THAT'S the problem.

And for THAT problem alone, I highly doubt it, even if I would personally like to see it myself.

KongMing on Tergrid, the God of Salt

4 months ago

Oh, also, what about Toshiro Umezawa? He seems kind of good for this deck.

Blobby_Bobby on Samurai! (feat. Exactly Zero Tom Cruises)

1 year ago

I think I have the special Secret Lair art for Toshiro Umezawa too that I have no home for. Though he might be cut in this deck if you're not working with a lot of Instants.

AlistarFiend on

1 year ago

Added: Lier, Disciple of the Drowned & Veyran, Voice of Duality. Removed: Kelpie Guide & Toshiro Umezawa.

AlistarFiend on

1 year ago

Nacht, I took your advice and picked up Toshiro Umezawa from my LGS and replaced Din of the Fireherd. Thank you for your great suggestion!

AlistarFiend on

1 year ago

Nacht, Primal Amulet  ^Flip is already in the deck! What would you recommend cutting for Toshiro Umezawa?

Nacht on

1 year ago

Awesome deck, a shame I just built a Grixis spellslinger before this guy was spoiled!

Have you considered Toshiro Umezawa? He might be a alright fit for the deck. Primal Amulet  ^Flip would be nice in this too!