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Strategic Overview: Crosis's Attendant in Black Protection and Evasion Play

From the pocket of magic-history that is Invasion, Crosis's Attendant presents a deceptively simple package: a 5-mana Artifact Creature — Golem that looks like a chunky behemoth at first glance, a sturdy 3/3 with a single, game-changing line of text: {1}, Sacrifice this creature: Add {U}{B}{R}. In a multi-color shell, that little ability becomes a lifeline for protection and evasion strategies. It’s not about brute force; it’s about acceleration, color fixing, and enabling a tempo-friendly flow that keeps you ahead on the board while you shield your plans from red, blue, or black disruption. 🧙‍♂️🔥

Protection in this context isn’t about a flashy shield spell or indestructible armor. It’s about constructing a resilient stream of plays that shrug off targeted removal, counterspells, and sheer tempo pressure. Crosis's Attendant acts as a compact mana engine for your three-color plans, unlocking the very spells you use to protect threats or to push through evasive threats of your own. When you’ve got access to Blue’s countermagic, Black’s hand disruption or graveyard respect, and Red’s versatile removal and reach, that triple mana burst becomes the engine for durable board presence. ⚔️

“Crosis is the eye of the ur-dragon, piercing illusion and darkness.”

Let’s translate that flavor into practical play. In a tri-color deck, you’re frequently balancing access to three colors while keeping a stable clock. Crosis's Attendant helps by supplying U, B, and R at the cost of leaving behind a 3/3 body. In the late game, you can sacrifice the Attendant to flood your hand with multicolor options, enabling the exact protective or evasive spells your situation demands. It’s not just ramp; it’s a tempo-preserving, color-fixing pivot that makes it feasible to shield your plan from a silencing counterspell or a sweeping board wipe. 🧭

Protection and Evasion: Concrete Tactics

• Protective counterplay: Use the produced mana to fuel counters and protective layers—think of it as enabling your turn 6 or turn 7 to interrupt an opposing threat while you prep your own win condition. Blue protection spells become more consistent when you can reliably access U in your three-color pool, creating a safety net for your combo pieces or important threats. 🧊
• Multicolor flexibility: The {U}{B}{R} payout is a versatile toolkit. Blue for control, Black for disruption, Red for reach. The Attendant’s sacrifice lets you pivot mid-game, pivoting from defense into offense by enabling a color suite of spells that would be awkward to cast otherwise. This flexibility is perfect for decks that rely on tempo, disruption, and a late-game punch. 🔥
• Evasion through speed, not stamina: While the Attendant doesn’t grant flying or unblockable, its mana trick accelerates you into evasive lines—casting a pair of evasive threats, or slipping a protective spell past a foe’s defenses before they can fortify. Think of it as a bridge between your protective suite and your evasive win-cons. 🎲
• Graveyard and recursion synergy: In many multi-color builds, you’ll lean into graveyard interactions to fuel synergy or to reuse protective spells. Sacrificing the Attendant is a deliberate, tempo-forward choice that can reset your resource curve in a controlled way. In this way, it isn’t just a one-off trick—it supports a broader protective strategy. 🧙‍♂️

In terms of design, Crosis's Attendant embodies a quintessential early-2000s artifact creature: a sturdy body, a high initial mana cost, and a downside that doubles as a resource engine. The three-color watermark in its color identity makes it a rare kind of puzzle piece—one that enables color-dense decks to function more smoothly. The flavor text about Crosis echoes the card’s function: piercing illusion and darkness is often a matter of having the right tools at the right moment, and this Attendant provides a reliable, multi-color toolset to do just that. 🎨

Cost, Value, and Collectibility

As an uncommon from Invasion, Crosis's Attendant sits at an accessible price point for most casual players. Its current market snapshot shows a non-foil near the $0.17 range, with foil versions around $2.33. If you’re building a trio-color artifact shell in Commander or a casual kitchen-table deck, this is a utility piece that won’t break the bank, while still offering clear strategic value. The common-sense cost-to-effect ratio is exactly the kind of value that keeps players returning to classic sets for nostalgia-fueled synergy. 🧩

From a collector’s perspective, the card’s three-color identity and its foil availability make it a nice pick for those who want to celebrate the era’s art and mechanical experimentation. Arnie Swekel’s illustration—tied to a time when artifact-creature engines were a trending concept—continues to charm players who appreciate the era’s distinctive look and feel. If you’re chasing the full Invasion experience, this is a valuable, affordable piece that still resonates with modern multi-color gameplay. 💎

Deck Architecture Spotlight

Consider a Commander shell built around three-color value engines and a robust protection suite. Crosis's Attendant sits well in decks that lean into synergy between ramp, mana fixing, and protective countermagic—think of it as a conduit that unlocks the exact mixture of blue, black, and red tools your deck needs to stay one step ahead. In such a build, you’ll prize card draw, targeted discard, and secure counterspells, weaving them together with the Attendant’s mana-payoff line to maintain pressure and resilience. It’s a nostalgic yet practical approach that appeals to seasoned players who love the tactile rhythm of tri-color play. ⚔️

And for players who want a tactile, real-world reminder of their MTG passions while they game, you can pair your deck-building adventures with a practical desk accessory—like a high-quality Custom Mouse Pad 9.3 x 7.8 Non-Slip Desk Mat. It’s the kind of desk companion that keeps your gaming space as sharp as your plays, a subtle nod to the era’s love of physical components alongside digital strategy. Check it out here: Custom Mouse Pad 9.3 x 7.8 Non-Slip Desk Mat. 🧙‍♂️🎨

What’s Next: A Look at the Network

Whether you’re revisiting vintage builds or crafting something new, the broader MTG network has gems to explore. Here are five reads from across the web to spark inspiration and acknowledge how protective and evasive play has evolved.

• https://example.com/wiki/post/pokemon-tcg-stats-gigalith-card-id-bw3-61/
• https://blog.zero-static.xyz/blog/post/gyarados-and-water-energy-embodying-water-type-core-mechanics/
• https://crypto-acolytes.xyz/blog/post/nft-stats-sempire-sempire-867-from-sempiredao-collection/
• https://blog.rusty-articles.xyz/blog/post/nova-microbiome-test-review-microbiome-decoder-for-health-conditions/
• https://example.com/wiki/post/pokemon-tcg-stats-starmie-card-id-dp6-71/

Whether you’re chasing flavor, function, or nostalgia, Crosis's Attendant invites you to experiment with protection and evasion in a way that honors the set’s spirit and the three-color chaos of modern play. And if you’re in the mood to add a tactile upgrade to your desk while you strategize, the promo mouse pad above is a stylish companion that nods to the same love of clever, purposeful design. 🧙‍♂️💎

Custom Mouse Pad 9.3 x 7.8 Non-Slip Desk Mat