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Draft Strategy: Cathars' Crusade Goes Wide and Big

When you crack open Cathars' Crusade in Innistrad Remastered, you’re seeing a design that rewards aggressive, creature-rich boards and punishes a dull battlefield. This white enchantment costs 3 generic and 2 white mana (a total of five mana in a color that loves efficiency) but its payoff is nothing short of explosive: Whenever a creature you control enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. In draft, that translates to dramatic sequences where one well-timed token drop becomes a chain-reaction that snowballs your entire team. And yes, the flavor text about Avacyn’s holy warriors finding renewed purpose lands with a literal, board-wide boost that screams “attack together, or be ready to defend in depth.” 🧙‍♂️🔥

Avacyn's holy warriors kept hope alive in her darkest hours. Now they will carry that hope across Innistrad.

Crusade’s true power surfaces in go-wide archetypes. White in Innistrad Remastered brings a toolbox of efficient creatures, robust life-management, and duty-bound synergies. Cathars' Crusade rewards you not for having the most creatures on board, but for the moment you expand your presence. That makes it a natural fit for a draft strategy built around token generation, churn, and reasserting board dominance with a single, well-timed drop. The design encourages you to lean into tempo and inevitability—your battlefield grows not linearly, but exponentially as each new creature adds to the momentum. ⚔️

Because the enchantment is white, you’ll want to balance early plays with a plan for staying open through the midgame. Cathars' Crusade demands a critical mass of bodies to truly shine, so a mindful approach to ramp (or at least survivable turns) matters. If you can string together a couple of creature drops in the same turn, you’ll often push through with a decisive advantage that feels like a cinematic payoff—think board presence that suddenly becomes a wall of counters and power. 💎

Strategic draft tips you can actually use

• Prioritize token generators and ETB creatures: Creatures that enter the battlefield in quick succession synergize with Crusade in a way that makes your board blow up with +1/+1 counters. If you’ve got a couple of efficient bodies already on the table, that next enter-the-battlefield moment turns into a massive, swingy tempo swing for you. 🧙‍♂️
• Guard the board with interaction: White rarely has exclusive “win the game” combos on the table without some protection. Pack a few removal spells or combat tricks to ensure your board stays intact long enough for the Crusade to kick in. The last thing you want is a sweep that wipes your board and leaves Crusade as a shiny, useless artifact in the graveyard. 🔥
• Assess mana tempo: At five mana, Crusade lands in the midrange window. You’ll want to avoid stalling on early plays and instead shape a plan where you can cast Crusade after you’ve established several threats. That way, your next board state is not just bigger, it’s decisively bigger. 🧭
• Support with anthem-like effects: Cards that broadly buff your creatures or grant evasive abilities amplify the impact of a Crusade turn. A single pump spell or aura can propel a handful of counters into real combat value, letting you close out battles that would otherwise drag on. ⚔️
• Know the environment: Innistrad Remastered environments often reward durable boards and resilient strategies. If you’re in a color-mared DAC (draw, attack, convert), Crusade can anchor a plan that outmuscles slower opponents who struggle to rebuild after each wave. 🎲

In practice, a draft deck built around Cathars' Crusade looks for a steady stream of bodies, then a crescendo of power that makes every new creature feel consequential. It’s the kind of strategy that invites you to lean into the tempo of the format, trading on the expectation that your board will outgrow the opponent’s with each passing turn. And let’s be honest: that is where the drama of limited Magic truly shines—when a single enchantment converts a handful of drafters into a crowd that roars as one. 🧙‍♂️💥

From a card-design perspective, Cathars' Crusade embodies the elegant symmetry of Innistrad Remastered: a reprint that preserves a classic, high-impact interaction while fitting neatly into modern limited play patterns. The black border of the Master’s set era gives it a familiar, almost nostalgic frame, and the rich flavor text ties the artwork to Avacyn’s enduring legend. Karl Kopinski’s illustration—an evocative portrayal of devotion and endurance—adds a layer of narrative momentum that makes the card feel like more than just numbers on a card. 🎨

For collectors and players, Crusade carries both gameplay value and a certain cultural resonance. In a world where massive board states sometimes feel out of reach, this enchantment provides a reliable path to significant board growth under the right conditions. Whether you’re chasing a commander-style control of the board or a crisp, clean aggro plan in limited, Crusade remains a beacon for how a single card can tilt a game from good to legendary. 💎

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