The Alara block introduced many new keyword abilities to the world of MTG. One such ability was cascade. This ability was very powerful in the block, and one card in particular made it shine; Bloodbraid Elf!

This card has received a lot of praise since it was printed. I didn’t get it at first myself. I thought, “Man, four mana for a 3/2 with haste? That’s alright, but I don’t know… Is this cascade thing worth it?” Remember, this was before anyone had even played with cascade. However, once I saw this card in action, I realized how powerful it was.

So, how do you use this card effectively? Essentially, you want to use this card to cascade into another creature with haste, or something to boost this guy up. There are a lot of options that exist in MTG for great combos with this, but I’ll talk only about a few within the Alara block that readily came to mind. The first card I want to talk about is Jund Hackblade.

Cascading into this card gives you two 3/2’s with haste. That provides a nice offensive fairly early on in the game. Although not likely, you could get lucky and cascade into Violent Outburst and then Jund Hackblade, giving you two 4/2’s instead of 3/2’s. Another great creature to cascade into (without Violent Outburst that is) is Hell’s Thunder, though it only sticks around for one turn. However, sometimes it’s better to cascade into spells (Terminate is always great!). One in particular comes to mind:

This card works well, making Bloodbraid Elf into a 6/4 with haste and also boosting any other creatures you happen to have in play. It’s nice to pump all your creatures for a good old fashioned assault on an opponent.

There are many other cards to combo with this card inside as well as outside the Alara block. I reccomend exploring the power of Bloodbraid Elf further if you can, as it’s a great card. A powerful uncommon from a unique set in MTG history.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment and discuss your opinion and strategies for using Bloodbraid Elf!