Traditional archer cards all do something along the lines of, “Tap: Deal X damage to target attacking or blocking creature.” As cool as such an ability is, it’s not the best ability out there. So why make a list about archers? Well, there are a whole lot more out there than you may think, and many have very unique abilities different from your every day archer card. Let’s take a look and see what this creature type has to offer.

#10 Silhana Starfletcher

So, these first few archers are a little dull, but they get pretty crazy at the top of the list! However, this card isn’t bad. It’s a nice blocker because it has reach. The three toughness makes this card good too, because with two toughness it wouldn’t at all be worth the mana. It also has the added ability of being able to tap for a color of mana of your choice (you choose the color it can tap for when it comes into play). A wonderful card.

#9 Longbow Archer

Reach, first strike, and a 2/2 for two mana? That’s a great deal! This is just a strong creature to play and I really like it!

#8 Stun Sniper

This card is a lot better than the average archer. It still does only one damage to a creature, but it also taps that creature. This renders it useless to attack/block. Also, this card isn’t restricted only to dealing damage to creatures that are attacking or blocking. This allows it to pick off little chump cards that your opponent wouldn’t normally attack with. A nice uncommon.

#7 Skyshooter

This card is nice because it’s cheap, but it can take out any attacking or blocking creature with flying. That makes it so powerful, especially in green, for green traditionally has trouble coming up with ways to stop flying. Another strong uncommon that almost always has a use.

#6 Bounty Hunter

This card is nice because it can take out any nonblack creature. Of course, you can’t do it in the same turn unless you have a way to untap it that same turn you put a bounty counter an the creature you target. It’s an archer that calls out what it’s going to destroy, which can be bad, but also is pretty cool in a sense of flavor. It’s like marking a creature for death and there’s just something to be said about that.

#5 Tetsuo Umezawa

An old archer in the Grixis colors (for those who refer to everything in terms of the Alara block). It can’t be enchanted, though if it had shroud it could go higher on the list. It destroys any tapped or blocking creature if you pay the right amount of mana. Although it costs mana to use it’s ability, the fact that it can destroy blocking creatures give it a little something not offered by Royal Assassin. I can’t help but feel this card is out of place though. Doesn’t it seem like it should have seen some reprint in the Kamigawa block?

#4 Thornweald Archer

What an impressive common. It reminds me of Tidehollow Strix, but it isn’t as offensive. This is a creature for blocking that can really pull its weight. No one wants to attack into deathtouch, and this card’s reach ability makes it almost impossible to get around. I don’t really understand why this card is timeshifted, but I can’t wait to see where it will pop-up in the future.

#3 Jagged-Scar Archers

Any creature that has power and toughness equal to the number of elves in play is an incredible card. This one only costs three mana. That’s also quite an impressive trait of this card. However, the thing that takes the cake is that it can deal damage equal to its power to any creature with flying. A great card to deal with pesky flying creatures, and this card’s power is likely to be humongous.

#2 Titania’s Chosen

This card would be number one if this list was ranked by combo-ability. This card becomes a monstrosity without combos usually, but with certain combos you can pull off some insane stuff. This card is inexpensive and becomes a contender if it stays in play long enough. An amazing card from Urza’s Saga, but with Urza’s Saga it’s hard to be disappointed.

#1 Brigid, Hero Of Kinsbaile

Admittedly, Titania’s Chosen is better if you’re running crazy combos. However, in a more casual setting, this card is the king. It takes the traditional archer abilty and takes it to new levels. This card rains down a volley of two damage to each attacking/blocking creature target player controls. This card can wipe a board if you’re playing the right deck. The fact that it’s also a kithkin adds to its power. A great card from Lorwyn that is likely in many kithkin decks out there.

Thanks for reading!