Kindred Discovery: A Powerful Enchantment for Creature-Based Strategies

TL;DR Summary

Kindred Discovery is an enchantment that rewards its controller with card draws whenever a creature of a specific type they chose at enchantment's entry steps enters or attacks. This can lead to powerful combo opportunities and synergies, particularly when paired with creatures of the chosen type.

Detailed Card Mechanics and Interactions

At enchantment's entrance, Kindred Discovery allows its controller to choose a creature type. For example, if they choose "Goblin," whenever a Goblin enters or attacks, they draw a card. The text states that this effect resolves when a creature of the chosen type "enters" or "attacks." However, this wording can be ambiguous in certain situations.

Consider Sword of Light and Shadow as an example. At the beginning of combat, whenever a creature attacks, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn. If Kindred Discovery is enchanting a controller who has Sword of Light and Shadow controlling them, then for every attacking unit, they draw one card because their sword is getting larger.

However, the effect doesn't trigger when an opponent's creature deals damage to the controller or when the sword enters the combat zone - these aren't considered 'attacks.' The text does not explicitly state that the effect should be triggered by any kind of 'creature type entry,' but rather 'the chosen type' entering or attacking.

This ambiguity raises questions about whether a creature with different parts entering the game triggers the enchantment's trigger. Consider Flesh-Eater Deathgrip, a card whose part enters the combat zone, and it will not trigger the enchantment because this isn't considered 'attacking.'

Strategic Uses, Combos, and Synergies

Kindred Discovery can be used to create powerful combo opportunities with creatures of a specific type. For example, if you choose "Goblin" as your chosen creature type, you can use cards like Goblin Guide, Goblin Warlord, or Golgari Findbroker to ramp up your mana and play more Goblins.

You can also use Kindred Discovery in combination with other enchantments that draw cards when creatures attack, such as Wilt-Leaf Liege]. For example, if you have both Kindred Discovery and a card like [[Golgari Findbroker, you can potentially generate an infinite loop of card draws by playing more and more creatures.

Another strategy is to use Kindred Discovery in combination with cards that control the board or disrupt your opponent's plans. For example, if you have Tinker], you can enchant a creature like [[Bolas's Covenant to deal damage to your opponent whenever it attacks.

Deckbuilding Roles and Archetypes

Kindred Discovery is typically used as an anthem, drawing card advantage for a specific type of creature. It pairs particularly well with decks that focus on aggressive creatures or have access to early-game ramp.

A sample decklist could include:

• Creatures like Goblin Guide, Goblin Warlord, or Elvish Visionary as examples of cards that can be enchanted by Kindred Discovery.
• Cards like Golgari Findbroker, Wilt-Leaf Liege], and [[Carrion Feeder to ramp up the mana needed to play more creatures.
• Enchantments like Sword of Light and Shadow or [Tinker to generate additional card draw or disruption.

Format Viability and Competitive Context

In Standard formats, Kindred Discovery has been a staple in many aggressive decks that focus on creature-based strategies. Its ability to draw cards for a specific type of creature has made it a valuable asset in formats like Modern and Commander.

However, its viability can be affected by the presence of counterspells or other disruption cards that prevent creatures from attacking. In these cases, Kindred Discovery may not generate as much value.

In Limited formats, such as Sealed or Draft, Kindred Discovery is often seen as a mid-game strategy that can help turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Rules Interactions and Technical Notes

As mentioned earlier, the text of Kindred Discovery does not explicitly state when its trigger resolves. The keyword ability (i.e., 'Whenever a creature you control of the chosen type enters or attacks, draw a card') is considered to resolve at "end of turn." However, this ability can potentially lead to some interesting interactions with other effects that may be resolved before it.

For example, consider Sword of Light and Shadow, which grants +1/+1 to all creatures until end of turn. If you have Sword controlling your life total and Kindred Discovery enchanting a creature under its control while attacking an opponent's life total, the effect will trigger as soon as that creature attacks - even if it doesn't get any bigger.

However, this can lead to some potentially problematic situations where Kindred Discovery draws more cards than intended because of other effects resolving before it does. This is largely dependent on how one chooses to interpret and resolve these situations according to the specific situation at hand.

Art, Flavor, and Historical Context

Kindred Discovery was first printed in 'Rise of the Eldrazi,' a set that focused on powerful, magical artifacts. The art for this card depicts an elf sorceress holding up an ancient-looking tome adorned with various symbols - representing her discovery of new knowledge.

The flavor for Kindred Discovery can be interpreted as the process of learning and discovering magical secrets, particularly those related to specific types of creatures.

Overall, Kindred Discovery represents a powerful tool that allows players to take advantage of their own strategic thinking and build card draw opportunities around their cards that create value in this manner.

Summary of Key Points

In summary, Kindred Discovery is an enchantment that generates card draw for its controller whenever they have control over creatures of a chosen type. Its ability can lead to powerful combo opportunities and synergies when paired with other enchantments or creatures.

Its most common usage involves creating aggressive decks that rely on drawing cards from a specific creature type. It also interacts potentially problematicly with effects triggered before its own trigger, but these interactions are largely dependent upon interpretation and context.

Deckbuilding around Kindred Discovery often involves playing early-game ramp to create an environment where the enchantment can generate card draws, as well as other enchantments that draw cards when creatures attack.

In terms of format viability, it has seen significant usage in Standard formats due to its power in aggressive creature-based strategies.

Overall, Kindred Discovery is a flexible and powerful enchantment that represents a key part of many decks.