Dash is Viashino Sandscout: The Mechanic, and we can all agree that its pretty damn good. The versatility of all the Dash cards really sells them, and any and all decks like the options provided. However, with versatility comes complexity, and a problem that a lot of players will face in events to come is the choice: whether their best option is the Dash their creature or simply cast the card for its mana cost.

Dash in all its glory

So what is Dash, really? Sure, the ability seems quite easy to understand at the surface, but the complexity is very real. Here are a few things to keep in mind while working with Dash:

1. When you Dash a card, it doesn’t add to your boardstate: This is also quite evident, but important to keep in mind. Sure, you get in a few extra points of damage in, or if you’re lucky, you get to trade your Dashed creature for something else, but at the end of the turn, you no longer have the card on your board. Hence, you need to be wary of the crack back on the following turn.

2. A Dash card in hand is always an effective resource: You can always count on a Dash card to immediately affect the game if you have one in your hand. Just because it returns to your hand doesn’t mean the card is dead in the following turns if you have a better play. For instance, on turn three, a Morph is often a better play than Dashing a Mardu Scout, but that doesn’t mean you can’t count on the Dash to go wide if you need to. If your opponent has Dash cards in hand, its important to remember them, especially if one of them is a Goblin Heelcutter. They can warp the boardstate for a turn if you let them, and having that information is vital. Especially in racing situations, when you’re trying to edge your opponent out of the game between points of damage, knowing that you can still Dash your own cards for a few extra points of damage is vital. It’s very easy to count out a Mardu Scout in hand if a game goes long, but a slip up on your opponent’s part can make the Scout win you the game.

3. Remember removal after game one: Especially when it comes to mass removal, such as End Hostilities or Crux of Fate. Dash dodges a lot of sorcery-speed removal, such as Rite of the Serpent (if it makes the cut), Bathe in Dragonfire, and worst of all, Debilitating Injury. At times, the best play may just be to cast your Dash creature, but getting around these sorts of removal while still bashing is quite the upside for Dash cards. You may want to prioritize casting cards for their Dash cost in games two and three, especially if you see a number of sorcery-speed removal. Writing down the cards you see is always a good idea anyway, but becomes that much more vital when you have Dash cards in your deck.

A few scenarios:

A lot of factors come into play when you have a card such as Mardu Scout in your deck, and the prospects of Dashing really depends on both the texture of the field, the rest of the contents of your hand, and how aggressive your deck wants to be. For the first scenario, lets take Mardu Scout and an aggressive deck.

So here we’re on the play, as an R/W aggro deck running War Flare and Trumpet blast. This hand is okay, a bit too land heavy for our liking, but still good. So we’re on turn two, and we have three choices: Dash the Mardu Scout, cast the Mardu Scout, or cast the Horde Ambusher. Our deck is quite aggressive, and any amount of early damage we can deal is good. Horde Ambusher is also a fine Morph, and the Falter effect can be quite brutal. We will want to hold the Horde Ambusher till we have a somewhat heavier swing, say with War Flare, since really, the flip is free on the card. While any of the above routes can be argued for and against, this is a fine spot to Dash the Mardu Scout. You get three free damage, and if your opponent doesn’t have a turn two play of his own, you can get in six damage with another Dash, scot free. So by the time your opponent has a play, presumably turn 3, you’ve already got them down to 14.

This time, its a little different. We have the same Mardu Scout, but our hand includes a Mardu Hordechief. For a deck that hinges of War Flare and Trumpet blast, we really want more bodies, and the ideal way to get the bodies on curve is with a Mardu Hordechief. While we could potentially get in extra damage with the Dash ability, a better play is to just cast the Scout, to potentially get the Hordechief trigger on the next turn.

Here we see a far more advanced boardstate, where your opponent has a decent number of bodies on the board, and it has become pretty difficult for you to to get in for damage without losing a couple of your creatures. The draw for the turn was Mardu Hordechief, late to the party, and our land drops have dried up. However, our hand is chock full of combat tricks and an Outpost Siege to get things going. Here, its optimal to simply cast your Goblin Heelcutter in order to match your opponent’s board and hold up combat tricks to get the damage race on.

In an aggressive deck, you want to use your mana as often and as effectively as possible. Say in the above scenario that a land was part of the hand on turn five. I would have Dashed my Heelcutter and left up mana for my myriad combat tricks, probably getting some extra damage through. Another interesting point about Dash is that you can Dash the card over and over again, so for some mana investment, you have a semi-resistant to removal threat that your opponent has to spend a card (usually) to deal with.

Of course, this isn’t to say that Dash cards don’t have a spot in less aggressive decks. Most decks benefit from having a card with Dash in its text, but you’re often going to just cast the card, as midrange and control decks really want to affect the board through the long game instead of simply running out Hellspark Elementals. The decision gets less tricky the more your deck wants to see the long game.

Alesha’s Vanguard is a fine example for a Dash card that can be easily included in midrange or control decks. Hill Giant is a perfectly fine card, and a Hill Giant with flexibility may not be cut often. If you don’t have a Morph on turn three, Alesha’s Vanguard gives you an out by curving into itself on turn four. It lets your midrange or control deck be effective and doesn’t let your lack of curve hurt you as much as a Hill Giant might. However, at the end of the day, its still a Hill Giant, a filler that you want to see on the board and pull its weight, to whatever extent it can. While its Dash may not be as good as a Morph on turn 3, its still better than not playing anything on turn 3. Alesha’s Vanguard is also a fine topdeck in the late game, as it presents you the opportunity to go wide and get in those few extra points of damage that might just make or break a game.

So we see that there’s several scenarios, of which I’ve barely scratched the surface, that Dash poses you the question: Do I Dash here or just cast the damn thing? A simple solution is this: If you drastically require a boardstate, cast the card. If the game is yet early, and your opponent hasn’t really built up anything yet, you’re good to go with the Dash. Of course, the general rule is that you’re really running an aggressive deck if you’re Dashing anything. Getting those points of early Dash damage could really swing the game in your favor, so recognizing the situations where Dash is a good idea is vital.

Unfortunately for such a complex mechanic, Dash is only seen on eight cards in total in Fate Reforged, and only three at common. Hopefully we’ll see more of this wonderful mechanic in Dragons of Tarkir; I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Next time, I’ll be looking at Manifest, so stay tuned!

Cheers,

Brick