Trade Cards Online

General description:
This card makes me jingle. Without the superb ability it boasts with, it would have been a cost effective and formidable card anyway, with its power and toughness 4 and flying for only 4UU. Add an ability boosting the usual good relation artifacts and blue have, it is a very strong card upholding the classic blue-artifact combination decks many used with mirrodin and dark-steel.

Uses:
Primarily it is good enough acting as an enchantment if u feel it would be risky to attack; the need to build a strong throng of 1/1 flying creatures would help much more than attacking a few times with this creature and quite likely loosing it.

Strategies and game play:
Be sure to already have a capable artifact creature in play, or at least in your hand, and use the sphinx with as many artifact creatures as possible. The amount of creatures u'll have in play each turn will double if u play correctly. Imagine trying to defend ten flying creatures?

Combos with other cards:
Any cards with affinity for artifacts would become quite cheap. A wonderful combination to use would be an instant called Echoing Courage from the Dark-steel range, giving target creature and all other creatures with the same name +2/+2. Whoopsie, ten 3/3 flying maniacs coming your way. Another wicked combonation would be to equip the sphinx or one of the tokens with scull clamp, o yeah baby!

Ways to counteract it:
Try to block any artifact creature before blocking the sphinx. Rather let her slowly eat away at your health than allowing your apponent to build up an unstopable army. If your apponent already has a bunch of flying wooligans, counter with a sorcery such as Gale Force, deals a whopping 5 damage to all flying creatures, whyping the sphinx out as well. And don't forget to use trample when attacking.

Strengths/Pros:
Admirable toughness and power, ability allows for easy infultration and mass damage over time, as well as mass defence.

Weaknesses/Cons:
Would only function as a moderately expensive creature if there are no artifact creatures to aid her. Takes time to get into play, and also takes time to set your plans into motion.

Variations:
None that I'm aware of.

Artwork and aesthetics:
The artwork embodies the mythic element all Sphinx's require, and also does the greatnest of the card much justice (when used correctly, of coarse). Plus it looks awesome.

Overall rating:
I do have a soft place for pro-artifact blue creatures, so I would rate this card with an 8.