Won a draft last night featuring Duelist of the Mind in a Sultai Uro Initiaitve Midrange deck (blue was really just the "splash" for Uro / Oko / Occult Epiphany / Duelist). This deck was short on ways to draw cards (only had Uro / Occult Epiphany). However, this did showcase how good Duelist can stil be outside of a heavy cantrip / draw 7 shell since this did have a lot of crime enablers. I had 8 cards that can commit crimes, with 3 of them being repeatable (Oko / Grist / From the Catacombs).
- Being able to play offense and defense IN THE AIR with 3 toughness is highly valuable. In addition to contesting monarch / initiative very well, it's also a very prime target to put your +1/+1 counters on with initiative.
- Duelist + Grist was very key in digging for and fueling both Uro and From the Catacombs. This was especially key in game 3 of the finals where Duelist + Grist let me keep up with my opponent's turn 2 Palantir of Orthanc.
Interesting.
It requires some build or setup to activate... it cost a colored mana to activate... and after that I feel the PW side is just kinda of OK but not stellar.
Not sure I will test it.
Yeah I think I might've been looking at the planeswalker half with rose tinted glasses at first just because of how good the original Grist is. The Disenchant mode is a HUGE downgrade from the Hero's Downfall mode. That was key in winning the planeswalker war, and this just lacks that. This also just seems to ask for the most hoops to jump through while probably giving the worst floor as a creature and one of the lower ceilings as a planeswalker. I think this requires the most context to really want it in terms of how much you support Gravecrawlers / Unearth effects / Lurrus / Persist / etc.
It depends on how you look at it. Ragavan is much scarier on turn 1 since it can just snowball out of control really fast if left unchecked. It also doesn't rely on you having anything else to do so where Tamiyo needs specific cards to transform early. This probably compares more to Hexdrinker where it maintains its value throughout the game.
Regardless, I think it's at least safe to say that Tamiyo is in the same conversation / tier as ultra premium 1-cmc creatures alongside Ragavan / Hexdrinker.
I guess my only real issue is the walker side is very meh to me. But as we all know if you are drawing a million cards in your cube deck you are probably fine.
I think the planeswalker half is very strong since it's very reminiscent of Jace, Telepath Unbound. Its Achille's Heel is the low starting loyalty count making it so that you can't -3 immediately. But this is also like almost Oko level of a pain to deal with in combat since it has +2 loyalty gain + Jace, Architect of Thought effect. The recursion ability is also much better than JVP's since you can recur cards to your hand and save them for later, where JVP really didn't work well with counterspells unless you're protecting something on your own turn. Returning a spell to your hand also means it's not exiled like how it does with JVP, so you can continue recurring something like Ancestral Recall / Time Walk in a powered cube.
Securitron Squadron has been testing well for us so far. The floor of its base 2-cmc mode is extremely high given how many token generators there are. White also brings a lot of critical mass to artifacts matters, and this is one of the few colored artifacts that can take full advantage of Mishra's Workshop. Very versatile in token based aggro / midrange shells and artifacts matters.
I'd play the front face on its own (like with Tamiyo and Ajani), so I expect this to perform even if it is hard to flip.
I do think this card is better than it reads at first, both halves are probably better than I originally gave them credit for. I originally didn't notice that the planeswalker half also has extort, which is really nice. The planeswalker half can Lightning Bolt (or even more) immediately when it transforms, and it can keep spamming Lightning Bolts every other turn in combination with its food generating ability. That ability can get really out of hand if you have a big creature with lifelink. Extreme example where you're already winning, but this can burn for 7 if you touch something with Atraxa / Grislebrand. Or just crack a food and have another way to gain life.
Every cube may vary, but my cube actually has quite a lot more ways to transform this than I thought. I ran a filter through my cube for lifelink / food / and "gains" "life" and came up with 40-ish cards (really 45, but there's at least 2 false positives in my filter with Adanto Vanguard / The One Ring / Nissa, Ascended Animist. Some are also quite narrow, like Nissa, Voice of Zendikar's ultimate). Not to mention it can just get there with extort and / or a pump effect with lifelink.
Here's the filter syntax if anybody is interested in running it through their own cube on CubeCobra
It's not too unrealistic if you're storming off. The transformation is optional if you win the coin flip, so can hold off on the transformation until once you've hit your 6th instant / sorcery.
Probably the most difficult to transform out of the cycle, especially within its own color. While I'm not the biggest fan of this in straight up reanimator shells, this goes very well with things like Gravecrawlers / Unearth effects / Lurrus companion shells / Persist creatures. I don't think this will make the cut in most reanimator decks, and I really don't support Gravecrawlers / Persist, so I'm personally not too interested in this one at the moment. Seems strong in cubes that can take full advantage of it though.
A cheap defensive minded lifelinker is quite rare in black. This can transform off a single food activation from Oko / Gilded Goose / Tough Cookie, swinging with Intrepid Adversary, or Charming Prince ETB trigger. On transformation this can bolt immediately and can fire bolts off every other turn with its food generation. Seems like an interesting card to test given how much incidental life gain there is, and black can really use an extort / food engine.
A red Baral, Chief of Compliance that can randomly transform into a planeswalker very easily is pretty nifty for storm. Probably not too bad even outside of storm, but a bit more questionable for me. Might be at least worth testing even if you don't support storm.
Hard Evidence with a lower floor but much higher ceiling. The planeswalker side is very reminiscent of Jace, Telepath Unbound with its ability to recur instants / sorceries and shrink your opponent's offense in the fashion of Jace, Architect of Thought. It's not too hard to transform this on turn 2-3 with Ancestral Recall / Brainstorm / Chart a Course / Faithless Looting / any Demand Answers variant. This is also really strong in Academy shells since it's a rare blue 1-drop that can start putting artifacts on the board. This is my second favorite in the cycle after Ajani, I'm really glad blue finally has a strong blue 1-cmc creature. I also like how they're making more "draw cards matters" things that care about having something like Brainstorm / Sylvan Library.
Circling back to this card, it's been a huge hit in our playgroup and is one of best black's cards, period. It's often described as black's Bribery, but better since it's also a recursive initiative enabler. The graveyard is extremely dangerous these days, so it's very easy to abuse this in your own deck or use this against your opponent. You often don't care about losing initiative since re-casting this will give you back initiative. This can often create double or even triple initiaitve triggers in a single turn by stealing back initiative in combat, and then casting this on another initiative enabler.
In 110 drafts since the release of LTR, it's currently one of the most represented cards in my 3-0 archive
Raw data - https://pastebin.com/raw/SJuraKDy
- The only mono black cards currently ahead of it in this data set are Dismember / Thoughtseize / Grief / Mind Twist / Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- Is currently tied with fellow black 5-cmc allstar Necron Deathmark
- Is currently 1 card ahead of other mono black stalwarts like Demonic Tutor / Reanimate / Baleful Mastery
- Has more showings than other black initiative enablers like Ravenloft Adventurer / Passageway Seer
Palantir ended up being a bit hit and over performed all expectations of it. While it was overshadowed by things like Orcish Bowmasters / Forth Eorlingas / The One Ring, it's put in just as much work so far. Palantir slots into all sorts of decks and is always scary to face down.
In 110 drafts since the release of LTR, it's currently one of the most represented cards in my 3-0 archive
Raw data - https://pastebin.com/raw/SJuraKDy
- The only colorless non manafixing lands ahead of it are Chrome Mox / Urza's Saga / Currency Converter / Strip Mine
- Is currently tied with things like Demonic Tutor / Forth Eorlingas
- Is 1 card ahead of fellow LTR allstar Orcish Bowmasters
- Has over double the representation of The One Ring
Necron Deathmark turned out to be a sleeper, it's quite popular in our playgroup. I really didn't have any expectations for it and thought things like Sheoldred / Royal Warden would take off, but pretty much the exact opposite happened. This having flash and being a decent closer makes this feel closer to Chaos Defiler than it is to Ravenous Chupacabra / Custodi Lich / etc.
In 110 drafts since the release of LTR, it's currently one of the most represented cards in my 3-0 archive
Raw data - https://pastebin.com/raw/SJuraKDy
- The only mono black cards currently ahead of it in this data set are Dismember / Thoughtseize / Grief / Mind Twist / Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Braids is fine if you support recursive agro in black, I wouldn't argue against her inclusion in those cubes , but eh...
Cubes I've been playing have been dominated by matchups that Braids would be mediocore in.
This is probably the biggest issue with Braids, which people began bringing up in this thread 5 years ago in 2019. Before initiative became the boogeyman, cubes were still pretty aggressive. A lot of decks were playing more to the board with planeswalkers / Rabblemasters / etc, vastly weakening Braids' overall matchup spread. While I can blame initiative for being the final nail in the coffin for a lot of things in my cube, Braids was already out years before CLB came out. Braids doesn't even make the cut in my Old Fashioned Cube (similar to my normal cube but with no supplemental products).
She's great in some spots (when ahead against spell heavy decks)
To me this is the equivalent of saying Ryu's good qualities in Street Fighter is having really good matchup against *insert the 3 most bottom tier characters in the game here*.
It's like a monarch/initiative that can die to removal and takes longer to have a big effect on the game (there are exceptions).
Initiative is pretty much the point of no return to me for Braids for several reasons:
- Any black 4-cmc initiative enabler can go into any deck that Braids can, but Braids can't go into every deck that the initiative enablers can go into.
- Out of the box, Ravenloft Adventurer / Vicious Battlerager are out of range of most burn spells / Cut Down / etc, and any initiative enabler can get out of range next turn with the two +1/+1 counters from the Forge room.
- An opponent can deal with Braids with a removal spell, but a removal spell alone can't deal with initiative.
- Any initiative enabler can be played turn 1 on the play with Black Lotus where you wouldn't play Braids turn 1 on the play.
- Any initiative enabler is better at breaking stalemates / coming back from behind than Braids.
- Braids' body is far worse than pretty much every other viable 4-cmc black creature.
- Being able to play offense and defense IN THE AIR with 3 toughness is highly valuable. In addition to contesting monarch / initiative very well, it's also a very prime target to put your +1/+1 counters on with initiative.
- Duelist + Grist was very key in digging for and fueling both Uro and From the Catacombs. This was especially key in game 3 of the finals where Duelist + Grist let me keep up with my opponent's turn 2 Palantir of Orthanc.
Draft picks - https://magic.flooey.org/draft/show?id=nTwi-qSIEGgcc-XVGE69M32F0RM&deck=ahRzfmV1cGhvcmljLWRpb2RlLTYxNnIRCxIEZGVjaxiAgIDN4LicCQw
Yeah I think I might've been looking at the planeswalker half with rose tinted glasses at first just because of how good the original Grist is. The Disenchant mode is a HUGE downgrade from the Hero's Downfall mode. That was key in winning the planeswalker war, and this just lacks that. This also just seems to ask for the most hoops to jump through while probably giving the worst floor as a creature and one of the lower ceilings as a planeswalker. I think this requires the most context to really want it in terms of how much you support Gravecrawlers / Unearth effects / Lurrus / Persist / etc.
It depends on how you look at it. Ragavan is much scarier on turn 1 since it can just snowball out of control really fast if left unchecked. It also doesn't rely on you having anything else to do so where Tamiyo needs specific cards to transform early. This probably compares more to Hexdrinker where it maintains its value throughout the game.
Regardless, I think it's at least safe to say that Tamiyo is in the same conversation / tier as ultra premium 1-cmc creatures alongside Ragavan / Hexdrinker.
I think the planeswalker half is very strong since it's very reminiscent of Jace, Telepath Unbound. Its Achille's Heel is the low starting loyalty count making it so that you can't -3 immediately. But this is also like almost Oko level of a pain to deal with in combat since it has +2 loyalty gain + Jace, Architect of Thought effect. The recursion ability is also much better than JVP's since you can recur cards to your hand and save them for later, where JVP really didn't work well with counterspells unless you're protecting something on your own turn. Returning a spell to your hand also means it's not exiled like how it does with JVP, so you can continue recurring something like Ancestral Recall / Time Walk in a powered cube.
I do think this card is better than it reads at first, both halves are probably better than I originally gave them credit for. I originally didn't notice that the planeswalker half also has extort, which is really nice. The planeswalker half can Lightning Bolt (or even more) immediately when it transforms, and it can keep spamming Lightning Bolts every other turn in combination with its food generating ability. That ability can get really out of hand if you have a big creature with lifelink. Extreme example where you're already winning, but this can burn for 7 if you touch something with Atraxa / Grislebrand. Or just crack a food and have another way to gain life.
Every cube may vary, but my cube actually has quite a lot more ways to transform this than I thought. I ran a filter through my cube for lifelink / food / and "gains" "life" and came up with 40-ish cards (really 45, but there's at least 2 false positives in my filter with Adanto Vanguard / The One Ring / Nissa, Ascended Animist. Some are also quite narrow, like Nissa, Voice of Zendikar's ultimate). Not to mention it can just get there with extort and / or a pump effect with lifelink.
Here's the filter syntax if anybody is interested in running it through their own cube on CubeCobra
It's not too unrealistic if you're storming off. The transformation is optional if you win the coin flip, so can hold off on the transformation until once you've hit your 6th instant / sorcery.
Probably the most difficult to transform out of the cycle, especially within its own color. While I'm not the biggest fan of this in straight up reanimator shells, this goes very well with things like Gravecrawlers / Unearth effects / Lurrus companion shells / Persist creatures. I don't think this will make the cut in most reanimator decks, and I really don't support Gravecrawlers / Persist, so I'm personally not too interested in this one at the moment. Seems strong in cubes that can take full advantage of it though.
A cheap defensive minded lifelinker is quite rare in black. This can transform off a single food activation from Oko / Gilded Goose / Tough Cookie, swinging with Intrepid Adversary, or Charming Prince ETB trigger. On transformation this can bolt immediately and can fire bolts off every other turn with its food generation. Seems like an interesting card to test given how much incidental life gain there is, and black can really use an extort / food engine.
A red Baral, Chief of Compliance that can randomly transform into a planeswalker very easily is pretty nifty for storm. Probably not too bad even outside of storm, but a bit more questionable for me. Might be at least worth testing even if you don't support storm.
Hard Evidence with a lower floor but much higher ceiling. The planeswalker side is very reminiscent of Jace, Telepath Unbound with its ability to recur instants / sorceries and shrink your opponent's offense in the fashion of Jace, Architect of Thought. It's not too hard to transform this on turn 2-3 with Ancestral Recall / Brainstorm / Chart a Course / Faithless Looting / any Demand Answers variant. This is also really strong in Academy shells since it's a rare blue 1-drop that can start putting artifacts on the board. This is my second favorite in the cycle after Ajani, I'm really glad blue finally has a strong blue 1-cmc creature. I also like how they're making more "draw cards matters" things that care about having something like Brainstorm / Sylvan Library.
In 110 drafts since the release of LTR, it's currently one of the most represented cards in my 3-0 archive
Raw data - https://pastebin.com/raw/SJuraKDy
- The only mono black cards currently ahead of it in this data set are Dismember / Thoughtseize / Grief / Mind Twist / Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- Is currently tied with fellow black 5-cmc allstar Necron Deathmark
- Is currently 1 card ahead of other mono black stalwarts like Demonic Tutor / Reanimate / Baleful Mastery
- Has more showings than other black initiative enablers like Ravenloft Adventurer / Passageway Seer
Chrome Mox: 18
Bonecrusher Giant: 17
Grist, the Hunger Tide: 16
Dismember: 16
Thoughtseize: 16
Grief: 16
Chaos Defiler: 16
Mind Twist: 15
Force of Will: 14
Urza's Saga: 14
Karakas: 14
Fury: 14
Seasoned Pyromancer: 14
Remand: 14
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse: 14
Hymn to Tourach: 14
Pest Infestation: 14
Currency Converter: 13
Caves of Chaos Adventurer: 13
Necron Deathmark: 13
From the Catacombs: 13
Strip Mine: 13
Kolaghan's Command: 13
Bayou: 12
Mana Leak: 12
Occult Epiphany: 12
Archon of Cruelty: 12
Delayed Blast Fireball: 12
Forth Eorlingas!: 12
Dark Confidant: 12
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: 12
Ertai Resurrected: 12
Reanimate: 12
Demonic Tutor: 12
Mawloc: 12
Palantir of Orthanc: 12
Baleful Mastery: 12
Ledger Shredder: 11
Gitaxian Probe: 11
Mana Drain: 11
Questing Beast: 11
Esika's Chariot: 11
Elvish Mystic: 11
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker: 11
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider: 11
Orcish Bowmasters: 11
Atraxa, Grand Unifier: 11
Baleful Strix: 11
Bitter Triumph: 11
Ignoble Hierarch: 11
Stomping Ground: 11
Undermountain Adventurer: 11
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes: 11
Talisman of Unity: 10
Thraben Inspector: 10
Palace Jailer: 10
Retrofitter Foundry: 10
Force Spike: 10
Swords to Plowshares: 10
Llanowar Elves: 10
Hullbreacher: 10
Mox Diamond: 10
Noble Hierarch: 10
Lightning Bolt: 10
Chain Lightning: 10
Fiery Confluence: 10
Chrome Host Seedshark: 10
Bloodchief's Thirst: 10
Lose Focus: 10
Daze: 10
Wheel of Fortune: 10
Glorybringer: 10
In 110 drafts since the release of LTR, it's currently one of the most represented cards in my 3-0 archive
Raw data - https://pastebin.com/raw/SJuraKDy
- The only colorless non manafixing lands ahead of it are Chrome Mox / Urza's Saga / Currency Converter / Strip Mine
- Is currently tied with things like Demonic Tutor / Forth Eorlingas
- Is 1 card ahead of fellow LTR allstar Orcish Bowmasters
- Has over double the representation of The One Ring
Chrome Mox: 18
Bonecrusher Giant: 17
Grist, the Hunger Tide: 16
Dismember: 16
Thoughtseize: 16
Grief: 16
Chaos Defiler: 16
Mind Twist: 15
Force of Will: 14
Urza's Saga: 14
Karakas: 14
Fury: 14
Seasoned Pyromancer: 14
Remand: 14
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse: 14
Hymn to Tourach: 14
Pest Infestation: 14
Currency Converter: 13
Caves of Chaos Adventurer: 13
Necron Deathmark: 13
From the Catacombs: 13
Strip Mine: 13
Kolaghan's Command: 13
Bayou: 12
Mana Leak: 12
Occult Epiphany: 12
Archon of Cruelty: 12
Delayed Blast Fireball: 12
Forth Eorlingas!: 12
Dark Confidant: 12
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: 12
Ertai Resurrected: 12
Reanimate: 12
Demonic Tutor: 12
Mawloc: 12
Palantir of Orthanc: 12
Baleful Mastery: 12
Ledger Shredder: 11
Gitaxian Probe: 11
Mana Drain: 11
Questing Beast: 11
Esika's Chariot: 11
Elvish Mystic: 11
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker: 11
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider: 11
Orcish Bowmasters: 11
Atraxa, Grand Unifier: 11
Baleful Strix: 11
Bitter Triumph: 11
Ignoble Hierarch: 11
Stomping Ground: 11
Undermountain Adventurer: 11
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes: 11
Talisman of Unity: 10
Thraben Inspector: 10
Palace Jailer: 10
Retrofitter Foundry: 10
Force Spike: 10
Swords to Plowshares: 10
Llanowar Elves: 10
Hullbreacher: 10
Mox Diamond: 10
Noble Hierarch: 10
Lightning Bolt: 10
Chain Lightning: 10
Fiery Confluence: 10
Chrome Host Seedshark: 10
Bloodchief's Thirst: 10
Lose Focus: 10
Daze: 10
Wheel of Fortune: 10
Glorybringer: 10
In 110 drafts since the release of LTR, it's currently one of the most represented cards in my 3-0 archive
Raw data - https://pastebin.com/raw/SJuraKDy
- The only mono black cards currently ahead of it in this data set are Dismember / Thoughtseize / Grief / Mind Twist / Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- Is currently tied with fellow black 5-cmc allstar From the Catacombs
- Is currently 1 card ahead of other mono black stalwarts like Demonic Tutor / Reanimate / Baleful Mastery
Chrome Mox: 18
Bonecrusher Giant: 17
Grist, the Hunger Tide: 16
Dismember: 16
Thoughtseize: 16
Grief: 16
Chaos Defiler: 16
Mind Twist: 15
Force of Will: 14
Urza's Saga: 14
Karakas: 14
Fury: 14
Seasoned Pyromancer: 14
Remand: 14
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse: 14
Hymn to Tourach: 14
Pest Infestation: 14
Currency Converter: 13
Caves of Chaos Adventurer: 13
Necron Deathmark: 13
From the Catacombs: 13
Strip Mine: 13
Kolaghan's Command: 13
Bayou: 12
Mana Leak: 12
Occult Epiphany: 12
Archon of Cruelty: 12
Delayed Blast Fireball: 12
Forth Eorlingas!: 12
Dark Confidant: 12
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: 12
Ertai Resurrected: 12
Reanimate: 12
Demonic Tutor: 12
Mawloc: 12
Palantir of Orthanc: 12
Baleful Mastery: 12
Ledger Shredder: 11
Gitaxian Probe: 11
Mana Drain: 11
Questing Beast: 11
Esika's Chariot: 11
Elvish Mystic: 11
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker: 11
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider: 11
Orcish Bowmasters: 11
Atraxa, Grand Unifier: 11
Baleful Strix: 11
Bitter Triumph: 11
Ignoble Hierarch: 11
Stomping Ground: 11
Undermountain Adventurer: 11
Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes: 11
Talisman of Unity: 10
Thraben Inspector: 10
Palace Jailer: 10
Retrofitter Foundry: 10
Force Spike: 10
Swords to Plowshares: 10
Llanowar Elves: 10
Hullbreacher: 10
Mox Diamond: 10
Noble Hierarch: 10
Lightning Bolt: 10
Chain Lightning: 10
Fiery Confluence: 10
Chrome Host Seedshark: 10
Bloodchief's Thirst: 10
Lose Focus: 10
Daze: 10
Wheel of Fortune: 10
Glorybringer: 10
This is probably the biggest issue with Braids, which people began bringing up in this thread 5 years ago in 2019. Before initiative became the boogeyman, cubes were still pretty aggressive. A lot of decks were playing more to the board with planeswalkers / Rabblemasters / etc, vastly weakening Braids' overall matchup spread. While I can blame initiative for being the final nail in the coffin for a lot of things in my cube, Braids was already out years before CLB came out. Braids doesn't even make the cut in my Old Fashioned Cube (similar to my normal cube but with no supplemental products).
To me this is the equivalent of saying Ryu's good qualities in Street Fighter is having really good matchup against *insert the 3 most bottom tier characters in the game here*.
Initiative is pretty much the point of no return to me for Braids for several reasons:
- Any black 4-cmc initiative enabler can go into any deck that Braids can, but Braids can't go into every deck that the initiative enablers can go into.
- Out of the box, Ravenloft Adventurer / Vicious Battlerager are out of range of most burn spells / Cut Down / etc, and any initiative enabler can get out of range next turn with the two +1/+1 counters from the Forge room.
- An opponent can deal with Braids with a removal spell, but a removal spell alone can't deal with initiative.
- Any initiative enabler can be played turn 1 on the play with Black Lotus where you wouldn't play Braids turn 1 on the play.
- Any initiative enabler is better at breaking stalemates / coming back from behind than Braids.
- Braids' body is far worse than pretty much every other viable 4-cmc black creature.