Good news: This guy comes back from the dead, and with a better body to boot.
Bad news: Players have traditionally not cared a whit about merely blasting the opponent's life off with creatures entering the battlefield. They have traditionally actually cared about gaining life instead. Note that Peace Strider has seen occasional play in Standard sideboards while Pierce Strider has received no Constructed love. About the only competitive exceptions to this rule are Anathemancer, which can deal upwards of 5 damage when it ETB for a mere 3 mana, and Bogardan Hellkite, which is mainly found in Dragonstorm decks.
What with this card's restrictive mana cost, I predict a lack of Constructed love for Geralf's Messenger.
It does a lot of damage. It really has no other purpose than that. So why do we care if it enters the battlefield tapped?
The toughest part of this card is obviously the BBB mana cost. While this is a perfect card for some kind of zombie aggro, that deck is still very short on playables (and has no 2-drop), and other than that, what aggro deck can possibly pay BBB?
well as the ability takes life, he screams aggro more than control, and he isnt blocking so you probably figure the rest of the deck should be fast enough that it isnt concerned with losing life in the early game.
this+Gravecrawler and Diregraf has to be the most aggressive thing you can do in the first few turns besides Champion of the Parish->Gather the Townsfolk->Honor of the Pure/Mirran Crusader
White and Black are the aggro decks to beat it looks like, maybe Illusions and UW still. Black is always a serious underdog since its never given much credit in the first place and R&D keeps finding reasons to give the creatures big drawbacks so they arent "too good" or something, like there's been a too good black creature ever.
other colors dont seem to get attacked like that :/
maybe green a bit in this set with the GGG costs.
all the White and Blue stuff is easy to splash and play with support colors...a little aggravating
Ya, it's zombie deck or bust for this guy, as I doubt either MBC or the black/green pod varients would touch him - though both could be possible I guess. The restrictive mana cost prevents him finding a home anywhere else.
Good news: This guy comes back from the dead, and with a better body to boot.
Bad news: Players have traditionally not cared a whit about merely blasting the opponent's life off with creatures entering the battlefield. They have traditionally actually cared about gaining life instead. Note that Peace Strider has seen occasional play in Standard sideboards while Pierce Strider has received no Constructed love. About the only competitive exceptions to this rule are Anathemancer, which can deal upwards of 5 damage when it ETB for a mere 3 mana, and Bogardan Hellkite, which is mainly found in Dragonstorm decks.
What with this card's restrictive mana cost, I predict a lack of Constructed love for Geralf's Messenger.
you're neglecting something about Pierce Strider though- it sucks. its 4 cmc 3/3 vanilla artifact jank uncommon. its not even close to competing for the 4 cmc slot in any list.
Peace strider barely saw any play as it sucked equally, people just missed Baloth in the RDW matches.
Messenger is way stronger than striders, its 3 cmc which only puts it in competition with Liliana, who you dont NEED t3 in an aggro deck. Its a zombie so it enables Gravecrawler and gets zombie benefits from other cards. Its got Undying, the most underrated awesome ability since exalted.
Also, know what I can do if I really feel like it? I can Birthing Pod this into Obliterator on your turn
Some people are really underestimating the tapped clause, it has a huge impact on the game just think about Army of the Damned the one thing holding that back from greatness is the tapped clause, When creatures enter tapped it means they are irrelevant for a turn(excluding the 187 ability in this case) meaning they are useless when your opponent is already ahead.
It's doubly painful on Messenger since one of the good things about persist/undying creatures is the fact that when you keep them back to block your opponent can't just use a single kill spell and swing through. However in Messenger's case they can.
That coupled with the BBB casting cost means that the only place this stands a chance at seeing play is in a mono black aggro deck(zombie tribal or other) and the only semi viable mono black aggro at the moment is infect which doesn't even remotely want this card.
I have a monoblack modern deck and I will definitely be putting this guy in.
Huh. I have a monoblack aggro deck as well and I was thinking of adding gravecrawlers but only had diregraf ghoul as the only zombie as support. This might be sweet in my deck.
Some people are really underestimating the tapped clause, it has a huge impact on the game just think about Army of the Damned the one thing holding that back from greatness is the tapped clause, When creatures enter tapped it means they are irrelevant for a turn(excluding the 187 ability in this case) meaning they are useless when your opponent is already ahead.
No, army of the damned isn't played because it costs 8 mana. The funny thing is, most creatures don't attack the turn they come into play so entering the battlefield tapped isn't so bad, especially when you are playing a color that is heavy in creature kill.
I think that the worst thing about this guy is that he's almostplayable and will encourage people to try.
That said I'll probably be right there with you building MBA/MBM just because it's fun and almost good. I'll know better than to take it to any remotely serious tournament though.
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...Also, know what I can do if I really feel like it? I can Birthing Pod this into Obliterator on your turn
Well, no... no matter how much you feel like doing it you cant
In any case I've got my eye on this guy for ISD Block Zombies. The problem is I'm sure sure a mono black zombie deck will fly in block with that damn cage running around now...
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ISD Block UR - Burning Vengeance BG - The Rock RUG - RUG Control BBB - Zombies
Finks was an extreme tempo card- it could ward off weenies, chump a fatty twice and net you 4 life, giving you a huge working space. It was like a wall in that regard, but aggressive. This is about the dead opposite. Pun intended
Hell yes. Gonna run this guy with Hex Parasite and just constantly sac/creature remove him, pinging my opponent for 2 each time he re-hits the battlefield.
Would a DKA reprint of Dark Ritual change people's minds about this guy?
It would probably change a lot of minds about a lot of cards, actually...
ok anyway i dont see why this and mono black aggro in general doesnt work now:
t1: you have diregraf or gravecrawler
t2: you have Altar's Reap to draw more stuff, Dblade if you need or Geth's Verdict to kill whatever.
t3: Liliana or Messenger
t4: Obliterator, Lashwrithe, maybe play another zombie and bring back 1-2 Gravecrawlers?
t5; Batterskull, maybe more cheap dudes...removal?
i mean what do you need really? a hexproof thing that makes 4/4s with haste? wouldnt that be broken? -_-
EDIT: forgot flying and haste, my mistake
EDIT: Wow, why the hell do people love Birthing Pod so much then? Its a sorcery speed ability? thats so crappy, the more you know i guess. my b
Some people are really underestimating the tapped clause, it has a huge impact on the game just think about Army of the Damned the one thing holding that back from greatness is the tapped clause, When creatures enter tapped it means they are irrelevant for a turn(excluding the 187 ability in this case) meaning they are useless when your opponent is already ahead.
It's doubly painful on Messenger since one of the good things about persist/undying creatures is the fact that when you keep them back to block your opponent can't just use a single kill spell and swing through. However in Messenger's case they can.
That coupled with the BBB casting cost means that the only place this stands a chance at seeing play is in a mono black aggro deck(zombie tribal or other) and the only semi viable mono black aggro at the moment is infect which doesn't even remotely want this card.
The reason I don't like it entering tapped is because you can't block and trade with their 3 toughness guy then return it make them lose 2 life, then untap and swing for 4.
The reason I don't like it entering tapped is because you can't block and trade with their 3 toughness guy then return it make them lose 2 life, then untap and swing for 4.
What 3 toughness guy? You smothered that at the end of their last turn.
I really don't see this going into a multi-colored deck, being a heavy tripple black. Looks like we'll soon be Back in Black...
You can find me on MTGO. My username is gereffi.
Bad news: Players have traditionally not cared a whit about merely blasting the opponent's life off with creatures entering the battlefield. They have traditionally actually cared about gaining life instead. Note that Peace Strider has seen occasional play in Standard sideboards while Pierce Strider has received no Constructed love. About the only competitive exceptions to this rule are Anathemancer, which can deal upwards of 5 damage when it ETB for a mere 3 mana, and Bogardan Hellkite, which is mainly found in Dragonstorm decks.
What with this card's restrictive mana cost, I predict a lack of Constructed love for Geralf's Messenger.
The toughest part of this card is obviously the BBB mana cost. While this is a perfect card for some kind of zombie aggro, that deck is still very short on playables (and has no 2-drop), and other than that, what aggro deck can possibly pay BBB?
this+Gravecrawler and Diregraf has to be the most aggressive thing you can do in the first few turns besides Champion of the Parish->Gather the Townsfolk->Honor of the Pure/Mirran Crusader
White and Black are the aggro decks to beat it looks like, maybe Illusions and UW still. Black is always a serious underdog since its never given much credit in the first place and R&D keeps finding reasons to give the creatures big drawbacks so they arent "too good" or something, like there's been a too good black creature ever.
other colors dont seem to get attacked like that :/
maybe green a bit in this set with the GGG costs.
all the White and Blue stuff is easy to splash and play with support colors...a little aggravating
you're neglecting something about Pierce Strider though- it sucks. its 4 cmc 3/3 vanilla artifact jank uncommon. its not even close to competing for the 4 cmc slot in any list.
Peace strider barely saw any play as it sucked equally, people just missed Baloth in the RDW matches.
Messenger is way stronger than striders, its 3 cmc which only puts it in competition with Liliana, who you dont NEED t3 in an aggro deck. Its a zombie so it enables Gravecrawler and gets zombie benefits from other cards. Its got Undying, the most underrated awesome ability since exalted.
Also, know what I can do if I really feel like it? I can Birthing Pod this into Obliterator on your turn
It's doubly painful on Messenger since one of the good things about persist/undying creatures is the fact that when you keep them back to block your opponent can't just use a single kill spell and swing through. However in Messenger's case they can.
That coupled with the BBB casting cost means that the only place this stands a chance at seeing play is in a mono black aggro deck(zombie tribal or other) and the only semi viable mono black aggro at the moment is infect which doesn't even remotely want this card.
Machius proudly supports R_E's right to Rumour!
Huh. I have a monoblack aggro deck as well and I was thinking of adding gravecrawlers but only had diregraf ghoul as the only zombie as support. This might be sweet in my deck.
No, army of the damned isn't played because it costs 8 mana. The funny thing is, most creatures don't attack the turn they come into play so entering the battlefield tapped isn't so bad, especially when you are playing a color that is heavy in creature kill.
That said I'll probably be right there with you building MBA/MBM just because it's fun and almost good. I'll know better than to take it to any remotely serious tournament though.
If you hate the deck, I'm probably playing it!
Well, no... no matter how much you feel like doing it you cant
In any case I've got my eye on this guy for ISD Block Zombies. The problem is I'm sure sure a mono black zombie deck will fly in block with that damn cage running around now...
Wolfwood Sama on MTGO (Westane for PureMTGO community events)
UR - Burning Vengeance
BG - The Rock
RUG - RUG Control
BBB - Zombies
Feel free to tell me yours!
I don't think it will see any play at all.
Would a DKA reprint of Dark Ritual change people's minds about this guy?
It would probably change a lot of minds about a lot of cards, actually...
:symrg:Domri's Savagery:symrg:
:symw:Humans:symw:
:symw::symu::symg:Trostani Bant:symw::symu::symg:
:sympu:Architect:sympu:
t1: you have diregraf or gravecrawler
t2: you have Altar's Reap to draw more stuff, Dblade if you need or Geth's Verdict to kill whatever.
t3: Liliana or Messenger
t4: Obliterator, Lashwrithe, maybe play another zombie and bring back 1-2 Gravecrawlers?
t5; Batterskull, maybe more cheap dudes...removal?
i mean what do you need really? a hexproof thing that makes 4/4s with haste? wouldnt that be broken? -_-
EDIT: forgot flying and haste, my mistake
EDIT: Wow, why the hell do people love Birthing Pod so much then? Its a sorcery speed ability? thats so crappy, the more you know i guess. my b
The reason I don't like it entering tapped is because you can't block and trade with their 3 toughness guy then return it make them lose 2 life, then untap and swing for 4.
What 3 toughness guy? You smothered that at the end of their last turn.
and then didn't get DQ'ed for playing a card that's not legal in the format?
If you hate the deck, I'm probably playing it!
im interested to see how Mortarpod gets better with zombie aggro, since you have a lot of fuel from a handful of creatures
@ Veritoanimus: i think they're heads are in different formats