I feel like this might've slipped under the radar when this was first revealed. Samwise was originally spoiled during the LotR teaser trailer, but we didn't know what the ring did at the time. Now that we know what the ring does, I think this is a pretty solid / versatile creature that wears a lot of hats between aggro / midrange. The floor is a 1W 2/1 with flash and skulk (the ring's first ability). The ability to potentially ramp from 2 to 4 mana by recurring a fetchland is extremely powerful, not to mention things like Black Lotus / Lotus Petal. I'm probably going to at least test a mini ring theme, and this is definitely one of the better enablers for it.
We liked that it could be a 2 for 1 and can go in several decks, but it seems inconsistent on turn 2 and might have trouble being useful in aggressive decks, but I ignored that this can offer the skulk mechanic to get in for damage and steal initiative. White 2s are a little tight for us, so this might not get the test, but I'll keep an eye on it.
It's definitely a good card. How do you ramp with a fetch though, since it returns to hand?
Whops, my bad. That does lower the evaluation quite a bit, damn. I might give it a test just for ring bearing still, but that might be a deal breaker for me.
I've been playing it, and it's really good. 2 mana 2/1 with flash that's often a 2-for-1 and then grabs the ring to grant some evasion. There are powerful targets it can grab proactively, and some really nice reactive plays you can make thanks to the flash. It's been awesome with the flickerwisps and resto angels, since a single fetch can get you extra total mana that way. T2 fetch -> Sam, get fetch back -> L1 ring. T3 fetch -> resto/guardian -> blink Sam, get back fetch, L2 ring. T4 fetch -> Resto, blink sam, grab fetch, L3 ring, etc. It has some powerful interactions to explore. Not to mention the things it can do with lotuses and the like. I'm a fan.
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StaffI feel like this might've slipped under the radar when this was first revealed. Samwise was originally spoiled during the LotR teaser trailer, but we didn't know what the ring did at the time. Now that we know what the ring does, I think this is a pretty solid / versatile creature that wears a lot of hats between aggro / midrange. The floor is a 1W 2/1 with flash and skulk (the ring's first ability).
The ability to potentially ramp from 2 to 4 mana by recurring a fetchland is extremely powerful, not to mention things like Black Lotus / Lotus Petal. I'm probably going to at least test a mini ring theme, and this is definitely one of the better enablers for it.My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
I'm personally not a fan of the dungeon/ imitative mechanic at all for this reason.
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StaffWhops, my bad. That does lower the evaluation quite a bit, damn. I might give it a test just for ring bearing still, but that might be a deal breaker for me.
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