There's a difference between a creature being used as a finisher and a creature included in the cube with the role of "dedicated control finisher".
You said that you prefer Meloku and Consecrated Sphinx as control finishers.
I illustrated the distinction between the two, and said that I thought Ætherling does a better job as a dedicated control finisher for the reasons I mentioned.
That is all.
I wasn't aware Meloku could protect itself.
If you cast it with 6 or more mana available, you could argue that the tokens he creates can generate enough value to "protect itself" in a sense. Even if he himself dies to spot removal.
I think you're taking this a bit too seriously. In a control deck with enough win conditions, every top-end creature is a "finisher". But if it's a multi-faceted creature that goes in a ton of decks, it's not really dedicated to being a control finisher. I'm not saying you can't use other creatures as finishers in control decks, I'm simply saying that if you want to include some creatures to exclusively play that role, dedicated control finishers are a bit different and they have different criteria to meet. In mono blue, the only ones I cube with right now are the two 'ling dudes. But you can pair them with other creatures that meet those three requirements from the other colors, or guys like Meloku that can also perform the role to have enough win-cons. It's a hard set of criteria to meet, but there are other dudes that do it. Meloku can fit the bill because it can do all three of those things. But I think Ætherling is better in that role, because it does a more efficient job of accomplishing those bullet points I look for.
I would call Meloku a universally playable blue creature. I play it in pretty much every deck that can possibly cast it. Even tempo decks. So it's not "dedicated" as a control finisher. Neither is Sphinx, which is more of a curve-topping draw engine for every blue deck that plans on sticking around past T5 (so every non aggro/tempo deck). So again, I wouldn't consider that slot "dedicated" to a control finisher either (especially since I consider Sphinx to be particularly poor in that role). When I'm looking to include a creature that's going to be one of my lone 3-4 win conditions in the entire deck? That's what I'd consider to be a "dedicated control finisher" and I'd want them to fill out those requirements I outlined. I think Meloku does play the role of control finisher when you need him to, but I don't consider the slot dedicated to that one role. Ætherling is. It goes in one type of deck, and it's monstrous in that one role it plays.
Which is why it was one of the best finishers available at the time. There weren't creatures that met all three of those requirements until Morphling came out. And it was the best finisher for control decks for years and years.
Serra Angel was The Deck's finisher for the longest time, and it had no way to protect itself.
That was in an era when no creatures protected themselves. When Autumn Willow came out, it was stellar because it was one of the few cards that could do so. And it was a great constructed finisher at the time because of it.
Morphling is also a great dedicated control finisher for the same reasons. It protects itself, protects you, and has evasion.
Maybe your cube has less targeted removal than other ones, but having your control finishers protect themselves is a pretty big deal. Or maybe your cube sees less creature combat than mine, so protecting you while winning isn't as crucial. I don't know.
I'm not saying you can't win games with other creatures. I'm saying that if I want a dedicated control finisher, Ætherling is the best one. Meloku is also great. But I think Sphinx makes for a pretty poor finisher. It's great for drawing some cards and then dying. It's not very good at being a lone win condition.
I don't understand where the distinction is, and if there is one it must be pretty arbitrary because Meloku and Consecrated Sphinx will definitely finish the game.
What other blue finishers even exist if you're giving Ætherling the title of finisher, but not Meloku or Sphinx?
Any creature can win the game. But in order to be a true finisher, it has to be engineered to close out a game. First and foremost, this requires the creature to protect itself. Ideally, there's evasion involved (to make the clock more reliable) and in a perfect world it will have some way to protect YOU while it's winning the game. All the best control finishers meet those three criteria, IMO. Ætherling happens to be one of the best at accomplishing all three of those goals. A case can definitely be made for Meloku, because the tokens help accomplish two of those tasks, but his vulnerability to removal makes him somewhat less reliable at closing out games. If I had to do all 20 damage with one win condition, I'd put my eggs in the Ætherling basket. I don't consider the distinction arbitrary.
I think there's a distinction between a high mana creature and a dedicated control finisher. I think that's where the communication breakdown is coming in at.
I like Meloku and Consecrated Sphinx a good bit more, especially in other matchups where you can't always afford to wait until 4UUU for your finisher to start doing work.
Meloku is a better card, but it's not as reliable as a dedicated control finisher. And Sphinx is a good card draw engine, but isn't really good in the role of "finisher" IMO, considering how unreliable it is. None of them have the protection and the inevitability that Ætherling does.
It's the best control finisher period. Not just in control vs control. In fact, it's a better finisher in your non-control matchups, where his defensive capabilities are put to better use.
Okay, sorry to necro this thread, but I finally picked up an Aetherling, and have been wondering: I know it's good, but how obnoxious is it? I cut Wurmcoil Engine from my cube since it was such a no-brainer easy win condition. Do you find Aetherling leads to feel-bad wins, like True Name Nemesis can? These "annihilated my opponent and he couldn't do anything about it" comments make me leery...
It requires a steep commitment to blue, so I don't think your players will feel it's as egregiously a "dumb auto-win" as Wurmcoil might to some people, because it can just go into everything.
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You said that you prefer Meloku and Consecrated Sphinx as control finishers.
I illustrated the distinction between the two, and said that I thought Ætherling does a better job as a dedicated control finisher for the reasons I mentioned.
That is all.
If you cast it with 6 or more mana available, you could argue that the tokens he creates can generate enough value to "protect itself" in a sense. Even if he himself dies to spot removal.
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Correct. I think that Meloku is the better card, even if Ætherling fills the role of dedicated control finisher better.
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That was in an era when no creatures protected themselves. When Autumn Willow came out, it was stellar because it was one of the few cards that could do so. And it was a great constructed finisher at the time because of it.
Morphling is also a great dedicated control finisher for the same reasons. It protects itself, protects you, and has evasion.
Maybe your cube has less targeted removal than other ones, but having your control finishers protect themselves is a pretty big deal. Or maybe your cube sees less creature combat than mine, so protecting you while winning isn't as crucial. I don't know.
I'm not saying you can't win games with other creatures. I'm saying that if I want a dedicated control finisher, Ætherling is the best one. Meloku is also great. But I think Sphinx makes for a pretty poor finisher. It's great for drawing some cards and then dying. It's not very good at being a lone win condition.
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Any creature can win the game. But in order to be a true finisher, it has to be engineered to close out a game. First and foremost, this requires the creature to protect itself. Ideally, there's evasion involved (to make the clock more reliable) and in a perfect world it will have some way to protect YOU while it's winning the game. All the best control finishers meet those three criteria, IMO. Ætherling happens to be one of the best at accomplishing all three of those goals. A case can definitely be made for Meloku, because the tokens help accomplish two of those tasks, but his vulnerability to removal makes him somewhat less reliable at closing out games. If I had to do all 20 damage with one win condition, I'd put my eggs in the Ætherling basket. I don't consider the distinction arbitrary.
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Meloku is a better card, but it's not as reliable as a dedicated control finisher. And Sphinx is a good card draw engine, but isn't really good in the role of "finisher" IMO, considering how unreliable it is. None of them have the protection and the inevitability that Ætherling does.
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It requires a steep commitment to blue, so I don't think your players will feel it's as egregiously a "dumb auto-win" as Wurmcoil might to some people, because it can just go into everything.
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