Do you not play blue? I think you got this color very wrong in some aspects.
Chronostutter 2.0 - A 6 mana removal spell is barely playable
Coral Barrier 2.0 - Should be lower
Amphin Pathmage 1.8 - This guy just wins games, easily one of the top blue commons
Void Snare 1.8 - Considerably worse than peel, but not bad
Aeronaut Tinkerer 1.7 - It's a 2/3 in this format which is better than it seems
Hydrosurge 1.5 - not playable ever
Invisibility 1.3 - Last pick in almost every draft, you have this ranked too high
Mind Sculpt 0.5 - people will try to make this work and fail
Negate 1.0 - This is more playable than the 4 mana counter
Fugitive Wizard 0.5 - filler, not playable
Generator Servant is a lot stronger than I thought at first. Likely best in the GR archetype, but it works fine in RW too where you're ramping into 7 drops and other things that they aren't expecting to have haste. (Soul's aren't that hot since you don't usually have the mana to activate them).
T4 Titan when they aren't expecting it, and T5 Dragon is serious beats. I used on online for this shenanagins:
Select Gravedigger tap 2B then sac the servant leaving 1 floating. You can then get something from the yard and cast it with the floating swinging with both. (or you can get your servant back). It's tricky to use on MTGO if you haven't tried it. You have to sac the servant with 1 remaining mana to pay or it will auto apply both to your first creature.
Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Did the OP really just state the swiftclaw is a bad card outside of convoke decks? the 3/1 white 2drop creature right? We're not confusing cards here?
Every white aggro deck, or W/x aggro, should(and will) be grabbing this guy. Hell, even absolute staples for convoke like Raise the Alarm, are going to be grabbed up if you're running white, it's simply among the best common options in the cmc slot for the color. Swiftclaw/Raise The Alarm are key reasons white is so viable in any aggro plan. It's like saying lightning bolt is bad unless you're running a burn theme in red. WTF? o_O
Anyway, other opinions I really want to state as a hardcore draft player whose been 2nd twice and 1st once so far in M15 drafts
Unmake The Graves(WHY SO UNDERRATED) - This is basically blacks instant speed version of Divination. Take it or leave it, but personally, I'm gonna just Unmake it. Whether it's Typhoid Rats to put up extra walls, Child of Nights to regain some tempo with the lifegain, Carrion Crows to get that extra evasion damage through, or your fatties to get back in the fray after your opponent used his removal, it's relevant and it's INSTANT SPEED. I've never had this down with less then 2 creatures before, and vs aggro decks black should get 2 creatures in the graveyard quickly enough, so we're looking at a very solid, instant speed(!!! DON'T IGNORE THIS), usually 3 cmc graveyard divination here. This is your Sign in blood number 2. Black Card advantage is so key to running black in general, but especially black in limited. Cannot emphasize this enough, Unmake The Graves is a solid black common and is the quite possibly the fastest graveyard renewal option Black has in m15 limited. Even if you end up paying 5 mana for it(which shouldn't be happening unless you're getting your ass kicked) it's card advantage.
Encrust shuts down Ancient Silverbacks. I know this is very specific and matchup related only, but Encrust is already a decent removal spell at common for blue, this makes it stand out , IMO. If they're running an Invasive Species/Roaring Primadox/Bouncey style G/U G/x deck however, then yeah....you're just ****ed.
Research Assistant is GOOD and doesn't deserve all the hate(m15 limited people...not anything else). 1/3 body at 2 cmc is what blue needs to halt aggro long enough to control the board. and mid/late game where the body becomes less relevant, it's giving you answers to your bad draws and topdeck mode where you're holding extra lands and weaker creatures. I've won at least 3 games in draft simply by getting the chance to play my better cards in time thanks to these overpriced Researchers. I'll always hire them on my Blue decks, and they always come back around so they never have to be grabbed before better choices, like welkin tern and Frost Lynx.
Rummaging Goblin, however, is always better then the RA. While he may be 1 more mana to cast, and quite a weaker body, his looting is free. This guy really adds so much consistency to red I'd have nothing against putting 1/2 of him in an aggro plan.
Sign in Blood, Gravediggers, Flesh To Dust, Paragon of Open Graves, Stab Wounds, Mind Rots, any of these(take out MindRots vs any dedicated aggro deck) in multiples is a reason to go black IMO. I went blue and did well on the basis of an early 2 Paragons of Gathering Mists/1 Quickling, so I'm sure Black's Paragon deserves the same credit.
Speaking of MindRots, this is another underrated gem. I mean even vs non dedicated aggressive decks, like G or G/x decks, I've always turned out happy with these as a 1 of so far(and 1 of only because that's all I could pull, other players are grabbing these around 5th-8th pick I've been noticing). 1 game I casted mind rot where the guy only had 3 cards in hand(I've been waiting 2 turns for him to go down from 3 to 2 then said **** it) he dropped a Cone of Flames and a Netcaster Spider. I won that game despite the Bomb he was holding onto. Another game my opponent discarded his mindrot and a gravedigger...yeah...that's alot of value from the so called "lowly mindrot" I keep hearing about. If you're playing vs a very fast R R/B R/x deck, that can empty their hand and be in top deck mode by turn 4 rather often, I'd understand it being a bad card. How often do you play vs decks like that?
I haven't played with mind rot that much. I played against 2 different black 'value' decks with WU Skies and it was basically a blank because I could refill my hand and then dump it quick, but when I was playing as GR Ramp the mind rot was really rough because I had to chose to dump the bombs or dump the ramp, or dump combat tricks. That wasn't fun. I could even see T3 or T4 Mind Rot if they are holding 3-4 cards in that archetype.
The question is what are you giving up in your deck so it depends on the rest of your pool.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
Plus Mind Rot doesn't impact the board at all. It's the sort of card that get get overrated beacuse of the very few times it's amazing, when it should be rated based on it's average performance.
It seems to always perform well under my experience with 2 exceptions
1) Vs DEDICATED aggro decks, we're talking RDW type variety, even G/x B/x aggro plans seem to suffer from a turn 3/4 mind rot rather well
2) Topdeck mode, yes, this is where it shows it weakness.
Other then that, it seems to do well always. I wont run it if I managed to get less then 5 removal spells(I'd count 2 death touch creatures as 1 removal spell in limited btw) but It's good if you already got part of your BREAD complete.
Did the OP really just state the swiftclaw is a bad card outside of convoke decks? the 3/1 white 2drop creature right?
X/1's aren't what they used to be in this format.
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Ajani Pridemates are uncommon. Ofcourse they're ideal over the Swiftclaw, but you're not going to see enough of them to fill up the 2 drop slot.
Raise the Alarm I'd rather take all day, no doubt, but the skirmisher? Swiftclaw forces early plays by your opponent and punishes a slow start better then most 2 drops. I understand 1 toughness sucks(Though over 25% of the creatures in this format seem to have 1 toughness....) but the swiftclaw is the only 3 power 2 drop white has, and still fits into an aggro plan. Borderland Maurauder being the only other 2 drop attacks for 3 creature I know about...and yeah it's better.
I just don't see swiftclaw being a bad card, in the same sense that say...Eternal Thirst(wasted art gawd...love that art) and the staff cycle are BAD CARDS.
The higher power of 3/1 Swiftclaw makes it a better blocker in my view than a 2/2. Both die to most any attacker of worth but the 3/1 can make a big difference in what it can block to trade off. And if you can attack without being blocked then the 3/1 is of course better, plus it can plow through via no block (or trade with) a bigger potential blocker. Unlike THS block, there are no common Horned Turtles (1/4) in M15 unless I am mistaken so I believe that the Swiftclaw is a good aggressive start and okay as a blocker later.
Merl ranked Swiftclaw as "good filler," just below "solid." I think this is pretty accurate; the two drops you want to be playing in white are Raise the Alarm, Pridemate, and, arguably, Skirmisher (I prefer Skirmisher because I think it's a better topdeck.) "Filler" doesn't mean it's a bad card, it denotes cards that you pick when there's nothing powerful for you in the pack and you want to fill your curve. Swiftclaw's power is sweet, but, as I said before, 1 toughness can fall easily in this format to a Forge Devil, Festergloom, or as added value to Cone of Flame; most often, you'll just end up trading for something which will, usually, favor the slower player... and white decks should not be the slower player in M15.
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It's not horned turtles I worry about, it's 1/1 tokens. Swiftclaw is blanked by fractions of other cards in the format.
Yes that is a good point I hadn't considered. There is no Raise the Alarm in THS block, there are plenty of 1/1 tokens around in M15.
It's literally worth half of an instant speed, defensive Raise the Alarm. I'd play 2 Swiftclaws if I had them in an aggressive white deck, but a mid pick swiftclaw doesn't tell me white is wide open in this format. Good filler, will probably always make your deck, so 3 or just below ranking.
Not to sound nitpicky, but according to the OP's scale, 3 is a first pick common; good filler is the original 1.8 rating.
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Not to sound nitpicky, but according to the OP's scale, 3 is a first pick common; good filler is the original 1.8 rating.
That's my bad. Wasn't really thinking about the ratings. 1.8 seems low, but that may just be the fact we're only rating commons on a scale that skews for cards of all rarities.
I just don't see swiftclaw being a bad card, in the same sense that say...Eternal Thirst(wasted art gawd...love that art) and the staff cycle are BAD CARDS.
It's lucky I didn't give those cards similar ratings then isn't it?
I just favor Ajani's Pridemate because even in a deck with only 2/3 sources of lifegain, it ends up better then any white 2 drop in m15 other then Raise the Alarm for convoke decks.
The Skirmisher....ugh...I just never liked these kind of creatures. Grove Dancer from Journey into Nyx was another one that draft tables hyped up as a good 2 drop to add to your green draft decks, and outside of a G/U bouncey/trigger type shell, I always thought it just sucked ass.
Skirmisher has an added 1 power and 1 toughness, but instead of adding a +1+1 counter to a creature when it ETB's, it just pumps it up 1 till the end of turn. This is even worse IMO.....
.....what? Have you actually used this card in a deck? It's colorless removal that can be added to any deck, gets around protection, gets around Spectra Ward, Gets around Ancient Silverbacks, is reusable, although pricey, it's a very far cry from the investment that Deserters Quarters was.
I've used this in 2 draft decks already, and one game it held back flyers long enough for me to secure a win.
I think a 1.6/1.8 would be much more appropriate. Colorless renewable removal shouldn't ever be considered "unplayable" unless we're talking flamecast wheel level bad.
Other numbers I find alittle "off"
Hydrosurge at 1.5 - This really is a 1.0....so bad
Hunters Ambush at 1.3 - This feels 2.0 in a mono green G/x splash deck. This is essentially a great combat trick for green decks. I wouldn't want to run multiples, but I'd take it as a 1 of all day vs any non green deck.
Invasive Species is also very hard to rate properly. Without ETB triggers to take advantage of, it's very mediocre. With ETB triggers to capitalize on, it becomes very good.
Is colorless removal considered a "straightforward sideboard card"? Because that's essentially what it does. The only time I'd consider it a dead card is vs weenie/triplicate spirits decks, otherwise you're tapping down threats.
As for mana investment comparison to Deserters Quarters, it only requires 4 mana to tap down a creature, rather then 6. I'll trade the "keep tapped" clause for 2 less mana all day.
Deserters Quarters has to "remain tapped" if you choose to keep a single creature tapped. That means you can't use it again until you choose to release the creature. Even if you don't want to Keep a creature in lockdown, you're still forced to pay 6 mana to tap it with Deserters Quarters. I still like Tyrants Machine better.
As for the rest, I consider it an expensive, but renewable removal spell, like Thassa's Ire.
Invasive Species is also very hard to rate properly. Without ETB triggers to take advantage of, it's very mediocre. With ETB triggers to capitalize on, it becomes very good.
In the absence of ETB triggers, and if you have no land drop for that turn, Invasive Species can actually generate mana. I like it quite a bit; generally I'm not too sad to bounce a 1- or 2- drop in order to get a 3/3 for 3, and, as you said, sometimes it's very good.
I have to agree with Dolphan on Tyrant's Machine; if you have no other use for the mana, it's fine, but you should have use for the mana. Thassa's Ire was in a set known for Voltrons and could be used more than once a turn, and was still considered borderline (and I liked it more than most.) This is a set whose threats tend to be spread out, and as such the effect is underwhelming. It's a good SB card against the threats you mention (and more) but overall most decks shouldn't want to MD it. IMO.
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.....what? Have you actually used this card in a deck? It's colorless removal that can be added to any deck, gets around protection, gets around Spectra Ward, Gets around Ancient Silverbacks, is reusable, although pricey, it's a very far cry from the investment that Deserters Quarters was.
Are you saying that it's an auto-include in every deck for you?
Because I regard it as a situational sideboard card, either as a fill-in for a deck that is removal light, or SB vs a single large threat.
I've used this in 2 draft decks already, and one game it held back flyers long enough for me to secure a win.
I think a 1.6/1.8 would be much more appropriate. Colorless renewable removal shouldn't ever be considered "unplayable" unless we're talking flamecast wheel level bad.
That level would basically always make the cut in nearly every deck. Is that what you are saying?
Hunters Ambush at 1.3 - This feels 2.0 in a mono green G/x splash deck. This is essentially a great combat trick for green decks. I wouldn't want to run multiples, but I'd take it as a 1 of all day vs any non green deck.
Invasive Species is also very hard to rate properly. Without ETB triggers to take advantage of, it's very mediocre. With ETB triggers to capitalize on, it becomes very good.
Completely agree. My initial reaction is that in this set (with no Elvish Visionary or similar) it's too unreliable/underpowered to be as good as Trained Armodon.
If the issue were format independent, I would take Deserter's Quarters over Tyrant's Machine. Spending 4 mana every turn for Tyrant's Machine to neutralize a creature is a lot, and I would only want this if I knew there were some tough to deal with bombs in my opponent's deck. Deserter's Quarters is usually a one-time activation to neutralize a creature rather than weighing you down every turn for 4 mana. Looked at another way, Tyrant's Machine costs you 5 cards (the machine and 4 lands) to deal with 1 of your opponent's cards, although it's not as simple as that.
I would probably not run Tyrant's Machine in my main deck unless I didn't have any other decent removal, or if my other 23rd best main card is mediocre, or in the prerelease due to knowing each opponent had at least one bomb.
Yeah, Tyrant's machine has been pretty good out of the sideboard for me (let me win a game against Spectra Ward which is kind of the card it seems custom made to deal with), but there's simply no way it is better than deserter's quarters. Also, this effect is in general much less good than it was in Theros block because a) few decks are centered around building one gigantic threat and b) there are a lot of creatures with relevant activated abilities.
I've run a main deck Tyrant's Machine a few times, but only because the deck had a Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient and a Scrapyard Mongrel to make it much more playable. I would never want a 2nd one, but it's a fine 23rd card in some red decks. In the type of deck I've played it in the first copy is probably a 1.7, while the second copy is a 1.0. In most other decks it's a 1.0-1.2.
I've run a main deck Tyrant's Machine a few times, but only because the deck had a Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient and a Scrapyard Mongrel to make it much more playable. I would never want a 2nd one, but it's a fine 23rd card in some red decks. In the type of deck I've played it in the first copy is probably a 1.7, while the second copy is a 1.0. In most other decks it's a 1.0-1.2.
Did you play me online yesterday? I had someone get exactly that + Aeronaut Tinkerer against me yesterday. Now, 5 mana per turn to tap two guys is a really good deal. Tyrant's Machine is probably at its most playable in that R/U artifacts archetype. Could be decent in a ramp deck.
On a side note, I once ran into a 4 color-control deck with multiple Thassa's Ire and mutliple Market Festival. The stupid thing actually worked. Even with good ramp though, Machine doesn't quite have that potential because of the need to tap.
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Chronostutter 2.0 - A 6 mana removal spell is barely playable
Coral Barrier 2.0 - Should be lower
Amphin Pathmage 1.8 - This guy just wins games, easily one of the top blue commons
Void Snare 1.8 - Considerably worse than peel, but not bad
Aeronaut Tinkerer 1.7 - It's a 2/3 in this format which is better than it seems
Hydrosurge 1.5 - not playable ever
Invisibility 1.3 - Last pick in almost every draft, you have this ranked too high
Mind Sculpt 0.5 - people will try to make this work and fail
Negate 1.0 - This is more playable than the 4 mana counter
Fugitive Wizard 0.5 - filler, not playable
He's especially fun with Phytotitan and Siege Dragon.
T4 Titan when they aren't expecting it, and T5 Dragon is serious beats. I used on online for this shenanagins:
Select Gravedigger tap 2B then sac the servant leaving 1 floating. You can then get something from the yard and cast it with the floating swinging with both. (or you can get your servant back). It's tricky to use on MTGO if you haven't tried it. You have to sac the servant with 1 remaining mana to pay or it will auto apply both to your first creature.
Every white aggro deck, or W/x aggro, should(and will) be grabbing this guy. Hell, even absolute staples for convoke like Raise the Alarm, are going to be grabbed up if you're running white, it's simply among the best common options in the cmc slot for the color. Swiftclaw/Raise The Alarm are key reasons white is so viable in any aggro plan. It's like saying lightning bolt is bad unless you're running a burn theme in red. WTF? o_O
Anyway, other opinions I really want to state as a hardcore draft player whose been 2nd twice and 1st once so far in M15 drafts
Unmake The Graves(WHY SO UNDERRATED) - This is basically blacks instant speed version of Divination. Take it or leave it, but personally, I'm gonna just Unmake it. Whether it's Typhoid Rats to put up extra walls, Child of Nights to regain some tempo with the lifegain, Carrion Crows to get that extra evasion damage through, or your fatties to get back in the fray after your opponent used his removal, it's relevant and it's INSTANT SPEED. I've never had this down with less then 2 creatures before, and vs aggro decks black should get 2 creatures in the graveyard quickly enough, so we're looking at a very solid, instant speed(!!! DON'T IGNORE THIS), usually 3 cmc graveyard divination here. This is your Sign in blood number 2. Black Card advantage is so key to running black in general, but especially black in limited. Cannot emphasize this enough, Unmake The Graves is a solid black common and is the quite possibly the fastest graveyard renewal option Black has in m15 limited. Even if you end up paying 5 mana for it(which shouldn't be happening unless you're getting your ass kicked) it's card advantage.
Encrust shuts down Ancient Silverbacks. I know this is very specific and matchup related only, but Encrust is already a decent removal spell at common for blue, this makes it stand out , IMO. If they're running an Invasive Species/Roaring Primadox/Bouncey style G/U G/x deck however, then yeah....you're just ****ed.
Research Assistant is GOOD and doesn't deserve all the hate(m15 limited people...not anything else). 1/3 body at 2 cmc is what blue needs to halt aggro long enough to control the board. and mid/late game where the body becomes less relevant, it's giving you answers to your bad draws and topdeck mode where you're holding extra lands and weaker creatures. I've won at least 3 games in draft simply by getting the chance to play my better cards in time thanks to these overpriced Researchers. I'll always hire them on my Blue decks, and they always come back around so they never have to be grabbed before better choices, like welkin tern and Frost Lynx.
Rummaging Goblin, however, is always better then the RA. While he may be 1 more mana to cast, and quite a weaker body, his looting is free. This guy really adds so much consistency to red I'd have nothing against putting 1/2 of him in an aggro plan.
Sign in Blood, Gravediggers, Flesh To Dust, Paragon of Open Graves, Stab Wounds, Mind Rots, any of these(take out MindRots vs any dedicated aggro deck) in multiples is a reason to go black IMO. I went blue and did well on the basis of an early 2 Paragons of Gathering Mists/1 Quickling, so I'm sure Black's Paragon deserves the same credit.
Speaking of MindRots, this is another underrated gem. I mean even vs non dedicated aggressive decks, like G or G/x decks, I've always turned out happy with these as a 1 of so far(and 1 of only because that's all I could pull, other players are grabbing these around 5th-8th pick I've been noticing). 1 game I casted mind rot where the guy only had 3 cards in hand(I've been waiting 2 turns for him to go down from 3 to 2 then said **** it) he dropped a Cone of Flames and a Netcaster Spider. I won that game despite the Bomb he was holding onto. Another game my opponent discarded his mindrot and a gravedigger...yeah...that's alot of value from the so called "lowly mindrot" I keep hearing about. If you're playing vs a very fast R R/B R/x deck, that can empty their hand and be in top deck mode by turn 4 rather often, I'd understand it being a bad card. How often do you play vs decks like that?
The question is what are you giving up in your deck so it depends on the rest of your pool.
1) Vs DEDICATED aggro decks, we're talking RDW type variety, even G/x B/x aggro plans seem to suffer from a turn 3/4 mind rot rather well
2) Topdeck mode, yes, this is where it shows it weakness.
Other then that, it seems to do well always. I wont run it if I managed to get less then 5 removal spells(I'd count 2 death touch creatures as 1 removal spell in limited btw) but It's good if you already got part of your BREAD complete.
X/1's aren't what they used to be in this format.
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
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Raise the Alarm I'd rather take all day, no doubt, but the skirmisher? Swiftclaw forces early plays by your opponent and punishes a slow start better then most 2 drops. I understand 1 toughness sucks(Though over 25% of the creatures in this format seem to have 1 toughness....) but the swiftclaw is the only 3 power 2 drop white has, and still fits into an aggro plan. Borderland Maurauder being the only other 2 drop attacks for 3 creature I know about...and yeah it's better.
I just don't see swiftclaw being a bad card, in the same sense that say...Eternal Thirst(wasted art gawd...love that art) and the staff cycle are BAD CARDS.
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
Yes that is a good point I hadn't considered. There is no Raise the Alarm in THS block, there are plenty of 1/1 tokens around in M15.
It's literally worth half of an instant speed, defensive Raise the Alarm. I'd play 2 Swiftclaws if I had them in an aggressive white deck, but a mid pick swiftclaw doesn't tell me white is wide open in this format. Good filler, will probably always make your deck, so 3 or just below ranking.
R Norin the Wary: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
UG Thrasios & Kydele: Knowledge is Power
RG Borborygmos Enraged: The Breaking of the World
BG The Gitrog Monster: All Glory to the Hypnotoad
WUR Zedruu the Greathearted: Endless Possibilities, One Outcome
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain: What's Dead May Never Die
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My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
That's my bad. Wasn't really thinking about the ratings. 1.8 seems low, but that may just be the fact we're only rating commons on a scale that skews for cards of all rarities.
R Norin the Wary: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
UG Thrasios & Kydele: Knowledge is Power
RG Borborygmos Enraged: The Breaking of the World
BG The Gitrog Monster: All Glory to the Hypnotoad
WUR Zedruu the Greathearted: Endless Possibilities, One Outcome
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain: What's Dead May Never Die
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It's lucky I didn't give those cards similar ratings then isn't it?
The Skirmisher....ugh...I just never liked these kind of creatures. Grove Dancer from Journey into Nyx was another one that draft tables hyped up as a good 2 drop to add to your green draft decks, and outside of a G/U bouncey/trigger type shell, I always thought it just sucked ass.
Skirmisher has an added 1 power and 1 toughness, but instead of adding a +1+1 counter to a creature when it ETB's, it just pumps it up 1 till the end of turn. This is even worse IMO.....
MagicMerl, good point. Failed to notice.
Tyrants Machine - 1.0 (1.0 = sideboard/unplayable)
.....what? Have you actually used this card in a deck? It's colorless removal that can be added to any deck, gets around protection, gets around Spectra Ward, Gets around Ancient Silverbacks, is reusable, although pricey, it's a very far cry from the investment that Deserters Quarters was.
I've used this in 2 draft decks already, and one game it held back flyers long enough for me to secure a win.
I think a 1.6/1.8 would be much more appropriate. Colorless renewable removal shouldn't ever be considered "unplayable" unless we're talking flamecast wheel level bad.
Other numbers I find alittle "off"
Hydrosurge at 1.5 - This really is a 1.0....so bad
Hunters Ambush at 1.3 - This feels 2.0 in a mono green G/x splash deck. This is essentially a great combat trick for green decks. I wouldn't want to run multiples, but I'd take it as a 1 of all day vs any non green deck.
Invasive Species is also very hard to rate properly. Without ETB triggers to take advantage of, it's very mediocre. With ETB triggers to capitalize on, it becomes very good.
As for mana investment comparison to Deserters Quarters, it only requires 4 mana to tap down a creature, rather then 6. I'll trade the "keep tapped" clause for 2 less mana all day.
As for the rest, I consider it an expensive, but renewable removal spell, like Thassa's Ire.
I have to agree with Dolphan on Tyrant's Machine; if you have no other use for the mana, it's fine, but you should have use for the mana. Thassa's Ire was in a set known for Voltrons and could be used more than once a turn, and was still considered borderline (and I liked it more than most.) This is a set whose threats tend to be spread out, and as such the effect is underwhelming. It's a good SB card against the threats you mention (and more) but overall most decks shouldn't want to MD it. IMO.
My Decks:
EDH: Sygg, River Cutthroat , Road to Scion
Grimgrin, Corpseborn
Modern: Polytokes
IRL: Progenitus Polymorph , Goblins
Just a friendly reminder that I will drive this car off a bridge
Are you saying that it's an auto-include in every deck for you?
Because I regard it as a situational sideboard card, either as a fill-in for a deck that is removal light, or SB vs a single large threat.
That level would basically always make the cut in nearly every deck. Is that what you are saying?
Yeah, you're right. I will downgrade this.
Eh, I'm not feeling this one though.
Completely agree. My initial reaction is that in this set (with no Elvish Visionary or similar) it's too unreliable/underpowered to be as good as Trained Armodon.
I would probably not run Tyrant's Machine in my main deck unless I didn't have any other decent removal, or if my other 23rd best main card is mediocre, or in the prerelease due to knowing each opponent had at least one bomb.
Did you play me online yesterday? I had someone get exactly that + Aeronaut Tinkerer against me yesterday. Now, 5 mana per turn to tap two guys is a really good deal. Tyrant's Machine is probably at its most playable in that R/U artifacts archetype. Could be decent in a ramp deck.
On a side note, I once ran into a 4 color-control deck with multiple Thassa's Ire and mutliple Market Festival. The stupid thing actually worked. Even with good ramp though, Machine doesn't quite have that potential because of the need to tap.