Reasonable casting cost. Bolt proof, non-Revolt Push proof. Can have an impact immediately upon hitting play. My only concern is that Kumena is a little win-more, as you need a fairly developed board to use his second and third abilities. There's also a weird tension between attacking with your merfolk or waiting back to use Kumena's abilities. What do the Merfolk players think?
Yes i was wondering about Kumena because to use its ability you need to tap merfolks wich you kinda need for attacking. I guess you have Merrow Reejerey for mroe shenanigans like that but can Kumena find space because its very dificult to have a chance to use its tapping ability.
There are more intriguing cards like Journey to Eternity (i'd like to try it first in a Sultai deck with Snapcaster Mage, Grim Flayer and Tarmogoyf), Enter the Unknown who might please Gx Scales brews or some ramp decks (Gx Devotion brews), and Form of the Dinosaur as a potential target in Enduring Ideal. They look bad to me at first sight, but fun to try !
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There are more intriguing cards like Journey to Eternity (i'd like to try it first in a Sultai deck with Snapcaster Mage, Grim Flayer and Tarmogoyf), Enter the Unknown who might please Gx Scales brews or some ramp decks (Gx Devotion brews), and Form of the Dinosaur as a potential target in Enduring Ideal. They look bad to me at first sight, but fun to try !
Pretty sure Journey to Eternity wants to be played with Sakura-Tribe Elder. Get's it online right away and ramps you straight into using it the next turn. All that said I don't think a 3cmc aura is really playable in with all the instant speed spot removal in Modern. Sweet card though.
I like Enter the Unknown, seems like it has potential in Infect. If you lead T1 Glistener Elf you can play Enter the Unknown on T2 with a hexproof spell for backup. If you reveal a land it's a 1-for-1 (don't let "land" fool you, it easily becomes a creature if it's Inkmoth Nexus or fetch -> Dryad Arbor), and if you reveal a nonland you get a small permanent pump, minor card selection, and an extra land drop still. It plays out worse in my head if you don't lead with T1 Elf, or it gets killed, or if you're topdecking, though. The biggest challenges to overcome are that you need a creature to target and for your opponent to not kill it in response, and you need to have a use for both the "reveal land" and "reveal nonland" possibilities.
Look out for cheap ascend spells. Some combo decks are capable of putting out a lot of permanents.
Of course, I guess Enter the Unknown could fizzle if you kill the targetted creature with this on the stack, making it less desirable. But I'm generally a fan of Explore and this seems like it does almost the same thing for a smaller cost.
I posted up this scenario for Affinity earlier with Enter the Unknown
Opening hand: Darksteel Citadel, Glimmervoid or Spire of Industry, Ornithopter or Memnite, Springleaf Drum, Mox Opal, Enter the Unknown and your choice of Master of Etherium or Etched Champion.
T1 on the play: Drop Citadel, Ornithopter, Mox Opal, cast Drum off Citadel, Cast Enter the Unknown, put counter on O-thopter, play Spire of Industry, cast Master of Etherium off Opal, Spire and O-thopter tapped with drum. Entire hand puked on the board with a 2/3 flyer and a 5/5 Master before your opponent puts a card on the table.
If not that, I think it has other possibilities. I like it, especially at Uncommon.
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Playing since 1994: Currently MAGS (HomeBrew),Standard & Pauper (Pioneer and Modern are degenerate trash formats)
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
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Reverse Engineer matches ascended Secrets of the Golden City if you have 2 spare artifacts to improvise with. Before that there was Thoughtcast, which was U to draw 2 (still a very good rate) if you had 4 artifacts, and you didn't have to tap any of them.
I like Enter the Unknown, seems like it has potential in Infect. If you lead T1 Glistener Elf you can play Enter the Unknown on T2 with a hexproof spell for backup. If you reveal a land it's a 1-for-1 (don't let "land" fool you, it easily becomes a creature if it's Inkmoth Nexus or fetch -> Dryad Arbor), and if you reveal a nonland you get a small permanent pump, minor card selection, and an extra land drop still. It plays out worse in my head if you don't lead with T1 Elf, or it gets killed, or if you're topdecking, though. The biggest challenges to overcome are that you need a creature to target and for your opponent to not kill it in response, and you need to have a use for both the "reveal land" and "reveal nonland" possibilities.
Interesting.
If you don't lead with a T1 creature, you still have the option to fetch for Dryad Arbor on T2 and target it. I doubt the opponent would use a removal spell on a Dryad, and it's just occasionally good on Noble. It feeds the graveyard for Become Immense if the topdeck is bad. On the other hand, it disables Pendelhaven.
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Reverse Engineer matches ascended Secrets of the Golden City if you have 2 spare artifacts to improvise with. Before that there was Thoughtcast, which was U to draw 2 (still a very good rate) if you had 4 artifacts, and you didn't have to tap any of them.
Thanks. I guess it's just a harder to cast Divination with long-game upside. And I've never seen Divination in Modern lists. I always get hyped about blue card draw until I dive into what the comparable cards are that are already in the format.
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca is the real deal. It will solidify Merfolk into UG. The real question now becomes, if enough value creatures get printed, does it stay a Vial deck, or does it become a Collected Company deck?
Deeproot Waters is probably enough of a combo in Standard, but in Modern I have my doubts. If Merfolk gets 12 playable 1-drops this card becomes an all star.
It plays out worse in my head if you don't lead with T1 Elf, or it gets killed, or if you're topdecking, though. The biggest challenges to overcome are that you need a creature to target and for your opponent to not kill it in response, and you need to have a use for both the "reveal land" and "reveal nonland" possibilities.
This exact thought also entered my mind, but then I figured Bogles might run it.
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca is the real deal. It will solidify Merfolk into UG. The real question now becomes, if enough value creatures get printed, does it stay a Vial deck, or does it become a Collected Company deck?
Deeproot Waters is probably enough of a combo in Standard, but in Modern I have my doubts. If Merfolk gets 12 playable 1-drops this card becomes an all star.
Fish doesn't want him. Like at all. Tapping one to make him unblockable is redundant when there's islandwalk. His other two abilities are really weak when you could just attack and win. He's getting a ton of flack from Merfolk players all over the internet.
Coco is bad in fish and Vial is still king. Coco is only good if there were mana dorks to play it early and if there were more ETB effects.
Interesting.
If you don't lead with a T1 creature, you still have the option to fetch for Dryad Arbor on T2 and target it. I doubt the opponent would use a removal spell on a Dryad, and it's just occasionally good on Noble. It feeds the graveyard for Become Immense if the topdeck is bad. On the other hand, it disables Pendelhaven.
I think they might very well kill your Dryad Arbor, given it's a land and the loss of both Dryad Arbor and Enter the Unknown will set your tempo back massively. The Pendelhaven issue is probably not too big; Pendelhaven makes the creature a 2/3, but a +1/+1 counter makes the creature a 2/2.
This exact thought also entered my mind, but then I figured Bogles might run it.
They won't. It's not an aura and hence doesn't boost Ethereal Armor or Kor Spiritdancer. When you play a deck that relies heavily on one card type (like Affinity, Storm or Bogles) you generally don't have room for a card that does the same thing as the bulk of your deck but in the wrong type. In the maindeck you would just play more copies of those cards with the proper types, and in the side you're looking for cards that dodge hate or attack in different ways.
Fish doesn't want him. Like at all. Tapping one to make him unblockable is redundant when there's islandwalk. His other two abilities are really weak when you could just attack and win. He's getting a ton of flack from Merfolk players all over the internet.
Well did they playtest him? I'm at two copies and I won't turn back. Just sitting there giving it flak doesn't cut it for me, and apparently everyone has been underrating all these G Merfolk since Ixalan, so I'm unsure where all these bad evaluations are coming from.
It passes the bolt test, it digs you out of board stalls, and can potentially be a form of reach with no lord in play. It can force through damage to kill walkers which has come up multiple times against all the various Liliana's and Chandras.
Let all that sink in for a moment, This card is nowhere near "unplayable" - so far based on spoilers the best build I've found runs 4 Cursecatcher and 4 Kumena, with 18 lands, 4 vials and 4 seas, we could potentially see a version of Merfolk with no other spells maindeck and enough fish to push a more aggressive list.
This is scary. 4 lords now... Merfolk's consistency just shot up. And looks liek Vampires got another lord. Sheesh does every tribe have it's 2CMC lord?
Admiral's Order terrifies me as a control player. Timing your removal against any deck with blue in it is gonna be awkward as hell if that card picks up even a tiny bit
Admiral's Orders and World Shaper both seem interesting. Admiral's Orders speaks for itself, and I'm wondering whether there's something with World Shaper and Dredge.
No discussion of the 4 mana unconditional kill creature yet? Ravenous Chupacabra seems like the most guaranteed modern played card so far, though likely in fringe chord decks.
Merfolk Mistbinder is definitely a reason to make Merfolk players hop to UG faster. I sometimes get annoyed by 3-cmc Merfolk in my deck period, so I think no-3-drops-Merfolk.dec might finally be possible!
Paladin of Atonement might be funny against aggro, especially in decks with fetchlands and shocks. If Burn refuses to trade a creature in for long enough, it'll get fat enough to beat all their guys in combat and then smash serious face in, and it can block, die, and gain you life if it's small enough.
No discussion of the 4 mana unconditional kill creature yet? Ravenous Chupacabra seems like the most guaranteed modern played card so far, though likely in fringe chord decks.
Other than that the new UG fish lord has me intrigued. Kumena seems meh to me and I'm am elves player which goes WAY wider much faster then fish. He just seems expensive for every ability. My bar is usually, if this was an elf would I build around it...if no then I doubt it'll push any other tribe into the stratosphere considering the synergy of elf cards. I'd love to see something else at 1 cmc for fish that isn't terrible.
Explore stuff looks mediocre. When people are storming off T3-4 this doesn't feel like what I should be doing.
New hautli looks incredibly fun for wide decks like elves. She reads very "win more" but a T3 hautli can threaten an ultimate quickly and she does have potential to drop quite a bit of a buff on birds of paradise if you're ramping outside of elves. Just good for control match ups really. Hard to interact with permanent type that shortens your clock every turn or threatens CA. GW tokens saw some success at a GP back in like 2016, she looks like something the deck may want?
No discussion of the 4 mana unconditional kill creature yet? Ravenous Chupacabra seems like the most guaranteed modern played card so far, though likely in fringe chord decks.
I don't think this card is Modern playable. Maybe a Standard sideboard card, and some EDH builds, but pretty much just a limited card other than that.
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/spoilers/188-rivals-of-ixalan
I'll kick things off with the new Merfolk lord, Kumena:
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=14368&writer=Corbin Hosler&articledate=1-1-2018
Reasonable casting cost. Bolt proof, non-Revolt Push proof. Can have an impact immediately upon hitting play. My only concern is that Kumena is a little win-more, as you need a fairly developed board to use his second and third abilities. There's also a weird tension between attacking with your merfolk or waiting back to use Kumena's abilities. What do the Merfolk players think?
Pretty sure Journey to Eternity wants to be played with Sakura-Tribe Elder. Get's it online right away and ramps you straight into using it the next turn. All that said I don't think a 3cmc aura is really playable in with all the instant speed spot removal in Modern. Sweet card though.
Look out for cheap ascend spells. Some combo decks are capable of putting out a lot of permanents.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Of course, I guess Enter the Unknown could fizzle if you kill the targetted creature with this on the stack, making it less desirable. But I'm generally a fan of Explore and this seems like it does almost the same thing for a smaller cost.
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
Opening hand: Darksteel Citadel, Glimmervoid or Spire of Industry, Ornithopter or Memnite, Springleaf Drum, Mox Opal, Enter the Unknown and your choice of Master of Etherium or Etched Champion.
T1 on the play: Drop Citadel, Ornithopter, Mox Opal, cast Drum off Citadel, Cast Enter the Unknown, put counter on O-thopter, play Spire of Industry, cast Master of Etherium off Opal, Spire and O-thopter tapped with drum. Entire hand puked on the board with a 2/3 flyer and a 5/5 Master before your opponent puts a card on the table.
If not that, I think it has other possibilities. I like it, especially at Uncommon.
STOP using "dude/bro" as a pejorative or insult. Grow up.
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Interesting.
If you don't lead with a T1 creature, you still have the option to fetch for Dryad Arbor on T2 and target it. I doubt the opponent would use a removal spell on a Dryad, and it's just occasionally good on Noble. It feeds the graveyard for Become Immense if the topdeck is bad. On the other hand, it disables Pendelhaven.
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
Deeproot Waters is probably enough of a combo in Standard, but in Modern I have my doubts. If Merfolk gets 12 playable 1-drops this card becomes an all star.
This exact thought also entered my mind, but then I figured Bogles might run it.
Fish doesn't want him. Like at all. Tapping one to make him unblockable is redundant when there's islandwalk. His other two abilities are really weak when you could just attack and win. He's getting a ton of flack from Merfolk players all over the internet.
Coco is bad in fish and Vial is still king. Coco is only good if there were mana dorks to play it early and if there were more ETB effects.
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
They won't. It's not an aura and hence doesn't boost Ethereal Armor or Kor Spiritdancer. When you play a deck that relies heavily on one card type (like Affinity, Storm or Bogles) you generally don't have room for a card that does the same thing as the bulk of your deck but in the wrong type. In the maindeck you would just play more copies of those cards with the proper types, and in the side you're looking for cards that dodge hate or attack in different ways.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
Well did they playtest him? I'm at two copies and I won't turn back. Just sitting there giving it flak doesn't cut it for me, and apparently everyone has been underrating all these G Merfolk since Ixalan, so I'm unsure where all these bad evaluations are coming from.
It passes the bolt test, it digs you out of board stalls, and can potentially be a form of reach with no lord in play. It can force through damage to kill walkers which has come up multiple times against all the various Liliana's and Chandras.
It has a built in Gavony Township, that can pump your Mutavaults...
Let all that sink in for a moment, This card is nowhere near "unplayable" - so far based on spoilers the best build I've found runs 4 Cursecatcher and 4 Kumena, with 18 lands, 4 vials and 4 seas, we could potentially see a version of Merfolk with no other spells maindeck and enough fish to push a more aggressive list.
CG
The 2 drop lord is where its at
Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero
UW Ephara Hatebears [Primer], GB Gitrog Lands, BRU Inalla Combo-Control, URG Maelstrom Wanderer Landfall
Ravenous Chupacabra is miles better than Nekrataal (kills Death's Shadow hooray), but Collected Company being unable to cheat it in hurts it yet again.
Paladin of Atonement might be funny against aggro, especially in decks with fetchlands and shocks. If Burn refuses to trade a creature in for long enough, it'll get fat enough to beat all their guys in combat and then smash serious face in, and it can block, die, and gain you life if it's small enough.
Seems deceptively good in a black control shell with likiana, the last hope or liliana, death's magestyto recur multiple times, top off with Gary for the Luls.
Other than that the new UG fish lord has me intrigued. Kumena seems meh to me and I'm am elves player which goes WAY wider much faster then fish. He just seems expensive for every ability. My bar is usually, if this was an elf would I build around it...if no then I doubt it'll push any other tribe into the stratosphere considering the synergy of elf cards. I'd love to see something else at 1 cmc for fish that isn't terrible.
Explore stuff looks mediocre. When people are storming off T3-4 this doesn't feel like what I should be doing.
New hautli looks incredibly fun for wide decks like elves. She reads very "win more" but a T3 hautli can threaten an ultimate quickly and she does have potential to drop quite a bit of a buff on birds of paradise if you're ramping outside of elves. Just good for control match ups really. Hard to interact with permanent type that shortens your clock every turn or threatens CA. GW tokens saw some success at a GP back in like 2016, she looks like something the deck may want?
edit for card tags
Standard: lol no
Modern: BG/x, UR/x, Burn, Merfolk, Zoo, Storm
Legacy: Shardless BUG, Delver (BUG, RUG, Grixis), Landstill, Depths Combo, Merfolk
Vintage: Dark Times, BUG Fish, Merfolk
EDH: Teysa, Orzhov Scion / Krenko, Mob Boss / Stonebrow, Krosan Hero