Ral, Izzet Viceroy looks quite a bit like Ob Nixilis Reignited (which keeps seeing fringe play in Modern and Legacy from what I've seen)--both cost 5 mana, draw 1 card with their plus (although only Ob Nixilis dings you life), kill a creature with their minus, and burn 4 life a turn (ish, sorta) with their emblems. Ral is more build-around-me, though I tested him in Blue Moon last night, and Blue Moon let him kill Goyfs just fine. Ral's emblem kills pretty dang quickly in Blue Moon, especially since you get to draw TWO CARDS per instant/sorcery spell.
The usual shame is that both walkers cost 5 mana, Ral won't let you untap lands this time, and Ral is competing with Jace TMS (about the only advantages Ral has over Jace TMS are that he's most castable through Blood Moon, he protects himself better, and he ults quicker).
Ral is bad imo. I think people have teferi-colored glasses on while they evalutate 5 cmc pws based off the responses I've seen to Ral. They see a 5 cmc PW with +X CA, -X Removal, Game winning ult and think "Teferi was playable, that should be too!" But they forget the only reason Teferi was playable is because his +X also untapped 2 lands and you didn't have to "tap out" to cast him turn 5. If Teferi was exactly as he is now, but instead his -3 was more powerful (like exile nonland perm instead of tuck 3) and his +1 didn't untap, he'd see basically zero play.
Ral is not good. Teferi is only good because he's a three mana walker starting on T5, his -3 unconditionally hits every non-land threat, and his ultimate wins the game with no setup. His + also creates mana efficiency on all subsequent turns and is stupid with Colonnade. Ral just draws cards in + mode, can only kill certain creatures in - mode, and the ultimate isn't even lights-out the same way Teferi's is.
Teferi is an unfair comparison. He is the Best 5 CMC Wallker to ever be printed. Unless I am forgetting something. What is funny is I don't necessarily think WOTC were super trying to push Teferi. The original perception was Karn was OP and Teferi was rather weak. And in fairness and full disclosure I was in that camp as well.
Basically Main Deckable Walkers can be sorted as such CMC Wise
3 : Potentially Playable
4 : Must Have Powerful Effects
4+: Cost Reduction Necessary
I actually ordered Karn months ahead of time due to him being able to fit into any deck, but ultimately ended up picking up Teferi at 25 a piece because I realized that he was good. I actually got to that conclusion ahead of everyone at my LGS playing modern, who were basically like "five mana walker isn't playable man."
The entire time I'm just going: "He's a five mana walker that lets you keep mana open on turn 5, which makes him better than most 4 mana walkers!"
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Right my bad forgot it only hits stuff on the ground. There are a few dragons and other fliers floating around I guess.
Speaking of Ravnica I really like less Generic 5 CMC Ob Nixilis Walkers and more stuff like 3 CMC Sarkhan from the Core Set. Or they need to find a new working template for 5 CMC Walkers then 4 or 5 Loyalty with +1 Draw, -3 Removal , and -8 Ultimate
The last great 3UR grindy card was Keranos, God of Storms. Keranos sees only minimal SB play in Blue Moon because Jace is too busy stealing the limelight in the miandeck. I don't think Ral will be replacing Keranos.
Status//Statue seems like a passable alternative to Maelstrom Pulse in BG decks that play Grim Flayer. Statue is a typical unexciting 1-of general answer card like Pulse or Detention Sphere or Anguished Unmaking. Status puts some excitement into it. +1/+1 and deathtouch turns chump blocks into trades and trades into wins, and on Grim Flayer it also means extra damage and a trigger.
I've been working on an Intruder Alarm brew for a while now, and it seems to be hitting a critical mass of creatures lately. The obvious most impactful new card has been Steward of Solidarity, but cards like Nest Invader are great in that deck, with Cryptolith Rite acting as another engine for them. Then came along Song of Freyalise which not only acts the same as Cryptolith Rite, but also doubles as a win-condition for the go-wide strategy of the deck. Now comes along Emmara, Soul of the Accord which adds yet another infinite combo to the deck when paired with Intruder Alarm and Song of Freyalise. The deck has been promising as a go-wide type deck that can either just chump forever or overwhelm the opponent, and is chock-full of engine cards and redundancy now. It's kind of like the Thoptorsword/Grinding Station deck that got a few 5-0's. There are just so many parts that work together that the combo will come together at some point. Once I flesh it out a bit more I'll post my most current list. I figure I'll wait until spoilers are done for now since new Convoke could mean some great things for the deck.
Does Firemind's Research have potential use for Storm's Sideboard? It gives the deck a different avenue that avoids graveyard hate.
seems a bit slow dont you think? you have to invest 2 mana and the card, then play 2 spells and pay the activation cost before you can see any return. killing with it means playing 15+ spells over multiple turns (if you are storming for 15 in one turn, why not just kill them with grapeshot). all while this permanent just sits on the field.
edit: the new jump-start cards spoiled dont give me much hope for the mechanics playability. we already see the issue i mentioned earlier about bumping up the mana cost to account for the value gained on the back end. a 1RR shock, 1U draw a card, and 1UR tap a dude.
the draw spell specifically is competing with Think Twice, and its not winning that head-to-head.
granted they are just commons, but its not promising if the pattern continues.
So does Radical Idea look interesting for any Graveyard Control/Tempo decks? Other than that didn't see anything from today's previews that would be good in Modern. On another note, Jump-start is looking awful so far, like WotC played it too safe and over-costed (think Cypher from RtR). Hopefully, the previews today are the lowest power level in the set.
Status//Statue seems like a passable alternative to Maelstrom Pulse in BG decks that play Grim Flayer. Statue is a typical unexciting 1-of general answer card like Pulse or Detention Sphere or Anguished Unmaking. Status puts some excitement into it. +1/+1 and deathtouch turns chump blocks into trades and trades into wins, and on Grim Flayer it also means extra damage and a trigger.
Ooh, I like that it can hit manlands, sometimes in battle of midrange and control... what attacks me are manlands, and it's also versatile enough to hit things like leylines, ensnaring bridge, and rest in peace. Only downside is the 4cmc... but would try to use one of these in my deck for sure. Gonna buy a playset of that, along with the new Emmara.
Come on new Ravnica block, more BG support cards please. ^___^
What are you killing that needs more then 5 damage? Death Shadow? The rare Inferno Titan?
Sometimes, things that fly, and its also something that sits there, waiting for a need to be used, while Roast may or may not be available anyway.
I'll be trying 2 in my Jace slots anyway, not because I think its a slam dunk, but hey, weirder things have worked out.
Anything in this gods sweet earth that makes non-creature decks better is a thumbs up in my book. I don't mind playing creature decks with new players, but I felt like this was a conversation I had in 2009 already with their starter manuals pushing people to play all creature summoning spells with just five support spells. Thanks wizards, now you've had to buff all creatures because people can't handle a guy using Counter Spell and decided every format needs Duress just to make sure those poor creature lobbers can deal with pesky control / tempo players. Because we aren't already fighting the uphill battle.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
What are you killing that needs more then 5 damage? Death Shadow? The rare Inferno Titan?
Sometimes, things that fly, and its also something that sits there, waiting for a need to be used, while Roast may or may not be available anyway.
I'll be trying 2 in my Jace slots anyway, not because I think its a slam dunk, but hey, weirder things have worked out.
Anything in this gods sweet earth that makes non-creature decks better is a thumbs up in my book. I don't mind playing creature decks with new players, but I felt like this was a conversation I had in 2009 already with their starter manuals pushing people to play all creature summoning spells with just five support spells. Thanks wizards, now you've had to buff all creatures because people can't handle a guy using Counter Spell and decided every format needs Duress just to make sure those poor creature lobbers can deal with pesky control / tempo players. Because we aren't already fighting the uphill battle.
Low/no-creature blue decks have been very strong in both Standard and Modern for much of 2018. I wouldn't expect significantly stronger cards than what we're getting now, but that's totally fine. Field, Search, and Jace have been absolute powerhouses. I'm largely happy with Wizards' newer designs and expect for more gems at that power level in Guilds.
What are you killing that needs more then 5 damage? Death Shadow? The rare Inferno Titan?
Sometimes, things that fly, and its also something that sits there, waiting for a need to be used, while Roast may or may not be available anyway.
I'll be trying 2 in my Jace slots anyway, not because I think its a slam dunk, but hey, weirder things have worked out.
Anything in this gods sweet earth that makes non-creature decks better is a thumbs up in my book. I don't mind playing creature decks with new players, but I felt like this was a conversation I had in 2009 already with their starter manuals pushing people to play all creature summoning spells with just five support spells. Thanks wizards, now you've had to buff all creatures because people can't handle a guy using Counter Spell and decided every format needs Duress just to make sure those poor creature lobbers can deal with pesky control / tempo players. Because we aren't already fighting the uphill battle.
Low/no-creature blue decks have been very strong in both Standard and Modern for much of 2018. I wouldn't expect significantly stronger cards than what we're getting now, but that's totally fine. Field, Search, and Jace have been absolute powerhouses. I'm largely happy with Wizards' newer designs and expect for more gems at that power level in Guilds.
That's why I tend to think that even though things got really rough for Wizards, the modern meta itself is in a better place now than it has been in the past couple of years.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Honestly I want a return to tempo efficiency in the blue guilds of ravnica this time around. Original ravnica had a solid aggro-control/tempo slant for it's blue designs, and I think a return to those sort of creatures would be a beautiful spot to find new modern playables. Also I saw the new dimir promotional banner and it had a faerie on it, so I'm hoping super hard that it's actually a good card
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Decks I have in my bag of tricks- Needless to say, someone who wants to play will probably have a deck UB/x Faeries UR Storm XURWB Affinity G Elves UW control
This card is soooooooo good I don't know where to start. How about killing lands? Inkmoth, Tron, Temple, Valakut, Colonnade, Azcanta... Plus all the other utility? Instant speed answer to Teferi before they untap? No cmc 3 restrictions? BGx game changer.
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Over-Extended/Modern Since 2010
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Modern Tallowisp Spirits - A Modern Tallowisp Deck UW
Eldrazi Ninjas - Summoning Octopus Jutsu YYYYAAAHHHH!
STANDARD
Naban Wizards
The usual shame is that both walkers cost 5 mana, Ral won't let you untap lands this time, and Ral is competing with Jace TMS (about the only advantages Ral has over Jace TMS are that he's most castable through Blood Moon, he protects himself better, and he ults quicker).
BG Rock
Modern:
RW Sun & Moon
RBG Dredge
RWG Burn
Legacy:
W Death & Taxes
Basically Main Deckable Walkers can be sorted as such CMC Wise
3 : Potentially Playable
4 : Must Have Powerful Effects
4+: Cost Reduction Necessary
The entire time I'm just going: "He's a five mana walker that lets you keep mana open on turn 5, which makes him better than most 4 mana walkers!"
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Spirits
Sometimes, things that fly, and its also something that sits there, waiting for a need to be used, while Roast may or may not be available anyway.
I'll be trying 2 in my Jace slots anyway, not because I think its a slam dunk, but hey, weirder things have worked out.
Spirits
Speaking of Ravnica I really like less Generic 5 CMC Ob Nixilis Walkers and more stuff like 3 CMC Sarkhan from the Core Set. Or they need to find a new working template for 5 CMC Walkers then 4 or 5 Loyalty with +1 Draw, -3 Removal , and -8 Ultimate
Status//Statue seems like a passable alternative to Maelstrom Pulse in BG decks that play Grim Flayer. Statue is a typical unexciting 1-of general answer card like Pulse or Detention Sphere or Anguished Unmaking. Status puts some excitement into it. +1/+1 and deathtouch turns chump blocks into trades and trades into wins, and on Grim Flayer it also means extra damage and a trigger.
| Ad Nauseam
| Infect
Big Johnny.
MTGO/MTGA: Tyclone
My Primers ~ GWx Vizier Company ~ Knightfall ~ RG Eldrazi ~ Green's Sun's Zenith
More Brews ~ Modern Four Horsemen ~ Gitrog Dredge
seems a bit slow dont you think? you have to invest 2 mana and the card, then play 2 spells and pay the activation cost before you can see any return. killing with it means playing 15+ spells over multiple turns (if you are storming for 15 in one turn, why not just kill them with grapeshot). all while this permanent just sits on the field.
edit: the new jump-start cards spoiled dont give me much hope for the mechanics playability. we already see the issue i mentioned earlier about bumping up the mana cost to account for the value gained on the back end. a 1RR shock, 1U draw a card, and 1UR tap a dude.
the draw spell specifically is competing with Think Twice, and its not winning that head-to-head.
granted they are just commons, but its not promising if the pattern continues.
UWGSnow-Bant Control
BURGrixis Death's Shadow
GWBCoCo Elves
WCDeath and Taxes(sold)I Stream MTGO on Twitch: broodwarjc
I also post recordings of those streams on Youtube: broodwarjcavidgamer
Standard Deck:
BUPirates
Modern Deck:
B8-Rack
Spirits
Ooh, I like that it can hit manlands, sometimes in battle of midrange and control... what attacks me are manlands, and it's also versatile enough to hit things like leylines, ensnaring bridge, and rest in peace. Only downside is the 4cmc... but would try to use one of these in my deck for sure. Gonna buy a playset of that, along with the new Emmara.
Come on new Ravnica block, more BG support cards please. ^___^
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Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
Anything in this gods sweet earth that makes non-creature decks better is a thumbs up in my book. I don't mind playing creature decks with new players, but I felt like this was a conversation I had in 2009 already with their starter manuals pushing people to play all creature summoning spells with just five support spells. Thanks wizards, now you've had to buff all creatures because people can't handle a guy using Counter Spell and decided every format needs Duress just to make sure those poor creature lobbers can deal with pesky control / tempo players. Because we aren't already fighting the uphill battle.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
Low/no-creature blue decks have been very strong in both Standard and Modern for much of 2018. I wouldn't expect significantly stronger cards than what we're getting now, but that's totally fine. Field, Search, and Jace have been absolute powerhouses. I'm largely happy with Wizards' newer designs and expect for more gems at that power level in Guilds.
That's why I tend to think that even though things got really rough for Wizards, the modern meta itself is in a better place now than it has been in the past couple of years.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
UB/x Faeries
UR Storm
XURWB Affinity
G Elves
UW control
For reference:
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/guilds-of-ravnica-preview-assassins-trophy/
This card is soooooooo good I don't know where to start. How about killing lands? Inkmoth, Tron, Temple, Valakut, Colonnade, Azcanta... Plus all the other utility? Instant speed answer to Teferi before they untap? No cmc 3 restrictions? BGx game changer.