I thought this card was strong in M12 Limited, and I long ago included a copy in a side-project I'm working on (designed Limited block, as opposed to a "best of" cube). Anyway, given the card's recent exposure via Mike Flores, I was wondering whether anyone had reconsidered its inclusion in Cube.
Flores and Sean McKeown compare it to Planeswalkers...which is interesting. Certainly, I can see how it could fit in different decks, and I'm wondering if its generally been underrated for Cube.
I thought this card was strong in M12 Limited, and I long ago included a copy in a side-project I'm working on (designed Limited block, as opposed to a "best of" cube). Anyway, given the card's recent exposure via Mike Flores, I was wondering whether anyone had reconsidered its inclusion in Cube.
Flores and Sean McKeown compare it to Planeswalkers...which is interesting. Certainly, I can see how it could fit in different decks, and I'm wondering if its generally been underrated for Cube.
Druidic Satchel is bad because you cannot choose which mode. Sure that seems like an obvious point but sometimes you really need a 1/1 but instead you get one of the other two. That's really bad.
But it does represent a fair amount of card advantage - especially if you're running primarily lands and creatures - every one of those on top of your library represents + 1 card. In the case of lands, it also accelerates you and digs deeper into your library for business. In the case of creatures, it doesn't actually "draw" you a card but obviously nets you a token. As Flores points out, if you play it right, you can activate at end of opponent's turn, and if it's what you want (say, creature), activate again in your own upkeep for a second token. If you're a control deck, you're probably light on creatures, heavy on spells and lands. This means that most of the time you'll be accelerating your mana + drawing a card or gaining life, both good things for a control deck.
Another way to look at it is that your choice is made during deckbuilding in terms of what you want the satchel to yield most of the time. Add some library manipulation (Brainstorm, Preordain, Ponder, Sensei's Divining Top, etc.) and you start to gain influence over the results.
Also, Flores compared it to Thawing Glaciers (40% of the time you draw a land instead of 50%), and it also reminds me of Scrying Sheets, which was still pretty good with mostly just snow lands.
There's no doubt that it's not exactly a Planeswalker, and it's definitely more of the slow, grinding type of advantage than anything more flashy. But every card in your library yields some type of benefit.
Anyway, I might give it a try and see what happens.
But it does represent a fair amount of card advantage - especially if you're running primarily lands and creatures - every one of those on top of your library represents + 1 card. In the case of lands, it also accelerates you and digs deeper into your library for business. In the case of creatures, it doesn't actually "draw" you a card but obviously nets you a token. As Flores points out, if you play it right, you can activate at end of opponent's turn, and if it's what you want (say, creature), activate again in your own upkeep for a second token. If you're a control deck, you're probably light on creatures, heavy on spells and lands. This means that most of the time you'll be accelerating your mana + drawing a card or gaining life, both good things for a control deck.
Another way to look at it is that your choice is made during deckbuilding in terms of what you want the satchel to yield most of the time. Add some library manipulation (Brainstorm, Preordain, Ponder, Sensei's Divining Top, etc.) and you start to gain influence over the results.
Also, Flores compared it to Thawing Glaciers (40% of the time you draw a land instead of 50%), and it also reminds me of Scrying Sheets, which was still pretty good with mostly just snow lands.
There's no doubt that it's not exactly a Planeswalker, and it's definitely more of the slow, grinding type of advantage than anything more flashy. But every card in your library yields some type of benefit.
Anyway, I might give it a try and see what happens.
I don't know that it's even good enough in tight cube lists if it gave a 1/1 every time.
looks bad and flores is not who i look to for accurate appraisals of objective card value. unlike a walker you can't control what you're getting and you have to pay for it every time. those are huge cons. plus the individual effects are really not that great for the cost anyway.
When I see Healing Salve, I'm often like "Oh girl, I wish I could turn every card into this." Thanks they removed the gain life part, otherwise this would have been broken.
looks bad and flores is not who i look to for accurate appraisals of objective card value. unlike a walker you can't control what you're getting and you have to pay for it every time. those are huge cons. plus the individual effects are really not that great for the cost anyway.
Yes, paying 2 for 1/1 every turn isn't exactly what I'm looking for in my colorless section. I think it's a lot tighter than that. I don't even like Skinshifter much even if he only required 1 mana each turn... But maybe that's just my experience with him.
Even if Druidic Satchel was a planeswalker with controllable abilities, which it isn't, it's hardly cubeable. It would play like a crappy mashup of Elspeth1 and Ajani Goldmane that someone in the Custom forum came up with. I get the concept of incremental advantage, although walkers have all but cornered the market on that design space.
The argument that deck design and card choice makes it playable could also be applied to Browbeat, and I don't think that's cubeable either.
Planeswalkers and their incremental advantage over time at no further cost have raised the bar for artifacts. I consider Puppet Strings more cubeable than Druidic Satchel. For the same initial cost and upkeep, I can choose how to affect the board state in the way that best benefits me. Even though the satchel provides virtual card advantage, I will rarely if ever, get to choose how it affects the board. And that's just not endorsable in cube*. Forget that random reveal noise.
* Unless the abilities involved something so powerful in all modes it didn't matter what the choice was, like destroy target creature/gain 4 life/draw 2 cards.
Fair enough. Fortunately, I have other avenues to try out the card. I've liked the one time I played it, and hated it the one time my opponent had it (because, you know, he had it), so I guess I'm looking at it through rose-coloured glasses. In any event, thanks for the feedback.
I was just going to cite Crystal Ball as the main reason for not being interested in Satchel, Konfusius beat me to it.
Scry 2 is such a strong effect if repeatable, and still Crystal Ball struggles to make main decks - and that's with a cheaper activation cost. Druidic Satchel is a card with great flavor, and I really like the design a lot, but it's just not strong enough to merit a casting cost of 3 and an activation cost of 2.
Still, bigger (600+?) cubes should be able to fit it in and enjoy it.
I thought this card was strong in M12 Limited, and I long ago included a copy in a side-project I'm working on (designed Limited block, as opposed to a "best of" cube). Anyway, given the card's recent exposure via Mike Flores, I was wondering whether anyone had reconsidered its inclusion in Cube.
Flores and Sean McKeown compare it to Planeswalkers...which is interesting. Certainly, I can see how it could fit in different decks, and I'm wondering if its generally been underrated for Cube.
I've had this card in for about a month, and it's already become a staple for my 740 card cube. It's nice incremental advantage that feels kind of like Oracle of Mul Daya for everyone. It's very grindy, but card advantage and constant acceleration on an artifact is hard to come by,
Kind of an odd question, but has anyone tested Jace's Archivist? Seems like he could be pretty strong in larger cubes. He was insane in M12 limited, although I know that doesn't mean a ton.
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I thought this card was strong in M12 Limited, and I long ago included a copy in a side-project I'm working on (designed Limited block, as opposed to a "best of" cube). Anyway, given the card's recent exposure via Mike Flores, I was wondering whether anyone had reconsidered its inclusion in Cube.
Flores and Sean McKeown compare it to Planeswalkers...which is interesting. Certainly, I can see how it could fit in different decks, and I'm wondering if its generally been underrated for Cube.
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Druidic Satchel is bad because you cannot choose which mode. Sure that seems like an obvious point but sometimes you really need a 1/1 but instead you get one of the other two. That's really bad.
But it does represent a fair amount of card advantage - especially if you're running primarily lands and creatures - every one of those on top of your library represents + 1 card. In the case of lands, it also accelerates you and digs deeper into your library for business. In the case of creatures, it doesn't actually "draw" you a card but obviously nets you a token. As Flores points out, if you play it right, you can activate at end of opponent's turn, and if it's what you want (say, creature), activate again in your own upkeep for a second token. If you're a control deck, you're probably light on creatures, heavy on spells and lands. This means that most of the time you'll be accelerating your mana + drawing a card or gaining life, both good things for a control deck.
Another way to look at it is that your choice is made during deckbuilding in terms of what you want the satchel to yield most of the time. Add some library manipulation (Brainstorm, Preordain, Ponder, Sensei's Divining Top, etc.) and you start to gain influence over the results.
Also, Flores compared it to Thawing Glaciers (40% of the time you draw a land instead of 50%), and it also reminds me of Scrying Sheets, which was still pretty good with mostly just snow lands.
There's no doubt that it's not exactly a Planeswalker, and it's definitely more of the slow, grinding type of advantage than anything more flashy. But every card in your library yields some type of benefit.
Anyway, I might give it a try and see what happens.
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I don't know that it's even good enough in tight cube lists if it gave a 1/1 every time.
Yes, paying 2 for 1/1 every turn isn't exactly what I'm looking for in my colorless section. I think it's a lot tighter than that. I don't even like Skinshifter much even if he only required 1 mana each turn... But maybe that's just my experience with him.
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The argument that deck design and card choice makes it playable could also be applied to Browbeat, and I don't think that's cubeable either.
Planeswalkers and their incremental advantage over time at no further cost have raised the bar for artifacts. I consider Puppet Strings more cubeable than Druidic Satchel. For the same initial cost and upkeep, I can choose how to affect the board state in the way that best benefits me. Even though the satchel provides virtual card advantage, I will rarely if ever, get to choose how it affects the board. And that's just not endorsable in cube*. Forget that random reveal noise.
* Unless the abilities involved something so powerful in all modes it didn't matter what the choice was, like destroy target creature/gain 4 life/draw 2 cards.
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I was just going to cite Crystal Ball as the main reason for not being interested in Satchel, Konfusius beat me to it.
Scry 2 is such a strong effect if repeatable, and still Crystal Ball struggles to make main decks - and that's with a cheaper activation cost. Druidic Satchel is a card with great flavor, and I really like the design a lot, but it's just not strong enough to merit a casting cost of 3 and an activation cost of 2.
Still, bigger (600+?) cubes should be able to fit it in and enjoy it.
I've had this card in for about a month, and it's already become a staple for my 740 card cube. It's nice incremental advantage that feels kind of like Oracle of Mul Daya for everyone. It's very grindy, but card advantage and constant acceleration on an artifact is hard to come by,
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