I think this guy is a little better than I originally ranked him for guesswork, but I still don't know if I like him better than any of the top 5 in black.
2B for his dash cost would put him a lot closer to Rabblemaster's power level. That would have made him jump a ton of spots.
I'm probably going to expand to 6 3-drops to play this guy. Also, the aggressive options at the 4-drop spot are a little limited for black anyway.
I think this guy is a little better than I originally ranked him for guesswork, but I still don't know if I like him better than any of the top 5 in black.
2B for his dash cost would put him a lot closer to Rabblemaster's power level. That would have made him jump a ton of spots.
I'm probably going to expand to 6 3-drops to play this guy. Also, the aggressive options at the 4-drop spot are a little limited for black anyway.
I'm doing the same thing. I don't think it beats out the top 5 black three drops, but after testing extensively I wouldn't want to cube without this guy at 450. If you are reluctant to cube him because of competition at the three drop slot, I'd encourage them to keep in mind the fact that he will often be played as a 4 drop. Maybe that will ease up the self imposed OCD pressure not to have too many "3 drops" haha
Dash isnt an ability you have to see in action to be able to evaluate it.
This is absolutely wrong. This mechanic hasn't existed in the game in the planeswalker era, and it functions differently than it did in the mid-late 90's anyways. It absolutely does need to be seen in action to evaluate it properly. Your assumption that the dash cost has to be lower than the printed casting cost tells me outright that you might need some hands-on experience with the ability to evaluate it properly.
Nice reading discussion on this card so far. Just wanted to chime in on his Dash cost, which I have found hard to evaluate without having tested it yet. One analogy for it is like a monoblack Bloodbraid Elf cascading into a 2/1. And then bouncing back if it doesn't die. It's a nice alternate mode IMO and a skill tester. Do you drop it or dash on an empty board? Hmm.
I guess it's good and the dash is costed fairly. A dash cost of 3 would be too good actually. Which other card attacks with haste for 5 on turn 3? That would be nasty. Oh, nvm, I thought the token was entering tapped and attacking like Brimaz' tokens. Now I'm slightly less sold on him.
Returning back to you hand is sometimes even an advantage, and maybe not too much of a disadvantage in aggressive decks anyway.
After thinking about it some more, Vampire Nighthawk seems like a good cut if you need room to try Mardu Strike Leader. Personally I'm more in Goodkings camp, liking Herald of Torment, but either way I feel the days of Nighthawk are numbered. It seems I recall way more situations where I was actually glad my opponent played Nighthawk (because it meant he did not play something else).
I feel like Curse of the Shallow Grave has been such an absurd card that this guy has to be ridiculous. I don't know at all how to evaluate Dash as an ability or honestly how to even play it properly, but my gut says that four mana when I can afford it to bash for three and leave behind a 2/1 is pretty good. For those that have tested it and had a chance to play the card, when is it appropriate to use Dash instead of just casting it? When should I just not bother with the Dash activation and play my creature outright?
How the abilities fit into your curve plays a big role in the decision. So do planeswalkers. In a lot of situations it's better to try and dash into a 'walker rather than play this guy to the open board when they have the 'walker down (especially if it's a walker that can defend itself with bodies & abilities) ...doubly so since the opponent probably has removal they want to protect their 'walker with. Also, if you know that you've got the game in the bag and the only thing that saves them is a wrath, Dash the creature to avoid overcommitting to the board. In addition to those more obvious windows, in games 2 and 3 you know how much sorcery-speed removal you need to dodge. You may be in a situation where adding 2 power to the board and attacking for 3 with haste every turn is the best option for beating their removal suite if it all drops at sorcery-speed. So against control decks, holding off for a minute and dashing through the red zone may be the best option ...particularly with this dash creature because the attack trigger still builds your board! So you kinda get the best of both worlds against reactive decks when you can get a permanent threat and a temporary threat in one shot. When you have effects like Braids, Smokestack, Flesh Carver and Skullclamp to fuel with the trigger, running him to the board may be the best option. If the board is open and you have a removal spell for your next attack step ..definitely run him out there. If they have a blocker, and you might be able to generate more value by dashing it next turn if they turn their creature sideways on their attack step, hold off and Dash later.
Dash is a damn-sweet ability that gives you a lot of options with how to play your card. It really rewards skilled players for their ability to evaluate the game state and anticipate plays from their opponent.
I will say I don't think that dash on Strike Leader is all that great, but I agree that the Dash on Goblin Heelcutter helps the cards power tremendously. That said, I'm gonna test Strike Leader
To me dash on him feels a little like Flinthoof Boar (pay an extra mana for haste and he can bring more damage) or herald of torment for that matter. The problem I have is that 3 drop black is becoming one of the tightest in cube.
For the sac theme alone we have 3 engines
Flesh Carver
Grim Haruspex
Xathrid Necromancer
We have two great targets
Geralf's Messenger
Ophiomancer
And to be aggressive we have
Master of the Feast
Herald of Torment
Hypnotic Spectre
And one of the great/obnoxious utility players
Vampire Nighthawk
I already dropped messenger for mana reasons and necromancer (although we are adding humans so I miss him). What goes? Curse of the Shallow Graves has been gross so that stays. Nighthawk is some critical lifegain, and works wonders in B/X control decks. Hearld is already shipped off to the 5 drop slot, as that is where I prefer to cast it. Am I crazy to think that Hypnotic Spectre might have to go?
Now if we could get more support for token sac them at 2, and 5 mana in black. A Deranged Hermit type card maybe?
Who wants to be adventurous and start testing bad moon to support this guy?
I cut Hippie ages ago. Don't miss him. I'd run Geralf's Messenger in the 4 or 5 drop slot. Nighthawk's lifegain is probably healthy, I just cut it, probably a mistake. Xathrid is probably the weakest of the ones you've listed, but is sweet in the right deck (with humans)
I think if it didn't have a dash ability, it's still worth a shot/slot. Dash is a huge bonus to have, and I think everyone has to see it that way.
No one's sees Ball Lightning (and its ilk) until it hits them. The fact that its dash ability costs more means people may close an eye to its usability. Blocking a "dashed" creature also feels stupid if other creatures are attacking. What I'm saying is that when he's "dashed", the strike leader doesn't provide any absolute rights or wrongs in combat, and that's a good thing.
It has a reasonable WCS as a 3 power creature for 3, and only needs to attack once to net you five power which is an excellent ratio for the cost. Add to that the Dash mode which is very useful as an alternate casting option and you have a very solid card indeed. I've been happy with it.
Hello to everybody!
So, after a few months of testing, how this card has been worked for you?
I make this question because I'm willing to try again this guy after a bad initial result in my unpowered 480. I think it has a lot of potential.
I'm a fan; like others have said, it's flexible and I've found both modes are great.
A bit off topic, but in all the mention of comparable three drops, I see nothing about Dauthi Marauder. Why no love? Sure, he's fragile as hell and dies to everything this side of doom blade, but three points of basically unblockable damage per turn is no joke for blaggro.
It was a much better option before black got a slew of good black 3-drops back to back to back. Now I think the section is just too tight for the Marauder.
I'm probably going to expand to 6 3-drops to play this guy. Also, the aggressive options at the 4-drop spot are a little limited for black anyway.
I'm doing the same thing. I don't think it beats out the top 5 black three drops, but after testing extensively I wouldn't want to cube without this guy at 450. If you are reluctant to cube him because of competition at the three drop slot, I'd encourage them to keep in mind the fact that he will often be played as a 4 drop. Maybe that will ease up the self imposed OCD pressure not to have too many "3 drops" haha
This is absolutely wrong. This mechanic hasn't existed in the game in the planeswalker era, and it functions differently than it did in the mid-late 90's anyways. It absolutely does need to be seen in action to evaluate it properly. Your assumption that the dash cost has to be lower than the printed casting cost tells me outright that you might need some hands-on experience with the ability to evaluate it properly.
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A dash cost of 3 would be too good actually. Which other card attacks with haste for 5 on turn 3? That would be nasty.Oh, nvm, I thought the token was entering tapped and attacking like Brimaz' tokens. Now I'm slightly less sold on him.Returning back to you hand is sometimes even an advantage, and maybe not too much of a disadvantage in aggressive decks anyway.
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Dash is a damn-sweet ability that gives you a lot of options with how to play your card. It really rewards skilled players for their ability to evaluate the game state and anticipate plays from their opponent.
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To me dash on him feels a little like Flinthoof Boar (pay an extra mana for haste and he can bring more damage) or herald of torment for that matter. The problem I have is that 3 drop black is becoming one of the tightest in cube.
For the sac theme alone we have 3 engines
Flesh Carver
Grim Haruspex
Xathrid Necromancer
We have two great targets
Geralf's Messenger
Ophiomancer
And to be aggressive we have
Master of the Feast
Herald of Torment
Hypnotic Spectre
And one of the great/obnoxious utility players
Vampire Nighthawk
I already dropped messenger for mana reasons and necromancer (although we are adding humans so I miss him). What goes? Curse of the Shallow Graves has been gross so that stays. Nighthawk is some critical lifegain, and works wonders in B/X control decks. Hearld is already shipped off to the 5 drop slot, as that is where I prefer to cast it. Am I crazy to think that Hypnotic Spectre might have to go?
Now if we could get more support for token sac them at 2, and 5 mana in black. A Deranged Hermit type card maybe?
Who wants to be adventurous and start testing bad moon to support this guy?
No one's sees Ball Lightning (and its ilk) until it hits them. The fact that its dash ability costs more means people may close an eye to its usability. Blocking a "dashed" creature also feels stupid if other creatures are attacking. What I'm saying is that when he's "dashed", the strike leader doesn't provide any absolute rights or wrongs in combat, and that's a good thing.
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I'm a fan; like others have said, it's flexible and I've found both modes are great.
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