Interesting take on a Gatekeeper of Malakir. The WCS is Vampire Interloper, which is sort of close on playability (although it falls a bit short), but there is a ton of value to be had if you can get an edict out of it. Seems like we may have to figure out how to accommodate C costs after all?
Today has been just full of C goodies, hasn't it? I'm starting to get a sense that we have enough of these to work with, and this is probably my favorite one yet. Respectable aggro body on 2, flying Gatekeeper on 4 if you can pull off colorless.
I like this guy, WCS Vampire Interloper is not bad at all. I like him much more than Gatekeeper of Malakir (which I never liked to at all), but I'm on the fence about adding him right now, but he does compete with my fringe 2 drops that I'm already playing (Blood-Chin Rager).
Main draw of Gatekeeper for me is that it's a solid 2/3 drop for the mono-black archetype. However, I've had newer players quite often fall into the trap by drafting the card in a 3 color deck. Actually it happened in the last cube draft I hosted. Body for Bearer is much nicer than just being a harder to cast bear in Gatekeeper. I think it's worth a cut over Gatekeeper.
These colourless spells have been great but by being aggressively costed they put an extra strain on the mana bases of decks that want to play them. I was assuming most of the colourless spells would be higher casting costs so mana rocks could help support them but Bearer of Silence and Reality Smasher both fit into decks without rocks. Interesting, interesting....
The WCS is Vampire Interloper, which is sort of close on playability (although it falls a bit short), but there is a ton of value to be had if you can get an edict out of it.
I agree Interloper is close and this guy's upside is pretty good. Both the 2-drop and 4-drop sections in black could use help anyway making this guy very appealing. Looking forward to testing.
Playing Gatekeeper as a bear was always pretty sad, so it was BBB most of the time. This is instead an interloper most of the time, with occasional upside.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I primarily play limited, so most of my spoiler season comments view cards through that lens.
Great card! 360 material (if you get somehow to fix the <> thing). But after rechecking my sources for <>, i think this whole colourless thing is not gonna work without screwing up your mana or fill the cube with subpar "colourless fixers". I'm probably gonna pass on all the <> cards bc of this.
That's where I stand at this point as well. I'm very happy with where my cube's manabase is at this point, but there are only 10 sources of :cmana:, and I don't want to swap any of my duals or Signets without a much better incentive than anything we've seen so far from OGW.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
465 card Unpowered cube thread. Draft it here and I'll be happy to return the favor.
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
I am still running Vampire Interloper, so this is a clear upgrade. Even if I get to use its extra ability only 10% of the time, it will still be better than the Vampire. The only downside that I can see is that half a dozen black removal spells can kill this thanks to devoid, but on a 2-drop, this hardly matters.
I agree with the tenor. This is good, assuming you have enough C, and a clear upgrade in a larger cube that still runs Vampire Interloper. Better than Gatekeeper of Malakir for sure, because the WCS is better and BBB isn't an easy casting cost either.
I think I'd give it a try, without much changes to the mana in our cube. We already run Painlands in 540, we'll see if the Painlands, utility lands and manarocks are enough to support a splash.
If you can make C work at all, this is probably worth running. I like the "kicker" C cards more than the ones that require that mana to cast them, because in their WCS you still can cast something. I think there's a testable one in each color now (blue is a bit more of a stretch but the giant Edric guy isn't too bad), so I may do a small subsection of C cards and add in some extra ways to support the mana. Won't be able to pull it off in smaller cubes, but medium-large cubes can make a handful of small changes and be relatively accommodating for C mana.
Interloper was a fine card when we ran it, but ultimately got cut because it was often underwhelming. This guy at least adds another mode, so that's pretty cool. Will test.
If you can make C work at all, this is probably worth running. I like the "kicker" C cards more than the ones that require that mana to cast them, because in their WCS you still can cast something. I think there's a testable one in each color now (blue is a bit more of a stretch but the giant Edric guy isn't too bad), so I may do a small subsection of C cards and add in some extra ways to support the mana. Won't be able to pull it off in smaller cubes, but medium-large cubes can make a handful of small changes and be relatively accommodating for C mana.
I don't think there needs to be a C card in every color. The blue one does not seem good enough, so I simply wouldn't run it.
This one will make it though. I think it's a great aggro card and I run some of the filter lands that will help casting these with the C trigger.
How many colorless sources would people run to make this guy playable in a black aggro deck? 2-3? I don't actively support colorless mana cost cards, but by nature of my nonbasics I think many black aggro decks end up with 2-3 colorless sources with simply how they are built. My Cube is a large 720 unpowered but with all pain lands except Adarkar Wastes, filters, and a slightly larger than typical variety of utility lands that produce colorless.
I like to have at least 3-4 sources when I'm splashing a color, which is exactly what running these colorless matters cards is. It's also why nearly all of them have since gotten cut from my cube. A Vampire Interloper didn't really hold up and the colorless option on this guy wasn't powerful enough to warrant the splash. If the sac had just been Chupacabra destroy target creature, he might have been worth it.
But yeah, to answer the question, I'd go with 3-4 and more than that if possible without disrupting the mana base too much.
I like to have at least 3-4 sources when I'm splashing a color, which is exactly what running these colorless matters cards is. It's also why nearly all of them have since gotten cut from my cube. A Vampire Interloper didn't really hold up and the colorless option on this guy wasn't powerful enough to warrant the splash. If the sac had just been Chupacabra destroy target creature, he might have been worth it.
But yeah, to answer the question, I'd go with 3-4 and more than that if possible without disrupting the mana base too much.
He's obviously good if you have the option to cast him for 4 but, a 2/1 flyer for 2 is not a bad rate either. Asking specifically for a black aggro deck you'd be happy playing him on turn two which you would always be able to do. I think having 2 sources would be fine and he might make your 23 with only 1 source as well.
He's obviously good if you have the option to cast him for 4 but, a 2/1 flyer for 2 is not a bad rate either. Asking specifically for a black aggro deck you'd be happy playing him on turn two which you would always be able to do. I think having 2 sources would be fine and he might make your 23 with only 1 source as well.
If my list got large enough that I was looking to run Vampire Interloper, I'd definitely look at Bearer of Silence as the first option for that slot. However, when we ran him he often felt lackluster in both modes. The 'kicker' should feel like it's worth the hoop you have to jump through of requiring colorless mana and it just never was. For what it is, that kicker needed to be Nekrataal levels of good and this guy can't even block. Sometimes versatility is worth it even with both sides are bad (e.g. Firebolt), but I don't think this is one of those times.
Interesting take on a Gatekeeper of Malakir. The WCS is Vampire Interloper, which is sort of close on playability (although it falls a bit short), but there is a ton of value to be had if you can get an edict out of it. Seems like we may have to figure out how to accommodate C costs after all?
Former DCI L2 Judge
My old Cube podcast on ManaDeprived, with Goodking and artbcnco: http://manadeprived.com/podcasts/mtgin3d/
You can find me on Twitter as well.
Cubetutor Link
My High Octane Unpowered Cube on CubeCobra
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
Credit to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the Avatar & Miraculous Recovery for the Banner.
My 540 Card Cube (WIP)
https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/3pq
Interested in Custom Card Creation.
My Cube:Cardinal Custom Cube
A custom version of a third modern masters: MM2019
(filter->rarity to see in set rarity).
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/other-formats/mtgo-pauper/developing/647850-primer-angler-delver
Modern: Sultai Death's Shadow
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/deck-creation-modern/773885-sultai-deaths-shadow-bug-aggro]
Legacy: Snake&Show
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?27217-Deck-Sneak-and-Show
Discuss my Cube @ MTGsalvation:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=207309
450 card Peasant cube thread. Draft it here.
Uril, the Miststalker RGW -- Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre C -- Vhati il-Dal BG -- Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer RW -- Animar, Soul of Elements URG
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker R -- Maga, Traitor to Mortals B -- Ghave, Guru of Spores BGW -- Sliver Hivelord WUBRG
My cube
My cube on Cube tutor
I'm OP_Forever. I'll be putting this in my signature for a while so everyone know I change my nickname.
I think I'd give it a try, without much changes to the mana in our cube. We already run Painlands in 540, we'll see if the Painlands, utility lands and manarocks are enough to support a splash.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
Also, follow us on twitter! @TurnOneMagic
Auto test IMO
Last Updated 02/07/24
Streaming Standard/Cube on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/heisenb3rg96
Strategy Twitter https://www.twitter.com/heisenb3rg
This one will make it though. I think it's a great aggro card and I run some of the filter lands that will help casting these with the C trigger.
My 630 Card Powered Cube
My Article - "Cube Design Philosophy"
My Article - "Mana Short: A study in limited resource management."
My 50th Set (P)review - Discusses my top 20 Cube cards from OTJ!
But yeah, to answer the question, I'd go with 3-4 and more than that if possible without disrupting the mana base too much.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.
Good points - you've convinced me not to add it.
He's obviously good if you have the option to cast him for 4 but, a 2/1 flyer for 2 is not a bad rate either. Asking specifically for a black aggro deck you'd be happy playing him on turn two which you would always be able to do. I think having 2 sources would be fine and he might make your 23 with only 1 source as well.
If my list got large enough that I was looking to run Vampire Interloper, I'd definitely look at Bearer of Silence as the first option for that slot. However, when we ran him he often felt lackluster in both modes. The 'kicker' should feel like it's worth the hoop you have to jump through of requiring colorless mana and it just never was. For what it is, that kicker needed to be Nekrataal levels of good and this guy can't even block. Sometimes versatility is worth it even with both sides are bad (e.g. Firebolt), but I don't think this is one of those times.
MTGS Average Peasant Cube 2023 Edition
Follow me. I tweet.