Isareth, the Awakener 1BB
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (R)
Deathtouch
Whenever Isareth the Awakener attacks, you may pay x. When you do, return target creature card with converted mana cost X from your graveyard to the battlefield with a corpse counter on it. If that creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else.
3/3
Black 3 isn't the strongest of slots, and this card provides a relevant body and a relevant ability that scales up into the late game. It's a bit vulnerable but I feel like this might make it in.
Cool take on Alesha, Who Smiles at Death. Many of the ability changes are sidegrades, but I think this version offers more flexibility in a more convenient classification. Can’t wait to see what she can do, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up a staple.
Not quite a mono black Alesha, but black 3s are really thin. I'll try this out.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
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One of the big pros with Alesha is that, when I can't pay the cost, a 3/2 first striker is a pretty legit creature in combat. While it's definitely easier to pay this cost, it's also a bit tough to send this in and feel like I'm not forcing an attack to recur something.
Also unlike Alesha, CMC is generally worse than power. Paying 2 to get an angel of invention back? Good. Paying 5? Can be good, but obviously a lot worse. CMC and a bad combat body might be the end for this guy. But at the same time, it also seems pretty decent in a low-to-mid curve deck.
This card seems strong and very cubable. She can fit right into just about any black deck from aggro to midrange to control and is another (welcome) black creature that brings recursion and graveyard synergies. I'm still running Vampire Nighthawk and Isareth seems like a pretty good replacement.
Definitely an I teresting spin on Alesha. This card is definitely cubeable, I’m just wondering if my black midrange decks will have space for this. Also competes directly with Liliana, Heretical Healer, but the 3/3 deathtouch is pretty appealing. I might find room to test this, but I don’t see this lasting in the long term.
One of the big pros with Alesha is that, when I can't pay the cost, a 3/2 first striker is a pretty legit creature in combat. While it's definitely easier to pay this cost, it's also a bit tough to send this in and feel like I'm not forcing an attack to recur something.
Also unlike Alesha, CMC is generally worse than power. Paying 2 to get an angel of invention back? Good. Paying 5? Can be good, but obviously a lot worse. CMC and a bad combat body might be the end for this guy. But at the same time, it also seems pretty decent in a low-to-mid curve deck.
One big upside to Isareth is that she scales much better as the game drags on. Alesha might face situations where she’d be chump attacking into a bigger creature just to get back a utility dork. In those same situations, Isareth could be trading up and getting back Grave Titan.
I think Alesha is the better card overall for many reasons
- 2R > 1BB
- Is more usable in aggro decks
- Recurred creatures ETB attacking
- Not paying full price for premium targets lol Angel of Invention / Siege-Gang Commander / etc
Black three drops are far from great, I think she makes it in for testing easily for me. I dislike having yet another 1BB creature. On the plus side, she scales very well into the late game and encourages building around without requiring it.
Solid card. Can take over the game with a graveyard, but it needs a couple things to go right before it does.
3 mana creatures that don’t do anything to sorcery removal need to be quite strong to be worth it. Think this gets over that hump, but not by a large margin.
Very similar to Alesha , but more midrange and less aggressive in application.
Probably will test , but don’t think it’ll crack small lists..
It's a shame it's double black. I think it'd be much higher in terms of viability at 2B. IMO this is testable in 450+, but won't crack smaller cube sizes.
This seems testable, especially with how anemic black's 3's are. It having deathtouch is HUGE, which lets it trade up and attack into big creatures and still trade and get the trigger.
I'm a fan. Deathtouch goes a long way against chump-attacking. There are still some advantages to something like Hell's Caretaker over her, but having a relevant body makes a big difference.
It's a shame it's double black. I think it'd be much higher in terms of viability at 2B. IMO this is testable in 450+, but won't crack smaller cube sizes.
I'm at 360, and I'll be trying this out. Black 3s are a void anyway, so there's no harm in trying this over Drana or Flesh Carver for a while.
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I can't say I'm pleased to see you and must warn you I may have to do something about it.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: URDelver
Modern: UGRDelver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
I would be all for this if it was any graveyard but as it is, it's likely to be a 3/3 for 3 far too often. A 3/3 for 3 is fine and all but I prefer the other options over this.
I'm excited about this card. Alesha is the obvious comparison, and one of my all-time favourite cards, but let's not forget that Alesha is 2+ colours and is a very strong comparison to be making in the first place. Isareth is far from a strict downgrade in any sense. The power 2 clause on Alesha means it can get a discount on expensive two power creatures like SGC and it is often advantageous to return them to play attacking, but it also precludes the reanimation of cheap 3 power beaters and/or bigger targets. I could see recurring a Kalitas or Avacyn with this late-game quite frequently.
The big butt is also nice but offset by the lack of first strike. I also like Deathtouch here, since it sort of guarantees a 2-for-1 if you use its ability, since it can't be profitably chumped (short of first strikers).
Lastly using generic mana for its ability is great. Alesha can sometimes be very awkward to use alongside your 'regular' plays on-curve. I think a lot of curve-outs will be just swinging with this on T4, paying 1 for a 2/1 beater recursion, and dropping a three drop.
Will be including at 400 since black 3's are slightly shallow at the top end. I think this could be a solid A or B tier card.
She seems pretty good, I really like that she doesn't need to actually connect and she can grab creatures as big as I have mana for. I like that she is a 3 drop that is live later in the game as she will kill bigger creatures in combat and replace herself with a creature from the yard.
I think it's a fine card at best. Deathtouch is not First Strike and 1BB is way morst than 2R. The creature not attacking is also a thing. The only upside it has is that it may sometimes have utility in deck with higher curve, in order to recure a powerful big creture from your yard. This value aspect has limits though.
BTW, did anyone notice that the corpse counter is completely useless on this card? The ''When you do'' wording is also pretty weird...
Isareth, the Awakener
1BB
Legendary Creature - Human Wizard (R)
Deathtouch
Whenever Isareth the Awakener attacks, you may pay x. When you do, return target creature card with converted mana cost X from your graveyard to the battlefield with a corpse counter on it. If that creature would leave the battlefield, exile it instead of putting it anywhere else.
3/3
Black 3 isn't the strongest of slots, and this card provides a relevant body and a relevant ability that scales up into the late game. It's a bit vulnerable but I feel like this might make it in.
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EDH: UGEdric
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Also unlike Alesha, CMC is generally worse than power. Paying 2 to get an angel of invention back? Good. Paying 5? Can be good, but obviously a lot worse. CMC and a bad combat body might be the end for this guy. But at the same time, it also seems pretty decent in a low-to-mid curve deck.
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One big upside to Isareth is that she scales much better as the game drags on. Alesha might face situations where she’d be chump attacking into a bigger creature just to get back a utility dork. In those same situations, Isareth could be trading up and getting back Grave Titan.
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I'll probably give her a shot, but mostly because I'm not too satisfied with my black 3s as they are right now.
- 2R > 1BB
- Is more usable in aggro decks
- Recurred creatures ETB attacking
- Not paying full price for premium targets lol Angel of Invention / Siege-Gang Commander / etc
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3 mana creatures that don’t do anything to sorcery removal need to be quite strong to be worth it. Think this gets over that hump, but not by a large margin.
Very similar to Alesha , but more midrange and less aggressive in application.
Probably will test , but don’t think it’ll crack small lists..
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I'm at 360, and I'll be trying this out. Black 3s are a void anyway, so there's no harm in trying this over Drana or Flesh Carver for a while.
EDH: UGEdric
Pauper: UR Delver
Modern: UGR Delver
Draft my cube: Eric's 390 Unpowered
FWIW, I think Ophiomancer, Flesh Carver and Drana are much better than this creature will turn out to be.
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The big butt is also nice but offset by the lack of first strike. I also like Deathtouch here, since it sort of guarantees a 2-for-1 if you use its ability, since it can't be profitably chumped (short of first strikers).
Lastly using generic mana for its ability is great. Alesha can sometimes be very awkward to use alongside your 'regular' plays on-curve. I think a lot of curve-outs will be just swinging with this on T4, paying 1 for a 2/1 beater recursion, and dropping a three drop.
Will be including at 400 since black 3's are slightly shallow at the top end. I think this could be a solid A or B tier card.
S Tier
Flesh Carver
Ophiomancer
A Tier
Drana
B Tier
Liliana, Heretical Healer
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I will give it a shot and hope it does well.
BTW, did anyone notice that the corpse counter is completely useless on this card? The ''When you do'' wording is also pretty weird...
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