- Beerblebrox
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JinxedIdol posted a message on Wanted ScoundrelsCool top down design. You get a reward for killing the pirate.Posted in: The Rumor Mill -
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Shmanka posted a message on {XLN} Ixalan spoiler discussion for ModernPosted in: ModernQuote from izzetmage »A 1-mana 2/2 is honestly not all that big. Kird Ape and Loam Lion are 2/3s. Sunblade Elf is a 2/2 and sees no play. And of course Wild Nacatl is a 3/3.
Is UG Merfolk going to be a thing? I don't think so, at least not just with Kumena's Speaker and no other good green Merfolk. It'll end up as a bad version of the old Company Zoo decks - you have Kumena's Speaker, they have Wild Nacatl; you have a bunch of 2-mana 2/2 lords, they have Voice of Resurgence and 3-mana 4/4s (which makes for both more value off Company and more efficient mana usage off T1 Hierarch). They can even add the Vizier combo if they want, you can't unless you want your lords to be bears 80% of the time.
The situation I see with Kumena's Speaker is that by itself isn't the proper way to evaluate the card. Wild Nacatl needs manabse restrictions for it to be the effective 3/3 which we all desire, but KS can become that 3/3 with another creature by it's side, and then more. I don't think we should be directly comparing it to the aggressive green drops we have seen over Modern's career, but instead look as to how it can compliment or replace Cursecatcher, because in Modern, that card isn't very relevant in most matchups. -
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orlouge82 posted a message on Failure to Comply - Magic Judge Blog spoilerMan, is this going to annoy the ever-loving s**t out of players for the next 18 months.Posted in: The Rumor Mill
People claiming that this isn't that good or shouldn't be a rare...just wait. -
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ktkenshinx posted a message on [AER] - Spoiler Discussion for ModernPosted in: ModernQuote from rcwraspy »Other than Fatal Push, I only see about 2-3 other cards that MIGHT be role-players in a few tier 3 or lower builds. IMO a very weak Eternal/Non-Rotating set, even though the Revolt mechanic has so much eternal potential.
If Push lives up to just half its hype, the entire set will be worth the single card. That said, I agree it's very disappointing we didn't get revolt Prohibit.
Generally though, you are correct about the set being full of Johnny roleplayers. There are almost too many to name: Sram in Cheeri0s, Saheeli/Guardian, red PolymorphShape Anew, Electromancer 5-8, Whir of Invention in a variety of artifact decks, Metallic Mimic in tribal (for Timmy!), Walking Ballista with Enduring Renewal, expertises with Ancestral Vision, various Crackdown Construct combos, etc.
Outside of Johnny cards, Narnam Renegade is a promising inclusion in the Zoo decks running Kird Ape who would prefer the 2/3 deathtoucher. Another one is likely Renegade Rallier in Company decks (at least, if those decks return to the upper tiers). -
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izzetmage posted a message on [AER] - Spoiler Discussion for ModernPosted in: Modern
I wouldn't call it "hype" if only one person thinks it's goodQuote from rogue_LOVE »Could someone explain the Hidden Herbalists excitement to me? It looks a lot like Burning-Tree Emissary to me, which IDK is a thing in Modern. Is there a deck that wanted BTE 5-8 and I just missed it? Or something else?
I do seem to remember another card from this set that enabled Myr Superion, but I don't imagine that was the reason for the hype.
The thing about synergy-heavy decks is, the transition from "tier 5 jank" to "actually playable" can be sudden. New cards enable older cards that wouldn't have seen play without it. Dredge is a good example - before Amalgam, the default Dredge deck (Dredgevine) couldn't use Narcomoeba well, because it didn't trigger Vengevine. Bloodghast didn't either (although it was still a strong card and Dredgevine played it anyway). But once Amalgam hit, suddenly those two cards became a lot stronger - it's almost as though Amalgam added one or two additional new cards to the deck, even though it was just one card by itself.
Herbalists has a similar effect. It gives you the critical mass required to play Myr Superion and/or trigger Vengevine on turn 2 consistently, or get in for more damage with Reckless Bushwhacker. Previously there was Priest of Urabrask, but you couldn't play a T2 Superion with it.
The deck that wants more BTEs is extremely obscure. Here it is. The obvious upgrades are Priest -> Herbalists, Commune with the Gods -> Gather the Pack and 1-drops -> Insolent Neonate. Personally I favor more cards that cost 1G over aggressive R 1-drops - this decision is also due in no small part to Herbalists. -
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izzetmage posted a message on [AER] - Spoiler Discussion for ModernPosted in: Modern5This set is amazing. Black finally has a good 1-mana removal spell. A ton of decks got upgrades or new cards to try out, such as:
Fatal Push
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Hidden Herbalists (with Burning-Tree Emissary)
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Sram, Senior Edificer (it's a solid 5 in Cheeri0s, but I don't think Cheeri0s is actually that good, so call it a 3 overall)
Baral, Chief of Compliance (Storm, same as Cheeri0s)
Narnam Renegade (1-drop Zoo, Stompy)
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Aethergeode Miner
Disallow
Trophy Mage
Whir of Invention (mainly to get Lotus Bloom)
Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
Rishkar, Peema Renegade (combo Elves, with Beck // Call or Cloudstone Curio)
Silkweaver Elite
Unbridled Growth
Hidden Stockpile
Renegade Rallier
Rogue Refiner
Metallic Mimic
Scrap Trawler
Servo Schematic (Eggs, or some Thopter Sword deck. Slightly better than Myr Sire.)
Walking Ballista (Enduring Renewal)
All Expertises. R > W > B > U > G
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Everything else
Reprint or functional reprint: Negate, Ornithopter, Natural Obsolescence
Cheeri0s
Storm
1-drop (Bushwhacker) Zoo and Stompy
Combo Elves
Green Devotion
Living End, Restore Balance, and Beck//Call decks
Eggs and Thopter Sword decks
Burning-Tree Emissary decks
Tribal decks
Enduring Renewal
Norin Sisters
any black deck which had to splash red or white for removal
All manner of new combos have been created:
Siege Modification + Consulate Dreadnought
Renegade Rallier + Saffi Eriksdotter
Crackdown Construct + Shuko/Lightning Greaves
Felidar Guardian + Saheeli Rai
Revolt is a powerful mechanic. It's like morbid, but you have a lot more control over it because of fetches. Improvise (or rather, Whir of Invention) has the potential to be good, given that Chord of Calling is a playable card. There are a lot more 0-mana artifacts than 0-mana creatures.
I'm high on Hidden Herbalists (no pun intended). I believe that there is a deck that wants 8 Burning-tree Emissary effects. I've made a thread in Deck Creation, and if you want a reason to look at it, how about "10 power on turn 2"?
# of decks on mtgtop8:
Aerial Responder: 0
Authority of the Consuls: 0
Cataclysmic Gearhulk: 1
Fairgrounds Warden: 0
Fragmentize: 1
Refurbish: 0
Toolcraft Exemplar: 0
Ceremonious Rejection: 14
Dramatic Reversal: 0
Glint-Nest Crane: 16, all Lantern Control
Paradoxical Outcome: 0
Torrential Gearhulk: 9
Gonti, Lord of Luxury: 1
Lost Legacy: 18
Cathartic Reunion: 118, mostly Dredge
Chandra, Torch of Defiance: 86
Combustible Gearhulk: 1
Inventor's Apprentice: 0
Madcap Experiment: 11
Noxious Gearhulk: 0
Pia Nalaar: 0
Spark of Creativity: 0
Blossoming Defense: 82, mostly Infect
Dubious Challenge: 0
Nissa, Vital Force: 1
Verdurous Gearhulk: 0
Wildest Dreams: 0
Contraband Kingpin: 0
Dovin Baan: 0
Kambal, Consul of Allocation: 4
Saheeli Rai: 0
Voltaic Brawler: 1
Aetherflux Reservoir: 0
Aetherworks Marvel: 0
Bomat Courier: 6
Filigree Familiar: 4
Foundry Inspector: 0
Metalwork Colossus: 0
Panharmonicon: 0
Smuggler's Copter: 4
Aether Hub: 7
Blooming Marsh: 136
Botanical Sanctum: 36
Concealed Courtyard: 35
Inspiring Vantage: 28
Inventors' Fair: 44, mostly Lantern Control
Spirebluff Canal: 119
The best cards were the fastlands, Cathartic Reunion and Blossoming Defense. Chandra, Torch of Defiance showed up a lot too, but nobody really noticed because they were all focused on Dredge and Infect.
Inventors' Fair and Blooming Marsh, and to a lesser extent Glint-Nest Crane, really helped Lantern Control.
Fragmentize saw extremely little play for such a mana-efficient SB card. A possible explanation is that white already has Stony Silence, but I believe a large part of it is also being a sorcery.
There were a whole bunch of combo duds, like Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter, Paradoxical Outcome, Dubious Challenge and both Aether____ artifacts. Pro tip: if you want to play a "whenever you do something" engine card, you should reconsider if it costs 4 mana. -
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Underused Cards posted a message on [AER] - Spoiler Discussion for ModernI'm liking Metallic Mimic. I think it can see some play in a lot of slower Tribal decks or abuse the persist mechanic. I think I'll go make my zombie deck now.Posted in: Modern -
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Lantern posted a message on [AER] - Spoiler Discussion for ModernIsochron Scepter+Manamorphose+Grapeshot+Paradox EnginePosted in: Modern
Mic drop.
Seriously though, its weak to artifact hate, but it isnt actually all that bad. It's actually a 3 card combo, not 4, since scepter will find your grapeshot. With scepter manamorphose you also get 1 free draw a turn, plus 5 mana is very doable with storm's mana ramp. I'm not a storm player, so I dont presume to know what I'm doing here. -
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thewrush posted a message on Eldritch Moon in Modern - Spoiler DiscussionBlood Scrivener + Madness + CryptbreakerPosted in: Modern
Thinking some wierd BG discard deck with Waste Not:
Gravecrawler
Noose Constrictor
Olivia's Dragoon
Delirium Skeins flavor being it says delirium!
Grim Flayer
Abrupt Decay
Grisly Salvage?
Needs more zombies though...just tossing idea's out there. -
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Equinox2793 posted a message on Eldritch Moon in Modern - Spoiler DiscussionThis is how I feel about the set in GeneralPosted in: Modern
Cards that already have deck homes:
-Spell Queller (UWx midrange) (esper spirits)
-Mausoleum Wanderer (esper spirits/any deck with spectral procession)
-Chaos Reveler (delver, grixis control)
-Liliana, the Last Hope (grixis control sideboard, UB faeries)
-Thalia, Heretic Cathar (GW hatebears, eldrazi and taxes)
-Collective Brutality (sideboard tech against aggro)
-Selfless Soul (chord/abzan CoCo sideboard)
-Blessed Alliance (anti aggro sideboard tech)
-Cryptbreaker (dredgevine)
Cards that can spawn new decks:
-Noose Constrictor/Grim Flayer/Grapple with the Past (GB madness/dredgevine/delirium)
-Gnarlwood Dryad (delirium)
-Eldritch Evolution (old pod)
Cards that seem good but may not work out
-Imprisoned in the Moon
-Geier Reach Sanitarium
-Curious Homunculus (I want this to work out so badly)
-Nephalia Academy
-Bloodhall Priest
-Lone Rider
-unsubstantiate
-Gisa and Geralf
-Nahiri's Wrath
-Stunning Regrowth
-Succumb to Temptation
-Whispers of Emrakul - To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
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There are some obviously powerful cards like Athreos, God of Passage, Iroas, God of Victory, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Reprisal, and Banishing Light, but then there are cards like:
Launch the Fleet
Dakra Mystic
Aegis of the Gods
Brain Maggot
Bassara Tower Archer
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer (+ Rancor? Not bad...)
Riptide Chimera
Triton Shorestalker
Nyx-Fleece Ram
Crystalline Nautilus
Prophetic Flamespeaker
Hypnotic Siren
Master of the Feast
Dictate of Heliod
Dictate of Kruphix
Dictate of Erebos
Dictate of Karametra
Gnarled Scarhide
Mogis's Warhound
Hour of Need
Oppressive Rays (sort of like the Mana Leak of Pacifisms that also hits activated abilities...)
Kruphix's Insight
Spite of Mogis
Ritual of the Returned
Setessan Tactics
Squelching Leeches
Nyx Weaver
Disciple of Deceit
Pull from the Deep
Market Festival
Eidolon of Blossoms
Underworld Coinsmith
Hall of Triumph
Tormented Thoughts
Strength from the Fallen
Twinflame
Godsend
Sigiled Starfish
Pharika, God of Affliction (every time I hear this card's name, I imagine the god parading around in Affliction-brand clothing, like some Grecian Zoolander deity)
Most of these wont' be playable, but they're all cheap enough to cast and reasonably powerful in a theoretical sense, and many of them have totally unique effects. They're interesting. And that makes me happy.
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Tier 1 (Main deck staples for the decks that want them/can cast them): Cryptic Command, Remand, Mana Leak, Spell Snare, Rune Snag (I've been running it over leak now that DRS is gone, and I think I like it better), Deprive (I love this as a 1 or 2-of), Counterflux (hard on the mana, but probably the best 3-mana counter), Spell Pierce (I've been liking this less lately, but still a good card), Disrupting Shoal, Spellstutter Sprite.
Tier 2 (Sideboard/meta-dependent/situationally fantastic counters): Negate, Voidslime, Dissipate, Delay, Dispel, Swan Song, Flashfreeze, Unified Will, Bant Charm, Izzet Charm, Countersquall, Condescend, Guttural Response, Render Silent, Trickbind, Pact of Negation.
Tier 3 (corner-case counterspells that might do things in the correct situation): Logic Knot, Mystic Snake (I randomly stuck one of these in a RUG Twin list of mine and it's a hilarious value target for Splinter Twin. I've also seen it abused with Restoration Angel), Muddle the Mixture (slow, but sometimes useful to search out combo pieces/protect those combo pieces) Mana Tithe, Counterbore (hard to justify paying 5 for anything that isn't Pact of Negation), Familiar's Ruse (cute with Snapcaster Mage and Spellstutter Sprite, but perhaps too cute), Lapse of Certainty (the only reason this one is here is because it's in a color that rarely gets access to this type of effect), Psychic Barrier (usually you'll just want kills spells, but who knows), Punish Ignorance (might be worth it?), Spell Rupture (probably worse than Unified Will in the decks you want to bring it in against, but not always), Stoic Rebuttal (someday, perhaps).
Tier "I wish these were in one of the other tiers so I could maybe play with them": Mystic Genesis, Plasm Capture, Overwhelming Intellect (I want to live this dream. Just once.), Sage's Dousing, Odds // Ends (I hate coin flips, but if you choose your targets right, this will do something no matter what. And the other side of the card adds value).
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4x Naya Hushblade
4x Esper Stormblade
4x Bant Sureblade
4x Loxodon Smiter
2x Knight of New Alara
2x Detention Sphere
2x Curse of Chains
4x Dispel
3x Civic Saber
4x Pillar of the Paruns
4x Marsh Flats
4x Razorverge Thicket
4x Seachrome Coast
2x Temple Garden
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Seaside Citadel
The game-plan was to either get there with Civic Saber on a 3-color guy with Dispel backup, or drop a Knight of New Alara and overrun them in a sparkling tide of rainbow monsters.
The sideboard was filled to the brim with insulting cards like a full-on playset of Deft Duelists (gotta stay ahead of those Geist of Saint Trafts and get my double blocks on), some extra Curse of Chains for the "mirror," and Beckon Apparitions to hose Snapcaster Mages while giving myself more sweet action for my Civic Sabers.
In the end, I think the Civic Sabers were the hardest for my opponents to swallow. They at least had the most even ratio of times cast : number of names called. The random creatures and horrible mana base primed the rage center of the opponents' brains for the ultimate, crushing blow of the sabers.
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Okay, I see this all the time, and instead of just saying "that's not what that phrase means," I'm going to do a demonstration. Because that's friendlier and more informative.
In order to be considered "strictly worse" than Notion Thief, every variable of a card needs to be able to be compared to the variables of Notion Thief (casting cost, power/toughness, abilities, etc.) And they ALL either need to be exactly the same or worse in every reasonable situation. That's the only way that an that an accurate comparison can be made (the term "strictly" implies that the card will be worse in every situation).
For example, here are some cards that are strictly worse than Notion Thief:
Potion Thief3UB
Flash
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.
3/1
Lotion Thief2UB
Flash
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.
2/1
Motion Thief2UB
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.
3/1
Worst Thief3UB
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw.
1/1
All of those cards can be compared straight up to Notion Thief. None of them could be considered situationally better in any reasonable way.
Here are some cards that are comparable to Notion Thief, but aren't strictly better or worse because the changed variables cannot ALL be said to be worse:
Nation Thief3UB
Flash
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.
4/1
Nution Thief1UB
Flash
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.
1/1
Nition Thief1UB
If an opponent would draw a card except the first one he or she draws in each of his or her draw steps, instead that player skips that draw and you draw a card.
1/4
All of those cards could be considered worse in certain situations, but in others, they could be considered better. So they can't be "strictly" worse or "strictly" better even if some of them would be consider better or worse in most situations.
It gets even more difficult to compare cards when the variables don't even line up at all (for example, when a card has a completely different ability).
What I'm getting at is that Fate Unraveler cannot be said to be "strictly worse" than Notion Thief because the variables don't line up and there's no definitive way to compare them.
But for further education, here are some examples of cards Fate Unraveler could be said to be strictly worse than:
Plate Unraveler 2B
Enchantment Creature - Hag (R)
Whenever an opponent draws a card, Fate Unreveler deals 1 damage to that player.
3/4
Crate Unraveler 3B
Enchantment Creature - Hag (R)
Whenever an opponent draws a card, Fate Unreveler deals 1 damage to that player.
4/4
Date Unraveler 3B
Enchantment Creature - Hag (R)
Whenever an opponent draws a card, Fate Unreveler deals 2 damage to that player.
3/4
This has been a friendly lesson from your friendly neighborhood pedant!
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She doesn't mill, she exiles.
Still, I think she could be deceptively powerful, even if just as a sideboard card.
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But, for the sake of discussion:
If a much higher percentage of cards in a set were constructed playable, Limited would start to feel more like constructed. It's sometimes nice getting to play with different cards, even though those cards are under-powered.
I do think there could be much less overcosted, undepowered jank, though. I'd love to see what would happen if some of the "limited-only bombs" were replaced by small utility creatures. I think maybe we'd have much more nuanced games instead of games that go "slam my bomb, win."