I'm looking forward to this card; Plague Belcher's been playing very well with my group, and with this Black Aggro gets another great tool, that's also a Zombie to boot!
Proxied up the HOU cards and tested them. Here are my results:
Nicol Bolas, the God-Pharoah: Fine 7-drop planeswalker,but has the same weakness as Karn in that it can't deal with an opposing swarm of creatures. It was cast several times, and the most common modes used were the Mind Rot +1 and the deal 7 -4. Decent enough results, will continue to test
Abrade: sat in the sideboards twice, when asked why the players replied that they would rather have a burn spell that hits face. Kind of unexpected, because Abrade struck me as a card that is 100% maindeckable given its modal nature. Will continue testing
Ramunap Excavator: This guy was in a deck with Strip Mine, functioning the same as Crucible, tested as expected
Adorned Pouncer: Never eternalized, but the player who had it said it was decent enough, but wish he had more equipment to make use of the double strike. Will continue testing
The Scarab God: Great threat, the times it was removed only meant delaying the inevitable. Managed to Eternalize a Grave Titan and other large threats that the U/B player killed. Will continue testing, but positive results so far
That's one big demon! It's got great stats, but it isn't better than Griselbrand, can't sacrifice itself to tutor, and costs 8, which makes its inclusion pretty rough in smaller lists. Thoughts?
The original Bolas is only 1 loyalty away from the new one if they both uptick, and both sit at 3 if they downtick. The OG Bolas can also start nuking lands at parity or ahead and achieve the ultimate in 2 turns for a Cruel Ultimatum, which should be more than enough to win the game. I can't think of a situation where I'd prefer the new one to the old other than it being slightly easier to cast.
Is it weird that I like the original more? Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker dealt with non-creature permanents on an uptick, and can steal creatures too. This has a weird mill mechanic that may or may not hit something good, a discard effect that doesn't matter much in the late game, 7 damage for 7 isn't fantastic (and doesn't allow for back-to-back activations due to loyalty costs) and the -12 is just a wrath.
Yet another 4-mana RG Planeswalker. Pretty mild on this one, she doesn't necessarily beat Xenagos nor Arlinn Kord for me. Testable though, and that ultimate seems fun.
A 3-mana wrath in Black? Downside is that the lands are essentially exerted for the next turn, but that 1 turn difference between [[Toxic Deluge]] and [[Damnation]] is often quite important in Cube. Seems worthy!
Initially dismissed Cast Out because it costs 4, but it was in my list when we Cubed this weekend, and it tested fantastically. Just having an instant speed removal spell that can hit any nonland permanent is great, and gives another tool for Control decks without having to commit mana on their turn. The cycling is also relevant in certain situations, and has a very friendly cost of W. Though the 4-drop noncreature section in White is saturated, I still believe Cast Out is very competitive in that slot.
I think a fair point of comparison is with Heir of Falkenrath. The cards behave pretty similarly, except Heir to the Night has Flying whereas this card has an additional point of power and toughness. I can see it replacing some of my lower-tier 2-drops with this and be satisfied, such as Keldon Marauders or Hellspark Elemental.
Removal's not the only issue. I don't have any problem running a big ball of stats (Baneslayer Angel comes to mind) but is it something that the guild needs? Gold slots are at a premium, and in both Red and Green there are already cards that hit just as hard, provide a high level of value, and have much more accessible casting costs than Samut.
I like this card. We have some quality 3-drops in Black now but none hit like a truck. At 5-power with Menace it becomes a very fast clock. Only sad part is is that it gets a lot worse off a turn 1 Ritual, but nonetheless I feel it's a card worth testing.
Nicol Bolas, the God-Pharoah: Fine 7-drop planeswalker,but has the same weakness as Karn in that it can't deal with an opposing swarm of creatures. It was cast several times, and the most common modes used were the Mind Rot +1 and the deal 7 -4. Decent enough results, will continue to test
Abrade: sat in the sideboards twice, when asked why the players replied that they would rather have a burn spell that hits face. Kind of unexpected, because Abrade struck me as a card that is 100% maindeckable given its modal nature. Will continue testing
Ramunap Excavator: This guy was in a deck with Strip Mine, functioning the same as Crucible, tested as expected
Adorned Pouncer: Never eternalized, but the player who had it said it was decent enough, but wish he had more equipment to make use of the double strike. Will continue testing
The Scarab God: Great threat, the times it was removed only meant delaying the inevitable. Managed to Eternalize a Grave Titan and other large threats that the U/B player killed. Will continue testing, but positive results so far
That's one big demon! It's got great stats, but it isn't better than Griselbrand, can't sacrifice itself to tutor, and costs 8, which makes its inclusion pretty rough in smaller lists. Thoughts?
Is it weird that I like the original more? Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker dealt with non-creature permanents on an uptick, and can steal creatures too. This has a weird mill mechanic that may or may not hit something good, a discard effect that doesn't matter much in the late game, 7 damage for 7 isn't fantastic (and doesn't allow for back-to-back activations due to loyalty costs) and the -12 is just a wrath.
Yet another 4-mana RG Planeswalker. Pretty mild on this one, she doesn't necessarily beat Xenagos nor Arlinn Kord for me. Testable though, and that ultimate seems fun.
A 3-mana wrath in Black? Downside is that the lands are essentially exerted for the next turn, but that 1 turn difference between [[Toxic Deluge]] and [[Damnation]] is often quite important in Cube. Seems worthy!