I think against mirror your better playing Champion of Lambholt than Falconer. It gives you another growing creature in a stalled match, and eventually allows you to swing mostly unblocked. It makes your late one drops have some more value, a good target for exalted, and uses Mayor's boost well.
Kessig AlphaG
Creature - Ainok Warrior
Trample
Kessig Alpha enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it if you control another creature.
Whenever Kessig Alpha attacks, you may put a creature card with converted mana cost X or less from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Kessig Alpha.
1/2
Lot of decks I would want to put this in, especially +1/+1 counter decks. Get hardened Scales moving towards tier 2.
I have tested Hardened Scales Aggro heavily since Scales is my favorite card.
The best way to use +1/+1 counters in an aggro deck is using fast creatures that can get an immediate boost (basically a permanent Glorious Anthem effect to creatures on the battlefield, even if they remove Hardened Scales.)
The concept is to hit fast and powerful, as aggro should, and have a little upside long term with cheap creatures growing.
My two biggest complaints building a deck around aggro +1/+1 counters is recovering from board wipes, having my threats be viable as late game top decks, interaction with opponents and making my threats efficient when hardened scales type cards are removed.
Renegade Krasis is bad. Its cute, and I play it in a commander deck, but it desperately needs a hardened scales type card in play to be even mediocre. If your board is wiped, its not very good. If you have no scales in play, its not very good. If you draw an experiment one, cackler or other cards and cast them, the evolve wont happen. That is why experiment one is so good, its almost always guaranteed to evolve, and it cost you a G to get a 2/2 usually worst case.
Hardened Scales aggro needs speed, creating cheap but somewhat bulky creatures quickly. It also really likes trample to push through damage is possible.
Take it to FNM and MTGO tournaments. If you start getting success against some tier 2 decks, I might be wrong. But in the modern meta if your paying 3 mana for a creature that does nothing when it enters the battlefield, you better be playing a midrange/control deck or pray your opponent doesnt have removal. Just the reality we face at tournaments.
What hardened scales needs is a Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch that costs 3 mana, a Cytoplast Root-Kin that costs 3 mana. Something immediately changing the board situation. Heck Fanatic of Xenagos I might take instead as a turn 3 that is generally going to be a 5/5 trampler or a 4/4 haste trampler on turn 3.
Greenwheel Liberator has been pretty bad for me. Hard to get revolt consistently, and it hits as a 2/1 too often. If it had deathtouch/trample/flying...anything I keep it in. But playing it over Scavenging Ooze is a no-no to me.
Eldrazi Displacer is interesting. Could be kind of stupid (ly good) with stuff like Reflector Mage/Sin Collector/Orzhov Pontiff/nearly anything else. The only problem I foresee is having the mana to do it. I would like to see more people test it more. For me, I've always had uses for my mana, from Gavony Township to sacrificing Horizon Canopy to draw to Collected Company.
There have been a few games where I flooded out, but usually a creature or Company off the top was enough to end it. I wouldn't say my experience has been the best, as I've played fewer than 30 matches and not counting IDs, I'm at an around 90% win rate. In theory, the card seems pretty solid, if not off-theme.
Renegade Krasis does get mentioned occasionally. Even on an ultra budget there are better creatures. Its kind of a win more creature when it works, but often just a 3/2 for 3. If it had a Cytoplast Root-Kin ETB ability instead, I think it would be more playable.
Has it been revisited since Narnam Renegade and Greenwheel Liberator came out that seem to mesh with this beautifully? If they have revolt they evolve this, which in turn beefs them back.
Yes, its not very good. Sometimes it can't even evolve E1 because its already a 3/3. I rather play Groundbreaker. You often won't be revolting on turn 4/5, and if you do its after combat, so the counters take another turn to matter on the offensive.
Renegade Krasis does get mentioned occasionally. Even on an ultra budget there are better creatures. Its kind of a win more creature when it works, but often just a 3/2 for 3. If it had a Cytoplast Root-Kin ETB ability instead, I think it would be more playable.
The key to me in Legion's Landing is when its flipped it basically is playing an extra land on turn 4. It makes things like Elspeth Tirel possibly playable as a turn 4 drop.
Its initial and subsequent token's have lifelink, which make it relevant with Bitterblossom and against burn.
The problem with Itlimoc is that it searches for creatures, which doesnt really help, and it starts dumping green mana at you, which we don't necessarily optimize well.
But it occurred to me what focused on Tempered Steel instead of Muraganda Petroglyphs, and made it an artifact token deck? Sram's Expertise>Itlimoc>Chord of Calling>Verdurous Gearhulk on turn 3 seems quite potent.
What the deck needs is a 1cc creature with P/T value, like Narnam Renegade. Something like a 1/2 Creature with Trample and "If you control two or more lands, this creature enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.'
Creature - Ainok Warrior
Trample
Kessig Alpha enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it if you control another creature.
Whenever Kessig Alpha attacks, you may put a creature card with converted mana cost X or less from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking, where X is the number of +1/+1 counters on Kessig Alpha.
1/2
Lot of decks I would want to put this in, especially +1/+1 counter decks. Get hardened Scales moving towards tier 2.
The best way to use +1/+1 counters in an aggro deck is using fast creatures that can get an immediate boost (basically a permanent Glorious Anthem effect to creatures on the battlefield, even if they remove Hardened Scales.)
With Experiment One, Narnam Renegade, Rakdos Cackler, Strangleroot Geist, Scavenging Ooze, Avatar of the Resolute, Mutant's Prey all become 1 or 2 mana creatures generally going to swing for at least 3/3 in that deck for such a low cost.
The concept is to hit fast and powerful, as aggro should, and have a little upside long term with cheap creatures growing.
My two biggest complaints building a deck around aggro +1/+1 counters is recovering from board wipes, having my threats be viable as late game top decks, interaction with opponents and making my threats efficient when hardened scales type cards are removed.
Renegade Krasis is bad. Its cute, and I play it in a commander deck, but it desperately needs a hardened scales type card in play to be even mediocre. If your board is wiped, its not very good. If you have no scales in play, its not very good. If you draw an experiment one, cackler or other cards and cast them, the evolve wont happen. That is why experiment one is so good, its almost always guaranteed to evolve, and it cost you a G to get a 2/2 usually worst case.
Hardened Scales aggro needs speed, creating cheap but somewhat bulky creatures quickly. It also really likes trample to push through damage is possible.
Take it to FNM and MTGO tournaments. If you start getting success against some tier 2 decks, I might be wrong. But in the modern meta if your paying 3 mana for a creature that does nothing when it enters the battlefield, you better be playing a midrange/control deck or pray your opponent doesnt have removal. Just the reality we face at tournaments.
What hardened scales needs is a Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch that costs 3 mana, a Cytoplast Root-Kin that costs 3 mana. Something immediately changing the board situation. Heck Fanatic of Xenagos I might take instead as a turn 3 that is generally going to be a 5/5 trampler or a 4/4 haste trampler on turn 3.
Nissa, Voice of Resurgence I have found a bit slow and a removal magnet, but I might have to keep testing. Thrill-Kill Assassin might be a very good card if your pushing the Mutant's Prey/Prey Upon angle to get efficient creatures that also can take out your opponents Restoration Angel's and such. Predator Ooze being a good sideboard option if your opponent is not playing path to exile.
Greenwheel Liberator has been pretty bad for me. Hard to get revolt consistently, and it hits as a 2/1 too often. If it had deathtouch/trample/flying...anything I keep it in. But playing it over Scavenging Ooze is a no-no to me.
Not sure if I want to try it in humans exactly, but Growing Rites of Itlimoc and Eldrazi Displacer seems like a brutal way to use extra mana.
Yes, its not very good. Sometimes it can't even evolve E1 because its already a 3/3. I rather play Groundbreaker. You often won't be revolting on turn 4/5, and if you do its after combat, so the counters take another turn to matter on the offensive.
Its initial and subsequent token's have lifelink, which make it relevant with Bitterblossom and against burn.
I was doing some thinking about adding Growing Rites of Itlimoc, Sram's Expertise to that janky Goldfish G/W deck.
2 Increasing Devotion
4 Path to Exile
4 Raise the Alarm
2 Secure the Wastes
4 Sram's Expertise
3 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
2 Intangible Virtue
2 Muraganda Petroglyphs
2 Promise of Bunrei
5 Forest
3 Gavony Township
5 Plains
3 Sunpetal Grove
2 Temple Garden
4 Windswept Heath
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
4 Gather the Townsfolk
The problem with Itlimoc is that it searches for creatures, which doesnt really help, and it starts dumping green mana at you, which we don't necessarily optimize well.
But it occurred to me what focused on Tempered Steel instead of Muraganda Petroglyphs, and made it an artifact token deck? Sram's Expertise>Itlimoc>Chord of Calling>Verdurous Gearhulk on turn 3 seems quite potent.
3 Arcbound Ravager
1 Etched Champion
2 Hangarback Walker
1 Memnite
4 Ornithopter
3 Steel Overseer
1 Verdurous Gearhulk
2 Walking Ballista
4 Tempered Steel
3 Growing Rites of Itlimoc
Spells
3 Chord of Calling
4 Servo Exhibition
4 Sram's Expertise
4 Chrome Mox
4 Springleaf Drum
Land
17 Land
Added it right before you mentioned it. *Great Minds*
Going Sram's Expertise> Growing Rites of Itilmoc > Itilmoc, Cradle of the Sun > Chord of Calling > Prophet of Kruphix?
What the deck needs is a 1cc creature with P/T value, like Narnam Renegade. Something like a 1/2 Creature with Trample and "If you control two or more lands, this creature enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it.'
One is card disadvantage, the other isn't. That is generally a big difference.