Thank for the review as always. For me though it was a very disappointing set. Don't like the companion mechanic, mutate or just the flavor of the cards in general. The first set in a long time where I probably wont be adding any cards (450 cube).
This x1000. Companion just does not feel like Magic to me. Will not be including any cards with companion, which shrinks the list hard. Probably including Heartless Act (best black spot removal ever?), probably including Fiend Artisan but not sure what to cut, and maybe Wilt, but already have Nature's Chant which I think I still prefer for the color flexibility. I've already said in another thread I think Luminous Broodmoth is broken and would not be fun to play with.
Yeah, companion is a silly rule and this card will not be going in my cube. It's not even magic really to get a free card basically that's not part of your deck. Will happily pass on shenanigans like this!
Is Militant really going to survive to the point where he is impacting the game against your opponent's Jace, Gearhulk, Delve, flashback cards anyway?
Any time you exile a single spell, you're effecting the quality of their Snappy/Delve/Etc. kinds of cards ...you don't have to shut them off completely for it to still have made a positive impact on the game. But we're talking about a marginal upside on a flexible 2-power 1-drop. Rarely do any of these abilities come up on any of these creatures. The point was to measure how effective they are when they do come up. And the spell disruption is relevant when it does show up, even if it's not all that often. It matters a lot more than protection from multicolor or pro dragons or any of those other fringe abilities. Particularly against spell-based combo decks that are already going to be light on removal. Needing to aim a kill spell at a 1-drop because it's invalidating your Yawgmoth's Will or Past in Flames is a more significant upside than whatever the other fringe 1-drops bring to the table.
But that's all besides the point. The important upside is the hybrid mana cost. That's the big factor that separates the card from the pack. In any deck utilizing both of its colors of mana, it's a tremendous boon. Enough so to catapult it into being one of the best 2-power 1-drop in its respective colors. I think it's dramatically undervalued here how much better that casting cost actually is in a selesnya, naya or abzan aggro deck. Not to mention that it's also playable in green decks without white! Like Metamind says above, that increases the total number of decks that can play the card, which is a significant advantage.
Thank you for the thoughtful responses and discussion. It is awesome to have a game like Magic that can allow for such complex discussions and the disagreements are what help make each person's cube their own experience in the end. Will definitely take it into consideration, but I still at this time do not believe I can find a spot for Militant without cutting something that would hurt more to be without.
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This x1000. Companion just does not feel like Magic to me. Will not be including any cards with companion, which shrinks the list hard. Probably including Heartless Act (best black spot removal ever?), probably including Fiend Artisan but not sure what to cut, and maybe Wilt, but already have Nature's Chant which I think I still prefer for the color flexibility. I've already said in another thread I think Luminous Broodmoth is broken and would not be fun to play with.
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Thank you for the thoughtful responses and discussion. It is awesome to have a game like Magic that can allow for such complex discussions and the disagreements are what help make each person's cube their own experience in the end. Will definitely take it into consideration, but I still at this time do not believe I can find a spot for Militant without cutting something that would hurt more to be without.