This one's close for me. I no longer support Aristocrats, but there's still some ways to get rid of the Skeleton - recurring nightmare, skullclamp, maybe fatal push in a pinch. I do worry that the floor is too close to Dauthi Horror, but getting an evasive attacker and a Tutor when it dies is tempting.
I think this looks like a really great 2-drop for red aggro and Rx spell-based decks. I've cast Abbot of Keral Keep on turn 2 often enough in those decks because a 2/1 Prowess for 1R plays fairly well in my experience. I'm also a big fan of Nest Robber variants - Robber of the Rich, Earthshaker Khenra, Bloodthirsty Adversary, etc. So just as a 2-mana 2/1 with Haste and Prowess, I'm interested in this card.
It also gets some upside of being a Goblin Rogue, too though. Rogue plays well with Robber of the Rich and Seasoned Dungeoneer, and Goblin can help pump Goblin Rabblemaster - at the expense of being forced to attack. There's also the Disguise ability, which I don't know how often I expect that to be relevant, but it's just additional upside.
Lórien Revealed and Troll of Khazad-dûm have proven themselves as good inclusions, and to a lesser extent so has Oliphaunt. Eagles of the North and Generous Ent are the less loved part of this cycle, with Eagles of the North being the weakest in my opinion. I was curious if anyone has tested the White or Green parts of this cycle. Is Plainscycling 1 good enough even if attached to an unimpressive body?
Unless you're in a tribal cube, this is basically a 4-mana 4/4 ward 2 that makes your next etb creature better (as presumably the line is you play this, name elemental, then play mulldrifter, for instance). Not good enough IMO.
I think getting one trigger out of this could be good enough. Casting this for 4 and then either Evoking an MH2 elemental or casting the elemental the following turn can be strong. Or following this with a Deep Forest Hermit for eight 2/2s. I don't think you need too much tribal synergy in the deck, though it does get stronger if you do. But I think a deck with lots of triggers of various creature types could still find use for this creature.
This card was in the latest iteration of the MTGO cube, and I was impressed. It's not some all-star like Laelia or Ragavan, but it is a nice role-player for a lot of decks. It filters your draws, which is great for any deck, but especially nice for an aggro deck, where you're trying to curve out every turn and can't afford to stumble. It's a discard outlet, which is nice for reanimator. It's an artifact for Tinker and Urza. Unearth can play with aristocrat strategies. It just does a lot of nice little things, and most decks will care about at some aspect that this card offers.
I like this. Too frequently, I've found Thirst of X to be draw 3 discard 2. I'm running Memory Deluge currently, and I think this will be better for the lower mana cost and being more splashable.
Really? I played Memory Deluge on Arena and I found it WAY too slow. The bar for me needs to be FoF, the raw card advantage from FoF makes up for the lack of selection IMO.
Memory Deluge replaced FoF for me during MID updates, which I think was a good swap at the time. But a lot has changed since then, and I think Deluge and FoF might be too slow now, which is why I'm hopeful for Quick Study.
I like this. Too frequently, I've found Thirst of X to be draw 3 discard 2. I'm running Memory Deluge currently, and I think this will be better for the lower mana cost and being more splashable.
This looks really nice to me. I could see it being the 3rd best Savannah Lions. If this is your only 1-drop, you just play it as a 2/1, which is the same mode as Dauntless Bodyguard on turn 1. If you have a different 1-drop, but no 2-drop, you can play your other 1 on turn 1, then play both sides of this on turn 2 as your 2-drop. If you can curve out with different 1-drops and 2-drops, the unblockable mode is more likely to be relevant on turns 3+. Importantly, White Plume Adventurer, Seasoned Dungeoneer, Undermountain Adventurer, and Caves of Chaos Adventurer all have power greater than 2, so Squeak By could help take back Initiative somewhat reliably.
Fugitive Codebreaker
I think this looks like a really great 2-drop for red aggro and Rx spell-based decks. I've cast Abbot of Keral Keep on turn 2 often enough in those decks because a 2/1 Prowess for 1R plays fairly well in my experience. I'm also a big fan of Nest Robber variants - Robber of the Rich, Earthshaker Khenra, Bloodthirsty Adversary, etc. So just as a 2-mana 2/1 with Haste and Prowess, I'm interested in this card.
It also gets some upside of being a Goblin Rogue, too though. Rogue plays well with Robber of the Rich and Seasoned Dungeoneer, and Goblin can help pump Goblin Rabblemaster - at the expense of being forced to attack. There's also the Disguise ability, which I don't know how often I expect that to be relevant, but it's just additional upside.
From the Catacombs
Unholy Heat, Skred or Frost Bite?
Lórien Revealed and Troll of Khazad-dûm have proven themselves as good inclusions, and to a lesser extent so has Oliphaunt. Eagles of the North and Generous Ent are the less loved part of this cycle, with Eagles of the North being the weakest in my opinion. I was curious if anyone has tested the White or Green parts of this cycle. Is Plainscycling 1 good enough even if attached to an unimpressive body?
Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel replacing Looter il-Kor
Black
Deep-Cavern Bat replacing Blade of the Oni
Bitter Triumph replacing Bone Shards
Green
Sentinel of the Nameless City replacing Jadelight Ranger
Contest of Claws replacing Vivien, Monster's Advocate (maybe)
Colorless
Roaming Throne replacing Eater of Virtue (maybe)
I think getting one trigger out of this could be good enough. Casting this for 4 and then either Evoking an MH2 elemental or casting the elemental the following turn can be strong. Or following this with a Deep Forest Hermit for eight 2/2s. I don't think you need too much tribal synergy in the deck, though it does get stronger if you do. But I think a deck with lots of triggers of various creature types could still find use for this creature.
Scrapwork Mutt
This card was in the latest iteration of the MTGO cube, and I was impressed. It's not some all-star like Laelia or Ragavan, but it is a nice role-player for a lot of decks. It filters your draws, which is great for any deck, but especially nice for an aggro deck, where you're trying to curve out every turn and can't afford to stumble. It's a discard outlet, which is nice for reanimator. It's an artifact for Tinker and Urza. Unearth can play with aristocrat strategies. It just does a lot of nice little things, and most decks will care about at some aspect that this card offers.
Memory Deluge replaced FoF for me during MID updates, which I think was a good swap at the time. But a lot has changed since then, and I think Deluge and FoF might be too slow now, which is why I'm hopeful for Quick Study.
Cheeky House-Mouse
Blue
Quick Study
Green
Court of Garenbrig
Multicolor and colorless
Mosswood Dreadknight
Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender