I think the artifact synergies are notable. You can find it with Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas. You can Academy Ruins it.
It's got various deck applications, especially considering it's still really good when you cast it, which definitely can't be said for every Tinker target. Are you reanimator? You'll probably run it. Are you artifacts? You'll probably run it. Birthing Pod? B/G Rock? Recurring Nightmare? Slam dunk it. Its versatility is its biggest strength.
All that being said, Grave Titan is definitely more powerful, but it's worth considering that the Gearhulk has tons of applications that the Titan doesn't. I think it's good enough to test, I'm completely certain that it's much better than it appears, especially in the world of Emrakuls and Elesh Norns.
I've played a few cube games with her, in a Mardu wildfire+planeswalker kind of deck, and she was really good. The -3 is a great panic button but leaves her seriously vulnerable. The first +1 ability is great if you cast her into an empty board, and great if you're jonesing to draw something you need, though I didn't get to use it much. The second +1 was way better than I would have expected. Two extra mana is actually a lot. I played a game where I had 4 lands and got to cast multiple 6-drops.
She's not particularly amazing at everything she does, but she just does so many things. I'm impressed so far.
I'm a huge fan of modal cards. This card has incredible baseline strength if it was only printed to have one mode or the other; the fact you get to choose which one really pushes it over the top of a card like Cloudgoat Ranger.
This card feels like it will have no home. Decks that would play Manalith-variants usually don't have the right creatures to animate it and decks that will have a couple of creature lying around usually don't want to play Manalith-variants.
I agree with this. It's not like Skysovereign, where the payoff for animating it is so high that you actually want to put an extra creature or two into a control deck...it's more like Cryptolith Fragment, where the payoff is hard to make worthwhile no matter what kind of deck you're running.
It's an interesting and powerful card, certainly good enough in a vacuum. The trouble is the fact that Orzhov's barrier of entry is really, really high, and the color identity in general is not the greatest at leveraging the reach that Kambal provides. Cards like Vindicate or Lingering Souls can go in lots of decks, but I feel like Kambal wouldn't be great unless it was in an aggro deck -- though that's a notion that can only be confirmed with testing.
For what it's worth, I think it's leagues better than Ayli.
Now, if an energy sub-theme is being pushed, this card has potential...it's still a tough sell to get enough energy cards in cube to make it worthwhile.
I think the impending Standard meta could make good use of it, but not being able to target sorceries really narrows its function. Still, hitting a counterspell or removal spell on your opponent's turn, or perhaps something big like Engulf the Shore, while leaving a fattie behind, is powerful enough to separate it from Goblin Dark-Dwellers.
Why does it say "up to one" instead of just "target creature"
So you can just discard a card whenever you want regardless of whether a creature is in play. Basically so its second ability isn't useless without something on the battlefield.
Cool flavorful design, good level of potential power...I think R/B burn will really relish the card for the madness outlet, the reach of extra draws, and the extra damage from making a dude unblockable.
Mardu would make a good combination to maximize fastlands, since it gives the most overlap for turn 1 white, as well as more potential for double white to hit Always Watching.
It's got various deck applications, especially considering it's still really good when you cast it, which definitely can't be said for every Tinker target. Are you reanimator? You'll probably run it. Are you artifacts? You'll probably run it. Birthing Pod? B/G Rock? Recurring Nightmare? Slam dunk it. Its versatility is its biggest strength.
All that being said, Grave Titan is definitely more powerful, but it's worth considering that the Gearhulk has tons of applications that the Titan doesn't. I think it's good enough to test, I'm completely certain that it's much better than it appears, especially in the world of Emrakuls and Elesh Norns.
She's not particularly amazing at everything she does, but she just does so many things. I'm impressed so far.
I agree with this. It's not like Skysovereign, where the payoff for animating it is so high that you actually want to put an extra creature or two into a control deck...it's more like Cryptolith Fragment, where the payoff is hard to make worthwhile no matter what kind of deck you're running.
For what it's worth, I think it's leagues better than Ayli.
Now, if an energy sub-theme is being pushed, this card has potential...it's still a tough sell to get enough energy cards in cube to make it worthwhile.
So you can just discard a card whenever you want regardless of whether a creature is in play. Basically so its second ability isn't useless without something on the battlefield.
4 insolent neonate
4 stromkirk occultist
1 bloodhall priest
3 key to the city
4 tormenting voice
4 collective brutality
4 fiery temper
4 alms of the vein
4 collective defiance
Something like that
4 Thraben Inspector
4 Town Gossipmonger
4 Zulaport Cutthroat
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
1 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Hanweir Garrison
1 Anguished Unmaking
4 Always Watching
2 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
4 Needle Spires
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Inspiring Vantage
1 Hanweir Battlements
1 Westvale Abbey
6 Plains
2 Swamp
1 Smoldering Marsh
Not a lot of Kaladesh going on, but there haven't been many Humans spoiled.