Yeah, I feel Skinshifter was overhyped then got a bad rap after people tested with him expecting him to be better than Morphling or something.
He's pretty good. Since adding him back into the 720 we've been impressed with him since the last go-around. He's mana intensive but that's not usually a big deal in green.
Granted, this is using hands where it is in the opening hand, so this isn't conclusive, but it's a good sign.
It's the most effective way of rating the card as any time you draw it late, it's going to much worse than it is in the opener, like any aggressive 1cc guy.
Whenever I rate one drops against other one drops, I assume they're in my opening hand.
Barring something else from Gatecrash (which is highly likely), this will be my 5th Gruul card. Pretty nice but not uber-strong. I could see him getting benched by other good stuff just in this set, especially if Gruul gets hooked up like Golgari and Azorius did.
I think this is 100% on the money. I think it's a fine card. But with other good Gruul cards coming out in this set, I don't know if it'll actually make the cut after we see what else we're getting.
You run six gold cards:
1 Kird Ape
1 Tattermunge Maniac
1 Flinthoof Boar
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Sarkhan Vol
So if you think he's 5th best, doesn't that mean you think he's better than two cards on that list? I think he's better than Sarkhan Vol and might be better than Huntsmaster as well. Tattermunge Maniac is the worst one drop in cube but necessary for keeping aggro working at a large cube size so I wouldn't cut him probably.
I think Sylvan Library is very overvalued in general, but especially on these forums.
It's a good card and I'm happy to play it in any base green deck I have, but I don't think it's a top 10 green card by any stretch.
It nets you an average of one card and works well with shuffle effects and has a few interesting interactions, but you do give up the cost of having another card in it's place in your hand (or topdeck) for that turn as well as paying 1G which is often better spent in the early game for green.
Unless you're playing a deck with a lot of lifelink, it will usually get you 0-1 cards and is basically a Sensei's Divining Top that doesn't cost mana but that can't get you a card immediately. In a plurality of games, it's an overcosted Mirri's Guile.
I would play the card in every cube of every size, but I end up passing this card far more than most people for other green bombs and that has been a strategy I'm very happy with.
He's pretty good. Since adding him back into the 720 we've been impressed with him since the last go-around. He's mana intensive but that's not usually a big deal in green.
He's obviously better than that, but I won't be cubing him.
It's the most effective way of rating the card as any time you draw it late, it's going to much worse than it is in the opener, like any aggressive 1cc guy.
Whenever I rate one drops against other one drops, I assume they're in my opening hand.
Domri?
You said this in the Domri thread:
^ responded to this with:
You run six gold cards:
1 Kird Ape
1 Tattermunge Maniac
1 Flinthoof Boar
1 Bloodbraid Elf
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Sarkhan Vol
So if you think he's 5th best, doesn't that mean you think he's better than two cards on that list? I think he's better than Sarkhan Vol and might be better than Huntsmaster as well. Tattermunge Maniac is the worst one drop in cube but necessary for keeping aggro working at a large cube size so I wouldn't cut him probably.
It's very powerful but really throws archetype balance for a loop - it is very detrimental to aggro while not being that strong against control.
You're saying your average game with Sylvan Library is taking 12-16+ damage off of it?
Your cube must be slower than the original MODO cube.
It's a good card and I'm happy to play it in any base green deck I have, but I don't think it's a top 10 green card by any stretch.
It nets you an average of one card and works well with shuffle effects and has a few interesting interactions, but you do give up the cost of having another card in it's place in your hand (or topdeck) for that turn as well as paying 1G which is often better spent in the early game for green.
Unless you're playing a deck with a lot of lifelink, it will usually get you 0-1 cards and is basically a Sensei's Divining Top that doesn't cost mana but that can't get you a card immediately. In a plurality of games, it's an overcosted Mirri's Guile.
I would play the card in every cube of every size, but I end up passing this card far more than most people for other green bombs and that has been a strategy I'm very happy with.
Too little upside with too great a conditional cost.
4cc white is probably the most competitive casting cost slot in the entire cube at any size.