Venser, the Sojourner is my favorite card, because it speaks to me from multiple angles.
First and foremost, I love blink effects. Something as small as a blink can change the way a lot of things operate, by repeating enter-the-battlefield triggers, rescuing your mind-controlled or perpetually-tapped creature or other permanent, or even just giving something pseudo-vigilance. Or, perhaps in a cube, you can do something nasty like blink a wincon and proceed with a wrath - or even nastier, an Upheaval - and continue onward uncontested. It's a lot of versatility, making Venser's first ability elegant, even though it's incredibly simple.
Venser's second ability is perhaps a bit confusing to a control deck trying to abuse his +2 with the likes of Wall of Omens or Mulldrifter; why would you ever use this ability? I always believed this is because Venser was designed for the BantPod deck when it was standard legal, a midrange monstrosity that abused etb triggers and eventually amassing a huge board. With Venser, you can build up advantages until you can simply overwhelm your opponent; a -1 with "Creatures are unblockable this turn" could just as well read "win the game" in the right deck. I enjoy cube, and find Venser doesn't need to use this ability to be good, but having the option allows him to fit in more decks than many other planeswalkers who don't have as straightforward abilities as "Draw a bunch of Cards". For this reason I think he trumps most other guys outside the Lorwyn 5. Both the +2 and -1 can work together, but they don't need to.
Venser's ultimate is incredibly powerful - a little wonky, to be sure, but powerful. Spells giving you free, colorless exiles is exceptionally good, and cantrips like Preordain suddenly become incredibly valuable. If you have a Batterskull on the table, you're in amazing shape. And this isn't an ultimate that takes forever to get to, either.
Venser is far from the best card, or even best planeswalker in MTG. But, all three of his abilities are potentially powerful, which lead to enjoyable experiences every time I play it. Because Venser's abilities require a little bit of planning, I find that deck construction with him becomes quite interesting; some already good cards gain additional value, some strategies suddenly have an entirely new angle when he hits the field. Being able to think ahead and see real benefits of that planning make playing the card a very rewarding experience.
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- Blue_Oneironaut
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If I had to find a critique about it, it's that I think it'll operate slowly. If you're hoping to generate humongous tokens with it by casting big spells, I feel like those big spells will probably win anyhow. If your big spells don't resolve, your opponent will probably find time to deal with most tokens unless they are particularly big. At the other end of the spectrum, 2/2s and 1/1s will probably be really hard to make use of to close a game if you manage to get the advantage, and they may be little more than 2-mana roadblocks if you're on the back foot. 3-4 mana spells feels like the sweet spot for me?
I feel like there is huge potential for it, but I'm mentally prepared for the reality to be just 'pretty good, nothing spectacular'.
I predict this Wrenn will be a fun inclusion for people who include 5-color as well as those who have some graveyard themes available; I don't think reanimator decks will necessarily want it, but it looks helpful for fueling delve or delirium. Although, I guess that land can still be sacrificed to Recurring Nightmare if you're willing to go for it.
you pay 2 mana and it doesn't even get rid of my opponent's spell? they get it right back to hand? and all I get in return is a cantrip. It's like you pay 1W and nothing happens at all
I'm skipping this for a much stronger card that recently pinged on my radar, Devoted Hero
ty for sharing. btw I totally overlooked Lukka until I read this analysis - I was once blind but now I see.
Seems quite good if you can elfball. And if your elves start getting shot, you can minus to start getting them back. My impression is that it's a really specialized card, and that might discourage people from finding room for it, but I could see it being very fun when it works. I might give it a go.