There are some good draw card effects for these decks. W/g has Warrior's Lesson and W/u has a cipher card that allows you to draw cards. If you couple that cipher card with Aqueous Form it could be very good. I think W/r is the one lacking in the drawing of cards and probably runs out of gas soon if you are not running some burn spells to finish the opponent off.
Do cipher cards work against The Hydra? You are attacking the hydra and redirecting the damage to the heads, so I would think it technically works, correct?
Last time we visited this plane, Hunted Lammasu created 4/4 black horror tokens. Will be interesting to see what creates the angel token this time around.
Thragtusk has not really been a problem at all lately and if anything, he is the only thing allowing midrange and control to have a chance. Even then aggro decks are going over the top of him with things like Thundermaw Hellkite and Falkenrath Aristocrat.
What format are you playing where he is dominating?
Some aggro decks, not all. Green/White or Blue/White aggro decks, those that can't afford to buy Sublime Archangels, are having a hard time against Thragtusk.
The only hate-rock they could make to nerf the Tusk would be an Orb that also negates LTB abilities. Honestly, I don't think they're going to make a card that nerfs both of Tusk's abilities. What we'll probably see is either an anti-life gain clause on an efficient creature, or a decent Pacifism effect. Tusk won't ever be a bad card in Standard, but he will probably be one of the best cards for the duration of his stay.
Torpor Orb hurts entire archtypes more than it hurts one card in Thragtusk. White aggro gets hurt big time with Silverblade Paladin's ability getting nerfed by the orb.
Thragtusk vs. aggro as it is is fine. Red, Rakdos, and GW can all t4/t5 kill through a Thragtusk. Then many decks go over the top with Thundermaw Hellkite.
In this format, THragtusk is a necessary evil.
Life gain hate would push red over the top.
How do you figure GW can kill through Thragtusk? Red is fine because it can fly over in Falkenrath Aristocrat, Thundermaw Hellkite and Olivia. GW aggro with no good and cheep flyers cannot do it. I really hope Gatecrash brings some good mono-white flying knights that can fit into Azorius, Selesnya or Boros.
Aggro isn't the only deck that has a difficult time with 'tusks. Ever play a long game against Bant Control? There's a reason why Esper Control relies so heavily on Nephalia Drownyard these days. <_< Of course that's as much to do with certain angels as much as with 'tusks, but ....
I just hope their "answer" isn't another crappy hate artifact like Torpor Orb.
No, but he is an aggro deck killer as he is typically played after the uncountered Supreme Verdict. So first all of aggro's creatures are destroyed and then a huge blocker with tons of life gain is put onto the field. Because this is happening in a control deck, there is then tons of card draw to back it up where the aggro deck has none and is usually top decking from that point on. Pretty difficult whole to dig out of.
Sure there is and it dodges sorcery speed removal - Rakdos Keyrune and its played in constructed decks
Only one aggro deck can use that. There are two colors that are used more in a weenie aggro deck than the others and that is white and red. There is no creature that white can play with 3 power and first strike for 3 CMC. That keyrune fits red but only if you are splashing black.
Anyways last time i read an article that pretty much said that most cards with "players can't gain life" were pretty much always a miss, so they dOn't need such cards, they just need better aggro cards.
What? There's no 3 CMC 3 power first striker in standard right now. That is what is needed to combat thragtusk.
3x Boros Elite
2x Cavalry Pegasus
2x Fabled Hero
4x Favored Hoplite
4x Phalanx Leader
4x Precinct Captain
4x Soldier of the Pantheon
3x Bioshift
4x Burst of Strength
3x Gods Willing
3x Ranger's Guile
4x Warriors' Lesson
4x Forest
13x Plains
3x Temple Garden
Some aggro decks, not all. Green/White or Blue/White aggro decks, those that can't afford to buy Sublime Archangels, are having a hard time against Thragtusk.
Torpor Orb hurts entire archtypes more than it hurts one card in Thragtusk. White aggro gets hurt big time with Silverblade Paladin's ability getting nerfed by the orb.
How do you figure GW can kill through Thragtusk? Red is fine because it can fly over in Falkenrath Aristocrat, Thundermaw Hellkite and Olivia. GW aggro with no good and cheep flyers cannot do it. I really hope Gatecrash brings some good mono-white flying knights that can fit into Azorius, Selesnya or Boros.
No, but he is an aggro deck killer as he is typically played after the uncountered Supreme Verdict. So first all of aggro's creatures are destroyed and then a huge blocker with tons of life gain is put onto the field. Because this is happening in a control deck, there is then tons of card draw to back it up where the aggro deck has none and is usually top decking from that point on. Pretty difficult whole to dig out of.
Only one aggro deck can use that. There are two colors that are used more in a weenie aggro deck than the others and that is white and red. There is no creature that white can play with 3 power and first strike for 3 CMC. That keyrune fits red but only if you are splashing black.
What? There's no 3 CMC 3 power first striker in standard right now. That is what is needed to combat thragtusk.