I'm excited cause today, we're rolling out a new weekly segment here on TGZ called The Stack.
This is a co-collaborative segment where Grandpa Growth, Venser's Journalist, and I will each be putting up 3 cards to talk about, and commenting on each other's picks.
We'll try to tackle a little secret tech, a little obviously controversial tech, and possibly some flops. So we've got a lot to exchange.
Unfortunately, Venser's Journalist couldn't get in on this one this time. Hopefully though, we'll have him for next week's installment.
But we've got 6 six cards, and they're ready, so let's go!
ON THE STACK!!!
UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICKS
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
I really like this card. Against Strip Mine, this card says, "No Thanks, I like Value," and proceeds to help you get another land so you don't get screwed out of the game by land. Works well with Crucible of Worlds strategies and most decks with more than another color or specific lands you need to help win the game. Bonus points for being an Instant. Playing it in my Doran deck as a tricky way to get my opponents thinking I don't have enough to cast Doran on Turn 3, prevents aforementioned Strip Mine problems, and also helps me to get Rogue's Passage, one of the more "clever" ways of getting to 21 with the Explorer.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
This card is pretty much the hard counter to targeted land destruction and plays an important role in Gaea's Cradle decks. I really like toolbox style packages in decks. They are fun to play and give you diverse options for any game situation. Tutor cards are awesome skill testers and add a new dimension of skill and complexity to the game. There are plenty of great silver bullets to make this a nightmare for popular strategies. I only recently started playing this in EDH, but you know what they say: Once you start brutally crushing your opponents you don't stop.
Pretty disappointing for something with a unique form of disruption. Flipping your opponent's Swords of X and Y for a hit or two may feel pretty cool cause they'll have to pay to re-equip next turn, thereby setting back their plans in ways that goofy blue cards do. That was the original attraction. Maybe in a Kemba meta-matchup this card is a wrecking ball. Other than that, it's lackluster and winds up sitting in your hand.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
I have never personally played this card. It is not what I like to do and it's not part of a winning strategy. If your opponent is getting in hits with high quality name brand weaponry you don't want to borrow it. You don't even want to blow it up. You want to own it. I would way rather be the guy WITH the sword or the Jitte than the guy trying to maneuver the game to a point where this thing it good. Just play good cards and win. This is way too cute.
Sorin is probably a sore-subject for most playgroups cause he doesn't make Commander any more fun. My group wants to edit his text. Though I think he's unfun in most situations, he'd be awesome in 30 life situations if your playgroup doesn't like his power level.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
Scrubs say it's cheap. Spikes don't care. Sorin is free wins. Come prepared. It's just part of the metagame. Black has more abusive things in it's arsenal. Have you ever heard of Cabal Coffers?
I think that it is awesome that this card is at its strongest in the mono Black mirror. It shuts down pay-for-play lifeloss effects, which are some of the scariest cards in the color.
GRANDPA GROWTH's PICKS
This card is a total blast to play with and it enables some pretty absurd game states. It isn't the most competitive card, but seven mana isn't outside the bounds for a format like Commander. Rampant Growth has proven how powerful skipping the curve can be. Big mana haymakers bring swift resolution to tight games. Jumping 5+ lands ahead is an almost insurmountable advantage.Uncle Landdrops- NOT SURE
I like this card. Wrote about it when it first came out. Since then though, I've passed it up in my more recent designs because in ramp decks it can get a little redundant casting Cultivate all the way to Turn 5 or 7, when you probably want to be playing a dude. Still, the card advantage is insane. I don't think I've ever casted this card for anything less than 7. Rewards you for playing basics, which everyone really undervalues. Be ready to play 20+ if you slam this card into your deck.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
Land destruction, especially mass land destruction, is generally frowned upon in the Commander community. The format is already pretty slow and slowing it down even more isn't an attractive prospect to many people. I love disruption. I love how the competition for resources affects the flow of the game. Armageddon is a way to press your board advantage and lock up games that have a chance of going south. I have no conscience for other peoples feel bads. Blow up all their junk.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
I'm not as unsympathetic as GG. This card is a crusher. However, I do think it's important to get over the feel-bads. This card is part of Magic, and whether you like it or not, it should get played cause it's good and part of nice mechanical deck design, not sitting in a pile of rejected cards because of what someone else thinks. Play it, but understand it too. And if you know someone else plays it, play around it. Nothing is unbeatable.
I love this card. It's hilarious. It is the definition of fun to me. You get a huge mana discount over Fork and Shunt. It adds powerful flexibility to Red decks. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough stuff like this to make a reactive Red playable. Fun as it may be this card isn't what I would call a staple.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
This card's cool, don't get me wrong. I've just never liked it. Took it out of a few decks, and now I don't even consider it. And I actually have been playing a lot of red recently. Mostly, it's personal preference. I'm not so hot on the the first part of copying and "targets," though that wording is signficantly better than, say, Imp's Mischief in black, or Increasing Vengeance in its own color. I just think that playing Reverberate and Reiterate are pants-down better because of their costs, and I don't want to spend any more slots on this in any of the decks where I've been playing this style of effect. I could, however, see this being really good in U/R decks with control-oriented strategies, or any deck where you'd like to be holding up mana. Like GG said, Wild "Ricky" needs more pals if Red wants to make this a thing. Were that the case, I'd be happy to take another stab.
What do you think? Be sure to leave your comments below!
REMEMBER! Grandpa Growth is back, and so are Super-Secret-Sundays! So if you were planning on having a rough day, tossing a little maple syrup in your hair, maybe watching one of Owen Wilson's B-movies, scrap that shit. You've got TGZ, and hopefully we're not going anywhere.
Well, right now, we're gonna pass. Shouldn't have spoken so soon.
-UL
You should do one each
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