So we've got a nice fun "uh-dish" of The Stack for you today. I've been testing this really goofy Mishra deck with no success this week, so I decided to talk Metal. VJ, per suggestion, also did.
And naturally, Grandpa did not.
Which is totally cool, and moderately hilarious. Cause there should be no themes here. This is The Stack. To reinforce this, Boromir would now like to meme us up with his immortal proclamation.
Thanks Boromir. We've got it all cleared up. There will be no order. Just madness.
Alright. Great, well, I'm confused again. Thanks Leonidas. But go home. You're drunk.
GRANDPA GROWTH'S PICKS
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
This is about as exciting as scalable Red removal gets except for maybe Bonfire of the Damned. Points for being instant speed and one-sided, knocks for being expensive and featuring Rosewater's stupid multikicker mechanic.
This is about as exciting as scalable Red removal gets except for maybe Bonfire of the Damned. Points for being instant speed and one-sided, knocks for being expensive and featuring Rosewater's stupid multikicker mechanic.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
Let's be real. Comet Storm is probably the most affordable and playable red card of its kind next to Blasphemous Act or Starstorm, and it outclasses both in different ways. This card loves Wort The Raidmother, Rosheen Meanderer, and other decks with big mana, spells to copy, and no particular place to go. Also, I never heard GG complain about Multikicker any time he kicked his Wolfbriar Elemental. It's red, so the leash has gotta be a little looser. Goofy mechanically? Sure. Unplayable? No Way.
Venser's Journalist- NOT SURE
With enough mana, this card could be abused to a ridiculous level. Unfortunatley, it looks to be pretty expensive. If you have that much mana to spend, I'd choose a Fireball over this.
Top-down designs make for the best flavor. I am not a big flavor fan. I would be a big flavor fan if all of the flavor made sense like this guy does. I am a huge fan of Islamic culture and mythology. This is a useful ability for Red to have; adding power and flexibility to decks instead of just Shattering everything. A good companion for Viashino Heretic.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
The Cave of Wonders sometimes yields nice gems. A 1/1 at four CMC scares me a lot, so it'd definitely come close, but I'd be willing to try it. Surprise can be a powerful ally. So can really really bad art.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
It's hard to argue with taking control of artifacts and the mana cost, although high, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Most artifacts that you want to snatch out of your opponent's hand won't show up before turn 4 anyway.
When I see this card, I like to think of peoples fishing stories. Exaggeration pushes the scales of the catch to impossible proportions. This is a big G-dang. Look at that monster...
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
This is one big Gordon's Fish Stick. One thing I do want to mention though- this card gets a serious "GoodStuff" label because everyone wants to slam it in their deck without planning or trying to build around it, and so at the very least, make sure your deck has dudes that fly. Or Islandwalk. Not too much to ask considering the colors. Also relevant for the late-late, after you've cast Thada Adel the 4th time or so. Just think before you dive in.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
Beautiful, majestic, classic, and terrifying. Every blue EDH deck should have this or something like it. Reminds me of a fishing expedition gone terribly wrong.
VENSER'S JOURNALIST'S PICKS
Not only do I like life gain, I also like not having important card in my graveyard. Granted the Elixir is not the best way to retrieve cards from your graveyard, it does, however, throw a big middle finger to the guy using Wrexial as his commander or running things like Spelltwine. As a rule, I've begun running Elixir in just about every EDH deck. Great insurance policy!
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
I have played this in the past, and for me it seems to flounder. Either I got it too early, and it just sat on the board with nothing to tuck, or I found it the minute after someone Bojuka Bogged me. Maybe you'll have better luck than me with it, but my deck designs are always a little more opportunistic, so when I draw something like this a lot and it isn't effective, I tend to cut it pretty quick and not look back.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
This card saw limited play in the sideboard of Standard control decks. 5 life means a lot less in Commander and there isn't really a pure aggro deck in the format (at least not one that is viable in competitive play). I don't know exactly what you would want this for. It is much cheaper/easier to get cards out of your graveyard than out of your library.
If ever there was an artifact that belongs in every EDH deck, Mimc Vat would certainly be on the top ten list! An inescapable fact of Commander is that creatures will die, and some of these creatures who die are really awesome! I'd have Sharuum the Hegemon as my commander just so I could destroy her, then have Sharuum tokens pop out every turn!
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
There's really not a whole lot of bad I can say about this card. Control decks love playing removal and taking your dude. Beatdown decks love having more copies of their own dude once control decks kill that dude. It's really a versatile card that's fun for the whole Magic Family. There's a lot of decks that should be and could be playing this card. I have just as many of this as I do Solemns.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
This is more value than you can shake a stick at. It often acts like a cheap colorless planeswalker; generating incremental returns as the game moves on. Certain choice creatures can also create a soft lock. Acidic Slime on Vat is basically GG and a frustrating way to lose.
Control has always been a big part of my EDH games (apart from the times I went full tokens), and the Orb certainly locks down the game by preventing two of the biggest strategies: land grab and tutoring. However, this artifact is a bit of a double-edged sword: it's a card that will help screw over your opponents, but unless you don't need to search your library for anything either, you'll be screwing yourself over.
Uncle Landdrops-THUMBS DOWN
I've never been able to find a place for this card so I can't really justify it. And I've tried. It's a pretty rigid card that really only has relevance with Maralen of the Mornsong to me, and if that's the case, I'd rather just play Stranglehold so I can punish my opponents and get value off her. Also really hard to build around, though possible with Fact or Fiction and Lim-Dul's Vault. Maybe it would be good as a way of attrition in a Sen Triplets deck. That's about all I got.
Grandpa Growth-THUMBS UP
I like what this card does. I just don't like the package it comes in. I prefer value-added versions, which is why I support Aven Mindcensor and Shadow of Doubt. Disruption is a necessary tactic against many decks and punishing tutors and mana bases is pretty brutal.
UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICKS
I approve because I want to play this card though I'm not sure how good or annoying this could be. Takin' a dip in the Knowledge Pool makes multiplayer games seem like a whole lot of fun. 1v1 will prolly be a drag. Also, for abusers, there is a Teferi Lock with this card, which seems nice as long as you have instant answers. Dunno if it's Treasure for Treasure Mage though.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
This is a fun card, no doubt, but it's also a fairly effective game changer. If your opponent is counting on a countering spells cast after the Knowledge Pool lands, he/she will be in for a frustrating game.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
The text box is practically overflowing with text that boils down to one thing: this card is unplayable. Except for the aforementioned combo.
I'm all in on Grinning Totem. It's funny looking, fun to play, and in triple colored decks like fun Sharuum or the Mishra Deck I'm testing it in it's been pretty cool. Dark Glissa would probably like this card too.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
Mind Control effects have always been my standard for taking other players' stuff, but with the Grinning Totem, there's a chance to take out key instants/sorceries and use them to your favor.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
I somewhat support this card (and Praetor's Grasp for similar reasons) because they are actually powerful enough to be useful in competitive decks and they actually meet my personal fun criteria. This isn't explosive or flashy, but it can really hang your opponent out to dry if they are depending on a certain kind of card to win. What I like most about this is that it scales to the power level of your opponent's deck while consistently presenting their scariest threat. Probably, better used in sideboarded play or in multiplayer to insure you can actually cast the card. If you don't care, then use the Jester's junk instead.
I definitely want to play this card. Like Smiley Totes above, it allows you to interact with your opponent's stuff like P-Dubs or some pesky card type like enchantments, which blue and black both have hard times against. I'm sure it won't be good, but it seems fun if you've got a way to remove it. Also Trinkets for Trinket Mage.
Venser's Journalist- NOT SURE
Avarice Totem looks like a fun enough card for sure, but my personal experience with card exchange is that it always seems to come back around to bite you in the ass. Unless you're in a multiplayer game and have excellent persuasive skills, this may just be a sideboard card.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
The only real interesting thing about this card is the old 10 mana switcheroo trick. Let's be honest though. If you're tapping 10 mana at a time, then it should be for something that wins the game.
Well, that's all, folks!
Stay tuned for GG's Super Secret Sunday.
Your Turn.
-UL
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