We're bringing you a nice simple topic for discussion this week, cause it's been kind of a doozy this week:
Which card do we wish was Legendary?
This is The Stack!
GRANDPA GROWTH'S PICK
Bet you didn't seen this one coming did you? People often ask me what it would take for aggro to make it in big league Commander. You're looking at it. Aggro suffers because there isn't a critical mass of truly bananas aggro cards. These decks need to 'have it' to stand a chance of winning. How about always having it turn one on the play? I truly believe that Commander stands to gain dramatically by having a mono red aggro deck that can 1. race tier one combo decks and 2. compete with mutliplayer control decks on sheer power level.
I tossed around a lot of ideas for today, which wouldn't surprised you if you knew how much I think about this exact topic. I apply this thought filter to nearly every new creature idea that comes out. So often, Wizards saves their most original designs for the higher rarities and makes them legendary anyway since having too much of a good thing can be bad for formats. Some other options off the top: Empyrial Archangel, Magus of the Future, Fauna Shaman, Mystic Snake, Lord of Extinction, Deathrite Shaman, The new Ogre Battledriver from M14, Phyrexian Obliterator, Mother of Runes...pretty much if it has ever been relevant in EDH I want it to be legendary.
Johnny Confidant- THUMBS UP
Goblin HOOO!!! Ah man, a one drop that brings friends? That's my kind of Goblin. I haven't dipped my toe into the tribal aspect of EDH, but goblins would be one I would try.
Probably the real scare about him as a legendary is how fast he can bring the game, turn one he's out, turn two he's swinging and the slowest player is fuel for the effect. The downside to this is Goblins are not that strong so adding global creature buffs could really help out. That said it's still a nasty effect that is sure to bring the pain.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
Normally, I'd laugh at the idea of having a goblin as a commander (save for maybe Kiki-Jiki), but I've seen the Goblin Lackey in action and he means business. Stuff the deck full of things like Tectonic Rift or anything that can paralyze creatures en masse and a Fire Whip and watch him reproduce.
A good thing about mono-red is that it is usually faster than most control decks and can easily gain the upper hand early on in the game; the tricky part is keeping the upper hand. Goblin Lackey is a perfect example of what I call an "engine." It's a card that can do things repeatedly at some cost, be it paying mana, attacking, sacrificing, etc. However, I'm not 100% convinced that he'd be a good commander.
He's an easy target for one (one-drop 1/1). He can certainly help, but his scope is rather limited (seems like he does only one thing, which is not even guaranteed). Granted a deck should not rely heavily on its commander, the commander should be able to help out in multiple ways.
Nonetheless, it's a nasty goblin perfect for nasty goblin decks, so why not make it another goblin legend?
Furthermore, I'd like to see a card called "Diplomacy Helmet." Artifact-Equipment, only usable by goblins...
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
First, GG picking a red card should be noted. Tis a rarity beyond mythic.
Overall though, I have a lot of problems with the theory he's given, but I'll save those thoughts for a rainy day, and just talk about Lackey as a pick.
I'm not really high on Lackey, for reasons that aren't his actual function. I don't think anything named "Lackey" should be a Legend. Squee is the only fun and silly joke they get to make in the land of Goblins, and my inner Flavor-Judge is saying this would be too far.
I also think he'd have to have at least a static ability like first strike to help his case. There's just not enough power in the text box for me to turn my thumbs up.
Functionally though, free stuff is cool. Still, I'm still not sure how good that is in a 99-card Goblin deck, where everything's cheap, and you're probably not drawing enough cards to finish off an opponent if you're able to dump your hand early on with good stuff like Siege-Gang or Krenko.
Would've been way more enthused for some of GG's honorable mentions. The logic's a little Troll-y to me.
UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICK
I really tried hard not to pick mono-colored, specifically a mono Green or Blue General since we already have some here. I had a huge bracket with a list of guys like Stillmoon Cavalier, Quillspike, Retaliator Griffin, Tamanoa, Stoic Angel, and Inspired Sprite.
I kept coming back to this card though, because I believe the card should've been and should be Legendary. I think the reason it was decided against is because of the tribal flavor of the Lorwyn block, not necessarily the mechanics of the card.
Gilt-Leaf fits a lot of my requirements for a good build-me-around Legend in Commander. Artwork looks legendary, name sounds regal and unique, and it supports itself in design with one-of-a-kind abilities. Also- there are a lot more Druids than you think (126, per Gatherer).
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
Valid points all around. I agree that this card looks, feels, and plays like a Legend. Mono Green is a cluttered design space in EDH, but this isn't like any of the pre-existing strats. Personally, I think more legends should look like this. Strategically though...I am not sure this would be viable. If you stick this and 6 other druids you should have buried them under damage or cards by now. Green doesn't really need more decks that get hosed by Wrath of God and it doesn't help that this isn't in the same color as Conspiracy or Xenograft.
Sidenote: Tamanoa not being legendary is basically a crime against Magic.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
I personally think that this card should be legendary on principle. The idea of taking away all lands a player controls is just too much for a non-legendary card to handle. Plus, in all the 126 druids in existence, 7 of them are legendary, and one of them is banned as a commander. The way I see it, Gilty-Leaf here being made into a legendary card is only fair.
JOHNNY CONFIDANT'S PICK
My wishes for Deadeye are a bit of a love/hate situation. On one hand, and before the new rules change, having deadeye as a Legendary would prevent too many people from pulling off ridiculous ETB Shenanigans. Now that the rules for legendary's have changed it would be awesome to see this guy limited to one-per-person.
As for my use, having this guy as a legend would spawn an insane combo deck. Blue really has great resources of card draw, counter, bounce, and untap with its creatures entering or leaving the battlefield and he'd make good use of them. He's also got some great staying power, a 5/5 for 6? You get a 5/5 Colossal Whale for 7 and he doesen't have as much power as this spirit does.
He also self protects, if you leave enough mana open you hardly have to counter any burn/destroy spells as long as hes soulbound. all in all, I wish this guy was Legendary so bad.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
He was in my big bracket when I was choosing my pick for this week, so I'll go Thumbs Up reluctantly, but I couldn't justify picking him. Flavor-wise, I felt Soulbond on a Legendary Creature doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even if the art and most of the other stats check out. Mono-U Spirit Tribal would be pretty cool though, cause they don't really have a creature worthy of that.
Grandpa Growth - THUMBS DOWN
I know hatin' is hard work, so I'll shoulder the burden. Commander players are addicted to value and I am no different. When they see a chance to get a little bit more they turn into a giddy little school girl. This card is the Magic equivalent of the following unfortunate situation: you are carrying 15 cookies and see another one laying on the table. You go to pick up that extra cookie, but you drop a bunch in the process. Achievement Unlocked: Analogue Player!
I never had a chance to play this in draft, but you won't catch me playing it anywhere else. On the other hand, the thought of a legendary Mistmeadow Witch makes me want to puke. I would lose to that card so often...
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
From a flavor point of view, I say that his name should be changed to "Charon, Deadeye Navigator," because Greek mythology is cool. Very cool. Plus, a Soulbond legendary creature would be nice; it may encourage many instant/sorcery-only blue players to actually put creatures in their decks.
Johnny makes some good points about self protection and a decent cost-benefit analysis. My only issue with the card being legendary is that the Navigator is mono-colored, so his ability and flickering flavor cannot be used with the many sick white ETB creatures. Poor Wall of Omens; no Stonehorn, not this time; gee Sunblast, wish you could have made it out to the river.
VENSER'S JOURNALIST'S PICK
Thrun, the Last Troll's best Ent friend. Granted he's not terribly overpowered, but he's a force to be reckoned with, especially with things like Rancor and all kinds of mana ramp. Any treefolk who's as powerful as all the trees in the forest combined deserves to be a legend. Not to mention that the Elder Tree carries some pretty legendary flavor text...
Johnny Confidant- THUMBS DOWN
Hexproof was a nuisance before the legendary change, and now its just a little more so now after. It's a good ability, but I doubt it really makes Legendary feel well "Legendary."
Sigarda, Uril, and Geist really speak to me as Legendary's with hexproof instead of "because of hexproof". To me this guy feels like he's missing something unique. An elder tree should have vast knowledge that can aid you as it's ally.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWNI like this card a lot, but I'm not keen on bumping it up to Legendary personally. It's a good, aggressive card, and that's fine and all. I just don't see why I'd want to play this over Omnath or Azusa, who have a lock at the three CMC. If we're going Treefolk and we want something that will scale to the game, Dauntless Dourbark just possesses more of the qualities I would look for, were I, "speaking for the Trees."
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
I can see the appeal here. I had a Korlash, Heir to Blackblade deck for a long time. Having a threat that scales in power level as it becomes more expensive gives you a lot of play moving into the late game. On the topic of mono green, I considered talking about Oracle of Mul Daya in this very article, but decided against it. I am most drawn to multicolor generals so that I can play the particular color combinations I want, letting the color pie dictate my strategy and win conditions rather than predetermined themes; e.g. Hexproof enchantments or 'forests matter'.
Do you have a card you wish was Legendary? I'm sure you do. Post a good one in the comments below.
Till then, we'll-
-UL and the TGZ Gang
I couldn't think of any multi-color creatures either. I've always wanted Necrotic Ooze to be legendary, that would be a great build-around commander. Planar Guide is another sweet card that would get way more value if you could keep recurring it from the command zone.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Ixidron is a card I thought was legendary just from the name and the wacky ability, but sadly it is not.
Ixidron was a card I also had in my big bracket. It's the ultimate removal for downsizing people who like to play Avacyn or Eldrazi. If I had to go blue though, Inspired Sprite has me kinda sold.
ReplyDeletePlanar Guide is a card I haven't seen before, and I like the pick. Being a Legend would really help to maximize its design space and abuse its CMC. I see a lot of space for him.