We're off rippin' and flippin' early here at TGZ, semi-well-rested from a short little R'n'R and ready to bring the goodz.
And by flipping, I mean your favorite weird mechanic from your favorite Asian-Inspired Magic block: Flip Cards.
So let's turn this upside down.
THIS IS THE STACK!
GRANDPA GROWTH'S PICK
I have only ever maindecked two of the Kamigawa block flip cards in Commander; this one and Kuon Ogre Ascendant. Gardener is a cool card, if slightly underpowered. It lets you play extra lands early on in the game, which I am a big fan of. Once flipped it is probably going to die immediately, but that is okay. The real point was to ramp you up to big mana so you could deliver the finishing blow.
I have a soft spot for the 'dolphin'/'flipper' cards. They are an elegant visual design and feature some of the most inspired pieces of art in all of Magic. It is unfortunate that the mechanics have to be constrained to short, simple abilities in order to fit in the reduced text boxes, but that didn't seem to be much of a problem. These cards had a wide variety of functions, spanned multiple card types, and didn't require altering the cards backs. The latter causing somewhat of a ruckus when it was done in Innistrad. This is a design space that is worth taking a second look at in my opinion.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
This is very much a big nasty green machine card, and the incentive to have more lands only makes this card's flavor more stereo-typically green. I think the amount of mana it takes to activate the Weaver of Life's ability is a bit steep, but the bang you get for your buck should be tremendous.
I think what I like most about the Kamigawa split cards versus the Innistrad flip cards is the fact that there really isn't a way that I can perceive for you to flip the card back once the flip conditions are met (besides bouncing the card). This definitely puts more control into the player's hands rather than relying on the way your opponents play.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS UP
The problem with the Innistrad flip cards were that 1) They were mostly a mindless tribe and 2) In most cases they weren't worth the effort to flip, and your opponent had control over flipping them back. It's evident, based on the big flippers in Standard, Delver of Secrets, and Huntmaster, that the key to these design was incentive to flip, and the value done through these actions. If they were to revisit Kamigawa (Which I've heard they never will), or just re-visit this mechanic, I'd love to see a nice blend of the two. That way we can get the art and the value. I'm beginning to make the effort to incorporate some of these into my decks, simply because they're unique to Magic.
VENSER'S JOURNALIST'S PICK
I'll be honest: I don't have much experience with split cards, mainly because Kamigawa was not my favorite block (it's good, yes, but their Spirits are kind of bad). So, hypothetically, I'd like to experiment with this fun moonfolk. Perhaps I'm a bit predictable, but counter magic is a huge deal to me, and I could see this being very productive in a "Talrand says 'NO'" deck.
Of course we could never use Erayo as a commander, but the Enchantment is worth having if you want to synergize with counterspells (perhaps you'd like some more merfolk tokens, Lullmage Mentor). Though, the countering one spell a turn is still the highest thing on my list of reasons why I'd like to experiment with this card. Making an opponent waste a spell, even if he/she chooses what spell to waste, is still an advantage in my book.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS UP
This card is dramatically underplayed in Commander. Most people, myself included, tend to shy away from it because it is banned for use as a Commander by the EDHRC, but it is still legal for main deck play. People seem to agree that this doesn't conform to the 'spirit of the format'. I tend to think that the 'spirit of the format' is nonsense. I am of the opinion that this is a preeminent strategy in Commander. That being said I have something of a gentleman's agreement with myself to not play it, instead searching for worthwhile alternatives, but the card demands respect, that is beyond contest.
Uncle Landdrops- THUMBS DOWN
I actually play against this monster semi-regularly. One of the decks in my group is a Damia "You Make The Combo" deck in which the player pieces together several synergies which allow him to take over the game and lock everyone out of cards and have Forbid backup so that he can win with Laboratory Maniac.
Whereas most Erayo locks are real and abusive, this is much more of a time-based lock at a point in the game, used to get tempo, so I don't particularly hate Erayo in this instance. However, I still fail to understand why anyone would want to play somethingthat invites a lot of unnecessary hate and creates board states that I find tired and boring in the EDH landscape. Underplayed, and for a pretty good reason.
UNCLE LANDDROPS' PICK
One of the more interesting mono-Red decks I've played a lot of games against is Homura. The guy who plays this in my group started it as a Dollar General deck with a bunch of nonsense creatures from the bowels of Magic's History (Soldier of Fortune always seems to find his way into play) and an Umezawa's Jitte, which was and still is one of the most ballsy choices of anyone in my playgroup (including myself) to date. Commitment to the Jitte was strong with this one. I don't think I could ever do something like this, let alone make it even kind of work. So kudos, I guess.
These days, the deck has become refined and unrestrained by budget, so it's got a lot more heat. Still, Homey decks everywhere are going into hiding because they're on the endangered species list while Gods are present, so now we're all playing Green and White for Deglamer/Return to Dust, and hoping someone doesn't bring one to play to our table as a Commander.
Grandpa Growth- THUMBS DOWN
I agree with UL. It is a very bad time to be a Kamigawa 'dolphin' card. The expanding influence of Theros God cards has led to increased resistance for strategies that rely on Enchantments, and more generally multiple permanents in play. Homura was already on the fringes of playability in Commander and now has basically no place. Not even for the fact that it is probably just worse than Purphoros. There was definitely a moment in history where you could make a mono Red list like this work. Homura into Jokulhaups + Goblin Assault and you run away with the game. You could leverage Scrying Sheets, Extraplanar Lens, Goblin Charbelcher, Caged Sun, Gauntlets of both Might and Power. There is a real deck in here somewhere, unfortunately it has been supplanted by bigger and better things.
Venser's Journalist- THUMBS UP
I personally like the theme that Homura brings to the table. Mono Red dragons may not be the most effective deck design ever, but Homura's Essence does pretty cool stuff! Yes, I want all my Creatures to have Flying and +2/+2. Call me out of touch, but I really can't speak too much on the Theros block since I've been trying to go back in MTG history to find some quality cards.
-UL/VJ/GG
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