I've been out real-life planeswalking since we got the taste of Tarkir during prerelease, and I'm anxious to bring you a few of the hidden gems I've been digging since sealed, limited, and cracking open my big box of Khan goodies.
As you saw in GG's Set Review last week, there's a lot to like, and probably not a whole lot aside from a cycle of charms and a cunning replica (Clever Impersonator) that are going to immediately make their way into the market. Eventually, everything finds its way back to EDH, but even the response time of social media's finest isn't always going to be right on the money.
So today I'm going to do a little bit of speculating and forecasting, you know- the usual Landdrops meditation and meandering on cards I like, cards I want to play, and cards I hope and expect to see at the kitchen table nearest me, and by Interwebz extension, you.
Earlier in the week, I had a chance to have a chat with VJ about this card, and we both agreed that it's a nice one. Honestly, I'm a little more pessimistic about its impact in the Commander metagame, but it's not going to stop me from playing it. VJ called it a "Counter Target Commander" spell, which I think feels pretty accurate, though I'm still unsure how good that is.
My skepticism only really concerns how many gigantic spells we want to counter. Generally, that is threats, whether they're from the Command Zone or otherwise, and every big X spell, which yes, will change on the Stack (Genesis Wave for 7 on the stack is GGG+7= CMC 10). So there's some upside.
Being a more aggressive version of Thoughtbind, I'm liable to want to play this. Again, it's a counter with a low intensity for blue whose design is going to force even the worst control players to hold up a spell until something big is on the stack. While it's not going to be your most trustworthy counterspell, if you like having a handful for tempo, this might be worth taking for a test drive.
Potentially, Stubborn Denial just might outclass Disdainful Stroke. Here, I like the versatility more. This is easily better than something like Turn Aside, which I always played but never cast, and really going to make your opponents think twice about casting Treachery, Removal, or a Planeswalker-level threat. Bonus added, obviously, if you're ahead.
I think it's good enough to be in the conversation because it's almost as good as Complicate or Daze, but it's not too underpowered that you want to rip it in half. It's the kind of card Control players want to play, particularly in 60-card formats, where you have access to multiples and only a couple of game-ending threats. Again, I think this can be replicated and supported with the combination of older, better versions, so this strategy could become a good one for EDH too.
This is another card which I'm really riding high on. While I was a little bit disapointed about not having enough Mid-Range Fatties (Temur's "Not-A-Theme" Theme), like this horse in the artwork, I'm chomping at the bit to get an Unsummon and a Looter on tempo. It just seems cool.
Despite Mid-Range Fatties being silly, I think Ferocious turned out nice. The power level of cards like this and See The Unwritten will find their full potential in Standard and Commander, where they can be more thoughtfully designed around, while giving a nice little tempo-based answer with incentives in Limited and Sealed. Nice job all-around on Ferocious.
Still, I have something to say to people who feel its cost is going to keep this from being relevant.
Delve Makes This Card Real.
Even with Gristlebrand Quadruple Black, this card is going to get a lot of surprise kills. Mono-Black already plays Army of the Damned, which, with Flashback is immense value and pressure. Like Stubborn Denial, ETP is just more reinforcement. Since most Mono-Black decks aren't without Cabal Coffers and Urborg, and probably a Crypt Ghast and other Swamp-Doubling shenanigans, Empty the Pit is going to be huge, going to be done at the end of your last opponent's turn, and it will finish off the table. Because when you can supplant the cost by delving for one of the X's, a BBBBX spell is very easy to manage with all the tools. This is going to be a house very quickly. So get your own, and be on the lookout for others with a copy of their own.
I like this card a lot. It's not Harvester of Souls, but it's a decent, cheaper costed alternative for mono-Black and other token sacrifice decks.
I've got a lot of things to say about this card. At prerelease, it was in my Sealed pool, directly contributing to my second place finish with a very average Abzan deck.
Later, I was asked why he can't block when he has so many shields. While I have no idea about the answer to this question, I can explain why he won me so many games, and more importantly- why he'll do well to translate back to Commander.
A relentless threat, BS Champ is basically a functional reprint of Bloodghast. Unlike B-Ghast, which needs to see land to stay alive, our new version prefers seeing action, which is just as low of a barrier. And with 1 toughness, is in the perfect space to be a complement to EDH Equipment Extraordinaire, Skullclamp, and any Grave Pact trigger you can get your hands on.
While Champion was effective because the Sealed and Draft formats don't really get online until players start dropping Morph dudes, he's going to be just as good in Commander because he's resilient, so people will take the damage, or he'll get blocked, die, and you can go get him back either immediately or on your following turn. And if you don't need him for that, he becomes an excellent little utility sacrifice dude. Get your copies while you can. I have a feeling this could be real in some 60-card formats.
Pass Turn.
-UL
No comments:
Post a Comment