He does get some value in EDH out of rattlesnaking and the multiplayer format. Since he can be activated at instant speed, he can build up loyalty quickly if nobody attacks him by activating on each other player's turn. And while he can only remove a single creature, he can threaten to do it as long as he hasn't been activated yet that turn. So you can hold up the "phase something out", and if they don't swing (as they'll be wasting their attack) loot post combat, letting you keep holding that option up. He can also do tricks like threaten to phase something out in response to a combo. All in all, I think he'll play stronger than he initially reads, though he still suffers from the inherent issues of planeswalkers in multiplayer. Most players will probably call your bluff on the phasing if it's something like a Solemn or the like. So he'll need some on board presence to protect him.DirkGently wrote: ↑3 years agoIf anything this seems underpowered to me. His first two abilities are very weak, -3 to get rid of a creature for one turn is really rough. But who knows, being instant speed is neat, he might fit into some control shells.
In commander it seems even harder to make good. Can't easily ult him With doubling season etc, and his board control is very weak. If looting is particularly valuable to you then maaaaybe, but that's about it imo.
If it was something stronger than phasing, sure, but if you're already attacking with it (so it's probably tapped), chances are that phasing it out essentially means nothing to the attacker. In fact it might be a boon since it won't die to wipes, making it hard for the Teferi player (or anyone else) to remove it profitably. If they want to connect with a Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion then maybe they'll leave Teferi alone, And they might not swing at you with that BSC, but I think that's about it.Wallycaine wrote: ↑3 years agoHe does get some value in EDH out of rattlesnaking and the multiplayer format. Since he can be activated at instant speed, he can build up loyalty quickly if nobody attacks him by activating on each other player's turn. And while he can only remove a single creature, he can threaten to do it as long as he hasn't been activated yet that turn. So you can hold up the "phase something out", and if they don't swing (as they'll be wasting their attack) loot post combat, letting you keep holding that option up. He can also do tricks like threaten to phase something out in response to a combo. All in all, I think he'll play stronger than he initially reads, though he still suffers from the inherent issues of planeswalkers in multiplayer. Most players will probably call your bluff on the phasing if it's something like a Solemn or the like. So he'll need some on board presence to protect him.
I think that's underselling phasing a bit. There's a decent amount of creatures that care about staying on the board between turns, so while having your big dumb beater phased out probably won't phase you that much (pun intended), losing your consecrated sphinx for a turn cycle is a pretty significant penalty. To me, there's enough cards played for their static abilities that phasing is fairly relevant removal, even though it's not permanent.DirkGently wrote: ↑3 years agoIf it was something stronger than phasing, sure, but if you're already attacking with it (so it's probably tapped), chances are that phasing it out essentially means nothing to the attacker. In fact it might be a boon since it won't die to wipes, making it hard for the Teferi player (or anyone else) to remove it profitably. If they want to connect with a Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion then maybe they'll leave Teferi alone, And they might not swing at you with that BSC, but I think that's about it.Wallycaine wrote: ↑3 years agoHe does get some value in EDH out of rattlesnaking and the multiplayer format. Since he can be activated at instant speed, he can build up loyalty quickly if nobody attacks him by activating on each other player's turn. And while he can only remove a single creature, he can threaten to do it as long as he hasn't been activated yet that turn. So you can hold up the "phase something out", and if they don't swing (as they'll be wasting their attack) loot post combat, letting you keep holding that option up. He can also do tricks like threaten to phase something out in response to a combo. All in all, I think he'll play stronger than he initially reads, though he still suffers from the inherent issues of planeswalkers in multiplayer. Most players will probably call your bluff on the phasing if it's something like a Solemn or the like. So he'll need some on board presence to protect him.
I think you're overestimating the percentage of creatures that have constant effects. Looking at the top creatures on EDHrec (https://edhrec.com/top/creatures), the vast majority either have an etb effect, a tap ability, a death/sac effect, trigger that's easiest to trigger on your turn (i.e. landfall), attack trigger, etc - and of those that do have an effect that matters on enemy turns, many of them don't have big enough bodies to justify phasing out. Even sphinx, if you phase it out instead of looting, you've basically ended up at the same spot loyalty-wise. Granted, it's probably worth phasing out (or otherwise removing) regardless of attacks. Do you really want to keep +1ing teferi while they draw a billion cards?Wallycaine wrote: ↑3 years agoI think that's underselling phasing a bit. There's a decent amount of creatures that care about staying on the board between turns, so while having your big dumb beater phased out probably won't phase you that much (pun intended), losing your consecrated sphinx for a turn cycle is a pretty significant penalty. To me, there's enough cards played for their static abilities that phasing is fairly relevant removal, even though it's not permanent.
