[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Golgari Thug

[folding_music]

(re: Copy Enchantment)
copying Volition Reins with this in my Callaphe, Beloved of the Sea deck is good fun

[Treamayne]

I have this in my Shapeshifter Tribal (Halfdane) on MTGO, sinc eit is all about making my own copies of other people's tech. Funniest use was copying the Stax player's Blind Obedience, who rage-quit "because my stuff should not enter tapped - only your stuff should. . . "

Then again, it takes almost nothing to have people randomly drop on MTGO - so it's wasn't the rage-quit that was funny so much as their professed "reason"

[Sinis]

Against Copy Enchantment, it's hard to justify over Mirrormade. That said, what are you folks copying with it?

[BeneTleilax]

I wonder if Black Market Connections, Smothering Tithe and Rhystic Study are common enough to expect one of them out to copy most games.

[Lifeless]

Clever Impersonator is as close as I'd ever realistically come to playing this. It will usually have an OK target but flexibility is king.

[Cyax]

I find it funny in Zur the Enchanter as a copy of Estrid's Invocation copying Oath of Liliana or Act of Authority.

[Mookie]

Good artists copy, great artists steal. That's why Steal Enchantment > Copy Enchantment.

More seriously, I am generally hesitant to run cards that rely on my opponents running enchantments - I've been burned enough times by Decimate to know that they're relatively rare. There certainly are high-impact enchantments that see play... but compared to creatures, artifacts, and other card types? Not so many. That's true of most formats - it turns out that creatures' ability to attack, block, and serve as win conditions makes them pretty important for most decks. On the flip side, most enchantments take multiple turns to generate value, which makes them a riskier proposition.

...anyway, I would favor Clever Impersonator or another, more flexible copy effect for most decks. There are some arguments to playing it to copy your own enchantments in an enchantress deck, but that feels a little win-more - a second Smothering Tithe sounds great, but I feel like there are diminishing returns. Plus stuff like Estrid's Invocation and Court of Vantress can just outclass it entirely.

[3drinks]

Thursday, May 9th 2024; Forger's Foundry

That's a pretty good upside for a 3mv rock, I think.

[Dunadain]

3mv rocks need pretty insane upsides for me to consider them, and while this is pretty cool, it's not enough imo.

👎

[3drinks]

3mv rocks need pretty insane upsides for me to consider them, and while this is pretty cool, it's not enough imo.

👎

It's an interesting struggle. Would you consider Cursed Mirror to be worth?

[Dunadain]

3mv rocks need pretty insane upsides for me to consider them, and while this is pretty cool, it's not enough imo.

👎

It's an interesting struggle. Would you consider Cursed Mirror to be worth?

I'd say cursed mirror is better, probably a good choice in certain decks.

[Lifeless]

Hrmm. I would consider this for slinging. It would generate a lot of value over the course of the game if left unaddressed, and if you're not recurring or otherwise re-using cards from the yard I like it. I think the tension is that most decks I would run this in are also playing Mizzix's Mastery type stuff for recursion. Maybe in mono-U.

[Guardman]

3mv rocks need pretty insane upsides for me to consider them, and while this is pretty cool, it's not enough imo.

👎

Forger's Foundry looks really good in a spellslinger deck. Especially as a back-up value engine. The number one problem I see with spellslinger decks when I face them is they can run out of gas and do nothing or they get disrupted at the right moment and basically spent a couple minutes durdling with little to show. This seems like it could be a quick way to get back into the game after either of those happens.

The funny thing is, out of all the 3 mana value mana rocks, the one I've consistently been most impressed with is Network Terminal. If you have at least ten other artifacts or ways to make artifacts in the deck the card vastly outperforms as both ramp and draw smoothing.

[Mookie]

Huh, I don't recall seeing Forger's Foundry. It looks reasonable - ramps early, and it also gives you some lategame value. Looking at my Mizzix deck, I have around 14 cards it can recast for value (since X spells and countermagic don't really count), and a similar number for Kess. It does have some tension with Dig Through Time, Mizzix's Mastery, and other cards that want stuff in the graveyard, but I suppose it is a 'may' clause. The other tension is that it's a three mana rock, which means it doesn't help ramp into Mizzix or Kess. I don't necessarily always play them early, but it is nice to have the option to play them T3. Hmmm...

The funny thing is, out of all the 3 mana value mana rocks, the one I've consistently been most impressed with is Network Terminal. If you have at least ten other artifacts or ways to make artifacts in the deck the card vastly outperforms as both ramp and draw smoothing.

This is another card I don't remember seeing, but it seems sweet. I'll have to give it a shot in Sharuum.

Midnight Clock is generally my favorite 3 mana rock (even if it only gives me a wheel occasionally). I love the design of Cursed Mirror, but haven't quite found a deck for it yet. I've been meaning to test out Relic of Legends too - it feels like pretty much every creature is legendary these days.

[folding_music]

forger's foundry is beautiful! its second ability seems really hard to protect, though... sorcery speed and underwhelming at first, then suddenly attaining priority target status as soon as it's memorized its third card. it needs Split Second, or something, or to gain Ward X based on the number of imprinted cards because, based on its first ability only, it's underpowered. i'd love to try and make it work, though, and I already like rocks as bad as Lapis Orb of Dragonkind

[DirkGently]

It's an interesting piece, but I think the big limitation is that it's only one card per turn under normal circumstances. Most cheap-spell spellslinger decks aren't content to cast occasional spells for eventual value - they're casting a bunch all in one turn, which this can't profit off of. And if you're casting a bunch of cheap spells, paying 5 to get a couple of them back isn't that exciting, and it doesn't work with expensive ones. Add that to the limitation of only fitting into decks that want a 3mv rock, and this beingless effective with removal and completely useless with counterspells, and it's pretty niche I think, even if the payoff looks impressive at first blush.

[3drinks]

Friday, May 10th 2024; Tymaret, the Murder King

I used to love this thing as commander in the wayback. Still kinda do as a sac outlet that can be utilized from more than just the board, it's unique in that way. Two good typings too. Wonder if it's still just as good today.

[pokken]

Man I just really like Tymaret, the Murder King. No real great reason for it. It's a bad card for the most part. :D

[Sinis]

I've played it a little. It was kind of a way to dispose of extra bodies in Rankle and Torbran before I dismantled that deck. It didn't quite make the cut in my Bhaal, Lord of Murder deck, despite being thematically appropriate and mechanically desirable. Maybe I'll find room for him.

Really the best part about it is the name. Tymaret, THE MURDER KING!

[onering]

His first ability gets super expensive super quick. I had him as a commander years ago and there was just usually a much better sac outlet available at any given time. His second ability makes him pretty sticky, you just use that after he's removed twice and you'll never pay more than 4 to cast him, but at the end of the day you're getting a 2/2 that serves as a pretty mid sac outlet if your better ones are unavailable. The number of good sac outlets has only increased since his printing. I figured out pretty quickly back then that I'd be better off with either a commander that made sac fodder, or a commander with an ability that triggered off creatures dying (or just anything with a better sac ability even if the commander itself was more mana).

Interestingly I feel he's better in the 99 of such decks, because he can serve as both a sac outlet and expensive sac fodder, but even there he's mid. And yes, he can serve the same role as a commander, but that's premium space where I'd much rather just use something better.

[Dunadain]

I love this card's design and have tried multiple times to make a deck with him, but I just can't quite figure it out.

👍

[TheAmericanSpirit]

The main thing holding this guy back is his inability to shoot at anything but the dome. If he could be a nigh-unkillable source of crearute removal, then he'd have a lot more utility

[3drinks]

The main thing holding this guy back is his inability to shoot at anything but the dome. If he could be a nigh-unkillable source of crearute removal, then he'd have a lot more utility

Lyzolda, the Blood Witch has entered the chat. Ohhhh, if only. Loved Miss Lyz back in the day

[3drinks]

Saturday, May 11th 2024; Vadrik, Astral Archmage

I hate that this is the de facto best werewolf commander with the day/night mechanic baked inside when werewolves are very definitively Gruul.

[Treamayne]

I hate that this is the de facto best werewolf commander with the day/night mechanic baked inside when werewolves are very definitively Gruul.

Having built at least six different Werewolf/"Werewolf and wolf" builds since they first debuted in INN, I have to disagree heavily.

For Werewolf tribal, Tovolar is better. Even Ulrich is better since it is at least the correct colors. If you plan to do a Stax "1 spell per turn" build, then you want Animar, Soul of Elements for Gruul + Arcane Laboratory. For Werewolf and Wolf, you probably want Naya (GW Wolves, RG Werewolves), and even Jacques le Vert (which also has access to Rule of Law ) makes a better Werewolf general than this guy.

Honestly, this should not even be in the top 10 choices for Werewolf General - though I could see splashing 2-3 Werewolves in a Vadrik, Astral Archmage Daylight deck.