[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Mookie]

Cold-Eyed Selkie is sweet. Curiosity + evasion is a solid combination, but drawing one card per turn on combat damage is often too slow. Selkie is however relatively unique in that it draws cards equal to the damage dealt, which can scale significantly - alongside Rafiq of the Many, as mentioned, but also any Merfolk lords, equipment, or sources of +1/+1 counters. That said, not all decks have easy access to those effects, which limits it a bit. Similarly, while Islandwalk is good evasion, not all decks are guaranteed to actually be running islands... and unless you're running Thada Adel, Acquisitor in the command zone, you probably won't be running Spreading Seas to enable islandwalk either.

...anyway, assuming you have no way to enable islandwalk or pump the Selkie, I'd generally pass - the power level of creatures and speed of the format has increased significantly, and Selkie is generally outclassed at this point. I could see it in a few decks though -- Rafiq is one, but Ezuri, Claw of Progress also seems like an excellent spot.

[JWK]

Selkie is an okay creature, not super-exciting but functional, and it can be strong in the right deck. Repeated card draw effects are generally good, and Selkie is no exception. It has a lot of competition in most decks that might run it and often won't make the cut, but running it is rarely going to be a bad choice.

[Sinis]

Tuesday, October 27th, 2020; Cold-Eyed Selkie

I remember when the terror of the format was Rafiq of the Many + this guy and/or Cephalid Constable. How times have changed.....

Honestly, this guy remains a staple of many of my G/U/x decks, usually because there will be a +1/+1 counter or equipment or something to make it better. Given that the Islandwalk is frequently relevant, it remains a totally acceptable saboteur.

My current deck that runs one is Tazri, Beacon of Unity. CES is a rogue, it turns out.

[darrenhabib]

I can't help but start singing ..

SPOILER

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..when Cold-Eyed Selkie hits the battlefield. Yes I'm old.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, October 28th, 2020; mantle of the wolf|thb

Cool art, for sure. Eight power for four mana, kinda like a baby's first wurmcoil engine. I dig it.

[Mookie]

Mantle of the Wolf is... fine? It's a beefy aura - +4/+4 for 4 mana is a pretty solid rate. It does have the card advantage inherent to auras, but it makes up for it somewhat with a death trigger to create tokens on death. If you're making an enchantress / voltron deck, it may be worth consideration. Otherwise, I'd generally skip.

I will note that in terms of raw stats, +4/+4 is the largest you can get on a four mana green aura. Bear Umbra is probably the most powerful option in that slot, while Prodigious Growth and Epic Proportions grant more stats for a higher cost. Raised by Wolves is also pretty close thematically. Blanchwood Armor can grant more stats for cheaper, but requires a heavy commitment to forests.

[JWK]

I like this card in theory, but I have never run it in a deck. I may give it a go in an enchantress deck someday.

[Hawk]

How times change right? At the dawn of EDH, when Voltron decks ruled the earth, I recall Elephant Guide and Griffin Guide being just shy of staple level - the cards were just about everywhere, as a way to power up a Commander and still get value when they inevitably got wrath-ed out. Now we take a card that is in the same realm, and I wouldn't play it anywhere outside of like Wolf/Werewolf Tribal.

[3drinks]

Thursday, October 29th, 2020; manabarbs|sum[/cardimg] and I suppose extremely functional clone, [card]Burning Earth.

When you're at tables where people slam 8 drops turn after turn. Also super combo with Torbran, Thane of Red Fell|eld.

[Sinis]

Thursday, October 29th, 2020; manabarbs.

Imma be real, I hate this card with a passion. I despise cards that discourage you from playing the game. I know it's "fair" because it's symmetrical, but, the second I catch anyone at a table playing this, I will either exile it, or try to push them out of the game.

[JWK]

Yeah, this is a powerhouse in my Torbran and Gisela decks.

[Ginuqu]

I have over four copies of this card and not really for any good reason. I think it's only interesting casually if you're making a deck around Urza's Armor and/or Sphere of Law types of thing, hard to add to a deck if it's just a punishment card that doesn't suit its style.

I will say that I love old art like this, Just a mysterious symbol over a marble background with no style guide forcing it to be anything in particular!

[Hawk]

Can you sense the excitement in my typing for everyone to dust these off as part of their shiny new Yurlok of Scorch Thrash group slug decks? Yay group slug.

Real talk, these cards are only good when

A) You are using them as an intellectual to bully new and/or bad players who just wanted to curve their Craw Wurm into Axebane Stag.

B) You are breaking the symmetry with stuff like Urza's Armor or super-charging the pain with stuff like Torbran, Thane of Red Fell.

I think these are legit and borderline auto-includes in Torbran, where turning them into full blown Lava Spike instead of annoying little death by a thousand cuts is somehow more merciful, while still allowing some amount of counterplay.

[3drinks]

You are using them as an intellectual to bully new and/or bad players who just wanted to curve their Craw Wurm into Axebane Stag.

I understood that reference.

[ISBPathfinder]

Oh man I love manabarbs and decks that can use them. Part of the reason for me saying this is I despise decks that just spin their wheels and masturbate ramp. Personally I think it takes a lot of skill to successfully use these cards. They will make you archenemy but I think if you can power through that they are very fair cards. I love seeing them in people's lists and I love playing with them. Its a challenge and I appreciate seeing these cards either in my own lists or in others.

[PrimevalCommander]

10th edition has one of my favorite Flavor texts. I don't know how to link specific editions.
Manabarbs ha, the most recent printing has it too

I have one a game or two off this when I was playing Tariel, Reckoner of Souls pingers. Heavy artifact ramp and creatures with activated abilities made it so I didn't need to tap many lands when I was ready to play this. I don't see it as being that big of a grief card since your opponents choose now much they want to be hindered/or burned by it. I specifically remember this winning me at least one game due to the damage it was dealing which helped me burn the table to death. It doesn't stop you from playing the game, it makes you play more carefully.

[3drinks]

10th edition has one of my favorite Flavor texts. I don't know how to link specific editions.
Manabarbs|10E ha, the most recent printing has it too

You're welcome.

[Hermes_]

used to combo with Power Surge

[3drinks]

Friday, October 30th, 2020; Kambal, Consul of Allocation

Is this really that good? Really? Maybe I under estimate these effects.

[Serenade]

I have played against this guy but never with him. I hate to see him.

I've certainly lost four life to tutor a way to get rid of him in Kess or Kykar or enchantress. I've also said "I can play through this!" and lost so, so much more life than that. He hurts noncreature decks in a substantial way, so I think he's a terrific option for a creature-based toolbox.

[Toshi]

Friday, October 30th, 2020; Kambal, Consul of Allocation

Is this really that good? Really? Maybe I under estimate these effects.

I run him as my hatebear/drain & gain commander and he's pretty good at that.

I usually cast him on curve and by the time he eats his first removal, i've already pulled solidly ahead, due to the fact that most players prioritize advancing their game plan over removing him.
Since dedicated creature lists aren't as common as they used to anymore, there are only so few match ups, in which he feels underwhelming.
Due to the fact that Sun Titan, Reveillark, Revival // Revenge, Unearth and others can get him back swiftly and Dusk // Dawn, Austere Command and the likes are able to sweep the board but him, i really like him a lot.

Initially he was part of my now dismantled Alesha, Who Smiles at Death deck and pulled enough weight to be one of the two successors with Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, when i decided to move on from her.

[JWK]

Kambal has been excellent in both Alesha, which is built around chipping away at life totals in lots of small bits that add up, and in Karlov, where people playing their game plan boosts Karlov into lethal territory while bringing them closer to defeat. I think he would work well in a lot of WB decks that like things like Blood Artist and in aristocrat-style decks that can run him. He's definitely a good card in the right deck.

[3drinks]

Saturday, October 31st, 2020; Ice Cauldron

X, T: You may exile a nonland card from your hand. You may cast that card for as long as it remains exiled. Put a charge counter on Ice Cauldron and note the type and amount of mana spent to pay this activation cost. Activate this ability only if there are no charge counters on Ice Cauldron.

T, Remove a charge counter from Ice Cauldron: Add Ice Cauldron's last noted type and amount of mana. Spend this mana only to cast the last card exiled with Ice Cauldron.

Appropriate art for the holiday is appropriate...happy halloween you filthy animals. But what really is the purpose to using this card?

[Mookie]

I'm honestly not sure what the use case for Ice Cauldron is. I guess if you really need the mana, you can spend a turn to throw a bunch of mana on it one turn, then use that mana on the next turn. In which case it sort of functions as a man doubler, in that it gives you the ability to cast spells that cost twice as much. However, that... isn't a particularly valuable ability, given you still need to pay the full cost. There might be some interesting things you could do with proliferation, but the card also specifically limits using the mana to casting the exiled card, so no dice there. And of course, this is incredibly telegraphed - if you throw Blightsteel Colossus or something scary in the Cauldron, your opponents can just blow it up before you can finish brewing. If you want a four mana mana accelerant, use Thran Dynamo, Wilderness Reclamation, or even Hedron Archive instead.

Anyway, the main place I would consider this is alongside Frankenstein's Monster and All Hallow's Eve as a holiday theme deck. Alternatively, use it to buff Alexander Clamilton.

[3drinks]

Ooh, shoot there it is. You get a discount in mana at the expense of time. I feel dumb that this never occurred to me. Though, I guess I'd rather just reanimate or otherwise flashback the spell rather than take two turns.

I guess I'd actually use this in Daretti, Scrap Savant, given I quite like Clasp and Engine anyway, though even this has limited use given I can't spend the mana on anything else. Hmm, where can I funnel mana I can't spend anywhere?

......oh goddamnit into the tcgplayer cart it goes FML 🙄