[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Rishkar, Peema Renegade

[Toshi]

Do people really refuse to play a card because of what an artist painted on it or how their political views lean?

I know a few players who do. I guess it comes down to who you are in perspective. If i were a trans person or in transition, i wouldn't want to touch Nielsen cards either.
Overall, i'm a tech driven player. I don't exclude white bordered Strip Mines, old wordings or artworks by nutjobs, but when there are alternate printings, i like my cards to be black bordered, with errata and without a bad gut feeling.

[3drinks]

Sunday, January 17th, 2021; Blackblade Reforged|ss2

I don't get the appeal of this. Everyone raves over it but it just makes a big dumb creature bigger. Doesn't even have trample. What's worse it's only discounted on a commander or other legend.

I think this card is a giant bust.

[3drinks]

Do people really refuse to play a card because of what an artist painted on it or how their political views lean?

I know a few players who do. I guess it comes down to who you are in perspective. If i were a trans person or in transition, i wouldn't want to touch Nielsen cards either.
Overall, i'm a tech driven player. I don't exclude white bordered Strip Mines, old wordings or artworks by nutjobs, but when there are alternate printings, i like my cards to be black bordered, with errata and without a bad gut feeling.

What I'm saying is, cards do what they say they do, irregardless of some art painted on it. I look for the cheapest USD version, preferable to most recent oracle text but if the older and/or "unfavourable" art was cheaper, it'd take a real convincing to not just save the money. Then I'd worry about art or at least covering it up. Like, I don't own an invoke prejudice or certainly a deck that can support uuuu but if I did, it's nothing I couldn't obscure. The art doesn't give it it's rules text. I'm not gonna spend a premium on a version with different art if such a thing existed.

Worst case I suppose I'd just mock up a force of will with a blank art box in MSE and print that off at a FedEx to sleeve up. Luckily however, it seems the ALL version is more than the masters prints.

[onering]

Sunday, January 17th, 2021; Blackblade Reforged|ss2

I don't get the appeal of this. Everyone raves over it but it just makes a big dumb creature bigger. Doesn't even have trample. What's worse it's only discounted on a commander or other legend.

I think this card is a giant bust.

One single card gives you a voltron back up plan for any commander. It turns almost anything, shroud or commanders that can't attack excluded, into two shot kills and many commanders into one shot kills. Anything with native evasion becomes an immediate threat. Its not worth it at the highest powered metas, but everywhere else the opportunity cost is so low compared to what it gets you. Its not bonkers or broken, but it wins games.

[pokken]

I have come to associate Blackblade Reforged with Sisay, Weatherlight Captain and thus kind of loathe it. It's just a big dumb beat stick that's often associated with Lands strategies as well, and being honest I'm a little tired of seeing everyone with a lands deck now =P

If i never see someone tutor this up with Sisay then start searching for bombs over and over again and needing to be spot removed the entire rest of the game I would be fine with that.

[Toshi]

What I'm saying is, cards do what they say they do, irregardless of some art painted on it.

Look, i think there's no point in going in circles here.

You clearly have a concept of the problems players might have, but seem to have your own perspective - which is completely fine.
But people of color (McNeill), that are nonbinary (Nielsen) or might've experienced sexual harrassment or abuse (Bradley) might not be able to look past included artwork as lightly as you and i. Sitting down in a social format like commander, i want to be as inclusive and respective of others, so i'm swapping or excluding card not only for my own sake but that of others that might appreciate me not flooding my visible board with cards that might offend them in one way or another.

On top of one's sentiment about these serious topics there's still the question of proxies/alters/alter sleeves to be had. Again, i like my decks without any of those three, so alternative artwork is my way to go.

I'll leave it at that.

ps. Blackblade Reforged is amazing in my Traxos, Scourge of Kroog deck. I wouldn't run it outside of evasive decks though.

[Ruiner]

Blackblade Reforged is a pretty much automatic consideration for me in any deck where I think there is a decent chance I'm could be trying to win with commander damage (whether as a primary goal or a seconardy goal). Taking a commander from needing three or four swings to one or two to kill an opponent can be absolutely crucial.

Voltron decks like Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest and Zurgo Helmsmasher can be very enhanced by having this in play.

Even for decks that are not dedicated voltron strategy, it can be totally worth the inclusion. Bruna, the Fading Light can suddenly become a massive threat when the blackblade gets equipped to her making her have a 12+ power on a flying body pretty commonly and shifting her from needing five swings on an opponent to only needing two (the deck doesn't need to win by commander damage necessarily but it is totally a way I have killed opponents).

If my commander is not generally "combat viable" or is usually going for some sort of combo win I won't usually consider it, but otherwise it can lead to some very solid wins.

[3drinks]

Idk......I'd rather just grab a SoFaI any time I'm tutouring an equip. Not a single time did I ever wish for plain size, not even for Strata Scythe in mono decks like Godo, Thrun, or Goreclaw. Maybe I'm just made different.

Well it's clear I'm made different lol

[pokken]

I have basically zero use for anything that all it does is pump a creature, unless it's *insanely* cheap. Ethereal Armor I'll play but not Ancestral Mask.

Sure, sometimes it's a great play I guess, but man it's boring

[umtiger]

Idk......I'd rather just grab a SoFaI any time I'm tutouring an equip. Not a single time did I ever wish for plain size, not even for Strata Scythe in mono decks like Godo, Thrun, or Goreclaw. Maybe I'm just made different.

Well it's clear I'm made different lol

But Blackblade Reforged is a faster, more consistent clock than Strata Scythe.

[3drinks]

Idk......I'd rather just grab a SoFaI any time I'm tutouring an equip. Not a single time did I ever wish for plain size, not even for Strata Scythe in mono decks like Godo, Thrun, or Goreclaw. Maybe I'm just made different.

Well it's clear I'm made different lol

But Blackblade Reforged is a faster, more consistent clock than Strata Scythe.

I see your sword and i raise you a Tyrant's Scorn. That about sums up the likelihood of me playing this card.

Nicol Bolas warned against it. I for one trust our dragon-god overlord.

[Serenade]

My buddy uses it in Kethis. Lots of lifelink, evasion, and vigilance in that deck, so I do not like seeing his BBR.

EDIT: And this is $1. SoFaI is at least $40.

[folding_music]

would play if my deck had Cephalid Constable or Rupture or stuff like that? Otherwise I prefer equipment that adds abilities or tricky keywords

[umtiger]

Idk......I'd rather just grab a SoFaI any time I'm tutouring an equip. Not a single time did I ever wish for plain size, not even for Strata Scythe in mono decks like Godo, Thrun, or Goreclaw. Maybe I'm just made different.

Well it's clear I'm made different lol

But Blackblade Reforged is a faster, more consistent clock than Strata Scythe.

I see your sword and i raise you a Tyrant's Scorn. That about sums up the likelihood of me playing this card.

Nicol Bolas warned against it. I for one trust our dragon-god overlord.

Well, yeah...you don't play the card. But many people do play the card. And that's okay. It's a two turn clock in a lot of games that happen in real life.

I'm sure many players scoff at Sword of Fire and Ice. I personally find feast and famine a much more worthwhile payoff for spending 5 mana at sorcery speed. You wouldn't catch me wasting a slot on Fire and Ice unless it was a dedicated equipment package.

[Mookie]

Blackblade Reforged is a quite solid backup plan for any commander with evasion. It doesn't grant any keywords or interesting abilities... but it does grant a giant pile of stats for a pretty cheap cost. I run it in Thada Adel, Acquisitor - with it and Strata Scythe, getting a commander damage kill becomes pretty feasible despite Thada only having two base power. In terms of pure stats per mana, I can't think of many cards capable of outperforming this.

....that said, if I weren't just planning to kill via (commander) damage, I'd want another multiplier before I'm interested in running an equipment for raw stats. Lifelink and double strike both make a good pair with stats, but I might also be willing to run it if I was a dedicated ramp deck (and expected it to be giving even more stats) or if I have a bunch of alternative legends to equip it to.

[Dunharrow]

I have never run it, and really don't think I would outside something like Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin where power matters.

Someone mentioned Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest and I disagree with playing here. Shu Yun equipment priorities, in my deck, are:
- Hexproof (boots usually)
- Swords (amazing with double strike)
- Sunforger (huge toolbox of targets)

These equipments all help protect my creatures. Blackblade Reforged doesn't protect anything.

In my deck, I am less concerned about racing to one-shot people and more concerned about getting in for an attack, untapping my mana, and holding up interaction.

[Myllior]

It's a pity I missed Kefnet the Mindful a few days ago, since I run a voltron deck with him at the helm, but it does run Blackblade Reforged.

Like others have said, it's a powerful beat-stick, but the lack of utility does make it run lower down the totem pole. I run a 12-piece (well, 13, but Dowsing Dagger // Lost Vale doesn't really count) equipment package, which includes damage doublers, straight stat buffs (including Strata Scythe) and pieces that provide protection, utility and/or stat buffs simultaneously (including SoFaI). While adding one of the straight stat buff pieces on top of other pieces is very potent, they provide much less on their own, becoming dependent on favourable block situations (I.e. an opponent being unable to block) when used in isolation.

I do think it's worth having at least one straight stat buff in your voltron toolbox, for when you simply have to annihilate someone in one attack, for which the Blackblade is generally the best available to my knowledge, but it's rarely my desired tutor target when searching for equipment.

Oh, and I do run it in Sisay, Weatherlight Captain. That plus Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and an opponent's Stuffy Doll set on another opponent let me him someone for 68. So that was fun and definitely not how the deck tries to run.

[toctheyounger]

I run it in Bruna, the Fading Light, where I can reliably have get a pretty good swathe on lands in play. While the deck performs quite well, mono white does take a long time to actually close out a game and notch up that W. So I added this in the interest of expediting matters and saving everyone a ton of time. Its been pretty decent so far, and does everything I need it to - given that mono whites predominant win condition is combat, it makes things a little quicker, and works well for a tribe that natively have evasion. As well as that I guess it makes blocking more favourable - it fits Bruna well purely for the keywords she has in flying and vigilance.

[Ruiner]

Someone mentioned Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest and I disagree with playing here. Shu Yun equipment priorities, in my deck, are:
- Hexproof (boots usually)
- Swords (amazing with double strike)
- Sunforger (huge toolbox of targets)

These equipments all help protect my creatures. Blackblade Reforged doesn't protect anything.

In my deck, I am less concerned about racing to one-shot people and more concerned about getting in for an attack, untapping my mana, and holding up interaction.

Personally I've found that freeing up space for this one equipment (well, this and Runechanter's Pike) to dramatically increase the one-shot potential is worth it. I lean a bit more all in on Shu Yun as the primary win-con though, which admittedly may not be the top notch way to run him but I enjoy it. If I was using Shu Yun as more of a support piece for other creatures in my deck I could totally see that opposite idea though.

Hexproof is definitely priority number 1 though, totally agree on that.

[lyonhaert]

Sunday, January 17th, 2021; Blackblade Reforged|ss2

Sure, it's not an optimal equipment if you're considering the entire gamut. Probably just fine in a casual/battlecruiser meta. Mostly I made sure to get one of this specific printing because I'm a fan of RKF's art.

[toctheyounger]

I think its also worth considering what your goals are with equipment when putting this card in context, too. Comparing Blackblade Reforged and Sword of Fire and Ice is not quite, but fairly close to apples and oranges. When I equip reforged, I'm doing it because I want to end the game (ie I don't feel like swinging a dozen turns in a row while I maintain the board state the way I want it). SOFAI is much more of a control piece if anything. I think if you're comparing it to Sword of Feast and Famine it's probably a more fair comparison (and clearly the SOFAF trumps this), purely because everyone in this format is cognizant of what free mana can to do push you ahead of the table and closer to a win - frankly it scales significantly better than any of the rest of cycle, to the point where the rest of them are middling, incremental advantage and Feast/Famine is just stupendously advantageous.

Long story short, this fits a specific purpose for me, to speed up the clock and make the best use of the window of control I've made for myself. I can put the pinch on people, but I can't do it indefinitely, and no one wants to sit around while i combat the table to death over turns going well into double figures, so this just makes things easier on me and everyone else. I can imagine it being used in 'beef matters' scenarios, too, like say, maximising the use of Brion Stoutarm or Altar of Dementia just off the top of my head (I'm sure there's probably more). In those scenarios, again, a sword of X and Y doesn't do what this does. That is fairly narrow, granted, and its not a stunningly exciting card, but it does that one thing quite well.

Clearly you don't run it in a deck you don't already have native evasion in, too.

[materpillar]

I don't get the appeal of this. Everyone raves over it but it just makes a big dumb creature bigger. Doesn't even have trample. What's worse it's only discounted on a commander or other legend.

I think this card is a giant bust.

If my goal is to kill someone with Tivadar of Thorn that goal will be more efficiently managed with this than any +2/+2 sword of whatever and whatever.

[maeos]

I have basically zero use for anything that all it does is pump a creature, unless it's *insanely* cheap. Ethereal Armor I'll play but not Ancestral Mask.

Sure, sometimes it's a great play I guess, but man it's boring

Ancestral mask also counts your opponent's enchantments too. So if you know your playgroup has a decent amount of enchantments (one my friends play a rb group slug deck which has tons of enchantments) having ancestral mask can be really strong. ive had it come into play with only one other enchantment on my side of the field, but my friend had 5 on his so i was able to kill other people with commander damage before i turned to kill him. I use it in sigarda who naturally has evasion and protection so cards like eth armor, while cheap in mana dont really add much else outside of the pt buff

[3drinks]

Monday, January 18th, 2021; Krark, the Thumbless

Forever meme, or actually good?

[materpillar]

Forever meme, or actually good?

My only experience with this card is having someone shuffle up with it and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces and seeing my general is Tivadar of Thorn before rage switching decks.

I imagine this card rapidly wears out its welcome by taking forever to actually finish a turn with all the coin flipping and triggers to resolve. Flavor is on point, but I doubt I'll play it much until I see evidence that that isn't the case.