[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[3drinks]

I have never seen this card before. Looks pretty cool. Though I don't know where I would put it. Only cheating one spell per turn due to tapping is quite fair, which makes it more interesting, but still chews through life quite quickly. You need to cast something 6+ CMC just to get any mana advantage out of this 5 drop. How does this work with commanders, do you still pay the commander tax? Either way, sounds cool for some high MV commanders for cheating on the cost. The Ur-Dragon casual deck, that doesn't mind a small selection of non-dragons, would like to get it's commander in play for .

If you're cheating commanders, then you want Geode Golem or Hellkite Courser.

Redundancy is good in commander I'm told. But yes, those cards are better. Though Geode Golem has many of the same troubles, and required combat damage to trigger.

Just play geode golem early off a Mishra's Workshop easy /s

[hyalopterouslemur]

Man, another Channel variant? This one is obviously useful for things like Blightsteel Colossus and OG Eldrazi, but beyond that? Not sure.

[3drinks]

Man, another Channel variant? This one is obviously useful for things like Blightsteel Colossus and OG Eldrazi, but beyond that? Not sure.

They should probably stop with these effects tbh. Even the new demon that gives you a Channel for grave-casted spells is a bit too much. I'm sick of it.

[onering]

This seems good for exactly one thing: telegraphing that you plan on sinking 35 life into a Torment of Hailfire so the blue player can hold up a counter spell for it.

I'm pretty sure that doesn't even work, when you're paying an alternate cost instead of the mana cost of an X spell, the X is always zero.

I'm sure there's some deck that packs both this and Omnispell Adept and uses them both to cheat out Enter the Infinite for an "easy" win. Maybe with stuff like Sneak Attack and Shallow Grave that can let you get them out more quickly with haste. Overall though, it seems clunky and ineffective. It's enticing to think about getting a spell for free, but at 5 mana and requiring another 1B, T to get the activation, it's just not going to cut it.

Yeah, then it just sucks then. It's probably a penny rare online so I might end up grabbing it for my suicide black Cao Ren, Wei Commander meme deck. It's kinda crap but fun to play every once in awhile.

[Igzex]

I'm pretty sure it can put in work with good support and even better luck...But, like, I'm sorry but I can't really count 7 mana + protection/haste expenses as cheating something into play.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, February 1st, 2022; Spellbinder

This was one of my first rares from MRD block, I was so excited, I remember trying to force Lightning Bolt|2ed, Boomerang|leg, Stone Rain|2ed and Terror|2ed onto it for the sawft lock/extra clock but it never worked out and it was always so much to play and equip. Nowadays I look at it and am surprised it's not a bulk rare. Who is jamming this hard enough to make it into at least a fringe deck?

I guess these days we'd just put a Demonic Tutor|2ed or Burnt Offering onto it, huh?

[Serenade]

This is instants only, though.

That's a win-more level of mana for an equipment.

EDIT: ….do people play it with Savage Beating?

[Toshi]

Nexus of Fate is a card, i guess.

[3drinks]

This is instants only, though.

That's a win-more level of mana for an equipment.

EDIT: ….do people play it with Savage Beating?

...when TF did savage beating become $30? My god Bolas that was legitimately bulk for over a decade.

[Serenade]

https://www.mtgstocks.com/news/1688-wee ... -2021---37

AH, there it is.

[wildfire393]

Spellbinder + Savage Beating was the classic combo - the cards even came out in the same set.

Being restricted to instants means that this can't hit the majority of extra combat or time magic cards, besides the aformentioned Savage Beating and Nexus of Fate. Also I think Response // Resurgence might work? One of the sides is an instant so it qualifies for being exiled to it, and the updated wording on the damage trigger is "Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, you may copy the exiled card. If you do, you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost."

For other uses, you can stick some big draw spells or a couple of reanimation spells on it for some effect, but costing 3 to play and 4 to equip plus requiring a body to wield it into the red zone to get the trigger means it's tough to get an actual discount on something, and you need to connect multiple times for it to be better than just casting the original card.

It's more cute than good, but definitely one of those Mirrodin era cards that makes you go "Hmm".

[Hawk]

As the MTGStocks article that Serenade posted mentions, Savage Beating + Spellbinder was a classic kitchen table combo that migrated over to EDH. It had some play in it for a while but was generally outclassed by Aggravated Assault / Hellkite Charger + Sword of Feast and Famine /Nature's Will as far as infinite combats go, but for some reason Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge put the combo back on the map (even though he can run the aforementioned combo!) and caused the price of both pieces to spike.

Additionally, Savage Beating is one of the only instant-speed extra combat cards in MtG and sometimes just gets played without the "combo" in Boros and Gruul beatdown decks or for redundancy in Narset, Enlightened Master, Kalamax, the Stormsire, and Jeleva, Nephalia's Scourge.

As to Spellbinder, I suspect that the printing of Nexus of Fate helped and it is apparently also a popular card for Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale who can run "the combo" and also run various other powerful instants under it. I've never run it, and now I need to make sure my copy isn't in a junk box and is protected in a binder.

[Cyberium]

...when TF did savage beating become $30? My god Bolas that was legitimately bulk for over a decade.

It happens when Professor mentioned it on his channel a while back. Ironically, him as an advocate for cheaper MtG inevitably increase prices of cards when he talked about them.

[3drinks]

...when TF did savage beating become $30? My god Bolas that was legitimately bulk for over a decade.

It happens when Professor mentioned it on his channel a while back. Ironically, him as an advocate for cheaper MtG inevitably increase prices of cards when he talked about them.

Wish these content creators would just stop so cards don't arbitrarily spike like this 😐

[onering]

...when TF did savage beating become $30? My god Bolas that was legitimately bulk for over a decade.

It happens when Professor mentioned it on his channel a while back. Ironically, him as an advocate for cheaper MtG inevitably increase prices of cards when he talked about them.

Isn't that just inevitable though? People see it on Youtube and copy it without thinking for themselves. Even though its a worse alternative to another combo featuring better cards that Tov can already run, and has been out for almost 20 years, getting mentioned by a Youtuber spikes the price on both cards because people are lemmings.

/MagicBoomer rant

[hyalopterouslemur]

This is a card where either you're comboing out or it's pretty pointless, no in-between. I guess we can add Searing Wind to the list, for those who want to keep your friends.

[Igzex]

I assume Savage Beating rose to such a high price because Old Gnawbone got a bunch of people including myself to make Xenagos, god of revels decks. I mean, isn't the chance to say "I'm gonna give you a savage beating" worth any price? Hm I should save that for when the card actually comes up.

I honestly kind of adore how Spellbinder is designed. The card is so awkward to use that you don't actually want to use good instants and break it. You want to use big dumb instants you'd never find yourself leaving mana open for but at least do something that actually can be considered a payoff for this jank card.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022; Hurkyl's Recall|3ed

[Sinis]

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2022; Hurkyl's Recall

The more competitive the environment, the better this ends up being. Often, people target themselves with it using mana positive/neutral things for storm count.

[3drinks]

Reminds me this is modern legal and a terrific answer to Hammer Time....I should get pick this up for Yorion.

[Mookie]

Hurkyl's Recall is pretty niche, but can be backbreaking against the right deck. Bouncing a few mana rocks isn't particularly exciting... but if you're playing against a heavy artifact deck, this could be a two mana River's Rebuke. I definitely have a few decks (particularly Thada) that would cry when targeted by it. Alternatively: Mycosynth Lattice exists.

....still, blue does have a lot of more flexible options for bouncing stuff. It's very possible for your opponents to not have any artifacts worth bouncing. On the other hand, two mana is dirt cheap for the effect, so when it is good, it will look amazing.

In more competitive decks, it has some use in bouncing your own artifacts - if you have a bunch of free rocks, it could represent ramp. Even better with Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain if you have a bunch of free eggs to bounce.

[hyalopterouslemur]

There is of course the Mycosynth Lattice combo. I think that's like the sixteenth time I've said that.

[3drinks]

Thursday, February 3rd, 2022; Goldspan Dragon|khm

[BeneTleilax]

Good in Feather/Zada/Rionna

[vandertroll]

*Checks price* . If only it was 50% cheaper