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

[benjameenbear]

I acquired two copies of it and I rotate them between my various cEDH decks. It's massively unfair against non-cEDH decks though. Watching myself accelerate far ahead of my opponents by T2 (if it's in my opener) is a fast way to win... BUT it also gets me all the attention. And not in a good way.

Huh, maybe this is why games have felt so Archenemy recently...

[DirkGently]

I really don't think mana crypt is "massively unfair against non-cEDH decks". Everyone has sol ring, and the difference between a deck with and one without, while potentially noticeable, isn't "massively unfair". It's only amazing early, and even then it depends on what you're doing with it.

The issue is how you're actually planning to win - if your deck is winning with consult oracle against casual decks, sometimes winning a turn or two earlier from mana crypt is not the problem, and removing crypt isn't going to make the matchup any less broken.

[RedCheese]

Should be included in every precon deck to destroy its price >.>

[Igzex]

Imagine if they handled reprinting Sol Ring the same way as mana crypt...

[DirkGently]

Imagine if they handled reprinting Sol Ring the same way as mana crypt...

It would cost exactly the same as mana crypt?

Actually they'd probably both be banned.

[3drinks]

Sunday, May 15th, 2022; Decoy Gambit

[Serenade]

Having opponent choose is always bad.

[TheGildedGoose]

Having opponent choose is always bad.

EOTFOFYL

[hyalopterouslemur]

Having opponent choose is always bad.

EOTFOFYL

To say nothing of repeated choices (Torment of Hailfire, Grave Pact, etc.)

Letting an opponent choose the best of bad outcomes isn't always a bad thing, but the way this card is written, the way the EDH meta works, how often will bouncing be a bad thing? The reason Cyclonic Rift is good is because it leaves everyone wide open for the rest of your turn, gets around shroud/hexproof/protection, and they're probably discarding a few of those things. (And it straight up kills all tokens, without death triggers.)

Its one saving grace is that you get to choose which creature gets bounced.

[onering]

Utterly terrible.

[Serenade]

Almost every Commander set there is a goofy U combat trick card. Mass Diminish! Domineering Will! Illusionist's Gambit! Was always disappointed we got this card for C20.

[DirkGently]

There's nothing inherently wrong with opponent choice, but this card just sucks on rate. Best case scenario in 4p, you have a 3 mana draw 3. Which is fine, but it's not amazing and it requires a setup where each opponent has a creature they don't want bounced. If anyone doesn't, this card immediately sucks,

Easy fix: replace opponent with player. Then you can save your own creature or potentially draw 4. Now there's a real payoff and the card is pretty good.

[Ardaingeal]

I'm currently testing it in a Hinata deck. So far at a blue mana for conditional draw and bounce it's not bad. I've never got straight three bounce or draw 3 yet.

[RxPhantom]

Seems mildly okay if you're playing on a budget. I'm also reminded that Keep Watch exists, and is awesome.

[Mookie]

Somewhat interesting to contrast Decoy Gambit with Mystic Confluence - two extra mana, but you make the choices instead of your opponents (plus the extra countermagic mode).

As for Decoy Gambit itself... yeah, I'm generally hesitant to run punisher cards. I've cast Manifold Insights enough times to know I don't like giving my opponents control over my card draw - I'd prefer to run Thirst for Discovery or a similar card instead. The fact that you miss out on an entire card / bounce if one of your opponents has no creatures is also a thing.

[3drinks]

The fact that you miss out on an entire card / bounce if one of your opponents has no creatures is also a thing.

I'm not sure this is how that works with that wording. "Up to one". If they don't have a creature to elect to bounce, then you get the draw, no?

[Mookie]

The fact that you miss out on an entire card / bounce if one of your opponents has no creatures is also a thing.

I'm not sure this is how that works with that wording. "Up to one". If they don't have a creature to elect to bounce, then you get the draw, no?

From the rulings:

For each opponent, if you didn't choose a target creature they control or if that creature has become an illegal target, that player can't choose for you to draw a card.

So no, you won't draw cards from an empty board.

[3drinks]

Well I guess that answers that.

[3drinks]

Monday, May 16th, 2022; Grand Warlord Radha

[Dunharrow]

The annoying thing with this commander is that you basically have to kill on site because of the many combos it enables. Hellkite Charger and ilk are probably the issue. If someone sat down with Radha and told me they didn't play any of these infinite attack combos I would be more inclined to let it live.

[Mookie]

Grand Warlord Radha is a card I have somewhat mixed feelings about. As commanders go, it feels... a bit bland? 'Go wide and attack with a bunch of creatures' is a fine direction, but not something that gives much direction, and the payoff - mana - is also pretty generic and doesn't directly contribute to the aggressive gameplan. If Radha had an activated ability for an Overrun or something, I'd be much more interested - it would be much easier to go all-in on the go-wide strategy. However, as it is, Radha dovetails a go-wide strategy into a payoff of ramp, which feels a bit odd.

Obviously, Aggravated Assault works as a combo finisher... but beyond that, running a bunch of expensive ramp payoffs isn't necessarily something you want to do in your low-to-the-ground aggro deck. As a result, your payoff may just be to dump your hand faster... but if you're looking for a tempo boost, I would prefer a haste enabler like Xenagos, God of Revels, Samut, Voice of Dissent, or Halana and Alena, Partners in the command zone.

[Dragoon]

Grand Warlord Radha is a card I have somewhat mixed feelings about. As commanders go, it feels... a bit bland? 'Go wide and attack with a bunch of creatures' is a fine direction, but not something that gives much direction, and the payoff - mana - is also pretty generic and doesn't directly contribute to the aggressive gameplan. If Radha had an activated ability for an Overrun or something, I'd be much more interested - it would be much easier to go all-in on the go-wide strategy. However, as it is, Radha dovetails a go-wide strategy into a payoff of ramp, which feels a bit odd.

Obviously, Aggravated Assault works as a combo finisher... but beyond that, running a bunch of expensive ramp payoffs isn't necessarily something you want to do in your low-to-the-ground aggro deck. As a result, your payoff may just be to dump your hand faster... but if you're looking for a tempo boost, I would prefer a haste enabler like Xenagos, God of Revels, Samut, Voice of Dissent, or Halana and Alena, Partners in the command zone.

What about mana sinks that can create tokens like Hydra Broodmaster, Ant Queen or Retrofitter Foundry?

[folding_music]

the three Radhas might be my fave Gruul commanders. I'd wanna play this version with the Kamigawa snake-y folk who care about mana, the new Tanuki etc. I wouldn't thnk of taking infinite attack phases until I'd tested the deck and taken all the fun cards out =P

[illakunsaa]

Radha is like a fair gruul derevi.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, May 17th, 2022; Bog Witch