[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Samwise the Stouthearted

User avatar
3drinks
Kaalia's Personal Liaison
Posts: 4832
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria

Post by 3drinks » 1 year ago

Friday, July 1st, 2022; Ravager Wurm


Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
WBRKaalia HQ

User avatar
Serenade
UnderKing
Posts: 1408
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Serenade » 1 year ago

I always wanted more from this guy. Just a bunch of cool Gruul abilities at an awful cost on a weird body.
Mirri, Cat Warrior counts as a Cat Warrior.

User avatar
Guardman
A Dog's Dream of Man
Posts: 1725
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: In a Turn-Based World

Post by Guardman » 1 year ago

Serenade wrote:
1 year ago
I always wanted more from this guy. Just a bunch of cool Gruul abilities at an awful cost on a weird body.
This sums up how I felt about 'em even in standard.

Though I will say on Arena, in Brawl, it is pretty good in my Neyith of the Dire Hunt deck. And probably good (or at least synergistic) in the EDH version as well. Can do a lot worse than paying six for a 5/6 that kills a creature and draws you a card when it enters the battlefield.

User avatar
Hawk
Slayer of Threads
Posts: 1166
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Post by Hawk » 1 year ago

This card is interesting on paper - it's almost a command on a stick? The problem is that like so many commands that aren't Cryptic Command and Austere Command, none of the modes are worth 6 mana and the flexibility isn't worth the card slot in most decks:

- A 4/5 Haste Fight is only a marginal upgrade to Somberwald Stag and Affectionate Indrik and much worse than Kogla, the Titan Ape
- A 5/6 Fight is much worse than Kogla, the Titan Ape
- A 4/5 Haste blow up a small subset of nonbasics is terrible...this could hit all nonbasics and probably still be terrible. This isn't meaningfully better enough than Acidic Slime, a card arguably power-creeped out these days.
- A 5/6 blow up a nonbasic is barely better.

It felt a bit questionable at printing, is what I'm saying, and the rapid printing of Thorn Mammoth and Kogla, the Titan Ape a year later totally sunk it. I can't imagine running it anywhere outside of Neyith of the Dire Hunt.

User avatar
Mookie
Posts: 3460
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 47
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: the æthereal plane

Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

As others have called out already, Ravager Wurm is a very flexible card... but also sort of clunky at six mana. Maybe if you're running a blink / flicker deck, but those usually aren't Gruul. The nonbasic hate isn't totally irrelevant, but not something I would be willing to pay six mana for either, given that both Terastodon and Acidic Slime exist.

Something I'll call out is that we are somewhat unlikely to get more ETB: fight creatures in green - WotC ramped it up in the 'green can do whatever it wants' phase a few years back, but they have since pulled back on this effect. Not that I understand why - isn't Nekrataal secretly a green card? (no) It looks like since Kogla, the Titan Ape, the only new one we've gotten is the extremely narrow Sawblade Slinger. I could maybe see us getting more of them someday in Golgari, but less clear if Gruul still has access.

User avatar
3drinks
Kaalia's Personal Liaison
Posts: 4832
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria

Post by 3drinks » 1 year ago

Saturday, July 2nd, 2022; Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty


Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
WBRKaalia HQ

User avatar
TheAmericanSpirit
Supreme Dumb Guy
Posts: 2194
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 1
Pronoun: he / him
Location: IGMCULSL Papal Palace

Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 1 year ago

Card is sweet. Makes me wanna build a deck around Mind's Desire for extra sweetness.

Too bad it's in simic, the 2nd lamest of all color combos after Sultai.
There's no biscuits and gravy in New Zealand.
(Except when DirkGently makes them!)

User avatar
Mookie
Posts: 3460
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 47
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: the æthereal plane

Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Cascaaaaade is one of my favorite mechanics, so I think Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty is pretty sweet. It does seem a little clunky though - you could, in theory, build an incredibly top-heavy deck that wants to cascade an 8-drop → 7-drop → 6-drop → whatever, but it's hard to run that many expensive spells in your deck. Additionally, Imoti faces competition from both all the other Simic value commanders and the very powerful Maelstrom Wanderer and Yidris, Maelstrom Wielder, which open up additional shenanigans. As a result, I don't think I've ever actually seen Imoti in action.

...I do hope we get more cascade support though - I've been brewing an Averna, the Chaos Bloom deck for a while, but there aren't quite enough cascade cards total to entirely fill it out yet. Maybe someday.... (although given how long the turns take to resolve, maybe it's for the best)

Wallycaine
Posts: 764
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Wallycaine » 1 year ago

Mookie wrote:
1 year ago
Something I'll call out is that we are somewhat unlikely to get more ETB: fight creatures in green - WotC ramped it up in the 'green can do whatever it wants' phase a few years back, but they have since pulled back on this effect. Not that I understand why - isn't Nekrataal secretly a green card? (no) It looks like since Kogla, the Titan Ape, the only new one we've gotten is the extremely narrow Sawblade Slinger. I could maybe see us getting more of them someday in Golgari, but less clear if Gruul still has access.
At a guess, Gruul likely can still access the effect as basically a worse subset of Flametongue Kavu effects. But yes, that would have been a much more interesting card if stuff like Kogla, the Titan Ape had never been printed.

Anyways, Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty is neat, tends not to be a high powered commander but can be interesting in the 99 of a cascade deck. One interesting thing to note is that, unlike a lot of mechanic granting legends, Cascade stacks, so cloning Imoti can be an amusing way to head to value town.

User avatar
hyalopterouslemur
Posts: 3218
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by hyalopterouslemur » 1 year ago

6 or greater is interesting. This means that my Frost Titan can cascade into something worth 5 mana, but it also means that you can cheat a bit with evoke, which is quickly becoming my fave for how many ways you can break it. (Mikaeus, the Unhallowed, Wild Pair, and this all come to mind. It also triggers revolt and morbid, and all the usual entry/death triggers.)

So, say you play, I don't know, Aethersnipe. You only paid three mana, but the mana value is 6, so it triggers. And you grab the next spell with mana value 6 or less.

Suspend works similarly, just suspend it and cast it later (provided it's castable; if it isn't, all you do is essentially blink your library). Also, Phyrexian mana and twobrids.

Of course, the "6 or greater" requirement also hurts it, since the reason Maelstrom Nexus is good is because with one 1-drop you can get Ancestral Recall, green Yawgmoth's Will, or Eureka. And a couple mana rocks which are less necessary when you have wubrg available. And you can even construct your deck this way, with no 0-drops other than, say, Hypergenesis.
Thanks to Feyd_Ruin for the avatar!

User avatar
3drinks
Kaalia's Personal Liaison
Posts: 4832
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria

Post by 3drinks » 1 year ago

hyalopterouslemur wrote:
1 year ago
Suspend works similarly, just suspend it and cast it later (provided it's castable; if it isn't, all you do is essentially blink your library). Also, Phyrexian mana and twobrids.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get this to cascade off of Curse of the Cabal.

Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
WBRKaalia HQ

User avatar
TheAmericanSpirit
Supreme Dumb Guy
Posts: 2194
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 1
Pronoun: he / him
Location: IGMCULSL Papal Palace

Post by TheAmericanSpirit » 1 year ago

3drinks wrote:
1 year ago
hyalopterouslemur wrote:
1 year ago
Suspend works similarly, just suspend it and cast it later (provided it's castable; if it isn't, all you do is essentially blink your library). Also, Phyrexian mana and twobrids.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get this to cascade off of Curse of the Cabal.
Screw that! Cascade a freaking Greater Gargadon! Now we're pod racing!
There's no biscuits and gravy in New Zealand.
(Except when DirkGently makes them!)

User avatar
Gentle Giant
It's all jank, always has been
Posts: 114
Joined: 1 year ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Gentle Giant » 1 year ago

Love Imoti, Celebrant of Bounty as a commander and in the 99, makes for interesting choices in deckbuilding. Cascade in general is just such a fun mechanic with a lot of angles and just the right amount of randomness. Makes my Averna deck churn out double the mayhem!
Remember: not everyone is intent on 'growing as a player', analysing their meta and adapting to it, etc. For some people, Magic is just another board game.

Decklists:
A boy and his dog: an adventure (Rograkh & Yoshimaru) | Storytelling, Jank, Cute
Averna, Roulette Croupier: Cascade Chaos | Cascade, Chaos, Group Choices
The Ur-Dragon Tribal Tribal | Randomized Batches, Diverse, Quirky
Zirda, Patron Goddess of Trash Artisanry | Trash for Treasure, Artifact Aristocrats, low-powered

User avatar
3drinks
Kaalia's Personal Liaison
Posts: 4832
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria

Post by 3drinks » 1 year ago

Sunday, July 3rd, 2022; Dark Confidant|rav



A pretty great card in commander and everywhere else. A good indicator of the level of optimization to which your opponent has built to.

Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
WBRKaalia HQ


User avatar
Serenade
UnderKing
Posts: 1408
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Serenade » 1 year ago

Not any cost for me. Reprint it down to $5, and then I'll think about getting one.

It's a goodstuff wizard that you could slam into almost any black deck. Feels uncreative these days.
Mirri, Cat Warrior counts as a Cat Warrior.

User avatar
TheGildedGoose
HONK HONK
Posts: 1473
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: any/all
Contact:

Post by TheGildedGoose » 1 year ago

Serenade wrote:
1 year ago
It's a goodstuff wizard that you could slam into almost any black deck. Feels uncreative these days.
It's not great in most decks. An efficient body is an excellent card advantage machine in 60 card formats, but in EDH it's less impressive. I slapped it into my Noble Shadowheart list only because a) it's a 2 drop and b) my curve is super low. Even if we ignore the obvious problems with it in a battlecruiser deck, the typical black-based midrange pile you expect to find in your average FLGS meta probably shouldn't run it, even with a modest curve. Being tied to a body is too much of a liability. In cEDH, on the other hand, with its pronounced lack of board wipes, Bob is great.

User avatar
Mookie
Posts: 3460
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 47
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: the æthereal plane

Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Greatness, at any cost - still some of my favorite flavor text in the entire game.

Dark Confidant provides a powerful effect at a potentially lethal cost - drawing an extra card every turn is very good, especially from a 2-drop, but the life loss can really add up if your curve is high. As a result, it tends to be better in decks with lower curves, decks with topdeck manipulation... or decks that simply don't care about the life loss because they expect the game to end before it matters. All of this generally points to more competitive decks. As a result, I would be hesitant to include it in most of my own (relatively casual) decks, but I could definitely see it being good in a cEDH setting.

....more broadly, black has a lot of options for card draw in EDH, from Phyrexian Arena to Night's Whisper. Dark Confidant may be the most efficient / effective (assuming you land it on turn 2), but there are also plenty of options that cost less life or are generally more predictable, while also being less vulnerable to removal. I would be less excited about it in metas that are heavy on board wipes, where you may only draw 1-2 cards off it.

onering
Posts: 1226
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 1
Pronoun: Unlisted

Post by onering » 1 year ago

Dark Confidant is great in EDH, just not in every deck. Library manipulation exists though and if your deck has enough it ends up being the cheapest and least costly version of this effect. It's also just generally good in decks with lower curves, where the life loss won't be much higher than phyrexian arena and costing 1 less will matter more. I'd argue that the effect of one extra card per turn is weaker here than most formats, and you generally want more cards right away, but it has its place.

User avatar
Igzex
Posts: 405
Joined: 2 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by Igzex » 1 year ago

Generally, the better your deck is the better this card is, Also wow he's currently cheaper than an Ancient Copper Dragon that's kinda amazing.

User avatar
3drinks
Kaalia's Personal Liaison
Posts: 4832
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Ruined City of Drannith, Ikoria

Post by 3drinks » 1 year ago

Monday, July 4th, 2022; Emergence Zone


Modern
R{R/W} 87guide Burn
Commander
WRKellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
RTorbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
WBRAlesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
WBRKaalia HQ

User avatar
EonAon
Posts: 274
Joined: 3 years ago
Pronoun: he / him

Post by EonAon » 1 year ago

such a ugh card. even in commander locking out 2 mana sources just to flash in a spell seems so bad.

Legend
Aethernaut
Posts: 1639
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Eternity

Post by Legend » 1 year ago

3drinks wrote:
1 year ago
Monday, July 4th, 2022; Emergence Zone
It was cute in Limited where I forced it just for the lulz, as I was wont to do. War of the Spark was an odd place for an effect fitting for a core set. I remember wishing it would enable you to activate a PW ability upon it entering the battlefield, were it played through the "zone".
“Comboing in Commander is like dunking on a seven foot hoop.” – Dana Roach

“Making a deck that other people want to play against – that’s Commander.” – Gavin Duggan

"I want my brain to win games, not my cards." – Sheldon Menery

User avatar
materpillar
the caterpillar
Posts: 1299
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: Unlisted
Location: Ohio

Post by materpillar » 1 year ago

Sometimes you're holding Wrath of God and really really need it to be a Rout.

This card gets better the more unfair / combo / draw-go you're trying to be. Flashing out a combo piece end of turn so you can untap and win is definitely worth a land-slot. In battlecruiser it gives you're giant beat stick (like those new big dragons) pseudo-haste.

It's not a fantastic land. But I definitely don't fault anyone for running it if they have a specific reason.

User avatar
Dunharrow
Posts: 1821
Joined: 4 years ago
Pronoun: he / him
Location: Montreal

Post by Dunharrow » 1 year ago

I believe I have it in Maelstrom Wanderer. Seedborn Muse and things that return my general to my hand pair very well with flash enablers to get extra cascades on my opponents' turns.

The dream is to respond to a big spell/winning spell by returning MW to hand, cast with flash, cascading into a Spelljack or Cryptic Command or another counterspell to counter my opponent's spell.
The New World fell not to a sword but to a meme

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic

Return to “Commander”