Teysa: Sacrificing Tokens for Fun and Profit

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Another not-new card that has been put on my radar again is Lurrus of the Dream-Den - as a general rule, if a card is worth banning in one format, it is probably worth consideration in other formats. Obviously, this deck isn't capable of running Lurrus as a companion, but it is interesting to contemplate it as part of the 99. The most interesting cards to recur with Lurrus are probably miscellaneous recursion effects that can trade up in value, such as Animate Dead and Priest of Fell Rites. Recurring miscellaneous small creatures or destroyed permanents could also be good - sac outlets like Altar of Dementia tend to be removal magnets, and recurring an expendable creature like every turn to sacrifice could also be good.

I suspect if I were to want to run Lurrus, I would also want to swap in another card or two to take advantage of it. I wouldn't necessarily want to go full Mishra's Bauble mode - it isn't good enough to make the cut without Lurrus, and definitely not worth tutoring for - but swapping a mana rock for Wayfarer's Bauble or adding Nihil Spellbomb could definitely work. Lurrus is also another legend for the broader legendary theme I've considered in the past, supported by stuff like Primevals' Glorious Rebirth / Thalia's Lancers / Search for Glory.

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Post by Arebennian » 2 years ago

Just wanted to say that I love your thorough analysis of the cards upon every release. I always look in here to see what you think.

I'm porting over my Teysa deck from a Shadowborn Apostle deck to a more 'standard' build and was looking into Luminous Broodmoth effects. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed is out as there are too many humans, and so I looked at your card analysis for AFR and Death Tyrant...

But it wasn't there!

Overlooked? Or as you're not running Broodmoth, why run something arguably inferior. I figured with a sacrifice outlet on the field it's a pretty nice way to convert your white tokens (that aren't sacrificed to Teysa) into black ones again. And those tokens can then themselves be turned into tokens too.

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

@Arebennian - glad to hear you enjoy my reviews! This isn't a super high-volume thread, but always happy to hear people appreciate my thoughts. (I was a lurker for years before I started posting, so I'll give a shout to all the other lurkers <3)

Yeah, rereading Death Tyrant, it definitely seems worth discussing. My instinct is that it is too slow - you only get tokens for attacking creatures, which means they need to survive a full turn cycle before you can cash them in (this also means it doesn't work as a combo piece). On the other hand, I am a big fan of self-recursive cards, and not being limited to nontoken creatures is quite nice. I wouldn't expect the blocking creature text to come up that often, but nice when it does. Overall, I don't think it makes the cut compared to easier-to-use stuff like Blight Mound / Pawn of Ulamog / Open the Graves, but if you have one lying around (such as because you got the precon) and wanted to test it out, then I would say to go for it.

As a side note, I actually would be running Luminous Broodmoth if not for budget considerations - I usually try to stick to under $2/card. Otherwise, definitely a snap-include in this deck - it's a powerful engine and this deck doesn't have many flyers, which makes it even better than usual. Nightmare Shepherd is a similar effect worth consideration, although exiling your creatures is a pretty significant cost.

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Post by Arebennian » 2 years ago

Ok. Looks like this might be a theme for a few weeks: popping in to get your opinion on an unreviewed card.

combat calligrapher

Seems a bit like Adeline, Resplendent Cathar with both upside and downside.

I've not really piloted the deck since swapping from Shadowborn Apostles. What is the likelihood of attacking 3 individual players with chaff in order to trigger the calligrapher?

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Post by Mookie » 2 years ago

Ha, that one I actually did review. Or comment on, at least:
Mookie wrote:
3 years ago
Combat Calligrapher can generate a lot of black and white tokens if you're able to attack your opponents freely.
That said, the review is pretty brief, so to elaborate... I think how good Combat Calligrapher will be depends a lot on the makeup of your deck and your expected boardstate. If you can consistently attack with 3+ creatures, it's going to look fantastic. It also self-enables - it has evasion (so it can often trigger itself) and even if the inklings die on attack, Teysa can turn them into spirits to attack with on future turns. Definitely a solid value engine in that situation. If you're looking for a more aggressive deck that wants to leverage a go-wide strategy to take opponents out with cards like Zulaport Cutthroat or Cathars' Crusade, I could definitely see including Combat Calligrapher based on how many bodies it can generate.

Personally, my own build tends to lean on combo as its win condition - in many games, if I control 3+ creatures, I'm not looking to generate more bodies - rather, I'm looking for a way to turn those creatures into card advantage. As a result, while I actually picked up a copy of Combat Calligrapher a while ago to test out, I haven't been able to find a slot for it yet.

Anyway... certainly a card worth considersation. Whether or not it is actually good for your deck is hard to say without testing and knowing what your goals are.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Streets of New Capenna spoilers out (at least for the main set), so time to review. As a three-color set focusing primarily on the shards, there unfortunately isn't a ton of support for enemy-colored pairs - the main pairings in limited are the shards and allied color pairs. That said, there are certainly some interesting new cards for this deck.

White
  • Elspeth Resplendent is mildly interesting for her (-3) ability - this deck has a lot of targets, and the base case of ramping out a land is something this deck doesn't have a lot of access to. Meanwhile, hitting a key combo piece and getting a free shield counter to protect it could be nice. That said, this deck doesn't get much value from the (+1), so a pass overall.
  • Halo Fountain is a token producer and draw engine, assuming you have enough tapped creatures. If you ever get up to 15+ creatures, it can even win the game outright. I think ww is a little steep to draw a card (especially given the conditionality), but I don't hate the ability to pay to make a token as a base case. The real issue is whether or not you can get tapped creatures consistently enough, which I suspect to be difficult for this deck - other than various flying tokens, this deck doesn't have many creatures that are good for attacking.
  • Sanctuary Warden is an evasive, hard-to-kill threat that generates tokens and card advantage... if you have the counters to fuel it. Very strong with Cathars' Crusade, if you're running it, but this deck doesn't really support it that well.
  • Extraction Specialist makes me want to amp up the number of 2-drops in the deck. Very strong if you're doing a Return to the Ranks build, but I don't think my current build has enough targets. Hmmmm....
  • Rabble Rousing, like Halo Fountain, is good if you have lots of creatures to turn sideways. If you can have your creatures stick around, it represents exponential growth, which is always worth looking at - at the base case, any creatures that do die in combat get replaced by tokens. And if you ever get 10+ creatures, it even gives you a free spell. Overall, I think it's a pass - five mana is a lot for this effect - but could be interesting for a more aggressive go-wide deck.
  • Depopulate is a fine board wipe.
  • Citizen's Crowbar is mildly interesting as a janky Reclamation Sage, but probably too clunky.
  • Patch Up is a more flexible Call of the Death-Dweller, but this deck doesn't have the 1-drops to support it.
  • Rumor Gatherer is a strong draw engine for go-wide strategies. Generating two creatures does require some effort, but it does work very well with Blessed Sanctuary.
Black
  • Angel of Suffering is an incredibly janky pillowfort card, but this deck certainly has uses for a well-stocked graveyard.
  • Body Launderer can provide a bunch of card selection via connive triggers, but the real draw is the death trigger, which can recur most of the creatures in this deck - most notably Karmic Guide. A strong combo piece.
  • Tenacious Underdog is an interesting Reassembling Skeleton variant. I would usually shy away from a recursion cost that high (four mana + 2 life is a lot), but the fact that it draws a card on death when blitzed makes it an interesting draw engine in the lategame. Probably a bit too clunky (especially given how much draw I'm already running), but seems fun.
  • Sanguine Spy is a sac outlet that fills the graveyard, and can act as a draw engine if your graveyard has enough stuff in it. It's pretty difficult to evaluate the '5+ mana value' clause without testing - I suspect it will be somewhat difficult to turn on, but at least it self-enables.
  • Cemetery Tampering is a repeatable mill engine that will eventually give you a free spell. Again, filling the graveyard with that much stuff seems somewhat difficult (and an invitation to get your graveyard exiled), but this could be good if you have enough graveyard synergies. This goes way down in value if you can't hit the 20-card threshold though.
  • Shakedown Heavy is mildly interesting as a janky, punisher-style Shadowmage Infiltrator.
  • Cut of the Profits is an incredibly efficient draw spell, assuming you have a 3+ power creature to sacrifice. Not sure if I want it for this deck - most of its expendable creatures are pretty small - but could be good.
  • Illicit Shipment is a double-Diabolic Tutor, if you have a 3+ power creature to sacrifice. Again, somewhat difficult to consistently have something that big to sacrifice, and five mana is pretty expensive for a tutor otherwise.
Colorless / Other Overall, I would say that Rumor Gatherer and Body Launderer are the cards I'm most excited about for this deck - a solid draw engine and a recursive combo piece. Beyond that, Tenacious Underdog is an interesting card to test, and I could see Patch Up and Extraction Specialist working in some aristocrats builds.

I'll have another post for the commander deck / set booster cards when they're fully revealed.

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Post by Arebennian » 1 year ago

Thanks again for the detailed review. Thoughts:

I think the Lurrus / Extraction specialist is really starting to make you consider MV2 or less for this deck a lot more as you have mentioned it a bit now.

Body Launderer and Junji in the preceding sets indicate a design space they are exploring a reasonable amount. Might get a similar effect for every second or so set for the near future.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Yeah, they've definitely been amping up the MV2 or less support - I'll call out Sigardian Savior, The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration, and Imperial Recovery Unit as some other support cards. Throw in Ranger of Eos / Ranger-Captain of Eos / Recruiter of the Guard to tutor up some cheap creatures, maybe plan on looping them with Charming Prince... definitely something worth exploring. The banning of Lurrus of the Dream-Den also brought it down to an actually reasonable price, which makes me more likely to pick one up.

Ultimately, I would say my concern with a MV2 package is less about the support and more about the quality of 2-drops being recurred - most engine cards are at least 3 mana. On the other hand, there are cheap haymakers like Stoneforge Mystic and Priest of Fell Rites. Hmmmm...

Re: Body Launderer / Junji, I see them as extensions of the already-available Karmic Guide / Reveillark loops already available. It is certainly interesting to see more of them though, particularly if you're looking to make those combos more consistent.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Alright, full New Capenna Commander spoilers out. As they've been doing in other recent supplemental sets, there are a lot of new abilities they're giving to white, particularly for mana production and card draw. that said, still plenty of interesting stuff in other colors too.

White
  • Aerial Extortionist is a repeatable piece of disruption that can also draw cards off opponents casting cards from exile / the command zone / etc. I've heard good things about Ghostly Pilferer, so I could see this being good. Not something that particularly synergizes with this deck though.
  • Smuggler's Share is a conditional draw engine / treasure producer. If it triggers once per turn, it's a Phyrexian Arena, which is a solid baseline.
  • Bennie Bracks, Zoologist is insane for this deck. Turning token production into card draw is obviously awesome, but the real kicker is that he'll often be heavily discounted from the convoke.
  • Tenuous Truce is another white draw engine. Two mana for a card each turn is pretty good, and it also has some diplomatic implications. This deck does have some cards that rely on attacking though (ex: Tymna the Weaver, Sword of the Animist), so constraining who you can attack may be a bit awkward at times. Its symmetry may be a bit awkward though - giving an opponent cards can certainly be bad.
  • Angelic Sleuth is yet another white draw engine, but not one this deck can really make use of.
  • Boss's Chauffer can represent a ton of tokens, and reminds me of Elenda, the Dusk Rose.
  • Grand Crescendo is a way to both protect your team and generate a bunch of tokens. Seems like a solid inclusion in any meta with lots of board wipes.
  • Master of Ceremonies looks quite solid - your opponents get to choose what you get, but all the options are pretty good. My default mental model is 'one of each', which is pretty solid, but the fact that it is an upkeep trigger means it may be a bit too slow.
  • Jailbreak is an incredibly efficient reanimation spell, with the downside of letting an opponent also recur something. Still, it has a lot of diplomatic implications, and it should be possible to just return something irrelevant.
Black
  • Body Count is a conditional but potentially explosive draw spell. I think that Liliana's Standard Bearer is better though, due to being a creature itself.
  • Dogged Detective is a recursive body that also lets you fill the graveyard.
  • Make an Example is a potent removal spell - at the baseline, you get to kill the scariest thing belonging to each opponent.
  • Writ of Return is mildly interesting as a repeatable reanimation effect, assuming you have a creature that can connect.
  • Xander's Pact is interesting. Assuming you pay the casualty cost, you're getting six cards for six mana, which is a solid deal. Definitely high-variance as to whether you'll steal something good though.
  • Lethal Scheme is an efficient piece of spot removal that also provides some card filtering.
Other
  • Life Insurance is fascinating. Orzhov doesn't exactly have a lot of options for mana production, so pretty much anything is worth looking at. It turns dying creatures (including your own) into treasure, which draws immediate comparisons to Black Market and Revel in Riches. On the flip side, you also lose life to it, which makes it awkward in recursion loops / combos, but it also has extort to gain back that life. It doesn't trigger off tokens, but given the life loss, that may be a good thing. Hmmm.... Definitely worth consideration, at least.
Overall, lots of interesting stuff in the commander decks, particularly if you're looking to try some more experimental cards. Bennie Bracks is the most obvious snap-include, but I could also see myself testing Smuggler's Share, Tenuous Truce, Grand Crescendo, Master of Ceremonies, Jailbreak, and Life Insurance. The black cards unfortunately feel a bit less exciting, but that's probably because they're treading more well-established design space.


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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

yeti1069 wrote:
1 year ago
Would you put Rumor Gatherer in the same category as Bennie?
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this. I consider both to be pretty solid draw engines, and I'd be interested in adding both of them to my own deck. Bennie does look to be stronger - it's pretty easy to generate a token on each opponents' turn via Teysa + sacrificing a black creature, but generating two bodies is more difficult / costly. The convoke is also pretty relevant, since I find myself often somewhat constrained on mana but having a surplus of creatures. Still, I don't think it's difficult to trigger Rumor Gatherer on your own turn (especially off stuff like Blessed Sanctuary), and I'll happily play a Phyrexian Arena with a body.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate spoilers are out. Some interesting new options worth consideration, as usual. The set as a whole seems a bit less pushed than the first Commander Legends set, but on the plus side, that means there won't be a new Hullbreacher / Opposition Agent taking over the format, so....

I'll call out Initiative as a mechanic to keep an eye out for. Looking to Monarch, I would say this deck is neither particularly good nor particularly bad at keeping the crown - it often has evasive tokens to attack with, but the nontoken creatures generally aren't very good at getting into the red zone, which means it can reclaim the crown, but isn't likely to keep it. The payoff for keeping the initiative is a bit weaker than that of keeping the crown though, so not something opponents will be going for quite as aggressively.

White
  • Legion Loyalty is a big, splashy enchantment that can generate massive piles of expendable tokens. It's also eight mana, which is.... a lot. Probably too expensive, but certainly seems fun.
  • Ancient Gold Dragon is a big, splashy dragon that can generate massive piles of expendable tokens. It's also seven mana, which is.... a lot. Probably too expensive, but certainly seems fun. The tokens being blue slightly annoys me.
  • Battle Angels of Tyr seem solid - assuming you get all three modes, you get 3 life, a card, a treasure, and two expendable tokens that will poof at end of combat. It does need to survive to attack, but a nice bit of value if you do.
  • Sculpted Sunburst is a semi-asymmetric board wipe. Choose your favorite creature (preferably a small one), then most other stuff gets exiled. I rate it below the wraths currently in the deck, but not bad.
  • Windshaper Planetar is a very amusing Fog variant. Inkshield is a bit more on-theme, but throwing an opponent's alpha strike elsewhere seems fun.
  • Horn of Valhalla is a fine token producer that lets you voltron up a creature.
  • Ascend from Avernus isn't quite as efficient as Storm of Souls (which I still need to add to my deck) if you're looking to recur big things, but it definitely seems like a very powerful inclusion. Most of the creatures in this deck are pretty cheap anyway. I'm a big fan of mass reanimation, so I'm happy to see more of it in white.
  • Archivist of Oghma is probably the most obvious new format staple in the set. It draw cards, it gains life, it's cheap, and it won't draw as much hate as Opposition Agent, so it's possible to actually get multiple triggers off it. Seems excellent.
  • Crystal Dragon is mildly interesting as a recursion effect that, itself, can be recurred with creature recursion.
  • Inspiring Leader is mildly interesting if you want a more aggressive token build. +2/+2 to a bunch of flying spirits is a pretty big buff.
  • Ellyn Harbreeze, Busybody is a sweet new draw engine for token decks. I think she's a little too slow (4 mana + needing to tap), but certainly has potential.
  • Undercellar Sweep brings initiative into the game, and is an alright token producer. Five mana is a bit much, but if you value initiative highly, could be fun.
  • Rescuer Chwinga is mildly interesting as a janky protection spell.
  • Cut a Deal looks like the closest white will get to a Divination - you draw three, each opponent draws one. Seems pretty reasonable, although I would probably stick to black draw spells like Read the Bones / Night's Whisper if you're looking for this effect.
  • Scouting Hawk is mildly interesting as a bit of catch-up ramp. I haven't loved Knight of the White Orchid in the past though.
  • Wyrm's Crossing Patrol is fascinating. A 1/1 isn't likely to survive combat, but three 1/1 bodies for a single mana is incredibly efficient. I'd probably run it if it were black, but as-is, I'm not quite so convinced.
  • Your Temple is Under Attack is somewhat interesting as another Divination variant that also doubles as a protection spell. Symmetric draw, but targeting an opponent with a full hand means they'll just discard to hand size, so possible to abuse it a bit.
Black
  • Ancient Brass Dragon is a big, splashy dragon that can generate massive piles of expendable bodies. It's also seven mana, which is.... a lot. Probably too expensive, but certainly seems fun.
  • Blood Money is interesting - seven mana is a lot for a board wipe, but getting 10+ treasure back makes it a lot more attractive, especially given that this deck doesn't have access to that much explosive mana generation. It is delayed by a turn due to entering tapped, but definitely has potential. Overall, it reminds me of Decree of Pain, which I'm a big fan of.
  • Elder Brain is a big, splashy brain that generates a bunch of value... if it survives to attack. It's also seven mana, which is... a lot. Probably too expensive, but certainly seems fun.
  • Shadowheart, Dark Justicar is very interesting. Like Ellyn Harbreeze, I think it's a bit too slow, and the fact that this deck mostly has small creatures is also a knock against it. Still, there are definitely some decks out there that can abuse it.
  • Ravenloft Adventurer is an interesting way to bring initiative into the game while doubling as grave hate. I do think it's outclassed by Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet, but could be a fun budget option if you want the initiative.
  • Cultist of the Absolute is technically a sac outlet, but one I would be hesitant to run - the sacrifice is mandatory, which is bad if Teysa is the only creature on the battlefield (or if you lack an expendable token).
  • Altar of Bhaal is Recurring Nightmare at home. Exiling the creature means you don't get any death triggers, but if you have tokens to feed it, that can represent a lot of value.
  • Skullport Merchant is in 'exactly how strong is treasure?' territory. Two mana per activation is a bit steep, but the fact that it brings along a treasure to cash in is certainly nice. Could be interesting if you're running a bunch of treasure production.
  • Viconia, Drow Apostate is somewhat interesting as a twist on Oversold Cemetery, which I have run in the past. It's surprisingly difficult to get 4+ creatures in the graveyard (especially in the early game), but being a creature is an upside.
  • Sivriss, Nightmare Speaker is mildly interesting as a sac outlet / draw engine / drain effect. The fact that it is a punisher effect makes me a bit hesitant to run it (I ultimately cut Athreos, God of Passage for similar reasons), but could be good - at the very least, it fills the graveyard pretty quickly.
  • Ghost Lantern is mildly interesting as a recursion spell that can double as a cheap threat.
  • Deadly Dispute is an appreciated reprint, since it was surprisingly expensive. Maybe I'll actually pick up a copy this time...
Other Stuff Overall, I would say Ascend from Avernus and Archivist of Oghma are the strongest inclusions for this deck. Beyond that, there are a few reasonable draw engines like Ellyn and some interesting fatties if you're running a reanimation theme. Some of the initiative cards could also be fun to test out.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Following up on CL2, we have the associated commander precons. Fewer new cards than normal, but there are some nice reprints that I'll need to go through sometime.
  • Folk Hero is mildly interesting as a draw engine. I think you have to be pretty dedicated to the tribal theme to justify running it, but it does have some potential.
  • Haunted One is also interesting for a dedicated tribal deck - giving all your humans undying definitely has potential. It doesn't act as a combo piece, unfortunately, since the creatures won't keep undying when they return (not that this deck has any way to remove the +1/+1 counters anyway).
  • Deep Gnome Terramancer is hard to evaluate - I could definitely see it being a format staple in some metas (particularly if your opponents are high on ramp + fetchlands), but there are also some decks that this will do very little against. Still, definitely worth keeping an eye on, like most of the new white ramp effects.
  • From the Catacombs is an alright recursion spell - escape is a strong mechanic if you can keep it fueled. That said, I'd probably lean towards Unburial Rites or Dread Return.
  • Black Market Connections looks a bit weaker than Phyrexian Arena, but paying some extra life to make a treasure token - or a changeling as sac fodder - definitely gives it a higher ceiling. I'd consider it if I expected to have plenty of life to throw around.
  • Brainstealer Dragon is a bit expensive, but looks quite fun. Not the strongest reanimation target, but certainly amusing.
  • Uchuulon is also very interesting. If you only get a single trigger, I don't think it's that impressive - two bodies for four mana is fine, but not amazing. If it lives a turn cycle and you get four bodies, plus a bunch of grave hate? Yeah, that seems quite strong.
Deep Gnome Terramancer looks like the most pushed option in the precons, but I could also see myself running Uchuulon.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

First update in a while due to me being busy, but I had an amusing game featuring Blessed Sanctuary, which I've been wanting to test out. Its damage prevention was surprisingly relevant due to it preventing damage from Midnight Reaper and an opponent's Syr Konrad, the Grim. The game ended with Syr Konrad wiping the other two players out off triggers from my Tombstone Stairwell, after which I was able to finish them off. The unicorn tokens were a bit less relevant (mostly due to board wipes), but the fact that they were frontloaded was relevant for stuff like Priest of Forgotten Gods - the ability to immediately feed any creatures with a sacrifice ability is quite nice.

...on the other hand, I made the tactical error of playing Curse of the Restless Dead on an opponent, and ended up missing almost every trigger - it's hard to track when opponents play lands. It's possible that it would have been good if I played it on myself, but...

Anyway, swapping Curse of the Restless Dead out for Fell Stinger. There are a few other cards I have an eye on to swap out, and some other cards I'd like to swap in, but I want to do a bit more testing first.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Following up with a few additional changes, now that I've had a chance to do some additional testing. There are some cards I have my eye on that I'm definitely looking to acquire, but will probably be a bit longer before the next major update.

Adds:
  • Nether Traitor - finally picked up a copy. It's one of the most efficient recursive creatures available, although I do have some concerns about how mana-intensive it ends up being. I will call out that I have Mask of Memory and a few other pieces of equipment that appreciate its keywords, which is nice.
  • Welcoming Vampire - on the flip side, removing the mana tax makes this one a significant upgrade over Mentor of the Meek. Welcome to the deck!
  • Storm of Souls - as always, I'm a huge fan of mass reanimation. Most of the creatures in the deck are already small, so turning them into 1/1s isn't a meaningful downside... and if you're doing combo stuff, then it won't matter at all. I am looking into adding some cards to the deck to churn through the deck faster and fill the graveyard more efficiently.
Cuts:
  • Leonin Relic-Warder - it was in here mostly for the combo with Animate Dead, but Animate Dead is already a good card, while Relic-Warder... isn't. More notably, the addition of Heliod's Intervention a while back gave me another strong piece of interaction, so I think it's okay to cut a piece. Now to see if I can pick up a Farewell...
  • Ayara, First of Locthwain - as mentioned previously, Ayara has done a solid Blood Artist impression and works well with stuff like Tombstone Stairwell, but the fact that I have yet to draw a single card off her has felt unfortunate. May return someday if I find myself wanting another drain effect.
  • Ghouls' Night Out - I unfortunately haven't had a chance to cast it yet, but I think Storm of Souls is better overall. Stealing opponents' stuff is fun in theory, but I think that grabbing synergistic stuff from my own graveyard is more valuable in practice. Still, I would like to test it out sometime.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Dominated United spoilers out, and a few interesting options for this deck. As for cards not in the main set... Overall, not a ton of cards I think are amazing for this deck, but a few nice options. Braids seems the most promising, and Elas may also be worth testing. I could also see Activated Sleeper doing work.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

....I may have almost forgotten to do a set review for the Warhammer 40k precons due to being distracted by the Unfinity spoilers. Anyway... I'll call out that the Imperium of Man precon has a heavy token / go-wide subtheme, and generally meshes well with this deck. I do sort of wish the Astartes were humans due to tribal synergies, but meh.
  • Space Marine Devastator is a potent Reclamation Sage variant. Four mana is a little steep, but if you have the mana to summon extra, it seems pretty solid.
  • Tallyman of Nurgle is generally outclassed by Morbid Opportunist, but still fine. If you can hit seven dead creatures, it looks quite powerful.
  • Poxwalkers are an interesting recursive body, although this deck doesn't really mess with casting stuff from other zones that often.
  • Royal Warden is an alright token generator.
  • The War in Heaven is a solid value card - draw some cards, fill the graveyard, then reanimate a small army. Seems good.
  • Celestine, the Living Saint is a bit more conditional than Sun Titan, but goes up in value significantly if you have other sources of lifegain.
  • Tomb Fortress is an alright utility land.
  • Great Unclean One is another option for token production, particularly if you can maintain a higher life total than your opponents.
  • Sister Repentia is a nice Mulldrifter variant, particularly if you can pay the miracle cost.
  • Sister Hospitaller is a nice Karmic Guide variant. Human typing can be relevant, otherwise it's always nice to have more redundancy for looping.
  • Neyam Shai Murad has some interesting political implications. No evasion is a bit concerning though.
  • Illuminor Szeras is a powerful mana dork, assuming you have expendable creatures to sacrifice. Unfortunately, you don't get any mana for sacrificing tokens.
  • The Golden Throne is somewhat intriguing. Obviously weaker than Ashnod's Altar as a sac outlet, and more conditional than Thran Dynamo as a mana rock, but it's not bad.
  • Triarch Praetorian is fun if you can reanimate it repeatedly.
  • Space Marine Scout is somewhat outclassed by Knight of the White Orchid, but not bad.
  • Sanguinary Priest is a fantastic Blood Artist variant - shooting down any target means you can turn expendable tokens into actual removal, which is quite nice. Blood Artist effects are generally a bit situational - unless you can actually kill your opponents with triggers, they don't have any effect on the board, so it's nice to have something more flexible.
Overall, lots of interesting and powerful options. Sanguinary Priest is the only card I would call an autoinclude for this deck, but lots of nice stuff.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Alright, swapping in some new stuff to test out. Not sure how many of these swaps are going to stick, but always good to try out new cards. I'd say the main theme here is 'nontoken'. A lot of my cards trigger off nontoken creatures dying, which is somewhat awkward when my primary sac fodder is usually a bunch of tokens. Maybe if I were running more Reassembling Skeleton effects... Either way, I'm trying out some cards that are a bit more self-contained.

...ironically, I'm biasing towards running more creatures over noncreatures specifically so I have more potential bodies to sacrifice, but I'm also cutting a bunch of cards that care about me sacrificing creatures. Such is life.

Adds: Cuts:

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Post by yeti1069 » 1 year ago

I like most of these changes. I always found Ghoulish Procession to be slow, and never liked the suite of cards that trigger off of nontokens dying when what you want is tokens hitting the yard, not the engine pieces.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

yeti1069 wrote:
1 year ago
I like most of these changes. I always found Ghoulish Procession to be slow, and never liked the suite of cards that trigger off of nontokens dying when what you want is tokens hitting the yard, not the engine pieces.
Yeah, pretty much this. I'd probably keep them in if I were running Teysa Karlov and a bunch of sac fodder (Vindictive Lich, Thraben Inspector, Clattering Augur, etc), or if I were to be aggressively fetching recursive bodies off Entomb or Gravebreaker Lamia. Unfortunately, that isn't what my current build looks like. Most of the creatures I'm running are engine cards that I want to keep around, which makes them awkward to sacrifice.

There is an alternate timeline in which I cut token producers to throw in more sac fodder and try to make them work - and adding Lurrus of the Dream-Den to the deck does pull strongly in that direction - but I'm currently in the process of trying to amp up my token generation / synergies. I don't quite think Anointed Procession is actually a good card in this deck yet, but it's a card I'm willing to build around, while Grim Haruspex and friends currently aren't.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

I'm not going to put together a full review for Unfinity - a lot of the cards in it are acorn (and thus not legal in the format), and many of the remaining cards are of a somewhat low power level. That said, I will call out Saw in Half and Starlight Spectacular as cards to be aware of, with an honorary mention for "Lifetime" Pass Holder and Deadbeat Attendant if you're willing to put together an attraction deck.

In other news, The Meathook Massacre has been banned in Standard, so I'll call it out as a strong pickup if it significantly falls in price (not that I particularly expect it to). This deck is somewhat starved for card slots, so it functioning as both board wipe and a Blood Artist-style win condition makes it a very nice inclusion. I suppose it's also a legendary permanent in case you're running Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle or any other legend synergies.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Brothers War spoilers out, so time to evaluate! This deck doesn't get many benefits from powerstones or other artifact synergies, but still plenty of interesting options. There is a 'creatures with MV 3 or less' subtheme that could be good in this deck, although it depends somewhat on how many valid creatures you're running.

White
  • Myrel, Shield of Argive is a legendary Grand Abolisher. A bit of a downgrade at four mana, but can also generate tokens if you have soldiers around.
  • Loran of the Third Path is an immediate white staple - Reclamation Sage has never looked so good. The card draw ability is a little more niche, but it certainly has diplomatic implications. I'll take five.
  • Kayla's Reconstruction is an interesting Collected Company variant. I'd need to run the numbers to see how many targets are necessary - I suspect I don't have enough in my current build, but certainly could be good.
  • Soul Partition is an interesting bit of tempo-based removal.
  • Tocasia's Welcome looks like an excellent draw engine for any token deck, and it also triggers off nontoken creatures.
  • Lay Down Arms is a significant downgrade from Swords to Plowshares, but that's a pretty high standard to be held to.
  • Great Desert Prospector makes me wish Powerstones were more useful for this deck. Making 4+ of them seems like it could fuel some shenanigans, but this deck doesn't have many artifacts or abilities to spend the mana on.
  • Recruitment Officer could be good, depending on how many hits you have. At the very least, not bad as an alternative to Thraben Inspector.
  • Recommission is a mana extra over Unearth, but can also hit artifacts.
Black
  • Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor is an interesting take on Edric, Spymaster of Trest, particularly if you have a lot of cheap evasive creatures (or spirit tokens). Paying seven mana for random stuff off your opponent's deck is a bit high-variance (I'm pretty low on random cards from opponents' decks due to a lack of synergy), but not a bad mana sink if you somehow don't have any cards in hand you want to play.
  • Hostile Negotiation isn't Fact or Fiction, but it plays it on TV. Steam Augury was pretty bad, but hidden information makes this a bit more random - I'd evaluate it pretty close to 'draw 3, mill 3', which is weaker than FoF, but still reasonable.
  • Misery's Shadow is alright, but I think there are better options for gravehate creatures.
  • Gix's Command is a flexible value card.
  • Gixian Puppeteer doesn't allow for any recursion loops that I'm aware of, but still a fine value creature. Even better if you can trigger the drain mode a few times.
  • Diabolic Intent is a strong reprint, and a natural fit for this deck. I don't expect the price to fall much, but still worth picking up.
  • Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist is another efficient Powerstone generator. Again, I don't think this deck gets much from their mana, but worth consideration if you do have use for it.
  • Gurgling Anointer is another recursive critter. You will need some card draw to grow it though.
  • No One Left Behind is another Unearth variant, this time with the upside of hitting more expensive creatures at 5 mana.
Gold, Artifacts, and Lands
  • Legions to Ashes is a nice mix of Anguished Unmaking and Maelstrom Pulse. Orzhov has a lot of options for removal, and I generally favor instant-speed ones, but not bad if you're worried about tokens.
  • Hero of the Dunes is yet another Unearth on a body. Lots of them in this set.
  • Platoon Dispenser is a token producer // draw engine // recurrable body. Five mana is a bit expensive, but not bad.
  • Urza's Sylex is a very nasty Planar Cleansing variant. Seven mana is a bit expensive, but certainly powerful, particularly if you can operate on a low land count.
  • Transmogrant's Crown is a significant downgrade from Skullclamp, but still alright.
  • Symmetry Matrix is mildly interesting due to all the tokens in this deck being symmetric (amongst other creatures). Still, I'm generally low on paying extra mana for cards.
  • Transmogrant Altar is an alright mana rock. I'm not convinced it is better than Worn Powerstone, but could be good if you have lots of sac fodder.
  • Combat Thresher has some potential if you're looking for cantripping bodies. I'd probably lean towards something cheaper though.
  • Demolition Field is a strong option if you're looking for a Strip Mine variant that doesn't put you behind on lands.
Overall, I would say that Loran is an instant staple, and Tocasia's Welcome looks excellent in token decks like this one. Beyond that, Diabolic Intent is an impactful reprint, and there are a few other cards that could be interesting if you want to lean into the 'reanimate cheap creatures' subtheme. Gix could also be very powerful (although I prefer Tymna the Weaver).

From the commander decks and set boosters, I'll call out that Scholar of New Horizons and Kayla's Music Box look very reasonable. Disciple of Caelus Nin is... interesting.

Edit: From the Jumpstart cards, I'll call out Disciple of Perdition as an option if you're looking for a cheaper version of Callous Bloodmage.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Small update.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

ONE spoilers are finally done (well, I think - this preview season has been wonky), so time to review! I will note that WB has a corrupted / poison theme in the set, which doesn't really have any synergy with my current build. Additionally, white's default tokens in the set are colorless Mite tokens that can't block, which are... pretty mediocre. As a result, I'm a little low on the set for this deck, but there are certainly some powerful options.

White
  • Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines is a powerful engine and hate card that I expect to see a lot of play. I currently count around 15 ETB cards in my own build, but it's possible to lean into Elesh Norn and run more ETB creatures for additional value... or you could avoid them if she ends up being a common card in your meta. Alternatively, run her yourself just to stop other decks from getting ETB value. Not an autoinclude, but generically useful enough to be worth consideration.
  • The Eternal Wanderer is somewhat outclassed by Elspeth, Sun's Champion in this deck, since token quantity trumps quality, particularly alongside Teysa's exile ability. Wanderer is interesting as a board wipe option though - I've run Tragic Arrogance in the past, and it is a very powerful effect.
  • Mondrak, Glory Dominus is a second Anointed Procession, plus a potentially indestructible sac outlet. It looks quite nuts.... and if you can ever get both out at the same time? Hilarity ensues.
  • Norn's Wellspring does a passable Dark Prophecy impression. It's not nearly as efficient, but not bad either. I do appreciate its ability to dig deep without needing additional mana or life investment - there are some games where I sacrifice a bunch of stuff with Dark Prophecy out just to dig to a key combo piece, and this is a good way to dig to something specific.
  • Skrelv's Hive is one of the weakest Bitterblossom variants I've ever seen, but it is an option.
  • Vanish into Eternity is somewhat interesting. I don't think it replaces Generous Gift or Anguished Unmaking, but I do appreciate it as a very flexible common.
  • White Sun's Twilight looks much weaker than Martial Coup, but you do get some incidental lifegain... and if you can make enough tokens (such as off Black Market or Smothering Tithe mana), you can threaten to kill opponents with poison.
Black Gold + Colorless
  • Kaya, Intangible Slayer is an expensive but powerful value engine. Exiling / stealing stuff with the (-3) can be quite nice, and drawing two extra cards per turn is obviously quite strong. Seven mana is a lot though.
  • Ria Ivor, Bane of Bladehold is an interesting take on Hero of Bladehold. This deck doesn't expect to attack with many big creatures, but if you can connect with her (or another creature) and make 4+ tokens per turn, that could be good.
  • Argentum Masticore is mildly interesting as a free Vindicate every turn. That said, this deck has a somewhat low curve, so it may be difficult to blow up expensive stuff consistently. Could be cool if you have recursive creatures to discard.
  • Graaz, Unstoppable Juggernaut is a hilarious Overrun effect if you have a bunch of 1/1 tokens.
  • Mirran Safehouse is an interesting mana rock if you can get lands into your graveyard consistently.
  • Monument to Perfection is a bit trickier to get to its ultimate mode than Thaumatic Compass // Spires of Orazca, but could be worth consideration if there are strong loci / spheres to fetch.
  • Staff of Compleation is the most painful Manalith ever printed, but it's a powerful engine if you can gain a ton of life.
  • Sword of Forge and Frontier is a powerful value engine, and certainly one of the stronger Swords available if you're running an equipment package. Ramp and card draw are very nice abilities.
  • The Dross Pits and The Fair Basillica are both reasonable options if you're running Land Tax, Crucible of Worlds, or other cards that care about you being able to manipulate your lands.
  • Mirrex is a utility land that can generate Mite tokens. Again, I'm low on Mite tokens, but it is relatively cheap to activate.
  • The Mycosynth Gardens is a bit janky, but can be good if you want an extra Skullclamp or other artifact.
Overall, I would say that Mondrak is the one autoinclude from this set - the poor token quality definitely lowers my evaluation of many of these cards. That said, I could see Norn's Wellspring and Vat of Rebirth being good, while Drivnod and Sword of Forge and Frontier can both enable some nice shenanigans and value, respectively.

From the commander decks, I'll call out Clever Concealment as a potentially free Teferi's Protection / Flawless Maneuver variant. It won't save you personally from massive damage, but if you just care about protecting your board, it's a solid option. Staff of the Storyteller is also a reasonable draw engine. It's not free to activate (unlike Idol of Oblivion), but it can give you a card immediately and save up charges over multiple turns, which makes it a bit more convenient as long as you can find some mana to spare.

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Post by Mookie » 1 year ago

Minor update, but I'm cutting Buried Alive. I've been in the mood to cut tutors recently, and I think the addition of Priest of Fell Rites has pushed it over the edge. That said, it is an extremely powerful card - I cast it in two games yesterday. In the first, I fetched up Priest, Nether Traitor, and Tenacious Underdog for some card advantage (although I was hit by grave hate before I could really go off with them). In the second, I already had Priest in the graveyard and a sac outlet on board, so I fetched up Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Zulaport Cutthroat to win on the spot.

Anyway, swapping in Staff of the Storyteller to replace it. I also picked up Norn's Wellspring and Sanguinary Priest to test out, but not sure what I want to cut for them at the moment.

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