[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Samwise the Stouthearted
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Always loved this card in theory. Mostly because that was my first block.
Even with Doubling Season, I wish it had more versatility. My Multani had a jank Treefolk package, which included Wickerbough Elder, which just seems like a better include most of the time. And it would work well in new Volrath.
Tangle Wire and Parallax Dementia would be the only fading cards I consider.
Even with Doubling Season, I wish it had more versatility. My Multani had a jank Treefolk package, which included Wickerbough Elder, which just seems like a better include most of the time. And it would work well in new Volrath.
Tangle Wire and Parallax Dementia would be the only fading cards I consider.
Mirri, Cat Warrior counts as a Cat Warrior.
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void_nothing Look On My Sash...
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I would say you're always better off with Wickerbough Elder, yeah. Still, it would be a nice thought if your meta is extremely artifact-heavy, and a 4/6 for five mana with upside was pretty crazy back in Nemesis.
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The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)
Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type
- hyalopterouslemur
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Clearly a treefolk or an elemental, called a beast. Masques block was weird.
I would honestly prefer Wickerbough Elder in most cases. Not all, if I'm doing a deck where my creatures get +1/+1 counters from entry (e.g., Cathars' Crusade, Juniper Order Ranger), I would obviously prefer Woodriper, but Wickerbough does have this nice bit where you can use those "put a -1/-1 counter on a creature you control" as a cost cards to replenish its counters. It also destroys enchantments.
I would honestly prefer Wickerbough Elder in most cases. Not all, if I'm doing a deck where my creatures get +1/+1 counters from entry (e.g., Cathars' Crusade, Juniper Order Ranger), I would obviously prefer Woodriper, but Wickerbough does have this nice bit where you can use those "put a -1/-1 counter on a creature you control" as a cost cards to replenish its counters. It also destroys enchantments.
Thanks to Feyd_Ruin for the avatar!
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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Anything is crazy when one theme around the set is sacrificing your own lands for minimal value. Say hi to wintermoon mesa for me.void_nothing wrote: ↑4 years agoI a 4/6 for five mana with upside was pretty crazy back in Nemesis.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
I don't think I've ever seen Woodripper before. Six mana to blow up one artifact, plus dealing with Fading.... seems a bit inefficient. As others have said, Wickerbough Elder works similarly, and also has a bunch of synergies with -1/-1 counters. Alternatively, Reclamation Sage, Acidic Slime, Glissa Sunseeker.... there are a lot of options for artifact (and enchantment) removal in green.
The best use for it would probably be in a deck with a lot of proliferate (like Atraxa, Praetors' Voice) or some way to flicker and reset the counters (like Roon of the Hidden Realm). It is capable of hitting multiple targets by itself (which most other cards can't), so it may be worth consideration if you expect a lot of artifacts, or are running Mycosynth Lattice and other ways to turn things into artifacts.
The best use for it would probably be in a deck with a lot of proliferate (like Atraxa, Praetors' Voice) or some way to flicker and reset the counters (like Roon of the Hidden Realm). It is capable of hitting multiple targets by itself (which most other cards can't), so it may be worth consideration if you expect a lot of artifacts, or are running Mycosynth Lattice and other ways to turn things into artifacts.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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I think I want to liken this most similar to Molder Slug. I think i can justify this in the right build (Karador and Meren come to mind sin since you can apply tremendous pressure toward artifact based decks) although it's harder to do so with force of vigor existing. Lots and lots of options.
But I do think this card is playable all-in-all.
But I do think this card is playable all-in-all.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Thing in the Ice is a cool card. It does suffer somewhat in the transition from 20 life to a 40 life format - a 7/8 beater isn't quite as impressive in EDH. We also have Evacuation legal is a mass bounce effect that requires significantly fewer hoops to jump through. Crush of Tentacles is also an option if you really care about the body, as is Kederekt Leviathan. An awkward thing with Thing in particular is that many spellslinger decks rely on spell-based win conditions, which means that creature beatdown doesn't contribute as much to the gameplan.
Still, at two mana, it's definitely the cheapest version of this effect available. Getting down to a single counter and being able to flip on demand with an Opt or other cheap instant also seems pretty good.
Also, shout to Horror tribal. Clearly the strongest Atraxa, Praetors' Voice archetype, although I also see some synergy with Yarok, the Desecrated to bounce your own creatures.
Still, at two mana, it's definitely the cheapest version of this effect available. Getting down to a single counter and being able to flip on demand with an Opt or other cheap instant also seems pretty good.
Also, shout to Horror tribal. Clearly the strongest Atraxa, Praetors' Voice archetype, although I also see some synergy with Yarok, the Desecrated to bounce your own creatures.
I'm pretty sure Thing in the Ice ranks among the Top 10 visuals in Magic for me.
Both sides have absolutely stunning artwork and the maritime Trojan Horse theme creates a vibrant story of its own in my head.
It's a favourite of mine in decks featuring walkers. An 0/4 for 1U is okay to stop chip damage against an early walker, and the mass bounce is also pretty effective. All in all, I like it, but I wouldn't play it in too many decks; the mass bounce doesn't lend itself to creature decks, and the 7/8 body isn't so awesome that it's going to win on its own.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
The standard rate for repeatable proliferate on an activated ability is 4-5 mana - see Contagion Clasp, Merfolk Skydiver, and Viral Drake. So, this looks to be a fair price. There are some ways to do it cheaper, but those require sacrifice or discard.
Proliferate is a powerful mechanic, although it does depend on how many things you're proliferating. I've seen it do work in Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons and superfriends decks - proliferating -1/-1 counters and loyalty counters is pretty high value. On the other hand, I don't think I would run it to proliferate +1/+1 counters, since Gavony Township does it better. Also a bit expensive for experience counters.
You're not wrong; it's just an expensive ability. I think that the repeatability of it is not that exciting, though; there are plenty of one-time effects (some of which are adjacent) that will generally get the job done. Mostly, I'm thinking of Roalesk, Apex Hybrid and Deepglow Skate..
- toctheyounger
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Definitely not as strong as other common proliferators or counter abusers. Deepglow Skate being the high water mark, this is a lot more costly by comparison. Even Flux Channeler is a lot stronger, Evolution Sage too is pretty great if you're in those colours. Nonetheless, if you're doing super friends redundancy of the effect is nice, so it has it's place.
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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Proliferate is just such a hard mechanic to evaluate. It goes from having an absolutely low floor, to a ridiculously high ceiling. As such, it makes cards like these very hard to cover.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
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3drinks Kaalia's Personal Liaison
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Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Modern
87guide Burn
87guide Burn
Commander
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
Kellan, the Fae-Blooded // Birthright Boon (local secret santa gift)
Torbran, Thane of Red Fell (Red Deck Wins)
Alesha, Who Smiles at Death (Slivers)
Kaalia HQ
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void_nothing Look On My Sash...
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Proliferate: a strong mechanic.
I don't think Sword of MTG and Salvation is the strongest member of the cycle (protection from blue gets you considerably less removal-proofing than other protections do but pro-white is good) but it's good enough if you're throwing counters around, and there are lots of decks that do so.
I don't think Sword of MTG and Salvation is the strongest member of the cycle (protection from blue gets you considerably less removal-proofing than other protections do but pro-white is good) but it's good enough if you're throwing counters around, and there are lots of decks that do so.
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The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)
Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type
The greatest (fake) pro wrestling on the internet - Collaborative Create-A-Booster - My random creations (updated regularly)
Important Facts: Colorless is not a color, Wastes is not a land type, Changeling is not a creature type
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ISBPathfinder Bebopin
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I have a copy and I think I put it in a deck or two but I can't recall having ever drawn it in those decks. I feel like you really want to be in kind of specific types of decks for it to maybe feel reasonable. It feels like a card where if you are in counters, walkers, or a double striker is when you would maybe consider it.
The downside in my opinion is that its bonuses are VERY situational. Like, sure its great to make your board bigger but what if everything is blown up the next turn. In my mind its really something where a non walker commander deck built around walkers is where you maybe run it.
The downside in my opinion is that its bonuses are VERY situational. Like, sure its great to make your board bigger but what if everything is blown up the next turn. In my mind its really something where a non walker commander deck built around walkers is where you maybe run it.
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- hyalopterouslemur
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A proliferate spin on slith, and it's a sword! Super. 52/10
Thanks to Feyd_Ruin for the avatar!
Sword of Truth and Justice is one of the weaker swords. Protection from blue tends to be a little niche (it doesn't have that many targeted removal spells), but protection from white is good. However, the interesting part is usually going to be the trigger - a +1/+1 counter and proliferate, which is going to vary wildly in value depending on the deck.
At its base, you throw two counters on the wielder, which is... fine, but not amazing - I would usually prefer card advantage from Sword of Fire and Ice. If you expect to have counters on multiple creatures, or have loyalty / experience / charge / etc counters that you care about, it could be much stronger. If you throw it on a creature with double strike (or have multiple combats), you can potentially proliferate multiple times in a single turn, which gets pretty silly.
At its base, you throw two counters on the wielder, which is... fine, but not amazing - I would usually prefer card advantage from Sword of Fire and Ice. If you expect to have counters on multiple creatures, or have loyalty / experience / charge / etc counters that you care about, it could be much stronger. If you throw it on a creature with double strike (or have multiple combats), you can potentially proliferate multiple times in a single turn, which gets pretty silly.
- PrimevalCommander
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I agree here. One of the weaker swords, but gains much value if you care about counters. I actually like Sinew and Steel better because you can ask an opponent to let you deal damage in order to target a different players artifact/planeswalker to get more value. Proliferate is very situational depending on the deck.Mookie wrote: ↑4 years agoSword of Truth and Justice is one of the weaker swords. Protection from blue tends to be a little niche (it doesn't have that many targeted removal spells), but protection from white is good. However, the interesting part is usually going to be the trigger - a +1/+1 counter and proliferate, which is going to vary wildly in value depending on the deck.
I have all the swords for completeness. Seems they are trying to make them safer every time they are printed. I hope when they finish the set the new swords still have some semblance of value on the triggered abilities.
Decklists
God-Eternal Oketra
Titania, Protector of Argoth
Karador, Ghost Chieftan
Kalamax, the Stormsire
Rocco WILD PAIR
Sefris of the Hidden Ways *Budget*(Page 4)
Zurzoth, Chaos RiderKalamax, the Stormsire
Rocco WILD PAIR
Sefris of the Hidden Ways *Budget*(Page 4)
God-Eternal Oketra
Titania, Protector of Argoth