[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[DirkGently]

Fair I guess. DEN just seems wildly overcosted in today's commander scene. Unless you're cheating it's cost with reanimation or discount or what have you, you're waiting a long ass time to get that value or combo going. I get why it's still run, it's just a bit of a remnant of a bygone era to me. I get why it's gross though, in casual there's very little that can interact with it meaningfully, and in competitive it just isn't a good rate or efficient enough. In the only home it has its a constant thorn in the side.

It's interesting - back at the places I've played in the US, when someone said they had a cEDH deck, it meant a tiered competitive decklist. Whereas I've seen way more people claiming to play "cEDH" in NZ, but hardly ever do I see an actual tiered list. Usually I think they just mean "this is the deck that my casual group doesn't like me playing".

Anyway I agree that DEN isn't really viable in a true cEDH meta, but he's definitely a plague in the casual one - you've been playing a fun game and then suddenly it's "drake, DEN, start drawing my deck while everyone sighs and scoops". (Or, more typically. them: "drake, DEN, okay everybody I win the game" everyone else:*starts to pick up cards* me:"sorry, excuse me, do you mind just doing it one step at a time because I am a moron and don't see what's happening?" them: "of course no problem I will show you how I win the game, I play drake and untap my lands, then I play DEN, then I soulbond them, then I activate the ability to blink drake, then it reenters, then I untap my lands and soulbond..." me:"in response to those triggers and while you're fully tapped out, STP the DEN." everyone else:*tries to remember what their board state was*)

I'm just surprised it's you saying DEN is too slow for the current meta, when hardly anyone I've seen playing "cEDH" in NZ has been playing at a power level high enough to exclude DEN combo. Last time we played, Jon told me about his epic victory over the apparent-local-terror of Albany, a goblin tribal "cEDH" Vial Smasher the Fierce deck that "never loses", with his own "cEDH" Krenko deck (he is currently running Goblin Swine-Rider because he needed 1 drop goblins lmao). Granted, his Krenko deck does obliterate my set-commander decks in 1v1, but that's a pretty low bar.

Maybe the meta is higher powered in East Auckland?

[toctheyounger]

I'm just surprised it's you saying DEN is too slow for the current meta, when hardly anyone I've seen playing "cEDH" in NZ has been playing at a power level high enough to exclude DEN combo. Last time we played, Jon told me about his epic victory over the apparent-local-terror of Albany, a goblin tribal "cEDH" Vial Smasher the Fierce deck that "never loses", with his own "cEDH" Krenko deck (he is currently running Goblin Swine-Rider because he needed 1 drop goblins lmao). Granted, his Krenko deck does obliterate my set-commander decks in 1v1, but that's a pretty low bar.

Holy crap, I've got a shot at some cedh wins!

Honestly it's been a while since I got a game at my LGS, let alone a high powered or cedh. In defense of your mate there are cedh Krenko builds, but I doubt Goblin Swine-Rider makes the cut. I don't really know how my LGs rolls these days. I know there's a few high power legacy players in the mix, but that doesn't say much about singleton. I'd say its relatively doubtful there's any Blue Farm floating around, let's say that.

That said It is a bit of a weird thing in this day and age for people to so wildly misconcieve cedh, given how specifically well defined it is. Even my cedh decks aren't really cedh decks, purely because my lands aren't optimised, my rocks are mid budget at best and almost anything RL I can't afford. Some of my lists [Delina, Wild Mage, Dihada, Binder of Wills) can do turn two or three wins, but they're kind of hit and miss. I mostly try to aggregate for a grinder playstyle to account for my empty wallet anyway.

But yeah, as far as I know, DEN is like, SO far gone from that scene. Kitten, Hullbreaker, Thoracle, these are the big blue creatures you see. Outside of Kinnan, anyway, and even Kinnan doesn't want DEN.

[Sinis]

I just like this art.

I bought this one for the art. Never played it.

[3drinks]

Thursday, April 20th, 2023; The DTK Elders!

[brainface]

I run fervor dragon in new kaalia still. I think he's pretty fine! I'm kind of suspicious of the rest but I'm probably wildly underestimating Silumgur.

[onering]

You mean DTK.

These are all really generically solid.

Silumgur is Sower of Temptation but for 2 mana more, and it steals planeswalkers, and it has a relevant body that is harder to kill. Sower was once a staple, and while that time has passed and Silumgur will never reach the same levels it's a nice, swingy, strong play in casual. It's value goes way up when you have synergies obviously, whether it be dragon tribal synergies or just enough sac effects to ensure your opponent can never get their creature back, or blink and reanimation effects to let you steal something else when the stolen creature or Silumgur eats it.

Atarka is a big dumb beater with removal staples to it, and it does it's job well. Beefy, doubly evasive with flying and trample, and 5 damage means it hits a large portion of relevant creatures and can even split it to take out a couple things if it's something smaller that most needs to die. Fun and viable in a lot of Gruul decks.

Ojutai is efficient if boring. It's stats are fair and it's card "draw" ability is a good deal stronger than just drawing a card, while situational hexproof let's it survive when cast on curve, and from there you protect it with spells (or giving it vigilance/untapping it). A reasonable modern interpretation of the old school "finisher", it once was a fairly common choice to helm Azorious decks. It's got more competition now, but still a solid enough choice in either the CZ or the 99.

Dromoka is ok. It can't be countered and it's stats are fine, while lifelink is a solid ability. Shutting off opponents from casting spells during your turn is pretty big though, and should put a target on it. Because it can protect your ability to combo off, it should eat removal as soon as you pass the turn. And since it's 6 mana, it's likely that you'll have to pass the turn and that your opponents will have plenty of mana, and cards, that at least one of them will be able to kill it.

Kolaghan is a solid threat. 6 hasty flying damage can change the pace of a game, especially once players start getting knocked out. Giving the rest of your team haste is huge though, and makes her maybe the best of these, despite her last ability being almost always irrelevant in commander (except for when it craps on Shadowborn Apostle and other such decks).

[DirkGently]

You mean DTK.

lmao beat me to it. There are no dragons in KTK - that was the whole plot lol.

Agree with onering on silumgar - he's primary "sower if you care about the dragon tag", or if you're playing fairly casual. Bigger body is generally not that significant on its own since you usually prefer to keep that effect away from combat. So niche/casual viable.

Atarka I think is pretty weak in commander. The etb is decent but it's 2 colors and 7 mana. Not technically awful but inferior to many other cards.

Ojutai wants a buildaround to take advantage of the conditional hexproof, otherwise he just dies on attack or to a wipe and it isn't really relevant. Setting him up with vigilance is one option, another is to slap protective equipment on him while he's protected, and then swing. Anyway I think he's pretty mid for the 99 since you don't have much incentive for the buildaround, but an okay commander for a control deck. That also makes the damage more relevant.

Dromoka is Grand Abolisher for more casual metas. I hate both of them, but Dromoka is in some ways more annoying because abolisher nobody is under the illusion that it's used as anything except combo protection, whereas Dromoka is sometimes casual beatstick and sometimes combo protection. But ofc you can't generally wait to kill it after you find out.

Kolaghan sucks. Fervor costs 3, doesn't die to wipes, and is garbage. I'm not paying 3 more and adding a color for a 6-power flyer in commander. There are way better haste enablers, like Anger and Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded.

[Guardman]

Kolaghan sucks. Fervor costs 3, doesn't die to wipes, and is garbage. I'm not paying 3 more and adding a color for a 6-power flyer in commander. There are way better haste enablers, like Anger and Purphoros, Bronze-Blooded.

I would also like to add, unless you have dragon synergies, Garna, the Bloodflame is a better Rakdos haste enabler on a body that can act as psuedo-wrath/spot removal protection and only costs 5 and has flash.

[Sinis]

To the Elder Kologhan naysayers, you're totally correct, except when you're playing Dragonstorm, and are not in green.

So, yeah, it sucks.

[RedCheese]

I guess Dromoka would be the best one among them?

[3drinks]

To the Elder Kologhan naysayers, you're totally correct, except when you're playing Dragonstorm, and are not in green.

So, yeah, it sucks.

In fact, I did use it as the best way to end the chain when I was brewing dragonstorm|scg Kaalia. For when you couldn't get enough damage via Lathlis --> Scourge of Valkas/Dragon Tempest triggers. And it's a fine role player at that.

[Sinis]

To the Elder Kologhan naysayers, you're totally correct, except when you're playing Dragonstorm, and are not in green.

So, yeah, it sucks.

In fact, I did use it as the best way to end the chain when I was brewing dragonstorm|scg Kaalia. For when you couldn't get enough damage via Lathlis --> Scourge of Valkas/Dragon Tempest triggers. And it's a fine role player at that.

Yeah. The tragic thing is that if you're in green, you're probably better off with Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund. Kologhan really got a raw deal in EDH. The others are at least niche playable, but Kologhan's niche is exceedingly narrow.

[Igzex]

I wouldn't run Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund if an opponent is running islands. I hate that card's ETB so much and it made all the ur-dragon mirror matches I've experienced really stupid. Honestly Kolaghan is a solid card. People tilt on the non-EDH ability but you bring her out with a Dragonstorm or a Living Death and you kinda just win. I'd still run her in my The Ur-Dragon regardless because having a haste enabler and a dragon in 1 card slot is pretty good.

Atarka is the worst of the bunch to me. Her ETB isn't particularly impactful at the stage of the game you'd play her in and the rest of what you get with her is someone that's just big.

Silumgar is just the thing for a particularly annoying blocker (Or you're being devious and allowing someone to almost ult a planeswalker)

Ojutai is alright I guess. Kinda fell off for me as dragons starting to become more and more like oversized slivers.

Dromoka is an annoying card I hate to play against so that's why I run her.

[Mookie]

I saw someone play Dragonlord Kolaghan against a Shadowborn Apostle deck once. Good times.

...I'd probably separate these into individual cards instead of doing them as a cycle, since they're all pretty different. The FRF cycle definitely gets combined though.

Anyway....

• Dragonlord Kolaghan is fine, even if you aren't shutting down Shadowbord Apostle / Persistent Petitioners decks. It's okay as a Dragonstorm target or if you're doing dragon tribal, since granting your big evasive creatures haste is pretty nice. Other than that, there are plenty of other, cheaper options for haste, both in the command zone and in the 99.
• Dragonlord Silumgar I rate pretty low. Sower of Temptation isn't really playable these days, and adding two mana for +1/+3 and deathtouch isn't quite worth it. The planeswalker text can be neat when it comes up, but is pretty niche. In general, I prefer my theft effects to be permanent, like Agent of Treachery and Blatant Thievery. I do have some nostalgia for it though, since it won me the DTK prerelease.
• Dragonlord Atarka is another underwhelming card - seven mana is a lot, but five damage doesn't really cut it in multiplayer. It's not bad, but I expect my 7-drops to do more. It's even take Atarka, World Render over it just for the tribal support.
• Dragonlord Ojutai is fine. It's hard to kill, evasive, and generates card advantage - a nice midrange-y 5-drop. If you're looking to play some evasive beaters, it's a reasonable inclusion. Not bad as a commander either.
• Dragonlord Dromoka is a bit niche, but it's a reasonable choice if you're fed up with opposing countermagic (or just want combo protection). I think Grand Abolisher is generally better, but Dromoka has the upside of also being a big dragon with lifelink, so...

Overall, I think it's a fine cycle. Ojutai, Dromoka, and Kolaghan are all reasonable role players for certain decks - not staples, but they have their place. I think Silumgar and Atarka are a bit of a miss in EDH, but they're alright as cube cards.

[RedCheese]

I agreed, i prefer Atarka, World Render also. She's even the commander of my dragon tribal deck. Double strike to your dragons is quite scary.

[3drinks]

Friday, April 21st, 2023; Mina and Denn, Wildborn

[Mookie]

Mina and Denn, Wildborn is alright if you're looking for extra land drops, but not that exciting otherwise. You can bounce your own lands to trigger landfall again, but granting trample is pretty meh, and Exploration effects are more impactful the earlier you play them. As a result, I would say that they're generally outclassed by other versions of this effect, like Azusa, Lost but Seeking and Oracle of Mul Daya. Alternatively, the new Thalia and The Gitrog Monster if you're looking for this effect in the command zone.

[tstorm823]

I played them in my mean deck at the time. Exploration lands out, play mana doublers, bounce my lands, mass land destruction, replay all my lands, win the game. The bounce can easily be mana positive with something like Nykthos.

[PrimevalCommander]

I like Mina and Denn as a budget way to get extra land drops. And the body isn't irrelevant like Oracle and Azusa. Land bounce makes sure you can keep up landfall triggers if you struggle to draw cards or don't have the robust fetch base and Crucible effects. Lots of reasons to like this card if you want to try a lands deck on a budget. Land decks are hard to build without fetches, but it can be done. My brother has a modestly budgeted Obuun, Mul Daya Ancestor deck that does quite well in a combat centric casual meta. Mina and Denn does good for him there and it came in the precon. He is using many of the common-tier fetches and still chains landfall with the best of them.

[Sinis]

Mina and Denn is a great way to reuse Bojuka Bog. You can also just kind of give creatures trample to secure a really busted land (like Nykthos or Field of the Dead) against removal (as long as you're willing to spend a land drop to play it next turn).

The bounce part could also be used with Crucible to replay Kamigawa Channel lands, or to reclaim a MDFC card (like Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary).

It's not earthshattering, but it makes the cut in land-oriented decks for me. I've saved a Kessig Wolf Run from destruction before, and just been able to replay it and squish face.

[3drinks]

Saturday, April 22nd, 2023; Sylvan Awakening

[TheGildedGoose]

I love this card.

[Sinis]

I like that it makes them indestructible so you can Armageddon.

Wait... I didn't mean that.

I like that it just makes them creatures with indestructible so you can play a relatively risk-free lands-as-creature strategy for a turn. Sylvan Advocate, Tatyova, Steward of Tides, etc. can make them pack a real punch.

[Mookie]

I once had an opponent cast Sylvan Awakening. My response was a Merciless Eviction. I don't think I would ever play it unless I were planning to Armageddon people. You can theoretically use it to create a board presence out of nowhere, and it does work well with Sylvan Advocate and other 'land creatures matter' cards... but I would be hesitant to run this over Rude Awakening or another, more temporary land animation spell. There are just too many board wipes that bypass indestructible, and I don't think that making your lands into blockers for a turn cycle is particularly valuable.

[3drinks]

Sunday, April 23rd, 2023; Force of Savagery

Back in the day, we used to play this in our Kresh the Bloodbraided decks. Then latre I'd put it into Varolz, the Scar-Striped. These days I'm just surprised it has a dollar value over a buck.

What other things have you seen done with this goofy card?