[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Mookie]

Force of Savagery is an interesting design - eight power (with trample!) for three mana is a lot. Unfortunately, zero toughness means it will usually die immediately. I think you've already covered the two main use cases (Varolz and Kresh), with Drizzt Do'Urden being the other big one. I could maybe see using it in Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma / Selvala, Heart of the Wilds / other 'high power matters' decks, but you would need some way to stop it from dying unless you only cared about triggering Garruk's Uprising / Sarkhan's Unsealing. Even in that case, there are plenty of other big 3-drops.

[folding_music]

i really liked force of savagery in Grumgully, the Generous ball-lightning tribal. lol. like every Elemental Bond and Pandemonium variant, plus half-decent mana dorks with power>1 like Golden Hind, Burning-Tree Emissary. it was pretty bad though

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I remember playing in the Future Sight prerelease and seeing someone clean house with 2 of these and a handful of Lumithread Fields. Good times.

[3drinks]

Monday, April 24th, 2023; Tempting Wurm

Courtesy of r/ForbiddenSnacks, I guess

[Dunadain]

Torpor Orb?

[TheAmericanSpirit]

This card is actual chaos incarnate. No, it doesn't say random anywhere on it, there's no zany control scrambling or anything like that. It's way worse than that. Every opponent gets to puke their hand and whoever has the baddest beats is immediately in pole position. The great irony is that the caster of the wurm is inevitably the least threatening issue, so they're free to sit back and bask in the nuclear radiation of their contrived mayhem. It's sick, in the truest and foulest sense of the word.

[RedCheese]

This card is hilarious. Whos using this isn't here to win, but to see the blood flow. A true Khornite right there.

[void_nothing]

Two of the most terrifying words in this game are "any number".

[Sinis]

This card is so silly. Maybe it could see play in some vicious discard deck, but, I'd rather play something like Iwamori of the Open Fist in Selvala or whatever power-matters deck I'm running.

Not to say this card isn't fun, though...

[Mookie]

Will Tempting Wurm usually backfire horribly? Yes. Will it make for some interesting stories? Also yes. Seems like a totally reasonable T2 play.

[3drinks]

This card is actual chaos incarnate. No, it doesn't say random anywhere on it, there's no zany control scrambling or anything like that. It's way worse than that. Every opponent gets to puke their hand and whoever has the baddest beats is immediately in pole position. The great irony is that the caster of the wurm is inevitably the least threatening issue, so they're free to sit back and bask in the nuclear radiation of their contrived mayhem. It's sick, in the truest and foulest sense of the word.

I enjoy the idea of using this to bait everyone's cards and then follow up with a Farewell for their troubles. You take the bait and you get got.

[Lifeless]

When used in moderation at the right table this guy is one of my favorites. Will everyone drop their entire hand and ruin the game? Maybe. Will they be smart enough to only play a couple cards that help establish their board? Hard to say. IMO he is the perfect embodiment of the format and also a silly skill test.

[Toshi]

Torpor Orb?

Unfortunately it has the "any number" templating, or it would be a hilarious piece for Yarok, the Desecrated, Panharmonicon and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines type lists that already run Indentured Djinn, Boldwyr Heavyweights and its ilk.

[materpillar]

… hrmmmm

I really want to play this in my Yurlok of Scorch Thrash "group hug deck" with 10 mana up and then immediately follow it with Insurrection.

[Hermes_]

I love how the foil is like almost 20 dollars

[3drinks]

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023; Lifeblood Hydra

I totally forgot this was a card. Easily the best hydra not-named Hydroid Krasis of all time.

[Dunharrow]

I played this in Karador, Ghost Chieftain as a green, repeatable, Sphinx's Revelation. It was good.
But it eventually got cut for something less expensive.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I have a dream of someday sacrificing one of these babies to Greater Good. Someday when this dumb thing isn't 10 USD.

[cheonice]

10 $? Holy Mother of Machines, I got mine out of the dollar bin at my LGS back in the day. And yes, it's very good, if you have mana and maybe an emergency sac outlet. Trample is very good on a big beater, who would have guessed?
Probably my second favourite hydra after Genesis Hydra.

[Mookie]

Lifeblood Hydra is sweet but clunky - it's not quite Sphinx's Revelation, since it's sorcery speed (assuming no flash). Still, I would say it is a strong inclusion for any hydra or +1/+1 counter decks. While green has many Elvish Visionary-style cantrip creatures, it doesn't have that many creatures capable of drawing 4+ cards that aren't Glimpse of Nature variants. I suppose Cultivator Colossus exists, as does Regal Force, but those arguably require more setup than Lifeblood Hydra. I will note that you may want a sac outlet for it - if it gets exiled / stolen / bounced, you won't get the cards.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023; Repair and Recharge

I was today years old when I realized Powerstones don't self-sac. I been reading them as powered down treasures all this time.....

[Mookie]

Repair and Recharge looks fine but unexciting. There aren't that many spells that reanimate artifacts / enchantments / planeswalkers, and certainly none as efficient as Reanimate. Looking at Refurbish, four mana is roughly the 'fair' price for this, and paying an extra mana for some additional flexibility plus a powerstone is reasonable.

...that said, I'm not sure what decks would want it. At five mana, you're not getting a significant discount on most reanimation targets. At that point, I would say it competes with Open the Vaults / Replenish and other mass reanimation. Alternatively, run Invoke Justice / Invasion of Tolvada for their ability to recur anything.

[Guardman]

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023; Repair and Recharge

I was today years old when I realized Powerstones don't self-sac. I been reading them as powered down treasures all this time.....

It's cool, unique, and potentially quite powerful. Yet, I have no idea what deck would want it. Artifact and Enchantment decks already have better Zombify effects. And I can't really think of a white planeswalker deck that is both looking to sneak in very expensive planeswalkers and would enjoy the Powerstone. This looks like a card in search of a deck and could end up doing something stupid if the right Commander & Planeswalker comes along.

[3drinks]

Thursday, April 27th,2023; Phyrexian Arena

I remember the days when this was $10-$20. Now it's barely half a pack in value. Crazy. Arena is still such a good long term value play...............

[3drinks]

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023; Repair and Recharge

I was today years old when I realized Powerstones don't self-sac. I been reading them as powered down treasures all this time.....

It's cool, unique, and potentially quite powerful. Yet, I have no idea what deck would want it. Artifact and Enchantment decks already have better Zombify effects. And I can't really think of a white planeswalker deck that is both looking to sneak in very expensive planeswalkers and would enjoy the Powerstone. This looks like a card in search of a deck and could end up doing something stupid if the right Commander & Planeswalker comes along.

idk, reanimating an Ugin, the Spirit Dragon or Karn Liberated seems pretty good to me.