[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Mookie]

Yeah, I've seen Fiery Gambit played with Zada, Hedron Grinder, but not anywhere else. There might be a use case in other coin flip decks, but beyond that it's too inconsistent to be worth running. 2r to draw nine cards and untap your lands is obviously absurd... but when you only get it 1/8th of the time, it's much worse.

...I will note that I've been enjoying Yusri, Fortune's Flame as a draw engine despite the randomness, but Yusri also isn't all-or-nothing.

[TheGildedGoose]

I tried making a 60 card Fiery Gambit Krark's Thumb Chance Encounter deck back in the day. It's possible it won some games, but I don't remember if it did.

...I will note that I've been enjoying Yusri, Fortune's Flame as a draw engine despite the randomness, but Yusri also isn't all-or-nothing.

Now there's a Magic card.

[3drinks]

Yeah, I've seen Fiery Gambit played with Zada, Hedron Grinder, but not anywhere else. There might be a use case in other coin flip decks, but beyond that it's too inconsistent to be worth running. 2r to draw nine cards and untap your lands is obviously absurd... but when you only get it 1/8th of the time, it's much worse.

What does Zada have to do with Fiery Gambit? It doesn't target.

[Ink-Treader]

Yeah, I've seen Fiery Gambit played with Zada, Hedron Grinder, but not anywhere else. There might be a use case in other coin flip decks, but beyond that it's too inconsistent to be worth running. 2r to draw nine cards and untap your lands is obviously absurd... but when you only get it 1/8th of the time, it's much worse.

What does Zada have to do with Fiery Gambit? It doesn't target.

It does though; it deals 3 damage to target creature if you win at least 1 flip.

[3drinks]

Sunday, May 28th, 2023; Behold the Beyond

[3drinks]

Yeah, I've seen Fiery Gambit played with Zada, Hedron Grinder, but not anywhere else. There might be a use case in other coin flip decks, but beyond that it's too inconsistent to be worth running. 2r to draw nine cards and untap your lands is obviously absurd... but when you only get it 1/8th of the time, it's much worse.

What does Zada have to do with Fiery Gambit? It doesn't target.

It does though; it deals 3 damage to target creature if you win at least 1 flip.

I'd have to watch it on modo to see how the resolution goes, do you name targets when it's placed on the stack even if you might not win a flip?

[Ink-Treader]

What does Zada have to do with Fiery Gambit? It doesn't target.

It does though; it deals 3 damage to target creature if you win at least 1 flip.

I'd have to watch it on modo to see how the resolution goes, do you name targets when it's placed on the stack even if you might not win a flip?

According to its Gatherer entry, yes.

[TheGildedGoose]

Sunday, May 28th, 2023; Behold the Beyond

Why anyone would play this when Diabolic Revelation exists is beyond me, and that card isn't exactly blowing many people away.

[materpillar]

Sunday, May 28th, 2023; Behold the Beyond

Ah, yes.

Behold the Beyond
5BB
Sorcery
Die before your next upkeep holding a degenerate combo because everyone at the table knows you just tutored for a degenerate combo.

Why anyone would play this when Diabolic Revelation exists is beyond me, and that card isn't exactly blowing many people away.

Behold the Beyond has significantly cooler art.

[Mookie]

On the plus side, Behold the Beyond is an easy way to put together a 3-piece combo. On the minus side, it costs seven mana, makes you discard your hand, and is incredibly telegraphed. I've been down on tutors in general recently - they're efficient, but not particularly interesting. To some extent, I'm okay with narrow tutors or fetching a new card I want to test out, but Behold the Beyond feels like 'combo or bust'. It's too clunky in higher-power metas, and too combo-y in lower-power metas.

If you really wanted to do a big tutor, I think Diabolic Revelation is generally better. I suppose one upside of Behold the Beyond is that it's not an X spell, which means it works better if you're casting it for free off something like Bolas's Citadel... but that's a bit niche.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

I think the format has moved beyond big tutors, by and large. Usually you don't have time to sink 6-8 mana to set up your next turn without taking a major tempo hit and attracting a good amount of unwelcome attention

[onering]

Demonic and Vampiric. Not only are they far better than any of these 4+ mana tutors, they paradoxically draw less hate.

Paying 4+ to tutor really isn't worth it, and especially these 5+ mana tutors that can grab multiple cards, unless you are grabbing something to win with. Tutor for answers or for a piece of a value engine just kind of sucks for that much mana, and your opponents will understand that and assume you're grabbing a combo or other resolve and win spell. You can sure do that with the cheap tutors, but generally if that's what your grabbing you aren't sitting around for a turn to cast it. If you fire off one of these and don't immediately do something degenerate, people are less likely to assume you need to die this turn, and especially so if you pop off demonic tutor and then immediately cast a piece of interaction or ramp (which you clearly just tutored for).

[3drinks]

Monday, May 29th, 2023; Halsin, Emerald Archdruid

Huh. Must have missed this during the spoiler season. Pretty good at turning treasures and clues into large bears to maul people with. I'd run this.

[pokken]

Behold the beyond: it's a discard outlet. It'll win the game instantly a lot of times if you fetch living death. Still it's fairly mana intensive and narrow.


Re: bear guy
Whatever bear guy enjoy the bulk bin

[Venedrex]

Behold the beyond: it's a discard outlet. It'll win the game instantly a lot of times if you fetch living death. Still it's fairly mana intensive and narrow.


Re: bear guy
Whatever bear guy enjoy the bulk bin

Too late he's the next Community build a deck project.


JK lol.

[toctheyounger]

Ah, yes.

Behold the Beyond

Sorcery
Die before your next upkeep holding a degenerate combo because everyone at the table knows you just tutored for a degenerate combo.
TheGildedGoose wrote: ↑1 day ago
Why anyone would play this when Diabolic Revelation exists is beyond me, and that card isn't exactly blowing many people away.
Behold the Beyond has significantly cooler art.

If you're gonna die, why not go all in? Has better art, and if you're gonna tutor a pile Doomsday is a cool ass way to win the game or lose in spectacular fashion.

I did not even know Halsin, Emerald Archdruid existed. I don't exactly think it's breaking any molds, unless you're playing it in like some sort of clue deck or whatever.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, May 30th, 2023; Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni

Wow all those prints and it's still $10-$15usd. Talk about a cult classic.

[3drinks]

If you're gonna die, why not go all in? Has better art, and if you're gonna tutor a pile Doomsday is a cool ass way to win the game or lose in spectacular fashion.

I find it hilarious that Doomsday, one of the most spectacularly infamous combo enablers, is rated two stars. Magic players continue to have notoriously off evaluation techniques I see...

[Mookie]

Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is both a rat and a ninja, which are somewhat popular tribes with casual appeal. It's had a few reprints, but no recent meaningful ones, so its price has crept up over time. It looks like the most recent price spike (up to $40) was back when NEO was released (and brought a bunch of new ninja support), but the price has fallen significantly since then. I would expect it to tank in price significantly whenever there is an actual reprint.

Beyond price, I think Ink-Eyes is meh. It can be good if you just want to play all the ninjas, but five mana for a reanimation spell is expensive - and that's assuming you can ninjutsu it, and your opponent has something worth reanimating. Regeneration can be good, but two mana is a bit clunky to hold open. I think Ink-Eyes is generally outclassed by Archpriest of Shadows, who doesn't need nearly as much support and can recur your own creatures. IMO, the only reason to run Ink-Eyes is for tribal synergies like Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow or Karumonix, the Rat King.

[Igzex]

Still bitter about her upstaging my boy Scion of Darkness.

[materpillar]

Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is a super cool card that I like a lot. I still have a copy in my midrange cube because I like it and it's cool. I should really really a lot her into my Chromium deck that is just a pile of my favorite cards.

But yeah. She bad. Power creep be real boys and girls.

[onering]

Ink-Eyes vs Archpriest is interesting. I don't think Ink-Eyes is outclassed by Archpriest, but that they are similar cards that serve different roles. Ink-Eyes is a surprise when you have evasive dudes, while Archpriest is telegraphed. While this will sometimes not be an issue, as you can just put the counter from Archpriest on your evasive dude and attack unblocked like you would with Ink-Eyes, other times this just gives your opponents more opportunities to respond. Ink-Eyes can also be forced through by swinging with more tokens than an opponent can block. Her ability also serves as gy hate.

In a vacuum, what Archpriest offers is more generically useful, but Ink-Eyes outshines it in certain decks. Obviously rats and ninjas, but also when you are using it to also bounce etb creatures and when your goal is to take your opponents' stuff. Right now I have her in Jeleva and she puts in work. Jeleva is filled with theft effects so she provides a way to steal from gys while also letting me get Jeleva back to my hand to recast her.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, May 31st, 2023; Tenuous Truce

[3drinks]

Still bitter about her upstaging my boy Scion of Darkness.

I'm bitter they downshifted this to uncommon. Wow. I remember using the alt cast to bring it out from Onslaught...

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Still bitter about her upstaging my boy Scion of Darkness.

I'm bitter they downshifted this to uncommon. Wow. I remember using the alt cast to bring it out from Onslaught...

Dude, just look how they massacred our boy Spiritmonger. That is a tragedy on another level.

On topic: this is like Psychic Possession except worse because it's symmetrical and capped at 1. Also they get to call the shots on when to end the bargain, which is dependent entirely on the M.O. of the chosen player and the politics of the given game. Me personally, I'm going to extort way more than a card per turn out of any player that sticks this to me if they want it to stick around. Either you assist me in killing everyone else in glorious creature combat or I'm sending it all at you for wasting my time with Peace Talks in a %$#% zero sum game. Please choose.