[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Mookie]

Are you playing a tribal deck? If so, you probably want Vanquisher's Banner. Drawing a card and giving your team +1/+1 isn't necessarily the most exciting tribal payoff, but it can in any deck (unlike Kindred Discovery). Note that unlike Kindred Discovery, it only triggers off cast, and not ETB - doesn't work with The Locust God.

Still, while it can go in any tribal deck, I don't know if all of them want it - five mana is a bit expensive for what it offers. If you have a lot of inherent card advantage (ex: Azami, Lady of Scrolls Wizards), turning creatures into more cards can be superfluous, especially if you don't plan to be attacking enough to make use of the anthem effect. Similarly, I could see it cut from Dragon decks that already have fairly large creatures and a high curve.

On the other hand, seems like a snap include in many Goblins, Soldiers, or other Boros tribal decks, which tend to be more limited in their card advantage options. Really depends on what you have available.

[MeowZeDung]

I have one copy, and it's in my wife's vampire deck where it will probably stay. I'd buy a second if it was an etb draw trigger, but alas it is on cast. Best with cheap tribes and cost reducers. Gobbos, merfolk, etc.

[Toshi]

Best with cheap tribes and cost reducers. Gobbos, merfolk, etc.

Idk if i'd agree.
I did run it in my Elf list for a while and is a lot before you get going and low curve tribes don't profit as much from reduction.
Burping out otherwise high CMC tribes on the cheap though? Totally different thing.

The most fun thing i could think of would be naming Constructs, then proceed casting them for (nearly) free. Come to think of it something like Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle Construct tribal would be hilarious.

[MeowZeDung]

Idk if i'd agree.
I did run it in my Elf list for a while and is a lot before you get going and low curve tribes don't profit as much from reduction.
Burping out otherwise high CMC tribes on the cheap though? Totally different thing.

Let me rephrase: goes best with cheap tribes OR cost reducers since you get more cast triggers.

[ilovesaprolings]

Sadly is overcosted. In every green deck i'd just play the great henge

[Toshi]

In every green deck i'd just play the great henge

The Great Henge requires you to have some power/mana already. As for early draw i'm a Beast Whisperer guy. Lifecrafter's Bestiary can put in work early, too.
Soul of the Harvest might be the high CMC solution, but can get out of hand fast.

[lyonhaert]

It's in my Ayula deck at the moment, primarily for the card draw but the anthem doesn't hurt. Should work better once I get Cloudstone Curio in there, too.

Edit: Yeah, The Great Henge is better for it, and it's slated for Ayula's rebuild soon.

[Sinis]

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020; Vanquisher's Banner

I had forgotten about this card, despite it being in my pile of tribal gack.

I think, perhaps, it may find its way into Morophon Apostles.

[3drinks]

I didn't mind it in Alesha Slivers, but it wasn't really amazing either.

[hyalopterouslemur]

At five mana, it's overcosted in green. It's...okay in nongreen tribal decks. It does get around counterspells, though, but tribal decks have better hosers.

[ISBPathfinder]

It does cost too much mana and have too little immediate impact for most decks. I guess the idea place for it would be some sort of deck that generates a lot of mana and is running tribal but that sounds a lot like a green deck to me and green decks tend to have better cards.

I got it to do.... ok in Squee, the Immortal but honestly, I would say its really not that good on average and I likely wouldn't put it in many types of deck.

[pokken]

I just can't make myself play these kinds of tribal payoff spells, even on the rare occasion I make a tribal deck. The kind you tap out for and then get blown out when someone removes it.

Can usually think of some way to generate cards that isn't a utility artifact. I usually try pretty hard to find creatures that serve this purpose if I can, and if I can't I'll try to think of cheaper stronger ways to get cards or anthem effects.

I'm looking more to play beast whisperer or ezuri, renegade leader or ranger of eos or whatever. Or just more ways to find skullclamp or lifecrafter's bestiary etc. Or play stuff like rishkar's expertise and greater good.

In non-green/white colors I'm more at a loss but in blue you've got kindred discovery which is vastly more explosive, in black you can sac creatures for cards (grim haruspex). Just feels like there's always been a better way for me anyway.

[Rorseph]

Pretty sure I'd rather have Eldrazi Monument or Gauntlet of Power. for the anthem effect for a 5 mana artifact. Evasion and mana-doubling are things I'd rather have in decks where anthems are likely to matter.

[MeowZeDung]

The card draw is what really matters here. Non green or blue tribes that don't have kindred discovery and the various green draw on etb/cast effects can really get some mileage out of it, especially big mana decks that can more easily deal with the 5 mana upfront.

In my wife's drana deck this can be a real beating since it just keeps the nyxthos/cabal coffers/crypt ghast/nirkana revenant/caged sun fueled vampire train rolling. The +1/+1 is just a marginal bonus.

I could see a mono white or Boros tribe wanting it as a draw engine to go alongside stuff like mind's eye and mentor of the meek.

[3drinks]

You know what I'd like over this, if I'm looking this high up the curve? The Immortal Sun. Vanquisher's Banner has aged very poorly in it's short lifespan by comparison.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020; Prison Term

I reckon this is still quite playable, especially in sun tits decks. Yes?

[DirkGently]

A lot of the best creatures have triggered or static abilities that this doesn't really do anything against. Plus it's very predictable so it's easy to play around.

That said, it's a pretty strong version of the effect. Except in Zedruu, where it's actually worse than straight-up arrest, funny enough.

I don't play it very often, preferring more versatile and faster removal, but if I got bonuses for enchantments or some other factor, I'd probably at least consider it.

Amusingly prescient wording on the trigger prevents it going infinite with siona, captain of the pyleas. Strange that you can enchant your own creature on cast, but not with the trigger.

[Serenade]

I played it more in earlier EDH days. That last ability is nice. It's a card I always consider for enchantress now but never include. Instead Grasp of Fate/Lignify/Song of the Dryads/ORing cover that area (for GWx decks). If I don't have the green or have a larger aura focus, I would be more likely to add.

[3drinks]

@DirkGently now I'm curious. How is it strictly worse than Arrest in the context of a Zedruu deck?

Derp I just figured it out as I typed it.

[Toshi]

It fits under Sun Titan which is always a plus. But it's nowhere near Song of the Dryads, Imprisoned in the Moon and Darksteel Mutation territory.
But it's propably close to Lawmage's Binding, which i'd only prefer due to having Flash.

Come to think of it, prison has gotten a lot of new toys lately with Reprobation, Frogify, Deep Freeze, Ichthyomorphosis printed somewhat recently.

[Mookie]

I've played Prison Term in the past, but not so much recently. It's an interesting effect. For the initial targeting, Swords to Plowshares or Journey to Nowhere is usually going to be better - there are a lot of ways to free a creature from it, ranging from flicker effects, to enchantment destruction, to sacrifice and recursion. Plus, there are a lot of creatures it doesn't shut down - think Nyxbloom Ancient or Seedborn Muse. Something like Darksteel Mutation is possibly also better.

Where Prison Term gets interesting is its ability to move around after-the-fact. You can throw it on an opponents' creature, then swap it over to an even bigger threat later. Alternatively, you could be a bit more political and move it off if the creature's controller stops being a threat. It's also very good for shutting down hexproof commanders like Narset, Enlightened Master and Dragonlord Ojutai. Alternatively, a decent answer to hasty threats off a Sneak Attack, although you'll lose it when the creature gets sacrificed.

[Sinis]

Wednesday, March 4th, 2020; Prison Term

When I first started playing EDH before the first precons, this card was hot stuff. Depending on some matchups, you might Prison Term your own creature, so you could move it onto your opponent's Uril, the Miststalker when they played it. It was an interesting way of dealing with Hexproof problems, and it could be fetched by Zur.

Times have changed.

I don't think this card is unplayable (nor Arrest/Pacifism/whatever), but it's not among the first cards I would consider for use anymore, and it's been an age since I've played it.

[hyalopterouslemur]

It's good but not great. The best thing about it is, you can place it on a new threat as needed. Though cards which just remove abilities are generally better. Darksteel Mutation is cheaper and shuts down things like Seedborn Muse, False Prophet, [card}Nyxborn Ancient[/card], Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, that sort of thing.

[3drinks]

Thursday, March 5th, 2020; Eat to Extinction and the pretty roughly similar, Vraska's Contempt

I'm pretty confident that if you'll play one of these, you'll play the other. Though i think the named card is better for ease of casting plus more upside.

When do you actually play these?

[schweinefett]

Dunno.. I don't think ive played either, though i see where they could be pretty good. That 4 cmc is pretty hefty to leave open though.

I'm more into the idea of niche/specific answers than broader answers (i.e. swords to plowshares/elderspell). I don't like having to keep the rest of the table "alive" 'cuz im holding up 3B, and subsequently not advancing my own board state.