[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Outcryqq]

Deadeye Tracker

So I play him in my bad pirate tribal deck, barely.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, March 11th, 2020; Wurmcoil Engine

I know we're pretty hard on dudes that just attack/block. But is this the gold standard all beaters have to live up to? Stiff competition.

[DirkGently]

I've heard some people (in the past) call this an auto-include. I definitely don't agree - it is good at what it does, but I'd want to have some synergy to include it, personally. Lifegain, artifacts, tokens, death triggers, something. I'm not just throwing this into some random midrange list. You get a limited number of 6 drops, and most decks will have more synergistic options.

[3drinks]

I just wanna play this in a Teysa Karlov deck some time..........man what a riot that would be.

[MeowZeDung]

At its best in dedicated artifact decks with daretti and welder effects imo. I run it in Ephara artifacts with nim deathmantle and sac outlets for some tasty synergy all around.

[Sinis]

Wednesday, March 11th, 2020; Wurmcoil Engine

I just wanna play this in a Teysa Karlov deck some time..........man what a riot that would be.

Riot is in Gruul colours.

I kid, I kid.

I like this card, but it rarely makes the cut in my decks. It abstractly doesn't feel like it does enough, even though, all of my play experiences with it have been positive. Once in my Rona deck, I Echo Stormed it for 5 copies.

[lyonhaert]

Typically I'd be running it in Chainer for its lifelink, synergies with sac outlets (like Altar of Dementia), multiple bodies, etc. Just happen to be testing something else.

[Mookie]

As beaters go, Wurmcoil Engine is pretty solid - deathtouch makes it hard to interact in combat profitably, and lifelink helps you stabilize and makes it a good target to pump up with Fireshrieker or other effects. Meanwhile, the tokens give it some resilience even if it gets removed, and allow for some sacrifice/combo potential (ex: Ashnod's Altar + Nim Deathmantle).

I wouldn't call it an auto-include, but if you're running a deck that wants beaters, and especially if that deck has artifact synergies, it's worth consideration. I'd be running it in my Thada deck if not for budget restrictions. I'm not sure if I would run it in my Sharuum deck though - I already have Myr Battlesphere and Sphinx of the Steel Wind as reanimate-able beaters, and not sure if I would want a third. No interest in it for Teysa 1.0, because that deck cares about quantity of bodies over quality, although I could see it in a Teysa 3.0 deck.

I mentally slot it in as 'the honorary colorless titan', as a 6/6 for 6 with piles of text, since the actual colorless titan is banned.

[Gashnaw]

I've heard some people (in the past) call this an auto-include. I definitely don't agree - it is good at what it does, but I'd want to have some synergy to include it, personally. Lifegain, artifacts, tokens, death triggers, something. I'm not just throwing this into some random midrange list. You get a limited number of 6 drops, and most decks will have more synergistic options.

It was probably an auto-include in the early days but now it is just a good card. If you want to run go ahead. I don;t run it in my dragon deck, but that is because I want to run dragons. Wurmcoil does not fit any of the criterias that a dragon does, mainly the whole "being a dragon" thing.

[SocorroTortoise]

It's a good card. It's not one I'm likely to play unless there's some kind of synergy whether that's with the tokens, being an artifact, or the large chunks of lifegain, because 6 is still a lot of mana. That means it's usually below more synergistic 6-drops in deckbuilding consideration.

[Rumpy5897]

I ran it for a while in my copy-happy Ghired, but ultimately went for stuff that scales better and ends games faster. In terms of the card in a vacuum, you need to have ways to abuse it for it to be a consideration. My playgroup's robots Marchesa runs it. Turns out making a pair of 3/3 token deterrents per player per turn is pretty okay.

[toctheyounger]

It's a solid beater that doesn't belong everywhere. I run it in Glissa because artifacts and lifegain but equally it would be gross in Daretti.

One of those cards that while I get why it has the price tag it does I still feel like it ought to be lower because it's not as much of an auto include as people hype it up to be.

[Rumpy5897]

Doesn't Wurmcoil see 60-card play in Tron and stuff? Don't think its price is commander driven.

[hyalopterouslemur]

Kinda %$#% pirate, but it's the only one that does graveyard hate

I think they were going for "He could grow big." gaining maybe one +1/+1 counter a turn.

Eh. Pirates need evasion, not big bodies

True, but I didn't say it was a good idea. Notice I said maybe.

Wurmcoil Engine is one creature that can do the trick with Ashnod's Altar and Nim Deathmantle, but I can think of a dozen others. (You really only need to produce at least two tokens upon entry or death. You can use Phyrexian Altar with Deranged Hermit or Myr Battlesphere and get perfect color fixing to boot.)

[Hermes_]

one of the local players calls the tokens "Doctor good touch" and "doctor bad touch"

[pokken]

Wurmcoil is really good at just holding down the aggro strategies in the mid game. I like it. Also the combo is good

It's a bit less good now since the over-the-top kills can often beat through a 6/6 lifelinker with 30/30 tramplers but still does a lot of work for me in the deck I have it in where I can loop it with academy ruins.

[Serenade]

I never got one and settled for Soul of New Phyrexia for this spot. It's not a good comp...but it is much, much cheaper.

That first print of WCE is best. The watermark!

[3drinks]

Thursday, March 12th, 2020; Innocent Blood

Pretty damn efficient to say the least.

[MeowZeDung]

Step one: play tragic arrogance or divine reckoning, leaving behind some hexproof or indestructible menace.

Step two: play this.

[Rumpy5897]

Note Tragic Arrogance says "you choose", circumventing any targeting restrictions. Plus, as long as there's literally anything else they have on board, you can slurp the hexproof/indestructible menace the first go around.

Innocent Blood is ultimately quite situational, as you need something you want to sac or have no board at all to avoid being two cards down from this. There are still decks that wouldn't mind running this, but I'd imagine stapling asymmetry onto it, commonly in the form of a baked-in body, sees more play.

[MeowZeDung]

Note Tragic Arrogance says "you choose", circumventing any targeting restrictions. Plus, as long as there's literally anything else they have on board, you can slurp the hexproof/indestructible menace the first go around.

Yep. I have seen plenty of board states where one player had multiple hexproof/indestructible guys though. My noting the interaction was more silly than serious. I wouldn't run this for such a "combo", but rather for the mana cost. It's a nice little turn 3-5 kill multiple commanders for sometimes.

[3drinks]

Or you just cast this t1/t2 to hit some commanders and dorks. Good value.

[ilovesaprolings]

Or you just cast this t1/t2 to hit some commanders and dorks. Good value.

Kill that Animar on turn 3 along with some utility dudes. Good card because it's so cheap

[schweinefett]

Not sure what else to say but good card is good.

Efficient, goes around hexproof shroud indestructible. Also, the bane of my zedruu voltron deck.

[3drinks]

Not sure what else to say but good card is good.

Efficient, goes around hexproof shroud indestructible. Also, the bane of my zedruu voltron deck.

You just need to play more Sacred Mesa then. Never lose your voltron again!