[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[onering]

It still provides:

Creature exile in colors without access to it, namely green and red (blue has 4 very solid spot removal options, 2 of which exile).

Repeated exile with blink/recursion.

2 power synergy

Artifact synergy

That's all pretty good and worth a consideration in decks where creatures or artifacts matter, and it should probably be in blink decks. I like it in black because black can easily reanimate it. In a meta where big fatties still roam, it would be a staple, remove a threat and get a fatty is hard to argue with as a baseline, but that is no longer the standard and so it is no longer a staple. I'd still consider it as an important role player in the format,

[pokken]

I usually wind up cutting it but mostly cos I just don't build that many mono colored decks and when I do I'm looking to do stuff that doesn't really go with duplicant. In most 2+ color decks you're going to have access to something more efficient.

For me the the fundamental problem with the card is that it's really only good enough for the power levels I like playing at if I'm reusing it, and reusing it usually becomes oppressive and unfun for the receiving end. It's kinda like how I don't tend to play aura shards. Being able to spam remove a particular type of card is usually going to get old.

Not to say that I don't build removal engines in my decks I guess, I do, they're just usually a bit more circussy than blinking duplicant or master transmuter spamming it.

[lyonhaert]

It'd be fine in Chainer for exiling problem creatures that are indestructible and commanders. But lately I've been using Faceless Butcher instead because it can serve as an ETB toolbox at times, is a black card that XHD can return in a pinch, and most of the time when exiling a commander the player will put it in the CZ instead of exile, which accomplishes the same thing as Duplicant since Butcher leaving the field later would not bring that commander card back.

If meta developments look like I need another exile card instead of destroy, I could see running it again.

[3drinks]

Sunday, March 29th, 2020; the Time Spiral Storage Lands

Easily the best of the storage land cycles cycle, but how often do you play these? In what decks is it appropriate to do so (beyond the obvious answer of "in any control deck ever").

[DirkGently]

Best of the cycle? You mean better than the (two) previous cycles of storage lands?

Honestly I think they're not that bad. If you're playing a control deck, it gives you something to do if you hold mana up that you don't end up using (I notice now that you already mentioned that but shhh). Can't imagine wanting them in anything remotely aggressive or even midrange - you want a deck where you can get value out of a big chunk of mana on some future turn, but otherwise you're just waiting around. Maybe some version of x-spell tribal could use them, idk.

Personally I basically never use them because I just hate having to deal with counters, especially on my lands.

[illakunsaa]

(beyond the obvious answer of "in any control deck ever").

Honestly never.

I think realistically you are only going to get one time mana burst (2-3 extra) per game and the rest of the time these lands are just wastes. Even with a deck like atraxa do you really want to compromise a functional mana base in order to include even one storage land?

[ilovesaprolings]

Oh. Maybe this is the cycle they will finish in ikoria/c20

[Mookie]

Hmmm.... I don't think the TSP storage lands are necessarily bad, but I can't recall ever seeing them outside decks with a heavy proliferate theme (read: Atraxa, Praetors' Voice. It takes too much effort to produce the first pip of colored mana for it to realistically be considered a fixing land, which means it's usually going to go into a utility land slot. And slots for utility lands tend to be pretty tight. Would I run an occasional boost of extra mana (after a hefty investment) over Field of Ruin, Rogue's Passage, or another land that provides more synergy? Probably not. And if you do really care about a boost of mana production, Ancient Tomb and other sol lands look much better - they may be colorless or have other downsides, but they also require a lot less investment.

....I'd consider the storage lands if I expected to consistently be removing 3+ counters from them, but finding time to invest 6+ mana for a minor payoff later is hard.

[3drinks]

Oh. Maybe this is the cycle they will finish in ikoria/c20

Talk about a buzzkill. I don't recall players ever clamouring for enemy storages like ever.

[pokken]

I really thought I would love these in a deck. I played them in an Atraxa mana storage tribal deck, and it was *so mind numbingly tedious* to play. All the dice flipping took forever and I never had enough payoffs for it which was obviously my issue. Deck won more games with poison via a single viral drake than it did with anything else.

I would like to see the cycle completed just so I can play them now and then since I do like them in small doses still. I played a ton of dreadship reef and calciform pools in various modern decks (ad naus, UW control).

[Sinis]

Sunday, March 29th, 2020; the Time Spiral Storage Lands

I play them in allied colour control decks; just things like The Scarab God, though they rarely make or break plays. Had there been an enemy one, I would have played it in Toothy/Pir.

I think I've only *ever* played Calciform Pools and Dreadship Reef, and none of the others.

[Treamayne]

Sunday, March 29th, 2020; the Time Spiral Storage Lands

SPOILER

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Easily the best of the storage land cycles cycle, but how often do you play these? In what decks is it appropriate to do so (beyond the obvious answer of "in any control deck ever").

I love these lands. I am currently running them to good effect in Fungus, Soldier, Warrior, Beast, Golem and Hydra tribal. Granted, most of that is on MTGO where adding a counter is as easy as a click; though glass beads (like pet-store aquarium beads) work well in paper - rather than dice - for something that constantly adds and removes counters. I use two sizes in multiple colors in paper, so my Ghave Fungus tribal uses the "large" beads as "5" and the smaller as "1."

(beyond the obvious answer of "in any control deck ever").

Honestly never.

I disagree. I think these lands are a great in any proliferate theme/subtheme (you really don't need much to get value from them), as well as a good budget option for midrange and aggro decks that run combat tricks. It's the same concept as control, if you keep mana open for any type of instant-speed interaction (whether it's Counterspell or something like Fight to the Death (which is always best used when opponent A attacks opponent B, right?)) and don't use it, having a place to "store" that mana for a splashy play later isn't a bad thing.

Oh. Maybe this is the cycle they will finish in ikoria/c20

Talk about a buzzkill. I don't recall players ever clamouring for enemy storages like ever.

Sorry this would disappoint you, but I have been hoping for the enemy storage lands for a long, long time. I would be ecstatic if they finally finished the cycle. That and the enemy Borderposts...

[3drinks]

Sorry this would disappoint you, but I have been hoping for the enemy storage lands for a long, long time. I would be ecstatic if they finally finished the cycle. That and the enemy Borderposts...

Dont get me wrong, I'd be happy to see a cycle finished, but this isn't the exciting one to sell a set on. It's a good thing, just not the exciting answer to Maro's hype....which really goes hand in hand with his hints and stuff over the years, troll that he is.

I would LOVE enemy borderposts!

[3drinks]

Monday, March 30th, 2020; Heartstone

Reminding us that before Training Grounds, this was where you went to.

[DirkGently]

I don't think I've ever used this card, even before training grounds was printed. I'm always too nervous I'm going to enable someone else. Plus 3 mana is kind of a lot for something like this.

Kind of insane how much stronger training grounds is. It's a third the cost, twice the effectiveness, and not symmetrical. Holy crap. Obviously it's not strictly better because it's colored, but aside from that it's kinda like comparing sol ring to mana prism, if prism also gave mana to your opponents.

Interesting note: the oracle text seems like a complete departure from the original wording of the card. The original wording really seems like it ought to make Zirilan of the Claw's ability continue to cost since it can't reduce the colorless cost below , but the oracle wording makes it clear that it will cost after all.

[Serenade]

Xantcha for the flavor win! And also helping that ability.

[schweinefett]

I remember way back when having heartstone in my sliver queen deck that also ran stuff like ashnod's altar. 'cuz you know, you never know when you need to get an infinite number of slivers with some number of abilities.

It's not all so bad though; the symmetric nature of it doesn't always even mean much, and if it helps another player, as long as it's not outright ending the game, it can be nice having someone else keep your stuff alive.

[folding_music]

didn't Heartstone come out of that Stronghold precon? :3 everyone I played against in that era was running the card because it was so available and so full of promise... totally colorless card that somehow seemed to help red the most; it made Dwarven Miner, Gorilla Shaman and Orcish Settlers badass to run in multiples, plus Ruby Medallion came out the set before so you had all these little utility creatures running around messing with people trying to save up to cast big krakens and dragons. :3 since everyone was playing red you saw a lot of Fireslinger wars, too.

sorry to reminisce giggle. In a more modern sense I think this is the sort of card I'd run in Grenzo and then take out the first time I flipped it over from the bottom of the deck and felt betrayed <3

[Mookie]

Heartstone is a pretty powerful effect - cost reducers are good, and if you have an activated ability you plan to use repeatedly, it can add up to a lot of mana saved. Training Grounds is obviously more powerful (and asymmetric), but sometimes you'll want redundancy - even if Sol Ring exists, Darksteel Ingot still sees play. Obviously better with cheaper activated abilities - reducing from 2 → 1 mana is more impactful than reducing from 4 → 3 mana. I wouldn't throw it in every deck that planned to use activated abilities though - you really want it to at least be a Worn Powerstone (and preferably even better), which implies using abilities at least 2 times per turn cycle. Also wouldn't run it before Training Grounds / Biomancer's Familiar, but those can't go in every deck, and there aren't that many instances of this ability to choose from anyway.

I actually wouldn't worry that much about the symmetry for it. It will certainly come up occasionally, but my experience is that most decks don't have that many activated abilities, especially ones that cost mana to activate. Looking at the top 100 creatures on EDHREC, I only see ~10 creatures it would affect, and half of those abilities are either not repeatable (ex: Burnished Hart) or expensive (ex: Golos, Tireless Pilgrim). If you can get benefit from it in the command zone, you'll be miles ahead of the rest of the table, most of the time. May be a poor meta call if there are lots of activated abilities in your meta, but that doesn't come up that often.

[materpillar]

Another shout out to Lazav, the Multifarious. Sometimes you gotta turn him into Eater of Days, attack. In response to Maze of Ith, Lasav is now a invisible stalker. Maze trigger fizzles. Lasav is now an Eater of Days again. That's a lot more do-able at 7 mana than 10.

Holding up a Putrid Goblin transformation is a lot less painful at 1 mana than 2 mana.

[Outcryqq]

My experience with Heartstone is very different from Dirk's....it's been a house in decks with important activated abilities.

Roon of the Hidden Realm, Xantcha, Sleeper Agent, Sliver Queen, Grenzo, Dungeon Warden, and Kamahl, First of Krosa all run it to good effect. Of course it can sometimes backfire, but that's why you put it in decks where you assure yourself that you're the one best utilizing it.

[pokken]

I really liked this card in the scorpion god and I could see it being a boss in any deck with activated ability spam. You typically are designing these decks so that you'll get payoff for the 3 mana pretty fast over the course of the game. My expectation would be that it'd also enable a lot of things to go infinite that might not otherwise but I haven't ever done that.

I also find these symmetrical effects kinda fun for some reason; if you happen to enable someone else, that's going to be something people remember and talk about, since it's such a peculiar effect. Much less old hat that than woops my rites of flourishing backfired.

[Hermes_]

I got this card in the foil slivers deck....looking back i wish i had bought two of those decks.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, March 31st, 2020; Outlaws' Merriment

Uhm. I'm...not really sure what to say.

[Myllior]

Uhm. I'm...not really sure what to say.

I usually smack my forehead for not leaving up a counterspell. But that's me playing Dimir, in Standard, on Arena, so probably not the best way to analyse it

I guess it's in the colours for Jokulhaups and Armageddon, but even then it's very slow. Even if it triggered on every upkeep I'd be pretty miffed if someone blew up the world with this as their chosen way to break parity. Maybe as part of a Boros(+) enchantress shell?