[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[lyonhaert]

I ran Soul Warden, Soul's Attendant, and Ranger of Eos in my first build of Darien, King of Kjeldor. I also ran Suture Priest. If nobody had removal, it was a soft-lock against attacks unless it was an alpha-strike.

[3drinks]

I ran Soul Warden, Soul's Attendant, and Ranger of Eos in my first build of Darien, King of Kjeldor. I also ran Suture Priest. If nobody had removal, it was a soft-lock against attacks unless it was an alpha-strike.

Man. Anger of the Gods has never looked so good to see. Haha.

[Hermes_]

Soul Warden and Soul's Attdendant

I wonder why the "may" was added

[Dragonlover]

IIRC it's because people were missing mandatory triggers and getting game losses for it. so WotC experimented with making beneficial mandatory triggers optional. I'm honestly not sure if it's something that's continued to now, but it was around for a few years at least.

Dragonlover

[Wallycaine]

IIRC it's because people were missing mandatory triggers and getting game losses for it. so WotC experimented with making beneficial mandatory triggers optional. I'm honestly not sure if it's something that's continued to now, but it was around for a few years at least.

Dragonlover

If I recall correctly, it wasn't because people were getting game losses, but because people were misunderstanding how missed triggers worked and assuming mandatory ones had to be put on the stack, even if it was several turns later. But it's been a while.

They've shifted back away from it in more recent years, because it's a pain to have to click yes to each trigger in digital. So for purely beneficial triggers, they've moved away from the "may" in order to avoid the extra clicks.

[hyalopterouslemur]

I like these ladies. They provide a base to the curve in token decks, and have obvious synergies. Tbere's also Suture Priest for the mirror, Leyline of Vitality for an enchantment and a slight toughness boost, enough to help out against damage-based wipes, and Trostani, Selesnya's Voice for big tokens or clone tokens.

Leyline has the added lulz of gaining me 20 life or more when I cast March of Souls. Not my favorite interaction for that particular wipe, but a cute one nonetheless.

[MeowZeDung]

I ran Soul Warden, Soul's Attendant, and Ranger of Eos in my first build of Darien, King of Kjeldor. I also ran Suture Priest. If nobody had removal, it was a soft-lock against attacks unless it was an alpha-strike.

I run Darien, King of Kjeldor in my Daxos, Blessed by the Sun for this reason. The combo actually won me a game over the weekend because it ran my life total way up AND gave me tokens to sac to Ashnod's Altar. Good stuff.

I don't run the sisters, Suture Priest, or soul mister in that list because I have the effect readily available in the command zone, but I will say that they are badly underrated and a lot of lists would be better with just one of them in the 99. I've seen Soul Warden do silly things in God-Eternal Oketra, for example.

I imagine Essence Warden is at its best in an elf combo deck, a token deck, or something like a Prime Speaker Vannifar Birthing Pod/Evolutionary Leap/Fauna Shaman type deck.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020; Mark of Fury

I dig this, I think. I'm not sure if R each turn but not getting swept in collateral damage or 0 to equip is better, but I think this card is a winner. Fascinating.

[Rorseph]

This is an underappreciated card. Mark of Fury is a powerhouse in Shu Yun decks.

[MeowZeDung]

Oh wow. I didn't know this existed. Nice

[3drinks]

This is an underappreciated card. Mark of Fury is a powerhouse in Shu Yun decks.

I'd think they'd prefer Flickering Ward no? #whynotboth

[Rorseph]

#whynotboth

I mean, I run both in my version.

[DirkGently]

This is the sort of card I'm glad exists. Usually you'd be better off just forking over the extra mana for fervor or similar, so when you find a good use for it, like shu yun, it's kind of a neat "light-bulb over head" moment.

[Sinis]

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020; Mark of Fury

I've long been aware of it, but I almost never play it. I find that the real problem is that red creatures kind of suck, and the decks of mine that are red are less likely to be creature based, or really want this effect. Seems like it would be good in Shu Yun or perhaps an enchantress deck of some kind.

[Mookie]

This actually looks pretty sweet as an enchantment that may be cast repeatedly - haste is a keyword that doesn't really do anything after the first turn, so returning to hand isn't a downside here. There is the issue that red traditionally doesn't lend itself to an enchantress build, but as others have mentioned, Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest and some other Jeskai commanders appreciate getting more prowess triggers.

If I didn't specifically have a payoff for prowess / casting spells repeatedly, I'd stick with a Fervor variant, such as Anger. It's cheap to cast, but you can also only give one creature haste per turn, which means it isn't good for go-wide strategies. Simultaneously, the cost will add up to potentially be more than the cost of a global haste effect, and being an aura makes it more vulnerable to removal.

...I'm actually not sure what my favorite way to grant haste in mono-red would be. In multicolor, Rhythm of the Wild, Samut, Voice of Dissent, and Temur Ascendancy are all pretty solid, but I haven't really thought about it in monocolor. Hmmm... maybe Ogre Battledriver?

[toctheyounger]

I knew this card existed but hadn't really read it fully. That's, uh....pretty damn handy and I wish I had a copy just because there's bound to be a point at which I can find it a home.

I can't see anywhere it's a shoe in for my decks right now, although it's close in Yidris purely for enchantress draw. That being said for the same price point I get Clout of the Dominus which has a lot more on-field utility despite being much less reusable. It's a toss up, but Clout probably gets it purely because cascade requires card in library, not hand.

[3drinks]

I remember coming across it in an Uril, the Miststalker deck. 7/7 hexproof haste for 2WRRG as a floor is pretty good. I'd call it as much a staple to that deck as Rancor.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, April 15th, 2020; Questing Beast

Gross.

It's the resident new super pushed and under costed G fattie and what a doozie he is. What's your take?

[DirkGently]

He's so disgustingly overpowered!

In standard. I guess. I don't really care tbh. In commander he's not particularly scary, though he's an alright aggro creature I guess. Definitely nothing to write home about.

As a general rule, if all it does is attack and block "pretty good" it's not going to make much of a wave in commander.

[MeowZeDung]

QB is actually pretty ho hum in commander, imo. Vigilance + Deathtouch is probably it's best attribute in our format. It will surprise assassinate a token deck's pw now and again I guess.

[folding_music]

Not happy with this huge doofus having Deathtouch or countering Moment's Peace but then again I've never played against one or given the creature the least bit of thought. looks like a good antidote to fortress decks and a great place to put a piece of equipment (especially one that includes Lifelink or Infect?) but I guess it diminishes in meaning when the power level gets too fast for creatures that don't search your deck for lands. actually I'd love to participate in games where the power level permitted Questing Beast or comparable oldschool stuff like Spiritmonger!

[Mookie]

Questing Beast is a pile of text that seems more focused on Standard than it is on other formats. It's certainly not a bad pile of text, but the primary issue is that all of it is related to combat... and the standards for a combat-only creature to be playable in EDH are much higher than a 4/4 for 4.

Anyway, in the command zone, QB has some potential as a voltron commander, but there are better options in monogreen - only four base power isn't that impressive. It does have some upside against planeswalkers if those are prevalent in your meta, but you could also just attack them directly - the only real use case is both hitting the walkers and getting combat damage triggers from swords. Perhaps the most unique ability is the damage prevention clause, which allows you to make Fog effects one-sided.... but as QB doesn't have any other synergy with those effects, and neither monogreen nor the format in general are particularly conducive to a turbofog strategy.

As part of the 99, QB has a bit more potential for keyword soup-focused decks - three keywords is good for Odric, Lunarch Marshal and Kathril, Aspect Warper. It's also solid for carrying Swords and other equipment. Deathtouch also has some upside if you're running Viridian Longbow effects, as is haste - you can use it as a pinger immediately.

[pokken]

The "combat damage can't be prevented" rider for all your creatures is deceptively strong. Shuts off all the swords of x and y on defense, shuts off fogs (including spore frog), shuts off glacial chasm.

Slap a sword on it and it's an absolute monster.

I'd definitely consider playing it in a deck that was focused on winning with combat damage.

AFAIK itt beats teferi's protection for commander damage, too, which is gross -- so you can pop them with your commander and their blockers are gone. Kinda sick if you're a voltron deck

[lyonhaert]

AFAIK itt beats teferi's protection for commander damage, too, which is gross -- so you can pop them with your commander and their blockers are gone. Kinda sick if you're a voltron deck

Yep. The "damage can't be prevented" clause supercedes TP's "prevent damage" part of the protection from everything. Same for infect giving them poison counters. So stuff like Insult and Flaring Pain can get commander damage or infect through Teferi's Protection, too.

[materpillar]

I personally hate this card with a passion. Not because it is overpowered or anything. Eldraine was such a super flavorful and awesome set. Then, there was this monstrosity of flavor fail. It's not interesting at all, it's just boring creature powercreep.

He's probably good enough for some decks. I don't know, he's painfully boring to read. Give me my Midnight Clock and Gingerbrute any day.