[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Jetfire, Ingenious Scientist

[3drinks]

Sunday, May 10th, 2020; Decimate

Ever the controversial card, decimate more.

[Mookie]

Casualties of War is an amazing card, capable of solving a pile of problems by itself. Decimate, on the other hand.... I've run it before, but been pretty disappointed. Unlike Casualties, Decimate requires every target to be present, which turns out to be pretty difficult in practice. That makes this card significantly more conditional than Casualties. It is cheaper and easier to cast, which is certainly an upside.... but I'd pretty much always prefer Beast Within. It certainly looks like an amazing card when it works, but it efficiency is comparable to Dispel and Stifle - they're efficient to balance out how incredibly narrow they are.

Lands are always present in games, and artifacts and creatures are also pretty common. However, enchantments are a different story. Enchantments are sort of odd in that they are one of the lesser-played card types, while simultaneously being some of the most kill-on-sight cards in the format. I'd say part of this reason is that a lot of them fall in the bucket of 'do-nothing enchantment' - a card like Phyrexian Arena or Grave Pact is incredibly powerful if it sticks around... but if the game is short (or if it just gets killed quickly), you'll wish you were running Read the Bones or Barter in Blood instead. This sort of concentrates enchantments into the decks that are really capable of taking advantage of them. Contrast with utility creatures - you could throw Sakura-Tribe Elder or Mulldrifter in pretty much any deck and they'd be consistently functional.

Anyway, this means that most of the enchantments that see play are ones which are capable of creating a massive amount of advantage if left untouched, which is necessary to balance out the games in which they cause a loss for their controller due to not having any immediate board impact. I'm actually going to point to other formats for support here - answers for artifacts and graveyard shenanigans are pretty much staple sideboard tech in Modern and Legacy, but dedicated enchantment removal sees pretty much zero play. This is because in those formats, which prize efficiency and speed, it's very rare for an enchantment to be playable. I suppose this is somewhat complicated by the fact that until recently, only two colors were capable of dealing with enchantments, while three could deal with artifacts.

....anyway, this is a pretty long-winded way to say 'enchantments don't show up that often, but when they do, they're going to be a magnet for removal'. My personal opinion is that there are almost no playable dedicated enchantment removal cards, because they're dead too often - I'll always choose a more flexible spell if possible. And since Decimate requires an enchantment to be targeted, it also ends up being dead way more than I'm comfortable with.

[3drinks]

My personal opinion is that there are almost no playable dedicated enchantment removal cards, because they're dead too often - I'll always choose a more flexible spell if possible. And since Decimate requires an enchantment to be targeted, it also ends up being dead way more than I'm comfortable with.

Alright, I'll bite, because there's a minimum of two that are always live and never blank.

Forsake the Worldly
Wilt

You could surely make a case that Aura of Silence is one too, but I digress that as efficient as it is, it's got a certain nonzero percent chance of being blank.

[FoxOfWar]

Heh. I just skipped Decimate when pondering which way to take my Atla Palani deck, exactly because that one missing target is so grindingly annoying when it happens. Doesn't happen often, and in a pinch you can destroy your own thing to be rid of something, but it's certainly not ideal.

[Mookie]

My personal opinion is that there are almost no playable dedicated enchantment removal cards, because they're dead too often - I'll always choose a more flexible spell if possible. And since Decimate requires an enchantment to be targeted, it also ends up being dead way more than I'm comfortable with.

Alright, I'll bite, because there's a minimum of two that are always live and never blank.

Forsake the Worldly
Wilt

You could surely make a case that Aura of Silence is one too, but I digress that as efficient as it is, it's got a certain nonzero percent chance of being blank.

To clarify, I was intending to point to cards like Aura Blast, Back to Nature, and War Priest of Thune that only destroy enchantments. I'm actually a big fan of Aura of Silence, and Reclamation Sage is a staple. I will agree that adding an alternative mode (such as cycling) helps though.

[Serenade]

Uh, guys, just use Soul Sculptor, duh. =P

[3drinks]

Monday, May 11th, 2020; Stonehoof Chieftain

Is this actually good? Like seriously. Idk, every time I see it, I'm reminded of this big dumb eight drop that I can't do anything with. It's a miss from me...

[Mookie]

Hmmmm... as far as big dumb beaters go, Stonehoof Chieftain is fine. Trample makes it hard to block effectively, while indestructible means it will live to attack. Granting other creatures indestructible and trample is fine, but not amazing - it's roughly equivalent to Iroas, God of Victory or Dolmen Gate unless you're planning to wrath the board afterwards.

I only have one deck that's running big stompy things for the sake of running big stompy things (Thada), and it has three criteria it looks for in a beater: evasion, protection, and value. I'm willing to give a creature consideration if it has two out of three (although the best creatures obviously hit all of them). Stonehoof Chieftain has some evasion in the form of trample, good protection in the form of indestructible, and some value in the form of its extra ability. So, might give it a shot there.

....however, that's talking about a blue deck. In blue, the value creatures are small (like Agent of Treachery and Mulldrifter), while the big creatures lack value (like Stormtide Leviathan and Inkwell Leviathan). In green, the competition is much steeper. Pretty much every expensive creature in green can function as a beater, while also having a pile of value stapled onto it - Rampaging Baloths, Terastodon, Soul of the Harvest, and Woodfall Primus are all beefy value creatures. So the real question for Stonehoof Chieftain is how valuable indestructible is, and my opinion is that it isn't worth giving up a useful value-generating effect unless you're expecting a ton of board wipes. And if you're generating enough value from your creatures, getting the board wiped may not even slow you down that much - green's recursion makes losing a creature less painful, since you can just grab it back.

Anyway, miss from me too.

[gilrad]

I think the play line of attacking with your board then wrathing everybody else makes this guy not horrible for a late-game closer.

Anyway out of curiosity, I set up this scryfall search. Some observations:

There are very few hits under 10 mana that include the "don't die before I untap doing nothing" protection that this guys has (indestructible in this case but there are also riders like what the Eldrazi titans have).

The seven-mana guys generally max out at 5 power without much evasion, but once you get to 10 mana this guy looks pretty lame by comparison. Though there is a pretty big difference between 8 mana and 10 mana if you're not playing ramp.

Unsurprisingly, once you remove the color identity restriction the list looks a lot more competetive, with many options that both have all of a strong board presence, protection from removal while tapped out, and a quick clock once they start attacking.

It should be noted that a lot of the cards that outperform this one though are way more expensive. I certainly wouldn't want all my creature finishers to start with Kozilek, Ulamog, and Avacyn whenever I build a new deck!

[Sinis]

Monday, May 11th, 2020; Stonehoof Chieftain

Is this actually good? Like seriously. Idk, every time I see it, I'm reminded of this big dumb eight drop that I can't do anything with. It's a miss from me...

I actually really like it, but I don't play it in any of my decks, currently (I am working on one where it will be played, though).

Honestly, it's a bit like half an Avacyn. Gives your guys indestructible when it's relevant (on attack), is big and indestructible itself. It's not Avacyn (where she makes Swiftfoot Boots indestructible and your opponents are digging for narrow answers to even target her), but... you could do worse.

As @gilrad said, there are also wrath shenanigans to be had. Maybe with Novablast Wurm?

[Dunharrow]

I would not play this. How many 8 drops will you play? Is this better than Craterhoof, Vorinclex, Terastadon, Woodfall primus? Platinum Emperion?
Is it better than a hundred 6 and 7 drops that are even better?

I play Archetype of Endurance in one deck and wouldn't see Stonehoof Chieftain as anything other than a downgrade.

*looks at price*
I am going to sell mine for sure!

[3drinks]

I would not play this. How many 8 drops will you play? Is this better than Craterhoof, Vorinclex, Terastadon, Woodfall primus? Platinum Emperion?
Is it better than a hundred 6 and 7 drops that are even better?

fwiw, it's probably better than Primus, Emperion, and 'Clex (unless 'Clex is commander, because that's a whole other layer of trolling insanity) at least. Deffo not overwriting T-Don or Hoofman for sure though. Geez I haven't played anything bigger than a six in years, it's a stretch to play ruinous ultimatum, and r&d expects me to spend win the game mana on a single dude?

[Outcryqq]

Stonehoof Chieftain

I don't run the card, but I'll note that mass indestructible is hard to come by. And on permanents, they're all high cmc AFAIK: Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Darksteel Forge, and this. Am I missing any?

[FoxOfWar]

I have this guy on the potential list for one deck: Polukranos, Unchained. The deck has a subtheme of playing some well-protected Really Big Beaters as a bit of a plan B (and because I like some big dumb beaters, natch), and this one is nice enough to give trample to Polukranos as well. Granted, the indestructible helps less because of how Polu's counters work(barring having some buff on him), but anyway.

It's a decent curve topper on a creature/big beats kind of deck.

[Dunharrow]

I would not play this. How many 8 drops will you play? Is this better than Craterhoof, Vorinclex, Terastadon, Woodfall primus? Platinum Emperion?
Is it better than a hundred 6 and 7 drops that are even better?

fwiw, it's probably better than Primus, Emperion, and 'Clex (unless 'Clex is commander, because that's a whole other layer of trolling insanity) at least. Deffo not overwriting T-Don or Hoofman for sure though. Geez I haven't played anything bigger than a six in years, it's a stretch to play ruinous ultimatum, and r&d expects me to spend win the game mana on a single dude?

I don't see how.
Primus has combo potential and has a strong ETB.
Vorinclex can win the game by itself.
Emperion is easy to kill but it can just stop non-interactive decks dead in their tracks.

Stonehoof Chieftain does what exactly? Lets you attack and not lose your critters? I guess you can wrath after you attack, but then if you are playing black or white you have much better 8 drops.
The trample can be nice but there are far better options

I also forgot the new hoof End-Raze Forerunners

I just don't see what stonehoof does that wins you the game. If you have small dudes, it doesn't grow them. If you have big dudes, you don't care about the indestructible clause very much.

In any case, there are a lot of good green 7+ drops and I don't see any reason to play this

[ilovesaprolings]

Is this actually good? Like seriously. Idk, every time I see it, I'm reminded of this big dumb eight drop that I can't do anything with.

The fact that a card like can be considered bad is the proof of how much bloat we got these years.

[onering]

Forerunners definitely isn't new Hoof. They play in the same design space but +2/+2 just isn't in the same ballpark. Pathbreaker Ibex is usually going to have more of an impact. I'd put Stonehoof above the Forerunners because at least what it does is unique and isn't only relevant when it wins that turn. Sure, Forerunners is going to be better when casting it means you now have lethal on the board, but like Hoof there's going to be a lot of times where you hold it in your hand waiting for that opportunity. Hoof is worth it because it gives you lethal much more easily than Forerunners so it is far less likely to languish in your hand waiting to be relevant. Stonehoof you can cast when you draw it and it has either immediate impact if you have creatures that can attack, or if its a topdeck onto an empty board will have more impact down the line than Forerunners.

Vorcinclex is better without a doubt because it takes over games and has enormous impact even if is gets answered a turn later. Emperion is a trap card. If its relevant, it gets answered without impacting the game, if its not relevant it gets to stick until it is. Its a card that seems like its doing work but always seems to fail you when its most needed. It only preys on decks that somehow can't remove it, which means it basically only preys on bad decks. Craterhoof is better because its just so damn powerful when it works. T-Don is better because its a triple beast within strapped to a 9/9. Primus is probably about even with Stonehoof but they have very different applications. Primus is an answer card that can hit two things, but only one reliably, and provides an acceptable body that comes back for more, while Stonehoof is a more formidable body with indestructible that lets you attack with impunity. Primus in practice is going to be better because its better in better decks, since Stonehoof is better in decks that want to turn dudes sideways and that's not well positioned in the format.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, May 12th, 2020; Treasury Thrull

Looks like a knock off Great Value™️ Sun Tits, honestly. I guess it can. Pull back big things though so that's a thing. Like, the aforementioned Stonehoof Chieftain.

[Wallycaine]

Not triggering on ETB is really what drags this card down. It's already an undersized dude that needs to attack for value, but now it has to survive for a whole turn cycle or get haste in white black to even get started getting value. I could actually see it as a fairly solid staple if it worked like Sun titan, though, as the expanded list of targets is pretty solid.

[gilrad]

On the other hand, extort is an all-star mechanic for lifepoints matter metas, and there's no shame in digging into middling value dudes to ensure you always have some extortion going on every game. If he sticks he can also fuel your extortions if you're running a little thin on spells to cast, which is a nice bonus.

[Dunharrow]

On a tight budget, this is good with things like Mind Stone.

I guess it can loop Mindslaver too.

[Hawk]

In a world where Sun Titan exists and is always an option if Thrull is, it's really hard to justify ever running Thrull. At the same CMC, Titan has +2/+2, Vigilance, puts things directly back on the battlefield, hits lands (and a small but relevant selection of planeswalkers!), and triggers on EtB as well as attack so you'll almost always get at least one thing before it eats removal. This thing was a HOUSE in limited, but in this format a 4/4 body for six is terribad and attacking reliably with this is a really tough sell. You'd have to attack at least twice to get value which is so close to impossible that it's basically always "win more" if it works. Yes, it hits larger targets than Titan - but you have to cast them, so I consider that a wash.

Extort is of course spicy in multiplayer, but at this CMC you also always have access to Pontiff of Blight if you're interested in bleeding the table dry or triggering "whenever you gain life" engines with ease (to say nothing of the many, many, many better enablers and payoffs to that strategy for less than six CMC).

I am frankly horrified to see this thing at nearly 2000 decks on EDHRecs. Like...why? Pontiff and Titan are also effectively dollar rares. I think I'd only run this in "Orzhov Watermark Tribal" where at least I think it's better than like Knight of Sorrows, Knight of Obligation, and Vizkopa Confessor in terms of "overcosted bodies with low-grade deck synergy".

[Wallycaine]

In a world where Sun Titan exists and is always an option if Thrull is, it's really hard to justify ever running Thrull. At the same CMC, Titan has +2/+2, Vigilance, puts things directly back on the battlefield, hits lands (and a small but relevant selection of planeswalkers!), and triggers on EtB as well as attack so you'll almost always get at least one thing before it eats removal. This thing was a HOUSE in limited, but in this format a 4/4 body for six is terribad and attacking reliably with this is a really tough sell. You'd have to attack at least twice to get value which is so close to impossible that it's basically always "win more" if it works. Yes, it hits larger targets than Titan - but you have to cast them, so I consider that a wash.

Extort is of course spicy in multiplayer, but at this CMC you also always have access to Pontiff of Blight if you're interested in bleeding the table dry or triggering "whenever you gain life" engines with ease (to say nothing of the many, many, many better enablers and payoffs to that strategy for less than six CMC).

I am frankly horrified to see this thing at nearly 2000 decks on EDHRecs. Like...why? Pontiff and Titan are also effectively dollar rares. I think I'd only run this in "Orzhov Watermark Tribal" where at least I think it's better than like Knight of Sorrows, Knight of Obligation, and Vizkopa Confessor in terms of "overcosted bodies with low-grade deck synergy".

At a guess, I would assume this is run alongside Sun Titan in those 2000 decks. Pontiff really fulfills a very different role than either, though. I think that if you're desperate for "reapeatable attack based recursion" in orzhov, it's probably reasonable to run this as a second, much crappier sun titan.

[Mookie]

I've tried to make Treasury Thrull work, but it hasn't ever really worked out. Not having any immediate impact is just too much of a downside for a 6-drop, and being a 4/4 for 6 means it's unlikely to be able to survive combat consistently. It is one of the few ways to recur enchantments repeatedly... but, again, surviving combat can be hard. Could be interesting in a voltron deck - slap some swords on it and recur any that were blown up - but that seems inefficient. Can't think of many other good ways to make it survive combat consistently - they certainly exist, but nothing that really synergizes.

The other half - its extort trigger - is also somewhat interesting, but not enough to make it playable. You'd need to really highly value the extort trigger... but even if you did, there are other, cheaper cards with extort to choose from.

[Outcryqq]

--snip--
I am frankly horrified to see this thing at nearly 2000 decks on EDHRecs. Like...why? Pontiff and Titan are also effectively dollar rares. I think I'd only run this in "Orzhov Watermark Tribal" where at least I think it's better than like Knight of Sorrows, Knight of Obligation, and Vizkopa Confessor in terms of "overcosted bodies with low-grade deck synergy".

I suspect the reason for this is that it was included in at least one precon Commander product. My experience is that it's easier to keep mediocre cards in a precon than it is to select a mediocre card to actively include in your own deck. But for a precon inclusion I reckon you'd see it in significant less decks.