[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Golgari Thug

[kirkusjones]

He ain't bad in Ratadrabik of Urborg.

[Hermes_]

*standard ewww UB bad evil juju response here*

[onering]

WOTC put the most iconic wizard of all time into a game about playing as a wizard, took SIX PASSES at him and every single one is a forgettable snooze fest.

The fact that there are six of them make it so much worse, but I've ranted about this subject before so I'll stop myself there.

👎👎

There was a lot this set got wrong, and this was near the top of the list.

I think they went way overboard making multiple versions of some of the legends, especially when a decent number are just garbage. Such is the case with Gandalf except for this iteration and his "Of the Secret Fire" iteration. The latter is an extremely wordy and unnecessarily complicated and underpowered way to copy instant spells (and sorceries I guess if you can set up a way to cast them from your hand on opponents turns, but thats not reliable).

This Gandalf strikes me as also being needless complex to accomplish something pretty boring. He's yet another etb enabler. Those are a dime a dozen, and he does his thing by doubling the etb effect. The relevant twist here is that he also doubles leave the battlefield effects, which is a bit interesting with blink and anything that has a trigger both on entering and leaving, but again there's a ton of competition in this area (like, any blink commander). He then over complicates things by only caring about legends and artifacts (as if mono white wasn't enough of a restriction), and giving those things flash. The result is a darn good support card for some decks and a pretty mediocre commander, which is sad because he's the best Gandalf.

This set really did go overboard with complexity on some legends. Weird crap like oddball hexproof costs, tons of trinket text, and kitchen sink card designs, only some of which were justifiable as top down designs getting cute with story references.

[Serenade]

Was gonna ask "why not historic?" Then I remembered Fall of the Thran. At least we got [checks notes] four other legends that care about Sagas in 2023.

[Henlock]

I really like Gandalf, White Rider as a.potential commander, but I still have to build it. This one... I guess it is fine. I added it to Osgir, the Reconstructor just for the flash part when I realized it didn't affect Ugin's Nexus and it's nice with the Ichor Wellspring-kind.of effect.

[3drinks]

Thursday, February 29th, 2024; Pariah

Good times. I remember building the entire ass Trynn/Silvar deck around this card on my indestructible nightmare kitty. Why is this card still $5 across as many prints as it has though, geez.

[3drinks]

Was gonna ask "why not historic?" Then I remembered Fall of the Thran. At least we got [checks notes] four other legends that care about Sagas in 2023.

But we already have instant speed 'geddon though. They could have used the historic term, tbh. Give people a reason to fear this deck. That's just good Magic.

[Dunadain]

Generally not a fan of locks, but this one is pretty fair, while also having some fun with Stuffy Doll effects.

It's also iconic.

👍

[Hermes_]

Generally not a fan of locks, but this one is pretty fair, while also having some fun with Stuffy Doll effects.

It's also iconic.

👍

stack Stuffy Doll with this and Guilty Conscience then figure out a way to bounce them back to hand once someone is killed.

[DirkGently]

Never really got the flavor here. Why would an outcast be taking your damage for you? Shouldn't it be "loyal bodyguard" or something?

Iconic effect though.

[Ruiner]

Never really got the flavor here. Why would an outcast be taking your damage for you? Shouldn't it be "loyal bodyguard" or something?

Iconic effect though.

Maybe as the outcast, the pariah takes all of the blame and suffers the worst because of it?

This card and similar effects can definitely be fun to mess with, made my Risona, Asari Commander deck based around these effects and "when this creature takes damage, then something else does too" effects.

[3drinks]

Generally not a fan of locks, but this one is pretty fair, while also having some fun with Stuffy Doll effects.

It's also iconic.

👍

stack Stuffy Doll with this and Guilty Conscience then figure out a way to bounce them back to hand once someone is killed.

That's why we play this with Brash Taunter instead. Save a step.

[Serenade]

In my earlier EDH days, I felt like a genius pairing Cho-Manno, Revolutionary with this or Pariah's Shield. The deck was a fort thematically, with walls and gargoyles...but no real wincon. A lot of my early decks had that problem.

That ramparts deck was a good way to learn the drawbacks to playing monowhite, though.

[onering]

Pariah enables Charmin soft locks, which are completely fair.

My favorite goofy interaction though is to combo Pariah with a creature that has the Jackal Pup effect, then give it indestructible. With no other intervention it draws the game. If you've got a Sanguine Bond out or give it lifeline though, you kill the table instead. Or you could eschew the Pup and it's cousins and use Repercussion or the two black auras that give a creature Jackal Pup's rules text, and use a creature that has a relevant triggered ability when it takes damage. You could do the Sanguine Bond combo with a lifeline creature, or kill the table with Brash Brawler plus Pariah plus Repercussion, which is probably the least janky and most compact of these combos. Can anyone really be mad a three card combo in Boros that janky which melts the game state?

[Mookie]

Why is this card still $5 across as many prints as it has though, geez.

Pariah's last meaningful reprint was in Conspiracy, which was a while ago. It probably has just been creeping up over time.

I think Pariah is a fine card, but not one I would be particularly excited to play. You can throw it on a creature with indestructible or one that ignores damage like Sevinne, the Chronoclasm to create a softlock - preventing all damage that would be dealt to you doesn't win the game on its own, but it can buy enough time to find another win condition. It seems like it could be useful if you're running an aura-based deck that can recur or tutor it up when needed - I could see it going in Light-Paws, Emperor's Voice. You can also use it as a janky soft removal spell by throwing it on an opponent's creature.

In general, I don't think stalling out the game is a strong gameplan - there are plenty of cards that can bypass Pariah (including Exsanguinate and other life loss effects), plus opponents can just exile or bounce the creature that is enchanted or use enchantment removal. Still, if it can buy a few extra turns of survival from your opponents, that may be enough to justify its inclusion, assuming you can close out the game with something else in that time.

[onering]

Keep in mind that it's also useable as a removal spells that can be recurred with Sun Titan. Enchant an opponents important creature, deal yourself damage to kill it, attack with Sunny Tits, get it back on something else you want to kill.

[3drinks]

Friday, March 1st, 2024; Krosan Restorer

I always thought that this was a really under rated mana dork. The ability to tap for three of any colours is really, really powerful. Even Lotus Field can only tap for one colour. But then that this thing can untap multiple sol lands (like the aforementioned Field)...man, I can't help but recognize this thing as utterly ridiculous.

[DirkGently]

You're only overpaying by 1 for the base mode, and then the threshold mode is pretty insane. Still not sure I'd run it outside of a land-focused deck, but it's a solid card for sure.

[Dunadain]

I think it's just okay, Voyaging Satyr is already a pretty bad card unless lands like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, or Gaea's Cradle are a core plan for your deck. If you are building around one particular land like that, then the ability to untap multiple lands isn't all that exciting because there's really only one land that matters, the other two lands you tap combined will probably still provide less mana than the main land.

If you are playing these cards to untap regular lands, than I think Krosan Restorer is significantly better than Voyaging Satyr, the additional mana is worth sometimes tapping for 3 instead of 1 mana, but these effects aren't very good if you're planning on just untapping a basic forest (with Arbor Elf being a notable exception), so I just won't play either.

I will say it's sweet if you have your Gaea's Cradle/Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx/etc. AND a Deserted Temple in play.

Having just said all that, I do find it still often makes the cut in these "super land" type strategies. You need a critical density of these effects and Krosan Restorer is pretty squarely the best 3MV version of this effect.

👍

[Mookie]

I run Krosan Restorer in Samut. It combos with Maze of Ith to generate infinite land untaps (assuming you have threshold) and infinite mana, which I hear is good. The mana is only available during combat though, which limits the uses a bit, but you can throw in Shivan Gorge, Kessig Wolf Run, or any other utility land for an actual win condition. Beyond that use case, it's good with lands that can produce more than one mana and other lands with powerful tap abilities. I wouldn't run it over Voyaging Satyr if it only ever untapped one land... but if you can consistently reach threshold, the ability to untap three lands is quite strong even if you only have basics.

I'll note Ley Weaver and Argothian Elder as other options to untap multiple lands - there aren't actually that many options if you want to combo with Maze of Ith. Magus of the Candelabra can also work sometimes, but requires mana to use. Beyond Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx / Gaea's Cradle or other multi-mana lands, I'll note Thawing Glaciers as a fun untap target.

[yeti1069]

Friday, March 1st, 2024; Krosan Restorer

I always thought that this was a really under rated mana dork. The ability to tap for three of any colours is really, really powerful. Even Lotus Field can only tap for one colour. But then that this thing can untap multiple sol lands (like the aforementioned Field)...man, I can't help but recognize this thing as utterly ridiculous.

[3drinks]

Friday, March 1st, 2024; Krosan Restorer

I always thought that this was a really under rated mana dork. The ability to tap for three of any colours is really, really powerful. Even Lotus Field can only tap for one colour. But then that this thing can untap multiple sol lands (like the aforementioned Field)...man, I can't help but recognize this thing as utterly ridiculous.

SPOILER

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Now see, you done made me go old school with the original breaker.

[onering]

She's absurdly good in decks that can support her. If you regularly can get 7 cards in your yard, then even just untapping three basics is a solid rate, and she becomes bonkers once you start untapping multiple lands that produce multiple mana each.

One important thing about this class of cards more generally, it's tempting to evaluate them just as mana dorks, and thus compare them to creatures that just straight up tap for mana, or to mana rocks. While this is often their intended use in a deck, and while it's a baseline, they do more than just make mana (even accounting for making large amounts of mana by untapping cradle for instance). Untapping lands means that they also let you activate the non mana abilities of utility lands more than once a turn (if those abilities require a tap). They let you draw another card with Bonder's Enclave or War room, let you remove another creature from combat with Maze of Ith, or let you create another robot with Urza's Saga. There are a LOT of utility lands, and while manay cost mana to activate in addition to tapping, being able to untap them can be a significant source of value. This gives this class of creatures a significant benefit over traditional mana dorks and mana rocks that shouldn't be overlooked. Krosan Preserver being able to untap three lands lets you reuse multiple utility lands in a turn cycle or lets you reuse one while also helping you get the mana to pay for it.

[pokken]

I have played a lot of Krosan Restorer but I am a total shill for untapper guy combos. Right now I have it in this deck https://deckbox.org/sets/3376150

[Mookie]

I have played a lot of Krosan Restorer but I am a total shill for untapper guy combos. Right now I have it in this deck https://deckbox.org/sets/3376150

Oooh, looks fun. There are some tap abilities and support that I really enjoy in Samut that I couldn't run in other color combinations (Halo Fountain, Krenko, Mob Boss, and Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker are probably the biggest highlights). That said, I'm always a little sad I miss out on the blue support cards - Ioreth of the Healing House and Retreat to Coralhelm both seem very nice for a untap-based deck.