[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - North Star

[Sinis]

Tuesday, June 9th, 2020; Orcish Librarian

I kind of like Orcish Librarian. If you're not afraid of exiling random cards from your library, it's an okay way of filtering. Also, if you don't find what you need, you can go in for another round of random destruction; while you're not guaranteed to see new cards when you activate OL a second time, it is VERY likely.

You know what, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is. The next monored deck I play will contain this gent.

[onering]

I like how 3drinks was like "Orcish librarian? Nobody's gonna want to discuss that, imma reroll and put something reasonable like blinkmoth nexus" and the thread was like "Bah Gawd is that Orcish Librarians entry music?"

[3drinks]

I always laugh at the cards art and when it came up I had to use it as a joke. I'm quite pleasantly surprised to see it getting real discussion.

Blinkmoth Nexus the featured card, but here we got an Orc eating books running down with it's Money in the Bank briefcase to claim it's chance to shine.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, June 10th, 2020; One with the Machine

Alright. I'm with this. It's no Thoughtcast in efficiency, but I'd be happy playing this card.

[Mookie]

I'm a big fan of One with the Machine - it's either a draw 6 or draw 11 fairly consistently, which is a very good deal. You do need to be running a bunch of artifacts though, and preferably expensive ones.... but in any artifact-based deck, that should be easy to pull off. Still, I'd be happy if I could get 4 cards off it consistently, to justify its inclusion over Concentrate... although ideally, you'll be hitting 5+ cards, to outclass Fact or Fiction consistently (or whatever your 4 mana draw spell of choice is).

Obviously much worse in decks that don't have a heavy artifact theme, or ones that are only running cheap artifacts / eggs. I couldn't give an exact number on how many artifacts to run with it though. I will, however, call out cost-reduced artifacts like The Magic Mirror and Mycosynth Golem as good cards to run alongside it. Alternatively, artifact copies of expensive things using Phyrexian Metamorph or Saheeli's Artistry. Also consider Rush of Knowledge, if you are running things with CMC 8+.

[Sinis]

Wednesday, June 10th, 2020; One with the Machine

If you figure that par for this card is 3 cards (making it like Concentrate), it seems like this shouldn't be too hard to leverage. Also, there are some cheaty mana costs out there; Phyrexian Metamorph will copy a mana cost, and still remain an artifact... Along with everything Mookie wrote.

[umtiger]

Alright. I'm with this. It's no Thoughtcast in efficiency, but I'd be happy playing this card.

Isn't it more efficient? I compare this to Recurring Insight. I haven't ever seen it played, but if you're looking for some raw card draw, this is it.

So one time, it was late at night and I clicked to put this in my Card Kingdom cart...or at least I thought that I did. Man, I was pretty unhappy with what I ended up with. Oh well, it's just a drop in the bucket.

[Hawk]

If you can reliably get this to a "Draw 3" it's fine but unexciting - you really want it to be a "Draw4+".

My only artifact deck in identity for this at this time is Sai, Master Thopterist (although my wife's Alela, Artful Provocateur tribal faerie deck features a fair chunk of artifacts too), and both decks skipped on this. As I look at all card drawing and card selection spells in mono-blue alone, a reason why would be...

- I think every deck in blue should be looking at Brainstorm and Rhystic Study first, budget allowing. Let's call these 9/10s - because nine times out of ten, they should be in your deck.
- I also think, just in general, that I'd be looking at Compulsive Research, Mystic Remora, Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, Ponder, and Preordain in most decks - certainly there are times where running them is wrong but they are right in most decks. These are around the 7.5/10s; they might get beat out by more synergistic spells.
- Mulldrifter, Pull from Tomorrow, Mystic Confluence, Blue Sun's Zenith, and Frantic Search are less universal, but still pretty universal and frequently great additions to a deck. These are like 7/10s.
- If you are artifact-heavy, you'll generally be looking at Skullclamp, Thoughtcast, and Thirst for Knowledge as powerful draw spells as well. These are the wild cards, but wild cards that are 7/10s by themselves and then 10/10s in an artifact deck.
- And if your artifact-heavy deck is also a creature-heavy deck (or your deck is just generally creature-heavy), that opens you up to stuff like Bident of Thassa, Distant Melody, Chart a Course, Reconnaissance Mission, Military Intelligence, and Thopter Spy Network. These are now something like 6/10s, and reliant on synergy to be worthwhile.
- I know they are closer to 5/10s, but I'm also very fond of Deep Analysis and Hieroglyphic Illumination and they wind their way into a lot of my decks. There are tons of 5/10s, like Stroke of Genius and Glimmer of Genius and Boon of the Wish-Giver and Opportunity and Jace's Ingenuity, since blue is the best color for drawing and filitering cards.

One with the Machine is also a 6/10 card (maybe trending towards a 5.5) - so it's rare to me that it overtakes those first several great things and if there is room, there's a ton of 6/10s vying for space. I can see it putting in work in a deck like Sharuum, but would also wonder if on balance, Blue Sun's Zenith or Pull from Tomorrow would be better and One with the Machine is just more fun.

EDIT: I imagine there will be tons of /disagree on my rankings - that's fine, point is that if the average deck wants 10-15 card drawing/filitering spells, blue gets 15 of those easy before even taking a look at this one . Although, I was marveling the other day (and now marvel with you all) - what a difference color makes. Harmonize is a snap-include, but I consider Concentrate to be trash-tier for blue and wouldn't remotely consider it. Maybe that's why I am so hard on One with the Machine and also think Distant Melody is overrated.

[The_Hittite]

Draco, draw 16?

[RedCheese]

I have it in my Memnarch deck

[3drinks]

Alright. I'm with this. It's no Thoughtcast in efficiency, but I'd be happy playing this card.

Isn't it more efficient? I compare this to Recurring Insight. I haven't ever seen it played, but if you're looking for some raw card draw, this is it.

Sometimes, not always. There's forever going to be those times where thoughtcast is just a draw2 for U. That's pretty hard to beat, speaking in efficiency terms. Today's card is more swingy, and will often get more cards with the right card in play (like, say, a Myr Enforcer), but swingy =/= efficient.

[umtiger]

Sometimes, not always. There's forever going to be those times where thoughtcast is just a draw2 for U. That's pretty hard to beat, speaking in efficiency terms. Today's card is more swingy, and will often get more cards with the right card in play (like, say, a Myr Enforcer), but swingy =/= efficient.

So you're just going to casually use the word "forever" when talking about Thoughtcast and practically assume it costs U always.

It's not fair that you left out those times where Thoughtcast is just straight up 4U. If you're going to argue that One with the Machine is actually swingy and not efficient because of it's floor, you should do the same for Thoughtcast. So I'll do it for you. Thoughtcast can be swingy as well. And maybe, just maybe, if you have affinity for artifacts by four, you can afford to have another artifact in play with a big fat CMC as well. Also the cost for cards is not linear. U for 2 cards =/= UU for 4 cards.

Come on, the random card of the day is One with the Machine. Let it have its turn to shine.

[Wallycaine]

Sometimes, not always. There's forever going to be those times where thoughtcast is just a draw2 for U. That's pretty hard to beat, speaking in efficiency terms. Today's card is more swingy, and will often get more cards with the right card in play (like, say, a Myr Enforcer), but swingy =/= efficient.

So you're just going to casually use the word "forever" when talking about Thoughtcast and practically assume it costs U always.

It's not fair that you left out those times where Thoughtcast is just straight up 4U. If you're going to argue that One with Nothing is actually swingy and not efficient because of it's floor, you should do the same for Thoughtcast. So I'll do it for you. Thoughtcast can be swingy as well. And maybe, just maybe, if you have affinity for artifacts by four, you can afford to have another artifact in play with a big fat CMC as well. Also the cost for cards is not linear. U for 2 cards =/= UU for 4 cards.

Come on, the random card of the day is One with Nothing. Let it have its turn to shine.

I mean, using the full sentence matters. "going to be those times" very strongly indicates that 3drinks is not saying that it is always u, just that you have to take it into account when evaluating it, just like you have to take "draw 11" into account when evaluating One with the Machine. I'd also argue it's far more frequently going to be just U than One with the Machine is going to be "Draw 8+".

While I agree that it doesn't scale strictly lineraly, you're example rings especially false because you're not doubling the card, you're tripling it. When talking about pure draw spells, you have to take into account the card you spend to draw. U for 2 cards is +1 card advantage, so when doubling it to UU, it should be "draw 3 cards" instead, to make it a +2 card advantage. If you maintain that scaling, ignoring the color intensity, that means that a 4 cmc spell like One with the Machine needs to create +4 card advantage, or draw about 5 cards. Which is in line with what Hawk was saying, if slightly higher since, as mentioned, it should not be a strictly linear scale.

A huge factor, though, is that the two spells have very different purposes. Thoughtcast is intended to be a souped up cantrip. One with the Machine is a massive hand refill. One with the machine takes most of a turn, but gives you a lot of cards. Thoughtcast frequently takes a single mana, but only adds a handful of cards to your hand.

[materpillar]

I'm a pretty big fan of this card in my Chromium artifact/swords of X&Y deck. It runs Stoneforge Mystic for Batterskull and a Treasure Mage package, so the One with the Machine is usually landing for 5+ cards. It's really good for that rate and the deck is low on burst draw so it fills that niche nicely.

[tstorm823]

It's interesting with Knowledge Pool, as it would draw 6 for you, but other players may not have any expensive artifacts out, and thus don't have a big incentive to cast the card themselves.

[3drinks]

Thursday, June 11th, 2020; Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

This is a very good case study to examine. How good does a creature have to appear before it makes it into a deck or misses the cut?

[Outcryqq]

Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

So many strong keywords, but missing probably the most important one - haste. For that reason, it's tough to justify in most EDH games I play. However, I do have a new Nethroi, Apex of Death mutate deck that has a small keyword-soup subtheme, and there it's pretty great - nonhuman, tons of strong keywords, and I don't have to cast it from hand to get value for it.

[Sinis]

Thursday, June 11th, 2020; Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

This is a very good case study to examine. How good does a creature have to appear before it makes it into a deck or misses the cut?

It has to not have overlap with Avacyn, Angel of Hope for starters.

I think Zetalpa is playable, but for the idea that you could play a different 8 mana creature with roughly the same action on it that happens to make your whole board indestructible. In decks with G without W, I play cards like Stonehoof Chieftain, but generally speaking the creatures considered to be 'best' in this format are much lower to the ground.

[materpillar]

Thursday, June 11th, 2020; Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

This is a very good case study to examine. How good does a creature have to appear before it makes it into a deck or misses the cut?

When you cast it for free with Gishath, Sun's Avatar, that bar is pretty low and this definitely clears that bar.

I don't think Zetalpa, Primal Dawn is going to make it into many decks. Indestructible just isn't nearly as strong as you'd like. There's just so many Swords to Plowshares, Cyclonic Rifts, and Grave Pacts running around. Casting an 8 drop, and then just watching it eat a 1-3 mana removal spell is just a really bad time. If you're specifically in the market for a big dumb creature in a more chill metagame I can see Zetalpa, Primal Dawn pulling its weight.

This is a very good case study to examine. How good does a creature have to appear before it makes it into a deck or misses the cut?

I run Eater of Days in my Lazav, the Multifarious deck, since turning him into a 9/8 is pretty good. I once had my opponent cast Hushbringer and I just slammed my Eater of Days on 4. It felt really strong but not filthy busted. It got me wondering, if Eater of Days didn't have its "skip 2 turns text" how much play would it see? Would it be cEDH worthy? I find that unlikely but I'm not familiar with cEDH enough. It's still just worse than Serra Ascendant right? That sees some play but not a ton of play. I'm curious to know what other people think.

[DirkGently]

@materpillar I think in the case of serra ascendant, people (myself included) tend to lean away from cards that are good but don't do anything the deck is particularly focused on. Ofc stuff like sol ring makes the cut because (nearly) every deck wants to generate mana to some degree, but not every deck wants to beat down with large-ish flyers. Maybe it would improve most white decks, but if everyone shoved in every card that made their deck better, the format would probably get a lot more homogeneous and boring.

That said, some decks do want to beat down, so no-downsides eater of days would probably get played a fair bit, being colorless. But probably not a ton ton. Beaters that are just beaters tend to underwhelm.

All that to say, Zetalpa is pretty underwhelming imo. Usually you only get to play a few spells at that high of cmc without crippling your deck, and I'd want something that gives more reliable value. Even if this lives 3 turns, you've dealt 24 damage....meh. You've got 5x that much to push through. I'd want some synergy to justify this - reanimator, cost cheating, haste + equipment, something.

[ZenN]

How good does a creature have to appear before it makes it into a deck or misses the cut?

Better than Zetalpa, Primal Dawn.

The pool of good creatures it just so huge these days. A bunch of keyword abilities aren't enough alone to make it good. Especially at 8 mana, it needs to have a huge impact on the game. More often than not, this thing is going to hit the table and eat a Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares within a turn or two.

[PrimevalCommander]

Zetalpa would probably see play if I made a white deck with equipment theme. Or keyword-matters decks that are gaining popularity now. Otherwise it would be a hard sell based on CMC. Synergy tends to win out more than an individually powerful card. Creatures especially.

Eater of Days without the drawback is a very fun thought. I would definitely play it in several places, but I don't think I would play it in every deck. Which speaks volumes to how synergy and theme push this format for many players more than raw power. I just wouldn't want to see the same vanilla beater show up in every deck, at least none that were even remotely balanced.

[Hawk]

I think we're to the point where there is almost no statline or combination of abilities that convinces me to run a creature alone in Commander.

- Serra Ascendant is probably the lone exception - a 6/6 flying lifelink for W is absurd, and it needs no support to put you very far ahead if you had it in the opener. The card is insane, and while it isn't an auto-include if your deck is remotely interested in winning via damage the only reason not to run Ascendant is that it feels like "cheating".

- On the other end of the spectrum is ye ol' one-shot robot, Blightsteel Colossus - because this card literally says "if you hit with it you win the game", it sees some play - but not a ton of play. It's not in the top 100 creature list or anything.

- I think that's the level of absurd needed, and that's the reason why in recent years we've seen less people slamming Akroma, Angel of Wrath and Terra Stomper and Baneslayer Angel and Plated Crusher and even Wurmcoil Engine - once format staples, now simply not good enough without some sort of synergy with the deck. Ditto even smaller but well-statted dudes; you don't see nearly as many random decks jamming Vampire Nighthawk as you did 5 years ago, because even though it's a very good card for its CMC it doesn't do "enough" unless your deck is Vampire tribal or an Alesha deck bringing back the 'hawk over and over again.

- Tellingly, the only card that remotely fits the criteria "a lot of stats and keywords for its CMC" in the top creature list is Surrak Dragonclaw - a card I imagine is mostly run for fun, is at the bottom of the list, and does actually still do something in that he dunks on counterspells and gives stuff trample. That flash is key too, letting him play a lot more like a removal spell or hasty beater.

So as for Zetalpa, Primal Dawn? She would have been amazing 10 years ago and now is resigned to just show up in "Keyword soup" decks like Kathril, Aspect Warper or Odric, Lunarch Marshal or Dinosaur tribal decks since she's an awesome hit off of Gishath, Sun's Avatar. She's clearly a ton of stats for the mana, but that's not good enough now when you can get a lot of stats for your mana and also protect your whole board (Avacyn, Angel of Hope), or can get slightly less stats for your mana for a little less, but also nuke the board and pump the team (Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite) or generate value in the color worst at doing so (Sun Titan, Emeria Shepherd).

[umtiger]

Thursday, June 11th, 2020; Zetalpa, Primal Dawn

This is a very good case study to examine. How good does a creature have to appear before it makes it into a deck or misses the cut?

The most relevant rules text for Zetalpa is the creature type. So it might make it just on being a dino.

[Mookie]

I find Zetalpa, Primal Dawn to be pretty meh. It's a big, dumb beater. Indestructible and double strike are both pretty useful keywords if you want to voltron up a creature, but at 8 mana, I sort of expect my threats to be self-contained and not need additional assistance. It's fine if you're in the market for a beater, but most decks aren't. There are also better things to cheat in - Avacyn, Angel of Hope is the obvious upgrade, but I'd also prefer Sun Titan or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite most of the time. I suppose that Zetalpa is one of the larger threats available in mono-white though, if you only care about combat abilities. Although some colorless threats also outclass it....

One exception I would say wants Zetalpa is Gishath, Sun's Avatar, who is specifically going to want dinosaurs to cheat it. Other than that, I'd consider it for decks that care about keywords - Odric, Lunarch Marshal and Kathril, Aspect Warper are the two that come to mind.