[mtgnexus] Random Card of the Day - Rishkar, Peema Renegade

[Mookie]

Martyr's Cry is yet another powerhouse from The Dark, alongside staples like Ghost Ship, Sorrow's Path, and Leviathan.

More seriously, it's fairly unique as a way for white decks to generate card advantage - turning a pile of tokens from something like Decree of Justice into a pile of cards is a pretty solid exchange. Exiling all my own creatures is unfortunate, but doing this in response to a board wipe seems pretty good.

...what's that, you say? This is a sorcery? Curse you, The Dark! *shakes fist*

....anyway, I wouldn't run this without a lot of token production - turning real creatures into cards doesn't feel like as good of an exchange rate. But honestly, even if I did have a ton of token production, I'd probably still pass - the tempo loss involved in exiling all your own creatures is pretty rough. White is admittedly pretty light on card draw options, but there are a ton of colorless options out there that I'd favor over this.

If we're looking at this offensively, it seems a bit more interesting - this effect is symmetric, for some reason. Could be sweet tech in an Eight-and-a-Half-Tails deck to exile a bunch of opposing creatures. Alternatively, run with Alter Reality or another way to change the card text to whatever colors your opponents are playing. Again, giving back a bunch of cards is unfortunate, but this is theoretically comparable to Declaration in Stone.

[MeowZeDung]

The dark did give mono or 2 color green decks Gaea's Touch, so there's that. But yeah, unless I'm doing some weird Mirror of Fate or Riftsweeper shenanigans, Martyr's Cry belongs in a mono white token deck and that's about it.

[folding_music]

The Dark rules. Nameless Race is the funniest rope-a-dope rules text on any card. love that "just kidding, it's actually completely useless" dynamic in action.

more seriously I love Eater of the Dead and City of Shadows and Dust to Dust and Ashes to Ashes and Scavenger Folk and a bunch of other sweet kooky cards from that set. never had a copy of Martyr's Cry, though! i'm fairly sure I'd pair it with Shifting Sky or something

[Sinis]

Monday, July 20th, 2020; Martyr's Cry




I think I kinda dig it, in the context of mono-w. For two and a card you can turn your board into a fresh grip, and maybe nail a few other creatures too. Kinda has a Reprocess vibe to it. Likely very hard to actually net raw CA off of, barring some token support. BFFs with Kjeldoran Outpost sure.

Yeah, I mean, I like this for all the same reasons. Though, it's going to be hard to make a lot of tokens that you're going to be okay with just grinding to dust for cards. Maybe via Martial Coup for something to resemble Decree of Pain? Or with Secure the Wastes for a Stroke of Genius impression? Sacred Mesa? Caribou Range|ICE?

Maybe this is Kykar, Wind's Fury tech.

Part of me wants to consider this in Vadrok, Apex of Thunder, simply because white tokens can be made (especially via Cubwarden), but having white creatures I value is something that isn't necessarily the case, and if I have Martyr's Cry in my hand, I can definitely play my mutates to have my valued white creatures be some other colour.

That art is...unfortunate.

Tivadar's Crusade would like a word...

[3drinks]

Tivadar's Crusade would like a word...

Ssh, don't draw attention to my secret anti-Krenko tech, Don't need that getting social-banned :laugh:

[MeowZeDung]

Maybe this is Kykar, Wind's Fury tech.

If it didn't also hit kykar, definitely. But the difference between something like this and Hour of Reckoning, which also bolts the bird, is huge in that hour can completely dismantle opponents while leaving your tokens alone, or just straight up win if Jeskai Ascendancy is in play.

Now, that card draw with a bunch of spirits out does seem real nice, but sorcery speed just kills it for me. I'd rather chump block with those spirits, then sac 2 and cast Keep Watch after blocks declared.

[Hermes_]

The Dark rules. Nameless Race is the funniest rope-a-dope rules text on any card. love that "just kidding, it's actually completely useless" dynamic in action.

I...honestly don't understand that card

[Sinis]

Maybe this is Kykar, Wind's Fury tech.

If it didn't also hit kykar, definitely. But the difference between something like this and Hour of Reckoning, which also bolts the bird, is huge in that hour can completely dismantle opponents while leaving your tokens alone, or just straight up win if Jeskai Ascendancy is in play.

Now, that card draw with a bunch of spirits out does seem real nice, but sorcery speed just kills it for me. I'd rather chump block with those spirits, then sac 2 and cast Keep Watch after blocks declared.

Yeah, that wasn't a fully-formed thought. Martyr's Cry is strictly a terrible draw spell in white (and definitely not necessary in blue), and I'm not sure why I thought Kykar would need/want it.

It's true the Sorcery speed is what really dampens its playability. If it were instant, it could be a pretty clutch card in response to wipes, etc.

Part of me still believes it has a home somewhere! Maybe there's some efficient white-token deck that wants to dig for a wrath or combo or something, but Martyr's Cry somehow doesn't destroy its infrastructure (i.e. you managed to abuse Sacred Mesa) and the tokens themselves are useless or byproducts of other plays. That was my initial thought for Kykar, but Kykar clearly a) has better options, and b) has uses for those tokens that isn't exchanging them for cards.

[Serenade]

Crovax 3.0 weenies might like it?

[Hawk]

The thing is, wiping your entire board with Martyr's Cry to draw 3+ is just...so...bad. It's like Reprocess and that card is so bad in our format that they stapled it to a nigh-unkillable 5/6 menace with awesome typing as an EtB effect and it still is barely playable (God-Eternal Bontu). It's a total win-more move. If you can afford to spend a card to nuke yourself for a new hand, you could probably have just won with that board??? Sure, there will be situations where it is what you need because all your Oketra's Monument dorks are stonewalled and you need to draw into your combo, but that's just so niche.

If this was an instant, it'd be reasonable in mono-white - a way to say "I may die, but I still profit!" - but I don't even know that it'd be a staple. I know it's apples to oranges across colors, but as a point of comparison almost no one plays Perilous Research or Altar's Reap or Costly Plunder even at instant speed; I've been intrigued by Village Rites but suspect it isn't good enough either - and all of those effects are "controllable" (you choose what dies when) and card-neutral (you spend two cards to draw two cards); this is totally all-or-nothing AND it is always card disadvantage (you spend a card and all your white creatures to draw equal to lost creatures, but don't replace the Cry itself). Oh, and this exiles meaning there's nearly no way to break that symmetry with indestructible cards or undying/persist permanents, and it doesn't trigger death triggers, all reasons why those comparison cards even see a whiff of play. In white, it'd be competing against Teferi's Protection and Eerie Interlude for one more - why pay two to draw off your board getting wrecked when you can just...not get wrecked for one more mana?

I am excited by this card, because I'd never seen it before, and it is spicy on its face but I can't imagine playing it and wouldn't only be a little interested in it at W and instant speed.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Now this is a cool little gem. Looks like a red or black effect but in white this could be pretty alright. I'll make a mental note to grab one.

[Crazy Monkey]

I cast Martyr's Cry yesterday in game, using Crystal Spray to change the color word and exile blue creatures instead. In a deck built around Magical Hack effects it's fairly cost effective.

[Legend]

That art is...unfortunate.

Unfortunate for the martyr. 🙂 Magic is a game that depicts (nearly) every evil known to people-kind all contained safely within the confines of a fantasy world. And martyrdom is a common theme in fantasy settings. I love these funky old-school designs. My appreciation for them has grown considerably as they've become veritable lithographs of a bygone era.

[3drinks]

Tuesday, July 21st, 2020; Ember Swallower

Pretty fair LD on an aggressive body. I'd say I'm never sad to see it, but I kinda am because I'm not looking for "fair" when I want LD - I want efficient. But, if you've got a group so up in arms about mana denial, you can easily slot this in, instead of the standard Armageddon - because if you have a problem with losing a symmetrical three lands @ seven (eleven), I don't know what to tell you other than get better.

[Serenade]

Throwing down 11 mana to get rid of just three lands per player? Nah, if I want "fair" LD, I'm using Keldon Firebombers. It interacts better with Greater Gargadon, too.

[Mookie]

One of my key ethos in EDH is 'if you're playing fair, you're playing wrong'. And Ember Swallower is waaaay too fair for my taste. I'm not a big fan of monstrosity cards in general though - there are some sweet effects available, but the monstrosity costs are rarely worth the mana investment. In this case, 11 mana for a 7/8 split over two payments is... pretty hefty, and not something I would be particularly excited by.

Analyzing the ability itself, making each player sacrifice three lands is... interesting. Red doesn't have a ton of synergy for having lands in graveyards (I guess Cavalier of Flame?), but if you branch out a bit, you get Lord Windgrace and Korvold, Fae-Cursed King, both of which support Wildfire decks in general. I'm more of a ramp / big mana person than a land destruction person though.

I actually do think that symmetric land sacrifice is a pretty powerful payoff for a ramp deck. If you're at seven lands and your opponents are at four, then each player losing three lands is a massive loss for your opponents, but much more manageable for yourself. However, if things are more even, three lands feels like more of a speed bump than a finisher - you'll make the rest of the table miserable, but it won't seal a game by itself, unlike Death Cloud. Could be nasty if your ramp into it really fast, I guess. Hmmm... Again though, we run into the issue of Ember Swallower being pretty inefficient, not to mention extremely telegraphed - if someone kills it in response to activating monstrosity, that's a massive tempo loss.

Anyway, seems like it may be reasonable if you really want another Wildfire effect for a deck. Otherwise, I'd usually pass.

[Sinis]

Tuesday, July 21st, 2020; Ember Swallower

It's so fair it's probably not worth playing.

That said, I agree with Mookie that the payoff is good for a ramp deck. I think I like Wildfire/Burning of Xinye/Destructive Force more, though. Maybe in this sort of deck, I'd play all of them.

[Hawk]

Right after the release of Born of the Gods, I acquired Xenagos, God of Revels. At the time, I was in Chicago and my collection was largely in storage, forcing me to get creative with decks, so this guy made the cut in my 99 where he was...not awesome. He was basically a 4/5 vanilla in all but one game where I did manage to burn the world down with him + Wildfire while Xenagos helped him smash for 14. I don't know if he was the worst card in the deck (my decks were bad at the time), but he was probably in the running on balance.

If you are going to mass-LD, you need to Mass-LD that is a lot more powerful or unfair than this. The immediacy of Wildfire and Burning of Xinye, the flexibility of Tectonic Break, and the cheaper cost and possible "loop" potential of Keldon Firebombers are a lot better, nevermind just mashing Jokulhaups or Obliterate.

And if you're looking for an efficient, powerful body to beatdown with in some random R/x aggro deck, I like Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion, Flametongue Kavu, Hellrider, Bloodsworn Steward, Verix Bladewing, or Tectonic Giant for the job (nevermind potentially high-synergy picks like Beetleback Chief, Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Surly Badgersaur, Goblin Trashmaster, or Thunderbreak Regent or the sheer power of Purphoros, God of the Forge or Torbran, Thane of Red Fell if you are more mono-red).

This card is simultaneously "too fair" and trying too hard to do two things at once - and it just isn't "for" EDH as a result. It was a spicy limited card and a neat-looking casual card but the format has long since evolved past such things being playable in it.

[onering]

That art is...unfortunate.

Unfortunate for the martyr. 🙂 Magic is a game that depicts (nearly) every evil known to people-kind all contained safely within the confines of a fantasy world. And martyrdom is a common theme in fantasy settings. I love these funky old-school designs. My appreciation for them has grown considerably as they've become veritable lithographs of a bygone era.

Yeah, I'm not sure what's unfortunate about it. It's not racist or anti religion. It depicts someone being martyred, meaning that this execution is inherently unjust and the person is being killed for their beliefs. In the greater context of the set, it depicts a scene from an unjust Inquisition being carried out against intellectuals and religious dissidents.

It's quite dark, fittingly for the set, but that doesn't make it unfortunate. It's not depicting the Klan and doesn't have an ethnic slur in the name.

[onering]

I've used ember swallower on occasion, with mixed results. RG ramp is the best home, because like others have said sometimes you can just pull the trigger turn 5 and pull way ahead. Counter synergies help as well, because it becomes a more relevant body that way. It's an odd card that does something unpopular in a very fair way, and can be backbreaking or marginal depending on the game state. Akiri and Thrasios Mana rock tribal also likes it, because it wants to blow up lands and makes boatloads of Mana.

[Sinis]

I've used ember swallower on occasion, with mixed results. RG ramp is the best home, because like others have said sometimes you can just pull the trigger turn 5 and pull way ahead. Counter synergies help as well, because it becomes a more relevant body that way. It's an odd card that does something unpopular in a very fair way, and can be backbreaking or marginal depending on the game state. Akiri and Thrasios Mana rock tribal also likes it, because it wants to blow up lands and makes boatloads of Mana.

Does your Akiri/Thrasios play Restore Balance and Magus of the Balance? Asking for a friend, haha

I was talking with my group with Ember Swallower (and similar effects), and the consensus was that in many games, there's one player behind and something like this, Wildfire or Tectonic Break basically functionally kills a player with a less-than great start. Not sure what to do about that; I would like to play some red/green ramp with this in it someday.

[DirkGently]

It's LD that benefits the rampiest player the most.

I think the weakest part realistically is how interactible it is. If someone kills it in response you're pretty wrecked, and you let everyone know what's going to happen when you play it. And if you wait until 11 probably it hurts a lot less.

Keldon Firebombers is like the opposite world version of this card. One benefits (land) ramp players, one (usually) hurts them.

I'm glad wotc keeps semi-mass LD like this at a low power level, because when it's strong (Sylvan Primordial) it's real unpleasant.

[onering]

I've used ember swallower on occasion, with mixed results. RG ramp is the best home, because like others have said sometimes you can just pull the trigger turn 5 and pull way ahead. Counter synergies help as well, because it becomes a more relevant body that way. It's an odd card that does something unpopular in a very fair way, and can be backbreaking or marginal depending on the game state. Akiri and Thrasios Mana rock tribal also likes it, because it wants to blow up lands and makes boatloads of Mana.

Does your Akiri/Thrasios play Restore Balance and Magus of the Balance? Asking for a friend, haha

I was talking with my group with Ember Swallower (and similar effects), and the consensus was that in many games, there's one player behind and something like this, Wildfire or Tectonic Break basically functionally kills a player with a less-than great start. Not sure what to do about that; I would like to play some red/green ramp with this in it someday.

Just Magus. Restore is a bit too slow.

[Sinis]

Just Magus. Restore is a bit too slow.

I thought you might cheat it with As Foretold, Electrodominance, Baral's Expertise, etc.

[3drinks]

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020; Spell Queller

Huh. Neat card, should field a varied discussion. Dig it.